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  SPONS’

  HOUSEHOLD MANUAL:

  A TREASURY OF

  DOMESTIC RECEIPTS

  And Guide for

  HOME MANAGEMENT.

  [Illustration: (Publisher colophon)]

  London:
  E. & F. N. SPON, 125 STRAND.

  New York:
  SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, 12 CORTLANDT STREET.

  1894




PREFACE.


Time was when the foremost aim and ambition of the English housewife
was to gain a full knowledge of her own duties and of the duties of
her servants. In those days, bread was home-baked, butter home-made,
beer home-brewed, gowns home-sewn, to a far greater extent than now.

With the advance of education, there is much reason to fear that the
essentially domestic part of the training of our daughters is being
more and more neglected. Yet what can be more important for the
comfort and welfare of the household than an appreciation of their
needs and an ability to furnish them. Accomplishments, all very good
in their way, must, to the true housewife, be secondary to all that
concerns the health, the feeding, the clothing, the housing of those
under her care.

And what a range of knowledge this implies,--from sanitary
engineering to patching a garment, from bandaging a wound to
keeping the frost out of water pipes. It may safely be said that
the mistress of a family is called upon to exercise an amount of
skill and learning in her daily routine such as is demanded of few
men, and this too without the benefit of any special education or
preparation; for where is the school or college which includes among
its “subjects” the study of such every-day matters as bad drains, or
the gapes in chickens, or the removal of stains from clothes, or the
bandaging of wounds, or the management of a kitchen range? Indeed,
it is worthy of consideration whether our schools of cookery might
not with very great advantage be supplemented by schools of general
household instruction.

Till this suggestion is carried out, the housewife can only refer
to books and papers for information and advice. The editors of the
present volume have been guided by a determination to make it a _book
of reference_ such as no housewife can afford to be without. Much
of the matter is, of course, not altogether new, but it has been
arranged with great care in a systematic manner, and while the use
of obscure scientific terms has been avoided, the teachings of modern
science have been made the basis of those sections in which science
plays a part.

Much of the information herein contained has appeared before in
lectures, pamphlets, and newspapers, foremost among these last
being the _Queen_, _Field_, _Lancet_, _Scientific American_,
_Pharmaceutical Journal_, _Gardener’s Chronicle_, and the _Bazaar_;
but it has lost nothing by repetition, and has this advantage in
being embodied in a substantial volume that it can always be readily
found when wanted, while every one knows the fate of leaflets and
journals. The sources whence information has been drawn have, it is
believed, in every case been acknowledged, and the editors take this
opportunity of again proclaiming their indebtedness to the very large
number of lecturers and writers whose communications have found a
place within these covers.

  THE EDITORS.




CONTENTS.


  =Hints for selecting a good House=, pointing out the essential
  requirements for a good house as to the Site, Soil, Trees, Aspect,
  Construction, and General Arrangement; with instructions for Reducing
  Echoes, Water-proofing Damp Walls, Curing Damp Cellars          Page 1

  =Water Supply.=--Care of Cisterns; Sources of Supply; Pipes;
  Pumps; Purification and Filtration of Water                         12

  =Sanitation.=--What should constitute a good Sanitary Arrangement;
  Examples (with illustrations) of Well- and Ill-drained Houses; How
  to Test Drains; Ventilating Pipes, &c.                              35

  =Ventilation and Warming.=--Methods of Ventilating without causing
  cold draughts, by various means; Principles of Warming; Health
  Questions; Combustion; Open Grates; Open Stoves; Fuel Economisers;
  Varieties of Grates; Close-Fire Stoves; Hot-air Furnaces; Gas
  Heating; Oil Stoves; Steam Heating; Chemical Heaters; Management
  of Flues; and Cure of Smoky Chimneys                                55

  =Lighting.=--The best methods of Lighting; Candles, Oil Lamps, Gas,
  Incandescent Gas, Electric Light; How to Test Gas Pipes; Management
  of Gas                                                              82

  =Furniture and Decoration.=--Hints on the Selection of Furniture;
  on the most approved methods of Modern Decoration; on the best
  methods of arranging Bells and Calls; How to Construct an
  Electric Bell                                                       95

  =Thieves and Fire.=--Precautions against Thieves and Fire; Methods
  of Detection; Domestic Fire Escapes; Fireproofing Clothes, &c.     108

  =The Larder.=--Keeping Food fresh for a limited time; Storing Food
  without change, such as Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs, Honey, &c.       112

  =Curing Foods for lengthened Preservation=, as Smoking, Salting,
  Canning, Potting, Pickling, Bottling Fruits, &c.; Jams, Jellies,
  Marmalade, &c.                                                     123

  =The Dairy.=--The Building and Fitting of Dairies in the most
  approved modern style; Butter-making; Cheese-making and Curing     154

  =The Cellar.=--Building and Fitting; Cleaning Casks and Bottles;
  Corks and Corking; Aërated Drinks; Syrups for Drinks; Beers;
  Bitters; Cordials and Liqueurs; Wines; Miscellaneous Drinks        168

  =The Pantry.=--Bread-making; Ovens and Pyrometers; Yeast; German
  Yeast; Biscuits; Cakes; Fancy Breads; Buns                         207

  =The Kitchen.=--On Fitting Kitchens; a description of the best
  Cooking Ranges, close and open; the Management and Care of Hot
  Plates, Baking Ovens, Dampers, Flues, and Chimneys; Cooking by
  Gas; Cooking by Oil; the Arts of Roasting, Grilling, Boiling,
  Stewing, Braising, Frying                                          221

  =Receipts for Dishes.=--Soups, Fish, Meat, Game, Poultry,
  Vegetables, Salads, Puddings, Pastry, Confectionery, Ices,
  &c., &c.; Foreign Dishes                                           244

  =The Housewife’s Room.=--Testing Air, Water, and Foods; Cleaning
  and Renovating; Destroying Vermin                                  518

  =Housekeeping, Marketing=                                          563

  =The Dining-Room.=--Dietetics; Laying and Waiting at Table;
  Carving; Dinners, Breakfasts, Luncheons, Teas, Suppers, &c.        583

  =The Drawing-Room.=--Etiquette; Dancing; Amateur Theatricals;
  Tricks and Illusions; Games (indoor)                               648

  =The Bedroom and Dressing-Room.=--Sleep; the Toilet; Dress;
  Buying Clothes; Outfits; Fancy Dress                               699

  =The Nursery.=--The Room; Clothing; Washing; Exercise; Sleep;
  Feeding; Teething; Illness; Home Training                          746

  =The Sickroom.=--The Room; the Nurse; the Bed; Sickroom
  Accessories; Feeding Patients; Invalid Dishes and Drinks;
  Administering Physic; Domestic Remedies; Accidents and
  Emergencies; Bandaging; Burns; Carrying Injured Persons;
  Wounds; Drowning; Fits; Frostbites; Poisons and Antidotes;
  Sunstroke; Common Complaints; Disinfection, &c.                    755

  =The Bathroom.=--Bathing in General; Management of Hot-Water
  System.                                                            828

  =The Laundry.=--Small Domestic Washing Machines, and methods of
  getting up linen; Fitting up and Working a Steam Laundry           848

  =The Schoolroom.=--The Room and its Fittings; Teaching, &c.        862

  =The Playground.=--Air and Exercise; Training; Outdoor Games
  and Sports                                                         870

  =The Workroom.=--Darning, Patching, and Mending Garments           890

  =The Library.=--Care of Books                                      903

  =The Farmyard.=--Management of the Horse, Cow, Pig, Poultry,
  Bees, &c.                                                          907

  =The Garden.=--Calendar of Operations for Lawn, Flower Garden,
  and Kitchen Garden                                                 930

  =Domestic Motors=--A description of the various small Engines
  useful for domestic purposes, from 1 man to 1 horse power,
  worked by various methods, such as Electric Engines, Gas Engines,
  Petroleum Engines, Steam Engines, Condensing Engines, Water
  Power, Wind Power, and the various methods of working and
  managing them                                                      936

  =Household Law.=--The Law relating to Landlords and Tenants,
  Lodgers, Servants, Parochial Authorities, Juries, Insurance,
  Nuisance, &c.                                                      955




SPONS’

HOUSEHOLD MANUAL.




_THE DWELLING._


It is both convenient and rational to commence this volume with a
chapter on the conditions which should guide a man in the choice
of his dwelling. Unfortunately there is scarcely any subject upon
which ordinary people display more ignorance, or to which they
pay so little regard. In the majority of instances a dwelling is
chosen mainly with regard to its cost, accommodation, locality, and
appearance. As to its being healthy or otherwise, no _evidence_ is
volunteered by the owner, and none is demanded by the intending
resident. The consequences of this indifference are a vast amount of
preventible sickness and a corresponding loss of money. The following
remarks are intended to educate the house-seeker in the necessary
subjects, being subdivided under distinct headings for facility of
reference.


=Site.=--Of modern scientists who have studied the great health
question, none has more ably treated the essentials of the dwelling
than Dr. Simpson in his lecture for the Manchester and Salford
Sanitary Association. This Association has done wonders in improving
sanitation in the Midlands, and we cannot do better than follow Dr.
Simpson’s teaching.

_Soil._--He insists, first of all, on the great importance of the
soil being _dry_--either dry before artificial means are used to make
it so, or dry from drainage. To this end some elevation above the
surrounding land conduces. A hollow below the general level should,
as a matter of course, be avoided; for to this hollow the water
from all the adjacent higher land will drain, and if the soil be
impervious the water will lodge there. It will thus be damp, and, as
is well known, it will be a colder situation than neighbouring ones
which are a little raised above the general level. Those who live
where they can have gardens will find the advantage of the higher
situation in its being much less subject to spring and early autumn
frosts than the hollow just below. This is due not only to the former
being damper, but to the fact that the heat of the ground on still
nights passes off into space (is “radiated”) more rapidly than from
the higher situation, where there is more movement in the air. The
soil should not be retentive of moisture, as clay is when undrained;
nor should it be damp and moist from the ground water (concerning
which a few words will be said farther on), as is much alluvial
soil, i.e. soil which has been at some former time carried down and
deposited by rivers or floods. On the whole, sand or gravel, if the
site be sufficiently elevated, is probably the best, as it allows
all water to get away rapidly. Then come various rocks, as granite,
limestone, sandstone, and chalk.

Towns often present one specially dangerous, and therefore
specially objectionable soil--that where hollows have been filled
up with refuse of all kinds. This refuse is made up of all kinds
of vegetable, and, more or less, animal matter, often of the most
noxious character, together with cinders, old mortar, and no one
knows what besides. This becomes a foul fermenting mass, which is
often built upon and the houses inhabited before the process of
decomposition is completed, and the noxious gases cease to be given
off. Many outbreaks of disease have been traced most unmistakably
to this criminal act of putting up jerry buildings on pestilential
sites. It is easy for any one to understand how this may be when he
thinks of the way the house acts on the soil it is built upon, or
rather on the moisture and gases contained in the soil. The house is
warmed by the fires and by the people living in it, and the heated
air has a tendency to rise. The pressure on the gases in the soil
is lessened, and they are drawn up into the house, which acts as a
suction pump. This could not happen if the foundation were air-tight;
but this is rarely the case, and too often indeed “cottage property”
is built without any foundation at all. Drs. Parkes and Sanderson
recommended that such soil should not be built upon “for at least
two years,” but it would be well to give it another year. Attention
must also be paid to the “ground water”--the great underground sea
of which we find evidences almost anywhere that we seek for them.
Sometimes it is found even a foot or two only from the surface, in
other places at 15, 20, or 40 ft. This water rises and falls in
some places rapidly, rising after heavy rains, and falling in dry
weather. If it is always near the surface, the place must be damp and
unhealthy; and we should try to find out something about the ground
water before fixing on the site of our house. If possible, do not
live where it is less than 5 or 6 ft. from the surface.

_Trees._--Vegetation assists in rendering the soil healthy. Trees
absorb large quantities of moisture from the soil, and sometimes, as
in the case of the blue gum-tree of Australia, they seem even to do
something more than this. It is said that the common sunflower of
our gardens has a considerable influence in this way. Trees should
not be crowded close to a house, as they keep off much sun, and so
neutralise some of their good effects, but at a reasonable distance
they are beneficial.

_Aspect._--The aspect of a dwelling will necessarily be made to vary
with the climatic conditions of the locality in which it is situated.
In northern latitudes, such as Great Britain occupies, we are rarely
oppressed by sunshine, and need not seek special protection from
it. We should rather be anxious not to be deprived too much of its
genial and life-giving rays. On the other hand, we are often visited
by bleak and bitter winds, and though a free circulation of air is
desirable round a dwelling, there should be some shelter to break
the violence of a cold prevailing wind. In the country, where in
all probability there is no system of drainage for the district,
we should be careful not to place the house so as to receive our
neighbour’s drainage, nor that from our own outbuildings. In a town
the situation should be as open as can be obtained. The wider the
street and the greater the open space at the back the better, and the
back-to-back houses should be avoided altogether. (Simpson.)

As Eassie remarks, in one of the Health Exhibition Handbooks, aspect
and prospect have very much to do with comfort in housebuilding,
since a dwelling may be designed so as to fully command the scenery
while its plan might be very ill-adapted to the prevalent weather,
and the sun’s daily course. A house having a pleasant prospect may
be a decidedly unpleasant dwelling if the rooms have been arranged
without regard to the points of the compass. This will become quite
evident from a careful study of the annexed representation of Prof.
Kerr’s “aspect compass” (Fig. 1), which illustrates most clearly the
direction and character of the prevailing winds of this country, and
the sunny and shady quarters, the imaginary window of the dwelling
occupying the centre of the circle.

Obviously, as Eassie points out, the effects of aspect will not
be the same on the inside and outside of the room. Looking from
a window in the north, the prospect or landscape will be lighted
from behind; to the spectator looking from the south, it will
never be go lighted; looking from the east, the landscape will be
so lighted at sunset; and looking from the west, it will be well
lighted throughout the day. The great thing is to reconcile aspect
and prospect in the choice of a house; but this can seldom be done,
and where it cannot, the question of aspect must be first attended
to, as being of importance to the rooms, and the question of prospect
made secondary. The north is not suitable for a drawing-room, because
the aspect is cold; it is more suitable for a dining-room, as during
the winter the prospect is not seen so much. When the room used for
morning meals looks to the north, a bay window erected to the east
will catch the early sunbeams, and render it pleasant. The northern
aspect is too cold as a rule for bedrooms; but it is quite suitable
for the servants’ day apartments, and admirably adapted to the larder
and dairy. It is especially suited for staircases, as no blinds are
requisite, and the passages can be maintained in a cool state.

[Illustration: 1. Aspect Compass for Great Britain.]

The north-east aspect--next to the north--is best for a dining-room;
it is better for the servants’ offices than even the north; and when
an end window is wanted for a drawing-room, this forms no unpleasant
aspect. Bedrooms which face north-east enjoy the morning sun, and
during the summer range are agreeably cool at night. With regard to
the east, this is also a good aspect for the dining-room, especially
when no distinction is made between the dining-room and the
breakfast-room; and with regard to a sitting-room the more eastward
tendency it has the better. It is not adapted for a drawing-room,
because in the afternoon there is an entire want of sunshine, and on
account of the unhealthy east winds. This point of the compass is
suitable, however, for a library or business-room, because by the
time breakfast is over the sun will fairly have warmed the interior
of the room. It is also a good aspect for the porch, and one side of
a conservatory should always face the east.

The south-east aspect is most suitable for the best rooms of a house,
because it escapes some of the east wind, and part of the scorching
heat and beating rain of the south. It is admirably adapted,
therefore, for a drawing-room or day-room, is the most pleasant
aspect for bedrooms, and is best suited for the nursery or for the
rooms of an invalid. The south-west aspect is the least congenial
of all, because it is so open to a sultry sun and blustering winds.
This aspect should never be chosen for a dining-room; in summer it
is unpleasantly hot for bedrooms; and it is not suitable for a porch
or entrance, on account of the driving rains which prevail during
a portion of the year. The south aspect is not very desirable for
the windows of a dining-room, and is unpleasant for a morning-room,
unless a verandah has been provided. The larder and dairy should
never face the south. The west aspect is not quite agreeable for
a dining-room, on account of the excessive heat prevailing in the
summer afternoons; neither is it desirable for the drawing-room; and
it should never preferably be chosen for bedrooms, although it is
very agreeable for a smoking-room. One side of a conservatory should
always face to the west. The north-west aspect is very good for a
billiard-room, also for a dining-room, if the windows are fitted up
with blinds to shade the sun.


=Construction.= _Foundation._--Bearing in mind what Dr. Simpson
has said as to the house acting as a suction pump, drawing up
moisture and gases, often most noxious, from the soil on which it
is built, it is clear that the foundation ought to be air-tight and
water-tight; for besides the emanations due to the soil, we must
remember that escape from the gas-pipes laid in the street is a very
common occurrence, that sewers are apt to leak, and so the soil in
the neighbourhood of houses may become saturated with filth. Fatal
instances are known where coal gas and other foul vapours have been
drawn, as it were, long distances and poisoned the air of a house
or houses. The only way of guarding against this is to have the
foundations, and some distance outside the foundations, laid in
concrete. There should also be a space between the basement wall
and the surrounding earth. No one, in Eassie’s opinion, would think
of building a dwelling on a patch of ground without first removing
the vegetable mould to some depth below the level of the floor; and
however good the soil, it is very desirable to cover the site with
a layer of concrete to keep out damp and bad exhalations. Rawlinson
even advises a bed of charcoal below the concrete. Simpson insists
that if a cottage floor has to be laid on the bare ground, there
ought at least to be a bed of good concrete below the tiles. Cellars
add to the dryness and healthiness of a house if the walls and floors
are made impervious to air and water, and are properly ventilated.
The walls of the house ought to have a damp-proof course to prevent
the moisture rising in them. To show the importance of this, Simpson
quotes a well-known fact, but one seldom thought of when we look at
the brick walls of our houses. An ordinary well-baked brick, which is
9 in. long, 4½ in. broad, and 2½ in. deep, though apparently solid,
is not really so. It contains innumerable minute spaces through which
air may pass, and into which water may enter; and when it is soaked
in the latter, and all the air is driven out, it will contain nearly
16 oz. (the old pint) of water. If one brick will retain in its pores
so large a quantity, it is easy to see that a large wall may hold
what most people would at first think an incredible amount. As Dr. de
Chaumont says, “A cottage wall only 16 ft. long by 8 ft. high, and
only one brick thick, might hold 46 gallons of water!”

Walls may be made damp not only by water rising in them, but by rain
driving against them, and by water running down from the roof in
consequence of the stoppage of a rain-water pipe. The latter cause
is simple and easily remedied, but the former is far too frequent in
cheaply-built houses. It may be prevented by having cavity walls, as
they are called--that is, a double wall with a space between. There
are several advantages from this. The air space, besides helping to
keep the inner wall dry, is a good non-conductor, and so the house
is all the warmer. There are other methods which may be used in
addition to this, as cementing, plastering, or covering with slates
or boards. There is some difference of opinion as to the advantage
or disadvantage of the walls of a house being porous, as bricks are
when dry; and Prof. de Chaumont seems to think that in our climate
the porosity of the walls is not a point we need trouble ourselves
about maintaining. Still, in Simpson’s opinion, with the ordinary
arrangements of houses as regards supply of air and ventilation,
some porosity of the walls is desirable. Without the freest and
most perfect ventilation, walls absolutely impervious to air, and
therefore to water in a gaseous form, will almost always be more or
less damp on the inside.

[Illustration: 2. Damp Course and Area Wall.]

Another source of dampness in dwellings, as pointed out by Eassie,
is to be found in the practice of building the house walls close
against the earth, without taking the precaution to erect a blind
area-wall between the house wall and the earth excavation. Fig. 2
exhibits both these important improvements--the damp-course and the
area-wall--applied to the same dwelling: _a_ represents the main
wall of the house, and _b_ the area-wall, which is built against
the excavated subsoil, leaving the space _c_ between the two walls;
the thick black line underneath the floor-joist represents the
damp-proof course, which interposes between the subsoil _d_, with
the foundations built upon it, and the main wall of the house. This
damp-proof course usually consists of a layer of pitch or asphalte,
or slates bedded in cement, or specially glazed tiles, known as
Taylor’s or Doulton’s manufactures. By the use of this impervious
course, the upward passage of the ground water is effectually
arrested. The intervening area _c_ it is also well to drain, but
this water should never drain into the soil drain, if avoidable,
and certainly not until it has been thoroughly disconnected. There
should always, also, be a current of air introduced from the outer
air, by way of ventilators put at the top of the blind area _c_, and
an air brick placed above or below the damp-proof course--preferably
above--in order that the space between the ground and the joists or
stone flooring of the basement may be thoroughly ventilated. This
ventilation is shown by the arrows between _e_ and _e_. Such air
currents should always be provided under floors, whether there be
a basement or not, and also always between the joists of the upper
floors, and in the roof, in order to ward off dry-rot and ensure a
constant circulation of air. (Eassie.)

_Roof._--The first detail to be decided on is the “pitch” or slope to
be given to the roof, and this will depend both on the nature of the
covering material and the character of the climate. In the tropics,
where rain falls in torrents, a flat pitch helps to counteract the
rush of water; in colder regions the pitch must be such as to readily
admit of snow sliding off as it accumulates, to prevent injury
to the framework by the increased weight. The pitches ordinarily
observed, stated in “height of roof in parts of the span,” are as
follows:--Lead, 1/40; galvanized iron or zinc, ⅕; slates, ¼; stone,
slate, and plain tiles, 2/7; pantiles, 2/9; thatch, felt, and wooden
shingles, ⅓ to ½.

In country districts the roofs of cottages and outbuildings
are frequently covered with thatch. This consists of layers of
straw--wheaten lasts twice as long as oaten--about 15 in. in
thickness, tied down to laths with withes of straw or with string.
Thatch is an excellent non-conductor of heat, and consequently
buildings thus roofed are both cooler in summer and warmer in winter
than others, and no better roof covering for a dairy can be found.
Thatch is, however, highly combustible, and as it harbours vermin and
is soon damaged, it is not really an economical material, though the
first cost is small. A load of straw will do 1½ “squares” of roofing,
or 150 superficial feet. First class thatching is an art not readily
acquired. While really good thatching will stand for 20 years,
average work will not endure 10.

A convenient roofing material when wood is cheap and abundant
consists of a kind of “wooden slates,” split pieces of wood measuring
about 9 in. long, 5 in. wide, and 1 in. thick at one end but tapering
to a sharp edge at the other. Shingles, or wooden slates, are made
from hard wood, either of oak, larch, or cedar, or any material that
will split easily. Their dimensions are usually 6 in. wide by 12 or
18 in. long, and about ¼ in. thick.

Roofing felt is a substance composed largely of hair saturated with
an asphalte composition, and should be chosen more for closeness of
texture than excessive thickness. It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 8 in.
wide and 25 yd. long, thus containing 200 ft. super in a roll. Before
the felt is laid on the boards (¾ in. close boarding), a coating
composed of 5 lb. ground whiting and 1 gal. coal tar, boiled to expel
the water, is applied, while still slightly warm, on the boards
themselves; the felt is then laid on, taking care to stretch it
smooth and tight, and the outside edge is nailed closely with ⅞ in.
zinc or tinned tacks. The most common application to a felt roof is
simple coal tar brushed on hot and sprinkled with sharp sand. It is
not well adapted to dwellings.

Dachpappe is a kind of asphalte pasteboard much employed in Denmark;
it is laid on close boarding at a very low pitch, and forms a light,
durable covering, having the non-conducting properties of thatch.
It is sold in rolls 2 ft. 9 in. wide and 25 ft. long, having a
superficial content of 7½ sq. yd., at the rate of 1_d._ per sq. ft.
When laid, it requires dressing with an asphalte composition called
“Erichsen’s mastic,” sold at 9_s._ 9_d._ per cwt., 1 cwt. of the
varnish sufficing to cover a surface of 65 sq. yd.

Willesden paper is another extremely light, durable, and waterproof
roofing material, which differs essentially from the 2 preceding
substances in needing to be fixed to rafters or scantling, and
requiring no boarding on the roof. It is a kind of cardboard treated
with cuprammonium solution, and has become a recognized commercial
article. It is made in rolls of continuous length, 54 in. wide,
consequently, when fixing the full width of the card (to avoid
cutting to waste), the rafters should be spaced out 2 ft. 1 in. apart
from centre to centre, so that the edge of one sheet of card laid
vertically from eaves to ridge will overlap the edge of the adjoining
sheet 4 in. on every alternate rafter.

By far the most important and generally used roofing material in
this country is slate. Its splitting or fissile property makes it
eminently useful as a roofing material, as, notwithstanding the
fact that it is one of the hardest and densest of rocks, it can be
obtained in such thin sheets that the weight of a superficial foot is
very small indeed, and consequently, when used for covering roofs, a
heavy supporting framework is not required. Slate absorbs a scarcely
perceptible quantity of water, and it is very hard and close-grained
and smooth on the surface; it can be laid safely at as low a pitch as
22½°. In consequence of this, the general introduction of slate as a
roofing material has had a prejudicial effect upon the architectural
character of buildings. The bold, high-pitched, lichen-covered roofs
of the middle ages--which, with their warm tints, form so picturesque
a feature of many an old-fashioned English country town--have given
place to the flat, dull, slated roofs. The best roofing slate
is obtained from North Wales, chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Llanberis. Non-absorption of water is, of course, the most valuable
characteristic; an easy test of this can be applied by carefully
weighing one or two specimens when dry, and then steeping them in
water for a few hours and weighing them again, when the difference in
weight will of course represent the quantity of water absorbed. The
light-blue coloured slates are generally superior to the blue-black
varieties. (J. Slater.)

Some architects bed the roofing slates in hydraulic cement, instead
of having them nailed on dry in the usual way, which leaves them
subject to be rattled by the wind, and to be broken by any accidental
pressure. The cement soon sets and hardens, so that the roof becomes
like a solid wall. The extra cost is 10 or 15 per cent., and it is
good economy, considering only its permanency, and the saving in
repairs; but, besides this, it affords great safety against fire, for
slate laid in the usual way will not protect the wood underneath from
the heat of a fire at a short distance.

Tiles are much used in some districts, and are often made of a
pleasant tint; but a great objection to all tiles is their porosity,
which causes them to absorb much water, rotting the woodwork and
adding to their own already considerable weight.

Metallic roofing embraces sheet copper, sheet zinc, sheet lead,
“galvanised” iron, and thin plates of “rustless” (Bower-Barff) iron.
These materials are only used on flat or nearly flat spaces.

_Floors._--Tiles or flags are most frequently used for the floors
of kitchens, sculleries, and lobbies. They serve this purpose very
well, as they are easily washed and not likely to be injured, but
the joints should be made impervious to moisture. In some parts of
the country, concrete is used; this answers very well for the same
purpose, but it is not good for bedrooms, as it is so cold to the
feet. Wood makes the most comfortable floor for sitting or bed rooms,
and the best is hard wood capable of bearing a polish. From its
convenience and cheapness, common deal is used very generally, and
too often in a damp and unsound state, so that the boards shrink and
wide gaps are left between. This allows all the foul air from any
space--as a cellar or a cavity between the floor and the soil--to
ascend into the room. The boards ought to be as close together as
possible, and any spaces left between them should be packed tightly
with oakum. If this is done, the floors may be stained and varnished,
when they can be swept and rubbed clean, and do not require such
frequent washing as the ordinary unvarnished floors. This is an
important gain, for there is no doubt that emanations rising with
the damp from newly-washed floors are often most injurious. If a
varnished floor is washed, it dries almost at once. Spaces must be
left under the floors, on the ground level, if they are of wood, or
they will soon decay; and they ought to be well ventilated. Ceilings,
leaving a space between them and the boards of the room above, have
come into use, most likely to deaden sound. They often fail of this,
while affording fine playgrounds to mice, and even rats. Well-laid
boards, of sufficient thickness, and plugged with oakum, would, as
regards health, be preferable. (Dr. Simpson.)

_General Arrangement._--The chief points to be insisted on in a
dwelling are enumerated by Simpson as follows:--Every room should
obtain light and air from the outside, and there should be free
communication from front to back, so that a current of air may
pass through the house. What are called back-to-back houses are
very objectionable, and to be carefully avoided. If there is a
closet attached to the house, it should, as a matter of course,
be ventilated by a window opening both above and below, and, if
possible, should be built in a projecting wing or tower, and have
double doors, with space between them for a window on each side, so
as to have cross ventilation. When there is no closet in the house,
it should be completely detached from it, and all piggeries, middens,
&c., should be as far removed as possible. Speaking even of large
houses, Eassie remarks that they are often very faultily planned in
respect to the position in that portion of the interior which is
usually appropriated to sinks and water-closets. In the basement, for
instance, closets are often placed almost in the middle of the house,
and the same mistake is committed on the floors above, a worse error
by far; because then the closet would be placed on the landing of the
stair opposite the best ground-floor, and chamber-floor rooms--the
only ventilation from the closet-rooms being into the staircase, and
consequently into the house.

Precaution against Snakes entering Dwellings.--There is no regular
system adopted to prevent snakes entering dwelling-houses in Ceylon,
as it is of rare occurrence to find any but rat snakes in European
dwellings, and these are not venomous; but it is usual to clear away
a portion of space about each bungalow and put on sharp gravel, and
also to have coir matting laid down upon the verandahs, as snakes
dislike crossing over rough surfaces such as gravel and coir. Trees
should be at such a distance from the house (or bungalow) as to
prevent the possibility of snakes dropping from the branches on to
the roof.

Reducing Echoes and Reverberations.--The report of a committee of a
Würtemberg association of architects upon the deadening of ceilings,
walls, &c., to sound, gave rise to considerable debate, after which
the following conclusions were reached. The propagation of sound
through the ceiling may be most effectually prevented by insulating
the floor from the beams by means of some porous light substance,
as a layer of felt, a filling of sand, or of stone coal dust, the
latter being particularly effective. It is difficult to prevent the
propagation of sound through thin partitions, but double unconnected
walls filled in with some porous material have been found to answer
the purpose best. Covering the walls and doors with hangings, as of
jute, is also quite serviceable.

To those who carry on any operations requiring much hammering or
pounding, a simple means of deadening the noise of their work is a
great relief. Several methods have been suggested, but the best are
probably these:

1. Rubber cushions under the legs of the work-bench. _Chambers’s
Journal_ describes a factory where the hammering of fifty
coppersmiths was scarcely audible in the room below, their benches
having under each leg a rubber cushion.

2. Kegs of sand or sawdust applied in the same way. A few inches
of sand or sawdust is first poured into each keg; on this is laid
a board or block upon which the leg rests, and round the leg and
block is poured fine dry sand or sawdust. Not only all noise, but
all vibration and shock, is prevented; and an ordinary anvil, so
mounted, may be used in a dwelling-house without annoying the
inhabitants. To amateurs, whose workshops are almost always located
in dwelling-houses, this device affords a cheap and simple relief
from a very great annoyance.

Echoes are broken up by stretching wires across the room at about
4-5 ft. above the heads of the audience. Often there is strong echo
from the windows, which is lessened by the use of curtains, but with
some sacrifice of light. Very thin semi-transparent blinds would
check echo a good deal, but architects should not have large windows
in the same plane; large unbroken surfaces of any kind are very apt
to reflect echoes, yet we constantly see rooms intended for public
meetings so built as to be spoiled by the confusing echoes.

Waterproofing Walls.--In many badly constructed houses with thin
walls there is a tendency for damp to make its way into the interior.
Several remedies for this inconvenience have been published at
various times. The following procedure is described by a German paper
as a reliable means of drying damp walls. The wall, or that part
of it which is damp, is freed from its plaster until the bricks or
stones are laid bare, next further cleaned off with a stiff broom,
and then covered with the mass prepared as below, and dry river-sand
thrown on as a covering. Heat 1 cwt. of tar to boiling-point in a
pot, best in the open air; keep boiling gently, and mix gradually
3½ lb. of lard with it. After some more stirring, 8 lb. of fine
brickdust are successively put into the liquid, and moved about until
thoroughly disintegrated, which has been effected when, on dipping
in and withdrawing a stick, no lumps adhere to it. The fire under
the pot is then reduced, merely keeping the mass hot, which in that
state is applied to the wall. This part of the work, as well as the
throwing on of the river-sand against the tarred surface, must be
done with the trowel quickly and with sufficient force. It must be
continued until the whole wall is covered both with the tar mixture
and the sand. The tar must not be allowed to get cold, nor must the
smallest possible spot be left uncovered, as otherwise damp would
show itself again in such places, and where no sand has been thrown
the following coat of plaster would not stick. When the tar covering
has become cold and hard, the usual or gypsum coating may be applied.
It is asserted that, if this covering has been properly dried, even
in underground rooms, not a sign of dampness will be perceived. About
300 sq. ft. may be covered with the quantities above stated.

An excellent asphalte or mortar for waterproofing damp walls or other
surfaces is the following patented composition:--Coal tar is the
basis, to which clay, asphalte, rosin, litharge, and sand are added.
It is applied cold, and is extremely tenacious and weather-resisting.
The area to be covered is first dried and cleaned, then primed with
hot roofing varnish--chiefly tar. The mortar is then laid on cold
with trowels, leaving a coat ⅜ in. thick. A large area is then
coated with varnish and sprinkled over with rough sand. To frost or
rain this mortar is impervious. The cost is 5_d._ per sq. ft., and
for large quantities 4_d._ In the case of stone walls the following
ingredients, melted and mixed together, and applied hot to the
surface of stone, will prevent all damp from entering, and vegetable
substance from growing upon it. 1½ lb. rosin, 1 lb. Russian tallow, 1
qt. linseed-oil. This simple remedy has been proved upon a piece of
very porous stone made into the form of a basin; two coats of this
liquid, on being applied, caused it to hold water as well as any
earthenware vessel.

For brickwork, the _Builder_ gives the following remedy:--¾ lb. of
mottled soap to 1 gal. of water. This composition to be laid over
the brickwork steadily and carefully with a large flat brush, so as
not to form a froth or lather on the surface. The wash to remain 24
hours to become dry. Mix ½ lb. of alum with 4 gal. of water; leave it
to stand for 24 hours, and then apply it in the same manner over the
coating of soap. Let this be done in dry weather.

Another authority says, coat with venetian red and coal tar, used
hot. This makes a rich brown colour. It can be thinned with boiled
oil.

A Devonshire man recommends “slap-dashing,” as is often done in
Devon. The walls are, outside, first coated with hair-plaster by the
mason, and then he takes clean gravel, such as is found at the mouth
of many Devonshire rivers, and throws--or, as it is called locally,
“scats” it--with a wooden trowel, with considerable force, so as to
bed itself into the soft plaster. You can limewash or colour to your
liking, and your walls will not get damp through.

Perhaps no application is cheaper or more efficacious than the
following. Soft paraffin wax is dissolved in benzoline spirit in the
proportion of about one part of the former to four or five parts of
the latter by weight. Into a tin or metallic keg, place 1 gal. of
benzoline spirit, then mix 1½ lb. or 2 lb. wax, and when well hot
pour into the spirit. Apply the solution to the walls whilst warm
with a whitewash brush. To prevent the solution from chilling, it
is best to place the tin in a pail of warm water, but on no account
should the spirit be brought into the house, or near to a light, or a
serious accident might occur. The waterproofed part will be scarcely
distinguishable from the rest of the wall; but if water is thrown
against it, it will run off like it does off a duck’s back. Whilst
it is being applied the smell is very disagreeable, but it all goes
off in a few hours. On a north wall it will retain its effect for
many years, but when exposed much to the sun, it may want renewing
occasionally. Hard paraffin wax is not so good for the purpose, as
the solution requires to be kept much hotter.

Curing a Damp Cellar.--A correspondent inquired of the editor of
the _American Architect_ what remedy he would suggest for curing a
damp cellar. The difficulty to be overcome, presents the questioner,
in a new house is the wet cellar. Conditions present, concrete not
strong enough to resist the hydraulic pressure through a clay soil.
No footings under wall (which are of brick.) No cement on outside
of wall. The water evidently, however, forces its way through the
concrete bottom.

(_a_) Will reconcreting (using Portland cement) resist the pressure
of water and keep it out?

(_b_) If not, will a layer of pure bitumen damp-course between the
old and new concrete do the work?

(_c_) Will it do any good to carefully cement the walls on the inside
with rich Portland cement, say 3 ft. high, to exclude damp caused by
capillary attraction through the brick wall?

In reply to the above queries the editor gave the following hints,
which are equally applicable to builders of new houses as to those
occupying old houses with damp cellars:

It is doubtful whether even Portland cement concrete would keep back
water under sufficient pressure to force it through concrete made
of the ordinary cement. The best material would be rock asphalte,
either Seyssel, Neufebatel, Val de Travers, Yorwohle, or Limmer, any
of which, melted, either with or without the addition of gravel,
according to the character of the asphalte, and spread hot to a depth
of ¾ in. over the floor, will make it perfectly water-tight. The
asphalte coating should be carried without any break 18 or 20 in. up
on the walls and piers, to prevent water from getting over the edge;
and if the hydrostatic pressure of the water should be sufficient to
force the asphalte up, it must be weighted with a pavement of brick
or concrete. This is not likely to be necessary, however, unless the
cellar is actually below the line of standing water around it.

This, although an excellent method of curing the trouble, the
asphalte cutting off ground air from the house, as well as water,
will be expensive, the cost of the asphalte coating being from 20 to
22 cents (10-11_d._) a sq. ft.; and perhaps it may not be necessary
to go to so much trouble. It is very unusual to find water making its
way through ordinary good concrete, unless high tides or inundations
surround the whole cellar with water. If the source of the water
seems to be simply the soakage of rain into the loose material filled
in about the outside of the new wall, we should advise attacking
this point first, and sodding or concreting with coal-tar concrete,
a space 3 or 4 ft. wide around the building. This, if the grade is
first made to slope sharply away from the house, will throw the rain
which drips from the eaves, or runs down the walls, out upon the
firm ground, and in the course of two or three seasons the filling
will generally have compacted itself to a consistency as hard as or
harder than the surrounding soil, so that the tendency of water to
accumulate just outside the walls will disappear; while the concrete,
as it hardens with age, will present more and more resistance to
percolation from below.

For keeping the dampness absorbed by the walls from affecting the air
of the house, a Portland cement coating may be perhaps the best means
now available. It would have been much better, when the walls were
first built, to brush the outside of them with melted coal tar; but
that is probably impracticable now. If the earth stands against the
walls, however, the cement coating should cover the whole inside of
the wall. The situation of the building may perhaps admit of draining
away the water which accumulates about it, by means of stone drains
or lines of drain tile, laid up to the cellar walls, at a point below
the basement floor, and carried to a convenient outfall. This would
be the most desirable of all methods for drying the cellar, and
should be first tried.

Construction for Earthquake Countries.--The conditions will vary
somewhat according to the nature of the climate.

R. H. Brunton, who was for many years resident lighthouse engineer
in Japan, follows the principles enunciated by Mallet and Prof.
Palmieri, giving the buildings weight and great inertia, coupled with
a good bond between their various parts. Prof. Palmieri states that,
although solidity and strength in a building do not afford perfect
protection, still, so long as fracture does not occur, overthrow is
impossible. Dyer states that in his opinion, for dwelling-houses
in Japan, the modifications of external design required, as
compared with those in Britain, arise not so much on account of the
earthquakes as from the heats of summer, the colds of winter, and
the typhoons of autumn. Iron roofs are good from a merely structural
point of view; but in summer it would be impossible to live in the
houses provided with them. If a non-conducting material of the same
strength and durability as iron could be found, it might be used.
“If the houses are so designed as to be comfortable as regards
temperature, and the construction made in good brick, or equally
strong stone and mortar, so that the walls are of nearly a uniform
strength; if no unnecessary top weights are used, and if the various
parts do not vibrate with different periods, they will withstand all
ordinary earthquakes, and other precautions will be unnecessary, as
these generally produce results more serious than those due to the
earthquakes.”

The city of Arequipa, Peru, is particularly liable to earthquakes,
owing to its proximity to the great volcano, the Misti, 19,000 ft.
in height above sea-level, the city being 7000 ft. above sea-level.
The general construction of the houses is peculiar. A light coloured
volcanic stone is largely used; this, when quarried, is easily
shaped, and it hardens gradually. The roofs are for the most part
strong arches, a very good mortar being used. In the earthquake of
1868, it was not so much those arches which failed as the walls, and
the spandrels between the arches at front and rear. In some parts
of the city, arches extending in one direction stood, while those
at right angles to these were thrown down. Since 1868, a good many
corrugated iron roofs have been introduced; but they are not suitable
to the climate, and are not durable.

Earnshaw, from an experience of 25 years in Manila, where the
earthquakes are sometimes very severe, comes to the conclusion to
build as strongly as possible, and chiefly in wood, tied and bolted
together as in a ship, stone and brickwork only being used in the
lower story and in the foundations, and especial attention ought to
be paid to the quality of the lime and mortar used in construction.
Many materials have been used as roofing, such as the heavy tiles
made in the country and others imported there. When, in 1880, fully
60 per cent. of the buildings in Manila had been ruined, an order
was issued by the municipal authorities to use corrugated iron or
zinc sheeting for that purpose. A diversity of opinion existed as to
which was the best and most suitable, for not only had earthquakes to
be guarded against, but intense heat and disastrous typhoons. With
reference to the latter, in 1881, sheets of iron were flying about in
the air like paper. He thinks, therefore, that a light, strong tile
roofing is preferable to any other.

Prof. C. Clericetti, of Milan, and W. H. Thelwall relate that after
the earthquake in the island of Ischia in 1883, which was of a most
destructive character, and caused an enormous amount of damage in
the island, 2000 persons having lost their lives, and many more
being injured, a commission was appointed by the Italian Government
to obtain information, and to frame rules for the rebuilding of the
structures. It was ascertained that, speaking generally, buildings
founded on hard, solid lava had withstood the shock successfully,
whilst those founded upon looser or lighter materials, such as
tufa or clay, had suffered very much, and therefore in regard to
the re-erection of buildings it was pointed out that the first
thing to do was to select eligible sites, and to build, wherever
possible, upon lava; and, where that was not possible, to dig down
to comparatively solid ground, and then fill in a heavy platform
of masonry or concrete, 3 ft. or 4 ft. thick, extending over the
whole area of the building, and projecting 3 ft. or 4 ft. beyond.
The building of any kind of vaulting above ground was forbidden.
Light arches were only to be allowed over window’s and openings of
that kind. The heavy flat roofs formerly used to a large extent
were condemned. The commission recommended that buildings should
be chiefly constructed with an iron or wooden framework, carefully
put together, joined by diagonal ties, horizontally and vertically,
with spaces between the framework filled in with masonry of a light
character. The joists and the roof trusses were to be firmly
connected together. In plan, buildings should be square, and where
the direction of the last shock could be traced, one diagonal should
be placed in this direction. Not more than two stories above ground
were to be allowed, and there might be one under ground, but it must
be of very moderate height. In no case was the height from the lowest
point of the ground to the top of the walls to exceed 31 ft. Openings
for doors and windows were to be vertically over each other, the
jambs being not less than 5 ft. from the corner of the building. No
openings for flues were allowed in the thickness of the walls, and no
projections from the face of a building, except light balconies of
wood or iron. If solidly built structures, and particularly if there
was only one story above ground, the roofs might be covered with
tiles; but these must be light, and fastened with nails or hooks, so
as not to be displaced even by violent shocks.


=Water Supply and Purification.=--The supply of water to both town
and country houses has been dealt with at length by Eassie and Rogers
Field in essays written for the Health Exhibition Handbooks, and the
following information is mainly condensed and adapted from their
papers.

The conditions of supply in the two cases differ in being from a
general and public source in the one and from a special and private
source in the other. In each case, the consumer has to control the
purity and application of the supply after its delivery into the
dwelling; and in the second case he is further responsible for the
character and quantity of the supply before delivery. The second
case, therefore, in a great measure covers the first, and demands
extended treatment.

_Amount required._--The first consideration is the quantity of water
required. The supply to towns from waterworks is usually expressed in
“gallons per head of population per diem,” and varies exceedingly,
much of the variation being due to waste. This is especially the case
in towns where the supply is intermittent. In several towns having
a constant supply, steps have been taken systematically to measure
the water supplied to different streets and districts, and it has
been found that, without restricting the supply in any way, the
consumption of water has been immensely reduced, simply by sending
inspectors to make a house-to-house visitation and search out and
repair leaky pipes and defective taps and ball-cocks. It is by no
means an unusual thing for the consumption to be reduced one-half by
inspections of this kind, showing that at least one-half of the water
which was previously supplied to the houses was simply wasted through
leaky fittings.

Many people are inclined to think that waste of this kind is not a
bad thing, as it must help to keep the drains flushed. Field points
out that this is quite a mistake. A small dribble of water from a
leaky pipe or a leaky tap, though it will waste a great deal of water
in the course of 24 hours, is perfectly useless for flushing the
drains. What is wanted for this is the sudden discharge of a large
quantity of water. The dribble of water from leaky pipes and taps
does no good in any way, but simply wastes what might be usefully
employed, and in many cases causes a supply to run short which would
otherwise be ample for all legitimate uses. Another point that it is
difficult to realise is the large quantity of water which will run
to waste through what is apparently a very small leak. The quantity
leaking looks so small in comparison with the quantity running
when a tap is open, that one is inclined to think it perfectly
insignificant, forgetting that the leakage goes on continuously night
and day, whereas the tap is only open for a few minutes. In country
houses, where it is often difficult to obtain a sufficient supply
of water, it is particularly important to bear in mind the serious
influence that leaky pipes and taps have on the consumption, and
never to allow such leakage to go on for any length of time.

While useless waste should be prevented, it is most important that
the legitimate use of water should be encouraged in every way. As
Dr. Richardson has well pointed out, absolute cleanliness, properly
understood, is the beginning and the end of sanitary design, and
thorough cleanliness, of course, can never be obtained without an
ample water supply. Not only should there be sufficient water for
baths, lavatories, and washing of all kinds, but there should be a
liberal allowance for flushing water-closets and all other sanitary
appliances. Taking these sanitary considerations into account, as
well as giving due weight to the observations which have been made by
engineers and others on the quantity of water actually used in houses
under different circumstances, it may be assumed that, if waste is
efficiently prevented, a supply of 20-25 gallons per head per diem is
sufficient in ordinary cases for houses with baths and water-closets.
If horses are kept, a separate allowance should be made for them,
and for stable purposes (a useful approximate rule being to reckon
a horse as a man); and if water is used for watering gardens or
ornamental purposes, this must also be reckoned separately. If
earth-closets are adopted instead of water-closets, less water will
be required, and 15-20 gallons per head per diem will be sufficient.
In cottages with earth or other dry closets, the quantity of water
required will be still less: 10 gallons per head will be an ample
supply, and even 5-6 gallons may do in cases where it is absolutely
necessary to limit the quantity used.

_Sources of Supply._--Water for country houses is, in the vast
majority of cases, derived from springs or wells. Rain-water
collected from roofs is very frequently used as an auxiliary, and
occasionally as the main supply. There are instances in which the
supply is taken from streams or rivers, and even some in which water
running off the surface of the ground is collected in “impounding
reservoirs” (a mode often adopted for the water supply of towns); but
these cases are exceptional, and attention will here be confined to
springs, wells, and roof-water.

The real source of all fresh water supply is rain. Springs and wells
form no exception to this rule, though in their case the connection
with the rainfall is not so clear at first sight as it is in the
case of streams and open watercourses, because the passages by
which the rain reaches springs or wells are not visible, and heavy
rainfalls often have no apparent effect on their yield. In various
parts of the country occur curious intermittent springs (locally
called “bournes”), which burst out in some years and not in others,
and the connection between which and the rainfall is still more
obscure. Rain-water, before it issues from the ground as springs,
accumulates in the porous strata beneath, and forms, as it were,
large underground reservoirs; it is from these reservoirs that wells,
sunk into the porous strata, derive their supply.

The amount of rain varies enormously in different parts of the
world, some districts being either absolutely rainless, or having
only a very few inches of rain in the year, whereas others have some
hundreds of inches in the year. Even in England itself there is
considerable variation. The average rainfall for the whole country
is about 30 inches a year, but the amount in different parts of the
country varies from about 20 inches to nearly 200 inches a year. The
eastern side of England, as Field remarks, has much less rain than
the western side, and, roughly speaking, if a line be drawn from
Portsmouth to Newcastle-on-Tyne, it will divide the country into a
dry portion and a wet portion. The portion of the country on the east
of this imaginary line will (with the exception of the south coast,
which is wetter) have only 25 inches of rain or less, and the portion
on the west of the line will have from 30 to 50 inches, with much
larger amount in the Cumberland and Welsh mountains, and at Dartmoor.

The rainfall of the wettest year is about double that of the driest
year. This gives a very useful rule for roughly ascertaining the
extreme rainfalls, which are really more useful for the purpose of
water supply than the rainfall for an average year. The fall in the
driest year may be assumed to be one-third less than the average, and
for the wettest one-third more. Thus, with an average rainfall of 30
inches, the fall of the driest year would be 20 inches, and that of
the wettest year 40 inches.

A portion only of the total rain which falls is available for water
supply, as there is always more or less loss. In the case of rain
falling on roofs, the loss is comparatively small, but in the case
of rain falling on the surface of the earth the loss is considerable.
The latter is disposed of in three different ways: part of it runs
directly into open watercourses and streams, part is taken up by
vegetation or lost by evaporation, and part percolates through the
surface ground and accumulates in the water-bearing strata which feed
the springs and wells.

From observations made on the amount of percolation in different
cases, it has been found that the amount of percolation does not
depend so much on the amount of rain as on the conditions under
which it falls. By far the greater portion of the percolation takes
place in winter and comparatively little in summer, the reason
being that in winter the ground is wet, evaporation is small, and
vegetation is inactive, so that a large proportion of the rain sinks
into the ground; whereas in summer the reverse is the case, so that
most of the rain is taken up before it can percolate. So great is
the difference between summer and winter as regards percolation,
that one may generally leave the summer rainfall altogether out
of consideration, and assume that, in this country, it depends on
the amount of rain which falls during the six months from October
to March, whether the underground store of water will be fully
replenished or not.

The height of the accumulated underground water is indicated by
the level at which water stands in wells: and it is found that
this height varies considerably, the variations usually following
a regular course: the water is generally lowest in October and
November, it then rises till it reaches its highest point in February
or March, and after this it falls slowly till the following autumn.

A condition to be studied in selecting a spring as a source of water
supply is its “seasonal” variation. As Field points out, a spring
which will give an ample quantity of water in the winter may give an
insufficient quantity in the autumn, so that the measurement of a
spring in winter should never be depended on for determining whether
it will do as a source of water supply. The only safe way is to wait
till the autumn yield has been ascertained; even then an allowance
must be made for the previous winter, if it has been a very wet one,
the yield of the spring becoming abnormally high.

Wells may be either shallow or deep. The latter are always
preferable, but sometimes the former must be relied on. The great and
serious danger in connection with shallow wells is their liability to
pollution from cesspools and drains, whose liquid contents (fully as
poisonous as the solid) filter through the surrounding soil and go
to swell the volume of water in the well, especially if, as nearly
always happens, the cesspool is much shallower than the well.

In country villages, frequently the cesspools and wells are so
intermixed that the entire bed of water is polluted, and hence
all the wells are unsafe. But in isolated houses, if the well and
cesspool are some distance apart, pollution of the well will depend
chiefly on the direction of the movement of the underground water.
If this movement is from the cesspool towards the well, the polluted
water will flow towards the well; if the movement is in the contrary
direction, the polluted water will flow away from the well. Hence
Field’s caution, that before sinking a shallow well where sources of
contamination are in the neighbourhood, the direction of the flow of
the underground water must first be carefully ascertained, bearing in
mind that it is not safe to assume that this flow is in the direction
of the fall of the land, though it very frequently is so: if there is
the slightest doubt, levels must be taken of the underground water
in different places, and the source of contamination be accurately
localised. Contamination from surface soakage can frequently be
prevented by raising the top of the well above the adjoining ground,
and paving the surface round the well with a slope so that the
rain-water runs away from it. Norton Tube wells, which consist of an
iron tube driven into the ground and surmounted by a pump, are useful
for excluding surface pollution. If the pollution is sufficient
to contaminate the subsoil and reach the underground water, no
precautions that can be taken in constructing the well will keep the
pollution out.

Generally, deep wells are safer from contamination than shallow
wells, but may still, under certain circumstances, be polluted.

On the question whether a well which has been-polluted by a cesspool
will become fit for use after the cesspool has been removed, no
rule can be laid down. If the removal of the sources of pollution
has been thorough, the well will frequently recover its purity; but
under other circumstances the well may remain impure. As to the least
distance between wells and cesspools compatible with safety, while
the Local Government Board of London is content with 20-30 yards, Dr.
Frankland insists on at least 200 yards. It would be more rational to
forbid cesspools of all kinds; at the same time, possible leakages
from drains, through injury or otherwise, must not be omitted from
the estimate of risk of pollution. Again, the effect of increased
demand upon the contents of the well at once extends the danger,
because as the water in the well is lowered so is the area from which
the well draws its supply increased, the ratio varying from 20 to 100
times the depression. Where a whole day’s supply is pumped at once
into an elevated tank, the maximum figure will be reached.

Those who intend sinking wells are advised first to read a little
book by Ernest Spon, on the ‘Present Practice of Sinking and Boring
Wells,’ 2nd edition, 1885.

Rain-water collected from roofs forms a valuable auxiliary supply too
often disregarded. In towns it is rarely pure enough for domestic
use, but in country districts it is generally wholesome.

A country resident thus describes the manner in which he utilises
rain-water, falling upon an ordinary tin roof, covered with some sort
of metallic paint, said to contain no lead, and flowing into a large
cemented brick cistern, whence it is pumped into the kitchen. The
cistern differs from the usual construction in this manner: across
the bottom, about 3 ft. nearer one side than the other, is excavated
a trough or ditch about 2 ft. wide and 2 ft. deep; along the centre
of this depression is built a brick wall from the bottom up to the
top of the cistern, and having a few openings left through it at the
very bottom. The whole cistern, bottom, sides, and canal included,
is cemented as usual, excepting the division wall. Upon each side of
the wall, at its base, 6-12 in. of charcoal is laid, and covered with
well-washed stones to a further height of 6 in., merely to keep the
charcoal from floating. The rain-water running from the roof into the
larger division of the cistern, passes through the stone covering,
the charcoal, the wall, the charcoal upon the other side, lastly, the
stones, and is now ready for the pump placed in this smaller part. It
is much better that the water at first pass into the larger division,
as the filtration will be slower, and the cistern not so likely to
overflow under a very heavy rainfall. He has used this cistern for
many years, and was troubled only once, when some toads made their
entrance at the top, which was just at the surface of the ground,
soon making their presence known by a decided change in the flavour
of the water.

If the house chances to be in a dusty situation, several plans will
suggest themselves whereby a few gallons at the first of each rain
may be prevented from entering the cistern. Should the house be
small, and therefore the supply of water from its roof be limited, do
not lessen the size of the cistern, but rather increase it, for with
one of less capacity some of the supply must occasionally be allowed
to go to waste during a wet time, and you will suffer in a drought,
whereas a cistern that never overflows is the more to be relied upon
in a long season without rain.

Rainfall varies exceedingly in different places, and even in the same
situation it is impossible to foretell the amount to be expected
during any short period of time, but the most careful observations
show that about 4 ft. in depth descends at New York and vicinity
every year, or nearly 1 in. a week. If this amount were to be
furnished uniformly every week, the size of a cistern need only be
sufficient to contain one week’s supply, but we often have periods
of 4 weeks without receiving the average of one, and we must build
accordingly.

The weekly average of 1 in. equals 1 cub. ft. upon every 12 ft. of
surface, or 3630 cub. ft. upon an acre, weighing about 113 tons.
Upon a roof 40 ft. by 40 ft., 1600 sq. ft., it would be 133 cub.
ft., 1037 gal., or about 26 barrels of 40 gal. each. A cistern 8 ft.
across and 10 ft. deep would contain 502 cub. ft.; and one of 10
ft. across and 10 ft. deep, 785 cub. ft., or 6120 gal.--about the
average fall upon a roof of the above size for 6 weeks; while the
smaller cistern would hold 3900 gal., or a little less than 4 weeks’
rainfall. The weekly supply of 1037 gal. is equal to 148 gal. per
day, or nearly 15 gal. to each individual of a family of 10. This is
certainly enough, and more than enough, if used as it should be; but
where water is plentiful it is wasted, and in our capricious climate,
whether we depend upon wells or cisterns, it is wise to waste no
water at all, at least during the warm summer months, and lay by
not for a wet but a dry day. For this country, Field estimates 2-3
gallons of tank capacity for every square foot of roof area.

[Illustration: 3. Rain-water Tank.]

In Fig. 3 _a b c d_ show the excavation that must be made for
the cistern, and supposing the diagram to exhibit, as it does, a
section of the cistern, the receptacle for the water will be, when
finished, taking the relative proportions of the different parts into
consideration, just about 9 ft. wide and 4½ ft. deep. Of course,
the excavation must be made greater in breadth and depth than the
dimensions given, to allow for the surrounding walls and the bottom.
The walls may be of brick, cemented within, and backed with concrete
or puddled clay without, or of monolithic concrete; but the bottom,
in any case, should be made of concrete. The trench _e f g h_ running
across the bottom of the cistern is 2 ft. broad and 2 ft. deep. In
the middle of this opening is built up a 9 in. brick wall, or a
party-wall of concrete, _i k_. Along the bottom of the wall openings
_l_ are left at intervals. The party-wall divides the entire space
into the larger outer cistern _m_, and the smaller inner cistern _n_.
Supposing the breadth from _e_ to _f_ to be 2 ft., and the wall 9
in., spaces of 7½ in. will be left on each side of the wall. These
are filled to ¾ the height, or for 18 in., with lumps of charcoal,
smooth pebbles, 1-3 in. in diameter, being laid along the top of the
charcoal till the trench is filled up. The cistern is so constructed
that the water from the roof enters _m_; it passes downwards through
the stones and charcoal, as shown by the arrow at _f_, goes through
the opening and forces its way upwards in the direction of the arrow
at _e_ into the cistern _n_, in which it rises to the level of the
water in _m_, to be drawn thence for use by a small pump.

Various modifications of this form of tank-filter will suggest
themselves to readers possessing any mechanical genius. The great
point is to prevent contamination from the soil by using good
material and making sound work. Further, the overflow pipe of the
tank must not communicate with any drain or sewer.

[Illustration: 4. Rain-water Separator.]

Recently several inventors have introduced apparatus for separating
rain-water from impurities. One of these, bearing the name of
Roberts, is illustrated in Fig. 4. Its principle of action is to
reject the first portion of the rain which falls (as it is this
which chiefly washes the dirt off the roof), and only to collect the
latter portion of the rain. The water from the roof first runs on
to a strainer, that intercepts rubbish; it then passes through one
of two channels in the upper part of the canter, balanced upon a
pivot. At the commencement of a shower, the canter is raised in the
position shown in Fig. 4, “running to waste,” and the bulk of the
water passes through a channel which directs it into the lower or
wastewater outlet. Meanwhile, a very small proportion of the water is
accumulating in the lower part of the canter, very slowly in light
rain but more rapidly in heavy rain, so that it is filled up by the
time the roof has become clean. Then the weight of water causes it
to fall down as shown in Fig. 4A “running to storage,” so that the
clean water may run through the upper storage outlet pipe. This very
useful little apparatus is made and sold by C. G. Roberts, Collards,
Haslemere, Surrey.

[Illustration: 4A. Rain-water Separator.]

Perhaps this affords as good an opportunity as any of drawing
attention to the highly artistic rain-water heads that have lately
been introduced by Thomas Elsley, of 32 Great Portland Street, W.
These are made to suit every style of architecture and every variety
of roof and guttering, and practically without limit as to size.
Their quality is beyond praise.

It is essential to bear in mind that rain-water is liable to exert
considerable solvent action on lead, consequently pipes and cisterns
of this metal must be avoided. The pipes may be of iron, or of
specially lead-encased block-tin, and the cisterns of “galvanised”
iron or slate.

As Eassie has pointed out, there is much to be considered in the
arrangement of rain-water pipes from a sanitary point of view, where
a separator and storage tank are not in use, because the foul air
delivered from them is sucked into the rooms near the roof, on which
the sun’s heat pours. A fire lighted in a room develops the same
danger when the rain-water pipe terminates near the windows of the
room. Another danger accruing from rain-water pipes which connect
directly with the drain is due to the fact that the joints of the
iron rain-water pipes are seldom air-tight, and foul air is therefore
often driven or sucked into the rooms when the windows are open. It
is easy to imagine how dangerous this must be in houses which have
been fitted up with iron (or even lead) rain-water pipes running down
the interior walls, and having their terminations close to a dormer
window, skylight, or staircase ventilator on the roof, with the foot
of the rain-water pipe taken direct into a drain leading to a town
sewer. But the risk is greatly increased when the rain-water pipes
are connected with a closed cesspool, to which the rain-water pipe is
acting as a ventilator.

When rain-water pipes deliver into the drain directly, they are
often made to act as soil pipes from the closets, in which case the
evil is intensified. The soil from the closets is apt to adhere to
the interior of the pipe, generally on the side opposite to that
traversed by the rain-water, and the poisonous smell escapes at any
bad joints and always at the roof orifice.

When the rain-water pipe is of cast iron, other sources of danger are
present if the pipe is used also for conveying soil from a closet.
Unless the rim of the soil pipe from the closet is joined to the
rain-water pipe by a proper cast-iron socketed joint, the connection
must be made by means of a piece of lead pipe which receives the soil
pipe, and the joint between the lead soil pipe and the upper and
lower parts of the cast-iron pipe cannot be properly soldered. Here
sometimes grievous calamity follows cases where the combined pipe is
ventilating the drain and sewer; the pipe joints are frequently open,
and when the windows are unclosed for ventilation the foul air is
whisked into the house. Eassie insists that it is cheaper to owner
and dweller alike to have a separate soil-pipe erected at first.

[Illustration: 5. Outlet of Rain-water Pipes.]

All rain-water pipes should deliver into the open air, and have no
connection with the drains, except when they are disconnected. They
should discharge their contents over a gully grating as at _a_, Fig.
5, or underneath the grating as at _b_, the ends of the pipes in both
cases being in the open air. Every householder should insist upon
this being carried out. But occasionally the rain-water pipes descend
inside the house and there is no open yard where a disconnecting
gully can be fixed. In such a case a separate drain should be laid
to the nearest area or yard, and separation ensured. In laying down
new drains in a house, where the rain-water pipes must descend in the
interior, it will be better to provide a separate or twin drain to
the nearest open-air space.

Provision must be made at the roof for keeping foreign matters out
of the rain-water pipes. Leaves, soot, and dirt will accumulate
round the pipe orifices, and very often will cause the gutter to be
flooded during a storm. The usual way to avert this is to fix over
the opening of the pipe in the bottom of the gutter a galvanised open
wire half-globe, or a raised cap of thick lead pierced with tolerably
large holes. The cost for this is trifling, but the value is great.
Whenever rain-water pipes _must_ run down the inside wall of a house,
lead should be adopted. Sometimes rain-water pipes are taken down in
the interior, when a very little initial study could have brought
them to the exterior face of a wall--where alone they should be
taken, whenever it is possible to do so.

On attic roofs, and where only one side of the house can be used
for the attachment of rain-water pipes, the water from one side is
brought across the roof by means of a “box” gutter of wood, lined at
the bottom and sides with lead or zinc, and covered with a board.
This often emits a very foul smell, owing to the accumulation of
decaying matter. When such guttering cannot be avoided, it should
occasionally--say once a week--be carefully cleaned out. The same
matters will sometimes silt up and stop the gullies, shown at the
foot of the rain-water pipes (Fig. 5), hence it is equally necessary
to see that these traps are cleaned out, say monthly.

Rain-water pipes are often made the waste pipes of lavatories, baths,
sinks, and slop-pails. When properly disconnected at the foot, in the
open air, and when the top of the rain-water pipe does not terminate
under a window of an inhabited room, this does not much matter;
but when the court-yard is limited in area, and there is a window
belonging to a living or sleeping room just overhead, where the rain
from the roof delivers itself into the upright pipe, an offence will
arise from the decomposing fats of soap, which form a slimy mess
adhering to the interior of the pipe, that no amount of rainfall will
dislodge.

_Cisterns._--Cisterns should be in a cistern-room if possible, but,
at all events, placed where they can be got at, covered over with
suitable fittings, and ventilated to the open air. A drinking-water
cistern should never be placed in a water-closet, for no amount of
disconnection in such a case will suffice to counteract its evil
surroundings. Neither should it be placed in a bath-room, which is
liable to a steam-laden atmosphere. Nothing can be said against a
site out of doors, on the flats, or below (if away from dustbins and
ash-heaps); but in such cases the cistern, with its service pipes,
should be well protected from frost. The position of a cistern
should be equally carefully chosen no matter whether the supply
be constant or intermittent, or whether there be a high or a low
pressure cistern. And not only should it be made certain that the
“standing waste” pipe of the cistern delivers in the open air, but
that any “overflow” pipe of the cistern delivers in like cleanly
fashion. It is too common to take these wastes down to the nearest
sink. It might prove expedient to thus disconnect a cistern waste
when time presses, and when the alternative is costly, but the
practice is not to be commended.

Eassie’s strictures with regard to cisterns apply equally to those
feed cisterns which supply hot-water circulating cisterns or boilers
where water is heated for kitchen, scullery, still-room, or bath-room
uses. It is too common to find the feed cistern, which is the small
iron cistern that automatically keeps the kitchen or other basement
boiler full, placed in the darkest corner of the commonest stowaway
cupboard, with its overflow pipe joined to the drain.

The materials of which cisterns are constructed vary much in town and
country. In old houses will be frequently found cisterns formed of
slabs of stone, just as they have been raised from the quarry, and
sometimes of slabs of rough slate, and than these, provided they are
regularly cleaned out and the waste pipes disconnected, probably no
better basement cistern could be found. The same might perhaps be
said of brickwork cemented inside. Cisterns composed of slate possess
a drawback in their weight, which sometimes prevents them from being
adopted upstairs. It has become a frequent practice now to have them
enamelled white inside, so that the slightest discoloration of the
water, or sediment at the bottom, can be instantly detected.

Cisterns composed of metal throughout embrace old cisterns of cast
lead, dated early in the 18th century; these are quite harmless,
on account of their natural silver alloy, and they may be trusted,
all other conditions being satisfactory. Cast-iron cisterns, made
of plates bolted together, if kept full, and not subject to rust,
are unobjectionable. Wrought iron, which has afterwards been
“galvanised,” is a very common form of cistern, and appears to
be the cheapest. Little can be said in its disfavour, although
experiments made in America have proved that some waters attack the
inner coating. The commonest form of cistern is composed of wooden
framing lined inside with sheet lead. This is not the best for
storing drinking-water, and slate would be preferable; but no one
would say that all water drawn from leaden cisterns would injuriously
affect health. The interior of a lead-lined cistern will be found to
acquire a whitish coating, and it is due to this chemical alteration
of its surface that the contained water can be drunk with more
or less impunity. Nevertheless, there are some waters which very
readily attack lead, and care should be exercised in this respect.
In cleaning out a lead cistern the surface should never be scraped,
but simply washed down with a moderately hard brush. Sometimes houses
are provided with zinc-lined wooden cisterns; this metal for several
reasons is one of the worst materials for water storage, and should
never be used for drinking-water. Neither should wooden butts or
barrels be employed for storing water anywhere in a house, as they
speedily become lined with a low vegetable growth detrimental to
health.

A great mistake consists in storing away a great quantity of water in
abnormally large cisterns, in consequence of which the tap is drawing
off for a very long period the water first delivered to it, and which
is not the cleanest water. This does not so much matter in cisterns
which supply closets or baths, but it is reprehensible when the water
is for the bedroom decanter and the nursery.

_Pipes._--Pipes for conveying water are generally of lead, because it
is more easily bent than any other metal; but frequently iron pipes
are substituted when the water main has to be brought from a great
distance. Eassie remarks that the conveyance of some waters in long
lengths of leaden pipe, in which the water must necessarily stand,
and the use of leaden suction pipes in wells, is not a thing to be
looked upon with great favour. Hence it is that galvanised iron pipes
are used by some, and in the case of water conveyance from a long
distance, the cast-iron pipes coated inside with Dr. Angus Smith’s
solution, or subjected to the Bower-Barff system of protection
against rust, are now very largely adopted. Glass-lined pipes of the
American pattern have also been introduced into this country, but
have not yet made much headway, which is a pity, seeing that glass
forms the best of all conduits for water. Much depends upon whether
the water is of such a character as to rapidly decompose lead.

Leaden pipes, of sufficient weight per lineal foot, may fitly
conduct the flushing water for closets and the cold water to baths
and lavatories; but what is called “lead-encased block-tin pipe”
should be used in conveying water from the separate drinking-water
cistern. The cost is some 50 per cent. more than for leaden pipe,
and there is more difficulty in making the joints, but these points
are overbalanced by the certainty of non-pollution of the water.
Water pipes should be fixed in separate wall chases, easy of access.
Service pipes should also be kept separate from each other, and
provided with proper stop-cocks in case of accident.

_Pumps._--It will not be out of place here to offer a few remarks
on the construction, capacity, and working of the 3 kinds of common
pump in everyday use--i.e. (1) the lift-pump; for wells not over
30 ft. deep, (2) the lift and force, for wells under 30 ft. deep,
but forcing the water to the top of the house, and (3) the lift and
force, for wells 30-300 ft. deep.

The working capacity of a pump is governed by the atmospheric
pressure, which roughly averages 15 lb. per sq. in. It is also
necessary to remember that 1 gal. of water weighs 10 lb. The quantity
of water a pump will deliver per hour depends on the size of the
working barrel, the number of strokes, and the length of the stroke.
Thus, if the barrel is 4 in. diam., with a 10 in. stroke, piston
working 30 times a minute, then the rule is--square the diameter of
the barrel and multiply it by the length of stroke, the number of
strokes per minute, and the number of minutes per hour, and divide by
353, thus:--

  42 in. × 10 in. stroke × 30 strokes × 60 minutes
  ------------------------------------------------
                    353

= 815 gal. per hour. About 10 per cent. is deducted for loss. The
horse-power required is the number of lb. of water delivered per
minute, multiplied by the height raised in ft., and divided by
33,000. Thus:--

  815 gal. × 10 lb. × 30 ft. lift
  ------------------------------- = 7·4 H.P.
             33,000

[Illustration: 6. Lift Pump.]

Fig. 6 shows a vertical section of the simple lift-pump. _a_ is the
working barrel, bored true, to enable the piston or bucket _b_ to
move up and down, air-tight. The usual length of barrel in a common
pump is 10 in. and the diameters are 2, 2½, 3, 3½, 4, 5, and 6 in.;
a 3 in. barrel is called a 3 in. pump. The stroke is the length of
the barrel; but a crank, 5 in. projection from the centre of a shaft,
will give a 10 in. stroke at one revolution; but in the common pump
shown, use is made of a lever pump handle, whose short arm _c d_
is about 6 in. long, and the long arm or handle _d e_ is usually
36 in., making the power as 6 to 1; _f_ is the fulcrum or prop.
Improved pumps have a joint at _f_, which causes the piston to work
in a perpendicular line, instead of grinding against the side of the
barrel. The head _g_ of the pump is made a little larger than the
barrel, to enable the piston to pass freely to the barrel cylinder;
in wrought-iron pumps, the nozzle is riveted to the heads, and unless
the head is larger than the barrel these rivets would prevent the
piston from passing, and injure the leather packing on the bucket.
The nozzle _h_, fixed at the lower part of head, is to run off the
water at each rise of the piston. There is 1 valve _i_ at the bottom
of the barrel, and another in the bucket _b_.

The suction pipe _k_ should be ⅔ the diameter of the pump barrel.
A rose _l_ is fixed at the end of the suction pipe to keep out any
solid matter that might be drawn into the pump and stop the action
of the valves. The suction pipe must be fixed with great care. The
joints must be air-tight: if of cast flange-pipe, which is the most
durable, a packing of hemp, with white and red lead, and screwed up
with 4 nuts and screws, or a washer of vulcanised rubber ⅜ in. thick,
with screw bolts, is best. If the suction pipe is of gas-tube, the
sockets must all be taken off, and a paint of boiled oil and red-lead
be put on the screwed end, then a string of raw hemp bound round and
well screwed up with the gas tongs, making a sure joint for cold
water, steam, or gas.

Many plumbers prefer lead pipe, so that they can make the usual
plumbers’ joint. The tail _m_ of the pump is for fixing the suction
pipe on a plank level with the ground. Stages _n_ are fixed at every
12 ft. in a well; the suction pipe is fixed to these by a strap
staple, or the action of the pump would damage the joints. There are
two plans for fixing the suction pipe; (1) in a well _o_ directly
under the pump; (2) the suction pipe _p_ may be laid in a horizontal
direction, and about 18 in. deep under the ground (to keep the water
from freezing in winter) for almost any distance to a pond, the only
consideration being the extra labour of exhausting so much air. In
the end of such suction pipe _p_ it is usual to fix an extra valve,
called a “tail” valve, to prevent the water from running out of the
pipe when not in use. The action is simply explained. First raise the
handle _e_, which lowers the piston _b_ to _i_; during this movement
the air that was in the barrel _a_ is forced through the valve in
the piston _b_; when the handle is lowered, and the piston begins to
rise, this valve closes and pumps out the air; in the meantime the
air expands in the suction pipe _k_, and rises into the barrel _b_
through the valve _i_; at the second stroke of the piston this valve
closes and prevents the air getting back to the suction pipe, which
is pumped out as before. After a few strokes of the pump handle, the
air in the suction pipe is nearly drawn out, creating what is called
a vacuum, and then as the water is pressed by the outward air equal
to 15 lb. on the sq. in., the water rises into the barrel as fast as
the piston rises: also the water will remain in the suction pipe as
long as the piston and valves are in proper working order.

The following table of dimensions for hand-worked simple lift-pumps
will be found useful:--

  +-----------+-------------+---------------+--------+------------+
  |Height for |             |Water delivered|Diam. of|Thickness of|
  |Water to be|  Diam. of   |  per Hour at  |Suction | Well Rods  |
  |  raised.  |Pump Barrel. |30 Strokes per |  Pipe. |  for Deep  |
  |           |             |      Min.     |        |    Wells.  |
  +-----------+-------------+---------------+--------+------------+
  |    ft.    |    in.      |      gal.     |  in.   |    in.     |
  |    14     |     6       |     1640      |   4    |     1      |
  |    20     |     5       |     1110      |   3    |     1      |
  |    30     |     4       |      732      |   2½   |     ⅞      |
  |    40     |     3½      |      555      |   2½   |     ¾      |
  |    50     |     3       |      412      |   2    |     ¾      |
  |    75     |     2½      |      260      |   2    |     ⅝      |
  |   100     |     2       |      183      |   1½   |     ⅝      |
  +-----------+-------------+---------------+--------+------------+

[Illustration: 7. Lift and Force Pump. 8. Deep-well Pump.]

Fig. 7 shows a lift- and force-pump suitable for raising water from
a well 30 ft. deep, and forcing it to the top of a house. The pump
barrel _a_ is fixed to a strong plank _b_, and fitted with “slings”
at _c_ to enable the piston to work parallel in the barrel, a guide
rod working through a collar guiding the piston in a perpendicular
position, _d_ is the handle. The suction pipe _e_ and rose _f_ are
fixed in the well _g_ as already explained. At the top of the working
barrel is a stuffing-box _h_, filled with hemp and tallow, which
keeps the pump rod water-tight. When the piston is raised to the top
of the barrel, the valve _i_ in the delivery pipe _k_ closes, and
prevents the water descending at the down-stroke of the piston. The
valve in the bucket _l_, also at _m_ in the barrel _a_, is the same
as in the common pump. The pipe _k_ is called the “force” for this
description of pump.

Fig. 8 shows a design for a deep-well pump, consisting of the usual
fittings--viz. a brass barrel _a_, a suction pipe with rose _b_,
rising main pipe _c_, well-rod _d_, wooden or iron stages _e f g_,
and clip and guide pulleys _h_. The well-rod and the rising main must
be well secured to the stages, which are fixed every 12 ft. down the
well. An extra strong stage is fixed at _i_, to carry the pump--if of
wood, beech or ash, 5 ft. × 9 in. × 4 in.; the other stages may be 4
in. sq.

The handle is mounted on a plank _k_ fitted with guide slings, either
at right angles or sideways to the plank. The handle _l_ is weighted
with a solid ball-end at _m_, which will balance the well-rod fixed
to the piston. By fixing the pump barrel down the well about 12 ft.
from the level of the water, the pump will act better than if it were
fixed 30 ft. above the water, because any small wear and tear of the
piston does not so soon affect the action of the pump, and therefore
saves trouble and expense, as the pump will keep in working order
longer. It is usual to fix an air-vessel at _n_. The valves _o_ are
similar to those already described. In the best-constructed pumps,
man-holes are arranged near the valves to enable workmen to clean
or repair the same, without taking up the pump. Every care should
be given to make strong and sound joints for the suction pipe and
delivery pipe, as the pump cannot do its proper duty should the pipes
be leaky or draw air.

To find the total weight or pressure of water to be raised from a
well, reckon from the water level in the well to the delivery in the
house tank or elsewhere. For example, if the well is 27 ft. deep, and
the house tank is 50 ft. above the pump barrel; then you have 77 ft.
pressure, or about 39 lb. pressure per sq. in. That portion of the
pipe which takes a horizontal position may be neglected. The pressure
of water in working a pump is according to the diameter of the pump
barrel. Suppose the barrel to be 3 in. diam., it would contain 7 sq.
in., and say the total height of water raised to be 77 ft., equal
to 39 lb. pressure, multiplied by 7 sq. in., is equal to 539 lb. to
be raised or balanced by a pump handle; then if the leverage of the
pump handle were, the short arm 6 in. and long arm 36 in., or as 6 to
1, you have (539 × 1) ÷ 56 = 90 lb. power on the handle to work the
pump, which would require 2 men to do the work, unless you obtained
extra leverage by wheel work. When the suction or delivery pipe is
too small, it adds enormously to the power required to work a pump,
and the water is then called “wiredrawn.” When pumps are required for
tar or liquid manure, the suction and delivery pipe should be the
same size as the pump barrel, to prevent choking.

The operations of plumbing and making joints in pipes will be found
fully described and illustrated in ‘Spons’ Mechanics’ Own Book’; and
many other methods of raising water for household and agricultural
purposes are explained in ‘Workshop Receipts,’ 4th series.

_Purification._--At a recent meeting of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, Prof. Frankland read a paper dealing with the question of
water purification, in which he remarked that the earliest attempts
to purify water dealt simply with the removal of visible suspended
particles; but later, chemists have turned their attention to the
matters present in solution in water. Since the advance of the
germ theory of disease, and the known fact that living organisms
were the cause of some, and probably of all, zymotic diseases, the
demand for a test which should recognise the absence or presence of
micro-organisms in water had become imperative. It was, however, only
during the last few years that any such test had been set forth, and
this was owing to Dr. Koch, of Berlin. By this means the only great
step which had been made since the last Rivers Pollution Commission
had been achieved. It had been supposed that most filtering materials
offered little or no barrier to micro-organisms; but it was now known
that many substances had this power to a greater or less degree. It
had also been found that, in order to continue their efficiency,
frequent renewal of the filtering material was necessary.

Vegetable carbon employed in the form of charcoal or coke was found
to occupy a high place as a biological filter, although previously,
owing to its chemical inactivity, it had been disregarded. Being
an inexpensive material, and easily renewed, it was destined to be
of great service in the purification of water. Experiments were
also made by the agitation of water with solid particles. It was
found that very porous substances, like coke, animal and vegetable
charcoal, were highly efficient in removing organised matter from
water when the latter came in contact with them in this manner. Also,
it was found that the well-known precipitation process, introduced by
Dr. Clark, for softening water with lime, had a most marked effect in
removing micro-organisms from water. In the case of water softened
by this process, it was found that a reduction of 98 per cent. in
the number of micro-organisms was effected, the chemical improvement
being comparatively insignificant.

Water which had been subjected to an exhaustive process of natural
filtration had been found to be almost free from micro-organisms.
Thus, the deep-well water obtained from the chalk near London
contained as few as eight organisms per cubic centimetre, whereas
samples of river water from the Thames, Lea, and Wey had been known
to contain as many thousands.

The same well-known authority on water published the following
statements in the _Nineteenth Century_. He described the subject of
domestic filtration as one which, in a town with a water supply like
that of London, possesses peculiar interest, and is of no little
importance. Most people imagine that by once going to the expense
of a filter they have secured for themselves a safeguard which will
endure throughout all time without further trouble. No mistake
could be greater, for without preserving constant watchfulness, and
bestowing great care upon domestic filtration, it is probable that
the process will not only entirely fail to purify the water, but will
actually render it more impure than before. For the accumulation of
putrescent organic matter upon and within the filtering material
furnishes a favourable nest for the development of minute worms
and other disgusting organisms, which not unfrequently pervade the
filtered water; whilst the proportion of organic matter in the
effluent water is often considerably greater than that present before
filtration.

Of the substances in general use for the household filtration of
water, spongy iron and animal charcoal take the first place. Both
these substances possess the property of removing a very large
proportion of the organic matter present in water. They both, in
the first instance, possess this purifying power to about an equal
extent; but whereas the animal charcoal very soon loses its power,
the spongy iron retains its efficacy unimpaired for a much longer
time. Indeed, in spongy iron we possess the most valuable of all
known materials for filtration, inasmuch as, besides removing such a
large proportion of organic matter from water, it has been found to
be absolutely fatal to bacterial life, and thus acts as an invaluable
safeguard against the propagation of disease through drinking-water.

It is satisfactory to learn that in countries where the results of
scientific research more rapidly receive practical application than
is unfortunately the case amongst us, spongy iron is actually being
employed on the large scale for filtration where only a very impure
source of water supply is procurable. This refers to the recent
introduction of spongy-iron filter beds at the Antwerp waterworks.
It would be very desirable that such filter beds should be adopted
by the London water companies until they shall abandon the present
impure source of supply.

Animal charcoal, on the other hand, far from being fatal to the lower
forms of life, is highly favourable to their development and growth;
in fact, in the water drawn from a charcoal filter which has not been
renewed sufficiently often, myriads of minute worms may frequently be
found.

Thus spongy iron enables those who can afford the expense to obtain
pure drinking-water even from an impure source; but this should
not deter those interested in the public health from using their
influence to obtain a water supply which requires no domestic
filtration, and shall be equally bright and healthful for both rich
and poor.

In a publication by Prof. Koch (_Med. Wochenschrift_, 1885, No.
37) on the scope of the bacteriological examination of water, it
is asserted that a large proportion of micro-organisms proves
that the water has received putrescent admixtures, charged with
micro-organisms, impure affluxes, &c., which may convey, along
with many harmless micro-organisms, also pathogenous kinds, i.e.
infectious matters. Further, that as far as present observations
extend, the number of micro-organisms in good waters ranges from 10
to 150 germs capable of development per c.c. As soon as the number
of germs decidedly exceeds this number the water may be suspected of
having received affluents. If the number reaches or exceeds 1000 per
c.c., such water should not be admitted for drinking, at least in
time of a cholera epidemic.

Dr. Link has lately examined a great number of the Dantzig
well-waters chemically and bacterioscopically. The results obtained
agree, however, very ill with the above opinions of Koch. On the
contrary, it appears very plainly that regular relations between
the chemical results and those of the bacterioscopic examination
do not obtain. Many well-waters, chemically good and not directly
or indirectly accessible to animal pollutions, often contained
considerable numbers of microbia, whilst other waters, chemically bad
and evidently contaminated by the influx of sewage, showed very small
numbers of bacteria undergoing development. If we further consider
that, by far the majority, indeed, as a rule the totality of the
bacteria contained in well-water, are indubitably of a harmless
nature, and that when a pollution of the water by pathogenous germs
has actually occurred, such germs will not in general find the
conditions necessary for their increase, especially a temperature
approximating to that of the body and a sufficient concentration
of nutritive matter, but that they will rather perish from the
overgrowth of the other bacteria inhabiting the water, we shall see
that a judgment on the quality of water--according to the results of
a bacterioscopic examination extending merely to a determination of
the number of germs capable of development--must lead to inaccurate
conclusions, which contradict the results of chemical analysis.

The attempt to put forward bacterioscopic examination as a decisive
criterion for the character of a water is therefore devoid of a
satisfactory basis. For the present, Dr. Link thinks the decision
must be left to chemical analysis.

At any rate it is doubtful whether the test of the number of
micro-organisms should determine the question whether a water is or
is not safe to drink. Dr. Koch’s gelatine peptone test has enabled
the analyst to recognise the absence or presence of microphytes;
but, as was stated at a recent meeting of the Society of Medical
Officers of Health, a sample of river water which might be marked
“very good” by this test would develop an enormous number of colonies
if kept for a few days, even in a “sterilised flask” protected from
aerial infection. Prof. G. Bischof says, in fact, that a sample
of New River water kept for six days in the above manner compares
unfavourably as regards the number of “colonies” with a sample taken
from the company’s main and polluted with one per cent. of sewage,
or with a sample of Thames water taken at London Bridge. It seems
certain too that the water stored on board ship must develop an
enormous number of “colonies”; but no special amount of disease is
attributable to them, and it would seem to follow that, unless the
number of microphytes can be shown to indicate, or to be a measure
of, pollution, Koch’s test is of little utility except as a guide
to waterworks’ engineers, by pointing out that the filters want
cleaning. In the laboratory the test is no doubt of considerable
value; but in analysing water it must be applied with discrimination,
and waters of a totally different character should not be compared
by the number of organisms. For instance, the water from Loch
Katrine might contain large numbers of micro-organisms, and yet be
perfectly safe as compared with a water in which few microphytes
could be found, but which had been accidentally polluted by some of
those pathogenous germs which undoubtedly exist, and which produce
disease when they find a suitable environment. Not until we are
able to discriminate between the harmless and the disease-producing
microphytes, shall we be able to test a water supply and declare it
practically pure.

The foregoing paragraphs will suffice to show what a very
unsatisfactory state our present knowledge of water is in. The
only useful fact to be deduced from all the argument is that every
household should filter its own drinking-water and take care that the
filters are always kept clean and in good working order. There is one
simple test for the purity of water, introduced by Dr. Hager in 1871,
consisting of a tannin solution, directions for which will be found
in the Housekeeper’s section. It remains to notice the chief kinds of
filter.

Filtration is destined to perform three distinct functions, at least
where the water is required for domestic use; these are (1) to remove
suspended impurities; (2) to remove a portion of the impurities in
solution, and (3) to destroy and remove low organic bodies.

The first step is efficiently performed by nature, in the case of
well and spring water, by subsidence and a long period of filtration
through the earth; in the case of river water supplied by the
various companies, it is carried out in immense settling ponds and
filter beds of sand and gravel. This suffices for water destined
for many purposes. The second and third steps are essential for
all drinking-water, and are the aim of every domestic filter. The
construction of water filters may now be discussed according to the
nature of the filtering medium.

Gravel and Sand.--The usual plan adopted by the water companies is
to build a series of tunnels with bricks without mortar; these are
covered with a layer of fine gravel 2 ft. thick, then a stratum of
fine gravel and coarse sand, and lastly a layer of 2 ft. of fine
sand. The water is first pumped into a reservoir, and after a time,
for the subsidence of the coarser impurities, the water flows through
the filter beds, which are slightly lower. For the benefit of those
desirous of filtering water on a large scale with sand filtering
beds, it may be stated that there should be 1½ yd. of filtering area
for each 1000 gal. per day. For effective work, the descent of the
water should not exceed 6 in. per hour.

This simple means of arresting solid impurities and an appreciable
portion of the matters in solution, may be applied on a domestic
scale, in the following manner.

Procure an ordinary wooden pail and bore a number of ¼ in. holes all
over the bottom. Next prepare a fine muslin bag, a little larger than
the bottom of the pail, and about 1 in. in height. The bag is now
filled with clean, well-washed sand, and placed in the pail. Water
is next poured in, and the edges of the bag are pressed against the
sides of the pail. Such a filter was tested by mixing a dry sienna
colour in a gallon of water, and, passing through, the colour was
so fine as to be an impalpable powder, rendering the water a deep
chocolate colour. On pouring this mixture on to the filter pad and
collecting the water, it was found free of all colouring matter.
This was a very satisfactory test for such a simple appliance, and
the latter cannot be too strongly recommended in cases where a
more complicated arrangement cannot be substituted. The finest and
cleanest sand is desirable, such as that to be purchased at glass
manufactories.

This filter, however, at its best, is but a good strainer, and will
only arrest the suspended particles. In a modern filter more perfect
work is required, and another effect produced, in order that water
containing objectionable matter in solution should be rendered fit
for drinking purposes. Many persons when they see a water quite clear
imagine that it must be in a good state for drinking. They should
remember, however, that many substances which entirely dissolve in
water do not diminish its clearness. Hence a clear, bright water may,
despite its clearness, be charged with a poison or substances more
or less injurious to health; such, for instance, as soluble animal
matter.

To make a perfect filter, which should have the double action of
arresting the finest suspended matter and removing the matters held
in solution, and the whole to cost but little and capable of being
made by any housewife, has long been an object of much attention,
and, after many experiments and testing various substances in many
combinations, the following plan is suggested as giving very perfect
results, and costing only about 8_s._

Purchase a common galvanised iron pail, which costs 2_s._ Take it to
a tin-shop and have a hole cut in the centre of the bottom about ¼
in. diameter, and direct the workman to solder around it a piece of
tin about ¾ in. deep, to form a spout to direct the flow of water
downward in a uniform direction. Obtain about 2 qt. of small stones,
and, after a good washing, place about 2 in. of these at bottom of
pail to form a drain.

On this lay a partition of horse-hair cloth or Canton flannel cut
to size of pail. On this spread a layer of animal charcoal, sold by
wholesale chemists as boneblack at about 5_d._ a lb. Select this
about the size of gunpowder grains, and not in powder. This layer
should be 3 or 4 in. A second partition having been placed, add 3
in. of sand, as clean and as fine as possible. Those within reach of
glassmakers should purchase the sand there, as it is only with that
quality of sand that the best results can be obtained. On this place
another partition, and add more fine stones or shingle--say for 2 or
3 in. This serves as a weight to keep the upper partition in place,
and completes the filter. By allowing the filtration to proceed in
an upward instead of a downward direction much better results are
obtained.

Charcoal, simple.--All kinds of charcoal, but especially animal
charcoal, are useful in the construction of filters, and have
consequently been much used for that purpose. Charcoal, as is
well known, is a powerful decolorising agent, and possesses the
property in a remarkable degree of abstracting organic matter,
organic colouring principles, and gaseous odours from water and
other liquids. It has been shown that it deprives liquids, for
example, of their bitter principles, of alkaloids, of resins, and
even of metallic salts, so that its usefulness as a medium through
which to pass any suspected water is undoubted. The one point to
be observed is that it does not retain its purifying power for any
great length of time, so that any filter depending upon it for its
purifying principle must either be renewed or the power of the
charcoal restored from time to time, and this the more frequently
in proportion to the amount of impurity present in the water. A
combination filter of sand or gravel and granulated charcoal is a
good one; but the physical, or chemico-physical, action of such
compound filters, or of the other well-known filter, composed of
a solid porous carbon mass, differ in no respect from that of the
simple substances composing them; that is to say, such combinations
or arrangements are much more a matter of fancy or convenience than
of increased efficiency.

Experiments on the filtration of water through animal charcoal were
made on the New River Company’s supply in the year 1866, and they
showed that a large proportion of the organic matter was removed
from the water. These experiments were afterwards repeated, in 1870,
with Thames water supplied in London, which contains a much larger
proportion of organic matter, and in this case also the animal
charcoal removed a large proportion of the impurity. In continuing
the use of the filter with Thames water, however, it became evident
that the polluting matter removed from the water was only stored up
in the pores of the charcoal, for, after the lapse of a few months,
it developed vast numbers of animalcula, which passed out of the
filter with the water, rendering the latter more impure than it
was before filtration. Prof. Frankland reported in 1874 on these
experiments as follows:--“Myriads of minute worms were developed
in the animal charcoal, and passed out with the water, when these
filters were used for Thames water, and when the charcoal was not
renewed at sufficiently short intervals. The property which animal
charcoal possesses in a high degree, of favouring the growth of the
low forms of organic life, is a serious drawback to its use as a
filtering medium for potable waters. Animal charcoal can only be used
with safety for waters of considerable initial purity; and even when
so used, it is essential that it should be renovated at frequent
intervals, not by mere washing, but by actual ignition in a close
vessel. Indeed, sufficiently frequent renovation of the filtering
medium is an absolutely essential condition in all filters.”

[Illustration: 9. 10. Atkins’s filters]

Fig. 9 shows Atkins’s filter, in which _a_ is the unfiltered and _b_
the filtered water, _c_ being a block of charcoal formed by mixing
powdered charcoal with pitch or resin, moulding and calcining. The
filter is capable of being taken to pieces and can thus be easily and
frequently cleaned. The block should on such occasions be scraped,
washed, boiled, and baked.

Fig. 10 illustrates another form of Atkins’s, in which powdered
charcoal is used, retained between movable perforated earthenware
plates.

[Illustration: 11. 12. Sawyer’s Filters.]

Figs. 11, 12 represent Sawyers filters, in which _a_ is unfiltered
water; _b_, filtered water; _c_, charcoal hollow cone; _d_, filtered
water tap; _e_, sediment tap; _f_, mass of granular charcoal. The
most important feature here is the _upward_ filtration.

Charcoal modified.--Several substances have been proposed for
combination with carbon to improve its filtering capacity or increase
its germ-destroying powers.

[Illustration: 13. Silicated Carbon. 14. Silicated Carbon.]

Silicated Carbon.--This was one of the earliest modifications of the
simple carbon block. Figs. 13, 14 show respectively the forms adopted
for downward and upward filtration. In the former, the stoneware
receptacle is divided into two parts by a diaphragm upon which there
is fixed, by a porcelain stay, a silicated carbon block, which
entirely closes the apertures in the diaphragm. The upper surface
and corners of the filtering block are non-porous, consequently the
water has to enter at the edges and follow the course indicated by
the arrows, before it can reach the clear water compartment below. In
cleaning the filter, it is only necessary to unscrew the nut, when
the block can be lifted out and soaked in boiling water, after which
the surface can be scrubbed.

The ‘Army Medical Report’ says of filters employing carbon in porous
blocks that “These are powerful filters at first, but they are apt to
clog, and require frequent scraping, especially with impure waters.
Water filtered through them and stored, shows signs of the formation
of low forms of life, but in a less degree than with the loose
charcoal. After a time, the purifying power becomes diminished in a
marked degree, and water left in contact with the filtering medium is
apt to take up impurity again, though perhaps in a less degree than
is the case with the loose charcoal.” The advantages of combining
silica with the carbon are not at first sight apparent.

[Illustration: 15. Maignen’s Filter.]

Maignen combines charcoal with lime to produce a compound which
he calls “carbo-calcis.” At the same time he employs an asbestos
filtering cloth. The arrangement of his filter is shown in Fig. 15.
The hollow, conical, perforated frame _a_ is covered with asbestos
cloth _b_; _c_ is a layer of finely powdered carbo-calcis, deposited
automatically by being mixed with the first water poured into the
filter; _d_ is granular carbo-calcis filling up the space between _c_
and the sides of the containing vessel; _e_, unfiltered water; _f_,
filtered water; _g_, tube for admitting air to aërate the water and
correct the usually vapid flavour of filtered water. This filter has
remarkable power; wine passed through it will come out colourless and
tasteless. Moreover the cleansing and renewal of the filtering media
are simple in the extreme.

Prof. Bernays, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, has taken out a patent
for a new filtering material, consisting of charcoal combined with
a reduced manganese oxide. The well-known purifying action of
charcoal (animal and vegetable), which in its ordinary state is
liable to certain difficulties and objections, is in this invention
supplemented and improved by heating it in covered crucibles with
5 to 15 per cent. or more of powdered manganese black oxide (the
mineral pyrolusite), together with a very small quantity of some
fixed oil, resin, or fat. Having ascertained that the simple
admixture of the manganese dioxide with the charcoal without previous
heating had no utility as a filtering medium, and was even injurious
by reason of the diminution of the porosity of the charcoal, Prof.
Bernays devised the above method with the object of oxidising the
hydrogen and other oxidisable impurities of the charcoal, and hence
approximating it to pure carbon in a state similar in efficacy to
platinum black rather than in its ordinary less powerful analogy to
spongy platinum. The heating is of course out of contact with air,
and the temperature sufficiently high to cause the reduction of
the manganese dioxide at least to manganous-manganic oxide, which
afterwards acts as a carrier of oxygen, and thereby much prolongs the
purifying action of the medium. Another method of obtaining charcoal
in combination with manganous-manganic oxide is to saturate charcoal
with manganous chloride (or even manganese residues) and afterwards
subject it to a strong heat in closed crucibles. The charcoal
prepared in the above manner may be employed in the filtration of
water in layers with sand and other filtering material in the usual
manner.

A filtering material which has all the properties of animal charcoal,
and is said to give higher results, is magnetic carbide, discovered
by Spencer, many years ago, and consists of iron protoxide in
chemical combination with carbon. It is considered that the purifying
effect is produced by its power of attracting oxygen to its surface
without the latter being acted on, the oxygen thus attracted being
changed to ozone, by which the organic matter in the water is
consumed.

There can be no doubt of the value of this filtering material. Its
manufacture is very simple, as it is obtained by roasting hematite
iron ore with granulated charcoal for 12 to 16 hours at a dull red
heat, and used in a granular form. Another form for making this
material is to heat the hematite (iron red oxide) with sawdust in a
close vessel. The product is magnetic, and never loses its activity
until the pores are choked up. The Southport Water Company formed
their filtering beds of this material, and after years of use it is
still giving satisfaction.

Iron.--From experiments made by allowing water to filter through
spongy iron on to meat, it has been found that after 6 weeks the meat
remained fresh. Another test was made by preparing a hay infusion,
which was kept till it showed abundance of organic life. The infusion
was filtered through spongy iron with layers of pyrolusite, sand,
and gravel, and then was kept in contact with meat for many weeks.
The meat showed no signs of putrescence. In some of the experiments
filtered air was supplied, which proves conclusively that bacteria
or their germs are not revived when supplied with oxygen after the
filtration; this is a result of importance, as it demonstrates that
by filtration through spongy iron, putrefaction of organic matter
is not only suspended for a time, but that it ceases entirely until
reinstated by some putrefactive agent foreign to the water. The
peculiar action of spongy iron is believed to be thus explained. If a
rod be inserted into a body of spongy iron which has been in contact
with water for some time, gas bubbles are seen to escape. These are
found to contain carbon and hydrogen, and experiments lead to the
conclusion that the carbon is due to the decomposition of organic
matter.

The material was introduced for filtration purposes some years ago
by Prof. Bischof. His ordinary portable domestic filter consists
of an inner, or spongy iron, vessel, resting in an outer case. The
latter holds the “prepared sand,” the regulator arrangement, and the
receptacle for filtered water. The unfiltered water is, in this form
of filter, mostly supplied from a bottle, which is inverted into the
upper part of the inner vessel. After passing through the body of
spongy iron, the water ascends through an overflow pipe. The object
of this is to keep the spongy iron, when once wet, constantly under
water, as otherwise, if alternately exposed to air and water, it is
too rapidly oxidised.

On leaving the inner vessel, the water contains a minute trace of
iron in solution, as carbonate or ferrous hydrate, which is separated
by the prepared sand underneath. This consists generally of 3 layers,
namely, commencing from the top, of pyrolusite (manganese black
oxide), sand, and gravel. The former oxidises the protocompounds of
iron, rendering them insoluble, when they are mechanically retained
by the sand underneath. Pyrolusite also has an oxidising action upon
ammonia, converting it more or less into nitric acid.

The regulator arrangement is underneath the perforated bottom, on
which the prepared sand rests. It consists of a tin tube, open at
the inner, and closed by screw caps at its outer end. The tube is
cemented water-tight into the outer case, and a solid partition under
the perforated bottom referred to. It is provided with a perforation
in its side, which forms the only communication between the upper
part of the filter and the receptacle for filtered water. The flow
of water is thus controlled by the size of such perforation. Should
the perforation become choked, a wire brush may be introduced, after
removing the screw cap, and the tube cleaned. Thus, although the user
has no access to the perforation allowing of his tampering with it,
he has free access for cleaning. Another advantage of the regulator
arrangement is that, when first starting a filter, the materials may
be rapidly washed without soiling the receptacle for filtered water.
This is done by unscrewing the screw cap, when the water passes out
through the outer opening of the tube, and not through the lateral
perforation.

Various modifications had, of course, to be introduced into
the construction of spongy iron filters, to suit a variety of
requirements. Thus, when filters are supplied by a ball-cock from
a constant supply, or from a cistern of sufficient capacity, the
inner vessel is dispensed with, as the ball-cock secures the spongy
iron remaining covered with water. This renders filters simpler and
cheaper.

As the action of spongy iron is dependent upon its remaining covered
with water, whilst the materials which are employed in perhaps all
other filters lose their purifying action very soon, unless they
are run dry from time to time, so as to expose them to the air, the
former is peculiarly suited for cistern filters.

Cistern filters are frequently constructed with a top screwed on to
the filter case, by means of a flange and bolts, a U-shaped pipe
passing down from this top to near the bottom of the cistern. This
tube sometimes supplies the unfiltered water, or in some filters
carries off the filtered water, when upward filtration is employed.
This plan is defective, because it practically gives no access to
the materials; and unless the top is jointed perfectly tight, the
unfiltered water, with upward filtration, may be sucked in through
the joint, without passing at all through the materials. This is
remedied by loosely surrounding the filter case with a cylindrical
mantle of zinc, which is closed at its top and open at the bottom.
Supposing the filter case to be covered with water, and the mantle
placed over the case, an air valve is then opened in the top of the
mantle, when the air escapes, being replaced by water. After screwing
the valve on again, the filter is supplied with water by the siphon
action taking place between the mantle and filter case and the column
of filtered water, which passes down from the bottom of the filter
to the lower parts of the building. These filters are supplied with
a regulator arrangement on the same principle as ordinary domestic
filters. The washing of materials, on starting a filter, is easily
accomplished by reversing 2 stop-cocks, one leading to the regulator,
the other to a waste pipe.

The use of spongy iron has now been applied on a large scale to the
water obtained from the river Nette, for the supply of the city
of Antwerp. Dr. Frankland has visited the Antwerp Waterworks at
Waelheim, about 15 miles above that city, and reported on the result
of his inquiry. He attaches especial value to the fact that spongy
iron filtration “is absolutely fatal to _Bacteria_ and their germs,”
and he considers it would be “an invaluable boon to the Metropolis
if all water supplied from the Thames and Lea were submitted to this
treatment in default of a new supply from unimpeachable sources.”

Many preparations of iron have long been known to possess a purifying
influence on water containing organic impurities. Thus Scherer, years
ago, recommended a solution of iron sulphate where the impurities
were present in large quantity. Later still, iron chloride was
proposed as suitable, the salt being precipitated in the presence of
organic matter as ferric oxide, the oxide thus formed acting also
mechanically on the suspended impurities in course of precipitation,
very much as white of egg acts in clarifying liquids, when it
coagulates and carries impurities with it to the bottom. Other iron
preparations have a similar action, notably dialysed iron, while
several oxidising agents, such as potash permanganate, are also well
known to possess a powerful effect on organic impurities. It will
at once be seen, however, that all such substances are inadmissible
as filtering media, or purifying agents for potable waters, for the
reason, that in the case of some at least of the agents mentioned,
decompositions take place, which in themselves might prove dangerous,
while in the case of all an excess (and it would be almost impossible
to avoid an excess) of the purifying agent would be equally bad, and
would render the water quite unfit for domestic purposes. It has
been found, however, that various kinds of native rock containing
iron protoxide effect the filtration of water very completely, and
Spencer, acting on this idea, after experimenting, found that when
the iron protoxide was isolated as magnetic oxide, it both freed the
water from turbidity and effected decoloration very quickly. Thus
bog-water, as dark as porter, when filtered through it speedily lost
its colour and became clear and sweet, the carbonic acid given off
during the process of decomposition rather tending to improve the
water. The purifying power of the magnetic oxide does not deteriorate
with use. The oxide gets coated with a slimy deposit, owing to the
deposition of decomposed organic matter, but this being removed, it
is as powerful as ever in its purifying action. Unfortunately this
iron rock is not found native to any extent, but the fact of its
action being determined, Spencer continued his experiments with the
result that it can now be produced artificially, and forms one of the
most efficient and useful filters for domestic purposes.

Metallic iron is employed by Jennings & Hinde. The filtering material
consists of fine iron or steel shavings, filings, turnings, or
borings obtained from the swarf or skin of cast iron, wrought iron,
or steel; this material may either be used by itself, or it may be
used with other materials, either mixed with them or in separate
layers. The iron or steel shavings, &c., are obtained from iron or
steel that has been brought to a state of fusion either by melting or
the processes necessary for making cast iron, wrought iron, or steel,
and being separated from many of the impurities contained in the
ore from which it was obtained, will have but a comparatively small
portion of earthy impurities mixed with it, and will be for this
reason superior to iron which is obtained from native ores or oxides
without fusion.

By filtering water through small divided swarf or skin of cast
iron, wrought iron, or steel, free oxygen will be withdrawn from
the water, and consequently any insects or animalculæ contained in
the water will be deprived of life, and any germs contained in the
water will be deprived of the oxygen necessary for their development
and life, and the water will be consequently purified and rendered
wholesome. A convenient way of forming a filter is to use a layer of
the turnings, shavings, &c., together with layers of other filtering
material resting upon a perforated partition placed across a closed
vessel. The materials are cleaned by boiling them in hot water
with a small quantity of ordinary washing soda, to remove any oil
or grease that might accidentally be associated with the materials
above mentioned. Afterwards the iron borings should be well washed
before being put into the filter. The filter vessel may be of any
ordinary construction and shape. If sand is used in conjunction with
the above-mentioned materials, it is preferable to place some of the
sand at the bottom of the filtering vessel, and the iron or steel
materials, or both, over the sand, and then more sand over them.
These materials are disposed so that they may be partially separated
from each other by perforated plates of earthenware, glass, or other
suitable material. But this partial separation, though convenient, is
not essential, as the perforated plates may be dispensed with and the
material placed over and under each other in layers without plates to
separate them.

Porous Pottery.--Chamberland has found that the liquid in which
microbes have been cultivated becomes absolutely pure if passed
through unglazed porcelain. Its purity can be demonstrated by mixing
it with liquids sensitive to the action of microbes, such as veal
broth, milk, and blood, in which it produces no alteration.

[Illustration: 16. Chamberland Filter.]

A tube _a_ (Fig. 16) of unglazed porcelain is enclosed in another
_b_ of metal, and the water to be filtered is admitted to the space
between the two by turning a stop-cock. Thence it slowly filters
through to the inside of the porcelain tube, and flows out at the
bottom. Under a pressure of 2 atmospheres, or 30 lb. to the sq. in.,
a tube 8 in. in length, with a diameter of 1 in., will yield about
5 gal. of water daily. For a larger supply, it is only necessary to
increase the size or the number of the tubes.

In cleansing the filter, the porcelain tube is removed, and the
microbes and other matter that have accumulated on the outer face of
it are brushed off. The tube may also be plunged in boiling water in
order to destroy any germs that may be supposed to have penetrated
beneath its surface; or it may be heated in a gas jet or in a
furnace. In fact, it can be more readily and more thoroughly cleaned
than most of the domestic filters in ordinary use.

It is interesting to remark that some of the earliest filtering
vessels of which we have any knowledge are simply made of porous
earthenware. After all our modern researches after antiseptic
filtering media, we are reverting to the ways of our remotest
forefathers.

Filtering Cisterns.--The following is a description of a filter which
purifies foul water from organic impurities held in solution as well
as from suspended solids. Take any suitable vessel with a perforated
false bottom, and cover it with a layer of animal charcoal, on the
top of that spread a layer of iron filings, borings, or turnings,
the finer the better, mixed with charcoal dust; on the top of the
filings place a layer of fine clean siliceous sand, and you will have
a perfect filter. Allow the foul water to filter slowly through the
above filter, and you will produce a remarkably pure drinking-water.
Before placing the iron filings in the filter, they must be well
washed in a hot solution of soda or potash, to remove oil and other
impurities, then rinse them with clean water; the filings should be
mixed with an equal measure of fine charcoal. If the water is very
foul, it must be allowed to filter very slowly. The deeper the bed of
iron filings is the quicker they will act.

In Bailey-Denton’s cistern filter, the principal novelty is that it
runs intermittently, and thus allows the aëration of the filtering
material, and the oxidation of the impurities detached from the
water. The oxidation is effected by the perfect aëration of the
filtrating material, which may be of any approved kind, through which
every drop of water used in the kitchen, bedrooms, and elsewhere
must pass as it descends from the service cistern for use. As water
is withdrawn from this filter, fresh water comes in automatically by
the action of a ball-tap; and this fresh water immediately passes
through the aërated material into a lower chamber, forming the supply
cistern of filtered water for the whole house. The advantages claimed
for the filter are that it secures pure water for the whole house. It
is attached by pipe to, but is distinct from, the service cistern;
it can be placed in any part of the house, and it cannot get out of
order. Any approved filtering material may be used, and being aërated
between each passage of water through it, oxidation is made certain.

A slate or iron cistern and filter combined may be made by dividing
the cistern with a vertical partition perforated at the bottom, and
placing in the half of the cistern which receives the water, a bed of
filtering material, say 6 in. of gravel at the bottom, 6 in. animal
charcoal in granular form in the middle, and 6 in. clean sharp sand
at the top, covering all by a perforated distributing slab.

[Illustration: 17. Filter Cistern.]

Fig. 17 illustrates a method of preparing an ordinary house cistern
for filtering. The pipe and fittings should be of galvanised iron;
black or plain iron is better as long as it lasts, as it rusts fast;
in either case it is better to waste the water first drawn, for the
water absorbs both the zinc and the iron when standing overnight. The
zinc is not healthy, and the taste of the iron is unpleasant.

The perforations should equal 3 or 4 times the area of the suction
pipe, which in ordinary cisterns may be 1¼ in. pipe, while the
branches may be ¾ in. pipe. The holes, if ⅛ in., should number at
least 200, distributed along the lower half of the pipes. Smaller
holes are preferable; of 1/16 in. holes, 800 will be required.

For the filtering material we recommend a layer of fine gravel or
pebbles for the bottom, 3 or 4 in. in depth, or heaped up over the
perforated pipes; upon this a layer of sharp, clean sand, 9 in. in
depth; upon this a stratum of pulverised charcoal, not dust, but
granulated to size of peas or beans, or any of the material above
mentioned, 4 in. deep; and upon this a stratum of fine, clean sand 6
to 12 in. in depth.

Such a filter should be cleansed at least twice in a year by pumping
out all the water, taking out the mud or settlings, and one-half the
depth of the top layer, and replacing with fresh sand.

The double filter cistern, Fig. 18, has much to recommend it, having
a large receiving basin which in itself is a filter placed in a
position for easy cleaning. The recess at the bottom may be covered
with a perforated plate of galvanised sheet iron, upon which may be
laid a filter bed of gravel, sand, charcoal, spongy iron, and sand in
the proportions as stated above. This enables the frequent cleaning
by removing the top layer of the filter bed without disturbing the
water supply. The cover should fit tight enough to keep out insects
and vermin.

A double-bottomed basin perforated and filled with clear, sharp sand
and charcoal should be attached to the bottom of the pump pipe, as
shown.

This enables the small filter to be drawn up and cleaned, without the
necessity of emptying the cistern or interrupting the water supply.

[Illustration: 18. Filter Cistern. 19. Keg Filter.]

The half barrel or keg filter, as illustrated in Fig. 19, is a
convenient form of cistern filter where filtered water is required
from cisterns already filled.

This is also a convenient form for readily cleaning or changing
the filter without the necessity of discharging the water from the
cistern.

This filter can be made from an oak keg or half barrel, such as is
used for liquors or beer. Take out one of the heads and cut away the
edge, so that it will just drive into the end of the keg, fasten 2
battens of oak across the head with oak pins left long enough to
serve for legs for the filter to rest upon.

Bore this head full of holes ¼ in. diameter. In the other head bore
a hole 1¼ in. diameter, and bolt an iron flange into which the pump
pipe is to be screwed. Let the bolts also fasten upon the inside a
raised disc of galvanised sheet iron, perforated with a sharp point
or chisel. Proceed to charge the filter by turning the top or flanged
head down, and placing next the perforated plate a layer of fine
gravel 3 in. thick, then a layer of sharp, clean sand 3 in. thick,
then a layer of pulverised charcoal free from dust, 3 in. thick,
then a layer of sharp clean sand mixed with spongy iron, pulverised
magnetic iron ore, or blacksmiths’ scales, followed by a layer of
coarse sand, gravel, and broken stone, or hard burnt bricks broken
into chips to fill up. Place the perforated bottom in as far as the
head was originally; bore and drive a half-dozen oak pegs around the
chine to fasten the head. Then turn over the filter, screw the pump
pipe into the flange, and let it down into the cistern.

Such a filter requires to be taken out and the filtering renewed in 6
to 12 months, depending upon the cleanliness of the water catch. With
the precautions mentioned above in regard to the care of the roof,
such a filter should do good work for one year.


=Sanitation.=--This heading is intended to embrace the removal and
disposal of the various kinds of refuse and waste produced in the
dwelling from day to day. Endless volumes have been written on the
subject, but in plain words the whole art resolves itself into
sound pipes for the conveyance of the fluid portion and efficient
ventilation of the receptacles and conduits.

_House Drains._--It was pointed out by Burton,[1] before the Society
of Arts, that where, as in London, the sewerage system is fairly
good, dangers to health arise not from the sewers direct, but either
from the sewers by means of the house drains, or even more often
from the house drains themselves. It is quite agreed by medical
authorities that diseases may arise from gases evolved from the
drains, or even discharge pipes in a house, entirely apart from any
specific infection such as may be conveyed by means of sewers.

This being the case, it will be seen that the thing which most
behoves us is to make sure that the house system is efficiently
doing its work. It is evident that the objects to be aimed at in
constructing a system of house drainage, are as follows:--

First. All matter placed in any of the sanitary appliances in the
house must be carried, with the greatest possible expedition, clear
of the premises, leaving behind it as little deposit as possible.

Second. All sewer air must be prevented from entering the houses by
the channels which serve to carry away the sewage.

Third. Since it is impossible to have house drains absolutely clean,
that is, devoid of all decomposing matter, all air from house drains,
and even from sink, bath, and other waste pipes must be kept out of
the dwelling-rooms.

To which might be added a fourth, that a constant current of fresh
air must be established along every pipe in which it is possible that
any decomposing matter may remain, so that such matter may be rapidly
oxidised, or rendered innocuous.

The number of houses in which sanitary inspectors find the drainage
arrangements to be thoroughly good, and to be fulfilling these
conditions, is surprisingly small. In fact, in all the houses they
are called upon to examine, except those which have been arranged,
within the last dozen years or so, by some engineer, builder, or
plumber who has made a special study of the matter, are found defects
which interfere with the due fulfilment of one or other of these
conditions.

Attention is called to Fig. 20, in which the drainage arrangements
are shown to be defective. Here Burton has taken such a state of
affairs as is by no means uncommon in a London house. Alongside it is
a drawing which illustrates a well-drained house (Fig. 21). By their
juxtaposition, the defects exhibited will be made more patent.

[Illustration: 20. Ill-arranged House.]

[Illustration: 21. Well-arranged House.]

The first point demanding attention is the condition of the main
drain. It will be seen that it is little other than an elongated
cesspool. The size is unnecessarily large. As a consequence,
even if it were perfect in all other respects, it would not be
self-cleansing, inasmuch as there can never pass down the drain which
serves for a single house enough water to scour out pipes of the size
illustrated, namely, 9 in. diameter.

It will be seen, however, that the state of affairs is far from
correct, apart from the size of the pipes. In the first place, the
joints are not tight; sewage will soak out into the ground through
them. In the second place, although there is ample allowance between
the two ends of the drain for a good fall, or incline, this fall has
all been confined to a few feet of its length, the part underneath
the house being laid almost level. This is done simply to avoid the
trouble of excavating the ground to a sufficient depth.

Let us now follow the action of a drain of this kind, and see what it
will lead to. Sewage matter finds its way into it. As we all know,
this matter depends on water to carry it forward. It is probable
that, while the drain is new and the ground comparatively solid
around it, sufficient water will remain in it to carry the greater
part of the sewage to the sewer. But this state of affairs will not
last. Before long, some unusually heavy or obstinate matter will get
into the drain. It will be carried only so far, and will then stick.
Any water now coming behind it will “back up,” to a certain extent,
and will very soon find its way into the soil, from one or more
points behind the obstruction--not yet amounting to a stoppage. As a
consequence, sewage now passing into the drain, loses its carrying
power, and gets no farther than a certain distance. Before long, a
complete stoppage takes place, and all the sewage of the house soaks
into the ground under the basement. After this, things go from bad to
worse. The saturated ground no longer properly supports the pipes,
which, as a consequence, will become more and more irregular, and all
hope of the drain clearing itself is lost. It is only a question of
time, with a drain such as that shown, and the inmates of the house
will be living over a cesspool.

As a matter of fact, total obstruction or stoppage has been
discovered in 6 per cent. of the houses which have been inspected.

The next point worthy of attention is the soil pipe; this term being
at present used to signify the vertical portion of the drain only,
although it very often is also used as meaning the almost horizontal
drain under the house.

The soil pipe is of lead. This is an excellent material if the pipe
be properly arranged, but here it is not. The great fault is that
there is no ventilation. As a consequence, the upper part of the
pipe will always be filled with sewer gas, which tends to rise in a
somewhat concentrated state. Now, sewer gas has a powerful action on
lead, and, therefore, a soil pipe arranged without ventilation never
stands many years before it becomes “holed,” that is to say, is worn
through at its upper part. When this occurs, of course, there is
ventilation enough, but it is into the house. The ventilation in this
case will, in fact, be most active, because every house, on account
of the fires in it, acts, especially in winter, as a chimney, and
draws in sewer or other gas from every possible crevice.

At the top of the soil pipe will be found the commonest of all
water-closet arrangements, namely, the pan-closet with D trap. This
arrangement is exceedingly well known: it is a most skilfully devised
piece of apparatus for retaining sewage in the house, and distilling
sewer gas from the same, and it is the cause of probably nine out of
ten of the actual smells perceived in houses, even if it does not (as
some say) give rise to much actual disease.

The soil pipe discharges over a small cesspool at the foot. This is
a very common arrangement. The cesspool is usually dignified by the
name of a dip trap. The percentage of houses showing leaky soil pipes
is 31.

Now, observe that, although our constructor has not ventilated his
soil pipe, he has been careful not to leave the system entirely
without ventilation. On the contrary, by the simple device of leaving
a rain-water pipe untrapped at the foot, he has ventilated the
drains, and also the public sewer, into the back bedroom windows!
This is a quite common arrangement, and frequently results in typhoid
fever.

Next, in order, we may take the case of the discharge pipes from
baths, sinks, basins, and all such appliances. It has been laid down
as a rule by the best sanitary authorities that these appliances
must discharge not into the soil drains, but into the open air over
trapped gullies, as it has been found that this is the only way of
being absolutely certain that no sewer air shall enter the rooms by
the discharge pipes. It is quite true that if a trap be fixed on a
discharge pipe of, say, a sink, the greater part of the sewer air may
be kept back from the house; but traps, however excellent they may
be in _assisting_ to keep out sewer air, are not alone sufficient.
There are several reasons for this. In the first place, there is
the fact that a certain amount of sewer gas will pass through the
water of a trap, or, to speak more strictly, will be absorbed by
the water on one side, and afterwards given off on the other side.
It is true that in the case of a well-ventilated drain this amount
will be infinitesimal, and might even be disregarded, but there are
other causes for the uncertainty of a trap. If the appliance, on the
discharge pipe of which it is, be disused for a long time, there is
the possibility that the water in the trap may dry. In this case,
of course, there is no further security. Besides this, however,
there is an action known as siphonage, in which the rush of water
through a pipe carries with it the water which ought to remain in
the trap and form a seal. In Fig. 21 are shown several different
ways of connecting sinks, &c., with drains. The discharge pipe often
carries an apology for a trap, in the form of a little apparatus
called a bell trap. But, as a matter of fact, it is the commonest
thing possible to find the bell trap lying on the sink. It has been
lifted out of its place to let the water run down the waste pipe more
quickly. It is no unusual thing to go into the scullery of a house,
and to find the discharge pipe of the sink quite open, and a blast of
sewer air issuing from it which will extinguish a candle.

In other cases the sink has an arrangement which is called a grease
trap, but is, in reality, nothing more nor less than a particularly
foul cesspool. It calls for little remark. The pipe from the sink
dips into the foul water to make a trap. In many cases, the pipe does
not dip into the water; but there is a bell at the top. Sometimes the
drain is at various places made up with bricks. This is a very common
thing to find in houses. The bricks are used to save the trouble of
getting special junction bends, &c. The other sinks and baths in the
house are shown as discharging into the closet traps. This is a very
common and objectionable arrangement. Sixty-eight per cent. of houses
examined show the defects last mentioned; that is to say, the sinks,
baths, or fixed basins are connected with the drain or soil pipe,
a trap of some kind generally, but not always, forming a partial
security against sewer gas.

As mentioned before, the only ventilation in this case is such as
will permit the issuing sewer gas to find its way into the house. It
is by no means unusual to find no provision at all for ventilation,
or to find the ventilating pipes so small that they are totally
useless. In more cases than one, Burton found the soil pipe carried
up as a rain-water pipe into the attics, where it received rain-water
from two gutters, one from each side of the roof, and discharged all
the sewer gas which escaped by it. Generally, the drinking-water
cisterns are situated in such attics.

It may be noted, in the other drawing (Fig. 21), that a trap is fixed
on the main drain, which will keep back almost all sewer gas, and
that ventilating pipes are so arranged that a constant circulation of
fresh air exists through the whole drainage system, and will carry
away with it any little sewer gas which passes through the trapping
water.

The most perfect water-supply arrangement does not necessitate
the existence of cisterns in the house at all. This is beside the
mark, for the reason that in London, to which Burton confines his
remarks, the supply of water to the greater portion of the town is
intermittent, so that cisterns are a necessity.

Water, even in London, is almost always delivered in a sufficiently
pure state to be drunk, but it is a very common thing for it to be
contaminated in the cisterns. Even if there be no actual disease
germs carried into the water, there is liability of deterioration
from the mere fact of a large quantity of water being stored for a
long time before use. If the cisterns are of so great size as to hold
as much water as is used in, say, three or four days, it follows
that all water drawn has remained in these cisterns for an average
time of several days. This is by no means likely to improve its
quality, but, on the contrary, if it does nothing else, it renders
it flat. There are far more dangerous causes of contamination than
this, however. The commonest of these is to be found in direct
communication between the drains and the cisterns through the
overflow pipes of the latter. This is shown in Fig. 20. It will be
seen that there is a trap on the pipe by way of protection against
the sewer gas. This is a by no means uncommon arrangement; but, as
will be readily understood, such a trap is absolutely of no good.
An overflow pipe to a cistern is merely an appliance to be put in
use in case of an emergency; that is, in case of derangement of the
ball valve through which the water enters. As a matter of fact,
an overflow may not occur from year’s end to year’s end--probably
does not--and, as a consequence, the trap soon becomes dry, and the
temporary security afforded by it is lost. In 37 per cent. of houses
inspected, Burton found direct communication between the drain or
soil pipes and the drinking-water cisterns.

Another means by which the water of cisterns is contaminated is by
their being placed in improper positions. Quite frequently, a cistern
in which drinking-water is stored, is situated in, or even under the
floor of a w.c. Burton has known more than one case in which the drip
tray under a closet actually discharged into a cistern.

It is even possible for contamination of water to occur through the
mere fact that a water-closet is supplied from a certain cistern.
With a water-closet supplied by the modern regulator-valve apparatus,
this is most unlikely; but it will be readily seen how it may occur
with such an arrangement as that shown in Fig. 20, which is common.
Here it will be seen that for each water-closet there is a plug in
the cistern. This plug is so arranged that when it is raised by the
wire which connects it with the water-closet branch, it suddenly
fills what is called a service box, this being a subsidiary cistern
fixed under the body of the main cistern, and in direct communication
with the water-closet. After the water has run out of the service
box, this is free to fill itself with foul gas from the water-closet
by the service pipe, and the next time the plug is lifted this same
foul gas passes into the water, which absorbs a part of it.

There are many other points in the drainage arrangements of a house
which may possibly become causes of danger, such as surface traps
in areas, &c. In speaking of the drain of a house, it has been
considered as a single length of pipe; but it must be remembered that
in any drainage system, except the most simple, there are branch
drains, often many of them, and that these are liable to the same
evils as the main drains, and require the same attention. In fact,
seeing that less water is likely to pour down them, they require more
attention.

Burton concludes his paper with a brief description of the methods in
use for discovering defects in house sanitation.

One thing that is absolutely necessary for such inspection, and
without which it would be quite incomplete, is to open down to the
drain. This should be done at the nearest point to that at which it
leaves the premises. There is no absolute guide to tell where this
point is, but after some experience it is generally possible to hit
upon the spot with very little searching. In the house illustrated in
Figs. 20, 21, it would be under the front area or cellar. The ground
should be entirely removed from the drain for at least two lengths of
pipe. It is also very desirable that a portion of the ground over the
top of the drain should be removed.

We may next take the point of trapping of the main drain and
ventilation of the system. It will be seen that, in the case of the
drawing of the imperfect arrangements, the drain is shown to be in
direct communication with the sewer. The consequence is that any
leakage which may exist in the house drain permits gas not only from
the drain itself, but from the sewer also, to find its way into the
house.

The engineer will now be able to tell much of the state of affairs.
He will see of what size the drain is; he will be able to tell of
what material the joints are made, taking those exposed as samples;
he will, in all probability, find the ground under the pipes soaked
with sewage, and be able at once to say that the drain is in a leaky
and bad condition; he will find whether it is properly supported
on concrete, or has been “tumbled” into the soil; he will be able
readily to discover what is the total fall in the drain from back
to front. At this stage of the proceedings, the drain itself should
not be opened; but, on the contrary, if the taking up of the ground
should have exposed any joints which are evidently leaking, these
should be made temporarily good with clay. The reason is, that it is
desirable, before anything has been disturbed, to test the system for
the purpose of discovering what amount of leakage there is into the
house.

There are various ways of doing this, but the two commonest, which
Burton describes and illustrates, are those known as the “peppermint
test,” and the “smoke test.”

The smell of peppermint is well known, possibly to some of us
unpleasantly well known, but probably its excessive pungency when
in the form of the oil, and when brought into contact with hot
water, is not generally understood. It will readily be believed
that if such an excessively pungent mixture as this be introduced
into the drainage system of a house, even the smallest leakage will
become evident. Suppose the least possible defect to exist in any
joint of any of the pipes, a strong smell of peppermint will be
evident near the defect. The only difficulty is in finding a place
to introduce the peppermint. It will be quite evident that it is no
use to pour it into any of the appliances in the house, as, were
such done, this smell would so rapidly permeate the whole of the
premises, by way of the staircase, passages, &c., that time would
not be allowed to detect the leakages. Some means must be discovered
of getting the peppermint in from the outside. This is not always
possible, but generally it is. In the case illustrated, there would
be no difficulty. The rain-water pipe at the back admirably suits
the purpose. One person gets out on the flat roof, near the top of
the pipe, and provides himself with peppermint, and 4 or 5 gallons
of water, as nearly boiling as possible. Meantime, all doors and
windows are closely shut, and persons are stationed about the house
to observe if the smell expected becomes evident, and to locate, as
far as possible, the point from which it issues. The man on the roof
pours about ½ oz. of the oil down the pipe, and follows it with the
hot water. He need then retreat from the place a little, for the
peppermint-laden steam which will come from the pipe is blinding in
its pungency. As soon as possible, he plugs up the top of the pipe
with a towel, or some such thing, to prevent the occurrence of the
vacuum which would otherwise be in the pipes, and which would tend
to draw air from the house into the pipes instead of from the pipes
into the house at any leakage. It would probably not be a minute
before the people in the house would perceive the smell at various
places. The manipulator of the peppermint must remain perched on the
roof until those inside have had time to make their observations,
otherwise he will infallibly bring the smell with him.

The test described is an excellent one. It is searching, and is
simple in application, but it has one drawback. It is impossible by
means of it exactly to localise a leakage. This drawback does not
apply to the smoke test. A smoke machine is nothing more nor less
than a centrifugal pump attached to a vessel for generating smoke.
The pump pumps smoke out by a pipe, which may be inserted in any pipe
in direct communication with the drain or in an aperture made for the
purpose. The test is, in all respects, similar to the peppermint one,
except that the leakage is not smelt but seen.

After the test has been performed the drain may be opened. This may
be done by breaking into a pipe in front, by breaking off a collar,
or by punching a round hole in the pipe. In any case it will be
possible to judge much of the condition of the drain by the manner
in which water runs through the pipes. If we have discovered that
there is sufficient total fall, we can now see whether or not it
is uniform. We shall, as remarked before, find in six cases out of
every hundred examined that there is total stoppage, that no sewage
whatever leaves the premises, and that consequently it must all be
depositing under the basement.

If the drain, after all tests so far applied, and from what can be
seen of it, appear to be in good condition, it may be further tested
by filling, or attempting to fill it with water. There is probably
not an average of one drain in a thousand in London which would
remain full of water for an hour. For the rest it is necessary to
examine all appliances, to trace the pipes from them, and sometimes
to test these pipes.

The engineer has now completed his inspection, and has but to
consider how he will make the best of a bad job, and put things to
rights. At the beginning of his paper Burton expressed his intention
of confining himself to a description of defects, and said he should
not describe what he considered a perfect system; he, however, points
out one or two of the chief features of the arrangements in the house
which he calls well drained.

[Illustration: 22. Disconnecting Chamber.]

Most notable, probably, is the small size and sharp fall of the
drain pipes. Further than this, it will be seen that the drain is
disconnected from the sewer by a trap, and that it is accessible for
inspection throughout, simply by lifting certain iron covers (Fig.
22). A close examination would show that every foot of drain pipe
and discharge pipe is so ventilated, that there will be a current of
air through it; that no appliance discharges into the drain direct,
but that there is an atmospheric disconnection in every case; that
air from discharge pipes of sinks, &c., is all trapped from the
house; that there is separate water supply for closets, and for other
purposes; and that no cistern has any connection with the drains.
Further will be noticed, the difference in construction of the
closets, &c.

The foregoing abstract of Burton’s paper is replete with valuable
information. One obvious inference to be drawn from it is that where
the occupant of a dwelling has serious doubts as to its sanitary
conditions and cannot rely on his own observation for ascertaining
the facts, he should forthwith engage the services of a specialist
like the author of the paper to aid him in coming to a decision.

One of the most instructive lectures on house sanitation was
that delivered by Prof. Corfield at the Parkes Museum in 1883.
He considers that the best plan in the examination of a house is
to begin at the top of it, proceeding downwards, and noting the
different mistakes that are likely to be made in the sanitary
arrangements in various parts of the house. Following out this idea,
we will deal with each item in descending order.

_Rain-water._--The first thing which we must consider is that we have
to get rid of the water that falls on the roof. The water from the
gutter in front of the house may be disposed of in one of several
ways. It may be conducted by a pipe outside of the house down the
front into the area; or it may be conducted by a gutter through the
roof, or, perhaps, through one of the rooms in the upper story into
a gutter, over the middle of the house, between two parts of the
roof, and down the middle of the house by a pipe into the drain; or
it may be conducted direct from the gutter by a pipe, not outside the
house, but inside the house, passing down through one or two stories,
inside the rooms, perhaps through the best bedroom in front of the
house, through the drawing-room, carefully hidden by some casing
made to look like an ornament, through the dining-room and kitchen
into the drain in the basement. Smells having been perceived in
different parts of the rooms, especially in the bedrooms, various
sanitary arrangements may be improved, and even made as perfect
as they can be, by a kind of amateur tinkering prevalent nowadays
in sanitary matters; and yet this defect which is so exceedingly
serious, which is known to give rise to serious disease, is entirely
overlooked--perhaps for years. The same is the case when the
rain-water is carried in a gutter through the roof into a gutter
between the two roofs in the middle of the house, and down by a
rain-water pipe inside the house. In such cases similar disasters may
occur.

But there is an additional danger from the fact that these inside
gutters are in themselves most pernicious things. Soot and rotten
leaves collect in them, and air blows through them into the house;
and especially when these gutters are under the floors of bedrooms,
this foul air is often the cause of illnesses which occur in these
rooms. Even gutters which are not themselves directly connected with
the drains, and which are open at both ends, but in which decayed
leaves and soot accumulate and give off foul air into the rooms, may
be the cause of sore throats.

Another plan to dispose of the rain-water is to carry it in a gutter
right through the house to the back (the gutter may pass through the
roof or the garrets), and the same remark applies to this method of
construction as to those just described, except that it does not
imply necessarily a defective pipe running down to the drain.

Well, then, the rain-water from the roof should be conducted by pipes
placed outside the house; and there is no reason why this should
not be always the case. If these pipes are not disconnected from
the drains below, but are connected with them either directly, or
even indirectly (with a bend in the pipe to hold water), in either
instance cases of disease will arise in the rooms, the windows of
which are near the rain-water pipes.

It is exceedingly difficult to persuade people upon this point; but
such is the case. When the rain-water pipes starting from the top of
the house below the bedroom windows, and frequently behind parapets,
so that any air that comes out at the top comes out exactly close to
the bedroom windows, and when these pipes come down straight into the
drains and so ventilate the drains, foul air from the drains gets
into the house, and disease is the result. But it is more difficult
to make people understand that even when these rain-water pipes are
trapped at the foot they are almost as dangerous as the untrapped
ones, because foul air from the drains will pass gradually through
the water in the traps into the pipes, so that these pipes are always
filled with foul air and contain gases that have come from the drains.

As soon as it rains, water passes down, and the air of these pipes is
displaced, comes out at the top, and so if these tops are near the
windows of rooms, cases of disease will happen in those rooms.

The rain-water pipes ought to discharge on to the surface of the
areas, where there ought to be siphon gullies connected with the
drains.

_Ventilating Pipes._--While on the roof we can look around and
observe the ventilating pipes: 1st, whether there are any or not;
2nd, of what size; 3rd, whether they have cowls or not; and 4th, in
what positions they are. If we observe that they end at the top, near
to chimneys, we shall see that there is liability, on account of the
down draught, of the foul air from these ventilating pipes passing
down the chimneys.

Chimneys often have down draughts, and if ventilating pipes are
placed near them, the foul air may pass down into the rooms. If, on
the other hand, although not ending near the tops of the chimneys,
they are placed close to the chimneys or to walls so that their tops
are sheltered, they will not act properly, and they ought to _be
carried above the ridge_ of the roof, and end away from walls or
chimneys. The same rule applies to chimney tops, they should not be
sheltered by higher buildings.

_Cistern._--The first thing we come to inside or just below the roof
(or perhaps on the roof), is the cistern.

The first point to observe is the material of which it is made. Lead
cisterns (and so, too, galvanised iron cisterns) are affected by
certain kinds of water; and it is important, in certain places, that
cisterns should be used which are not capable of being affected by
the water. Galvanised iron cisterns cause certain forms of poisoning
with some waters. However, as a matter of fact, both lead and
galvanised iron cisterns are used enormously, without any serious
results following from their use.

A cistern is provided with an overflow and waste pipe. If the cistern
is on the roof you would think it the natural thing that the overflow
pipe should discharge on to the roof or leads, or into an open head;
but, as a matter of fact, it is generally not the case. (By an
“overflow” pipe is meant a pipe from the top, and by a “waste” pipe
a pipe starting above the level of the water and passing through the
bottom of the cistern.)

Overflow pipes were not in fashion at all until recently. The fashion
was to have a waste pipe, and the most convenient place to take
that into was some pipe passing down the house, which might be a
rain-water pipe, but more frequently it was the pipe into which the
water-closets discharged, which is called the “soil” pipe.

When this is the case the waste pipe of the drinking-water cistern
becomes the ventilator of the pipe into which the water-closets
discharge; and so in nine cases out of ten the ventilator of the
house drain and of the sewer under the street, and, indeed, one of
the ventilators of the main sewer. So foul air passes continually
by means of this ventilator into the drinking-water cistern at
the top of the house. Now foul air in sewers and drains contains
matters in suspension, and often the poisons of certain diseases,
such as typhoid fever; it gains access to the water in the cistern
and contaminates it, and the main cause of typhoid fever in London
and many other large towns is the connection of the drinking-water
cisterns with the drains by means of the waste pipes.

Of course the remedy for this--the first remedy--is to put a trap on
the waste pipe, as, for instance, connecting it with the trap in one
of the closets or sinks. This, of course, is only a palliative, it
is not the true remedy. The true remedy is to disconnect this pipe
and make it discharge by itself, no matter where, in the open air.
Sometimes this pipe is made to discharge into the same pipe that the
sink waste-pipe discharges into. It is the practice in London to have
a separate pipe for the various wastes and sinks not discharging
directly into the drain, and usually carried outside the house. It is
also the practice to make the waste pipes of cisterns to discharge
into the same pipe. This is entirely wrong. Because, although
disconnected at the foot, it is to be regarded as a foul-water pipe,
and foul air passes through it up the waste pipe into the cistern. So
this practice is to be condemned.

Now from the cistern, besides the waste pipe, there are pipes which
supply the water to different parts of the house; there are pipes
from the cistern to supply water to the taps, which are called
“draw-off” pipes; and pipes from the cistern to supply water to the
closets; and, as a rule, the same cistern is used for the supply of
water to the closets direct and the taps at the upper part of the
house. This plan may or may not be very dangerous.

There are two ways of supplying the water-closets in the upper part
of the house with water. The one is to have what is called a spindle
valve in the cistern, which fits a hole in the bottom of the cistern,
and which is raised by a ball lever being pulled by a wire, which
arrangement necessitates a contrivance called a valve box, which has
a small air pipe, and with this arrangement there is liability for
foul water to be jerked in the cistern. Moreover, the pipe from this
valve box passes into the pan of the water-closet and becomes full of
air, which air is liable to get into the valve box in the cistern.
This arrangement, therefore, is decidedly bad. But there is another,
in which the valve which supplies the water-closets is under the
seat, and the pipe from the cistern is full of water; and that is now
becoming the more usual plan. With that plan there is nothing like
so much danger as with the other method; in fact, so little, that
many people hesitate to condemn this arrangement.

However, to put it on no other grounds, it is clearly desirable not
to have cisterns supplying drinking-water and the water-closets
direct. It is better to lay down a right principle, and abide by it,
than to see how you can avoid it. The best rule is that water-closets
should not, for the reasons stated, under any circumstances be
supplied direct from the cistern supplying the taps; Prof. Corfield
lays down the rule that _every tap is a drinking-water tap, because
any one may draw water at it_.

_Housemaid’s Sink._--The housemaid’s sink is often placed in a small
closet just under the stairs, without any window or any sort of
ventilation whatever (and we know what kind of things are kept in the
sink!), so that in such a position it has not by any means a very
savoury odour. The housemaid’s sink should under no circumstances
be in such a position. It should be against an outside wall, and
have a window. As a rule, the material used for the sink itself is
lead, wood lined with lead. Now lead is not a good material. Grease,
soap, and so on, have a tendency to adhere to lead, and it is very
difficult to keep such sinks clean, and it would be better to have
the sink of glazed stoneware.

The waste pipe of the housemaid’s sink, as a rule, is connected
directly with the trap of the nearest w.c. There is a grating in
the sink, and there is no trap in or under the sink, but the waste
pipe is connected with the trap of the nearest water-closet. This is
a bad arrangement. A worse arrangement is for the waste pipe to be
connected with the soil pipe of the water-closet, in which case some
kind of trap is generally placed on the waste pipe of the sink. This
trap is frequently what is called a “bell” trap, and is placed in the
sink. The disadvantage of the bell trap is, that when you take the
top of it off you take the bell with it. The bell is the arrangement
which is supposed to form the trap by the edges of it dipping in the
water in the iron box; and you see at once, when the bell is removed,
the trap is removed and the waste pipe, wherever it goes, is left
wide open, and, if connected with the soil pipe of the water-closet,
the foul air comes up into the house. Very frequently also the waste
pipe of the sink has underneath it what is called a D trap. A D
trap is a trap which the water passing through it can never clean;
so it retains foul water; and therefore, even under sinks, such
traps ought not to be allowed on account of the foul matters which
accumulate in them.

The waste pipe of the housemaid’s sink should not be connected with
the water-closet or soil pipe; neither with any pipe that goes
directly into the drain. Its own pipe should not go directly to
the drain, which is very frequently the case, but through the wall
of the house into an open head or a gully outside. Very frequently
the housemaid’s sink is supplied with water, not from the cistern
on the roof, but from the cistern not only supplying the nearest
water-closet, _but actually inside the nearest water-closet_, in
which case, no matter what valves you have, you are supplying your
sink with water which is kept in a cistern inside the water-closet,
and that is far worse than supplying a sink with water from a cistern
which also supplies the water-closet, with a reasonably protecting
valve.

Close to the housemaid’s sink, and very frequently over it, is the
feed cistern to the hot-water apparatus, which has also an overflow
pipe, and the same remarks refer to this overflow pipe, except that
it is a thing much more liable to be overlooked, as to the overflow
pipe of the drinking-water cistern.

_Water-closets._--In the great majority of instances, the apparatus
of this closet is what is known as the “pan” closet, that is, a
closet apparatus which has a conical basin with a tinned copper bowl,
called the “pan,” from which the closet gets its name. In order that
this “pan” which holds water, may be moved, there is a contrivance
underneath called a “container,” which is generally made of iron, and
allows room for the pan to be moved. On pulling the handle the water
is discharged into the pipe below. The container being generally
made of iron it is liable to rust. Now the disadvantage of this
apparatus consists in this large iron box, which is under the seat of
the closet, being generally full of foul air. The contents of the pan
are splashed into it, and it becomes coated with foul matters which
decompose and continually give off foul air. Every time the handle of
the closet is pulled some foul air is forced up into the house. That
foul air is kept in this box between the trap which is below it and
the pan which contains the water above it. In order to allow of the
escape of this foul air it is not uncommon to have a hole bored in
the top of the container. You would suppose that hole was intended to
fix a ventilating pipe to, but nothing of the kind; the hole has been
made merely to allow the escape of foul air into the house. Sometimes
a ventilating pipe is attached to this hole and taken out through the
wall, but that is the exception. This form of closet is the worst
form of closet apparatus yet devised, and is very generally in use.

An attempt has been made to improve it by having a stoneware
container, with a place for ventilation at the side, only it is
an attempt to improve a radically bad arrangement, and not worth
further consideration. Underneath this closet apparatus you will, as
a rule, find, if you take the woodwork down, a tray of lead, called
the “safe” tray. But there is no other word in the language that
would not be a better description of it than this word! This tray is
intended to catch any water that may escape from leaky pipes, or any
slops that may be thrown over; and so it is necessary that this tray
should have a waste pipe. The waste pipe in nine out of ten cases,
probably in much greater proportion, goes into the trap immediately
underneath the closet, and so it forms a communication for foul air
from this trap to get into the house.

In some instances it goes directly into the soil pipe, and forms a
means of ventilation of the soil pipe into the house. Sometimes a
trap is put on this waste pipe, and it is then connected with the
soil pipe, which goes on well so long as there is any water in the
trap; but as soon as the water becomes evaporated, foul air gets into
the house again.

Sometimes (to show the ingenuity which people often expend upon bad
things) this waste pipe has a trap, and a little pipe from the water
supply fixed to feed the trap; but all these ingenious plans have
been devised in order to improve upon a principle radically wrong.
The pipe should be carried through the wall and end outside the house
as a warning pipe.

Scarcely any water ever comes out at all; if any does come out, it
shows there is something wrong, so that this pipe should pass through
the wall, and be made to discharge outside the house.

In order to prevent wind blowing up the pipe, it is usual to put a
small brass flapper on the end. Its weight keeps it shut, and the
pressure of water opens it.

Underneath the safe-tray you will find as a rule a trap of some kind,
and generally the trap that is found is a D trap, a trap whose name
indicates its shape, and which cannot be washed out by the water
that passes through it. The pipe from the closet passes so far in it
that it dips below the level of the out-going pipe, and thus forms a
sort of dip-trap. The pipe which is the inlet from the closet is not
placed close to the edge, but a little way in, to form a receptacle
for all kinds of filth!

You will see it is impossible for the water that passes through
it to clear the contents out, so that the trap is simply a small
cesspool, nothing more nor less. Into that trap various waste pipes
are frequently connected.

There is another form of D trap in which there are two waste pipes
going into the water near the bottom of the trap (probably the waste
pipe of the safe and the waste pipe of the cistern).

The D trap, then, is a bad form of trap, because it is not
self-cleansing. The water cannot possibly keep it clear of sediment.
So that some trap should be used which is self-cleansing, and the
water which passes through it is capable of keeping it clean. Now
that trap is a mere ∾-shaped bend in the pipe, to which we give the
name of siphon, not because we want it to act as a siphon--for if it
acts as a siphon it is of no use!

A curious thing about siphon traps and pan closets is, that the
form of trap which was used first in connection with water-closets
was the siphon trap, which we now praise; and the form of trap
which supplanted it was the D trap, which we are now condemning
and taking out wherever we can. A still more curious thing is that
the form of water-closet which we now condemn (the pan closet) was
the form of closet which supplanted the closet we are now using
(the valve closet). The valve closet was invented long before the
pan closet. Bramah valve closets fixed forty years ago often act
tolerably well now, and at the present day they are only taken out
because they are really actually worn out.

The valve closet, which we often find upstairs in old houses instead
of the pan closet, has no large iron container under the seat,
but it has a water-tight valve under the basin, and so requires a
small valve-box; so that there is no great collection of foul air
immediately under the basin of the closet. The valve closet, however,
has a disadvantage in that it requires an overflow pipe; because the
valve is water-tight, and if servants throw slops into it, or the
supply pipe to it leaks, the water goes on running and the basin
fills, and, if there were no overflow pipe, it would overflow on to
the floor; so that probably the pan closet ousted the valve closet
because it was found that people could go on throwing in any amount
of slops and using it in the roughest manner without getting their
ceilings damaged. However, the valve closets, as they were originally
made, generally had overflow pipes which went into part of the
apparatus below. Occasionally these overflow pipes are connected with
soil pipes or the trap of the closet below, but these are exceptional
instances.

One of the water-closets in the basement is very frequently in an
exceedingly improper position--either in the scullery or actually in
the kitchen. These w.c.’s ought all to be outside the house.

If closets are in the middle of the house they ought to be done
away with, and should be put against an outside wall. This might be
done by sacrificing a bit of some room which can be spared, or by
converting some small bedroom into a bath-room and closet, or still
better, by making a sort of tower outside the house.

The merits and demerits of the various kinds of water-closet were
discussed in a paper by Emptage before the Congress of the Sanitary
Institute at Glasgow. To be rightly considered wholesome and adapted
for general use, a closet should, in Emptage’s opinion, possess the
following qualifications:--

1st. The water seal of its trap should be in sight, should stand up
in the basin, and be quite safe from either momentum or siphonage.

2nd. It should be so thoroughly flushed that at each discharge every
part of the basin and trap would be properly cleansed.

3rd. It should be as well adapted for the discharge of slops as for a
w.c.

A closet possessing these advantages is perfectly safe to use
anywhere, and the only kind which, in his opinion, comes up to this
standard, is that known as the “direct action.” Within the last
few years several inventors have turned their attention to the
manufacture of this kind of closet, and there are now several in the
market to choose from, each of which has some advantage peculiar to
itself.

Emptage has found:

1st. That these closets, when properly trapped, flushed, and
ventilated, are perfectly safe and wholesome, and are free from the
evils and annoyances attendant upon most other forms.

2nd. That to ensure a thorough flush out, the water must fall with
an avalanche-like action direct upon the surface of the water in the
basin.

3rd. That those basins which show an O G section are more readily
flushed than those which have sides in the form of inclined planes.

4th. That with a suitably shaped basin 2 gal. of water, delivered in
5 seconds, will thoroughly cleanse the closet.

5th. That the ordinary round P or half S trap should never be used
beneath these closets, because no reliance can be placed upon the
safety of its seal.

6th. Care is required in fixing these closets to ensure adequate
ventilation to the trap, because, owing to the exposed position
of its seal, it is liable, unless so guarded, to be destroyed at
any moment by the discharge of a pail of slops: but if properly
protected, it is quite safe from this action.

Where the position is such that this necessary protection cannot be
given, on no account should a “direct-action” closet be used. It is
better, under such circumstances, of the two evils to choose the
lesser, and fix a good “Bramah” pattern valve closet and D trap.

One word with respect to closet seats. It is the prevailing fashion
to have them fit as closely as possible, and to keep the lid shut.
Emptage thinks this is a mistake. If there are any gases to escape,
they should be allowed to do so at once, rather than be kept boxed
in, ready to belch forth into the face of the next visitor. For this
reason, he would discard lids altogether, and, provided a suitably
finished apparatus could be introduced, the riser also, and allow the
floorcloth to run right under the seat, leaving no space in the room
where bad air could be detained.

Eassie recommends one of the various kinds of “wash-out” closet, and
specifies Jennings’s as being good in every respect, especially for
nurseries. For general household use he favours the valve closet on
the Bramah pattern. In other details he directly opposes Emptage,
warning the householder above all “not to fix a D trap under the
apparatus, but only a P trap or S trap of cast lead.” Care should
also be taken to make sure that the waste pipe from the leaden tray,
or “safe”--which is usually placed under a closet in order to avoid
any damage to the ceiling below should the basin overflow--is not
led into the trap underneath the closet, but taken direct through
the outer wall, and with a small copper flap at the end of the 1
in. pipe, in order to keep out the cold air. A sufficient supply of
flushing water is indispensable, and many houses can be much improved
in this respect by simply enlarging the service pipe which conveys
water to the basin. See also p. 991.

In country dwellings, where earth-closets can be used, the following
system works well. The refuse to be disposed of embraces rain and
surface water, wash-waters, ashes, and excreta. The water is partly
stored and partly run into the nearest brook. The ashes and excreta
(no closet being fitted inside the dwelling) are carried to the
garden. The wash-waters are emptied into a sink, which communicates
directly with either a small trap, through a grating (the pipe being
disconnected with the trap), or, if there be a sufficient fall, to a
garden, by an open gutter, or open tile drain. The ashes and excreta
are mixed together, and removed by the agency of one or other form of
“earth-closet,” taking that term generally for an apparatus which is
not a cesspool, which has to be frequently emptied of its contents in
a more or less dry state, and which is wholly above ground.

The contents of the water-closet are discharged, as a rule, into a
separate pipe, called the soil pipe; but sometimes into a rain-water
pipe with an open head near the windows, or even _inside_ the house.
The soil pipe is usually inside the house--probably because it ought
to be outside! Even where water-closets are against an external
wall, the pipe is often carried down inside the house. The closets
themselves, like sinks, ought not to be placed in the middle of the
house. They are very frequently under the stairs, close to bedrooms,
or in the middle of the house, sometimes ventilating into a shaft.
It is of course inevitable in these cases that the pipe must either
be carried inside throughout the whole length of the house, or must
run nearly horizontally under the floors of bedrooms, &c. Under
such circumstances it is often not properly ventilated; and if not
ventilated at all, the foul air makes its way out through holes,
which it is capable of perforating in lead pipes.

The soil pipes are then frequently inside the house, and they are as
a rule made of lead. They are very frequently not ventilated at the
top, and the pieces are jointed together by merely being slipped into
one another, with perhaps a little putty or red-lead. Of course these
joints are not sound joints. The soil pipe goes down into the drain,
and so the foul air gets into the house. The soil pipe, whether
inside or outside the house, ought to have sound joints. If a lead
pipe, soldered joints; if an iron pipe, the joints ought to be made
secure in a proper way.

If any part of the soil pipe must pass inside the house, it should be
of lead, and it can be made sound so long as it will last (and is not
damaged by driving nails into it).

Iron pipes should not be allowed to be inside the house. It is so
very likely that the joints will not be made perfectly tight, so that
it is more undesirable to have iron pipes inside the house than it is
to have lead pipes.

Of course it is practicable to plug the pipe at the bottom and to
fill it with water to ascertain if it is water-tight; but all that is
only a device to retain a thing which ought to be altered.

Soil pipes ought always to be ventilated by a pipe as large as the
soil pipe carried up above the roof.

The soil pipes ought to be outside the house, and connected with the
drain by plain stoneware bends, or, under certain circumstances,
disconnected from the drains themselves by a trap with an open
grating. Such a trap is called a disconnecting trap.

_Bath-room._--The first thing to mention in connection with the
bath-room is that the inlet and outlet openings for the water should
not be the same. Very frequently in a bath the water goes out by
the same apertures as it comes in. This is a bad plan, for some of
the dirty water comes back with the clean. The waste pipe should be
treated in the same way as the waste pipe of a sink.

Frequently on the best bedroom floor there is a water-closet actually
in one of the bedrooms, or opening directly out of it by a door. This
ought not to be countenanced under any circumstances whatever.

On the drawing-room floor there is generally a balcony, the pipes
from which go very frequently straight down to the drain, or they
are connected with rain-water pipes from the top of the house, which
_themselves_ discharge into the drain; so that these pipes from
balconies and lead flats are not at all infrequently connected with
the drains.

_Bell-wire Pipes._--There is sometimes an unaccountable smell in the
drawing-room, and people puzzle themselves in all kinds of ways to
account for it. It is generally noticed when people are sitting in
a particular chair--which particular chair is a chair possibly most
frequently sat in--one near to the fireplace. The smell noticed is
a smell which comes up the tube that the bell-wire goes down. The
bell-wire goes down into the basement. It may go into some part of
the basement which is not very savoury, and foul air may be, and
frequently is, taken up into the drawing-room or best bed-room. Or
the wire may be in the basement passage close to the gas-light, and
the products of combustion of the gas may pass up the wire-tube into
the drawing-room or bedroom.

_Kitchen Waste._--Accumulation of waste animal and vegetable matter
should be strictly forbidden; what cannot be used as food, even for
domestic animals, ought to be burned daily. Where there is a large
garden, refuse may be buried. The objection frequently raised to
burning is the unpleasant smell which is caused by it; this may, with
a little care, always be avoided. Where a close range is used, choose
a time when the fire is bright but low; draw out all the dampers and
put everything into the fire, close the door in front, and a very
large amount of rubbish can be got rid of in a quarter of an hour.
In open fireplaces this is a little more difficult, but may still be
accomplished. Put all vegetable matter under the grate to dry, then
put it on the fire. The oven dampers must be drawn out; the strong
draught up the oven flue will carry off the smell. Fish-bones and
other scraps may thus be burned. The habit prevalent in many country
places of keeping a swill-tub cannot be too strongly condemned. A day
or two of damp summer weather is enough to cause a most offensive
smell to be given off. Dwellings in large towns become dangerous in
warm weather from their close proximity to ashpits, which are made
the receptacle of all kinds of decaying animal and vegetable matter.
Much sickness might be prevented during the summer months if it could
be made compulsory to have ashpits, &c., well sprinkled with chloride
of lime or some similar disinfectant at least twice a week.

_Sinks._--The stoppage of drains by grease may be partially prevented
by the use of soap-powder, which combines with the grease; but at
least twice a week there should be poured down kitchen sinks one
or two bucketfuls of boiling water, in which common soda has been
dissolved. A much better plan is to use potash instead of soda, as
potash makes a _soft_ soap with fats. The application of one or
two doses of potash lye in hot water will almost always effect a
clearance in stopped drains, which at first appear to be irremediably
choked, and at the same time no injury whatever results to the pipes.

[Illustration: 23. Kitchen Sink.]

The proper arrangement and disconnection of a kitchen sink is shown
in Fig. 23; _a_, stoneware trough; _b_, 2 in. stoneware waste pipe;
_c_, stoneware gully or trap; _d_, iron grating; _e_, house wall;
_f_, pipe leading to sewer.

The sinks in the basement have their waste pipes very frequently
either directly connected with the drains or connected with the
drains by bell traps. Of course this is a most dangerous state of
things. For when the top of the bell trap is taken off, an opening
into the drain is directly made. If the bell trap gets broken, no one
is told of it, and the drain is ventilated into the house for months.
On the other hand, if the top is left on and the bell trap is in a
place where water does not get into it continually, or at all, the
trap will get dry, and so become a ventilator of the drains into the
house; so that this plan of having ventilating pipes in the sinks, or
of having bell traps in the floor of basements, is most dangerous,
still more dangerous if the sinks are not used. Some think in this
way:--Oh! this sink is not used, there cannot be any harm in it! But
there is, and much more harm too. For the water in the trap dries up,
and so foul air comes into the house.

The sinks, then, ought not to be directly connected with the drains,
but should discharge through trapped gullies in the area; and not
only so, but the waste pipes of the sinks, whether upstairs or
downstairs, ought to have siphon traps, with traps and screws fixed
immediately under the sinks. These waste pipes are foul pipes even
when not connected with the drains, and if you do not have siphon
traps immediately under the sinks, foul air will come in, especially
during the night, and you will have a very serious nuisance caused in
the house in this way. The same remarks about cisterns upstairs apply
to cisterns in the basement. The water-closets in the basement are
simpler forms of closets, and they are very frequently supplied from
water cisterns by means of pipes which have merely a tap which you
may turn off or on. This is a most mischievous plan, as the cistern
may be emptied and foul air enter it. The closets in the basement,
therefore, ought to be supplied by means of water-waste preventers,
the best kind being the siphon-action water-waste preventers, which
discharge two gallons of water as soon as you pull the chain. These
“preventers” are not only to prevent the water being wasted by the
handle of the closet being fastened up, but also cut off the direct
supply of the closet from the drinking-cistern water.

_Grease Traps._--A much-discussed subject is the grease trap. In
small houses it is not needed; but in large houses, unless some
provision is made for catching the grease sent down the scullery
sink, the drains will soon be choked. Eassie gives a caution against
having the grease trap too large for its work, and as to the
importance of cleaning it out regularly, say once a week.

_Disconnection Traps._--Whether the house drains into a sewer, a
stream, a cesspool, or upon a piece of irrigation ground, one thing
which must never be omitted is a disconnection trap or chamber
between the house drain and the outfall. These traps--which should be
placed close to the house--prevent any smell from the outfall passing
into the house, and inasmuch as they have an inlet for the taking
in of fresh air between the siphon and the house, this fresh air
will course along the underground drains, and be discharged at the
ventilating continuations of the soil pipes, or at the tops.

[Illustration: 24. Disconnection Chamber. 25. Disconnection Chamber.]

Where the house is so large that the air inlet of these siphons would
not suffice, the latter are replaced by a chamber as shown in Fig.
24. The sewage flows into the air chamber formed by the half-open
pipe _a_, being ventilated through the grating _b_; thence it passes
through the siphon _c_ to the sewer in the direction of the arrow.
There is a raking entry into the sewer side of the siphon at _d_,
closed by a plug, thus preventing any smell from the sewer or drain
beyond the siphon entering the air chamber _a_. If the sewers are at
a great depth, the walls of the air chamber are made thicker, and a
manhole is built the length of the open channel, an arch being turned
over when the siphon is fixed, as in Fig. 25. The sewage passes from
_a_ through the siphon _b_ to the drain _c_, _d_ being the air inlet.
(Eassie.)

[Illustration: 26. Houghton’s Trap.]

One of the best modern traps is that introduced by Houghton (Fig.
26), in which the outlet _a_ at the bottom of the gully can be
pointed in any direction, and the inlet _b_ to the basin _c_ of the
gully, forming a movable half, can be turned round to accommodate the
entering waste pipe _b_; _d_ is the open grating which covers the
gully.

_Drains._--Tho drain itself is got at by opening down to it in the
front area. It may be found to be an old brick-drain, in which case
it ought to be taken out. Brick drains are pervious, they allow the
escape of foul air, and with contaminated air rats also get in the
house. Wherever rats can get, foul air can go; and rats coming in
through these holes may carry with them the poison of disease, such
as typhoid fever. Rats generally go to the larder, and carry with
them often the poison of such diseases, which are very largely
spread by their poisons being taken in this way by rats into the milk
and other foods, and also into the water in the cisterns.

Whether a brick drain or a pipe drain, it should be trapped before
it is connected with the main sewer or cesspool. This trap, in the
case of a brick drain called a “dipstone” trap, is a brick pit with a
stone across it from one side to another, and dipped into the water
which remains in the pit. The object of this stone is to prevent foul
air coming into the house. As a matter of fact, the pit holds a large
collection of foul matter and becomes a small cesspool, indeed, there
is no difference between them.

A drain may be made of glazed stoneware pipes, which may be joined
together in one of several ways. They may be laid “dry,” i.e. without
any jointing material between the ends, in which case they are, of
course, not water-tight; or they may have clay in the joints, in
which case you cannot fill them with water--that is to say, they
will not hold water under pressure. (If you fill them with water, by
plugging at the lower end, the water will come out at the joints.)
Or they may be laid with the pipes the wrong way. When the joints
are made with clay they will very soon become leaky; and when that
happens, the water oozes through the joints, filth collects in the
trap, and it gradually plugs up the whole drain from one end to the
other. This may go on for years without being found out, and so cause
the ground under the house to gradually become a large cesspool.
This is an extreme case. Or they may be jointed with cement, and
there are some other ways. They may be perfectly well jointed with
cement, so as to be water-tight. The drains, then, should answer to
this test, i.e. you should be able to plug them at the lower end,
and fill them with water. They should not be under the house, if
possible. In London we cannot help it as a rule. If under the house,
the straighter the course of the drain the better. Do not let it wind
about in order to get away from different rooms. The best thing is
to have a straight course through and to see that it is water-tight.
It should hold water like a teacup. The drain must not be directly
connected with the main sewer or merely separated by a siphon trap;
but there should be an air inlet into the drain between the siphon
trap and the house. This opening may be of different kinds. The best
kind is that of a manhole for access to the drain and trap (so that
the trap can be examined and cleared out at any time); the air inlet
should be a grating either over the manhole or in the nearest wall
opening into a pipe leading into the manhole.

People who are afraid of foul air coming out of these inlets put on
a valve with mica flaps, so that the air can blow in, but foul air
cannot go out. But, if there are no D traps under the water-closets
and sinks, if the pipes are straight and sufficiently large
ventilators are used, if the ventilating pipes go up above the roof
and are not protected from the action of the wind, you will never
find foul air coming out at the air inlet though you will find that
fresh air is drawn in. There can be no accumulation of foul air,
and the air that may be occasionally forced out is the last fresh
air that has entered. Should you, however, find foul air coming out
you will know that there is something wrong with the drain, that
the drain or siphon is plugged, so that this air inlet becomes most
valuable in pointing out when anything is going wrong.

Brick drains, says Eassie, are variously shaped. The worst sections
are those upon which two upright sides of brick have been built
upon flat stones, so as to form a bottom, and then covered over
with other flat stones, because the bricks can never joint tightly
with the stone, and there is always a leakage going on into the
surrounding subsoil. One great objection to brick drains is due to
the fact that they cannot be constructed sufficiently small to meet
the requirements of a house, and consequently are seldom found less
than 9 inches in diameter, which is far too large a sectional area to
properly drain a house.

However compactly and well-burnt the clay has been made into bricks,
a brick drain has only a certain life, so to speak, before its
decadence begins with the usual attendant danger. Its lifetime is
longer or shorter according to the subsoil in which it is placed,
the material used as mortar, the gradient at which it is laid, the
sewage which it removes, and the quantity of water, and especially
of heated water, which passes through it, but the consensus of
opinion in their disfavour for use in the interior of a house is
overwhelming, and a universal preference is accorded to drains
formed of earthenware pipes. A second objection to brick drains,
however well they may have been built, is their want of smoothness,
especially at the bottom, whereby the effete matters are not carried
easily away; and this want of smoothness is aggravated by the
roughness due to the unequal perishing of the bricks.

One of the first proofs of the perishing of a brick drain, making it
past redemption, is the appearance of rats. Rats will go always to
that place which affords them most food; and it is the brick barrel
drain which receives the washings from meat plates, and the grease
from the scullery pots, which rats most commonly frequent. They
will leave a drain, and nest themselves in the thatched roof of a
farmhouse, and they will form whole villages under the floors of a
town house. Rats generally find their way into houses by means of
holes which have been formed in brick drains by the falling down of
perished bricks from the arch, or owing to their having contrived
to make a passage through the brick drain above the usual wetted
perimeter. These rats, in the case of country houses, may come from
the stables, the barns, or the brooks; but in town houses they
chiefly emanate from the sewer. No matter whence originally derived,
they soon become habituated to a house and its dainty scraps, and
having once engineered their way thither, are seldom effectually
dislodged, especially in country residences. As fast as a hole is
discovered and stopped up, another is made by these persistent
vermin, until the foul air evolved from the house drain becomes so
distressful, and the rats so multiply, that some further steps are
necessary in dealing with them. Where the evil has not yet grown
formidable, traps are made use of, or poison; but this last is a
dangerous resource, as the rats are apt to die underground and emit
during decomposition, which lasts for months, the most horrible
smells.

It may be added that rats are remarkably clean animals, and will
never allow their fur to come in contact with anything that cannot
easily be immediately cleaned from it; hence, very often a dairy,
larder, or granary is surrounded by a trench outside the brick
walling to a certain depth, by broken glass and gravel, well grouted
with tar. Never rely upon a siphon trap in the drain, as a means of
keeping out these voracious and fast-breeding animals. They will eat
even through lead pipes ⅛ inch in thickness.

Having shown the necessity for discarding brick drains underneath
a house, Eassie next considers alternative clay-derived materials,
such as pipes formed of baked clay, after the latter has been worked
to a consistency which would not naturally allow of an escape of
their contents. There are, however, two or three subdivisions of this
class. First of all come those kinds whose ends are merely abutted
together, and not, as at the present day, socketed at the joints.
These are almost equally faulty with brick drains, because when
once they are poisoned and become the habitat of life-destroying
germs, their normal tone cannot possibly be recovered. The only kind
of earthenware drains which ought to be permitted inside a house
are glazed socketed pipes, well formed, well kilned, and properly
laid down, the whole of the pipes having been set on a concrete
bed, and afterwards covered over with properly made concrete, so
as to prevent any possibility of sewage reaching the subsoil, and
especially water-tanks. It is not every glazed socketed drain-pipe
that is fit for laying down, for the most abominably shaped pipes
are often met with. There are many makers beyond reproach, and
there are scores of pipes showing patent methods of jointing more
or less complicated. The majority of the improvements refer to the
fast seating of the ends of the pipes in cradles, well covered in
cement, and one especially much in use, Stanford’s, provides a ring
of material fitting truly upon a ring of similar material in the
socket of the pipe, so that when the two ends are put together, with
a little grease or resin between them, the pipes fit closely in every
direction, and require but little other luting. These pipes are
generally adopted for use under a house, and ordinary socketed pipes
for outside.

Cast-iron drains are now very often used in place of earthenware
pipes, and there is a great deal to be said in their favour,
especially since the invention of several processes whereby the
interior is prevented from rusting and scaling. Pipes of this
material are useful underground in rows of houses, and wherever
straight lines of delivery are obtainable, and compared with drain
pipes of earthenware, with their necessary surrounding of concrete,
they would prove not more expensive. Unfortunately, however, this
system cannot always be adopted, unless the house has been planned
with a view to this method of drainage; and in most houses it will
be observed that the pipes would have to run in front of fireplaces
and across doorways if above ground. When iron piping is used, great
care should be taken with the jointing, to see that it is properly
packed, and with material calculated to last as long as the pipe
itself. Iron pipes with merely leaded joints are subject to galvanic
action, whereby the iron, sooner or later, thins out by corrosion,
the iron perishing by “abnormal local oxidation,” as has been very
forcibly stated by B. H. Thwaite. When iron is contiguous with lead,
a galvanic action is set up, and, the latter being electro-negative
to the iron, the iron suffers. There ought, therefore, always to be
an assistant packing in the pipe, and the majority of engineers make
use of this. Eassie advises in addition, a luting of Portland cement
with the other materials, which may include a previous stuffing of
fibrous packing material together with the old-fashioned iron filings
and acids.

Given the best kind of drain to lay down, there is still the question
as to where to lay it, and here lamentable errors are frequently
made. The chief fault perpetrated in this particular is the laying
of drains inside a house, when they might just as easily have been
laid outside. When a drain is laid down, care is exercised to get the
pipes as much as possible in straight lines; and at each departure
from a straight line a manhole is formed, enabling any one to
inspect the drain at any time, by lifting the manhole cover. If a
lighted candle is placed at the bottom of the drain in the manholes,
the freedom of the drain from obstructions can be ascertained by
looking from manhole to manhole. These inspection chambers should be
placed at every departure from a straight line, and where several
drains junction together; thus each drain delivery is open to
sight, and rods can easily be introduced up the drain pipe should
any obstruction occur. These inspection chambers are always best
protected by an iron manhole cover, fitting down perfectly into their
iron frames, which are sunk into the stone floor.

Most houses in connection with a large brick sewer have a
“flap-trap,” just where the house drain enters into the sewer; this
flap opens to allow the house sewage to enter the sewer, whereupon
it should immediately close again to exclude foul air and rats from
invading the house. They sometimes, however, do not shut closely, and
in that case their action for good is almost at an end. A householder
can have an occasional inspection made of the trap by the sewer men,
by paying a small fee to the vestry.

_Precautions after Floods._--Dwellings which have been invaded by
the waters should receive special care, so that those whom the flood
has expelled should not occupy them before they have been made
sufficiently healthy for habitation. They should first be cleaned out
as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and freed from all dirt and
debris deposited in different parts by the water. Continuous aëration
and the most active ventilation are the best and most energetic
agents. To increase these as much as possible, where it can be done,
a large fire should be maintained on the hearth, and the doors and
windows opened, so that the light and heat of the sun may contribute
their part to purifying the air. At the same time care must be taken
to dig a ditch 10-15 in. deep around each house, whose interior is in
many cases below the level of the ground. It will also be well, after
having torn down all plastering, which will be in a bad condition,
to scrape to their bottom all joints in the walls, and to replaster
them in the parts of the house most injured, and where bad deposits
have principally accumulated. The floors, where such exist, should
be carefully attended to, and the soil under them covered with a
disinfecting substance, such as pounded charcoal, or sand, or else
with an impermeable material, such as flagging, paving blocks,
cement, &c. Where the house is several stories high, the top stories
should be the first occupied.

Great precautions should also be followed in the treatment of certain
articles of furniture, such as beds and mattresses, which must be
renovated or replaced, and which should never on any account be
used until thoroughly dried. Sanitary treatment, such as adopted
for houses, should be applied with no less vigilance to stables and
barns. One peculiar feature it is important to note, though it can
only be accidentally produced: it is the possible alteration of the
water of wells and springs of potable water, in whose neighbourhood
matter in a state of decomposition may have been deposited, or piles
of excrementitious and organic debris, or sources of water supply
which may have been contaminated by the contents of privy vaults.
Attention should be directed to this danger. To disinfect cellars
into which, by agency of the inundations, the contents of privy
vaults may have penetrated, commercial zinc sulphate may be used,
either by sprinkling it in powder in the cellar, or by watering the
ground when the water has gone down with a concentrated solution of
this salt. Concentrated solution of iron sulphate does well, but
the disinfection is not so complete as with salts of zinc; it is,
however, cheaper.


=Ventilation.=--The objects of ventilation are twofold--first to get
rid of the poisonous gas (carbonic acid) exhaled from our lungs, and
second to furnish a supply of life-supporting gas (oxygen, as it
exists in fresh air) to our lungs. For healthy living, every adult
individual requires at least 1000 cub. ft. of space, or a room 10 ft.
square and 10 ft. high; into this room should pass 3000 cub. ft. of
air every hour.

In dwelling-rooms, and especially in bedrooms, the fireplace should
always be left unclosed, and the flue or damper open for ventilation.
The windows should pull down from the top, and a piece of wire gauze
should be fixed along the open space at the top; or a pane of glass
should be perforated with holes capable of being closed in stormy
weather. All rooms, and especially sleeping apartments, should be
well aired during the day.

A good and simple test for impure air is to take a clear glass bottle
with a glass stopper, holding about 10 oz., and wipe it carefully
inside and out. On entering a room, the air of which you wish to
test, stuff a linen cloth into the bottle and rapidly withdraw it, so
as to allow the air of the room to enter the bottle. Then carefully
place a tablespoonful of clear lime water in the bottle, and replace
the stopper. Shake it for a few minutes; then, if the air is pure,
the lime water will remain clear. If bad, and loaded with carbonic
acid, the lime water will become turbid, or even milky. This is
because lime and carbonic acid together form chalk, which gives
the milky appearance. It must be remembered that this test has no
reference to the ammonia which often exists abnormally in the bad
air of towns, nor does it indicate the presence of disease germs or
poisons due to paint, wall-paper, &c.

A fire in an open fireplace is a good ventilator in a way. We may
ventilate a room easily by raising the lower window sash, and by
placing inside the frame a piece of wood 3-4 in. high, and 1 in. in
thickness, and reaching from one side of the frame to the other.
When the inside sash is brought down to rest on this piece of wood,
it is thus raised 3-4 in. A current of fresh air moves inwards and
upwards to the ceiling between the sashes, and if a piece of wood or
glass, sloping upwards, be attached to the top of the lower sash, the
current of air will be sent upwards to the ceiling, whence it will
diffuse itself through the room.

Draughts must be avoided; and it is wonderful how easily they may be
prevented. Pettenkofer has shown that if air at ordinary temperatures
does not move at a greater rapidity than 1½ ft. per second, its
movement is not felt. What is needed, therefore, is some kind of
screen that will not prevent the entrance of air, but that will break
its force, divide its currents, and make it flow unfelt into the room.

Perhaps the simplest plan of effecting this is the following: Open
your window at the top to whatever degree is necessary to prevent
closeness in the room, but if there is a draught open it wider still;
place a little loosely-packed cotton-wool between the upper and
lower sash, and in the open space above the upper sash place a strip
of perforated zinc, with its lower edge turned upwards, so as to
direct the draught towards the ceiling. If there is still too much
draught, open it still wider, but fasten in front of the perforated
zinc a screen of gauze containing loosely-packed cotton-wool. It is
noteworthy that there must be a sufficient current to carry the air
upwards along the slanting piece of zinc, and towards the ceiling,
otherwise, as Corbett has pointed out, the cold air will trickle over
the edge and cool the feet of the inmates of the room.

In the hot months it is worth while to bear in mind the plan adopted
by Martin in order to keep the rooms of the sick in a state of
freshness. This consists in opening the windows wide, and then
hanging wet cloths before them. The water, as it vaporises, absorbs
the heat, and lowers the temperature of the apartment by several
degrees, while the humidity which is diffused renders the heat much
more supportable. By adopting this plan, the inmates find themselves,
even in the height of summer, in a freshened atmosphere, analogous
to that which prevails after a storm. This fact is well known to
and utilised by the natives of India. Another plan is to close all
windows facing the sun and cover them with blinds or curtains, to
exclude the sun’s rays and the heated external air. Carpets may be
replaced by matting, and the latter may be sprinkled with plain or
perfumed water.

In very cold weather it is equally desirable to close all cracks
and chinks against the influx of draughts. Cracks in floors, around
the skirting board, or other parts of a room, may be neatly and
permanently filled by thoroughly soaking newspapers in paste made
of 1 lb. flour, 3 quarts of water, and a tablespoonful of alum,
thoroughly boiled and mixed. The mixture will be about as thick as
putty, and may be forced into the cracks with a case knife. It will
harden like papier-maché. Old windows that do not close tightly may
be remedied by smearing the edge on which they close with putty,
and that of the sash with chalk, and then closing them as firmly as
possible. The putty will fill up the crevices, and the excess pressed
out at the sides may be removed with a knife, whilst the chalk
prevents adhesion to the sash.

A system in very general use is Moore’s patent glass louvre
ventilator, consisting of a number of louvres (or slips of glass),
which can be opened to any angle up to about 45°, thus always
directing the incoming current of air upwards. They are easily
regulated and secured by a cord, which when released allows the
louvres to close practically air-tight. Moore’s circular glass
ventilator, which consists of (usually five) pear-shaped openings,
neatly cut in the window square, and fitted with a circular glass
cover with corresponding holes working on a centre pivot, are also
very effective for admission or extraction of air. Moore’s sliding
ventilator consists of oblong vertical holes, with the cover sliding
between guides horizontally, the principle being the same as in
the circular ventilator, but it is more suited for the top of shop
fronts or shallow fanlights. These are all made by J. Moore and Sons,
Sekforde Works, St. James’s Walk, Clerkenwell Green, E.C.

Another simple method of admitting fresh air to a room consists in
leaving an aperture in the external wall, at a level between the
ceiling of one apartment and the floor of the room immediately above,
then to convey the fresh air through a channel from the external
wall to the centre of the ceiling of the apartment below, where the
air can be admitted by an opening, and dispersed by having a flat
board or disc to impinge against, suspended 4 in. or 6 in. below the
opening of the ceiling, and so scattered over the room. The cold air,
however, thus admitted, plunges on the heads of the occupants of the
room and mixes with the hot air which has risen near the ceiling.
A top window-sash lowered a little to admit fresh air has the same
disagreeable effect, the cold air being drawn towards the floor by
the chimney draught, and leaving the hot air to stagnate near the
ceiling. In any siphon system placed vertically the current of air
will enter by the short arm, and take its exit by the long arm, and
thus the chimney flue acts as the long arm of a siphon, drawing the
fresh air from the nearest opening. Fresh air may be introduced
through perforations made in the woodwork of the bottom rail of the
door to the room, or through apertures in the outer wall, admitting
the fresh air to spaces behind the skirting board, and making the
latter perforated. The only objection to this plan is the liability
for vermin to lodge between the skirting board and the wall. This may
be prevented by covering the outside apertures with perforated zinc,
but such covering also helps to keep out the full supply of fresh air.

Butler recommends, while admitting the cold air through side
walls near the floor level, and allowing the foul air to escape
at the ceiling, that the fire draught should be maintained quite
independent of the air inlet to the room, the requisite amount of
air for combustion being supplied by a separate pipe led through the
hearthstone with its face towards the fire, the latter acting as a
pump, which is sure to procure its own allowance from the nearest
source; thus the draught which would otherwise be felt by the fire
drawing its supply from the inlet across the room is considerably
reduced. The foul air may enter the ceiling in the centre, and be
conducted by an air-flue either to the outside or to the chimney.
The chimney is the best extractor, as its heated condition greatly
favours the ventilating power.

Dr. Arnott was one of the first to draw attention to the value of a
chimney as a means of drawing off the foul air from the interior of
an apartment. He invented a ventilator consisting of a well-balanced
metallic valve, intended by its instantaneous action to close
against down draught and so prevent the escape of smoke into a room
during the use of fires. If the fire is not alight, what is known
as the register of the stove should be closed, or a tight-fitting
board placed in front of the fireplace, with the adoption of all
chimney-ventilators fixed near the ceiling.

[Illustration: 27. Harding’s Ventilator.]

Harding’s ventilators are better known in the north of England than
the south. They are recommended by Pridgin Teale, surgeon to the
General Infirmary at Leeds, as a means of securing freshness of
atmosphere without draught, and free from all mixture of dust, soot,
or fog. The outside air is conducted through a grate and aperture in
the wall about 7 ft. 6 in. above the floor level, where it is made
to pass through a series of small tubes fixed at an angle of about
30° with the wall. The currents of air are said to be compressed
while passing through the tubes, but to expand and diffuse in all
directions as soon as they are liberated into the apartment. In all
filtering arrangements it must be remembered that if air is to pass
through a screen or filter without retarding the current entering
the room through a tube, the area of the screen must be greater than
the area of section of the tube. This can be effected by placing
the screen diagonally within the tube which admits the air. In some
buildings the filter is dispensed with, and the apparatus is used
simply to diffuse the air as it enters the room. An outlet for the
vitiated air is provided by the chimney flue, either through the
fireplace or by a mica valve placed in the flue near the ceiling.
In rooms where flues do not exist an air extractor is provided,
consisting of two perforated cones and a central tube. The external
air impinging upon the perforated cones is deflected, creating an
induced current up the vertical tube, drawing the foul air from the
interior of the room, and expelling it through the perforations.
In fixing the extractor, a wooden base or frame is placed on the
ridge and covered with lead to make it watertight; the extractor
is then placed over this and fixed in the ordinary manner. A small
inner cone is provided simply to prevent rain from getting into the
tube. Harding’s extractors are so designed that they may be easily
fixed inside an ornamental turret without in any way affecting their
action. They can be obtained in London from Strode & Co., at prices
varying from 15_s._ to 6_l._ and upwards. Their action is illustrated
in Fig. 27: _a_, wall; _b_, grating outside; _c_, filter.

Another system for admitting fresh air into a room, free from fog and
other impurities, is that recommended by the Sanitary Engineering
and Ventilating Co., 115, Victoria Street, Westminster. They provide
for the introduction of fresh air in vertical currents by means of a
suitable number and disposition of vertical tubes, varying in size,
section, and weight according to each special case. The current can
be regulated in amount by throttle valves, and the heated or vitiated
air is removed by means of exhaust ventilators, placed directly over
the roof or in connection with air flues and shafts. The exhaust
ventilator is thus described by the makers: There are no working
parts to get out of order, and no attention is required to ensure
its constant action. In this respect, a great improvement is claimed
over the numerous forms of revolving cowls, which require occasional
lubrication, otherwise the working parts become corroded and the cowl
ceases to act. They are made of circular or rectangular section,
or other shapes to suit special circumstances. One great merit of
the system is the element of length which is introduced by means
of the tube arrangement, and thus a current is continually passing
which diffuses itself over the room. The system admits of a patent
air-cleansing box being built into the wall at the foot of the tube,
fitted with special deflector plates and a tray to hold water or,
when necessary, disinfectants. When the arrangements of furniture
or fittings in a room preclude the use of vertical tubes fixed near
the ground, they recommend the substitution of a ventilating bracket
fixed at 6-7 ft. above the floor. This bracket may contain an air
purifying or cleansing box; if required, a valve is provided for
regulating the admission of fresh air, and a 9 in. by 6 in. hinged
air grating to cover the opening outside. The air-cleansing box is
illustrated in Fig. 28: _a_, inside of room; _b_, floor; _c_, trough
or tray for holding water or disinfectant fluid; _d_, tube.

[Illustration: 28. Sanitary Ventilating Company’s Ventilator.]

Boyle’s patent self-acting air-pump ventilators are well known,
and are found to answer well in their continuous action under all
varieties of wind pressure; they are often adopted without any
inquiry being made as to the scientific principles on which they are
constructed. They consist of 4 sections, each acting independently of
the other. The exterior curve baffle-plate prevents the wind blowing
through the slits formed in the immediate interior plates, and
tends to concentrate the current. These interior plates are curved
outwards, so as to take the pressure off the vertical slits, which
form a communication with the internal chambers, through which the
air impinges on inner deflecting plates, and is further directed by
the radial plates. The external air impinging on the radial plates
is deflected on to the side plates, and creates an induced current.
In its passage it draws the air from the central vertical chambers,
expelling it at the opposite opening. The vitiated air immediately
rushes up the shaft connecting the ventilator with the apartment to
be ventilated, extracting the air and producing a continuous upward
current without the possibility of down draught. The partitions
separating the chambers prevent the external air being drawn through
the slits upon which the wind is not directly acting. The whole
arrangement being a fixture, with no mechanical movement, it is never
liable to get out of order, and the apparatus can be easily fixed
over a wood base or frame covered with zinc or lead to secure a good
water-tight connection. Where Boyle’s ventilators are used the air is
renewed imperceptibly, the vitiated air being extracted as rapidly as
it is generated.

A somewhat similar arrangement to Boyle’s ventilator is patented by
Arnold W. Kershaw, of Lancaster, and consists of 3 rims of deflectors
or plates with openings in each, so arranged that the openings in
one rim are opposite the deflectors in the next inner or outer rim,
the effect being that whatever the direction of the wind, it passes
through the ventilator without being able to enter the central shaft,
and in passing creates a partial vacuum, which induces an upward
current in the upcast shaft without the possibility of down draughts.
Both Boyle’s and Kershaw’s roof ventilators are suitable for fixing
in ventilating towers or turrets. While Kershaw’s is somewhat simpler
in construction, Boyle’s is said to possess the additional advantage
of preventing the entrance of snow by the curve in which the inner
plates are fixed. In the case of chimney flues where there is any
obstruction that breaks the wind and produces a swirl, such as would
be caused by close proximity to higher buildings or raised gables, a
down draught may be prevented by the use of a properly-constructed
chimney cowl. Kershaw’s chimney cowl is a modification of his
pneumatic ventilator, and consists of deflecting plates so arranged
that there is no possibility of a down draught. Boyle’s chimney cowl
is better known than Kershaw’s, and is very effective. It consists
of deflecting plates so fixed that if a body of air is forced in at
the false top, instead of passing down the vent, it is split up by
an inner diaphragm, deflected over the real top, and passed over at
the side openings, thus checking the blow down and assisting the up
draught. Kershaw’s patent inlet and air diffuser consists of a tube
connection between the outside and inside of an apartment rising
vertically on the inside, the upper extremity having radiating
plates, which diffuse the incoming current. Generally speaking, a
sufficient amount of fresh air enters under the door to a room or
between the window sashes or frames; but in apartments where doors
and windows fit tightly, some arrangement for the admission of fresh
air becomes indispensable. In this climate, during 7 months of the
year, the external air is usually too cold to be admitted directly
into the room.

The plan of admitting fresh air to a space behind the grates, leading
up the air through channels on each side of the fireplace, and
ultimately passing it through perforated gratings within the wall
or through perforations in the skirting board on each side of the
fireplace cannot be commended, as the passages are apt to get choked
up with dust, and the temperature of the air cannot be well regulated
in its passage into the room. The true object of a fire and chimney
flue should not be to supply fresh air, but to extract it after it
has done its work.

[Illustration: 29. Boyle’s Air-cooler.]

Fig. 29 illustrates Boyle’s arrangement for cooling the air entering
a room in hot weather. It consists of an air-inlet tube of bracket
form, made of iron. The part which penetrates the hole in the wall
has an outer casing, so that a space of about ½ in. is left between,
which is packed with a non-conducting substance, for the purpose of
preventing the heat from the wall penetrating into the interior of
the opening and acting upon the blocks of ice, which are placed in a
movable drawer, and kept in position by means of open galvanised iron
or copper-wire netting. The front of the drawer is also double, and
packed same as casing. The outer air entering through the grating is
deflected by a metal shield on to the suspended blocks of ice, and
from thence on to the ice at the bottom of the drawer, and thence
up the tube into the room. The air is not only cooled, but purified
thoroughly from dust. See also p. 991.


=Warming.=--In connection with warming an apartment, it is obviously
a necessary condition that the warmth shall be conserved as much as
possible. Hence there is an evil in having too much glass, as it
cools the room too fast in the winter season: 1 sq. ft. of window
glass will cool 1½ cub. ft. of warm air in the room to the external
temperature per second; that is, if the room be warmed to 60° F., and
the thermometer stands at 30° F. outside, there will be a loss of
90 cub. ft. of warm air at 60° per second from a window containing
a surface of glass of 60 sq. ft. In colder climates than that of
England, this subject is of much greater importance. In America, for
instance, during the cold weather, there will always be found, no
matter how tightly or closely the sashes are fitted and protected
with weather-strips, a draught of cold air falling downward. This
arises from the contact of the heated air with the cold glass, which
renders the air cooler and heavier, and causes it to fall. The
air, at the same time, parts with a considerable proportion of its
moisture by condensation upon the glass. The cold air thus formed
falls to the floor, forming a layer of cold air, which surrounds
the feet and legs, while the upper part of the body is enveloped in
overheated air. The layers of cold and warm air in an apartment will
not mix. The warm air will not descend, and the cold air cannot go
upward, except the one is deprived of its heat by radiation, and the
other receives its heat by actual contact with a heated surface. This
radical difference in the upper and lower strata of atmosphere of the
rooms, in which people live during the cold season, is the prolific
cause of most of the throat and lung diseases with which they are
afflicted. Double windows to the houses, therefore, would not only be
a great economy as to fuel, but highly conductive to human longevity.

There are only two ways in which dwelling-houses can be heated,
namely, by radiant heat and by hot air. The former is produced by the
open fire, and by it alone. The latter is obtained in various ways.
The question whether we shall use hot air or radiant heat in our
rooms is by no means one to be lightly passed over. Instinct tells us
to select radiant heat, and instinct is quite right; it is so because
radiant heat operates in a very peculiar way. It is known that as
a matter of health it is best to breathe air considerably below
the natural temperature of the body--98° F.; in air heated to this
temperature most persons would in a short time feel stifled. But it
is also known that the body likes, as far as sensation is concerned,
to be kept at a temperature as near 98° F. as may be, and that very
much higher temperatures can be enjoyed; as, for example, when we
sit before a fire, or bask in the sun. Now radiant heat will not
warm air as it passes through it, and so, at one and the same time,
we can enjoy the warmth of a fire and breathe that cool air which
is best suited to the wants of our system. Herein lies the secret
of the popularity of the open fireplace. But in order that the open
fireplace may succeed, it must be worked within the proper limits of
temperature. If air falls much below 40° F. it becomes unpleasant to
breathe; and it is also very difficult to keep the body warm enough
when at rest by any quantity of clothes. In Russia and Canada the
temperature of the air outside the houses often falls far below zero,
and in the houses it cannot be much above the freezing-point. Here
the open fire fails; it can only warm air by first heating the walls,
furniture, and other materials in a room, and these, in turn, heat
the air with which they come in contact. But this will not do for
North American winters; and accordingly in Canada and the United
States the stove or some other expedient for warming air by direct
contact with heated metal or earthenware is imperatively required.
But this is the misfortune of those who live in cold climates, and
when they ask us to follow their example and take to close stoves
and steam-pipes, and such like, they strongly remind us of the fable
of the fox who had lost his tail. How accurately instinct works in
the selection of the two systems is demonstrated by the fact that a
succession of mild winters is always followed in the United States by
an extended use of open grates; that is to say, the English system
becomes, or tends to become fashionable, while, on the other hand,
a succession of severe winters in this country brings at once into
favour with builders and others a whole host of close stoves and
similar devices which would not be looked at under more favourable
conditions of the weather. While English winters remain moderately
temperate, the open fireplace will enjoy the favour it deserves,
as not only the most attractive, but the most scientific apparatus
available for warming houses. (_Engineer._)

Heat radiated from a fire passes through the air without increasing
its temperature, in the same manner that the sun’s rays in warming
the earth pass through and leave the atmosphere at the higher
altitudes so bitterly cold that water and even mercury will freeze:
it is for this reason that open fires should be lighted some time
before the apartment is required for use, so that firstly a glowing
fire be obtained (flames do not radiate any material quantity of
heat, and practically heat by contact only), and secondly the
surrounding objects, walls, &c., be heated by radiation, and these in
their turn warm the air.

In discussing the various methods of warming, it will be convenient
to classify them under general heads.

To put the reader upon a more familiar basis with this subject, a
short explanation of the cause of heat will be here given. Combustion
is the chemical union of oxygen (contained in the air) with some
other substance for which it has an affinity; as applied to coal, it
is the combining of oxygen and carbon producing carbonic acid gas,
and it is known to every one that all chemical combinations evolve
heat.

Combustion may be said to be complete when coke, wood charcoal, or
anthracite coal is burnt, as there is no smoke, the up current is
colourless, and these fuels burn quite away, leaving nothing except a
little ash, &c., which originally consisted of earthy impurities in
the fuel. Ordinary coal contains bitumen (pitch) in its composition,
which at a temperature of about 500° to 600° F., distils off as a
smoky gas (carbon and hydrogen), but at a higher temperature this
is ignited, forming flame by the union of oxygen with the smoke
(carbon); the main principles of underfed, smoke-consuming grates are
based upon this, with the object of causing all gaseous products from
the fuel to pass through the incandescent portion of the fire and so
render the consumption of the fuel complete, as will be explained
later on.

A good authority says that “the correct method of warming is to
obtain everywhere, at will, the warmth most congenial to the
constitution with air as pure as blows at the mountain top,” and it
might have been added “without an unreasonable consumption of fuel.”

_Open Grate._--The ordinary open grate is too familiar to need any
description, but it is wasteful of fuel to a degree that could only
be tolerated in a mild climate where fuel was cheap. As a matter of
fact, only some 10-12 per cent. of the heat generated in an open
grate is utilised, the remainder going up the chimney. But this very
fault is in one sense a virtue, in that it performs the ventilation
of the apartment in an eminently satisfactory manner. By the addition
of a contrivance for regulating the combustion in au open grate, the
fuel consumption is much reduced, the combustion is rendered more
perfect (diminishing or preventing smoke), the radiated heat is much
increased, while the appearance of an open grate is retained, though
it is in reality converted into an open stove.

It would not be out of place to explain the cause of draught. After
a chimney has been used, the brickwork surrounding and forming it
becomes warmed and retains its heat for a very considerable period
even if no fire is lighted; this heat is slowly radiated, and warms
the air contained in the chimney, rendering it lighter and causing
it to rise and flow out at the top; this is immediately replaced by
cold air from below, which is warmed and rises as before, and so
continues, causing an up current of air to be passing through the
flue, its swiftness varying with the heat. The more intense the heat
produced by the fire, and the greater the height of the chimney, the
more swift is the current of air known as the “draught”; and when
once the draught is established it will remain for a very long time
without any fire being lighted. A good draught is not to be despised,
as can be certified by those who have suffered from the annoyance
of a smoky chimney; yet too strong a draught is a disadvantage, as
consuming the fuel too rapidly, robbing the fire and apartment of
its heat, and causing draughts of another kind, which materially
cool the room and tend to cause discomfort; this only applies to the
old form of grate, as all or nearly all modern grates have a means
of regulating the draught; even the common and old form of grate is
provided with a “register” or flap at the back, immediately over the
fire (certainly not an economical position for it), through which the
smoke passes into the chimney. This flap is provided with the view of
having it full open to assist combustion when fire is first ignited,
and afterwards partially closing it when fire is established, and so
prevent undue loss of heat, but although this “register” is provided
with every stove of its kind, _it has not, nor never has had, any
means of regulating it_. If the reader has one of these stoves in his
residence, as most probably he has, for they are still used in the
upper rooms of nearly every building, he can by a simple experiment
experience the benefit of regulating this flap. By placing a piece
of coal, or stone, or metal, with the tongs, after the fire is
established, at the joint or hinge of the register, and then drawing
the register forward and letting it rest, so that it is closed all
but about 1½ in., it will be immediately found that one-fourth or
one-third more heat is thrown into the room, for a similar result
is brought about as with the modern projecting or overhanging brick
backs, which cause the heat to be deflected forwards which would
otherwise have passed directly up the chimney. If an existing stove
of this description be fitted with a rack adjustment for the register
flap and with an “economiser,” an advance of 30 to 40 per cent. in
economy and comfort will be experienced, for in the ordinary manner
in which these stoves are fitted and used, it can be taken that
one-half the heat passes directly up the chimney; a good proportion
of the heat radiated is drawn back by the current of air proceeding
from the room towards and up the chimney; a proportion is lost by
conduction, the heat being passed away to the walls and surrounding
parts, and a fair proportion is lost by the smoke, which is really
unconsumed fuel; but this form of stove is improving rapidly in
various ways, as will be described hereafter.

_Open Stove._--This subject has been most ably discussed by Dr.
Pridgin Teale, in connection with the economising of fuel in house
fires. His remarks will well bear repeating.

“It is hardly possible to separate the two questions of economy of
fuel and abatement of smoke. None who, in their own person, or as
the companion or nurse of friends and relatives, have gone through
the miseries of bronchitis or asthma in a dense London fog, can fail
to perceive that this is a serious medical, not less than a great
economical, question. Nine million tons of coal--one-fourth of the
domestic fuel consumption in this kingdom--is what I estimate as
a possible reward to the public if they will have the sense, the
energy, and the determination to adopt the principles here advocated,
and which can be applied for a very small outlay. Much has been said
by scientific men about waste of fuel, and strong arguments have
been advanced which make it probable that the most economical and
smokeless method of using coal is to convert it first of all into gas
and coke, and then to deliver it for consumption in this form instead
of coal. Theoretically, no doubt, this is the most scientific and
most perfect use of fuel, and the day may come when its universal
adoption may be possible. But before that time arrives many things
must happen. The mode of manufacture, the apparatus on a mighty
scale, and the mode of distribution must be developed, nay, almost
created, and a revolution must be effected in nearly every fireplace
in the kingdom. At present its realisation seems to be in a very
remote future. Meantime I ask the public to adopt a method which is
the same in principle, and in perfection not so very far short of it.
It is nothing, more nor less, than that every fireplace should make
its own gas and burn it, and make its own coke and burn it, and this
can be done approximately at comparatively little cost, and without
falling foul of any patent, or causing serious disturbances of
existing fireplaces. We must, first of all, do away with the fallacy
that fires won’t burn unless air passes through the bottom or front
of the fire. The draught under the fire is what people swear by (aye,
and many practical and scientific men too), and most difficult it is
to sweep this cobweb away from people’s brains. They provide 2 or 3
times as much air as is needed for combustion, ⅓, perhaps, being the
necessary supply of oxygen, the remainder serving to make a draught
to blow the fire into a white heat, and to carry no end of waste heat
rapidly up the chimney; ⅔ of cold air chilling the fire, ⅔ more than
needful of cold air coming into the room to chill it; and much of the
smoke and combustible gases hurried unburnt up the chimney. The two
views which I am anxious to enforce upon the attention of the public,
of builders, of ironmongers, and of inventors, are these: that the
open grating under the fire is wrong in principle, defective in
heating power, and wasteful of fuel, and that the right principle of
burning coal is that no current of air should pass through the bottom
of the fire, and that the bottom of the fire should be kept hot. This
principle is violated by the plan of closing the slits in the grate
by an iron plate resting on the grate, which cuts off the draught,
but allows the chamber beneath the fire to become cold, and when
cinders reach the plate they become chilled, cease to burn, and the
fire becomes dead. The right principle is acted upon by the various
grates with fire-brick bottoms, and the English public owes much
to the inventor of this principle as carried out in the Abbotsford
grates, which have done much to educate the British public in the
appreciation of the fact that a fire will burn well with a current of
air passing over it, and not through it. But there is a better thing
than the solid fire-brick bottom, and that is a chamber underneath
the grating, shut in from the outer air by a shield resting on the
hearth and rising to the level of the bottom bar of the range. This
hot-air chamber, into which fine ash can fall, produces on the
whole a brighter and cleaner fire, and one which is more readily
revived when low, than the solid fire-brick. There is another mighty
advantage in the principle of the ‘economiser’--an unspeakable
advantage, it is applicable to almost every existing fireplace, and
it need not cost more than 3-4._s_ This idea has now been long on
its trial. It has been applied in hundreds of houses. It has been
submitted to the very severe test of being applied to an infinite
variety of grates, under a great variety of circumstances, and tried
with coke, anthracite, and coal, good, bad, and indifferent. The
effect has been, in an enormous number of instances, a marked success
in saving coal and labour, and in more comfortable uniform warmth
to the room. The failures have been very few indeed. I have drawn
up 7 rules for the construction of a fireplace, all of which are
pronounced to be sound:--

“1. As much fire-brick, and as little iron as possible.

“2. The back and sides of the fireplace should be fire-brick.

“3. The back of the fireplace should lean or arch over the fire, so
as to become heated by the rising flame.

“4. The bottom of the fire or grating should be deep from before
backwards, probably not less than 9 in. for a small room nor more
than 11 in. for a large room.

“5. The slits in the grating should be narrow, perhaps ¼ in. wide,
for a sitting-room grate, ⅜ in. for a kitchen grate.

“6. The bars in front should be narrow.

“7. The chamber beneath the fire should be closed in front by a
shield or economiser.

“There is one caution which should be given. There is no doubt about
the fact that immediately beneath the fire the hearthstone is hotter,
and the ashes remain much hotter when the ‘economiser’ is used.
This may increase the risk of fire whenever wooden beams lie under
the fireplace. In any case of doubt, the best plan would be to take
up the hearthstone and examine, and relay with safe materials; but
should this be impossible, safety may be secured by covering the
hearthstone with a sufficient thickness of fire-brick, just within
the space enclosed by the ‘economiser’--leaving a space of 2 or more
in. between the fire-brick hearth and the bottom of the fire. In
lighting the fire, if there be no cinders on which to build the fire,
it is well to draw away the ‘economiser’ for a short time until the
fire has got hold; but, if there be cinders left from the previous
day, on the top of which the paper and wood can be placed, then the
fire may be lighted with the ‘economizer’ in its place. There is a
great art in mending a fire. It is wasteful to throw lumps of coal
higgledy-piggledy on the fire. The red embers should be first broken
up so as to make a level surface, then pieces of coal should be laid
flat on the fire and fitted in almost like pavement; lastly, if the
fire is intended to burn slowly and last very long, small coal should
be laid on the top. An ‘economised’ fire so made will, in a short
time, heat the coal through, and give off gases, which will ignite
and burn brightly on the surface of the black mass, and when the
gases are burnt off there is a large surface of red-hot coke.”

[Illustration: 30. Kitchen Economiser. 31. Bedroom Economiser.]

The annexed illustrations show the application of the economiser.
Fig. 30 is a kitchen range, _a_ being the economiser and _b_ the
front damper. The latter should always be used in warm weather,
unless the front of the fire is needed for roasting and should be
put on at night. Fig. 31 is a bedroom fireplace having fire-brick
sides _a_, fire-brick back _b_ leaning over the fire, narrow front
bars _c_ movable, grating _d_ with narrow slits, chamber under the
fire closed by economiser _e_, and front damper _f_ which can close
the lower ⅔ of the front of the fire at night or when a slow fire is
needed.

The “economiser” is a shield of sheet iron which stands on the
hearth, and rises as high as the lowest bar of the grate, against
which it should fit accurately, so as to shut in the space or chamber
under the fire. If the front of the range be curved or angular, as
in most register stoves, the economiser will stand, owing to its
shape--but if the front be straight, the economiser needs supports
such as are shown. “Ordinary economisers” are made of 16-gauge
charcoal iron plate, with ⅜ in. bright steel moulding at the top, ½
in. moulding at the bottom, and 1 or 2 knobs as required. “Kitchen
economisers” are made of 16-gauge iron, with ½ in. semicircle iron at
the top edge; and with supports in scroll form of ½ in. semicircle
iron. Some makers use rather thinner iron plate and give strength
by the mouldings. Some have used too thin plates, little better
than tin, which have warped and so become more or less useless.
Great care should be spent in taking the dimensions--as every grate
has to be measured--as a foot for a boot. This renders it almost
impossible to send orders to a maker by post. Some skilled person
must take the measure, and take it accurately. The dimensions to be
taken are: firstly, the outline of the bottom bar of the grate. If
it be curved, or angular, the outline can be well taken by a piece
of leaden gas-pipe, which, moulded to the outline can then be traced
upon paper or carried carefully away to the makers; secondly, the
height must be measured from the hearthstone to the bottom bar. This
is the “economiser” in its simplest and cheapest form, as applicable
to nearly every ordinary range.

Ornament can be added to taste. It is obvious that the adaptation
of the economiser need not displace the old-fashioned ash-pan, and
that the two can be combined, or that the economiser may be made like
a drawer and catch the ashes. All such variations will work well,
provided that the main principles be adhered to of “cutting off the
under current,” and “keeping the chamber under the fire hot.” But the
simplest form is the best.

[Illustration: 32. Some Modern Open Grates.]

Fig. 32 illustrates a few typical specimens of modern improved open
grates devised to increase the radiation of heat and perfect the
combustion of the fuel: A is a combination of Parson’s grate and
economiser with a Milner back; B is Nelson and Sons’ “rifle” back; C
is a Galton back; D, Jaffrey’s grate.

“The Manchester Warming and Ventilating Grate” (E. H. Shorland,
St. Gabriel’s Works, Manchester) is somewhat similar in principle
to Captain Galton’s grate, i.e. the warm fresh-air inlet is at the
ceiling, and the vitiated air is carried off by the chimney, or in
some instances ventilation at a lower part of the room is provided.
Fig. 33 will acquaint the reader with the details: _a_, fireplace;
_b_, outer wall; _c_, inner wall; _d_, smoke flue; _e_, _f_, cold-air
inlets; _g_, _h_, warm-air passages; _i_, inlet for cold or warm air
into room.

[Illustration: 33. Shorland’s Manchester Warm-air Grate Back.]

The shape of the back brick advocated by Dr. Teale (first invented by
the celebrated Count Romford, to whom much is owing for the various
means undertaken by him to promote the consideration of the question
of improving our fire-grates and to abate the smoke nuisance) has
since its discovery met with universal favour, and is coming into
general use by all makers, as the expense of the stove is scarcely
increased and its result in use is a most decided improvement. The
actual shape or section of this brick varies with the different
stove makers, but the result is the same; the brick is made to
slope forward from the bottom up to about 15 or 16 in. high; at
that height the top of the brick overhangs the bottom by about 5 to
6 in.; its section is appropriately defined by a maker, who likens
it to a “dog’s hind leg.” Some makers shape the brick like a curved
scallop-shell, inclining forward at the top; the effect is that as
the heat ascends from the fire, it strikes or comes in contact with
the projecting part, and rebounds or is deflected into the room;
it is a similar action to that which takes place if an object, say
a ball, is thrown upon a wall and comes in contact with a similar
projection--it would bound off or be deflected.

It would be impossible to describe all the existing improvements upon
the ordinary or old form of open-fire stove (commonly known as a
“register grate”), but the following are some that are tolerably well
known and have a good share of favour.

“The Abbotsford Slow-combustion Grate” (Mappin and Webb, Cheapside,
London), which has now been used some years, was about the first
recognised form of stove that had the bottom closed, so that the
supply of air for combustion is carried through the front only.
This is a great improvement (as explained by the economiser), by
lessening the consumption of fuel without decreasing the efficiency
or its heat-giving properties. The bottom of the fireplace is a solid
fire-brick slab, and the chief property of this stove is truly named
“slow combustion.” Many people have tried to apply this advantage
to existing stoves by having a piece of iron cut to lie _upon_ the
bottom grate; but iron is too rapid a conductor, and failure is
experienced by having the lower part of the fire dull and dead. It
cannot, however, be said that a solid bottom is the best, for it
permits of accumulation of ash, and it is slow lighting.

[Illustration: 34. Wharncliffe Grate.]

“The Wharncliffe Patent Warming and Ventilating Grate” (Steel and
Garland, 18 Charterhouse Street, London, E.C.) Fig. 34, is an
excellent form of grate, and is fixed back against the wall, wholly
projecting into the room, an air-chamber surrounding the fire-box;
this air-chamber is, whenever convenient, connected with the outer
air by means of a pipe, and within the chamber gills or ribs are
provided, attached to the fire-box (the principle and advantages of
these gills or ribs, which are to increase the heat-giving surface
and to prevent over-heating of air, will be explained under Gill
stoves).

When the fire is established, the metal of the fire-box becomes
heated, which then heats the air contained in the air-chamber,
rendering it lighter, whereupon it rises and flows out into the
room through the perforations provided in the pattern of the
ironwork; cold air immediately flows in to take its place, which is
then heated, and passes out, so that as its name implies it is a
ventilating as well as warming grate, and has the further advantage
of the cheerful open radiating fire; but it must be remembered that
with ventilating stoves there must be provision made for the removal
of vitiated air, which in this case is taken up the chimney along
with the products of combustion.

Another improved form of warming and ventilating grate is that
invented by and named after Captain Douglas Galton (makers, Yates,
Hayward & Co., Upper Thames Street, London). The principle advocated
in this instance is contrary to that generally adopted, insomuch that
the warmed fresh air is admitted into the room near the ceiling, and
the abstraction of vitiated air is performed through the grate by the
chimney draught. This is an open-fire grate fitted within a mantel in
the usual way, and is provided with an air-chamber at the back, and
which is connected with the outer air as before explained. From this
air-chamber a perpendicular shaft or flue is carried, terminating by
being turned into the room with an inlet grating or louvre. As before
explained, the air within the air-chamber is warmed, and rises and
passes into the room close to the ceiling; from there it is drawn
down towards the fire, and eventually passes up the chimney, so
that there is always a current of warm fresh air from the ceiling
downwards. There are as many advocates for this down-current system
as for the up current, as in the Wharncliffe and others. The Captain
Galton has had about 14 years’ trial, and is still largely used. A
rather peculiar and advantageous action takes place, by the fact that
the apartment becomes fully charged with fresh air and the supply
for combustion and draught is not drawn from the crevices beneath
doors, &c., so that when a door is opened no inrush of cold air is
experienced. This and the Manchester grate can most conveniently be
used for warming another apartment also from the same fire.

[Illustration: 35. Nautilus Grate. 36. Nautilus Grate.]

“The Nautilus Grate” (Jas. B. Petter & Co., Yeovil), Figs. 35 and 36,
is, as the name signifies, shell-shaped. The products of combustion
rise from the fire, and after revolving within the centre or axis
pass off by two concealed flues at the back of the grate to a flue
prepared in the back of the fireplace; the ashes fall through a
small grating into a closed ash pan. The warmth radiated direct
from the cheerful open fire and indirectly from the outer case is
considerable, and the results are very satisfactory, as no heat is
lost by conduction. This grate is also cleanly, economical, and
portable. The back, cheeks, and hearth should be tiled; the extra
expense is fully compensated for by the handsome appearance.

[Illustration: 37. Eagle Convertible Grate.]

The “Ingle Nook,” Wright’s Patent (GEORGE WRIGHT & SONS, 113 Queen
Victoria Street, E.C.), Fig. 38, is a combination of all the most
recent improvements, with two new features never before introduced
into this class of grate, viz. the regulation of draught by means
of an ordinary damper, and the complete independence of the actual
working part of the stove, so that it may be removed at any time for
repairs without disturbing the outer casing or brickwork.


_Special features and advantages_.

[Illustration: 38. PLAN THROUGH LINE C.D. SECTION THROUGH LINE A.B.]

Radiation and complete utilisation of the heat generated from all
parts of the grate, as not only the heat given off from front of
fire, but also all heat radiated from sides and back of grate, which
is usually absorbed in brickwork, is here passed into warm-air
chambers and thence into the room. Economy of fuel, with increase of
heating power. Prevention of down-draught, and partial consumption
of smoke. Simplicity of construction and fixing, so that easy access
is afforded to all parts of the grate, more especially those likely
to want renewing. Pleasing appearance of the ordinary open fire,
with heating power of a warm-air stove. This stove being complete
in itself can be fixed by any ordinary workman without removing the
mantel-piece or in any way interfering with the decorations of the
room. The whole construction and principle of the grate are so simple
that they can be readily understood by reference to the plan and
section annexed. The interior portion of fire-box is of fire-brick,
and can readily be removed from the front without disturbing any
other portion of the grate. The back leans forward, deflecting the
radiant heat into the room, and contracts the throat of the flue
so as to quicken the draught directly the fire is lighted, which
flue then expands and is again contracted at the top by means of
the damper. Less than half the quantity of fuel is required to warm
any given space, and more than double the quantity of heat is given
off than from an ordinary grate with the usual supply of fuel. By
introducing a fresh-air flue where practicable the perfection of
ventilation may be obtained. The cost does not greatly exceed that
of an ordinary grate, and is very much below that of any other grate
of this description at present in the market. _See advertisement in
front of title page._

“The Rumford-Teale Grate” (made by Verity Bros., 98 High Holborn,
London), is made nearly wholly of fire-brick, upon strictly
scientific principles, as the name indicates. There is very little
iron in its construction, the front being a steel wire trellis
instead of bars; this permits free radiation from the front and
reduces loss by conduction. This front, apparently fragile, lasts for
a considerable time (4 or 5 years), and is easily replaced by any one
at an extremely small cost.

An improvement upon the Rumford-Teale grate is the “Eclat,” by
the same makers, shown in elevation and section in Fig. 39. Its
distinguishing features are a double flue (one for quick and the
other for slow draught), and the projection of the fire in advance
of the chimney breast. The figure shows: A, damper for regulating
combustion; B, perforated fire-clay back; C, tiles to taste; D,
economiser; E, ashpit; F, chimney breast; G, frieze; H, removable
bottom grate with fine mesh; J, valve for regulating combustion.

There are several forms of combined open- and close-fire stoves,
which stand independent of any brickwork, and are generally known as
“American stoves.” These stoves are good heat givers, ornamental,
and have several advantages, and can be obtained at almost any
hardware stores; they do not work upon strictly hygienic principles,
as they are apt to get overheated when closed, and render the air
unpleasantly dry; but this can be remedied to some extent by using a
vaporising pan, as will be explained later on.

[Illustration: 39. Éclat Grate. Éclat Grate.]

There is another form of open-fire grate that should be mentioned,
viz. those that have the fire replenished by placing the fresh fuel
underneath, and are known as underfed smokeless grates. This idea,
which deserves high commendation, has been rendered practical, but
cannot be said to be perfected yet. It originated in Dr. Arnott’s
stove, which was made with the usual set of front bars fixed about
12 in. high from the hearth, and the space under the bars closed in
front. The bottom of the fire, which is movable, is lowered down to
the hearth and the space filled with coal: the fire is laid, and
ignited on the top of this store of fuel. As the fire burns down,
the bottom grating is raised by means of a lever bringing fresh fuel
within the fire-basket, and this bottom is raised as often as the
fire burns down; it will be seen that the gaseous products given
off by the fresh fuel must pass through the incandescent fire, and
so be perfectly consumed, and the space below the front bars is
sufficiently large to hold fuel for one day’s consumption.

“The Kensington Smoke-consuming Grate” (Brown and Green, Finsbury
Pavement, London) is an underfed grate, and has received high
commendation from good authorities; it has not the complication of
Dr. Arnott’s, and is of good appearance, being fixed in a similar
manner to any ordinary grate.

“Hollands’ Patent Underfed Grate” (Hollands & Co., Stoke Newington)
is a still further improvement, and, except for a little complication
in construction, may be considered the best in action and results.
The advantages of underfed grates are, firstly, an abatement of the
smoke nuisance, full utilisation of the fuel, and more powerful
radiation from the top of fire, which is always incandescent. There
is commonly no provision made for the supply of air for combustion,
nor to replace that which is taken from the apartment by the draught
in the chimney--the cracks and fissures around doors and windows
sufficing for this purpose, is the too commonly general idea; but
for perfection in warming upon hygienic principles, there must be
a proper supply from external sources; but this will be more fully
treated under Ventilation; it will, however, be noticed that some of
the ventilating stoves make provision for this in themselves; this
particularly applies to Captain Galton’s principle.

_Close-Fire stoves._--The old form of close-fire warming and
ventilating stove is that known as the “Cockle.” It consists of a
closed circular fire-box with a dome top and a similar shaped outer
casing; between the fire-box and the casing is a space of a few
inches all round, known as the air-chamber, which by means of a pipe
is connected with the outer air. The action is similar to a flue; the
air within the air-chamber, being in contact with the heated surface
of the fire-box is warmed, and rises and flows out at the top through
an aperture provided at the top (as explained with the Wharncliffe
grate), or it is made with a nozzle at top to attach a pipe and carry
the warm air wherever required, so making it a hot-air furnace, in
which case it would be fixed in a basement or cellar as at the best
it is not ornamental, but this primitive form of stove has gone
somewhat into disuse.

[Illustration: 40. Thames Bank Iron Co.’s Stove.]

Where a continual genial warmth is required at little cost in an
apartment, the slow-combustion stove, such as that made by the Thames
Bank Iron Company, London, (Fig. 40), may be employed. The external
air is drawn in by a smoke-pipe channel and impelled through orifices
in the stove. The smoke can be made to pass out at any level in the
stove that may be found most convenient, but unless there is a high
chimney shaft 25 to 30 ft., an underground flue connection is not
recommended. The fuel, consisting of coke or cinders broken small,
is supplied at the top, the ashes or cinders being removed through
a sliding door at the base; a special soot-door is provided for
clearing the flue before lighting the fire.

This appears an appropriate moment to mention that additional results
can be obtained from close-fire stoves, by carrying the smoke flue
down, and just below the floor level, in a properly made channel, and
covered by a grating, as with hot-water pipes. It is known that a
good proportion of the heat must be carried away by the flue, so that
by this means nearly the whole of the heat evolved by combustion can
be utilised; but it is necessary to bear in mind that the Building
Act prescribes that no hot-air or smoke-pipe shall be nearer than 9
in. from any woodwork or inflammable material, and it is necessary
that the main flue be high, as a good draught is needed to withdraw
this nearly cold smoke or vapour, and in many instances where the
under-floor horizontal flue is of good length, a pilot stove or
rarifier is necessary at the foot of the main up-flue to keep up
the draught, but in most cases the rarifier is only needed at first
lighting. This arrangement is rarely applicable in dwelling-houses.

Improved forms of close-fire stoves are as multitudinous as
improvements in open-fire grates; they are made either wholly closed,
generally called “slow-combustion stoves,” and are arranged to burn
many hours without feeding; or, as convertible open and closed; the
latter have the advantage of the cheerful radiating fire when open.

“The Tortoise Slow-combustion Stove” (makers, Portway and Son,
Halstead, Essex) is finding a ready sale and considerable favour,
as maybe judged by the fact of its being obtainable at nearly any
ironmonger’s. This stove, as with the majority of slow-combustion
stoves, consists of an ornamental outer casing (cylindrical, square,
or hexagonal), the height being about 2½ times the diameter; this
casing is lined with fire-brick, and constitutes the fire-box; there
is an ash-box and door below, in which is fitted a ventilator or
damper to regulate the draught and speed of combustion. The fuel is
supplied through a door provided at the top, and the smoke outlet is
also placed near the top. In use, the fire-box is filled with coke
and cinders, and the draught is regulated by the ventilator; it will
then burn, and heat an apartment for many hours without attention.
It is a very useful form of stove for greenhouses (in which case it
would be fitted with a vaporising pan), halls, offices, &c., but
hardly suited for living-rooms; the fire-brick lining tempers the
heat, but if in use where children or dresses would come in contact,
a guard must be provided. Slow-combustion stoves are made in a
variety of forms, and the effect is very pleasing when externally
fitted with tiled panels, &c.

For slow-combustion stoves that are required to burn for a longer
than usual period without attention a chamber or hopper is fitted on
top to take a further charge of fuel; it is taper-sided and open at
the bottom, very much like an inverted pail, but about 2½ ft. high.
It will be readily understood that as the coke is consumed, the upper
supply gradually sinks down until the whole is consumed; this would
utterly fail with a fuel that cakes, such as soft or bituminous coal.

[Illustration: 41. Musgrave’s Stove.]

“Musgrave’s Patent Warming and Ventilating Stove,” Fig. 41 (Musgrave
& Co., Limited, 97 New Bond Street, London), is made upon the
slow-combustion principle, to burn from 8 to 24 hours, but is much
more highly finished than the last named, and is constructed in so
many patterns and sizes as to be suitable for almost every purpose,
from small dwellings to the largest buildings. The stove consists
of an outer casing, within which is contained the fire-box and an
air-chamber. The latter is provided with gills to increase the
heating surface (see Gill stoves). The smoke and heat when leaving
the top of the fire-box is carried down a flue-way to the bottom of
the stove, and then up to the top again into the smoke-pipe; this
flue-way is within the air-chamber, and so utilises the major portion
of the heat passed into the flue; the fuel to be used is coke, which
is the most suitable fuel for all slow-combustion stoves.

For conservatories or where the air requires moistening these
stoves are very neatly and effectually fitted with vaporising pans;
and these stoves are also made to act as hot-air furnaces, and in
combination with hot-water-pipe heating apparatus.

Roberts’ patent terra-cotta stoves operate also by slow combustion
and are self-acting, but possess the additional advantage of
purifying and radiating the heat by the terra-cotta, which is
contained between 2 concentric cylinders of sheet iron united at
the base and top, the outer cylinder being perforated to allow of
direct radiation of heat from the terra-cotta. The stove consists
of 4 separate parts, namely, the stove body, its top or cover, the
fire-box, which can be lifted in and out, and the stand, with draw
and damper. The fire is lighted at the top and burns downwards, the
air sustaining it being drawn upwards through the bottom of the
fire-box and thence through the fuel. The stove can be placed in any
position on an iron or stone base and connected with the nearest
chimney flue by an iron pipe provided with soot-door elbows, care
being taken to form a complete connection by abandoning any other
open fire-grate in the room and screening it off by an iron or zinc
plate. They emit no effluvium, as the terra-cotta gradually and
completely absorbs all the caloric in its permeation through the
shell before it is communicated to the outer air, which is thus
warmed and diffused in a healthy condition over the room. The top
of the stove is movable, so that the fire-box can be removed to be
cleaned and recharged without moving the stove body, and a sand
groove is inserted at the top where the cover rests, which is filled
with fine dry sand to prevent any escape of smoke.

Close-fire stoves, consisting of a strong iron fire-box, on to the
outside of which is cast a series of vertical, parallel plates or
ribs, are known as “Gill” stoves, as the plates or ribs referred to
somewhat resemble the gills of a fish. These stoves are provided
with a door for replenishing the fire, with ash-pan and ventilator
below, and the iron base upon which the stove stands is made hollow,
and has a series of holes or perforations opening between the gills,
and provision is made for connecting the base with the outer air
whenever convenient. It must now be explained that the object of
the gills is to extend the heat-giving surface of the stove. It is
known that iron is a very rapid conductor of heat, and consequently
when the iron of the fire-box becomes heated, the heat is as quickly
transferred to and felt at the extremities of the gills. It will
be readily understood that only a certain amount of heat is given
off by the fire, and the greater amount of metal it is transferred
to, the lower must be its temperature; this is the chief and real
advantage, as instead of a small volume of air being heated to a
very high temperature, off a plane surface that would possibly get
red hot, there is a larger volume of air at a lower temperature, and
this has the further decided advantage that the air does not become
unpleasantly dry, and the particles of dust, &c., in the air do not
get scorched and burnt, and cause the unpleasantness commonly known
as “burning the air.”

A further advantage possessed by these stoves is that they are not so
much a source of danger, as the size of the gills is so proportioned
to the size of the fire-box, that in ordinary use they cannot become
excessively hot, and this is especially desirable where children or
ladies’ dresses, &c., might come in contact.

These stoves can be obtained at any ironmonger’s or stove maker’s.
A good form is that made by the London Warming and Ventilating Co.,
14 Great Winchester Street, London, and is called the “Gurney”
stove (Fig. 42). This is circular or cylindrical in form, with a
dome top, and the gills, which are perpendicular, extend around the
stove. A novel feature with this stove is that it is provided with a
water-pan or trough carried round the base of the gills; when this
pan is charged, the lower ends of the gills are immersed, and the
heat that is conducted there causes the water to slowly evaporate.
The advantage of a vaporising pan is this: before being warmed by
an ordinary stove, fresh air holds a certain and proper amount of
moisture, but as it becomes heated by such a stove the temperature is
raised without proportionately increasing the moisture, and this is
apt to make it unpleasantly dry, particularly to those suffering from
asthma or any bronchial affection. The reverse is the case when the
air becomes heated naturally (except when the wind is in the east);
the proper proportion of moisture increases as the temperature rises;
for instance, the atmosphere at 80° F. would contain about four times
as much moisture as when at 32° F. The principle of the Gurney stove
is such that the _natural_ degree of moisture is always maintained in
the heated air. The greater proportion of modern close fire-stoves
and furnaces have gills applied in some form or other.

It might be mentioned that 13 Gurney stoves have effectually coped
with the problem “How to heat St. Paul’s.”

[Illustration: 42. Gurney Stove. 43. Convoluted Stove.]

Another good form is “Constantine’s Convoluted Stove” (J. Constantine
and Son, 23 Oxford Street, Manchester), Fig. 43. Instead of solid
gills, there are a series of perpendicular convolutions which double
the heating surface, and the makers’ claim to greater efficiency is
no doubt correct. This stove, however, should be classed with hot-air
furnaces, as it is not made in small sizes for direct heating; but
for warming large buildings, churches, &c., for heating laundry
drying-rooms, Turkish baths, &c., it is to be highly recommended.

The German principle, which might advantageously be adopted to a
greater extent in England, is to build a fire-brick structure with
the furnace at the base and the flue winding from side to side 3 or
4 times, and terminating at the top into an ordinary brick chimney;
this structure projects into the apartment and is covered with
porcelain ware, and the appearance often exhibits great taste and
skill, as it will be understood that the structure is not rigidly
square, but is often very beautiful from an architectural point of
view. The good effect experienced is that after 3 or 4 hours’ firing,
the mass of brickwork becomes thoroughly heated and the fire is
permitted to go out; communication with the chimney is stopped by
means of a damper, and every confidence can then be placed in the
stove giving out abundance of warmth for the remainder of the day, as
the brickwork takes hours to become moderately cool, and the whole
of the heat it contains must be diffused into the apartment. It
will be noticed that a minimum of heat is lost by this arrangement,
and the result is very satisfactory from an economical standing; but
it has not the cheerful appearance of our open fires, and efficient
ventilation is required. This plan can, however, be satisfactorily
adopted for halls or cold situations; in the former it has the
further advantage in most instances of warming the stairways and
landings in the upper part of the house by the ascension of the
heated air. Fire-brick stoves are made by Doulton & Co., Lambeth,
London, and are finished in their majolica and Doulton ware; it
is needless to add, these wares give the stoves a very handsome
appearance.

_Hot-air Furnace._--The close stove is really a hot-air furnace,
but it is restricted to heating the air in the room. Other hot-air
furnaces are designed to obtain a supply of fresh air and heat it
before passing it into the room. The heated air from a fireplace is
available to the apartment for only about 12 per cent. of the total
amount of heat produced; all the rest passes up the chimney. The
close stove, on the contrary, utilises 85-90 per cent. of the heat
produced, and loses through the smoke-pipe only about as much as the
open fireplace saves--10-15 per cent. And herein lies the striking
difference between the relative healthiness of the atmosphere heated
by a close stove and an open fireplace. The amount of air which
hourly passes through a close stove, heated with a brisk fire, is, on
an average, equal to only about 1/10 the capacity of the room warmed,
and consequently such stove requires, if unaided, 10 hours to effect
a change of the atmosphere in every such apartment. Thus stagnant and
heated, the air becomes filled with the impurities of respiration and
cutaneous transpiration.

Moisture, too, is an important consideration. The atmosphere, whether
within doors or without, can only contain a certain proportion of
moisture to each cub. ft., and no more, according to temperature.
At 80° F. it is capable of containing 5 times as much as at 32°
F. Hence, an atmosphere at 32° F., with its requisite supply of
moisture, introduced into a confined space and heated up to 80°
F., has its capacity for moisture so increased as to dry and
wither everything with which it comes in contact; furniture cracks
and warps, seams open in the moulding, wainscoting, and doors;
plants die; ophthalmia, catarrh, and bronchitis are common family
complaints, and consumption is not infrequent. But this condition
of house air is not peculiar to stove-heat. It is equally true of
any overheated and confined atmosphere. The chief difference is,
that warming the air by means of a close stove is more quickly
accomplished and more easily kept up than by any other means.
Sometimes, by the scorching of dust afloat in the atmosphere, an
unpleasant odour is evolved which is erroneously supposed to be a
special indication of impurity, caused by the burning air. It is an
indication of excessive heat of the stove. But the air cannot be said
to burn in any true sense of the word, for it continues to possess
its due proportion of elementary constituents. Such is the close
stove and its dangers, under the most unfavourable circumstances.

The essentials for healthy stove-heat are brick-lined fire-chamber,
ventilating or exhaust-flue for foul air, means for supplying
moisture, and provision for fresh-air supply. A brick lining is
requisite for the double purpose of preventing overheating, and for
retaining heat in the stove. For the supply of moisture the means
are simple and easy of control, but often inadequate. An efficient
foul-air shaft may be fitted to the commonest of close stoves by
simply enclosing the smoke-pipe in a jacket--that is, in a pipe
of 2 or 3 in. greater diameter. This should be braced round the
smoke-pipe, and left open at the end next the stove. At its entry
into the chimney, or in its passage through the roof of a car, as
the case may be, a perforated collar should separate it from the
smoke-pipe. For stoves with a short horizontal smoke-pipe, passing
through a fire-board, the latter should always be raised about 3 in.
from the floor. A smoke-pipe thus jacketed, or fire-board so raised
at the bottom, affords ample provision for the escape of foul air.

Hot-air furnaces are simply enclosed stoves placed outside the
apartments to be warmed, and usually in cellars or basements of the
buildings in which they are used. The manner of warming is virtually
the same as by indirect steam heat--by the passage of air over the
surface of the heated furnace or steam-heated pipes, as the case
may be, through flues or pipes provided with registers. The most
essential condition of satisfactory warming by a hot-air furnace is
a good chimney-draught, which should always be stronger than that of
the hot-air pipes through which the warmed air is conveyed into the
rooms, and this can be measured by the force with which it passes
through the registers. A chimney-draught thus regulated effectively
removes all emanations; for, if the chimney-draught exceeds that of
the hot-air pipes, all the gaseous emanations from the inside of the
furnace, and if it have crevices, or is of cast iron and overheated,
all around it on the outside will be drawn into the chimney. Closely
connected with this requirement for the chimney-draught is the
regulating apparatus for governing the combustion of fuel--the
draught of the furnace. This should all be below the grate; there
should be no dampers in the smoke-pipe or chimney, and all joints
below and about the grate should be air-tight. The fire-pot should be
lined with brick and entirely within the surface, but separate from
it, so that the fresh air to be warmed cannot come in contact with
the fuel-chamber.

An excellent plan for economising a good portion of the waste heat
from a kitchen range is to have (previous to the range being fixed,
or after, in some instances) a sheet-iron box or chamber made to fit
at the back of the oven flues or wherever the most intense heat is
felt. This box, which we may call an air-chamber, should be connected
with the outer air, and a pipe for the warm air carried from the top
of the box to the part where warmth is required; the heat from the
range warms the air in the box and it ascends in exactly the same
manner and upon the same principle as a hot-air furnace, but great
care must be exercised to see that this box and all connections are
made air-tight, or this plan will prove an unusually speedy means of
indicating what is being cooked for dinner.

The Americans adopt what is called the “drum” principle of heating
by means of a furnace; they not only encase the stove with an
air-chamber, but the smoke-pipe is surrounded with a larger pipe
encasing it all the way up; the space between the smoke-pipe and the
outer pipe is thus an air-chamber and has free connection with the
furnace air-chamber, but of course is closed at top; from the chamber
surrounding the smoke-pipe, branch pipes are taken to the apartments,
terminating in perforated cylindrical “drums,” from which the heated
air is emitted.

It should go without saying that the air which passes from furnaces
into living-rooms should always be taken from out of doors, and be
conveyed in perfectly clean air-tight shafts to and around the base
of the furnace. Preferably, the inlet of the shaft, or cold-air box,
should be carried down and curved at a level (of its upper surface)
with the bottom, and full width of the furnace. Thus applied, the
air is equally distributed for warming and ascent through the
hot-air pipes to the apartments to be warmed. On the outside the
cold-air shaft should be turned up several feet from the surface of
the ground, and its mouth protected from dust by an air-strainer. A
simple but effectual way is to cover the mouth with wire cloth, and
over this to lay a piece of loose cotton wadding. This may be kept
in place with a weight made of a few crossings of heavy wire, and it
should be changed every few months. And here, too, outside the house,
should be placed the diaphragm for regulating the amount of cold-air
supply, and not, as commonly, in the cellar.

As the best means of regulating the temperature and purity of
the atmosphere from hot-air furnaces, it is necessary to provide
sufficiently large channels for both the inlet of fresh air and its
distribution through the hot-air pipes. The area of the smallest
part of the inlet (or inlets, for it is sometimes better to have
more than one) should be about ⅙ sq. ft. for every lb. of coal
estimated to be burnt hourly in cold weather; and to prevent, in a
measure, the inconvenience of one hot-air pipe drawing from another,
the collective area of the hot-air pipes should not be more than ⅙
greater than the area of the cold-air inlet. These proportions will
admit the hot air at a temperature of about 120° F. when at zero
outside, and the velocity through the register will not exceed 5 ft.
per second.

A large heating surface of the furnace is a well-recognised condition
of both economy and efficiency. As a rule, there should be 10 sq.
ft. of heating surface to every lb. of coal consumed per hour, when
in active combustion; and the grate area should be about 1/50 of
that of the heating surface. For the deficiency of heat, or the
failure of some of the hot-air pipes of hot-air furnaces in certain
winds and weathers in large houses or specially exposed rooms,
the best addendum is an open fire-grate. With this provision in
northerly rooms, to be used occasionally, hot-air furnaces may be
made to produce all the advantages of steam heat in even the largest
dwelling-houses.

[Illustration: 44. Boyle’s Warm-air Stove.]

Boyle’s system of warming fresh air is suitable where hot air,
water, or steam pipes are not available. The arrangement (Fig. 44)
consists of a copper or iron pipe _a_ about 1½ in. diam. placed in
an inlet tube _b_, preferably of the form of a bracket. This pipe
is not vertical, as in the so-called Tobin’s shafts, but of zigzag
shape, crossing and recrossing the tube from top to bottom, and so
causing the incoming air to repeatedly impinge in its passage through
the tube. At the bottom of the tube an air-tight chamber, so far as
the interior of the tube is concerned, is fixed, in which a Bunsen
gas-burner _c_ is placed, the flame of which plays up into one of
the lower ends of the pipe, the upper portion being about 5 ft. 9
in. from the floor. The other lower end of the pipe either dips into
a condensation box _d_ in the bottom of the tube or is continued
into an existing flue or extraction shaft. If the pipe terminates
in a box, the vapour is condensed there and carried off through the
outside wall by means of a small pipe. At the bottom of the box is
placed some loose charcoal, which needs renewing at intervals. This
charcoal absorbs any products of combustion which have a tendency to
rise. The heat thus passes through the entire length of the pipe, and
warms the air as it travels through the tube to the room or hall as
required.

Heating by gas is now growing in favour, and under favourable
circumstances is to be recommended. There are two general methods
adopted; firstly, by gas fires, which are asbestos or metal made
incandescent by gas heat; these are made either portable, or by
fitting a specially made burner to an existing fireplace, and filling
the grate with Lumb asbestos (which is made for the purpose, and
when heated has the appearance of glowing coals); and secondly, by
gas stoves acting upon a similar principle to a hot-air coal stove.
The former are now made in great variety; they chiefly take the form
of an ornamental iron frame, in the centre of which is fitted a
fire-brick thickly imbedded in front with asbestos fibre; the burner
beneath comes immediately under the front of the fire-brick, and
when the gas is ignited, the asbestos at once becomes incandescent,
making it of cheerful and fire-like appearance, and the fire-brick in
a few minutes becomes highly heated, radiating its warmth into the
room. This description of stove and also the burner for existing
fireplaces can be obtained at any ironmongers or gas-fitters.

In nearly all gas fires and stoves the gas is burnt with an admixture
of air (atmospheric gas, 1 of gas and 2 of air), by means of an
atmospheric burner; this is not only a source of economy, but
atmospheric gas has the very great advantage of being smokeless; but
for this, a gas fire would be an impossibility; it must, however, be
borne in mind that although smokeless this gas gives off products
of combustion (carbonic acid, watery vapour, &c.), which must be
carried away by a flue or other means. The portable stoves are
always provided with a nozzle for attaching a smoke-pipe. There is
still a doubt as to which is most economical, coal or gas: we cannot
do better than quote the words of a well-known gas-stove maker,
Chas. Wilson, of Leeds. He says, speaking of heating by gas: “It is
not cheaper than coal, taking fuel for fuel and continually used,
unless, as in the case of offices where labour has to be employed
to light fires, clean grates, &c.; but it is cheaper than coal if
occasionally used, as in the case of bedrooms, or sitting-rooms used
by visitors, or rooms used by children for music, &c.; for bedrooms
it is especially adapted for use for an hour or two at night or
in the morning or for giving an unvarying heat all night. It is
preferable in the matter of cleanliness, and a true solution of the
smoke-abatement problem” (probably a coal-stove manufacturer would
speak as much in favour of fire-grates).

It should be seen when purchasing gas fires that they have silent
burners, as some make an objectionable hissing noise when in use.

[Illustration: 45. Calorigen Stove.]

“The Calorigen” Gas Hot-air Stove, Fig. 45 (Farwig & Co., 36 Queen
Street, Cheapside, London), consists of an outer sheet-iron casing
with a burner at the base inside, and proper accommodation for exit
of products of combustion. A coil of good-sized sheet-iron pipe is
affixed within the stove; the lower end of the coil is connected
with the outer air and the upper end opens into the apartment, thus
producing a free inflow of fresh air at any temperature desired, from
60° to 200° F. or higher at will. The chief advantage of a gas stove
is the immediate lighting and extinguishing, and needing no attention.

Another modern and very useful application of gas as a heating
medium is the “Geyser” or rapid water heater for the supply of hot
or boiling water to baths, lavatories, &c., or for business purposes
where it is not convenient or desirable to fit up a circulating
boiler (see hot-water apparatus). These heaters can be obtained from
any ironmonger’s or gasfitter’s. The principle is somewhat different
in the various makes, but it all results in the same thing, which
is to bring a small volume of water in contact with a large heating
surface. The apparatus is generally cylindrical in form. A cock is
at one side for attaching the cold supply, and the heated water
flows out from a spout at the other side; there is also a cock for
attaching the gas supply; they are made in various sizes to supply
and fill a bath three parts full of water at 100° F. in 5, 10 or 15
minutes, or to boil water at the rate of ½, 1 or 2 gal. per minute.
These are extremely useful appliances where gas is available, being
ready for use at a moment’s notice, and the water can be had at any
temperature at will; with a modern and properly constructed “Geyser”
the water is quite suitable for drinking purposes.

The Marsh-Greenall Gas Heating Stove, Fig. 46 (makers, Greenall and
Company, 120 Portland Street, Manchester), is both regenerative and
radiating, the heat developed and utilised per foot of gas by this
system being far greater than by the ordinary atmospheric stoves.
Ordinary luminous flames are used, these being fed by superheated
air. There is no smell and no danger “of lighting back.” The great
heat obtained by this system is radiated from a polished reflector.
The consumption of gas is only 12 ft. per hour. See Gas Heating also,
p. 994.

[Illustration: 46. Marsh-Greenall Gas Stove. 47. Eureka Oil Stove.]

_Oil Stoves._--Warming stoves which burn oil fuel are to be commended
for many purposes, but are not generally considered suitable for
living rooms--bedrooms, for instance--unless the air is continually
changed by open doors, &c., as there is a noticeable odour from
the burning oil. Rippengille’s are considered the best, and are
obtainable at almost any oil, lamp, or ironmonger’s store, or at the
chief retail agents, the Holborn Lamp Co., 118 Holborn, London. Fig.
47 is their “Eureka” cheerful reflector stove, suitable for office
or shop use. These stoves are adapted for warming conservatories
where a high temperature is not required, as a very small stove will
suffice to keep the frost out; they are also suitable for servants’
bedrooms and attics where no fireplaces exist. They are made with
metal (unbreakable) oil containers, which slide out for lighting,
trimming, &c., and they burn the ordinary petroleum oil; it naturally
follows that the better and more refined oils give the best results
with these stoves, with less liability of smell.

_Flues._--It will not be out of place to give a short treatise upon
flues, as the flues in a residence govern the efficiency of the
stoves and the comfort of the whole household.

There is a common error in blaming the flue for all faults. It can
be asserted that half the smoky chimneys are in no way the fault of
the flue at all, and when a smoky chimney does exist, nearly every
one flies to the chimney top with some device to govern the wind, and
this in very many cases is a total failure.

Flues are now generally constructed of two sizes, 9 in. and 14 in. A
7 in. flue would be sufficient for most warming stoves, but it has
to be borne in mind that the accumulation of soot quickly diminishes
the size internally, so that they are now never built less than 9
in. internal diameter. In building a residence, the following plan
is often adopted when cheapness is not the primary object, that is,
to build the usual square brick chimney, and within this to carry up
a 9 in. flue of glazed earthenware pipe (drain pipe), and the space
outside this pipe filled with concrete: this pipe flue is so easily
cleaned and is much less quickly fouled, and improves the draught.

The very general cause of smoky chimneys is that the chimney top is
below the level of some adjacent building, tree, or other object
that obstructs the free passage of the wind. In this instance the
trouble is only experienced when the wind is in certain quarters, and
sometimes this can be cured by a wind-guard or cowl (no particular
make can be recommended, as their efficiency differs under different
circumstances); but the only reliable remedy is to raise the chimney
either by pipe or brickwork to the required height. The manner in
which the annoyance is brought about is, that when the wind passes
over the chimney top its progress is arrested by the higher object,
and it may be said to rebound (the action is rarely quite alike in
any two instances), causing either a portion of the gust to pass a
short way down the chimney or to momentarily stop the up draught;
this will be noticed by the gusts of smoke that come from the stove
into the room.

When the smoke slowly oozes into the room, it is caused by sluggish
draught, or often by the construction of the grate. If the grate
has considerable distance between the fire-bars and the opening
into the chimney above, it permits the heavy cold air to accumulate
and obstruct the heated up-flow from the fire; this generally is
only noticeable when the fire is first lighted or heavily fed. It
is exactly the same result as is experienced with the old-fashioned
open kitchen ranges, which nearly always require a sheet of
metal or “blower” across the opening to prevent their smoking.
The above-mentioned grates require a strong draught to work them
perfectly; or if a strong draught does not exist, a small piece of
sheet-metal should be provided to fit over the open space above the
front bars when necessary to establish the fire, as explained with
the “Eagle” grate.

Sluggish draughts are from a variety of causes, among which might be
named, insufficient height of chimney; chimneys which by any cause
may become damp or cold, or lose their heat rapidly; leakages, holes
or fissures, and a variety of causes too numerous to mention here.
The interior surface of a chimney should be as smooth as possible,
and should be swept at regular and moderately frequent intervals,
otherwise the draught will be reduced.

Every fireplace should have a distinct and separate flue; sometimes
two fireplaces can be successfully worked into one chimney, but
provision must be made for tightly closing off either one when not in
use.

_Hot Water._--Heating by means of the circulation of hot water has
been in vogue many years, but has not found favour for warming
living-rooms and apartments, owing chiefly to the want of the air of
comfort, and the warmth is not quite so agreeable as that radiated
from an open fire; but this mode of heating is especially well
adapted for conservatories, cold halls, public buildings, &c., as the
heat-giving surface can be extended wherever desired, and so heat
the place equally throughout; and upon the low-pressure system there
is no danger, as the water cannot heat higher than boiling-point,
212° F., an advantage that the hot-air system does not possess. The
principle and cause of hot-water circulation will be found fully
described under hot-water apparatus; but in this arrangement there
are no draw-off taps, the services being for circulating only. For
small purposes the apparatus can be attached to the ordinary bath
boiler of the kitchen range; but there is a serious disadvantage
in this when the heat is for conservatories or where warmth is
particularly required at night, as that is the time when the kitchen
fire is not in use. For larger purposes, independent boilers are
used, varying in size according to the requirements. Portable boilers
with fire-box, &c., complete, can be obtained almost anywhere, and
most slow-combustion stoves (the “Tortoise,” for instance) can be
fitted with boilers for this purpose. It will be understood that
these boilers do not require cleaning out like kitchen-range boilers,
as there is no appreciable deposit, the same water being heated day
after day and only losing say a quart per month by evaporation.

The arrangement for a hall with an independent boiler is to have
several horizontal pipes suitably fixed one above the other and
known as a “coil,” from which the heat is radiated, and this coil
is connected by a “flow” and “return” pipe with the boiler: a small
cistern of about 2 gallons capacity is connected with, and fixed
a little above the level of the highest part of the coil in some
convenient place. The apparatus is charged through this cistern,
and a small quantity of water is added thereto periodically to make
good loss by evaporation and to keep the coil full; these coils are
usually covered with an iron grated casing, with a metal, slate, or
marble top, which is both a useful and ornamental adjunct to the hall.

For conservatories the coil is not used, the radiating pipes being
run along the wall near the ground; a portion of the pipe has a
shallow open trough cast upon it, and this is filled with water.
As the apparatus becomes heated, evaporation takes place, and this
saturates the air, moisture being essential for this purpose.

For public buildings, &c., coils are sometimes used; but more often
the pipes are run in grated-topped channels just beneath the floor,
the grating being level with the floor-boards; they are taken around
or across the building, as is most desirable to obtain an equable
heat.

The radiating pipes, whether single or forming coils, are generally
4 in. diameter, of cast iron (cast iron being a better conductor or
dissipator than wrought), and at the highest point m the apparatus
a hole is drilled and a small cock is inserted; this cock is opened
when charging, to allow of the free escape of the air in the pipes,
and it is sometimes of service to discharge any steam that is
generated. The pipes are made with a socket at one end, into which
the plain end of the next pipe is inserted and packed with yarn, &c.;
but a modern and rapid method of joining the pipes is that patented
and manufactured by Jones and Attwood, of Stourbridge; this joint
consists of two flanges with indiarubber packing between, which makes
a perfectly secure joint by tightening the flanges together; in this
method the ends of the pipes are of equal size.

As explained, the principle of circulation is exactly the same
in this as in a domestic hot-water supply apparatus. The most
popular form is that known as the Desideratum. The makers have also
introduced a singularly useful tool for cutting all pipes from 2 to
13 in. diameter.

_High-pressure Heating_, or which might be correctly termed steam
heating, consists of piping wholly, the pipe is smaller and of
wrought iron unusually strong, and a coil of it placed within the
fire-box fulfils the duty of a boiler (no boiler or large container
can be used on account of high pressure); from the furnace coil the
pipe is carried wherever required, a small quantity of water is put
within the apparatus and the air is driven out, after which the
apparatus is sealed or closed air and steam tight. When the heat is
applied, the water quickly forms steam, which at once finds its way
throughout the apparatus and heats it to a much higher temperature
than boiling water; and there is comparatively no danger whatever
pressure is exerted, as at the worst the pipe only splits, and no
disastrous explosion can occur; but this mode of heating cannot
be recommended, as it rarely works for any length of time without
requiring attention or repairs.

Bacon’s system of heating by water under pressure (J. L. Bacon &
Co., 34 Upper Gloucester Place, London, N.W.) is very good, as the
pressure is regulated by a valve, and the temperature and pressure
never become excessive. This system is worked by small, strong
wrought-iron pipes, and the apparatus is wholly filled with water.
The great convenience of the small-pipe system recommends it for
all purposes, as it can be carried into almost inaccessible places,
and can be utilised for warming air, as it passes through inlet
ventilators, and for small drying and airing closets, towel dryers,
and for numberless small but exceedingly convenient purposes which
large cast-iron pipes would be very unsuited for; and the advocates
of this system contend that as much heat is radiated from their small
pipes as from the ordinary large ones, as the former are heated to
a much higher temperature than the latter: in Bacon’s system the
highest limit is about 300° F.

The subject of a supply of hot water for baths and other purposes
will be discussed in the chapter dealing with the Bath-room. See also
p. 995.

_Steam Heat._--Steam heat may well be compared with stove and furnace
heat. Stove heat corresponds to direct radiation by steam, and
furnace heat to indirect. The supply of fresh air from the outside to
and over the hot-air furnace, and through hot-air flue into the rooms
through registers, is virtually the same as when it is conveyed by
means of steam-heated flues in the walls. Exhaust flues, for getting
rid of foul air, are equally essential. The stove, as representing
direct radiation in the same manner as the steam coil, or plate, in
the room, has the advantage over the latter of some exhaust of foul
air, however little, even when the smoke-pipe is not jacketed, for
the steam heat has none. In comparison with open-stove heat, steam
heat is at still greater disadvantage; for open stoves supply all the
qualities of complete radiation--the introduction of fresh air and
the escape of foul--to a degree wholly unattainable by steam heat,
whether direct or indirect, or by hot-air furnaces, which always
require special provision for the escape of foul air.

The advantage of stove and furnace heat over steam may be summed up
thus:--It is more economical, more uniform, more easy of management,
more suitable for small areas to be warmed, and is free from the
noises and dangers of steam. Irregularities of the fire in steam
heating are a constant source of inconvenience, and sometimes of
danger. The going down of the fire during the night-time, or its
neglect for a few hours at any time, is followed by condensation of
the steam. On the addition of fuel and increase of heat, steam again
flows quickly into the pipes where a partial vacuum has formed,
and here, on coming in contact with the condensed water, it drives
the water violently, and creates such shocks as sometimes occasion
explosions; or, at least, produces very disagreeable noises and
general uneasiness, and frequently causes cracks and leaks. Hence
direct steam heat, which for warming purposes alone is altogether
superior to indirect, has been well-nigh abandoned. Indirect steam
heat places the leaks out of sight, but they commonly lead to
mischief, and require special and expensive provision for access and
repair.

_Chemical Heaters._--Many salts in solution are capable of absorbing
a considerable amount of heat and slowly giving it off as they resume
a crystalline state. That most generally used is soda acetate, but
an improvement consists in mixing 1 lb. of soda acetate with 10 lb.
of soda hyposulphite, the latter assisting the melting of the mass
and retarding crystallisation. The mode of applying this principle
is to nearly fill a sheet copper or other metallic vessel, such as
a foot-warmer, with the solution, and seal it up. When required for
warming purposes, the vessel is placed in boiling or hot water till
the contents are quite fluid, after which it may be used as a source
of heat for 12-15 hours. Obviously the vessel may be placed in an
ornamental structure resembling a stove, or used as a foot-warmer, or
a muff-warmer, and in many other ways where fire is inadmissible.

_Hints on Fuel, &c._--Suggestions for materials which may be used to
eke out a scanty supply of coal cannot fail to be useful. One plan
consists in well bedding lumps of chalk under small coal. This gives
a long-lasting fire, but is apt to emit an unpleasant odour. Another
plan is to make clay fire-balls, using common clay, coal dust and
cinders with sand, in about the following proportions:--1 cwt. coal
dust, 2 cwt. sand, 1½ cwt. clay, well mixing the ingredients, shaping
into fist-like lumps, and drying over night before the fire; to be
put on when the surface of the fire is clear.

Some further hints for reviving fires will be found under the
Sick-room.


=Lighting.=--The illumination of a dwelling is a most important
consideration, as regards comfort and health.

_Daylight._--Natural lighting is provided for by windows. The window
area of a room should be well proportioned. In dwelling-rooms, it
may amount to half the area of the external wall containing the
windows; in churches, &c., ⅓ will suffice. Too great a window area is
objectionable, as it considerably lowers the interior temperature in
winter, unless very thick glass and double windows are provided. When
windows become steamed or covered with condensed moisture in frosty
weather, this can be cured by applying a very thin coat of glycerine
on both sides of the glass. When direct daylight cannot be got, great
advantage may be derived from using polished metallic reflectors.

_Luminous Paints._--Several bodies possess the property of absorbing
a certain amount of light and emitting it slowly. The most important
of these is calcium sulphide. This property has been utilised by
mixing the mineral with paint as a covering for surfaces where the
light is required. The illumination, however, is very feeble.

_Candles._--Candles will long retain a place in domestic lighting
from their safety and convenience for carrying about. At the same
time they are an expensive source of light, and not very powerful.
It may here be mentioned that there is a right and a wrong way of
blowing out a candle. If the candle is held on a level with the
blower’s mouth, or blown down upon, as usual, as it stands on a
shelf or table, the wick will smoulder and smoke till the room is
filled with its disagreeable smell, and the wick burned away so
that it can be lit next time with difficulty. If the candlestick
is held well above the blower’s head, and the flame blown out from
below, the ignited wick will almost immediately be extinguished,
and no trouble will be found in re-lighting the candle. Avoid cheap
candles; they burn rapidly to waste and play havoc with clothes and
furniture by “dropping.” The best form of candlestick yet introduced
is the “silver torch,” made by Wm. Nunn & Co., 204 St. George
Street, London, E. By this the candle is converted into a lamp, with
or without a globe as desired; the candle is completely consumed,
leaving no ends, and guttering and dropping are quite prevented.
Nightlights should always be burned under a glass shade, such as
Clarke’s.

_Oil Lamps._--All lamps intended for burning animal, vegetable, or
mineral oils as illuminants should have the following objects in
view:--To supply oil regularly to the wick; to apportion the supply
of air to the description and quantity of oil to be burnt; to provide
simple means for regulating the height of the wick, and consequently,
the flame; and finally, to place the burning portion of the lamp in
such a position as not to be obscured by the reservoir and other
portions. The oldest lamps, as the antique Etruscan, and the cruisie
of Scotland, were on the suction principle, and the wick depended
for its supply upon its own capillary action. As the level of the
oil was constantly varying, so the light varied also, and the first
attempts of inventors were directed to maintaining an equal level of
oil. The bird-fountain and hydrostatic reservoirs partly attained
this end, and the Carcel and Moderator systems were perfect of their
class, mechanical or pressure lamps. It is evident that suction lamps
depend for their efficacy upon the gravity of the combustible. A
spirit lamp, with a good wick, will burn very well, though the wick
be several inches above the liquid. With liquids volatilising at low
temperatures, there is always a danger of the formation of explosive
mixtures.

In the Silber lamp the burner is a simple aggregation of concentric
tubes. The use of these, especially of the innermost, bell-mouthed
pipes, becomes very apparent in the lighted lamp. Remove the interior
tube, and immediately the flame lengthens and darkens, wavers and
smokes. The current of air which is, by this internal conduit,
directed into the interior flame surface, is the essential principle
of Silber’s invention. The wick is contained in a metal case,
surrounded by an air-jacket, which passes down the entire length of
the lamp, leaving a small aperture at the base, through which the
oil flows from the outer reservoir to the wick chamber. Thus, by
the interposition of an atmospheric medium, the bulk of the oil is
maintained throughout at a low temperature; 2 concentric bell-mouthed
tubes pass down the interior of the wick case, and communicate
with the air at the base of the lamp, which is perforated for the
purpose; 2 cones, perforated, the inner and smaller throughout,
the largest only at the base, surround the wick, and heat the air
in its passage through the holes to the flame. The effect of these
appliances is, firstly, by the insulation of the outer reservoir,
to avoid all danger of vaporisation of the oil, till actually in
contact with the wick. As it is drawn nearer and nearer the seat of
combustion, the hot metal wick-holder heats, and ultimately vaporises
the luminant, so that at the opening of the wick tube concentrically
with the air conduits--all of which are exceedingly hot--a perfect
mixture of vapour and hot air is formed, and burned. An all-important
feature is the shape and position of the chimney, which influences
the flame to the extent of quadrupling its brilliancy if properly
adjusted. (Field, Cantor Lecture.)

[Illustration: 48. Hinks’s Safety Lamp.]

The many fires and fatal accidents arising from explosions of mineral
oil lamps has drawn official attention to the subject of rendering
them safe. Sir F. Abel has stated that all channels of communication
between the burner and the reservoir of mineral oil lamps should be
protected on the principle of the miners’ safety lamp; he added that
a simple arrangement which effected the desired object “with perfect
safety” was to attach to the bottom of the burner a cylinder of wire
gauze of the requisite fineness, which prevented the transmission
of fire from the lamp flame to the air-space of the reservoir.
Acting upon this suggestion, Hinks and Son, 60 Holborn Viaduct, have
introduced a wire-gauze cylinder for use with their duplex lamps,
which renders them absolutely safe. Another advantage with their
lamps is the ease with which they are lit and extinguished, as shown
in Fig. 48: for lighting, a turn of the thumb-key _a_ gently raises
the cone, globe, and chimney, giving free access to the wicks; to
extinguish them, it is only necessary to press the lever _b_.

The Defries safety lamp (Defries Safety Lamp and Oil Co., 43 Holborn
Viaduct) is attracting much notice, on account of economy, safety,
and illuminating power. The construction of the lamp is such that
neither ignition of the vapour, nor outflow of the oil in the event
of the lamp being overturned, can occur. Moreover, the oil reservoir,
being of metal, is not liable to fracture. It therefore follows that
the risks attaching to the employment of mineral oils as illuminating
agents in lamps of the ordinary description are non-existent in this
lamp. The light emitted is remarkably white, the flame is perfectly
steady, and the combustion is effected without the production of
the slightest odour or smoke. Results of photometric tests by Prof.
Boverton Redwood were more favourable than any he had hitherto
obtained with mineral oil lamps of other forms. The illuminating
power is, for the size of the burner, in each case very high, while
the consumption of oil per candle light per hour is remarkably small.
The products of combustion are odourless, even when the normal size
of the flame is much reduced by lowering the wick. Any mineral oil,
as well as the Defries safety oil, can be used in these lamps. This
is quite odourless when spilled or heated, requires a temperature
of 308° F. (or 96° F. above the boiling point of water) for its
ignition, and does not vaporise below 270° F. Such oil is no more
inflammable than colza oil, and is moreover free from the risk
of spontaneous combustion. Its price is 1_s._ 6_d._ per gal. The
absolute necessity for using, in any and every lamp, the most refined
and safest grades of mineral oil cannot be too seriously insisted
upon, Cheap low oils mean personal risk.

_Gas._--Though gas is long since established as one of the most
successful and general illuminants, it is surprising what ignorance
exists as to the simple rules which should govern its use.

This section is not intended for the guidance of the professional
gasfitter, yet some of the points to be noticed are really within
his province, and are mentioned because the householder should be
in possession of such knowledge as will enable him to discover or
prevent faulty work.

Coal gas, being much lighter than air, flows with greatest velocity
in the upper floors of houses; hence the supply pipe may diminish in
size as it rises, say from 1¼ in. at the basement to ¾ in. on the
3rd floor. At a point near the commencement of the supply pipe it
should be provided with a “siphon,” which is simply a short length of
pipe joined at right angles in a perpendicular position and closed
at the lower end by a plug screwed in. As all gas-tubes should be
fixed with a small rise, this siphon will collect the condensed
liquids, which may be drawn off occasionally by unscrewing the plug
end. When the lights flicker, it shows there is water in the pipes:
the siphon prevents this. The number of gas-burners requisite for
lighting a church or other large building may be computed thus. Take
the area of the floor in ft. and divide by 40, will give the number
of fish-tail burners to be distributed according to circumstances.
Example: a church 120 ft. long by 60 ft. wide, contains 7200 ft.
area; divided by 40, gives 180 burners required for the same. Burning
gas without a ventilator or pipe to carry off the effluvia, is as
barbarous as making a fire in a room without a chimney to carry off
the smoke. If a pipe of 2 in. diameter were fixed between the joists,
with a funnel elbow over the gaselier, and the other end carried
into the chimney, it would be a general ventilator. Of course, an
open ornamental rosette covers the mouth of the tube; or an Arnott
valve ventilator over the mantelpiece would answer the same purpose.
In turning off the gas-lights at night, it is usual, first, to turn
off all the lights, except one, and then turn off the meter main
cock, and allow the one light to burn itself out, and then turn it
off. The evil of this system is this,--by allowing the one light to
burn itself out, you exhaust the pipes and make a vacuum, and of
course the atmospheric air will rush in. The proper way is to turn
off all lights first, and finally the meter, thus leaving the pipes
full of gas and ready for re-lighting. These few remarks have been
derived from Eldridge’s ‘Gas-Fitter’s Guide,’ an eminently useful and
practical handbook.

It was formerly the practice to make all gas-burners of metal; the
openings, whether slits or holes, from which the gas issued to be
burned being small, in order to check the rate of flow. This was an
error, for heat and light go together, and the metal, being a good
conductor of heat, kept the lower part of the flame cold. The part
of burners actually in contact with the flame is now invariably of
some non-conducting material, such as steatite; and the effect of
this simple improvement is most noteworthy. Bad burners show a great
proportion of blue at the lower part of the flame, and the upper or
luminous portion is small and irregular in shape, and dull in colour.
These effects are due to gas issuing at too great velocity from small
holes in burners, as well as to improper material in the latter. The
illuminating power of coal gas depends upon the incandescence, at the
greatest possible heat, of infinitesimal particles of carbon which
it contains, invisible until heated. In the lower, or blue portion
of the flame, the heat is not sufficient to render these particles
incandescent; and it is necessary that this effect should be secured
at the nearest point to the burner. Unless this is done, the light
is not only lessened, but the unconsumed carbon passes off and is
deposited as soot on ceilings and furniture. Blackened ceilings are
a measure of the badness of the burners. It will now be seen why
a material which cools the flame should not be used for a burner,
for the hotter the flame, the more perfect is the incandescence of
the carbon for which in reality the consumer pays, and the less
danger there is of blackened ceilings. But in addition to the better
material, the construction of even the cheapest modern burners is
very greatly improved; although even a good burner may be subjected
to such conditions--e.g. allowing gas to be driven through it at
a high velocity, a condition usually accompanied by a hissing or
roaring sound--as to give a bad result. The capacity of burners
should moreover bear a reasonable proportion to the quality of the
gas for which they are required to be used. Thus with rich Scotch
gas, burners with very small holes, consuming only about 1½ cub. ft.
hourly, are sometimes adopted for economical reasons. Occasionally
these burners find their way South, but their use for the ordinary
qualities of English gas is the worst possible economy. It is
difficult to lay down hard and fast rules for the sizes of burners,
the purposes for which gas-light is required being so various. For an
ordinary apartment, however, wherein distributed lights are adopted,
5 ft. burners with 14 or 15 candle gas, 4 ft. burners with 16 or 17
candle gas, 3 or 3½ ft. burners with 18 or 20 candle gas, and 2½ ft.
burners with richer gas will be found to give satisfactory results.
It may be remarked that these figures apply to burners regulated in
some way to the given rates of consumption, and not to those merely
reputed to be of the stated sizes. Various means are adopted for
checking the flow of gas, not at the point of ignition, but at some
prior point of its course; because it has been found that the slower
the rate of flow at the commencement of combustion, the better the
result obtained.

Clustering of gas-lights is bad. All parts of a room should be as
nearly as possible equally lighted, the only noteworthy exception to
this rule being in the case of a dining-room, where concentration of
light upon the table is not only permissible but is even demanded.
Hence in most cases wall brackets give the best effect, and such
masses of light as are afforded by pendants of many arms are to be
avoided, or are only required in very large rooms where portions of
the floor area would otherwise be insufficiently lighted. When it is
desired to light a drawing-room with wax candles--than which nothing
is more beautiful--they are distributed wherever support can be found
for them. As every gas flame may be considered equal to 12 or 15
candles, with all their wicks together, the inadvisability of further
concentration is evident. In fact, gas is if anything too brilliant
for living-rooms, and if it were always properly distributed, many
a dimly-lighted apartment would be perfectly illumined with the
same number of burners which, when massed, appear insufficient.
Where concentrated ceiling lights are needed for dining-rooms,
many-armed pendants are seldom satisfactory, owing to the shadows
which most of them cast. In these cases a single powerful argand
light in a suitable reflecting pendant, or a cluster of flat flames
similarly provided, will give a better result than the usual branched
chandelier, and with a material saving in gas. For it is a curious
and valuable property of gas, that large burners can be rendered
much more economical in proportion than smaller ones. Thus, if the
4 burners of a branched chandelier give altogether the light of
(say) 50 candles, the same illuminating power may be obtained from a
greatly reduced quantity of gas when concentrated in a single burner
of the most improved kind.

With regard to the smaller flat flames, which are the most general
for ordinary lighting, the selection of glass globes is a very
important matter. It may be said at once that all the old-fashioned
style of glasses, with holes in the bottom about 2½ in. diam., for
fitting into the brass galleries of the older pattern pendants and
brackets, are objectionable. The reasons for this condemnation are
few and simple. It seems never to have occurred to the makers of
these things that the gas flames inside the globes are always wider
than the openings beneath them, through which the air required for
combustion passes; and that, as a rule, the light of the flame is
required to be cast downward. Gas flames always flicker in these
old-fashioned glasses, because the sharp current of entering air
blows them about. And the light cannot come downward because of the
metal ring and its arms, and the glass, which is always thicker and
generally dingier at this part of the globe. Perfectly plain and
clean glass absorbs at least 1/10 of the light that passes through
it; ground glass absorbs ⅓; and the ordinary opal obstructs at least
½, and generally more. Only those globes should be chosen therefore
which have a very large opening at the bottom, at least 4 in. wide,
through which the air can pass without disturbing the flame. The
glass then fulfils its proper duty, screening the flame from side
draughts, and not causing mischief by a perpetual up-current of its
own. Good opal or figured globes of this pattern may be used without
disadvantage, because the light is reflected down through the bottom
opening more brightly than if there were no globe, while the flame is
shaded and the light diffused over other parts of the room.

The degree to which the luminosity of gas is utilised depends very
largely upon the burner, people too often setting down as the fault
of the gas, defects which should really be ascribed to the burner. In
1871, the Commission appointed by the Board of Trade to watch over
the London gas supply, and whose prescriptions in these matters are
more or less recognised by the whole country, made an examination
of a collection of gas-burners from a large number of sources, and
including those in general use. The greater portion of these gave
only ½, some even only ¼ of the light that the gas was actually
capable of affording. Two points very often neglected are: (1) that
the size of the burner should be proportionate to the quantity of
gas required to be consumed by it, and (2) that the gas should issue
at a very low velocity. In good argands, the pressure at the point
of ignition is almost nil; and in flat-flame burners, the pressure
should be only just sufficient to blow the flame out into the form of
a fan. It is also very necessary that the body of the chamber below
the point of ignition should be of material with low heat-conducting
power, so that the gas may undergo no increase in volume which
would occasion a proportionate increase of velocity, and that the
heat may not be conducted away from the flame. To establish this,
Evans had 2 argand burners made, differing only in that one had the
combustion chamber of brass, and the other of steatite. The latter
gave more light than the former in the proportion of 15 to 13 for the
same quantity of gas. As another example a No. 8 metal flat-flame
burner, consuming 5 cub. ft. of gas per hour, gave a light equal to
11·5 candles, while a steatite burner of corresponding size, with
non-conducting combustion chamber, gave 14·6 candles. Another metal
burner of a description somewhat generally used, gave about ⅜ of the
light that the gas was capable of yielding. Worn-out metal burners
generally give the best results, as the velocity of the issuing gas
is lower than when the burners are new. A much better result is
obtained by burning, say 20 cub. ft. of gas from one burner, than by
using 5 burners, each of which consumes 4 cub. ft. This is the reason
why the modern argands give so much more light than the older ones,
which were drilled with a very large number of holes, and were more
suitable for boiling water than for illuminating. If the air which
is to support the combustion be heated before it reaches the flame,
especially in the case of flat-flame burners, better results are
produced, as was pointed out by Prof. Frankland more than 10 years
ago, and this principle is now being carried out by some Continental
burner makers. Of modern argands there are many excellent varieties,
which can evolve 15-30 per cent. more light for the same quantity
of gas than the best flat-flame burners. One kind consisting of 3
concentric rings of flame with steatite gas chambers was first used
in the public lighting of Waterloo Road in 1879. In another the
products of combustion are brought down in a flue fastened round the
burner, so as to heat the air which supports the combustion as it
passes in pipes through the flue above mentioned to the flame; while
a third kind has an arrangement for admitting separate currents of
cold air to keep the chimney cool. There seems little doubt that
the argand lamp will play a leading part in the gas lighting of the
future. An important point connected with the use of gas is that
the heat generated by combustion, may be made to do the work of
ventilation, as in the fish-gill ventilator invented by the late
Goldsworthy Gurney. In this strips of calico are nailed, by the two
upper corners, across an opening in the wall, in such a way that each
strip laps over the strip next below it. This contrivance, opening
and closing like the gills of a fish, is self-acting, as the heated
air passes away through the porous material, and cold air is admitted
without draught.

Gas is often accused of heating the rooms; but if persons, when
burning candles would increase the number of the candles so as to
equal the light of the gas-flame, the heat given out would be found
to be less when burning gas than when burning lamps or candles.

[Illustration: 49. Stott’s Governor.]

It is very beneficial to regulate the pressure at which gas reaches
the burners, and many complaints of impurity of the air of a room,
caused by gas, arise from this want of regulation of pressure.
It can be attained by the use of a governor, placed either at
the meter or in proximity to the light itself. These are of many
forms. Those adapted for placing near the meter are Stott’s, Fig.
49 (174 Fleet Street, E.C.), Parkinson’s, Fig. 50 (Cottage Lane
Works, City Road), Strode’s, Fig. 51 (67 St. Paul’s Churchyard),
Hargreaves and Bardsley’s (Hobson Street, Oldham), Hulett’s, Fig.
52 (55 High Holborn), Peebles’ (Tay Works, Edinburgh), and Smith’s
(130 Fleet Street). Self-regulating burners are the “Christianson,”
made by Sugg (Grand Hotel Buildings, Charing Cross), and those made
by Bolding--Heran’s patent--(South Molton Street, Oxford Street),
Milne, Sons, and Macfie (2 King Edward Street, E.C.), Parkinson
(Fig. 53), Peebles, and Kinnear (91 Finsbury Pavement). A little
steel blade, costing only a penny, is made by W. H. Howorth,
Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, for use on 2-holed burners, which has the
effect of silencing a roaring flame and increasing the luminosity.
Another contrivance having some of the effects of a regulator,
augmenting the light and consuming the smoke (therefore lessening the
contamination of the air), is the Spencer Corona, Fig. 54 (3 Hyde
Street, New Oxford Street), fitting closely on the top of ordinary
gas globes.

[Illustration: 50. Parkinson’s Governor.]

[Illustration: 51. Strode’s Governor.]

[Illustration: 52. Hulett’s Governor. 53. Parkinson’s Burner.]

[Illustration: 54. Spencer Corona.]

The most practical methods which have been devised for combining the
purity of air in a room with artificial light produced from ordinary
coal gas, may be classed under four heads:--

(1) The sun burner, in which the products of combustion are removed
rapidly from contact with the air of the room.

(2) The globe light, in which the fresh air is supplied and the
products of combustion are removed to the outside without any contact
with the air of the room.

(3) The regenerative gas light.

(4) The incandescent gas light.

Their several merits are thus discussed in one of the Health
Exhibition Handbooks.

The sun burner is practically a powerful ventilator, which, by
means of the great heat generated, draws a large volume of air away
with the fumes of the gas; it thus relieves the air of the room of
the impurities caused by combustion, and at the same time removes
impurities generated from other causes. This burner is indeed a
sufficiently powerful ventilator to continue acting even in the
face of the counteracting draught of an open fireplace; and is
consequently much used for crowded rooms. For this dual purpose, it
requires to have its fumes carried up through a straight vertical
tube direct to the open air. This burner is made by Strode & Co., 67
St. Paul’s Churchyard, and shown in Fig. 55.

[Illustration: 55. The Sun Burner.]

The globe light has been designed to prevent the products of
combustion from mingling at all with the air of a room, but it does
not provide for the ventilation of the room at the same time. The
principle of the best form is that it should be burned in a glass
globe separated from the air of the room; that is to say, the air
required for supporting combustion is brought into the globe from the
outer air, and the products of combustion are carried away into the
outer air without mixing with the air of the room. This light, like
the sunlight, is limited in its application. It can be placed near an
outside wall, or in a room directly under a roof. If fed with fresh
air from the room itself, and if a fire-proof flue be constructed in
the ceiling leading into a vertical flue, this light can be put in
any part of a room; but the draught from the open fire would be very
likely to draw the products of combustion back into the room. This is
also made by Strode & Co.

The Grimston regenerative burner looks like an inverted argand
burner. The gas is brought down a central tube, and the products of
combustion are carried away through a tube which lies round it, and
the air required to feed the burner is brought through passages in
this latter tube which are heated by the products of combustion in
their course. The light is enclosed in a half globe, and the products
may be carried away into the outer air, so that the light need not
injure the air of the room in which it is burned. A very remarkable
feature about these regenerative arrangements is that the temperature
of the outflowing products of combustion at the top of the tube is
so low that the hand can be held over the top of the tube without
any unpleasant sensation of heat; and the combustion appears to be
so perfect that even if the products are not removed from the room,
there is much less unpleasantness than with ordinary gas-burners.
Other very important regenerative burners are that bearing the name
of F. Siemens, the Fourness (S. Gratrix, jun., and Bro., Alport Town,
Manchester), and the well-known Wenham (Wenham Co., 12 Rathbone
Place, W., and Milne, Sons, and Macfie, 2 King Edward Street, E.C.),
two forms of which are shown in Figs. 56 and 57. Sugg’s “London
Argand” and “Cromartie” burners are sufficiently familiar to need
no description, and are made in a great variety of designs. The
“Osborne” pattern is shown in Fig. 58.

[Illustration: 56. Wenham Pendant Light. 57. Wenham Standard Light.]

Incandescent gas lamps, even if burned in contact with the air of
a room, present certain hygienic advantages. In the first place,
the air required for combustion is brought into the room from the
outside, in the proportion of six volumes of air to one of gas,
and therefore the oxygen in the air of the room is not consumed
for combustion. In the second place, the gas is consumed in a very
perfect manner, so that the injury to the air of a room produced by
the combustion is reduced to a minimum. These lights can be placed
wherever ordinary gas-lights can, and it is probable that from the
hygienic and photometric value of this class of light it is destined
at no distant date to replace ordinary gas-burners. The principle of
construction is as follows. In the flame of a Bunsen burner is placed
a hood of cotton webbing, previously steeped in a solution containing
oxides of zirconium, lanthanum, &c. The average consumption in
each burner is 2 ft. gas per hour at 9/10 in. pressure, with an
illuminating power of 17 candles.

The Albo-carbon light, Fig. 59, (74 James Street, Westminster),
consists in superheating ordinary gas and carburetting it by
admixture of the vapour generated from the albo-carbon material,
which is stored in a reservoir that can be attached to any existing
fittings. By its means, the light is very much intensified, steadied,
and purified, at very small cost for albo-carbon with a reduced
consumption of gas.

[Illustration: 58. Sugg’s “Osborne” Burner. 59. Albo-carbon Light.]

When gas has been laid on to a house, and the main connected with
the meter or even before the latter has been done, it is extremely
important to have all the gas-pipes tested, in order to ascertain
whether any leakage exists. A very good method is as follows:--All
the brackets and pendants, with one exception, are first stopped
up with plugs or screwed caps, and the meter is turned off or
disconnected. Upon the one outlet not stopped up a force-pump is
attached, into the interstices of which have been poured a few drops
of sulphuric ether. The force-pump is then connected with a gauge,
and is worked until a high pressure has been registered upon it, in
order that should the pipes have any latent weaknesses, the pressure
exerted will develop and discover them. When the gauge indicates
a certain figure, the pumping is stopped, and if the mercury is
noticed to fall, it is evident that there are palpable leaks, which
are at once searched for. The escaped ether will guide the operator
to the whereabouts of these leaks, and the defaulting pipes are at
once replaced by others. The pumping is then continued, and the same
routine recommences. If the mercury still descends in the gauge
glass, and the sense of smell cannot detect where the leak exists,
the joints and portions of the pipes are lathered over with soap,
whereupon the weak places will be found indicated by bubbles. These
parts where the bubbles escape are then marked, heated by means of
a portable spirit lamp made for the purpose, and covered over with
a durable cement. After a short time, the pump is once more set in
action, and if the pipes are tight, and the column of mercury in the
gauge maintains itself at the same figure, the soundness of the pipes
is assured.

An excellent portable gas-making apparatus is made by H. L. Müller,
22 Mary Ann Street, Birmingham. See also p. 998.

_Matches._--An American writer, speaking of the defacement of paint
by the inadvertent or heedless scratching of matches, says that he
has observed that when one mark has been made others follow rapidly.
To effectually prevent this, rub the spot with flannel saturated with
any liquid vaseline. “After that, people may try to strike their
matches there as much as they like, they will neither get a light
nor injure the paint,” and, most singular, the petroleum causes the
existing mark to soon disappear, at least when it occurs on dark
paint. Matches should always be kept in metallic boxes, and out of
the way of children and mice.

Countless accidents, as every one knows, arise from the use of
matches. To obtain light without employing them, and so without the
danger of setting things on fire, an ingenious contrivance is now
used by the watchmen of Paris in all magazines where explosive or
inflammable materials are kept. Any one may easily make trial of it.
Take an oblong vial of the whitest and clearest glass, and put into
it a piece of phosphorus about the size of a pea. Pour some olive
oil heated to the boiling point upon the phosphorus; fill the vial
about one-third full, and then cork it tightly. To use this novel
light, remove the cork, allow the air to enter the vial, and then
re-cork it. The empty space in the vial will become luminous, and the
light obtained will be equal to that of a lamp. When the light grows
dim, its power can be increased by taking out the cork and allowing
a fresh supply of air to enter the vial. In winter it is sometimes
necessary to heat the vial between the hands in order to increase
the fluidity of the oil. The apparatus thus made may be used for six
months. (_Chicago Times._)

_Electric Lighting._--This must not be undertaken without due
knowledge or the assistance of skilled workmen. The subject is
altogether too large for discussion here with any chance of making it
clear and simple. The reader should refer to the works of Hospitalier
and others who have made it a study. Allusion may here be made,
however, to an essentially domestic system recently introduced by
Hospitalier. His object is to provide 10 volt and 1½ ampère lamps
operating 3 or 4 hours daily. The result aimed at is that the
pile shall daily furnish a quantity of electric energy equal to
that expended, and keep the accumulators continually charged. The
accumulators form a reservoir, and compensate for the differences
between the daily production (which is sensibly continuous) and the
irregular production according to needs. This demands a continuous
pile of slow discharge, in which the products consumed can be easily
renewed, while repairs and supervision are minimised. The choice is a
potash bichromate battery.

In a single liquid potash bichromate pile, the elements to be renewed
are the zinc and the liquid which contains at once the excitant
(sulphuric acid) and the depolariser (potash or soda bichromate). In
order to obtain an easy renewal of the zinc, Hospitalier employs the
metal in the form of a rod 18 in. in length that dips for about 3
in. only into the liquid, and that is placed in a perforated porous
vessel which supports it and prevents all contact with the carbon. A
certain mobility is secured to it by means of flexible attachments,
so that as it wears away it descends into the liquid. Its lower
extremity dips into a mass of mercury, and this keeps it amalgamated.
When one rod is used up, another may be substituted for it in a few
seconds. The remaining portion of the old zinc is thrown into the
porous vessel. The mercury suffices to set up a perfect electric
communication with the new rod that has just been introduced. The
zincs are thus entirely utilised. The flow secures the continuous
renewal of the exciting and depolarising liquid. The precaution to
be taken is to cause the liquid to enter at the upper part, and to
remove it from the lower. This prevents the elements from getting
choked up, and so they may remain mounted several months, operating
day and night, without any attention having to be paid to them.

The positive pole consists of three or four carbon plates which
surround the porous vessel that contains the zinc, and which are
connected with each other by a strip of copper and screw clamps.
The connection of a zinc with the following carbon is made by means
of flexible wires, in order to permit the zinc to descend into the
liquid as it wears away, as has already been seen.

The four elements are mounted one above another. The liquid enters
them from an earthenware reservoir of 5-6 gal. capacity, through a
rubber tube. The discharge is regulated by means of a pinch-cock.

Practice has shown that it is useless to make the solution of
bichromate. It is only necessary to throw some crystals into the
upper reservoir and to pour into the latter some water, acidulated
with a tenth of its volume of sulphuric acid. A sufficient quantity
of the salt dissolves every time to assure depolarisation. The same
liquid may serve 10-12 times before renewal.

There are no precise directions to be given as to the velocity
of the discharge, since this must vary according to the needs of
consumption. A good average is 1-1½ gal. per day. When the liquid
is nearly exhausted, it is well to cause it to circulate a little
more quickly. The regulation of the velocity of the flow by the Mohr
pinch-cock is one of the simplest operations. After traversing the
four pile elements in succession, the liquid enters glass bottles of
2 gal. capacity provided beneath with a pipe to which is affixed a
rubber tube.

It is only necessary to take a full bottle, place it over the
reservoir, and put the pipe into the reservoir, in order to empty it
in a few minutes.

An inspection of the piles is advisable every two days. Were a larger
reservoir employed and the velocity of flow moderated, the interval
might be still longer.

The four elements in tension alternately charge two series of
accumulators each containing three elements. This arrangement allows
the use of two kinds of lamps, 6 volt ones in the cellar and small
rooms, and 10 volt ones in the dining-room and office.

The cellar lamp is so arranged that it is lighted by opening the
door, and extinguished by closing it. Aside from the lamps just
mentioned, another is arranged for lighting a dark ante-room, and
which lights up for three minutes, only, whenever a button near the
door is pressed.

The use of accumulators and flowing piles presents the following
advantages: (1) Convenience, the apparatus being always ready to
furnish light upon turning a tap; (2) Ease of keeping in repair
and of supervision, the flow and the dimensions being capable of
regulation so that the consumer need look after the piles only at
irregular intervals. (3) Better utilisation of the products as a
result of the use of a pencil of zinc instead of wide plates. The
surface attacked is reduced to the dimensions that are strictly
necessary for the production of a current, and local action is thus
diminished. On the other hand, the active liquor is not thrown
away until completely exhausted. (4) Quality of the light. This
remains steady during the entire time of the lighting, without any
manipulation of the pile or any special appliance.

A few hints may be culled from Preece’s lecture on Domestic Electric
Lighting, read before the Society of Arts last session.

Makers of lamps seem to consider that there is great credit in
securing long life. Unfortunately, glow lamps deteriorate sadly
with age. The carbon wastes imperceptibly away, and we are scarcely
conscious of the fact that, after 200 or 300 hours, the lamp gives
only half the light it did at first. The fact is lamps last too long.
The price of a lamp should be such that we could afford to give them
a short and merry life. Long life is therefore an objection.

Lamps fail in giving their light occasionally from having an
imperfect vacuum. This is very easily detected by feeling the globe.
If the vacuum is bad it gets quite hot. Occasionally, but very
rarely, lamps explode with a loud report when the current is first
put on. This is, perhaps, due to a slight leakage of air making an
explosive mixture with the residual gas.

At the present moment, both the nomenclature and the efficiency of
glow lamps are in a very unsatisfactory state, and we are buying pigs
in a poke at a very high price.

Considerable difference of opinion exists as to the character of the
globe enveloping the carbon filament. Some like them clear, some like
them ground; others envelope them in shades, or make the globe of
a beautiful opal glass. It is very objectionable to have the optic
nerve irritated by a brilliant glowing filament; but it is equally
absurd to produce a good thing and then strangle it. Grounding
and shading mean loss of light. Lamps can be placed so high that
they need not affect the eye, and if they do, the light can be so
reflected as to be useful elsewhere. The art of lighting a room is to
flood it with light without the delicate eye being offended with the
direct rays from the source of light.

Switches to turn the lamps on and off are a source of great trouble
in a house. As a rule, they are cheap and nasty. When fixed away from
the lamps, they introduce into the circuit additional resistance, and
therefore waste energy, but they are distinctly serviceable when they
are fixed outside the door of a room, so that you can light it before
you enter it.

In many cases the lamp is its own switch, but it is objectionable to
handle a lamp, and attempts have been made to utilise the weight of
the lamp itself when suspended from the ceiling to maintain contact,
and to break that contact when the weight is released.

Cuts-out or safety-valves are essential to the security of a house.
Short circuiting ought not to occur, but it does, and generally when
showing off. It may occur when cleaning. The cut-out is so cheap and
so effective that there is no excuse for its neglect. They should be
fixed on every circuit.

No one must imagine that electric lighting is absolutely safe from
fire. It certainly possesses elements of danger, but elements that
are perfectly under control. It is very simple to secure safety if
the rules and regulations to avoid fire risks be carefully followed.
The simplest rule is to use nothing but the best insulated wire, and
to employ none but experienced men to put it up. All accidents that
have occurred have arisen from careless wiring and ignorant handling.

The design of the circuits of a house, the dimensions of conductors,
the quality of the materials used, the provision against fire risks,
the testing of the work done, the adaptability of means to an end,
should come within the province of the professional adviser, and not
be left to the successful competing contractor, however eminent the
firm may be.

Estimates for furnishing electric light installations, ranging from
about 3_l._ upwards, can be had from Messrs. Woodhouse and Rawson
United, Limited, 88 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., and of
Messrs. Appleton, Burbey, and Williamson, of 91 Queen Victoria
Street, London, E.C. See also p. 1001.


=Furniture and Decoration.=--Obviously half the benefit to be derived
from good sanitary arrangement of the house itself will be lost if
the internal fittings are not arranged with similar regard to healthy
conditions. Good drainage and ventilation are thrown away if every
corner is to be a receptacle for accumulated dirt and every carpet
and curtain a resting-place for dust. Yet that is just the condition
of ninety-nine houses out of every hundred. Existing systems of
furnishing and decorating are faulty to a degree in this respect, and
have called down the strictures of many sanitary reformers. Foremost
among them is Edis, who has made this branch of sanitary science a
special study. His suggestions for improvements in furnishing and
decorating our homes are worthy the attention of every housewife.
The following remarks are mainly culled from his paper in one of the
Health Exhibition handbooks, and deserves to be more generally known.

_Kitchen Walls._--Commencing at the bottom of the house, Edis advises
lining the whole of the scullery walls, and, as far as possible,
those of the kitchen also, with glazed tiles, so that there be no
absorption and retention of the smells, which must necessarily
accrue with the ordinary work of this portion of the house. For a
large house, he strongly advocates finishing all the walls in a
London basement, so far as the working portion of it, together with
the passages, are concerned, with glazed tiles; they are cleanly,
absolutely non-absorbent, reflect and give light, are easily washed,
and tend to make the house sweet and healthy. The pantries and
larders should be so arranged that they have continual ingress of
fresh air, and should in all cases be lined with glazed tiles or
bricks, so that the smells arising from the contents should not be
allowed to be absorbed in the distempered walls, and to render them
stuffy and unhealthy. The shelves should be of slate, or better
still, of polished marble, so as to be absolutely non-absorbent and
easily cleaned.

In every basement a comfortable room for servants should be provided:
some small sitting-room fitted up with book-shelves and cupboards,
and, if possible, facing the street, so that the workers of the house
may have some sort of spare room, in which they may be at rest from
their ordinary duties; for, if we want good servants, we must treat
them as ordinary beings like ourselves.

_Floors._--It is particularly desirable to counteract as far as
possible the deleterious influences which are brought about by the
absorption of offensive odours in the common deal floors of the
various rooms, by having all the joints carefully stopped in, and
the whole surface painted over with three or four coats, so that
the pores of the wood may be effectually closed, and the crevices,
through which dirt and filth of all kinds can enter, and lodge in
the spaces between floor and ceiling, practically sealed up. Or the
floors may be stained and varnished all over, for varnish of the
cheapest kind, whether made with resin in place of hard gums, or
petroleum in place of turps, is not only healthy in its application,
but cleanly and economical, as it can be readily cleaned of all
impurities by a wet cloth, and lasts longer than a mere painted
surface, if done properly at the onset, and every coat left to dry
and become thoroughly hard before a second coat is put on. Good
varnish will dry and be free from all stickiness in one or two days,
if the general atmosphere is free from damp. (Edis.)

Boarded floors are at present much more fashionable than carpeted.
Whether they are stained or not is a secondary consideration. In
hospital wards it is, no doubt, desirable that the boards should be
as closely laid as possible, and well waxed, to obviate the necessity
of scrubbing, and the possibility of any organic matter sinking into
the floor. But in private houses, so long as the carpets are loose
and can be taken up, and the boards either scrubbed, dry rubbed, or
waxed, we have all that health demands. Were it practised by some
Continental nation, and not by ourselves, we should be horrified
at the custom of keeping carpets nailed down for a year or more to
collect all the dirt that falls throughout that time. Of course, a
stained floor looks better than plain deal boards, and oak parquet
looks better than either. But in a bedroom the appearance is of
secondary importance, and staining, however it is put on, does not
last long in a room where there are children or schoolboys. A strip
of carpet by the side of the bed, and a square of matting or linoleum
before the washing-stand, is sufficient for health. All carpets, of
whatever kind, wear better if the boards are perfectly even, and
if they are laid down over “carpet lining,” brown paper, or coarse
canvas; but this plan is not feasible unless the carpet is fastened
down, and a much better plan than nailing is to have loops on the
carpet and nails in grooves on the floor, when it can so easily be
unhooked, that there is no excuse for not taking it up frequently.
Very often carpets and heavy furniture are left untouched because of
the difficulty of getting a man in to help where a man-servant is
not kept. Of the different sorts of carpeting, those that cost most
to start with are certainly not the dearest in the end. Compare, for
instance, a good Brussels with a tapestry of about half the first
cost, and probably not a sixth part of the durability. The only
rooms where tapestry carpets are admissible are where there is little
or no traffic, and where the mistress desires much appearance for
little money. Inferior floor coverings of whatever kind are dear. A
small pattern cuts to greater advantage, usually looks better, and
always shows dirt less than a large one,--looks better because the
floor is not the part of the room where we wish all eyes to be at
first directed; and, therefore, though a light ground often wears
better than a dark, we cannot venture to recommend it. Kidderminster
is now fashionable; it wears well and can be turned. Small patterns
in Kidderminster, as in all double wool fabrics, wear best, because
the threads decussate more frequently. Felt carpets wear much better
if the colour runs through; if it is only stamped on the top, white
patches appear long before the carpet is in holes, which, however,
are not long in coming with even a moderate amount of wear. The
cheapest carpets have cotton or jute woven in them, and very quickly
fade. As to matting, it, too, is of many kinds. The coconut matting,
with a coloured pattern or border, looks well on dark wood stairs,
and wears better than any other, but it is too rough for most
sitting-rooms, even if we do not experience its rapid fraying of
skirts and wearing out of thin house shoes that walk over it. India
matting of good quality wears a long time, especially if it is kept
damp. It is made of grass fibre, and if it gets too dry it quickly
splits. In hot weather it must be washed over with water once or
twice a week and left wet, and the fibre will absorb enough moisture
to keep it fairly tough. Oilcloth, kamptulicon, linoleum, and similar
floor coverings, are made of canvas with layers of oil paint. It
must be kept for some time after it is made, to harden the paint; if
this is not done it splits, and soon wears out. The quality can be
judged by the weight, and the heaviest is generally the best. It can
be scrubbed with soap and water, and then polished with a dry cloth
and a little oil; as little water as possible should be used, or it
runs underneath, and causes the cloth to rot. In the country it is a
good plan to wash oilcloth with a little skim milk, thus cleaning and
polishing it at the same time. (E. A. B., in the _Queen_.)

_Furniture._--It must be evident to common-sense people, that all
furniture which collects and holds dust and dirt, which cannot be
easily detected and cleaned; that all window valances and heavy stuff
curtains with heavy fringes, which cannot be constantly shaken; and
that all floor coverings which are fastened down, so that it is
impossible to clear away the dust, that gradually, but surely, finds
its way under them, and prevents the coverings themselves from being
constantly shaken, are objectionable and unhealthy. Such people will
therefore avoid all wall coverings which offer resting-places for
dirt--such as the high-relief flock patterns, which, however good
artistically, are certainly to be avoided on sanitary grounds; will
not cover the whole of the floor surfaces with thick carpets, which
absorb and retain dust and disease germs, and which cannot be easily
removed and cleaned, or shaken, at least once a month; will do away
with all heavy window-curtains and valances, which, in small rooms,
add so materially to their stuffiness and unhealthiness; and will, as
far as practicable, avoid filling their rooms with heavy lumbering
furniture, which cannot easily be moved for cleaning purposes, and
under and above which dust and other impurities may collect and
remain. (Edis.)

Second-hand furniture is often preferable to new. The warps and
started joints are plainly visible if bad wood has been some time in
use; no more warping will take place, and the price, in comparison
with that of new, is often much less than the amount of wear and tear
would indicate. There are circumstances that give to old furniture a
distinct excellence, quite apart from the existence of a fashion for
buying it. It was made by hand; generally the same man worked on each
piece throughout, acquiring a special interest in every detail, and
thinking no trouble too great to make it more perfect. (E. A. B.)

In choosing chairs and tables for the drawing-room, the more varied
they are in size and shape the better. Let the wood be all fairly
similar, but the materials may be as widely different as possible,
and a judicious blending of several colours is the one thing aimed at
by those who have good taste. Let me warn my readers against cheap
cretonnes; they wear atrociously, and only look well for the first
few months. Plush and Utrecht velvet last for ever, but, as they are
rather expensive, less costly material can be used for the sofa and
a few of the chairs. Do not get one of those dreadful curved sofas
that only admit of being sat on, for the primary object of a sofa is
to allow of your reclining at full length when fatigued or ill. In a
good-sized drawing-room a centre ottoman is allowable, but never in
a small room, as it would take up too much space; it is a good plan
to have the ottoman made to come to pieces, it will then form several
small couches in the event of a large “at home” or dance being given.

With regard to dining-room furniture, get a suite of some light
wood--ash or oak--and leather seats to the chairs, or American
leather. Sideboards of the present day are very handsome and
rather elaborate. You can sometimes pick up very good second-hand
dining-room suites, upholstered in the best style, for half their
original price. If you intend to have a mirror over your dining-room
mantelpiece, see that it is framed in wood similar to your chairs and
table, and eschew gilt mirrors in any form, as they are the very acme
of bad taste and vulgarity. In choosing the dining-room curtains,
bear in mind the colour of the wall paper, or they may clash most
inharmoniously. The cheapest way of getting these curtains would be
to buy some tapestry stuff by the yard, and make them up at home.
Everything in a dining-room should match, see therefore that the
curtain pole, bell handles, and coal scuttle are all of the same wood
as the rest of the furniture.

If the drawing-room is on the first floor, with a small landing
outside, cover the latter entirely with carpet, do not simply
continue the stair carpet across it, it will look as well again
covered. Should it be a good sized landing, put a square carpet down
and stain the edges of the floor. By way of keeping out draughts,
and making the hall and staircase look less bare than is usually the
case, get some curtains and hang them outside the dining-room and
drawing-room doors. Indian dhurries are useful, as they are so cheap,
but the objection to them is that there are none made between 6 ft. 6
in. and 11 ft. in length.

There are no special rules to be laid down about furnishing a morning
room or boudoir: the remarks made on drawing-rooms would apply to
a great extent; the furniture should be suitably small, and only
very cosy and comfortable chairs and couches allowed, and no great
expense should be incurred. If the lady of the house cannot afford
to have more than one bedroom handsomely furnished, it should be the
one occupied by herself. Many advocate most strongly a “half tester”
bedstead, as in the event of sickness, the hangings and curtains
keep away draughts and shade the eyes from any strong light. Brass
and black bedsteads look best, with some pretty coloured dimity
hangings, and of course a spring mattress. Be particular about the
stuffing of the pillows, and if you decide on feathers, have them of
the very best, as the inferior ones are apt to have a slight smell,
besides being hard and uncomfortable to sleep on. Choose a suite of
some light wood, consisting of a wardrobe with a plate-glass door, a
washstand with tiled back, and a toilet table with a fixed glass and
with plenty of small drawers, the latter being invaluable for keeping
light easily crushed articles, such as feathers, flowers, &c., which
otherwise are apt to litter about the room in cardboard boxes. For
the windows, Syrian curtains are the cheapest, and have the extra
advantages of being fashionable and pretty, but coloured dimity to
match the bed look the nicest, though of course they would never do
in London. Buy (second-hand) a comfortable, old-fashioned armchair,
covering it with some serviceable material; and a small table, the
height of the bed. It is a good thing to have a small cupboard
under lock and key, to hold medicine bottles, &c. You can get very
artistic-looking oak ones, quite small, with a shelf above for books,
and they form a handsome ornament to the walls.

The spare room or rooms need never necessarily have the “half tester”
bedsteads, and so you are saved the expense of buying a quantity
of bedhangings and what follows in their train--a heavy washing or
cleaning bill. In the event of your not wanting to spend much money
on the furnishing of your spare bedroom, remember that at sales very
often good things can be picked up at a low price. If you will have
a charming bedroom suite at a low rate, be on the look-out for some
common deal furniture--never mind its being second-hand and the paint
dirty, so long as the wood is whole. Perhaps a friend has an old
toilet table or a chest of drawers that she wants to get rid of, or
you come across a cheap lot at a broker’s; do not be dismayed at the
paint being gaudy, perhaps, or dirty, for this is the secret--have
them all painted some uniform neutral colour (grey, picked out with
dark mouldings, looks well), and then varnished, and you will be
delighted with the result. In conclusion, a good substitute for a
wardrobe may be made in this way. If there is a small recess in
the room (there very often is one by the chimney), put across it a
deal board, stained or painted, and varnished, about 6 ft. from the
ground, with an ornamental moulding depending from the front edge,
and hang curtains in front, putting up underneath as many dress pegs
as the width of the recess will allow. (C. H. D., in the _Queen_.)

_Ceilings._--If the cornices of the rooms be deeply recessed and
filled with heavy plaster ornaments, they must of necessity hold
dust and other impurities, which are increased by the action of damp
air causing decomposition, and by mixing with the air in the room,
when stirred or blown away from their resting places by draught
from opened door or window, must render it impure and unhealthy. In
addition to this, they are more or less choked up by every coat of
so-called distemper decoration, and this again, by absorbing damp and
obnoxious exhalations, adds materially to the sense of stuffiness
and foulness which can be appreciably felt on first opening up the
room after it has been closed for some hours. It is better, if
possible, to paint all ceilings and cornices than to distemper them,
so as to render them as non-absorbent as possible; by painting, the
plaster-work is covered with a non-absorbent coating, on which if
desired a coat of distemper may afterwards be added.

_Walls._--As a rule it is desirable as far as possible not to
disturb the general flatness of wall surfaces, and to avoid
all patterns which obtrude themselves too prominently upon the
eye, or cause the space, whether covered with paper or painted
decoration, to be broken into groups of ornament, or into distinct
lines cutting it transversely or horizontally. The wall surface
may be divided either by a chair or frieze rail and be treated in
different shades of colour with good effect; or the upper portion
may be covered with good artistic painting, which will add to the
beauty and picturesqueness of the room. Where the upper space is
covered with paper or distemper, the pattern or colouring should
offer no startling contrasts, and the lower portion may be painted
and varnished, so as to be readily cleaned. The colour of the
wall surfaces of the different rooms must naturally depend upon
the purposes for which the rooms are used, as the apparent warmth
and pleasurable appearance of the room is materially enhanced or
detracted from by the treatment of the wall-colouring; and while
it is necessary to treat the surface of one room as a background
for pictures, it may be desired to have another brighter and more
decorative; but wherever possible, in passages, halls and staircases,
it is desirable to varnish as much of the wall surface as possible,
so as to render it non-absorbent and readily cleaned.

In the selection of paper or other hangings, and in the arrangement
of all ornament in wall or panel decoration, it becomes a matter of
importance to select none which shall have distinct and strongly
marked patterns, in which the ornament stands out and repeats itself
in endless multiplication and monotony. All staring patterns should
be avoided. Almost all papers may now be considered practically free
from arsenic; the largest printers of machine-printed papers now
use little or no arsenical colours; the principal manufacturers of
block-printed papers allow on colours with a known trace of arsenic
to enter their factories; and, as the colours of this class of
paper-hangings are more thoroughly bound with size than those which
are machine-made, they are to be recommended for house decoration in
preference to the cheaper kinds, as being to a certain extent more
lasting.

Paper-hangings must enter largely into the decoration of all the
wall surfaces of our houses; but, on sanitary grounds, all flock
papers, however beautiful in design, are especially to be avoided,
for, from the very nature of their design and treatment, they are
detrimental to the healthy condition of the room. The patterns stand
out in relief, and offer innumerable spaces for dust and dirt, while
the generally fluffy nature of the material, practically powdered
wool, renders it more absorbent and therefore more unhealthy; and the
surface holds dust and dirt to a much larger degree than the ordinary
printed papers, thus tending to a stuffy and unwholesome feeling,
which is essentially at variance with all laws of health and comfort.

Stamped papers, in which the pattern is raised in relief, offer the
same objections in a minor degree, as the surface is smooth and can
be readily cleansed; and in the case of the imitation leather papers,
the surface is varnished, and can be readily gone over with a damp
cloth without injury. These papers can be well used for the dados of
rooms or frieze decoration, and as such are exceedingly effective,
although, of course, from the very nature of the manufacture, much
more expensive than plain painting and varnishing. A good deal of
illness often arises from the bad nature of the size and paste with
which the ordinary wall-papers are hung, and great care should be
taken that no such inferior, and practically stinking materials are
allowed.

_Cupboards._--In most houses it is common to have the store places
for clothes and other household goods, practically self-contained in
every room, and therefore we put therein furniture sufficient for
our requirements; but we all know how soon our drawers and wardrobes
get overcrowded, and the nuisance and annoyance it often is to have
to take out coat after coat, or dress after dress, until we reach
the particular one we want, which may be stowed away at the bottom
of the drawers or chest, and it surely must appeal to ordinary
common sense, to utilise in every way, with constructional fittings
as far as possible, all spaces which, as a rule, are practically
useless. If the cupboards are taken up to the ceiling line, that
is to say an extra tier added to the ordinary wardrobe fitting,
increased storeroom would be provided for clothing not immediately
required. There would be less crowding up of the existing cupboards
and drawers, and the ills of the flat exposed tops of the ordinary
fittings, to which Edis before referred, would be done away with. Why
not, in the window recesses of every bedroom, provide fixed ottoman
boxes which can be used as seats, as well as store places, and if
covered with stuffed tops, may thus not only be made useful, but
comfortable; while in the sitting-rooms they might be used for store
places for papers and magazines until bound up, and thus help to do
away with the littering of our rooms, or the storing away of all such
things in inaccessible places, where they are seldom dusted, and only
help to breed dirt and disease.

_Windows._--If instead of the usual heavy and ugly valances, which
so many people still insist upon placing over their windows, as
a top-finish to the curtains, we were to provide framed recesses
constructed with the architraves, or mouldings, which run round
the window-openings, with slightly arched heads, leaving room for
a slight iron rod to be fixed behind and out of sight, with space
for the proper and easy running of the curtain, we should have not
only a much more artistic, but certainly a much more healthy and
less expensive arrangement; and these arched heads would form part
of the constructive finishing, at no more cost than the framed and
panelled window linings and architraves, and if carried up to the
ceiling, with the cornice returned round, would leave no spaces for
the accumulation of dirt and dust, such as are now provided by the
projecting boxed linings and the heavy valances, fringes, and poles,
which the modern upholsterer provides.

_Bedrooms._--The wall surfaces of bedrooms should be hung with some
small and simple decorative paper of one general tone, but with no
particularly emphasised design, so that we are annoyed at night with
flights of birds, or symmetrical patterns of conventional primroses,
daisies, or fruits, which might in any way suggest a countless and
never-ending procession along the walls. Any pattern or design which
shows prominently any set pattern, or spots which suggest a sum
of multiplication, or which, in the half-light of night or early
morning, might be likely to fix themselves upon the tired brain,
suggesting all kinds of weird forms, are especially to be avoided.
The design should be of such a description that, saving as regards
colour, it should offer no specially marked pattern.

The general wall surfaces should be varnished if possible, so that
they may be easily cleaned down and be made practically non-absorbent.

The general woodwork of the doors, windows, and skirtings should be
painted in some plain colour to harmonise or contrast with the wall
decoration, and the whole varnished; woodwork finished in this way
can be easily washed or cleaned, and the extra expense of varnishing
will be saved in a few years. The bedstead should be of brass or
iron, the furniture of light wood, varnished or polished; and, now
that good painted tiles can be obtained at small expense, they may
be used in washing-stands with good effect, or the wall above may be
lined entirely with them to a height of 2 or 3 ft.

As regards the general floor surfaces, let them be entirely painted,
or stained and varnished, so as to present non-absorbent and easily
cleaned surfaces, or better still, finished with parquet flooring,
which is almost entirely non-absorbing, and which can be cleaned by a
damp cloth every day; with rugs or simple homespun carpets laid down
beside the bed, and elsewhere, where required, so as to be easily
taken up and shaken every day without trouble. There is one objection
to square carpets in a bedroom, and that is, if you are lightly
shod, or, as is often the case, barefoot, the polished floor is very
unpleasantly cold; and also, as it is not every one who can indulge
in the luxury of a bedroom fire, a wholly carpeted floor tends to
keep out draughts and make the room generally warmer.

If you do away with all resting-places for dirt and dust on the tops
of wardrobes and hanging closets, and behind and under chests of
drawers and other heavy furniture, there will naturally be much less
labour required in cleaning and purifying the rooms. Heavy curtains
should be avoided, indeed it is difficult to see why curtains are
needed at all in bedrooms, if the window-blinds be of some dark-toned
stuff sufficient to hide light, and to keep out the glare of the
morning sun.

_Nurseries._--In all the upper rooms of a house, which may be used as
nurseries, Edis would, where practicable, construct semi-octagonal
projecting bays, so as to provide for the greatest possible light and
sunshine; and if this cannot be arranged, the windows should be as
widely splayed inside as possible, and no light or sunshine shut out
by heavy curtains or venetian blinds; and here, too, as in the best
rooms of the house, should be thick plate, instead of the miserably
thin glass, which is considered sufficient in the upper portions of
so many houses; the thick glass gives truer light, is less penetrated
by sound, and helps to retain the warmth of the room after the fires
have gone out, and the house is left to cool in the long night hours.

The walls of the nurseries should be hung with some bright and
cheerful pattern paper, varnished for health’s sake, while the upper
portion should be distempered; the upper space or frieze should
be divided from the general wall surface by a small deal painted
picture rail, but the ceilings and frieze should be cleaned off and
re-distempered every autumn, as nothing tends so much to sweeten the
rooms as this annual cleaning off and re-doing of the ceilings, which
naturally are more impregnated with the impurities of the shut-up
rooms than any other portion of them. Paint or varnished papers are
always more healthy than distemper, as they can be readily washed,
and do not absorb and hold dirt and other impurities.

The walls of the night nurseries should be hung with a soft,
general toned paper, varnished, so as to be sponged every week, or
distempered all over, so as to be re-done at small cost at frequent
intervals, for it is essential in the ordinary low-pitched upper
rooms of town houses, generally devoted to nurseries, to wash out as
often as possible, the peculiar stuffy bedroom atmosphere, which must
be absorbed in the walls and ceilings of all low rooms. The tone of
colouring or pattern on the walls should above all not be spotty or
glaring, with strongly defined forms presenting nightmare effects to
drive away sleep, or disturb our little ones in the hours of feverish
unrest or sickness. But in the rooms they live in there is no reason
why the “writing on the walls” should not be the earliest teaching
of all that is beautiful in nature, art, or science, and by good
illustrations of fairy lore and natural forms incline the thoughts
of our children to all that is graceful and beautiful in nature or
imaginative faculties.


=Bells and Calls.=--No house can now be considered complete without
it is fitted with call-tubes or bells, especially the latter.
Call-tubes are more general in places of business, but they might
often replace bells in a house with advantage to all concerned.
The wires for bells are carried in tubes and boxes concealed by
the finishing of the walls and skirting. These tubes are often of
tinned iron or zinc, but they ought to be either of brass or strong
galvanised iron. Zinc cannot be depended on: in some places it will
moulder away; if not soldered, it opens, and the wires work into the
joinings of the tube, which stops their movement. The old-fashioned
system of bells is being largely supplanted by electric bells.

_Electric Bells._--An ordinary electric bell is merely a vibrating
contact breaker carrying a small hammer on its spring, which hammer
strikes a bell placed within its reach as long as the vibration of
the spring continues. The necessary apparatus comprises a battery to
supply the force, wires to conduct it, circuit-closers to apply it,
and bells to give it expression.

[Illustration: 60. Battery.]

The Leclanché battery (Fig. 60) is the best for all electric bell
systems, its great recommendation being that, once charged, it
retains its power without attention for several years. Two jars are
employed in its construction: the outer one is of glass, contains
a zinc rod, and is charged with a solution of ammonium chloride
(sal-ammoniac). The inner jar is of porous earthenware, contains
a carbon plate, and is filled up with a mixture of manganese
peroxide and broken gas carbon. When the carbon plate and the zinc
rod are connected, a steady current of electricity is set up, the
chemical reaction which takes place being as follows:--The zinc
becomes oxidised by the oxygen from the manganese peroxide, and
is subsequently converted into zinc chloride by the action of the
sal-ammoniac. After the battery has been in continuous use for some
hours, the manganese becomes exhausted of oxygen, and the force of
the electrical current is greatly diminished; but if the battery be
allowed to rest for a short time the manganese obtains a fresh supply
of oxygen from the atmosphere, and is again fit for use. After about
18 months’ work, the glass cell will probably require recharging with
sal-ammoniac, and the zinc rod may also need renewing; but should the
porous cell get out of order, it is better to get a new one entirely,
than to attempt to recharge it.

On short circuits, 2 cells may suffice, increasing up to 4 or 6 as
required. It is false economy to use a battery too weak to do its
work properly. The battery should be placed where it will not be
subject to changes of temperature, e.g. in an underground cellar.

The circuit wire used in England for indoor situations is “No.
20” copper wire, covered with guttapercha and cotton. In America,
“No. 18, first-class, braided, cotton-covered, office wire” is
recommended, though smaller and cheaper kinds are often used. The
wire should be laid with great regard to keeping it from damp, and
ensuring its perfect insulation. Out of doors, for carrying long
distances overhead, ordinary galvanised iron wire is well adapted,
the gauge running from “No. 4” to “No. 14,” according to conditions.
Proper insulators on poles must be provided, avoiding all contact
with foreign bodies; or a rubber-covered wire encased in lead may be
run underground.

The circuit-closer, or means of instantaneously completing and
interrupting the circuit, is generally a simple press-button. This
consists of a little cylindrical box, provided in the centre with an
ivory button, which is either (1) attached to a brass spring that is
brought into contact with a brass plate at the back of the box on
pressing the button, or (2) is capable of pressing together 2 springs
in the box. A wire from the battery is attached to the spring of
the press-button, and another from the bell is secured to the brass
plate. Platinum points should be provided on the spring and plate
where the contact takes place. While the button is at rest, or out,
the electric circuit is broken; but on being pressed in, it completes
the circuit, and the bell rings.

[Illustration: 61. Bell.]

The relative arrangement and connection of the several parts is shown
in Fig. 61. _a_, Leclanché cell; _b_, wire; _c_, press-button; _d_,
bell. When the distance traversed is great, say ½ mile, the return
wire _e_ may be dispensed with, and replaced by what is known as the
“earth circuit,” established by attaching the terminals at _f_ and
_g_ to copper plates sunk in the ground.

The bells used are generally vibrating ones, and those intended
for internal house use need not have a higher resistance than 2
or 3 ohms. At other times, single-stroke and continuous-ringer
bells have to be provided, the latter being arranged to continue
ringing until specially stopped. The bell may or may not be fitted
with an annunciator system; the latter is almost a necessity when
many bells have to ring to the same place, as then 1 bell only is
requisite. A single-stroke bell is simply a gong fixed to a board
or frame, an electro-magnet, and an armature with a hammer at the
end, arranged to strike the gong when the armature is attracted by
the magnet. A vibrating bell has its armature fixed to a spring
which presses against a contact-screw; the wire forming the circuit,
entering at one binding-screw, goes to the magnet, which in turn is
connected with the armature; thence the circuit continues through the
contact-screw to the other binding-screw, and out. When set in motion
by electricity, the magnet attracts the armature, and the hammer
strikes the bell; but in its forward motion, the spring leaves the
contact-screw, and thus the circuit is broken; the hammer then falls
back, closing the circuit again, and so the action is continued _ad
libitum_, and a rapid vibratory motion is produced, which makes a
ringing by the action of the successive blows of the hammer on the
gong.

The following useful hints on electric bell systems are condensed
from Lockwood’s handy little volume on telephones.

With regard to the battery, he advises to keep the sal-ammoniac
solution strong, yet not to put so much in that it cannot dissolve.
Be extremely careful to have all battery connections clean, bright,
and mechanically tight, and to have no leak or short circuit. The
batteries should last a year without further attention, and the glass
jars never ought to be filled more than ¾ full.

(_a_) 1 Bell and 1 Press-button.--The simplest system is 1 bell
operated by 1 press-button. The arrangement of this is the same
whether the line be long or short. Set up the bell in the required
place, with the gong down or up as may be chosen; fix press-button
where wanted, taking all advantages offered by the plan of the house;
e.g. a wall behind which is a closet is an excellent place to attach
electrical fixtures, because then it is easy to run all the wires
in the closets, and out of sight. Set up the battery in a convenient
place, and, if possible, in an air-tight box. Calculate how much
wire will be requisite, and measure it off, giving a liberal supply;
joints in inside work are very objectionable, and only admissible
where absolutely necessary. Cut off insulation from ends of wire
where contact is to be made to a screw. Only 3 wires are necessary,
i.e. (1) from 1 spring of the press-button to 1 pole of the battery,
say the carbon, (2) from the other spring of the button to 1
binding-screw of the bell, (3) from the other pole of the battery
to the other binding-screw of the bell. In stripping wires, leave
no ragged threads hanging; they get caught in the binding-screw,
and interfere with the connection of the parts. After stripping the
wire sufficiently, make the ends not only clean but bright. Never
run 2 wires under 1 staple. A button-switch should be placed in the
battery-circuit, and close to the battery, so that, to avoid leakage
and accidental short circuiting when the bells are not used for some
time, it may be opened.

(_b_) 1 Bell and 2 Press-buttons.--The next system is an arrangement
of 2 press-buttons in different places to ring the same bell. Having
fixed the bell and battery, and decided upon the position of the
2 buttons, run the wires as follows:--1 long covered wire is run
from 1 pole of the battery to 1 of the springs of the most distant
press-button, and where this long wire approaches nearest to the
other press-button it is stripped for about 1 in. and scraped clean;
another wire, also stripped at its end, is wound carefully around the
bared place, and the joint is covered with kerite tape; the other end
of the piece of wire thus branched on is carried over and fastened
to the spring of the second press-button. This constitutes a battery
wire branching to 1 spring of each press-button. Then run a second
wire from 1 of the bell binding-screws to the other spring of the
most distant press-button, branching it in the same manner as the
battery-wire to the other spring of the second button; connect the
other pole of the battery to the second binding-screw of the bell,
and the arrangement is complete--a continuous battery-circuit through
the bell when either of the buttons is pressed. Before covering the
joints with tape, it is well to solder them, using rosin as a flux.

(_c_) 2 Bells and 1 Press-button.--When it is required to have 2
bells in different places, to ring from 1 press-button at the same
time, after erecting the bells, button, and battery, run a wire from
the carbon pole of the battery and branch it in the manner described
to 1 binding-screw of each bell; run a second wire from the zinc pole
of the battery to 1 spring of the button, and a third wire from the
other spring, branching it to the remaining binding-screw of both
bells. It will not answer to connect 2 or more vibrating bells in
circuit one after another, as the 2 circuit-breakers will not work in
unison; they must always be branched, i.e. a portion of the main wire
must be stripped, and another piece spliced to it, so as to make 2
ends.

(_d_) There are other methods, one of which is, if more than 1 bell
is designed to ring steadily when the button is pressed, to let only
1 of the series be a vibrating bell, and the other single-strokes;
these, if properly set up and adjusted, will continuously ring,
because they are controlled by the rapid make and break of the 1
vibrator.

(_e_) Annunciator system.--To connect an indicating annunciator
of any number of drops with a common bell, to be operated by
press-buttons in different parts of a house, is a handy arrangement,
as one drop may be operated from the front door, another from
the drawing-room, a third from the dining-room, and so on.
The annunciator is fastened up with the bell near it. All the
electro-magnets in the annunciator are connected by 1 wire with
1 binding-screw of the bell, and the other binding-screw of the
bell is connected with the zinc of the battery. It is a good plan
to run a wire through the building from top to bottom, at one end
connecting it with the carbon pole of the battery. It ought to be
covered with a different coloured cotton from any other, so as to be
readily identified as the wire from the carbon. Supposing there are
6 press-buttons, 1 in each room, run a wire from 1 of the springs of
each of the press-buttons to the main wire from the carbon pole, and
at the point of meeting strip the covering from both the main wire
and the ends of the branch wires from the press-buttons, and fasten
each branch wire to the main wire, virtually bringing the carbon
pole of the battery into every press-button. Next, lead a second
wire from the other spring of each press-button to the annunciator
screw-post belonging to the special drop desired. This will complete
the circuit when any of the press-buttons is pushed; for, as each
annunciator magnet is connected on 1 side to its own press-button,
and on the other side to the common bell, it follows that when any
button is pressed, the line of the current is from the carbon pole
of the battery, through the points of the press-button, back to
the annunciator, thence through the bell to the zinc pole of the
battery; and that, therefore, the right annunciator must drop and the
bell must ring. In handsome houses, run the wires under the floor
as much as possible, and adopt such colours for wire covering as
may be harmonious with the paper and paintings. Also test each wire
separately, as soon as the connection is made.

(_f_) Double system.--A system of bells in which the signalling is
done both ways, that is, in addition to the annunciator and bell
located at one point, to be signalled by pressing the button in
each room, a bell is likewise placed in each room, or in a certain
room, whereon a return signal may be received--transmitted from a
press-button near the annunciator. This is a double system, and
involves additional wires. One battery may furnish all the current.
Run the main carbon wire through the house, as before, in such a
manner as to admit of branch wires being easily attached to it. Run
a branch wire from it to the spring of one of the press-buttons,
a second wire from the other spring of the same button to the
screw-post of the bell in room No. 2, and from the other screw-post
of the said bell to the zinc pole of the battery. This completes
one circuit. The other is then arranged as follows:--The main
carbon, besides being led, as already described, to the spring
of the press-button in room No. 1, is continued to one of the
binding-screws of the bell in the same room; the other terminal of
that bell is carried to one spring of the press-button in room No.
2; the complementary spring of that press-button is then connected
by a special and separate wire with the zinc of the battery, and the
second circuit is then also completed.

An alternative method is to run branches from the main carbon wire
to all the press-buttons, and from the main zinc wire to all the
bells, connecting by separate wires the remaining bell terminals with
the remaining press-button springs. In the latter plan, more wires
are necessary. Although the connections of but one bell either way
have been described, every addition must be carried out on the same
principle.

When 2 points at some distance from one another, e.g. the house and
a stable 100 yd. distant, are to be connected, it is easy to run 1
wire, and use an earth return. If gas or water pipes are in use at
both points, no difficulty will be found in accomplishing this. A
strap-key will in this case be found advantageous as a substitute
for a press-button. The connecting wire at each end is fastened to
the stem of the key; the back contact or bridge of the key, against
which when at rest the key presses, is connected at each end with one
terminal of the bell, the other terminal of each bell being connected
by wire with the ground. A sufficient amount of battery is placed at
each point, and 1 pole of each battery is connected with the earth,
the other pole being attached to the front contact of the strap-key.
If impossible to get a ground, the second terminal of both bell and
battery at each end must be connected by a return wire.

(_g_) Bell and Telephone.--It is a very easy matter to add telephones
to bell-signalling appliances, when constructed as here described.
The only additions necessary are a branch or return circuit for the
telephones, and a switch operated by hand, whereby the main wire is
switched from the bell return wire to the telephone return wire. A
very simple plan for a bell-call and telephone line from one room
to another, can be made as follows: Apparatus required--2 bells, 2
telephones, 2 3-point switches, 2 strap-keys with back and front
contacts, and 1 battery. Run 1 wire from the stem of the key in room
No. 1 to the stem of the key in room No. 2. This is the main wire.
Fix the bell and 3-point switch below it in each room. Connect the
back contact of each key by wire to the lever of the 3-point switch,
attach 1 of the points of the switch to 1 of the bell terminals,
and the other bell terminal to a return wire. The return wire will
now connect the second bell terminal in one room with the second
bell in the other room. The other point of the switch in each room
is now connected by a wire with 1 binding-screw of a telephone, and
the other telephone screw is attached by another wire to the bell
return. Connecting 1 pole of the battery also to the return wire, and
the other pole to each of the front contacts of the keys, the system
is complete. When at rest, each switch is turned on to the bell. To
ring the bell in the other room, the key is pressed. The battery
circuit is then from battery, front contact of the pressed key, stem
of key, main wire, stem of distant key, switch, bell, and through
return wire to the other pole of the battery. After bell signals are
interchanged, the 3-point switches are transferred to the telephone
joint, and conversation can be maintained. (Lockwood.)

_Making an Electric Bell._--The following description applies to 3
sizes--viz. for a 2 in. bell, hereafter called No. 1; 2¾ in., or No.
2; 4 in., or No. 3, which sizes are sufficient for most amateurs’
purposes, and, if properly made, a No. 3 Leclanché cell will ring the
largest 2 through over 100 yd. No. 24 (B. W. G.) wire.

The Backboard and Cover.--This may be of any hard wood, by preference
teak, oak, or mahogany, and if polished, so much the better; the size
required will be--

  No. 1,  5½ in. long, 3¾ in. wide, ½ in. thick.
  No. 2,  7  in.   ”   3¾ in.   ”   ¾ in.   ”
  No. 3,  8½ in.   ”   5  in.   ”   ¾ in.   ”

The cover must be deep enough to cover all the work, and reach to
within about ¼ in. of the top and sides of back, and allow ⅜ in. to ¾
in. between the edge of bell and cover; the making of this had better
be deferred until the bell is nearly complete.

[Illustration: 62. Electro-Magnet.]

The Electro-Magnet.--This should be of good round iron, and bent
into a horse-shoe shape (Fig. 62). The part _a b_ must be quite
straight, and not damaged by the forging; the bend should be as flat
as possible, so as to make the magnet as short as may be (to save
space). When made, the magnet is put into a clear fire, and when red
hot, taken out and laid in the ashes to slowly cool; care must be
taken not to burn it. Lastly, 2 small holes are drilled in the centre
of the ends at _c_, about 1/16 in. deep; drive a piece of brass wire
tightly into the holes, and allow the wire to project sufficiently to
allow a piece of thin paper between the iron and the table when the
iron is standing upon it; this is to prevent the armature adhering
to the magnet from residuary magnetism, which always exists more or
less. The measurements are--

  No. 1 size iron    ¼ in.,  _d_ to _e_  ⅝ in.,  _a_ to _b_  1¼ in.
  No. 2     ”     5/16 in.,       ”      ¾ in.,       ”      1⅜ in.
  No. 3     ”     7/16 in.,       ”      ¾ in.,       ”      1½ in.

The Bobbins or Coils.--These are made by bending thin sheet copper
round the part _a b_ of the magnet; the edges at _a_ (Fig. 63) must
not quite meet. The thickness of this copper must be such that 4
pieces just equal in thickness the edge of a new threepenny-piece
(this is rather an original gauge, but then all can get at the
thickness this way). The hole in the brass end _b_ must be just large
enough to push on firmly over the copper when on the iron; they must
then be set true, and soldered on. The brass for the ends may be
about as thick as a sixpence; a 1/16 in. hole must be drilled at _c_,
close to the copper. The other measurements are as follows:--

  No. 1,  diameter ⅜ in.,  length over all  1⅛ in.
  No. 2,     ”     ¾ in.,          ”        1¼ in.
  No. 3,     ”     1 in.,          ”        1⅜ in.

The brass ends should be neatly turned true and lacquered.

[Illustration: 63. Bobbin. 64. Winding Bobbin.]

To fill the Bobbins with Wire.--For this purpose, No 28 wire should
be used, which is better if varnished or paraffined. The bobbins
should be neatly covered with paper over the copper tube and inside
of ends, to prevent any possibility of the wire touching the bobbin
itself; the bobbin is best filled by chucking it on a mandrel in the
lathe, or a primitive winding apparatus may be made by boring a hole
through the sides of a small box, fit a wire crank and wooden axle to
this, and push the bobbin on the projecting end--thus (Fig. 64): _a_,
crank; _b_, box; _c_, bobbin; _d_, axle. The box may be loaded to
keep it steady; on any account do not attempt to wind the wire on by
hand--the bobbin must revolve. Leave about 1½ in. of wire projecting
outside the hole _d_, in end of bobbin, and wind the wire on
carefully and quite evenly, the number of layers being respectively
6, 8, and 10; the last layer must finish at the same end as the first
began, and is best fastened off by a silk or thread binding, leaving
about a 3 in. piece projecting. Both bobbins must be wound in the
same direction, turning the crank from you, and commencing at the end
nearest the box. The bobbins must now be firmly pushed on the part _a
b_ of the magnet, and the two pieces of wire projecting through the
hole _c_ soldered together.

To put the Bell together.--First screw on the bell. This should be
supported underneath by a piece of ¼ in. iron tube, long enough to
keep the edge of the bell ⅜ to ⅝ in. above the backboard. Cut off the
hammer-rod, so that when the head is on it will come nearly as low as
the bell screw, and in a line with it. Make a hole in the backboard,
and drive the armature post in tightly--it must be driven in so far
that when the magnet is laid upon the backboard, the centre of the
magnet iron and the armature are the same height. Place the magnet
so that when the armature is pressed against it, the hammer-head all
but touches the bell; screw it into its place by a wooden bridge
across the screw passing between the bobbins. By afterwards easing
this screw, any little adjustment can be made. The armature spring
should tend to throw the hammer-head about ⅝ in. from the bell. The
contact-post should be so placed that when the armature touches the
magnet, there is a slight space between the platinum point on the
screw and the platinum on the spring. In putting in the posts, a
piece of copper wire must be driven in with them to attach the wire
to. One post can be moved round a little either way to alter the
tension of the spring; the screw in the other post can be turned in
or out, to just allow the proper break to take place. By screwing it
in and out, the ear will soon judge where the bell rings best. (Volk.)

Those desiring further information on batteries, telephones, and all
electrical matters, are referred to the Third Series of ‘Workshop
Receipts,’ where diffuse instructions are given.


=Thieves and Fire.=--It would be difficult to name two subjects
demanding more attention and forethought from the housewife than the
means to be adopted for protecting her household from the incursions
of thieves and the horrors of fire. Some years ago, the well-known
inventor of Chubb’s locks published a little book on these topics,
from which we have taken the liberty of condensing a few paragraphs
which are full of import to the safety of the dwelling and its
inmates.

First with regard to thieves. Chubb remarks that most of the
house-robberies so common in all large towns are effected through
the common street-door latches in ordinary use being opened by
false keys. It is a notorious fact that thousands are made year
after year, but which do not afford the least security, as they
are all so made that any one key will open the whole. Burglars are
sometimes assisted by dishonest servants, but are more often unaided
in this way. Frequently some coal-cellar window is left conveniently
unbarred, although all other windows and doors are barred and bolted;
or perhaps all the windows have safety-fasteners but one, which, of
course, will be the one used by the burglars. Beggars or hawkers are
often in the pay of thieves, endeavouring to get information--that
may not be used perhaps for a long time; and such visitors should
never be allowed inside one’s house, though their visits are too
often encouraged by the weakness of the domestics.

The remedies best adapted to prevent robbery in these various ways
are:--(1) Be careful to have trustworthy servants, or all other
precautions are unavailing. (2) Have plate-glass to all windows in
the house, for this cannot be broken, as common sheet-glass can,
without noise. (3) As shutters are really no protection at all, and
frequently are not fastened at night, let all windows and openings
that can be reached easily from the ground have strong bars built
into the stone or brickwork, not more than 5 in. apart, where this
can be done without disfigurement; and let the windows on every upper
floor have either Hopkinson’s or Dawes’s patent window fasteners,
which cannot be opened from the outside, and are simple and strong
in construction and cheap in price. (4) Keep a dog, however small,
_inside_ the house; this is a wonderful safeguard, and extremely
disliked by burglars. (5) Have any number of bells on shutters,
electric wires, or other gimcracks that you please, and place no
reliance on any of them. (6) Never allow a stranger to wait inside
the door. (7) Leave as little property as possible, certainly no
silver plate or jewellery, lying about, so that if a thief should
overcome all obstacles to entrance, he may not find much ready to
hand.

Precautions against fire are of still greater importance. A few of
the commonest causes of fire are guarded against by observing the
following simple rules:--(1) Keep all matches in metal boxes, and out
of the reach of children; wax matches are particularly dangerous,
and should be kept out of the way of rats and mice. (2) Be careful
in making fires with shavings and other light kindling. (3) Do not
deposit coal or wood ashes in a wooden vessel, and be sure burning
cinders are extinguished before they are deposited. (4) Never put
firewood upon the stove to dry, and never put ashes or a light under
a staircase. (5) Fill fluid or spirit lamps only by daylight, and
never near a fire or light. (6) Do not leave a candle burning on a
bureau or a chest. (7) Always be cautious in extinguishing matches
and other lighters before throwing them away. (8) Never throw a
cigar-stump upon the floor or spitbox containing sawdust or trash
without being certain that it contains no fire. (9) After blowing out
a candle never put it away on a shelf, or anywhere else, until sure
that the snuff has gone entirely out. (10) A lighted candle ought
not to be stuck up against a frame-wall, or placed upon any portion
of the woodwork in a stable, manufactory, shop, or any other place.
(11) Never enter a barn or stable at night with an uncovered light.
(12) Never take an open light to examine a gas-meter. (13) Do not
put gas or other lights near curtains. (14) Never take a light into
a closet. (15) Do not read in bed, either by candle or lamp light.
(16) The principal register of a furnace should always be fastened
open. (17) Stove-pipes should be at least 4 in. from woodwork, and
well guarded by tin or zinc. (18) Rags ought never to be stuffed into
stove-pipe holes. (19) Openings in chimney-flues for stove-pipes
which are not used ought always to be securely protected by metallic
coverings. (20) Never close up a place of business in the evening
without looking well to the extinguishing of lights, and the proper
security of the fires. (21) When retiring to bed at night always see
that there is no danger from your fires.

A few other unsuspected causes of fire may be mentioned. A common
habit with some people, when ironing, is to rub the hot iron clean
with a piece of stuff, paper, or “anything” at hand, and then
throw the same aside without further thought. The small piece of
stuff, usually more or less scorched, may lie smouldering for hours
unsuspected in some corner, especially if shut up in a cupboard or
drawer. The danger here alluded to applies equally to the careless
throwing aside of anything likely to smoulder, such as cloths caught
up at random for holding hot baking tins, kitchener handles, &c. No
room ought ever to be left unoccupied without a guard being placed on
the fire. Most of us have had experience of sudden small explosions
of the coals, and holes being burnt in the hearthrug, even when there
is some one at hand to stamp out the fire at once; and we can imagine
what the consequences would be if the hearthrug had been left to
smoulder. In the case of steam-pipes, after wood has remained a long
time in contact with steam, hot-water, or hot-air pipes, the surface
becomes carbonised. During the warm season, the charcoal absorbs
moisture. When again heated, the moisture is driven off, leaving a
vacuum, into which the fresh air current circulating around the pipes
rapidly penetrates, and imparts its oxygen to the charcoal, causing a
gradual heating and eventually combustion. The rusting of the pipes
contributes also to this result, inasmuch as the rust formed during
the hot season may be reduced by the heat of the pipes to a condition
in which it will absorb oxygen to the point of red heat.

With respect to the detection of fires there is very little to say;
but every one should acquaint themselves with the best means of
getting from the house in case of fire cutting off the usual exit.
At such a critical moment, when, perhaps aroused from a sound sleep,
one finds oneself in a house on fire, presence of mind is the first
thing required, yet a few simple suggestions that will start to the
memory may be of value. If, on the first discovery of the fire, it
is found to be confined to one room, and to have made but little
progress, it is of the utmost importance to shut, and keep shut, all
doors and windows. If the fire appears at all serious, and there are
fire-engines at a reasonable distance, it is best to await their
arrival, as many buildings have been lost from opening the doors and
attempting to extinguish fires with inadequate means. If no engines
are within reach, and you have not a hand-pump or an extincteur, the
next best thing is to collect as many buckets outside the room on
fire as can be obtained, keeping the door shut while more water is
being collected. A rough-and-ready protection from breathing smoke
may be had by thoroughly wetting a towel and fastening it firmly
round the face over the mouth and nostrils. But if the flames have
too great a hold to allow of escape by the staircase or roof, and the
window of the room is the only means of egress, the situation becomes
serious, unless its possibility has been foreseen and guarded against.

Only as _the last_ resource should a person run the risk of jumping
to the ground; either endeavour by tying the bedclothes together
to make some sort of rope, fastening one end to a heavy piece
of furniture, and going down the rope hand-over-hand--a rather
difficult thing to do without practice--or, if within reach of
one, wait as long as possible for the arrival of a fire-escape
or ladder. Some people always keep a stout knotted rope in their
room, and have an iron hook fixed inside the window, to which it
may be attached. Merryweather and Sons, 63 Long Acre, London, make
domestic fire-escapes which admit of even women and children lowering
themselves from windows. As to means of escape available from the
outside for high houses, there are many obvious plans which might be
adopted, but among these there are two which appear to be specially
easy of attainment, and within the reach of all concerned, at a
moderate cost. The first is to fix on buildings external ladders of
wrought iron or some other material able to resist the effects of
fire at its commencement, and extending from the roof to within 40
ft. of the ground; the other, to provide on every story continuous
balconies of wrought iron or any other material proof against
immediate destruction by heat; and if the balconies on the several
stories were made to communicate with each other by means of external
stairs, great additional safety would be attained.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Life from Fire has published
the following directions for saving life at fires. See also p. 1002.

_For Bystanders._--1. Immediately on the fire being discovered give
an alarm to the nearest fire-escape station, not delaying an instant;
do not wait to see if it is wanted. Life is more precious than
property, and events have too often proved how fatal even a moment’s
hesitation is in sending for the fire-escape. It is the fire-escape
man’s duty to proceed to the place of alarm immediately.

2. In the absence of a fire-escape, or pending its arrival, ladders
and ropes should be sought for. Two constables or other qualified
persons should ascend to the roof through the adjoining houses. The
most efficient assistance can sometimes be rendered by an entrance
to the upper part of the house on fire, either by the attic windows,
the loft-door, or by removing the tiles; or sometimes the aid of one
end of a rope (knotted) might be afforded from the adjoining window,
which, being passed by the person in danger round some article in the
room, he could lower himself or others into the street, and the other
end of the rope being controlled of course by those rendering the aid
from the adjoining house. A short ladder can often be made available
at the second or perhaps the third, floor of houses built with a
balcony or portico, by the constable or other person first ascending
to the balcony, and then placing the ladder thereon, reach the rooms
above.

3. In a narrow street or court assistance may be given from the
windows of the opposite house, particularly by a ladder placed across
the street from window to window.

4. When no other means present themselves the bystanders had better
collect bedding at hand, in case the inmates throw themselves from
the windows. A blanket or carpet held stretched out by several
persons will serve the purpose. The Metropolitan Fire Escape Brigade
carry jumping-sheets with them for use upon emergency.

5. Do not give vent to the fire by breaking into the house
unnecessarily from without, or, if an inmate, by opening doors or
windows. Make a point of shutting every door after you as you go
through the house.

_For Inmates._--1. Every householder should make each person in his
house acquainted with the best means of escape, whether the fire
breaks out at the top or the bottom. Provide fire-guards for use
in every room where there is a fire, and let it be a rule of the
household not to rake out a fire before retiring for the night,
but to leave the guard on. In securing the street-door and lower
windows for the night, avoid complicated fastenings or impediments
to immediate outlets in case of fire. Descriptions and drawings
of fire-escapes for keeping in dwelling-houses may be seen upon
application at the offices of the Royal Society for the Protection of
Life from Fire.

2. Inmates at the first alarm should endeavour calmly to reflect what
means of escape there are in the house. If in bed at the time, wrap
themselves in a blanket or bed-side carpet; open neither windows nor
doors more than necessary; shut every door after them (this is most
important to observe).

3. In the midst of smoke it is comparatively clear towards the
ground; consequently progress through smoke can be made on the hands
and knees. A silk handkerchief, worsted stockings, or other flannel
substance, wetted and drawn over the face, permits free breathing,
and excludes to a great extent the smoke from the lungs. A wet sponge
is alike efficacious.

4. In the event of being unable to escape either by the street-door
or roof, the persons in danger should immediately make their way
to a front-room window, taking care to close the door after them;
and those who have the charge of the household should ascertain that
every individual is there assembled.

5. Persons thus circumstanced are entreated not to precipitate
themselves from the window while there remains the least probability
of assistance; and even in the last extremity a plain rope is
invaluable, or recourse may be had to joining sheets or blankets
together, fastening one end round a bedpost or other furniture. This
will enable one person to lower all the others separately, and the
last may let himself down with comparatively little risk. Select a
window over the doorway rather than over the area.

6. Do not give vent to the fire by breaking into the house
unnecessarily from without, or, if an inmate, by opening doors or
windows. Make a point of shutting every door after you as you go
through the house. For this purpose, doors enclosing the staircase
are very useful.

_Accidents to Persons._--1. Upon discovering yourself on fire reflect
that your greatest danger arises from draught to the flames, and from
their rising upwards. Throw yourself on the ground, and roll over on
the flame, if possible, on the rug or loose drugget, which drag under
you; the table-cover, a man’s coat, anything of the kind at hand,
will serve your purpose. Scream for assistance, ring the bell, but do
not run out of the room or remain in an upright position.

2. Persons especially exposed to a risk of their dresses taking fire
should adopt the precaution of having all linen and cotton fabrics
washed in a weak solution of chloride of zinc, alum, or tungstate of
soda.

3. As a means for the prevention of accidents, especially where there
are women and children, the provision of a fire-guard is urgently
recommended. These are now made at such a reasonable price that it is
incumbent upon even the poorest to obtain them.

It may be added that Merryweather’s system of periodical visitation
by a staff of fire inspectors is now extensively adopted by the
nobility and gentry.

For the various methods of rendering wood, clothes, &c., fire-proof,
the reader is referred to ‘Workshop Receipts,’ Second Series, pp.
289-300.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Ernest Turner: ‘Hints to Househunters and Householders.’ London,
1884. 2_s._ 6_d._

Eardley F. Bailey Denton: ‘Handbook of House Sanitation, for the use
of all persons seeking a healthy home.’ London, 1882. 8_s._ 6_d._

H. Percy Boulnois: ‘Practical Hints on taking a House.’ London, 1885.
1_s._ 6_d._

C. J. Richardson: ‘The Englishman’s House; a practical guide
for selecting or building a house, with full estimates of cost,
quantities, &c.’ London, 1882. 7_s._ 6_d._

Ernest Spon: ‘The Modern Practice of Sinking and Boring Wells, with
geological considerations and examples.’ London, 1885. 10_s._ 6_d._

Charles Hood; ‘A Practical Treatise on Warming Buildings by Hot
Water, Steam, and Hot Air; &c.’ London, 1885. 12_s._ 6_d._

William Richards: ‘The Gas Consumer’s Handy Book.’ London, 1877. 6_d._

E. Hospitalier: ‘Domestic Electricity for Amateurs.’ London, 1885.
9_s._

Clarence Cook: ‘The House Beautiful; Essays on Beds and Tables,
Stools and Candlesticks.’ New York, 1881. 1_l._

Lewis Foreman Day: ‘Everyday Art; Short Essays on the Arts not Fine.’
London, 1882. 7_s._ 6_d._

M. E. James: ‘How to Decorate our Ceilings, Walls, and Floors.’
London, 1883. 4_s._

Rhoda and Agnes Garrett: ‘Suggestions for House Decoration in
Painting, Woodwork, and Furniture.’ London, 1876. 2_s._ 6_d._




_THE LARDER_


Much attention has been given in recent years to the art of
conserving foods. The subject really divides itself into 3 distinct
branches, viz.: (_a_) Keeping foods _fresh_ for a limited time, (_b_)
_storing_ them without changing their character, and (_c_) submitting
them to a _curing_ process which will preserve them for an unlimited
time.


(_a_) _Keeping foods fresh for a limited time._

Some very useful remarks on this point were published by Miss
Ascham in the _Exchange and Mart_ a short time since, and will bear
repetition.

A housewife’s duty is to prevent waste. She must therefore know what
is likely to go to waste and why, or perhaps she will do just what is
wanted to spoil things which would have kept a little longer if they
had been left alone. Most things in the larder are perishable, but
not all alike.

Meat will keep three weeks in dry, frosty weather, and more than a
week in cold dry weather, but not one week in damp, and hardly a day
in very hot weather. If it has been frozen, it must lie in a rather
warm place 3-4 hours before it is cooked. Meat should be taken down
from the hooks every day, well looked over and wiped dry, and the
hooks scalded and dried before the meat is put up again. Do not
flour it. In very hot weather it is sometimes necessary to rub salt
over the outside of a joint which is not to be cooked that day; but
putting into a pan of treacle is much better, only it requires care,
so as not to leave bits of fat, &c., in the pan when you take out the
meat, and plenty of cold water to wash off what sticks to the joint
when it comes out. It must, however, be carefully looked over when it
comes from the butcher, and any doubtful bits pared off and burnt. If
meat shows signs of “turning,” it must at once be put into a very hot
oven for ½ hour, so as to be partly cooked. If it has really spoilt,
nothing will save it, because the inside of the joint is then bad;
but if it is browned, not just scorched, in time, the inside will be
found perfectly nice. Of course, in a doubtful case, it may all be
sliced up and fried; but then, as a joint, it is spoilt.

The dripping from a half-spoilt joint is useless for food, and the
bone will certainly spoil soup. Some cooks will plunge the meat into
boiling water to save it, but this additional wetting is much more
likely to hasten the catastrophe. In hot weather every bone must be
baked, whether it is to make stock that day or not. Soup is just as
good from baked bones as from raw ones. Every bone that has been
boiled must be placed in a sharp heat and quite dried, and “scraps”
which would help to make stock must be burnt if the cook has no time
or room to make it. For one little bone is enough to spoil all the
milk and cream, and will cause all perishable things in the larder to
be just ready to decay.

The microscope helps us to understand the amazing rapidity with which
germs multiply and diffuse themselves, but no one is yet able to say
where their venom stops; probably they do harm to the entire house
at the least. If bones are thoroughly dried, they will do no harm.
All fat and suet should be cooked as soon as possible after it comes
into the house; it should be wiped, sliced thin, and boiled for 2-3
hours, then strained, and the skin, which seems like leather, burnt
in the middle of a hot fire. As soon as the fat is hard, it should be
removed from the gravy, soup, or stock, wiped dry, and folded in thin
paper. In very hot weather, sometimes it will not cake. Then a plate
must be spared for it. The superfluous fat from a joint reduced to
mince should be treated in the same way.

Fish must be cooked as soon as possible after it is caught. If,
however, there is more than can be eaten in one day, the superfluous
part should be boiled for 5 minutes, even if it is to be fried
afterwards--it can be dried: but nearly all fish is very nice stewed
like eels, with the same sauce; parboiled fish is as good this way as
if it were quite fresh.

It is said that Condy’s fluid will perfectly cleanse meat or fish
just beginning to taint on the outside; but prevention is much better
than cure. Never allow any meat or fish to lie if you can hang it up.

Game and poultry should be drawn, but not plucked or skinned, dried
inside, and hung head upward.

Milk is the most troublesome article in the larder, and really wants
a little safe to itself. It “takes up” the slightest suspicion of
taint, and becomes most objectionable without turning sour. City
people, at any rate, should boil the milk as soon as it comes in,
from April to December. Then it should be strained into a clean
flat pan, which must be scalded and rinsed with, first, a little
soda, and then clean water, every time it is used. It is a help to
mistress and maid to have two pans--one brown, one white--to use on
alternate days, so as to ensure time for purification. Country milk a
little sour may be used for a pudding, or to make scones (½ pint to
1 lb. of oatmeal or brown meal, into which you have mixed ¼ oz. soda
carbonate); but the milk which has been rattled about from 2 A.M.
to 8 or 9 generally seems good for nothing when stale. In case of
serious illness in hot weather, or when a young child’s nourishment
is in question, ice is necessary. In default of “professional”
apparatus, tie up as much ice as half a yard of flannel will hold,
pass a stout lath through the string, and lay it across a metal tub;
oval is more convenient than round. The ice will hang down and drip
in the middle of the tub, and jugs of milk, bottles of soda water, or
anything else will stand at the ends. Cover the tub, stick and all,
with a thick board, and that with a damp, almost wet cloth. The milk
may be boiled first, but must, of course, be cold before it is put
with the ice. A damp cloth, without ice, keeps things much cooler
than they are when uncovered.

Cheese, uncut, only needs to be kept dry. After it is cut, it should
be wrapped in a buttered paper scraped almost dry. Butter may be
rendered less troublesome in summer by being covered with a huge
flower-pot large enough to enclose the plate and rest in a tray in
which there is some cold water. Leaving butter in water spoils it.
Bread should be covered closely from the air. The pans want wiping
once or twice a week, and then heating very hot; the bread must not
be put in again until the pan is cold, nor warm bread ever covered
up. Baker’s bread often acquires a most disagreeable smell and taste
if these precautions are neglected.

All vegetables, when cut, may be kept fresh by putting the stalks
into water. Servants generally insist on immersing them, which
favours decomposition. Parsley in particular can seldom be guarded
from a watery grave. Carrots, turnips, and the like, if placed in
layers in a box of sand, will keep for many weeks, if not months.
Clean new-laid eggs will keep quite fresh for months if buried in
dried salt well closed. Boiled potatoes ought to be laid out on a
plate, and are then as good for frying or mashing as if they were
freshly cooked. Servants have an unaccountable fancy for throwing
them away, or, if desired to fry them, chopping and mashing them
first, which entirely spoils them. If left heaped up, they will often
spoil in one night, and must be burnt. No vegetables should be put
into soup until the day that it is to be used. If any soup, complete,
is left, it must be sharply boiled the next morning, and put into a
fresh, clean pan. The grey earthenware jars made for salt are most
valuable for such purposes and for keeping viands hot or stewing
things. Chopped spinach can be warmed in one of them, and, as it
takes time to prepare, may be boiled, &c., the day before, and thus
served in perfection at the early dinner or luncheon. Cabbage, French
beans, and vegetable marrows are better dressed as salad if they have
cooled, and in hot weather are almost as treacherous for keeping as
shell-fish.

Fruit, like vegetables, will keep very fresh if you can manage to put
the stalk into water, only it must not be in a close or dark place.
When apples, oranges, pears, lemons, &c., are to be stored, they must
not touch each other, and must be protected from heat, cold, and damp
as much as possible; sunshine is not desirable. It would be easy,
if an amateur carpenter was at hand, to make a frame of laths, like
a Venetian blind, which would contain a very large quantity of such
fruit, and take up hardly any room. Flour and meal, sago, macaroni,
semolina, and all like substances, are sometimes attacked by mites.
They are so small as to be invisible singly, but a peculiar fine
powder is to be seen at the top of the farina, and is not motionless.
There is also a smell something like honey or fermentation. They
never appear in a dry storeroom, though they are sometimes brought
from the grocer’s. The only thing to be done is to burn the infected
store, and heat the jar almost red hot before using it again.
(_Exchange and Mart._)

Every one is familiar with the beneficial influence of ice in
preserving foods in hot weather. It is the active medium in the
various kinds of refrigerating safes now in use. But the first matter
is to secure a supply of ice for summer use, unless it is to be
bought of the ice merchant at enhanced prices. Various contrivances
may be adopted with success, as enumerated below:--

(1) Build round a brick well, with a small grating for drain at
bottom for the escape of water from melted ice. Cover the bottom with
a thick layer of good wheat straw. Pack the ice in layers of ice and
straw. Fix a wooden cover to the well.

(2) Fire-brick, from its feeble conducting power, is the best
material to line an ice-house with. The house is generally made
circular, and larger at the top than at the bottom, where a drain
should be provided to run off any water that may accumulate. As small
a surface of ice as possible should be exposed to the atmosphere,
therefore each piece of ice should be dipped in water before stowing
away, which, by the subsequent freezing of the pieces into one mass,
will remain unmelted for a long time.

(3) Make a frame-house the requisite size, with its floor at least
the thickness of the bottom scantling from the ground, thus leaving
space for drainage and a roof to shed off the water. The boards of
the wall should be closely joined to exclude air. Then build up the
blocks of ice, cut in the coldest weather, as solid as possible,
leaving 6 in. all round between them and the board walls; fill up all
interstices between the blocks with broken ice, and in a very cold
day or night pour water over the whole, so that it may freeze into a
solid block; shut it up till wanted, only leaving a few small holes
for ventilation under the roof, which should be 6 in. above the top
of the ice. It is not dry heat or sunshine that is the worst enemy of
ice, but water and damp air. If all the drainage is carried promptly
off below, and the damp vapour generated by the ice is allowed to
escape above, the column of cold air between the sides of the close
ice-house and the cube of ice will protect it much better than it is
protected in underground ice-houses, which can neither be drained
nor ventilated; sawdust also will get damp, in which case it is much
worse than nothing.

[Illustration: 65. Ice-house.]

(4) An improved sort of ice-house, recommended by Bailey, gardener at
Nuneham Park, Oxford, is shown in plan and section in Fig. 65, where
the dotted line indicates the ground level. The well or receptacle
for the ice _a_ is 10 ft. 6 in. wide at the base, and 3 ft. wider
near the top; the walls are hollow, the outer portion being built
of dry rough stone, and the inner wall and dome _f_ of brick. The
outer wall _e_ might be replaced by a puddling of clay, carried up
as the work proceeds. Over the top is a mound of clay and soil _g_,
planted with shrubs to keep the surface cool in summer. The drain _i_
carries off the water formed by the melted ice, and is provided with
a trap _h_ to prevent the ingress of air through the drain. There
is a porch or lobby _b_ provided with outer and inner doors _c_;
and apertures at _d_, to get rid of the condensed moisture, which,
if not removed, would waste the ice. These ventilating doors should
be opened every night, and closed again early in the morning. The
most important conditions to be secured are dryness of the soil and
enclosed atmosphere, compactness in the body of ice, which should be
broken fine and closely rammed, and exclusion as far as possible of
air. (_Gard. Mag. Bot._)

(5) A very cheap way of storing ice has been described by Pearson of
Kinlet. The ice-stack is made on sloping ground close to the pond
whence the ice is derived. The ice is beaten small, well rammed, and
gradually worked up into a cone or mound 15 ft. high, with a base of
27 ft., and protected by a compact covering of fern 3 ft. thick. A
dry situation and sloping surface are essential with this plan, and a
small ditch should surround the heap, to carry rapidly away any water
that may come from melted ice or other sources. (_Gard. Jl._)

(6) The following is an economical method of making small ice-houses
indoors:--Dig a hole in a cool cellar, and make it of a size
corresponding to the quantity of ice to be kept. At the bottom of
this hole dig another of smaller diameter, the edge of which goes
down with a gentle slope. This kind of small pit, the depth of which
should be greater in proportion as the soil is less absorbent, must
be filled with pebbles and sand. The whole circumference of the large
hole is to be fitted up with planks, kept up along the sides with
hoops, to prevent the earth from falling in. Then the bottom and
all the circumference of this sort of reservoir must be lined with
rye straw, placed upright with the ear downwards, and kept up along
the planks by a sufficient number of wooden hoops. The ice is to be
heaped up in this ice-house, which must be covered over with a great
quantity of hay and packing cloth, on which should be placed a wooden
cover and some light straw. (_Les Mondes._)


(_b_) _Storing Foods without change._--This embraces the keeping of
fruits, roots, eggs, &c.

To have a fruit room in a garden does not always argue that the fruit
stored in it will be well preserved. Such a store-house is of the
first importance; but, unless care is observed, and some special
attention given to the different kinds of fruit it may contain, much
loss is likely to be the consequence. As to the structure itself,
it is sufficient to say here that it should be perfectly dry, and
so constructed as to maintain an equable temperature at all times.
An ice house, if dry, makes a good fruit room--without the ice, of
course--for a fruit room, once the fruit is placed in it, does not
require much ventilation, unless it can be given without altering the
temperature. Heats and cools, alternately producing condensation and
evaporation, soon produce decay and rottenness, and should be guarded
against as much as possible; the fruit should always feel dry to the
touch. Possibly, the very best position that an apple or pear, for
example, could be placed in, to preserve it, would be to suspend it
by the footstalk in the air, and free from contact with any other
object. Onions done up in strings in the old-fashioned way invariably
keep much better than those laid on shelves or on a floor, and it is
the same with fruit. Fruit rooms which are above ground should be
double-walled, and ceiled; but when sunk or partially sunk in the
ground this is not so important, if damp is otherwise excluded.
Hardy fruits and grapes are often kept long and well in a fruit room
that is more like a cellar (only dry) than anything else.

The shelves and tables for holding the fruit should be sparred, and
before the fruit is stored they should be covered with a layer of
clean wheat straw, but so thinly that one can see through between
the spars of the shelves, which will allow a free circulation of air
amongst the fruit. When the room is empty during the summer-time, it
should be thoroughly ventilated, washed and dried, and made sweet and
clean, and, when the fruit is stored, shut up and kept in darkness.

A writer in the _Field_ expresses himself thus:--The easiest and best
method of keeping fruit, and one practised for years, is simply to
take ordinary wine cases, halves and quarters, as different sizes
are handy, line the bottoms well with short sweet hay, and take them
on a hand-barrow to the orchard. There the fruit should be laid
carefully in them, taken at once to the fruit room, and placed on
close-bottomed shelves. Under such circumstances it will keep until
April, and even until June in sand. The greatest care is used in
the picking and handling of the fruit. It may be thought that, when
in single layers, fruit is more easily examined, and decaying fruit
cleared away; but from many years’ experience in storing fruit in
barrels and boxes, only a small quantity is lost by decay or wilting.
Nor is such vigilance required in the way of periodical gleanings as
some would believe. The very act of searching for such is inimical to
the good keeping of the rest, as we cannot see the side farthest from
us; consequently the fruits have to be handled, and the oftener this
is done the sooner will the bloom--the best safeguard to keeping--get
rubbed off. In boxes this is avoided. Simply commence using from the
top, and go on until the bottom is reached; and not only does the
fruit come out clear and clean-skinned, but as sound and firm as when
put away. (J. K.)

Apples and Pears.--(_a_) When the fruit room cannot hold all the
crop, it should only be used for the best sample, which should be
gathered without bruising, and spread out on the shelves in a single
layer, and barely touching each other. In plentiful seasons the
different varieties are often piled up in hillocks, on the shelves
and floors, to the destruction of large quantities of the fruit;
for it is not possible to keep fruit long in that condition, and it
soon becomes rotten and useless. In most establishments the wants of
the kitchen and dessert can be judged very nearly; and such being
the case, it is far better to dispose of the fruit which cannot be
used at home, and keep and care for a supply of the better dessert
and kitchen fruit only. In many establishments it is the custom,
in plentiful seasons, to store all the crop in a house that was
never intended to accommodate it, and throughout the autumn and
winter preservation consists principally in picking out the rotten
fruit periodically, and wheeling it to the pigsty or the rubbish
heap. It would be better to have given it away for nothing at the
beginning. Such waste is simply disgraceful; but it is what happens
in many large private gardens. Apples and pears soon decay and rot
if they are carelessly stored, but it is surprising how long even
the so-called worst-keeping varieties can be preserved with a little
care. Apples of the Codling and Lord Suffield class, and pears like
the Jargonelle and Hessel, or “hogel,” as it is called in the north,
are not supposed to keep many days; but they will keep nevertheless
for a considerable time if they are not piled up in heaps like
potatoes. Codling apples, indeed, will keep till they become insipid
and flavourless without showing signs of decay. In some cases it
is necessary to keep the fruit in store till it can be disposed of
advantageously; and when that is so, and it cannot be accommodated in
the fruit room proper, it should be stored in a dry loft or shed, and
covered over with dry straw to protect from the vicissitudes of the
weather. Common fruit laid up in heaps in this way soon ripens and
turns yellow, but does not keep.

(_b_) Where there is no room for storing apples in the usual way,
they may be treated as follows: All the later keeping sorts, after
being picked and laid out thinly in a room, may be stored in a pit,
the same as potatoes. Mark out the pit 3 ft. wide and 9 in. in depth;
put a layer of clean straw in the bottom. Commence at one end with
the latest keeping sorts, and make them into a ridge about 2 ft. high
in the centre; put a layer of straw between the sorts to keep them
from getting mixed; then take the next sort, and so continue with the
latest until the whole is finished. A covering of dry turves or straw
must then be put over the whole, and this must be covered with soil,
the same as is generally done with potato pits. Blenheims keep in
this way in very fine condition till the middle of January, and later
keeping sorts according to their times of ripening. When pitting the
fruit, great care must be taken to pick out all that are bruised or
damaged. Faults of this kind will be readily seen after 9-12 days
from the time when the fruits are gathered. Bruised apples soon rot,
and cause others to do the same; but, if carefully stored, scarcely
one will be found decayed when taken from the pits, if taken out
about the time they are generally ripe. (W. C.)

Artichokes.--Boil as many artichokes as you intend to keep, only
just enough to be able to pull off all the leaves and choke: lay the
bottoms on a tin plate, and put them in the oven. When thoroughly
dry, and quite hard, put them in a paper bag, and hang them in a dry
place. Before using they must be soaked in warm water for 3-4 hours,
changing the water very often. Let the last water be boiling hot, the
bottoms will then be very tender, and eat as well as fresh ones.

Asparagus.--Boil fresh-gathered, well-scraped asparagus for 5 minutes
in salted water. Strain off the water, dip them in cold water and
drain on a cloth; put them in tins with the points all one way.
Have an ironmonger ready to solder on the lids immediately; when
the solder is cold put the tins in a cauldron of water and boil for
1½ hour. Keep them with the points of the asparagus upwards. It is
better to mark the top of the tin to prevent their being reversed.

Cherries.--These can only be successfully preserved on the tree, and
then only when the trees are grown against walls or as espaliers.
On standards it is almost impossible to keep them from the birds,
except by much trouble and expense. Early cherries can be preserved
a month or more after they are ripe by covering the trees with mats,
and keeping them quite dark. The trees do not suffer so much by
this practice as one would imagine, although the leaves fall off
prematurely, owing no doubt to the wood being pretty well matured
before the fruit is ripe; but it is not advisable to cover the same
trees every year in succession. Morello cherries of course keep best
when grown on a north wall, and it is hardly necessary to mat them;
but they must be netted to keep off vermin.

Currants.--Take when ripe, separate from the stem, put in glass jars,
set them in a kettle of cold water, then put them over the fire, and
boil 15-20 minutes; cork tight, and set away where the frost will not
get to them.

Eggs.--(_a_) Most of the recipes given for preserving eggs direct
that the egg should be coated with something to stop up the pores.
Many seem equally efficacious if the covering is complete, with one
exception--fat, which becomes rancid, and imparts its own flavour
through the pores of the shell. Gum, the white of an egg, collodion,
or gelatine have all been used with success, but paraffin wax has
often failed. Anything that the eggs are packed in gives its own
flavour to their contents; therefore bran, chaff, and straw are to
be avoided as being likely to become musty. It is far better to set
the eggs on end, the larger ends upwards, in a wire or wooden rack,
and to allow free passage of air between. The eggs need not then be
turned, for the yolks are tethered to each end by a membranous cord,
and if they settle, it is always to one side, which would here be
impossible, nor to either extremity. One writer has used and approved
the following method: To 1 teaspoonful salicylic acid add about 1
pint boiling water. Let it cool, dip the eggs in one by one, dry
them, and store them on racks in an airy cupboard. Again some people
dip each egg into boiling water, and so make an impervious lining of
its own white; but this requires more care to prevent cracking, and
does not preserve the eggs for so long a time as the recipes given
above. Eggs are also packed in boxes in lime, and turned frequently.
The advantage of this plan is the small space that a number of eggs
occupy; its great disadvantage is that the lime acts upon the shell
and thins it down to exceeding brittleness. Much better is it to make
a tub of lime water, by pouring cold water over ordinary unslaked
lime, and when it has settled and is clear, pour off the water into
a deep vessel. Put the eggs in this and cover it over. The air is
here effectually kept away from the eggs, and the difficulty of wire
racks is avoided. For cooking purposes lime packing is all that can
be desired, though for the breakfast table some much prefer the
salicylic acid. Whatever plan is chosen the eggs should be put by at
once, not after they are a week or two old.

(_b_) When you collect your eggs in a morning, sort them into sizes,
and put 10-12 into a net; have ready a large saucepan of water at
the full boil. Take the net with the eggs and hold it in exactly
2 seconds; this kills the germ of the egg and closes the pores of
the shell. It is necessary, as the eggs always differ much in size,
to take one of each size, immerse them separately, and time them
exactly, as the white must on no account be in the least degree set.
When they are finished, pack all away in tin boxes until required for
use.

(_c_) Get a brick of salt, pound it fine and dry it, then place
the eggs freshly gathered, and not cracked, with the pointed ends
downwards in the salt, and pack them firmly in a box or jar; then
keep them in a dry place. Most of them will be quite fit for the
table when kept not more than 3 months; after that they still poach
well, and are good for culinary purposes. The same salt used for
several years is better than new. One great convenience of this plan
is that on opening a box, or 4 lb. biscuit tin containing about
60, you are not compelled to use them all quickly, for each egg
is isolated in salt and remains fresh till wanted. The weight of
testimony on all sides is much in favour of salt over all other plans.

(_d_) To 1 gal. water put 1 lb. quicklime; pour the water, when
boiling, on the lime, and let it stand till the next day. Procure a
large brown earthenware pan, well glazed inside, and large enough to
hold about 100 eggs; put them in carefully, that they do not get in
the least cracked, pour in the lime water, cover over the vessel with
a slate, and put it in the cellar, but do not let it touch the floor.
A little salt in the lime keeps the water from freezing. Eggs thus
treated will keep good for many months.

Figs.--These should not be gathered from the tree until they are
ripe and tender in the skin, after which they will keep in the fruit
room for a few days without growing mouldy, but no longer; on ice,
however, they will keep for 2-3 weeks.

Filberts.--Get some stone jars, such as are used for pickles, about
2 ft. in height and 1 ft. in diameter; fill them with filberts, and
then cork them down very tightly with a bung. Bury them about 1 ft.
in the earth, or place them in a damp wine-cellar.

French Beans.--(_a_) Cut the beans up as usual, boil for 10 minutes
in water without salt, put into a colander. Fill tins with them
almost to the top, leaving only a little room for enough boiling
water to cover them; then solder the tins down, after which boil them
for an hour; take the tins out, and keep them in a dry place.

(_b_) Gather the beans when young, and in dry weather. Have ready a
brown earthenware pan or crock holding about ½ basket, and when the
beans have been gathered string and cut them as if for immediate
use; cover the bottom of the crock well with salt--the coarse kind
used for pickling pork--add a layer of French beans, well cover them
with salt, then add layers of beans and of salt alternately until
the crock is full; tie it down with thick brown paper, keep it in a
cool cellar where it is not too dry, and by Christmas the beans will
be ready for use. It is not necessary to have sufficient beans at
one time to fill the crock, provided care is taken to cover the last
layer with plenty of salt. To prepare them for use during the winter,
take out of the crock as many as are wanted for immediate use, put
them in a pan, and pour enough hot (but not boiling) water over them
to cover them (the salt will then fall to the bottom), lift out the
beans, and put them into fresh hot water 3 or 4 times, allowing them
to remain in each water ¾-1 hour, then boil them in the ordinary way.
A pinch of soda carbonate in the water they are boiled in gives them
the bright green colour they have when fresh gathered. Towards the
end of the winter they require ¼-½ hour’s extra boiling, as the salt
is apt to make them hard. Keep the crock tied down between the times
of using the beans. By attention to these rules they will remain good
till the following May or June.

Gooseberries and Currants.--Bushes of both these in the open quarter
may be matted up when the fruit is ripe, and it will keep, under
ordinarily favourable conditions, till November; but by far the best
plan is to grow the trees against a north wall, where they may be
kept till late in the season with little trouble.

Grapes.--(_a_) Many people are deterred from adopting the very useful
plan of keeping late grapes in bottles of water, from the idea that
some elaborately fitted up or air-tight compartment is necessary;
but this is by no means the case, as, with a little contrivance, a
good grape room may be extemporised in any compartment enclosed with
4 brick walls. The principal point is to get a steady temperature,
that would not be liable to sudden fluctuations: and for this reason
a room with a northern aspect is desirable, or, what is better still,
an apartment that does not communicate directly with the outside air.
The advantage of having the grapes thus securely bottled, when severe
frosts and sunshine render it impossible to maintain the houses in
which they were grown at anything like an equable temperature after
the beginning of the year, can only be fully realised by those who
have had to keep them on the vines until late in spring, besides the
benefit which the vines derive by being released of their crop and
pruned, cleaned, &c., at the most favourable period.

(_b_) Cut them with about 6 in. of wood below the bunch, and 2 in.
or 3 in. of wood above. Place the bunches in bottles filled with
water and a bit of charcoal in each. The grapes must hang quite free,
without touching the bottles. A slip of wood placed between the stalk
and the bottle ensures this. Grapes keep in this way for many months.
They must be stored in a dry place.

Green Peas.--(_a_) The Russian method is to shell the peas, put them
into a saucepan of boiling water, let them remain but a short time,
and put them to drain in a colander; when thoroughly drained, spread
them out on a cloth on the kitchen table to dry; next put them in the
oven (which must be cool) in flat tin dishes just for a few minutes
to harden; keep them in paper bags hung up in the kitchen or other
warm, dry place. When wanted for use, soak in soft water 1 hour, then
place them in a saucepan of cold water with a small piece of butter,
and boil them until they are fit to serve.

(_b_) The peas must be quite fully grown, but not old. They must be
gathered on a fine day and be perfectly dry. After shelling, put
them into wide-mouthed bottles. These, too, must be quite dry; any
dampness would cause the peas to turn mouldy. When in the bottles,
shake them a little to make them lie as close as possible, cork the
bottles, and tie moistened bladder tightly over them to exclude the
air. Set the bottles side by side in a large fish-kettle, with hay
at the bottom and round the sides, as well as around each bottle.
Pour in cold water up to the necks of the bottles, put the pan on the
fire, and after the water boils let it continue boiling for 2 hours;
then take the pan off, and leave the bottles standing in it until the
water is perfectly cold. When cold, take them out, wipe them dry,
apply melted rosin over the tops, and put them away to keep in a
cool, dry place.

Honey.--Honey, if required to be kept in the comb, should be left
undisturbed in the supers, and cut out as required; that which is
sealed over will keep a long time without alteration. One very good
way of preserving honey, when it is white comb and perfectly free
from bee-bread, as that of all good bee-keepers should be, is to
melt the whole by placing it in an earthen vessel, and standing it
in a saucepan of boiling water. When the wax has melted and risen to
the top, tie the jar down tightly with bladders, and the whole will
keep, if undisturbed, for many months without alteration or loss of
flavour.

Lemons.--(_a_) Wrap each in common tissue paper, and lay them out
on a shelf so that they do not touch each other. The shelf should
be in a dry, dark cupboard, free from draughts. (_b_) Lemons will
keep good for months by simply putting them in a jug of butter-milk,
changing the butter-milk about every 3 weeks. When the lemons are
required for use, they should be well dried with a cloth. (_c_) They
will keep some time in a jar with fresh dry earth mould covering each
separately. (_d_) Put them in a basin of water, which latter should
be changed twice or thrice weekly, taking care not to bruise the
lemons.

Lemon Juice.--To preserve this, squeeze a number of fine lemons,
taking care that they are all quite fresh. Strain the juice through
muslin, and pour it into bottles with just enough of the best olive
oil to cover the surface. Cork well, and keep in a dry place. Or it
may be done with sugar, allowing ½ lb. powdered sugar to ½ pint lemon
juice. They must be stirred together with a silver spoon until the
sugar is quite dissolved. Pour it into small bottles, corking them
well, and tying bladder tightly over the corks.

Melons.--Some varieties of the melon keep much better than others,
and are all the more valuable on that account. It is a pity that
raisers of new varieties do not give a little more attention to this
point. By selecting from those kinds which are coconut-shaped and
firm of rind, particularly at the end, we should no doubt have melons
of excellent keeping qualities, as well as of good flavour. As it is,
at present none of the recent new sorts is superior to, if as good,
as those which were cultivated 20-30 years ago. All the varieties
should be cut when just ripe, and kept in a cool, dry room.

(_b_) _Eingemacht melonen_, the German way of preparing which is the
following: Remove the outer part and the seeds of the melon; cut it
into convenient pieces, and lay it for 24 hours in some good white
wine vinegar, with a few pieces of cinnamon and of ginger, and the
thin rind of 1 or 2 lemons. Then make a sweet syrup with lump sugar
and some of the vinegar; boil and skim it, and when cold lay the
pieces of melon in it; after 2 days take them out, boil up the syrup,
and replace them in it when it is cold. Repeat this operation once
more, taking care to boil down the liquor to a very thick syrup; then
put by the preserve in jars in the usual way. (The G. C.)

(_c_) Put them in a strong brine of salt and water in a wide-mouthed
jar; cover them with cabbage leaves, cap the jar with paper, and set
it in the chimney corner till the leaves become yellowish, when the
melons must be put in fresh salt and water with fresh cabbage leaves,
covered close, and put on a very slow fire to warm gently but not to
boil; then take them out, clean the pan, and put them in fresh cold
water to stand 2 days, changing the water thrice daily (to take the
saltness off); prick them with a fork, and cut all the large ones
into convenient pieces, removing all the seeds; lay them in more cold
water, while you make a syrup thus: boil 1 lb. loaf sugar in 1 full
gill water, taking off the scum, and add afterwards 1 oz. bruised
brown ginger to each lb., and the very thin rind of a lemon. When the
syrup is thick, set it by till cold; then put in the pieces of fruit.
Take the fruit out again, and boil up the syrup 3 times a week for 3
weeks, and never put the fruit in again till cold. At the end of 3
weeks tie papers over the jars, and put them by. (C. E.)

Mushrooms.--(_a_) Pick and cut off the stalks, wipe them clean, from
the large ones remove the brown part, peel off the skin, and lay them
on paper in a cool oven. When dry put them into paper bags, and keep
them in a dry place. When required for use, simmer them in gravy, and
they will swell to their original size.

(_b_) Allow to each qt. of mushrooms 3 oz. butter, pepper and salt
to taste, and the juice of 1 lemon. Peel the mushrooms, and put them
into cold water, with a little lemon juice; take them out and dry
them very carefully in a cloth. Put the butter into a stewpan capable
of holding the mushrooms. When melted, add the mushrooms, lemon
juice, pepper, and salt. Let them remain over a slow fire until their
liquor is boiled away, and they have become quite dry. Be careful
not to allow them to stick to the bottom of the pan. When done, put
them into pots, and pour over the top clarified butter. If required
for immediate use, they will keep good a few days without being
covered over. To re-warm them, put the mushrooms into a stewpan,
strain the butter from them, and they will be ready for use.

Peaches and Nectarines.--These, like the plums, vary in their keeping
qualities; and certainly to be a good keeper is not the least merit
a peach or nectarine can possess, for, owing to the crop frequently
coming in suddenly during a spell of warm weather, the gardener is
forced to gather large quantities of fruit, and keep it the best
way he can. Every one does not possess an ice-house, otherwise most
varieties keep on for ice 4-6 weeks; but they must be used as soon
as taken out, and almost before they have cooled. In the fruit room,
placed on a cool airy shelf, the Royal George peach, Belle-garde,
Grosse Mignonne, Borrington, and Late Admiral will keep a fortnight
or longer, according to the weather; and the Malta is said to keep
even longer. But much depends, of course, how the fruit is gathered.
Nectarines are better keepers than peaches, and the Victoria is one
of the best. Most of the kinds will keep a fortnight at least without
deteriorating in flavour if they are pulled at the right time, which
is just before they are quite ripe to the base.

Pineapples.--By far the best keepers of these are the smooth Cayenne,
Charlotte Rothschild, and Queen. The first two will keep 6 weeks
after they are ripe if the plants are moved into a cool structure
and kept dry at the root, but if they are cut off the plant they do
not keep so long. Queens keep 4-5 weeks on the plants under the same
conditions. Some recommend the fruit, whether cut or on the plants,
to be removed before it gets quite ripe; but when good flavour is an
object this practice is not advisable, as the fruit will keep nearly
as well if it is allowed to get quite ripe before taking it out of
the pinery.

Plums and Apricots.--Both plums and apricots are difficult to
keep long, though some varieties keep much better than others,
particularly of plums. Apricots perish on the tree if they are not
gathered in time, generally rotting on the ripe side, particularly
if the weather be wet, or if the fruit has been injured by wasps or
other vermin. The only plan is to gather the fruit before it is quite
ripe on the shady side, and lay it on a sieve in the fruit room,
or in a cool cellar. In this way it will keep for a week perfectly
perhaps, but scarcely longer.

Plums keep tolerably well, and some sorts, like that excellent
variety, Coe’s Golden Drop, keep an astonishingly long period under
certain favourable conditions. The best-preserved samples we ever
saw of this variety were suspended to footstalks on lines stretched
across a dry room; and if we remember rightly, they have been kept
in that condition for 2 months. Some wrap the fruit in dry paper,
and, if we are not mistaken, Reeves has somewhere stated that he has
eaten them in good condition 12 months after they were gathered when
preserved in that way. Considering what an excellent dessert variety
Coe’s Golden Drop is, it is a wonder it has not long ago became the
subject of special culture, under glass if necessary, just like the
peach and nectarine--it is well worth a house to itself. Another
excellent keeping plum of the same breed as Coe’s Golden Drop is the
Ickworth Impératrice, which hangs on the tree till it shrivels, and
keeps for a long while in the fruit room. Knight, who raised it,
states in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society that he has
kept fruit of it, wrapped in blotting-paper and kept in a dry room,
till the end of March. Blue Impératrice is also said to be a good
keeper; and the old damson, so useful for tarts and preserving, is
not one of the worst, as it will keep for several weeks if the fruit
is spread out thinly on the shelves as soon as gathered. None of the
plums keep well after they have been basketed and stored, even for a
short time. They get bruised, and, no matter how carefully they are
kept afterwards, they soon rot. Everything depends on gathering them
before they get dead ripe, and storing properly at once.

Roots.--The action of frost is not thoroughly understood by farmers
generally. This is shown by the way clamps are covered with manure
on the top and half-way down the sides. The singular fact, however,
is, that the top of a clamp is never injured--that is, unless the
frost is so severe and prolonged that the whole mass is frozen--if
the clamp be fairly covered with straw and earth at starting. The
severity of an attack of frost begins and continues from the outer
soil at the base of a clamp or brick store, as a barn or other
building. Whether this is because a gentle fermentation of the roots
or potatoes goes on, the warmth thus caused rising to the top, or
whether it is because the lowest temperature is nearest the immediate
surface of the earth, has not been decided; but the result invariably
is that, if a body of roots or potatoes be partly injured, the
rotten ones will be found at the bottom. If the clamp be broadside
to the north or east wind, the rotten ones will be found in the form
of a triangle on the side where the wind has blown, the base of
the triangle being at the bottom; if, however, the clamp had been
situated with the end to the wind, the rotten roots will be found
at that end in the form of an inverted M, that is, there will be a
decayed triangle on each side. The length and depth to which this
decay would extend along the clamp would of course depend on the
severity and length of the frost.

The required precaution is therefore shown. In the case of clamps
after several days of severe frost, with a prospect of its
continuing, long manure, straw, hedge-trimming, or whatever may be
at hand, should be packed 1 ft. or more thick, and 1 yd. or so wide
on the surface soil at the base of the clamp, at the side on which
the blast is impinging. It is the same with a brick building. If a
bed or heap of potatoes or mangold be stored in a barn, either all
over a bay or in one or more corners, and the same be well covered
with straw, there will be no fear of the top or outer side of the
heap being frozen. But the part of the heaps which are near to the
wall will be found to have been frozen in the form of a triangle,
as mentioned. The fact is the frost rises, so to express it, from
the foundation of the brickwork being communicated with from the
surface soil outside. This shows the importance of packing a body of
long manure or a quantity of straw on the surface soil outside the
brickwork.

Rowan Berries.--(_a_) Fill a large earthenware jar with strong salt
and water. Put in the berries; tie it down. They will keep in this
way till Christmas, (_b_) Gum them well all over so as to make them
adhere to their stalks, and sealing-wax the ends where cut from the
tree, and keep them in a tin box till required for use.

Tomatoes.--(_a_) Cut up a number of tomatoes, and let them simmer
gently in a stewpan over a slow fire until reduced to a pulp. From
this squeeze all the juice by pressing it through a fine hair sieve;
boil it until it thickens, and then pour it into small bottles. Stand
these in a large fish-kettle or boiler, filling it with cold water,
and putting some hay between the bottles and against the sides of
the boiler, to prevent them from touching it or each other. Set the
boiler on the fire, and let all boil for ¼ hour after the water comes
to the boil. Let the bottles get cold in the water after taking the
boiler off the fire. Then cork and seal them, and keep them in a dry
place. Take care that none of the water gets into the bottles while
boiling.

(_b_) If these are not to be packed for travelling, stone jars are
better for their preservation than tins. Gather the tomatoes when
perfectly ripe, and discard all that have blemishes. Pack them
lightly till the jar is full, then entirely cover with strong vinegar
and water in equal parts; add a few whole cloves and a sprinkling
of sugar. Cover with a piece of flannel, letting it sink into the
vinegar, then tie over with thick paper or bladder.

Truffles.--To keep truffles till required for use choose the
blackest, let them be fresh gathered; when thoroughly washed and
brushed, peel them carefully with a sharp knife, and reject all that
are not perfectly sound; put them into bottles as close as they will
lie, cork them tightly, and boil them for an hour in the bain-marie.

Vegetable Marrows.--(_a_) To preserve these for winter use, choose
such as are fully ripe--turned yellow. When cut, arrange them in a
dry place, resting on the flower end, with the stalk end upwards.
They will then keep good the whole winter. (_b_) Cut them when fully
grown, lay them on the pantry floor, and turn them twice a week, or
put 2 pieces of tape or listing round them, and suspend them from a
ceiling. The marrow improves in flavour, becoming quite nutty; they
will keep in this way far into spring.

Walnuts.--(_a_) Walnuts intended for keeping should be suffered
to fall of themselves from the trees, and be afterwards laid in a
dry, open, and airy place, till they become thoroughly dried. Then
pack them in jars, boxes, or casks, in alternate layers with fine
clear sand, which has previously been well dried in the sun, in an
oven, or before the fire; set them in a dry place, but not where it
is too hot, and they will keep good till the latter end of April.
Before they are sent to table wipe the sand off, and if they have
become shrivelled steep them in milk and water for 6-8 hours; this
will make them plump and fine, as well as cause them to peel easily.
(_b_) Place them, fresh gathered and unwashed, in earthen jars, tied
down with stiff glazed brown paper, and keep them on the floor of
the wine-cellar. They are perfectly good until the new ones come in
again, (_c_) Put the new walnuts in earthen jars with salt; cover
them close, and leave them in a damp cellar. When you want to use
them, wash them in cold water. At Christmas they will peel and eat
like fresh fruit.


(_c_) _Curing foods for lengthened preservation._

This branch of the subject may be conveniently divided into several
sections, according to the means employed for rendering the foods
less susceptible to change under the influence of the air. The most
important agents are smoke and salt in the case of flesh, sugar for
fruits, and vinegar for vegetables.

[Illustration: 66. Smoking Apparatus.]

_Smoking._--Professor W. R. Brooks, in _Rural New Yorker_, gives
the following simple but very effective smoking arrangement for all
kinds of meats, especially hams, shoulders, and bacon. The smoking
is effected in a very thorough manner and in a short time, about six
hours sufficing for breakfast ham. The arrangement can be made by
any one without the least trouble, and it is sure to “work” every
time. The sketch almost explains itself. The device consists of the
barrel _a_ (Fig. 66) of any suitable size. An ordinary flour or apple
barrel will smoke four or five moderate sized hams or shoulders. Both
heads are removed and a movable cover is provided for the top. This
may be of boards, or an old oil-cloth or tight blanket will answer.
A short trench is dug, in which is laid a length of old stove pipe
_b_. A larger excavation _c_ is then made, in which a pan of burning
corn cobs or chips can be placed. This is covered by a tightly
fitting plank _d_. One end of the stove pipe communicates with this
excavation; over the other end the barrel is placed, the earth banked
up around the bottom of the barrel and over the stove pipe, to keep
all tight, as plainly shown in Fig. 66. The meat may be suspended
from a stick laid across the top of the barrel, and then all covered
tight with an oil-cloth or blanket. On placing a pan of smoking cobs
or chips in the place provided, the smoke passes through the stove
pipe into the barrel, filling it with a dense, cool smoke. Should
the support of the hams, &c., break, the latter cannot be hurt by
coming in contact with the fire or ashes, as sometimes happens in the
regular smoke-house.

The ordinary smoking-chimney is described by Robinson as
follows:--“It should be placed in some outhouse or shed, or even in
a yard, so that no annoyance may be caused to the inmates of the
dwelling, by even the smallest escape of smoke. It should be built of
brick, and carried up to the height of 8 ft. at least from a brick
or stone floor, 1 yd. wide and 2 ft. deep inside measure, and at the
height of 3 ft. from the floor there should be a door frame reaching
to the top of the chimney, or nearly so, on which a door, well
jointed and fitted, must be hung. A small door of 1½ ft. square, of
sheet iron, must also be made on the floor, through which the embers
from the fire may be raked, and fuel or sawdust added from time to
time, as the process of smoking goes on. A false floor, of sheet
iron, perforated all over with holes, ¾ in. in diameter and 4 in.
apart, must be placed (not fixed) inside the brickwork, on a level
with the bottom of the wooden door-frame, viz. 3 ft. from the floor;
this will serve to scatter the smoke equally in its ascent--be a
preventive to danger from flame, if any should arise--and receive any
small fish that may fall off the frames on which they are suspended.
Four strong iron rods, with movable hooks on them, must be inserted
in the brickwork near the top of the chimney, from which may be
suspended sides of bacon, hams, heavy salmon, &c. &c. An outlet for
the smoke must be made at or near the top, and a wooden pipe, 4 in.
square, with a slide or valve in it (to confine or dismiss the smoke
at pleasure), will completely rid the premises of any unpleasant
odour. On each side of the chimney inside, and above the false floor,
a framework of inch-square scantling must be fixed, with bars of wood
of the same size nailed across to rest the rods and frames on; the
bars must be fixed 11 in. above each other, and be continued until
they come to the iron rods.

“The wooden rods or spits on which herrings are to be hung should be
perfectly round, 3 ft. in length, ½-¾ in. in diameter, and pointed a
little at one end that they may more easily be run through the gills
of the fish. They may be of deal or any other tough wood, and 16
herrings will smoke conveniently on each rod.

“Frames for sprats and other small fish must be made thus:--The
rims or outsides may be of deal, ¾ in. thick, and 2 in. wide: the
whole frame must be 3 ft. high, and 2 ft. 9 in. wide, that it may
fit into the chimney without trouble; and on each end of the top bar
must be screwed a small plate of thin iron, projecting beyond the
side of the frame 1 in., which will serve to hang the frames upon
with the bars that are fixed up the sides of the chimney. Then take
small deal rods ½ in. square, and with a bradawl or sprig-bit insert
32 sprigs, at equal distances from each other, in each rod, which,
of course, will be 2 ft. 9 in. long; and if the sprigs be driven
through on each side, it will be seen that each rod will carry at
this rate 64 fish. These must be nailed on to the outside frame at
the distance of 4½ in. from each other, and consequently each frame,
when completed, will have 8 bars holding 64 fish each, or 512 on each
frame. Wrought-iron sprigs may be used, which (being more than an
inch long, and driven up to the head) will project ½ in. on the other
side, and thus serve to hang small fish on; but this is left to the
choice of the party making the frames; and if they are driven in with
the points directed upwards, it will be easy to loosen the fish, when
smoked, from the nails by turning the frames upside down, and shaking
them over a sheet laid on the floor.

“A horse or frame of wood of 2 in. square scantling, with ribs 1 in.
square nailed across the sides, and 11 in. apart, will be requisite
to hang the herring rods on, along with the frames, when they are
drawn from the chimney; and for the purpose of cooling the fish, it
should be placed in a draught of air. Mackerel, or any other fish
that will not suit the frames so well, may easily be suspended from
the herring rods by small wire hooks made to run on them.

“The draught of smoke in the chimney may be increased or diminished
at any time by opening more widely the iron door at the bottom; and
if you want to inspect the articles while they are smoking, you may
smother the smoke entirely for a few minutes by scattering sufficient
sawdust over the embers: only take care that the sawdust is perfectly
dry before attempting to use it.

“In putting the rods and frames into the chimney, be careful that
the fish do not touch each other, but rather place them so that a
free current of smoke may ascend between them; for instance, 3 in.
apart. As to fuel, the fire may be lighted with shavings and chips of
deal; but oak sawdust should be used generally, mixed sometimes with
beech, birch, and other woods. I decidedly prefer the small branches
of the oak, such as charcoal is made from, after it has been peeled
for the tanners’ bark: for these emit a much milder smoke than the
sawdust of adult wood. They should be procured in the proper season,
and stored in a dry room or shed. Never use old oak or other slabs
(which are often little more than sap), nor old barrels, not knowing
what their contents have been. As a general rule I would direct that,
when delicate articles are to be smoked, you should make use of the
milder woods, and dust mixed with oak; but for hams, bloaters, &c.,
the stronger flavour is the best. The embers must never be disturbed
while any goods are smoking, as dust would ascend and spoil their
appearance.” (‘Art of Curing.’)

_Salting._ Bacon.--(1) Lay a middle of pork (a side with the hand
and ham removed), with the ribs in, in a trough with salt for 12-14
hours; wipe dry, wash out the trough, and replace the side; boil for
10 minutes 1 gal. soft water, 2 lb. each common and bay salt, 2 oz.
saltpetre, 2 lb. sugar, and a handful of chopped bay leaves; skim,
pour on cold, rub in twice daily, and turn often for a fortnight;
wipe dry, hang in the air for 24 hours, and smoke at least 3 weeks.

(2) Spiced. Remove all bones from a middle or side and soak for 12
hours in renewed pans of water to extract all blood; pickle for
16 days in 1 gal. water, 1 lb. each salt and sugar, and ¼ lb. sal
prunelle; wipe dry, and strew one side with powdered sage, bay leaves
and white pepper; roll tightly and tie at every 3 inches; smoke for
14 days.

Bath Chaps.--Select cheeks from pigs not exceeding 8 score; split,
and remove all offal; for each stone of meat mix 1 lb. each of coarse
sugar and bay or rock salt and 1 oz. each of pepper and saltpetre;
rub well daily for a week; turn in the pickle for another fortnight;
wipe dry, coat with warmed coarse oatmeal, and hang dry for a week;
smoke for a month, preferably with oak and turf.

Beef, Collared.--Take 14-16 lb. of the flank of a well-fed beast;
cut square or oblong and take off the inner skin; make a brine of
bay salt and water to float an egg, and let the meat lie covered in
it for one week; take out, dry well, and rub all over with finely
powdered saltpetre; let remain for a week longer in the former
pickle, then wipe it completely dry, and beat 1 oz. powdered white
pepper, 1½ oz. grated nutmeg, 1 oz. mace, 1 oz. cloves, and four
shallots, shredded fine, into a paste (in a mortar); spread evenly
and completely over the inner side of the meat; roll up the beef as
closely as possible, tie tightly round with tape, and hang up to
smoke for a fortnight.

Beef, Corned.--The following is a very old and excellent recipe for
corning beef, called “Pocock pickle”; 4 gal. fresh water, 1½ lb.
coarse brown sugar, 2 oz. saltpetre, 7 lb. common salt; put all into
a boiler, take off the scum as it rises, and when well boiled let it
remain to get cold. Have sufficient to cover the meat, lay a cloth
over it, and keep the meat pressed down by means of bricks or any
weight. The same pickle may be used again by re-boiling and adding a
small quantity of each ingredient fresh.

Beef Hams.--Take the leg of a prime young heifer, rub well with
common salt, and let lie a day and night to extract the blood; wipe
dry, and put under a press to flatten; cut in the shape of a common
ham. For every 12 lb. of beef, allow 1 lb. each coarse sugar, common
salt, and bay salt, and 1 oz. saltpetre; rub this mixture in well, in
all parts, for a month, turning the meat every day, at least; take
out of pickle, rub dry, and give a good coat of coarse oatmeal and
bran mixed, which will adhere by friction with the hand; smoke as
hams, not less than a month.

Beef, Potted.--2 lb. lean beef, 6 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful each
pepper, salt, and mace. Free the beef from all skin and gristle, and
put it into an earthenware jar with 1 gill water; cover, and place
it in a deep stewpan full of boiling water, and simmer slowly for 5
hours. Take out the beef, mince it very finely, and pound it in a
mortar with the above-named seasoning; when smooth, add the butter.
Press the mixture into small pots, pour clarified butter over the top
when cool, tie down, and keep in a cool place.

Beef, Spiced.-½ lb. common salt, 1 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. bay salt,
3 oz. moist sugar, ¼ oz. whole pepper, ¼ oz. long pepper, 2 blades
mace, ¼ oz. whole allspice, 2 bay leaves, 5 or 6 sprigs of thyme,
ditto marjoram, 2 stalks basil, 4 or 5 of white savoury. The whole
to be boiled in 3 pints water for ½ hour, the saltpetre and bay salt
to be pounded. The beef to be rubbed all over with a little salt
previous to its being put in the pickle, when that is cold; 14-15
days to remain in pickle, turned often. This quantity of pickle is
for a piece or hand of beef of 8 lb.

Bloaters, Potted.--Put 8 or 10 large bloaters (soft-roed ones are
best) into a dish or tin, and cook them in an oven about 15-20
minutes; then, if thoroughly cooked, remove all the bones and skin,
and put the fish into a mortar with a piece of butter (about 2
oz.), some cayenne pepper, a very little mixed spice, and salt if
necessary. Pound all together till the paste may be spread, then put
into pots and cover the top of each pot of the paste with mutton suet
melted or good salt butter.

Boar’s Head.--Take head of large bacon pig; open, and remove gullet,
tongue, eyes, small bones, brain, &c., and cleanse out thoroughly
with salt and water; wipe dry, rub with salt, and drain for 24 hours;
boil together for ¼ hour 1 gal. water, 2 lb. each treacle and bay
salt, 3 oz. sal prunelle, 2 oz. each juniper berries and pepper, 1
oz. shallots, and ½ oz. chopped garlic; skim, and pour cold over the
head and tongue lying in deep stoneware vessel; turn on alternate
days for a month; at end of first 2 weeks remove the tongue, boil up
the pickle with 1 lb. more salt, and pour on again cold; on removing
from pickle, wipe dry, and score lines 2 in. apart in the skin
running from nose to base of head; cut off any superfluous fat, and
rub all over with dried oatmeal, skin the tongue and place it in the
mouth, holding it with a skewer; close the sides with twine and smoke
for 3 weeks in brown paper, using 3 parts birch and beech chips, 2
parts oak sawdust, and 1 part grass or fern; store in malt coomb and
bake for table.

Brawn.--The head, feet, tongue, and ears of a pig, having been
salted, are boiled with the outside skin of a loin, also salted for
a few days. Boil very gently for a long time, till the bones will
easily slip out. Take great care that every one is carefully picked
out. Keep the skin of the loin whole, but cut the rest into pieces
about 2 in. square. Line the brawn mould with the skin, then roll
each piece lightly in mixed spice and powdered herbs, flavoured to
taste. Pack them tightly in the brawn tin, put on the top, and press
it with a heavy weight 24 hours. It is then ready for turning out.
Keep it in the following pickle: Take a sufficient quantity of water
(more than will be enough to cover your brawn); add to every gallon
of water 2 handfuls whole malt, and salt enough to give it a strong
relish. Let the mixture boil for 1 hour; then strain it into a clean
vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into another vessel, keeping
back the white sediment; then put in your brawn. A little vinegar
maybe added, if liked. Fresh pickle should be made about once in
8 days, if the brawn is to be kept long. A common brawn tin is a
cylinder of tin without top or bottom, but with 2 round pieces of tin
which fit loosely inside it. The tin is about 5 in. diameter and 1
ft. in height. A heavy weight must fit inside it. Slack’s fruit or
meat press answers admirably.

Char, Potted.--The following is an old family recipe: When in high
season choose a dozen fine fish; clean and scale them; wash them
twice, drying with a fresh cloth each time. Rub into them 1 oz.
Jamaica pepper, 1 oz. saltpetre, 1 oz. common salt, all in the finest
powder; lay the fish on a board, raised at one side, and let them
drain for 12 hours. Then carefully wipe off the spice and salt, and
season again with 48 cloves, 14 blades mace, 2 large nutmegs, ¼ oz.
pepper, and 1 oz. common salt, all finely powdered. As each fish is
seasoned, lay it carefully into the pan, which should be just large
enough to hold the 12 fish; lay butter over them, cover with one
white and several brown papers, tie down close, and bake 4-5 hours in
a moderately quick oven. When a little cooled, drain the liquor from
the fish, and lay them round a potting or char pan, backs upwards, as
close as they will lie without breaking, and finish packing them in
the centre. Smooth the surface with the bowl of a large spoon, that
there be no cavities to absorb the butter, which must not be put on
till the next day; then let it be ½ in. thick. The gravy, in small
proportions, is an excellent addition to soups or made dishes.

Hamburgh Beef.--Take a piece of meat from the bed, or other fleshy
part; scatter common salt under and over it, and let lie 24 hours
to void the blood; then put into a pickle made with 1 gal. water
that has been boiled, 1 lb. common salt, 1½ lb. coarse sugar, 2 oz.
saltpetre, ½ pint vinegar; simmer until all are melted, and pour the
liquor over the meat placed in a deep narrow pan, so that it may be
covered completely; it will be ready for smoking in 3 weeks; well dry
with a cloth, and rub pea meal all over it until you have got a coat
on it; if well smoked, it will come out bright yellow, and will keep
any length of time. (Robinson.)

Hams.--(1) Four days after being killed, rub them all over with
common rough salt, particularly about the hip-bone and knuckle
joints. Having brushed off the salt (which should remain on for a day
and night), and dried the hams with a coarse cloth, rub thoroughly
and equally into each, 1 oz. finely powdered saltpetre, and let it
lie for 24 hours, then take 1 oz. saltpetre, ½ lb. common salt, ¼
lb. bay salt, 1 lb. coarse sugar. Make them hot in a pan--but be
careful not to melt them--and rub them well in, while hot, all over
the fleshy and rind sides, and finish with ½ lb. more of common salt.
Let them lie thus until a brine appears, and then with plenty of bay
leaves, strewed both under and over, turn them every day, and rub
and baste them well with the brine for the space of 3 weeks; then
take them out of pickle and immerse them in cold spring water for 24
hours; let them drip; wipe them well with a cloth; rub hog’s blood,
that has coagulated, all over them, and put them to smoke for a week,
well smothered. (Robinson.)

(2) Three days after killing rub well with 1 oz. saltpetre, ½ lb.
bay salt, 1 lb. treacle, and a handful each of bay leaves, marjoram,
and thyme, chopped fine; keep on rubbing and basting for a week,
turning over each day; next strew salt on an inch thick, and let
remain till the salt and brine are well mixed; boil the pickle, and
pour it hot (not scalding) over the meat; let lie for 14 days; smoke,
without wiping, for a week in gentle heat for the first 6 hours and
afterwards cool.

(3) Take a leg of pork about 20 lb. and rub all over with 3 oz.
saltpetre; let lie 14 hours; then boil 2 qt. stale beer or porter, 2
lb. salt, 2 lb. coarse sugar, 1 lb. pounded bay salt, skim well, and
pour hot over the meat; let lie a month, rubbing and turning every
alternate day; take out, rub dry, and roll for ½ hour in malt-dust or
oatmeal; when well covered, smoke for 3 weeks; and immediately wash
over with a hot paste of quicklime and water; leave for a week, and
hang in cool dry place.

(4) Take a leg of pork 16-18 lb.; rub in 1 oz. sal prunelle and
leave for 24 hours; boil 12 oz. bay salt, 10 oz. common salt, 1½
oz. saltpetre, 2 lb. treacle, 2 qt. vinegar, 3 heads garlic, and a
handful of chopped sage; skim, pour hot over the meat, and well rub
in daily for 10 days; let lie 10 days with frequent turning; dry, and
smoke for 3 weeks.

Herrings.--The fish are spread on a floor, and sprinkled with
salt; when sufficiently salted, they are thrown into large vats,
and washed. Each fish is then threaded through the gills, on long
thin spits holding 25 each. These are hung upon trestles in the
smoking-room, where fires of oak-boughs are kept smouldering. For
“bloaters,” to be consumed in England, the smoking lasts about 24
hours; “red-herrings” for export are salted more, and are smoked for
3 or 4 to 40 days, usually about 14 days. “Kippers” are taken while
fresh, and split up. They are then washed, and thrown into vats with
plenty of salt for a few minutes; finally they are spread out on
tenter-hooks, on racks, and hung up for 8 hours’ smoking.

Herring Paste.--1 doz. herrings put in a pan, cover with hot water;
when pretty soft, pull them to pieces, take out all the bones (use
only white part of fish and soft roes), pound in a mortar, with ½ lb.
butter, cayenne to taste, ¼ pint anchovy sauce; when well pounded,
put into small pots with lard over. Will keep good for months, and
will be found delicious.

Hungarian Beef.--Take about 10 lb. of fine fat short rib or sirloin
of beef that has been killed 4 or 5 days; rub thoroughly with ½ lb.
coarse sugar or treacle until none can be seen; after lying 2 days
take 2 oz. juniper berries, ½ lb. bay salt, 2 oz. saltpetre, 1 oz.
sal prunelle, 1 lb. common salt, all finely beaten to powder, and
some bay leaves and thyme chopped small; rub in for an hour, and let
lie for 3 weeks in an earthen pan, rubbing well every day with the
brine; take out, wipe well, and plunge into cold water for 12 hours;
rub perfectly dry, and colour with bullocks’ blood; hang up in gentle
smoke for 3 days, after which smoke until nearly black.

Mackerel.--Take the mackerel as soon as caught (for they quickly
become dark and lose flavour), and with a light knife split open the
back from head to tail; take out the guts, roes, livers, and gills,
and be particular you do not burst the gall; wipe each fish well
inside and out, and put into the following pickle:--1 gal. cold pure
water, 1 oz. saltpetre, 2 lb. common salt, 1 lb. coarse sugar; if the
fish be large and thick, let them lie in this state 6 hours; then
take out and put two stretch laths across the back of each, extending
them as much as possible; wash through the pickle once, and hang to
dry for 2 hours; after which place in a hot smoke for 1 hour, and
afterwards in a cool one for 20 hours, or until they become of a dark
chestnut colour. When cold, pack them one on the other in bundles of
6, and keep them rather in a dry than in a damp room.

Mutton Hams.--Select a short, thick, round leg of wether mutton about
14 lb. weight; rub thoroughly for 20-30 minutes with coarse sugar,
and let lie 12 hours, turning 3 times; plunge into the following
pickle, with what sugar you have on the dish;-½ lb. bay salt, 1 lb.
common salt, 1 oz. saltpetre, 2 oz. juniper berries, 1 handful each
of thyme and bay leaves, 2 qt. soft water; simmer together one hour,
and use lukewarm; let remain in this pickle 3 weeks; take out, but
do not wipe; then smoke, but insist on its being turned frequently,
sometimes shank upwards, and _vice versâ_, for a fortnight, in a
strong regular fume; when cold, put into a calico bag, and hang up in
the kitchen until you want to dress it; then bury it in the bag in a
dry garden soil for 20 hours or so; and take care, when it is boiled,
to put plenty of bay leaves, thyme, and marjoram into the pot along
with it. (Robinson.)

Norfolk Chine.--Select the chine of a 10-score pig; remove rind and
superfluous fat, and rub and turn daily for a week in 1 lb. each
salt and treacle, and 1 oz. each bay and laurel leaves; then boil 3
qt. water with 1 lb. salt, 1 oz. each crushed juniper berries and
shredded bay and laurel leaves, and a handful each of thyme and
marjoram; skim, and pour cold over the meat so that it mingles with
the first pickle; turn for 3 weeks, wipe dry, and coat with bran and
then pea flour; smoke for 14 days with equal proportions dried fern,
oak lops, and birch or beech chips; bake and eat cold.

Oysters.--A method of preserving oysters is adopted by the Chinese.
The fish are taken from the shells, plunged into boiling water for
an instant, and then exposed to the sun till all the moisture is
removed. They remain fresh for a long time, and retain their full
flavour. Only the fattest can be so treated. Oysters are also largely
“canned,” much in the same way as salmon.

Pickled Pork.--Cut into convenient sized pieces and remove principal
bones; rub well with saltpetre and then with a mixture of 2 parts bay
salt and 1 part common salt; pack in a clean vessel with plenty of
salt around the sides and covering the top.

Porker’s Head.--Choose a dairy-fed porker of 7 score; open the head,
and remove gullet, tongue, eyes, &c.; wash 5 minutes in salt and
water; rub well all over with coarse sugar and sliced onions; let
remain in a deep dish 48 hours; boil ½ oz. powdered bay leaves, ¾
oz. saltpetre, 1 lb. bay salt or rock salt, 2 oz. ground allspice,
1 qt. water; skim well, and when cold, pour it over the head in a
deep straight-sided earthen vessel; let lie 3 weeks, turning and
basting with the pickle every other day; wipe dry, place the tongue
in (having meantime cured it as neats’ tongue) and stuff all cavities
with onions fried in olive oil or sweet lard, and powdered dried
sage; bind the cheeks close together with tape, and smoke 3 weeks
with 2 parts beech chips, 2 parts fern, 1 part peat, 1 part oak
sawdust; keep in same packing as hams, tongues, &c., for 2 months;
bake and eat cold.

Salmon.--The fish are beheaded and cleaned, and cut by a series of
knives into the right lengths to fill 1 lb. cans. When these have
been filled to within ¼ in. of the top, the covers are put on and
soldered. In an air-tight condition, the full cans are passed to
the boilers, vats measuring 5 ft. × 4 ft. × 4 ft., where they are
steamed for 1 hour. They are then taken out and cooled. A small hole
in the centre of each lid, hitherto remaining soldered up, is opened
by applying a hot iron, and the air and cooking-gases are allowed to
escape. The cans are then instantaneously made air-tight again, and
are boiled for two hours in a bath of salted water, the salt being
added to raise the boiling-point. They are then left to stand till
quite cool.

Salmon, Kippered.--Lay the fish on a board with the tail towards you,
and the back to the right hand; insert the knife at the point of the
nose, and split down the backbone, or as near to it as possible. Take
out the inside and the roe, and scale and wipe the fish perfectly
clean; remove the backbone and every particle of blood. When clean,
rub in a mixture of equal parts salt, brown sugar, and ground black
pepper, about 4 large spoonfuls of each ingredient to a 10 lb. fish.
Let the fish remain in the pickle 2-3 days, according to size,
turning it every day. Afterwards press it between 2 flat stones in a
cool place for 2-3 days more, then sprinkle it with ground pepper,
and hang it out in the sun against a wall until dry, with wooden
skewers to keep it flat, or it may be hung above the fireplace in the
kitchen when it is warm, but not hot. After that it may be smoked for
2 days and nights in the smoke of dried seaweed and oak sawdust, or
painted over with pyroligneous acid, or with Smith’s Cambrian essence.

Salmon, Pickled.--Take a good salmon; cut it across in 2 or 3 pieces
without splitting it; wash carefully and boil in pickle made with
coarse salt and spring water strong enough to float an egg. The fish
must be put down in cold pickle, and allowed very slowly to boil till
it begins to separate from the bone, keeping it well skimmed all the
while. Put the fish on a table to drain, and when cold pack it in
a crock or keg as closely as possible without breaking the pieces,
sprinkling a small quantity of powdered saltpetre, a little salt, and
some bay leaves on each layer. Then cover with a pickle made thus: 1
qt. vinegar, 3 pints spring water, ¼ lb. lump sugar, 16 drops oil of
cloves. This pickle will preserve any kind of fish fit for pickling,
and is particularly good for oysters. These should be boiled slowly
before put in it.

Sardines.--The beheaded and cleaned fish are spread upon sieves,
and plunged for 1 or 2 minutes beneath the surface of boiling oil
in coppers. After draining a little, the fish are packed closely in
tin boxes, which are filled up with pure cold oil, and soldered.
The quality deteriorates with every immersion, owing to the matters
disengaged by the boiling oil, and the coppers need frequent
replenishing with oil.

Sausages.--(_a_) Take a quantity of pig’s meat, remove all nerves
and skin with great care; then chop it as finely as possible. Put
it in an earthenware pan, add to it garlic, parsley, mint, thyme,
marjoram, and burnet finely minced; pepper and cloves powdered; and
salt, all in such proportions as taste may suggest. Work the whole
with a wooden spoon for some time, so as to get all the ingredients
well mixed; then add a tumblerful of white wine for every 2 lb. meat,
and work it for some time longer. Have some skins perfectly cleaned,
rub them well all over with lemon juice, and put them in water with
plenty of lemon juice squeezed into it. Take them out one at a time,
dry them, fill them with the meat, and tie them in lengths of about 3
in. The sausages should then be hung up to dry in a strong current of
air for some days. These sausages are best eaten boiled with cabbages
or greens. (The G. C.)

(_b_) Beef sausages are prepared in exactly the same manner as pork.
The best part to use is beef steak. To 1 lb. of this use ¼ lb.
beef suet or other good fat, ¼ pint stock, or water, 1½ oz. sifted
breadcrumbs, 1 large teaspoonful salt, ½ teaspoonful dried and
sifted parsley mixed with a similar quantity of thyme, and 1 small
teaspoonful salt. If these sausages are properly made and cooked,
they will, when cut, give plenty of gravy; they are considered
somewhat less rich than those made of pork.

(_c_) 1½ lb. pigmeat cut from the griskin, without any skin, 1½
lb. veal, 1½ lb. beef suet, the yolks and whites of 5 eggs, 1
dessertspoonful sifted sage (after being well dried), pepper and
salt to taste. Chop the meat into small pieces, pound it together
in a marble mortar till it is soft and tender, chop the suet very
fine, and when the eggs are well beaten together (after the specks
are taken out) pour the liquid over the pounded meat and chopped
suet, kneading it well together with a clean hand, throwing in the
sifted sage and pepper and salt from a coarse pepper-box during the
operation, so as to let them impregnate the whole mass without being
predominant in any part of it. Press the whole, when well mixed
together, into a wide-mouthed jar, and keep it from the air in a cold
place; roll the sausages on a floured board, and use very little
grease in frying them, as they will be almost fat enough to fry
themselves, with the aid of a frying-pan. They should be made into
small flat cakes, about the size of a five-shilling piece. Lovelock’s
sausage-making machine is very useful.

(_d_) To each lb. veal put ½ lb. ham, in equal quantities of fat and
lean. Season with ½ teaspoonful salt, a whole one of pepper, a pinch
of nutmeg and sweet herbs; mix with 1 oz. sifted breadcrumbs, and
moisten with 4 tablespoonfuls stock made from trimmings of the veal
and ham. Proceed as for pork sausages.

Shrimps.--To preserve shrimps in a dried state, they are boiled for
½ hour with frequent sprinkling of salt; then spread out on hard dry
ground, with frequent turning, to dry and bleach for 3 or 4 days.
They are then trampled to remove the shells, and are winnowed and
bagged.

Shrimps, Potted.--Take some freshly boiled shrimps and half their
weight of butter, pick out the meat from the tails, and chop it up
fine; take the rest of the shrimps and pound them up with a little of
the butter until reduced to a smooth paste, then add the meat from
the tails and pound all together, seasoning well with pounded mace,
grated nutmeg, and cayenne pepper; put it into pots, and cover with
clarified butter.

Smoked Geese.--When geese are cheap, take as many as you please, only
seeing that they are fresh, and not in the least damp or muggy; then
cleanly draw, pick from pen-feathers, and wipe well out with a cloth
dipped in strong salt and water; after which immerse in the following
(quantities for 6 geese):--2 lb. coarse sugar, 1 lb. bay salt, 3
oz. saltpetre, 1 handful finely beaten sage, 3 shallots, 2 handfuls
crushed bay leaves; boil together 10 minutes, and afterwards simmer
½ hour; when cold, pour over the geese, which must be turned often,
and, if possible, kept covered with the pickle; let remain 48 hours;
take out and let them drip (do not wipe), and rub cayenne pepper
plentifully inside each until it adheres; smoke 3 days and nights in
a cool smoke, and hang each up in a calico bag in the kitchen; when
wanted for table, dissect them, and broil over a clear fire.

Smoked Neats’ Tongues.--Take 6 tongues and rub well with sugar for 2
days; then rub well with common salt and saltpetre for 2 days more,
apart from the sugar; then take 1 qt. each of water and porter, ¼
lb. saltpetre, 2 lb. bay salt, 2 lb. common salt, and with the sugar
first used make a hot pickle, which skim well, and pour over the
tongues laid in a deep narrow tin pan completely covered; let lie
for 8 days more, and they will be fit for use in any way; if to be
smoked, wipe them well, and turn in the chimney 4 or 5 times for 5
days.

Sprats.--Pick out the largest, and then the second size, rejecting
the remainder, or refuse, which, however, may be useful to pot. Put
into baskets, and well wash in salt and water; then set to drain an
hour, and afterwards plunge into a pickle that will float an egg:
the smaller ones may be taken out of pickle in 4 hours, and the
large ones in 6 hours, and be set to drain; which done, proceed to
stick them on frames, the eye being pierced by each nail, and then,
with a steady hand, put into the chimney. Set on a gentle heat for ½
hour, and let it be succeeded by a strong smoke for 12 hours longer;
when cold, they will be fit for immediate consumption; but if you
want them to keep a month or so, you must continue the smoke on them
for 30 hours, or until they become a dark brown colour; and if for
packing, they should be placed as bloaters, keeping the same-sized
ones together in a dry room, and after a few hours they will have
sweated in the packages, and will be very mellow and fine flavoured.

Sprats, Pickled.--For this purpose the sprats must be quite fresh
and unsalted. Clean, take off the heads, and thoroughly wash them.
Drain, and put in layers and rows, heads and tails, into china-lined
earthen pie-dishes, wide, well glazed, or stoneware crocks, with
whole pepper, allspice, chili-pods, and bay leaves; of the latter
sparingly. Dissolve 1 spoonful salt in hot water, pour it over the
fish, and add vinegar to cover them completely. Cover and bake slowly
for 1-2 hours, according to quantity, till all the fish are well
cooked through. Take off the cover and let them cool before putting
away for use. Add a little more vinegar if too dry. A few shallots
or slices of silverskin onions can be added if approved of. Sprats
pickled thus should come to the table in the vessel they are cooked
in, and removed in layers. In cold weather, if kept for a week or
two, the bones will be found to be quite dissolved by the action of
the vinegar. Fresh herrings, trout, salmon peal, eels, and a variety
of fresh-water fish can be thus prepared.

Sprats, Potted.--Pour some boiling (slightly salted) water on the
sprats, cleaned as above-mentioned, in a deep pan. After a few
minutes the meat can easily be removed from the bones. When this is
done, mash it up finely and carefully with a silver fork. Add red and
white pepper and a little more salt to taste. Grease 1 lb. jam-pots
with clarified butter. Pack the fish closely into these, and bake for
½-1 hour in slow heat. When cold, pour some of the clarified butter
or some American tinned marrow fat to the depth of 1 in. on the top
of each pot, and allow to harden before tying down for use. These
will keep well 1-3 weeks.

Tongues.--(_a_) Sprinkle the tongue well all over with common salt,
and let it stand 2 days. If it appear slimy, remove the salt with
the slime, then mix 1 lb. saltpetre and 1 tablespoonful coarse brown
sugar together, with which rub the tongue well, and let it be in
pickle 3-7 weeks, taking care to turn and baste it well every day
during that time. If it be allowed to remain in pickle as long as 7
weeks, it should be taken out, rubbed dry, and hung up to keep for
five days before using it. It is better, however, not to keep them
in so long, as tongues are always best used straight out of the
pickle. Like all other boiled meats, tongues require great care in
cooking. The fact is they never should boil; they should be soaked
for 2 hours or more after they are taken out of the pickle, according
to the number of weeks they have been in it, and should then be put
into a large saucepan or stewpan in cold water. As soon as this shows
symptoms of boiling, and before it begins regularly to boil, the pan
should be drawn sufficiently to the side of the fire to keep up a
constant simmering, to be kept up until it is done. In this way the
tongue will be as tender as possible, and, cured with saltpetre as
described, it should have a nice red colour.

(_b_) ½ oz. saltpetre, ½ oz. salprunella, 1 lb. salt, ½ lb. very
coarse sugar, 4 bay leaves, 10 juniper berries, 1 tablespoonful
vinegar, and 3 pints water. Let all boil for ½ hour, skim off the
scum, and pour the liquid into a pickling dish, when it is quite cold
put the tongue in, and turn it every day for 3 weeks, if you wish to
cook it green, but if you intend to hang it, let it stop for a month
in pickle. This pickle will keep good for months if reboiled and
skimmed. Every tongue put in should be well rubbed with salt, left to
drain for 3 days, and wiped dry before being put in.

Trout, Potted.--(_a_) Pour boiling water on the fish, and let them
steep ½ hour; bone and skin them, and pound them in a mortar with
½ lb. butter to double the quantity of fish; add by degrees, salt,
cayenne, and spices to taste; when reduced to a smooth paste, put it
into pots and cover with clarified fat or butter.

(_b_) Mix together the following quantity of spices, all finely
pounded. 1 oz. cloves, ½ oz. Jamaica pepper, ¼ oz. black pepper, ¼
oz. cayenne, 2 nutmegs, a little mace, and 2 teaspoonfuls ginger;
add the weight of the spices and half as much again of salt, and mix
all thoroughly. Clean the fish, and cut off the heads, fins, and
tails; put 1 teaspoonful of the mixed spices into each fish, and lay
them in a deep earthen jar with the backs downwards; cover them with
clarified butter, tie a paper over the mouth of the jar, and bake
them slowly for 8 hours. When the backbone is tender the fish are
done enough. Take them out of the jar and put them in a pan with the
backs upwards; cover them with a board, and place a heavy weight upon
it. When perfectly cold remove the fish into fresh jars, smooth them
with a knife, and cover them with clarified butter.

_Pickling._--The chief agent in pickling is hot vinegar, and the best
way to prepare it is as follows:--Bruise ¼ lb. each of black pepper,
ginger, cloves, pimento, and mace, with some garlic, horse-radish,
capsicums, and shallots, in 1 qt. of the strongest and best vinegar
in a stoneware jar; cork tightly, cover with a bladder soaked in the
pickle, and place on a trivet near the fire for 3 days, shaking it up
3 or 4 times a day. Gherkins and similar articles should be pricked
before immersion, to admit the pickle better. The addition of a
little alkali (such as soda bicarbonate) heightens the green colour
of the pickles. Glazed or block-tin vessels should alone be used for
making pickles in. Glass or earthenware jars are best for strong
pickles; they must be tightly corked and tied down with bladder
soaked in the pickling liquor. A damp store cupboard is fatal to them.

Cabbage.--Choose a fine closely-grown red cabbage, strip the outside
leaves off, cut it across in rather thin slices, and lay on a dish,
scattering salt over; cover with a cloth, and let lie 20 hours; drain
the cabbage on a sieve, and put it in a clean jar with allspice,
whole pepper, and a little ginger sliced; pour cold white wine
vinegar over it to cover it well, and tie closely from the air.

Chutney.--(_a_) Cayenne pepper, ¼ oz.; mustard seed, 2 oz.; brown
sugar, ½ lb.; ground ginger, 1 oz.; vinegar, 1½ pint; stoned raisins,
¼ lb.; garlic, 2 oz.; onions, ¼ lb.; salt, 2 oz.; apples, 1½ lb. Boil
until soft enough to mash through a colander. (C. G. J.)

(_b_) Peel 4 lb. green mangoes, take out the stones, and cut them
into quarters lengthwise; boil them slightly in 1 bottle vinegar, and
put it aside in a jar till cold. Take another bottle of vinegar, to
which add 2 lb. sugar, and boil it till it becomes a thin syrup; put
aside till cold. Take 1 oz. salt, 2 lb. picked and dried raisins, 1
oz. yellow mustard seed, 1 oz. garlic, 2 oz. dried chillies, 1 lb.
green ginger sliced. Pound the garlic, chillies, and ginger finely
in a mortar; mix all the ingredients together, bottle and expose to
the sun for 3-4 days, or place it in a cool oven. Apples can be used
instead of mangoes; they should be finely cut up.

(_c_) Apple.--6 large sharp apples, 3 large onions, 6 oz. sultana
raisins, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 1 saltspoonful red pepper, 1
dessertspoonful salt, 2 tablespoonfuls tomato sauce or the pulp of 2
or 3 tomatoes, 1 dessertspoonful anchovy essence, 1 dessertspoonful
Indian soy, 1 tablespoonful salad oil, ½ vinegar. Chop very finely
the apples and onions, and chop the raisins roughly. Now put all
the ingredients, with the exception of the vinegar, into a mortar,
and pound together, and by degrees add the vinegar. When all the
ingredients are well blended together, put into wide-mouthed bottles,
and cork tightly.

(_d_) Elder.--The berries that remain from elder ketchup, an onion
finely minced, ¼ oz. ginger, and a blade of mace and 6 cloves; pound
the spice together, and put all the ingredients into an enamelled
stewpan, with 3 oz. sultana raisins, 2 oz. Demerara sugar, ½ pint
vinegar, 1 saltspoonful cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoonful salt, and,
if convenient, a few mulberries; boil all together 5 minutes, take
from the fire, and, when cold, put into wide-mouthed bottles, and
cork tightly. This makes a very good chutney for cold meat; it can be
made hotter if liked.

(_e_) Green Gooseberry.--4 pints green gooseberries boiled in 1½ pint
brown vinegar, 2 lb. brown sugar made into a syrup, 1½ pint vinegar;
1½ lb. raisins, stoned and chopped; 6 oz. garlic, pounded and dried;
6 oz. mustard seed, gently dried and bruised; 2 oz. dried chillies,
pounded. Mix all together, put in a cool oven for some hours on
several different occasions; and after, if too dry, add a little
vinegar, as may be required, at the end of a month or two.

(_f_) Tomato.--Take 4-5 lb. ripe tomatoes, pick out the stalks, wipe
the fruit with a dry piece of flannel, place them in a jar with a
lid, add a breakfastcupful of salt, the same of vinegar, close the
jar by placing a stiff paste of flour and water round the edge of
the lid so as to make it air-tight, place the jar in a large pan of
boiling water, let the fruit simmer slowly for 6 hours, then pulp
through a colander to get quit of the skins and cores. Shred 2 oz.
red chillies, the same of garlic, make a syrup of 2 pints vinegar and
2 lb. loaf sugar, cut small 2 oz. ginger, mix all with the tomatoes,
place on a slow fire, simmer gently; when it comes to the boil take
off the chutney, bottle when cold, cork tight, keep in a warm, dry
place.

Cucumbers.--Cut them small and unripe; make an incision at the side,
and, taking out a piece of the fruit, save it entire, and extract the
seeds thoroughly; put the cucumbers, with the pieces which have been
cut from them, into a strong pickle of salt and water, and leave in
it for 10 days, or until they become yellow; place in a pan, with
thick layers of fresh vine leaves between them; dissolve a little
powdered alum in the brine from which they have been taken, pour it
on, and set the pan over a moderate fire; keep the cucumbers at a
scalding heat for 4 hours at least, without on any account allowing
them to boil; by that time they will be of a fine green colour;
drain on a sieve, and when cold put a stick of horse-radish, some
mustard seed, 4 cloves of garlic, and ¼ oz. of peppercorns into each
cucumber; fit in the piece that was taken out, and stitch with a
needle and green silk; boil 2 oz. each of black peppercorns, long
pepper, and sliced ginger, 4 oz. mustard seed, 1 oz. each of garlic,
mace, and cloves, and 1 gal. best white wine vinegar, together for 8
minutes; lay the cucumbers in a deep jar, and when the pickle is cold
pour it on; tie first bladder, and then leather, closely over.

Gherkins.--Soak 250 gherkins in a pickle of 2½ lb. common salt to 1
gal. water; let lie 3 hours; drain on a sieve, wipe separately, and
place in a jar; boil 1 gal. best white wine vinegar, 6 oz. common
salt, 1 oz. each of allspice and mustard seed, ½ oz. each of cloves
and mace, 1 sliced nutmeg, and 1 stick of horse-radish, sliced, for
12 minutes; skim well, and pour when cold over the gherkins; let
stand 20 hours covered up close; put altogether into a pan over the
fire, and let simmer only until they attain a nice green colour;
place in jars, pour the liquor and spices over them, and tie closely
with bladder and leather.

Grapes.--The grapes must be carefully cut from the stalk before they
are ripe, and care must be taken not to bruise the skin, or they
will become soft instead of crisp. Boil 4 pints vinegar, 2 oz. whole
ginger, 1 oz. peppercorns, 2 doz. cloves, and a very small piece
of mace. When cold pour it over the grapes, and let them be well
covered, and remain 3 days; then boil the vinegar again, and pour it
cold on the grapes. Bottle and cork securely.

Grape Leaves.--A writer in the _Country Gentleman_ recommends the
use of fresh green grape-leaves to place on top of pickles in jars
in place of flannel or other cloth usually employed. He claims the
leaves will preserve the vinegar sharp and clear and impart a nice
flavour. The leaves should be rinsed in pure water and left to
drain before use, and occasionally changed. They exclude the air,
and besides imparting a delightful flavour to the pickle cause less
trouble to the housewife.

Ketchup.--(_a_) Elder.--Put into a jar 3 pints elderberries, picked
from the stalks, 2 large blades of mace, 2 oz. ginger, 6 oz.
anchovies, ½ oz. whole pepper, 1½ pint vinegar; set it in a rather
cool oven, and let it remain there all night. Next morning strain
the liquor from the berries, and put into an enamelled stewpan, with
the ginger, mace, anchovies, pepper and salt; let it boil till the
anchovies are dissolved. Strain off, and, when cold, put into small
bottles, cork and seal. This is a nice ketchup for broiled fish. The
berries will make a chutney.

(_b_) Mushroom.--The mushrooms should be gathered in the morning
before the sun is on them. Break them in small bits, put them in a
large dish, and sprinkle a good deal of salt upon them; let them
lie for 4 days, turning them daily, and adding a little salt. Lay
the pieces upon a sieve, or put them in a thin bag. Let them run
all night until the juice is all run from them; put the juice in a
stewpan, beat up the whites of 2 eggs, add them to the ketchup, with
plenty of mixed spices. Let it boil for one minute, run it through a
piece of muslin into a basin, and when cold bottle it up, cork, and
seal it; keep it in a dry place.

(_c_) Ditto.--Break up the mushrooms, and add ¼ lb. salt to every 3½
lb. mushrooms; let them stand for 2 days, and drain all the juice you
can procure from them by pressure; then boil it slowly for an hour,
with 2 oz. of salt, a few cloves, and ¼ oz. peppercorns and whole
ginger, to each qt.; then strain, and when cold bottle, using new
corks, and sealing them down.

(_d_) Ditto.--Take for this full-grown flap mushrooms, crush them
with the hands, and put a handful of salt to every peck; let them
stand all night, then put into broad-mouthed jars, and set them for
12 hours in a quick oven, then strain through a hair sieve. To every
qt. of liquor put ¼ oz. cloves, black pepper, and ginger; boil till
half is wasted; when cold bottle for use.

(_e_) Walnut.--Take 6 half-sieves of green walnut shells, put them
into a tub, mix up well with 2-3 lb. common salt; let them stand for
6 days, frequently beating and mashing them, till the shells become
soft and pulpy, then, by banking it up on one side the tub, at the
same time raising the tub on that side, the liquor will drain clear
off to the other; then take that liquor out. The mashing may be
repeated as often as liquor is found. The quantity will be about 6
qt. When done, let it be simmered in an iron boiler as long as any
scum rises; then bruise ¼ lb. ginger, ¼ lb. allspice, 2 oz. long
pepper, 2 oz. cloves; let it slowly boil ½ hour. When bottled, let an
equal quantity of spice go into each bottle, cork them tight, seal
them over, and put them into a cool, dry place for one year before
they are used. (C. G. J.)

Lemon.--Grate the rind from 1½ doz. lemons, taking care only to
remove the extreme outer coating, leaving the white well covered
with a tinge of yellow. Cut them in quarters, but do not let the
knife go quite through them, leaving just enough at the bottom to
hold the quarters together; rub ¾ lb. bay salt equally over them,
and spread them out on a dish. Place this in a cool oven, and let
them remain there until the juice has dried into the peels. This,
if preferred, may be done in front of the fire, but it must be done
very gradually. When the juice is so absorbed, put the lemons in a
large jar, with somewhat less than 1 oz. mace, the same of grated
nutmeg, half the quantity of pounded cloves, 3 oz. peeled garlic, and
¾ breakfastcupful mustard seed bruised a little and tied in a muslin
bag. Over all this pour 3 pints boiling vinegar, close the jar well,
and stand it near the fire for 4-5 days, shaking it up every day.
Then tie it up and let it remain for 3 months to take off the bitter
taste of the peels. At the end of this time turn the whole out on to
a hair sieve, moving it about to get out the liquor; let it stand a
day, and then pour off the fine part and bottle it. The other part
must stand for 3 days more, and it will refine itself. Pour it off
and bottle it, let it stand again and bottle it, till the whole is
refined. It may be put in any sauce, and will not spoil the colour.
If for white sauce, 1 teaspoonful is enough, or 2 for brown sauce.
Should cream be used in the sauce, the pickle must be put in before
the cream or other thickening is added, or it will probably cause it
to curdle.

Mixed Pickles.--1 gal. vinegar, sixpennyworth turmeric, 2 oz. black
pepper ground, 2 oz. long ditto pounded, 1 oz. cloves pounded, 4 oz.
flour of mustard, 3 oz. mustard seed, whole cayenne to your taste,
2 oz. ginger pounded fine, white cabbage cut in slices, quantities
of horseradish scraped, ½ pint garlic, 1 pint shallots, 2 doz. large
onions cut in quarters, a cucumber, a cauliflower, a few French
beans, and a few radish pods, plenty of capsicums. Lay them in a red
pan. You cannot put too much salt about them. Let the vegetables
remain 3 days in salt, then strain them out and shake them. Lay them
on a linen cloth in the sun to dry, then put them into your jar near
the fire. Then boil all your spice with the vinegar, and pour it on
boiling off the fire. They will be fit to use in 2 months. For an
ordinary family ¼ of the above, with half the vegetables, will be
found sufficient to make at a time.

Mushrooms.--Take the smallest and roundest button mushrooms, throw
into cold water, and rub each separately with a piece of flannel
dipped in salt to clean them thoroughly; put them again, as you
proceed, into fresh cold water, and finally into a pan with a handful
of table salt scattered over them on a moderate fire, covering them
close that the steam may not escape, for 10 minutes, or until they
are thoroughly hot and the water is drawn well out of them; pour them
on a sieve, and quickly dry them well between the cloths; let remain
covered up from the air till they are cold; place in clean dry glass
bottles with a little mace, and fill up with distilled or white wine
vinegar, adding to each bottle a teaspoonful of salad oil; cork and
seal them up so as to exclude air.

Nasturtiums.--Gather within a week after the blossoms have fallen
off; take a gallon of them, and throw into a pail of salt and water,
cold, in which to keep them, changing the water 3 times at least,
3 days and nights; lay in a sieve to drain, and rub perfectly dry
between cloths; boil for ten minutes 1 gal. white wine vinegar, 1 oz.
each of mace and nutmeg, 2 oz. white peppercorns, 4 sliced shallots,
and 4 oz. common salt; skim well, and when nearly cold, pour the
whole over the fruit placed in jars, and tie close.

Onions.--Take the smallest clear silver onions; after peeling,
immerse in cold salt and water, and let lie for 10 days, changing
the pickle daily; drain on a sieve, put into a jar, pour newly-made
brine of salt and water boiling hot over them, and let stand closely
covered, until cold; repeat the scalding with new pickle, and, when
cold and well drained, put in bottles or jars, with a slice or two
of the best ginger, a blade of mace, and a bay leaf; fill up with
distilled vinegar, and be sure to add salad oil to float on the top;
tie close, and seal down.

Piccalilli.--Slice up a closely-grown, sound-hearted white cabbage
and a sound white beetroot, with a cauliflower divided into several
small branches, a few clear gherkins, some radish-pods, and kidney
beans; lay in a sieve with two or three handfuls of common salt
scattered over, and expose to the sun or fire for 4 days; when you
think all the water is extracted from them, put them into a large
stoneware pan, mixing well, and scattering plenty of good sound
mustard seed amongst them as you go on; to each gallon of best
vinegar, add 3 oz. peeled and sliced garlic, and 1½ oz. turmeric;
boil, skim well, and pour the liquor while hot over the vegetables;
let them lie 10 days, at least, with strong paper tied over, near a
fire, until they have become a fine yellow colour, and have imbibed
a fair quantity of the vinegar; then boil 3 qt. best white wine
vinegar, 1½ oz. each of white pepper and mace, and ½ oz. each of long
pepper, nutmegs, and cloves, for 10 minutes; skim well, and pour all
over the pickles; tie the jar with bladder and leather.

Samphire.--By persons living near the sea it is usually preserved,
when freshly gathered, in equal parts vinegar and sea water, or
even sometimes in the water only; but when brought inland it should
be steeped 2 days in brine, then drained, and put into a stone jar,
covered with vinegar, and having a lid, over which put a thick paste
of flour and water, and set it in a very cool oven all night, or in a
warmer oven till it nearly but not quite boils. Then let it stand on
a warm hob for ½ hour, and allow it to become quite cold before the
paste is removed; then add cold vinegar if any more is required, and
secure as other pickles.

Tomato.--(_a_) Gather 4 doz. tomatoes when turned, but not too ripe.
Lay them in salt and water for 2 days, changing them twice; drain
them, and dry them in a coarse cloth; put them in a pickling jar. To
1 gal. vinegar add 1 oz. ginger, shred, 1 oz. whole pepper, ½ oz.
cloves, 1 pint mustard seeds, and 2 tablespoonfuls mustard flour,
curry powder, turmeric, 2 oz. garlic, 2 oz. shallots, shred, 1 oz.
bay salt, and a little common salt. Half of the spice to be strewed
in the jar, and the other half to be boiled in the vinegar, and to
be poured hot over the tomatoes; then let them be covered close
with a flannel, and a weight at the top to keep in the steam, and
let them stand in the chimney corner for 2 days, but not too near
the fire. The vinegar must be boiled up twice more, and poured over
the tomatoes as before. When quite cold fill up with more vinegar
previously boiled, so that the tomatoes are covered and tied up with
bladder.

(_b_) Cut some green tomatoes in slices, sprinkle them with salt, and
let them stand 12-15 hours, drain, and put them in a saucepan over
the fire with fresh water, changing it until all the salt is washed
out. When thoroughly scalded and partially cooked, drain them again
and put them into a boiling hot syrup, made with 1 pint vinegar, 3
lb. sugar, ½ oz. cinnamon, ¼ oz. cloves, simmer them in this until
tender, then carefully lift them out and put them into jars, reduce
the syrup and pour it over them. After a day or two boil up the syrup
again, pour it afresh over the tomatoes, and when cold tie them down
carefully.

Vinegar.--(_a_) To every gal. water put 2 lb. coarsest West India
sugar; boil and skim this. Pour the mixture into a common clean
washing mug, and, when sufficiently cool, take 4 pints from it into a
basin, and stir well into it ½_d._ worth good fresh yeast if 3 gal.
vinegar are to be made, or in that proportion, and set the basin,
near a fire, covered with a cloth, to get it to work. When this end
is obtained, put it back to the larger quantity from which it came,
and which ought to be still lukewarm; stir well round with a wooden
preserving spoon, and cover the mug with a cloth, and in a few hours,
or by next morning (if made in an evening) the mixture will be found
in full work. Let it stand one week from the day it was made, then
carefully skim the barm off it, and put it into a barrel or mug in
a warm place in winter, or in the sun in summer. It will be fit for
use in 4-6 months, and then bottle off for use. As soon as you have
bottled off a making of vinegar, immediately begin again, as the
jelly-like “mother,” called the vinegar plant, formed on the surface
by the time it is ready for bottling, helps the making of the next
vinegar. Add it on pouring the mixture into the barrel or closed mug.

(_b_) Make vinegar from a vinegar plant by mixing ½ lb. coarse
brown sugar and ½ lb. treacle with 5 pints water, stirring it until
all the sugar is dissolved; then laying the fungus on the top, and
covering it with thick brown paper tied down. In 6 weeks (or a little
longer in cold weather), the liquid is turned to vinegar, and must
then be strained off and bottled, and a fresh mixture made for the
plant. It must be put in a white ware vessel--a washstand basin is
very suitable, as the vinegar corrodes the yellow glazed ware, and
is injurious. The plant does not get useless if kept “going,” but
improves by growing thicker.

(_c_) Best of all, buy Beaufoy’s vinegar, and run no risk of
subsequent fermentations.

Vinegar, Primrose.--To 18 qt. water add 6 lb. moist sugar; boil and
stir it very well. Let it stand until it is just warm, then add 1
peck primroses with their stalks, and a little yeast. Let it stand
all night, then put it into a cask, bung it up, and allow it to
remain for 2 months. Then give it a little air, and let it stand 2-3
months longer. Then taste, and, if not sour, let it stand till it is.
It must be placed in a warm situation: a great deal depends on where
it is kept.

Vinegar, Raspberry.--Put 1 lb. very fine raspberries in a bowl,
bruise them well, and pour upon them 1 qt. best cider vinegar; next
day strain the liquor on 1 lb. fresh ripe raspberries, bruise them
also, and on the following day do the same, but do not squeeze the
fruit, or it will make it ferment, only drain the liquor as dry as
you can from the fruit. The last time pass it through a canvas bag,
previously wetted with vinegar to prevent waste. Put the juice into
a stone jar with 1 lb. sugar to every pint of juice; the sugar must
be broken into lumps, stir it, and when melted, put the jars into a
saucepan of water, let it simmer a little, skim and remove from the
fire. When cool, bottle off.

Vinegar, Tarragon.--Gather full-grown shoots of tarragon the day
before they are wanted. Fill a ½ gal. jar with as many as it will
hold without pressing them down; add 3 cloves and the thin rind of
1 lemon, and fill up the jar with white wine vinegar; leave it,
tightly corked, exposed to the sun for 2-3 weeks, then strain off the
vinegar, wringing the tarragon in a cloth, filter it through paper,
and bottle it.

Walnuts.--Take 50 large walnuts gathered before the shell is hard;
folding them separately in vine leaves, place them in a jar amidst
plenty more leaves, so that they do not touch each other; fill up
so as to cover them with best pale vinegar, and tie down closely
that the air may be excluded; let stand 20 days; then pour off the
vinegar and wrap the fruit again in fresh leaves, and fill up the jar
again with fresh pale vinegar, standing 14 days longer; take off the
leaves, put them in a jar, and make a pickle of white wine vinegar
and salt that will float an egg, in which simmer for ¼ hour ¼ oz.
mace, ½ oz. each of cloves and nutmeg, and 2 heads of garlic, peeled
and sliced; pour hot over the walnuts; tie close with bladder and
leather.

_Preserving with Sugar._--This embraces the whole range of jams and
jellies, which closely resemble each other. In all cases the fruit
must be fully ripe, gathered quite dry, and freed of stems, &c., but
stone fruits should not be stoned. The chief differences consist in
the proportion of sugar required and the duration of the boiling,
which latter should always be done in a copper pan. The scum must
be removed as it rises in boiling. For the most popular jams the
quantities and times are as follow:--

  Black currant      1 of fruit to 1 of sugar; 10 minutes
  Raspberry          1      ”   ”  1      ”     ½ hour
  Strawberry         1      ”   ”  1      ”    20 minutes
  Gooseberry         6      ”   ”  4      ”     2 hours
  Red currant        1      ”   ”  1      ”    10 minutes
  Blackberry         1      ”   ”  ½      ”     1 hour
  Cherry (stoned)    2      ”   ”  1      ”    till stiff

Keeping Jams.--A not unfrequent cause for their becoming mouldy is
that the jars in which jams are kept are sometimes not perfectly dry
when the jam is put into them. The jam-pots put away from last year
will necessarily be dusty, and require washing; and with thoughtless
servants it but too often happens that they will wash the jars the
same day the jam is made. They may imagine they have dried them
with a cloth, but probably a slight dampness still remains which
would be quite sufficient to cause the best-boiled preserve to turn
mouldy, even if afterwards kept in a dry place. Have jars washed
the day before they are used, have them washed in very hot water,
and, after drying with a cloth, have them put down in trayfuls
before the kitchen fire, to do away with the possibility of damp.
The jars should then be set aside in the kitchen until the next day,
covering them with cloths to keep out the dust. For making common
jams, such as red and black currants, raspberries, gooseberries
(and strawberries when not to be preserved whole), allow ¾ lb. loaf
preserving-sugar to every lb. of fruit after it has been picked from
the stalk. The fruit must be picked on a dry day, and should be ripe,
but not bruised or injured. Set the fruit on the hot plate or fire in
a large copper preserving pan, which must, of course, be as bright
and clean as possible; let it cook gently, until it is hot through
and the juice begins to run out, then add the sugar gradually (this
must have been previously crushed, but need not be pounded); keep
stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon, when it comes to the boil
let it remain boiling for ¾ hour, then try if it will set by putting
a few drops on a cold plate, and when this condition is arrived at,
pour it off into jars prepared as described. Some jams do not take so
long to boil as others, so it is as well to begin to try whether they
will set after they have been boiling ½ hour. Many people carefully
take off all the scum as it rises, but it is quite unnecessary; if
properly boiled, and constantly stirred, it will all disappear before
the jam is ready to be poured off, preventing the great waste caused
when it is skimmed. Care must be taken to stir constantly during the
whole process. After filling the jars, let them stand till next day,
when they must be tied down and set in a dry, cool place to keep.

Bottling Fruit.--Have ready some wide-necked glass bottles, with
good-fitting corks and some wax to cover the corks with, in order to
prevent any air from entering. The wax is prepared thus: 1 lb. common
rosin, ¼ lb. beeswax, ¼ lb. tallow; pound the rosin fine, and cut
the beeswax into shreds; put the rosin, wax, and tallow into an old
tin, and melt the mixture gradually over the fire; boil it gently for
5 minutes, stirring it well with a smooth, flat stick. It must be
kept hot enough to run easily while being put on the corks. Fill the
bottles with fruit, and set them in a boiler of warm water (not hot)
up to their necks, without letting any water enter the bottles; have
some warm syrup ready, made in the proportion of ¼ lb. loaf sugar
to 1 pint water, boiled 10 minutes, and then allowed to cool until
lukewarm; fill the bottles with this syrup, and let it cover the
fruit, just leaving enough space for the cork to fit in. The bottles
must not be corked. Set the boiler on the fire; a little straw should
be placed on the bottom of the boiler to prevent the bottles from
cracking. When the water has boiled for 10 minutes, take one bottle
out at a time, cork it at once, and run the wax all over the cork,
spreading it evenly with the flat stick, being careful to cover every
part, lest the air should enter, and so peril the safe keeping.
Gooseberries will require 10 minutes’ boiling; and raspberries,
strawberries, and currants about 5 minutes. Plums must have ¼ hour if
large. Whatever fruit is done in this way must be thoroughly heated
through, and then rendered air-tight. Should there be a flaw in the
glass bottle, it will probably crack while in the boiling water;
but these unpleasant accidents have to be put up with. This mode of
bottling fruit is very good when the fruit is required to be kept as
whole as possible. Another method is to allow ¼ lb. sugar to each
lb. of fruit. Put the sugar in a preserving pan, with sufficient hot
water to moisten the bottom well and help the sugar to melt. When
all the sugar is melted, put in the fruit, and let it boil rapidly
for 10 minutes; if raspberries or small fruit, 5 minutes is enough.
It does not need skimming. Have some hot jars or bottles ready, and
pour the boiling fruit into the hot bottles; cork directly each one
is filled, and wax it over, or paste 3 layers good paper over each
bottle. When dry, these 3 layers of paper will be equal to parchment,
and are sure to exclude the air. The reason why the fruit must be
put into the bottles boiling hot is because the heat expels the air
contained in the bottles, which must be secured immediately they are
filled, else the air will rush in directly they begin to cool. Having
the bottles in a bath of hot water before filling them with the hot
fruit prevents the glass cracking. The bottles need not be dried, but
a good shake must be given to free them as much as possible from the
water. For green gooseberries or rhubarb, it is better to use ½ lb.
sugar to 1 lb. fruit.

Apple Ginger.--2 lb. Ribstone or other hard apples, pare, core, and
cut them into 8 pieces, put them into cold water whilst doing this
to preserve their colour; make the syrup of 3 lb. white sugar, a
little water, and 4 oz. tincture of ginger (not Oxley’s). Put in the
apples and simmer very slowly until transparent. The pieces of apple
should be kept whole. It will keep for a year.

Apple Jam.--Select good baking apples, which cut in round slices into
a brown milk-pan, taking out the cores; to every 1 lb. apples add 1
lb. brown sugar; to the panful add the juice and peel of 4 lemons,
½ lb. whole young ginger, and 1 oz. cloves. Let all stand till next
day, when boil. The slices become of an amber colour, and perfectly
clear when sufficiently boiled.

Apple Jelly.--Choose apples with red skins, wipe, and cut into
quarters, do not peel them. To each lb. fruit put 3 pints cold water,
bring to a boil, then boil rapidly for 30 minutes. Strain, and to
every pint juice allow 1 lb. loaf sugar, return to the pan, and again
boil rapidly for 30 minutes.

Apple Marmalade.--(_a_) Peel, core, and thinly slice, good cooking
apples (apples that cook to a smooth pulp easily); allow ¾ lb. loaf
sugar to 1 lb. apples; put the sugar in a preserving pan (a tin or
iron saucepan will turn them black), with ½ teacupful water to 6 lb.
sugar; let it gradually melt, and boil it for 10 minutes. Then put
in the sliced apple, and a few cloves, cinnamon, or lemon peel, to
flavour if liked. Boil rapidly for an hour, skim well, and put in
jam-pots. It should be quite a smooth pulp, clear, and a bright amber
colour. Will keep good for 12 months. (_b_) Another way, to look
like orange marmalade: Choose hard apples that do not cook to a soft
pulp, such as russets; core, but do not peel them; make a syrup of 3
lb. loaf sugar to 1 pint water, and boil it rapidly for 20 minutes
to make it syrup. Put in the apple thinly sliced, and boil quickly
for an hour; flavour as preferred. This marmalade bears a great
resemblance to orange marmalade in appearance, if the right kind of
apples are chosen. Sufficient syrup should be made to ¾ cover the
apples. Stir frequently.

Barberries, Preserved.--(_a_) Put them into a jar in layers, a good
sprinkling of salt between each layer. (_b_) Take some bunches of
barberries and tie several together; make a syrup with ¾ pint water
to every lb. sugar, clarify it with white of egg. When quite clear
throw in the bunches of fruit, and boil quickly until the fruit looks
quite clear. Put them into jars, pour the syrup over them, and when
cold tie them down.

Beetroot, Preserved.--Peel, trim, and slice in rather thick slices,
some beetroots, fill some wide-mouthed jars about ¾ full with them,
then add ½ oz. pounded sugar, 3 or 4 cloves, and either ¼ oz.
coriander seeds or ½ oz. carraway seeds to every 1 lb. beetroot; fill
up the jars with boiled vinegar, fasten them down with bladder.

Blackberry Jam.--For this it is necessary that the fruit should be
quite ripe and perfectly dry when gathered. After picking from the
stalks, weigh it, and allow ¾ lb. crushed white preserving sugar to
every lb. of fruit. Set them together over a slow fire, stirring with
a wooden or silver spoon to prevent burning at first, before the
juice begins to run from the berries. The stirring must be almost
constant during the whole process, as for any other sort of jam.
After coming to the boil, it will be about ½ hour before it jellies,
which must be ascertained by putting a very little from time to
time on a cool plate. Some people very carefully take off the scum
as it rises, but it is not really necessary; if constantly stirred,
it will all disappear in the process of boiling, avoiding the waste
caused by skimming, while the jam itself keeps equally well. When
done, pour it off into jars, taking care that they are quite dry; let
them stand till next day, cover the jars with paper, and put them by
to keep in a cool, dry place. Another way is to mix ¼ lb. any good
cooking apples, weighed after paring and cutting up, to every lb.
blackberries; the sharper the kind of apple the better, but they
must be ripe. More sugar is required when done in this way, 1¾ lb.
sugar to every 2 lb. fruit. The grated rind and strained juice of
lemons are also used with blackberries instead of apples, the larger
proportion of sugar being allowed, and one lemon (small) to every 2
lb. berries. Some people object very much to the small seeds in this
jam. These may be avoided by rubbing the fruit through a sieve as
soon as it is sufficiently cooked to admit of it; it must then be
put back into the preserving pan to boil till it sets. In this way,
supposing the jam to be made of blackberries alone, half its own
weight of sugar will be enough when weighing the uncooked fruit, as
so much is afterwards lost by removing the seeds.

Blackberry Jelly.--(_a_) Put the fruit in the oven, and press it
through canvas when tender. Allow rather more than ¾ lb. lump sugar
to 1 lb. fruit syrup, and boil ¾ hour. This jelly is much improved by
using equal quantities of bullaces and blackberries. The acid flavour
of the bullace takes away the flatness of the blackberry. Put the
jelly into moulds and cover with papers in the usual way. It is more
likely to turn out well after being kept a month or two than at first.

(_b_) Boil together a quantity of apples cut small and blackberries
that are thoroughly ripe, in the proportion of 1 lb. blackberries to
½ lb. apples. When boiled quite soft and pulpy, strain through a hair
sieve and reboil, with ½ lb. loaf sugar to each pint juice, about
½ hour. ¼ pint water to every 4 lb. fruit may be boiled with it to
advantage.

Black Currants, Bottled.--Fill some bottles as full as you can with
the currants, add as much cold water as they will hold; then put them
in a boiler filled with cold water, and let them boil until the fruit
sinks in the bottles. Then take them up, cork them while hot, and
paste thick brown paper over them.

Black Currant Jelly.--To 1 lb. picked and washed black currants add 1
gill water. Set this in a preserving pan, which should be of copper.
Bruise the fruit well with a wooden spoon; afterwards take off the
preserve and strain through a hair sieve. To each 1 lb. fruit allow 1
lb. white sugar. Boil 10 minutes.

Carrot Jam.--Well wash and scrape all black bits off some carrots;
cut only the red part outside into pieces; put in a pan, with water
to cover, and boil till it will rub through a hair sieve. To 4 lb.
pulp allow 4 lb. loaf sugar, ¼ lb. bitter almonds blanched and
chopped fine, the rind grated and the juice strained of 4 lemons, and
6 tablespoonfuls brandy to make the jam keep. Let the sugar and pulp
boil up thoroughly, and then simmer for 15 minutes; skim and stir all
the time. When cold, add the other ingredients, and stir all well
together 2 or 3 times; then pot and cover with gummed paper.

Cherries, Bottled.--Gather the cherries on a dry day; be careful that
they are not over-ripe or cracked at all. Fill the bottles or jars
quite full with the cherries, and put them to stand in a boiler or
large saucepan of cold water, and keep the jars covered closely; boil
slowly until the fruit has sunk in the jars and the skins begin to
crack; then lift one by one off the fire, and immediately fill quite
full each jar with boiling water. Tie down twice with bladders, and
put them in a dry place until required. Put them where they will not
be disturbed, as if moved they ferment. If glass bottles are used
care must be taken when filling with boiling water that they do not
crack. Be particular to have all you need before taking the jars out
of the water, and the kettle of water boiling fast, as the great
secret in bottling fruit is in filling up the bottles and tying them
down as quickly as possible.

Cherries, Dried.--Stone large sweet cherries with a small pointed
skewer no larger than a quill toothpick, breaking them as little as
possible; throw them into a boiling hot syrup, made with 1 small
teacupful water to 1 lb sugar. Scald them in this syrup for 10
minutes, but do not allow them to boil, or they will break; remove
them from the fire, pour them into a pan, and cover them till next
day. Then draw off the syrup, boil it up, skim it, and pour it back
upon the cherries. Do this for 3 days successively. On the fourth day
drain the cherries on a cane sieve till entirely free from excess of
moisture; then lay them on wire sieves, and dry them by slow heat for
several hours until, when touched, they do not stick to the fingers.
When cold, sprinkle sugar over them, and pack in layers between white
paper. If too much heat is used in drying them, they will be dark and
unsightly.

Cherries, Preserved.--Take equal quantities sugar and cherries, cut
off the stalks from the cherries, wipe them clean with a soft cloth,
and strew over them a little finely-powdered sugar; boil the sugar
with 1 pint water to every 3 lb. sugar, clarify it with whites of
egg, strain it, and then boil it to candy height. The next day boil
up the cherries with the syrup for 5 minutes, and let them remain in
the syrup for 24 hours; strain off the syrup, boil it again to the
second degree, and pour this over the cherries. The next day boil
up the sugar to the third degree, dip each cherry separately in the
syrup, and put them on a sieve in a warm place to dry.

Cherry Jam.--For this use ripe fruit, but carefully reject any which
is bruised or over-ripe. The Kentish is the best for this purpose,
having a pleasant acid taste; other kinds are too sweet for the
quantity of sugar necessary in preserving fruit. To every lb. stoned
fruit add ¾ lb. loaf sugar well broken; it will require stirring
occasionally from the first, and continuously after it once comes to
the boil, after which it must continue boiling for ¾ hour; then try
a little on a cold plate to see if it sets or jellies; if it does,
pour it off into jars, and set in a cool dry place till the following
day, when it should be covered down for keeping, if not, continue
boiling until it will so set. It will not require skimming during the
process of boiling, the scum will all boil away. The easiest way of
stoning cherries is to tie a little loop of iron wire about the shape
of a hairpin, on to a stick the length of a pencil; bind the two ends
firmly to the stick, leaving the loop standing up about 1 in. long,
and slightly bent forward. With this the stones are easily extracted.

Citrons, Preserved.--Put them in strong salt and water in a jar, with
a cabbage leaf to keep them down; tie a paper over them, set them in
a warm place till they are yellow, take them out, and set them over
the fire in fresh water, with a little salt and a fresh cabbage leaf;
take care they do not boil; if they are not a good green change the
water (and even fresh leaves will help to green them), and make hot
and cover them as before; when they are a good green take them off
the fire, let them stand till they are cold, then cut them in two or
make a hole at the end, to take out the seeds and soft part, and put
them in cold water. Let them stand 2 days, but change the water twice
each day to take out the salt, then make a syrup, and put it cold to
them; boil it once in 2 days for 3 weeks. For the syrup: 1 lb. loaf
sugar, ½ pint water; set over the fire; when well boiled and looking
clear, take it up; when cold, throw it over the citron.

Crab-Apple Jam.--To every lb. of fruit put the same quantity of
preserving sugar. Having melted it with a little light wine, put it
on the fire and let it boil well; when it has been skimmed clear
and is boiling, put in the fruit with a few cloves; let all simmer
together till the fruit begins to break, when it is done. The fruit
should be rubbed dry and the stalks removed before it is put into the
sugar.

Crab-Apple Jelly.--Remove the stalks from the apples and cut them
in half, put them into a preserving pan, and boil till the fruit is
perfectly soft; do not stir it. When soft, pour off the water, and
to every pint allow 1 lb. sugar. Put it into another pan, and let
it boil slowly for ½ hour, taking off all the scum that rises. It
should by this time be clear. Fill your glasses or jars with it. Now
take the fruit and mash it; rub it through a coarse tammy; to every
lb. allow 1 lb. sugar and ½ pint water. Let it boil slowly till it
thickens, then put it into bowls. When used cut it in slices.

Crab-Apples, Preserved.--Gather them just before they are fully
ripe. Put a quantity of them into a pan of boiling water, and barely
scald them. As soon as one of the skins begins to crack remove them
from the fire, and strain them through an earthenware colander; they
may then be very easily peeled. In the meantime make a thin syrup,
and, having peeled the apples, place them in jars, and pour the
syrup over them quite hot. As they rise to the surface they must be
pushed back, so as to keep them all under the syrup. Let them remain
uncovered till the following day, when they must again all be poured
out into the colander, placing the syrup in the stewpan with more
sugar, to ensure its being thick. Boil and skim it well, return the
fruit to the jars, and again pour the hot syrup over it. Let them
still remain open; and the next day, if the fruit seems soft enough,
and the syrup sufficiently thick and clear, they may be considered
finished, and they may be tied down with bladder; if not, repeat the
process a third time, and keep for another day. About a week after
they have been tied down it is well to examine them, and, should they
show any signs of fermentation or mould, the syrup must again be
boiled down as before. The core is never removed from Siberian crabs;
it has in itself a most delicate flavour, which improves the whole
preserve.

Cranberries, Preserved.--Gather the fruit in clusters, before it is
quite ripe. Pick away any dead leaves and injured berries, and keep
the clusters in strong salt and water, in jars well covered. Look to
them occasionally, and when the pickle begins to ferment change it.
Cranberries thus preserved will retain their flavour and quality for
many months.

Cucumbers, Preserved with Ginger.--Take small cucumbers, and large
ones that will cut into quarters, the greenest and most free from
seeds; put them in a jar with strong salt and water, covered with
cabbage leaves; tie a paper over them, and keep the jar in a warm
place till they yellow; wash them out, and put them over the fire in
fresh water, a little salt in it, and a fresh cabbage leaf over them;
cover the pan very close, and take care they do not boil. If they
are not a fine green change the water and make them hot again. When
a good green, take them off the fire, let them stand till cold, then
cut them in halves or quarters; take out the seeds and soft parts;
put them in water, and let them stand 2 days; change the water twice
a day to take out the salt. Take 1 lb. white sugar, ½ pint water, set
it on the fire, skim it clear, then put in the rind of a lemon, and
1 oz. ginger with the outside scraped off. When the syrup is pretty
thick, take it off, and, when cold, wipe the cucumbers dry and put
them in; boil the syrup once in 2-3 days for 3 weeks, and strengthen
if required, for there is more fear of them spoiling at first. The
syrup must be quite cold when put to the cucumbers.

Damsons, Bottled.--Fill the bottles with damsons, and add to each
bottle ½ lb. castor sugar. Put the bottles in cold water in a large
pan on the fire, where they must remain for ½ hour after they have
begun to boil. When boiled, let them cool, cork down tight, and tie
bladder over the corks, and keep in a very dry place. Care should be
taken that no bruised fruits are put in. Whilst the bottles are on
the fire, hay should be put between them to keep them from breaking.

Figs.--Weigh the fruit, and have an equal quantity of sugar, the peel
of 1 large lemon, and a little ginger. Lay the figs in cold water
for 24 hours, then simmer them till tender; put them again into cold
water, and let them remain for 2 days, changing the water every day.
If not quite soft simmer again, and replace in cold water until next
day. Take their weight in loaf sugar, and with ⅔ of it make a syrup,
in which simmer the figs for 10 minutes. In 2 days take the third
of the sugar, pounded fine, and pour the syrup from the figs on it.
Make a rich syrup with the peel of the lemon and a little raw ginger,
and boil the figs in it, then mix all together and put into large
jam pots. The figs may be cut in half, if preferred, after they have
simmered until soft.

Ginger, Preserved.--Put the ginger for 2 weeks every night and
morning into boiling water. Take off the outside skin with a sharp
knife. Boil the ginger in water till quite tender; slice it. Prepare
a syrup of 1 lb. sugar to ½ pint water. Clarify it, and put the
ginger in it. Boil it till clear. Leave it to cool before putting it
into jars.

Gooseberries, Bottled.--Pick off the soft brown outside part at
the top of each gooseberry, but be most particular to leave the
hair-like fibre which it surrounds; cut the stem close, and if any
one gooseberry breaks open reject it, as a single broken one might
spoil a whole bottleful. Put them into wide-mouthed bottles (pickle
bottles suit very well), fill them up with cold water, and place
them standing in a fish-kettle or any large, flat-bottomed pot; also
filled with water as high as the necks of the bottles, over a very
slow fire, where they are to remain until they come to a gentle boil
and begin to change colour; then take them out of the pot, and let
them stand until they become cold, when the bottles are to be filled
up with olive oil, and they need not be corked. Look at them from
time to time, and fill up with fresh oil, as some may evaporate. Keep
the bottles on a shelf in a dry place, for damp spoils them, and when
wanted for use, have them washed in water and soda by putting them
into a colander, and then a shower of fresh water at the end, just to
take off any soda which might remain.

Gooseberry Jam.--(_a_) Allow ¾ lb. lump or white crystallised sugar
to each lb. gooseberries; a few spoonfuls of water must be put at the
bottom of the preserving pan and care taken that the fruit does not
burn. Pot ½ hour after the jam boils; keep it well stirred.

(_b_) For every lb. picked gooseberries, put ¾ lb. sugar and 1 pint
water in a bowl or pan; when dissolved, place it on the fire. Beat
the white of an egg well up, and stir into it when boiling: when
on the point of boiling over check it by pouring in a little cold
water. On its rising up the second time, take it off, and place it
on one side to allow the black scum to rise, which must be taken off
carefully with a skimmer. Pour the liquor away quickly, leaving the
sediment at the bottom; add your fruit in the syrup, simmer gently
until the fruit looks clear, break it with a wooden spoon, put the
jam into pots, and cover up.

Gooseberry Jelly.--Take 1-2 gal. fruit when green, and a little more
than 1 qt. water to each gal. gooseberries. Boil till quite a pulp,
strain through a jelly bag of coarse flannel; when strained add to
every pint of juice 1 lb. loaf sugar. Boil till set.

Grape Jam.--(_a_) The grapes must be ripe. Wash them well, then stew
them until they become a soft pulp, and pass them through a sieve.
Weigh, and to every lb. add an equal quantity of sugar. Boil for 20
minutes, stirring well.

(_b_) A delicious preserve from unripe grapes can be made in the
following way: They should be carefully picked, and all that are at
all injured should be rejected. To 1 lb. grapes add ½ lb. sugar; no
water but what hangs about them after they have been washed. Put the
grapes into a preserving pan, then a layer of sugar, then a layer of
grapes. Boil on a moderate fire, stirring it all the time to prevent
its burning, and as the grape stones rise take them out with a spoon,
so that by the time the fruit is sufficiently boiled the stones will
have all boiled up and been taken out.

Grape Jelly.--Take some bunches of common outdoor white grapes,
unripe will answer the purpose; rinse them in a plentiful supply of
water, strip them from their stalks, and put them in a preserving
pan; set them over a moderate fire for about 2 hours, or till they
burst freely. Strain them through a colander or sieve, and to every
lb. of pulp and juice, add 1 lb. sugar; boil them about ½ hour. Each
shape will require ½ oz. gelatine; wet the moulds, and set them in
a cool place. It makes a pretty dessert dish, being a light green,
and tastes like greengage if managed well. Care must be taken to
use either a silver or wooden spoon, and an enamelled or a copper
preserving pan is important to preserve the colour.

Guava Jelly, Imitation.--This is made from medlars. It takes a
great number of medlars to make a small quantity of jelly, as they
contain so little juice. Put the medlars, which must be ripe, into a
preserving pan with just enough cold water to cover them. Let them
cook gently until they are quite soft, then put them into a jelly
bag, and let the juice drain off gradually; this will be a long
process, as they must not be squeezed, or the jelly would not have
the clear brightness of guava jelly. It is a good plan to leave them
to drain all night. To every pint of juice allow 1 lb. best white
sugar, pounded. Boil them together in a preserving pan, stirring
constantly with a silver or wooden spoon to prevent burning, and
carefully removing the scum as it rises. It will probably take about
½ hour to boil, but it must be tested by dropping a little from time
to time on a cold plate; when it jellies it is done, and must then be
poured off into small jars or moulds, care being taken that they are
not only clean, but perfectly dry. The next day tie them down in the
usual way, and keep in a dry cool place. When this is properly made
it resembles guava jelly very closely, both in colour, flavour, and
consistency.

Hip Jam.--Collect the hips from the rose bushes when ripe, boil them
in water until they become soft enough to be easily crushed, and
press them through a very fine sieve. Take an equal weight of sugar
to that of the fruit, boil the hips, when pulped through the sieve,
thoroughly with sugar, and put the jam into a large stone jar. It is
liable to ferment a good deal, and therefore requires space. When
taking any out for use, mix and stir it up well with a little white
wine, and add sugar to taste if required. This jam is excellent,
either for eating alone as a sweatmeat, or for making sauce.

Hip Marmalade.--Gather hips, when perfectly ripe, wash them, and boil
them in water, in the proportion of ½ pint water to 1 lb. fruit. When
quite tender, pass them, water and all, through a sieve fine enough
to keep back all the seeds. To each lb. pulp put 1 lb. refined sugar,
and boil until your marmalade will jelly well. When a little cooled,
pour it into jelly glasses or small jars, with a few small pieces of
preserved ginger in each glass. Cover while hot.

Hips in Sugar.--For this, gather hips as soon as they have become
red. Boil them gently until tender (but they must not be allowed to
break) in sufficient water to cover them. Cut the stalks even, and a
small piece from the blossom end of each berry, and with a pointed
penknife or quill carefully remove all the seeds. Allow 1 lb. sugar
and a little cinnamon to each lb. prepared hips. Put the sugar in a
preserving pan, with just sufficient water to dissolve it--as little
as possible, as the syrup should be very thick and clear. When the
sugar is melted, put in the fruit, and boil gently until it is done
and the syrup becomes thick; let it cool a little, and then put it
carefully in glasses. It is important that the shape of the fruit
should be preserved, and the largest berries obtainable should be
used. A little lemon juice may be added to the above syrup if liked.

Hips in Vinegar.--Gather from the dog rose some of the largest
berries you can obtain, as soon as they are quite red, but not
over-ripe; cut the stalks even, leaving a short piece on each berry,
wash and put them in a stewpan with as much boiling water as will
cover them well. Boil gently until they are quite tender, but not at
all broken. Drain the water from them, but do not throw it away. As
soon as the hips are cold, cut a small piece from each at the blossom
end, and with a pointed penknife or quill remove all the seeds,
taking care not to break the fruit. For a syrup for 2 lb. berries
allow 1 pint good vinegar, ½ pint of the liquid in which the fruit
was boiled (which should be strained in muslin), 2 lb. loaf sugar, ¼
oz. cinnamon, and ¼ oz. cloves. Put all these in a preserving-pan,
stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved, let the syrup
boil for 15 minutes, then put the hips in, and boil for 20 minutes,
or until the syrup is rich and thick. Store, spice and all, in small
jars or glasses, and cover like any other preserve. This will keep
good for 2 years and more. It is a delicious substitute for red
currant jelly with game or roast mutton, and is also good for colds
in the throat or chest.

Lemon Marmalade.--Take any number of lemons; 6 make a nice quantity.
Slice them very thin, only putting out the seeds. To each lb. sliced
fruit add 3 pints cold water; let this stand 24 hours. Then boil it
until the chips are tender, pour into an earthen bowl, and allow it
to remain until the next day. Then weigh it, and to every lb. boiled
fruit add 1½ lb. of lump sugar, boil the whole together until the
syrup jellies and the chips are rather transparent; in taking out the
pips be careful to leave all the white pith in, as that goes towards
making syrup.

Lemon Peel, Candied.--Cut the lemons into quarters lengthwise,
remove the juicy part, and throw the peels into strong salt and
water, to soak in it for about 6 days. The brine should be strong
enough to float an egg. At the end of the time take them from the
salt and water, and throw them into cold water, where they should
remain for 1 hour; remove them from this, and place them in a copper
preserving-pan with as much fresh cold water as will cover them, and
let them boil until quite soft. Try if they are done with a silver
fork; if it will go in easily they have boiled long enough. Place
them on a large hair sieve to drain the water from them, and during
the time make a syrup in the proportion of 1 lb. loaf sugar to 1 qt.
water; let them boil together until forming a thin syrup, in which
boil the peels for about ½ hour, or until they look clear. Some more
sugar must now be boiled with only just as much water as it will
absorb; there must be enough of this made to just cover the peels
when they are put into it. Again boil them, and continue boiling
until the sugar begins to candy; they must then be taken out and
again drained; before they are quite dry place them in large dishes,
when a little very finely powdered sugar must be shaken over them.
Set the dishes in a warm place for the peels to dry. They may then
be stored away for use. While the boiling is going on the syrup will
require constant stirring with a new wooden spoon to prevent burning.

Limes, Preserved.--(_a_) Take double the weight of crushed loaf sugar
to the weight of limes. Boil the limes in water gently until the
rinds are sufficiently tender to be easily penetrated with a silver
fork; the water should be changed 2 or 3 times. When soft enough,
drain the water from them, and cut them with a sharp knife into very
thin slices, remove the pips, and put the slices of limes into a deep
jar. Make a syrup, allowing 1 qt. water to every 5 lb. sugar, and let
it boil gently until you can see the bottom of the preserving-pan, by
which time it will be clear; stir frequently, using a silver spoon
for the purpose. When ready, pour this syrup boiling hot over the
limes, and let it remain for 2 days. On the third turn it all out
into a preserving-pan, and let it boil for about ½ hour, or until
it jellies. Then pour off into jars, and the following day, when
quite cold, tie them down as you would any other preserve. Tangerine
oranges would be done in the same way; but ¾ lb. sugar would be
enough to 1 lb. fruit.

(_b_) Another way of preserving limes is to make them into pickle.
For this make some incisions in the rinds of 12 limes, into which rub
¼ lb. common salt, lay them out in a deep dish and let them remain
in the meat screen near the kitchen fire for 4-5 days or until soft.
Boil enough vinegar to cover them, with ½ oz. whole pepper, 2 oz.
bruised ginger, and the same of mustard-seed. Put the limes into jars
when soft enough, also the salt, and pour the boiling vinegar over
them; the limes should be quite covered with it. The next day cork
the jars, and either brush melted rosin over the corks, or tie a
piece of moistened bladder tightly over each.

Medlar Jelly.--Fill a large jar with ripe medlars, and place it in
a saucepan of boiling water; it must be large enough to allow of
the water coming up to the neck of the jar, but care must be taken
not to let any of the water go into it. The jar must be uncovered.
Put the lid on the saucepan, and keep the water boiling until the
medlars are thoroughly cooked and quite soft. Then put them into a
linen jelly-bag, and let them drip into a basin; the bag must not be
squeezed or the jelly would not be clear. Medlars being a very dry
fruit, a great many will be required to make even a small quantity
of jelly; the juice comes from them but very slowly, so that this
first process should be gone through the day before the jelly is
to be made, and the straining should be allowed to go on during
the night. Measure the juice, and allow 1 lb. loaf sugar to every
pint. The sugar must be pounded and passed through a hair sieve
to have it very fine; put it in a dish before the fire, or in the
oven, until it is so hot that it would not remain any longer without
melting. Boil the juice in a copper preserving-pan, stirring it with
a silver spoon; when boiling add the sugar by little and little, a
teaspoonful at a time; this should be shaken gently over the surface,
the stirring continuing all the while. When the sugar is all in,
take the preserving-pan off the fire, as no further boiling will be
necessary. This jelly should be beautifully clear, and of about the
same consistence as guava jelly, which it also somewhat resembles in
flavour.

Melons, Preserved.--Medium-sized melons are better than very large
ones for preserving, and they should not be over-ripe. Peel them,
and press the juice from the pulp and seeds, which should be taken
from the melons with a silver spoon: Wash the melons after this, and
add the water in which they have been washed to the juice obtained
from the pulp and seeds. The melons should be cut lengthwise into
eight pieces, if possible using a silver knife; allow them to soak a
day and night in cold water with a little salt and vinegar, in the
proportion of 1 teaspoonful salt and 2 of white vinegar to ½ gal.
water, throwing a clean cloth over during the time to keep out the
dust. In the meanwhile prepare a syrup with the juice from the pulp
and seeds, boiling 1 lb. good loaf sugar for 15 minutes to every ½
pint of the juice, and then letting it stand to become cold. After
the pieces of melons have soaked for 24 hours--care being taken that
they have been quite under the water all the time--place them in a
preserving-pan and add the cold syrup as prepared; set it on the
fire, and, after it comes to the boil, let it simmer for about ¼
hour, skimming it during the time; then remove the slices of melon
into a bowl, taking care not to break them and pour the syrup over
them. For 3 successive days pour off the syrup, give it a boil up
and pour it over again; on the third day place the slices of melon
in wide-mouthed bottles adding some bruised ginger to each; fill the
bottles with the hot syrup, let them remain until cold, and then tie
tightly down with bladder.

Mulberry Jam.--Take ripe mulberries and allow 1 lb. sugar and 1 pint
mulberry juice to every lb. picked fruit; boil and skim the sugar
with the juice for 5 minutes after the sugar is thoroughly dissolved;
then add the fruit, and boil quickly for ½ hour, stirring well; take
off the fire, and, if quite stiff when cold, it is done sufficiently,
if not, boil for another ¼ hour.

Mulberry Jelly.--It should be made like red currant jelly: the
fruit first stewed, by putting it in jars and setting the jars in a
saucepan of water and letting it simmer till the juice is well drawn;
then strain it off, and to every pint of juice put 1 lb. lump sugar;
boil gently for ¾ hour. Two or three kernels of peaches or almonds
are a great improvement.

Orange Chips.--Cut your oranges longways, take out all the pulp, and
put the rind into rather strong salt and water for 6 days, then boil
them in a large quantity of spring water until they are tender; take
them out and lay them on a hair sieve to drain, then make a thin
syrup of fine loaf sugar (1 lb. to 1 qt. water), put in your peels,
and boil them over a slow fire till you see the syrup candy about the
pan and peels, then take them out and grate fine sugar over them. Lay
them on a hair sieve to drain, and set them in a stove or before the
fire to dry. Lemon chips or candied peel may be made in the same way.

Orange Jelly.--Peel 6 oranges very thin, and 1 lemon. Put a little
hot water on the peel, and let it soak. Scoop out all the inside of
oranges and lemon into a basin. Then pour 1 oz. melted gelatine over
it, boil it a little while over the fire, and add white lump sugar,
sweetening to taste. Then pour it hot over the peel which has been
soaking in a little warm water, strain it all through some muslin,
and then put it into a shape till cold.

Orange Marmalade.--(_a_) Put 6 lb. oranges (bitter) and 6 lemons
into a brass pan, cover them completely with water, and boil until
soft (about 3 hours). Lay a plate on the top of the oranges, to keep
them below the water during the boiling. When soft take them out,
cut in halves, scoop out the pulp, and throw away the stones. Scrape
the skins free from the white fibre inside, then cut into very thin
stripes with a silver knife. Strain the water in which oranges were
boiled--probably now reduced to less than 1 qt.--put it into the pan
with 12 lb. loaf sugar, another qt. of water and the pulp; boil 15
minutes, add the cut skins, boil 10 minutes, and pot.

(_b_) Cut up, say, 12 Seville oranges very thin and small, pick out
the seeds, and to each lb. sliced fruit add 3 pints cold spring
water; let them stand 24 hours, then boil till tender. The seeds
should be put in a muslin bag, and boiled with the oranges. Let all
stand till next day, then to each lb. boiled fruit add 1½ lb. loaf
sugar; boil, stirring constantly, till the syrup jellies and the
chips are quite clear. The grated rind and juice of 2 China oranges
will improve the flavour at the last boiling, or the juice and grated
rind of 2 lemons. This quantity will require a large preserving pan,
and, when finished, ought to be quite clear and jellied. Excellent
marmalade can also be made from oranges cut up in large pieces and
put twice through the mincing machine, instead of being sliced in the
ordinary way.

(_c_) An equal weight of Seville oranges and loaf sugar must be
allowed. Wash and dry the oranges, and grate the peel of about ¼
them, setting aside the grating for after use. Pare off the peel from
the other ¾ of the oranges, and cut it into very fine chips; tie
these chips in a thin cloth, and let them boil slowly for 2-3 hours.
Cut the oranges into pieces, and scrape out the pulp, separating from
it the pips and white parts or refuse; put this refuse into a basin
with about 1 pint cold water, and when all the oranges are scraped,
strain this refuse through a cloth, and throw the liquid from it and
the pulp over the sugar in the boiling pan, and place it on the fire
or hot hearth, allowing the sugar to melt slowly. After it comes to
the boil, put in the chips, first straining the water from them, and
let the whole boil slowly for at least ½ hour. The grating to be put
in 10 minutes before the marmalade is taken from the fire. The juice
of 2 lemons added is an improvement.

Oranges Preserved Whole.--Take, say, ½ doz. nice looking oranges, cut
a small hole near the stalk at one end, and carefully scoop out the
pips, and press out the juice without damaging the fruit, and allow
the pulp to remain. Put them in a basin with 2-3 qt. fresh, spring
water, and leave them 3 days, changing the water each day. In the
meantime strain the juice as soon as squeezed out, and place the jar
into which it is strained in a pan of boiling water for about ¼ hour,
after which boil it with 1 lb. loaf sugar. Put this syrup, just as it
comes off the fire, into a jar, tie it over with a bladder, and set
it by. On the third day lift the fruit into a lined preserving pan,
strain the water on to them, and let them boil very gently for about
2 hours. Leave them in the pan as they are till the next day, when
boil again until quite tender. Then add another lb. sugar, bring it
to the boil and leave it to cool. Next day boil up the syrup and pour
it over the fruit in the pan, adding another lb. sugar and hot water
to supply any deficiency caused by boiling. Lift out the fruit, and
repeat the boiling of the syrup every day for a fortnight, pouring
it daily boiling hot on the fruit, then do it only every 2-3 days,
adding more and more sugar up to 3 lb. When the fruit looks clear and
bright boil up the syrup again, adding the juice that was set by at
the commencement, boil them up together and skim. Put the fruit into
wide-necked jars, pour the syrup on, and tie up quickly with bladders.

Peaches, Brandied.--(_a_) Drop the fruit into a weak boiling lye
until the skin can be wiped off. Make a thin syrup to cover them,
boil until they are soft to the fingernail; make a rich syrup, and
add, after they come from the fire and while hot, the same quantity
of brandy as syrup. The fruit must be covered. (_b_) The peaches
must be ripe, but firm. Prick them to the stone several times all
over with a pin; clarify some sugar, allowing ¾ lb. to each lb.
fruit. Break the sugar in large lumps; dip each lump into cold water
quickly, and put it into the preserving pan. The quantity of water
absorbed by the lumps in dipping will be right for boiling. Watch
carefully that it does not boil over. When it has come to a boil, let
it simmer slowly, and be ready with a cold spoon to check it whenever
it begins to rise. When it forms little beads it is boiled enough.
Now lay in the peaches, and let it simmer slowly till it is a little
softened but still firm; then set it all by to get cold. Next day
take out the fruit and drain it on a sieve or dish. Boil down the
syrup to thicken, and when it is cold mix it with an equal quantity
of pale brandy. Arrange the fruit in glasses, and pour the brandy
syrup over. ½ lb. sugar to the lb. of fruit is often considered
sufficient.

Peach Jam.--Cut the peaches in quarters, and take off the skins and
stones, put them in a pan with equal weight of white powdered sugar,
let them stand all night in the sugar, and next day boil them slowly
until they become quite soft and the juice jellies well. Fruit that
is not quite ripe is far preferable, because, when ripe, peaches have
so much juice that it is impossible to reduce it sufficiently to keep
well. Cover the pots with paper dipped in brandy, like all other
preserves, but not till a few days after it is made.

Pear Jelly.--The pears must be a juicy sort. Cut them into quarters
without paring or coring. Put 8 lb. in a pot with 1 qt. water, and
boil on a slow fire to a pulp, then throw them into a jelly bag,
made of coarse glass cloth, and let them remain all night to drain.
Next morning squeeze any remaining juice out of the bag, and to each
1 lb. juice add ½ lb. lump sugar, and a very little lemon juice to
flavour. Boil it on a quick fire till it comes to a jelly. Great care
must be taken not to let this burn. It takes about 2 hours to boil to
a jelly, but is more easily done in small quantities. Coarse, juicy
pears are the best.

Pears, Preserved.--Take some small pears as soon as the pips are
black; set them over the fire in a preserving pan with water to cover
them; let them simmer until they will yield to the pressure of the
finger; then with a skimmer take them out, and put them into cold
water; pare them carefully, leaving on a little of the stem and the
blossom end; pierce them at the blossom end to the core; then make
a syrup of 1 lb. sugar to 1 pint water for each lb. of fruit. When
it is boiling hot pour it over the pears, and let it stand until the
next day; then drain it off; make it boiling hot again, and pour it
over the fruit. After a day or two put the pears in the syrup over
the fire, and boil it gently until it is clear; then take out the
fruit, boil the syrup till thick, and put it and the fruit in jars.
The jargonelle pear is considered the best for preserving, or any
small firm pear.

Pineapple Jam.--Choose ripe fruit, but it must not be over ripe; if
at all bruised be careful to cut all the bruised parts out. Peel, and
remove all the eyes; cut into slices about ½ in. thick, and again
into pieces about 1 in. square. Weigh the fruit after preparing it,
and to every lb. allow 1 lb. powdered white sugar. Put the fruit only
in a bright copper preserving-pan on the fire until it is quite hot
and the juice flowing, stirring it from the moment of putting on the
fire with a wooden spoon. Then add the sugar gradually, continuing to
stir all the while, and let it boil for ½-¾ hour, or until it will
set. This jam requires especial care to prevent burning. If it burn
in the very least, the flavour is spoilt and the colour too. After
filling the jars, let them remain until the next day before tying
them down to keep.

Pineapple Jelly.--Take a tin of preserved pineapple, pound the
contents in a mortar, add 6 oz. sugar and ½ pint water; boil the
whole for ¼ hour, then strain through a napkin, add the juice of a
lemon and 1 pint clarified calves’-foot jelly. Pour into a mould, and
when set turn it out by dipping the mould in warm water. Pieces of
pineapple may be put in the jelly.

Pineapple Preserve.--To every lb. of fruit, weighed after being
pared, allow 1 lb. loaf sugar and ¼ pint water. The pines should be
perfectly sound, but ripe. Cut them into rather thick slices, as the
fruit shrinks very much in boiling; pare off the rind carefully, that
none of the pine be wasted, and in doing so notch it in and out,
as the edge cannot be smoothly cut without great waste. Dissolve a
portion of the sugar in a preserving-pan with ¼ pint water; when this
is melted, gradually add the remainder of the sugar, and boil until
it forms a clear syrup, skimming well. As soon as this is done, put
in the pieces of pine, and boil well for at least ½ hour, or until it
looks nearly transparent. Put it into pots, cover down when cold, and
store away in a dry place.

Plums, Bottled.--Take care to gather them on a dry day. They should
be quite ripe, but not over ripe, and any which are bruised must
be rejected. The following manner of preserving applies also to
damsons and bullaces. Fill wide-necked bottles with the fruit, pack
it closely, leaving only room enough in each bottle to put over the
fruit ¼ lb. castor sugar. Tie a piece of moistened bladder tightly
over each bottle, and place them standing upright in a fish-kettle:
put a little hay between each and all round them, so as to keep them
from touching each other and the sides of the kettle. Folded cloths
should be placed beneath the bottles. Fill the kettle with cold water
just high enough to cover the shoulders of the bottles; let them boil
at the side of the fire, which must not be a very fierce one, until
the fruit has sunk considerably, and appears done enough. Then take
the kettle from the fire, but let the bottles remain in it until the
water becomes perfectly cold. They must then be taken out, wiped dry
with a cloth, and set in a cool, dry place to keep. The bladders
must be constantly moistened while on the fire, or they will burst.
Should any of them burst, the first piece of bladder must instantly
be replaced by a fresh piece, duly moistened. When required for use
the whole bottle must be taken, for, after once being exposed to the
air the fruit will not keep. One bottle will make a moderately-sized
tart. Bottling without sugar is not recommended.

Plum Jam.--Take equal quantities fruit and sugar, pound the sugar,
pare and cut up with a silver knife some ripe plums, remove the
stones, lay the fruit in a dish, strew over them half the sugar, and
leave them till the following day; then boil and skim the remainder
of the sugar, add the fruit, boil it up quickly, well skimming and
stirring for 20 minutes; add the blanched kernels halved, boil for 10
minutes more, and the jam will be ready to pot.

Plums Preserved in Brandy.--Choose fine plums, not over ripe, prick
them slightly, put them into cold water, and let them simmer gently
until the water is nearly boiling. Take them out, and throw them
immediately into cold water. Have ready some clarified syrup, put
the plums into it, and boil gently for 20 minutes; take them off the
fire, and let them remain in the syrup until the following day; then
take out the plums, and put them into a wide-mouthed bottle, boil up
the syrup with an equal quantity of brandy, pour this over the plums,
and when cold cork them up tightly.

Plums in Syrup.--Gather the fruit when full grown, and just as it
begins to turn. Pick all the largest out, and save about ⅔ of the
fruit; to the other third put as much water as you think will cover
the whole. Let this boil, and skim well; when the fruit is boiled
very soft, strain it through a coarse hair sieve, and to every qt. of
liquor put 1½ lb. sugar. Boil it and skim it very well; then throw
in the rest of the fruit, just give them a scald; take them off the
fire, and when cold put them into bottles with wide mouths, pour the
syrup over them, lay a piece of white paper over them, and cover them
with oil. Be sure to take the oil well off when you use them, and do
not put them in larger bottles than you think you will use at a time,
because all these bottled fruits should be used when the bottles are
once opened.

Plums in Vinegar.--Gather the plums with the stalks, prick them with
a needle, and put them, with layers of cloves and cinnamon, into
glass jars. For every 4 lb. plums boil up 2 lb. sugar and 1 qt. best
vinegar, and pour it warm over the plums. Next day pour off the
vinegar, boil it up again, and pour over the fruit. This must be
repeated a third time. Tie up with bladder. This preserve improves
much by keeping.

Prune Jelly.--Put ½ lb. prunes into a saucepan, with 2 oz. white
sugar, a piece of lemon, a little cinnamon, and sufficient water to
cover them, stew until tender; take out the stones, pass the prunes
through a sieve, crack the stones, and put back the kernels into the
prune pulp. Steep ½ oz. gelatine in a little cold water, add this to
the prunes with a glass of red wine; boil all together. Ornament a
plain line mould with almonds blanched and split, pour the jelly into
the outer part, and leave it to get cold; when quite set remove the
lining, turn out the jelly, and fill up the centre with ½ pint of
cream whipped to a stiff froth.

Prune Preserve.--Take some prunes, wash them well, then cover them
with water and stew gently, with the grated rind of a lemon, until
quite tender, and pass the prunes through a sieve; weigh the pulp, to
every lb. of pulp allow ½-¾ lb. sugar. Boil the sugar with a little
water until melted, then add it to the pulp, boil both together for ¼
hour, skim well, and stir, and the preserve will be ready to pot.

Pumpkin Jam.--Weigh the pumpkin, have ready the same weight of sugar;
take off the skin and take out the inside and seeds, cover the latter
with water, and boil; cut the rest into thin slices, strain the seed
water over it, with sufficient to cover the whole, and boil with 1
oz. whole ginger to 2 lb. pumpkin, until the latter is nearly done
enough, take it out and boil the sugar in the same water until clear,
then add the fruit and boil slowly for 1½ hour, take out the ginger,
and tie up in pots.

Quinces, Brandied.--Peel some small ripe quinces, and allow ½
lb. loaf sugar to 1 lb. fruit; boil the quinces ½ hour in barely
sufficient water to cover them; drain them, and put aside to get
cool; empty the water out of the preserving-pan and put in the sugar,
moistening it with a little of the water in which the quinces were
boiled, and let the sugar boil for 10 minutes; put in the quinces and
let them boil rapidly for ½ hour. Place them in wide-mouthed jars,
as free from syrup as possible, boil down the syrup until it jellies
when dropped on a plate, set it aside in a large jug or bowl, and
when quite cold mix an equal quantity of good brandy with the syrup,
and pour over the quinces in the jars. Cover closely with paper
dipped in white of egg.

Quince Jam.--Peel and quarter your quinces, leaving the seeds in, as
they readily impart their mucilage to water, and thus thicken the
syrup. Allow ¾ lb. loaf sugar to 1 lb. fruit; put the fruit and sugar
into a preserving-pan, and ½ teacupful water to moisten the bottom of
the pan; stir the fruit and sugar frequently, and when it boils keep
it boiling rapidly until the fruit is soft, and a clear red colour.
It will take about an hour, reckoning from the first boiling up. Put
into jam pots, and cover when cold.

Quince Jelly.--For preserving, it is essential that the quinces
should be quite ripe and perfectly sound. Pare and slice them, and
put them into a copper preserving pan with just enough water to float
them. Let them boil till tender, and the fruit reduced to a pulp;
strain off the juice, letting it filter through the jelly-bag more
than once, if necessary, to be quite clear; to every pint of juice
allow 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar. Boil both together for about ¾ hour,
removing the scum as it rises; when it sets, by pouring a little on a
cold plate, it is done. Some people do not peel the quinces, thinking
it makes the jelly a better colour to boil them down after slicing
with the peel on. In this case they would have to be carefully washed
before cutting up.

Quince Marmalade.--Peel the quinces, quarter them, and remove the
cores and pips. The quarters should be thrown into a pan of cold
spring water as they are cut, to preserve the colour. The quinces
should then be put into a covered jar with 1 qt. water to 4 lb.
fruit, and stewed in a slow oven for several hours, till they are
quite tender, and of a bright red colour. When they are thus prepared
for marmalade weigh them, and to every lb. of fruit allow ¾ lb.
crushed lump sugar. Put the fruit into a preserving pan, and bring
it gently to a boil, stirring frequently all the time. Continue
boiling till the whole is quite soft, and a smooth pulp; then add the
sugar, and again bring the fruit to a boil. Continue boiling gently
for 20-25 minutes. Take the pan from the fire, and paste down the
marmalade in jars while hot with double papers, care being taken to
have the paste quite boiling, and to strain the papers tightly over
the jars.

Quinces Preserved Whole.--Pare some ripe quinces, and put them in a
preserving-pan, ¾ covered with cold water (if they should float while
the water is being poured on them, press them down with a plate until
you have gauged the exact height of the water); take the quinces out,
measure the water, and to every pint allow 3 lb. broken loaf sugar;
let this boil rapidly in the preserving-pan for five minutes, and
then put in the quinces. The syrup should not cover them at first,
but when they are half-cooked it will then amply cover the fruit.
Boil the quinces rapidly, until soft enough for a knitting-needle to
pierce them easily, which should be in 1½ hour, reckoning from the
first boiling up. Take the quinces out carefully so as not to break
them, and lay them on dishes to cool. Run the syrup through a jelly
bag, or a piece of new flannel put in a gravy strainer; this frees it
of all odd little bits that may boil from the outside of the quinces
and makes it clearer. Put the syrup back in the preserving-pan, and
boil it rapidly until it will jelly when dropped on a plate; put the
quinces into the boiling syrup, and let them simmer gently for 10
minutes. Place each quince carefully in wide-necked jars, pour the
hot syrup over them, and when cold cover in the usual way.

Raspberry Jelly.--Put the raspberries in an enamelled preserving-pan
over the fire, or in a stone jar in the oven, having first carefully
picked out any that are mouldy; squeeze through a piece of cheese
cloth, doubled. To each qt. raspberry juice add ½ pint red currant
juice extracted in the same manner; to each pint allow ¾ lb. lump
sugar; boil ½ hour moderately; skim, and stir frequently. Use a
wooden spoon for mashing the fruit, and a silver one for skimming;
iron spoils the colour.

Red Currant Jelly.--(_a_) To 3 lb. red currants, which should
be fresh and not over ripe, mix 1 lb. white. Place these into a
preserving-pan, and gently stir over a clear fire until the juice
flows freely; then turn them into a fine hair sieve, and drain; pass
the juice through a jelly bag, weigh it, and boil it fast for 15
minutes, adding to each lb. 8 oz. coarsely powdered sugar. Set this
aside on the hob, stirring well till all the sugar be dissolved. Then
thoroughly boil the jelly for 15 minutes, and pour it into a pot. An
excellent jelly may be made with equal parts of the juice of the red
and white currants and raspberries. Be sure that whenever scum rises,
before or after the sugar be put in, to remove it, or the preserve
will be cloudy.

(_b_) Take fresh red currants and put them in the oven to draw the
juice; then let them drain gradually. Take equal weights juice and
lump sugar. Pound the sugar fine in a mortar, pass it through a fine
sieve, then place it on a dish before the fire to get well heated.
When the juice is cold put it in the preserving pan, and place it
on the fire; put the sugar in slowly by handfuls, stirring all the
time. By the time the sugar is all in, the juice is ready to set. The
colour should be of a beautiful red.

Rhubarb, Bottled.--Bottling rhubarb is a little more troublesome than
other fruits as you must be so particular in peeling it. To obviate
this, use the early foreign rhubarb, which, though a little more
expensive, makes much the prettiest preserve from its bright red
colour, and does not require peeling. Cut the rhubarb into lengths
of 1 in.; have ready wide-mouthed bottles (also the corks in boiling
water to soften them) with about ½ teacupful cold water in each, fill
them with fruit to the end of the neck of the bottle; place them in
a pot of cold water, without corking them; place a little hay or
anything soft between the bottles to prevent their knocking together,
which they will do when the water boils; let them boil for about 15
minutes, and cork at once. When the water has cooled, remove the
bottles, and leave them till next day. Cut the corks level, and cover
them with bottlewax. Bottled fruits retain their colour by being kept
in the dark, buried in the earth if possible.

Rhubarb Jam.--Wipe the rhubarb dry, and cut it into pieces a little
more than 1 in. long; unless it is old, there is no need to peel it.
To every lb. of rhubarb add 1 lb. white sugar, and put a few bits of
whole ginger in the preserving-pan with the rhubarb and sugar; let it
reach boiling point slowly; when once it boils decidedly, keep it on
the fire 20 minutes if the rhubarb is young, ½-¾ hour if it is old.
Just before you take it off the fire stir in a spoonful of essence of
lemon. Take out the bits of ginger as you put the jam in pots. The
quantity of lemon and ginger is quite a matter of taste.

Rhubarb Jelly.--To be made in September. Cut nice stalks of red
rhubarb and put them into a large jar. To 6 lb. rhubarb add the peel
of three lemons, and let it get soft in a moderate oven. When cooked,
pour off the juice into an enamelled sauce-pan, and add the juice of
the 3 lemons. Let it simmer gently for ½ hour, and strain through a
jelly-bag. Then add 1½ lb. lump sugar to every pint juice; when it
is dissolved boil it in a preserving-pan for 40 minutes, keeping it
well stirred and skimmed. Pour into pots, and when cold tie down with
brandy paper. To use up the pulp, well boil it in the preserving-pan,
adding ¾ lb. lump sugar to every 1 lb. pulp and either halved or
pounded bitter almonds or candied peel.

Rhubarb and Orange Marmalade.--To every pint cut-up rhubarb allow
3 oranges and 12 oz. crushed loaf sugar. Peel the oranges, take
out some of the white pith, and cut the rinds into thin strips
as for orange marmalade. Cut up the insides of the oranges into
slices, removing the pips. Put rhubarb, oranges, and sugar into a
preserving-pan, and let them boil gently over a moderate fire until
sufficiently done, which may be ascertained as above. As the scum
rises it should be removed. When the jam sets pour it off into jars,
to be covered down next day when cold.

Rowan Jelly.--(_a_) The rowans should be quite ripe. Pick them off
the stalks and put them into the pan, and cover with water. Take them
off before they come to the boil, break them well down with a wooden
spoon, and strain through a jelly-bag; then add 1 lb. sugar to every
pint of juice, and boil till it jellies.

(_b_) Apples and rowans equal weight. Slice the apples without paring
or coring, put them in the pan with the rowans, water just sufficient
to cover the fruit. Warm slowly until they boil; then bruise with a
wooden spoon, and pass through a sieve. Strain through muslin, and
boil 1 lb. sugar to every lb. fruit juice. Boil to the thickness
desired. It keeps better when thick.

Strawberry Jam.--Gather the strawberries on a fine dry day, pick off
the stalks carefully, and reject all that are the least unsound.
Weigh the fruit, and take an equal quantity of pounded sugar; put the
fruit into a preserving-pan on the fire and when the juice runs out
add the sugar; let it simmer, stirring gently, and skimming well.
When it boils keep it boiling, not too fast, for 20 minutes, stirring
most carefully, so as not to break the fruit, all the time with a
wooden spoon.

Strawberry Jelly.--Take 3 lb. strawberries, and 2 lb. pink rhubarb or
red currants. If rhubarb, cut it in small lengths. Put these into a
very wide-mouthed jar, and set it on a hot stove, with a ring under
it lest it should catch. Cover the fruit with a plate or saucer small
enough to go inside the jar, so that as the fruit sinks down you may
be able to press it gently from time to time, and drain off the juice
into a basin. When 1½ pint is extracted, pass it through a hair sieve
into a stewpan, and put to it 2 oz. gelatine, which has been soaked
for ½ hour, in ½ pint of cold water, 6 oz. loaf sugar, and the beaten
whites and crushed shells of 3 fresh eggs. Stir until the gelatine is
dissolved, and the jelly boils. Put the lid on the stewpan, and let
it boil gently, without stirring or skimming for ½ hour. Let it stand
away from the fire for a few minutes, and then strain as you would
calf’s foot jelly. Oil the mould you intend using well with a little
good salad oil. Arrange prettily in the bottom of it, according to
its pattern, a few nice strawberries and blanched almonds. Pour in
sufficient of the lukewarm jelly to set the fruit, and put in a cool
place until set. Keep the remainder of the jelly in a liquid state
until you are ready to fill up the mould, then set the whole if
possible, on ice to get firm. Turn it out just before serving in a
glass dish, with or without a custard, round, but not over it. The
fruit pulp left from this may be made into a tolerable preserve for
nursery use, if boiled with ¾ lb. sugar to a pint of pulp.

Strawberries Preserved Whole.--Take equal weights largest
strawberries procurable and fine loaf sugar, lay the fruit in deep
dishes, and sprinkle half the sugar over them in fine powder; give
the dish a gentle shake that the sugar may touch the under part of
the fruit. The next day make a syrup with the remainder of the sugar
and the juice drawn from the strawberries, and boil it until it
jellies; then carefully put in the strawberries, and let them simmer
nearly an hour; then put them with care into jars or bottles, and
fill up with the syrup, of which there will be more than required;
but the next day the jars will hold nearly or quite the whole. Cover
the jars or bottles with brandy papers. (E. A. G.)

Tomato Preserve.--(_a_) Take those tomatoes not entirely ripe (the
very green ones late in the autumn are nice) and remove the stems;
allow ½ lb. white sugar to 1 lb. fruit; put into the preserving
kettle, and add water enough to make sufficient syrup. Do not put too
much water in at first, as you can add to it if there is not enough.
Lemons should be sliced and put into it in the proportion of 1 lemon
to every 2 lb. fruit. Cook until done through and the syrup looks
thick. They make an excellent preserve and taste almost like figs.

(_b_) Take the sound fruit as soon as ripe, scald, and peel them. To
7 lb. tomatoes add 7 lb. white sugar, and let them stand overnight.
Take the tomatoes out of the sugar and boil the syrup, removing the
scum; put in the tomatoes and boil gently 15-20 minutes. Remove the
fruit again and boil until the syrup thickens; on cooling put the
fruit into jars, and pour the syrup over it; add a few slices of
lemon to each jar.

Vegetable Marrow Preserve.--Take a ripe marrow about 9 lb. weight,
with the same amount of sugar, pare the marrow and remove the seeds
and any soft parts; cut in pieces 1 in. thick and 2 in. length; put
them in a basin with layers of sugar all night, with 1 tablespoonful
capsicums tied up in muslin, and double the quantity of rough ginger
well bruised and tied in muslin. In the morning pour the liquid
over the remainder of the sugar, which boil and skim; then add the
fruit, also the juice and rind of a lemon to each lb. of fruit, and
1 teaspoonful cochineal for colouring; boil till the fluid is clear;
before taking off 2 glasses of brandy may be added.

Walnuts, Preserved.--Gather the walnuts when they are full grown,
but not hard. They should be in that state that a pin will penetrate
them. Prick each walnut over with a large pin, put them in cold
water, and leave them for 2 hours; then pour that water away, and
fill the pan with fresh. Let the walnuts remain thus for 4 days,
changing the water every 24 hours, to take out all the bitterness.
At the end of the time change the water, and set them on the fire.
As soon as they are soft take them out carefully with a skimmer, put
them again into cold water, and leave them 4-5 days, changing the
water as before every 24 hours. Then place the walnuts in a large
glazed pan; then take common brown sugar, boil this with some water,
and run the syrup through a jelly bag. Boil it again until it becomes
thick, let it stand, and when about half cold pour it over the
walnuts, and leave them. Next day drain off the syrup, boil it again,
and when half cold pour it on the fruit. Repeat this every 24 hours,
increasing the thickness of the syrup each time of boiling. A small
quantity of coarse sugar should be added at every boiling, as the
fruit ought to be covered with the syrup. On the ninth day put a few
cloves and some cinnamon in a glass of water for 24 hours, then cut
each clove into 4 pieces lengthwise; cut the cinnamon also into bits
about the same size. Take the walnuts out of the syrup, and stick
4 pieces of clove and as many of cinnamon into each walnut. In the
meanwhile boil the syrup up again, and when half cold pour it over
the fruit and leave it. In 24 hours drain off the syrup, and set it
on the fire for the last time. As soon as it begins to boil put in
the fruit; let them boil up together about 12 times, and then take
them from the fire. Make the bottles quite hot, put in the walnuts
one by one with a skimmer, pour the syrup on (they should be well
covered with it), and, when cold, cork them tight and tie a parchment
over every one. You must not try to hurry the preserving, or you will
get a bitter jam. These walnuts may be eaten immediately, or they
will keep for 10 years; but, as in course of time the fruit sucks up
the syrup, they should be filled up with fresh. You might use loaf
sugar in preference to brown.




_THE DAIRY._


The dairy should either be an isolated building or attached to the
farm-house. It must be built with a view to keeping it dry, airy,
light, cool, and above everything clean. Nothing absorbs the taint of
bad odours more quickly than milk. The best aspect for a dairy is the
north, and while the windows admit plenty of light (which develops
colour in the cream) they should be shaded with evergreens to exclude
sunshine and heat. The temperature should range between 60° and 65°
F., never exceeding 65° nor descending below 55°. In a temperature of
40° F., milk keeps fresh for a very long time, but the cream becomes
bitter before it can be skimmed. In a temperature of 70° to 72° F.,
the milk sours readily and yields less cream, which latter will make
a soft butter very prone to rancidity.

Where the dairy is isolated, provision must be made in the building
for washing the utensils. This will need much care to avoid
conflicting with the conditions just mentioned. The dairy site must
be well drained. The walls may be of brick, built double with an air
space between, on concrete footings 12 in. thick, with a damp-course
as described on p. 5. The best material for flooring is well-laid
Portland cement concrete; the floor should incline gently to one
corner, where an outlet can be fitted so that the floor can be
thoroughly flushed at intervals. All sharp corners, and edges, and
mouldings must be avoided, as they form nests for the collection of
dirt. The walls may be plastered throughout with material that will
make a smooth surface capable of being washed, or they may be covered
with glazed tiles. Shelves for holding the milk dishes should be
about 5 ft. from the floor and preferably of enamelled iron or thin
slate or stone slabs. Perforated shelves afford better circulation of
air. The shelves should in any case be quite independent of the walls
of the room.

A typical dairy in Chester county, United States, is thus described
by Hazard. The main building, which is built on a hillside, is 50
ft. long by 13 ft. wide. The room for the milk is 6 ft. below the
surface and 12 ft. from floor to ceiling. This allows ample room
for ventilation and light by side-windows. The troughs for holding
the water in which the milk is set are formed of brick and cement,
with their bottoms 1 ft. above the level of the floor of the
building. They are 28 in. wide, so as to take in two rows of ordinary
milk-pans. Across one end is a trough formed similar to the others,
except that it is so arranged as to receive and hold the water to a
greater depth than the side-troughs, so as to contain the cream-cans.
In all there is an ingenious arrangement for increasing or decreasing
the depth of the water so as to suit the temperature outside. The
water is drawn from a well by a “telegraph” pump, and the surplus is
passed off by a drain, secured against the upward passage of odours
by a “bell-trap.” During the winter no water is used, and a fire
is lighted to keep the temperature to the proper point. The utmost
care is taken in ventilation, even to a small ventilator under which
to set the lamp used when too dark for skimming without artificial
light. At the front and in each side of the main building is a wing
13 ft. square; one of these contains the power-machine, the other
the needful arrangement for heating the water and washing pans. For
working the butter a large inclined table and lever are used, and the
printing is done by an ingenious machine for stamping and marking in
squares. This milk-house is made for a dairy of 50 cows; and it would
seem, therefore, the proper proportions are 13 ft. wide by 1 ft. in
length for each cow.

A supply of ice is a valuable provision in hot weather, and in some
climates an ice-house may be considered as an essential adjunct to
the dairy.

Ventilation demands extreme care. “The position of the milk-room with
relation to the other rooms of the dairy, as the churning and the
cheese-room, and the scalding or washing-room, should be such that
air can be admitted on three sides of the room, so as to ensure an
equable supply of air all over the interior of the milk-room. The
means adopted for ensuring a supply of fresh air by the windows are
of very simple character, namely, making each window in halves, the
lower and upper halves being hinged to a bar stretching horizontally
across the centre of the window frame; the lower half being hinged
so that it opens inwards and upwards, the upper half inwards and
downwards. By adjusting the opening of the two halves, the fresh air
may be admitted in any required volume, and in any direction--upwards
towards the ceiling, and downwards towards the floor. For removing
the used air, there are many plans. One good suggestion is that the
ceiling be made up of narrow fillets so placed that spaces are left
throughout the whole surface of ceiling; through these spaces the
air passes, into the space between the inner ceiling and the outer
roof, in which are placed ventilators with valves, which may be
opened and closed as desired. If a ceiling be dispensed with and an
open roof adopted, the roof will require to be double, that is, a
hollow space between the inner and outer boarding; this will tend to
keep the temperature of the dairy more equable, than if the boarding
and slates are the only covering. The double roof is simply made
by lining the inner side of rafters with inch boarding tongued and
grooved. The inner surface of boarding will be all the better if
papered with a glazed white paper. The door of the milk-room should
be double.” (Darton.)

While efforts are required to keep the milk-room cool in summer,
there may be need of warming in winter. The best means of warming is
by hot-water pipes. In some dairies the milk pans stand in a series
of troughs on an inclined plane, and all inter-communicating; in
this way a current of warm water may be made to surround the pans in
winter, and of cold water in summer. Gauze coverings should envelop
the pans to exclude insects. Milk pans may be made of glass, glazed
earthenware, or tinned iron, 15 to 18 in. across, and less than 6 in.
deep.

_Devonshire Cream._--The milk should be left in the pan till the
cream has sufficiently risen--about 12 hours in summer, and 24 hours
in winter. The whole pan must then be placed over a close range or
on a stove, and left there till the milk becomes quite hot, when the
surface will look thick, and bubbles will appear. Then take the pan
back to the dairy, and skim the cream off on the following day. The
milk must not be allowed to boil, and it should be heated slowly.
The time that it takes to scald the cream will depend upon the heat
of the fire, the temperature of the milk, and other circumstances;
and it is only by practice that you will learn to know when it is
sufficiently done. In Devonshire, celebrated for its clotted cream,
the pans are of tin and shallow. They contain 10-12 qt. milk. These,
after standing 10-12 hours, are placed on an iron hot-plate, or
over a stove, until the cream has formed, which is indicated by the
air bubbles rising through the milk, and producing blisters on the
surface of the cream; it is then near boiling point, and the pan must
be removed at once to a cool place. After some hours the cream is
skimmed off with a slice. Milk which is carried from a distance, or
much agitated before being put into pans to settle for cream, never
throws up so much, nor such rich cream, as if used directly after
being milked. The last drawn milk of each milking is at all times
richer than the first, and for that reason should be set apart for
cream.

_Devonshire Junket._--(_a_) If you cannot get milk from the cow warm,
take fresh milk, and put it in the oven, or on a hot stove, until
it becomes the same warmth as from the cow. Put a glass of brandy
and powdered sugar into it sufficient to sweeten it; add a piece of
rennet to the milk, or if you cannot get this use the essence of
rennet, which you can buy at the chemist’s. If you have used the
former, remove it in a few minutes, and leave the milk to set in
solid curd, which it will soon do; then lay over the top of it either
very good cream, quite smoothly, or Devonshire cream, or you may whip
the cream. The real Devonshire way is to remove cream from the top
of a dairy pan in one sheet, and lay it over. Ornament the top with
nutmeg.

(_b_) Rub 2 large lumps of sugar on a lemon, put them with 1 pint
milk and ½ pint cream in a saucepan, and make warm, but be careful
not to let it be hotter than you can hold your finger in. Have ready
in a china bowl a small teacupful of brandy, pour the milk and cream
into it; suspend a piece of rennet (which you must well wash from
all the salt) by a string, and place it in a cool place to set. When
turned enough, take it out, pour ½ pint cream on the top, add some
powdered cinnamon, and serve.

_Swiss Cream._--This may be made in a mould in the following way, and
will be found extremely good. Soak 1 oz. gelatine in cold milk for ½
hour. Steep the rind of 2 lemons in 1½ pint milk with sugar to taste;
put it over the fire, but do not let it boil. Bake up the yolks of
5 fresh eggs, and pour the flavoured milk (strained) upon them. Mix
well, and then stir over the fire until the custard thickens; add the
gelatine, and stir again over the fire without letting it boil until
the gelatine is dissolved, then pour it into a basin. Dip a mould in
water, ornament it with preserved cherries, when cool pour some of
the above cream into it, put a layer of macaroons, previously soaked
in a little white wine, another layer of custard, and so on until the
mould is quite full. Set it on ice, or in a cool place to set, and
when wanted turn it out carefully.

_Butter._--The room where the cream is churned, and the butter made,
should be fitted with a table of marble or slate, and shelves for
holding the butter.

The yields of cream from milk, and butter from cream, are subject
to much variation. The richness of milk differs too at morning and
evening. But the average figures are approximately these:--12 qt. of
milk should give 1 qt. of cream, and 1 qt. of cream should afford 14
oz. of butter. Morning milk is richer than evening milk, and the last
portion drawn from the cow at each milking, is richer than the first.
Autumn milk is best for butter, summer milk for cheese.

Milk to be sold fresh as such should be cooled immediately it is
drawn from the cow, because while warm and exposed to the air,
the sugar present undergoes oxidation with consequent liberation
of lactic acid, which is indicated by the milk turning sour. When
promptly cooled, milk can be kept sweet and transported without risk,
besides which it gives up its cream more readily. The Americans have
introduced various coolers, all of which are more or less effective.

As fast as brought in, the milk should be run through a hair sieve.
This, and also the vessels with which the milk comes in contact, must
be kept scrupulously clean by the aid of constant scalding, to be
followed by rinsing with cold water, and drying in the air. The milk
is exposed in the pans for varying periods in order that the globules
of fat may have an opportunity of separating from the milk and
floating on the surface. This process is now very commonly replaced
by the use of a hydro-extractor, in which centrifugal action breaks
up the milk into cream and “skim milk” without any need for waiting.
According to the older practice the milk is left to stand for a
considerable time, but no advantage is gained by exceeding 24 hours;
in fact the best authorities say that it should be skimmed before the
surface begins to look wrinkled, as this appearance is a symptom of
incipient putrefaction. Large shallow perforated tin ladles are used
for removing the cream, which should be carefully deposited, without
splash, in white stoneware jars holding 2 to 12 gal., according to
the size of the dairy. Common glazed earthenware is to be avoided on
account of injurious chemical action. Skimming should be done twice
daily, and each time an addition of cream is made to the jar the
whole contents should be well but gently stirred with a stoneware
spoon. The jars should be covered with gauze to exclude insects.
In some dairies skimming is avoided by the simple plan of having a
hole in the bottom of the milk dish by which the milk is drawn off,
leaving the cream undisturbed.

Butter consists of the fatty portion of the milk, which is separated
by the process known as “churning,” the object of which is to rupture
the envelopes which hold the fatty matter. The bulk of this fatty
matter resides in the cream. Butter may be “made” by churning either
the milk or only the cream; and these may be either in a sweet or
sour (“lappered”) state. The most general practice is to churn the
cream alone in a lappered condition. For this reason the cream is set
to ripen in stoneware jars for several days, averaging about 3 days
in summer, and 5 or 6 in winter, preferably with occasional stirring.
It is the general opinion that to get the best butter, the operation
of churning should be comparatively slow, from ¾ hour to 2 hours--an
hour being a fair average, varying, however, according to the season;
the operation being much more tedious in winter than in summer. After
the butter is separated from the cream, the buttermilk remains,
containing the casein, salt, and sugar present in the original cream,
though a portion of these is taken up with the butter. The greater
the proportion of casein left in the butter, the poorer is the latter
in quality, and the more readily will it become rancid.

Commenting on Jenkins’ pamphlet, ‘Hints on Butter-making,’ the
_Field_ recently published the following remarks:--

“Cheese-making, owing to American importations, has recently been
so unprofitable that there is the more necessity for attention to
butter-making. Why should the dairies of France, Holland, Denmark,
and Sweden be able to supply an article in our markets which is
superior to the bulk of our own make? And why, above all, in
the matter of fresh butter, should Normandy be preferred by our
large purveyors to the home dairies, were it not that by superior
cleanliness and systematic management the quality is more dependable?
For instance, we have been told that the manager of the Midland Hotel
at Derby obtains all his butter from Normandy, because he finds it
more reliable and of better and more uniform quality than English
produce, notwithstanding that he lives in the centre of a great dairy
district, and that the foreign produce is liable to deterioration
by the journey. Here, then, the English farmer has an opportunity
which he is very wrong to neglect. Cheese does not pay--at least,
such varieties as are usually made; the demand for milk is limited;
but good sweet butter will always command a fair and often a very
high price. The reasons given by Jenkins for the inferior butter are
these: That the milk is not skimmed early enough--often not before
a certain amount of sourness has been developed in the milk, and an
appreciable amount of curd has therefore become mixed with the cream.
It is true that this curd increases the quantity, but it affects the
quality; the butter becomes rank, and fetches a low price. Careless
skimming, by taking off some of the milk with the cream, causes the
same results. Carelessness in churning or in the manipulation of the
butter, by which buttermilk and water are left in the butter. It may
be that this is sometimes intentional, as more weight is obtained;
but the quality is greatly injured. Much handling of the butter in
making up is also a source of injury. Dirt in any form, bad smells,
unskilful milking, bad food and water given to the cows; bad water,
soap, or other noxious substances used in washing the dairy and
vessels, are all causes of bad butter which must be guarded against.
Temperature being allowed to vary, bad packing, &c., are all elements
that require more care than is usually bestowed. As regards the
food, Jenkins points out that in a wet season, grass alone cannot be
depended on to give a good result--it is too succulent in its nature,
and should be modified by the use of 4 lb. of bean meal given to each
cow daily; whilst under ordinary circumstances the ration may consist
of 2 lb. to 3 lb. of decorticated cotton cake, or 2½ lb. of bran and
2½ lb. of oatmeal, or 3 lb. of oatmeal and 2 lb. of bean meal. And he
states, what all who have had experience will confirm, that by the
use of such food more cows can be profitably kept, and that a farmer
should look upon grass and hay as the most expensive articles of
food. Then Jenkins proceeds to describe the process of butter-making
adopted in the best districts of Normandy. We shall make no apology
for publishing these directions _verbatim_, as we shall thereby
assist the society in the dissemination of useful knowledge.

“1. Clean all dairy utensils by rinsing them with clean cold water,
and afterwards scrubbing them with boiling water; after which repeat
the cold rinsing.

“2. Cool the milk directly it is brought into the dairy by placing
the cans in a running stream, or by any other available method. This,
we may be permitted to observe, whilst most desirable, is often not
easily attainable. The Americans, in selecting the site for the
dairy, always prefer the base of a hill, so as to secure two very
important factors--shelter from the sun and a cold spring of water.
If running water cannot be obtained, that from a deep well may be
used.

“3. Set the milk at a temperature of not exceeding 55°F. in glazed
earthenware or tin pans. The question of whether these shall be
shallow or deep will depend upon our facilities for reducing the
temperature. If we have running water or ice, there is no doubt
that the deep cans thus surrounded offer a greater surface of milk
to the cooling influence, and this rapid and regular cooling causes
the cream to rise freely and quickly; but if we have not these
facilities, then shallow pans are preferable.

“4. Skim after 12 hours with a perforated tin saucer, and take care
that nothing but cream is removed; 12 hours after, skim a second
time; but this should not be mixed with the first skimmed cream
at all, if our object is to make the finest class of butter; but
otherwise it must be mixed with the first cream just before churning.
Of course by following this plan we do not obtain the maximum
produce, but we have the best quality. If the cream is too thick, a
little pure water may be added, but the addition of milk should be
avoided.

“5. Keep the cream, until the time for changing, in the coldest place
available, in covered earthenware or tin vessels.

“6. Churn the cream at a temperature of 57° to 60° F., and obtain
this by gradually raising or lowering the temperature by placing the
vessel in a bath of warm or cold water. Use an ordinary revolving
barrel, or a midfeather churn, fitted with a spigot. The more
simple the churn, and the less mechanism, the more easily is it
churned. Thomas and Taylor’s Self-acting Eccentric Churn (Stockport,
Cheshire), which gained the first prize at Bristol, is recommended,
to be turned at from 50 to 60 revolutions per minute. Stop the
churning at once when the butter comes, however small the globules
may be. Remove the buttermilk by allowing it to run through a hair
sieve, and return any butter globules to the churn.

“7. Work the butter slowly with cold water by half filling the churn,
giving it 3 or 4 turns, and then withdrawing the water. Repeat the
working until the water comes out clear; this is of great importance.
Remove the butter by a pair of wooden patters, and press out the
water by passing it under a kneading board, or on a larger scale, by
using a revolving butter worker. The board and roller can be obtained
for 13_s._ 6_d._, of How, 13, Bishopsgate-street, E.C.; or of T.
Bradford and Co., 140, High Holborn. Avoid using the hand.

“8. Make up the butter as is most saleable, and pack it in small
packages, lined first with white paper, and then with new and clean
muslin previously well rinsed in boiling water and again cooled, &c.”

We often consider the French our inferiors in agricultural matters,
but they have built up a position upon butter and cheese which has
made two or three departments absolutely wealthy, and they still
pursue the system in a most business-like and thrifty manner. We
wish we could point to a single English county in which one-half is
done with butter that is done in Calvados; but while we are content
to grow corn at a loss, and buy our dairy produce at considerably
more than we can get it for at home, we shall continue to contribute
to the wealth of Normandy and the difficulties which beset the land
question at home. Our producers must first break the back of the
middleman, and then there will be no such facts existing as the
best fresh butter a drug at 11_d._ a lb. in some of our country
districts, while it is 1_s._ 10_d._ in London.

Butter, Potting.--The best month of the year in which to pot butter
is May, or, at any rate, the business should be completed before the
hot weather comes on. If the butter is to be kept for several months,
it will be necessary to put a good deal of salt with it; 1 oz. salt
to 1 lb. butter will not be found too much. To ensure the proper
incorporation of the salt, it is best to add it by small quantities
at a time, kneading and re-kneading the butter till the whole is
thoroughly mixed. It must then be pressed firmly into wooden tubs,
or “kits,” as they are technically called; or stone jars may be used
if preferred. It is hardly necessary to add that great care must be
taken to have every vessel employed in the preparation as clean and
sweet as possible. Another very simple way to preserve butter is to
have a good-sized earthenware jar or pan filled with some strong
brine, and place it at hand in the dairy. Into the brine put from
time to time, as it can be spared, ½ lb. of fresh butter, each piece
being folded up separately in thin muslin. The only care required
is to be certain that the butter is always thoroughly covered with
brine: it will sometimes be necessary to put a weight on the butter,
as it has a tendency to rise to the surface when the brine is strong.
The butter will keep in this manner for weeks, or even months, and,
besides the advantage gained by this plan of being able to take
out just as much as is required for use at a time; there is the
additional benefit of having preserved fresh butter, as it does not
absorb the salt.

Butter, Rancid.--(_a_) Rancid butter may be recovered and sweetened
by washing and kneading it well, first in new milk, and afterwards
in cold spring water, butyric acid, on which the rancidity depends,
being freely soluble in new milk.

(_b_) Let the butter be melted and skimmed as for clarifying; then
put into it a piece of bread, well toasted all over. In a minute or
two the butter will lose its offensive smell and taste.

(_c_) Beat the butter in a sufficient quantity of water, in which you
put 25-30 drops lime chloride to 2 lb. butter. After having mixed it
till all its parts are in contact with the water, it may be left in
for 1-2 hours, afterwards withdrawn, and washed anew repeatedly in
fresh water.

_Cheese._--When milk is curdled, it separates into two portions,
curd and whey. The former consists of the butter and casein, and
produces cheese; the latter is mainly water, with the sugar and
mineral constituents of the milk in solution. Milk for cheese-making,
which is more or less rich in cream, according to the kind of cheese,
is placed in vats at a temperature varying from about 70° to 85°
F., with the due amounts of rennet and colouring matter, for 1-1½
hour under cover. The rennet must be prepared from perfectly fresh
(untainted) calves’ veils soaked in soft water--the halves of 1½
veils steeped in ½ gal. water will suffice for 250 lb. of cheese. The
best colour is liquid arnatto, ½ fl. oz. to 25 lb. cheese.

As soon as the curd has set, say 1-1½ hour, the curd is “cut” by a
special implement and broken up by the hand, a process demanding much
skill and care. This completed, the curd is subjected to pressure,
with the object of expressing the whey, which latter is drained off.
The pressure is increased and judiciously regulated as the curd
hardens, so as to remove all the whey without losing any butter.
Various appliances are in use for this purpose. When the curd has
been thoroughly freed from whey, it is broken up, salted in due
proportion, and again submitted to repeated and increasing pressings.
Finally it goes into the curing room to ripen.

Rennet.--Rennet is easily made at home, and costs less than half
what the same quantity is charged when bought ready-made. Home-made
rennet is also much stronger than the bought preparation and is
useful in making summer delicacies. Get a calf’s maw from a butcher.
They always keep them on hand, and charge about 1_s._ each. Tie the
skin tightly at one end, with a double loop of twine, and leave it
in a dairy or cool larder. When you want rennet, cut a piece about 1
in. square, and soak it in a teacupful warm water all night. Next
day, take out the bit of maw, and to 1 pint cream or milk, use 1
large tablespoonful of the liquid. As a rule, the Gloucestershire
cheese-makers do not manufacture their own rennet but buy it ready
prepared. The kind generally employed is Hansen’s Patent Rennet
Extract, which is used in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful extract to
6 gal. milk.

Cream Cheese.--Take ½ pint very richest cream and a cheese cloth.
Pour the cream into the cloth, and lay it upon one of your dairy pans
for an hour. Then take a perfectly clean knife and scrape off any
cream that may have stuck to the cloth, and lay it on the top and
sides of the cheese. Tie it up somewhat loosely, and hang it up to
drip; open it from time to time, and remove any cream that has stuck
to the cloth, and place it as before. When it stops dripping the
cheese is ready, and will turn out easily. The cheese should always
be used the same day it is made. In summer a few hours will suffice.
If you tell your dairywoman the day before, she will have thicker
cream for the cheese by keeping some of the milk that is set for
cream 12 hours or more beyond the usual time for ordinary purposes
before skimming it. The quantity of cream depends of course on the
number of your party; ½ pint is enough for 6-8 people. If the cream
be rich and the cheese well made, it will be soft, but without losing
its round shape in the least. Though tied up loosely at first, it
should be gradually tightened, after being opened from time to time
as directed above.

New-milk Cheese.--Mix 4 gal. new milk with a breakfastcupful of salt,
and a small teacupful of prepared essence of rennet. The milk should
be used warm as it comes from the cow, or, if it has cooled, all or
a part of it should be heated again, so that the whole marks about
95°F. The cheese is better if a pint or more of cream is added to
the milk, but it is not necessary. The curd and the cheese will be
hard if the milk is too hot. After about 2 hours the curd will have
set. It should then be slashed across in all directions, and some
of the whey ladled out with a cup. Next the curd should be drained
in a cloth laid over a colander, and then put into a wooden or tin
cheese mould in layers, with salt between. This should not be done
until the curd is fairly dry. The mould should be covered and turned
every day. Only a very light weight (if any) should be laid over.
At the end of 2 weeks the cheese should be put in a muslin bag, and
hung up in an airy, dry place, where the sun cannot reach it. Late in
the year try half or a third this quantity, as, though there is more
waste in a small cheese, it ripens quicker. May and June are the best
cheesemaking months. Cheese moulds are generally round or cylinder
shaped; but any strong box of wood, with gimlet holes at top, bottom,
and sides, and a lid that fits inside and not over (so that as the
cheese shrinks it still presses on it), will do for a makeshift.

Rush Cream Cheese.--To 1 pint thick, fresh cream, add ½ pint new
milk, warm from the cow, 1 teaspoonful pounded loaf sugar, and 1
tablespoonful rennet. Let it remain near the fire till it turns to
curd. Take the curd up with an egg slice, and fill the rush shape,
made as directed, and covered with a piece of straining cloth
inside. Lay a ¼ lb. weight on a saucer over the curd the first day;
afterwards a ½ lb. weight. Change the cloth every day until the
cheese is firm and begins to look mellow. Then dispense with the
cloths, and return the cheese to the rush shape and leave it to ripen
there. It may be ripened more quickly by keeping it from first to
last in a tolerably warm room. Although cream cheeses are generally
considered to be only in season during the summer, there is no reason
why they cannot be as readily made at any time of the year, and of
late they have come to be considered an almost indispensable delicacy
at a fashionable dinner-table. A little extra trouble is all that
is needed to ensure success. The cream and milk must be made rather
more than new milk warmth, and if rennet is used, the cream must be
covered and put in a warm place until the curd is come. During the
whole process the temperature should never be lower than 65°F.

Sage Cheese.--This is made by colouring the milk with juice pressed
from young red sage leaves and spinach. It should be added with the
rennet to the milk.

Much obscurity has hitherto hung around the natural processes
concerned in the development of flavour in cheese. Cheeses of
different districts and of different countries possess (apart from
mere richness due to the quantity of cream fat contained) each a
piquancy characteristic of itself, which the differences in the
mode of manufacture appear frequently much too slight to adequately
account for. In the cheese-making districts of the Continent,
however, this matter has been made the subject of scientific
investigations; and already results are forthcoming which throw much
light upon the subject. Among these, the researches of Duclaux,
at the dairy station at Fau, Cantal, France, deserve particular
attention, from the suggestiveness of the conclusions adduced. This
_savant_ has succeeded in isolating and in studying the life history
of certain microscopic organisms (microbia), in which he recognises
the primary agent that is engaged in modifying the constituents of
cheese. These organisms are nourished by the casein or curd of the
cheese, which they break up into a number of substances of simpler
constitution, some of which, like the fatty acids, are characterised
by highly piquant qualities. There are several ferments which produce
these odorous principles in different proportions, and thus give rise
to the differently flavoured cheeses; and the skill of the dairyman
largely consists (though he does not know it) in always employing the
same ferments or ripening agents, and in preventing other and less
desirable organisms from gaining a foothold. Fortunately, in course
of time, the useful ferments establish themselves in large quantities
in the dairy; they impregnate the air of the factory, and cling to
the vessels and the clothing of the operatives. From the moment the
milk is drawn, it becomes exposed to the influence of these germs,
which, developing rapidly in the warm milk, and becoming entangled
in the curd when the rennet is added, accompany it through the
operations that follow. On the Continent it appears common to curdle
the milk at a much higher temperature than we do. Duclaux speaks
of the rennet being frequently added just as the milk comes from
the cow; and if it has been allowed to cool, it is warmed up to the
natural temperature, 95°-98° F.

In making fine cheeses but little rennet is used, and the coagulation
takes a long time. The curd is soft and full of whey, which is
drained off slowly and as completely as possible, in order to get
rid of the milk sugar. That which is left is chiefly converted into
lactic acid, which renders the new cheese slightly acid. Soon,
however, the casein ferments begin to develop over the surface of
the cheese, giving rise to carbonate of ammonia, which neutralises
the acid, and leaves the cheese in the end slightly alkaline. From
the living cells of the ferment are at the same time secreted a
diastase similar to the active principle which in malt, and in all
germinating seeds, converts the starch into sugar. This penetrates
the curd little by little, and renders it soluble, and thus a
yellow translucent layer creeps gradually inward to the centre,
and replaces the white and opaque casein. When isolated, this
diastase attacked curd so strongly as to reduce it in 3 or 4 days
to the consistency and appearance of Camembert cheese; but, as the
flavouring organisms were absent, the resulting product was insipid
and tasteless. This action resembles strongly the digestion to which
the cheese is afterwards more completely subjected in the body.
Indeed, the similarity in properties between this peculiar principle
and the ferment of the pancreas is very marked. Simultaneously with
the digestive diastase there is also secreted a diastase capable
of coagulating the casein; but the cheese maker does not wait for
this to be developed, but adds to the milk some rennet, which is a
solution containing this diastase in considerable quantity. Such,
in short, is the rationale of cheese curing--first, an organised
ferment decomposes the curd, and produces in small quantities highly
flavoured compounds, which, like a condiment, give relish to the
whole mass; and secondly, a diastase, or unorganised ferment secreted
by the organism, mellows the curd and renders it more easily soluble.

The conditions most favourable for the exclusive development of
these organisms have been learnt by long practice; but should these
conditions at any time fail to be observed, some other ferment,
incapable of producing the particular kind of ripening wished for,
may intrude itself. The chamber is then said to be “sick,” and has
sometimes to be temporarily abandoned.

Special members of the yeast and mould families are also largely
concerned in the ripening of certain cheeses, and their action is
very similar to that mentioned above. Roquefort and Pontgibaud
cheeses, for example, are ripened by _Penicillium glaucum_, or, in
other words, bread mould. These cheeses are kept as near as possible
to 32° F., not because so low a temperature is most favourable to the
development of the mould, but because other ferments, and especially
such as give rise to putrefaction (vibrios), are thereby checked.
From the low temperature and unsuitable soil the ripening is apt to
proceed so slowly that it is customary to expedite the fermentation
by a liberal inoculation of mouldy bread, and by piercing holes to
enable the plant to penetrate inwards.

In Gruyère cheese are found long cells constricted in the middle
like an elongated figure of 8. These cells multiply by splitting in
two at the constricted part, forming two individuals. A gelatinous
layer surrounds each cell when young, and also divides and envelopes
the new individuals. This, however, disappears with age, leaving the
cell naked. The action of this organism is to resolve any milk sugar
that may be present into alcohol, acetic acid, and carbonic acid,
and as this latter is a gas, it forms a number of small bubbles in
the cheese. Gruyère is a cooked cheese; for in order to hasten the
elimination of the whey, and enable the curd to be pressed in the
mould as quickly as possible, the curd is heated slowly, and with
constant stirring, to about 120° F. This requires considerable care,
for if the heating be too rapid, the grains formed are large, and
in the press flatten out and adhere to one another, and so clothe
the cheese with an impenetrable layer, through which the whey is
unable to escape. On the other hand, an undercooked curd is liable
to retain an excess of whey; and the evil of this is that too much
gas is given off by the fermentation of the sugar, and consequently,
instead of bubbles, long channels appear in the cheese, which
depreciate the value of the product. Again, as the ferment is killed
at a temperature very near 120° F. (varying a little with the acidity
or alkalinity of the curd), it is very possible to destroy it by
overheating, and then the cheese becomes dry, is difficult to mature,
and is said to be “dead.” Under any circumstances the ripening of
Gruyère cheese is a very slow process.

In Duclaux’s own district of Cantal, a soft, quickly maturing,
uncooked cheese is made, which has the disadvantage of slowly
depreciating after ripening, owing to the large quantity of moisture
it contains. The practice is to curdle the milk rapidly, and then,
while the curd still retains a considerable amount of whey, to allow
it to ferment till all the milk sugar has disappeared. On pressing
the mass, there is squeezed out a certain amount of liquid and much
ferment; but the remainder, equivalent to half the weight of the
cheese, is retained, owing to a curious change in the properties
of the curd. So obstinately is this held, that, with additional
pressure, fat is forced out in preference to water. Duclaux finds,
however, that with cheese containing less fat--say, half skimmed
and half raw milk--more liquid can be extracted, and thus a
better-keeping cheese obtained. As the flavour and odour are derived
almost entirely from the alteration products of the casein, the
main characteristics of the Cantal cheese are not altered by this
modification, and he consequently recommends its adoption.

The most praiseworthy part of Duclaux’s investigations--that on the
life history of these organisms, and the isolation and investigation
of the diastases secreted by them--is of too scientific a nature
to be reproduced here. We may mention, however, that Manelli and
Mussi, in their researches on the maturing of Parmesan cheese, have
independently come to much the same conclusion as those given above;
so there is every reason to consider that we possess now a correct
explanation of the phenomena of cheese ripening.

Apart from the interest attached to the explanation of an every-day
process, researches such as these are sure in the end to lead to
results of direct practical utility. Little by little we are getting
to understand that no process of fermentation or putrefaction can be
truly called “spontaneous.” They are as much the result of sowing
as a thistle that turns up in a field where it was not purposely
planted; and just as we can keep our agricultural crops in order by
due attention, so crops of ferments can be controlled, the valuable
ones being cultivated, and the pernicious weeds sterilised. Methods
are known to the vinegar maker by which he can rear, when he needs
it, unmixed crops of _Mycoderma aceti_ to ferment his liquors; and
the high-class brewer already uses the microscope to ascertain the
healthiness of his yeast plant and its freedom from bacteria. May
not even cheesemaking, then, be raised from an empirical art into
a science, and each cheese factory of the future devote itself
knowingly to the cultivation of its own appropriate fungus, learning
its likes and its dislikes, and the enemies that have to be contended
with? Even the mould sowing of the Roquefort peasants might be
improved upon, and pure crops of ferment be raised to inoculate our
cheeses. Granted that even then our finest cheeses would not be made
better, yet the possibility of raising all cheese to the highest
standard of quality of which it is capable is surely sufficient to
claim for the scientific experimenter respect and encouragement.

In France there are a variety of cheeses which vary in consistence,
constitution, flavour, and ability to keep, and these differences
are rather owing to the process of manufacture than to the nature of
the soil or the peculiarity of climate. The various denominations
applied to them, too, indicate differences in manipulation rather
than any change in their matter. Nevertheless, we are far from
partaking of the opinion of those who deny that both sun and soil
have any influence; for as with wine and cider, so with butter and
cheese, the pasture has a marked action upon aroma and quality. If we
consider the general manner or process of manufacture, we find that
it comprehends five distinct operations, which in France are called:
1st, _coagulation du lait_, or the formation of the curd; 2nd,
_rompage_, or breaking up of the curd; 3rd, _égouttage_, or drainage,
which is accompanied in some cases by _pressage_ or pressing; 4th,
_salaison_, or salting; and 5th, _fermentation_, or maturing of the
cheese. It is in the various methods, many of which differ very
little from each other, and in all of which these operations are in
force, but carried out under different conditions, that it is found
possible to make 40 or more varieties of cheese, which are divided
into 4 categories; 1st, fresh soft cheese; 2nd, salt ditto ditto;
3rd, firm or medium-pressed ditto; 4th, cured cheese, more or less
hard and pressed.

In the first category we have the Neufchâtel, the manufacture of
which is extensive and profitable in the district of Bray; the Brie,
the Pont l’Evêque, and the Camembert may be mentioned as examples
of the second; Roquefort and Dutch of the third; and Gruyère and
Parmesan of the fourth.

There are defects to which even the best cheeses are commonly
subject--defects, of the causes of which the professed cheese-makers
themselves do not always give consistent accounts. Every good cheese
should be of uniformly smooth surface, and perfectly firm; of colour
unvarying throughout the whole surface, save only where the marks of
age, necessary to certain kinds, appear. Softness and soapiness of
texture; cracks, attributed by some to the action of lime on pasture,
by others to the employment of too strong a draught in the process
of drying; and holes, caused by “heaving” or “sweating,” are patent
signs of imperfection which should warn the most careless purchaser
against the cheese in which any of them are found. “Marbling,” the
worst of all faults, is a mottled appearance of the surface, somewhat
resembling the veining of marble. It is due to one or more of the
following causes: not properly scalding the cheese; adding the
colouring (which should be put in before the rennet) after the cheese
has come; not properly squeezing out the whey. Wherever this occurs,
it imparts to the cheese an exceeding ill flavour--in fact, makes it
unfit to be eaten. It is especially dangerous in cheeses of the North
Wilts kind, where the surface is invisible to the purchaser. Rankness
of flavour, which can of course be guarded against by those who buy
their own cheese, is also to be met with in the best kinds. This has
been imputed to impurity of rennet; but, as it is frequently found in
the cheeses of Scotland, where it is pretended that the greatest care
is taken of the rennet, it may possibly also result from bad quality
of pasture. In the Scotch dairy farms it is said to be obviated by
pouring a very small quantity of saltpetre into the pail before
milking the cows.

Following are some remarks on the chief British cheeses, culled from
the _Field_.

Cheddar.--The manufacture of this, the king of cheeses, occupies a
large tract of country, its head-quarters being at and about Pennard,
a few miles from the cliffs of Cheddar in the Mendips. For richness
combined with delicacy of flavour, and, indeed, for every good
quality that may become a cheese, it is without a rival. None can
serve better its purpose at dinner. This cheese is made of circular
shape, of large surface, and considerable depth; its price about
13_d._ per lb. at a good cheesemonger’s. It is mostly white, but is
occasionally coloured red, for which purpose Nicholl’s “colouring” is
used. It is said to make no perceptible difference in the flavour.
Cheddar, to be in perfection, must be kept for at least 2 years
before being eaten, when it will not show any outward signs of decay.
It is said, that the facility of exportation given by railways at
present has caused much of this cheese to be moved before it is
properly ripe, thereby producing a considerable general deterioration
of its quality in the markets. Yet by taking a little pains, and by
selection of right places of purchase, the best of it may still be
obtained.

Cheshire.--This justly celebrated cheese, though for delicacy of
flavour inferior to Cheddar, was, and is still by many good judges,
held to be the best of English cheeses. In taste it is a good deal
stronger, not to say coarser, than Cheddar, but it is equally rich
in substance. Perhaps, owing to its strength, it may be considered
as better adapted for dinner than luncheon. It is of large size, and
circular in shape. Like Cheddar, it must be kept at least 2 years
before eating, and no cheese is more improved by age. It is for the
most part made in the county the name of which it bears, though,
of course, the general area of its distribution exceeds the limits
of that county, and very good specimens of it may be had at some
distance beyond the borders. Much of its excellence is, however, said
to be imparted by the peculiarity of the soil of Cheshire itself, and
by the salt springs with which that soil abounds. At least, wherever
such salt springs are most found, the cheese there produced has
always been deemed of superior quality. The price of the best quality
in London shops is mostly the same as that of Cheddar.

Cottenham.--Some say that it is a much superior cheese to Stilton. In
external appearance it closely resembles Stilton, and might easily
be mistaken for it. The interior, however, which is of a far richer
and creamier texture, is very different. The flavour is fuller,
though equally delicate; and although Cottenham, to be really good,
requires, like Stilton, to be kept until decay shows itself, yet it
is in itself not so insipid but that it may be eaten before that
decay is very fully developed. The veins with which it will then be
marked are of a brownish hue. It is about the same size as Stilton,
or perhaps a little larger, and its price ought to be about the same
as the price of that cheese.

Daventry.--A rare cheese of remarkably pleasant flavour, very
delicate of taste, and possibly rich of substance. It is of medium
size, flat and circular of shape, of whitish colour, and should be
marked when fit for eating with veins, somewhat after the manner of
Stilton, but of deeper green than is usual with that cheese.

Dorset (Double), or Blue Vinney.--This cheese is generally known
throughout a large tract of country, but is in fact a poor enough
cheese, and only adapted to make a tolerable luncheon off. It is
circular and flat, of white colour, mottled with a network of
blue veins; whence its name, though the etymology of the name has
disappeared in the popular spelling of it.

Dunlop.--This, the most famous--indeed, the only famous--Scotch
cheese, is made in the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Lanark, and
Galloway, in various sizes from ¼ to ½ cwt. In texture and taste it
somewhat resembles double Gloucester, and, like it, is well adapted
for toasting.

Gloucester, Double and Single.--Double Gloucester is also a very rich
cheese, but with a certain poverty of flavour, by reason of which it
can hardly be recommended for use at dinner, although at luncheon
it may not be unacceptable. Its taste is peculiarly mild, and this,
combined with its waxy texture, which allows it to be cut into thin
slices without crumbling, admirably adapts it for toasting, for which
purpose it is, with hardly an exception, the best cheese we possess.
It is of circular shape, and generally weighs about 22 lb. The single
Gloucester is currently reported to be of the same substance and
richness as the double; but in fact, as a rule, is made of far poorer
materials, being composed of milk skimmed overnight, or partially
thereof; it is also of only about half the weight and thickness. It
is fit for nothing but toasting.

Leicester--commonly called in London shops _Derbyshire_--is chiefly
made in the county from which it takes it name; it is in shape flat
and circular, and very shallow, of moderate size, and coloured a
deepish red. It is a good second-rate cheese, and if any one shall
desire a serviceable article, whether for luncheon or dinner, very
equal in quality and agreeable of taste, let him try Leicester. The
price should be 9-10_d._ per lb.

North Wilts.--This, which derives its name from the county of its
birth, is a rich and nice little cheese, of a very delicate and
agreeable flavour. From the extreme mildness of its taste, it is far
fitter for the luncheon than for the dining-table. In shape it is
cylindrical, with a smooth hard rind, and weighs about 10-12 lb. It
is coloured red with arnatto. The price in London is 10-11_d._ per lb.

Stilton.--At Stilton, in Huntingdonshire, where the coaches of the
great north road were wont to stop for luncheon, this cheese was
first introduced to the public. Its sole connection with Stilton is
its name, the cheese itself having been made in the neighbourhood of
Melton Mowbray. Since then it has extended itself over most of the
rich lowlands of Leicestershire and a portion of Nottinghamshire. In
shape it is cylindrical, the outside covered with a whitish rind,
very thick and rough. The flavour of a good Stilton is exquisite,
though, perhaps rather cloying as compared with the finer sorts of
“plain” cheese. It is unfit to be eaten--indeed, is of a nauseous
insipidity--until pretty well covered with blue veins. This will
occur in about 2 years, and should be allowed to come on gradually
and naturally, by merely keeping the cheese moist enough not to
check the decay. Many artifices, however, are resorted to in order
to hasten its maturity, as by placing it in a damp but warm cellar;
sinking it, wrapped in brown paper, in a hotbed, &c. The practice
of pouring port wine into Stilton is condemned by some as at once
wasting good wine and spoiling good cheese. Stilton will be found
most acceptable both at luncheon and dinner. In size it averages 12
lb., and its price is from 1_s._ 6_d._ per lb. There is, however,
no cheese so unequal in quality, whether from accidents to which it
is liable during manufacture, or from whatever other cause, and the
utmost care must be taken in its purchase.

Subjoined is an account of the best known foreign cheeses, from the
same source.

Camembert.--This cheese, which is made in Brittany, is a kind of
cross between the “real” and “cream” cheese. It reminds one much of
the best privately made cream cheese of our own country, with a rich
and peculiar flavour superadded. It is of a soft and creamy texture,
of a yellowish white, flat and very shallow, with a dark brown rind,
very thick and soft. It may be confidently recommended as a real
delicacy, rather for the dinner than the luncheon-table. The price of
Camembert cheeses, which are o£ small size, is about 9-10_d._ each.

Cream Cheeses.--In this production the palm must be yielded by the
English to the foreign market. Our own cheeses of the kind, including
the best of private manufacture, are made to be eaten at once, and
will not bear keeping, by which process the Continental cheese, more
skilfully put together, is much improved.

The principal foreign cream cheeses are Stracchino (Milan), which
is a long way the best; Brie (Meaux), Marolles, and Pont l’Evêque,
all very good of their kind, and Neufchatel, which last is, of all,
the most commonly met with on this side of the Channel. Neufchatel,
frequently called “Bondon,” from being made of the shape and size
of the _bondon_ (Ang. “bung”) of a cask, is made at Neufchatel,
in Normandy. It is simply a white cream cheese, and when fresh,
extremely insipid--in fact, hardly equal to our own Yorkshire and
Bath cheeses. By keeping, however, until it becomes “ripe,” it
acquires a flavour by no means to be despised, though hardly on a
level with some of the cream cheeses already mentioned.

Crême de Brie has been alluded to as once the _crême de la crême_
of cheeses, and even now “running a good second” to Roquefort. La
Brie is situated near to Paris, in the Department of Seine et Marne,
with proximity, together with the difficulty of distant transport
and the fondness of the Parisians for the thing itself, causes the
most dainty to be almost entirely eaten in Paris. Imitations of it
are many, and, as a rule, as worthless as is the genuine article
valuable, for of all the French cheeses it is the most expensive by
reason of its not keeping sound beyond a few days, and the large
quantities in which it is partaken of at a meal. Brie is a soft,
creamy cheese, made in rounds of large size but of little thickness.

Dutch (Holland and Belgium).--This cheese is perhaps better known
in kitchens than in the upper regions. It has, however, many good
points, and is of by no means disagreeable flavour, though, owing
to the process of making, a little too salt for delicate taste.
It is also in general very safe, and very equal in quality. Being
extremely mild, it is hardly suited to the dinner table, but affords
an excellent luncheon. For domestic use it is eminently serviceable,
and will be found (which is a great merit) generally acceptable in
the kitchen. It is of a spherical oval shape, softish in texture, and
coloured red. Its cheapness is also a recommendation, as it costs
but 8_d._ or 9_d._ a lb. An imitation of this cheese is made in the
district of Calvados, Normandy.

Gorgonzola (North of Italy).--This is an excellent cheese, and one
that bears a close resemblance to Stilton. It has, however, so
strongly marked and distinct a character of its own, that it would be
injurious to institute a comparison between it and any other cheese.
In texture and marking it is not altogether unlike Stilton, but is of
deeper yellow, and the veins of a greener hue. It is equally good for
luncheon and dinner, having great delicacy combined with fulness of
flavour. Price about 1_s._ 5_d._ a lb.

Gruyère.--Gruyère is made in the Canton of Fribourg, and in the
Vosges, the Jura, and Ain. The best cheeses of this kind are selected
for exportation. Gruyère is a flat cheese of some 3 in. in depth,
of a pale yellow colour, and plain surface, marked sparsely with
large holes, which contain moisture. The rule laid down on the
“plain” cheeses of England as to uniformity of colour in the surface
of cheese holds good abroad as well as at home, but uniformity of
surface in foreign plain cheeses need not be so closely looked for.
In fact, the holes that abound in some of these cheeses constitute
neither blemish nor unsoundness. The odour of Gruyère is strongish,
but the taste mild and delicate. If anything, it is a little cloying.
It is a fair cheese, but cannot be called more than fair, for dinner;
but will serve very well for luncheon, though perhaps likely to pall
on the taste if eaten constantly at this meal. The wholesale price is
11_d._ a lb.

Parmesan (from the district in the North of Italy between Lodi and
Cremona) is a finer cheese than Gruyère. The cows from whose milk
it is made are kept in the house nearly all the year round, and fed
in summer on cut grass, in winter on hay. The process of making
both Gruyère and Parmesan is the same, but the quality of the milk
considerably differs. Parmesan is of great size, sometimes reaching
180 lb. and is perhaps, of all cheese imported from abroad, the most
useful “all round.” It is the only cheese that can be used grated for
soup or macaroni. It is the custom of a good many people to supply
grated Parmesan as a dinner cheese, but grated cheese, as compared
with whole, suffers a certain deterioration of flavour. However this
may be, avoid, if the cheese is served whole, the cutting of either
this or Gruyère into thin slices, as the manner of some is. Let the
cheese have fair play, and its full flavour, which it will not,
unless it be cut, like any other cheese, of a reasonable thickness.
Parmesan is of a yellowish-green hue, of firm and hard surface,
marked by small holes. The time for ripening it properly is about
3 years. When not wanted for use, it should be kept covered with a
cloth slightly steeped in sweet oil. The wholesale price is 1_s._
5_d._ a lb.

Port du Salut.--This cheese is hardly as well-known in England as are
the Roquefort and other French cheeses. It is, when fresh, a soft,
pasty, mild, most palatable cheese, generally made in round cakes of
5-8 lb. in weight, and stamped with a cross and words showing its
place of manufacture.

Roquefort, made in the department of Aveyron, in the south of
France, is not only the most highly priced and most highly prized
of the cheeses of that country, but a most formidable rival to any
of the best cheeses made on the continent, and even to our own more
celebrated “fancy” cheeses. It has been likened by some to Stilton;
but, beyond a certain similarity of surface texture, the two have not
much in common. They are, moreover, made of very different matter,
Roquefort being composed of sheep and goats’ milk intermixed. Its
peculiar excellence is said to be due to the natural qualities of
the cellars wherein it is placed for ripening, and partly also from
the manner of milking the sheep in making it. It should be kept
until considerable progress of decay has been made. It is of very
delicate though rather pungent flavour, and, if it lacks something
of the softness and mellowness of the Stilton, will be found equally
agreeable with it, at least at the dinner table. For luncheon Stilton
has the preference. Its wholesale price per lb. is 1_s._ 5_d._

Schabzieger.--This cheese is of spherical shape, of size somewhat
larger than a cricket ball, with a dark thick rind. Its colour is
yellow, with green veins. It is of a strong odour, and, unlike
Gruyère, of an equally strong and rank taste. There is no doubt of
its power to fulfil one purpose of cheese, the annihilation of the
taste of anything you may have previously eaten, and for this it will
be found to do good and useful service. It is a deservedly popular
delicacy. The price of each cheese is about 8_d._ See also p. 1002.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

John Darton: ‘The Dairyman: a Practical Guide to Cow-keeping, and the
Making of Butter and Cheese.’ London. 1872. 1_s._

Willis P. Hazard: ‘Butter and Butter-making, with the Best Methods
for Producing and Marketing it.’ Philadelphia. 1877.

H. M. Jenkins: ‘Hints on Butter-making.’ London. 1886. 6_d._

J. P. Sheldon: ‘Dairy Farming.’ London. 1_l._ 11_s._ 6_d._

Canon Bagot: ‘Easy Lessons in Dairying.’ London, 1883. 6_d._

The _Field._ London. Weekly. 6_d._




_THE CELLAR._


A great mistake is sometimes made in ventilating cellars. The object
of ventilation is to keep the cellar cool and dry; but this object
often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead
the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be
ventilated, unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within,
or is at least as cool as that, or a very little warmer. The warmer
the air, the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the
cooler the air, the more this moisture is condensed and precipitated.
When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in
motion appears cool, but as it fills the cellar the cooler air with
which it becomes mixed chills it, the moisture is condensed, and dew
is deposited on the cold walls, and may often be seen running down
them in streams. Then the cellar is damp, and soon becomes mouldy. To
avoid this, the windows should only be opened at night, and late--the
last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night
air is unhealthful--it is as pure as the air of midday, and is really
drier. The cool air enters the apartment during the night, and
circulates through it. The windows should be closed before sunrise in
the morning, and kept closed and shaded through the day. If the air
of the cellar is damp, it may be thoroughly dried by placing in it a
peck of fresh lime in an open box. A peck of lime will absorb about 7
lb. or more than 3 qt. of water, and in this way a cellar may soon be
dried, even in the hottest weather.

[Illustration: 67. Barrel Stand.]

_Barrel Stand._--A simple and effective barrel stand may be made in
the manner described below. It consists of a stout frame on 4 legs
9-12 in. high, made of quartering which may vary from 2 in. sq. for
small casks to 3 in. sq. for larger ones. The proportions given in
the annexed illustration (Fig. 67) are suited to a 9 gal. cask. This
should be 22 in. long, 15 in. wide, 9 in. high, and made of 2½ in.
stuff, of which it will consume about 9½ ft. run. It will be seen
that the sides _a_, _b_ are joined to the legs _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_
by mortice and tenon joints, while the ends _g_, _h_ are dovetailed
into the sides _a_, _b_. The joints are secured by pins of oak or
red deal driven into holes bored by a gimlet. The stand thus made is
only adapted to carry casks stood on end. For holding them steadily
on their side, and at the same time giving them a tilt forward to
allow all the clear contents lying above the sediment to be drawn
out without disturbing the barrel, use is made of 2 pieces of board
hollowed out to receive the barrel. For the sized cask mentioned
(9 gal.), 15 in. will suffice in length and 1 in. in thickness for
each piece. Both are prepared for letting down into the frame by
cutting out a piece 2½ in. sq. from each of the 2 bottom corners as
at _a_, and can then be screwed to the cross piece _b_ of the frame.
Previously the cradle is formed by describing on the piece of wood an
arc of a circle corresponding to the size of the cask at the point
where it is to be supported. Supposing the diameter of the cask to be
15½ in., the radius of the circle to be described will be 7¾ in., as
shown. This gives the correct arc, but as the cask will lie sloping
and not flat, the foremost edge of the arc must be shaved away till
the cask will rest on the entire breadth of the edges of the cradle
_c_. For the front cradle the board may be 6½ in. wide, and for the
back 8½ in.

_Cleaning Casks._--(1) The acid smell very often found in casks
may be attributed to absorption in the pores of the wood of acetic
and lactic acids--a very small quantity of either of them having
power to communicate their principle to any fermenting liquid with
which they may be brought in contact, and increasing very fast at
the expense of the alcohol in the liquid, while at the same time
causing unsoundness to a greater or less extent, according as the
temperature of the atmosphere may be high or low. Bearing this in
mind, it is of the utmost importance that all free acid which the
cask may contain should be carefully neutralised before filling
with a liquid so liable to change as fermenting wort. Casks before
filling, after being well washed with boiling water, should be
allowed to cool, and then examined by some responsible person as
to their cleanliness, acidity, and probable mustiness; the cask is
well smelt, and usually a light is passed through the tap-hole, so
that the examiner may view the interior. Any cask that may smell
sour (especially in summer weather, or when required for stock or
pale ales) should be rejected, and be well treated with lime. This
should be put into the casks _dry_, small lumps of the lime being
broken, so that they can be easily inserted in the bung-holes, and
when sufficient has been put in (say, about 4 lb. to a barrel), then
about 4 gal. of _boiling_ water must be added, the casks bunged up,
and kept so for a few hours, occasionally rolling about. The lime
should then be well washed out, and the casks steamed, and allowed
to cool, when they will be in a fit condition for containing the
most delicate liquid without any injury. The hard brown substance,
which on being scraped with a nail leaves a white mark, so often
found in casks, is a deposit that forms from the constituents of
the liquid contained in them, and is often carbonate of lime, or
yeast dried, or both. When this is formed, the only effectual
method of cleansing is to take out the head, and put it into the
cooper’s hands to be well scraped, until every particle of the fur
is removed. Cask-washing machines never remove fur or thick dry
deposit properly; they are very convenient in a general way for the
usual run of casks, but any exceptionally bad must be unheaded, and
cleaned by hand. For stock ales it is a good plan to rinse with
solution of bisulphite of lime just before filling trade casks. (2)
With regard to the coating spoken of in (1), it not only preserves
the wood but keeps it clean and sweet, and does no harm at all to
the beer. It takes some considerable time before the wood is coated
with such a protecting enamel. It occurs alike in rounds, puncheons,
and stone squares. Formerly it was customary to have all vessels
that were furred over thoroughly dressed by the cooper, but now
intelligent coopers advise brewers to keep it on. (3) Blow sulphur
fumes into foul casks by fumigating bellows, such as gardeners use
when fumigating conservatories. The sulphurous acid formed by burning
brimstone is a powerful purifier, and will not leave an unpleasant
taste, being easily washed away. (4) Cider casks.--Half fill each
cask with boiling water, and add ¼ lb. of pearlash, then bung it up,
and turn over occasionally for 2 days, then empty, and wash with
boiling water. (5) Scald out with boiling water; if the heads are
out, put them over a straw fire for a few minutes, so as to slightly
char the inside. If you have a steam boiler, partially fill with
water, and admit steam through the bung-hole by a pipe down into the
water, and so boil. (6) Vinegar casks.--Old vinegar barrels become
impregnated to such an extent with acetous substances that it is next
to impossible to render them fit for the storage of any other liquid.
Fill the barrels with milk of lime, and let this remain in them for
several months, then rinse out well with plenty of warm water, and
steam them inside for ½ hour.

_Cleaning Bottles._--(1) The commonest plan is by means of water and
small shot. But lead shot, where so used, often leaves lead carbonate
on the internal surface, and this is apt to be dissolved in the wine
and other liquids afterwards introduced, with poisonous results; and
particles of the shot are sometimes inadvertently left in the bottle.
Fordos states that clippings of iron wire are a better means of
rinsing. They are easily had, and the cleaning is rapid and complete.
The iron is attacked by the oxygen of the air, but the ferruginous
compound does not attach to the side of the bottle, and is easily
removed in washing. Besides, a little oxidised iron is not injurious
to health. Fordos found that the small traces of iron left had no
apparent effect on the colour of red wines; it had on white wines,
but very little; but he thinks it might be better to use clippings of
tin for the latter. (2) Take a handful of common quicklime, such as
bricklayers use, and a handful of common washing soda; boil them in a
large kitchen iron saucepan (which will only be cleaned, not damaged,
by the process). When cold, the fluid will be lye; put this into the
vessel you want to clean with some small pebbles; make it warm if
you can, and shake up or let it soak according to the nature of the
vessel. (3) Gypsum, free from silicate, marble, or bruised bones, is
preferable to shot or sand. Sulphuric acid and bichromate mixed, are
best to free porcelain and glass from organic matter.

_Drying Bottles._--After washing, bottles and decanters should be
thoroughly dried inside. Let them first drain completely, then warm
them slightly and blow in fresh air by means of a pair of bellows;
this will absorb the moisture and leave the interior quite dry.

_Corks and Corking._--Cheap bad corks are always dear; the best corks
are soft, velvety, and free from large pores; if squeezed, they
become more elastic and fit more closely. If good corks are used, of
sufficiently large size to be extracted without the corkscrew, they
may be employed many times in succession, especially if they are
soaked in boiling water after, which restores them to their original
shape, and renews their elasticity.

[Illustration: 68. Corking Bottles.]

The most common mode of fastening down corks, is with the ginger-beer
knot, which is thus made:--First the loop is formed as at _a_ Fig.
68, then that part of the string which passes across the loop is
placed on the top of the cork, and the loop itself is passed down
around the neck of the bottle, and by pulling the ends of the cord
it is made tight beneath the rim; the ends of the string are finally
brought up, and tied either in a double knot, or in a bow on the top
of the cork.

For effervescing drinks, such as champagne, which require to be kept
a longer time and are more valuable, a securer knot is desirable,
which may be made thus:--A loop as at _b_ is first formed, and the
lower end is then turned upwards and carried behind the loop, as
shown at _c_; it is then pulled through the loop as at _d_, and in
this state is put over the neck of the bottle; the part _a_ being on
one side, and the two parts of the loop on the other; on pulling the
two ends, the whole becomes tight round the neck, and the ends, which
should be quite opposite, are to be brought up over the cork, twice
twisted, as at e, and then tied in a single knot.

Insects are often troublesome in devouring corks. This evil may be
prevented by the following remedies. (1) Smear petroleum over the
corks and bottle-necks, (2) Dip the cork and neck into a paste of
quicklime which has just been slaked, and let it concrete on the
bottle.


=Aerated Drinks.=--These may be divided into two classes, alkaline
and saccharine. The alkaline, usually called mineral waters, are
such as soda, seltzer, potass, &c.; while the saccharine are those
which contain a portion of sugar, such as ginger beer, lemonade, and
the various drinks made from the syrups. The alkaline mixtures after
settling in the tanks, are usually passed through a lawn sieve, and
then pumped through the machine, which impregnates them with carbonic
acid gas. Saccharine drinks do not undergo this process, but a given
quantity is put into each bottle or siphon, and the aerated water is
forced into the bottle on it.

Either hard or soft water may be used for aerated drinks, so long
as it is pure; when any doubt exists, it is always best to have it
filtered. When a choice of water can be had, use hard or spring water
for saccharine drinks.

The following recipes may be varied considerably. Some of the best
beverages have been produced by mixing several of the essences
together, and altering the colour. In all these drinks it is the
essence that is used, as the fresh fruit will not do for bottle
goods; while for the fountain drinks, the fresh fruit, being consumed
as soon as mixed, forms a creamy beverage much in demand.

In all cases, in warm weather, it is advisable to have the factory
as cool as possible, and more particularly the water. It is a good
system and is employed in many factories, to have the pump of the
machine surrounded with ice, the refrigerator being external; any
kind of ice may be used.

In regard to the machinery, fountains, &c., used in the manufacture
and dispensing of aerated beverages the reader is referred to the
catalogues of the various manufacturers of the same.

Saccharine drinks are never pumped through a machine, but a given
quantity of the syrup is put into each bottle by means of a syrup
measure-tap, or better still, a syrup pump attached to the filling
machine, and the aerated water is bottled on it.

Following are the principal saccharine aerated beverages:--

_Champagne Cider._--This is lemonade syrup flavoured with pear
essence, and coloured with the sugar colouring.

_Gingerade._--(1) Mix 5 oz. essence of cayenne, 5 oz. essence of
ginger, and 5 oz. water; (2) dissolve 3 lb. citric acid in ½ gal. hot
water; (3) dissolve 4 oz. magnesia and 20 lb. fine loaf sugar in 3¼
gal. pure water. Filter the first compound and add 7 oz., also 14 oz.
of the second, to the third; there will be no cloudiness; bottle at a
pressure of 70 to 80 lb., using 1 oz. syrup to a bottle.

_Ginger Ale._--This is ginger-beer syrup coloured slightly with sugar
or saffron colouring. An addition of pineapple will also greatly
improve the flavour. Bottle as for lemonade. Add albumen compound,
q.s.

_Ginger Beer._--This is lemonade syrup flavoured with essence of
ginger and capsicine. The soluble essence of ginger is added to
the syrup by dropping the quantity required on to pieces of sugar,
when the syrup is lukewarm; the palate will be the best guide
for quantity, as the essences vary much in strength. The albumen
compound is to be added at the same time as the essence; bottle as
for lemonade, using ¾ oz. to a bottle.

(_a_) A strong ginger beer is made by boiling with every gallon of
water, 2 lb. loaf sugar, and 1 oz. bruised ginger, 1 oz. cream of
tartar, and one small lemon, sliced. To the cooled mixture some
yeast is added, and the whole is set aside for fermentation. When
the tumultuous fermentation is over, the liquid is bottled. Ginger
beer thus made is, when properly fermented, of considerable alcoholic
strength, equal at least to the strongest Scotch ale.

(_b_) Keeps for many months. Take white sugar, 20 lb.; lime juice,
18 (fluid) oz.; honey, 1 lb.; bruised ginger, 22 oz.; water, 18 gal.
Of course the quantities can be modified. Boil the ginger in 3 gal.
water for ½ hour, the sugar, the lime juice, and the honey with
the remainder of the water, and strain through a cloth. When cold,
add the white of one egg and ½ oz. (fluid) essence of lemon. After
standing four days, bottle.

(_c_) Boil a sliced lemon with 1 oz. ground ginger in ½ pint water
for ½ hour; stand to settle, and pour off clear part into a vessel
containing 5 qt. cold water; add 1 lb. lump sugar and 1 oz. cream of
tartar; ferment with 2 oz. German or other yeast spread on toast or
plain bread; stand to ferment in warm place; cover from dust; bottle
soon as fermented; drink in three days.

(_d_) White sugar, 1 lb.; cream of tartar and ginger, each 1 oz.;
honey, 2 oz.; lemons, 2; water, 2 gal.; tartaric acid, 40 gr.; white
of an egg. Bruise the ginger, and let the water boil for 10 minutes;
pour it on the cream of tartar, sugar, and lemons. Let it stand till
cold, then add white of an egg and a tablespoonful of yeast; let it
work 6 hours, then add tartaric acid and bottle directly.

(_e_) Put into a 30 gallon brew 2 lb. of good fresh brewer’s yeast,
and stir it up well. Now allow it to ferment, taking care that there
shall be a gradual rise in temperature during fermentation. Skim
the yeast off carefully until the beer is ready for bottling (which
will not be under 24 hours), then add your eggs, and bottle quickly.
After bottling lay the bottles down, as they will mature better
than if standing up. The eggs have no effect on the strength of the
beer. The barm should not be skimmed off too often; it is necessary
to allow a good head to form before skimming. About three times
should be sufficient. 70° F. is too high a temperature to commence
a fermentation; better commence at 63° or 64° F. Beat up the eggs
with a birch rod, mixing well with 2 or 3 pints of beer; add it to
the beer after the fermentation is finished, then well mix the whole
together and bottle. If the fermentation has been conducted properly,
it will not be necessary to rack into a clean cask before fining and
bottling. Use sufficient yeast (2 lb.), avoid skimming too often, and
do not have the liquor too hot.

_Ginger Champagne._--This refreshing and agreeable beverage is,
according to a French recipe, made as follows:--Take 60 gal. water;
add 40 lb. ginger cut in small pieces, and gently boil for ½ hour,
carefully removing any froth that may arise. Cool the liquor as
quickly as possible, and when at a blood-heat (100° F.) add 9 lb.
raisins chopped fine, and the juice of 6 doz. oranges and 6 doz.
lemons. Allow the liquid to ferment, and after standing a month it
may be bottled in the usual manner. If desired, the ginger may be
omitted, and the number of oranges increased to 18 doz.

_Lemonade._--(_a_) A difference of opinion exists as to whether this
syrup is best by simmering over a slow fire, or by merely pouring
boiling water on the ingredients; but this is greatly influenced
by the quality of the water used. The quantity of sugar and citric
acid used to a gallon of syrup is also subject to variation, as some
like it more acidulated than others. The usual proportions are 27
lb. loaf sugar and 12 oz. citric acid, previously dissolved, to 3
gal. water. Simmer over a slow fire for 5 minutes; carefully skim
it and strain through a felt bag while hot; when cooled down to the
warmth of new milk, add about ½ oz. oil of lemon. A slight head is
considered an improvement, to produce which add about ½ oz. of the
French gum extract to 1 gal. syrup; 1 oz. of syrup is to be put into
the bottle, and the aerated water bottled on it at a pressure of 90
to 100 lb.

(_b_) Rinse out with boiling water an earthen glazed vessel, to warm
it; put into it about 27 lb. loaf sugar and 12 oz. citric acid,
previously dissolved in a small quantity of boiling water; stir
occasionally, and when properly dissolved, strain it through a felt
bag. Drop oil of lemon on some large lumps of sugar till they have
taken up ½ oz.; when the mixture has cooled down to the warmth of new
milk, drop in the lumps of sugar, and see that they are dissolved
before proceeding to use it. Tartaric acid may be used in place of
citric acid, but it is not so good. Use 1 oz. to each bottle, and
bottle as for (_a_).

As lemonade syrup forms the basis for so many of the saccharine
drinks, it may be as well to state that some makers prefer to use
less water, as well as to vary the proportions of citric acid and
sugar; it is also considered an improvement to add a drop or two of
otto of roses to each gallon of syrup; this, without adding at all to
the quality of the drink, throws off a pleasant aroma on the opening
of a bottle. Caramel is used for a strong colour.

_Nectar._--This is lemonade syrup, flavoured with the essence of
pineapple.

_Orange Champagne._--Take 7 gal. water, 20 oz. citric acid, 54 lb.
sugar. When cold add to each gallon 3½ oz. orange tincture; colour to
fancy (sugar colouring), add ¼ oz. albumen compound at the rate of 1½
oz. to a ½ pint bottle. This is a very delicious drink, and should be
put up in champagne bottles; a special corking machine is required,
and also a better cork than the one used for lemonade.

_Pepper Punch._--Take 1¼ oz. concentrated punch to 1 gal. plain
syrup; mix well; add a few drops essence of capsicine. About 1½ oz.
of the syrup for each bottle, filling up with aerated water.

_Tonic Lemonade._--Lemonade syrup flavoured with quinine, using the
same quantity as for tonic water; or to suit the palate.

The chief ingredient in all saccharine aerated drinks is the syrup.
This is formed by making concentrated solutions of sugar in pure
water, or in water containing the principles of various flavouring
substances; the former are called simple, and the latter compound
syrups.

There are many precautions to be taken in order to ensure the
production of good syrups, the most important being, perhaps, the
selection of the sugar. Cane-sugar only should be used, and that
should be perfectly refined. The least shade of colour in the sugar
is due to the presence of impurities, and syrup prepared from such
sugar not only has an unpleasant flavour, but is also very difficult
to keep. The use of common or brown sugar may be regarded, in many
cases, as an adulteration.

Syrups are very easily prepared. A hemispherical copper basin, not
tinned, but well polished, and kept scrupulously clean, is the
apparatus employed. This basin stands on three legs, and is furnished
with a false bottom, which is also hemispherical. The two hemispheres
are surrounded by a copper cylinder, fitted with a lid; the three
parts of the apparatus are fixed together by means of two circular
iron rings, which are fitted to the circumference of the hemispheres
and to the bottom of the cylinder, the whole being well pinned or
bolted together. A stop-cock in the outer hemisphere communicates
by means of a short pipe with the inner one, and serves to withdraw
the contents. Another cock, placed almost at the top, serves for the
admission of steam between the two bottoms; and the condensed water
is drawn off by means of a third cock communicating only with the
outer bottom, and placed at a short distance from the first. The
whole apparatus may be of any convenient size. Its chief advantage
is that the syrup can be heated to the required degree with the
utmost nicety; the steam is admitted until this degree is reached,
and the supply may then be stopped in a moment, thus ensuring perfect
regularity of working.

There are many circumstances which tend to produce changes in
syrups when made, and to cause them to degenerate and become
worthless; these must be carefully guarded against. The most
common is fermentation; this may be either the result of too short
or too long-continued boiling; or of the presence of an excess of
mucilaginous substances; or an imperfect clarification of the syrup
will also produce it in the course of time. But the most frequent
cause of fermentation is found in leaving the syrup in a warm place,
or in vessels which are not completely filled, and especially if they
happen to have been wet when the syrup was introduced. In order to
guard against under or over-boiling of simple syrups, it should be
laid down as a rule that they stand at 32° B. when boiling, and when
cold at 34° B. in winter, and 35° B. in summer. They should then be
bottled, and stored in a cool cellar.

In the preparation of syrups, which are solutions of sugar, more or
less strong according to the object for which they are used, care
should be taken to employ only the best refined sugar, and either
distilled or filtered rain-water, as they will be rendered much less
liable to spontaneous decomposition, and become perfectly transparent
without the trouble of clarifying. When, however, impure sugar is
employed, clarification is always necessary. This is best done by
dissolving the sugar in the water or fruit juices cold, and then
beating up a little of the cold syrup with some white of egg and 1 or
2 oz. cold water, until the mixture froths well; this must be added
to the syrup in the boiler, and when the whole is frisked up to a
good froth, heat should be applied, and the scum which forms removed
from time to time with a clean skimmer. As soon as the syrup begins
to simmer it must be removed from the fire and allowed to stand
until it has cooled a little, when it should again be skimmed, if
necessary, and then passed through a clean flannel. By using refined
sugar, however, all this trouble of clarification can be avoided.

When vegetable infusions or solutions enter into the compositions of
syrups, they should be rendered perfectly transparent by filtration
or clarification, before being added to the sugar.

The proper quantity of sugar for syrups will, in general, be found
to be 2 lb. to every pint of water or thin aqueous fluid. These
proportions allow for the water that is lost by evaporation during
the process, and are those best calculated to produce syrup of proper
consistence and possessing good keeping qualities. They closely
correspond to those recommended by Guibourt for the production of a
perfect syrup, which, he says, consists of 30 parts of sugar to 16
parts of water.

In the preparation of syrup it is of great importance to employ as
little heat as possible, as a solution of sugar, even when kept at a
temperature of boiling water, undergoes slow decomposition. The best
plan is to pour the water (cold) over the sugar, and to allow the two
to lie together for a few hours in a covered vessel, occasionally
stirring, and to apply a gentle heat, preferably that of steam or of
a water-bath, to finish the solution. Syrups are sufficiently boiled
when some taken up in a spoon pours out like oil, or a drop cooled
on the thumb nail gives a proper thread when touched. When a thin
skin appears on blowing the syrup, it is judged to be completely
saturated. These rude tests, however, often lead to errors, which
might be easily prevented by employing the proper proportions, or
determining the specific gravity by immersing in the syrup one of
Baumé’s saccharometers or syrup gauges, as indicated in the following
table:--

  Sugar in 100 parts.    Sp. Gr.    Deg. Baumé.
           0              1·000          0
           5              1·020          3
          10              1·040          6
          15              1·062          8
          20              1·081         11
          25              1·104         13·5
          30              1·128         16·3
          35              1·152         19
          40              1·177         21·6
          45              1·204         24·5
          50              1·230         27
          55              1·257         29·5
          60              1·284         32
          67              1·321         35

A fluid ounce of saturated syrup weighs 577½ gr.; a gallon weighs
13½ lb.; its specific gravity is 1·319 to 1·321 or 35° Baumé; its
boiling point is 221° F., and its density at the temperature of 212°
is 1·260 to 1·261, or 30° Baumé. The syrups prepared with the juices
of fruits mark about 2° or 3° more on Baumé’s scale than the other
syrups. According to Ure, the decimal part of the number denoting the
specific gravity of a syrup multiplied by 26 gives very nearly the
number of pounds of sugar it contains per gallon.

The preservation of syrups, as well as of all saccharine solutions,
is best promoted by keeping them in a moderately cool, but not a
very cold place. Let syrups be kept in vessels well closed, and in
a situation where the temperature never rises above 55° F. They
are kept better in small than in large vessels, as the longer the
bottle lasts the more frequently will it be opened, and the syrup
consequently exposed to the air. By bottling syrups while boiling
hot, and immediately corking down and tying the bottles over with a
bladder, perfectly air-tight, they may be preserved even at a summer
heat for years, without fermenting or losing their transparency.

The candying of syrups may be prevented (unless the syrup be
over-saturated with sugar) by the addition of acetic or citric acid,
2 or 3 dr. per gallon. Confectioners add a little cream of tartar
to prevent granulation. Syrups may be effectually prevented from
fermenting by the addition of a little sulphite of potash or lime;
also by the use of salicylic acid in small quantities. Fermenting
syrups may be immediately restored by exposing the vessel containing
them to the temperature of boiling water. The addition of a little
spirit is also good, say about 10 per cent.

A solution of sugar prepared by dissolving 2 parts of double refined
sugar in one of water, and boiling this a little, affords a syrup
which neither ferments nor crystallises.

The basis of most mineral water syrups is simple syrup, which is
prepared by adding 16 lb. of finest white sugar and the whites of 4
eggs to 1 gal. water; stir until all the sugar is dissolved; simmer
over a gentle heat for 2 or 3 minutes; skim well and strain through a
fine flannel bag.

The best way to keep fruit syrups from fermenting is by bottling
while hot, into suitable bottles or larger vessels, and to prevent
access of air. This is the principle, and it may be carried out
in various ways. For instance, fill the syrup while hot in quart
bottles, previously warmed, and fill them almost full. Cover or cork
the bottles temporarily until the syrup cools a little and contracts
in volume; then, having heated a small quantity of the syrup, refill
the bottles, cork them securely and wax them.

A great variety of syrups are made by the addition of proper
flavouring ingredients to simple syrup; but in other cases,
especially when the juices of fruits are employed, the syrup is not
first prepared and then flavoured, but the processes go hand-in-hand.
In such instances specific instructions will be given. It is always
advisable, when fresh fruit can be obtained, to use it in preference
to the essence. One general recipe, which answers for nearly all
fresh fruit, is as follows: Use nothing but the very best fresh
fruit, which must be freed from stocks, &c., and crushed with a
wooden instrument (not metal); when well mashed, let it stand in a
room of even temperature (about 68° F.) for 4 days, which will give
sufficient time for fermentation to take place; press out the juice
from the fruit and let it settle in a cool cellar for 2 days, after
which 5 lb. of the clear juice is to be simmered with 9 lb. loaf
sugar; while warm, strain through flannel. The colour may be improved
by a solution of some colouring agent.

It is advisable to add to the fresh fruit before setting it for
fermentation, about 2 lb. powdered loaf sugar for every 100 lb.
fruit. When cold, it is ready for bottling. Cleanliness should
be strictly observed in all the utensils used. When bottling for
storing, skim the top off any floating matter from the syrups in
the large pan, and see that no residue at the bottom goes into the
bottles. Most of the syrups not made of fruit, may have a little
mucilage of gum arabic added, in order to produce a rich froth. The
following recipes comprise syrups made from the fruit, and also from
essences. These may be varied to suit taste and requirements. A
variety of syrups have been brought into use by adding the various
wines, such as claret, hock, sherry, &c., to simple syrup; others, by
the addition of spirits, as milk punch, by adding to vanilla cream
Jamaica rum and nutmeg. Almost any syrup may be made by the addition
of a sufficient quantity of flavouring essence to simple syrup; but
these artificially prepared syrups are inferior to those made from
fresh fruits.

_Red Colouring for Soda-Water Syrups._--The most convenient is
probably tincture of cudbear, as it affords a good, substantial,
and natural-looking colour miscible with syrups without cloudiness.
It may be made as follows:--2 to 4 oz. powdered cudbear, 1 pint
diluted alcohol. Exhaust by maceration or displacement. Used alone,
the tincture gives a shade of red closely imitating the colour of
raspberries or currants. For deeper red, like blackberries, the
addition of some caramel is all that is necessary. The strawberry
colour is best imitated with tincture of cochineal. Aniline red,
owing to its cheapness, is often used for colouring syrups, but it
produces a glaring, artificial-looking bluish-red, and is liable to
the objection that it sometimes contains arsenic.

_Ambrosia Syrup._--A mixture of equal parts of vanilla and strawberry
syrups.

_Apple Syrup._--As for pineapple syrups.

_Banana Syrup._--As for pineapple syrups.

_Blackberry Syrup._--Prepared from ripe fruit the same as raspberry
syrups. Improved by adding 1 oz. best French brandy to each quart.

_Capillaire Syrup._--9 lb. loaf sugar, 5 lb. orange-flower water.
Boil till the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear; while hot,
strain through flannel; add to the cool syrup 2 dr. tartaric acid,
previously dissolved in 8 oz. strongest orange-flower water; lastly
add 4 oz. best Rhine wine.

_Cream Syrup._--(_a_) 1 pint condensed milk, 1 pint water, 1¼ lb.
sugar. Heat to boiling and strain. This will keep for over a week in
a cool place.

(_b_) Imitation.--Make an emulsion with 3 oz. fresh oil of sweet
almonds, 2 oz. powdered gum arabic, and 2 oz. water; then dissolve 1
lb. white sugar by gentle heat, strain, and when cool, add the whites
of two eggs. It should be put up in small bottles, well corked, in a
cool place. This is not only an excellent imitation and substitute
for cream syrup, but will keep for a considerable time.

_Currant Syrup._--(_a_) 6 pints simple syrup, 2 pints water, 2 oz.
tartaric acid, 3 dr. fruit essence. Mix; colour with liquid carmine
for red currants, and with burnt sugar, for black.

(_b_) 1 pint red currant juice, 1 gal. simple syrup.

_Ginger Syrup._--(_a_) 6 pints simple syrup, 2 pints water, 1 oz.
tartaric acid, 2 oz. ginger. Burnt sugar to colour.

(_b_) 4 oz. extract Jamaica ginger, 1 gal. syrup. Shake well. A few
drops of tincture curcuma to colour.

(_c_) 9 lb. loaf sugar, 5 lb. water, 12 oz. essence of ginger, 4 oz.
Rhine wine. Boil sugar and water until dissolved and clear; when
cool, add ginger and wine. Mix well and let settle.

_Grape Syrup._-½ pint brandy, 1 oz. tincture of lemon, 1 gal. simple
syrup, 1 qt. tincture red saunders.

_Imperial Syrup._--Equal parts of raspberry and orange syrups.

_Lemon Syrup._--(_a_) Grate off the yellow rinds of lemons, and
beat it up with a sufficient quantity of granulated sugar; express
the lemon juice; add to each pint of juice 1 pint of water, 3½ lb.
granulated sugar, including that rubbed up with the rind; warm until
the sugar is dissolved and strain. Under no circumstances must the
syrup be allowed to boil, and the less heat that can be used to
effect the complete solution of the sugar the better will be the
syrup.

(_b_) Add to 1 gal. simple syrup when cold, 20 drops fresh oil lemon
and ½ oz. citric acid, previously dissolved in 3 oz. water; mix by
shaking well in a bottle; add 4 oz. gum solution, made by dissolving
2 oz. fine white gum arabic in 2 oz. warm water.

(_c_) 6 pints simple syrup, 2 pints distilled water, 2 oz. essence of
lemon, 2 oz. citric acid, dissolved in boiling water. Mix, and, if
required, colour with saffron.

_Maple Syrup._--3½ lb. maple sugar, 1 qt. water. Dissolve, and, if
desired, add a small proportion of gum solution to produce a rich
froth.

_Milk-Punch Syrup._--To 1 pint heavy syrup add ½ pint each brandy and
Jamaica rum; flavour with 2 teaspoonfuls of an extract prepared by
macerating 2 oz. ground nutmegs in 8 oz. alcohol. The syrup is first
to be poured into the glass in the proper quantity, and ordinary
cream syrup added before drawing the soda water.

_Mulberry Syrup._--Made from the fruit, the same as strawberry, and
acidulated slightly with a solution of citric acid. It may also be
made from the fruit essence in the same manner as for strawberry,
using about half the quantity of tartaric acid.

_Nectar Syrup._--(_a_) 1 oz. extract of vanilla, 1 oz. extract of
rose, 1 oz. extract of lemon, 1 oz. extract of bitter almonds. Mix
and add 1 gal. of simple syrup; colour pink with cochineal.

(_b_) Mix 3 parts vanilla syrup with 1 each of pineapple and lemon
syrups.

_Orange Syrups._--These may be made from the fresh fruit or from the
essence in a similar manner as for lemon syrups. Orange syrups may be
coloured slightly with tincture of saffron or of turmeric.

_Orgeat Syrup._--(_a_) ½ pint cream syrup, ½ pint simple syrup, 1
pint vanilla syrup, 5 drops oil bitter almonds.

(_b_) Beat to an emulsion in a mortar 8 oz. blanched sweet almonds
and 4 oz. bitter ones, adding a little water; when smooth, add 3
pints water; mix and strain; dissolve in this without heat 6 lb.
sifted white sugar, and 4 oz. fresh orange-flower water.

(_c_) An excellent imitation of orgeat syrup is made by flavouring
cream syrup, made with eggs and milk, with a few drops of oil of
bitter almonds.

_Pear Syrup._--As for pineapple syrups.

_Pineapple Syrup._--(_a_) Take a convenient number of the fruit; pare
and mash them in a marble or porcelain mortar, with a small quantity
of sugar; express the juice; for each quart of juice take 1½ pint
water, and 6 lb. sugar; boil the sugar and water, and add the juice;
remove from the fire; skim and strain.

(_b_) 6 pints simple syrup, 2 pints distilled water, 1 oz. tartaric
acid, 1 dr. essence of pineapple. Saffron to colour.

(_c_) Proceed as for raspberry (_d_); but the hard nature of this
fruit requires pounding with a heavy chump of wood (not metal) in a
tub with a strong bottom; when well mashed, it will require great
pressure to extract all the juice from this fruit; a cider press will
answer the purpose; add 14 lb. sugar to 1 gal. juice and a little
pure acetic acid; put it on a slow fire, and stir until the sugar
dissolves; when cold, bottle and tie down.

_Raspberry Syrup._--(_a_) Take fresh berries and enclose them in a
coarse bag; press out the juice, and to each quart add 6 lb. white
sugar and 1 pint water; dissolve, raising it to the boiling point;
strain; bottle and cork hot, and keep in a cool place. Raspberry
syrup is improved by adding 1 part of currants to 4 parts of
raspberries.

(_b_) 5 qt. raspberries, 12 lb. white sugar, 1 pint water. Sprinkle
some of the sugar over the fruit in layers, allowing the whole to
stand for several hours; express the juice and strain, washing out
the pulp with the water, add the remainder of the sugar and water;
bring the fluid to the boiling point, and then strain. This will keep
for a long time.

(_c_) 6 pints simple syrup, 2 pints water, 2 oz. tartaric acid, 2 oz.
essence of raspberry. Colouring sufficient. Colouring for raspberry,
blackberry, &c., syrups may be made by boiling 1 oz. cochineal with
half a teaspoonful cream of tartar; filter.

(_d_) Take any quantity of fully ripe fruit; free them from stalks;
place them in a tub and crush them with a wooden spatula; after
they have been mashed, let them remain for 3 or 4 hours, and strain
the crushed berries through a strong flannel bag or strainer into
a suitable vessel. Dissolve ½ oz. citric acid in 3 oz. water, and
add this quantity to each gallon of juice; mix 14 lb. broken sugar
to every gallon of juice; put on a slow fire and stir until all the
sugar is dissolved (not boil); take off the fire, and when cold,
bottle and cork for future use. If too thick when cold, it may be
brought to a proper consistency by the addition of water.

(_e_) Imitation.--3 oz. bruised orris root, 2 oz. acetic acid, 1 oz.
acetic ether, 1 pint alcohol. Cochineal to colour. Mix and allow to
stand a few days; filter, and use to flavour simple syrup.

_Rose Syrup._--1 gal. simple syrup, 1 oz. essence of rose. Colour
pink with prepared cochineal, and acidulate lightly with a solution
of citric acid.

_Rowan Syrup._--Dry the berries till they are quite shrivelled. Then
place them in brandy, and leave them in it for 7-10 days. Strain
it off the berries at the end of that time, and mix with an equal
quantity of thick very clear syrup made with loaf sugar in a brass
boiler. A handful of picked berries is sufficient for 1 pint brandy.
This is a very palatable liqueur.

_Sarsaparilla Syrup._--(_a_) 1 gal. simple syrup, 2 oz. essence of
sarsaparilla. Colour with caramel.

(_b_) 1 gal. simple syrup, essence of sarsaparilla, q.s., 1 oz.
powdered extract licorice, 15 drops oil of sassafras, 15 drops oil of
wintergreen, 10 drops oil of aniseed. Stir the oils with the powdered
licorice; add a portion of the syrup; stir smoothly, and mix the
whole together by agitation.

_Sherbet Syrup._--Mix equal parts of orange, pineapple, and vanilla
syrups.

_Sherry Cobbler Syrup._--To 1 pint good sherry add an equal measure
of heavy simple syrup, and one lemon cut in very thin slices. Allow
the syrup to stand a few hours; strain through a sieve, and bottle
for use.

_Strawberry Syrup._--Proceed as for raspberry syrup (_d_); but the
fruits being more stubborn will require a good beating with the
spatula to mash them; when they have stood 3 or 4 hours, strain and
press the juice out by squeezing the strainer between the hands;
add to the juice the same quantity of citric acid; dissolve in each
gallon 14 lb. loaf sugar; simply warm the juice sufficiently to
dissolve the sugar; take from the fire, and when cold bottle and cork
till required.

_Vanilla Syrup._--(_a_) 1 gal. simple syrup, 1 oz. extract vanilla, ½
oz. citric acid. Stir the acid with a portion of the syrup; add the
extract of vanilla; mix.

(_b_) 4 pints simple syrup, 2 oz. extract of vanilla.

The essences used by aerated water makers are usually purchased ready
made, though in many cases it is found desirable to prepare them at
the factory. Below are given a few recipes for those most commonly
used:--

For essence of lemons, remove the outer rinds of 40 lemons, without a
particle of pulp, and macerate them with 6 qt. perfectly pure alcohol
at 85°. After two or three days, distil to dryness in a water-bath;
add 2 qt. water and rectify to obtain 5 qt. of the essence. The
essences of oranges and cedrats are made in precisely the same way.

For essence of strawberries and raspberries, take 56 lb. of the
fresh fruit, free from stalks and leaves, and place them in 45 qt.
pure alcohol at 80°. Macerate for 24 hours in a vessel closed in
a water-bath; add 20 qt. water, and distil to obtain 44 qt., each
containing 17½ oz. of essence.


=Beer.=--Owing in a great measure to Excise restrictions, very little
home-brewed beer is made now in England; but a few notes may be
useful.

_Half-hogshead of Ale._--Take 5 bush. pale malt, 4 lb. best Worcester
hops; put into mash tub 30 gal. hot water (202° F.), 13 gal. cold
water (49° F.), mean heat 166° F.; shake the malt in and stir it
well about, and let it stand 1½ hour; draw off the wort and mix it
with the hops; pour over the grains sufficient hot water at 200° F.
to fill your barrel, allowing some for waste in boiling and working.
Boil the wort and hops for one hour. Put 1 pint yeast to 3 gal. wort,
at 72° F., to begin to work, and add the remainder at 68° F.

_Summer Beer._--Over 1 bush. (40 qt.) malt pour enough boiling water
to enable you to draw off 100 qt. of wort. Put into the wort ½ lb.
hops, and boil it an hour. Having washed your mashing tub well
from the grains, pour the wort into it, and, when cooled to the
temperature of new milk, add in summer ½ pint of yeast, in winter a
little more. Cover the tub with a cloth, and let it work till next
day; pour it into your barrel before it begins to sink, and rack
it before the barrel is stopped up. It will be fit to drink in a
fortnight or three weeks.

_Champagne Beer._--According to Teltscher, of Breslau, this beer
is prepared in the following manner:--A light, strongly hopped,
bottom-fermentation beer is left in cask until fit for consumption,
and is then mixed with 2 per cent. of “Krausen-beer” (that is to
say, beer in the first stage of active fermentation), and bottled.
The bottles are filled up, carefully corked, and racked with the
necks downwards, in which position they are left for a fortnight.
The mixture develops an amount of carbonic acid not obtainable in
other light bottom-fermentation beers strongly hopped. The reversed
position of the bottles causes the floating particles of yeast to
settle inside the necks, and by drawing the bottles lengthwise
through the hands daily, these particles are detached and settle down
finally on the cork. When the beer has generated enough carbonic acid
gas, as indicated by its paleness, which sometimes occurs as early as
the eighth day, the bottles are taken one by one in the left hand,
with the neck inclining outwards and downwards, and the cork being
removed with the right, the internal pressure is allowed to blow away
the sediment from the neck. The bottles are then carefully re-corked.
In this way a light bottom-fermentation beer, strong of the hop,
and perfectly free from yeast, is obtained, which, owing to the
large proportion of carbonic acid it holds, retains its refreshing
properties at temperatures as high as 18° C. (64° F.), whereas beers
of a _like_ character with little or no carbonic acid become flat at
8° C. (46° F.). That the beer can be drunk without artificial cooling
is put forward as another recommendation.

_Bottling Beer._--(_a_) The bottles should be clean, sweet, and dry,
the corks sound and good, and the beer “fine.” When the bottles are
filled, if for home consumption, they should not be corked till the
day following, and if for exportation to a hot climate, they must
stand 3 days or more (if the liquor is new); it should be well corked
and wired, but for family use they may do without wiring, only they
should be well packed in sawdust, and stand upright. But if some are
wanted ripe, keep a few packed on their sides, so that the liquor
may touch the corks, and this will soon ripen, and make it fit for
drinking.

(_b_) Choose clear weather, and leave the bung out of the cask all
night. Fill the bottles, throw sheets of paper over them to keep out
the dust, let them stand 24 hours, then cork, wire, and pack away in
a cool place. If for immediate use, ripen by adding a piece of sugar
to each bottle before corking.

_Brightening Cloudy Beer._--Add calcined oyster shells, but after the
application of oyster shells the ale requires to be rapidly drunk, as
it will not keep good for any length of time. At the time of being
brewed, if it is rapidly cooled, it never will become cloudy. All
depends upon the time it takes to cool.

_Restoring Sour Beer._--When beer has once been sour, i.e. has once
been through acetous fermentation, it never again will have its
former brilliancy, liveliness, or full flavour; it will always remain
acid. Procure a 4½ gal. cask (commonly called a pin), rack the ale
into it, and get about 3 oz. of new hops, which put in the pin, bung
it down tight, put it in a cellar, where let it remain six months at
least; it may then be better.

If beer is sour in bottles, put ¼ teaspoonful of soda carbonate and
a large teaspoonful of brown sugar into each bottle; then cork well,
and tie it down the same as ginger beer, and place the bottles cork
downwards for about 3 weeks, where it is not too cold.

_Finings._--(_a_) Take 1½ pints water and 2 oz. unslaked lime, mixed
well together; let them stand 4 hours, and when the sediment is
settled pour it off clear and mix 2 oz. isinglass, cut small, in ½
pint water. When dissolved put it into a barrel of beer.

(_b_) Eggs, any quantity; beat them to a froth and expose them to a
gentle heat or in the sun to dry; then powder. In some cases a little
fine wheat flour is added, the paste made into balls, and dried in
the sun or a warm room, and then powdered.

(_c_) Isinglass, 1 lb.; water, 8 gal.; vinegar, 4 gal. Mix the
vinegar and isinglass, and macerate for 4 days, then add the water.

(_d_) Isinglass, 1 lb.; sour beer or cider, 5 gal.; water, 6 gal.
Digest the first two until the isinglass is dissolved, then add the
water, and strain.

_Weevil in Malt._--This can be killed by heat or checked by cold. If
the temperature is raised to 167°-190° F., the insects die; if cold
air is introduced, they cease to breed. Frequent turning of the malt,
careful whitewashing of the walls, and the introduction of cold air
(leaving all the windows open for two or three frosty nights) are the
best preventives.


=Bitters.=--The following are the chief kinds in vogue.

_Amazon._--90 gal. plain proof spirit; 3¼ lb. red Peruvian bark; 3¼
lb. calisaya bark; 1⅛ lb. calamus root; 4¾ lb. orange peel; 3½ oz.
cinnamon; 3½ oz. cloves; 3½ oz. nutmeg; 2 oz. cassia buds; 6½ lb. red
sanders wood. First mash all the ingredients, put them in the spirit,
and let them infuse 14 days, stirring the mixture well twice every
day. Rack off and colour with 11 pints brandy colouring, to get a
dark red tint. Stir ¼ hour. Dissolve 30 lb. white sugar in 30 gal.
water; add, and again stir ½ hour. Let the mixture rest 4 or 5 days,
and when bright, bottle. If the sanders wood is not used, the colour
will be a bright amber. Compounded according to the above directions,
will yield 120 gal. 25° below proof.

_Angostura._--4 oz. gentian root; 10 oz. each calisaya bark, Canada
snake-root, Virginia snake-root, liquorice root, yellow bark,
allspice, dandelion root, and Angostura bark; 6 oz. cardamom seeds;
4 oz. each balsam of tolu, orangetis, Turkey rhubarb, and galanga;
1 lb. orange peel; 1 lb. alkanet root; 1½ oz. caraway seed; 1½
oz. cinnamon; ½ oz. cloves; 2 oz. each nutmegs, coriander seed,
catechu, and wormwood; 1 oz. mace; 1¼ lb. red sanders wood, and 8 oz.
turmeric. Pound these ingredients and steep them for 15 days in 50
gal. proof spirit; before filtering, add 30 lb. honey.

_Aromatic._--Macerate 2¾ lb. ground dried small orange apples, ¼ lb.
ground dried orange peel, 2 oz. ground dried calamus root, 2 oz.
ground dried pimpinella root, 1 oz. ground dried cut hops, for 14
days, with 10 gal. of spirit at 45 per cent.; press, and add 2½ pints
brown-sugar syrup. Filter. Colour dark brown.

_Boker’s._--1½ oz. quassia; 1½ oz. calamus; 1½ oz. catechu
(powdered); 1 oz. cardamom; 2 oz. dried orange peel. Macerate for 10
days in ½ gal. strong whisky, and then filter and add 2 gal. water.
Colour with mallow or malva flowers.

_Brandy._--Grind to coarse powder 3 lb. gentian root, 2 lb. dry
orange peel, 1 lb. cardamom seeds, 2 oz. cinnamon, 2 oz. cochineal.
Infuse 10 days in 1 gal. brandy, 8 gal. water, and filter.

_Essence._--40 gal. proof spirit, 1 drm. oil of anise, 1 drm. oil of
caraway, ½ drm. oil of cloves, 1 drm. oil of lemon, 1 drm. oil of
oranges, 1 drm. oil of cinnamon, ½ drm. oil of bitter almonds, 1 gal.
sugar syrup. Cut the oils in 95 per cent. alcohol, and mix. Colour
with brandy colouring.

_French Cognac._--1½ lb. each red Peruvian bark, calisaya bark,
bitter orange peel, and sweet orange peel; 2 oz. calamus root; 4 oz.
cardamom seeds; 1½ oz. each cinnamon, cloves, and nutmegs; 4 oz.
caraway seed; and 3 lb. wild cherry bark. Pound all these ingredients
to a coarse powder and steep for 15 days in 45 gal. proof spirit (or
60 gal. spirit 25° below proof), stirring occasionally. Then rack it
off, and mix sufficient caramel to make it a dark red; add 15 lb.
white sugar dissolved in 15 gal. water; let the whole settle, then
filter. If the bitters are required to be of an amber colour, omit
the wild cherry bark and the caramel colouring.

_Hamburg._--Grind to a coarse powder 2 oz. agaric, 5 oz. cinnamon, 4
oz. cassia buds, ½ oz. grains of Paradise, 3 oz. quassia wood, ¾ oz.
cardamom seeds, 3 oz. gentian root, 3 oz. orange apples dried, 1½ oz.
orange peel; macerate with 4¼ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, mixed with
5¾ gal. water; add 2¾ oz. acetic ether. Colour brown.

_Nonpareil._--Grind to coarse powder 2 oz. Peruvian bark, ½ oz.
sweet orange peel, ½ oz. bitter orange peel, 25 gr. cinnamon, 25 gr.
cloves, 25 gr. nutmeg, 15 cayenne seeds. Infuse 10 days in 2 gal. 65
per cent. alcohol, then filter.

_Orange._--(1) Macerate 6 lb. orange peel for 24 hours with 1 gal.
water, cut the yellow part of the peel from off the white, and chop
it fine; macerate with 4¾ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol for 2 weeks, or
displace; then add a syrup made of 4¼ gal. water and 16 lb. sugar.
Filter through Canton flannel. (2) ½ oz. Seville orange peel, ¼ oz.
lemon peel, ¼ oz. gentian root, ¼ oz. ginger, all bruised and put
into a jug; pour a pint of boiling water on it, and cover up with a
cloth.

_Peruvian._--8 oz. red Peruvian bark; 8 oz. orange peel; 1½ drm.
each cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; and 75 cayenne pepper seeds.
Infuse them, well bruised, in 8 gal. proof spirit, for 15 to 20 days,
stirring every day. Draw off and filter.

_Spanish._--Grind to coarse powder 5 oz. polypody, 6 oz. calamus
root, 8 oz. orris root, 2½ oz. coriander seed, 1 oz. centaurium, 3
oz. orange peel, 2 oz. German camomile flowers; then macerate with 4¾
gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, and add 5¼ gal. water and 1½ oz. of sugar.
Filter, and colour brown.

_Stomach._--Grind to a coarse powder ½ lb. cardamom seeds, ⅛ lb.
nutmegs, ¼ lb. grains of Paradise, ½ lb. cinnamon, ¼ lb. cloves, ¼
lb. ginger, ¼ lb. galanga, ¼ lb. orange peel, ⅛ lb. lemon peel; then
macerate with 4¾ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, and add a syrup made of
4½ gal. water and 12 lb. sugar; filter.

_Stoughton._--(1) To 12 lb. dry orange peel, 3 lb. Virginia
snake-root, 1 lb. American saffron, 16 lb. gentian root, add 1 lb.
red sanders wood. Grind all the ingredients to a coarse powder, and
macerate for 10 days in 20 gal. 65 per cent. alcohol, then filter.

(2) 2 lb. ginseng; 2 lb. gentian root; 1½ lb. dry orange peel; ½ lb.
Virginia snake-root; 1 oz. quassia; ¼ lb. cloves; 3 oz. red sanders
wood; 3 gal. alcohol 95 per cent.; 3 gal. soft water. Grind all the
ingredients to coarse powder, infuse 10 days, and filter.

_Wild Cherry._--Wild cherry bark, 4 lb.; squaw vine (Partridge
berry), 1 lb.; Juniper berries, 8 oz. Pour boiling water over, and
let stand for 24 hours; strain, and pour again boiling water on the
ingredients; let macerate for 12 hours, then express and filter
through paper, so that the whole will make 5 gal., to which add 3½
lb. of sugar; 1½ gal. molasses; 6 oz. tincture of peach kernels; 3
oz. tincture of prickly ash berries; 2 qt. alcohol.


=Cordials and Liqueurs.=--These consist mainly of best spirit
flavoured with essences and sweetened with white-sugar syrup.

_Absinthe._--This liqueur is prepared in various ways. (_a_) The
genuine Swiss absinthe is prepared in the following manner: by
macerating 4 oz. wormwood herb, 2 oz. star anise-seed, 2 oz. green
cherry leaves, 2 oz. sage herb, in 5 gal. proof spirit; and after one
week’s maceration add ¼ oz. oil of anise, ½ oz. oil of bergamot, ¼
oz. oil of fennel.

(_b_) Another recipe for making the absinthe is, to dissolve the best
oil of wormwood, say 2 oz., in 5 gal. pure spirit, and add ½ oz. oil
of anise, ¼ oz. oil of calamus, ¼ oz. oil of orange, 1 gal. white
syrup, and prepare the colour from neutral extract of indigo, made
green with tincture of turmeric.

(_c_) 4 lb. tops of _Absinthum majus_, 2 lb. tops of _A. minus_, 15
gr. angelica root, 15 gr. Chinese aniseed, 15 gr. calamus aromaticus,
15 gr. dittany of Crete, 4 gal. brandy 12 u.p.; macerate for 10 days;
add 1 gal. water; distil 4 gal. by gentle heat, and dissolve 2 lb.
crushed white sugar in the distilled spirit.

_Alkermes._--(_a_) 1 lb. bay leaves, 1 lb. mace, 2 oz. nutmegs, 2 oz.
cinnamon, 1 oz. cloves, all bruised; 3½ gal. cognac; macerate for 3
weeks, frequently shaking; distil 3 gal., and add 18 lb. clarified
spirit of kermes, 1 pint orange-flower water; mix well, bottle.

(_b_) 4 gal. British brandy; spice as (_a_), 1 gal. water; macerate
as (_a_); distil 4 gal. and add 2 gal. capillaire and ¼ pint sweet
spirit of nitre. Cassia often replaces the cinnamon.

_Angelica Cordial._--To 1 oz. oil of angelica add ¼ oz. calamus,
dissolve them in 1 gal. pure spirit, and add 1 gal. white-sugar syrup.

_Angelica Ratafia._--1 dr. angelica seeds, 4 oz. angelica stalks, 1
oz. bruised, blanched bitter almonds, 6 qt. proof spirit or brandy;
digest for 10 days, filter, add 1 qt. water, 3½ lb. white sugar; mix
well, and in a fortnight decant clear portion through flannel.

_Anise Liqueur._--1 lb. essence of anise, ¼ lb. tincture of orris, 20
drops oil of coriander, 2 bar. pure spirits.

_Anise-seed Cordial._--Dissolve 3 dr. oil of anise-seed in 2¾ gal. 95
per cent. alcohol; then add 2½ gal. fine white syrup, mixed with 4¾
gal. water. Stir and filter.

_Anisette._--(_a_) Dissolve 2 oz. oil of anise and ½ oz. oil of star
anise in 10 gal. pure spirit, and add 2 gal. white-sugar syrup to it.

(_b_) 2 oz. aniseed (or 1½ dr. essential oil) and 3 lb. sugar per
gal. If weaker than 45 u.p. it cannot be made full flavoured without
liability to milkiness.

(_c_) 4 oz. aniseed, 1 oz. bruised coriander seeds, 1 oz. bruised
sweet fennel seeds, ½ gal. rectified spirit, 3 qt. water; macerate
for 5 or 6 days; distil 7 pints, and add 2½ lb. lump sugar.

(_d_) 15 drops oil of aniseed, 6 drops cassia oil, 6 drops caraway
oil; rub with a little sugar, and dissolve in 3 qt. spirit 45 u.p. by
well shaking together; filter if necessary, and dissolve 1½ lb. sugar
in the clear liquid.

(_e_) 1 gal. brandy or proof spirit, ¾ lb. sugar, dissolved in 1 pint
aniseed water.

(_f_) Put in a barrel 13 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol. Dissolve 3½ oz.
essence of green anise-seed in 1 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, and add ½
gal. orange-flower water, 8 or 10 drops infusion of mace, and 5 drops
essence of cinnamon. Then put in the barrel 26 gal. sugar syrup 25°
Baumé. Stir and filter.

_Apple or Cider Brandy._--1 lb. oil of apple, ½ lb. oil of pear, 1
gal. syrup of gum arabic, 5 bar. good rectified spirit.

_Aromatic Wine-bitters._--Macerate 1 lb. orange peel, 2 lb. orange
buds, ½ lb. agaric, ½ lb. Peruvian bark, 1 lb. gentian root, 5 gal.
Teneriffe wine, 20 gal. spirits of wine.

_Blackberry Brandy._--(_a_) 1 lb. essence of blackberry, 1 gal.
blackberry juice, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 4 bar. pure spirit.

(_b_) To 10 gal. blackberry juice and 25 gal. spirit 40 above proof,
add 1 dr. each of oil of cloves and oil of cinnamon dissolved in
95 per cent. alcohol, and 12 lb. white sugar dissolved in 6 gal.
water. Dissolve the oils separately in ½ pint 95 per cent. alcohol;
mix both together, and use half the quantity; if the cordial is not
sufficiently flavoured, use the balance.

(_c_) ¼ oz. each of cinnamon, cloves, and mace, 1 dr. cardamom. Grind
to a coarse powder; add to 16 lb. blackberries, mashed, and 5 gal.
95 per cent. alcohol. Macerate for two weeks; press; then add 10 lb.
sugar, dissolved in 3⅜ gal. water. Filter.

_Blackberry Cordial._--(_a_) Crushed blackberries, 1 gal.; sugar, 2
lb.; brandy, 1 gal. Macerate the berries in the brandy for 5 or 6
days; express the liquor; add the sugar and after 2 weeks decant and
filter.

  (_b_) Dried blackberries                     16 oz.
          Or fresh blackberries                 4 pints.
        Powdered blackberry root               12 oz.
        Powdered mace                           1½ oz.
        Powdered cassia                         9 dr.
        Powdered allspice and cloves, of each   5 dr.
        Sugar                                  60 oz.
        Brandy                                  2 pints.
        Port wine                               1½ pints.
        Alcohol                                 1 pint.
        Water                                   q.s.

Soak the berries, if dry, in q.s. of water, and express, and repeat
until 6½ pints of juice are obtained. If the berries are fresh,
express the juice, and mix water with residue, to wash out all juice;
then add water to make it measure 6½ pints. Mix the spirit with the
6½ pints of juice; moisten the powders with this mixture, and pack in
a percolator. Allow it to drain, and pour on water until percolate
measures 10 pints; then add the sugar, dissolve and, if necessary,
filter.

_Brandy Shrub._--1 gal. brandy, 1 pint orange juice, 1 pint lemon
juice, peel of 2 oranges and 1 lemon; digest for 24 hours, strain,
add 4 lb. white sugar dissolved in 5 pints water; in a fortnight
decant the clear liquid.

_Cacao._--Infuse 1 lb. Caraccas cacao nuts, cut small, add ½ oz.
vanilla in 1 gal. brandy for 8 days; strain, and add 3 qt. thick
syrup.

_Caraway._--From the essential oil or the seed (1 fl. dr. of the
oil = ¼ lb. seed), using 2½ lb. sugar per gal., and adding a little
cassia oil and essence of lemon or orange.

_Cedrat._--(_a_) 1 pint spirit of citron, 1 qt. spirit of cedrat, 3
qt. proof spirit, 16 lb. white sugar dissolved in 2 gal. pure soft
water.

(_b_) ¼ oz. cedrat essence, 1 gal. pure proof spirit; dissolve; add
3 pints water; agitate well; distil 3 qt., and add equal measure of
clarified syrup.

_Celery Cordial._--To 1 lb. essence of celery, add 1 gal. pure spirit
and 1 gal. syrup of white sugar.

_Chartreuse._--Macerate 64 parts by weight, each, of the fresh herb
of sweet balm and hyssop, 32 parts of fresh root of angelica, 16 of
cannella, and 4 each of Spanish saffron and mace, in 1000 parts of
alcohol, for 8 days. Then distil it on to a certain quantity (which
varies according to the colour desired) of fresh balm and hyssop;
after a time these are expressed, the liquor sweetened with 125 parts
of sugar, and filtered.

_Cherry-bounce._--(_a_) This is a very wholesome cordial, and may,
with great benefit, be taken by persons affected with cough of long
standing, or those suffering with lung complaint. Take 5 gal. cherry
juice, 2 gal. syrup of white sugar. And dissolve in 1 gal. pure
spirit, ½ oz. oil of bitter almonds, ¼ oz. oil of cloves, ¼ oz. oil
of cinnamon. Mix all together.

(_b_) To 15 gal. cherry juice, add 15 gal. 80 per cent. spirit; 30
gal. Catalonia or Marseilles wine; 1½ oz. essence of noyeau; 3 oz.
mace infused in 1 qt. 95 per cent. alcohol; ½ lb. cinnamon infused in
½ gal. water; ¼ lb. cloves ground and infused in 1 qt. water. Put all
the above ingredients in a clean barrel and add 60 gal. sugar syrup
25° B. Stir up the ingredients well, and filter after 4 or 5 days.
If the colour is not deep enough, add a little sugar colouring. The
above recipe is to make 120 gal., but a much smaller quantity may be
made by reducing the quantity of each ingredient and observing the
same proportion in all.

(_c_) To 12 gal. cherry juice, add 30 gal. 80 per cent. spirit; 30
gal. Catalonia or Marseilles wine; 3 oz. essence of noyeau; ½ lb.
cinnamon ground and infused in ½ gal. water; ½ lb. cloves ground and
infused in ½ gal. water; 1½ oz. mace infused in 1 pint 95 per cent.
alcohol. Mix all the above ingredients in a clean barrel, and add 60
gal. sugar syrup 13° B. Stir up all the ingredients well together,
and filter after 4 or 5 days. Make the colour a little darker with
sugar colouring, and to give a good shade add a little orchil.

_Cherry Brandy._--(_a_) 1 lb. essence of cherry, ¼ lb. essence of
pineapple, ¼ oz. oil of cinnamon, ¼ oz. oil of cloves, 4 bar. pure
rectified spirits, 2 gal. cherry juice.

(_b_) Mash 16 lb. of black cherries with their stones; 5 gal. 95 per
cent. alcohol. Macerate for 2 weeks; press; then add 10 lb. sugar,
dissolved in 3⅜ gal. water. Filter.

_Cherry Cordial._--Good French brandy, 1 qt.; juice of cherries, 1
qt.; best white sugar, finely powdered, 2 lb. Add the sugar to the
juice and stir until it is thoroughly dissolved; add the brandy, and
filter through blotting-paper.

_Cherry Ratafia._--8 lb. Morella cherries with kernels bruised, 1
gal. brandy or proof spirit, 2 lb. sugar; as currant.

_Cinnamon._--Usually made from cassia bark or oil (1 oz. oil = 8 lb.
bark or buds), with 2 lb. sugar per gal., adding 5 or 6 drops each
of essence of lemon and orange peel, with a spoonful of essence of
cardamoms per gal. About 1 fl. dr. of the cassia oil suffices for 2½
gal. Colour with burnt sugar.

_Cinnamon Brandy._--1 lb. essence of cinnamon, ½ lb. essence of
cherry, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 4 bar. pure spirits.

_Citron._--From the oil or peel, with 3 lb. sugar per gal.

_Citronelle._--(_a_) 2 oz. fresh orange peel, 4 oz. fresh lemon peel,
½ dr. cloves, 1 dr. coriander seed, 1 dr. cinnamon, 4 pints proof
spirit; digest for 10 days, add 1 qt. water, and distil to ½ gal.;
add 2 lb. white sugar dissolved in 1 qt. water.

(_b_) 1 dr. essence of lemon, ½ dr. essence of orange, 10 drops clove
oil, 10 drops cassia oil, 20 drops coriander oil, 5 pints spirit 58
o.p.; agitate till dissolved; add 3 pints distilled or soft water;
well mix, filter through paper, if necessary; finally add q.s.
dissolved sugar.

_Clairet._--1 oz. aniseed, 1 oz. fennel seed, 1 oz. coriander seed,
1 oz. caraway seed, 1 oz. dill seed, 1 oz. candy-carrot seed, ½ gal.
proof spirit; digest for a week, strain, and add 1 lb. loaf sugar
dissolved in water.

_Clove._--1 oz. bruised cloves (or 1 fl. dr. essential oil), 3 gal.
proof spirit: when distilling, add some salt, and use a quick fire;
sweeten with fully 3 lb. sugar per gal.; and colour with poppy
flowers or burnt sugar; add 1 dr. bruised pimento or 5 drops of the
oil per oz. of cloves.

_Clove Brandy._--1 lb. essence of cloves, ½ lb. essence of cherry, ¼
lb. essence of ginger, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 4 bar. pure spirit.

_Clove-pink Ratafia._--4 lb. clove pinks without the white buds, 15
gr. cinnamon, 15 gr. cloves, 1 gal. proof spirit; macerate 10 days,
express tincture, filter, and add 2½ lb. white sugar.

_Cocoa Ratafia._--1 lb. Caraccas cacao, ½ lb. W. Indian, both bruised
and roasted; 1 gal. proof spirit; digest 14 days, filter, and add 2½
lb. white sugar, ½ dr. tincture of vanilla; decant in a month, and
bottle.

_Coffee Ratafia._--1 lb. roasted and ground coffee, 1 gal. brandy or
proof spirit, 2 lb. sugar dissolved in 1 qt. water.

_Coriander._--As cloves, adding a few sliced oranges.

_Cream Ratafia._-¼ pint noyeau cream, ¼ pint sherry, ½ pint
capillaire, 1 pint fresh cream; beaten together.

_Crême de Macarons._--(_a_) 1 dr. cloves, 1 dr. cinnamon, 1 dr. mace,
all bruised, 7 oz. bitter almonds, blanched and beaten to a pulp, 1
gal. spirit 17 u.p.; digest for a week, filter, and add 6 lb. white
sugar dissolved in 2 qt. pure water.

(_b_) 2 gal. clean spirit 24 u.p., ¾ lb. bitter almonds, 1½ dr.
cloves, 1½ dr. cinnamon, 1½ dr. mace, in coarse powders; infuse 10
days, filter, and add 8 lb. white sugar dissolved in 1 gal. pure
water; tint with infusion or tincture of litmus and cochineal. The
almonds may be reduced to half.

_Crême de Naphe._--7 qt. spirit 60 u.p. containing 3½ lb. sugar per
gal., 1 qt. orange-flower water.

_Crême des Barbades._--As citronelle, adding orange juice and 1 lb.
more sugar per gal.

_Crême d’Orange._--3 doz. sliced oranges, 2 gal. rectified spirit;
digest 14 days; add 28 lb. loaf sugar, previously dissolved in 4½
gal. water; 1½ fl. oz. tincture of saffron, 2 qt. orange-flower water.

_Curaçao._--(_a_) This liqueur derives its name from the Curaçao
peel, as it is nothing else but a tincture of the Curaçao orange
peel, sweetened and flavoured with more essential oils. Macerate 5
lb. green Curaçao orange peel in 6 gal. pure spirits, adding about ¼
lb. red sanders wood for obtaining at the same time the reddish brown
colour; after a week’s digestion, strain off, and dissolve ¼ oz. oil
of bitter almonds, ¼ oz. oil of cinnamon in the above tincture, and
then add 1 gal. white-sugar syrup; when all ingredients are mixed,
filter and fill in bottles, and after standing a few weeks it will
produce a delightful cordial.

(_b_) Spirit 56 u.p., containing 3½ lb. sugar per gal., flavoured
with a tincture made by digesting the “oleo-saccharum,” prepared from
9 Seville oranges, 1 dr. cinnamon and ¾ dr. mace in 1 pint rectified
spirit; colour by digesting 1 oz. powdered Brazil wood for 10 days,
and mellow with burnt sugar.

(_c_) 2 lb. Curaçao orange peel, ½ lb. Ceylon cinnamon. Let them soak
in water; boil them for 5 minutes with the juice of 32 oranges and 14
gal. white plain syrup; then add 6 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol; strain,
filter; colour dark yellow with sugar colouring.

(_d_) 2 oz. each essence of bitter oranges and neroli; ¼ oz. essence
of cinnamon; 3 dr. mace infused in alcohol. Dissolve the above
essences in 1 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, then put in a clean barrel
13 gal. 85 per cent. alcohol, 26 gal. sugar syrup 30° B., and add 1
gal. perfumed spirit. Colour with saffron or turmeric.

_Curaçao Cordial._--Oil of orange, very fresh, 1 dr.; oil of
cinnamon, 1 drop; oil of juniper berries, 2 drops; oil of coriander
seed, 2 drops; deodorised alcohol, 3 pints; simple syrup, 2 pints;
water, sufficient to complete 1 gal. Mix the alcohol with an equal
volume of water, and add the mixture slowly to the essential oils
previously rubbed in a mortar with carbonate of magnesia or phosphate
of lime. Transfer the whole to a bottle, and set it aside with
occasional agitation, for 2 or 3 days. Then add the simple syrup,
the remainder of the water, and filter through paper. This gives the
_white cordial_; for the _red_, infuse in the alcoholic menstruum
about 2 dr. of cudbear.

_Currant Ratafia._--1 qt. black currant juice, 1 dr. cinnamon, ½ dr.
cloves, ½ dr. peach kernels, 1 gal. brandy, 3 lb. white sugar; digest
for fortnight, and strain through flannel.

_Dorée._-½ oz. cinnamon, ½ oz. bitter orange peel; ½ oz. Peruvian
bark, ¼ oz. hay saffron, 3 qt. brandy, 3 qt. Malaga wine; digest for
a week, strain, and add 2 lb. lump sugar.

_Dry Ratafia._--5 pints gooseberry juice, 1 pint cherry juice, 1 pint
strawberry juice, 1 pint raspberry juice, 6 qt. proof spirit, 7 lb.
sugar; macerate.

_Elixir Vitæ._--Macerate for 10 days, in 5 gal. pure spirits, 1 oz.
zedoary root, 1 oz. ginger root, ½ oz. gentian root, ½ oz. agaric,
¼ oz. rhubarb root. Strain off the clear tincture, and add 2½ gal.
water and ½ gal. syrup.

_Extract Bishop_ or _Glow-wine_.--1 lb. tincture of Curaçao peel, ¼
lb. tincture of orange buds. Dissolve in the same 5 drops of the oil
of nutmegs, 10 drops of the oil of cloves, 20 drops of the oil of
cinnamon. Mix them together, and add about ½ gal. sugar syrup.

_Extract Punch._-½ oz. essence of Jamaica rum, 1 oz. tartaric acid,
1 gal. sugar syrup, 2 gal. pure spirits, 10 drops oil of lemon.
Dissolve the oil of lemon and essence of rum in the spirits, and the
tartaric acid in a little water, before adding all together.

_Four-fruit Ratafia._--30 lb. cherries, 15 lb. gooseberries, 8 lb.
raspberries, 7 lb. black currants; express the juice, and add 6 oz.
sugar to each pint, with 6 gr. cinnamon, 3 gr. mace, and 3 gr. cloves.

_Ginger Brandy._--1 lb. essence of ginger, 20 drops oil of bergamot,
¼ lb. tartaric acid, 1 gal. elderberry juice, 1 gal. syrup of gum
arabic, 4 bar. pure spirits.

_Ginger Cordial._--To 1 qt. essence of ginger add 1 gal. pure spirit
and 1 gal. white-sugar syrup.

_Gold Cordial._--1 lb. sliced angelica root, ½ lb. raisins, 2 oz.
coriander seeds, 1½ oz. caraway seeds, 1½ oz. cassia, ½ oz. cloves,
4 oz. figs, 4 oz. sliced licorice-root, 3 gal. proof spirit, 1 gal.
water; digest 2 days, and distil 3 gal. by gentle heat; add 9 lb.
sugar dissolved in 1 qt. rose water and 1 qt. clean soft water;
colour by steeping 1¼ oz. hay saffron.

_Grenoble Ratafia._--(_a_) 2 lb. small wild black cherries, with
kernels bruised, 1 gal. proof spirit, 3 lb. white sugar, a few gr.
citron peel; as Juniper.

(_b_) 1 qt. cherries with bruised stones, 2 qt. rectified spirit;
mix; digest for 48 hours, express the liquor, heat to boiling in a
close vessel; when cold add enough sugar or capillaire, with a little
noyeau, syrup of bay laurel and galangal, to flavour; decant in 3
months, and bottle.

_Hop Cordial._--The following is recommended as a palatable
preparation, not inferior to many of the so-called “Hop Bitters.”

  Hops                           2 oz.
  Dandelion                      2 oz.
  Gentian                        2 oz.
  Camomile                       2 oz.
  Stillingia                     2 oz.
  Orange peel                    2 oz.
  Alcohol, water, of each   77 fl. oz.
  Syrup, simple             12 fl. oz.

Exhaust the solids, with the alcohol and water, and add the syrup.

_Huile de Venus._--2½ oz. wild carrot flowers, 3 lb. sugar per gal.
spirit; coloured by cochineal powder.

_Juniper Ratafia._-¼ lb. juniper berries, each pricked with a fork,
40 gr. caraway seed, 40 gr. coriander seed, 1 gal. finest malt spirit
22 u.p., 2 lb. white sugar; digest a week, strain with expression.

_Kirschwasser._--Dissolve 1 oz. oil of bitter almonds in 3 gal. pure
spirits, and add 1 gal. white-sugar syrup.

_Kümmel._--1 lb. essence of caraway, ¼ oz. oil of anise, ¼ oz. oil of
fennel, 20 drops oil of neroli, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 2 bar.
pure spirits.

_Lemon Cordial._--2 oz. fresh lemon peel, 2 oz. dried lemon peel, 1
oz. fresh orange peel, digested in 1 gal. proof spirit for a week;
strain with expression, add enough soft water to reduce to desired
strength.

_Lime-juice Cordial._--4 oz. glucose, 1 pint syrup, 1 pint lime
juice, 36 oz. water; tincture of lemon peel and triple orange-flower
water, each sufficient to flavour.

_Liquodilla._--3 sliced oranges and 3 sliced lemons, with 2½ lb.
sugar per gal.

_Lovage._--1 oz. fresh lovage roots per gal., ¼ oz. each fresh roots
of celery and fennel; also sometimes a little fresh valerian root and
oil of savin before distillation.

_Malliorca d’Espagne._--40 gal. 55 per cent. alcohol, 5 oz. essence
green anise-seed and 5 oz. essence of star anise dissolved in 95 per
cent. alcohol, ½ dr. ether (to give the cordial age). Stir and filter.

_Mandarin Delight._--1 gal. spirit 22 u.p., ½ gal. pure soft water,
4½ lb. white sugar, crushed small, ½ oz. Chinese aniseed, ½ oz.
ambrette, ¼ oz. safflower; digested together in a stone jar of double
the capacity and agitated every day for a fortnight.

_Maraschino._--(_a_) This is an Italian cordial, while the curaçao
is a favourite in Holland. Maraschino derives its aroma from the oil
of bitter almonds, blended with the oils of cinnamon and rosewater,
&c. 10 gal. pure spirits, 1 oz. oil of bitter almonds, ½ oz. oil of
cinnamon, ¼ oz. oil of cloves, ¼ oz. oil of vanilla, 5 drops oil
of rose, 5 drops oil of neroli, 5 drops oil of bergamot. To this
solution add 2 gal. white-sugar syrup, ¼ gal. rosewater, and ¼ gal.
orange-flower water; mix together, filter, and fill in bottles.

(_b_) Dissolve in 1½ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, 1½ oz. essence of
maraschino, 1½ dr. essence of rose, ½ dr. essence of noyeau, 5 drops
essence of cloves, and 8 drops essence of cinnamon; add ½ gal. orris
root flavouring. Mix the above with 12 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol and
26 gal. syrup of 30° B. Stir thoroughly and filter.

(_c_) 4 oz. essence of noyeau; 1 oz. essence of rose; ½ oz. essence
of neroli (genuine); 4 dr. of mace, infused in 95 per cent. alcohol;
¼ lb. cinnamon, infused in 1 qt. water; 2 oz. cloves, infused in 1
pint water; 2 lb. orris root (powdered), infused in 2 gal. 95 per
cent. alcohol for 15 days. Dissolve the essences in 2 gal. 95 per
cent. alcohol. Mix, put into a barrel 41 gal. 85 per cent. alcohol;
add the aromas, in 4 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, sugar syrup, 90 gal.
at 32° B. Stir all the ingredients well together for at least ½ hour
and let the mixture stand 2 weeks; then filter and put in the filter
2 or 3 sheets of filtering paper.

(_d_) 1¼ oz. essence of maraschino, 1½ dr. essence of rose, ½ dr.
essence of noyeau, 8 drops essence of cinnamon, 5 drops essence of
cloves, ½ lb. orris root (powdered), infused in ½ gal. 95 per cent.
alcohol for 15 days. Dissolve the essences in 1 gal. 95 per cent.
alcohol. Mix, put in a barrel 12 gal. 80 per cent. alcohol and add 2
gal. 95 per cent. perfumed alcohol (as described above); sugar syrup,
26 gal. at 25° B. Mix and filter.

(_e_) 3½ oz. essence of noyeau, 6 dr. essence of rose. Dissolve in ½
gal. 95 per cent. alcohol, and add 4 spoonfuls of magnesia, 1 gal.
orange-flower water, ½ lb. cinnamon (bruised) infused in ½ gal.
water, ¼ lb. cloves (bruised), infused in ¼ gal. water, 4 dr. mace
infused in alcohol, 2 lb. orris root (powdered) infused in 2 gal. 95
per cent. alcohol for 15 days. Mix 41 gal. 80 per cent. alcohol, 90
gal. syrup at 25° B., and add 4 gal. perfumed spirits, as described
above. Stir and filter as already directed.

_Molucca Balm._-½ oz. cloves, 1 dr. mace, 1 gal. clean spirit 22
u.p.; infuse for a week in a well-closed jar, frequently shaking;
colour with burnt sugar; to clear the liquor, add 4½ lb. loaf sugar
dissolved in ½ gal. pure water.

_Nectar Cordial._--1 oz. oil of bitter almonds, ½ oz. oil of orange,
½ oz. oil of cloves. Dissolve them in 1 gal. pure spirits, and add 1
gal. white-sugar syrup and 2 gal. of Teneriffe wine.

_Noyeau._--This cordial is generally drunk by ladies, and requires to
be very sweet. Take 1 oz. oil of bitter almonds, ½ oz. oil of orange,
¼ oz. oil of cinnamon. Dissolve in 2 gal. pure spirits, and add 1
gal. syrup of white sugar.

_Noyeau Ratafia._--120 peach or apricot kernels, bruised, 2 qt. proof
spirit or brandy, 1 lb. white sugar; digest for a week, press, filter.

_Orange._--As lemon, using ½ lb. fresh orange peel per gal.

_Orange Brandy._--2 oz. oil of orange, 10 drops oil of neroli, 1 lb.
essence of orange, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 4 bar. pure spirits.

_Orange Elixir._--(_a_) To 5 gal. pure spirits add ½ lb. orange
peel, ¼ lb. calamus root, ¼ lb. hops. After macerating for one week,
strain, and add 1 gal. sugar syrup, and colour with sugar colouring.

(_b_) Dissolve in 3 gal. pure spirits, 1 oz. oil of orange, ¼ oz. oil
of calamus, add 1 gal. white-sugar syrup, and colour the whole with
sugar colouring.

_Orange-flower Ratafia._--2 lb. fresh orange petals, 1 gal. proof
spirit, 2½ lb. white sugar; as clove pink; 1 dr. neroli may replace
the orange-flower.

_Orange Gin._--The rinds of 8 Seville oranges and 8 large lemons, cut
very thin, put into 1 gal. gin for 4 days. Then strain off the spirit
from the rinds. Have ready 4 lb. loaf sugar boiled in 1 pint water,
which must be thrown into the spirit boiling hot and well stirred, to
cause it to mix well together. When cool, bottle.

_Orgeat._--To milk of blanched sweet almonds, 2 lb., add 2 dr. oil of
bitter almonds, 1 dr. oil of orange, 1 gal. white-sugar syrup, ½ gal.
spirit.

_Parfait Amour._--(_a_) Macerate in 10 gal. pure spirit, 2 oz. orris
root, 4 oz. raisins, 2 oz. figs, for one week. Then dissolve ¼ oz.
oil of lemon, 1 dr. oil of cinnamon, 1 dr. oil of juniper, 1 dr.
oil of calamus, 1 dr. oil of cloves, 1 oz. oil of vanilla. Colour
by sugar colouring, and add 4 gal. white-sugar syrup: it is then
filtered through a woollen filtering-bag, and filled in bottles.

(_b_) 3 lb. sugar per gal., flavoured with yellow rind of 4 lemons,
and a teaspoonful of essence of vanilla; coloured with cochineal.

_Peach Brandy._--(_a_) 1 lb. essence of peach, 1 gal. syrup of gum
arabic, 1 oz. acetic ether, 1 oz. pineapple ether, 4 bar. pure
spirits.

(_b_) Mash 18 lb. of peaches, with their stones; macerate them for 24
hours with 4¾ gal. of 95 per cent. alcohol and 4 gal. water. Strain,
press, and filter; add 5 pints white plain syrup. Colour dark yellow
with burnt sugar colouring.

(_c_) Take 4½ oz. powdered bitter almonds, 3¼ gal. 95 per cent.
alcohol, 5¼ gal. water. Mix together, and macerate for 24 hours; then
add a strained syrup, made of 3¾ lb. sugar, 1 pint peach jelly, 2¼
oz. preserved ginger, 1 lemon cut in slices, 1 dr. grated nutmegs, 1
dr. allspice in powder, and 5 pints of water boiled for 2 minutes.
Mix the whole, and filter.

_Peppermint._--5 oz. peppermint oil, 3 pints rectified spirits of
wine, well agitated for some time in a corked bottle holding 4 pints;
empty into a 100 gal. cask, pour in 36 gal. white and flavourless
proof spirit, and agitate 10 minutes; add solution of 2¾ cwt. best
double-refined lump sugar in 35 gal. pure filtered rain-water, and
“rummage up” for 15 minutes; add sufficient clear rain-water to
make up to 100 gal., containing 5 oz. alum in solution, and again
shake for ¼ hour; then bung down and let repose a fortnight before
broaching. If at all thick, add 2 oz. salt of tartar dissolved in 1
qt. hot water, and let stand a few days.

_Peppermint Brandy._--To 40 gal. proof spirit add 4 oz. essence of
peppermint, dissolved in 95 per cent. alcohol. Colour with ½ lb.
powder of turmeric infused in 1 gal. spirit 95 per cent. Use this
infusion in such quantity as to get the proper shade.

_Peppermint Cordial._--To 1 oz. oil of peppermint dissolved in 1 gal.
pure spirit, add 1 gal. syrup of white sugar.

_Peppermint Liqueur._--1 lb. essence of peppermint, ¼ lb. sulphuric
ether, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 2 bar. pure spirit.

_Plum or Zwetschen Brandy._--(_a_) This favourite German liquor, also
called Sligowitz, is prepared from 1 lb. plum essence, ½ lb. acetic
ether, ½ lb. banana, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 4 gal. pure spirits.

(_b_) Another mode of preparing the sligowitz or plum brandy is from
prunes, which are mashed together with the kernels, and exposed to
fermentation, when it is again distilled, and produces a fine spirit.

_Provençal Ratafia._--1 lb. striped pinks, 1 qt. brandy or proof
spirit, ¾ lb. white sugar, ¾ pint strawberry juice, 20 gr. saffron;
as Clove-pink.

_Quince Ratafia._--3 qt. quince juice, 3 dr. bitter almonds, 2 dr.
cinnamon, 2 dr. coriander seeds, ½ dr. mace, 15 gr. cloves, all
bruised; ½ gal. flavourless rectified spirit; digest for a week,
filter, add 3½ lb. white sugar.

_Railroad Liqueur._--To 5 gal. pure spirits add ¼ oz. oil of
peppermint, ¼ oz. oil of absinthe, 10 drops oil of roses. Add to the
solution 1 gal. white syrup, and colour the liqueur with blue orchil.

_Raspberry Brandy._--1 lb. essence of raspberry, 1 lb. acetic acid,
1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 1 gal. raspberry juice, 4 bar. pure
spirits.

_Raspberry Cordial._--Take 5 gal. raspberry juice, 2 gal. white-sugar
syrup, and 1 gal. pure spirits.

Quince, gooseberry, strawberry, black and red currant, peach, nut,
and apple cordials, are all prepared in the same manner from their
respective juices.

_Red Ratafia._--3 qt. black cherry juice, 1 qt. strawberry juice, 1
qt. raspberry juice, 1 dr. cinnamon, 15 gr. mace, 15 gr. cloves, 2
gal. proof spirit or brandy, 7 lb. white sugar, macerate.

_Roman Punch._--This very refreshing beverage is prepared from 1 oz.
lemon juice or citric acid, ½ oz. essence of rum, dissolved in 1 gal.
pure spirit, adding ½ gal. syrup of sugar. Mix all together, and
filter.

_Rose Cordial._--To ½ oz. otto of rose add ¼ oz. oil of bitter
almonds. Dissolve in 1 gal. highest-proof alcohol, add 1 gal. syrup
of white sugar, and colour by cochineal rose colour.

_Rum Shrub._--34 gal. proof rum, 2 oz. orange oil, 2 oz. lemon
oil, dissolved in 1 qt. rectified spirit, 300 lb. good lump sugar
dissolved in 20 gal. water; mix well by “rummaging”; gradually and
cautiously add enough Seville orange juice or solution of tartaric
acid in water to produce pleasantly perceptible acidity; rummage for
15 minutes; add sufficient water to make up 100 gal.; again rummage
for ½ hour; bung loosely, and let remain for about a fortnight,
when it should be sufficiently “brilliant” for racking. It is much
improved by adding 1 oz. each of bruised bitter almonds, cloves,
and cassia, the peel of about 2 doz. oranges, and a “thread” of the
essences of ambergris and vanilla.

_Sarsaparilla Mead._--(_a_) Sarsaparilla root, contused, 1 lb.;
sassafras, 8 oz.; aniseed, 2 oz.; ginger, 2 oz.; cloves, 1 oz. Boil
for 15-20 minutes in 8 gal. water; strain and set the liquor aside
for several hours to become clear. Then decant, and transfer to a
10 gal. soda-water fountain, adding to it molasses, 3 qt.; honey,
3 pints. Complete with water the 10 gal., and charge with carbonic
acid gas. (_b_) Another way is to add to the completed mixture 1 qt.
brewer’s yeast, and when the fermentation is about half completed, to
bottle the mead in ordinary soda-water bottles.

_Shrub._--1 pint Seville orange juice, 3 pints rum or brandy, 2 lb.
white sugar. When the sugar is dissolved, strain the mixture through
a jelly-bag and bottle it.

_Sighs of Love._--(_a_) Proof spirit, flavoured with equal parts otto
of roses and capillaire.

(_b_) 6 lb. sugar, enough pure water to make 4 gal. syrup; add 1
pint eau-de-rose, 7 pints proof spirit; colour pale pink by powdered
cochineal; 1 drop essence of ambergris or vanilla improves it.

_Sloe Gin._--(_a_) To 1 gal. gin in a 2 gallon jar put 3 qt. sloes, ½
oz. bitter almonds, 2½ lb. loaf sugar, or the same quantity of sugar
candy, if preferred. Let it be well shaken twice a week for 3 months.
Then strain and bottle it, and well seal the corks. It will keep for
years, and improve whilst in bottle. (_b_) Pick the sloes free of
stalks, and let them be quite dry. Fill wine or other bottles, that
are wide enough at the mouth to admit the fruit, with them. Next put
in as much white pounded sugar as you can, then fill up with gin and
cork. Shake well every few days for 14 days. Leave for 6 months, then
strain off through a piece of muslin into clean bottles.

_Strawberry Cordial._--Take any quantity of thoroughly ripe
strawberries, pour over as much proof spirit as will cover them;
allow to stand for 24 hours; drain off and replace with the same
quantity of fresh proof spirit; allow to stand another 24 hours; now
drain off and replace with water; add fine sugar or syrup in the
proportion of 3 lb. to every gallon of the mixed liqueur; also, a
gill of orange-flower water. Filter and bottle.

_Tears of the Widow of Malabar._--As molucca balm, using ½ oz. mixed
cloves, 1 dr. shredded mace, and 1 teaspoonful essence of vanilla for
flavouring; also ¼ pint orange-flower water. Slightly colour with
burnt sugar.

_Tent._--1 qt. port wine, 1 qt. plain spirit 22 u.p., 1 pint sherry,
1 pint soft water, ¼ pint orange-flower water, ¼ pint lemon juice, 2
drops essence of ambergris, 2 lb. sugar.

_Tolu Ratafia._--1 oz. tolu balsam, 1 qt. rectified spirit, dissolve;
add 3 pints water; filter, and further add 1½ lb. white sugar.

_Vermouth._--Take of Peruvian bark ½ oz.; lemon peel, angelica
root, balm leaves, lesser centaury, of each 3 dr.; juniper berries,
coriander seeds, cinnamon, mace, of each 1½ dr.; wormwood, 1 dr.;
syrup of bitter orange peel, 4 oz.; spirits of wine, 3 oz.; dry white
wine, 3 gal.; macerate for some days and filter.

_Violet Ratafia._--3 oz. orris powder, 4 oz. litmus, 2 gal. rectified
spirit; digest 10 days, strain, add 12 lb. white sugar dissolved in 1
gal. soft water.

_Walnut Ratafia._--60 young walnuts with soft shells, pricked; 2 qt.
brandy, 15 gr. mace, 15 gr. cinnamon, 15 gr. cloves; digest for 8
weeks; press, filter, add 1 lb. white sugar; keep for some months.

_Wormwood Liqueur._--1 lb. essence of wormwood, 1 oz. oil of tansy, 1
oz. oil of calamus, 2 oz. oil of orris, 1 gal. syrup of gum arabic, 3
bar. pure spirits.


=Wine, and Miscellaneous Drinks.=--Fruits intended for making wine
must be perfectly ripe and sound, and gathered in dry weather. The
most convenient sized cask is 10 gal. All utensils must always be
scoured and scalded, and set out of doors to sweeten the day before
being used. The tub in which the liquor is put to settle should have
a tap within 3 in. of the bottom, so that the wine may be drawn,
instead of poured off, without disturbing the lees or sediment;
which must not on any account be put into the cask until it has
been filtered well. The sieves and flannel strainers should be kept
perfectly sweet, and exposed to the fresh air, and nothing of brass
or copper used.

Never add the yeast for fermentation until the liquor is cool enough
to receive it: 85° F. is about the proper temperature. Stir the
liquor well occasionally, and cover the vessel close in cold weather.
When liquor is working in a cask, it must be kept quite full to allow
it to work out, or the wine will not be clear; keep a tile over the
bung-hole that the froth may escape, or put the bung on lightly.
Fermentation will be accelerated by mixing the yeast with 2 qt. of
the liquor in a jar for 10 minutes, and then adding it to the whole
quantity.

Wines made from raspberries, mulberries, elderberries, blackberries,
and all such fruits as produce much sediment, should always be
filtered through flannel bags into the cask, as this saves much
trouble in fining and racking. Wines never “feed” on the lees, but,
on the contrary, fret; and if not made strong, frequently go sour.

When the liquor is ready for putting into the cask, draw it off as
long only as it runs clear; then filter the lees more than once, if
necessary, and fill completely. Put any overplus into bottles, with
a small quantity of brandy, as a reserve for filling up in future.
When brandy is to be added, take out 3 qt. of the wine, pour in the
spirit, and then fill up. Never add water to wines when casked;
should there by accident be a deficiency of the liquor, add foreign
wine mixed with brandy.

Racking off is best performed by drawing the wine off into a clean
vessel as long as it runs perfectly clear, then put in a cork, and
turn the lees out in a separate tub, and filter it well. Next return
all that is bright into the same cask; add what is recommended, and
stop it up again securely. This should be done in cool weather, or
early in the morning.

When bottling take care that your bottles are clean and not specked,
or they will leak; fill them so that the wine will just come in
contact with the cork when driven home. Use the best corks, and dip
each in some of the wine, or in brandy, which is better. Seal the
corks of such white wines as require caution when ripe, with green
wax to distinguish them, and fasten them with wire. All newly-made
wines should be kept in cool, dry, dark cellars. When casks are
emptied, stop all the holes to prevent their becoming musty or foul.

Bins are formed of brickwork, board, or iron. Place some fine dry
sand over the bottom of each bin, and make it quite level. On this
lay down 2 or 3 laths, so that the necks of the first layer of
bottles may rest on them, and at the same time be quite level. They
are usually placed in rows two deep, and in laying them down, be
careful the shoulders of one row do not touch those of the opposite
one, or they will break from the pressure. Be sure that the bottom
rows are perfectly secure, as upon these depends the safety of the
whole pile. Upon the first layers of bottles place a lath, to support
the necks of those in the second row, the bottoms of which should
rest on the laths placed over the necks of the first in the intervals
between each bottle neck. Continue in this way until the piles are 3
or 4 ft. high.

All the bins that contain wine should be labelled, to specify the
kind of wine and the date of their being bottled.

To cool wine, swathe the bottle or decanter in a wet bandage, and
stand it in the full heat of the sun; when the bandage is nearly dry
the wine will be found as cool as if iced.

_Apple Wine._--Cut up 1 lb. of apples into quarters, add ½ lb. sugar,
and then pour over them ½ gal. boiling water. Let it get cold, and
then pulp the apples. Pour the fluid over the pulp, let it stand an
hour, and then strain. This forms an agreeable drink, the acid of the
apple blending with the sweet of the sugar pleasantly, so as to be
grateful to a parched palate.

_Apricot Wine._--Boil 10 gal. river water ½ hour, and set it to
cool in a clean vessel. Cut 45 lb. ripe apricots into thick slices,
and put them, with their juice, into the water, adding 25 lb. best
loaf sugar, and stir them well; then cover the vessel closely, and
let them steep until the day following. Boil the liquor and fruit
together, stir in the whites of 8 eggs well beaten, and take off the
scum as it rises. When the liquor is clear, and the fruit is reduced
to a pulp, press, and strain it through a fine sieve, into a cooler,
add the stones broken, and stir well. Spread good yeast on both sides
of a toast, and when the liquor is at its proper warmth, work it well
2 days, and strain it through a jelly-bag into the cask, put on the
bung lightly, and let it work over, keeping the cask full, and when
it has done fermenting, add to it 2 qt. French brandy, and 2 oz.
white sugar-candy. Then put in the bung, and secure it well, keep it
12 months, and then bottle it. It must remain in bottle a year or
more, for it is a very rich wine, and will improve greatly by age.

_Badminton._--(_a_) 1 bot. vin ordinaire, 2 bot. soda water, 1 small
glass pale brandy; add lemon peel, sugar, and ice.

(_b_) 1 bot. light claret, 1 or 1½ glass sherry, 1 bot. soda water,
crushed sugar to taste.

(_c_) Put the parings of half a cucumber in a cup with white sugar;
pour on 1 bot. claret, and let stand ½ hour in ice; add 1 bot. soda
water.

_Balm Wine._--Into 8 gal. water put 20 lb. moist sugar; boil for 2
hours, skimming thoroughly; then pour into a tub to cool; place 2½
lb. balm tops, bruised, into a barrel with a little new yeast; when
the liquor is cold, pour it on the balm; stir it well together, and
let it stand 24 hours, stirring it frequently; then close it up
tightly at first, and more securely after fermentation has quite
ceased; when it has stood 2 months, bottle off, putting a lump of
sugar into each bottle; cork down well, and keep in bottle at least a
year.

_Barley Water._--Wash the barley well, add a few strips of
lemon-peel, very thin, and pour on the water boiling. The juice of
the lemon should be squeezed in fresh just before it is served.
Robinson’s patent barley is best (see p. 775).

_Beetroot Beer._--Having well cleansed and scraped the roots,
removing the discoloured portion near the set of the leaves, cut them
into pieces of an inch or so in thickness, fill the copper with them,
and then put in as much water as will just cover them. Boil for about
5 hours, place them lightly in a wicker basket or sieve to drain, but
do not put any pressure upon them. Then put the liquor back into the
boiler, and to every 7 pails liquor put 3 lb. hops; boil together
for 2 hours, and then strain through the sieve. When cool work it
with yeast, the same as other beer. The scum which rises should
be removed before casking. Beetroot may be substituted for malt if
deprived of the greater part of its juice by pressure, then dried
and treated in the same manner as the grain intended for brewing.
The beer made from beetroot has been found perfectly wholesome and
palatable, and little inferior to that prepared from malt.

_Bilberry Wine._--The fruit should be picked on a very dry day, when
it is quite ripe. The leaves and stalks must be carefully removed
from the berries and the fruit, then weighed. To 4 gal. fruit allow
either 6 gal. cold water or 3 gal. water and 3 of cider, and 10 lb.
good moist sugar; let all these ingredients ferment in an open tub
until working is over; then add ½ gal. brandy, a handful of lavender
and rosemary leaves mixed, 2 oz. powdered ginger, and 2 oz. powdered
tartar; let the liquor rest after this addition for 48 hours, then
strain very carefully through a hair sieve into a perfectly clean
cask, laying the bung lightly on the bung-hole until the working is
quite over, and no hissing sound is heard; then close down quite
tightly, and bottle off at the end of 3 months; keep 6-8 months in
bottle before use.

_Birch Wine._--(_a_) Take 11 gal. of the sap of a healthy birch tree,
fresh as you can get it, boil it gently as long as any scum rises,
which must be carefully taken off to avoid wasting it. Add to the
clear liquor 25 lb. best loaf sugar, boil it again 20 minutes with
the whites of 10 eggs beaten to a froth, and skim frequently until it
is beautifully bright. Set it in a clean vessel to cool, and when at
96° F. put into it a toast well spread on both sides with thick fresh
ale yeast, and keep it closely covered up, 6 or 7 days, stirring
daily. Rinse a sweet 10 gal. cask with a pint of old raisin wine,
filter the liquor into it, add the thin yellow rinds of 2 lemons and
3 Seville oranges, and 3 qt. French brandy, put in the bung, and
secure it with paper and sand. Set it in a cool cellar, and bottle
it in 2 years; fasten the corks down with wire, and seal with wax. A
year later it will be in perfection.

(_b_) Boil 9 gal. healthy birch sap with 2 lb. clarified honey
½ hour, skimming it well. Beat 9 whites of eggs up with ½ oz.
isinglass, dissolved in a cupful of cold water, and put in 20 lb.
loaf sugar broken small. Mix this well with the liquor when cool, and
boil it ½ hour longer, skimming and stirring until it is quite clear.
Put it into a tub, and when milk warm stir well into it ¼ pint of
strong yeast; let it work 3 days in the tub, then put it into your
cask, add the rinds of 6 lemons and 2 lb. best raisins, and keep the
bung out until the fermentation has ceased. Put to the wine a bottle
of old Madeira and 1 qt. the best brandy; stop the cask up safely,
and let it stand 6 months. Draw off the wine into a clean vessel
as long as it runs clear, then filter the dregs through 3 folds of
flannel, and put all back again into the same cask; fasten the bung
in well, and put clay over it. In 6 months you may bottle it; seal
and wire the corks to prevent accidents, for it is a lively wine, and
should be kept in a cool cellar. When it has been bottled 6 months it
will be fit for use.

_Bishop._--Make several incisions in the rind of a lemon; stick
cloves in the holes and roast the lemon at a slow fire. Put small
but equal quantities of cinnamon, cloves, mace, and allspice into
a saucepan, with ½ pint of water; let it boil until it is reduced
one-half. Boil a bottle of port wine; burn a portion of the spirit
out of it by applying a lighted paper to the saucepan. Put the
roasted lemon and spice into the wine; stir it up well, and let it
stand near the fire 10 minutes. Rub a few knobs of sugar to taste
on the rind of a lemon, put the sugar into a bowl or jug, with the
juice of half a lemon (not roasted), pour the wine into it, grate
some nutmeg into it, sweeten it to your taste, and serve it up with
the lemon and spice floating in it. Oranges are sometimes introduced
instead of lemons.

_Blackberry Wine._--Mix 45 qt. ripe blackberries, well picked and
pressed, with 10 lb. good honey, and 26 lb. strong, bright, moist
sugar; boil it with 12 gal. soft water and the whites of 12 eggs,
well beaten, until it is reduced to 10 gal., skimming it until
perfectly clear. Strain it into a tub, and let it stand until the
next day, then pour it clear off the lees, and boil it again ¾ hour,
adding the lees filtered twice, and 2 oz. isinglass dissolved in 1
qt. water. Skim well, and put in 2 oz. Jamaica pepper, cloves, and
best ginger, all bruised, and tied loosely in a piece of muslin.
Put into your cooler the thin rinds of 6 Seville oranges and 1 pint
lemon juice; strain the liquor upon them, stir well, and when cool
enough, work it with 1 pint fresh yeast stirred well into 1 gal. of
the liquor. Cover it up close, and let it work 5 or 6 days, taking
off the top scum and stirring twice daily; then strain, and filter it
into the cask, put on the bung lightly, keep the cask well filled up,
and when it has ceased fermenting, let a day elapse, and add 2 qt.
French brandy, and 1½ oz. isinglass, dissolved in a little water, and
mix with 1 gal. of the wine 10 minutes, 1 oz. bitter almonds blanched
and slit, and 6 oz. sugar candy broken small. Stop up the bung, paste
strong white paper over it, or coarse linen, and place plenty of sand
over all, wetted a little. Keep it 2 years in a cool cellar, then
bottle it; seal the corks, and keep in bottle 2 years; then use it.
If allowed greater age, it will still improve.

_Bucellas._--Press the pulp and juice out of 30 lb. Lisbon grapes,
add 6 gal. cold soft water that has been well boiled; stir well, and
covering the vessel close, let it stand 24 hours; add 30 lb. bright,
strong, moist sugar, stir well until it is dissolved, and in 3 days
more strain the liquor into your cask upon the thin rinds of 8 lemons
and 1 oz. bitter almonds, blanched, and beaten with a spoonful of
water in a stone mortar. When you have filled the cask, cover the
bung-hole with a tile, and let the liquor work over; when it has
ceased fermenting, pour in 3 pints French brandy and 4 oz. sugar
candy, and stop it up for a year; then bottle it, seal the corks, and
keep it 12 months.

_Burgundy Cup._--(_a_) 1 bot. ordinary Burgundy, ½ gill ordinary
brandy; 4 fresh black currant leaves or buds, steeped in the brandy
2 hours; sweeten with 1 oz. powdered sugar candy; when all well
blended, strain the leaves; add bottle of aerated lemonade, and, just
before serving, 1 lb. ice, in small lumps.

(_b_) Peel and juice of 2 lemons; 1 qt. seltzer water; 2 bot.
Burgundy; sugar to taste; when well iced, draw out the peel and serve.

_Buttered Jack._--Take a brass pan, put in ½ lb. lump sugar, 1 glass
sherry, and 1 lb. fresh butter to melt; beat up 6 fresh eggs well
with a little sherry, and having moderately cooled the pan with 2
bot. light dinner sherry, add the eggs while gently stirring, and
place on the hob till quite hot, taking care not to let it boil;
sweeten to taste. The pan must not be too hot when pouring in the
eggs, or they will curdle.

_Cardinal._--The same as Bishop. Substitute claret for port wine.

_Chablis Cup._--(_a_) Dissolve 5 lumps sugar in 1 pint boiling water;
add a little thin lemon peel; when cool, add wineglass of dry sherry,
1 bot. Chablis, and 1 lb. ice.

(_b_) Put 1 bot. Chablis and a liqueur glass of chartreuse,
maraschino, or noyeau, into a jug embedded in ice; add a lump of ice;
immediately before serving add a bottle of seltzer water.

_Champagne Cup._--(_a_) 1 qt. bot. champagne, 2 bot. soda water, 1
liqueur glass of brandy or curaçao, 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar,
1 lb. pounded ice, and a sprig of green borage.

(_b_) 1 bot. champagne (iced); 1 gill Amontillado; liqueur glass of
citronelle or maraschino; juice and paring of a Seville orange or
lemon, rubbed on sugar; verbena and cucumber; sugar to taste; 1 bot.
seltzer water.

(_c_) 1 bot. sparkling champagne (iced), 1 bot. soda water (iced),
2 oz. powdered loaf sugar, sprig of borage and balm, juice and thin
peel of one lemon; pour the champagne on the lemon, sugar, and herbs;
cover the vessel, which is in ice, till the sugar is dissolved; add
the soda water.

_Cherry Brandy._--(_a_) Take ripe black geans (Scotch wild cherries);
pick off the stalks, and pick over the fruit as for a tart, but do
not wash them. Half fill large wide-mouthed bottles with layers of
fruit and pounded white sugar, weight for weight; fill up with good
French brandy; cork well, and the longer it stands the finer it is.
Bruise a few of the fruit, so as to crack the stones. It is useless
to attempt to make good liqueurs with anything but French brandy,
and that of the best. If you cannot procure black geans, use fine
Morella cherries, each of which must be wiped and pricked with a bone
stiletto or knitting needle. In this case the cherries are a good
dessert dish.

(_b_) Get the largest Morella cherries, cut off half the stalk,
pricking each cherry with a needle, and putting them into a
wide-mouthed bottle. Add ¾ of the weight of the cherries in white
candy sugar bruised, between the layers of the cherries, until full;
add a gill of noyeau, and then fill up with French brandy; cork
tight, and tie a bladder over the bottle.

(_c_) Having cut off half the stalks of some Morella cherries, put
them very gently in and ¾ fill a wide-mouthed glass bottle that
contains 1 qt. Add 4 oz. white sugar candy finely powdered, fill
close up with the best brandy, adding one clove, 2 dr. dried Seville
orange peel, and 1 dr. cinnamon. The three last ingredients to be
taken out in 14 days; then fill up the vacant space with brandy, and
cork carefully.

_Cider._--Bottling.--Cider or perry, when bottled in hot weather,
should be left a day or two uncorked, that it may get flat; but if
too flat in the cask, and soon wanted for use, put into each bottle
a small lump or two of sugar candy, or four or five raisins. Cider
should be well corked and waxed, and the bottles put upright in a
cool place.

Restoring Flavour.--(_a_) Cider, 1 hhd.; rum, weak flavoured, 2
gal.; alum, dissolved, 1 lb.; honey, or coarse sugar, 15 lb.; bitter
almonds, ½ lb.; cloves, ½ lb. Mix, and after a few days fine it down
with isinglass.

(_b_) To fine and improve the flavour of 1 hhd., take ½ oz.
cochineal, 1 lb. alum, and 3 lb. sugar candy; bruise them all well in
a mortar, and infuse them in 1 gal. good French brandy for a day or
two; then mix the whole with the cider and stop it close for 5 or 6
months. After which, if fine, bottle it off.

_Cider Cup._--(_a_) 1 bot. cider, 1 bot. soda water, 2 glasses
sherry, powdered sugar, sprig of borage.

(_b_) 2 bot. sparkling cider, ½ gill curaçao, ½ gill brown brandy,
¼ lb. sugar; the juice, strained, and the peel of one lemon, rubbed
on sugar; slice of cucumber; pour ½ pint boiling water on the sugar;
when dissolved and cool, add the brandy, cucumber, liqueur, and
juice; in a few minutes add the cider and 1 qt. shaven ice; use
immediately.

(_c_) Grate into a cup some nutmeg and a little ginger; add a
well-browned toast, a glass or two of sherry, sugar to taste; add a
bottle of cider, poured on slowly. It may be drunk at once.

_Claret Cup._--(_a_) 1 bot. claret, 1 bot. soda water, ½ lb. pounded
ice, 4 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoonful grated nutmeg, 1
liqueur glass maraschino, and a sprig of green borage.

(_b_) To 1 bot. ordinary claret add 1 bot. soda water, a glass of
sherry or curaçao, the peel of a lemon cut very thin, powdered sugar
according to taste. Let the whole remain an hour or two before
serving, and then add some lumps of clear ice.

(_c_) To (_b_) add a few slices of cucumber, or some sprigs of borage
instead of the cucumber.

(_d_) As (_b_), except the lemon peel, for which substitute, when in
season, a pint of ripe raspberries or 4 or 5 peaches or nectarines,
cut in slices.

(_e_) 2 bot. claret, 1 of sparkling champagne, wine glass of
maraschino or citronelle; borage, balm, and sugar to the flavour
required; ice well, and before serving add 2 bot. seltzer water.

(_f_) 2 bot. claret, 1 pint dry sherry, ½ gill brandy, 1 bot.
champagne (iced); ½ gill noyeau; infuse some borage and balm leaves
in the sherry; when sufficiently herbed, strain; add this to the
claret, sweeten to taste, add the noyeau and spirit, ice up; just
before serving, add 2 bot. iced potash water, 1 pint shaven ice, and
the champagne; serve immediately.

(_g_) Peel one lemon fine, cover with pounded sugar, pour over a
glass of sherry; add 1 bot. claret, sprig of verbena, and bottle of
iced soda water.

_Clary Wine._--Mix 9 gal. cold soft water with 6 lb. honey, 30 lb.
best loaf sugar, and the whites of 12 eggs beaten to a froth; boil
1½ hour, skimming and stirring nearly the whole time. Put the liquor
into a cooler, and add 14 qt. clary tops in flower; work it at the
proper temperature with good fresh ale yeast, keeping it closely
covered, and stirred well. Pick, stone, and cut in pieces, 14 lb.
good Malaga raisins, pour on them 3 gal. lukewarm water, that has
been well boiled; stir well, and let steep 5 days; then press the
fruit in a hair bag, strain the liquor, and put it into a sweet 10
gal. cask; strain the liquor from the flowers, add to it the rinds
of 10 lemons pared thin, and their juice strained, and put this
into the cask, filling up, and keep it open 3 or 4 days, until the
fermentation has entirely ceased. Then add 2 qt. French brandy, and
stop it up for 3 months, after which rack it off into a clean vessel,
filter the lees, and fill the same cask again, adding 6 oz. sugar
candy bruised, and 1 oz. isinglass dissolved in 2 qt. of the wine.
Stop it up securely, and keep it 18 months in a cool dry cellar; then
bottle it, seal the corks, and in a year more it will be fit for use.

_Coltsfoot Wine._--Boil 1 gal. water with 2½ lb. moist sugar and the
beaten white of an egg, for ¾ hour; pour the boiling liquor on ¼ peck
of fresh-gathered coltsfoot flowers and 1 lb. raisins stoned and cut
small. Cover the vessel close, and let the ingredients infuse for 3
days, stirring thrice daily; then add a tablespoonful of yeast, keep
it well mixed and covered close until it has worked freely; then
strain into a cask upon ½ oz. best bruised ginger and the rind of
half a Seville orange; let it remain open, covering the bung-hole
with a tile until it has ceased fermenting; add a gill of French
brandy, stop it up securely, and keep it for 12 months, then bottle
it and use it 6 months later.

_Corn Beer._--5 gal. water, 2 qt. molasses, 1 qt. sound corn. Put
all into a keg and shake well; in a few days fermentation will have
been brought on as nicely as with yeast. Keep it bunged tight. It
may be flavoured with oil of lemon, &c. The corn will last five or
six makings. If it gets too sour, add more molasses and water in the
above proportions. This drink is cheap, healthy, and there is no
better with yeast.

_Cottage Beer._-½ pint good wheat bran, 3 handfuls hops, 2
tablespoons yeast, 10 gal. water, 2 qt. molasses. Boil bran and hops
in the water until both sink to the bottom; strain through a hair
sieve; when lukewarm put in the molasses and stir till it is melted.
Put in a cask; bung up, and it will be ready for use in a few days.

_Cowslip Syrup._--Take of fresh cowslip flowers, 12 oz.; boiling
water, 1 pint: infuse for 24 hours, strain, and then add ½ lb. white
sugar; boil it gently until it attains the consistence of a syrup.
The cowslip was at one time very highly celebrated for its narcotic
virtues; and cowslip water and infusion of cowslip have been much
recommended. The infusion is made in the following manner: ½ oz.
dried cowslip flowers, or 1 oz. fresh, must be put to stand in a
close vessel with 1½ pints boiling water for ½ hour, when it may be
drunk in the same manner as tea.

_Cowslip Wine._--(a) To 2 gal. water add 2½ lb. powdered sugar; boil
them ½ hour, and take off the scum as it rises; then pour it into a
tub to cool with the rinds of 2 lemons; when cold add 4 qt. cowslip
flowers to the liquor with the juice of 2 lemons. Let it stand in
the tub 2 days, stirring it every 2 or 3 hours, and then put it in
the barrel. Let it stand a month; bottle it, and put a lump of sugar
into each bottle. It makes the best wine to have only the tops of the
peeps.

(_b_) To 6 gal. water add 21 lb. lump sugar and the whites of 2 eggs;
boil it (taking off the scum as it rises) till it clears itself,
which will be in about ½ hour; when nearly cold add 24 qt. cowslips,
the rinds of 2 lemons, and a spoonful of brewers’ yeast spread upon
toast. Let it ferment for 3 days, stirring it twice or thrice a day,
and then put it into a barrel, adding 1 pint of brandy, and cork it
tight. When it has done fermenting, which will be in about 3 weeks,
put into the cask a syrup made of 6 lemons and 1½ lb. sugar, which
has stood till cold. Let it stand 4 months, when you may bottle it
for use. Take out the rinds of the lemons before you put it into the
cask.

_Cream Mead._--A very agreeable drink may be prepared for
convalescents as follows:--Dissolve 3 lb. white sugar in ½ gal.
boiling water, and while cold add 3 oz. tartaric acid previously
dissolved in 1 pint cold water. Now add the whites of 3 eggs well
beaten; flavour to taste, and bottle. When it is to be used, stir in
a few grains of soda bicarbonate, and a delicious effervescing drink
is the result.

_Currant Wine._--Gather the currants on a fine day, and, when they
are fully ripe, pick them from the stalks, and squeeze out all the
juice through a clean muslin bag. To 1 gal. juice put 2 of cold
water, and 2 tablespoonfuls yeast. Let it work 2 days, then strain
through a hair sieve, and, to 1 gal. liquor, add 3 lb. powdered
sugar; stir all well together, put it into a clean cask, and to every
gallon add 1 wineglassful brandy. Close the cask, and let it stand 3
months, then bottle.

_Damson Wine._--Boil 10½ gal. pure river water with 32 lb. strong
moist sugar, and the whites of 10 eggs well beaten, for ½ hour,
skimming well; then add 32 qt. ripe prune damsons well picked from
the stalks, and stoned, and boil them ½ hour longer, skimming and
stirring, until the liquor is beautifully bright. Strain it off the
fruit in a fine hair-sieve into your cooler, and when at the proper
temperature, work it with fresh yeast, spread on a toast, 3 or 4
days. Then draw it off the sediment, put it into the cask, filter
the lees, and fill up, letting it work out at the bung. When it has
ceased hissing, put to it 1 qt. French brandy, and stop it up safely,
pasting paper over the bung. Let it stand 6 months, then rack it
off, filter the lees through flannel twice folded, and filling the
cask again, add 1 oz. isinglass, dissolved in 2 qt. of the wine.
Secure the bung well, and let it remain 2 years; then draw it off and
bottle, sealing the corks. This being a rich wine should not be drunk
until it has been bottled 2 years or more.

_Dandelion Tea._--Pull up 6 or 8 dandelion roots, according to size,
and cut off the leaves; well wash the roots and scrape off a little
of the skin. Cut them up into small pieces and pour on 1 pint boiling
water. Let them stand all night, then strain through muslin, and the
tea is ready for use. It should be quite clear, and the colour of
brown sherry. 1 wineglassful should be taken at a time. The decoction
will not last good for more than 2-3 days, and therefore it must only
be made in small quantities.

_Egg Flip._--(_a_) Boil 3 qt. ale with a little nutmeg; beat 6 eggs
and mix them with a little cold ale; then pour in some of the hot
ale, and return it several times to prevent it curdling; stir it
well, and add a piece of butter and a glass of brandy, with sugar,
nutmeg, and ginger to taste. A few cloves are an improvement.

(_b_) Break 2 fresh eggs into a jug, to which add 4 teaspoonfuls
sugar, a little grated nutmeg and ginger. Some put a little allspice.
Beat the eggs, sugar, and spices well up with a fork. Place 1 qt. ale
on the fire in a pan, and when warm pour a little of the ale into the
jug, and again well beat the eggs, &c. Then pour all the ale out of
the pan into the jug, and from the jug into the pan, backwards and
forwards several times, until the whole is well mixed. Heat the ale
again if not hot enough, and sweeten to taste. It is best drunk warm.
A little rum may be added for those who like it, and more than 2 eggs
put in a quart of ale if desirable--say 3 or 4. Care must be taken
not to let the ale boil, or it will be spoiled.

(_c_) Beat 2 eggs with a little water and 1½-2 oz. sugar; add a
little grated nutmeg or allspice or cloves. Boil 1 pint sound ale,
and when boiling pour it on the eggs, stirring the mixture the
while; pour it backwards and forwards, and if it does not become
thick, put it on the fire, carefully stirring until it does so.

(_d_) The yolks of 8 eggs well beaten up, powdered sugar, and a
grated nutmeg; extract the juice from the rind of a lemon by rubbing
loaf sugar upon it; put the sugar, a piece of cinnamon, and 1 qt.
strong beer into a saucepan, take it off the fire when boiling, pour
into it 1 glass cold beer, or a glass of gin if agreeable; put it
into a jug, and pour it gradually among the yolks of the eggs, &c.,
stirring all the time; add sugar if required. Pour the mixture as
swiftly as possible from one vessel to the other till a white froth
is obtained.

_Elderberry Wine._--(_a_) Gather your elderberries when quite ripe,
bake them in an oven prepared for bread, then strain the juice; for
every quart of juice take 1 gal. water, and boil in it ½ lb. moist
sugar for 1 hour, skimming it carefully, and adding more water to
make up for the evaporation, so as to leave at the end 1 gal. syrup.
When cool, add the juice, spread a toast thickly with yeast, put it
in, and let it ferment for a week in an open vessel; then pour it
into a cask, with 1 lb. raisins, and 1 oz. each sugar and allspice.
Let it stand 3 months, strain and bottle, adding ½ pint brandy at the
last moment.

(_b_) To 3 qt. of berries put 1 gal. water; boil the berries for 15
minutes, then strain; boil not quite 3 lb. of sugar to the gallon for
45 minutes; and then add some ginger and cloves according to taste.

_Elder-flower Wine._--To 1 gal. water put 4 lb. white sugar, ½ pint
elder flowers _loosely_ packed, and one tablespoonful of yeast. Mix
and put all in a barrel, stirring the whole every morning for a week;
then stop it up close, and it will be ready to bottle in 6 weeks.

_Ginger Beer._--(_a_) 1¼ lb. lump sugar, ¾ oz. ginger well pounded,
the peel of 1 lemon cut very thin; put them into a pitcher, then add
11 pints boiling water; stir the whole, then cover it up. When cooled
till only milk warm, put 2 spoonfuls of yeast on a piece of toast,
hot from the fire; add the juice of the lemon. Let work 12 hours;
strain through muslin and bottle. Will be fit to drink in 4 days.

(_b_) 2 lb. loaf sugar, 2 oz. bruised ginger, 1 lemon; put all
together and pour 2 gal. boiling water on it; let stand one day, then
strain, and put 2 spoonfuls of yeast to it; bottle.

(_c_) To 10 gal. water put 12 lb. sugar, 6 oz. bruised ginger
(unbleached is the best). Boil 1 hour, put into a barrel with 1 oz.
hops and 3 or 4 spoonfuls of yeast. Let stand 3 days; then close the
barrel, putting in 1 oz. isinglass. In a week it is fit for use. Draw
out in a jug and use as beer.

(_d_) The rinds of 3 lemons pared very thin, 1½ oz. cream of tartar,
¼ lb. ginger (bruised), 3½ lb. loaf sugar, 2½ gal. boiling water. Let
all stand till milk warm; then add a dessertspoonful of yeast. Let
remain all night, then strain off, and add ½ pint brandy. Bottle in
very clean half-pint glass bottles, and tie down the corks. It will
be ready for drinking in a week’s time. Lemon juice may be added, if
desired.

(_e_) 18 gal. water, 24 lb. sugar, 24 lemons, whites of 18 eggs, 2
lb. ginger, 1 oz. isinglass, 3 tablespoonfuls yeast. Boil the water
and sugar, add the whites of eggs; when coming to the boil, add the
ginger; boil for ½ hour, then add the lemon peel and juice; boil
for 10 minutes, strain into a tub, add the isinglass; when nearly
cold, add the yeast; when done fermenting, close up. Let stand for a
fortnight, then bottle.

(_f_) Put 4 lb. loaf sugar in a crock, also 6 lemons (sliced), 5
oz. cream of tartar, 4 oz. ground ginger, 24 cloves in a small bag;
pour on the above 4 gal. boiling water; cover up close. When nearly
cold, whisk in the whites of 3 eggs, then add 3 tablespoonful a good
yeast on a slice of toast; ferment 24 hours, then strain and skim and
bottle off. Lay the bottles on their sides for 24 hours.

(_g_) White sugar, 5 lb.; the juice and peel of 3 or 4 lemons; ginger
(bruised), 5 oz.; Water, 4½ gal. Boil the ginger in 1 gal. of the
water for ½ hour, with the peels of the lemon, then add the sugar,
and lemon juice, with the remainder of the water at a boiling heat,
and strain through a cloth; when cold, add the quarter of the white
of an egg, beaten up with a small quantity of the liquid. Let the
whole stand 4 days, and bottle. Will keep good many months.

(_h_) Crush 12 oz. best ginger, and put it in a large tub; boil 8
gal. water and pour thereon; add 5 lb. best white sugar, 1 oz. cream
of tartar, and 1 oz. tartaric acid; stir the whole up with a stick
till the sugar is dissolved; allow it to stand till milk warm, then
add 1 gill brewers’ yeast; stir this in, let it stand for 12 hours,
or until a scum forms on the top, then drain it off; clear by means
of a tap about an inch from the bottom of the tub; whisk the white of
an egg to a froth, and mix it with a teaspoonful of the essence of
lemon; strain through a flannel cloth; bottle and tie down.

(_i_) 5 gal. water, ½ oz. tartaric acid, 4 lemons, sliced thin, 12
oz. ginger, ¾ oz. cream tartar, whites of 2 eggs, ½ oz. compressed
yeast, 5 lb. sugar. Proceed as (_h_).

(_j_) 8 gal. boiling water, 5 lb. best white sugar, ½ oz. cream
tartar, white of egg beaten to a froth, ½ lb. best ginger, 2 oz.
tartaric acid, 1 teaspoonful essence lemon, 1 gill brewers’ yeast.
Leave to work 24 hours before bottling.

_Ginger Brandy._--1 lb. raisins, the rind of one lemon, and ¾ oz.
bruised ginger. Steep them in 1 qt. best French brandy, strain, and
add 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar.

_Ginger Wine._--(_a_) Boil together 3 gal. water and 10 lb. loaf
sugar; then turn it out to cool, except 1 qt., in which boil for ½
hour the thin rind of 3 large lemons and 1 Seville orange, with 4
oz. pounded ginger, and 4 oz. raisins; when nearly cold, mix all
together, adding the juice of the orange and lemons, 1 oz. isinglass,
and 2 tablespoonfuls yeast; put into a cask, and stir daily for 2
days, or till the fermentation ceases; then close, and leave for
6 weeks; rack carefully into a clean cask, and leave for another
month; then bottle. If required to be strong, you must add (after the
fermentation ceases) 1 bot. brandy.

(_b_) 4 gal. water, 7 lb. sugar, boil ½ hour, skimming frequently;
when the liquor is cold, squeeze in the juice of 2 lemons; then boil
the peels with 2 oz. white ginger in 3 pints water, 1 hour; when cold
put all into the cask, with 1 gill finings and 3 lb. Malaga raisins;
bung; let it stand 2 months, then bottle. March is considered the
proper time to make it, and it would be better if you were to add a
little brandy to each bottle.

(_c_) To 7 gal. water put 19 lb. sugar, and boil it for ½ hour,
removing the scum as it rises; then take a small quantity of the
liquor, and add to it 9 oz. best ginger bruised. Put it all together,
and when nearly cold, chop 9 lb. raisins very small, and put them
into a 9 gal. cask; slice 4 lemons into the cask, after taking out
the seeds, and pour the liquor over them, with ½ pint fresh yeast.
Leave it unstopped for 3 weeks, keeping it filled up, and in about 6
or 9 weeks it will be fit for bottling.

(_d_) To 37 qt. water add 1¼ lb. best white ginger, well bruised, 27
lb. sugar, loaf or moist, and the rinds of 12 lemons thinly pared;
boil together 1 hour, taking off the scum as it rises in the copper.
Strain off when cool, ferment it with 2 tablespoonfuls of yeast
and let remain until next morning, then put it into the cask with
the rinds and the juice of the lemons (observe to strain the juice
first), the ginger, and 3 lb. good raisins broken open. Stir once a
day for 10 days, then add 1 oz. isinglass. Care must be taken not to
bung the cask quite close until the fermentation has ceased; bottle
in 6 or 8 weeks, and use. The rinds of the lemons are to be boiled,
but _not_ the juice: that is to be put into the cask _without_ having
been boiled.

_Gin Sling._--Take a large tumbler or silver tankard, put into it
a liqueur glass of maraschino of noyeau or of plain syrup (made by
dissolving in spring water as much pounded loaf sugar as it will
possibly take up). Half fill the tankard with little blocks of ice,
and put in a thin paring of the outer yellow skin of a lemon. Then
add a sufficient quantity of unsweetened gin to suit the taste. Now
empty into the tumbler the contents of a bottle of soda water, and
stir well up with a tablespoon to amalgamate the whole. A sprig of
borage with one blue flower may be added.

_Gooseberry Wine._--(_a_) To 1 lb. gooseberries, when picked and
bruised, put 1 qt. fresh cold spring water; let stand 3 days,
stirring two or three times a day. To 1 gal. juice put 3 lb. loaf
sugar in a barrel, and when it has done working, to every 20 qt. of
liquor put 1 qt. brandy and a little isinglass. The gooseberries
should be picked when they are just changing colour, and may be of
any sort or kind. It should stand in the barrel 6 months. Taste
frequently, and bottle when the sweetness is sufficiently gone off.

(_b_) To 10 gal. cold water take 10 gal. unripe large gooseberries,
cut them in halves, and throw them into the water; let them lie 4 or
5 days, frequently stirring; strain off the liquor, and add 30 lb.
white sugar; dissolve the sugar, strain the whole into a cask. It
will probably remain in a state of fermentation for 2 months; when
that has subsided, bottle.

_Greengage Wine._--Take 40 qt. ripe greengage plums, stone them, and
press the fruit in a tub; pour 10 gal. boiling water on, and let them
lie till the following day. Boil them with the liquor and 25 lb. of
good loaf sugar, ½ hour, skimming well, then add the whites of 8 eggs
well beaten, and boil 20 minutes longer, skimming until the liquor is
quite clear. Break the stones, put the shells and kernels into the
cooler, strain the liquor through a sieve upon them hot, cover close,
and when properly cooled, add a toast well covered with thick fresh
yeast, and let it ferment 4 or 5 days, stirring it twice each day.
Let it settle, take off the scum, and put the clear liquor into the
cask, upon 6 oz. of white sugar candy, the thin rinds of 4 Seville
oranges and 4 lemons, and 6 lb. of Smyrna raisins stoned and cut in
pieces. Filter the lees and add them to the rest, filling the cask;
put paper and a tile over the bung-hole, and let it work out. When
fermentation has ceased, add 3 pints of French brandy, and stop it up
securely for 12 months; then rack it off, filter the lees, and fill
the cask again, adding 1 oz. of best isinglass dissolved, and 4 or 5
oz. of white sugar candy bruised. Secure the bung well.

_Hop Beer._--4 lb. sugar, water q.s., 6 oz. hops, 4 oz. ginger,
bruised. Boil the hops for 3 hours with 5 qt. water, then strain; add
5 more qt. water and the ginger; boil a little longer, again strain,
add the sugar, and when lukewarm add 1 pint yeast. After 24 hours it
will be ready for bottling.

_Horehound Beer._--To make 6 gal., make an infusion of 1½ oz. quassia
with a dozen sprigs of horehound; boil with part of this liquid 24
cayenne pods for 20 minutes, then add 6 fl. oz. lime juice and 1½ oz.
licorice (dissolved in cold water); strain the mixture and put with
it 6 gal. cold water, with 2 lb. brown sugar, colouring with burnt
sugar; allow the whole to work 4 days. Now take 2 qt. of it, warm
it rather warmer than new milk, mix with this 8 tablespoonfuls good
brewers’ yeast, and stand in a warm place till in a brisk state of
fermentation; mix it with the rest of the liquor, and in a few hours
it will be all in full work. Give it a stir twice a day for the first
two days to promote fermentation; keep it from contact with cold air
for the following two days, and skim the top off as it gets yeasty.
The beer must be now drawn off as clear as possible into a clean
vessel by passing it through a filtering bag. Clean the tub well, and
return the liquid to it, and add ½ dr. pure dissolved isinglass; stir
the whole well together, and put a cloth over the tub, and also a lid
on it, to exclude the air as much as possible; in 30 hours the beer
may be bottled off. In summer this will be ripe and fit to drink in
8 days. A superior quality may be made by putting a small piece of
sugar into each bottle just before corking.

_Imperial Pop._--(_a_) 1 oz. cream of tartar, ¼ lb. lump sugar, the
juice and peel of 1 lemon or less, according to taste. Pour over this
4 qt. of boiling water, and drink when cold.

(_b_) 1½ gal. boiling water, 1½ lb. best white sugar, 1 oz. best
ginger, 1 oz. lemon juice. When cool, strain and ferment with 1 oz.
yeast, and bottle.

_Lawn Sleeve._--The same as Bishop. Substitute Madeira or sherry for
port, with 3 glasses hot calves’-foot jelly.

_Lemonade._--(_a_) Can be used in powders, and carried when out
shooting, fishing, &c.: soda bicarbonate, 20 gr.; citric or tartaric
acid, 15 gr.; sugar to taste--the sugar and soda in one glass, and
the acid in another; mix.

(_b_) Take lemon juice, sugar, and water only. About 1 lemon to 1
pint water, adding the peel cut very thin, and sugar to the palate.

_Lemon Beer._--1 lb. sugar, 1 lemon sliced, 1 teacupful yeast, 1 gal.
boiling water, 1 oz. ginger, bruised. Let it stand 12 to 20 hours,
after which it may be bottled.

_Lemon Shrub._--The juice of 12 lemons, the thin rind of 2, 1 lb.
sugar, the whites of 2 eggs well whisked, 1 pint water, ½ pint rum,
and ½ pint brandy. Mix and strain.

_Lemon Whey._--1 pint boiling milk, ½ pint lemon juice, sugar to
taste. Mix and strain.

_Linseed Tea._--Take 3 tablespoonfuls linseed, about 1 pint water,
and boil for 10 minutes. Strain off the water, put in a jug with 2
lemons, cut in thin slices; put also some brown sugar. A wineglassful
of wine is an improvement. This has been found most nourishing for
invalids.

_Loving Cup._--(_a_) ½ oz. cloves, allspice (whole), and cinnamon;
mix them together with 1 pint water; boil till reduced to one-third,
then strain it off. Add 2 bot. sherry, 2 Madeira, 1 port, 1 claret,
the juice of 6 lemons, 1½ lb. loaf sugar, 2 nutmegs grated finely,
1 qt. water. Flavour with the spices according to taste. This is
sufficient for 150 guests. Send round cold.

(_b_) Extract the juice from the peel of the lemon by rubbing sugar
on it, cut 2 lemons into thin slices; add the rind of 1 lemon cut
thin, ¼ lb. loaf sugar, and ½ pint brandy; put the whole into a large
jug, mix it well together, and pour 1 qt. cold spring water upon it;
grate a nutmeg into it, and add 1 pint Madeira, and 1 bot. cider;
sweeten it to taste with capillaire or lump sugar; put (in summer) a
handful of balm, and the same quantity of borage, in flower, into it,
stalks downward; then put the jug containing the liquor into a tub
of ice, and when it has remained there 1 hour it is fit for use. The
balm and borage should be fresh gathered. In winter use ale instead
of cider, omit ice, and drink warm.

_Mangold-wurzel Beer._--Wash the roots, scrape and pare them, cut
them up as for sheep, fill the boiler with them and then pour as
much water to them as it will hold. Let them boil about 6 hours, and
then strain them through a basket, but do not press them. Measure
the liquor back again into the boiler and to every 7 pails put 3 lb.
hops, 6 lb. coarse brown sugar, and ½ lb. mustard-seed. Boil together
for 2 hours, then strain through the brewing-sieve; when cool, work
it with yeast the same as other beer. Before putting into the barrel
the next day, skim off the dark-looking froth.

_Marigold Wine._--Boil 25 lb. good loaf sugar and 4 lb. honey with
10 gal. soft water, and the whites of 8 eggs well beaten, 1 hour,
skimming until quite clear; pour hot upon 3 pecks marigold flowers
and 4 lb. good raisins, stoned and shredded, covering the vessel
close. Next day stir the liquor continually 20 minutes, and let
remain covered until the following morning. Then strain, and put into
cask upon the rinds of 6 Seville oranges pared very thin, and 8 oz.
sugar candy broken small, reserving 2 gal., which must be made nearly
boiling hot, and stirred amongst the rest. Then work with 7 or 8
tablespoonfuls good fresh yeast, cover the bung-hole with a tile, and
let it work over, filling it up every day as the liquor decreases.
When it has ceased fermenting, put in 3 pints French brandy, and 1
oz. dissolved isinglass, and stop it up securely. It will be fine in
9 months, and fit to bottle, but will improve if kept longer. Let it
remain in bottles well corked and sealed 12 months.

_May Drink._--Put into a large glass mug or china bowl about 2 doz.
black-currant leaves, a small handful of woodruff, and a quantity,
according to taste, of pounded lump sugar and lemon juice; pour
in 2 bot. hock or Moselle, never mind how common. Stir the whole
occasionally for ½ hour, and serve.

_Mead._--(_a_) Dissolve 1 oz. cream of tartar in 5 gal. boiling
water; pour the solution off clear upon 20 lb. fine honey, boil them
together and remove the scum as it rises. Towards the end of the
boiling add 1 oz. fine hops; about 10 minutes afterwards put the
liquor into a tub to cool; when reduced to the temperature of 70° or
80° F. (rather less than the warmth of new milk), according to the
season, add a slice of bread toasted and smeared over with a little
yeast. The liquor should now stand in a warm room, and be stirred
occasionally. As soon as it begins to carry a head, it should be
tunned, and the cask filled up, from time to time, from the reserve,
till the fermentation has nearly subsided. It should now be bunged
down, leaving a small peg-hole; in a few days this also may be
closed, and in about 12 months the wine will be fit to bottle.

(_b_) 10 gal. water, 2 lemons, cut in slices, 2 gal. honey, a handful
dried ginger root. Mix all together, and boil ½ hour, carefully
skimming all the time. While boiling add 2 oz. hops. Remove from the
fire, and while the liquid is lukewarm add a strong yeast, and put
into a cask to work about 3 weeks, when it is fit for use.

(_c_) 1 gal. water, 3 lb. strained honey. Boil about ½ hour, adding
to it ½ oz. hops; skim carefully, and drain the skimmings through
a hair sieve, returning what runs through. Remove from the fire,
and when the liquid is lukewarm stir into it ½ pint yeast, which is
sufficient for 9 gal. mead. Put into a cask and let it work over,
filling it up until fermentation subsides. Put a strong paper over
the bung-hole. This mead may be flavoured with spices while boiling,
and make a delicious summer drink.

_Milk Lemonade._--Loaf sugar 1½ lb., dissolved in 1 qt. boiling
water, with ½ pint lemon juice, and 1½ pint milk; this makes a
capital summer beverage; ½ pint sherry added is a great improvement.

_Milk Punch._--(_a_) Pare the rind off 12 lemons and 2 Seville
oranges thinly; put them to steep in 6 pints rum, brandy, or whisky
for 24 hours; then add 2 lb. refined sugar, 3 pints water, 2 nutmegs
grated, and 1 pint lemon juice; stir it till the sugar is dissolved;
then take 3 pints new milk, boiling hot, and pour on the ingredients;
let stand 12 hours, closely covered; strain through a jelly-bag till
quite clear; bottle.

(_b_) Pare 18 lemons very thin, infuse the peel in 1 qt. rum, and
keep closely covered. The next day squeeze the juice of the 18 lemons
over 4 lb. white sugar, and keep this also closely covered. The third
day mix the above ingredients together, and add 3 qt. more rum (or
1 qt. rum and 2 qt. best cognac, which is preferred by some), and 5
qt. water that has been boiled, but is cold when added, also 2 qt.
boiling milk; stir the whole mixture for about 10 minutes, cover
close, and let it stand for about 3 hours, until quite cold; strain
through a flannel bag 2 or 3 times, till quite clear. In bottling,
care should be taken that the corks fit tight, and it will keep 3 or
4 years.

(_c_) The following is a celebrated Cambridge recipe for milk
punch:--Beat up 4 new-laid eggs in the bowl in which you intend
sending the punch to table; then add the following ingredients
(recollecting always to put in the noyeau first), ½ pint noyeau, of
rum, and of brandy, and then ½ pint noyeau, rum, and brandy mixed in
equal proportions. Have 2 qt. milk boiling, to which add ½ teacup
sugar, and then pour it on to the spirit, putting a little nutmeg
grated on the top.

_Molasses Beer._--1 lb. brown sugar, 1 oz. bruised ginger, 1 lb.
molasses, ½ oz. hops. Boil for a few minutes with 3 qt. water; strain
and add 5 qt. water and a spoonful of yeast; let this work all night,
and bottle in the morning.

_Moselle Cup._--(_a_) To 1 bot. still or sparkling Moselle add 1
bot. soda-water, 1 glass sherry or brandy, 4 or 5 thin slices of
pineapple, the peel of half a lemon cut very thin, and powdered sugar
according to taste; let the whole stand about 1 hour, and before
serving add some lumps of clear ice.

(_b_) As (_a_), except the pineapple, for which substitute 1 pint
fresh strawberries, or 3 or 4 peaches or nectarines.

(_c_) As (_a_), but add, instead of fruit, some sprigs of woodruff.
Woodruff is a herb much used on the Rhine for making May drink, its
peculiar flavour being most powerful in May; it is to be found in
forests in many parts of England also.

(_d_) When neither fruit nor woodruff can be obtained, add, instead
of sherry or brandy, a glass or two of milk punch or essence of
punch, and a little more of the lemon peel.

_Mulled Ale._--To 1 qt. strong ale add 1 large wineglass gin or
whisky. Pour it into a clean saucepan, and put it on a brisk fire
until it creams, adding at the same time brown sugar, grated ginger,
and nutmeg to taste; add cold ale until the whole is lukewarm. Serve
in a brown earthenware two-handled cup, adding a thick piece of
toasted bread. The toasted bread is covered with brown sugar, and
eaten with toasted cheese.

_Nectar._--Citric acid, 1 dr.; potash bicarbonate, 1 scr.; White
sugar, 1 oz. Fill a soda-water bottle nearly full of water; drop
in the potash and sugar, and finally the crystals of citric acid.
Quickly cork the bottle and shake. The crystals being dissolved, the
nectar is fit for use.

_Nettle Beer._--1 peck green nettles, 1 handful dandelion, 1 oz.
ginger, 1 oz. yeast, 1 handful coltsfoot, 2 lb. brown sugar, 1 oz.
cream tartar, 3 gal. boiling water. Infuse the herbs in the boiling
water, and when cold strain the liquor. In it dissolve the cream of
tartar and the sugar, adding the yeast and bruised ginger. Let the
whole work about 12 hours, skim the liquor carefully, and put into
champagne bottles. Close tightly with good corks softened in boiling
water, and tie the corks down. After a few days the beer is ready for
use.

_Nettle Wine._--Boil 25 lb. best loaf sugar with 10 gal. river or
rain water, and the whites of 8 eggs well beaten, 1 hour, skimming
well; pour the hot liquor upon 5 pecks young tops of nettles
previously bruised a little, and cover the vessel close with cloths.
When at a proper temperature work it with 8 tablespoonfuls of good
yeast, stirring well 3 days; then strain the liquor into the cask
upon 8 oz. cream of tartar, 4 lb. Malaga raisins stoned, the rinds of
8 lemons pared very thin, and 6 oz. white sugar candy broken; leave
out the bung, keeping the cask quite full until fermentation has
ceased. Add 3 pints white French brandy, stop up the cask securely,
and keep it in a cool cellar 10 months; bottle it, wire and seal the
corks, and in 6 months it will be excellent.

_Oatmeal Drink._--Mix ½ lb. oatmeal with 5 gal. cold water, boil it
for ½ hour, and strain it through a rather coarse gravy strainer;
add brown sugar to taste while hot. It is very much improved by the
addition of ½ oz. citric acid or 1 oz. tartaric acid. The thinly-cut
rind of 2 or 3 lemons or oranges may be boiled in it; or a still
cheaper flavouring is to add, before boiling, a bit of cinnamon stick
or a few cloves. To be served cold.

_Orange Wine._--The oranges must be perfectly ripe. Peel them and cut
them in halves, crossways of the cells; squeeze into a tub. The press
used must be so close that the seeds cannot pass into the must. Add
2 lb. white sugar to each gallon of sour orange juice, or 1 lb. each
gallon of sweet orange juice, and 1 qt. water to each gallon of the
mixed sugar and juice. Close fermentation is necessary. The resultant
wine is amber-coloured, and tastes like dry hock, with the orange
aroma. Vinegar can be made from the refuse, and extract from the
peels.

_Oxford Grace Cup._--Extract juice from peeling of a lemon, and cut
the remainder into thin slices; put it into a jug or bowl, and pour
on it 1½ pints strong beer, and a bottle of sherry; grate a nutmeg
into it; sweeten it to taste; stir till the sugar is dissolved, and
then add 3 or 4 slices bread toasted brown. Let stand 2 hours and
strain off.

_Oxford Mull._--Boil a small quantity of cinnamon, cloves, and mace
in ½ pint water; pour into it a bottle of port wine, and when it is
nearly boiling add 2 lemons thinly sliced; sweeten it to taste.

_Oxford Punch._--Extract the juice from the rind of 3 lemons by
rubbing loaf sugar on them; the peeling of 2 Seville oranges and 2
lemons cut very thin, the juice of 4 Seville oranges and 10 lemons, 6
glasses of calves’-foot jelly in a liquid state: put into a jug and
stir well together. Pour 2 qt. boiling water on the mixture, cover
the jug closely, and place it near the fire for ¼ hour, then strain
the liquid through a sieve into a punch-bowl or jug, sweeten it with
a bottle of capillaire, and add ½ pint white wine, 1 pint French
brandy, 1 pint Jamaica rum, and 1 bot. orange shrub. The mixture to
be stirred as the spirits are poured in. If not sufficiently sweet,
add loaf sugar, gradually, in small quantities, or a spoonful of
capillaire. To be served hot or cold.

_Parsnip Wine._--May be made by infusing 5 or 6 lb. of the chopped
stem in 1 gal. hot water till cold; strain, and add to each gallon of
the infusion 3 or 4 lb. white sugar, 1 oz. cream of tartar, and about
2 to 5 per cent. brandy. When well made and strong, this wine is of
rich and excellent quality, especially after fermentation.

_Parting Cup._--Put 2 or 3 slices of very brown toast in a bowl;
grate over the same a little nutmeg; then pour in 1 qt. ale (mild
preferable), and ⅔ bot. sherry; sweeten with syrup, and (immediately
before drinking) add 1 bot. soda water; a little clove or cinnamon
may be added, if approved of.

_Primrose Wine._--Pick the flowers of fresh-gathered primroses
from the stalks, and put 3 pecks of them and 1 peck cowslip pips
into a clean vessel; boil 30 lb. good loaf sugar with 2 oz. best
ginger bruised, and 10 gal. of river or rain water, ¾ hour, skimming
it well; then add the whites of 10 eggs well beaten, boiling and
skimming until it is perfectly clear; pour this boiling hot upon the
flowers, stir well 10 minutes, and cover the vessel up closely for 3
days, adding 6 lb. Smyrna raisins cut small, and stoned, the juice
of 10 lemons, and their rinds pared off very thin; let them infuse,
stirring well twice daily, and on the fourth day warm the liquor, and
work it at the proper temperature with ½ pint good yeast; when it has
fermented 3 days, strain well, and filter into the cask; cover the
bung-hole with a tile, keep the cask full, and let it work out; when
it has ceased fermenting, pour in 3 pints white French brandy and 1
oz. best isinglass dissolved in 1 qt. of the wine; stop up the cask,
put sand on the bung, and keep it in a cool cellar 12 months; bottle
it, and in 6 months more it will be ready.

_Punch._--(_a_) Take the juice and thin rind of 1 lemon, juice of 2
sweet oranges, taking out the pips; pour on these 3 pints boiling
water; add ½ lb. loaf sugar, and when the sugar is dissolved, add ½
pint old Jamaica rum, and ½ pint cognac. Let stand for 6 hours, and
bottle.

(_b_) Rub ¼ lb. white lump sugar over 1 large lemon until it has
absorbed all the yellow part of the skin; then put the sugar into
your bowl, add the juice of the same lemon, and mix well together.
Pour over them 1 pint boiling water, stirring well together; then add
½ pint rum, ½ pint brandy, and ½ teaspoonful nutmeg; again mix well
together, and it is ready to serve. Great care should be taken that
the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.

(_c_) ½ pint rum, ½ pint brandy, ½ pint stout (made hot), 1 quartern
of cloves, 1 quartern of shrub, 1 lemon sliced, and the juice of one,
¼ lb. loaf sugar, 1 qt. boiling water.

(_d_) 1 bot. rum, 1 of sherry, 1 pint brandy, the juice of 3 lemons
and 3 Seville oranges, 1½ lb. lump sugar; rub the rinds of the lemon
and oranges with some of the sugar; add 1 qt. new milk to these
ingredients, not quite boiling. Let stand 24 hours covered close,
strain through a jelly bag, and bottle close. It will keep many years.

_Raisin Wine._--Pick the raisins from their stalks, and put them into
a tub with 1 gal. spring water (which has been boiled and allowed to
cool) to every 8 lb. fruit; stir it thoroughly every day, then strain
it into a cask, and leave it until the fermentation has ceased; add
a bottle of brandy, bung up the barrel tight, and leave it for 12
months. Then strain it again into a clean cask. It may be bottled
after standing 2 years.

_Rhenish Cup._--(_a_) Take with 1 bot. light hock about 1 doz. sprigs
of woodruff, ¼ orange cut in small slices, and about 2 oz. powdered
sugar. The herbs are to be removed after having been in the wine ½
hour or longer, according to taste. A bottle of sparkling wine, added
to 4 or 5 bot. still hock, is a great improvement. A little ice is
recommended.

(_b_) Instead of woodruff and orange, take to each bottle of hock
about ½ pint highly flavoured strawberries. Sugar as above. The fruit
to be taken with the wine after having been in it about 1 hour.

(_c_) Take some thin slices of pineapple instead of the strawberries.

(_d_) Take to each bottle of hock 2 highly flavoured peaches, peeled
and cut in slices. Sugar as above.

_Rhubarb Wine._--(_a_) The rhubarb must be quite ripe; to 1 gal.
rain-water, boiling, cut 8 lb. rhubarb into thin slices, put into pan
or tub, cover close with a thick cloth or blanket, and stir 3 times
a day for a week; then strain through a cloth, and add 4 lb. loaf
sugar, the juice of 2 lemons and the rind of 1. To fine it, take 1
oz. isinglass and 1 pint of the liquor, and melt it over the fire;
be sure you do not add it to the rest of the liquor till quite cold;
then cask it. When the fermentation is over, bung it down. Bottle in
March, and the following June it will be fit for use.

(_b_) To every 5 lb. rhubarb stalks, when sliced and bruised, put 1
gal. cold spring water; let stand 3 days, stir 2 or 3 times every
day, then press and strain through a sieve, and to 1 gal. liquor put
30½ lb. loaf sugar, stir it well, and when melted barrel it; when it
has done working, bung it up close, first suspending a muslin bag
with isinglass from the bung into the barrel (say 2 oz. for 15 gal).
In 6 months bottle it and wire the bottles; let them stand up for the
first month, then lay 4 or 5 down lengthwise for a week, and if none
burst all may be laid down. Should a large quantity be made it must
remain longer in cask.

(_c_) Take 18 lb. rhubarb, cut it into small pieces, put them with
20 gal. soft water in a copper, and boil till soft; then strain
through a sieve, add 5 or 6 handfuls balm, fresh or dried. To 1 gal.
liquor put 3 lb. lump sugar and ½ lb. Malaga raisins, chopped; when
lukewarm, put it into the barrel, and in 3 weeks stop it down. In 6
months, bottle. It will be fit to use in 3 months, or it will keep 20
years. You may make it pink colour by adding 1 pint damson juice.

(_d_) In the absence of a press to extract the juice, the stalks are
boiled in a common stove boiler, using 2 qt. water to a boilerful
of stalks. The stalks are very juicy, and after boiling require no
pressing; they are merely left to drain; to 1 gal. juice add 2 lb.
sugar, and place in a barrel to ferment; after fermenting, it should
be corked tight.

(_e_) Cut up fruit into pieces, 2 in. long; to 1 gal. such add 1 gal.
water and 3½ lb. loaf sugar. Fermentation will soon commence; stir
up twice daily; when the pulp ceases to rise, wring out 1 qt. at a
time in a piece of thin canvas; cork down in stone bottle or cask.
Ease the cork for a minute twice daily the first week, as an after
fret (fermentation) may occur. Good to drink in about 6 months. To
please fancy you may add a little cut up dandelion root (fresh) or a
handful of the leaves per gallon: but it must be all put together at
commencement. Nearly all other fruits may be treated in the same way.

_Sarsaparilla Beer._--Take of compound syrup of sarsaparilla 1 pint;
good pale ale 7 pints; use no yeast.

_Sham Champagne._--1 oz. tartaric acid, 1 oz. ginger root, 2½ gal.
water, 1 good-sized lemon, 1½ lb. white sugar, 1 gill yeast. Slice
lemon, bruise ginger, and mix all, except the yeast; boil the water
and pour on, letting stand till cooled to blood heat. Add the yeast
and stand in the sun one day. Bottle at night, tying the corks. In 2
days it may be used.

_Sherry Cobbler._--Procure some clean ice, slice it on an ice plane,
or pound it with a hammer, putting the ice into a linen or paper bag;
then half fill a tumbler with it, and add 1 or 2 glasses sherry, ½
tablespoonful lemon juice, and 1 spoonful powdered white sugar, more
or less according to palate. Imbibe through a straw.

_Smoker’s Drink._--(_a_) In a large tumbler put a coffee-cup of hot
(very strong) Mocha coffee, pure, a piece of sugar, according to
taste (it ought not to be too sweet), a handsome dash of pure cognac;
then fill up with pure cold water, and drink after stirring well up.

(_b_) Lemon and water, with or without sugar.

_Spruce Beer._--(_a_) Take 10 gal. boiling water, 10 lb. sugar, 4 oz.
essence of spruce, mix, and when nearly cold add ½ pint yeast. Next
day bottle, and tie down as ginger beer.

(_b_) 2 oz. hops, 10 gal. water, 2 oz. chip sassafras. Boil ½ hour,
strain and add 7 lb. brown sugar. 1 oz. essence of ginger, 1 oz.
essence of spruce, ½ oz. ground pimento. Put into a cask, and cool;
add 1½ pints of yeast; let stand 24 hours, and bottle.

_Still Lemonade._--The juice of 3 lemons, the peel of 1, ¼ lb. lump
sugar, and 1 qt. cold water. Mix, digest for 5 hours, and strain.

_Sulphuric Orangeade._--3 oz. dilute sulphuric acid, 3 oz.
concentrated compound infusion of orange peel, 12 oz. simple syrup,
and 4 gal. boiled filtered water. A wineglassful of this mixture is
taken as a draught in as much boiled and filtered water as may be
agreeable.

_Summer Drinks._--(_a_) Cold tea flavoured with sliced lemon and
dashed with cognac. The tea should be properly made--not allowed to
stand until it becomes rank, but boiling water should be poured on
the leaves, allowed to stand 5 minutes, then poured into a jug with
slices of lemon at the bottom. A wineglass of good brandy added when
cool.

(_b_) Mix together 2 qt. best bottled cider--old, if
possible--sweeten to taste, taking care that the sugar is perfectly
melted. Add ½ nutmeg grated, a little powdered ginger, a glass of
brandy, a glass of noyeau; cut a lemon into it in moderately thin
slices, and let them remain there. Make it 2 hours before wanted, and
stand in some ice.

(_c_) Sherry, 6 tablespoonfuls; brandy, 2 tablespoonfuls; sugar, 1½
oz.; 2 or 3 shreds of fresh lemon peel, cut very thin. This is the
stock. It will be found convenient, when a quantity is required,
to make a syrup of the sugar (1 oz. water to 2 oz. sugar), and to
prepare the stock beforehand. The above quantity of stock should be
added to 1 bot. claret and 1 bot. soda water. These should be kept
in a cool place--a refrigerator, for instance--and only opened just
before drinking. A lump of ice and a little borage are improvements;
2 bot. soda water instead of one can be used in summer.

(_d_) To 1½ pint good ale allow 1 bot. ginger beer. For this beverage
the ginger beer must be in an effervescing state, and the beer not in
the least turned or sour. Mix them together, and drink immediately.

(_e_) Get 3 pints water, 3 oz. tartaric acid, 3½ lb. lump sugar;
mix and put to the fire to warm, not quite boil. While the above is
getting hot, get the whites of 3 eggs and 4 teaspoonfuls wheaten
flour, which well beat together, then mix by well stirring it with
the water, acid, and sugar, then boil the whole 3 minutes. When cold,
flavour with essence of lemon; bottle off. For use put a medium-sized
spoonful of the liquor into a tumbler, fill up with water, and add a
little soda carbonate; stir up and drink. A small quantity of brandy
or sherry with the soda is a great improvement.

(_f_) Milk and whisky; quantity according to taste; the less spirit
the better.

(_g_) Melt or dissolve by a gentle heat 1 oz. black currant jelly in
½ pint syrup; when cold add the same quantity of rum. In summer the
above is best; for the winter months, do as follows: Pick fine dry
black currants, put them into a stone jar, and then the jar into a
saucepan of boiling water till the juice is extracted; strain, and to
every pint add ½ lb. loaf sugar; give one boil and skim well; when
cold add the same quantity of rum (or gin, if you prefer it), shake
well, and bottle.

(_h_) 8 or 10 drops sulphuric acid added to a glass of water make a
very wholesome subacid refreshing drink, having tonic properties, and
well adapted to check the tendency to diarrhœa that exists during
sultry weather.

(_i_) Mix 1 oz. essence of ginger and 1 oz. essence of cloves; put
20-30 drops into a tumbler of water. This renders even tepid water
good.

_Syllabubs._--(_a_) Put 1 pint beer and 1 pint cider into a
punchbowl, grate in a small nutmeg, and sweeten it to your taste. Put
the bowl under a cow and milk in about 3 pints milk; wash and pick
some currants, make them plump before the fire, and strew them over
the syllabub. (_b_) Take 1 qt. cream, 3 gills white wine, the juice
of 1 lemon and of 2 Seville oranges, add sugar to taste, beat it
well, and fill up your glasses as the froth, rises. (_c_) Take ¼ lb.
loaf sugar in one piece, and rub on it 2 lemons till you have got all
the essence out of the rinds, then pour over the sugar 1 gill white
wine, and when it is dissolved add the juice of the lemons and 1 pint
cream, whip it well, or mill it with a chocolate mill. (_d_) Take
½ pint cream, ½ pint white wine, and the juice of a lemon, sweeten
it to your taste with white sugar, put in a piece of the paring of
the lemon and some powdered cinnamon, beat it well, and as it rises
take up the froth with a spoon and lay it on a sieve to drain; fill
your glasses half full with wine, sweeten it, and fill up with the
whisked cream. (_e_) Put into a china bowl 1 pint port wine and 1
pint sherry, sugar to taste, milk the bowl nearly full, cover it with
clotted cream, grate nutmeg over it.

_Toast and Water._--(_a_) Hold a small piece of bread before the fire
until it is the colour of mahogany, but do not let it burn. Put it in
a jug and pour boiling water upon it, cover it down close until cold.
(_b_) The bread should be very slowly and thoroughly toasted, great
care being taken to prevent its burning in the slightest degree; cold
water should then be poured over it. It must stand some time before
being used.

_Wassail Bowl._--Put into a bowl ½ lb. Lisbon sugar; pour on it 1
pint warm beer; grate a nutmeg and some ginger into it; add 4 glasses
sherry and 5 additional pints beer; stir well; sweeten to taste; let
stand covered up 2 or 3 hours; then put 3 or 4 slices bread (cut
thin and toasted brown) into it. Sometimes a couple or three slices
of lemon, and a few lumps of loaf sugar rubbed in the peeling of a
lemon, are introduced.

_White Wine Negus._--Extract the juice from the peel of a lemon by
rubbing loaf sugar on it, or cut the peel of a lemon very thin, and
pound it in a mortar; cut 2 lemons into thin slices, add 4 glasses
calves’-foot jelly in a liquid state, small quantities of cinnamon,
mace, cloves, and allspice. Put the whole into a jug, pour 1 qt.
boiling water upon it, cover the jug close, let stand ¼ hour, and
then add 1 bot. boiling white wine; grate half a nutmeg into it, stir
well together, sweeten to taste. In making port wine negus, omit the
jelly. Negus is not confined to any particular sort of wine; if the
jelly is omitted, it can be made with any or several sorts mixed
together.

_Wines, British._--There are many persons who would rather buy their
drinks than have the trouble and expense of making them. Such will be
glad to know that Beaufoy’s British wines and non-alcoholic drinks
are to be recommended before all others.




_THE PANTRY._


=Bread.=--Household bread may be made with brewers’ yeast (barm) or
with German yeast.

(_a_) _With Brewers’ Yeast._--Take a small quantity--say 2 lb. flour.
This should be perfectly dry, or the dough will not rise well. Put
it into a bowl--a brown earthenware one glazed on the inside is
best--which should also be perfectly dry, and in the winter slightly
warmed. Stir in 1 teaspoonful salt, then make a hole about 1½ in. in
depth in the centre of the flour. Have ready 1½ tablespoonful fresh
brewers’ yeast, mixed in 1 teaspoonful warm--not _hot_--water; pour
this into the hole, and stir a handful of flour lightly into it with
a wooden spoon. Then cover with flour again, lightly. Lay a thick
cloth over the pan, taking care that it does not press on the flour,
and stand it in a warm corner. When the flour at the top of the
yeast begins to crack, and the “sponge”--i.e., fermented dough--runs
through, which, if the yeast be perfectly fresh and good, it will
do in about ½ hour; it is then fit to knead. Now the potatoes may
be added, but they must first be finely mashed. A jug of warm water
must be ready, and a small quantity at a time poured into a pan; this
should be thoroughly mixed with the other ingredients--_not_ with a
spoon this time, but the hand. Continue pouring in water and mixing
till the mass is perfectly free from lumps, and about the consistency
of pastry for pies or puddings. Then turn it out of the pan on to a
well-floured pastry board, and roll to and fro for about 3 minutes.
Put it back into the pan, again covered with a thick cloth, and
leave to rise. Another ½ hour or so will find it fit for the oven.
This can easily be ascertained by pulling the dough slightly apart;
if it be close and heavy, it must remain a while longer; but if it
looks spongy and rises again quickly after the pressure is removed,
it is ready for the baking. If tins are to be used, they should be
warmed, and a very little butter or dripping should be rubbed over
the bottom and sides, to prevent the dough sticking. Many people
prefer “cottage” or “batch” loaves as they are called in some
countries, made something in the shape of a brioche cake; but a tyro
in the art will find it safest to trust to the tins till she has by
practice become light-fingered enough to manipulate the dough easily
and quickly; for it must be borne in mind that dough, like pastry,
becomes heavy by rough or too frequent handling. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Ovens and Baking.--With regard to the baking. The loaves must not be
put into too hot an oven at first, or they will not rise; neither
must the oven be too cool, or the bread will be underdone, and taste
heavy and sodden. A good test is to sprinkle a little flour on the
bottom of the oven, and shut the door; if in 5 minutes the flour is
found to be coloured a golden brown, the bread may with safety be put
in; if, on the contrary, the flour is a deep brown and smells burnt,
the oven is too hot, and the fire should be slightly checked, also
the oven door left open for a few minutes. The best way of regulating
the temperature of the oven is to use a Bailey’s pyrometer (W. H.
Bailey and Co., Albion Works, Salford, near Manchester), by which it
is easy to see whether the fire should be urged or checked, ensuring
the proper degree of heat without wasting fuel.

Bread is generally supposed to have a more pleasant flavour when
baked in a brick oven. One reason why this is so is because the brick
oven (when there is one attached to a house) is generally so large
and cumbrous, besides being troublesome to heat, that it is only
used on baking days for bread or cake; so that there is no stale
flavour of meat, game, or poultry hanging about it. This should be
borne in mind when the baking is to be done in a kitchener, which
should be thoroughly ventilated and washed out before the bread is
put in. If this is attended to, the difference in the taste will be
scarcely perceptible. (Bessie Tremaine.)

Mention may here be made of Perkins’ Patent Steam Oven (Seaford
Street, Gray’s Inn Road), in which the baking is remarkably even and
regular; and of the portable gas oven (J. Baker and Sons, 58 City
Road). See also p. 1003.

Yeast.--(_a_) First get 6 good-sized potatoes, wash and pare them
and boil them in 2 qt. water with a handful of hops (the latter in a
small bag kept for the purpose). When quite soft take them out, mash
fine, and pour upon them the water in which they were boiled, adding
a little water for what may have boiled away, and also ½ cup salt
and same of white sugar. When cooled down to a lukewarm temperature
add 1 cup yeast to ferment it with. It does not rise, it works like
beer, and having been covered closely and kept in a warm place, in
the course of 5-6 hours the entire surface will be covered with fine
bubbles, which indicate that it is ready for use. It should now be
bottled and put in the cellar, where it will keep a long time. The
bottles must not be corked tight at first, or they will be liable to
burst. If the theory be true that some of the same kind must be used
to start with, some difficulty may be encountered in introducing it
where it is not used.

(_b_) Boil and mash 1 lb. potatoes, mix with them ¼ lb. coarse raw
sugar and 1 teaspoonful salt, add 1 qt. tepid water, and let the
mixture stand in a warm place for 24 hours; then boil a small handful
of hops for 10 minutes in ½ pint water, strain, and add the liquor
to the yeast. Again let it stand for 24 hours; if it does not then
ferment, get a little brewers’ yeast, and let it work for 24 hours;
then strain it, and it is fit for use. When cold, put away the yeast
in stone bottles, the cork tied down firmly. Keep in a cool dry place
until wanted. About ½ pint yeast will be required to ferment 7 lb.
flour.

(_c_) _With German Yeast._--The one great point is to knead well.
Not only should the dough be well kneaded, but the sponge, where it
is placed to rise, should be well and rapidly beaten with a wooden
spoon. The effect will be speedily seen, for the grain of the sponge
becomes closer and finer, and, when put in a suitable place, will at
once begin to rise in very fine bubbles. Potatoes much improve bread,
and, in order to use them with a good effect, they must be steamed
and beaten to a pulp, or, rather, to a cream; for a little water
must be added to the pulp as soon as all the lumps have been beaten
away, and this water should be in quantity just sufficient to give
the potatoes the consistency of thick cream. This potato cream is to
be put in the sponge before the beating commences--in fact, it is
part of the sponge. It is advisable to put German yeast in water over
night, and in the morning, when you are ready to lay your sponge, you
must add to the yeast and water 2 lumps sugar. As the sugar assists
the yeast to ferment, it must not be carelessly put in and left. As
soon as it is dissolved the sponge should be mixed. Bread mixed with
milk is much better than that made with water. Therefore, if you can
procure it, place some milk on the fire to boil, and when it has
partly cooled it is ready for use. An easy mode of cooling milk that
has boiled is to place the can containing it in a pail of cold water.

Never make bread with raw milk, for the chances are that the dough
will become sour, and, although a little soda carbonate will
counteract the acidity when in the sponge, it is impossible to remedy
any such accident in the dough. It is a very difficult thing to
tell anyone how much liquid to use to any given quantity of flour.
American flour, which makes the finest bread, requires more liquid
than English flour. The reason is obvious--the better the flour the
drier, and American flour is very dry. Although commanding a higher
price than English, it is in reality much more economical, as a stone
of American flour will produce a much larger batch of bread than a
stone of English flour will.

¼ lb. yeast will be found sufficient for an ordinary baking. It is a
general rule to lay the sponge in the centre of the flour that you
intend shall form the dough. This is a mistaken idea, and the better
plan is to have a bowl about the size of a toilette basin. Warm it;
do not quite half fill with flour. Have your yeast and sugar ready
dissolved and smoothly mixed with cold water; have also in a jug at
your left hand some milk that has been boiled and lost its scalding
heat. Your bread will be improved if you provide yourself too with
some warm creamed potatoes (you may with advantage have as much
potato as flour in your sponge). It is quite out of the question to
say when it will have risen--the weather affects it, and it will vary
each time. The better way is to keep a watchful eye on it. It is fit
to be taken when it has risen to a fine spongy mass, presenting the
appearance of froth.

Have a large bowl ready warmed, place in this as much flour as you
judge will make the quantity of bread you desire; but do not more
than half fill your bowl, or there will be no room for rising. Make
a hole in the centre of the flour, and pour in the sponge, add a
small quantity of salt, and proceed to knead it up, moistening from
time to time with milk, or water, as the case may be. Do not have
the dough too stiff. It is as well to use the right hand first, and
keep the left free to add the liquid from the jug. The right hand has
most power, and vigour is required in kneading bread. We have proof
of this in the Italians, who knead their dough with such force as to
produce corns on the knuckles of the hand. When you find you have
sufficient liquid, let the left hand take its share in pounding and
working the dough.

Draw the dough from the sides of the pan to the middle in kneading,
and continue to do this until it ceases to stick either to the hands
or bowl. Having arrived at this point, place the bread-bowl in a warm
position, and cover with a cloth. When the dough is ready to be made
into loaves it will be risen and cracked all over. The bread-tins
must be rubbed inside with lard before using. Remember, when you cut
your dough into loaves, that it is necessary to knead it up again
before placing in the tins. It is a good plan to nearly ¾ fill the
tins, prick through with a fork, and put to rise again. Stand your
tins together, if possible, and place a clean light cloth over them,
to keep any dust off, and also to prevent the surface of the dough
from drying. The loaves must rise until they nearly reach the tops
of the tins. Now place in an oven that has a moderately good heat,
and do not open the door during the first 15 minutes. The middle
shelf of an oven is the proper place for bread, and the tins should
stand on rings; there is then no chance of burning the bottoms of the
loaves. After the loaves have been in the oven ½ hour, change their
positions. An hour should bake an ordinary loaf. During the last ½
hour the heat of the oven may be allowed to decrease.

As soon as your bread is baked, take the loaves out of the tins and
wrap them in a clean old blanket kept especially for the purpose.
The object is to prevent hard crust, and the blanket will absorb
any moisture caused by the steam. When quite cold the bread may be
placed in the bread-pan, which should be kept in a cold damp place.
No bread will keep in a good state which is in a dry, warm situation.
It is certain to dry, crack, and mould. It will be found a good plan
to bake once a week during the winter, and twice during the summer
months. Should any difficulty be experienced during very sultry
weather, make the dough in the evening with quite cold water or milk,
there will be no sponge to lay in this case; all must be kneaded up
at once, and in the morning it will be ready for use. Bread made up
in this way is excellent if well kneaded, but never has such delicate
grain as that made by the above directions.

The only real enemy to success in bread-making is warm sultry
weather. When the air is charged with electricity, the housewife may
think of danger. Want of attention is, in the majority of cases, the
real cause of mishaps. (Harriett Estill.)

The flour called “seconds” makes a more economical loaf for family
use than the first quality; when, however, a very white light kind of
bread is preferred, “best whites” must be used. German yeast should
be perfectly fresh and sweet, in which state it is nearly white and
quite dry. Dissolve 1½ oz. in a few spoonfuls of cool water, and
then stir into it 3½ pints tepid water; pour it rapidly over 5 lb.
flour, in which 1 tablespoonful salt has been mixed; beat it up with
the hand or a wooden spoon until well mixed, then gradually work in
2 lb. more of flour, kneading it well. When finished, the dough will
be perfectly smooth, and not a particle will adhere to the hands or
pan. Set the dough in a warm place to rise for an hour, then work
it up with a handful of flour until it is stiff; divide it into 2
or 3 loaves, working them up into a compact shape. Put them on a
floured baking sheet, and bake them in an oven as hot as it can be
without burning the bread, as it will then keep its shape. In about
10 minutes the heat may be moderated and kept equal until the bread
is finished. A 5 lb. loaf will take 1¼ hour to bake. A skewer may be
thrust into the loaf, and if it comes out clean the bread is done
enough, but generally the appearance of the loaf should indicate this
to anyone having the least experience. (Mary Hooper.)


=Biscuits, Cakes, and Fancy Breads.=--Of these there is an endless
variety, the majority being well adapted for making at home.

_Abernethy Biscuits._--(_a_) Dissolve ¼ lb. butter in ½ pint warm
milk, and with 4 lb. fine flour, a few caraways, and ½ lb. sugar,
make a stiff but smooth paste; to render the biscuits short and
light, add ½ dr. ammonia carbonate in powder. Roll out very thin;
stamp the biscuits, pricking them with a fork, and bake in tins in a
quick oven.

(_b_) Into 7 lb. flour rub 1 lb. butter; add 1 lb. moist sugar,
powdered, and 2 oz. caraway seeds; make into smooth dough with 2½
pints water containing 4 oz. sal volatile; roll into thin sheets; cut
into biscuits, place on buttered tins, wash tops with white of egg,
bake in quick oven.

_Almond Bread._--8 oz. sweet almonds, 1 oz. bitter almonds blanched
and dried; pound fine with 18 oz. loaf sugar in a mortar; pass
through sieve; mix into soft batter with yolk of egg; grate off the
peel of 1 lemon, and add it with 2 oz. flour; mix lightly as for
sponge cake; pour the batter into square, flat, tin dishes, turned up
about 2 in., and buttered inside; bake in cool oven.

_Almond Cakes._--Cover 1 lb. sweet almonds with boiling water in a
saucepan; when just boiling, strain off, and rub skins off; slice up
2 oz. of them; put remainder into a mortar with 2¼ lb. loaf sugar, 1
tablespoonful orange-flower water and white of 6 eggs, pound fine;
spread wafer-paper on a tin, and drop on pieces of the paste as large
as walnuts; sprinkle each with the shredded almonds; bake in slow
oven.

_Almond Savoy Cake._--Take 1 lb. blanched sweet almonds (4 oz. of
them may be bitter), 2 lb. sugar, 1 pint yolk of egg, ½ pint whole
eggs, 1 lb. flour, and the whites of 12 eggs beaten to a firm froth.
Pound the almonds with the sugar in a mortar, and sift through a wire
sieve, or grind in a mill, and mix with the sugar in the mortar.
First mix the whole eggs well with the almonds and sugar, then add
the yolks by degrees, stirring until quite light; then mix in the
whites, and afterwards the flour lightly; prepare some moulds as for
Savoy cakes, or only butter them. Fill the moulds ¾ full, and bake in
a moderate oven.

_American Biscuits._--Rub ½ lb. butter with 4 lb. flour; add 1 pint
milk or water; mix well; break up the dough; bake in hot oven.

_Apple Bread._--After having boiled 1 lb. peeled apples, bruise them
while quite warm into 2 lb. flour, including the proper quantity
of leaven, and knead the whole without water, the juice of the
fruit being quite sufficient. When this mixture has acquired the
consistency of paste, put it into a vessel, in which allow it to rise
for about 12 hours. By this process you obtain a very sweet bread,
extremely light.

_Banbury Cake._--(_a_) 1½ lb. flour, 1 lb. butter; roll the butter in
sheets in part of the flour; wet up the rest of the flour in nearly ½
pint water and a little German or brewers’ yeast; make into a smooth
paste, roll in a large sheet, and lay on the butter; double up, and
roll out again; do this 5 times; cut into square pieces, about 1½
oz. each. Mix together currants, candied peel chopped fine, moist
sugar, and a little brandy; put 2 teaspoonfuls of this mixture on
each piece of paste; bring the two corners together in the middle,
and close them up of an oval shape; turn the closing downwards; sift
finely powdered loaf sugar over the tops; put on a cold tin; let
stand awhile in the cold to prove; bake in rather a cool oven.

(_b_) 2 lb. currants, ½ oz. each ground allspice and powdered
cinnamon; 4 oz. each candied orange and lemon peel; 8 oz. butter, 1
lb. moist sugar, 12 oz. flour; mix the whole well together; roll out
a piece of puff paste; cut into oval shape; put a small quantity of
composition into each, and double up in the shape of a puff; put on a
board, flatten down with rolling-pin, and sift powdered sugar over;
do not put too close together; bake on iron plates in a hot oven.

_Bath Buns._--1 lb. flour, peel of 2 lemons grated fine, ½ lb. butter
melted in teacup of cream, 1 teaspoonful yeast, 3 eggs; mix; add ½
lb. powdered loaf sugar; mix well; let stand to rise; quantities will
make about 3 dozen buns.

_Bath Cake._--Roll 1¾ lb. moist sugar till fine; add ¾ pint water;
let stand all night; into 4½ lb. flour rub 3 oz. butter; make a hole
in it, and pour in the sugar and water with ½ pint honey water; roll
thin; cut out, place on buttered tin, wash over with water, bake in
quick oven.

_Biscuit Powder._--Dry the biscuits in a slow oven; grind with a
rolling-pin on a clean board till the powder is fine; sift through a
fine hair-sieve, and it is fit for use.

_Bordeaux Cake._--Make a mixture as for pound-cakes, leaving out the
fruit, peel, and spices; bake in a round or oval hoop. When baked
and cold, cut into slices ½ in. thick; spread each slice with jam or
marmalade. The outside of the cake may be cut round, or fluted to
form a star; and the centre of the cake is occasionally cut out to
about 1½ in. from the edge, leaving the bottom slice whole: this may
be filled with preserved wet or dry fruits, creams, or a trifle. The
top is ornamented with piping, wet or dry fruits, and peels, or piped
with jam and icing.

_Brandy Snaps._--(_a_) Rub ¼ lb. butter into ½ lb. flour, add ½ lb.
moist sugar, ½ oz. ground ginger, and the grated rind and juice of
a lemon. Mix with a little treacle to a paste thin enough to spread
on tins. Bake in a moderate oven, and when done enough cut it into
strips whilst still on the tins, and then roll it round the fingers.
When cold put in a tin at once, or they will lose their crispness.
(_b_) Take 1 lb. flour, ½ lb. coarse brown sugar, ¼ lb. butter, 1
dessertspoonful allspice, 2 of ground ginger, the grated peel of
half, and the juice of a whole lemon; mix altogether, adding ½ lb.
treacle; beat it well; butter some sheet tins, and spread the paste
thinly over them, bake in rather a slow oven. When done cut it into
squares, and roll each square round the finger as it is raised from
the tin. (_c_) ½ lb. salt butter, ½ lb. moist sugar, ½ lb. treacle
and flour (more treacle than flour), 1½ oz. finely-powdered ginger.
The butter, treacle, and part of the sugar to be made boiling hot,
and poured on the remainder of the ingredients well mixed. Spread it
very thinly with a knife on a sheet tin which has been buttered, and
bake. When done, to be taken off with a knife.

_Breakfast Cake._--Mix ½ oz. German yeast with ½ pint warm milk in
a pan; weigh 2 lb. flour and take sufficient of it to make the milk
the consistence of batter. When this sponge has risen, take a little
milk--melt in it 3 oz. butter; add a teaspoonful of salt, and the
yolks of 8 eggs; mix well with the sponge, and make into a dough
with the remaining portion of flour. Do not use more milk with the
eggs than will make ½ pint, or the dough will be too soft. When the
dough is proved, make it into cakes about 2 in. thick; put them into
buttered hoops; lay the hoops on iron plates, and when they are
lightly risen, bake them in a warm oven; cut into slices ½ in. thick
and butter each.

_Bride Cake._--Cleanse and dry 2½ lb. currants; stone ½ lb. muscatel
raisins; pound ¼ oz. mace, ⅛ oz. cinnamon; scald ¼ lb. sweet almonds,
remove skins, and shred; slice up 2 oz. each candied citron, lemon,
and orange peel; break 8 new eggs into a basin; sift 1 lb. powdered
loaf sugar into 1¼ lb. flour; in a warmed pan beat 1 lb. butter by
hand till it melts, then add the sugar and beat again; add ⅕ of the
flour, stir, and add nearly half the eggs; beat up, add more flour
and remainder of eggs; beat again and stir in rest of flour and
currants; next add the raisins, almonds, candied peel, spices, and ½
gill brandy; thoroughly mix; double paper the tin, and bake in a very
slow oven.

_Brighton Biscuits._--Take 1¼ lb. good moist sugar; roll fine; mix
with 2½ lb. flour, and sift through a flour sieve; rub in 2 oz.
butter; make a hole in the middle, and strew in a few caraway seeds;
pour in ½ pint each honey-water and milk; mix into dough, but do not
work too much; roll out in thin sheets; cut into biscuits and put 2
in. apart on buttered tin; wash with milk; bake steadily.

_Buttered Biscuits._--Rub 1 lb. butter into 7 lb. flour; wet up with
1 qt. warm water, and ½ pint good yeast; break smooth; prove; cut
into biscuits; bake in strong heat.

_Captain’s Biscuits._--Rub 6 oz. butter into 7 lb. flour; wet up with
1 qt. water; break smooth; bake in good strong heat.

_Chelsea Buns._--Take ½ or 1 quartern light bread dough; dust the
dresser or table with flour, and roll out with a rolling-pin into
a sheet about ¼ in. thick; over the surface put 4-6 oz. butter, in
little bits, work up and roll out 2 or 3 times, the same as for
making puff paste. The last time it is rolled out, spread thinly
and evenly over the surface, either moist or powdered loaf sugar;
moisten by sprinkling with water; cut into strips, ½-¾ in. wide; roll
up so as to form a coil or roll of dough about 2 in. in diameter.
Lay these pieces (when rolled up) on a clean baking-tin, with some
butter rubbed over the surface, to prevent the buns adhering when
baked. Place rather more than ¼ in. asunder, with one of the cut
edges downward. Put in a warm place, covered with a cloth, to prove,
or rise; bake in a moderately warm oven. May be made richer by using
more butter and sugar, and seeds or spice may be added at pleasure.
When baked, some sugar may be sifted over the surface.

_Cheese Cake._--Beat 4 oz. butter with the hand in a warm pan, till
it comes to a fine cream; add 4 oz. powdered sugar; beat well;
add yolks of 2 eggs; beat again; add a little milk; beat all well
together, and mix in 4 oz. clean currants; lay puff paste in the
patty-pans; fill half full; shake a little sugar over, and bake in a
good heat.

_Cinnamon Buns._--Same as saffron, omitting the caraway seeds and
saffron, and substituting ground cinnamon.

_Cinnamon, Currant, and Caraway Cake._--Rub 1 lb. butter into 3½ lb.
flour; in a hole put 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar; then wet up with ½
pint each honey-water and milk. Divide the dough into 3 parts; add to
one part a little powdered cinnamon; to another a few currants; to
another a few caraway seeds. Roll in sheets to the thickness of the
currants; cut to about the size of a penny; wash with a little milk,
and bake in a steady heat.

_Colchester Bread._--(_a_) Prepare dough as for Bath cakes; cut with
a Colchester cutter to about the thickness of a penny; wash with
milk; bake quick; wash with egg and milk while hot; when cold cut
apart.

(_b_) Put ¾ lb. loaf sugar into a saucepan, with ¼ pint water over
steady fire; stir till dissolved; beat 6 eggs with a whisk in a pan;
when the sugar boils pour it gently on the eggs, beating till cold;
stir in ¾ lb. fine sifted flour; paper frames; fill ¾ full with the
batter; sift sugar over; bake in steady oven.

_Cracknel Biscuits._--Rub 6 oz. butter into 3½ lb. flour; in a hole
put 6 oz. powdered loaf sugar; wet up with 8 eggs and ¼ pint water;
break dough smooth; make and dock like captain’s biscuits; form on
the reel; drop into a stew-pan of water boiling over the fire; when
they swim, take out with a skimmer, and put into a pailful of cold
water; let remain 2 hours before baking; drain in a cloth or sieve;
bake on clean tins in a brisk oven.

_Crumpets._--These are made of batter composed of flour, water (or
milk), and a small quantity of yeast. To 1 lb. best wheaten flour add
3 tablespoonfuls yeast. A portion of the liquid paste, not too thin
(after being suffered to rise), is poured on a heated iron plate, and
baked, like pancakes in a pan.

_Curd Cheese Cake._--Warm 1 pint new milk; stir in a little rennet;
keep warm till a nice curd appears; break and strain the whey through
a hair-sieve; put mixture prepared as for cheese-cakes, but without
any currants, into sieve with curd; rub all through together; mix in
currants; fill out, and bake in a good heat.

_Derby Cake._--Rub 1 lb. butter in 2½ lb. flour; in a hole put 1 lb.
powdered loaf sugar; beat 2 eggs with 3 tablespoonfuls honey-water,
and milk to make up ½ pint; add ½ lb. currants; mix; bake in a steady
oven.

_Diet Bread._--Whisk the yolks of 12 and the whites of 6 eggs,
together, so as just to break them; put ¼ pint water into a saucepan
or small stew-pan, add 1 lb. loaf sugar, and put on the fire; take it
off just before it boils; put in the eggs, and whisk well till cold;
stir in lightly 1 lb. flour; put mixture into papered square tins;
sift sugar over tops; bake in cool oven till dry and firm on top.

_Drop Biscuits._--Warm the pan; put in 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar and
8 eggs; beat with a whisk till milk warm; then beat till cold; stir
in lightly 1 lb. sugar, 2 oz. fine sifted flour, ½ oz. caraway seeds;
put batter into a bladder, drop through the pipe, in quantities about
the size of a nutmeg, on wafer-paper; sift sugar over the top; bake
in quick oven.

_Drops._--Whisk ½ teacup water, 6 eggs, and 1 lb. sifted loaf sugar
together till thick; add a few caraway seeds, and 18 oz. flour; mix
lightly together; drop on wafer-paper, about the size of a small
walnut; sift sugar over, and bake in a hot oven.

_Filbert Biscuits._--Rub 1 lb. butter into 3½ lb. flour; make a hole,
and put in 10 oz. powdered loaf sugar; wet up with 4 tablespoonfuls
honey-water, 1 of orange-flower water, and ¾ pint milk; break dough
smooth; mould as large as a nutmeg, and round; cut twice across the
top each way, about half through, with a sharp knife; place on tin;
bake in steady heat.

_French Rolls._--Set a sponge with 1 qt. warm water, and ½ pint good
small-beer yeast; let sponge rise and drop; melt 1 oz. butter in 1
pint warm milk, and 1 oz. salt; wet up about 7 lb. flour; let lie ½
hour; put on warm tins; prove well; bake in quick oven.

_Ginger Cake._--Prepare dough as for Bath cakes; add as much ground
ginger as will give a pleasant taste; cut as thick as a shilling and
as large as a penny; wash with water; bake quick.

_Hot Cross Buns._--Take 1 qt. milk, 12 oz. butter, 12 oz. sugar, ½
oz. mixed spice, 2 eggs, 2 oz. German yeast, or ½ teacupful of good
thick small-beer yeast, and 4 lb. flour. If to be made with currants,
add 1 or 1½ lb. currants, clean washed, picked, and dried. Make the
milk blood-warm; if the weather is cold, rather warmer; put it into a
gallon pan, with half the sugar, 6 oz. of flour, the yeast and eggs;
mix together, cover the pan, and put in a warm place. When this has
risen with a high, frothy head, and again fallen and become nearly
flat, it is ready for the remaining portion of the ingredients to
be mixed with it; but while rising, the butter should be rubbed in
with the flour between the hands, until reduced to small crumbles.
Mix the whole together into a nice mellow dough. If the flour is not
very good and strong, about 4-6 oz. more may be required to make the
dough of the required consistence. Cover the pan; let remain in a
warm place for about ½ hour, or until the dough has risen 4 in. Make
into buns by moulding the dough up into small balls lightly under
the hands, and place on warm tins, slightly rubbed over with butter,
about 3-4 in. asunder. Half-prove, and cross; brush the tops over
with milk, and finish proving; bake in a hot oven; when done, brush
the tops over again with milk. The best method for proving is to put
the tins on shelves in a warm cupboard near the fire. Place a pan
with hot water at the bottom, but put no tin on the pan. Put a piece
of heated iron or brick into the water in the pan occasionally, to
cause a steam to ascend, which will keep the surface of the buns
moist, when they will expand or prove to their full size, otherwise
the surface will be hardened, and prevent expansion. Keep the
cupboard door close shut until ready to bake.

_Italian Bread._--Take 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar,
18 oz. flour, 12 eggs, ½ lb. citron and lemon peel. Mix as for
pound-cake. If the mixture begins to curdle, which is most likely
from the quantity of eggs, add a little of the flour. When the eggs
are all used, and it is light, stir in the remainder of the flour
lightly. Bake in long, narrow tins, either papered or buttered; first
put in a layer of the mixture, and cover with the peel cut in large
thin slices; proceed in this way until ¾ full, and bake in a moderate
oven.

_Lemon Biscuits._--Prepare dough as for filbert biscuits, but leave
out orange-flower water and use 6 drops essence of lemon; cut out,
dock with lemon docker; bake in good steady heat.

_Lemon Cheese Cake._--Prepare as for common cheese-cakes; grate rind
of fresh lemon; squeeze the juice, and mix.

_Lord Mayor’s Cake._--Whisk 1 lb. sifted loaf sugar and 8 eggs in
a warm earthen pan for 15 minutes, or until quite thick; add a few
caraway seeds and 1 lb. flour; mix lightly with a spoon, and drop on
paper, about the size of a small teacup; place on iron plates; sift
sugar or caraway seeds on top; bake in hot oven; when done, take off
the papers, and stick two together.

_Lunch or School Cake._--Mix ½ lb. moist sugar with 2 lb. flour;
in a hole in the middle put 1 tablespoonful good thick yeast (not
bitter); warm ½ pint milk rather more than blood warm, but not hot
enough to scald the yeast; mix ⅓ with the yeast and a little of the
flour; when it has risen (say ¾ hour if the yeast is good) melt ½ lb.
butter in a little more milk; add 1½ lb. currants, a little candied
peel, and grated rind of lemon, and 1 teaspoonful powdered allspice;
mix; butter hoop or tin, put in, and set in warm place to rise; bake
in warm oven. This cake should be mixed up rather softer than bread
dough.

_Macaroons._--Pound 1 lb. blanched and dried sweet almonds fine in
a mortar; pass through wire sieve; make into softish batter, with
whites of 5 or 6 eggs, and a spoonful or two of orange-flower water;
beat well; lay on oval wafer-paper; dredge tops with powdered loaf
sugar; bake in rather cool oven.

_Madeira Cake._--Whisk 4 eggs very light, and, still whisking, throw
in by slow degrees the following ingredients in the order named--6
oz. each sifted sugar and flour, 4 oz. butter, slightly dissolved
but not heated, the rind of a fresh lemon, and ⅓ teaspoonful soda
carbonate; beat well just before moulding; bake for 1 hour in
moderate oven. Each portion of butter must be beaten into the mixture
until no appearance of it remains, before the next is added.

_Muffins._--These should be baked on a hot iron plate. To 1 peck
flour add ¾ pint good small-beer yeast, 4 oz. of salt, and water (or
milk) slightly warmed, sufficient to form a dough of rather soft
consistency; when light, small portions of the dough are put into
holes, made in a layer of flour about 2 in. thick, placed on a board;
cover up with a blanket, and stand near a fire, to cause the dough
to rise to a semi-globular shape; place on heated iron plate, and
bake; when bottoms begin to acquire brownish colour, turn, and bake
opposite side.

_Naples Biscuits._--Take 6 oz. each moist and loaf sugar, ¼ pint
water; proceed as for diet cake, with 6 eggs and ¾ lb. flour; have
tins papered: fill nearly full of the batter; sugar the tops; bake in
rather slow oven. These biscuits are diet-bread batter, fancifully
dropped into tins, papered with white paper, and baked in a warm
oven, with a little sugar sifted over the top.

_Oatmeal Cakes._--These are composed of oatmeal and water; and the
difficulties lie, first, in wetting, with sufficient quickness, the
whole of the meal, without drenching any portion of it; secondly,
in properly kneading and rolling out the cakes with dexterity and
despatch; and, finally, in turning them while baking, or “firing.”
They are sometimes baked on a “girdle” or “griddle”--a flat piece of
cast iron, placed over a bright fire; sometimes on a “toaster,” which
is similar to a hanger, with a sliding back, which supports the cake
in front of the fire; and sometimes in an American oven.

The process of making is as follows:--Put 2 or 3 handfuls of meal
into a 3 pint basin; stir while pouring in boiling water; when
all is moistened, having scattered a handful of dry meal over the
paste-board, turn out the “leaven” with a spoon or your hand, dusted
with meal; take a piece, according to the size of cake required,
and knead out, using the rolling-pin if wanted thin; shape with a
knife or tin cutter 4-5 in. in diameter. As oatmeal swells and dries
very rapidly, to have cakes that will stick together, and, at the
same time, eat short or “free,” this process cannot be done too
expeditiously. Each of the three modes of baking gives a different
flavour. For toasting let the cakes be 10 or 12 in. in diameter,
nip up the edge all round, and cut them across twice, which makes
a square edge for them to stand on. In this form they are called
“farls.” For turning, use a broad, supple knife, or a piece of tin
plate. A little butter melted in the water is an improvement.

_Parkin._--(_a_) 4 lb. oatmeal, 4 lb. treacle, 1 lb. sugar, 1 lb.
butter, 2 oz. powdered ginger. Set a pan before the fire with the
treacle and butter in it. When dissolved, add the other ingredients,
and stir it as stiff as you can with a knife, but do not knead it.
Add 1 teacupful brandy (if liked), and bake it in a cool oven in
dripping pans or flat dishes about 2 in. thick. Do not turn it out
till quite cold, or it will break, but cut it across with a knife
where you would like it divided. It must be baked in a cool oven.
Some people make it in round cakes. (_b_) 1 lb. Yorkshire oatmeal,
1 lb. thick treacle (not golden syrup), ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. moist
sugar, mixed spice and ginger to taste. Rub the butter into the
meal with the sugar and spice, then add the treacle (melted, if
too thick), mix all well together, and bake in flat tins, such as
are used for Yorkshire puddings, in a slow oven, for 2 hours or
more. Parkin is not fit for eating for 2-3 days, till it has become
perfectly soft. (_c_) 7 lb. oatmeal, 1 lb. butter, 2 lb. treacle,
3 tablespoonfuls soda carbonate; to be baked in hoops the same as
teacakes. The butter to be melted and mixed with the treacle warm.
(_d_) 4 lb. oatmeal, ¾ lb. butter, ¾ lb. lard; currants, raisins
(candied lemon peel if approved), ginger, and cayenne pepper to
taste. Add sufficient treacle to make the whole into a soft paste.
Bake in a slow oven. The treacle, butter, and lard should be warmed a
little together. Butter and lard keep the cake moist longer than if
only butter were used.

_Plum Cake._--(_a_) Set a sponge with 1 lb. flour, ½ pint warm milk,
and 3 tablespoonfuls good yeast; beat up 4 oz. butter, 4 oz. powdered
sugar, 2 eggs, and 4 oz. flour as for pound cake; put in sponge, and
beat all well together; add 1 lb. currants; bake without proving in a
slow oven.

(_b_) Beat 1 lb. butter with your hand in a warm pan till it comes
to a fine cream, add 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar; beat together to a
nice cream; have 1¼ lb. flour sifted, put in a little, and stir; add
4 eggs; beat well; add a little more flour and 4 more eggs; beat it
well again; stir in remainder of flour; for small cakes, butter the
tins; for large ones, paper; sugar over the top, and bake in moderate
heat.

(_c_) Sift 1 lb. loaf sugar; add 1 lb. fresh butter, melted a little,
and worked by hand to consistency of cream; beat together; while
doing so, add 10 eggs; beat till well incorporated; mix 4 oz. candied
orange or lemon peel, shred or cut small, a few currants and 1 lb.
flour well together; put in a hoop; sift sugar on top; bake in warm
oven.

_Porridge._--Put on the fire a pan, of the size that will hold the
quantity required, about ⅔ full of water; when the water is quick
boiling take a handful of meal, and holding the hand over the pan--of
course high enough to avoid being burned by the steam--let the meal
slide slowly through the fingers into the water, the other hand
stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, or what Scotch cooks call
the “spurtle.” Continue this till enough of meal is put into the
water, then add salt to taste, and, allow the porridge to boil for
20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally lest it stick to the pan and
scorch. Porridge is not good if boiled less than 20 minutes; but
for children, or delicate stomachs it should be boiled the full ½
hour, by which time the meal is so well swelled and softened that it
becomes a digestible and most nutritious article of food. Letting
the meal slide slowly into the water is an important element in
making good porridge. If it is thrown in too quickly, or the water
allowed to cease boiling, it forms into lumps, and is not so good. It
is not easy to give any rule as to the proportion of meal to water,
as the thickness of porridge is quite a matter of taste. Of course it
must be still thin when one stops putting in the meal, as it swells
to more than half as much again with the boiling.

_Pound Cake._--The following table gives the ingredients necessary
for rich pound-, Twelfth-, or bride-cakes of different prices:--

  ---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
  Ingredients.   |10s.6d.|  12s. |  15s. |  18s. | 1l.1s.|1l.11s.| 2l.2s.
  ---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
                 |       |       |       |       |       |       |
                 | lb.oz.| lb.oz.| lb.oz.| lb.oz.| lb.oz.| lb.oz.| lb.oz.
  Butter         |  0 11 |  0 13 |  1  1 |  1  4 |  1  6 |  2  1 |  2 12
  Sugar          |  0  7 |  0  8 |  0 10 |  0 12 |  1  0 |  1  6 |  1 12
  Currants       |  1  4 |  1  6 |  1 10 |  2  0 |  2  8 |  3 12 |  5  0
  Orange, lemon, |  0  6 |  0  7 |  0  8 |  0 10 |  0 12 |  1  2 |  1  8
    and citron   |       |       |       |       |       |       |
    (mixed)      |       |       |       |       |       |       |
  Almonds        |  0  1½|  0  2 |  0  2 |  0  3 |  0  3 |  0  4 |  0  6
  Mixed spice*   |  0  0½|       |  0  0¾|       |  0  1 |  0  1½|  0  2
  Flour          |  0 11 |  0 13 |  1  1 |  1  4 |  1  6 |  2  1 |  2 12
  Eggs (number)  |   6   |   7   |    9  |   10  |   12  |   18  |   24
  Brandy, or     |  Wine | glass | full  |       |  ¼ pt.|       | ½ pt.
    brandy and   |       |       |       |       |       |       |
    wine         |       |       |       |       |       |       |
  ---------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

      * Nutmegs, mace, and cinnamon, of equal parts, in powder.

These proportions allow for the cake being iced. If more sugar is
preferred, it may be the same as the butter; less is used that the
cake may be light, and to allow for the sweet fruit. Double the
quantity of almonds may be used. To make: warm a smooth pan, large
enough for the mixture; put in the butter, and reduce it to a fine
cream, by working it about the pan with your hand. In summer the
pan need not be warmed; but in winter keep the mixture as warm as
possible, without oiling the butter. Add the sugar and mix it well
with the butter, until it becomes white and feels light in the hand.
Break in 2 or 3 eggs at a time, and work the mixture well before
more is added. Continue doing this until all are used and it becomes
light; then add the spirit, currants, peel, spice, and almonds, most
of the almonds being previously cut in thin slices, and the peel
into small thin strips and bits. When these are incorporated, mix in
the flour lightly; put it in a hoop with paper over the bottom and
round the sides, and place on a baking-plate. Large cakes require
3 or 4 pieces of stiff paper round the sides; and if the cake is
very large, a pipe or funnel, made either of stiff paper or tin, and
well buttered, should be put in the centre, and the mixture placed
round it; this is to allow the middle of the cake to be well baked,
otherwise the edge would be burnt 2 or 3 in. deep before it could be
properly done. Place the tin plates containing the cake on another,
the surface of which is covered 1 or 2 in. thick with sawdust or
fine ashes to protect the bottom. Bake it in an oven at a moderate
heat. The time required to bake it will depend on the state of the
oven and the size of the cake. A guinea cake in an oven of a proper
heat will take 4 to 5 hours. When the cake is cold proceed to ice it.
Wedding-cakes have generally, first, a coating on the top of almond
icing; when this is dry, the sides and top are covered with royal or
white icing. Fix on gum paste or other ornaments while it is wet; and
when dry, ornament with piping, orange-blossoms, ribbon, &c.; the
surface and sides are often covered with small knobs of white sugar
candy whilst the icing is wet. Twelfth-cakes are iced with white or
coloured icing, and decorated with gum paste, plaster ornaments,
piping-paste, rings, knots, and fancy papers, &c., and piped.

_Prussian Cake._--Rub 4 oz. butter into 7 lb. flour; wet up with 1
qt. warm milk, 1 pint warm water, 4 yolks of eggs, and ½ pint good
thick yeast; if obliged to take more yeast, leave out some of the
water; let dough lie 10-20 minutes; mould up round, ½-¾ lb. each;
place on tins, about 2 in. from each other; put in warm place, and
prove well; bake in steady heat; melt a little butter and wash over
when done.

_Queen’s Biscuits._--Rub 1 lb. butter into 2 lb. flour; add 1 lb.
powdered sugar; make a hole and pour in ¼ pint milk, to mix it up
with; add a few caraways, if you choose; roll the paste in sheets of
the thickness of a halfpenny, cut into biscuits with a small round or
oval cutter: place on clean tins, see that they do not quite touch;
prick with a fork, and bake in a quick oven till they begin to change
colour; when cold, they will be crisp.

_Queen’s Cake._--Warm 1 lb. butter a little in an earthen pan, and
work it by hand to a smooth cream; add 1 lb. finely-powdered and
sifted loaf sugar; stir well with the butter for 5 minutes; add 8
eggs and 2 spoonfuls water gradually, continuing the beating until
the whole is well mixed: stir in lightly 20 oz. flour, and a handful
of currants; fill some small round buttered tins; dust tops with
powdered loaf sugar; bake in warm oven.

_Queen’s Drops._--Prepare as for pound cakes; add 2 oz. more flour,
1½ lb. currants; drop on whited brown paper, about the size of large
nutmegs, about 2 inches from each other; put sheets on tins; bake in
steady oven.

_Queen’s Gingerbread._--Take 2 lb. honey, 1¾ lb. moist sugar, 3 lb.
flour, ½ lb. sweet almonds blanched, ½ lb. preserved orange peel
cut in thin fillets, the yellow rinds of 2 lemons grated off, 1 oz.
cinnamon, ½ oz. each cloves, mace, and cardamoms, mixed and powdered;
put the honey into a pan over the fire, with a wineglassful of water,
and make quite hot; mix other ingredients together; make a bay, pour
in the honey, and mix; let stand till next day; make into cakes, and
bake; rub a little clarified sugar until it will blow into bubbles
through a skimmer, and with a paste-brush rub over gingerbread when
baked.

_Rice Pound-cake._--Take 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar, 12
oz. flour, ½ lb. ground rice, and 12 eggs. Mix as Italian bread, and
bake in a papered hoop. If required with fruit, put 2 lb. currants, ¾
lb. peel, 1 grated nutmeg, and a little pounded mace.

_Rout Biscuits._--Put 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar into a basin, with 3
gills milk, and let stand 2 hours, stirring occasionally; rub ½ lb.
butter into 2 lb. flour; make a hole in it, add a little sal volatile
pounded fine, and an egg, with the dissolved sugar; stir together,
and mix into smooth dough; let lie 10 minutes; cut out; place on
buttered tins; wash with milk; bake quickly.

_Rout Cake._--Pound 1 lb. sweet almonds, blanched and dried, and
1 lb. loaf sugar in a mortar; sieve; put what will not pass into
a mortar again, with 4 yolks of eggs, and the rind of a lemon;
pound very fine, put in what has passed through sieve, and mix all
together; make any shape; sprinkle lightly with a little water; sift
sugar over, and put on tins that have been rubbed with a bit of
butter, so as not to touch each other; bake in rather brisk oven till
lightly coloured over; if coloured too deep at bottom, put cold tins
under to finish baking.

(_c_) Take shape, butter it, sift sugar into it, and turn out all the
sugar that does not stick to the butter; mix ½ lb. sifted sugar, and
6 oz. sifted flour; warm pan, put in sugar, break in 4 whole eggs and
1 yolk; whisk till warm and then cold; stir in flour, turn batter
into the shape, and bake in slow oven about 1 hour; when done, turn
out bottom uppermost.

_Rusks._--Put 1 qt. warm milk into a pan, with 1 oz. German yeast, 4
oz. moist sugar, and about 6 oz. flour; mix, and put aside in warm
place to rise. Rub 6 oz. butter into 3½ lb. flour, and make into a
dough with the ferment as soon as ready; prove a little, and divide
in pieces of about 1½ lb. each; roll in long rolls about size of
rolling-pin; place on buttered tins, 3-4 in. apart; flat down a
little with the hand; prove well; bake in moderately heated oven;
when cold, cut across in slices; place on tins, and brown off on both
sides in brisk oven.

_Saffron Buns._--Made with the same mixture as hot cross buns, but
with the addition of 1 oz. caraway seeds, and colouring with saffron.

_Sally Lunns._--Take flour, a little salt and butter, 2 or 3 eggs, a
small quantity of yeast, and milk and water; make light dough; set
to rise after kneading; make dough into cakes, large enough to slice
into rounds for toasting; bake slightly and quickly in hot oven.

_Savoy Biscuits._--Powder and sift 1 lb. loaf sugar; sift 1 lb.
flour; warm a pan, and put in the sugar; break 1 lb. eggs upon it;
beat both together with a whisk till warm; beat till cold; stir
in your flour; have a bladder and pipe ready; put batter into the
bladder, and force through on sheets of paper; sift sugar over, and
bake in quick oven; when cold, turn up, and wet bottom of paper; turn
back again, and in 5 minutes they will come off easily.

_Savoy Cake._--(_a_) Hot Mixture.--Take 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar, 1
pint good eggs, and 14 oz. flour. Warm a pan, free from grease, with
the sugar in it, in the oven until you can scarcely bear your hand
against it; then take out and pour in the eggs; whisk with a birch
or wire whisk until quite light and cold, when it will be white and
thick. If it should not whisk up well, warm again and beat as before;
or it may be beat over the stove fire until it is of the warmth of
new milk. When finished, sift the flour and stir it in lightly with a
spoon, adding a few drops of essence of lemon to flavour it. Butter
some tin or copper moulds regularly, with rather less on the top than
the sides. Dust with loaf sugar sifted through a lawn sieve. Knock
out all that does not adhere, and again dust with fine flour; turn
out, and knock the mould on the board. Tie or pin a piece of buttered
paper round the mould, so as to come 2 or 3 in. above the bottom. Fix
the mould in a stand and nearly fill it. Bake in a moderate oven.
When done, the top should be firm and dry. Try it by pushing in a
small piece of stick or whisk, and if it comes out dry, it is done.
The surface of the cake should be quite smooth. There is as much art
in buttering the mould properly as in preparing the mixture.

(_b_) Cold Mixtures.--Separate the yolks from the whites when you
break the eggs. Put the yolks into a clean pan with the sugar, and
the whites in another by themselves. Let the pans be quite free from
grease. If they are rubbed round with a little flour, it will take
off any which may be left. Wipe out with a clean cloth. Beat up the
yolks and sugar by themselves, with a wooden spoon, and afterwards
whip up the whites to a very strong froth. If they should happen to
be rather weak, a bit of powdered alum may be added. When the whites
are whisked up firm, stir in the yolks and sugar. Sift the flour and
mix it lightly with the spatula, adding a little essence of lemon
to flavour. Fill the moulds and bake as before. When cakes are made
in this way, the eggs should be quite fresh and good, otherwise the
whites cannot be whipped up. When weak, pickled eggs are used. A good
method is to beat the eggs first by themselves, over a fire, until
they are warm; then add the sugar, and whip it over the fire until
again warm, or make as for hot mixtures, and heat twice.

_Scones._--Warm fresh milk almost to boiling; stir in as much flour
as will make a mass that will turn clean out of the bowl without
leaving anything adhering to the sides, roll out thin; cut into
rounds; bake lightly and quickly.

_Seed Cake._--As for pound cakes, but instead of currants and candied
lemon peel, substitute a few caraway seeds; omit sugar on top.

_Short-Bread._--Rub 1 lb. butter into 3 lb. flour; add 1½ lb.
powdered loaf sugar; wet up with ¼ pint each honey-water and milk,
and 2 eggs; break in pieces about 1½ oz. each; roll oval or round to
size of tea-saucer; pinch round edge; place 1 in. from each other on
clean tins, not buttered; cut ½ lb. candied orange or lemon peel into
pieces, and lay on top; bake in steady oven.

_Shrewsbury Cake._--Mix ¾ lb. powdered loaf sugar with 1¼ lb. flour;
rub ¾ lb. butter in with the flour and sugar; add 1 white and 3
yolks of eggs; mix together to a smooth paste; roll into thin sheets;
cut out cakes about size of half-a-crown; place on clean tins; bake
in slow oven till they begin to change colour.

_Simnel Cake._--In some counties these are called “Mothering” cakes,
it being the custom to have them on mid-Lent or Mothering Sunday. A
simnel cake is really neither more nor less than any other very rich
plum cake, the only difference being that it is first boiled and then
baked (very slowly) in a crust of flour and water, with which has
been mixed some saffron to make it look yellow. To make the cake,
beat up 1½ lb. butter with the hand till it becomes a cream, and whip
the whites of 8 fresh eggs to a froth; mix these with the creamed
butter, and afterwards add the 8 yolks well beaten; add 1 lb. castor
sugar, 2 teaspoonfuls salt, 2 lb. well cleaned and dried currants,
1½ lb. flour, ½ lb. candied lemon peel, and the same of citron,
cut very thin, ½ oz. pounded nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, ½ lb.
blanched almonds pounded, 6 large lumps of sugar rubbed on the rinds
of 4 oranges and then pounded, beating each of the above ingredients
into the flour before adding the next; also stir in 1 wineglassful
brandy, continuing to beat the cake for more than ½ hour. Roll out
the paste, made as directed, somewhat less than ½ in. thick; put a
cloth wrung out of boiling water and floured into a large basin,
over this put the rolled-out paste, and into the paste put the cake
mixture when sufficiently beaten. Close the paste by folding it over,
and then tie it up in the cloth. Remove it from the basin, which was
merely to support the cake while tying it up, and put it on to boil
for 3 hours. Remove the cloth, and place the cake on a baking tin the
smooth side upwards. When nearly cold, brush it well over with egg,
and put it to bake in a very slow oven until the crust is as hard as
wood. The crust should be a light colour.

_Soda Scones._--To 2 lb. flour add 1 oz. butter, ½ oz. soda
bicarbonate, ¼ oz. tartaric acid, and 1 qt. milk or butter-milk; mix
and bake as scones.

_Spice Gingerbread._--Take 3 lb. flour, 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. moist
sugar, 4 oz. candied lemon or orange peel cut small, 1 oz. powdered
ginger, 2 oz. powdered allspice, ½ oz. powdered cinnamon, 1 oz.
caraway seeds, and 3 lb. treacle; rub the butter with your hand into
the flour; add the other ingredients, and mix it in the dough with
the treacle; make into nuts or cakes; bake in cool oven.

_Spice Nuts._--Take 7 lb. treacle; rub 1 lb. butter into 9 lb. flour;
mix 4 oz. each ground allspice and ground ginger, 2 oz. each caraway
and coriander seeds powdered, with butter, flour, and treacle; roll
1 lb. moist sugar, and strew over top; roll out in long rolls about
size of finger; cut in pieces size of nutmeg; place on buttered tins;
wash with water or small-beer; bake in steady oven.

_Sponge Cake._--Into ¾ lb. powdered sugar, break ¾ lb. eggs in a warm
pan; whisk till cold; stir in ½ lb. flour; have tins ready buttered
and sugared; put about ¾ tablespoonful into each; sift sugar over;
bake in moderately brisk oven.

_Sweetmeat Nuts._--Take 7 lb. treacle; mix 4 oz. ground ginger, 6 oz.
ground allspice, 8 oz. candied lemon and orange, cut small, with 9
lb. flour; wet up with treacle; beat in dough 4 lb. butter and 5 lb.
moist sugar; lay off on buttered tins, about the size of walnuts,
flat down, wash with water, and bake in slow oven.

_Sweet Rusks._--Cut a diet-bread cake into thin long slices; lay
on iron plates, and brown quickly in very hot oven; turn when of a
light-brown colour; when of same colour on other side, they are done.

_Tea Cake._--Break 8 eggs into a warm pan on 1 lb. pounded and sifted
loaf sugar; beat together till thick and whitish; stir in lightly 1
lb. sifted flour; with a bag and pipe, as for Savoy biscuits, form
mixture into drops about size of half-a-crown, 1 in. apart, on sheets
of whited brown paper; dust lightly with powdered loaf sugar; place
on tins; bake in good heat till nicely coloured; remove from paper as
Savoy biscuits.

_Thick Gingerbread._--Take 7 lb. treacle; rub ¾ lb. butter into 12
lb. flour; mix 3 oz. caraway, 2 oz. ground coriander seeds, and 2
oz. ground allspice, with flour and treacle; mould; in a week make
into cakes, on a mould or print; butter the sides, and place close
together on buttered tins; put up-sets round, wash with milk, and
bake in steady heat; when done, wash with egg and milk.

_Tops and Bottoms._--Prepare as for rusks; make into small balls
about the size of a large walnut; place on tins in straight rows just
to touch; prove well; bake in a moderate heat; when cold, draw a
sharp knife between rows; to cut balls out square turn on side, and
cut through middle, one at a time: place close on tin, with cut part
upwards; put in warm oven; done when nicely browned over.

_Twelfth Cake._--Prepare as for plum or bride cake; or, if as for
plain pound cake, take 3 lb. currants, 4 oz. candied orange and lemon
peel, to every pound of sugar; make any size; when done, ice over,
and lay on ornaments while ice is wet.

_Venice Cake._--Cut a Savoy cake in slices ½ to ¾ in. thick, in a
parallel direction from the bottom to the top; spread each slice
with raspberry or apricot jam, or some of each alternately, or any
other sort of preserve. Replace each piece in its original form: when
completed, make an icing as directed for cakes, with 4 whites of eggs
to 1 lb. sugar, which will make it rather thin. It may be coloured
with cochineal, &c.; spread it over the cake, which, being thin, will
run into the flutes and mouldings of the cake, when it will appear
of the same form as before. Let dry in the mouth of the oven, but be
careful it does not get discoloured. When dry, ornament with piping.
Savoy cakes are often done in the same manner, without being cut in
slices, to ornament them; or they may be done without icing, and
either piped, or ornamented with gum-paste borders, &c., which are
fixed on with dissolved gum arabic. Volutes or high and projecting
figures are supported with pieces of small wire.

_Vienna Bread._--Add to 1 pint new milk, 2 oz. fresh German yeast, 6
oz. each best loaf sugar and good butter, and sufficient best Vienna
flour to form a tight or stiff dough; shape into rolls, pointed at
each end; bake rich brown colour in quick oven.

_Wine Biscuits._--2 lb. flour, 1 lb. butter, 4 oz. sifted loaf sugar;
rub the sugar and butter into the flour, and make into a stiff paste
with milk; pound in a mortar; roll out thin, and cut into sizes or
shapes to fancy; lay on buttered paper or iron plates: brush tops
with milk; bake in warm oven; glaze by brushing over with a brush
dipped in egg; caraway seeds may be added.

_York Biscuits._--Prepare as for filbert biscuits; dock; bake in hot
oven, and do not wash over.

_Yorkshire Cake._--Rub 4 oz. butter into 7 lb. flour; wet up with
1 qt. warm milk, 1 pint warm water, and ½-¾ pint good yeast; prove
about 20 minutes; make into cakes, and put on warm tins; when well
proved, make a hole in the middle, size of finger; bake in hot oven;
when done, wash with a little melted butter.

_Yule Cakes._--Put 1 lb. sifted flour into a large basin, to which
add 1 saltspoonful salt; dissolve ¼ oz. German yeast in ½ pint tepid
water, and stir into the flour with a wooden spoon; cover it with a
thick cloth, and let it stand in a warm place for an hour to rise,
add ½ lb. butter beaten to a cream, ½ lb. moist sugar, ⅙ nutmeg
(grated), ¾ lb. currants, 4 oz. candied peel (chopped), and 2 beaten
eggs; mix well, and only half fill the tin into which you put it;
bake in a moderate oven for 1¾-2 hours; turn it out of the tin to get
cold.




_THE KITCHEN._


This chapter may be divided into 3 sections, dealing respectively
with (1) the Fittings, embracing the cooking range, pots, pans, &c.;
(2) the Processes of Cookery; and (3) Recipes for the preparation of
a great variety of dishes and their adjuncts, such as sauces, &c.


THE FITTINGS.

_Ranges._--There is no subject more interesting to the housekeeper,
or of more importance in the household, than the proper preparation
of our food by cooking, and good results can only be obtained by
two means, a fair knowledge of cookery, and (absolutely necessary
under any circumstances) an efficient cooking apparatus. There are
stringent laws governing our sanitary arrangements, and it is to
be regretted that equally stringent laws do not exist to govern
the efficiency of the apparatus under discussion, for it must be
acknowledged that if the latter is not fairly perfect, it interferes
with the health and comfort of a household. A vast number of badly
fixed and badly constructed ranges are in use at the present moment.
The speculative builder, not being governed by any rules or laws,
is apt to purchase and use a cheap range, provided its general
appearance is pleasing, “brick-flue” ranges being invariably adopted.
It is in the construction of these brick flues where the trouble
generally arises, as the flues in question have to be made by the
builders’ man or fixer, who is more or less experienced in range
work (commonly less), and, as everyone knows, the flues are the most
important part of the range. Their importance is so great that one
small error or want of judgment will ruin the most costly brick-flue
range made. Brick-flue ranges, wherever possible, should be fixed
by the makers, and the same remark may be applied to “iron-flue”
ranges. The difference between a brick-flue and an iron-flue range
is, that in the former all the flues are built in brickwork by the
person fixing the stove, and in the latter all the flues are made of
iron by the range manufacturer. It is acknowledged that the latter
are superior, but they are not generally adopted on account of
increase in cost (not great). The superiority consists in the greater
durability, never requiring re-setting, greater efficiency, and,
most important, it being almost impossible for even an ignorant man
to set them wrongly. Iron flues also are slower in becoming fouled
and more easily cleaned. But these flues should be of cast iron, and
not less than ¼ in. substance. Brick flues have several failings
as is known to almost everyone, for it is a very common saying
that the range does not work because it is not set well, or wants
re-setting. In the first place, a bricklayer, however skilled, cannot
know the correct size of flues for certain ranges so well as the
manufacturers, and secondly, on the first occasion that such a range
is used, expansion takes place and, in cooling, the metal and the
brickwork part company, causing leakage of draught, and so tending to
spoil efficiency; and in time the unequal expansion and contraction
make re-setting necessary, which should never arise with an iron-flue
range. It may be here mentioned that immediately air or draught leaks
into the flues from any cause whatever, the good results will be
diminished, or, in other words, it will take a greater quantity of
fuel to do a certain amount of work, apart from the inconvenience,
worry, increased labour, &c. It will be noticed that the above
remarks only apply to the comparatively modern close-fire ranges or
kitcheners.

Open-fire Ranges.--The now old fashioned open range, although very
often met with, is rapidly dying out, as its disadvantages are
very great, and it is ill adapted for modern cookery (which may be
correctly defined as hot-plate cookery). Its disadvantages may be
summed up as follows:--dirtiness, as all the cooking vessels have to
be put in contact with the fire; aptness for smoking, as under almost
the best of circumstances, a “blower” is necessary; extravagance;
intense heat radiated into the kitchen, and so necessitating the use
of a screen (or what might be more properly termed a cook protector);
and irregularity in action, as unless the cook is careful or really
skilful in attention, it cannot be relied upon one day to give the
results it gave the previous day, and the chimney requires very
frequent sweeping. It is a capital range for roasting in front, an
advantage highly appreciated by many (but in England only).

Hot Plates.--A hot-plate consists very generally of a mass of
brickwork surmounted by a strong cast-iron plate with several
apertures in it, these apertures being provided with covers; a
furnace or fire-place is situated at one end of the structure and at
the opposite end is the chimney; between the furnace and the chimney
a flue or passage for the flame and heat is provided, and this flue
is situated immediately under the iron plate, so that when the fire
is alight the plate quickly reaches a very high temperature, hence
the term “hot-plate.”

A hot-plate, as will be understood, is adapted for boiling, stewing,
&c. only, and it cannot be recommended as economical.

Baking Ovens.--These are made exactly like the ovens used by bakers
but upon a smaller scale, suited for domestic requirements. They
consist of an oven having a flue passing up each side of it, the fire
or furnace being situated at the base. The results are very good, as
the oven thus has an excess heat at bottom, which is so necessary for
the baking of bread and pastry.

Close-fire Ranges or “Kitcheners.”--This is the form of
cooking-ranges now in general favour, and under ordinary
circumstances very satisfactory results are obtained both in
efficiency and economy.

Close-fire ranges are made in various forms, the smaller and medium
sizes generally having an oven on one side and a boiler on the other,
the fire being situated between. The larger sizes are also made like
this if desired, but more generally they have one or more ovens On
each side of the fire, the boiler (either high or low pressure,
or steam) being placed at the back of the fire. This is the most
economical arrangement, as the boiler then utilises the only space
that cannot be used for anything else. The ovens of these ranges are
invariably heated by means of flues; a flue is a passage by which
the flame-heat and products of combustion pass from the fire to the
chimney, and a flue is so constructed that the heat in passing is
caused to impinge upon the under surface of the hot plate, upon the
oven, and upon any part or surface where heat is needed. Fig. 69
(in section) will acquaint the reader with the general arrangement
of a close-fire range, such as is at present in use. The oven, it
will be noticed, is heated by means of a flue passing over down the
outer side and under the oven, and an oven of this description is
known as a “Leamington” oven, as it is the arrangement that was first
introduced in what is known as the “Leamington range.”

The Leamington range was first made (in Leamington) some 30 years
ago, and with at the time such a vast improvement upon the cooking
apparatus then in use that it has remained in favour up till the
present day, and it will be noticed in the ranges that are described
farther on that very little improvement has been made upon it, except
in one or two instances. From the illustration it will be seen that
the oven must necessarily have an excess heat at top and the least
heat at bottom. This is the best arrangement for meat roasting, as
the heat is not required under the roasting-pan; but for pastry, this
arrangement is ruinous, as the oven is thus heated in precisely an
opposite manner to a baker’s oven, and this is its only objection.
Every housekeeper knows that pastry requires a bottom heat to make
it rise and be light. As the heat passes over the oven, it also
heats the hot plate which forms the upper surface of the flue. It
must now be explained why the flame, &c., passes around the oven
when its natural tendency is of course to go upwards. The up-current
of air or draught that exists in a chimney is treated and explained
under Heating (see p. 79); this draught or up-current, as it rises,
naturally causes fresh air to rush into the chimney to take the
place of that which has risen. When a range is properly set the only
opening through which this fresh supply of air can pass is through
the fire, and thence by way of the flues into the chimney, this
current is very rapid, and so carries all products from the fire with
it, thus effectually distributing the heat as desired. When these
products reach the bottom of the oven, they pass into a flue at the
back, which is carried up and terminated in the chimney as shown.

[Illustration: 69. Section of Close Range.]

It will also be noticed from the illustration (and it is known to
all who have used close ranges) that for the fire to be effectual it
must be kept up, or in other words the flue-box must be kept _full_
of fuel as _all the work is done from the top of the fire_. It cannot
be comprehended why range-makers still insist upon making such deep
fires; they average about 10-12 in. in depth (or height), whereas 5-6
in. will give as good results with decidedly less fuel, as can be
proved by anyone by using a high false bottom (this cannot be done
if a high-pressure boiler is at back of fire, as it will prevent the
heat passing under the flue). The reason is that, as before stated,
all the work is done from the top of the fire, the hot plate and the
entrance to the flues being both situated there; and it will be found
that the fire-box, however deep, will not heat the oven or hot plate
if it is only three-fourths full of fuel, as there will naturally
be a space above the fuel where the air can pass through into the
flues without being first heated, and will so tend to cool the ovens
and hot plate most effectually. The only part of a range that still
answers fairly when the fire-box is not full is the boiler at the
back, as the flue of this is always at the bottom of the fire. _It is
imperative with these ranges that all the air that passes into the
chimney should first pass through the fire._

The dampers are metal plates which slide through suitable slots into
the flues that are carried up the back of the range, they have knobs
or handles in front by which they are pushed in or drawn out as
desired. When drawn fully out, they leave the flue clear and do not
obstruct the draught; when pushed quite in, they close the flue and
stop the draught. They can be put in any intermediate position; their
object is to regulate the draught to the requirements; by regulating
the draught the heat and the consumption of fuel are regulated also,
and by means of the dampers the heat can be closed off or put on to
the oven, or boiler, &c., as desired. It is to the mismanagement of
these dampers that the extravagance in many instances is due; if
the draught is good, they should never be pulled out fully, as this
will cause the fire to “roar;” they should be pushed in (both for
ovens and boilers) until a murmuring sound is heard; this is the
correct speed for all purposes in general. It cannot be too strongly
impressed upon housewives that a “roaring” fire gives really _less_
result than a steadily burning one as described. Too fierce a fire
has other serious results, viz., undue wear and tear to the range,
overheating the kitchen, increased labour in attention and stoking,
and the probability of the ovens, &c., becoming too hot; in fact
general inconvenience is experienced by this, irrespective of the
great waste of fuel.

A good feature in a close-fire range is a means of making an open
fire when no cooking or work is required to be done between meals,
and in the evening.

An open fire is very slow burning as it is not affected by the
draught; it will burn 2 hours without attention, and is thus very
economical, saves labour, and if desired the cook can leave the
kitchen for a considerable time without anxiety as to whether the
fire wants replenishing. The closed fire is decidedly the best form
for cooking purposes, but when no cooking is required it must be
attended to frequently or be permitted to go out. An open fire is
also a ventilator, is cheerful for those in the kitchen, and if a
good fire is left open at night, the boiler will be found to contain
fairly warm, if not hot water in the morning.

Ovens should always be provided with 2 ventilators, viz., an inlet
and an outlet; there are very many ovens with even modern ranges that
are only fitted with one ventilator, but a moment’s consideration
will show that one ventilator is useless, as you cannot get air to
pass out of an oven unless there is a means for a corresponding
volume of air to pass in to replace it, and _vice versâ_, and means
should be provided to warm the air as it passes in, for reasons that
are obvious. The use of the ventilators is to take off the excess
heat, the steam, smells of cooking, &c., from the oven (the outlet
ventilator opening into the flue), and by use of the ventilators meat
can be either roasted or baked in an oven, the distinction between
roasting and baking being that to roast meat the air must have free
access to the joint by opening the vents, whereas in baking meat the
vents are closed and the meat is cooked in its own vapour, &c.

The former method has the greatest number of advocates, as the
results are the same as if it was roasted in front of the fire,
_provided it has the same attention in basting, &c._ It may be here
mentioned that in oven-roasting, a water-pan should be used, as it
prevents the oven becoming foul by the burning and splashing of fat,
and has other advantages; this pan really consists of 2 pans, one
fitting within the other, a space of about ½ in. existing between,
and a properly constructed meat-stand fitting into the upper one. The
joint is put in position on the stand, and the whole is placed in the
oven, _after_ which the space between the two is filled with water
through an aperture provided for the purpose. These pans are very
satisfactory in use, and are now in general favour.

The cleaning of flues should be done once weekly, if the chimney
has a good draught, or with hard fuel this time may be exceeded;
but it is desirable to say once weekly, as it is then done at
regular periods on a certain day; with a very sluggish draught it is
sometimes found necessary to clean them a little oftener, as the soot
is then nearly all deposited in the flues, and as the fire is longer
in becoming bright, more soot is naturally formed (with a bright
fire scarcely a particle of soot is formed, the combustion being
nearly perfect). The correct method to clean the flues of a kitchen
(close fire) range is as follows:--First remove all small flue-doors,
loose covers, &c., then draw out the dampers to their full extent,
take the flue-brush and pass it first up and then down the flues that
are carried up the back of the range, inserting the brush through the
openings that are provided just below the dampers; then brush the
soot from the tops of the ovens down the flues at the sides; brush
down these side flues; and lastly carefully scrape and brush out
all the soot that has now accumulated in the flues under the ovens.
But it must not be forgotten that the _bottom_ of the oven requires
well brushing; this is often omitted, yet it is most important, as
in many instances, as before explained, the utmost heat is needed
at the bottom, and if it is coated with soot very little heat will
pass through, as soot is a fairly good non-conductor of heat. After
cleaning the flues, carefully replace all doors, covers, &c.; it
cannot too strongly be impressed upon housewives that no opening
must be left for the air to pass in, except first passing _through_
the fire. Soot in flues produces two different ill effects, viz.,
reducing the draught by choking the flues, and preventing the heat
coming in proper contact with the oven, as it is a very bad conductor.

The flue-brush for the average of flues should be about 4 in. in
diameter at the hair, with a 3 ft. 6 in. or 4 ft. wire handle.
Chimneys do not require sweeping nearly so often with close ranges as
with open. With an entirely closed range it will with proper care go
about 10 to 12 months; with a close range that can be opened (when
not cooking) about 7-9 months, varying with different coals, &c. The
management of a close-fire range has now been nearly all explained;
it may be summed up as follows. At first lighting (after clearing
the fire-box of ash, &c., in the usual way), draw out all dampness
until the fire is established, after which push in dampers to a more
or less extent according to draught. Never permit the fire to make
a roaring noise, whether for oven or boiler. If the range has a
high-pressure boiler, direct the heat to this until the water is hot,
or until the range is required in preparing breakfast. After this
meal, the dampers must be pushed in as far as possible to slacken the
fire down until it is required for the midday meal (unless the range
is required for any other purpose between these times), and the same
follows after this meal. There are, however, very many residences
where cooking, to a more or less extent is going on all day, in which
case the regulation of the dampers must be left to the discretion
of the cook. Thoroughly clean the flues _at regular periods_; if a
high-pressure boiler exists, clear the flue under it of cinders,
&c., every morning. Thoroughly clean inside the ovens and the oven
shelves of any grease, &c., as this is the very general cause of
unpleasant smells that pervade the house. When cooking, keep the
fire-box well filled with fuel, by feeding it moderately often but in
small quantities, as the fire must not be permitted to get low. Do
not permit the hot plate to become red-hot; should it do so, push in
dampers to decrease the draught, as the fire is burning too fiercely.

Want of draught, which sometimes occurs, and causes an utter failure
of the range is due to several causes, the chief of which are:--(_a_)
Other flues running into the kitchen chimney, generally a copper
flue, not provided with a damper to close it when not in use. (_b_)
Leakage of air into the flues through some aperture, commonly around
the range, caused by imperfect or hurried setting. This can be
discovered by holding the flame of a candle near any likely spot,
when the flame will be drawn through if any leakage exists. (_c_)
Insufficient height of chimney; about 20 ft. is sufficient for say
a 4 ft. range, but the chimney top must be as high as any adjacent
building, or impeded or down draught will occur. Suburban villas,
&c., are frequently designed with the kitchen situated at the
back, in an addition to the main building, this addition generally
being lower, in which case, if the chimney is not carried up to
the necessary height great inconvenience and annoyance will ensue.
Impeded or down draught is sometimes caused by high trees being
situated near the chimney. (_d_) Sooty flues, through want of
regular cleaning, or failing to put one of the flue doors in position
after cleaning.

The use of the door in the top covering-in plate of the range is,
by partially opening it, to take off the objectionable smell when
frying, &c.; to reduce the draught to the whole of the range; and for
the sweep to operate through when sweeping the chimney.

When a range is newly fixed, it will not give its best results until
it has had good use for 6-8 days, as everything around it, the
brickwork, &c., is damp and cold. They will sometimes smoke at first
lighting, and as ranges differ considerably, a new range requires
a certain amount of getting used to. When a range is newly set,
the workmen should, before leaving, clear the flues, but this is
sometimes neglected, and careless workmen have been known to leave
even their tools in the flues.

In instances where a strong draught exists, and the servants cannot
be depended upon to regulate the dampers or open the door at top
to decrease it, an excellent method is to cut a hole into the flue
through the chimney breast above the mantelpiece and there insert
a ventilator, but it must be a self-acting one. Arnott’s patent is
the best suited for this purpose, as it can be set to a nicety, so
that, when the draught is excessive, the valve opens and the chimney
gets part of its air, without affecting the fire; this reduces the
draught, and then the valve partially or wholly closes, and so it
continues. The results are similar to those ensured by the governor
on a steam engine, viz., giving uniform regularity to the work.

Fuels.--The ordinary coals of commerce, such as Wallsend, Silkstone,
Derby Main, &c., &c., although in general use, are not best adapted
for close-fire ranges, which are really furnaces on a small scale,
and should be treated as such. Coals such as the above are too highly
charged with bitumen (tar), the major portion of which distils off
as smoke, fouling the flue, and, as every particle of smoke is
unconsumed fuel, there is considerable waste. These coals have also
too great a proportion of hydrogen (producing flame) for furnace
purposes, as combustion is so rapid; it will be noticed that when
burning these soft bituminous coals, upon feeding the fire, volumes
of smoke are first given off, after which the fuel fuses into a soft
and sometimes sticky mass: this then flames violently for a short
period, after which it is time to replenish the fire again. It must
not, however, be concluded that fuels entirely free from hydrogen,
such as anthracite, coke, charcoal, &c., are well suited for this
work, as a fuel free of hydrogen gas burns without flame, and it is
found desirable to have some flame, for the heat has to travel some 6
ft. (3 sides of the oven) before its work is performed. It is found
that coke and anthracite give an intense local heat (i.e. immediately
in or near the fire); but this has an ill effect with the Leamington
oven, as making the top of the oven of so much higher a temperature
than the bottom, which is fatal to pastry. Where, however, other
fuels are not conveniently attainable, coke and anthracite can be
used; but the results are not so satisfactory. Coke is almost always
used on yachts, so that the sails, decks, &c., may be spotless; but a
yacht range is of special make.

Coke, broken to the size of a large walnut, and ordinary coal, mixed
in about equal proportions, is found very satisfactory; but the best
fuel for close-fire (or the convertible close or open fire) ranges is
what is commonly known as hard steam coal; this is not the technical
appellation for it, but it is generally recognised by this name, and
any good firm of coal merchants stock it, as it is much used for
small furnace work. This coal has several advantages, viz., low price
(about 16_s._ to 19_s._ per ton), much less smoke and soot, more
intense heat evolved, and greater length of time in consumption. This
is a coal bordering upon anthracite in its nature and composition,
but has a moderate percentage of hydrogen; care must be exercised
to see that the correct coal is obtained, as should a coal merchant
not keep it, he might consider that the low price was the chief
consideration and would send a cheap soft coal, which is very
unsuitable. This coal has one disadvantage, which is that it cannot
be burned in the ordinary open grates unless the grate is provided
with a blower, or some means of causing a draught to pass through the
fire at first lighting or when heavily fed; it is therefore necessary
to have convenience for keeping two sorts of coal.

The best size of coal for these ranges is “nuts,” this is a size that
will pass through a 2 in. hole (in a coal sieve) and not through a
1 in. hole. “Cobbles,” which is a 4 in. coal, is too large for this
work. It is commonly understood that “nuts” and “cobbles” indicate
certain qualities of coal, but it is not so, they denote size only.

The kitchen range should be made to burn all the rubbish of the
kitchen, provided it is combustible at all; but this should be done
when the cooking of the day is finished.

The following are some ranges of modern and reliable make which have
withstood the criticism of the public and the trade, and are all
having a fair share of favour.

[Illustration]

_The “National” Patent Open and Close Fire Kitchener_ (GEORGE WRIGHT
& SONS, 113 Queen Victoria Street, E.C.). This method of converting
from a close to an open fire, or _vice versâ_, is a great improvement
on the ordinary arrangements for this purpose owing to its extreme
simplicity, one movement only being required to effect the change,
as will be seen by reference to the sectional diagrams, Figs. 70,
71. The well-known “Eagle” Patent Adjustable Bottom Grate, for
regulating the fire, made under licence from the original patentees,
being adapted to this range in combination with the above patent,
establishes it as one of the most efficient and at the same time most
economical ranges in the market, the slight extra initial cost of
the range over that of an ordinary range being very soon covered by
the great saving in fuel. Our illustration shows a high class range,
but the same principles can be adapted to ranges of the cheaper
class, though we do not advocate cheap ranges. Of all the fittings
in a house, the kitchen range should be the first consideration,
as so much of the comfort of a tenant depends upon its quality and
efficiency. We cannot too highly recommend this range to the notice
of our readers. _See advertisement in front of title page._

[Illustration: Fig. 70. Fig. 71.]

Fig. 70 is a sectional elevation through centre of fire from front to
back when range is used as an open fire; the bottom grate being shown
in a level position or half way up.

Fig. 71 is a sectional elevation on the same line as above, showing
the position when in use as a close fire, and also shows the bottom
grate in its lowest position.

To convert a close fire into an open fire, all that is necessary
is to draw forward the top of the plate B, which then assumes a
horizontal position, the same single movement opening the back, and
forming a complete open hood or bonnet to convey the smoke from the
fire into the chimney. The fire-cap C then slides back, the fall-bar
turns down, and a complete open fire is formed. There are no wheels
or cranks to get out of order, and there are no projections at back
to interfere with back boiler or flues.

_The “Eagle” Bottom Grate_ is so well known that it scarcely needs
description, and when intelligently used is most economical. For
heating the ovens or the hot plates a shallow fire only is necessary,
and the consumption of fuel is thereby greatly reduced, and the
deeper fire is only required for roasting or toasting, and even then
the amount of fuel need not be greatly increased, as the bottom grate
being worked on a pivot at back, when it is lowered to full extent
in front, throws all the fuel to front of fire and the bars being
vertical and slightly curved outwards, a large radiating surface is
afforded, making a most perfect fire for roasting in front. This
arrangement does away entirely with the objectionable “false bottom”
of the ordinary kitchener, which is always burning out and very
frequently checks the proper action of the boiler. _See advertisement
in front of title page._

[Illustration: 72. Underfed Smoke-consuming Kitchener.]

Brown and Green’s “Underfed Smoke-consuming Kitchener” (Brown &
Green, 69 Finsbury Pavement, London), Fig. 72, is made in all sizes,
from 8 ft. to 7 ft., with 1 to 4 ovens. The fire of this range is
underfed, i.e. the fire is replenished at the bottom instead of at
the top as usual, thus all gas, smoke, &c., are perfectly consumed,
and the range is practically smokeless. This is an advantage of
importance from an hygienic point of view, and greatly decreases
the flue-cleaning, chimney-sweeping, &c. The ovens of this range
are of the Leamington type, and the flues have to be constructed in
brickwork.

This firm also make the “Gem” cooking range, which is used as an
auxiliary range, being quite portable, with iron flues, and requiring
no brickwork whatever. It is made from 1 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. wide.

[Illustration: 73. Wilson Grate.]

The “Wilson” range (Wilson Engineering Co., 227 High Holborn), Fig.
73, is a portable range requiring no brickwork, and made in all sizes
from 2 ft. to 10 ft. The range is fitted with a means of consuming
the major portion of the smoke. The fire-door and sides of fire-box
are chambered in such a manner as to cause a swift current of
superheated air to mingle with the smoke as it leaves the fire-box,
and this causes combustion to take place, producing flame and very
materially lessening the quantity of soot.

The ovens are upon the Leamington principle, but with a series of
gills or heat collectors fitted at the bottom (in the flue), which
equalises the heat at top and bottom (so necessary for pastry baking,
&c.).

[Illustration: 74. Treasure Range.]

The “Treasure” range (T. J. Constantine, 61 Fleet Street, London),
Fig. 74, is a portable range made in all sizes from 2 ft. upwards,
and is similar in nearly every respect to the “Wilson” range last
mentioned, excepting that the “Treasure” is now being made with an
open-fronted fire for roasting, and with a movable bottom grating by
which the size of fire can be increased or decreased at will. This
range requires no brick-setting.

This firm make a tray to slide (upon rollers), and closely fit under
the range, which is of great convenience for heating plates, dishes,
&c.

The “Sine qua Non” range (Albion Iron Co., 175 Upper Thames Street,
London) is made in all sizes, and has the following advantages.
Closed or open fire (one movement only); the heat can be directed
to the top or to the bottom of ovens at will, and an improved
ventilating arrangement at the back of range lessens draught and
takes off excess heat and objectionable smells, &c., created at the
hot plate. This is a brick-flue range. Cooking operations can be
carried on with this range when the fire is open.

[Illustration: 75. Dow’s Patent Range.]

“Dow’s” patent range (J. B. Colbran & Co., 247 High Holborn, London),
Fig. 75, is made in all sizes. It is a closed or open fire (one
movement only), and the heat can be directed to the top or bottom of
the oven at will. It is a brick-flue range, and cooking operations
can be carried on when the fire is open.

The “Mistress” range (Smith and Welstood, Ludgate Circus, London),
Fig. 76, is a portable range, made in various sizes, with one or two
ovens and boiler. This is what is commonly known as an “American”
range. This term originated with ranges made for the use of American
settlers, being quite portable, very compact, and provided with a
complete set of utensils. They were then made light for convenience
of transit, and being provided with rather high legs they could be
stood down anywhere, and worked safely at a moment’s notice after
attaching a few feet of flue-pipe.

[Illustration: 76. Mistress Range.]

The “Mistress” is made with a convertible open and closed fire,
and can be had with doors, forming a hot closet for plates, &c.,
underneath (between the legs). The fire of this range is suited for
roasting in front, and every range is fitted with a set of cooking
utensils. The ovens are upon the Leamington principle. This firm also
make many other patterns of this type of range suited for various
requirements.

The “Yorkshire” range (so named as it is the pattern in general
use in that county) is made to suit many purposes. It is a range
especially adapted for bread, cake, and pastry baking, the ovens
invariably having an excess heat at bottom; the flues are ascending,
and the range therefore works with less draught. The range consists
of a fire-box situated in the usual position, and the flues are
carried from the top of the fire to the right or left, as in the
Leamington range, but the bottom of the oven or ovens forms the
upper surface of this first flue instead of the hot plate, i.e. the
bottom of the oven is on a level with the top of the fire-box; the
flue passes from the fire under the bottom of the ovens, then up the
further side, and lastly across the top into the chimney, the results
being like those obtained with the “Thorncliffe” range, but the only
available hot-plate is that immediately over the fire and on top of
the ovens. The space under the ovens (where the ovens of a Leamington
pattern range would exist) is sometimes entirely closed, but more
usually occupied by hot closets, which are heated by the fire that
passes across the top of them, similar to the “Thorncliffe” before
mentioned. This description of range is not commonly met with in the
south of England, but any range maker is prepared to supply it.

There is a combination of the Yorkshire and Leamington ranges made
with an ordinary Leamington oven on one side with hot plate above it,
and a Yorkshire oven on the other side with hot closet below it. This
is a good and useful combination, but the hot plate is necessarily
contracted. This and the Yorkshire range require brick flues.

It must be understood that the ranges mentioned are but a few
well-known patterns that possess certain improvements upon the
Leamington range. There are numberless other makes equally good, but
it would occupy the major portion of this work to treat them all; and
although those mentioned possess improvements upon the Leamington
pattern, we must leave it to the intending purchaser to say whether
the improvements are to his advantage. It must be said in favour of
the Leamington range, that for general good results and simplicity
in working and cleaning, it has always met with general approval,
and probably no other make of range will remain in favour without
interruption for upwards of 30 years as this has done.

Although certain makes of ranges have been specified, as having brick
flues, yet the majority, if not all of them, can be had with iron
flues at a proportionate extra expense, if so ordered, and this extra
expense is a good investment if permanency is desired.

A most useful arrangement is to have a small portable range fixed
in the scullery, or any other convenient position, to act as an
auxiliary to the large range. The convenience of this arrangement
is especially felt when the large range, during some repair, or the
periodical boiler cleaning, cannot be used; or when company increase
the requirements, or in summer, when only a small amount of cooking
is needed, the small range will do the necessary work, and this also
applies when only servants are remaining in the house.

This auxiliary range can be connected into a copper flue, or into the
large range flue, but it must be seen that the damper of this small
range is tightly closed when it is not in use, otherwise it will
seriously interfere with the efficiency of whatever else is being
worked by the flue.

With the old-fashioned open ranges there is a common complaint of
the chimney smoking. This will be found in probably every instance
to be effectually cured by the adoption of a close-fire range or
“kitchener.”

Fire-bricks.--This is a subject upon which much misunderstanding has
often arisen between manufacturers and users of kitchen ranges, as it
is unfortunately no rare occurrence for the fire-bricks of quite a
new range to be found cracked, after, say 2-3 months’ wear, whereas
another set of bricks of exactly the same make and the same clay,
in the same range, will last 2-3 years, or even longer. This may be
sometimes caused by negligence. For instance, if fire-bricks are
fitted tightly, they will, when heated, crack, as no room is left
for expansion; but, what is more commonly the cause of failure, is
firstly, the influence of the poker, and secondly the practice of
putting out the fire (at night) with water. This rapid cooling and
contraction causes a fracture, the same as putting cold water into a
hot empty boiler.

Most makers are now making iron cheeks of suitable construction
to take the place of fire-bricks, and the results are said to be
satisfactory, though quite contrary to the principles already laid
down as to a minimum use of iron in grates.

There is a rather general idea that fire-bricks assist in heating the
ovens. This, however, is incorrect; the object of fire-bricks is to
protect the oven sides from the direct action of the fire, as this
would in a short time injure them.

There are now to be obtained several makes of fire-resisting cement.
This material is gaining favour, and will no doubt come into general
use for the purposes for which it is intended. It is a clay-like
material, and is used for repairing cracked fire-bricks or the
interior lining of any description of furnace or fire-box; for
rendering the joints of stoves and ranges air-tight; and it is also
successful in temporarily repairing cracked boilers as it adheres to
an iron surface as well as to any other material.

After cementing up the crack or damaged part, a fire is immediately
made, and in 10 minutes the cement will be found to have set as hard
as the iron itself, and it has a valuable property in not shrinking
as it dries. This material is also used for lining the fire-boxes
of kitchen ranges in place of fire-bricks, as it is much more
lasting; its applications are very numerous, it being suitable for
any and every purpose where heat is to be resisted. There are a few
directions that must be followed to make the application successful,
but these are provided by the manufacturers. Two of the best makes
that have had considerable trial and are now in favour are the “Etna”
cement (Verity Bros., 98 High Holborn), and the “Purimacos.”

[Illustration: 77. Eagle Grill Stove.]

Grills.--Grilling stoves, for coke or charcoal fuel, invariably take
the form of an open-topped shallow furnace, above which is suspended
the gridiron; Fig. 77 shows the general details. The furnace is
sometimes supported on legs, but more generally the space underneath
is utilised as a hot closet for plates, &c., and in some instances a
hot closet is fitted above (as illustrated). The gridiron, which is
made with fluted or grooved bars, is suspended at such an angle as to
cause the gravy to run down freely into the pan in front provided to
receive it. The method of suspending the grid permits of its being
raised or lowered as the heat dictates. All grills are constructed to
work with a down draught, i.e. the air that passes into the chimney
has to first pass _downwards_ through the fire and then up the flue
provided behind. By this means, all products of combustion are
carried away, and the fire may be said to be burning upside down.

Grills are also made to work with a series of Bunsen (atmospheric)
burners in place of fuel beneath the gridiron.

Grills are made in various sizes for domestic or business
requirements. The one illustrated in Fig. 77 is made by the Eagle
Range & Foundry Co., 76 Regent Street, London, but they can be
obtained of all range merchants and manufacturers.

Steam.--It has been long anticipated by many competent authorities
that steam cooking would come into general favour, to the prejudice
of cooking ranges, and although this has not come to pass, any
description of food cooked by steam (in a proper manner) is by many
considered superior to that cooked by any other method. But it may
be here mentioned that to gain good results the steam must be dry,
i.e. there must be a moderate pressure developed in the boiler and
the steam should not be permitted to condense too quickly; if the
steam pipe is of any length it should be felted, or covered with
some non-conducting material. Steam at no pressure (atmospheric
pressure only), although a gas, may be said to be saturated with
moisture, whereas if a little pressure is developed it becomes dry,
and may be compared to hot air. Steam without pressure has the
further disadvantage of condensing very rapidly, and the moisture is
objectionable for several reasons.

One advantage possessed by steam cooking is that the kitchen does
not become over heated, as the boiler, if desired, can be placed in
a basement or elsewhere, provided it is convenient for stoking; and
there is, of course, economy of space.

Steam can be economically used for every description of cooking
purpose, and for heating water, by placing a coil of steam pipe in
the water that is to be heated.

[Illustration: 78. Steam Boiler.]

Fig. 78 represents a steam boiler which requires to be fixed in
brickwork. They are also made cylindrical (vertical) in shape
with the furnace within them, and so require no setting, except
connection with the chimney. A description of a steam boiler will
be found under “motors,” the boiler and fittings in each case
being nearly identical, except that a pressure-gauge is not always
used with a boiler for cooking purposes, and a different means is
provided for water supply generally, as illustrated. The reference
letters indicate:--_a_, inlet valve, regulated by stone float _c_
and balance-weight _h_; _b_, cold supply-pipe from main; _d_,
safety-valve; _e_, water gauge; _f_, steam delivery pipe; _g_,
manlids.

In many instances, especially when the boiler is in a kitchen range,
a steam chest is used. This is a square wrought-iron box, of nearly
the same capacity as the boiler, and situated somewhere near but in a
more conveniently accessible position.

All the fittings are attached to this chest, which is connected to
the boiler by 2 pipes one above and one below water level (2 pipes
being necessary to equalise the pressure). The chest is of service
when the boiler is not easily accessible, as the fittings should
always be situated where they can have regular attention, cleaning,
&c., and it is very necessary to see that the water inlet valve and
safety valve are in proper working order.

Sometimes in small steam boilers in kitchen ranges the inlet valve
is dispensed with, and an ordinary cast-iron supply cistern is
used, with a ball valve in the usual way; but the cistern must have
a lid that can be secured, and the pipe between the cistern and
boiler must have a deep syphon to prevent the water being blown
back by the steam. This system, however, cannot be recommended, as
it is not reliable. When this system is adopted it is generally
where the boiler is also used for hot-water supply, and only when
comparatively no pressure of steam is required for 1-3 small kettles.
See also p. 1004.

Gas.--Gas cooking stoves are now growing in favour, as being very
convenient and cleanly, instantaneously lighted and extinguished, and
producing no smoke, soot, or ashes. They are portable, and the cost
of fixing is generally small; but, as with all gas contrivances, they
can only be adopted where gas is to be obtained. The makers claim
economy over coal-burning ranges, greater simplicity in working and
cleaning, less attention, unvarying heat, &c. There are, however,
drawbacks in not having means of working a high-pressure boiler for
bath supply, &c. (this, however, is now being overcome), and there
are sometimes complaints of waste of gas, as servants cannot always
be relied upon to turn off or lower the gas at intervals when it is
not required.

Gas ranges have now attained a high degree of perfection, and the
results are very satisfactory. There is no obnoxious taste commonly
associated with meat cooked by this means, and it has been proved
that no difference can be discerned even by the most fastidious
between joints cooked in gas and coal-burning ranges. Gas ranges
are made in numberless sizes and shapes to meet every requirement,
from the small “Workman’s Friend,” which is large enough to cook a
steak and boil a quart of water, to those that are used in large
institutions, hospitals, &c., to cook for hundreds daily.

[Illustration: 79. Eureka Gas Cooker.]

Ordinary gas is sometimes used, but more generally it is “atmospheric
gas,” which is a mixture of gas and air burnt by a “Bunsen” burner,
giving a blue flame. In lighting an atmospheric burner, it should
be turned on full for a ¼ minute before the match is applied,
otherwise it will light back in the air chamber of the burner, which
will also happen if the burner is not turned on full when lighting.
If necessary, the gas can be turned down immediately after it is
lighted. When one of these burners lights back, it will be found to
be burning the ordinary gas as it issues from the nozzle in the air
chamber. This of course gives no heat where it is required, and if
allowed to burn for a short time it will choke the burner with soot.
There is a little objection experienced at first in lighting an
atmospheric burner, as it lights violently with a slight explosion,
but one quickly gets used to this.

Fig. 79 is the “Eureka” gas cooker (John Wright & Co., 155A Upper
Thames Street, London). This range is double cased and jacketed on
the sides, back, and door with a non-conducting material to prevent
loss of heat. The top of the oven is formed of fire-brick, over which
the waste heat passes, heating it to a high temperature, and adding
to the efficiency. The oven interior can be had either galvanised
or enamelled by a new process which the makers highly recommend,
and the oven fittings are so made that they can be removed wholly
for cleaning purposes and leave no ledges inside where grease could
accumulate. The hot plate is formed of loose wrought-iron bars,
which can be removed for cleaning purposes. This range is made in
all sizes, with from 1-4 ovens, and boilers are fitted when desired.
Hoods can be fitted to these (and to any other make) to carry away
any objectionable smell and vapour from the hot plate, the hood being
connected with a flue. A hood is of course not necessary when the
range stands in an opening under a chimney.

[Illustration: 80. Fletcher’s Cellular Cast-iron Cooker. 81. Leoni’s
Nonpareil Gas Kitchener.]

Fig. 80 is a Fletcher’s cellular cast-iron cooker (Thos. Fletcher &
Co., 83 Upper Thames Street, London). This cooker is jacketed with
slagwool, to prevent loss of heat; the whole is constructed of cast
iron, the interior being in panels to prevent cracking. This range
is also made in all sizes, with every convenience, and is of very
strong construction. It will be noticed with gas ranges that they are
especially well adapted for pastry and bread baking, as the ovens
have a perfect bottom heat.

Fig. 81 is Leoni’s “Nonpareil” gas kitchener (General Gas Apparatus
Company, 74 Strand, London). These cookers are greatly patronized for
large works, institutions, &c. They are fitted at W. Whiteley’s where
they cook for 3000 persons daily. They are also made in small and
medium sizes for domestic requirements. This and other makes of gas
ranges are provided with means of grilling by deflected heat, which
is very successful.

[Illustration: 82. Metropolitan Gas Kitchener.]

Fig. 82 is the “Metropolitan gas kitchener” (H. and C. Davis & Co.,
198 and 200, Camberwell Road, London). This is constructed of wrought
iron, the whole of the top, sides, door, and back being jacketed
with a non-conductor. The outer casing is of galvanized iron, the
inner casing is not galvanized, but is treated with a preparation to
prevent rust. These are made in all sizes.

The ovens of gas ranges are ventilated upon the same principle as the
ovens of other ranges, but as there are no flues to discharge the
steam and smell into, a hood, as just spoken of, must be provided,
otherwise the smell may pervade the house.

These are but a few of the many makes of gas stoves.

In addition to ranges many other forms of gas apparatus adapted for
cooking are made, such as hot-closets, hot-plates, salamanders,
grills, coffee roasters, &c., &c. Gas ranges can now be obtained upon
hire from nearly all gas companies at very low charges, in fact, the
charges can but barely cover first cost, but the reason for this low
charge is obvious. See also p. 1004.

Oil.--Oil cooking stoves are to be recommended for their convenience
where gas and the more bulky fuel, coal, are not attainable. They are
especially well adapted for camping out, picnics, &c., and in many
instances they can be recommended for domestic use. With ordinary
care, they may be said to be odourless and smokeless, very cleanly,
and the makers assert that they are very economical. They are so
constructed that neither the oil nor products of combustion in any
way come in contact with whatever is being cooked, and consequently
there is no faint or objectionable flavour. They can be stood upon a
table or in almost any position with perfect safety, and as will be
seen from the illustration (Fig. 83), every part is easily accessible.

[Illustration: 83. Rippingille’s A B C Oil Kitchener.]

Fig. 83 is Rippingille’s “A B C Oil Kitchener” (Holborn Lamp
and Stove Company, 118 Holborn, London), with oven, boiler, and
hot-plate, price 3_l._ 18_s._ 6_d._ These stoves are made in sizes
from the breakfast-cooker (15_s._) to those with 2 ovens, and
suitable for a family, costing about 5_l._ They are also made for
boiling only, in different sizes, and even fitted with a small
hot-water circulating apparatus for heating.

_Pots and Pans._--Iron is cheap, and lasts. It is all very well so
long as it is kept clean; but that seldom happens. Buy a saucepan
brush and silver sand, and see that it is used. See that your iron
saucepans are lined with tin, and not with brown rust and dirt, and
know once for all that an iron saucepan 6 months old should be as
bright inside as it was on the day when it was bought. Understand
yourself, and then try to explain to others, that a saucepan, whether
of tin, iron, or anything else, must be scrubbed both outside and in.
How common it is to see a saucepan crusted outside with soot, which
no one has ever attempted to remove. It gets red hot, and burns the
saucepan as well as its contents, and the bill of the ironmonger
grows apace, and the soup is burnt and spoilt, and every one blames
the cook, while no one thinks of the scrubber. There are not a few
cooks, old enough to know better, who direct that the scrubbing of
saucepans should be done by the hand. Why the hand is to be hardened
and the nails to be ground down to the quick, in order to do slowly
what a 6_d._ saucepan-brush would do quickly, is hard to say. Another
excellent saucepan scrubber, though not so common or so cheap as
the brush, is a small square piece of steel chainwork--a piece of
chain armour, in fact. A bunch of twigs or a wisp of straw, though
better than nothing generally, leaves something to be desired in the
way of brightness. When the soot disappears from the outside, and
the dirt from inside, half the faults of iron saucepans disappear
also. For beef tea, however, some recommend glass or earthenware--a
soda-water bottle or a jampot, if there is nothing better--to be set
inside the saucepan of boiling water, however bright it may be; for
invalids are fastidious, and beef tea always tastes of the saucepan
if possible. Tin saucepans, especially the low-priced ones, are by
no means cheap. They are often met with in the homes of the poor,
and in poor localities in towns ironmongers underbid each other
until the cost of a saucepan only reaches a few pence. How dear
these saucepans are in the long run, no one knows who has not used
them on the open fireplace, upon which in these poor homes they are
generally placed. It is impossible to fry in them without risk of
losing the bottom; it is difficult to stew, because the heat passes
through very rapidly. Tin is little trouble to clean, so there is
no excuse for dirt or dulness, outside or in. The fault often lies
in leaving the lid on after cleaning is done, and the result is
damp and rust. All saucepans should be kept in a dry place, bottom
upwards, and without their lids; if they are dried before the fire so
much the better. A clean tin saucepan may be used for many purposes
where iron is inadmissible; but “clean” is not to be interpreted as
meaning a saucepan carelessly wiped out with a greasy cloth, and
left to dry or to rust as chance may befall. Rust and dirt are not
flavourless articles of cookery. Suppose clear soup or jelly is to be
made. In an iron pan it will be not clear, but thick; in a clean tin
pan or even a fish-kettle it will be not the fault of the pan, but
of the cook, if the jelly be not as clear as glass. The least speck
of rust, the smallest remainder of yesterday’s cooking will spoil
either jelly or soup. Why, indeed, should not tin serve all purposes,
since it is with tin that all copper pans are (or should be) lined?
And copper pans are the _ne plus ultra_ of culinary furniture. The
grand difference lies in the fact that tin pans are thin, the heat
penetrates them quickly, and therefore they are apt to burn, while
copper is thick and a slow conductor of heat. Perhaps something may
also be said on the score of shape. There is an ugly seam round the
bottom of tin pans, where rust is likely to collect; and the best
block-tin saucepans are generally made with sides sloping in towards
the top, as if for the express purpose of producing lumps in all
gravies and rust in all weathers. Why this form ever was or continues
to be fashionable, it is not easy to say. There is, however, another
argument in favour of copper stewpans, namely this--that cooks will
take the trouble to clean them, while they think half the time and
labour wasted on tin, which can be replaced at small cost. Let us
grant, as readily as you please, that copper is the best material;
still it is certain that its cost will always place it out of reach
of modest housewives; therefore the first substitute is plenty of
soap, sand, and labour expended on iron or tin. The next substitute
and a more common one, is enamel-lined iron. The difficulties here
are two. First, the enamel is apt to chip, when all the defects of
the native iron appear; secondly, the heat quickly penetrates, and
is not quickly evaporated. An enamelled pan keeps its contents at
boiling heat for some time after it is removed from the fire. It very
often boils over, and it needs careful watching to prevent burning.
An enamelled pan is not one to be selected for slow stewing. The
substitute in many ways best of all is but little used in England.
Earthenware pots have the many advantages of being cheap to buy, easy
to clean, slow to burn, giving no unpleasant flavour to anything
cooked. Perhaps the reason of their unpopularity is to be sought in
the prevalence of open fires, and the fact that not all earthenware
will stand any closer proximity to the fire than the top of an iron
stove. Those delicate brown porcelain cooking utensils lined with
white are excellent for delicate cookery on a close stove, but they
are not suited to the rough wear and tear of an every-day kitchen,
and considering their fragility, one cannot call them cheap. What we
want is good strong brown earthenware, glazed inside, hardy enough to
be set on an open fire, strong enough to withstand a few taps, and
withal cheap enough to be readily replaced. That such a thing may be
had, every one knows who has travelled out of England and kept their
eyes open. They are common enough in Switzerland, in many parts of
Germany, and our grandmothers would have said they were common in
this country, as indeed they were 50 years ago. Though not common
now, they are still to be bought, in price ranging from a few pence
to 2_s._ One purpose for which they are particularly suited is the
making of broth or stock out of odds and ends. Earthenware may be
kept on the fire day after day, and finally lifted off the fire to
grow cold with its contents; no draining or trouble is necessary, and
no sour or metallic flavour will remain to shock the most fastidious
palate. You may make by turns jelly and oatmeal porridge, and the
same pot serves equally well for both--good for slow stewing on the
hob, but perfectly serviceable on an open fire. There is perhaps no
cooking material for common use to equal earthenware.

Copper must be lined with tin, for unlined copper, whether
clean-scoured or not, is extremely unwholesome. Upon this point much
indecision prevails in the public mind, and it is well to speak
positively, as many cases of poisoning from copper saucepans are
on record. Turning to frying-pans, there is for the impecunious
householder no refuge from iron and tin. A copper frying or sauté
pan is not found in many houses. Nevertheless, there is no occasion
to burn the outside of cutlets; and if the inside is raw, the cook
is to blame, not the metal. “Once burnt will burn again.” A new pan
does not burn; therefore, why should an old one? No frying-pan should
be washed or scoured; it should be wiped while hot with a cloth. But
this rule presupposes no scraps left on the edges, no burning on the
bottom; it assumes, in fact, that the frying be well done. If the pan
be burnt, you must scrub and scour it until it is bright, for nothing
so effectually spoils both the flavour and the appearance of cooking
as the black bits that detach themselves from the sides of dirty
pans. For omelets, copper, enamel, tin, are all used effectually by a
careful cook; while no one of the three will serve the purpose with
unskilful fingers. But every housewife who wishes first-class omelets
served on her table will do well to invest in a copper pan, since
there are few dishes to which the utensils at command of the cook
make so great a difference. Then, again, porcelain and earthenware
might be used with great advantage. The great art in making omelets
is that they shall not be cooked so slowly as to be tough, nor yet
so quickly as to be over-coloured; and the happy medium is difficult
to attain when cooking with metal that, like iron, is a very rapid
conductor of heat. English middle-class kitchens are often furnished
with a strange mixture of niggardliness and extravagance. Any one
accustomed to foreign customs will have been struck with the modest
but well-chosen _batterie de cuisine_ commonly seen abroad in houses
of the lower middle classes. There the mistress selects her own stock
by the light of her own experience; here an order is given to some
ironmonger, who furnishes the kitchen according to precedent, and
in sublime indifference as to the first principles of cookery. The
general absence of so trifling a luxury as wooden spoons may account
for the quality of the unpleasant mixture commonly known as melted
butter. And the extreme reluctance of mistresses to invest in such an
article as a frying-basket, while they waste double its cost every
week by bad frying without it, may be cited as another example of
ignorant saving (E. A. B. in the _Queen_.)

An extensive catalogue might here be given of the various appliances
used in the kitchen, such as mincing, cutting, slicing, whisking,
mixing, knife-cleaning, bread-making, and other domestic machines,
but it could serve no useful purpose. All ordinary requisites can be
purchased at any ironmonger’s, in all degrees of size and quality.
Sundry new and ingenious implements are introduced to public notice
every year, and a great many may be found in the price lists of
the large firms, such as Mappin and Webb, 18 to 22 Poultry; Farrow
and Jackson, 8 Haymarket; Spong, 226 High Holborn; Kent, 199 High
Holborn; J. Baker and Sons, 58 City Road; Wilson and Son, King
William Street, Strand; and several others. In the _Ironmonger_ for
May and June, 1885, appeared an account of an ingenious machine for
washing crockery, adapted to the needs of large establishments. See
also p. 1006.


THE PROCESSES OF COOKERY.

Much useful information is to be derived from Prof. Mattieu
Williams’s Cantor Lectures on the Scientific Basis of Cookery, from
which some of the following paragraphs are borrowed.

_Roasting._--Williams shows that “in roasting a joint before the fire
without any screen, the radiant heat from the coal is only used; the
meat is heated only on one side, that next to the fire, and, as it
turns round, is radiating its heat away from the other side to the
wall, &c., of the kitchen. If a meat screen of polished metal is
placed behind the meat, the rays of heat not intercepted by the meat
itself are received upon the screen, and reflected back towards the
meat, and thus both sides are heated.”

There is an old rule well known all over the world of cookery, and
that is, “white meats well done, black meats underdone;” this applies
to all meats of the four as well as of the two-legged sort, but then
it means properly well done, and properly underdone. To attain this
end the first thing which demands attention is the making up of the
fire. It should be regulated according to the size and the nature of
the article which is to be roasted, and should be so managed as to
last all-aglow the whole length of time which the roasting will take.
In the case of joints of meat the following are the main points to
be attended to. The joint should be trimmed neatly; cut off the end
or flaps of a sirloin of beef (this makes a very good stew for the
kitchen dinner, or maybe used to make stock with greater advantage
than roasting it with the joint in the point of view both of economy
and of taste), a piece of buttered paper should be tied on with
string over the fat, and not removed until just before the joint is
done. If it can possibly be avoided do not use skewers to fix up the
joints, but use string instead; and when practicable perpendicular
roasting is preferable to horizontal, as not requiring the use of the
spit. Place the meat at first 18 in. from the fire, or even farther
off if it be a large joint and the fire greater in proportion. When
the meat is well warmed, gradually bring it nearer, and from that
time never cease basting the joint at regular intervals, but this you
must not overdo. The time that meat takes to roast is usually set
down at 15-20 minutes for every lb. the joint weighs, but this is
a very broad rule, so many circumstances tending to modify it. The
quality of the meat, the age of it, whether it be fresh killed or
not, the season of the year, the nature of the fire, and the position
of it as regards currents of air in the kitchen, must all be taken
into consideration. One thing only is certain, and that is, that when
the joint begins to smoke it is nearly if not quite done, and at
this stage 2-3 minutes more or less at the fire will make or mar the
success of the joint as a piece of artistic roasting. (The G. C.)

In Ovens.--“The oven is an apparatus for cooking by radiation. In
this case the meat or other object of cookery receives radiant heat
from the heated walls of the oven. If this chamber, with radiant
walls, be so arranged that the heat shall be radiated equally on all
sides, and is capable of regulation, it becomes a roaster, which
theoretically does its work more perfectly than an open fire, even
when aided by a screen.” (Williams.)

Williams has “not the slightest hesitation in affirming that
moderate-sized joints properly roasted in a closed chamber, are far
better than similar joints cooked with the utmost skill in front of a
fire. The smaller the joint, the greater the advantage of the closed
chamber.”

Roasting-ovens are now attached to all the best forms of kitcheners.

On one point in the philosophy of roasting, Williams differs from
Rumford. He thinks “it desirable--and has tested this theory
experimentally--to begin at a temperature above that which is to be
maintained throughout the roasting. The object of this is to produce
a crust on the surface of the meat that shall partially seal it, and
keep in the juices as much as possible. Then the temperature may
fall to the average, which should be well kept up, and rather raised
towards the last. This comes about automatically in the ordinary
course of cooking with a roasting-oven.”

He adds that “sealing is more demanded by a joint of beef than by one
of mutton of given size, because in the beef there is more of cut
surface, exposing the ends of the fibres of the meat. In a leg of
mutton, for example, this exposure is only at one end, the rest is
partially protected by the skin of the leg.”

_Basting._--“The _rationale_ of basting appears to be that it assists
in the sealing, and diminishes the evaporation of the juices of the
meat, the chief difference between well-roasted and ill-roasted
meat depending upon this.” In roasting, “the meat is stewed in its
own juices. The flavour depends on this: no water being used, these
juices are not diluted--they are, on the contrary, more or less
concentrated by evaporation; but if this evaporation be carried too
far, a drying-up occurs, and this desiccation is accompanied with
toughness and indigestibility, as well as sacrifice of flavour. The
smaller the joint, the greater the risk of such desiccation.”

_Grilling._--“This principle brings us at once to grilling, which is
another kind of roasting, i.e. of cooking by radiation. A beef steak
or mutton chop is not roasted by turning it round and round in front
of the fire, because so large a surface is exposed in proportion to
the mass, and such treatment would evaporate from that large surface
too much of the juices. Rapidity is the primary condition of success
in grilling. When a large and specially-constructed grill, placed
over a large coke or charcoal fire, is available, the heat radiated
on the exposed surface of the meat rapidly browns or carbonises the
exposed surface, and partially seals its pores.”

_Boiling._--“When water is heated in a glass vessel over a flame
where the action may be watched, bubbles are first seen growing on
the sides of the glass, gradually detaching themselves, and rising
to the surface. These are merely bubbles of air that was dissolved
in the water. After this, other and larger bubbles form on the
bottom just above the flame. At first they are flat, and continually
collapsing. Presently they become hemispherical, but still they
collapse; then they become more and more nearly spherical, and
afterwards quite spherical; afterwards they detach themselves, and
start upwards, but perish in the attempt, by collapsing somewhere
on the way. At last they reach the surface, and break there,
ejecting themselves as steam into the air. Now the water boils,
and a thermometer dipped into it registers 212° F. After this, it
matters not whether the boiling is very violent or only the gentlest
simmering, no further rise of the thermometer is perceptible, showing
that the simmering temperature and the ‘galloping’ temperature are
the same.”

“The actual cooking temperature for animal food is considerably below
the boiling point of water, and is regulated by the coagulation of
albumen, which commences at rather below 160° F., i.e. more than 50°
below the boiling point of water.”

To “apply this practically to the boiling of an egg for breakfast.
By the ordinary method of the 3 minutes’ immersion in continually
boiling water, the white becomes hard and indigestible before the
yolk is fairly warmed, and ½ minute too much, or ½ minute too little,
will nearly ruin the operation.”

“The proper mode is to place the egg in boiling water, and then
remove the saucepan from the fire altogether, and leave the egg in
the water from 10 minutes to ¼ hour. About ½ pint for 1 egg, ¾ pint
for 2 eggs, or 1 pint for 4 eggs, is the quantity demanded if the
saucepan is well covered.”

_Stewing._--“The prevailing idea in England is that stewed meat
only differs from boiled meat by being kept in the water for a
longer time--that stewing is simply protracted boiling. I venture,
nevertheless, to declare the total fallacy of this, and to assert
that, so far as flesh food is concerned, boiling and stewing are
diametrically opposite, as regards the special objects to be
attained. In boiling a joint--say, a leg of mutton--the best efforts
of the cook should be directed to retaining the juices within the
meat, and allowing the smallest possible quantity to come out into
the water. In stewing, the business is to get as much as possible out
of the meat, to separate the juices from the meat and convey them to
the water. This is the case, whether the French practice of serving
the liquid _potage_ or _bouillon_ as a separate dish, and the stewed
meat or _bouilli_ as another, or the English and Irish fashion of
serving the stewed meat in its own juices or gravy, as in the case of
stewed steak, Irish stew, &c.

“The poor French peasant does more with 1 lb. of meat, in the way of
stewing, than the English cook with three or four. The little bit of
meat, and the large supply of vegetables are placed in a pot, and
this in another vessel containing water--the _bain-marie_ or water
bath. This stands on the embers of a poor little wood fire, and is
left there till dinner-time, under conditions that render boiling
impossible, and demand little or no further attention from the cook;
consequently, the meat, when removed, has parted with its juices to
the _potage_, but is not curled up by the contraction of the hardened
albumen, nor reduced to stringy fibres. It is tender, eatable, and
enjoyable, that is, when the proper supply of saline juices of the
meat _plus_ the saline juices of the vegetables, have been taken into
the system.

“Whether the _potage_ and the meat should thus be separated, or
whether they should be stewed together, as in an Irish stew, &c., is
merely a matter of taste and custom; but that a stew should never
be boiled, nor placed in a position on the fire where boiling or
‘simmering’ is possible, should be regarded as a primary axiom in
cooking where stewing is concerned.”

_Braising._--This takes its name from the French word _braise_, the
red embers of a wood fire being so called. There are proper pans
sold for this kind of cooking, called braising-pans; they are rather
shallower than ordinary stewpans, and they have the edges of the lid
turned up to hold live coals, it being necessary to have heat from
above as well as below in braising. It is also necessary as much as
possible to exclude the air. Should there be no braising-pan in the
house it is possible to do it, but less well, in an ordinary stewpan,
which will have to be put into the oven.

_Frying._--“Frying ranks with boiling and stewing, rather than with
grilling. When properly conducted, it is one of the processes in
which the heat is communicated by convection, the medium being hot
fat instead of the hot water used in the so-called, and mis-called
‘boiling’ of meat. I say ‘when properly conducted,’ because it is too
often very improperly conducted in domestic kitchens. This is the
case whenever fish, cutlets, &c., are fried on a merely greased plate
of metal, such as a common frying-pan. Pancakes or omelettes may be
thus fried, but no kind of fish or meat. These should be immersed in
a bath of fat sufficiently deep to cover them completely. To those
who have not reasoned out the subject, such complete immersion in so
large a quantity of fat may appear likely to produce a very greasy
result. The contrary is the case.

“Let us take, as an example, the frying of a sole. On immersing this
in a bath of fat raised to a temperature above that of boiling water,
a violent hissing and crackling noise (‘frizzling’) is heard. This is
caused by a series of small explosions due to the sudden conversion
of water into steam. The water was originally on the surface and
between and within the fibres of the flesh of the sole. The continual
expansion of this water into vapour, and its outbursting, prevent
the fat from penetrating the fish, so long as the temperature is
maintained above 212° F., and thus the substance of the sole is
cooked by the steam of its own juices, and its outside is browned by
the superheated fat.

“Now, let us suppose that a merely greased plate, like the bottom
of a frying-pan, is used. Only one side of the sole is cooked at
first--the side in contact with the pan--therefore it must be turned
to cook the other side. When thus turned, the side first cooked with
its adhering fat is cooling; its steam is condensing between its
fibres, and the fat is gradually entering to supply the place of
steam, while the other side is cooking. Thus it is more greasy than
if rapidly withdrawn from the bath of hot fat, and then allowed to
drain before the steam commences to condense. A stew-pan, or any
other suitable kind of kettle, may be used, if provided with a wire
basket for lifting; or a frying-pan of the ordinary kind, if deep
enough.”

To fry rissoles, or anything which requires to be fried all over at
one time, a wire basket must be used, a stewpan large enough round
to receive the basket, and deep enough to hold a sufficient quantity
of melted fat to completely cover whatever is to be fried. Place the
rissoles in the basket, set the stewpan containing the fat on the
fire, and when the fat is boiling, at once plunge the basket into it
and hold it there until they are sufficiently cooked, which will be
when they have attained a delicate golden colour. The greatest care
will be necessary in watching for the moment of boiling, this will
be when the fat ceases to bubble and splutter; it will then become
perfectly silent, and almost immediately a light blue steam will rise
from it, which is the sign of boiling, the frying must then instantly
commence, for it will soon after begin to smoke, and if put into the
fat while in this condition the rissoles would be quite spoilt, both
in colour and flavour. For cutlets, soles, or anything flat, you may
use a cutlet-pan or frying-pan and fry one side at a time. Lard,
butter, and sweet oil are all used, and for very delicate frying they
are necessary. Whitebait must be done in oil, omelettes in butter, as
also cutlets if you wish them to be particularly nice; but for most
things and for all ordinary occasions there is nothing better than
good well-clarified dripping.

_Kitchen odours._--All “greens,” to use a familiar expression,
especially cabbage, as we know, have a horrible tendency to create
noxious vapours; whilst onions, it need not be said, permeate the
remotest recesses of a building, not only while they are cooking, but
while they are being prepared for the saucepan or the frying-pan.
To thoroughly deodorise the boiling cabbage or the frying onion
is next door to impossible, but the effluvium may be mitigated. A
large piece of bread is sometimes put upon the knife’s point whilst
onions are being peeled, in order to prevent the tearful effect
which the pungent esculent produces on the eyes; and we have lately
been told in a popular cookery book that the offensive results of
cabbage boiling may be well nigh got rid of, by wrapping up in a
piece of clean white linen rag a large lump of bread, and putting it
in the saucepanful of water in which the cabbage is being cooked.
The same plan, no doubt, would be equally effective in the case of
broccoli, which, if possible, is a greater offender than cabbage in
emitting offensive fumes. The obnoxious reek is mitigated, we are
told, by some cooks, by boiling broccoli in two waters--parboiling
them to begin with; then taking them out of the saucepan, straining
them, allowing cold water to run over them for a few minutes, and
placing them in a fresh pot of boiling water. What applies here may
be extended, no doubt, with beneficial results to most greenery,
not forgetting the cauliflower--another marked offender in the way
of creating bad odour. It is, however, very frequently the careless
manner in which the water used in the boiling of vegetables is thrown
away, which produces the worst stench of which the kitchen is guilty.
Nothing is so detestable as this smell of “green water,” and the cook
who allows it to get the upper hand of her is either very careless or
very incompetent. If the water be thrown recklessly down the sink,
and no means are adopted to deodorise it, hours will elapse ere the
fumes can be dissipated, during which they will have found their way
all over the house. Where the drainage and such like appliances are
in perfect order (or, indeed, where they are not more particularly),
it should be held as an essential part of the scullery-maid’s duty
to pour gallons of fresh water, both boiling and cold, down the sink
immediately after the cabbage water. If this be done freely, and a
liberal sprinkling of Sanitas Powder or other inoffensive deodoriser
be then distributed about the sink or drain trap, we need not be
troubled, as we constantly are, by bad smells when dinner is over.


RECIPES FOR DISHES.

In the presence of such a number of cookery books as already exist,
it is obviously impossible to offer a selection of original recipes.
Every known dish has been subjected to variations till the list is
practically endless. The idea which has guided the writer of this
section is general utility. Many of the recipes are gleaned from the
replies of experienced housewives in the correspondence columns of
recent numbers of the ‘Queen’ newspaper; than this, no more valuable
and inexhaustible source of current information exists, and the
reader in quest of additional recipes or instructions cannot do
better than consult the weekly pages of that pre-eminent “ladies’”
newspaper.


=Soups.=--The foundation of all soups is or should be found in the
stockpot, an institution that is too often neglected, especially in
small households where economy is most necessary. As the nutritive
elements of all foods, both animal and vegetable, are readily
extracted by the prolonged application of hot water, it follows that
much feeding material which is of too coarse or rough a character
to be brought to table can be made useful by simmering till all its
virtue is exhausted. Hence the value of the stockpot. If the odds and
ends accumulated in the kitchen do not suffice to make the quantity
of stock required, they must be supplemented by stock prepared
specially. The following recipes for making stock are sufficient for
all ordinary needs.

_Common Stock._--(_a_) 6 lb. shin of beef, 6 qt. water. Cut all the
meat off the bones, and cut the meat across and across, and sprinkle
a teaspoonful of salt over it and put it at once into the 6 qt.
water in an earthen vessel, while you do as follows: wash and cut up
2 carrots and 2 turnips and leave them in clear water; then put at
the bottom of your soup pot (the digesters are the best) 2 slices
of bacon, a piece of butter as large as 2 walnuts, a Spanish onion
stuck all over with cloves, another cut up in rings, 2 large lumps
of white sugar, a few peppercorns, a small bunch of marjoram and
thyme tied up in muslin, as much grated lemon peel as would cover
sixpence, and then put in the carrots and turnips. Let these all be
browned at the bottom of the stockpot, stirring all the time, until
the bacon looks well enough done to be eaten, then put in the meat
and the water it has stood in, and the bones broken; leave the lid
off at first, so that you may watch for the rising of the scum,
which must be instantly removed, or the colour of your soup will
be spoiled; when you have carefully skimmed it, and no more rises,
put the lid tightly on the digester, and leave your soup to simmer
gently and evenly for 5 hours. Do not throw away the scum; it is not
dirty, provided you have wiped the shin of beef clean before you cut
it up; and this scum, although it would spoil the clearness of your
soup, is really beef-tea, and worth using in the stockpot. When the 5
hours are nearly elapsed, have ready a large kettle of quite boiling
water, then strain the soup through a close sieve into a perfectly
clean earthen jar, and immediately put back into the digester all
the contents of the sieve, and pour the kettle of boiling water upon
them, and let this stew all night. The next morning strain it into
another earthen jar, and leave it to set. The first stock is now
ready to scrape every atom of fat from the top of it, then wipe the
top with a clean soft cloth, and all the edges of the jar, then turn
it upside down on a large dish, and scrape the fat and sediment from
the other side. Wash the earthen jar, and dry well before the fire,
and then put your stock back, and you will have a perfectly clean
soup with a delicious flavour, and without requiring any clearing
with whites of eggs, which always impoverishes the soup. To colour
it, take pieces of bread, toasted very brown, and put into the stock
when you warm it: and before sending to table put a teaspoonful of
sherry at the bottom of the tureen, and pour the almost boiling
soup upon it. Of course, it must be strained, to prevent the pieces
of toast going in; and you can either use it plain, or with cut
vegetables in it. Those sold in tins are best; but they require
washing in water, and then warming in some inferior stock, and must
be well strained, and then put with the wine at the bottom of the
tureen, before you pour your soup into it. The next day scrape and
wipe your second stock, and do just the same with it, and it comes
in for gravies, for entrées, or for thick soups, and sometimes is as
clear as the first stock.

(_b_) Slack’s patent digester is the most useful and economical of
stockpots. Its management is quite simple, but care must be taken
when filling it to leave sufficient room for the steam to pass away
through the hole in the cover. A sheep’s milt is a good foundation
for stock.

(_c_) Procure from a heel shop a cowheel that has been boiled, crack
it up and simmer for several hours in salt and water; when done,
strain, and there will be about a gallon of good jelly. If the heel
is uncooked, boil till half done, then throw the first water away, or
the jelly will be too rancid for soup.

(_d_) Take about 3 lb. shin of beef, seeing that the butcher does
not send it all bone; put this into the stockpot with 2 large onions
well fried, 2 raw onions, 2 large carrots cut down the centre, a
head of celery, and a few sprigs of sweet herbs; add to this 3-4 qt.
cold water, and set it on the fire to boil; let it remain boiling
for 3-4 hours, draw it to the side, and let it simmer for the rest
of the day; in the evening strain the liquor through a sieve into a
large basin, put the rest on a dish, set both in the larder, and have
the stockpot well washed out before putting away for the night. The
next morning take the meat from the bones to use for potted meat,
put the bones and vegetables into the stockpot, together with any
bones, whether large or small, left from the previous day, trimmings
of meat, cooked or uncooked, gristle, skin, &c.: bones from poultry
and game of any kind should be used with the rest, and a ham or bacon
bone, or trimmings from a tongue, all help to improve the flavour
of the stock. Carefully skim the fat from the stock made yesterday,
measure off as much as may be required for soup, gravies, &c., during
the day, and pour the remainder into the stockpot, filling it up
with cold water (one which holds about 4 qt. is a useful size for a
moderate-sized family); freshly fried onion, well browned, must be
added every day, and every second or third day the vegetables must be
changed for fresh ones. Every morning the bones, &c., must be looked
over, taking away those in which no goodness remains as others are
added; and every now and then, when there happens to be a good supply
of fresh bones, such as perhaps a ham bone and those from a sirloin
of beef (which will be none the worse for having been previously
broiled for breakfast), it will be as well to get rid of all which
have been already used, and start afresh as before. The water in
which rice has been boiled, or in which bread has been soaked for
puddings, should all go into the stockpot, and of course that which
has been used in boiling fresh meat or poultry. Rabbit bones do not
improve stock, and those from a hare should be used by themselves.

_Clear Stock (Consommé)._--Put 2 lb. lean beef cut in small pieces,
and a fowl half roasted, and also cut in pieces, bones and all, into
a saucepan, which fill up with common stock or broth (cold). Set the
saucepan on the fire, and when the contents get hot skim the liquor
carefully, then add salt to taste, and the following vegetables cut
up in small pieces; 2 or 3 carrots, 2 onions, a head of celery (a
pinch of celery seed will do as well if no celery is procurable),
one tomato (fresh or dried), and a handful of parsley. Also add in
due proportions, and according to taste, chervil, marjoram, thyme,
cloves allspice, whole pepper, mace, and bay leaf. This done, set
the saucepan by the side of the fire to simmer very gently for at
least 4 hours; then strain the liquor through a cloth, free it
absolutely from fat, and clarify with white of egg or raw meat.

_Fish Stock._--(_a_) Take 2 lb. any kind of fish, such as skate,
plaice, flounders, small eels, or the trimmings of soles that have
been filleted, pack them into a saucepan with a head of parsley
including the root, a head of celery, 2 blades of mace, a few cloves,
some white pepper, salt to taste, and a bay leaf; put in as much
cold water as will cover the contents of the saucepan, and set it
to simmer gently for 2 hours, then strain off the liquor and it is
ready. A small onion may be put in with the other vegetables. (The G.
C.)

(_b_) Put the bones, trimmings, and skin of any fish you may have
into the liquor in which fish has boiled, with a suitable assortment
of vegetables and flavouring herbs, a few peppercorns, a little
spice, and boil the whole for 2 hours. Strain it off, add to each
quart 1 oz. boiled rice, a teacupful of milk, and half a teaspoonful
of finely chopped parsley. Serve at once. Small pieces of cooked fish
improve the soup. If it is intended to make this soup, the liquor
must not be made very salt, nor acid with vinegar. This is a slight
drawback, for these expedients both have the effect of making the
flesh firm and flaky. It is said that fish is never so good as when
boiled in sea water, and whether that be true or not, it certainly is
a good plan to make the water decidedly brackish to boil white fish
like cod.

_Gravy Stock._--Place a layer of slices of onion in a saucepan,
holding a gallon, over this a layer of fat bacon, and over all about
2 lb. shin of beef chopped up in small pieces; 1 pint common stock,
or even water, being poured on the whole, set the saucepan on the
fire for 1 hour, or until the liquor is almost evaporated--what is
called reduced to a “glaze”--then add sufficient cold common stock or
cold water to cover the contents of the saucepan, and 2 or 3 carrots
cut in slices, a leek, a head of celery (when in season), or some
celery seed, a handful of parsley, half a clove of garlic, a sprig of
marjoram and thyme, a bay leaf, 4 or 5 cloves, white pepper and salt
to taste. After boiling about 3 hours, strain off the liquor, and,
being absolutely freed from fat, it is ready for use.

_Veal or White Stock._--Toss 2 onions sliced and 1 lb. lean veal cut
in small pieces in a saucepan with some butter until they assume a
light colour, then add ½ lb. ham chopped up small, and moisten with a
pint of common stock cold and perfectly free from fat. Let the liquor
reduce almost to a glaze, but not quite; then add 2 qt. cold common
stock, a knuckle of veal or 2 calves’ feet chopped up, 2 carrots, a
head of celery, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, mace, pepper, and salt, all
in due proportions. After 2-3 hours’ boiling, strain free from fat,
and it is ready.

_Vegetable Stock._--Take some carrots, turnips, onions, leeks, and
celery, in equal quantities; cut them up into small pieces, and toss
them in plenty of butter for ½ hour; then add 2 heads of lettuce
shred fine, some parsley, and chervil, a little thyme, marjoram, and
tarragon, in judicious proportions; toss them a little longer, and
then add as much water as you want stock; pepper, salt, cloves, mace
to taste, and a pinch of sugar; let the whole stew gently for some
hours, then strain the liquor through a cloth. A couple of tomatoes
(either from a tin or fresh), or 2 or 3 spoonfuls of _conserve de
tomates_, is a great improvement.

_White Stock._--See Veal Stock.

_Clarifying Stock._--(_a_) For 1 qt. take the white of an egg, beat
it up with a cupful of soup (cold), then add the rest, and beat it on
the fire with an egg whisk; when it boils, strain through a piece of
tammy.

(_b_) For same quantity, mince, not too finely, 1 oz. lean raw beef,
add it to the liquor and set it on the fire in a saucepan; when it
boils, strain it as above. Liver may be used instead of beef, and the
white of egg may be used in addition to either. If the soup does not
turn out clear enough, the operation of clarifying must be repeated.

With stock as a basis, a great variety of soups are made, and
generally named from the particular vegetable or dainty employed to
give the desired flavour. Following are some recipes.

_Apple Soup._--Boil apples with their cores until quite soft with
slices of bread and some lemon peel in sufficient water. Strain
through a sieve, add sugar, a glass of wine and some powdered
cinnamon or nutmeg. Stir in yolks of eggs or cream, if approved.

_Apple and Currant Soup._--Proceed with apples, bread, and the lemon
peel as in last recipe. After straining, boil again with currants,
a cup of milk, and the requisite sugar, with a small teaspoonful of
aniseeds, if approved. A few cloves with the first boiling is an
improvement. Another way is to leave out the spice, and when the soup
is ready for serving, stir in some pounded sweet and bitter almonds.

_Artichoke Soup (d’artichauts)._--Boil 3 lb. Jerusalem artichokes
in 1 qt. milk, adding to it about a teacupful of water. When the
artichokes have become very soft, rub them through a sieve, and add
a little pepper and salt and a few grains of cayenne. Just before
serving, stir in ¼ pint cream; if not thick enough, add a little
flour and butter. Serve with bread cut in small dice and fried in
butter, to be handed round with the soup.

_Asparagus Soup (d’asperges)._--Take 50 asparagus heads (called sprue
asparagus), boil it in a saucepan with 3 pints stock free from fat.
When done, remove the asparagus, pound in a mortar, and pass through
a hair sieve. Melt about 1½ oz. butter in a saucepan on the fire, and
mix with it 2 tablespoonfuls flour; add a little sugar, pepper, and
salt, the asparagus pulp, and all the stock in which the asparagus
was boiled. Let the whole boil up, adding as much more stock as will
make the soup of the right consistency. Then put in a little spinach
greening, and lastly a small pat of fresh butter, or stir in ½ gill
cream. Serve over small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Barley Soup (d’orge)._--Cut up in small pieces carrots, turnips,
onions, leeks, and celery in equal quantities; toss them in plenty of
butter for ½ hour; add 2 heads of lettuce finely shredded, parsley,
chervil, a sprig of marjoram; put in 2 qt. boiling water, pepper,
salt, a few cloves, and a pinch of sugar; let the whole simmer for
2 hours, then strain the liquor through a cloth. Boil 1 pint pearl
barley in 1 qt. of this stock till it is reduced to a pulp, pass it
through a hair sieve, and add as much more stock as will be required
to make the purée of the consistency of cream; put the soup on the
fire, when it boils stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of an egg
beaten up with a gill of cream; add ½ pat of fresh butter, and serve
with small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Batter-cream Soup._--Mix 2-3 tablespoonfuls flour with water enough
to make as thick a batter as you can stir, then add as many eggs as
there are spoonfuls of flour, and stir well. Have ready some boiling
broth which has been seasoned and strained; pour it into the batter,
stirring all the while; set it over the fire to boil a few minutes,
and serve.

_Bean Soup._--See Haricot.

_Beer Soup._--Simmer together 2 qt. beer, not bitter, a stick of
cinnamon, a few cloves, the thin rind of a lemon, and sugar to taste.
Beat in a tureen or bowl the yolks of 6 eggs and ½ pint cream. Strain
on these the scalding beer, stirring all to a foam with the wire
whisk. Serve hot, with toast.

_Birds’-nests Soup._--One bird’s nest is needed for each person; soak
for 12 hours in fresh water; drain and wipe, separating the fibres,
and carefully removing all feathers &c., by washing through several
waters, until the nests are perfectly clean. Put them in a saucepan,
cover with chicken broth, place the saucepan in a bain-marie, and
cook very gently for 2 hours in the broth. At the moment of serving,
place the nests in a soup dish, and cover with enough very rich,
clear, hot chicken broth for the number of guests. Add pepper and
salt to taste, and serve at once.

_Bone Soup._--Take a good quantity of bones of any kind, cover with
water, add carrots, celery, a bunch of all kinds of herbs, a little
parsley, onions, a blade or two of mace, and a few cloves, according
to the quantity. Make it boil up quick, then pour in a little cold
water to make the scum rise, and skim just as you would clear soup.
Boil for several hours, then strain off and let it stand till next
day. Take off the grease, whip up the whites of 2 eggs in a little
cold water, add the shells, and beat all well together in the soup;
set it on the fire to boil for ½ hour, till it looks clear, and
strain off. Do not let it boil too fast.

_Bonne Femme Soup._--Cut up a good-sized onion into very thin rounds,
and place these in a saucepan with a good allowance of butter.
Take care not to let the onion get brown, and when it is half done
throw in 2-3 handfuls of sorrel, 1 lettuce, and a small quantity
of chervil, all finely cut; add pepper, salt, a little nutmeg, and
keep stirring until the vegetables are nearly done. Then put in 1
tablespoonful pounded loaf sugar, and half a cupful of stock or
broth free from fat. Let the mixture reduce nearly to a glaze, when
about 1 qt. of stock or broth of the same kind as that used before
should be added, and, after the soup has given one boil, it can be
put aside until the time of serving. Meanwhile prepare about 18 very
thin slices of bread, about 1 in. wide and 2 in. long, taking care
that they have a crust along one of their sides. Dry these slices
in the oven. When it is time to send up the soup, first remove the
superfluous fat from it, then set it to boil, and when it boils take
it off the fire and stir into it the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs beaten up
with ¼ pint of cream or milk. Pour the soup over the slices of bread,
and serve in 3 minutes. (The G. C.)

_Brunoise Soup._--Take equal parts of carrots, turnips, onions, and
celery; cut them all in the shape of very small dice. Put a good
piece of butter in a saucepan, with a little pepper and salt, and a
teaspoonful of powdered lump sugar. Toss the carrots in this till
they begin to take colour; then put in the celery, after a little
time the turnips, and then the onions. When all the vegetables are
equally coloured, add as much stock as you want soup, and set the
saucepan by the side of the fire to simmer gently for 2 hours. Then
skim, and serve. (The G. C.)

_Calf’s Head Soup._--Having well washed and soaked the head, put it
on the fire in cold water, and simmer it 2½ hours from the time of
its coming to a scalding heat. When quite done, take it out. Cut the
meat off in neat slices; slice the tongue also, and take out the
brains. Throw back the bones into the soup. Dry a pinch of saffron,
rub it to powder, put it in the soup, with a small wineglassful of
pale vinegar, a tablespoonful of sugar, a little nutmeg, and salt to
taste. Shred parsley may be added if approved. The brains, divided
into small pieces, must be put into the tureen, with 3 or 4 yolks of
eggs beaten, and the scalding soup poured on them. Dip the slices of
meat in egg and breadcrumbs, fry them a delicate brown in butter, and
serve them after the soup, with any white vegetable.

_Carrot Soup (Crécy, Nivernaise)._--Fry a large onion a nice brown
colour without burning it, scrape, wash, and well dry 2 or 3 large
carrots, cutting out all specks; cut them into thin slices and put
them into a stewpan with about 3 pints of stock, let them cook gently
over the fire until quite tender, then strain them from the soup, rub
them through a tammy with the fried onion back into the soup, warm
it again, and season with a very little pepper and salt. Serve with
fried croutons on a napkin in a plate to hand round with it. This
soup should be made the day before or early in the day on which it is
to be used; this gives the fat in which the onions have been fried
time to rise to the top, and it can easily be removed when cold. If a
very nice colour is wished, only the red parts of the carrots should
be used, of course more carrots will then be required; it should be
of about the consistency of pea soup. Almost any other vegetable
suitable for a purée may be used in the same way, such as turnip,
parsnip, vegetable marrow, or potato; or if the stock chance not
to be particularly good, it may be thickened either with semolina,
tapioca, or sago in the proportion of about three ounces to a quart
of stock. For semolina, drop it into the stock when boiling, keep
stirring it, and let it simmer gently for about ½ hour. Sago should
be washed in boiling water, and added gradually to the boiling stock,
stirring and simmering until perfectly soft and transparent. Tapioca
must be put into the stock while cold, and must be allowed to boil
gradually, it must then be simmered gently till quite soft as for
sago; but even greater care will be necessary to keep stirring, or
the tapioca will cling together and be lumpy. Should there not be
likely to be any sufficiently good stock for next day’s dinner, an
excellent soup, as well as a most useful cold dish for family use,
may be made by stewing a piece of the thick brisket of beef the day
before the soup is wanted. To 6 lb. of beef allow 3 large onions, 2
medium-sized carrots, 12 cloves, a sprig or two of parsley, and a
tiny bunch of sweet herbs tied in muslin. Fry one of the onions a
dark brown, without burning it, slice up one of the carrots and the
remaining onions into a large stewpan, adding the second carrot,
merely cut into 2 or 3 pieces, add a small piece of sweet dripping,
and set the stewpan on the fire, stirring the vegetables until they
are about half cooked, and are slightly browned; then take out half
the vegetables; to those remaining in the stewpan add half the
fried onion, 6 of the cloves, the bunch of herbs, and the parsley;
slightly rub the beef with a small quantity of salt, place it above
the vegetables, adding those that were taken from the stewpan, the
other half of the fried onion, and 6 cloves, to rest on the top of
the beef. Pour in as much of any stock you may happen to have as will
well cover the beef, or, if you have no stock, use cold water; set
it on the fire, which should not be a very fierce one, and let it
remain till it begins to bubble; then remove it to the side, and let
it remain simmering for 4-5 hours, or until done enough to be able
to draw out the bones; it will require watching to ascertain this,
as, when once tender enough for this, it should not cook any more.
When the bones are removed, set the beef in a cool place between 2
dishes, with a heavy weight on the top; the next day it will be ready
to trim and glaze, and serve as pressed beef. The soup and vegetables
should be poured into a basin to stand all night; in the morning
remove the fat which has risen to the top, warm the soup, and strain
the vegetables from it. Trim off the outer discoloured parts of the
larger pieces of carrot and cut them into thin slips, putting them
back into the soup to be served in it; the rest of the vegetables may
go into the stockpot, as there will still be much goodness in them. A
slight shake of pepper will complete the soup, which should be a dark
brown gravy soup of excellent flavour. If preferred to the carrots,
a small quantity of Naples macaroni may be served in it; boil it in
water till tender, then strain it and cut it into fine rings and add
it to the soup.

_Cauliflower Soup._--Make a clear white soup of mutton, or veal,
properly seasoned with salt and white pepper. Mix 2 or 3 spoonfuls of
flour in milk to thicken the soup to the consistence of cream. Break
up a cauliflower into small tufts; boil them in salted water; drain
carefully, and add them unbroken to the soup when about to serve.
If extra richness is desired, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs, with a
little cream beaten up.

_Celery Soup._--Put into a saucepan the carcase and other remnants
of a roast fowl, with a piece of ham or bacon, and a couple of heads
of celery (reserving a few of the best pieces to be sliced finely,
boiled in stock, and served in the soup). Fill up with stock and let
it simmer 2-3 hours, then strain, clarify with white of egg or a
little raw meat, and serve with celery.

_Cheap Soups._--These are given more especially for the benefit of
those who have charge of soup kitchens for the poor in winter. Many
hints, however, may be gained from them, and some are well adapted
for households with small means.

(_a_) Take the liquor of meat boiled the day before, with the bones
of leg and shin of beef, add to the liquor as much water as will make
it 130 qt. and also the meat of 10 stone of leg and shin of beef and
2 ox heads cut into pieces, add 2 bunches of carrots, 4 bunches of
turnips, 2 bunches of leeks, ½ peck of onions, a bunch of celery, ½
lb. pepper, and some salt. To be boiled for 6 hours. Either oatmeal,
barley, or peas may be put in to thicken it if necessary.

(_b_) Wash 1 qt. Scotch barley or split peas, put them into a large
saucepan or fish-kettle with 3 gal. water, add 3 large Portugal or
Spanish onions cut into quarters, 6 large carrots, 6 or 8 turnips,
herbs, pepper, salt, and allspice according to taste, one ox heel
well divided, 7 lb. shin of beef; boil all together for 8-10 hours.
It can be made cheaper and equally good by substituting for the shin
of beef a 4 lb. tin of Australian beef or mutton, but this must be
added only so as to mix in at the last with the other ingredients.
Being thoroughly cooked in Australia, and free from bone, skin, and
gristle, it is spoiled if it is cooked more than enough to make it
hot for use. This beef or mutton is enveloped in its own jelly.

(_c_) Be most particular that the kitchen maid keeps every drop of
water in which any meat is boiled; put this in the boiler, and fill
up with water. When this boils, put in a few pieces of meat, 10 lb.
to the 20 gal. (get 30 lb. of neck and shoulder pieces of beef once
a week for it, and slightly salt them), some salt, and either pearl
barley, groats, or oatmeal; whilst these are boiling, cut up some
turnips and carrots in small pieces, say ½ in. square, cabbage and
leeks, not cut too fine. These add to the soup, and boil all for 2
hours. The outer stalks of celery, if kept, make a great addition.
Then take out the meat, and cut it up into small portions, putting
one or two pieces into the can with the soup, when given to the poor.

(_d_) Put 2 oz. dripping into a saucepan capable of holding 2 gal.
water, with ¼ lb. leg of beef, without bones, cut into square pieces
about ½ in., and two middling-sized onions peeled and sliced; set the
saucepan on the fire, and stir the contents round for a few minutes
until fried lightly brown; then add (ready washed) the peelings of
2 turnips, 15 green leaves or tops of celery, and the green part of
2 leeks--the whole of which are usually thrown away; cut the above
vegetables in small pieces and throw them into the saucepan with the
other ingredients, stirring them occasionally; then add ½ lb. common
flour (any farinaceous substance would do), ½ lb. pearl or Scotch
barley, mixing all well together; then add 2 gal. water seasoned with
3 oz. salt and ¼ oz. brown sugar; stir it occasionally until boiling,
and then allow it to simmer for 3 hours gently. You may use all kinds
of vegetables cut aslant.

_Cherry Soup._--Use black cherries, and proceed as for plum soup.
Put a few cloves in at first; 1 lb. cherries to 1 qt. water will be
found very good. After straining, break some of the stones, and put
the kernels into the soup. Add also a few whole cherries towards the
last, only long enough to soften them.

_Chestnut Soup (de marrons)._--Boil ½-1 lb. chestnuts until they will
peel easily. Put them in a stewpan, sprinkle with salt, and leave to
steam soft and mealy. Work through a wire sieve; put butter half the
size of an egg in a stewpan, and when it is melted add a small finely
minced onion and a few mushrooms. Dredge in a tablespoonful of flour,
put in the chestnuts, and stir in enough white or brown soup to give
it the consistency of a creamy batter; let it boil up. Serve with
sippets of toast or any other soup accompaniment. As a thickening or
purée for any kind of good white soup, chestnuts are very delicate.
They take less time to cook if the outer rind is peeled off first,
and when they have had a scald scrape off the inner peel, boil, and
steam them dry; then pass them through a sieve. About a pint will
thicken a soup for a small pastry.

_Chicken Soup (Sévigné, de volaille, à la reine)._--(_a_) Cut some
carrots in slices, and with a column cut out of these a number of
discs ¼ in. diameter. Cut similar discs out of some leeks, celery,
and sorrel leaves; make an equal quantity (about a wineglassful) of
each, and parboil them separately in salted water, leaving the leeks
and sorrel discs in the water until wanted. Take 3 pints white stock
made with poultry and quite free from grease; when boiling hot put
the vegetables into it, then a few tarragon leaves cut small, and a
little chervil picked out leaf by leaf. Beat up the strained yolks of
4 eggs with ½ gill cream, stir into them a little of the soup, and
then quickly stir in the whole into the soup off the fire, and serve.

(_b_) See Poultry Soup.

_Clear Soup (Consommé)._--Order in 7 lb. shin of beef (the bones
must be broken), and 2 lb. veal, prepare about 8 large onions, 6
carrots, thyme, parsley, cloves, and bay leaves, head or stick of
celery, 6 peppercorns. Order your meat, &c., the day before, so that
you have it in the house early. First cut up the meat, dividing
it from the bones, and casting away all gristle, veins, and fat,
then well wash the whole in a basin of cold water. Put aside 1 lb.
of the best of the beef, and the whole of the veal; keep them for
clearing the soup. Put a little butter, size of a walnut, into a
large saucepan to fry the onions in, cutting up and casting in, when
the butter has melted, 8 small or 1 large onion. Let them fry till
quite brown. While this is doing take out the meat from the basin of
water (which beforehand must be washed well with the hand, so as to
remove all grease and impurity), take a clean cloth and dry the meat
carefully piece by piece; separate it from the bones. First, put the
bits of meat (without any water) in, and let them stew for ½ hour,
then add to them the bones, and let them stew for ½ hour; remember
every few minutes to stir with a wooden spoon, or it will burn at
the bottom of the saucepan. Then put the water, 16 tumblers, 1 pint
water to 1 lb. meat. This for the best soup, for a dinner party, or
for strengthening an invalid. Skim as long as the scum rises; do not
keep the lid on. After it is thoroughly skimmed, put in a bunch made
of a little thyme, parsley, and bay leaves, a stick of celery (or,
if out of season, a muslin bag of seed), also throw in 4 good-sized
onions, one of which stick with 4 cloves; then for eleven hours let
it simmer, then take it off the fire (a good bright fire must be kept
up all day), and strain it through a hair sieve, letting it remain
all night. Next morning remove all fat from the surface with a spoon;
if, as sometimes happens in hot weather, small bits of fat stick to
the surface, take kitchen paper and quickly press it on the places;
the fat in this way is easily removed. After this take a clean cloth
dipped in boiling water, and wipe the top of the stock over, and
the sides of the basin. When all the fat is removed put it into a
saucepan (there is always a dark sediment at the bottom of the basin,
which must be cast away; care must therefore be taken when spooning
out the stock not to disturb this). Put the saucepan on the fire and
let it get nearly to a boil; it must never boil till the very last;
then put in the raw beef and veal, which must be prepared carefully,
as much depends on how this is done. In hot weather keep the clearing
meat till wanted in a cool place in salt and water, so as to keep
fresh overnight. Take 3 eggs and break them (putting away the yolks,
of which soup custard can be made afterwards), and mix the whites in
a basin with the shells, and if possible collect beforehand other
eggshells. Wash the shells in hot water, mash them, and put them
into the basin. Chop up finely 1 large onion, 2 carrots, and with a
tablespoonful of water mix all these together in the basin with the
hands till all are well mixed; when it comes to a froth move the soup
close to the fire, and when just on the boil watch it carefully, so
that it does not boil too rapidly; take a whisk, and gradually pour
in all that is in the basin with one hand, while whisking the soup
briskly with the other, as if not whisked all the time the whites
of egg set, and it does not clear. Remove it again, so as only to
simmer. Put in 2 drops of colouring; go on whisking till it just
comes to the boil after putting in the raw beef, &c.; remove it now
off the fire, and let it simmer gently for an hour. Take the soup now
off the fire altogether, and bring in a large basin. Take a clean
napkin (the finer the better; it is always better than a tammy, as
it is much finer), and be careful before using to wash it well in
hot water, thereby removing all starch and soap, as often a small
neglect in these details, after no end of previous trouble, is the
cause of the soup not being perfectly clear. Lay the napkin over the
top of the basin, and bring the saucepan to its side, and ladle out
with a cup the soup into the basin, keeping the napkin from sinking;
some one must hold it while the soup is being put in. Take care
not to ladle out too fast, as it then does not give full time to
strain gradually. When all is strained through, raise the napkin--in
which, of course, there is still a quantity of stock--tie the ends
on a hook, placing the basin below, and for several hours, till
all is removed, let it drop in.--Hints: Time for making, 24 hours.
First, say, begin at 11 A.M., and remove at 10 at night; strain all
night. Next day at 11 put on soup, preparing beforehand the raw beef
and veal, &c.; take it off at 1 o’clock. No salt or turnip while
making; turnips always turn the stock sour. Put salt in just before
serving, and so also macaroni and vegetables. They must be boiled
by themselves in a small saucepan; when done plunge them into cold
water to remove all scum, and have ready a basin of clear boiling
water in which to put them again; after which, the last thing, take
them out and lay them at the bottom of the tureen, pouring the soup
on the top and adding the salt. From the meat and bones of the first
day’s straining, excellent thin soup can be made called seconds,
and, though not half so strong, it is very good. With the yolks of
the eggs before mentioned, soup custard can be made as follows: Take
the yolks of 3 eggs, mix them with a little stock, pepper and salt,
and put the whole into a mould, cover it over with a piece of paper,
and let it steam for about five minutes; then take it out and let
it cool. Then cut it into small squares evenly, and, the last thing
after the soup is hotted, drop them in.

_Clear Soup with Custard (Royale)._--Mix the yolks of 6 eggs with
rather less than 1 gill cold water and a pinch of salt; strain the
mixture, and divide it into 3 equal parts; colour one with some
cochineal, the other with spinach greening, and leave the third
plain. Put them into 3 small plain moulds, previously buttered, and
set these in a pan of hot water, which place on the fire to boil
just long enough to set the mixture. When the water in the saucepan
has become quite cold, turn out the contents of each mould on to
a wet napkin, and you will have 3 small cakes of firm custard,
respectively green, red, and yellow. Cut them into small dice, and,
handling them in the gentlest possible manner, spread them out on a
plate to be kept till wanted. At the time of serving put a clear and
well-flavoured consommé into the soup tureen; slip in carefully the
custard dice, and serve at once.

_Clear Soup with Poached Eggs (aux œufs pochés)._--Cut up in small
pieces 1 lb. lean veal, put it into a saucepan with a couple of
onions, 2 or 3 carrots, a head of celery, all cut in small pieces,
and a large piece of butter. Shake the saucepan on the fire until
the contents have taken a colour, moisten with ½ pint common stock
(hot) and keep on stirring over the fire for some time longer, adding
during the process ½ lb. of ham cut up small. Then take the saucepan
off the fire, and when the contents are cold pile up on them a small
knuckle of veal chopped up, bones and all, into small pieces; fill up
the saucepan with common stock (cold), and add parsley, sweet herbs,
spices, pepper and salt, in due proportions. Set the saucepan to
simmer gently by the side of the fire for about 3 hours, then strain
the liquor. When cold free it absolutely from fat, and to every quart
of liquor add the white of an egg whisked to froth, keep on beating
the liquor on the fire at intervals, and as soon as it boils strain
it through a fine tammy or a napkin. Put into a shallow sauté pan
some water salted to taste, a little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and
a few leaves of parsley. As soon as the water approaches boiling
point (it should never be allowed to boil), poach some eggs (one
for each person and one over) in it, just long enough to set the
yolk slightly. Take out each egg with a slice, brush it clean with
a paste brush, and cut it with a round fluted paste cutter, about
2 in. in diameter, so as to get all the eggs a uniform shape, and
leave neither too much nor too little white round them. Turn the egg
over carefully, brush it clean, and lay it in the soup tureen ready
filled with boiling-hot clear soup. Add a few leaves of tarragon and
chervil, and serve.

_Clear Soup with Quenelles._--Put into a saucepan 1 gill water, a
pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when the water boils stir
in as much flour as will form a paste, put the mixture away to get
cold. Take ½ lb. lean veal, cut it into small pieces, and pound it in
a mortar; add 3 oz. butter and 2 oz. the paste, and thoroughly mix
the whole in the mortar, adding during the process the yolks of 2 and
the white of 1 egg, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; pass
the mixture through a sieve, work a little cream into it, and, by
means of 2 teaspoons, shape it in pieces the size of pigeons’ eggs;
lay these carefully in a saucepan, pour in at the side sufficient
boiling stock to cover them, and let them cook gently for a few
minutes. Have the tureen ready filled with well-flavoured clear
stock, boiling hot; slip the quenelles into it (with or without the
stock they are boiled in), and serve.

_Cock-a-Leekie Soup._--Wash well 2 or 3 bunches of leeks (if old
scald them in boiling water), take off the roots and part of the
heads, and cut them into lengths of about 1 in. Put half the quantity
into a pot with 5 qt. stock, and a fowl trussed for boiling, and
allow them to simmer gently. In ½ hour add the remaining leeks, and
let all simmer for 3 or 4 hours longer. It must be carefully skimmed
and seasoned to taste. To serve the fowl carve neatly, placing
the pieces in the tureen, and pouring over them the soup. This is
sufficient for 10 persons.

_Cockle Soup (de clovisses)._--Cockles require a good deal of care
in cleansing. They must be well scrubbed in 2 or 3 waters until the
shells are quite clean, and must then soak for some hours in salt
and water. After this put a little hot water at the bottom of a
large saucepan, place the cockles in it, and cover them over with a
clean cloth; set it on a moderate fire, or rather, hold the saucepan
over the fire, for it must be kept moving constantly or the cockles
will burn. Keep looking at them, and as each shell opens remove it
from the pan. When all are open, remove the fish from the shells,
straining the liquor from them. Having trimmed the cockles, put the
delicate parts into the soup tureen. Put the trimmings into the
liquor. Put into another stewpan a ¼ lb. butter, let it melt over
the fire, add 6 oz. flour, stirring it in, still holding it over
the fire, but taking care to keep the mixture quite white; let this
stand until cool, then add the liquor and trimmings of the cockles,
1 qt. milk, and 2 qt. white stock. Stir this over the fire until it
boils, then add a tablespoonful of Harvey sauce, a dessertspoonful of
essence of anchovy, a blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, and a teaspoonful
of salt. Let this boil quickly for 10 minutes, skim well, and just
before serving add 1 gill cream; strain through a hair sieve over the
cockles, and serve. About 4 dozen cockles will be required or 6 if
very small.

_Coconut Soup._--This is a favourite soup in India, and might be more
frequently tasted in England than it is, especially by vegetarians.
It is made thus: Scrape or grate fine the inside of 2 well-ripened
coconuts, put the scrapings into a saucepan with 2 qt. milk, add
a blade of mace; let it simmer very gently for about ½ hour, then
strain it through a fine sieve; have ready beaten the yolks of 4 eggs
with a little milk and sufficient ground rice to thicken the soup;
mix into a very smooth batter, which add by degrees to the soup;
allow to simmer, and stir carefully until ready; season with salt and
white pepper. Do not allow to boil, or it will curdle and be spoilt.
If eggs are scarce, cream (½ pint) can be used instead. This soup is
made in India with white stock instead of milk, but is equally good
as a white soup if made as above. Boiled rice, the grains dry and
quite distinct, should be served with it. (Eliot-James.)

_Crayfish Soup (d’écrevisses)._--20-50 crayfish, according to the
quantity of soup required, should be thrown into boiling water and
left to boil ¼ hour. Pick out the tails and rest of the fish, cover
the meat, and set it aside. Pound the shells and small claws, adding,
by degrees, 3 or 4 oz. butter. Put this mass into a small stewpan,
and stir over the fire until the butter is red. Add then 1 pint clear
white soup and let it stew slowly ½ hour; then strain it off and add
to it sufficient well-seasoned white soup, which, however, must have
no strong or prominent flavour. Put in the tails and the pickings of
the fish, make the soup quite hot; beat up the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs
in the tureen, pour in the scalding soup, and serve with toasted roll.

_Conger-eel Soup._--Boil 2 lb. conger-eel in 3 pints water, with a
little salt, for 1 hour over a slow fire. Then strain it, and put
again upon a slow fire with ½ pint young peas. When they have boiled
a short time add some parsley, thyme, borage, leek, and chives
chopped fine, and marigold flowers (the petals of the flower). Let it
boil again for 5 minutes; then mix together 2 spoonfuls flour, and
1 tablespoonful butter, with a little of the broth. When well mixed
add 1 pint new milk, doing it with care so as not to curdle it. Let
boil 5 minutes, and serve it up with a slice or two of bread cut very
thin, in the tureen. When peas are not in season, cabbage shred very
fine, or vegetable marrow chopped small, or asparagus heads, are each
good as a substitute. It can be greatly enriched by increasing the
quantity of butter and milk.

_Crust Soup (Croûte au pot)._--Cut off the bottom crust of a quartern
loaf, leaving the same thickness of crumb as there is crust. Cut
it out in rounds the size of a sixpence. Soak the rounds in broth;
put them (in a tin with some butter) into the oven, and let them be
until they are quite dried up (_gratinés_). Then lay them in the soup
tureen with rounds of carrots, turnips, leeks, or cabbages boiled in
stock, and cut the same size, pour some well-flavoured clear stock
over, and after the lapse of 3 or 4 minutes serve. (The G. C.)

_Custard Soup._--See Clear soup with custard.

_Flemish Soup._--Boil equal parts of potatoes and turnips in water,
with one onion and a head of celery, adding pepper and salt to taste.
When the vegetables are quite done, pass the whole through a hair
sieve. Put the soup in a saucepan on the fire, and as soon as it
boils, add a pat of fresh butter, and plenty of chervil, a pinch of
parsley, and a few tarragon leaves, all finely minced; then pour it
over slices of toast, and serve.

_French Soup._--Take one sheep’s head, remove the brains, and steep
it. Put it into a saucepan with 3 qt. water, one teacupful pearl
barley, 6 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a
few cloves. Let it simmer gently for about 5 hours, then remove the
head; strain and rub the vegetables through a sieve, or leave them
whole, according to taste. Let it stand all night, and when cold take
off every particle of fat; cut up the meat from the head into small
pieces, and warm it up in the soup. Season to taste, add a wineglass
of white wine, a little mushroom ketchup, and thicken with butter and
flour. Very little inferior to mock turtle soup.

_Fried Soup._--3 potatoes, 3 turnips, 3 parsnips, 3 onions, 3 heads
of celery, thinly sliced and fried; stew for some hours in weak
stock. When quite tender, keep some pieces of each vegetable to put
in the soup; pass all the rest through the sieve, and add a good
cupful of pea soup, or soaked and boiled peas, to thicken the purée.
Season to taste; warm it up; add the fried pieces to it at the last.

_Game Soup (de Gibier)._--Take the remnants of any kind of game not
high, put them in a saucepan with an onion or carrot, 2 or 3 cloves,
a small piece of mace, a bay leaf, some parsley, whole pepper and
salt to taste. Cover the whole with veal or poultry stock, and set
the saucepan to boil gently for 2 hours. Strain off the soup and set
it to boil again, then throw in 1 oz. raw beef or liver coarsely
chopped, let it give one boil, and strain the soup through a napkin.
If not quite clear, the clarifying process must be repeated. A very
small quantity of sherry may be put in before clarifying.

_Giblet Soup (gibelette)._--This is generally a favourite soup, is
very nutritious, and if flavoured simply, need not be unwholesome.
Prepare the giblets as usual. Brown a slice of lean ham in a pan,
adding a little water occasionally to collect the brown gravy from
it; put this with the ham, giblets, and a teaspoonful of pearl
barley, into a stewpan with enough cold water to cover them well;
simmer gently until the gizzards are perfectly tender. Take them out,
and stew the remainder of the giblets, with a clove or two, celery
leaves, and any flavourings considered suitable, until the meat is
quite done to rags. If necessary, add a little hot water now and then
to keep the giblets covered. Strain off the stock, and allow it to
become cold, when every particle of fat must be removed. To ensure
this, not only skim, but wipe the surface with a soft cloth dipped
into hot water. Mix with this an equal quantity of stock; flavour
with a little wine and mushroom ketchup, or the latter only; cut up
the gizzards into convenient pieces, and simmer them in the soup for
a few minutes. Serve with this a slice of French roll or whole-meal
bread as preferred. If salt meat be objected to, brown the soup with
a little Liebig instead of the ham. To avoid richness, the gizzards
are the only part of the giblets that should be served in the soup,
and these are said to be particularly nourishing.

_Gniocchi Soup._--Put 1 oz. butter into a saucepan with 1 pint water
and a pinch of salt; when the water boils, stir with a spoon (and
throw in gradually with the other hand) as much flour as will make a
stiff paste that will not stick to the spoon; then add 2 oz. grated
Parmesan cheese, mix well, and, removing the saucepan from the fire,
work into it 2 or 3 eggs. Next put the paste into a biscuit forcer,
and as it is forced out cut it off in even lengths of 1 in., letting
them drop into some well-flavoured stock boiling on the fire. A
few minutes’ poaching will cook the gniocchi, but expedition is
necessary, so that the first that is cut off may not be overdone by
the time the last is cut off. The knife used should be dipped now and
then in hot water, else the paste will stick to it.

_Gravy Soup (Consommé)._--Place a layer of slices of onions in a
saucepan holding a gallon, over this a layer of fat bacon, and
over all about 2 lb. shin of beef chopped up in small pieces; 1
pint common stock, or even water, being poured on the whole, set
the saucepan on the fire for 1 hour, or until the liquor is almost
evaporated--what is called reduced to a “glaze”; then add sufficient
cold common stock or cold water to cover the contents of the
saucepan, and 2 or 3 carrots cut in slices, 1 leek, a head of celery
(when in season), or some celery seed, a handful of parsley, have a
clove of garlic, a sprig of marjoram and one of thyme, a bay leaf, 4
or 5 cloves, white pepper and salt to taste. After boiling about 3
hours strain off the liquor, and, being absolutely freed from fat, it
is ready for use.

_Green Corn Soup._--Boil unripe green corn in broth or water till
quite soft; pass it through a sieve, in the manner of peas. Add it to
some good broth, in which celery or parsley-roots have been boiled,
or any flavouring herbs. Give a quick boil, and serve with sippets of
toast. The broth or soup should be clear and colourless, not to alter
the green tint of the corn. A few spinach leaves may be boiled with
it, to give a deeper green.

_Green-pea Soup (de pois verts)._--(_a_) Take 1½ pint green peas,
boil them in salt and water with a little mint; when thoroughly
cooked pound them and pass them through a hair sieve. Put a piece of
butter into a stewpan; when melted put in an onion and a carrot cut
in thin slices, fry until they begin to colour; add 1 qt. stock, a
little salt, pepper, and a pinch of white sugar. Leave it to boil for
¼ hour, stir in the purée of peas, let it come to the boil, strain,
and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.

(_b_) When shelling the peas, divide the youngest from the oldest
ones; 1 pint of young peas, and 3 pints of the oldest ones will be
required. In 2 qt. water boil, until the whole will mash through a
sieve, 3 pints old peas, a lettuce, a faggot of thyme and knotted
marjoram, 2 blades of mace, 8 cloves, and 4 cayenne pods. After being
mashed and rubbed through a sieve, put it in a china-lined saucepan,
add the heart of a large lettuce shred, and ¼ lb. butter rolled in
about 3 tablespoonfuls of flour; set the saucepan on the stove and
stir till it boils, then add the young peas; when these are nearly
boiled enough, add a very little green mint, finely chopped, a
tablespoonful of juice of spinach, and salt to taste.

_Grouse Soup._--Chop up the remains of 2 roast grouse; put them into
a saucepan with an onion and a carrot cut in pieces, a faggot of
sweet herbs, and pepper and salt to taste. Fill up the saucepan with
sufficient common stock to cover the contents; let the whole boil
till the meat comes off easily from the bones; strain off the liquor;
pick all the meat from the bones; pound it in a mortar, pass through
a wire sieve, and add the liquor. Amalgamate in a saucepan a piece of
butter with a tablespoonful of flour, add the soup to it, let it come
to boiling point, then stir in (off the fire) the yolks of a couple
of eggs with or without lemon juice, according to taste. Serve on
very small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Hare Soup (de levraut)._--Take a hare, skin, draw, and reserve the
blood: cut it up and put it into a saucepan with an onion, 2 cloves,
a faggot of herbs (parsley, thyme and basil), pepper, salt, and mace,
2 qt. stock and half bottle of red wine; simmer gently till the meat
be quite tender; strain it from the soup, soak the crumb of some
bread in the soup, and, removing the meat from the bones, chop it up
with the soaked bread, and pound it quite smooth in a mortar; add the
soup gradually to it, pass through a tammy, hot it up, but do not let
it boil. Just before serving add the blood, very gradually stirring
it in off the fire, pour the soup into the soup tureen over small
dice of fried bread.

_Haricot Bean Soup (Condé)._--Soak 1 pint Haricots de Soissons in
cold water for 12 hours, throw away that water, and put them into a
saucepan with 3 pints cold water, a head of celery, a small onion
stuck with 3 cloves, a bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, some whole
pepper, and salt to taste. Let them boil till the beans are quite
tender, then strain off the water, and pass them through a sieve. Put
the purée in a saucepan, and work into it, on the fire, 1 oz. or more
of butter, moistening if necessary with a little of the liquor in
which the beans were boiled.

_Herb Soup._--A handful each of chervil, sorrel, spinach, and a few
sprigs of parsley must be washed, drained, and chopped small. Put
them in a stewpan with a piece of butter to steam until soft. Stir in
with them 2 tablespoonfuls of flour. Pour in sufficient clear soup,
and simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and a grate of nutmeg. Eggs may be
added.

_Herring Soup._--Wash well 1½ pint good split peas, and float off
such as remain upon the surface of the water. Leave them to soak for
one night, and the next morning boil them in 5 pints cold soft water;
add a couple of onions, with a clove stuck in each end of them; 2
carrots grated, 3 anchovies, one red herring, a bunch of savoury
herbs, one teaspoonful of black pepper, and one teaspoonful of salt,
if required. Let all these ingredients simmer gently together until
the vegetables are quite tender, when pass the whole through a fine
sieve into a clean saucepan. Slice in the white part of a head of
celery, add 2 oz. butter, a little more seasoning if required, and a
dessertspoonful of mushroom ketchup, if liked. Boil again gently for
20 minutes, and serve with a plate of fried bread, and another of
shred mint. If convenient, the liquor that pork, ham, or bacon have
been boiled in gives a nice flavouring, instead of the herring or
anchovies; but, if this liquor be too salt, as is generally the case,
it must be diluted with water, and the teaspoonful of salt omitted.

_Hotchpotch (de mouton à l’écossaise)._--Hotchpotch is a strong kail
soup, the chief difference between it and common Scotch broth being
its extra richness resulting from the meat being almost boiled away
in it, what remains coming to table in the tureen, and in its being
quite thick with the quantities of fresh green peas, onions and leeks
(both the latter shredded), grated carrots, beans from which white
skin has been removed, and a carefully limited quantity of turnips
and other vegetables of the more watery kinds. Scotch barley is, of
course, also an important ingredient.

_Hunter’s Soup._--Slice thin a large carrot, or 2 or 3 small ones,
a large onion, a head of celery, and some rather lean ham or bacon.
Fry these, with some parsley, in butter. When done yellow, dredge in
plenty of flour, and let it colour, but not a dark brown. Then add
some good beef broth, give it an active stir, and turn it into the
soup cauldron; add the requisite quantity of broth, and a pint of
red wine. Leave it to simmer slowly. In the meantime roast 3 or 4
partridges, basted with butter. Cut off the breasts in neat slices,
and the other meat from the bones. Bruise the bones in a mortar, and
throw them into the soup. Boil it well, strain, season with salt
and cayenne pepper, and make it hot again; but do not let it boil a
second time. Add the meat, to be served in the soup.

_Imperial Soup._--Beat 5 eggs well. Add 1 pint rich clear soup, some
salt, and a grate of nutmeg. Pour it into a well-buttered pudding
mould or basin; set this in boiling water, and let it boil 1 hour.
Be sure that water does not flow into the mould. When done, cut the
mass into thin slices or little pieces, and serve in clear soup; 2 or
3 fresh yolks may be beaten in the tureen if approved.

_Italian Soup._--(_a_) Take the flesh left from the cowheel or
calves’ feet that jelly has been made from; cut it into dice. Boil
2 tablespoonfuls of sago, well washed, until it is clear, either in
water or inferior stock, and warm just to boiling point some soup
stock. Just before dinner, put the pieces of meat into some boiling
stock until warmed through, then put them at the bottom of the
tureen, also the sago and a large tablespoonful of grated Parmesan
cheese, and pour the boiling stock upon these and send to table.

(_b_) Minestrone.--Take equal quantities marrowfat peas and carrots
cut to the size of peas; boil separately in salted water till done;
take as much rice boiled in salted water as there are peas and
carrots; put all into a saucepan with sufficient common stock free
from fat; add enough French tomato sauce to give the stock a rich
colour. Let the whole come to the boil, and serve. Grated Parmesan
cheese to be handed round with the soup.

_Julienne Soup._--Take about equal quantities carrots, turnips,
leeks, onions, and celery; cut them all in thin strips, not much
more than ⅛ in. square and about 1½ in. long; put them in a saucepan
with a lump of fresh butter, a good pinch of pounded loaf sugar, add
pepper and salt to taste; toss them lightly on the fire until they
begin to colour, then add one lettuce finely shredded, and a small
handful of chervil and sorrel, also finely shred; and, after giving
the whole a tossing on the fire for about 5 minutes, moisten with
some clear stock, and keep the soup hot by the side of the fire for 2
hours. When wanted, add as much more stock as is necessary, and serve.

_Kidney Soup._--Take 3 pints well-flavoured white stock, slice finely
one or two gherkins, have ready 6 small button mushrooms previously
cooked in a little lemon juice. Slice a small onion, and put it into
a saucepan with a little butter, let it just take colour, add to it a
veal kidney cut in small dice, season with pepper and salt, and toss
together for a few minutes, but do not overcook the kidney; drain
them from the butter, and put them into the soup tureen with the
gherkins and the mushroom. Make the soup hot, and add to it, off the
fire, the yolks of 2 eggs and a little milk or cream; pour it over
the kidney, &c., add a dash of cayenne, and serve very hot.

_Leek Soup._--Take the green leafy part of the leeks, rejecting any
leaves which may be otherwise than quite fresh and tender; soak them
in cold water so as to be quite crisp; cut them into lengths of about
1-1½ in., and boil them in as much good stock as may be required for
the size of the party. Let them boil until perfectly soft and tender,
season with a little salt and a slight shake of pepper stirred in,
and serve. This soup should be quite thick from the quantity of leeks
in it, and not just gravy soup with a few pieces of leek floating
about it.

_Lentil Soup (Conti)._--Well wash about 1 pint lentils, and soak
them for several hours; add to them 3 qt. water, some bones, which
can be purchased for 3_d._, or 2 lb. of shin of beef cut up, 3 or
4 good-sized onions, and the same of carrots and turnips, with
the outside leaves of a stick of celery if at hand; add a little
seasoning, but be careful not to put too much pepper, and let
the soup simmer gently on the side of the hob all day. When the
vegetables are quite soft they can be rubbed through a colander,
or many people prefer to leave them whole. The latter plan would
perhaps answer best for poor people, especially if there is meat in
the soup. You can make lentil soup with only the liquor in which meat
has been boiled, but if the meat is salted, the lentils, &c., must
be cooked first, or they will harden, and the liquor added when they
are nearly done, care being taken not to make it too salt. A cowheel
makes excellent stock for soup, and can be eaten separately, or cut
up and left in the soup. They can be bought for 8_d._ each, and are
most nutritious if poor people could only be taught the value of such
food. If eaten separately the cowheel should be allowed to simmer
gently for about 3 hours. The meat will then separate readily from
the bone, and can be fried in batter. The bones should be left to
boil up again in the soup, and thus two dinners may be provided at
a small cost; but as it is always very difficult to persuade poor
people to expend so much time on cookery, it would possibly be better
to cut up the meat and let it be eaten with the soup.

_Lettuce Soup (aux Laitues)._--Boil some lettuces in salted water,
when quite done drain them well, and pass through a hair sieve. Mix
a small piece of butter with a tablespoonful of flour in a saucepan,
add a little stock, then the purée of lettuce, let it boil for a
minute or so, season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste,
add as much stock as is necessary to make the soup, and serve with
small dice of bread fried in butter.

_Liebig’s Beef Tea._--This is rendered much more nourishing and
palatable by the addition of milk or cream. If with milk, make with
equal parts of milk and water; if cream, add a tablespoonful or two
to a breakfastcupful of beef tea. Season with salt. When milk cannot
be taken, thin pearl barley water is excellent with Liebig stirred in
it, and any approved flavouring. A little stock will also be found
very nice with a little Liebig and salt only. Either of these, while
containing nutriment, can be taken as simple beverages.

_Liver Soup._--Slice ½ lb. liver, dredge with flour, and fry brown
in butter, with an onion cut in slices. Then pound the liver quite
smooth, season with salt, black pepper, and a grate of nutmeg. Stir
in about 3 pints good brown soup, and boil 10 minutes with a French
roll sliced in, crust included. Strain, and again make hot, nearly
boiling. Pour it on 2 well-beaten eggs in the tureen. Offer lemon
juice and cayenne pepper at table.

_Lobster Soup (Bisque de Homard)._--Pick out all the meat from a
lobster, pound it in a mortar with an equal quantity of butter until
a fine orange-coloured pulp is obtained; to this add pepper, salt,
and grated nutmeg to taste; take as much breadcrumbs as there is
lobster pulp, soak them in stock, then melt a piece of butter in a
saucepan, amalgamate with it a heaped tablespoonful of flour, mix the
lobster pulp with the breadcrumbs, and put both in the saucepan on
the fire, stirring the contents until they thicken and boil, draw it
then on one side, and carefully skim off superfluous fat; then strain
the soup through a hair sieve, make boiling hot, and serve with small
dice of bread fried in butter.

_Macaroni Soup._--(_a_) Take 4 oz. macaroni, break into small pieces,
and simmer gently for ¼ hour in 1 pint water; then add a piece of
butter the size of a small nutmeg, pepper, salt, and 1½ pint stock.
A teaspoonful of chopped parsley or dried herbs can be added for
flavouring; simmer another ½ hour, and serve.

(_b_) Boil 2 oz. macaroni (broken up in convenient pieces) in a pint
of stock free from grease, to which add a good pinch of salt; when
cooked (10-15 minutes), drain them and put them into the soup tureen
containing 1 qt. well-flavoured clear stock boiling hot. Grated
Parmesan to be handed round with it.

_Milk Soup._--Peel 2 lb. potatoes and 2 leeks or onions (leeks are
the best). Boil them together in 2 qt. boiling water to become
tender. Pass all through a fine wire sieve and put it back as a purée
into the stewpan. Add to this 2 oz. butter, let it melt, and then
a pint milk; season to taste with a little pepper and salt; keep
stirring it over the fire, and, when boiling, sprinkle in gradually 3
dessertspoonfuls of crushed tapioca; keep it boiling for another 10
minutes to cook the tapioca, and serve.

_Mock Pea Soup._--Flavour some stock according to taste (a leaf or
two of mint should not be forgotten), and thicken to consistency of
thin cream, with some revalenta arabica; season with pepper and salt,
and serve with it dice of crisp toast and some finely powdered mint
on small dishes. A small piece of butter or a little thick cream may
be added to the soup, if approved. It will be found a fair imitation
of pea soup, is nutritious, easy of digestion, and may be acceptable
in not seeming like an invalid dish. If no stock be at hand, a
simpler edition of it may be made by making a cupful of revalenta,
either with water or equal parts of milk and water, in the usual way.
Stir to it Liebig to taste, and season with pepper and salt. Serve
with or without the accompaniments given above.

_Mock Turtle Soup (fausse tortue)._--(_a_) Boil half a calf’s head
with the skin on for ¾ hour. Remove eye, ear, and brains, cut the
meat into squares 1½ in., put it into a large stewpan, add to it 2
oz. butter, 1 pint old Madeira, 1 gill veal broth, a small bundle of
sweet herbs, a little sage, a small onion chopped very fine with one
teaspoonful of white pepper, a little salt, a little cayenne, also
a little allspice if liked. Stew gently till the meat is tender,
keeping well covered; then add 2 qt. good veal stock, make some
thickening with cold veal broth, flour, and herbs; boil, strain, and
add to the soup. Take out the meat, boil the soup about 10 minutes,
strain over the meat, add lemon juice and some forcemeat and egg
balls. This is the simplest to have it good, but it may be made far
richer.

(_b_) Take an ox foot, cleaned and split, 2 onions with their skins
on to darken the soup, a few cloves, one tablespoonful of vinegar,
peppercorns and salt to taste, a little celery seed, and carrots, and
a small piece of turnip. Take out when the bones slip away easily,
about 6 hours, strain through a sieve, then mix 2 tablespoonfuls of
arrowroot, add a glass of sherry, let it boil, carefully stirring,
add some forcemeat balls, and send to table. _Forcemeat Balls._--One
teaspoonful of sage, pepper and salt, one egg slightly beaten, ¼ lb.
lean bacon or pork, a few breadcrumbs; mix altogether, the bacon to
be finely minced, shape all into balls the size of marbles, and fry
in boiling lard until a light brown; sufficient for 12 persons.

_Mulligatawny Soup (au kari)._--(_a_) Wash nicely a knuckle of veal
in lukewarm water, and put it in to stew gently in 7 pints water,
skim it carefully as it comes to the boil, and let it simmer for 1½
hour closely covered; take out the meat, strain the liquor into a
stewpan, and have ready 2 lb. best end of a breast of veal cut up
into pieces 1 in. square, without gristle or bone; slice 3 large
onions into the stewpan, and fry them both together with about a ¼
lb. butter till they are a delicate brown colour; now add the veal
liquor, and let it simmer 1 hour altogether, taking care to again
skim it carefully on its coming to the boil. Take a little of the
liquor and mix into it a good tablespoonful of curry powder, and
a tablespoonful of flour; keep stirring until both are well mixed
and quite smooth, adding to it a dust of cayenne, ½ teaspoonful of
salt, a pinch of ground ginger and a little mace; stir this mixture
gradually into the soup, keep it simmering (not boiling) ¼ hour
longer, strain off the onions, serve very hot, with the pieces of
meat in the soup; it should be perfectly smooth and the consistency
of good cream; serve with rice as for curry. The squeeze of a lemon
put into the tureen, and the soup poured on it, adds greatly to the
flavour.

(_b_) Melt 2 oz. butter in a saucepan; cut 2 large onions into fine
rings, and then stew them for 5 minutes in the butter, then add 2
qt. water, salt to taste, 2 slices of bacon cut into dice. Mix to a
smooth paste 2 tablespoonfuls of curry powder and one of flour. Stir
this into the soup, taking care that it is not lumpy, to prevent this
stir till it boils. Joint the rabbit neatly, then cut again into
medium-sized pieces; soak these thoroughly in salted water to get out
the blood. Put them into the soup and stew gently for ¾ hour. Serve
with boiled rice and mashed potatoes. If stock is used for this soup
the butter is unnecessary. (B. Tremaine.)

_Mussel Soup (de moules)._--This is made by mixing a good fish or
white veal stock with the half of the mussel liquor, and pouring this
over a _roux_ (made by rolling equal quantities of butter and flour
together and putting it on the fire for 3 minutes). Stir this well
together till it boils, and then let it simmer for ½ hour. Now put
the mussels into a tureen, pour the soup over them, and stir in a
_liaison_ of yolk of egg and lemon juice.

_Mutton Broth._--Fry 5 or 6 onions to a good brown colour in beef
dripping, set them in a sieve to let the fat drain off them; cut 6
turnips and 3 or 4 carrots into pieces, add a bundle of sweet herbs,
and a teaspoonful of salt. When these are all ready, take a large
scrag, or two small ones, of neck of mutton, cut off the best pieces
to fry, and make stock of the bones. Take the vegetables (fried),
put them at the bottom of your pan, then add a layer of mutton, then
vegetables, then mutton, till all is in; then put your stewpan shut
close over a moderate fire, and let it stew ¾ hour, shaking it often
to keep it from burning; then pour in 2 qt. stock, and let it stew as
slowly as possible--scarcely to seem to stew. Put the best pieces of
the meat and vegetables into the tureen, and then pour all the rest
upon them through the sieve, so as to have a purée with the pieces
floating in it.

_Nouilles Soup._--Make a paste with the yolks of 4 eggs, the white
of 1, a pinch of salt, the least drop of water, and as much of the
finest flour as will give a very stiff paste. When worked quite
smooth, roll it out as thinly as possible without breaking it; then
cut out each sheet of paste into strips or lozenges, and spread them
out to dry on a cloth. In 2-3 hours’ time throw the nouilles into
some fast-boiling, well-flavoured clear stock, and serve as soon as
sufficiently done, grated Parmesan cheese being handed round with the
soup.

_Okra Soup._--Soak ½ pint dried okra in 3 pints cold water all night.
Make some stock with a fresh shin of beef, and after adding the okra
with the water in which it was soaked, let it boil at least 7 hours.
After 4 or 5 hours add some tomatoes or tomato sauce. Season to taste.

_Onion Soup (Cussy, à l’oignon)._--(_a_) Boil some Spanish onions in
water until nearly tender, strain off the water, and finish cooking
them in milk, or in milk and water. When quite tender pass them
through a sieve, and add sufficient well-flavoured stock to make the
soup of the right consistency. Make the soup quite hot, add pepper
and salt to taste, and just at the last stir in a small piece of
fresh butter, and serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.
This is very suitable for catch-cold weather.

(_b_) Slice 2 Spanish onions, roll them in flour, and let them take a
turn or two in a saucepan, with plenty of butter. Before they begin
to take colour, add as much water as you want soup, with pepper and
salt to taste; let the whole boil till the onions are thoroughly
done, then pour the soup into a tureen, over some small slices of
stale bread; add a good sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese, and
serve.

_Ox-tail Soup (hochepot)._--Take 2 ox tails, divide them at the
joints, and put them into a saucepan with 3 qt. cold water, and salt
to taste. Let it come gently to the boil, removing carefully the
while any scum that rises. Add gradually the following vegetables,
cut into convenient pieces: 3 or 4 carrots (according to size), 1
small turnip, 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, about 20 peppercorns,
half a head of celery, a bay leaf, and some parsley. Put in a few
drops of sue colorant, and let the soup boil very gently 4-5 hours.
Strain the liquor, and remove all fat. Serve with the pieces of
ox-tail, omitting the largest ones.

_Oyster Soup (aux huîtres)._--Put 24 oysters into a stewpan in their
own liquor just to get hot through, but not to boil; take off the
beards, and put the oysters into the soup tureen, letting the beards
remain with the liquor in a small basin till wanted. The stock for
the soup should be prepared the preceding day, by placing a cowheel
on the fire in a stewpan of water; when it boils, take it out, cut
off the best part of the meat, and throw it into a basin of cold
water to remain all night. Put the remainder of the heel back into
the stewpan, both meat and bones, with a sliced carrot, some outer
leaves of celery, a sprig of thyme, a blade of mace, and some parsley
root; let these boil up and then simmer by the fire for 2-3 hours,
or until the meat is completely separated from the bones. Then pour
it off through a sieve to remain also all night. Next day prepare
the oysters as described, remove the fat from the stock, and, having
made a thickening of flour and butter, gradually stir the stock into
it; add 2 glasses light white wine, cut the meat from the cowheel
which has remained in cold water, into small pieces about the size
of a bearded oyster, put them into the soup, and let all stew very
gradually for 2 hours. Then stir in the strained liquor from the
oysters, let it boil up once, add a little lemon juice and a very
little cayenne pepper; pour it into the tureen over the oysters, and
serve.

_Palestine Soup (aux topinambours)._--Boil till tender 40 Jerusalem
artichokes in milk and a little salt; boil in milk till quite tender
½ lb. fine picked rice, pound them both together, wet with a good
strong chicken or veal broth; rub through the strainer, and add more
stock if not thin enough; strain the yolks of 5 eggs and ½ pint cream
into the soup tureen; pour the soup in boiling hot, season with salt
and pepper, and serve with fried sippets.

_Parmesan Cheese Soup._--Grate 2 oz. cheese; toast thin slices of
rolls; dip them in cream, cover them with the cheese on both sides;
lay them in a tureen, and pour good soup over them; or, instead of
the toasted roll, use thin slices of brown bread soaked in milk or
cream, and covered with the grated cheese.

_Pea Soup (de pois)._--(_a_) 1 gal. any weak stock, obtained from
bones or boiled meat, salt or fresh; 1½ pint split peas (previously
soaked), 3 onions, 2 carrots, 3 turnips, a little salt. Simmer all
well together for 2 hours, then pass once through the hair sieve, and
it is ready. This makes enough for 8 people. Double the quantity in
the same proportion for 16; costs 6_d._ per gal. This is almost the
cheapest soup that can be made, as any stock does for it (even the
water in which vegetables have been boiled) as a foundation.

(_b_) Take 1½ pint green peas, boil them in salt and water with a
little mint; when thoroughly cooked, pound them and pass them through
a hair sieve; put a piece of butter into a stewpan, when melted put
in an onion and a carrot, cut in thin slices, fry until they begin to
colour; add 1 qt. stock, a little salt, pepper, and a pinch of white
sugar; leave it to boil for ¼ hour; stir in the purée of peas, let
it come to the boil, strain, and serve with small croûtons of bread.
(Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_c_) Boil the day before it is wanted 1½ pint split peas in 3
qt. stock, from which every atom of fat has been removed; put in
¼ teaspoonful baking soda, and boil till the peas are thoroughly
dissolved; strain the soup. Next day take 2 large tablespoonfuls
corn-flour, ½ teaspoonful curry powder, well mixed in ½ pint cream,
and 2 lumps sugar; boil 5 minutes, and serve with toasted bread cut
into dice, handed round. Or rub as much butter into 2 tablespoonfuls
of flour as you can, form into balls, and with 2 lumps of sugar and
1 pint milk, add to the soup; boil ¼ hour; have some chopped mint in
the tureen; pour boiling soup over, and serve, either with or without
toasted bread. The soup may be varied also by adding different
spices, such as Jamaica pepper or cloves; and a little made mustard
is a great improvement stirred into your plate of peasoup. Salt
stock, such as that in which salt meat, or tongue, or a piece of ham,
has been boiled (if not too salt) is best for peasoup.

(_d_) Soak a quantity of peas in water for 24 hours. Throw the water
away, and put the peas in a saucepan with 2 onions stuck with cloves,
a bunch of thyme and parsley, 2 bay leaves, whole pepper, and salt to
taste. Fill up the saucepan with cold water, and set the contents to
boil until the peas are thoroughly done. Drain off the water, pass
the peas through a hair sieve, and work them in a saucepan on the
fire with a piece of butter, until the purée is quite hot, moistening
with a little stock if too stiff. A piece of bacon boiled with the
peas is an improvement.

_Pear Soup._--Peel and slice 6 pears, boil them soft in 3 pints
water, with a few cloves and a sliced roll. Strain through a coarse
sieve, and reboil with sugar, a glass or two of wine, and the juice
of a lemon. Serve with sponge cake.

_Plum Soup._--Brown some flour in butter; stir in water to thin it.
Put in plums with some cinnamon or cloves. Let them boil to a mash,
strain them, and add sugar, with equal parts wine and water--about
1 pint each to 1 qt. plums. Throw in a few whole plums, and simmer
again till these are softened, but not broken. Add slices of toast a
minute or two before serving.

_Polish Soup (barszcz)._--Fill a good-sized jar with slices of
beetroot cut in pieces, and cover them with cold water, to which
should be added a slice of bread. The jar should then be covered,
and left until the juice, which becomes a deep vermilion colour, is
fermented and has a sour taste. In warm weather 3 days will suffice
for this, in winter it takes 5-6. The ferment which rises to the top
must be removed, and the juice passed through a sieve. It is then
boiled with an equal proportion of strong beef stock, to which is
added small pieces of ham. The soup comes to table looking clear and
red, and for variety may be made pink by adding a pint of sour cream.
(H.) See also p. 506.

_Pomeranian Soup._--1 qt. white beans must be boiled soft in water;
mash half of them, thin with broth, and work through a sieve. Let
boil with the broth to a smooth soup, in which has been boiled a head
of celery cut small. Add the whole beans, a mild seasoning of sweet
herbs, some parsley, salt and pepper. Let all boil ¼ hour, and serve.

_Poor Man’s Soup._--See Potato Soup.

_Potato Soup (Parmentier, pauvre homme)._--(_a_) Put 1 oz. butter
into a saucepan with 3 large onions, shred fine, and fry them a
pale brown colour; add 1 teaspoonful flour, stir for a few minutes,
but do not allow the mixture to darken; then add 1 qt. common stock
previously flavoured with carrots, turnips, celery, leeks, and
parsley boiled in it; stir until soup boils, and season to taste with
pepper and salt. Peel 1 or 2 potatoes, cut them into small dice, and
put to boil with the soup. Cut some crust of bread in long pieces the
size, and half the length of, French beans, dry them in the oven, and
at the time of serving throw them into the soup; then stir into it
off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with a little milk, and
strained.

(_b_) Peel 8-10 large potatoes, 3 onions, 2 heads of celery, 1
turnip, 1 carrot, a slice of ham or lean bacon, cut all in small
squares; boil them with some broth; when done, rub all through the
sieve, and season with pepper and salt.

(_c_) Boil some potatoes in water with an onion, a head of celery,
and salt to taste; when done pass them through a hair sieve, and put
them into a saucepan with a lump of butter, adding sufficient stock
to bring them to the consistency of soup. Let it boil up, season with
pepper and salt, and at the time of serving throw in either minced
parsley or small sprigs of chervil. Small dice of bread, fried in
butter, to be served in or with the soup.

(_d_) Use milk instead of stock, and add, besides pepper and salt,
just a small grate of nutmeg.

_Pot au feu._--(_a_) Take 6 lb. round of beef, put it in a large
earthenware pot, with any stray bones, and 14 qt. cold water; add 3
handfuls of salt, some whole pepper, and a few cloves; let simmer,
without allowing to boil, until you can skim; after skimming add 4
turnips, 5 or 6 carrots, 2 parsnips, 1 stick celery, 2 large onions,
and a clove of garlic; take a bunch of leeks, and tie up with them a
leaf of bay laurel, and a root of parsley (if you have not the whole
plant, some leaves alone), and put this into the pot with the other
things. Let boil very slowly for 4 hours. Cook apart in a saucepan
2 fine cabbages; do not put any water with them, but when the _pot
au feu_ is nearly cooked, take off the top of the soup, put it over
the cabbages, and let them cook in it for ½-1 hour. When the soup is
ready, take some crusts of bread which have been well browned in the
oven, cut them in pieces, let them soak for a few minutes in boiling
water, then put them into the soup tureen, and, after skimming the
soup, pour it over them. Serve the meat on a dish, arranging the
cabbages, carrots, turnips, onions, and parsnips all round.

(_b_) Take a piece of fresh silverside of beef weighing 6 lb., and
about ½ lb. bones; tie up the meat neatly with string, and put
both into a 6-quart saucepan; fill it up with sufficient water to
come well over the meat and bones, and set it on the fire; remove
carefully with a skimmer the scum that will rise as the water gets
warm, but do not allow it to boil. Add at intervals during the
process about 1 pint cold water in small quantities; this will have
the effect of checking the ebullition, and will help the scum to
rise. When the scum is all removed, put in about 1 oz. salt, a small
handful of whole pepper and allspice, 1 onion, stuck with 12 cloves,
1 onion toasted almost black before the fire or on the hob, 1 leek,
and three carrots of average size cut in 2 inch lengths, 2 turnips
of average size each cut in four, and a _bouquet garni_--i.e. 2 bay
leaves, 2 or 3 sprigs each of thyme and marjoram, a clove of garlic,
and a small handful of parsley, all tied together into a small
faggot. The above vegetables should not be put in all at once, but
gradually, so as not to check the gentle simmering; now skim for the
last time, and place by the side of the fire to simmer gently for at
least 4 hours. According to the season, all or some of the following
vegetables may be added: A head of celery cut in 2 in. lengths, a
couple of tomatoes, a couple of parsnips, a handful of chervil. At
the time of serving, strain the broth and skim off all the fat, add
the least bit of sugar (not burnt sugar) and more salt if necessary;
make the broth boiling hot, and pour it into the soup tureen over
small slices of toasted bread, adding, according to taste, a portion
of the vegetables cut in thin slices. To serve the meat, having
removed the string, garnish it with some of the vegetables, or with
mashed potatoes, spinach, &c.

_Poultry Soup._--Remains of any kind of poultry will do for this. Cut
all the meat off the bones, free it from skin, and pound it smooth
in a mortar. Soak a slice or two of bread, without crust, in as
much milk as it will absorb; add it, with the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs,
to the pounded meat, and pass all through a sieve. While preparing
the above, let the broken-up bones boil in some good meat broth.
Strain this, and mix with it the pounded meat. Give it one boil up,
and serve with Hühner Klösse. In boiling up the bones, any kind of
seasoning may be added, such as herbs, vegetables, lemon peel, salt,
and pepper. See also Chicken Soup.

_Pumpkin Soup (de potiron)._--Peel the pumpkin and cut into pieces
(removing the seeds). Put it into boiling water with some salt, and
leave it to boil until reduced to a pulp thin enough to pass through
a strainer. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan with a wine glass of
cream. Add the pulp, when strained, with salt and pepper to taste,
and a pinch of flour. Let the whole simmer for ¼ hour, thicken with
the yolk of an egg, and serve.

_Quenelle Soup._--Put into a saucepan a gill of water, a pinch of
salt, and a small piece of butter; when the water boils stir in as
much flour as will form a paste, put the mixture away to get cold.
Take ½ lb. lean veal, cut it into small pieces, and pound in a
mortar; add 3 oz. butter and 2 oz. of the paste, and thoroughly mix
the whole in the mortar, adding during the process the yolks of 2 and
the white of 1 egg, salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg to taste; pass
the mixture through a sieve, work a little cream into it, and, by
means of 2 teaspoons, shape it in pieces the size of an olive; lay
these carefully in a saucepan, pour in at the side sufficient boiling
stock to cover them, and let them cook gently for a few minutes. Have
the tureen ready filled with well-flavoured clear stock, boiling
hot; slip the quenelles into it (with or without the stock they were
boiled in), and serve.

_Rice Soup (au riz)._--(_a_) Pick over carefully 6 oz. best Carolina
rice, wash in 3 waters, until no dirt remains, blanch in boiling
water, and then drain; put 1 qt. milk into a saucepan, and set it
over the fire; throw in the rice; let boil for 10 minutes and then
simmer; season with salt and white pepper, and add a small cupful of
cream just before serving. Send plain toast, not fried, to table with
it.

(_b_) Pick and wash a handful of rice, boil it in salted water till
the grains just burst; drain the water off, and leave the saucepan
at the side of the fire, covered with a damp cloth. At the time of
serving, put as much rice as is wanted into the saucepan in which the
soup (well flavoured and clarified stock) is being made hot, and as
soon as it boils send it up to table. Grated Parmesan cheese to be
handed round with it.

(_c_) The rice must be well washed, first in cold then in warm water;
2 oz. is enough for 5 half-pints of soup. Boil the rice 2 hours at
least, either with some of the soup or with water sufficient to boil
it to a jelly; then add it to the soup. In the latter case have the
yolks of 2 or 3 eggs in the tureen.

(_d_) Boil some rice as in (_b_); pass through a hair sieve; add as
much white stock as may be necessary; make quite hot, and stir in off
the fire 1 gill cream beaten up with the yolk of an egg and strained.
Serve with small dice of bread fried in butter.

(_e_) Use water and milk in equal parts instead of stock.

(_f_) Mix rice flour with either milk and water or white stock cold;
then make it hot, and when it has boiled finish the soup as in (_d_).

_Rice and Carrot Soup (Crécy au riz)._--Make 1 qt. vegetable stock
boiling hot, then strew lightly into it 4 heaped tablespoonfuls
Bousquin’s _Riz Crécy_; let gently simmer for ½ hour. Then stir in,
off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little milk or
cream; add half a pat of butter, and serve.

_Rice and Pea Soup (de riz aux pois)._--Having prepared the soup as
in (_b_) add to it at the time of serving a cupful of very young
green peas boiled in salted water and thoroughly drained.

_Rice and Sorrel Soup (de riz à l’oseille)._--Boil some rice in
water; when half done drain off all the water, and finish cooking the
rice in some clear stock; then add, according to taste, more or less
sorrel finely shredded, boiled in salted water till done and strained.

_Rice and Tomato Soup (de riz aux tomates)._--In 1 qt. vegetable
stock boil a handful or more of rice; as soon as this is cooked (not
over done), draw the saucepan to the side of the fire, and add an
8_d._ bottle of _conserve de tomates_. As soon as the soup is quite
hot (it must not boil) put in a small pat of fresh butter, and serve.

_Sago Soup (au sagou)._--(_a_) Wash 5 oz. sago in warm water, set
it in a saucepan with 2 qt. milk, and simmer until the sago is
thoroughly dissolved; season with pepper and salt, and add a small
capful of cream before serving. Good clear stock is generally used
for both sago and tapioca soup; but they are even nicer made with
milk.

(_b_) The stock must be ready seasoned and quite boiling. Strew in
the sago by degrees, about the same proportion as in rice soup. Boil
¼ hour, and serve in the tureen with yolks of eggs.

_Savoy Cabbage Soup._--Take half a savoy cabbage, shred it very
finely, and set it to boil in stock free from fat and well flavoured;
parboil a teacupful of rice, and when the cabbage has boiled for 10
minutes throw it in to finish cooking with the cabbage; when both
are thoroughly done, put in a handful of grated Parmesan cheese, and
serve.

_Savoyard Soup._--Peel and slice a small quantify of young turnips,
put them into boiling water slightly salted. In another saucepan put
the crusts of a quartern loaf previously soaked for 3-4 minutes, in
the liquor of the _pot au feu_, and cut into pieces 1 in. square;
grate over them some Gruyère cheese, and put the saucepan over a
moderate fire till the crusts become dry and crisp; brown the turnips
in some grease from the _pot au feu_, put them on the top of the
_croûtons_, then reversing the saucepan put them all into a soup
tureen, having the turnips at the bottom and the crusts at the top.
Pour over them some good stock, and serve.

_Scrap Soup._--Obtain from a butcher 6 lb. ends, trimmings, bits,
and bones, which he will sell at 7_d._ a lb. or less, if told that
it is for a soup kitchen. Place all in a very large saucepan, or,
better still, divide the quantity and put each half into a separate
saucepan, covering well with water. Throw in any vegetables, either
previously cooked or not, that can be had, a few herbs, cold
potatoes, crusts of bread, celery and lettuce stalks, and bacon
rinds. Simmer all down gently for 6 hours or longer, removing the
scum from time to time, and adding water when necessary. Strain
through the colander, and it is ready. This should make enough for 12
persons, allowing 1 pint to each, 1½ gal. water being used; 2 gal.
water, making it rather poorer, will extend the number to 16. Cost to
make 4_s._ = 4_d._ a head.

_Scotch Broth._--(_a_) Take ½ lb. Scotch barley, 5-6 lb. mutton (neck
or breast), put on the fire with 5 qt. water, and bring it slowly
to the boil. Add turnips, carrots, onions, or leeks, and celery cut
up small, with ½ pint dried green peas, ½ hour after the meat and
barley have boiled. The whole is then to be simmered 2½ hours longer.
The fat must be removed as it rises to the surface when boiling. If
preferred, the meat can be served as a separate course, with some
large vegetables round it.

(_b_) The liquor in which a sheep’s head has been boiled is most
useful for this soup. If wanted stronger, the remains of the head
can be boiled down in it again as for ordinary stock. Wash 1 oz.
pearl barley, and put it to 2 qt. stock; chop fine 2 small carrots,
2 turnips, 1 onion, 2 or 3 outside sticks of celery; add pepper and
salt to taste, and simmer till the vegetables are tender. Dried
vegetables in shreds answer very well for this, and can be bought at
about 1_s._ per lb., 1 lb. being sufficient for 8 qt. of stock.

_Semolina Soup (à la semoule)._--Have 1 qt. well-flavoured stock
boiling fast on the fire. Take in one hand some of the coarsest
semolina that can be procured, and slowly strew it in the stock,
which is to be continuously stirred with a spoon held with the other
hand. One handful will be sufficient for the above quantity of stock,
but more may be used according to the thickness the soup is desired
to be. Keep on stirring for a few minutes, when the soup will be seen
to thicken, and it is then ready. Parmesan cheese may be served with
it.

_Sheep’s Head Soup._--Let the head and pluck be well soaked in cold
water, and then put on in 4 qt. cold water; cut the pluck in pieces,
add ½ lb. pearl barley, 4 onions, 2 large carrots, 3 turnips, ¼ oz.
mixed cloves, mace, and peppercorns. Take off the head and heart
when done, then stew the pluck and other ingredients 2 hours longer;
thicken the soup with a little flour and butter; cut the head and
heart in pieces, and add forcemeat balls. ½ lb. lean beef is a great
improvement to this soup. A wineglassful of sherry, ketchup, and soy
to taste. Strain very carefully.

_Shrimp Soup (de crevettes)._--Take 1 pint shrimps, pound them in a
mortar with the juice of half a lemon and a piece of butter equal in
weight to them. When quite a smooth paste, pass it through a sieve,
and add pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Take as much breadcrumbs as
there is shrimp paste, soak them in stock. Melt a piece of butter
in a saucepan, amalgamate with it a heaped tablespoonful of flour,
mix the shrimp paste with the soaked breadcrumbs, and put both into
the saucepan. Stir well, adding more stock, until the soup is of the
desired consistency. Put the saucepan on the fire, stir the contents
till they boil, then draw it aside and carefully skim off all fat,
strain through a hair sieve, make the soup hot again. Stir in off the
fire the yolk of an egg, beaten up with a little milk or cream, and
serve.

_Sorrel Soup (a l’oseille)._--A good quantity of sorrel leaves
must be picked from the stems and washed, then put into a stewpan
with a piece of butter to steam. No water is requisite. Dredge in,
continually stirring, a tablespoonful or two of flour, unless the
soup is to be clear. Add enough soup, already seasoned and flavoured.
Serve with sippets or dice of toasted bread.

_Spinach Soup (aux épinards)._--Pick and wash quite clean a quantity
of spinach. Put it in a saucepan with sufficient salt, and when quite
done squeeze all the moisture out, and pass it through a hair sieve.
Dilute the pulp thus obtained with as much well-flavoured stock as
will make it of the right consistency; make boiling hot, add a dash
of pepper, and at the time of serving put a pat of fresh butter in
the soup tureen.

_Spring Soup (jardinière, printanier)._--Cut some new carrots and
new turnips in the shape of peas; put them in separate saucepans
with enough stock to cover them, and a pinch of sugar; keep on
the fire till the stock has all boiled away, but mind they do not
catch or burn. Cook some peas and some asparagus points in the same
way. Have equal quantities of each of these vegetables. Cut out of
lettuces and sorrel leaves pieces the size of a sixpence; let them
have one boil in some stock. Put all the vegetables so prepared in
the soup tureen, add a few sprigs of chervil, pour over them some
well-flavoured consommé, and serve.

_Strawberry Soup._--Boil ripe strawberries, with some rusks or slices
of roll, in sufficient water until dissolved. Stir through a sieve;
add wine and sugar to taste; make a thickening of arrowroot or potato
flour, and boil the mass up again. When about to be served, add a
saucerful of ripe strawberries which have been sprinkled with plenty
of powdered sugar an hour or two previously. Any fruit soup can be
made according to the foregoing directions, adding or leaving out
certain flavours. Sponge cakes and macaroons may be served with any
fruit soups.

_Sweetbread Soup._--Put a sweetbread on the fire in cold water, with
a little salt. When it is warm, pour off the water and supply fresh
cold; repeat this a few times as fast as it becomes warm, which
process whitens the sweetbread. When it looks delicately white just
let it come to a simmer; then take it out and lay it in cold water.
Take off the outer skin, cut up the meat in small dice, and give it
a boil up in good white veal soup. If for brown soup, fry the little
pieces of sweetbread rapidly in butter, and drain them in a napkin.
They must only be coloured yellow.

_Tapioca Soup._--(_a_) Made as sago, only the tapioca must be soaked
for at least ½ hour in warm water before being put into the milk.

(_b_) To 1 qt. well-flavoured clear stock add 1 tablespoonful
tapioca; leave to boil nearly ½ hour, stirring occasionally until the
tapioca is cooked sufficiently.

(_c_) Mince an onion finely, fry it in plenty of butter till of a
golden colour; add pepper and salt to taste, and 1½ pint water; when
the water boils, strain and put it back into a clean saucepan with 2
tablespoonfuls tapioca; let it boil till almost dissolved, then serve.

_Tea Kettle Broth._--Cut a thin piece of bread and toast it crisply,
cut into small pieces and put in a basin, then add a little salt and
pepper, a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and half a teacupful
of thin cream; fill the basin with boiling water, and serve at once.

_Tomato Soup (de tomates)._--(_a_) Pour over 12 ripe tomatoes a small
quantity of weak stock, and stew very gently until quite tender. Mash
through a sieve, and add the required quantity of good strong stock:
add cayenne pepper to taste. Let all boil together for a few minutes,
and serve very hot.

(_b_) Cut ½ lb. lean raw ham into small pieces, and place in a
stewpan with some peppercorns, 2 oz. butter, 4 shallots, 2 bay
leaves, a few cloves, a blade of mace, and 2 sprigs of thyme; let
these fry until they are a light brown colour. Take either 24 ripe
tomatoes or an equal quantity of preserved tomatoes, squeeze well,
and add 1½ pint good well-flavoured white stock, and a small quantity
of white essence of mushrooms; mix with this the ham, &c., and
let all boil together over a quick fire to reduce to the desired
thickness. Then rub through a tammy, warm up again, and serve. Dice
of bread fried in butter should be handed round with this soup.

_Turnip Soup (de navets)._--Peel and slice the turnips, put them in a
stewpan with a piece of butter, a spoonful of sugar, and enough clear
broth to cook them soft. Work through a sieve, and add the purée
to a clear soup. Mix a tablespoonful or two of flour with a cup of
cream or milk, add this with salt and white pepper; let boil for 2-3
minutes before serving.

_Turtle Soup (tortue)._--(_a_) Kill the turtle by cutting off its
head. Then put it in water for 12 hours; divide the shells, remove
the entrails, and carefully preserve the green fat, which should be
put into cold water to steep. Put the fins and flesh with the shells
cut into several pieces into boiling water for a few minutes, then
remove the thin outer skin from head, fins, &c. Put the finer parts
into some good stock and stew until quite soft, about 4 hours; remove
the bones, and put the meat to press between 2 dishes until quite
cold, when it must be cut up to put into the soup. Put the bones,
entrails, and coarser parts of the turtle into a stockpot with plenty
of ordinary stock, and with some onions, celery, mushrooms, a faggot
of herbs, parsley, pepper, and salt, add any trimmings, of meat or
poultry, and stew until reduced almost to a glaze, about 6 hours;
then add the stock in which the meat was stewed; strain, and clarify
the soup. Blanch the green fat, cut it up and put it with the cut-up
meat into the soup, simmer until quite hot, and then add the juice of
½ lemon, 2 glasses white wine, with cayenne pepper and salt to taste
to every 3 pints of soup, and serve.

(_b_) Dried.--Soak for 3 days, changing the water each day; then
boil for 12 hours in 1½ qt. very good stock, adding a burnt onion,
a little ham, and a glass of sherry or Marsala. If too strong with
that quantity of stock, a little more can be added each day while it
lasts. First-rate for delicate people.

_Vegetable Soup (bonne femme, brunoise, chiffonade, colbert,
faubonne, de légumes, paysanne, &c.)._--(_a_) Cut up any vegetables,
such as celery, carrots, turnips, or onions, or a judicious mixture
of all, into small neat pieces as near of a size and shape as
possible; place them in boiling water for about ¼ hour, then take
out and stew in a little fresh water with a small piece of butter
and salt. Into a larger stewpan put a good piece of butter with some
leeks, onions, carrots, turnips, a head of celery, all cut up small;
add a clove of garlic, if liked, and some thyme, parsley, or chervil.
Stew on the fire, without water, for 1½ hour, turning frequently
until well coloured; then add sufficient water for the stock, and
boil ½ hour. Strain, and add the reserved vegetables; serve hot with
small rounds of bread which have been well soaked in some of the
stock, and then placed in a buttered tin and dried in the oven.

(_b_) Pass through a hair sieve all the vegetables used to make
vegetable stock, melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add a little
flour, mix well, then add the vegetable pulp; stir well, and moisten
with as much of the stock as may be necessary; let the soup boil,
stir into it off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with a little
water and strained. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter.

_Vegetable-marrow Soup (de courges)._--Remove the seeds from 2 or 3
vegetable marrows; cut into convenient pieces, and put to stew in
a saucepan with a small quantity of stock, and pepper, salt, and
grated nutmeg to taste. When quite done, pass through a hair sieve.
Take 2 pints of this pulp and 1 pint milk, boil together for ½ hour,
then gradually mix with 2 oz. butter, which have been previously
amalgamated in a saucepan with 1 oz. flour. Let the whole come to
boiling point, then serve.

_Vermicelli Soup._--Boil 2 oz. fine vermicelli in 1 pint stock free
from grease, to which add a good pinch of salt, when cooked (in
10-15 minutes), drain, and put into the soup tureen containing 1 qt.
well-flavoured clear stock, boiling hot. Grated Parmesan to be handed
round with the soup.

_Victoria Soup._--About 2 tablespoonfuls sago to 1 qt. of good stock;
boil gently; then 5 minutes before dinner-time take it off the fire,
and have ready the yolks of 2 eggs and ½ pint cream; beat them
together and add to the soup; stir all together and serve at once
with sippets of fried bread.

_White Soup._--Flavour some stock delicately with onion, parsley,
mace, bay leaf, lemon peel, thyme, button mushrooms, white
peppercorns, and salt. Take equal parts of this and new milk, and
thicken slightly with arrowroot. Just before serving, stir in the
yolk of an egg beaten up, with a little cold milk or stock. A smaller
proportion of cream may be used instead of the milk, if preferred.
Serve in a sauce tureen, and be sure to have it and the soup plate
well warmed. To vary this soup, a few small dice of sweetbread or the
white meat from a chicken, or a little of the meat from a calf’s foot
and a few egg balls, may be added. _Egg balls._--Mix with the yolk of
1 hard-boiled egg 1 teaspoonful grated tongue or pounded ham, and 1
saltspoonful minced boiled parsley; season with cayenne and nutmeg.
Bind with the yolk of a raw egg, form the paste into balls the size
of a small marble, and poach them gently for 2 minutes in milk. Put
them hot into the tureen.

See also Chicken, Milk, Onion, Palestine, Potato, Rice, and
Vegetable-marrow Soups, and Veal Stock.


=Fish.=--The first consideration with regard to fish is freshness,
as nothing deteriorates more rapidly with keeping. When economy must
be practised, fish may be bought at lower rates in the evening, and
will keep perfectly well till next day, even in hot weather, by being
moistened with vinegar, which treatment is by some people considered
to improve the flavour.

Before proceeding to give a catalogue of recipes for cooking various
fish, it will be useful to introduce some general remarks on dressing
and cooking fish as a class.

_Dressing._--(_a_) When fish are scaly they must be “scaled” very
lightly and carefully with a knife, then well washed with salt and
water to remove all slime. The gills and fins should be cut off; then
the fish must be opened, and the insides removed, followed by well
cleaning inside and out with a linen cloth. If to be fried, they are
ready for flouring.

(_b_) If no scales, proceed as in (_a_) without scaling.

(_c_) If to be boiled, the wiping may be omitted, but they must be
washed with salt and water inside and out.

(_d_) All cooking must be thorough.

_Baking._--This is a good way of cooking any flavourless fish. (_a_)
Cut it in slices or pieces and make a mound of it on a flat dish,
sprinkling between each layer chopped herbs and parsley, cayenne and
lemon juice. Melt 1 oz. butter in a pan, add 1 oz. flour and 1 gill
milk, and stir till very thick; squeeze in a little lemon and pour it
over the fish. Cover the whole with browned breadcrumbs and cook in a
good oven till the fish is done. Keep a few crumbs back to sprinkle
over any cracks, and serve on the dish it is baked in. For the lemon
juice and the crumbs Parmesan cheese can be substituted.

(_b_) Scald and then chop a small piece of onion and a few sprigs
of parsley. Butter a baking tin and sprinkle half the mixture over
and half under a thick slice of white fish. Cover the whole with
browned breadcrumbs and pour round a little stock or water with a
dessertspoonful of ketchup or vinegar. Bake for 10-15 minutes, and
serve hot or cold, garnished with parsley and cut lemon, and the
liquor poured round. Baking is the most economical way of cooking
fish, because it does not destroy the flavour, and sauce is not
necessary as when boiled.

_Boiling._--(_a_) The common way of boiling fish is to draw them, cut
out their gills, scale them--if scaly--and wipe clean. Put into a
fish kettle, with salt, fennel, a bundle of sweet herbs, enough water
with a little vinegar to cover the fish. When quite boiling, put in
the fish, and let it boil slowly; when perfectly done, pour off the
water and serve in a hot dish with parsley and butter.

(_b_) The liquor in which fish is to be boiled should be boiling ¼
hour before the fish are put in; these latter must be boiled very
gently, or they will fall to pieces.

(_c_) The liquor in which fish has been boiled should never be thrown
away, as excellent soup can be made of it with a few cheap additions.

_Broiling._--(_a_) After the fish is scaled, &c., notch it 2 or
3 times on the back, strew some salt on, and broil, basting with
butter, and turning frequently.

_Frying._--(_a_) No way is more successful for cooking the cheaper
kinds of fish. Plaice, ling, hake, haddock, small fresh-water fish,
conger--all are good. The essential thing is to fry them properly.
Cover each piece with egg and breadcrumb, or dip in a thick batter of
flour and water; have perfectly fresh fat or sweet oil, and plenty
of it; let it be sufficiently hot; and serve the hot fish nicely
garnished with lemon and with slices of brown bread and butter.
Conger must first be parboiled, or it will not be done enough. As for
other fish, it is wise to cut them into strips or fillets.

(_b_) Frying fish in batter is often recommended, but it is not
nearly so nice as egg-crumbing, and, indeed, when this is considered
too troublesome or expensive, it is better merely to pass the fish
through flour mixed with pepper and salt. Fish dipped in batter must
be fried in a considerable quantity of fat, which, in small and poor
households, it is generally impossible to procure. Egg-crumbed or
dusted with flour, fish can be cooked in the frying-pan with a little
fat, and is very good in this way.

(_c_) Plain flour may be used instead of breadcrumbs; in America
“cracker-dust” (i.e. pounded biscuit) and Indian meal, the latter
occasionally mixed equally with flour, are used instead of
breadcrumbs.

(_d_) For eating cold. Well wash in water, rub with salt, dry, roll
in a cloth, and place for a few minutes before the fire previous to
cooking. Salmon, cod, and halibut should be cut into thick slices,
other fish into convenient-sized pieces. Soles are done either whole
or in fillets. Have ready a dish of beaten eggs, and another of
flour; turn the fish well over first in the eggs, and then in the
flour, so that each piece is completely covered, then place in a
pan with plenty of the best olive oil at boiling heat, fry the fish
gently till of a fine golden-brown colour on both sides. When done,
place on a drainer before the fire, for the oil to drain off. Great
care should be observed that the oil has ceased to bubble before the
fish is put in, or the latter will be greasy. It is a good plan to
try it with a crust of bread first. Tho oil can be used several times
if carefully strained, and put aside in a jar, adding a little fresh
each time if necessary.

_Stewing._--Put them in a stewpan; cover with water, and either white
wine or claret; add some salt, spices, and anchovies, and a bundle of
sweet herbs; cover the vessel, and put in a moderate oven. Garnish
with green leaves, sippets, &c.

The following dishes are mainly adapted for using up remnants of
fish, though whole fish may be employed if desired.

_Bouillabaisse._--Take several kinds of fish, such as whitings,
gurnets, John dory, turbot; cut them in pieces the size of an egg;
mince an onion, a small piece of garlic, one tomato, and a few sprigs
of parsley; put the whole in a saucepan with ½ tumbler finest olive
oil, a pinch of pepper, and one of mixed spice. When the onions are
slightly coloured, add the fish, salt, and a very small pinch of
powdered saffron; then fill up with sufficient boiling water to come
up to, but not cover, the fish. This done, let the bouillabaisse boil
fast for 20 minutes, or until the liquor be reduced by one-fourth.
Serve the fish on one dish, and the liquor on another over thick but
small slices of bread.

_Boudin._--Take the raw meat of either whiting, flounder, plaice,
or pike; pound in a mortar, and pass through a sieve. Put ½ pint
water into a saucepan with a pinch of salt, and a small piece of
butter; when it boils, stir it in enough flour to make a thick paste;
when cold, take of this paste, half the quantity there is of fish,
and take of butter half the quantity there is of paste; thoroughly
amalgamate the whole in the mortar, season with pepper, salt, and
grated nutmeg, work in 1 or 2 spoonfuls of white sauce (Béchamel),
and lastly as many eggs, in the proportion of two yolks to one white,
as will bind the mixture. Butter some small moulds, fill them with
the mixture, and steam in a stewpan half full of water for 15-20
minutes. Turn out, and serve with white sauce.

_Cakes._--(_a_) Take the remnants of any cold fish, pull them to
pieces, and thoroughly incorporate with them a small piece of butter
and some mashed potatoes; season the whole with pepper and salt to
taste, and a little cayenne. Form the mixture into cakes and fry in
butter till of a golden colour. Serve garnished with fried parsley.

(_b_) Remove skin and bone from cold fish; to 1 lb. fish add 4
tablespoonfuls breadcrumbs, 2 of suet finely chopped, and 1 of flour;
mix well together while dry; then beat 1 egg with ¼ pint milk: mix
all well together, and put in a greased mould; steam for 1 hour or
bake for ½ hour.

_Chowder._--Cover the bottom of the pot in which the chowder is to
be cooked with slices of pickled pork, or, if preferred, use a large
teaspoonful of lard. Take any kind of firm fish (cod and bass are
thought best), lay them over the pork or in the lard. If pork is
used, first fry it slightly; if lard, make it boiling hot. Strew over
the fish a layer of chopped onions if liked, one of split crackers
(biscuits), pepper and salt; spices are used, but are not necessary;
another layer of fish, onions, crackers, and seasoning until all the
fish is in; dredge with flour, just cover the fish with water; stew
gently; ½ hour will cook one of moderate size. Take up the chowder,
thicken the gravy by adding a teaspoonful of flour to a teacup of
butter, add this to the gravy; stew 2 minutes; add wine or ketchup if
liked. Oyster or clam chowder may be made in the same way.

_Croquettes._--Take some remnants of boiled turbot, brill, haddock,
or salmon; pick out the flesh carefully, and mince not too finely.
Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, add a little flour and some
hot milk. Stir on the fire until the mixture thickens, add pepper
and salt, a little grated nutmeg, some chopped parsley, lastly the
fish; as soon as the mixture is quite hot, turn out on a dish to get
cold. Shape like corks, roll in beaten-up egg, and then in baked
breadcrumbs; repeat the process in an hour’s time; fry in hot lard,
and serve with fried parsley.

_Curry._--Take 1 teaspoonful curry powder, 1 of raw rice pounded, 1
of chillies, 2 cloves of garlic, a little ginger, a few peppercorns,
a little turmeric, half a coconut (remove the brown skin); grind all
up with a coffee cup of water, then put half an onion, half cooked
and minced, with ½ oz. butter in a stewpan, and melt it when quite
dissolved. Add the curry stuff, also the gravy of ½ lb. beef, or some
stock, and a dessertspoonful of vinegar; put 1½-2 lb. fish prepared
in pieces about 1 in. square, and stew the whole.

_Cutlets._--Melt 1 oz. butter, add 1 oz. flour and ¼ pint milk; let
it boil and thicken. Then stir in the flavouring--lemon juice or
vinegar, salt, cayenne, a little anchovy sauce or paste, or, as a
last resource, a tiny piece of bloater paste. Last of all, add about
a breakfastcupful of cold cooked fish cut small. When this mixture is
cold, shape it into cutlets or balls, egg and breadcrumb them, and
fry in hot fat or oil.

_Jelly._--Put several large onions (sliced), some scraped
horse-radish, lemon peel, pepper, salt, and mace into a stewpan with
good white stock, simmer till the vegetables are tender; strain,
remove the bones from 2 lb. turbot, sole, or any white fish; cut the
fish into shapely pieces, stew in the liquor till quite done, strain
the liquor, let it cool, add a glass of white wine, the whites of 2
or 3 eggs, and some lemon juice; hot it up. Lay the pieces of fish
into a flat mould, fill up with the liquor, let get quite cold, turn
out, and garnish with slices of cucumber. In very hot weather it will
require ice.

_Moolie._--Take some fried fish, 2 tablespoonfuls cream, 1
dessertspoonful butter, 3 or 4 onions, green chillies (when they are
to be had), a piece of ginger, and 2-3 tablespoonfuls vinegar; boil
10 minutes, then serve. An excellent breakfast dish.

_Omelet._--Beat up 3 fresh eggs with a quantity, equal to an egg in
bulk, of the flesh of boiled salmon, shredded finely with a fork,
a pinch of minced parsley, pepper, salt, and half a dozen bits of
butter the size of a pea. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg
into the pan, let it melt without browning, and as soon as it is
melted and hot pour in your omelet mixture, and, holding the hand of
the pan with one hand, stir the omelet with the other by means of a
flat spoon. The moment it begins to set, cease stirring, but keep
shaking the pan for a minute or so; then with the ladle or spoon
double up your omelet, and keep on shaking the pan until one side of
the omelet has become a golden colour, when you dexterously turn it
out on a hot dish, the coloured side uppermost. (G. C.)

_Patties._--1 moderate-sized haddock, 12 cooking oysters, 1
teaspoonful chopped parsley, a very little pounded mace, a pinch of
cayenne, a little salt, 1 teaspoonful anchovy essence, 2 oz. butter,
½ pint good white sauce, yolks of 2 eggs, ½ lb. good puff paste,
and a little lemon juice. Skin and fillet the haddock, dissolve the
butter in a stewpan; put in the fish, sprinkle with a little salt,
and let stand on the stove, where it will cook without taking any
colour. When the fish is done on one side turn carefully; while the
fish is cooking, beard the oysters, put the beards with the liquor
from them on the fire, in a small stewpan, and simmer for a few
minutes. When done, strain off and save the liquor for the sauce.
When the fish is done, which should be in 15-20 minutes, lift it out
of the butter on to a plate; and when cool, roughly mince, or cut it
into small dice; cut the oysters in quarters, and mix them with the
haddock. Put into a small stewpan ½ pint good white sauce, and when
it boils stir into it 1 oz. butter, the chopped parsley, anchovy
essence, mace, and cayenne. Let it boil up, then draw it back from
the fire, and stir in the yolks of the eggs, a little lemon juice,
a little salt, and lastly the fish. Let it stand by the fire a few
minutes, but do not let it boil, as this would curdle the egg, and
harden the oysters. Now turn the fish out on a plate ready for use.
Have ready some good puff paste, roll it out to the thickness of ½
in., cut out the patty cases with a tin cutter; and with another,
half this size, mark the cover by gently pressing it on the paste, so
as to make a slight incision; egg over the top, and bake in a quick
oven. When done, take off the covers, scoop out the underdone paste
inside, and leave the patties till dinner-time, then fill with the
prepared fish, and set in the oven to get hot. Serve as an entrée in
the first course. Note: The butter in which the fish was cooked would
make a fish sauce.

_Pudding._--Equal quantities of fish rubbed through a sieve, and fine
breadcrumbs, with seasoning to taste, and eggs sufficient to bind the
whole. Steam 1 hour in a buttered mould, turn out, and serve with
sauce poured round. (B.)

_Pulled Fish._--After any solid fish is boiled, pick it clear from
the bones in small pieces, and to 1 lb. fish add ½ pint cream, 1
tablespoonful mustard, 1 oz. anchovy sauce, and 1½ spoonfuls of
ketchup, a little pepper, flour, and butter mixed; make it quite hot
in a saucepan and serve.

_Quenelles._--Pound the raw flesh of any kind of fish, and pass it
through a sieve; take of breadcrumbs soaked in milk and squeezed
dry, half the quantity there is of fish, and take of butter the
same quantity there is of breadcrumbs; amalgamate the whole in a
mortar, seasoning with pepper, salt, and nutmeg according to taste;
add a little cream, one whole egg, and as many more yolks as may be
necessary to bind the mixture. Shape it into small quenelles, and
cook them as meat quenelles.

_Salad._--Fish makes an agreeable variety in the daily _menu_,
and the following mode of cooking plaice may be acceptable as a
substitute for soles. Select a moderate-sized one, which will
divide into 8 fillets; cover with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry a
light brown. Let them drain on white paper, and when quite cold
put in the centre of a dish, and surround with salad, garnished
with sliced beetroot, hard-boiled eggs, and sprigs of parsley. An
excellent supper dish. A small lobster added to the salad is a great
improvement.

_Toast._--Toast 6 rounds of bread about the size of a large tumbler,
and spread them with butter and anchovy or bloater paste. Put in a
saucepan the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 gill cream or milk, and any cold
fish cut small. When thick, spread it on the toasts, sprinkle some
breadcrumbs over, and brown in a very quick oven. Serve very hot on a
napkin.

Special recipes for each fish will now be given in alphabetical order.

_Anchovy_ (Anchois). Butter.--Wash, bone, and pound in a mortar some
anchovies, with an equal quantity of fresh butter and cayenne to
taste. Mix well together, pass them through a hair sieve, and either
spread it on slices of thin toast, or shape the butter into balls;
ice, and serve with a piece of toast under each ball.

With Eggs and Endive.--Boil 6 eggs quite hard, shell them carefully,
then cut the white with a sharp knife carefully across the middle
of the egg, and, taking care not to break it, remove it like a case
from the yolk. Mix the yolk with a little anchovy sauce. Form it
again into a ball, and replace it within the white. Close the latter
carefully, and when the eggs are thus prepared, place them in a pile
upon a nest of endive, the points of the leaves towards the edge of
the dish, which should be round.

Fried.--Slightly fry the little fish in their own oil, and serve them
on thin fried toast; they make a nice accompaniment to the cheese
course at dinner.

With Olives, Cold.--9 Spanish olives, 9 croûtons of fried bread, 4
anchovies, a little chopped parsley, ¼ teaspoonful chopped onion;
take the stones from the olives in the usual way, wash and fillet
the anchovies, and mince them very fine, also the parsley and onion;
pound altogether in a mortar, and season with a little red pepper.
Take a small portion of this preparation, and put into each olive
in place of the stone. Now, with a small tin cutter, stamp out 9
croûtons of bread a little larger than a five-shilling piece; scoop
out the middle, fry in some clean lard to a nice golden brown, and
drain on a piece of kitchen paper; when cold, put an olive on each
croûton, arrange them neatly in a silver dish, and put on each a
little mayonnaise sauce and a little round the base.

Sandwiches.--Take the contents of a bottle of anchovies, wash them
in several waters, remove the bones, and put them in a mortar with a
quantity of butter equal to them in bulk; pound thoroughly, so as to
get a smooth paste, wherewith spread slices of bread.

Toast.--Bone, clean, and wash a number of anchovies; make some slices
of toast, butter them on one side very plentifully, cut in pieces
the size of finger biscuits; lay 3 fillets of anchovy on each piece,
throw a dash of pepper and the least bit of cayenne on them, and put
them in the oven just long enough to get thoroughly hot, and so serve.

_Barbel_ (Barbeau).--Broiled: see Chub. Roast: see Chub.

_Bloater_ (Hareng pee).--On Toast.--Parboil 3 or 4 bloaters just
long enough to allow the skin to come off easily; remove it, and
take out the meat in fillets (4 to each fish). Have some slices of
well-buttered toast of a proportionate shape to the fillets, lay one
fillet on each, and trim them all to the same size. Rub each fillet
over with some butter, sprinkle a slight dust of cayenne and black
pepper over, put them in the oven to get quite hot, and serve.

À la Sefton.--The flesh of 3 bloaters well soaked, ½ lb. Parmesan
cheese grated; mixed together, seasoned to taste, and divided into
pieces the size of respectable minnows; then egged and breadcrumbed,
fried, and served hot. (E. P.)

_Bombay Ducks or Bumaloes._--(_a_) Soak ½ hour to soften them; then
beat out flat with a pestle, sprinkling with flour the while; cut
off heads and tails, and toast on an iron plate over the fire, with
another plate above to prevent curling up. They should be made quite
crisp.

(_b_) They are generally bought in tin boxes, prepared for table, and
only require crisping in the oven for a few minutes. They are served
with or after the cheese course, before the dessert, or, as in India,
as an accompaniment to curry, which in that country is always the
last dish.

_Bream_ (Brème).--Put into a deep dish, or baking tin, a marinade
of oil, vinegar, onions, thyme, bay leaf, pepper, salt, and a few
cloves; lay a good-sized sea bream in this for some hours, basting
occasionally; then cover with oiled paper, and put the dish or tin in
the oven till the fish is done (about 30 minutes). Melt a piece of
butter in a saucepan, mix with it a good pinch of flour, strain the
marinade into this, add a little stock, then one shallot and a little
parsley chopped very fine; let the sauce boil, add more pepper and
salt if necessary; pour over the fish and serve. River bream is far
inferior to sea bream--a misunderstood and underrated fish--but may
be cooked as a poor substitute for carp.

Broiled: see Carp. Roast: see Carp, Chub. Soused: see Carp. Stewed:
see Carp, Trout.

_Brill_ (Barbue).--Brill is very like turbot, but less firm,
thus requiring more care in the dressing. (_a_) After thoroughly
cleansing, cut off the fins and rub the fish over with lemon juice
2-3 hours before cooking to make it white. Place it in the fish
kettle with sufficient cold water to cover it, add 3-4 oz. salt and
a little vinegar to 1 gal. water, heat it gradually by the side of
the fire. As soon as it boils, skim, or the scum will fall on the
fish and spoil its appearance. Let simmer till well done, but not
broken. A large brill will take, after it boils, about 15 minutes,
but to make sure of its being nicely cooked, lift up the drainer and
try the fish with a fork (not steel). If the fish slips from the
bone easily, and the bone is not the least red, the brill is ready
to drain. It should be carefully drained before placing it on a hot
napkin, garnished with slices of lemon and some lobster coral. Serve
with lobster or shrimp sauce in a sauce tureen.

Brill, although inferior in plumpness and in the beautiful texture
and abundance of skin and fins to the turbot, is nevertheless a very
delicate fish, and worthy of the care often bestowed upon it. It is
very good when boiled and served with shrimp sauce, and may also be
cut into fillets and stewed or fried. (_b_) It is also nice when
dressed as follows: Cleanse the brill and cut its back down to the
central bone. Butter the bottom of a baking dish, and sprinkle this
with finely chopped shallots and mushrooms, a very little onion, and
some parsley similarly treated. Moisten these herbs with a mixture
of Madeira or brown sherry and some good brown gravy. Lay the brill
on his back on the couch of herbs, sprinkle a little more minced
mushroom and shallot over him, and pour over some rich melted butter.
Put the dish on the fire till it shows signs of boiling, and then
into a moderate oven till done.

_Carp_ (Carpe).--Au bleu.--A famous cold dish of fish is that called
_au bleu_. Trout, carp, and perch are good in this way. Prepare
the carp, tie up the head, and put the fish in a kettle. Make some
vinegar boiling hot, and pour it (scalding) over the carp; then
moisten with red wine, and add 3 large onions cut in rounds, 2
carrots sliced, parsley, sage, shallots, thyme, bay leaves, and a few
cloves, pepper, and salt. Put the fish kettle on the fire, and let it
simmer only for about 1 hour, when take it off. Let the fish get cold
in the liquor, and when wanted for serving take it out and lay on a
napkin in a dish. This is very nice when accompanied by a _remoulade_
sauce.

Broiled.--Take a fresh carp, gill it, draw, scrape off the slime,
and wipe it dry with a clean cloth inside and out, lay it on a dish
with vinegar, claret, salad oil, sweet herbs (rosemary, marjoram,
&c.), sliced ginger, coarse pepper, cloves, and mace; let them steep
2 hours, then gently broil over a clear fire, turning often, and
basting with the liquor and herbs it was steeped in. Serve with the
herbs, spices, and liquor boiled up together, and some butter beaten
up with the juice of oranges or lemons; or with plain salad oil,
and the spawn broiled by itself and laid on the carp; or with sauce
made with pickled oyster liquor, white wine, grated nutmeg, juice
of oranges, and a little vinegar broiled and beaten up with butter
and the yolk of an egg. Pike, mullet, roach, dace, or bream may so
be dressed; but their blood and spawn must not be used, and they may
be broiled either with scales or without. Also slices of salmon and
conger eel can be cut in pieces and cooked in the same way. This
latter is best parboiled before broiled.

En Matelote.--Clean a fat carp and leave it whole. Take any other
fresh-water fish that you may have handy, such as eels, pike, tench,
perch, &c., cut them into pieces, put into a stewpan with a liberal
allowance of butter and a few small onions blanched, and let them
take colour. Now put in the carp surrounded with roes, moisten with
equal quantities of red wine and good gravy, and a piece of butter
rolled in flour. Let it boil, and when it is half done put in a
couple of bay leaves and a little sage. Draw back the stewpan, and
cook gently. When the sauce is sufficiently reduced, put the carp
into a hot dish, pour the _ragoût_ over it, and garnish with fried
sippets and crayfish.

In Brown Sauce.--Cut the carp in pieces and pack them in a deep dish,
strewing between some salt, pepper, 3 pounded cloves, a bay leaf,
2 slices of lemon, and a small shallot minced; pour over a glass of
wine and the same of vinegar; cover, and let them stand a few hours;
melt some butter in a stewpan, and dredge in as much flour as it
absorbs, to brown; thin this with very little water, just to keep the
thickening from burning to a cake; mince a rasher or two of bacon and
a small onion; put these in a stewpan, and drain in the pickle from
the fish; when the sauce boils, lay in the fish, and simmer gently
till done; dish the slices whole, and strain the sauce over them.

Pie.--Scale a carp, draw, remove gills, &c.; lay butter in the pie
dish, and then the fish, with cloves, mace, nutmeg, 2 handfuls of
capers, and currants cleaned; mix some butter and salt, and lay them
over; cover with paste; lastly, pour in (at a hole in the top) some
white wine, and bake. It is as good hot as cold.

Roast.--Leave on the scales, cut out the gills, draw, wash, and
remove the spawn. Make a stuffing of grated manchet (breadcrumbs),
almond paste, cream, currants, grated nutmeg, new yolks of eggs,
candied lemon, or other peel, some lemon and salt. Make it stiff and
stuff the fish, but not too full. Roast in the oven on 2 or 3 sticks
laid across a dish, turn, and let the gravy drop into the dish. Dish
it with slices of lemon, and sauce made with the above gravy; the
juice of an orange or lemon, and some cinnamon mixed with butter.

Soused.--Draw, but do not scale the fish, save the liver, and wash it
well; boil 1 pt. white wine, and 4 of water with some spice and sweet
herbs; just before putting in the fish add a little vinegar (to make
it crisp); when done, take out the fish. Add to the liquor some white
pepper, bruised ginger, and let it boil, then get cold. Put the fish
into it for 4-5 days, serve with vinegar and fennel.

Stewed.--Scale, cut out gills, wash clean, and dry with a clean
cloth, flour, and fry them in butter; put them, when the liquor
boils, into a stewpan, with ½ pint claret, grated nutmeg, mace, and
anchovy chopped fine, a little sliced ginger, 3 or 4 cloves, salt,
and 3 or 4 slices of orange; cover up the stewpan, and stew quickly,
turning the fish occasionally. When cooked, dish with sippets of
fried bread and slices of orange, lay the spices on and pour over a
sauce made with butter and some of the liquor in which the fish was
stewed. Garnish with grated breadcrumbs.

With Polish Sauce.--Lay thin slices of parsnip, celery, and onion
in a stewpan, with a good-sized piece of butter, some salt, pepper,
2 slices of lemon, 2 bay leaves, and 6 cloves. Split open the carp,
leaving the back whole. Lay it flat on the seasoning with the back
uppermost. Lay the head, tail, liver, and milt on the top, and with
these 2 thick slices of brown gingerbread, broken up. Pour over 1-2
tablespoonfuls vinegar, and beer enough to barely cover the fish.
Simmer all till the fish is well done, take it up carefully, put the
head back into the sauce, and stew this to a rich brown. Season it
to taste, and strain it over the fish, which must have a thick brown
glazing.

_Chub_ (Chabot). Roast.--Scale, wash, and remove the gills, making
the hole as small and as near to the gills as possible; put inside
some sweet herbs--rosemary, thyme, marjoram, parsley, and winter
savory--tie the fish to a spit and roast, basting frequently with
vinegar and butter, and plenty of salt. Barbel, tench, bream, &c.,
may be dressed in the same way, but should be basted only with
butter; salt first strewed on. See Carp.

Broiled.--Scale, wash, and clean the fish, slit it through the
middle, cut it 3 or 4 times across the back, and broil over a clear
fire, turning it frequently, and basting with butter, plenty of salt,
and a little powdered thyme. Trout, barbel, and tench may be dressed
in the same way.

Baked.--Put into a fish kettle enough water, with a little vinegar,
to cover the fish; add some fennel and a good quantity of salt. When
the water boils put in the fish (washed, cleaned, &c.); boil slowly;
when done drain for 1 hour, remove the fish from the house, put it
into a pie dish with plenty of butter and minced parsley, bake in the
oven, and serve very hot.

_Cockles_ (Clovisses, Prayres).--Cockles are very good when treated
properly, and make excellent sauce as well as stew prepared in this
fashion: Put 100 cockles into a pail of water, wash them with a birch
broom; then put them into a pail of spring water and salt for 2
hours; wash them out, and put them into a saucepan; cover them close,
and stew gently till they open. Strain the liquor through a sieve,
pick them out of the shells, and wash well. Now put into a saucepan
the cockles, the liquor drained from the settlings, ½ pint of hock,
grave, or sauterne, a little grated nutmeg, and a piece of butter
rolled in flour. Stew till thick and smooth, and serve in a hot dish
garnished with sippets.

_Cod_ (Cabillaud, Morue).--Cod is popularly supposed to come into
season in September, but is not really good till November, and
reaches its greatest perfection in December, January, and February,
after which month its quality again declines. In choosing this
fish, care should be taken to select one that is thick and round,
especially about the shoulders, which should present a clumsy and
“humpy” appearance, like those of a wild boar, whose general outline
is by no means unlike that of a prime codfish. The flesh should be
firm, the gills of a lively red, and the eye bright and plump. It
may be remarked that, though it is important to buy fresh cod, it is
not quite so well to cook it immediately, as when freshly caught it
is apt to be watery; but when rubbed with salt and kept for a day
or two it acquires the firmness and creaminess so much prized. Cod
is better crimped than when cooked whole, the operation of boiling
being more successfully performed under these conditions. The fish
may be partially crimped by scoring it at equal distances, without
absolutely cutting it through into slices; but the effect of the
operation is always to improve the fish. After being thoroughly
cleaned the cod should be scored or sliced at regular intervals
of about 1½-2 in.; then washed clean in spring water, and laid in
a pan of spring water in which a handful of salt has been allowed
to dissolve. About 2 hours’ soaking in this brine will produce the
desired effect, when the fish may be washed and set to drain.

Au gratin.--In common with turbot and other white fishes, cod is very
good when dressed _au gratin_. The cold fish should be picked out in
flakes, perfectly free from skin and bone, and in this case no liver
should be added; then take a dish, rub it with garlic, butter it
and put in the codfish; season with pepper and salt, and pour over
it a liberal allowance of melted butter, made with milk and cream;
cover the whole with plenty of finely-sifted baked breadcrumbs, then
put the dish in the oven; when well browned it is ready. A little
finely-grated Parmesan cheese may be sprinkled over the fish as an
agreeable variety.

Baked.--The tail-end of a codfish weighing 2-3 lb., or the whole of
a small fish, can be cooked as follows: Pass a knife down each side
of the backbone, and press in a good stuffing. For the above weight
of fish the quantity here given to make the stuffing will suffice:
Rub the crumb of a French roll through a coarse gravy-strainer;
have very finely chopped 1 oz. beef suet or cooked fat bacon, a
pinch of dried parsley and sweet herbs, salt and pepper; mix with
egg and ½ teaspoonful essence of anchovy; make ½ pint thin melted
butter, squeeze into it the juice of half a lemon, pepper and salt, a
teaspoonful of essence of anchovy, and pour into a tin baking dish.
Lay in the fish, bake in a moderate oven for about an hour, basting
frequently, and taking care it does not brown. Should the sauce
reduce too much and get thick in process of cooking, add a little
water, a bit of butter, and a few drops of anchovy. When the fish is
done, remove it to a hot dish and strain the sauce over it.

Boiled.--Tie the fish several times over with string, lay it in cold
water plentifully salted, and let it boil gently, carefully skimming
the water; when done lift it up and let it drain, then serve. An
ordinary-sized piece will be done 2-3 minutes after the water comes
to boiling point.

Fried.--Any piece of cod can be fried, but the slices should not be
more than ½ in. thick, because, if they are so, they take so long
to get done through, that either the outside is sodden or dried too
much, according to the method of frying. If there is time, sprinkle
the slices with pepper and salt, and leave them for 1-2 hours. When
ready to fry, wipe the cutlets dry, dip in yolk of egg and very
finely sifted breadcrumbs, mixed with an equal proportion of flour,
and highly seasoned with pepper and salt. The best plan is to fry
the cutlets in a wire basket, with plenty of fat, but if this is not
convenient, they can be done in the frying-pan, if care is taken to
do them quickly, and to have as much fat at the right temperature as
possible. It is best to fillet the tail of cod for frying, and it is
an economical dish. Having removed the flesh from the bones, press
it flat with the cutlet bat, and divide into neat pieces; finish as
directed above. Caper or piquant sauces are suitable for fried cod.
The latter can be made by warming finely-minced pickles in plain
butter sauce.

Mashed Salt (Brandade).--Take some salted codfish that has been
soaked for at least 24 hours. Boil in plain water, drain, carefully
pick out all the skin and bones, and separate the flesh into small
flakes. Put the flakes into a basin, and work them with a fork until
every flake is broken into little pieces. Rub a saucepan freely with
garlic, put the fish and a small quantity of fine salad oil into it,
stir well with a fork. Place the saucepan on a very slow fire, and
never cease stirring the contents; pour into it salad oil and milk
alternately, in the smallest possible quantities, but continuously,
until the mixture assumes the appearance of a thick creamy paste.
Season with white pepper, add some lemon juice, and never leave off
stirring, for it is upon the thoroughness of this operation that
the success of the dish depends. Served piled on a dish, with bread
sippets fried in butter.

Rock.--Plain boil the cod, remove all the meat, clear it from skin
and bone, then mince it fine; mince also an onion; put it in a
stewpan with a piece of butter, and steam it soft; then put in the
fish, with salt, white pepper, and finely mashed or grated potatoes;
stir all well together, with a piece of butter; make hot; serve
it well raised, with crumbs browned in butter, sprinkled over or
ornamented with narrow strips of pickled beetroot.

Roe (Laitance).--Soft roes, which are the best, are to be bought at
prices ranging from 2_d._ to 8_d._ each. This last is very large,
and will make a dish amply sufficient for 12 persons. The hard roe
is generally sold at 6_d._, but, as it does not go so far, it is not
so cheap as the soft. It has lately come into use, when cured and
smoked, as a breakfast delicacy, but, like all other dried fish, is
indigestible. When fresh, it requires to be carefully prepared, or
it will be tasteless; but properly managed it makes both a good and
elegant dish. Besides the recipes given, there are a number of other
ways of utilising this roe. It makes an excellent basis for fish
soups of any kind, or mulligatawny, and nothing can be better for
stewed oysters. It is also very good curried.

Soft Roe Fried.--Take the whole of a small roe or a portion of a
large one, about the size of a calf’s sweetbread. Boil ½ pint water
with a tablespoonful of vinegar, a large pinch of salt, and a shake
of pepper. Put the roe in, and let it boil for 10 minutes; then take
up and drain. Beat up half an egg, yolk and white together, in a
basin, and pass the rose through it so as to touch every part. Have
ready some finely-sifted breadcrumbs mixed with an equal quantity of
raspings, and well seasoned with pepper and salt, and dip the roe in
them, taking care it is nicely covered. Have ready some good frying
fat, and when boiling put in the roe; fry on one side until brown and
crisp; then turn and finish on the other. Butter sauce and anchovy
may be eaten with it; or butter sauce with a little lemon juice and
cayenne pepper added.

Hard Roe.--Get the roe the day before it is wanted. Boil it in salt
and water until perfectly firm. When cold, slice it into cutlets ¼
in. thick and lay them in a pickle composed of a pinch of saltpetre
and of baysalt, a teaspoonful of common salt, pinch of pepper, ground
cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, the whole mixed with 2 teaspoonfuls
vinegar. Let the cutlets remain in this pickle until the next
day, turning them occasionally. A little before cooking drain and
dry them, brush them over with egg, and dip them in finely-sifted
breadcrumbs, well seasoned with pepper and salt and a pinch of
chopped parsley. Fry the cutlets in butter until a nice brown, and
when about to serve pour round them a sauce made as follows: Take 4
spoonfuls good gravy, add a few drops essence of anchovy, thicken
with ½ teaspoonful flour, chop a tablespoonful of capers, and boil
them, for a minute or two in the gravy.

The preceding recipes for roe are due to the well-known authority,
Mary Hooper.

Sauté.--Boil a piece of codfish, but do not over do it. Pick out
the flesh in flakes, put them in a saucepan with a piece of butter,
pepper and salt to taste, some minced parsley, and the juice of a
lemon, with a dust of cayenne. Put it on the fire till quite hot, and
serve.

Sound (Nau).--(_a_) 6 fine salted sounds will make a good dish. Soak
in cold milk and water for several hours, and boil until tender in
fresh milk and water; then drain and dish on a napkin as any other
fish; serve egg sauce with them.

(_b_) After boiling the sounds, as in (_a_), cut into neat pieces,
not too small; and having made the egg sauce, put the pieces of
sounds into the stewpan containing it. Hold the stewpan over the
fire, shaking it about during the time until the fish is quite hot;
then dish it without a napkin, piling the sounds in pyramid form, and
pouring the remainder of the sauce over. Garnish with boiled parsnips
round the dish; cut into neat pieces alike in size and shape.

Steaks, with Mock Oyster Sauce.--The most economical way of having
cod steaks is to order either the tail of a good-sized cod or a cod’s
head and shoulders, so cut that there is sufficient to take off some
steaks, and what remains comes in for luncheon or the children’s
dinner the following day. Sprinkle the cod with salt, and fry, either
with or without breadcrumbs, a golden brown.

Stewed.--With a sharp knife remove the flesh in long slices from 2-3
lb. tail end of a codfish; divide each piece into three or four,
dip in flour highly seasoned with pepper and salt, and fry lightly.
Boil the bone of the fish with a minced onion, 3 or 4 peppercorns, a
small bundle of sweet herbs, and 1 qt. water, for 1 hour. Strain the
liquor, which should be about 1 pint. Let boil up, and thicken with
2 tablespoonfuls of flour, mixed smooth in a little cold water; add
2 teaspoonfuls essence of anchovy, and pepper to taste. Put in the
pieces of fish, and simmer them in this sauce for ¼ hour. When about
to serve, a few drops of vinegar may be added.

Twice Laid.--Take 1 lb. of the remnants of boiled codfish, remove all
skin and bone, taking care to leave the fish in nice pieces. Put 2
oz. butter into a saucepan, when melted add ½ tablespoonful flour;
stir it on the fire 2-3 minutes, pour in 1 gill milk, add salt and
pepper to taste, and a little nutmeg; stir until the sauce boils.
Take 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut each into 8 pieces; put them into the
sauce with the fish and about 1 lb. mashed potatoes; mix all lightly
together, dish up high on a plate, put into the oven to brown,
ornament with some slices of hard-boiled egg, and serve.

With Cream.--Pick out carefully in flakes all the flesh from the
remnants of some boiled codfish; melt a piece of butter in a
saucepan, and add to it a large pinch of flour and 1 gill milk or
cream, with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, also the least
bit of cayenne; stir well, put in the fish, and gently shake it
in this sauce till quite warm. If the composition be too dry add
a little milk or cream; then add off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs
beaten up with a little milk, and serve.

_Crab_ (Écrevisse de mer). Browned.--Take the great shell, clean
and butter it; mince all the fish, shred some parsley, mushrooms,
truffles, and a little young onion. Brown these in a saucepan with a
very little butter; put in the minced crab with the inside bruised,
and some cayenne pepper and salt; stir this about, shake in some
flour, and add a little corach. Let this simmer up, fill up the
shell, strew over crumbs of bread with small piece of butter; brown
in a Dutch oven or with a salamander.

Dressed.--To produce a successful dressed crab, boil a large and
a small crab in salt and water. When cold, open them, pull off
and break the claws, and take out the chine. Clear out the shells
completely, and put the soft creamy part into a basin. Now pick out
all white meat from large and small claws and chine, and put some
of this aside. Add to remainder a dressing of oil, vinegar, pepper,
salt, and mustard, and mix well. Replace the mixture in the shell
of the large crab, strew over the top the reserve of white meat,
pulled into fibres, and adorn it with powdered yolk of hard-boiled
egg, lobster spawn, and caviar, disposed in stripes, triangles, or
diagonals.

Devilled.--Take 2 boiled crabs, pick out the meat and put it aside.
Mince 2 or 3 shallots very finely, and put them into a stewpan with
a goodly lump of butter. Fry the shallots to a gold colour, and then
put in a little milk, salt, cayenne pepper, a dash of ketchup, a
spoonful of chutnee, and a very little parsley finely chopped. Boil
till it thickens; put in the minced crab, and let it boil up; then
add the yolk of an egg, a little cream, and amalgamate quickly. Fill
the shell of the larger crab, egg and breadcrumb it, put into the
oven for 10 minutes, pass a salamander over it, and serve.

_Crayfish._--The sea crayfish (_langouste_) may be cooked in every
way like lobster, but its flesh is very inferior in texture and
richness. Freshwater crayfish (_écrevisse_) are in this country
frequently ignored in consequence of the abundance of lobsters, but
are excellent morsels even when simply boiled and eaten cold, and
are invaluable as garnish. The famous _bisque d’écrevisses_ is made
in the same way as lobster soup, save and except that the shells are
pounded and added to the soup at an early stage of its confection.
The rich, highly flavoured dish known as _écrevisses à la bordelaise_
is made by first getting ready a _mirepois_ thus: Cut into small
dice 3 carrots and 3 onions, and add to them a bay leaf, some thyme,
parsley, and lean ham, the whole chopped finely. Put all these into a
stewpan with a large piece of butter, and let it stew gently without
taking too much colour. Having thoroughly cleaned 24 raw crayfish,
put them into the _mirepois_ with half a bottle of sauterne, half
a glass of good cognac, a piece of glaze, and a little good stock;
throw in a little pepper and salt, and cook over a brisk fire. In
aspic: see Prawns.

_Dab_ (Limande): see Flounder.

_Dace_ (Vandoise) Boiled: see Carp. Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Eels_ (Anguilles).--When intended for frying or stewing, eels are
skinned, but for a broil or “spatchcock,” the skin, after thorough
scouring and cleansing, should be left on. In all these processes
care should be taken that the eels be not overdone. Nothing, of
course, can well be more detestable or more unwholesome than
underdone fish, but in the case of eels great nicety is required,
as if they are cooked too much all springiness and elasticity are
lost. This point is often neglected in a stew or _matelote_; all
individuality of texture is sacrificed, and a soft, tasteless dish is
the consequence. Very large eels may be stuffed with truffle or other
stuffing, and roasted; and small ones may be made into a pie; but the
broil, fry, and stew are the most popular forms.

Broiled.--To “spatchcock” an eel, select a large one. Scour well
with salt, wipe clean with a cloth, slit down the back, take out the
bone and inside, cut off the head, and wipe off the blood. Cut into
4-5 pieces. Brush these over with yolk of egg, and sprinkle with a
mixture of breadcrumbs, sweet herbs, parsley, and the thin rind of
lemon rubbed fine, a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt. Put on a
well-anointed gridiron over a clear fire, skin-side downwards. When
that side is done, turn on the other, and broil to a fine brown.
Lay in a hot dish, and garnish with horseradish and parsley. Serve,
separately, anchovy sauce, _ravigote_ sauce, or, best of all, a cold
_tartare_.

Conger (Anguille de mer). Broiled.--Flay, draw, cut in pieces, and
wipe clean; then parboil in water with salt and sweet herbs; lay the
pieces on a clean gridiron, over a clear fire, turning often, and
basting with butter and sweet herbs. Serve with butter, beaten up
with 4 or 5 spoonfuls of hot spring water, and the beaten-up yolk of
an egg. See Carp; Ling.

Collared, to be eaten cold.--Prepare some large eels as for broiling,
divide down the back and take out the bone, strew inside with
powdered herbs (thyme, parsley, &c.) and spices (nutmeg, cloves,
ginger, pepper), and salt; roll up the eels, tie in a cloth, bound
close with packthread, and boil in water and vinegar, with salt, till
quite tender--the liquor must boil before putting in the eels. When
done, take them out of the liquor, which must be allowed to get cold,
then put them back and let remain 5-6 days. Serve either in collars
or in round slices, with vinegar. If to keep for a long time, no
herbs ought to be put in, only the salt and spices; and the pickle
they are kept in must be boiled every fortnight, vinegar and water
being added as it wastes.

Fricassée.--Scour some moderate sized eels, cut off the heads, draw,
&c., and cut them into pieces; put them into a frying pan with as
much white wine and water as will cover them; add spice, cloves,
mace, nutmeg, pepper, sweet herbs, and salt; boil well; when tender,
dish them with 2 pounded anchovies, the yolks of eggs, and butter,
added to the liquor and poured over.

Fried.--Wash clean, &c., cut them into pieces 3-4 in. long; put into
some boiling water, with salt and fennel, and let them partly boil;
drain the water well off, flour, and then fry till brown and crisp,
first on one side and then on the other.

Galantine.--Split a good-sized conger, and take out the bone. Chop
and mix a tablespoonful of parsley, the same quantity of sweet
herbs, the thin rind of a lemon with a seasoning of salt, cayenne or
pepper, and a little ground mace. A few mushrooms are an improvement.
Sprinkle this on the inside of the fish, and roll up, beginning at
the head end; wrap in a cloth to keep it in shape, and simmer in
equal parts vinegar and water until tender. Let remain in the stock
till both are cold, then take out of the cloth, and serve cold,
garnished with parsley, and if possible glazed. It is also very good
cut in slices, and set in a mould of clear jelly with hard-boiled
eggs.

Matelote.--Take 2 or more eels, cut them up into pieces 2 in. long.
Put ½ pint stock and the same quantity of claret into a saucepan with
a sliced onion, a pod of garlic, some whole pepper, salt, cloves,
thyme, bay leaf, and parsley, all according to taste, lay the eels
in this, and let boil gently till done. Strain the sauce, and add to
it a liqueur glass of brandy. Melt a good sized piece of butter in
a saucepan, stir in 1 tablespoonful flour, then add the sauce; let
boil, and pour over the fish which you serve with sippets of bread
fried in butter round it.

Pie.--Skin, prepare, and cut up the eel, season the pieces with
spices (cloves, mace, nutmeg, and pepper, well powdered) and salt;
line a pie dish with paste, and lay in the pieces with some currants
(well cleaned) and butter; cover over with paste, make a hole in the
top, pour in 6-8 spoonfuls of white wine, and bake in the oven.

Roast.--Wash a large eel in salt and water, partly pull back the skin
as far as to the vent, draw and clean but do not wash again; notch 2
or 3 times with a knife, and stuff with sweet herbs, an anchovy cut
very small, and some grated nutmeg. Cut off the head, put the skin
back and tie it, to keep in all the moisture, fasten to a spit and
roast slowly, basting (till the skin breaks) with salt and water,
then with butter. Sauce, melted butter, with the stuffing from the
fish.

Stewed.--1 middle-sized onion sliced, 1 dessertspoonful chopped
parsley, a small quantity of chopped lemon peel, 1 teaspoonful
chopped capers. Fry in a stewpan in a little butter, stir a few
minutes, add ½ pint good brown stock, with a little caper or
tarragon vinegar in it, and pepper and salt to taste; then add 1½
lb. middle-sized eels, not skinned, but cut into pieces rather less
than 3 in. long. Put in the heads, but take them away before sending
the dish to table. Cook gently ½ hour, then thicken with flour and
butter, and boil gently a few minutes to cook the flour. The sauce
should adhere to each piece of eel the thickness of good cream. Serve
in a hot covered dish, and send at once to table. (S. R.)

_Flounder_ (Carrelet).--The flounder may be cooked in any of the ways
prescribed for other flat fish, and is capital when fried. Still,
the highest expression of the flounder is found in the dish with
which he is specially identified--water souchet.

Water souchet.--To prepare this dish properly, a good fish stock
should be made of the heads, fins, and other trimmings of flounders,
or of any fish that may be handy. This may be prepared while the
flounders are crimping, an operation which should not be overlooked
if the fish are of tolerable size. Throw the trimmings into a
stewpan, with pepper and salt and sufficient water; add 6 parsley
roots cut up small, and a handful of green parsley; bring this to
the boil, let it simmer for 1-2 hours, and strain. Put some of this
liquor with a few finely shred and blanched parsley roots into a
saucepan, throw in a handful of salt, and boil for 5 minutes; then
put in the fish and boil for 5 minutes, when add a large handful
of green parsley, nicely washed and picked, and boil for 5 minutes
longer. Take up the fish very carefully, strain the parsley and roots
in a sieve, put them on the fish, and add enough of the liquor to
cover them well. Garnish with lemon, and eat with brown bread and
butter, cut very thin.

_Grayling_ (Ombre).--Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Gudgeon_ (Goujon).--Gudgeon requires a world of scraping and
cleaning, but are well worth the preliminary pains, as they only need
to be treated like whitebait, i.e. floured and fried in boiling lard,
to be quite successful. They may or may not be garnished with fried
parsley, and should be eaten with lemon, cayenne, and salt, and very
thin slices of brown bread and butter.

_Gurnet_ (Rouget, grondin). Baked.--Take some fine breadcrumbs, add
¼ their bulk of shallots and the same quantity of mushrooms, both
finely minced and lightly fried in butter; then add some chopped
parsley and sweet herbs; season with pepper and salt, and make the
mixture into a paste by working into it the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs, a
pat of butter, and a little milk. Stuff the fish with this, and truss
it with packthread. Butter a baking dish, dispose upon it an onion
and a carrot cut in slices, a few sprigs of parsley, 2 or 3 cloves,
and some whole pepper and salt to taste. Lay the fish on this, then
add a good ½ pint stock and a wineglass of white wine, cover the
fish with a sheet of buttered paper, and bake it ½-¾ hour, according
to the size. Baste it now and then during the process with its own
liquor. When done strain the liquor into a saucepan in which a piece
of butter has been mixed with a tablespoonful of flour, add a little
_suc colore_ to give the sauce a good colour, and as soon as it is
boiling hot pour over the fish and serve.

With Caper Sauce.--Place the fish trussed with packthread in a fish
kettle full of cold water, well salted; when the water comes near
boiling point draw the fish kettle aside, let simmer gently till the
fish is quite done, lift up to drain, then lay it on a dish; pour
plenty of brown caper sauce over.

_Haddock_ (Eglefin).--Boiled.--Tie the fish with a string in the
shape of an S, or with its tail in its mouth; lay it in plenty of
cold water, well salted. Place the fish kettle on the fire, and by
the time the water is on the point of boiling, the fish, unless it
be a very large one, should be quite done. Let it drain across the
kettle, and serve.

Broiled.--Split the fish open, wipe dry with a cloth, rub with salad
oil and flour it, then broil over a clear fire; meanwhile knead 1 oz.
butter with the juice of half a lemon, pepper and salt to taste, and
a little parsley blanched, squeezed dry, and very finely minced; put
this butter on a hot dish, the fish over, and serve.

Dried.--Warm the haddock before the fire, just long enough to make
the skin peel off easily. Cut it into pieces down the middle, and
2 or 3 times across. Put it into a closed saucepan with a lump of
butter and a small teaspoonful of water, stew gently for a few
minutes.

In Jelly.--See Trout in Jelly.

_Hake_ (Merlus).--See Cod. Roast: see Pike. Stewed: see Ling.

_Halibut_ (Flétan).--Of the halibut little need be said. It is a
large fish, endowed with firm and white, but rather coarse flesh.
It is perhaps best stewed or fried. Boiled halibut is very apt to be
woolly.

_Herrings_ (Harengs).--Fried.--Take care the fish is well cleaned,
without being split; 2-3 hours before cooking, lightly sprinkle with
salt and pepper; when ready to cook, wipe and flour the herrings.
Have ready in the frying pan as much fat, at the proper temperature,
as will cover the herrings. Cook quickly at first, then moderate the
heat slightly, and fry for 10-12 minutes, when they should be crisp
and brown. When done, lay them on a dish before the fire, in order
that all fat and fish-oil may drain from them. With this precaution,
fried herrings will be found more digestible than otherwise they
would be. When herrings are large, there is sometimes a redness near
the bone; this will be prevented by passing a knife, before cooking,
a little way down the backbone, near the head.

Rolled.--Choose herrings with soft roes. Having scraped and washed
them, cut off the heads, split open, take out the roes, and cleanse
the fish. Hold one in the left hand, and, with thumb and finger of
the right, press the backbone to loosen it, then lay flat on the
board, and draw out the bone; it will come out whole, leaving none
behind. Dissolve a little fresh butter, pass the inner side of the
fish through it, sprinkle pepper and salt lightly over, then roll it
up tightly, with the fin and tail outwards, roll it in flour, and
sprinkle a little pepper and salt, then put a little game skewer to
keep the herring in shape. Have ready a good quantity of boiling fat;
it is best to do the herrings in a wire basket, and fry them quickly
for 10 minutes. Take them up and set them on a plate before the fire,
in order that all the fat may drain from them. Pass the roes through
flour mixed with a sufficient quantity of pepper and salt, fry them
brown, and garnish the fish with them and crisp parsley. A difficulty
is often felt in introducing herrings at dinner, on account of the
number of small bones in them, but this is obviated by the above
method of dressing, as with care not one bone should be left in.

_John Dory_ (Dorée).--Stuffed.--Pick out all the flesh from a
whiting, pound it with an equal bulk of breadcrumbs soaked in milk,
a piece of butter, a small onion or a shallot, blanched, pepper,
salt, and grated nutmeg to taste; mix the whole very well, and work
it into a paste with the yolks of one or two eggs. Lift up the flesh
from the backbone of a good-sized John Dory, stuff it with the above
composition, and tie up with string; lay in a buttered tin with a
tablespoonful of minced shallots, a couple of bay leaves, some whole
pepper, and salt to taste; pour in enough stock and white wine in
equal parts to cover the fish, place a sheet of buttered paper over,
and put the tin in the oven for about ¾ hour, more or less, according
to the size of the fish. Remove the string, and serve with some of
the liquor strained and thickened with a little butter and flour.

With Caper Sauce.--Place the fish, trussed with packthread, in a fish
kettle full of cold water well salted; when the water comes near
boiling point, draw the fish kettle aside, let it simmer gently till
the fish is quite done, lift up to drain, then lay on a dish, pour
plenty of brown caper sauce over.

_Lamperns._--These great delicacies are in season from October to
April. Many persons confuse them with the lamprey, which is a totally
different fish, being larger than an eel, while the lampern is not
more than 8 in. long. They should be bought alive, killed by boiling
water, cleaned by stirring them briskly round in the bucket in which
they are killed, and after rinsing them in cold water, rubbed in a
cloth. They should then have the points of their mouths and the tips
of their tails cut off, taking care to remove as little as possible,
else the gravy is lost, and the nature of these fish is the same as a
snipe.

Stewed.--Have ready about 3 tablespoonfuls of good rich gravy, ¼ pint
claret or port, a blade of mace, 3 cloves, a teaspoonful of salt, ½
teaspoonful of pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, a dessertspoonful of
Worcester sauce. This is sufficient for stewing 3 doz. lamperns. Stew
them very gently for about 1 hour, set them aside in the gravy till
the following day, when they may be rewarmed; the gravy thickened
with butter and arrowroot, a little more sauce added; serve very hot,
garnished with lemon and horseradish. They should always stand a
night in the gravy before being eaten, and will keep for a week. If
potted, they should be curled round in a small jar when stewed; about
9 or more fish make a small pot; the gravy requires setting with a
little isinglass, and when sent to table they should be turned out
and garnished with parsley. The flavour of the lampern is totally
unlike that of any other fish, and epicures in Worcestershire will
pay a high price for them when they are scarce. (E. B. W.)

_Lamprey_ (Lamproie). Baked.--Skin, draw, and split the back from
mouth to tail, remove the string in the back and truss it round;
parboil it in salted water with sweet herbs, season when cold with
nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Line a pie dish with paste, put butter at
the bottom, then the lamprey, 2 or 3 onions, cloves, currants, a
piece of butter; cover the pie, fill it up (through a hole in the
top) with clarified butter--or boiling claret, this will not keep so
long--and bake. Eels, lampreys, &c., may be baked in a glazed earthen
pot (without paste) rubbed inside well with butter, and--if to keep
long--they should be seasoned well with cloves, mace, pepper, and
salt.

_Ling._--Cut 1 lb. ling into slices, rub with flour, and fry a nice
brown. When done, fry a stick of celery and a very small onion. Add
½ pint stock with a dessertspoonful of flour, a sprig of parsley, a
piece of lemon peel, a blade of mace, salt, and peppercorns. When
it boils, put the fish back in the saucepan, and simmer very gently
until done, i.e. 15-20 minutes. Put the slices on a hot dish and
strain the gravy over. The sauce may be varied by adding the chopped
whites of a hard-boiled egg just before serving, and rubbing the yolk
over the dish through a sieve as a garnish. Conger requires longer
cooking; hake and most other white fish, which can be used for this
same recipe, not so long.

_Lobster_ (Homard).--During the early summer months lobsters are in
prime condition, and may be bought either alive or dead. As they are
very tenacious of life, and indeed will live on till their substance
is utterly wasted, it is clearly better to buy them alive, taking
care not to kill them till just before cooking. The heaviest are the
best; and if the tail strikes quick and strong, they are in good
condition, but if weak and light and frothing at the mouth, are
exhausted and worthless. In like manner, when buying a boiled lobster
put your finger and thumb on the body and pinch it; if it feels firm,
and the tail goes back with a strong spring, the lobster--if heavy
and of a good colour--is a desirable specimen.

À la St. Malo.--Take a lobster, cut in two lengthwise; take out all
the flesh, and scallop it, making the claws and coral into lobster
butter. Reduce some good gravy with a little double cream, and
add two spoonfuls of tomato sauce: stir all well together, with a
pinch of cayenne pepper. Roll the lobster scallops in the sauce,
and place them in the shell, on the top of a few minced truffles,
and cover with the thick sauce; mix a little butter and shallot
with breadcrumbs and finely-chopped parsley. Scatter this over the
lobster, and cook _au gratin_ for ¼ hour. (Mrs. C.)

À l’Enfant Prodigue.--Get a couple of lobsters, and cut them down the
back, leaving the shell of the heads intact; remove the non-edible
portions and break the claws. Put the whole into a stewpan with a
bottle of champagne (sweet champagne will do), 4 spoonfuls fine salad
oil, 3 cloves of garlic, a sprig of basil, and a lemon (sliced and
freed from peel and pips), salt, pepper, chervil, parsley, a few
mushrooms, and 2 lb. truffles (whole). When done, take out the sweet
herbs, cut off the heads of the lobsters, place them erect in the
middle of the dish, and dispose the other pieces around. Impale the
truffles on the antennæ of the lobsters, pour the sauce over, and
above all, serve Clos de Vougeôt, Chambertin, or Côte Rôtie with this
dish.

Au gratin.--Split the tail and body of the lobster, removing the
fish and taking care not to break the shells, mince up the fish and
put all into a stewpan with a little good stock, and pepper and
salt, mix it well, fill the shells with the mixture, cover them with
breadcrumbs, brush over with clarified butter, and brown with a
salamander.

Boiled.--A fine lobster simply boiled and served piping hot is a
capital dish. To produce this, tie up the lobster’s tail fast to the
body with a string, put on a saucepan or fish-kettle with sufficient
water; let it boil, put in the lobster with a handful of salt,
and boil for about ½ hour (a small one will not require more than
15-20 minutes), then take it out, wipe all the scum off, break the
claws, split it through the tail and back, and lay it in a hot dish,
“displayed” with a claw on each side. Melted butter is generally
served with this dish, and is much improved by the addition of
pounded spawn; but a hot _ravigote_ or _tartare_ sauce will be found
an improvement on the traditional accompaniment.

Broiled.--After being boiled as above, a lobster may be broiled in
this wise: Take the claws off and crack them, split the body and
tail in two, season well with pepper, salt, and cayenne, and broil.
Serve with plain butter or with a little heated ketchup, dashed with
Worcestershire sauce.

Roast.--There are 3 methods of roasting a lobster. One is to boil it
and put it in a dish before the fire, and baste it with butter till
it froths, and then “display” it in a hot dish, and serve. Another
plan is only to half boil the lobster, then butter its shell, and tie
it to the spit before a brisk fire. After a plentiful basting with
butter, it may be served with a hot _sauce tartare_. A more thorough
method than either of these is to tie a large uncooked lobster to a
long skewer, using plenty of packthread, and attaching it firmly,
for a reason to be presently stated. Tie the skewer to a spit, and
put the lobster down to a sharp fire; baste with champagne, butter,
pepper and salt. After a while the shell of the animal will become
tender, and will crumble between the fingers. When it comes away
from the body the operation of roasting is complete. Take down the
lobster, skim the fat from the gravy in the dripping-pan, add the
juice of a Seville orange, pepper, salt, and spice, and serve in a
lordly dish.

Buttered.--A buttered lobster should be first boiled and broken up.
Take out all the meat, cut it small, and put it into a stewpan with
plenty of butter, a little pepper, salt, and vinegar, and stir till
it is hot. If a handsome dish of 2 or 3 lobsters be desired, the
tails should be halved and broiled, and put round the dish with the
minced lobster in the middle.

Cream.--Take the flesh from 2 lobsters, cut up small, and then pound
in a mortar with the spawn until reduced to a smooth paste; then pass
through a fine sieve, add pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, and mix
gradually sufficient double cream to make it of the consistency of
a thick purée. Just before serving, put into small paper cases and
serve cold with some of the spawn sprinkled over the top.

Croquettes.--Mince the flesh of a lobster to the size of small dice,
season with pepper, salt, spices, and as much cayenne as will rest on
the point of a trussing needle. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan,
mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, then the lobster, and some chopped
parsley; moisten with a little stock until the mixture looks like
minced veal; then stir into it off the fire 2 yolks of eggs, and put
by to get cold. When nearly so, shape into the form of corks, egg
them, and roll in baked breadcrumbs. After the lapse of an hour, egg
and breadcrumb them again, taking care to preserve the shape. After a
little time fry them a nice colour in hot lard.

Croustades.--Cut the crumb of a loaf of bread into slices 2 in.
thick, and then with a round paste cutter about 2 in. diameter, cut
out of each slice as many pieces as you can; with another paste
cutter, about 1½ in. diameter, make a mark on one side of each
cylinder of breadcrumb. When all are ready fry them a golden colour
in very hot lard; a deep frying-pan should be used, and plenty of
lard, so that the croustades fairly swim in the fat. When done lay
them in front of the fire to drain, and afterwards remove the cover
(marked with the smaller paste cutter), and with the handle of a
teaspoon scoop out all the inside of each croustade. Then fill them
with the following mixture:--Mince the flesh of a hen lobster to the
size of small dice, season with pepper, salt, and spice, and as much
cayenne as will rest on the point of a trussing needle. Pound some
of the spawn with 1 oz. butter, pass it through a hair sieve. Take
another ounce of butter, melt it in a saucepan with a teaspoonful of
flour, add a very small quantity of white stock and the flesh of the
lobster; when the mixture is thoroughly hot, put in a pinch of finely
minced parsley, the juice of half a lemon and the butter which was
pounded with the spawn.

Curry.--Lobster curry is made by frying sliced onions in butter till
they are done enough. The flesh of a boiled lobster is then added,
and the curry powder (made into a paste) is put in with a liberal
allowance of cream. 15-20 minutes will cook this dish, which should
be carefully stirred all the time. It may be served within a wall of
rice, or, better still, with the rice in a separate dish.

Cutlets.--Take out the meat of either a lobster or crab, mince it
up, and add 2 oz. butter, browned with 1 tablespoonful flour, and
seasoned with a little pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add about ½ pint
strong stock, stir the mixture over the fire until quite hot, and lay
it in separate tablespoonfuls on a large dish. When cold, form into
the shape of cutlets, brush over with yolk of egg (beaten), dip in
breadcrumbs, fry of a light-brown colour in clarified beef dripping,
and place round a dish, with a little fried parsley in the centre.

Kromeskies.--Mince finely a small quantity of the flesh of lobster,
toss it in butter on the fire, adding a pinch of flour, a little
white stock, salt, pepper, and spices to taste, and lastly the yolk
of an egg beaten up with a little lemon juice; but this should be
done off the fire. Spread the mixture on a dish to cool; divide it
into portions the size of a walnut; wrap each portion in a piece of
white wafer, previously wetted; then dip them in batter, and fry
a golden colour in hot lard. Serve piled up on a dish, with fried
parsley.

Omelet.--Slice a quantity of the flesh of a lobster, equal in bulk
to 2 eggs, season with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; mix on the fire
some butter and a little flour, moisten with a little stock, add the
lobster, and stir in, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with
the juice of half a lemon. Insert this ragout in the fold of a plain
omelet. Turn out on a dish, and serve.

Salad.--Boil 4 eggs hard; when quite cold carefully remove the
yolks, beat with a fork, with 2 teaspoonfuls mustard, 1 of salt,
1 of pepper, and a little cayenne; mix well together, add 4
dessertspoonfuls vinegar and 1 of lemon pickle. When quite smooth,
add the spawn of the fish and ½ pint cream. Cut up the boiled fish
in small pieces, and with an onion nicely minced, stir them into
the sauce. Place the lettuce, endive, cress, &c., upon the lobster,
garnish with beetroot and slices of whites of egg.

Sandwiches.--Take the flesh of a boiled lobster, cut the thick part
into thin slices, put on a plate, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, a
little oil and cayenne. Put any trimming of lobster and anchovies,
or sardines, into a mortar with 2 oz. fresh butter, salt, pepper,
and a little anchovy sauce, pound well together and pass through
a sieve. Cut slices of thin bread and butter, place the slices of
lobster carefully on them, and spread over each the above butter; put
on another piece of bread and butter, flatten each sandwich, and cut
into any shape you please. Serve either on a napkin with parsley, or
over small cress. Potted lobster can be used for this purpose with
greater advantage, and likewise a little cress, chopped, may be put
next the slices of lobster. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

Soufflé.--Take out the meat from a small lobster, break it into
pieces, and then pound it in a mortar with some of the spawn of a
hen lobster, and an equal quantity of butter; add pepper, salt, and
spices to taste, with as much cayenne as can be taken up on the
point of a trussing needle; slightly pound the rest of the lobster,
and put it into some very good veal stock, simmer gently until well
flavoured; then strain and add sufficient of this with a little
double cream and a dash of lemon juice, to make the mixture of the
consistency of thick lobster sauce, stir over the fire until well
mixed; then leave to get nearly cold; now add quickly the yolks of 3
or 4 eggs, according to quantity, and lastly the whites whipped to
a stiff froth; pour it at once into a soufflé tin, and bake in the
oven. Serve immediately.

Stewed.--For stew or _ragoût_, lobsters should be only half boiled,
and then transferred to the stewpan. To concoct a stew, proceed as
follows: Half boil a fine lobster, and take out the meat in as large
pieces as possible. Put it into a stewpan, with a little white stock,
2 glasses hock, sauterne, or very light sherry, a little beaten mace,
cayenne pepper and salt, a spoonful of ketchup, a dash of anchovy
sauce, and a little butter rolled in flour. Stew gently for 20
minutes, shaking now and then; squeeze in the juice of a lemon, and
serve on a hot dish.

_Mackerel_ (Maquereau).--In March superb mackerel may be obtained,
full of roe and in perfect condition, while throughout the year
they may be got in London in fair case for eating. Mackerel cannot
be cooked too soon after being caught. The flesh immediately begins
to deteriorate, and within a couple of days loses flavour--going in
hot weather rapidly “to the bad.” In buying this fish, therefore,
great attention must be paid to its condition and freshness. A
good mackerel should be of fair size (not the monster called horse
mackerel), plump, very thick and round in shape, full and deep from
the shoulder downwards. The eye should be full and bright, the skin
glossy, and the body stiff. The bars on the back should also be
observed, as these are straighter in the male than in the female
fish, the former of which is justly preferred, on account of the
richer quality of the flesh and the exquisite texture and flavour of
the roe.

Baked.--Wash and clean 3 or 4 mackerel, divide them down the back
and once across, making 4 pieces of each fish. Arrange these pieces
compactly in a pie dish in layers, with 3 or 4 bay leaves, 6 shallots
sliced, a dessertspoonful of peppercorns, half that quantity of
pimento berries, 8 cloves, and a little white pepper. Make a sauce
with ½ pint good stock, 1 wineglass each of claret and vinegar, 1
tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, and the same of anchovy and Harvey
sauce, with a tablespoonful of Worcester sauce and soy. Bake in a
moderate oven with a cover on the dish until the fish is quite done;
take from the sauce, and place on the dish you intend serving it on;
strain the sauce, and pour over the fish. Serve cold, garnished with
sprigs of parsley or fennel. Fish cooked in this way will keep good
for 2-3 days, if left in the sauce and covered over.

Boiled.--For boiling, mackerel should be carefully cleaned, from the
gills, well washed in vinegar and water, and allowed to dry before
being put into the fish kettle, when a handful of salt should be
put into sufficient water to cover the fish which should be allowed
to boil gently for 15-20 minutes. As the critical moment approaches
the fish should be carefully watched, as when the eye starts and
the tail splits it is done, and must be taken up immediately, or it
will break. Serve on a napkin with fennel sauce (in boats) made as
follows: Pick and wash a bunch of fennel, tie it up and “blanch” it,
i.e. throw it into boiling water and let it remain for a few minutes,
drain and chop it finely and add it to some melted butter, make it
quite hot, and serve. When fennel is unattainable parsley may be
used--albeit a feeble substitute--instead. Another good sauce for
boiled mackerel is made thus: throw a large piece of butter rolled in
flour into a stewpan, add chopped and blanched parsley and mushrooms,
a little chopped shallot and a _soupçon_ of garlic, moisten with a
cupful of stock or broth, add salt and a little grated nutmeg, and
just before serving stir in a little mustard, amalgamate thoroughly,
and serve in a boat.

Broiled.--When the fish are split open, wipe carefully with a dry
cloth, sprinkle lightly with pepper and salt, and hang up in a cool
place with plenty of air until next morning. Take care to keep the
fish open when you hang them up. When ready to cook the mackerel,
dissolve ½ oz. butter or bacon fat for each fish, and pass them
through it on both sides. Lay them on a gridiron over a very slow
fire, turn frequently, basting now and then with a little butter.
When the fish is last turned, sprinkle finely-chopped parsley on
the inner side, and then serve very hot. They must be very slowly
cooked; they will take at least 20 minutes. If put over a fierce fire
mackerel is rendered hard and indigestible, and the fish itself is
unjustly blamed, but if the above recipe is followed a most delicious
dish will be produced.

Devilled.--Split the mackerel down the back, and remove the bone.
Divide the fish into 4 fillets, trim neatly, and season well with
made mustard, black pepper, salt, and a little lemon juice; let
remain for a short time, 1 hour if possible, then dip in oil or
melted butter, and broil over a clear fire; serve with fried parsley
and cut lemon, or with a grill sauce, viz. gravy flavoured with
French mustard, mushroom ketchup (or any flavouring preferred), a few
chopped capers, and with a thickening of butter, flour, and a dash of
lemon juice.

Fillets.--Split 2 mackerel, remove the bone, cut off the heads and
tails, and trim the 4 halves into 12 fillets; remove the skin from
each; sprinkle with pepper and salt, and set to cook with plenty of
butter in a sauté pan, or in a tin in the oven. Put all the bones
and trimmings of the fish to boil for 1 hour in a saucepan, with 1
onion, 1 carrot, some parsley, sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and cloves
to taste, and a little water; then strain it. Fry in oil 3-4 shallots
finely minced, and as many mushrooms, until they are a light brown;
then add 3 tablespoonfuls wine vinegar, mix well, and let it reduce
by one-third. Add the above liquor and a little chopped parsley, and
dish the fillets with this sauce.

Fricassée.--2 mackerel, 1 tablespoonful parsley, juice and rind
of one lemon, yolks 2-3 eggs, ¼ pint cream, 2 oz. butter, 1
tablespoonful flour. Clean the mackerel and with a sharp knife just
cut through the skin round the head, strip the skin off from the head
to the tail, then run the knife down the back close to the bone, on
the outside, turn the fish over, and proceed as before, keeping the
knife close to the bone; strip the fillet off each side of the bone,
cut across in an oblong shape, lay on a dish, sprinkle with a little
sauce. Next put the bones of the fish into a stewpan, with the stalks
of the parsley, the rind of the lemon pared very thin, and a little
water, let them stew about ½ hour; when done strain the liquor from
the bones into the basin, rinse the stewpan, and arrange in it the
fillets in one layer; pour over them the liquor from the bones, and
let them simmer 10-15 minutes very slowly. About 5 minutes before
the fish is done add to it a tablespoonful finely-chopped parsley,
a little salt, white pepper, the flour and butter previously mixed
on a plate, and the cream; shake the stewpan round to mix the butter
and flour, let the sauce just boil, add the beaten yolks of 2-3 fresh
eggs, and the lemon juice; but be sure not to let it boil after the
eggs are put in, or the sauce will curdle. The roes of the fish
should be fried, and laid on top of the fricassée; and a wall of
mashed potatoes or rice might be put round the dish if liked.

Grilled.--Split 2 mackerel down the back, and remove the bone. Mix
some olive oil in a dish with pepper and salt, lay the mackerel
in this, and turn them over so that they are well oiled on both
sides. Place them in a double gridiron, and grill them for about 10
minutes in front of a clear, but not too fierce, fire, turning them
frequently during the process. Serve back downwards, with a large
piece of _maître d’hôtel_ butter on each fish.

Roes.--Blanch some soft roes of mackerel for about 5 minutes in
salted water, with a dash of vinegar in it; drain them on a cloth;
fry a minced shallot in butter, add some mushrooms finely chopped, a
pinch of flour, a little stock, some minced parsley, pepper and salt,
and the juice of half a lemon; stir the sauce well. Oil some paper
cases; put a little of the sauce in each, then as many slices of roe
as it will hold, and fill up with more sauce. Put the cases in a
moderate oven, and serve as soon as the contents are hot.

_Mullet_ [_Grey_] (Mulet). Boiled.--Choose a good-sized fish, lay
it in the fish kettle with plenty of well-salted cold water; when
the water boils draw the kettle aside, lift up the fish, and let it
drain, covered up over the water until the time of serving.

Broiled.--See Carp.

In Jelly.--Take a grey mullet, about 5 lb., scale and wash well; put
it in a fish-kettle, with sufficient water to just cover it; add the
juice of 12 lemons, 6 sweet and 3 bitter oranges, some allspice, and
2 onions, with a few cloves stuck in them. Let the fish boil gently
in this liquor till done. Put in a deep dish when cooked; then put
1 oz. isinglass or Nelson’s gelatine, previously soaked in cold
water, in the water the fish was cooked in, and let it simmer till
dissolved; then strain over the fish till not quite covered, and let
it remain till next day, when the jelly ought to be firm, but not so
stiff as calves’-foot jelly. (E. G.)

Stewed.--Take a grey mullet (3-4 lb.), scale and wash well; sprinkle
with salt and let it rest. Put a teacupful of olive oil in a frying
pan with 4 or 5 onions; put it on the fire, and fry rather brown; lay
the half on the bottom of a deep baking dish, place the fish over,
then a good layer of chopped parsley, a layer of tomatoes in slices
(or American tinned ones will do) and the remainder of the onions,
and another layer of parsley; pour over the oil left in the frying
pan ½ teacup French vinegar, 1 teacupful water, with some salt in it
and 2 tablespoonfuls conserve de tomates. Bake in the oven for about
1 hour in a moderate heat; lay the fish in the centre of the dish and
the vegetables round. This must have no gravy left. Best eaten cold.
See Carp.

_Mullet_ [_Red_] (Rouget).--This “woodcock of the sea” must never
be drawn or cleaned, as, like its land namesake, it is a very clean
feeder. As its own flavour is its greatest attraction, it is better
to cook it in a manner that does justice to that flavour, without
overpowering it. Lay 3-4 red mullet in a deep dish in vinegar, and
some whole pepper, and let them do themselves, and be served in the
juices that they throw out; or plain boil them, and mix their insides
with plain melted butter, without rejecting any part.

Baked.--Cut 1 carrot and 2 onions into thin slices; add thyme,
parsley, and marjoram, with pepper and salt to taste, and 3
tablespoonfuls salad oil; mix these well together, cover each mullet
with the mixture, and roll up in a piece of white paper, previously
oiled; bake them in a moderate oven ½ hour, then carefully open the
paper, place the fish neatly on a dish, ready to be served, and keep
it warm. Melt a small piece of butter, add a large pinch of flour,
half a tumblerful of good stock, and the vegetables, &c., the fish
were cooked in. Let the sauce boil 5 minutes, add salt if wanted;
strain, skim, pour it over the fish, and serve.

Broiled.--Wipe each fish quite dry, and lay it on a sheet of note
paper well oiled with salad oil; sprinkle pepper, salt, and a little
minced parsley on the fish, and a little lemon juice; fold up the
paper neatly, and broil them on a gridiron; take them out of the
paper, and lay carefully on a dish; pour the following sauce over and
serve: Fry in a little salad oil a couple of shallots very finely
minced, then add a wineglassful of sherry, 6 mushrooms finely minced,
and as much Spanish sauce as may be required. Lastly, put in a little
finely chopped parsley, and a little lemon juice. Let the sauce
gently simmer for ¼ hour, and, having skimmed off the fat, pour it
over the fish.

Stewed.--Make a paste in a basin with breadcrumbs soaked in milk and
squeezed dry, butter, minced parsley, pepper, salt, and spices to
taste; add a yolk of egg to it, and when it is worked quite smooth,
stuff the mullets with it, and put them to cook in the oven in a
tin, with plenty of olive oil, and pepper and salt to taste. Fry
some shallots in oil till they are a good colour, stir in a little
flour and as much well-flavoured stock as you want sauce; add spices,
pepper and salt to taste; then strain it and add a quantity of
Spanish olives previously stoned and parboiled. Let them simmer in
the sauce for a short time; then serve with the mullets.

Stuffed.--Remove the gills of the mullets, make an incision from the
throat half-way down the belly of the fish, and do not remove any of
the inside but the small gut, which will come away in pulling out
the gills. Take some fine breadcrumbs, add to them a fourth of their
bulk of shallots, and the same quantity of mushrooms, both minced
as finely as possible, and lightly fried in butter. Then add some
parsley and sweet herbs finely chopped, season with pepper and salt,
and make the mixture into a paste by working a pat of butter or more
into it, and the yolk of one egg; stuff the mullets with this, pack
them up securely in buttered paper, and grill them on a clear fire,
or bake them in a buttered tin.

_Mussels_ (Moules).--Mussels have an evil reputation, and in this
country are regarded with especial suspicion, while in France
they are eaten by everybody, when in season--that is, during the
six winter months. They maybe eaten raw if great care is taken in
bearding them. This operation, which is optional in the case of the
oyster, is indispensable to the wholesomeness of the mussel. It is,
however, more general and perhaps safer to eat mussels stewed.

Stewed.--Take 3-6 doz. mussels, put them in a pail of water, and wash
well with a birch broom; then put into a pail of spring water and
salt for 2 hours; wash out, put into a saucepan without water, and
cover close; stew gently till they open, and strain the liquor from
them through a sieve; pick them out of the shells, beard carefully
and put into a stewpan. Put in about half the liquor carefully
drained from the settlings, with a gill of sherry or sauterne, a
little grated nutmeg, and a large piece of butter rolled in flour.
Stew gently, and keep stirring till the mixture is thick and smooth,
and serve on a hot dish with toasted sippets.

_Oysters_ (Huîtres). Raw.--Put 4-6 oysters before each guest on a
plate, with a lemon quartered, and with the upper shell replaced over
each oyster. Serve thin slices of brown bread and butter and cayenne
with them.

Angels on Horseback.--Take 12 or more large-sized oysters from their
shells, removing the beards; cover each with a very thin slice of fat
of bacon, dipping each slice into hot water and well drying it with a
cloth before rolling it round the oyster; then place them on a fine
skewer and suspend them before the fire until the bacon is nicely
cooked. A slice of soft buttered toast should be under them while
cooking, and on it they should be sent up very hot to table.

Broiled.--Many invalids who object to native oysters in the shell
can eat them with relish when cooked in this way. Drain the oysters
from their liquor and dry them in a napkin. Heat and well butter a
gridiron, season well, lay them on, and brown both sides. Serve on a
very hot dish, with melted butter.

Cream.--Open 1 doz. oysters carefully and save the liquor; take ½
pint milk, add to it a piece of butter the size of a walnut, thicken
with flour, and simmer 10 minutes. Add the oysters with their liquor,
and seasoning to taste. Have some nicely browned slices of toast,
take up the oysters carefully, lay them on the toast, pour the
mixture over, and serve.

Croustades.--Parboil a quantity of oysters in their own liquor,
remove the beards, cut each oyster into 4-6 pieces. Melt a piece
of butter in a saucepan, add to it a pinch of flour, the liquid of
the oysters, a little cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, the least bit of
cayenne, and some finely minced parsley. Put in the oysters and toss
them in this sauce just long enough to make them quite hot. Stir into
them, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of
half a lemon, and strained. Fill some bread croustades, warm them in
the oven, and serve.

Cutlets.--For these the large stewing oysters are the best. Take
about ½ lb. veal, and an equal quantity of oysters. First chop them
finely, and then pound them together in a mortar, adding a little
finely chopped veal suet, and 3 tablespoonfuls breadcrumbs which have
been soaked in the liquor from the oysters when opened. Season with
a little salt, white pepper, and a very little piece of mace well
pounded; to this add the beaten yolks of 2 eggs. Mix this thoroughly;
then pound it a little more, and make it up in the form of small
cutlets. Fry them in butter, after having dipped them in the usual
way in egg and breadcrumbs. Drain well and send to table very hot.
Serve on a napkin, and garnish with little sprigs of parsley.

Devilled (à la diable).--Parboil some oysters in their own liquor,
take off the beards and hard parts, cut up the remainder into small
pieces, season well with cayenne and salt, and add a little lemon
juice. Take the liquor in which the oysters were boiled and add to
it a thickening of butter and flour, put in the minced oysters, and
stir over the fire until quite cooked, then add, off the fire, the
yolks of 1 or 2 eggs, beaten up with a little cream. Spread out the
mixture to get cold, then divide it into small portions, roll up each
portion into the thinnest possible wafer of parboiled bacon. Just
before frying dip each roll into some frying batter, put them into
the frying basket, and fry in hot lard or butter. Serve garnished
with fried parsley.

Fricassée.--Take a tablespoonful of cream and the beaten yolk of an
egg. Mix them well together, then drain the liquor from 12 oysters,
thicken it with butter and flour, add the egg and cream, season to
taste, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Lay in the
oysters, let them warm through, then pour up over slices of buttered
toast.

Fried.--The oysters must be first boiled in their own liquor, and
drain. Then put them into a frying pan, with butter in the proportion
of 2 oz. to 3 doz. oysters, about a tablespoonful of ketchup, a
little chopped parsley, and grated lemon peel, and fry them for a few
minutes. Serve very hot, with toast separate. (Mrs. B.)

Fritters.--Have ready a batter made as follows: Dissolve 1 oz. butter
in 2 oz. water or oyster liquor, and stir to this 1½ oz. sifted
flour; mix well over the fire. Take it off and mix in, one after the
other, 3 eggs and a little salt. Beard and scald the oysters, dip
each into the butter, fry lightly, and serve.

Kromeskies.--Put 1 doz. oysters (tinned will do), with their liquor,
into a saucepan, bring them to the boil, take them out and beard
them, cut into pieces about the size of half a pea; return the beards
to the saucepan, boil in their liquor to extract the flavour, put
them back for 5 minutes to simmer. Make a panada of 1 oz. butter, 1
oz. flour, ¼ gill oyster liquor (add milk if short), pepper, salt,
cayenne, and a few grates of nutmeg; put into a saucepan. When it
thickens add the yolk of an egg, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a
teaspoonful of anchovy sauce; do not let it boil. Put the pieces of
oyster in the panada to get thoroughly warmed through, turn out on
a plate to cool. Then shape into cakes, inclose in very thin bacon,
dip into frying batter, then drop into boiling fat, and fry. These
can be warmed up in the oven. Batter for kromeskies: 4 oz. flour,
2 dessertspoonfuls salad oil, a pinch of salt, 1 gill tepid water,
whites of 2 eggs beaten to a stiff froth; put the flour into a basin,
make a well in the centre, then add salad oil, begin to stir very
slowly, when it thickens add the water. After all the water is added
let the mixture stand for 1 hour. Beat the whites of the eggs into a
very stiff froth (it ought to be stiff enough to be able to cut it
with a knife), stir into the batter very lightly. The best bacon for
kromeskies is a block off the back, nearly all fat; parboil it for 20
minutes, let it get cold, cut into slices 2½ in. wide, 3 in. long,
then wrap round the oyster shapes.

Olives.--Chop finely 1 lb. inside loin of mutton, with ½ lb. beef
suet free from skin, and 1 pint oysters, scalded and bearded. Mix
well, and season with pepper, salt, and mace, and a squeeze of lemon
juice. When quite smooth, press all into a glazed pot. It will keep
several days. For use, roll it into balls or cakes, and fry lightly.

Patties.--Make first a rich puff paste with ½ lb. Vienna flour and
½ lb. butter. Press all the moisture out of the butter with a clean
cloth, then rub half of it very lightly into the flour, mix with
sufficient cold water to form a paste, roll, and put on the remainder
of the butter, fold in three, and roll out; repeat this, then fill
the patty-pans, and bake quickly. Beard and drain 1 doz. oysters, add
a few drops of lemon juice to the liquor, and thicken with flour,
butter, and the yolk of an egg. Cut the oysters into dice, stir them
into the mixture with a few drops of anchovy sauce; warm up, and fill
the cases.

Pie.--Line the sides and edges of a buttered pie dish with puff
paste. Take some large, fresh oysters, lay them in a stewpan, and
stir to them pepper, salt, and mace to taste, a very little butter
rolled in flour, and the liquor. When well mixed over the fire, pour
it all into the pie dish, strew it thickly with breadcrumbs and
chopped hard-boiled egg, cover the dish with paste, and bake in a
quick oven.

Rissolettes.--Boil as many oysters as you may require in their own
liquor, taking care that they are not too much done; a very few
minutes will be enough. Take off the beards, return them to the
liquor, taking them out of it again with a perforated ladle. The
liquor must stand a short time to allow the sand to settle; pour it
carefully into another basin through a fine strainer, that there may
be no chance of any grit. Make a thickening of butter and flour,
moistening it with the liquor. When the sauce is very thick, add
a spoonful or two of cream and the same of good white stock; cut
the oysters into dice and mix them with the sauce, which must be
sufficiently thick to hold them together in a sort of paste. Season
with a little salt and a very little cayenne pepper. If the flavour
of mushrooms be liked, 2 or 3 may be cut into dice and fried in
butter, dusted over with flour, and then mixed with the oysters. Make
up into rissolettes, using puff paste rolled thin, and cutting them
into small three-corner-shaped turnovers, putting about a teaspoonful
of the oyster mixture into each. Brush over lightly with yolk of
egg, bake in a quick oven, and serve piled up on a napkin in a dish
garnished with parsley.

Roasted.--Large oysters will be found very nice if roasted in their
shells. This operation is sometimes performed by simply putting the
wretched oyster on the embers alive, and thus converting his own coat
into a cooking pot. A far better plan is to open the oyster in the
hollow shell, taking care to preserve the liquor. To every oyster
give a little piece of butter, put on the flat shell as a lid, and
then lay the oysters on the embers on a gridiron, or put them in a
tin into the oven, taking care not to overcook them. When they are
done administer to each a dash of lemon juice, and 2 or 3 grains of
cayenne; replace the top shells, and serve instantly.

Sausages.--Beard the oysters and chop them very fine. To this add
finely pounded breadcrumbs, sweet marjoram, parsley, and seasoning
to taste, and mix it to a stiff paste with the yolk of an egg or
two. Cut this into pieces the length and breadth of your thumb, and
fry these a delicate brown. Serve on a napkin with fried parsley, or
round mashed potato.

Scalloped.--Parboil 2 doz. oysters in their own liquor, beard them
and cut them in half. Butter some scallop shells, fill them with
a mixture of half breadcrumbs and half oysters, adding pepper and
salt to taste, and a grate of nutmeg. Strain the liquor and divide
it between the number of scallop shells you have, put a piece of
butter in each shell, a few drops of lemon juice, and cover up with
breadcrumbs, pressing down contents of each shell. Put into a very
brisk oven till top is well browned.

Skewered (Hâtelets).--Beard 2 doz. oysters, and let them steep for
some time in their own liquor. Cut some fat bacon into rounds, and
place these and the oysters alternately on skewers, taking care to
finish, as you began, with a round of bacon. Season with pepper and
salt, egg and breadcrumb them, and fry a light brown. Serve on a
napkin with fried parsley, or in a dish with the following sauce:
Simmer the beards for 5 minutes in the oyster liquor, strain it, and
add ¼ pint stock (fish stock is best); thicken with flour and butter,
with a pinch of Nepaul pepper, salt to taste, and a little lemon
juice. Give it one boil before adding the lemon juice, and serve.

Soufflé.--Mix 3 oz. flour and 3 oz. butter smoothly over the fire,
add 1 pint good milk, and stir till it boils and thickens. Pour half
the sauce aside in a basin. To the half in the pan add a score of
oysters, roughly chopped and bearded, ½ oz. butter, the liquor from
the oysters, 1 dessertspoonful anchovy, the same, or a little more,
lemon juice, a grain of Nepaul pepper, and a little salt. Mix all
well together, stirring in the well-beaten yolks of 4 eggs; then add
lightly the whites of 6 eggs, beaten to a stiff froth. Butter a
plain tin mould, tie a band of buttered paper round it, and pour in
the mixture which should little more than half fill it. Steam for 1½
hour, and serve very hot.

Steamed.--Lay them in a potato steamer over boiling water, cover with
a plate to keep the steam in, and cook for 10 minutes. Then serve
quickly in the shell, and on a very hot dish, with fried brown bread
and lemon or vinegar.

Stewed.--Take 1 pint milk, thicken with 1 dessertspoonful of
cornflour, and stir in 1 oz. butter; season well, add a dozen
oysters, and stew gently for ½ hour. When serving, garnish the stew
with sippets of bread soaked in lemon juice and fried in butter.

Toast.--Chop 20 oysters roughly, and mix with them 2 anchovies,
washed and boned (paste or essence will do), mix well with a little
cream or the yolk of an egg, and thicken with a little butter rolled
in flour, and a grain of cayenne; boil up and serve on hot buttered
toast.

_Pilchard_ (Pie).--Cut the white part of 4 or 5 leeks into pieces,
and scald them in boiling water with salt. Soak in water all night 3
or 4 slightly salted pilchards, clean them, and cut off the tails and
fins, and put them in a pie-dish with the leeks in layers, seasoning
to taste. Cover the pie with crust, and bake it in a moderate oven.
In the country where this recipe comes from cream is cheap, and it
is recommended to raise the crust, to pour off the gravy, and to add
instead one cupful of hot cream just before serving.

_Plaice_ (Plie).--Plaice have little to recommend them beyond their
cheapness. There are two distinct kinds, those with the black backs
being generally preferred to the spotted variety. The flesh of both
is soft, and lacks the exquisite delicacy and firm springy texture
of turbot and brill; but still, if stewed in the same manner as
brill, they are fair eating. Fried plaice is a well-known article of
commerce in the by-ways of London, where the operation of frying is
successfully performed. The secret is that the fish are fried in good
oil, and that the temperature is duly attended to. See Sole.

_Perch_ (Perche).--Perch are delicate, especially when caught in a
swiftly-running river, and may be eaten fried, or in water souchet,
and shine especially in the latter form.

Clean the fish through as small an opening as is practicable, and lay
them, without scaling, on a well-oiled gridiron on a brisk fire; keep
turning them until you judge they are done, and send up to table with
them, in a sauce boat, some liquefied butter, to which pepper, salt,
and the juice of a lemon have been added. There should be one perch
for each person. Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Pike_ (Brochet).--When they exceed 4-5 lb. in weight, they are
excessively coarse and hardly worth carriage, but those of small
or moderate size are not to be despised when stuffed with a veal
stuffing--into which a liberal supply of lemon peel has entered--and
baked.

Baked with Sour Cream.--Cut the pike in neat slices. Place them in
an earthen baking dish with some butter at the bottom; divide 2 bay
leaves into pieces, and put them with slices of onion between the
fish; strew with salt, and pour over ½ pint sour cream. Bake about
20 minutes in a quick oven, basting at intervals; then strew over
some fine breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese, bake a few minutes
more till delicately coloured, dish without breaking the slices, but
take away the bay leaf and onions. Pour enough broth or water into
the baking dish to make a sauce; add pepper, salt, lemon juice, or
vinegar; stir well round the crusting, and pour it over the fish.

Boiled.--Rub off the slime with salt and water, cut away gills and
fins, draw, &c., and put into a fish kettle a handful of salt, 2 dr.
cloves, also of mace, 2 sliced nutmegs, the peel of a lemon, and a
small quantity of ginger peeled and sliced, 2 dr. whole pepper, 4
or 5 onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, equal quantities of rosemary,
marjoram, thyme, winter savory and parsley, enough liquor, 3 parts
water and one white wine, to cover the fish. Let it boil, put in
the fish, and cook slowly. When done drain the liquor from it, and
dish with the herbs and spices on it, sliced lemons and lemon peel,
and with either of the following sauces: Sauce.--(1) To 1 ladleful
melted butter add 2 of the boiling liquor in which the fish was
cooked. (2) Add to the above some slices of lemon, and an anchovy or
two pounded quite smooth. Garnish the fish with powdered ginger. (3)
Add to the above some oysters, some sliced horseradish, and a small
quantity of white wine, lastly, add the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs.

Broiled: see Carp.

Carbonade.--Slices of pike, neatly cut and cleared of skin and bone,
must be coated with fine herbs and oiled butter; after which sprinkle
with breadcrumbs, and ladle over some beaten egg with a spoon. Bake
them a pale brown, and serve with a good sprinkling of lemon juice
and a little gravy made in the baking dish.

Fried.--Choose small pike not more than 15 in. long, fry them until
brown and crisp, drain off the butter, and put them into a pan with
nutmeg, sliced ginger, a few anchovies, salt, and just sufficient
claret to cover them. Boil until the liquor be half consumed, then
add a piece of butter and a sliced lemon or orange. Serve on a dish
previously rubbed with shallot, and garnish with lemon or orange.

Larded.--Choose a large fish. When cleaned, lard it thickly over with
fresh bacon; put butter in a baking-dish with a little water; lay in
the fish in a ring, with the tail in its mouth, and bake in a brisk
oven; when half-done, strew fine breadcrumbs over, with pepper and
salt; baste occasionally, and when done a delicate brown move the
fish carefully on to a flat dish; pour into the baking-dish a brown
caper sauce or a sardine sauce; add a good sprinkling of lemon juice;
scrape in the crusting of the dish; pour the sauce over the fish, and
serve.

Roast.--Stuff a large pike with veal stuffing, rather highly
seasoned, and sew it up. Skewer its tail into its mouth and put it
in a round baking tin. Pour over a teacupful of cream, and roast it
in the oven, basting it frequently. Serve in a tureen melted butter
sauce, with the liquor out of the dish added, and the juice of half
a lemon. Hake would be good cooked in this way; one of moderate size
must be chosen if it is to be cooked whole.

Soused: see Carp.

Stewed.--Having cleaned and scaled the pike, lay it in plenty of
salted water. Put a good-sized piece of butter in a stewpan, with
a large tablespoonful of chopped parsley and either a shallot, an
onion, a clove of garlic, or some minced chives, 2 slices of lemon, 2
or 3 cloves, salt and pepper; cut up the fish into good-sized pieces.
A pike of about 4 lb. weight is best this way. Add a glass of wine,
the same of vinegar, and a large cup of broth or water to the stewed
herbs. Lay in the fish packed closely together, cover, and let it
simmer about ½ hour. Mix 3 or 4 yolks of eggs, with a cup of milk or
cream, pour this over the fish; strew in breadcrumbs to thicken the
sauce. Let it come to the boil; dish the fish carefully, put a piece
of butter to melt in the sauce, and pour it over.

_Prawns_ (Crevettes).--Prawns are in this country generally boiled
for about 10 minutes, and served cold. Very pretty they look when
built up over a _buisson_ of parsley, and very nice they taste as a
preparation for more serious dishes. In India and America, where they
grow to a very large size, prawns are often curried or served in an
_omelette_. In both of these cases they are first boiled, allowed to
cool, and carefully picked. For an _omelette_ they are then tossed
in butter seasoned with a little pepper, and inserted into the fold
of the _omelette_, and in curry are treated precisely like curried
lobster. In the first form they are exquisitely delicate; in the
second simply delicious.

Aspic.--Make a savoury jelly with 2-3 lb. knuckle of veal, an oxfoot,
some lean bacon, carrots, onions, shallots, a faggot of herbs,
spices, pepper, and salt, and 2 qt. water; stew till quite strong,
strain, when cold remove all fat, and clear with the whites of 2 or
3 eggs, and a glass of sherry; strain through a jelly bag, and when
nearly set pour a little into a jelly mould, put a layer of cooked
prawns, another layer of jelly and so on, filling up the mould with
alternate layers of jelly and prawns; when quite firm (it will
require icing) dip the mould in hot water for an instant, and turn
it out very carefully. Crayfish may be cooked in the same way.

_Roach_ (Gardon, rosse).--Broiled: see Carp; Stewed: see Carp, Trout.

_Salmon_ (Saumon).--A good fresh salmon is stiff, is bright and clear
in the scale, and has a small head. When the head looks long and the
jaws are hooked at the ends, it is no longer desirable. The fish
should be thick and deep, and the flesh of a fine pink colour, and
very firm. Flabbiness in substance, and a crimson or purplish colour,
are infallible indices of a fish out of condition. Salmon may be
eaten advantageously with shrimp or with _Hollandaise_ sauce, with
caper sauce, with simple _beurre fondu_, or perhaps best of all with
fennel sauce.

À la Montpelier.--Take 6-8 lb. of the middle of a large salmon,
put it into a braizing pan with 3 qt. stock, 2 qt. water, and ½
bottle chablis, with sliced carrots and onions, 6 bay leaves, some
basil, thyme, and ¼ oz. fresh butter. Put it on the fire, and let it
just boil, then withdraw it, and let it braize gently for 1 hour.
Take equal proportions of chives and parsley, and a fourth part of
anchovy. Blanch and then pound them in a mortar with fresh butter and
cayenne to taste; when reduced to a smooth paste, pass it through
a hair sieve, and put it on ice. When the salmon is cold, take it
out of the braize and drain it, then cover it evenly with the above
mixture. Serve ornamented with lobster spawn and aspic jelly, with
truffles and chopped whites of egg.

Au bleu.--Cut the salmon into slices not quite 1 in. thick. If trout
be used, let it be gutted by the gills, and not scaled, but only well
washed. Lay the fish in a deep dish, pour over it about a teacupful
of boiling vinegar, more or less, according to the quantity. Let the
fish soak in this for an hour; then take it out, fold it in a nice
clean piece of linen, place it in a stewpan with a piece of butter,
an onion and a carrot thinly sliced, a bunch of parsley, a shallot,
2 bay leaves, a sprig of basil, spice, pepper, and salt to taste, 1
pint red wine (vin ordinaire), and a little broth. Let all simmer
gently till the fish is cooked enough; the weight of the fish must
decide the time. Let the fish remain in the liquor till cool, then
serve it dry on a napkin, with the following sauce: 1 part vinegar
to 2 of oil, with equal quantities of sorrel, chives, and chervil,
chopped small, but not very fine.

Au gratin.--Take 2 slices salmon, about 1 in. thick, lay them in a
buttered tin, having first sprinkled them on both sides with pepper
and salt, put a few pieces of butter on them, and over all a sheet
of buttered paper. Place the tin in the oven for ¼ hour, then take
out the slices, lay them on a dish, pour the butter over them, and
sprinkle them all over with grated Parmesan cheese, and a very little
fine baked breadcrumbs on the top. Place the dish in the oven for 10
minutes, and serve in the same dish.

Boiled.--Put the fish--scaled and cleaned--into a fish kettle
with sufficient cold water to cover it well, and with salt in the
proportion of 1 lb. to 6 qt.; boil it quickly, skim carefully, and
let it simmer till quite done. Remove it from the water, drain, brush
the outer skin lightly with salad oil, and serve on a hot dish, with
cut lemon and parsley.

Broiled.--Salmon for broiling should be cut in slices not more than
1 in. thick. These may be floured, dusted with a little pepper and
salt, broiled on a gridiron previously rubbed with butter, and served
with plain butter or anchovy sauce; but a better method is to rub the
slices of salmon with a salad oil, instead of adopting the ancient
process of flouring. Another and perhaps still better plan is--after
drying the slices of fish thoroughly, to season them with a little
pepper and salt, and a _soupçon_ of grated nutmeg. Then take some
sheets of white paper, considerably larger--when doubled--than the
steaks, and anoint them either with butter or with oil. Wrap each
slice of salmon in a sheet of paper, and fasten the paper by turning
up a rim and pinching it over. Broil gently over a very clear fire
for about 20 minutes, and serve on a very hot dish. See Carp.

Boudin.--Take equal quantities cold boiled salmon and breadcrumbs.
Put the salmon, finely flaked and picked free from bone and skin,
into a mortar; pound it, pass it through a sieve, and return it
to the mortar, then work into it half its bulk of butter, the
breadcrumbs soaked in milk and squeezed dry; season with pepper,
salt, and nutmeg; then work in sufficient eggs, in the proportion
of 2 yolks and 1 white, to bind the mixture. Put it into buttered
moulds, and steam it for ½ hour in a saucepan full of boiling water.
Serve with Dutch sauce.

Cakes.--Pound about 1 lb. cold boiled salmon free of skin, with about
the same quantity of cold boiled potatoes, taking care first to
remove any eyes or dark-coloured specks there may be; with these beat
up some pounded spawn of lobster, an egg, and a little milk. Season
with salt and pepper and a few grains of cayenne. Then, with 2 little
flour, roll into cakes, and fry them a nice brown. Dress them, set
round on a napkin in a dish, garnished with fried parsley.

Chaud-froid.--Cut a slice about 4 in. thick from a fine salmon. Wrap
it round with thin slices of fat bacon, first detaching the skin,
by passing a sharp knife under it, from the fish, without removing
it, and placing a piece of carrot wrapped in bacon in the hollow of
the slice to keep it in shape; tie it firmly round with string. Set
it on a small strainer, and place this in a stewpan. Have ready a
sauce made by putting into a stewpan ¼ lb. chopped suet, ¼ lb. fat
bacon, with some sprigs of parsley, 2 small onions and 1 carrot, both
to be sliced, 2 cloves, the juice of half a lemon, a saltspoonful
of pepper, and a little salt. Let these remain on the fire about 10
minutes, stirring them carefully during the time to prevent their
getting brown; add as much water as may be necessary to use for
boiling the salmon in, and let it boil for 1 hour, strain it and let
it get cool, when it will be ready to pour over the fish into the
stewpan. This stewpan should be no larger than absolutely necessary,
or a very large quantity of the sauce would be required in which
to boil the fish. Set the stewpan on a moderate fire for about ¾
hour; remove it, and let the fish remain in the liquor till nearly
cold; then remove it to an earthen strainer on a dish, and set it
aside to become quite cold and firm. Take the yolks of 2 hard-boiled
eggs, 2 anchovies, a dessertspoonful of capers, 2 green gherkins,
a few chives, and some sprigs of parsley and tarragon, previously
washed and well freed from water; pound all these well together in
a mortar, and then mix in 2 oz. fresh butter, very gradually adding
2 tablespoonfuls salad oil, and 1 dessertspoonful tarragon vinegar;
season with pepper and salt. Rub this all through a sieve and if too
soft set it on the ice for a short time until sufficiently firm for
use. Cut a slice of bread 1 in. thick, shape it into an oval form to
suit the form of the salmon, fry it in butter a light colour, and
spread some of the prepared butter all over it with a knife dipped
in warm water. Place this on the dish in which it is to be served,
set the fish on it, and spread the upper part of it with a rather
thin coating of the same butter, smoothing it well with the blade of
a knife. Cut a truffle into slices, and with a cutter stamp it into
leaves, circles, &c. Some thin slices of white of hard-boiled egg
should be stamped out in the same way, and be used for ornamenting
the fish. A little bright red spawn of lobster should also be
tastefully added here and there on the fish. The dish should be
garnished with slices of cold aspic jelly cut into three-cornered
pieces, and laid slightly one over the other to form a ring round the
salmon.

Croquettes.--Carefully pick out the flesh of some remnants of boiled
salmon and mince it slightly. Melt a piece of butter in a saucepan,
add the smallest quantity of flour and some hot milk. Stir on the
fire a minute or so, then add pepper, salt, a little grated nutmeg,
some minced parsley, and lastly the fish; shake it well, and as soon
as the fish is hot take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the
yolk of an egg beaten up with the juice of half a lemon; now spread
out the mixture on a plate to get cold; when cold divide it in
tablespoonfuls, and fashion them all in breadcrumbs into the shape of
balls; roll these in beaten-up egg, breadcrumb them well and, after
the lapse of about an hour, fry in very hot lard, serving with fried
parsley.

Cutlets.--Take a piece of salmon 4 in. thick, remove the bones and
skin carefully, cut it in slices ½ in. thick and flatten each on the
chopping board with a cutlet bat or common chopper dipped in water.
From these slices cut as many neatly-shaped cutlets of a uniform
shape as is possible. Place them quite flat on a well-buttered baking
tin, sprinkle butter and salt over them, and ten minutes before
they are wanted put them into the oven, with a sheet of buttered
white paper over them. Place all the trimmings of the salmon into
a saucepan, with carrots, onions, thyme, a bay leaf, some parsley,
pepper, and salt, and a pint of stock. Let this boil for ½ hour; melt
a small piece of butter, add to it about a teaspoonful of flour; stir
it till it begins to colour; then strain into it the above sauce,
and add a little chopped parsley. Cut a large cucumber in rounds 1
in. long, cut each round into 4 quarters, remove the seeds and rind,
and trim each piece to a uniform shape; then throw them into boiling
water with a little salt; let them boil until nearly cooked. Strain,
and throw into cold water, then strain again and put into a saucepan
with a little butter, pepper, salt, and chopped parsley, to be kept
covered up, and warm until wanted. To dish up, pour the sauce on a
dish, arrange the cutlets slanting, overlapping each other round it,
and fill the hollow space in the middle with the cucumber.

Devilled.--Some thin slices of kippered salmon, 3 captain’s biscuits
in clarified butter or olive oil and some devil mixture. Soak some
thin captain’s biscuits in clarified butter or olive oil, rub each
side over well with the mixture, and toast them on the gridiron over
a clear fire. Put them on a hot dish, place on each a very thin slice
of kippered salmon, and brown with a salamander or before the fire.
Serve quickly and very hot.

Grilled.--Grilled salmon may be served with many sauces. Plain
_beurre fondu_ is a very good accompaniment, as is also a rich
_maître d’hôtel_. _Sauce périgueux_, _sauce ravigote_, _sauce
piquante_, _italienne_, and _sauce indienne_, are also frequently
served; but perhaps the very best sauce of all to a salmon steak
or cutlet is _tartare_, whose most formidable rival is the shallot
sauce, known as _biérnaise_. French cooks are very fond of submitting
salmon steaks to a preliminary bath in a _marinade_, composed of oil,
salt, sliced onions, and plenty of parsley.

Kromeskies.--Odds and ends of cold salmon, and the tail of the fish,
are well employed in making neat little dishes, such as kromeskies.
To make these, cook the salmon, free it from skin and bone, and put
it under a weight. When it is cooled into solidity, cut it into dice,
and add half its bulk of chopped cooked truffles, if you have them,
or mushrooms if the more noble fungus be unattainable. Take some good
gravy, thicken it with butter and yolk of egg, reduce it a little,
put in the salmon and the truffles, give it a shake up, and let it
cook. Form the kromeskies with sheet wafer, dip in batter, fry them
in butter, drain carefully, and serve very hot.

Mayonnaise.--Boil 5 or 6 eggs hard; when cold remove the yolks, and
pound them up with 2 saltspoonfuls salt, 1 teaspoonful mustard, a
little cayenne, and the raw yolks of 2 or 3 eggs. When quite smooth
add 10 dessertspoonfuls oil, 2 of tarragon, and 4 of common vinegar.
Wash and chop some tarragon, chervil, spring onions. Divide 1 lb.
cold boiled salmon (freed from bone and skin) into flakes. Put a
layer of the above salad into a bowl, then half of the salmon, pour
some sauce over, then another layer of salad, the rest of the salmon
and the sauce; ornament with sliced cucumber.

Pie.--Salmon pie is an elegant dish. To prepare this, take a tail of
salmon and pick it clean from the bones and weigh it. Then make half
its weight of whiting stuffing. Strip the fillets from 2 whiting,
pound the flesh and rub it through a tammy; add to this ¼ lb. butter,
and a like weight of breadcrumbs soaked in milk; season with pepper
and salt, add a little white sauce, bind with yolks of 2 eggs, and
mix all well together. Now take a pie dish, and put in a thin layer
of stuffing, and on that a layer of salmon, seasoned with pepper,
salt, and a little spice; on this put another layer of stuffing,
then salmon, and so till the dish is filled; cover with paste,
and bake in a slow oven till done. This requires some care in its
preparation; but a simpler salmon pie may be made by mixing the cold
flaked fish with mashed potatoes and a liberal dose of anchovy or
shrimp sauce, and putting the whole into a pie dish, which may remain
in a moderate oven till nicely browned.

Salad.--Take some boiled and “soused” salmon, mince it with apples
and onions, add some salad oil, vinegar, and pepper; garnish with
lemons and capers.

Scalloped.--Cut the flesh in slices half a finger thick, and these
again, according to their size, into 2, 3, or 4 pieces, as round as
possible. Put them into a pan with plenty of butter, and some salt
and pepper. Keep a brisk fire till they are cooked through. Arrange
them on a dish in a circle, overlapping each other, with a piece of
fried bread the same size between each. Into the middle of these pour
a sauce, tomato, genevoise, or Italian, or a white sauce, Parisienne
or Normande.

_Salt fish_ (Morue).--In buying salt fish, care should be taken to
select a thick, plump slice, which should be very white, as a yellow
tinge often indicates fish that has been cured for a long time. That
with a black skin should be preferred. Now take a sharp knife and
pare the inside all over, wash the fish thoroughly, put it into a
tub of spring water for 24 hours, then wash it out and put in fresh
spring water for 12 hours longer. After this, lay it in hot water for
a few minutes, and scrape off the tough outside pieces and scales
without injuring the skin, which should be carefully preserved intact.

Wash the fish thoroughly, cut it into handsome pieces, and set
it to drain. Have ready a kettle of boiling spring water, put in
the fish, and boil it 20-30 minutes, according to thickness. Skim
thoroughly, take up the fish and put it across the kettle to drain.
Then with the paste brush wash it well, set it on a fish stand and
napkin in a very hot dish, and garnish with hard eggs chopped small,
and the whites of several more cut in rings. Surround the fish with
pieces of boiled parsnips, and serve mashed parsnips and potatoes in
separate dishes. If the fish be “dried” instead of merely salted,
it will require soaking for 12-20 hours, according to its condition
before commencing the operations just described. Salt fish is in
this country invariably accompanied by egg sauce in boats, and it is
important that this accompaniment be supplied in profusion. A little
egg sauce is mere weak trifling. To make egg sauce, boil 6 eggs for
12 minutes, let them get cold, then cut the yolks into dice, and the
whites in segments. Make 1 lb. good rich melted butter, add a little
cream, season with pepper, salt, and a very little cayenne. Boil for
a few minutes, then add the eggs, and shake them over the fire till
they are quite hot through. Serve very hot.

_Sardines._--Curried.--Prepare the sardines as in the next recipe,
put them on toast, and pour over them, instead of the “devil”
mixture, the following sauce. Put the oil from the sardines in a
small saucepan, which has previously been rubbed with a clove of
garlic cut in half. When the oil boils add 1 tablespoonful flour and
1 teaspoonful curry powder, then add 2 gills stock, and boil till a
good consistency is reached; then pour it upon the yolk of an egg,
beaten with ½ teaspoonful lemon juice; add cayenne pepper and salt;
pour over the sardines, and serve very hot.

Devilled.--Split the sardines, and remove the bones, trim them
neatly, and season with a little made mustard, pepper, salt, and a
little lemon juice; leave them for a short time, then broil over a
clear fire, serve with fried parsley or with rich brown gravy, well
flavoured and seasoned with pepper, salt, and French mustard.

Dressed.--6 sardines, 6 or 8 croûtons of bread, 2 teaspoonfuls
anchovy essence, 2 teaspoonfuls Worcester sauce, a pinch of cayenne
pepper, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 3 oz. butter, ¼ pint boiling water.
Scrape, bone, and pound the sardines in a mortar with 1 oz. butter,
a teaspoonful of anchovy essence, a teaspoonful of Worcester sauce;
have ready fried, in fresh lard or butter, 6-8 croûtons of bread,
stamped out with a small round tin cutter; spread the prepared
sardines on the croûtons, and keep hot while the sauce is being made;
put into a small saucepan 2 oz. butter, let it dissolve over the
fire a minute; stir into it 1 dessertspoonful flour, and stir into
it from the kettle ¼ pint boiling water; add to it the remainder of
the anchovy and Worcester, and a little lemon juice; pour this over
the croutons and serve.

Eggs.--4 eggs, 4 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, boil
the eggs 8-10 minutes, and put them in cold water; scrape the
sardines gently, and pound in a mortar. Peel the shells off the eggs,
and cut them in halves lengthways; take out the yolks, and add them
to the sardines in the mortar, and to these add the parsley, a little
salt, a little white pepper, and 1 oz. butter. Pound all together
and use this mixture to fill the whites of the eggs; now put the two
halves together, so as to give them the appearance of whole eggs, set
them on a dish, and put between them some sprigs of parsley and some
strips of toast, or a border of small salad sprinkled with a little
salad oil and vinegar.

Grilled.--Open a box containing 1 doz. sardines, remove the skins,
and place the sardines on a tin plate in the oven till they are
heated through. Meanwhile pour the oil from the sardines into a
small saucepan, set it on the fire, and when it boils put in an even
tablespoonful flour, stir well; then add gradually 2 gills weak
stock or water. Boil till it is as thick as rich cream, then add 1
teaspoonful Worcester sauce, with salt, and plenty of cayenne pepper;
beat together the yolk of 1 egg, 1 teaspoonful French mustard, and
1 teaspoonful vinegar. Pour the sauce boiling hot on the eggs, &c.,
stir a moment, then pour it over the sardines.

Maître d’Hôtel.--6-8 sardines, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, 1
thin slice onion chopped fine, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, ¼ pint
melted butter, a round of toast. Have ready some toast; scrape the
sardines carefully, and arrange them neatly on the toast, keep them
warm while you make the following sauce: Make ¼ pint melted butter
or white sauce, put into it the parsley and onion finely minced; let
it boil 1 minute; add the chili vinegar or a little lemon juice, and
a pinch of cayenne; pour this over the sardines, stand in the oven a
few minutes, and serve.

Salad.--Take some sardines from a tin, wipe them slightly, bone and
divide them into small pieces. Cut up some nicely washed lettuce,
chervil, cress, &c., lay them in a salad bowl with the sardines and
some chopped capers. Boil 2 eggs hard, mash the yolks, with salt,
pepper, mustard, and cayenne; add gradually 3 tablespoonfuls fresh
oil and 2 of lemon juice, stir well; pour it over the salad, garnish
with slices of lemon and pickled capsicums.

Sandwiches.--Take 2 boxes sardines, and throw the contents into hot
water, having first drained away all the oil. A few minutes will free
the sardines from grease. Pour away the water, and dry the fish in a
cloth; then scrape away the skins, and pound the sardines in a mortar
till reduced to paste; add pepper, salt, and some tiny pieces of
lettuce, and spread on the sandwiches, which have been previously cut
as above. The lettuce adds very much to the flavour of the sardines.

Toast.--Place them with some of the oil out of the box between 2
plates in a hot oven; when thoroughly hot through place on toast cut
in long slices the length of the sardine; shake a little cayenne and
salt mixed over them, with a gentle squeeze of lemon.

_Scallops_ (Pitoncles).--Scallops are to be obtained during the
colder months of the year, and in January and February are in full
roe and at their best. Like all shell fish, scallops must be eaten
quite fresh, or they are a failure; the flesh should be firm and
white, the roe deep orange-coloured. In full season they are 6-8_d._
a doz., sometimes less, and being thick and fleshy, 1 doz. is
generally considered enough for 4 persons.

Baked.--Trim off the beards and black part of the fish, and lay them
in their own deep shells, or tin shells, 3 scallops in each; put a
little vinegar in each, and pour over them the following mixture:
a teacupful of breadcrumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped and scalded
parsley, pepper, salt, and sufficient milk to make a thin paste;
sprinkle a few dry crumbs, and put a tiny lump of butter on each
shell; bake 20 minutes. Where vegetables are scarce and dear, or,
as in this case, the bill of fare does not demand them, fried bread
can be substituted. It should be cut into neat broad “fingers,” fried
in bacon fat or beef dripping, and well drained before sending to
table. A neat and pretty dish can be made by chopping up any remains
of green vegetables, such as cabbage or sprouts, frying in a small
proportion of fat, and piling it in the centre of a dish, with the
bread round.

Fried.--Clean and beard them very carefully, and set them to drain;
get ready a panful of boiling lard; flour the scallops thoroughly,
put them in a frying basket, and fry to a light brown colour; garnish
with fried parsley.

Stewed.--Put the scallops into a small saucepan with as much water as
will thoroughly cover them, a little mace, and a little sugar. Let
them stew gently till tender (probably about ½ hour), you can feel
with your finger when they are sufficiently done. Make a sauce with
1-1½ oz. of butter dredged with flour and some of the liquor in which
the scallops were stewed, add some cream and a little nutmeg. Stir
this over the fire till it boils; then put the scallops in, and let
them stew a little longer in the sauce beside the fire. In dishing up
pour the sauce so as to cover the scallops.

_Shad_ (Alose).--This fine and delicate fish is found in greater
perfection and richer abundance in the United States than in Europe;
nevertheless, Europe is not devoid of shad, the Loire and the Severn
being perhaps the most highly favoured rivers. The shad of the
Thames--called the “twaite”--is a poor fish, but the “allice,” or
Severn shad, is a great delicacy.

Take a fine shad, firm and bright in the scale; empty from the gills,
and wash it thoroughly. Now make a forcemeat--either whiting or
oyster--mixed with the roe of the shad, fill the fish, and either sew
or skewer it up carefully, wrap it in strong writing paper thickly
buttered, broil gently for an hour over a smokeless fire, either of
charcoal or coke, and serve with caper sauce.

_Skate_ (Raie).--Boil some crimped skate in salted water, with some
vinegar in it. Put a large piece of butter into a saucepan, and leave
it on the fire until the butter becomes of a dark brown colour, but
do not let it burn; then throw in some finely-chopped parsley, a
wineglassful of tarragon vinegar, a little salt, and some powdered
white pepper. Serve the sauce in a boat piping hot, with the fish on
a napkin.

_Smelts_ (Eperlans) Fried.--Carefully flour, and fry in plenty of hot
lard. When done, drain well in front of the fire, sprinkle all over
with very fine salt, and serve with fried parsley and lemon cut into
“quarters.”

_Sole_ (Sole) In jelly.--See Trout.

À la Normande.--Take a good-sized sole and put it into a fish kettle
which will hold it flat; strew the sole with sprigs of parsley,
minced onions, a little mace and thyme, and pepper and salt; now add
some oysters, bearded, and some mussels, previously well cleaned,
about 1 doz. of each; pour in a glass of chablis or any light white
wine, and about the same quantity of white stock, or even water;
cover over the kettle, and stew gently until cooked. Strain off the
liquor and arrange the sole on a deep dish which will stand the oven,
with the oysters and mussels all round; put the strained liquor into
a saucepan, add to it ½ pint well flavoured good white stock; when
quite hot add, off the fire, the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs; pour the
sauce over the fish, put it into the oven for a few minutes (it must
not take colour), and then serve garnished with mushrooms previously
stewed in lemon juice, slices of truffles stewed in white wine, and
with fried bread croûtons.

À la Maître d’Hôtel.--Put into a saucepan full of water a bunch of
parsley, an onion, a blade of mace, some whole pepper and salt to
taste. When the water boils throw in 8 fillets of soles, each tied
up in a knot, and let them boil till done. Serve with maître d’hôtel
sauce.

Aspic.--Take 6 fillets of soles, put them in a buttered tin, with
pepper, salt, and a squeeze of lemon; cover the tin with a sheet of
buttered paper, and put it in the oven just long enough to cook the
fillets, then put them under a weight until cold. Clean and wash some
fillets of anchovies, have a little parsley very finely minced, cut
the fillets of soles in rounds the size of a penny, make a layer in
a plain mould of very pale aspic jelly; on this, when it begins to
set, dispose in some sort of pattern the fillets of anchovies and the
pieces of sole, sprinkling each with a little parsley; fill up the
interstices with aspic jelly, and keep on adding layer upon layer of
soles and anchovies until the mould is full.

Au gratin.--Put 1 large sole in a proper fish-baking dish, or else
place 2 small ones side by side and head to tail. Pour a glass of
sauterne or any white wine into the dish, add some pepper and salt,
a few very fine mixed sweet herbs sprinkled over lightly, a little
onion finely minced, and a squeeze of lemon juice. A few little lumps
of butter or dripping should be placed at the bottom of the dish to
prevent dryness. Cover the whole rather thickly with breadcrumbs, and
bake for ½ hour or until the top is a brown colour. The fish must be
sent to table in the dish it is baked in, as it spoils it completely
to move it.

Au vin blanc.--Butter a baking dish, lay 2 soles on it, add pepper
and salt to taste, pour sufficient white wine and common stock free
from fat in equal parts to cover the fish well. Put a piece of
buttered paper on the top, and bake for 20 minutes. Melt 1 oz. butter
in a saucepan, and mix with it a tablespoonful of flour, strain into
this the liquor in which the soles have been cooked, add a little
more stock or water if necessary, and stir on the fire till the sauce
thickens, throw in some finely minced parsley, pour over the soles,
and serve.

Broiled.--Clean and skin the fish, and thoroughly dry it in a
cloth; dip it either in oil or liquefied butter; put it in a double
gridiron, and broil it at a brisk fire for about 8-10 minutes,
turning it once or twice during the operation. Serve with a piece of
fresh butter under, and a lemon cut into quarters round it.

Consommé.--Remove the fillets from 2 soles, cut them out with a
cutter in pieces the size of a penny. Put the bones and all the
trimmings of the soles in a saucepan with 1 qt. plain white stock, a
large handful of parsley, a piece of celery, 1 onion, 2 or 3 cloves,
a blade of mace, and pepper and salt to taste. Let this boil slowly
3-4 hours, carefully skim and strain the liquor; then put it on the
fire again, and when it boils put in the cut pieces of soles. When
they are cooked take them out, put them in the soup tureen with a
little chopped parsley, and having strained the liquor once more pour
it over and serve.

En Matelote.--Put the fish in a stewpan with a bunch of sweet herbs,
some butter, onions cut in rings, some white wine or cider and water,
half of each, enough almost to cover the fish; add salt and pepper.
Bring it to the boil, and boil for about 15 minutes. Place the fish
on the dish on which it is to be served, having first covered the
bottom of it with slices of fried bread. About 25 mushrooms may be
added to the sauce. Boil it down till it is somewhat reduced; thicken
it with a good-sized piece of butter rolled in flour; take out the
bunch of herbs, and pour it over the fish.

Fillets.--(_a_) Fillet and fry soles in the usual manner. Make
tartare sauce of the yolks of 2 eggs, dropping in 1 gill oil, with 2
tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and 1 of tarragon vinegar, ½ gill cream,
and 1 teaspoonful made mustard.

(_b_) Remove both skins of the sole; then, with a sharp-pointed
knife, cut it around the inside of the fins. This done, make an
incision along the backbone, and divide the fish from the bone
by beginning at the head, and drawing the point of the knife
horizontally down each side of the backbone, between the flesh and
the ribs, and placing at the same time the 3 first fingers of the
left hand on the fillet you are about to remove. Each sole should
make but 4 fillets, except in the case of very large soles, when they
may be either cut lengthways or across, as taste may direct. (Jane
Burtenshaw.)

Fricassée.--Fillet a large pair of soles, put the bones in an
enamelled stewpan with a pint of cold water, a small bunch of thyme
and parsley, and ½ onion, a blade of mace and a little lemon
rind pared thin, let them stew about 1 hour; when done strain the
liquor off into a basin. Rinse the stewpan, and roll up each fillet
separately, and fasten either with a small skewer, or tie round with
a piece of darning cotton, and place them in the stewpan in one
layer, and pour over them the liquor from the bones; stew about 20
minutes very gently, and thicken the sauce with 1 dessertspoonful
arrowroot or cornflour, mixed with a little milk; when done, add to
the sauce ¼ pint cream, the yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of ½ lemon, a
pinch of pounded mace, and a little pepper and salt. The dish may be
garnished with a border of potato croquettes.

Fried.--Clean and skin the fish, and dry it thoroughly in a cloth;
dip it in an egg beaten up, and then strew it on both sides with very
fine breadcrumbs, taking care that it is evenly covered with a very
thin layer of them. Let the fish rest for 1-2 hours, then have ready
in the frying-pan boiling hot fat in sufficient quantity to fairly
float it; put in the fish, which will be cooked in 5-10 minutes,
according to size, and should be skilfully turned over once during
the operation. The fish should be laid on blotting-paper before the
fire in the screen, in order to drain all fat from it. Serve with
fried parsley and cut lemon.

In Brown Sauce.--Put into a small copper stewpan 3 oz. butter. Put
this on the fire to dissolve; then stir into it 1 tablespoonful
flour. Keep stirring on the fire till it assumes a golden-brown
hue. Now stir into it ½ pint stock or gravy, and let it boil up to
thicken the sauce. Now put into a wide shallow stewpan a pair of
moderate-sized soles that have been previously cleaned, well dried in
a cloth, floured and fried in some lard or butter over a rather sharp
fire so as to brown them without being quite done. Pour over the
soles the prepared sauce, adding a moderate-sized onion stuck with 4
or 5 cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, and a few peppercorns. Stew the
fish 15-20 minutes very gently. When the soles are done lift them
out carefully on to the dish in which they are to be served and keep
warm while the sauce is being finished by adding to it a wineglass of
sherry, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, one of vinegar, and two
teaspoonfuls of essence of anchovies. Pour some of the sauce over the
fish and the rest in a boat and serve.

In Cases.--Take 2 parts finely minced mushrooms, 1 part shallots
and parsley in equal proportions, also finely minced; toss them in
plenty of butter for a few minutes, adding pepper and salt to taste,
and put the mixture aside. When cold spread a thin layer of it on
each fillet, roll them up, and cook them between 2 buttered plates
in the oven. Have ready some paper cases, place one rolled fillet
in each, then fill up the case with white sauce, and place a button
mushroom on the top of each, and keep quite hot till time of serving.
_Sauce._--Take 2 parts butter and 1 of flour, mix thoroughly in a
saucepan on the fire, add enough veal stock to get the sauce of a
proper consistency, add a few button mushrooms; let the sauce boil
for 10 minutes; stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up
with the juice of ½ lemon.

Roulettes.--Choose fine ones, take off the heads, fins, and tails,
strip them from the bone; cut small oblong fillets, lay them in a
marinade of salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a grate of nutmeg for ½
hour. Roll the fillets egg-shaped and bind them with thread; pack
them closely together in a stewpan, with a little broth or water, to
which add lemon juice and some butter; cover closely and stew gently
till done. Serve in their own sauce, or glaze them brown and serve as
a ragout.

Salad.--Take any remnants of sole, cut them up in small pieces, and
put them to marinade for 2 hours in tarragon vinegar, with some
sliced onions and sprigs of basil, thyme, and chervil. Strain and
mix them with some fresh lettuce; beat up the yolk of a hard-boiled
egg with salt, pepper, a very little of the tarragon vinegar, 3
tablespoons cream or sweet oil, and ½ teaspoon anchovy sauce. When
quite smooth pour over the salad.

Savalada.--Take 2 Spanish onions, slice them, and stew them in a
gill of olive oil, taking care that they do not burn or even brown;
add 2 soles (filleted and fried a light brown in oil), and 1½ gills
tomato sauce, or 3 fresh tomatoes, peeled, freed from pips, and cut
in slices. Season with pepper and salt, let the whole stew a few
minutes, and serve.

Stewed.--Cut up 2 large onions in slices, lay them flat in a stewpan
with an ounce of butter, pepper, and salt, and enough water just to
cover them. Let them simmer till tender. Cut in comely pieces a pair
of soles, lay them on the top of the onions, and let them simmer
till done. Strain off the liquor, and when it is cold stir into it
the juice of 2 lemons beaten up with the yolks of 3 eggs, return it
to the stewpan, and let the whole get hot again, but not boil; then
arrange the fish and the onions on a dish, sprinkle them over with
finely minced parsley, and pour the sauce over. To be served cold.

Water Souchet.--Take a number of small soles, fillet them, and
cut the fillets into convenient pieces. Put the bones and all the
trimmings into a saucepan, with some whole pepper, 6 roots of
parsley, cut up small, a handful of parsley leaves, a blade of mace,
and salt to taste; cover with cold water, and let the whole boil for
2 hours. Strain the liquor, put in it the pieces of fish, with a
few parsley roots finely shredded; let it boil 10 minutes, then add
some minced parsley; boil 5 minutes longer. Serve in a deep dish,
with enough liquor just to cover the fish; garnish with lemon cut in
quarters, and serve with brown bread and butter.

With Ravigote Sauce.--Lay a sole in a well-buttered tin, add pepper
and salt, put a piece of buttered paper over it, cook it in the oven
until done, drain, and serve with the following sauce over: Take
equal parts of parsley, chervil, garden cress, and tarragon; mince
them very finely. Rub a saucepan with shallot, melt a piece of butter
in it, add a little flour, mix thoroughly, then add stock, pepper,
salt, a glass of white wine, and the herbs. Let the sauce come to the
boil, then throw in a small pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon, and
serve.

_Sprats_ (Harenguets).--Although these fish, of small marketable
value, are considered more as food for the multitude, yet in
these times of strict food economy it may not be amiss for any
housekeeper--especially those in the country, where fish supplies
come in seldom but in large quantities--to try the following modes,
suitable for breakfast, luncheon, making out servants’ dinners,
supper, &c., besides the more usual way of cooking by broiling or
frying.

Baked.--After they have been cleaned, place them in a pie-dish, with
some whole pepper, bay leaves, and a little salt sprinkled over them;
cover them over, and put them in the oven; they will not take long to
cook; let them stand in the liquor they make until cold, when pour
the vinegar over them. (E. J. G.)

Fried.--After the sprats are washed, wipe them dry in a cloth,
sprinkle a little salt over, and let them lie for 1 hour; put them
on paper with flour, and turn them about until lightly coated with
it. Throw as many as will cover the bottom of it into a wire frying
basket, plunge it into hot fat, and keep gently moving the basket
until the fish are crisp. Sprats should not be too small, and those
of an average size take 5-6 minutes to fry. When the sprats are done,
turn them on to a sheet of paper to free them from grease, and serve
immediately with cayenne, cut lemon, and brown bread and butter.
When not convenient to use a wire basket, the sprats can be thrown
into the hot fat, and, when done, be taken out with a skimmer. (Mary
Hooper.)

Patties.--Clean the sprats. When seasoned, add some vinegar to taste.
Line some patty pans with pastry, fill with the fish, sprinkle with
breadcrumbs and a scrap of butler on each, and bake in a smart heat.
(D.)

Pie.--(_a_) Cut off the heads and tails of 1 lb. sprats, and place
them in a pie-dish; sprinkle pepper and salt between the layers, also
a few peppercorns, add 3 tablespoonfuls water; cover it with a light
paste and bake. Best eaten cold. (Mary Hooper).

(_b_) Scald, bone, and mash the sprats. Mash some freshly boiled
floury potatoes, butter a pie-dish, put layers of potato and fish
seasoned with pepper, more salt, and chopped onion if approved of.
The cover should be potatoes. Put breadcrumbs and butter, or a
beaten-up egg on the top, and bake, according to size, for ½-1 hour.
Brown before the fire. Hard-boiled eggs, in slices or mashed, can be
added if available or desired. (D.)

Rissoles.--Prepare the sprats as for potting. Bind with egg and
breadcrumbs, and fry. The same can be prepared with mashed potatoes
instead of breadcrumbs. (D.)

Soused.--Clean the sprats by washing and rubbing them in a cloth; lay
them in a baking dish in layers, sprinkle over lightly pepper and
salt, cover them with vinegar and one-fourth water. Put a tin or dish
over, and set the sprats in a cool oven to cook very slowly for 2
hours, taking care they do not get broken. These can be eaten either
hot or cold. (Mary Hooper.)

Toast.--Clean without the addition of salt. Add a few chopped and
cleaned anchovies; spread out the fish 2 in. deep on a Yorkshire
pudding tin or baking plate, and warm well before the fire. Have some
toast ready hot, slightly buttered. Lay a spoonful of the fish on
each piece, draining off any oil which may have gathered.

_Tamarind Fish._--Tamarind fish is cured as follows: Cut the fish
into slices about ½ in. thick; the slices are then rubbed well with
salt; let them stand in the pickle 48 hours; then drain. Get some of
the plain, sun-dried tamarinds, as imported from India; boil these
in pickling vinegar, about 2 lb. to 1 qt., until the pulp separates
from the seeds and stalks. Work through a sieve. Dip the slices of
fish in this mixture when cold, and pack closely in large-mouthed
jars, taking care the top layer is well covered with the tamarinds.
Fish roes prepared in the same manner are excellent. Haddock, cod,
herrings, and mackerel make good tamarind fish.

_Tench_ (Tanche).--Tench, when large and fat, is not bad when it is
possible by eternal cleanings and soakings to get rid of the muddy
taste, which clings to it with singular tenacity. Perhaps the best
way of dressing it is to stew it in red wine, or to let it form the
central spot of a _matelote_, into the composition of which eels,
perch, &c., have entered.

Roast: see Carp, Chub. Broiled: see Chub. Stewed: see Trout.

_Trout_ (Truite).--Trout should be treated in the following way.
Scrape, wash in salted water, remove gills, gut, and wipe with a
linen cloth, flour one side, and fry in butter till brown and crisp;
then flour the other side, and fry that likewise, put it on a hot
dish, and lay on it some fried parsley and sage. Make a sauce with
some fresh butter and boiling water, flavoured with anchovy. Pour
over the fish and serve.

Baked.--Put inside the fish a piece of butter the size of an egg,
into which a due quantity of salt, powdered pepper, and minced
parsley have been worked. Lay it in a baking dish plentifully
buttered, sprinkle pepper and salt over it, then lay a piece of oiled
paper on the fish, and bake it in a moderate oven for about ½ hour,
more or less according to the size of the fish. Serve garnished with
pieces of lemon.

Broiled.--(_a_) Clean and split them down the back, notch them 3 or 4
times across, mix a little olive oil in a dish with pepper, salt, and
powdered thyme; lay the trout in this, turn them over once or twice,
so that they may be well oiled on both sides, then broil them over a
moderate fire. (_b_) See Chub.

Grilled.--Small or moderately-sized trout may be advantageously
dressed _à la tartare_--that is to say, grilled and served with a
cold _tartare_ sauce. Very small trout may also be fried and served
with or without tomato sauce.

Jelly.--Wash the trout carefully; form them into rings with the tail
in the mouth. Boil some water with a little vinegar, salt, sliced
onion, bay leaf, spice, and pepper according to taste. Let this boil
so as to get the various flavours; set it aside to cool. Lay in the
fish, and simmer a few minutes after the water has just come to the
boil. Take out the fish carefully, and when drained baste them with
clear fish jelly. When the first basting has set repeat another,
until they have a nice coating of jelly; then arrange them gently and
garnish to taste. Haddocks, whitings, smelts, &c., are good in this
way.

Soused: see Carp.

Stewed.--Wash, dry on a cloth, open, gut, and wipe very clean; notch
2 or 3 times to the bone on one side. Put into a fish-kettle enough
liquor (half vinegar or white wine and half water) to cover the
fish; add a good quantity of salt, the rind of a lemon, some grated
horseradish, and a faggot of sweet herbs--rosemary, thyme, marjoram,
parsley, and winter savory. When quite boiling, put in the fish--if
many, one by one, so as not to lower the temperature. When quite
done, put it on a dish sprinkled with horseradish and powdered ginger
(or coarsely-bruised pepper); pour over it a sauce made of fresh
butter, a little of the liquor in which the fish was boiled, and an
anchovy. Grayling, carp, bream, roach, dace, perch, and tench may
also be dressed in the same way. See Carp.

With Remoulade Sauce.--Fry some medium-sized trout, lay them on paper
to remove all fat. Chop some chervil, chives, capers, parsley, cress,
and a little shallot; pound them in a mortar; add a little French
mustard, the yolks of raw eggs, season with salt and pepper; add
drop by drop good olive oil, in the proportion of a dessertspoonful
to each egg; beat up the mixture, and when quite smooth add a little
chili vinegar. Dish the trout (when quite cold), pour the sauce over,
and garnish with sprigs of chervil.

_Turbot_ (Turbot).--Great size in a turbot is rather a drawback than
otherwise. Provided that the fish be thick and firm, with the under
or white side of excessive roundness and of a thick, opaque, creamy
look, it can hardly be too small. In a very large fish the thick,
massive white flesh is out of all proportion to the delicate morsels,
and the major portion of the fish must of course appear in the form
of a _réchauffé_--for which turbot is admirably adapted. In choosing
turbot, it is well, unless for a large dinner party, to select a
fine, plump, round, “chicken” turbot, such as may be bought in London
for 6-7_s._ Particular attention should be given to the colour of
the white skin, as if this present a semi-diaphanous or a bluish
look, the fish should be rejected. The white side must also never be
flat, but should “plump up” directly from the fins like a firm white
cushion. As brill is sometimes palmed off on youthful housewives, it
may be well to say to those unskilled in markets and fishes that a
chicken turbot may be known by the small round spines on the back,
which may be easily felt and even seen. The brill is also more oval
in shape and much flatter than the juvenile turbot, whose form
acquires at an early age the peculiar rotundity so much prized. As a
rule turbot require a severe soaking in salt and water to discharge
the slime.

À la Normande.--In every respect an admirable dish. Take a nice
small turbot, cleanse it thoroughly, lift up the flesh from the
backbone, insert a stuffing made of 6 oz. scraped and pounded
whiting to 4 oz. soaked breadcrumbs rubbed smooth. To this add 3
oz. fresh butter with which the flesh of 24 shrimps or 12 prawns
has been skilfully incorporated. Put in gradually 2 whole eggs and
the yolk of one more, season with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and
after thorough pounding and mixing put the forcemeat on the ice
till wanted for use. When the fish has been carefully stuffed--not
filled to excess--prepare a stewpan by buttering it liberally, then
put in 2 tablespoonfuls finely-minced shallots, 3 glasses sherry,
Madeira, or any good white wine, salt, pepper, and a cupful of fine
white stock, lay in the turbot, and set it to boil over a slow fire.
On its reaching the boiling point, take it off the fire and put it
into a moderate oven for ½-¾ hour. Meanwhile prepare a _Normande_
sauce by putting a pint of _béchamel_ into a stewpan and giving it a
boil up. Stir it carefully, and strain through a tammy into another
stewpan. Add 2 doz. blanched oysters, 2 doz. mussels, also blanched,
and 2 doz. small mushrooms. Add a little milk and a teaspoonful of
pounded loaf sugar, and reduce to a proper consistency. Then put
in 8 tablespoonfuls cream and the juice of a lemon, stir all well
together, pour the sauce over the turbot, and group the oysters,
mussels, and mushrooms around. Although best with a combination of
oysters and mussels, these shellfish are not always to be procured at
the same time, in which case double the quantity of that in season
should be used. Many people prefer to leave out the stuffing, and
supply its place by a garnish of fish _quenelles_.

Au Gratin.--Mince finely 2 shallots and 2 or 3 mushrooms, toss
them in butter till quite cooked, add a little minced parsley, the
remnants of a boiled turbot, with pepper and salt to taste; moisten
with a cupful of stock and ½ glass white wine; shake the saucepan a
few minutes over the fire, then turn out the contents into a silver
dish, smooth them well down and sprinkle plentifully with baked
breadcrumbs. Put the dish in a quick oven 10-15 minutes, and serve.

Boiled.--The fish must be either scored across once or twice, or
cut right down to the bone lengthwise, on the black side. This
precaution is necessary in order to prevent the white side--which
is always served uppermost--from cracking when the fish begins to
swell in boiling. The next proceeding is to rub over the turbot very
thoroughly with the juice of a lemon and a little salt. Then have
ready a large turbot kettle--to every gallon of cold water put 11 oz.
salt--and put in the fish with sufficient water to cover it well. As
soon as it begins to boil draw it back and allow it to simmer till
done, which may be seen by the skin cracking very slightly. Then
remove the fish carefully, drain it over the fish-kettle, and slip it
gently on to a dish, masked with a wooden or china bottom, covered
with a napkin. Garnish with slices of lemon, laid on and around the
fish, and sprigs of fresh parsley.

Fried.--Cut some remnants of boiled turbot into neat pieces, steep
them in a marinade of lemon juice, oil, pepper, and salt for 1-2
hours, then dip them in batter and fry them a golden brown in plenty
of hot lard.

Hashed.--Take the flesh off a cold turbot, carefully preserving the
jelly and removing all the bones. Let the flakes be as large as will
look well, and warm by steaming with the remains of the sauce, and
serve with a wall of potatoes round the dish and the fish in the
centre.

Sauté.--Pick out into neat flakes the remnants of a boiled turbot.
Melt a large piece of butter in a saucepan, place the flakes of fish
in it, and toss them on the fire till they are quite hot, add pepper
and salt to taste, some finely minced parsley, and the juice of a
lemon.

With Tomato Sauce.--Slice a Spanish onion, and fry it in butter or
in olive oil till quite cooked, without being at all coloured, add
the pieces of fish, of which there should be twice as many as there
are onions, then moisten with a sufficient quantity of French tomato
sauce, put in pepper and salt according to taste, and a small pinch
of powdered sweet herbs, shake the saucepan on the fire till the fish
is quite hot, and serve.

With White Sauce.--Pick out the remnants of a boiled turbot free from
bones into flakes. Make some plain melted butter, not too thick,
using plenty of butter and very little flour; season it with pepper,
salt and nutmeg, and simmer in it 12 button mushrooms cut in two.
When these are cooked add the turbot, and as soon as this is quite
warm stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the
juice of a lemon and strained. A little minced parsley may be added.

With Wine Sauce.--Lay the turbot on a shallow tin or pan plentifully
buttered, with slices of onion, some parsley, a few mushrooms,
pepper, salt, 2 bay leaves and a few cloves, and enough white wine
and water to come up to, but not over the fish; put a piece of
buttered paper over the fish, and place the tin in the oven to bake
for about 1½ hour, basting the fish frequently with the liquor. When
done strain some of the liquor, thicken it with some of the browned
butter and flour, add some grated nutmeg, and stir in, off the fire,
the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice of a lemon, slip the
fish on a dish, pour the sauce over, and serve.

_Whitebait_ (Blanchaille). Fried.--The great secret of successful
frying depends upon the fat being boiling, scrupulously clean
utensils, a clear, bright fire, and plenty of good fat. There must
be little time lost in serving any fried fish. Directly it is taken
from the fire it should be sent to table, never covered with a
dish cover; that renders it tough. It is not to be expected that
any one can perfectly succeed in cooking whitebait the first time
of trying, but if these directions are carefully carried out, two
or three trials will ensure success. Everything must be prepared.
Have a stewpan (copper is the best) that is perfectly clean, for if
there is anything sticking at the bottom of the pan, it will quickly
catch or burn, and so spoil the contents; a wire fish-basket that
fits the stewpan, and can easily be moved in or out. Have a clean,
fine cloth; some fine white flour (the finer quality is requisite,
as it is less heavy). American flour is first-rate, being fine and
dry. Place an inverted sieve before the fire on a stand, and on the
top of the sieve a double sheet of thick white blotting-paper. For
a pint of whitebait have 2 lb. pure lard. Put it in the stewpan and
let it melt; when the fat boils and all the little bubbles cease to
appear on the surface, and it begins to smoke, it is ready for use.
The fat must be very hot (some people test the heat by a frimometer);
the heat should be 345° Fahrenheit for ordinary frying, and 400° for
whitebait. The little bubbles that rise on the surface show there is
still water in the fat; this would at once spoil the fish and make
it flabby. When the lard is quite ready it is time to prepare the
fish. The whitebait is generally sent from the fishmonger’s in a
tin pot full of water. Take it from the pot and throw it into some
clean, fresh cold water. Take a handful of the fish and throw it in
the clean cloth; shake it lightly so that all the moisture may be
absorbed. Have a sheet of clean white paper with a good handful of
flour on it. Take the whitebait and sprinkle them into the flour,
fingering them as little as possible. Take up the paper and shake
the whitebait well in the flour, so that they all get well floured.
Turn the whitebait into a wire basket and sift all the loose flour
back on to the paper. Turn the whitebait a few at the time into the
frying basket, and immerse it at once in the stewpan of hot lard for
1 minute; the fish should be quite crisp. Quickly let the fat drain
from the frying basket, and turn the fish out on the blotting-paper
on the sieve. Repeat the process until all is done. Have a dish ready
with an ornamented paper, and pile up the fish pyramid fashion, and
serve as quickly as possible with a plate of thin brown bread and
butter and lemon. Place them on a plate with a caster of cayenne
pepper in the centre. 2 lb. lard seems extravagant, but, if carefully
poured into a clean basin, and when cold the sediment at the bottom
taken away, and the lard put again into a clean vessel, it will serve
10-15 times.

_Whiting_ (Merlan). À la Venetienne.--Cut a large whiting into
fillets, put them into a deep dish, with some salt, pepper, and the
juice of a large lemon; let them marinade for an hour, then drain;
flour the fillets well, and fry of a golden brown, serving them with
whatever sauce is preferred. A good white sauce, with the squeeze of
a lemon added at the last moment, is excellent with this fish.

Au Gratin.--Take a few mushrooms, 2 shallots, and some parsley, all
finely minced; mix them together. Butter a tin very plentifully,
strew in it some of the above mixture and some fine baked breadcrumbs
with a little pepper and salt. On this place the whitings (split
open), on them place the remainder of the mushrooms, &c., more
pepper and salt, and cover up the whole with a thin layer of baked
breadcrumbs. Pour in at the side a glass of white wine and a
sufficient quantity of stock to come up to the fish, and soak the
breadcrumbs without washing them off. Put the tin in the oven to bake
for 20 minutes.

Aux Fines Herbes.--Butter the bottom and sides of a pie-dish, put
into it some whitings nicely cleaned, with a sufficient quantity,
according to the number of fish, of chopped parsley, thyme, tarragon,
and shallot, very finely chopped, moisten them with a small quantity
of white wine, and put them into the oven; when the whitings are
about half cooked, turn them, and when they are quite done thicken
the sauce with a little butter and flour, pepper and salt should of
course be added. In serving them let them go to table in the same
dish, just adding a squeeze of lemon juice.

Baked.--This fish is very nice baked and served with caper sauce.

Dressed.--Take 4 or 5 whitings, according to size and number of
people, 1-2 hours before they are wanted; sprinkle them with a little
salt to make them firm, as they are apt to break. About ½ hour before
dinner put the fish into a wide enamelled stewpan, so that they may
form one layer. This stewpan should be shallow, so that the whitings
may be more easily lifted out; pour over them a little stock or gravy
(it should reach about half-way up the fish), and put with them one
moderate-sized onion, cut into quarters, and a tablespoonful of
chopped parsley. Stew the fish 20-25 minutes. Put into a saucepan 2
oz. butter and 1 tablespoonful flour, stir over the fire till the
flour is well mixed with the butter. When the fish are done, with a
slice lift them out on the dish in which they are to be served, and
pour the liquor in which they were cooked into the saucepan with the
butter and flour, stir well and boil up, then add the yolks of 2
eggs, a tablespoonful of mushroom ketchup, the same of lemon juice, a
little pepper and salt, and serve. Be careful the sauce does not boil
after the eggs are in.

Fillets.--Carefully skin and free from bones 3 or 4 small whitings.
Put the heads and bones into the stockpot. Dip the fish into a beaten
egg. Roll in finely-sifted breadcrumbs, and tie up with cotton before
frying. The fish may be rolled up wholly or divided into slices.
It may also be fried as fillets without rolling up. Serve up with
parsley and slices of lemon.

Fried.--Flour the fish, and, having shaken the flour from them, brush
them over carefully all over with egg beaten up with pepper and salt;
then breadcrumb with fine breadcrumbs, and fry in plenty of lard to a
light colour; sprinkle with fine salt; serve with fried parsley and
cut lemon.

In jelly.--See Trout.

Puddings (Boudin).--Take the raw meat of some whiting, pound it
in a mortar, and pass it through a sieve. Put ½ pint water into a
saucepan with a pinch of salt, and a small piece of butter; when it
boils stir in it enough flour to make a thick paste; when cold take
of this paste half the quantity there is of fish, and take of butter
half the quantity there is of paste; thoroughly amalgamate the whole
in the mortar, season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, work in
1-2 spoonfuls of white sauce (_béchamel_), and lastly as many eggs,
in the proportion of 2 yolks to 1 white, as will bind the mixture.
Butter some small moulds, fill them with the mixture, and steam them
in a stewpan half full of water for 15-20 minutes. Then turn them
out, and serve with white sauce (_béchamel_).


=Meat.=--Before proceeding to deal with the four recognised forms of
culinary flesh, viz., beef, mutton, pork (including bacon), and veal,
some space may be devoted to recipes for cooking frozen and tinned
meats.

_Frozen Meat._--This requires special treatment, for its juices are
liquified by being first turned to ice, and then thawed that it may
cook throughout the joint. A joint would be raw in the centre if it
were roasted or boiled before it had been perfectly thawed. As an
example, take a shoulder of New Zealand mutton to roast. The first
thing to be done is to pitch 1-2 oz. of fat off it into the fire, and
hold the inside, or lean side, of it in the blaze till the tubes of
the lean become seared or hermetically sealed. This may be done by
holding the joint with a pair of tongs, or laying it on a gridiron.
Of course an absence of smoke from a coal fire is advisable during
the few minutes this operation takes. If it be required to roast a
leg, the thick end, where the cut lean is apparent, should be served
in the same way. If the leg is to be boiled, the water should be made
to boil rapidly, and the leg rested on the side of the boiler, so
that the thick end is covered about an inch up the outside. This will
require about 10 minutes. If the whole leg be put into the water, the
boiling will at once cease, when the attempt to close the ends of the
tubes will not be effectual. If a neck of New Zealand mutton is to be
boiled, the lean end should be hung in the water when it is boiling
rapidly, and the whole joint put into the water when it is at the
same heat.

Another question of importance raised here, is that frozen meat
requires to be thawed gradually to be fit to cook in the best
condition. If taken from a frozen chamber into a warm or a muggy
atmosphere, it will, of course, condense vapour as a bottle of wine
taken from a cool cellar into a warm dining room does. This makes
the outside of the meat pale from its being sopped. It needs first
to be taken from the freezing chamber to another at about 40° F.,
then to another at, say, 55° F.; then to one at about 70° F., or the
temperature of the outside air. Then the meat--if the water from the
ice outside has been properly wiped off with soft, dry clothes--will
appear in a retailer’s shop or larder as dry and fresh as home-killed
meat. Of course these thawing chambers need to be provided with dry
air by the use of ice and fans for circulating the air as above
described.

_Tinned Meats._--These having been cooked once already and deprived
of bone, can only be used in stews and the like. The following
recipes are well adapted:--

Collops.--Fry an onion to a golden colour in butter, add a
tablespoonful of flour, mix well, add ½ pint stock, a sprig of thyme,
one of parsley, a bay leaf, 6 cloves, some whole pepper, and some
salt. Let the whole simmer for ½ hour; strain, add a little walnut or
mushroom ketchup, and a little Worcester sauce. Lastly, put in the
meat cut into neat collops, and let it remain by the side of the fire
for about an hour. Serve with bread sippets round the dish.

In Batter.--Cut some pieces of beef 1 in. thick, dip them in a batter
made of 3 tablespoonfuls flour, a teacup of milk, and one egg well
beaten, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Handle the pieces of beef
gently, so that they do not break. Fry a nice brown, and serve with
fried potato slices.

Irish Stew.--Simmer 6 sliced onions and 12 sliced potatoes in a
pint thin stock for ½ hour. Then add the contents of a 2 lb. tin of
Australian mutton cut in slices. Season with pepper and salt, and let
all simmer together for 15 minutes.

Mince.--(_a_) Boil 2 carrots in water, peel them, and cut in slices.
Fry 3 large onions in golden brown rings, put these into a teacupful
of gravy, and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Then thicken the gravy
with a heaping teaspoonful of cornflour, mixed in a little water.
10 minutes before serving, put in 2 lb. minced Australian beef, and
keep it quite hot, but not boiling. Serve with sippets of toast round
the dish; or make a wall of mashed potato, and put the mince in the
centre. A few slices of the red carrot can be dotted at the base of
the white potato wall.

(_b_) Mince 1 lb. Australian mutton very finely, boil ¼ lb. rice to
a pulp, mix it with the meat and add a teacupful of gravy in which
an onion has been boiled; stir over the fire, only until the meat is
heated through, turn into a dish; have ready turnips (which have been
previously parboiled and cut in dice), onions sliced, carrots sliced,
all well fried; dish up round the mince. Care should be taken not to
cook the Australian meat too long, or it loses its flavour.

Patties.--Mince finely 1 lb. tinned beef, melt 1 oz. good butter, and
mix it with the meat. Season the meat highly with pepper and salt,
and a dash of powdered mace and nutmeg. Mix all these ingredients
together, and add 2 tablespoonfuls rich beef gravy. Cut rounds
of light paste to line the patty pans, put in a tablespoonful of
minced feed, and cover with lids of paste, leaving a small hole in
the centre. Bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven. Their appearance is
improved by brushing the lids over with beaten yolk of egg.

Pie.--(_a_) Rub 6 oz. lard into 1 lb. flour and a dessertspoonful
of baking powder; add 2 well-beaten eggs, and scarcely ½ gill milk:
this should make a stiff paste. Cut off pieces, the size of an egg;
line small tin cups with the paste, and fill with the same meat as
for the raised pie, cover with a lid of paste and bake 20 minutes.
When cooked, turn them out of the tins, pour a little gravy through
the lid, and leave to get cold. This paste is very light and short;
6 of these little pies on a dish garnished with parsley, are useful
for luncheon or supper. They can also be made the same shape as
small pork pie by moulding the paste round the bottom of a bottle,
filling the case with meat, and covering with a lid. They are rather
tiresome to get into a good shape, but practice soon overcomes this
difficulty.

(_b_) Fill a pie dish with alternate layers of beef, mutton, and
bacon, all thinly sliced; season between each layer with chopped
onion (boiled), chopped apple, sage, pepper, and salt; pour in a
little good gravy, and bake with a crust over it for ½ hour. The
onion, sage, apple and seasoning should be well mixed together. This
dish is generally liked in the kitchen, and can also be covered with
potatoes, mashed smoothly with milk and butter, and seasoned to taste.

Pudding.--(_a_) Cut 1 lb. Australian mutton into thick pieces, the
length of one’s little finger, and 1 in. wide; cut up ½ lb. beef
kidney, and season it with pepper and salt. Line a greased pudding
basin with suet crust; put in the meat and kidney alternately; pour
in half a teacupful of gravy, with a tablespoonful of mushroom
ketchup; cover with the crust, and boil for 2 hours. This makes a
very savoury pudding.

(_b_) Make a crust of 1 lb. flour, a large teaspoonful of baking
powder, ½ lb. suet, and ½ teaspoonful salt; add water sufficient to
make rather a soft paste; roll out as for a roly-poly pudding; and
spread over it a mince of Australian meat, seasoned with pepper,
salt, ¼ lb. minced bacon, and 2 shallots finely chopped. Spread this
an inch thick, roll it up, pinch the ends firmly, and boil for 2
hours. Serve with thick brown gravy.

Sausage Rolls.--Put 1 lb. Australian tinned beef through a mincing
machine; mince with a chopper ¼ lb. pork; grate 1 oz. bread crumbs;
mix all together, and season well with pepper, salt, sweet marjoram,
and, if liked, a little thyme. Make some light paste, roll it thin
into square pieces, put some meat on it, and fold the paste over it,
pinch the edges and ends securely, and bake for 20 minutes. This
mixture of meat can be made into flat cakes or rissoles, egged and
bread crumbed, and fried a golden brown in Australian fat.

Shape.--Take ½ oz. gelatine previously soaked in water, an onion, a
carrot, a little thyme and marjoram, and 1 qt. good stock; boil until
reduced to 1½ pint, add a tablespoonful of ketchup, and pepper and
salt to taste. Strain the liquor into a saucepan, take 2 lb. of the
meat, and cut it into neat collops; put them also into the saucepan
and let them get warm, then pour all into a mould, put it into a cool
place until cold and firm.

Stew.--(_a_) Cook some potatoes and onions in stock, or with some of
the jelly from the tin, until thoroughly done and falling to pieces;
add salt and pepper, and about 10 minutes before serving put in some
small slices of the meat; simmer gently just long enough to warm them
through, and serve with the potatoes and onions all mixed together.

(_b_) Slice 2 large Portugal onions in thin slices, and fry them a
golden brown; simmer them in ½ pint thin gravy for 20 minutes; then
add 2 lb. tinned mutton finely minced, pepper and salt to taste.
Thicken the stew with a dessertspoonful of corn flour, and a piece of
butter the size of a walnut; add a few drops of colouring, if it is
necessary, to make the stew look a nice colour, and serve very hot on
toasted bread.

Vienna Steak.--Turn out a 2 lb. tin of Australian fresh beef, scrape
all the fat and jelly from it, melt the jelly in a saucepan, and use
the fat, if any, to fry the steak with. Mince the meat finely, and
pepper and salt it to taste; mix with it some finely-chopped onion,
fried a light brown, and form it into pats the size of the hand and
2 in. thick; brush the pats--which should be more oblong than round,
and slightly irregular in form--with egg and bread crumbs, and fry to
a dark brown in the fat. Pile them on a hot dish, and surround them
with fried onions and good gravy, in which the melted jelly forms
a part. The pats should be strewed over with chopped parsley just
before they are sent to table.

Vinaigrette.--Cut some Australian mutton in slices, lay them in
a dish, make a sauce of 2 tablespoonfuls oil, 1 dessertspoonful
vinegar, chopped parsley, a little celery cut small, sliced potatoes,
sliced cucumber (when not obtainable, beetroot), and put over the
mutton.

_Beef_ (Bœuf). A la financière.--This is simply grenadins of beef
served with a ragout _à la financière_ in the centre of the dish.
It requires some little care and taste to cook properly. The best
part of the beef for the purpose is the undercut, which should be
neatly trimmed, all fat and skin removed, and then cut up into
shapely pieces about ⅓ in. in thickness, and shaped something like a
flat pear--a long oval, rather pointed at one end. These grenadins
or fillets should then be finely larded, and afterwards braised by
putting them in a stewpan on some slices of bacon, with a carrot
and onion sliced, a little celery, if in season, some sweet herbs,
parsley, spices, salt and pepper to taste, and a little stock. When
sufficiently cooked, take them out, drain, and glaze them, then serve
round a ragout made with truffles, cockscombs, quenelles of chicken,
mushrooms, &c., all previously cooked, then tossed together in some
good brown gravy, highly flavoured with chicken or game, mushrooms,
and white wine.

A la Macédoine.--Cut some rump steak in slices a little more than ½
in. thick, trim them all to the same size in the shape of cutlets,
and lard them thickly on one side with fine lardoons of bacon fat.
Lay them out, the larded side uppermost, into a flat pan, and put
into it as much highly flavoured rich stock or gravy as will come
up to the grenadins without covering them. Cover the pan, and place
it in the oven to braise gently for an hour. Then remove the cover,
baste the grenadins with the gravy, and let them remain uncovered
in the oven till the larding has taken colour; they are then ready.
Take equal quantities of carrots and turnips cut into the shape of
olives, also equal quantities of peas, of green haricot beans, of
asparagus points, and of small sprigs of cauliflowers. Boil all
these vegetables in salted water, then melt a piece of butter in a
saucepan, add a tablespoonful of flour, stir in sufficient milk to
make a sauce, add pepper, salt, and a little grated nutmeg. Put all
the vegetables into this sauce, of which you should have just enough
to make them hold together; toss them gently in it to make them quite
hot. Dress them in the middle of a dish, round them dispose the
grenadins in a circle, and, having removed the superfluous fat from
their gravy, pour this round the grenadins, and serve.

Alamode.--Rub your beef with saltpetre, if it is a large round it
will take 3 oz., and the same weight of coarse sugar, then salt it
very thick. Strew some black pepper over it and turn it frequently.
Do not salt in too wide a pan, as the beef should be nearly covered
with the brine. Let it be 3 weeks in salt; then wash it, and rub over
it some pounded cloves and mace, and Jamaica pepper, then bind it up,
and put some chopped suet into the pan, and cover it with water, and
bake it. You must have it from the oven hot, as it will want binding
up afresh. Bind with strong wide tape, unbleached.

À la Napolitaine.--Take a piece of fresh silverside, make 2 or 3
holes in it, and insert in each a piece of bacon rolled in powdered
sweet herbs and pepper. Tie up the meat with string carefully. Take
a piece of the fat of bacon, mince it with a meat chopper, adding to
it a clove of garlic, an onion, some parsley, thyme, and marjoram.
When the whole is finely minced and well amalgamated, put it into
a saucepan with the meat, and keep turning the latter until it is
browned on all sides; then moisten with plenty of French tomato
sauce, diluted with a little stock, add salt to taste, and let
the meat stew slowly till done. Remove the string and serve with
macaroni, dressed with the sauce, round the meat. Having boiled the
macaroni, mix with it a fair allowance of the above sauce, strained
and freed from any superfluity of fat, and plenty of grated Parmesan
cheese. The macaroni should be mixed or dressed in a warmed tureen,
not in a saucepan on the fire.

Boiled.--Take a piece of the round, silverside, aitch-bone, or
brisket; skewer it if absolutely necessary, and tie it up with
string. Put it into a saucepan, cover it with cold water, and let
it come gradually to the boil, removing the scum as it rises, and
throwing in a small quantity of cold water from time to time. When
well skimmed add 2 or more carrots, an onion, and a bundle of sweet
herbs, and salt to taste. Draw the pan to the side of the fire, and
let the beef slowly boil till done. 2-2½ hours from the time of
boiling for a piece of beef 10-12 lb. weight. Strain and preserve the
liquor for stock.

Braised.--Put in a stewpan a layer of slices of onion, and over this
a layer of slices of fat bacon ½ in. thick; on this place a piece of
round of beef 8-10 lb. weight, neatly tied up with string; set the
saucepan on the fire for 20 minutes, and turn the beef over once or
twice during the process, then add a cupful of wine (red or white), 2
carrots, and an onion cut in slices, a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper
and salt to taste, and a few cloves. Lastly, fill up the saucepan
with just enough common stock to come up to the top of the piece of
beef; cover the pan close, and braise it for 4-5 hours, keeping a few
hot cinders on the lid. Serve with its own gravy, freed from fat, and
strained.

Brasciolette.--Take a piece of rump steak freed from fat, skin,
and gristle, mince it finely, and pound it to a paste. Grate some
breadcrumb and mix with it pepper, salt, spices, and chopped parsley
to taste. Take some lean bacon and cut it in thin strips, 1 in. wide.
Spread out the meat paste to the thickness of ½ in. Cut it into
squares about 2½ by 4½ in. Put a strip of bacon on each square, with
a small piece of butter, and 4 or 5 pine cone kernels (pignoli).
Strew over a little breadcrumb prepared as above, and roll up tight
on the table each brasciolette in meat paste, then roll it between
the palms of the hands. When they are all done, pack them up close in
one layer in a well-buttered baking tin. Strew plenty of the prepared
breadcrumbs over them, and some little bits of butter. Bake in a
quick oven. Look at them frequently, and when the brown gravy shows
on the top they are done. They should not in any case be baked longer
than 15 minutes. They may be served plain, or with some tomato sauce
poured over them.

Bubble and Squeak.--Cut from a piece of boiled beef slices the
thickness of a penny piece, trim and cut them into any shape you
please--parts underdone being the best; plain boil 1 large cabbage,
1 carrot, 1 onion; when cooked, drain and mince them together very
fine, removing any hard part of the cabbage. Put into a sauté pan a
piece of butter the size of an egg; when melted put in the beef to
warm, taking care it does not dry; this done, remove the meat and
put in the vegetables; stir on the fire until they are very hot,
moisten with a little good stock, add salt and pepper, a little
grated nutmeg; place them and the meat on the dish in the same way as
cutlets, pour over a little stock, and serve. (J. Burtenshaw.)

Bullock’s heart.--(_a_) A bullock’s heart, stuffed in the usual
way, should first be gently simmered for an hour or more, according
to size; then roasted slowly, being basted continuously, as all
meat should; if preferred, it may be larded. Thus managed, it is an
excellent dish.

(_b_) Put the heart in lukewarm water, and let it soak for 1½ hour,
then have ready a good supply of veal stuffing, which put in the
heart in every available place; sew it up carefully, and plunge it
into boiling water, allowing it to boil 2 hours; then take it out,
put it in the oven with a good piece of dripping on the top; baste
occasionally, and bake 1½ hour. Have a tureen of good gravy, slightly
thickened, sent to table with it, and, of course, currant jelly.
(Kate Campion.)

Cow-heel.--(_a_) Wash, clean, and scald a cow-heel, and cut into
pieces about 2 in. long and 1 wide. Dip these into the yolk of an egg
beaten up. Cover them with breadcrumbs mixed with chopped parsley,
pepper and salt, and a little cayenne. Fry them in boiling batter.

(_b_) Split the cow-heel, wash it, and place it in a stewpan with
just enough water to cover it. Simmer gently for 3 hours, chop
enough parsley to fill a tablespoon, put it into the stewpan. Mix
2 tablespoonfuls baked flour, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 saltspoonful
pepper, and 1 teacupful cold water, pour it in, and stir till it
thickens. Boil for 10 minutes longer, then serve.

Croquettes.--The croquettes can be made from any remains of cold
beef, whether boiled or roast, that will cut into neat slices. These
slices must be rather thin and nicely trimmed. Make a forcemeat by
chopping parsley, fat bacon, dried herbs, and a suspicion of lemon
peel together; season well, spread a little on each slice of meat,
roll up and dip in a thin batter, then fry in boiling fat.

Fillet.--Take a piece of fillet of beef (the undercut of the
sirloin), trim off the fat neatly and the thin skin next to it, lard
not too finely the outside of the fillet with fat bacon, and lay
it for a whole day in a pie dish with plenty of olive oil, pepper,
salt, parsley, slices of onion, and bay leaves. Turn it occasionally.
Cover the larded side with a piece of oiled paper, roast it at a
brisk fire, and do not let it be overdone. Baste it frequently with
butter, or with some of the marinade and a short time before serving
remove the paper, sprinkle the fillet with salt, and cease basting,
to let the larding take colour. Collect what gravy is in the dripping
pan, free it entirely from fat, or serve it under the fillet; which
may be garnished either with fried potatoes or with watercresses.
If the gravy collected in the dripping pan is not sufficient, some
well-flavoured and reduced clear beef stock can be added to it.

Frizzled.--Brown a piece of butter the size of an egg in a saucepan,
add a cup of cream or milk, 1 teaspoonful flour, mixed with a little
cold milk. Have ready ½ lb. of thinly-shaved smoked beef, add it to
the mixture, let it just come to a boil; serve. (F. E. W.)

Hash.--(_a_) Two tumblers hot water, 1 large spoonful butter, 3
tablespoonfuls grated cheese, and the same of fine breadcrumbs; then
season highly with cayenne pepper, adding three tumblers cold beef,
minced. All stirred well together, and served as soon as hot.

(_b_) Fry a small onion, cut in thin slices in butter; when it begins
to colour stir in a tablespoonful of flour, then add a cupful of
stock, pepper and salt, a small pinch of powdered sweet herbs, and ½
wineglassful tarragon vinegar. When the sauce has boiled for a minute
or two strain it into another saucepan; when cold, put in the beef
cut in thin slices. If roast beef, all outside parts must be trimmed
off. Set the saucepan by the side of the fire for the contents to get
gradually warm; when nearly so, a fair allowance of sliced gherkins
would be added. The longer the process of warming, the better the
hash will be.

(_c_) Cut some thin slices of underdone roast or boiled beef, lay
them in a buttered tin, strew over them some mushrooms and onions and
a little parsley, all finely chopped, add pepper and salt, and pour
in at the side as much stock as will come up to, but not over, the
meat. Strew plenty of baked breadcrumbs over all, and put the tin in
the oven for ½ hour, or till the moisture is nearly dried up. A very
small quantity of wine may be added along with the stock.

Hung Beef.--(_a_) This is served in America, shaved very thin, so
thin as to curl up; or grated, to spread on toast; also shred in
omelettes.

(_b_) It should be soaked for a few hours, then boiled slowly until
tender with carrots and cabbages. It is best eaten cold, or it may be
shaved or grated, and served on buttered toast. Slices of it can be
broiled on a gridiron and served with any green vegetables.

Kidney.--Parboil a beef kidney and cut it in slices, the thickness of
a penny piece, toss them in a saucepan with a piece of butter for 5
minutes; in another saucepan put 1 oz. butter, and 1 dessertspoonful
flour; stir on the fire until it begins to brown; moisten with 1
teacupful stock, add some finely minced parsley, the juice of a
lemon, pepper and salt to taste; pour this sauce into the saucepan
with the kidneys, and let them very gently simmer until thoroughly
done.

Minced Collops.--Mince some raw beef very finely, put the mince into
a saucepan with a bit of butter to prevent it sticking to the pan.
When they are hot add 1 teaspoonful flour and a little gravy or
water. They should be stirred often, to prevent their getting lumpy:
they take about 20 minutes to cook. Onions minced may be added, or a
little hot pickle. Hare collops are dressed the same way, with the
addition of a little claret.

Mock Brawn.--Take 4 cowheels, clean and wash them thoroughly, boil
them in plenty of water till very tender, then take them out and
shred them in long pieces, which put in a stewpan; just cover them
with stock, and let them stew a little. Have ready chopped a handful
of capers, half as many gherkins, and one glass of vinegar stir in
with the heels; put all into a mould; when quite cold turn out.

Ox Brains.--Lay the brains in plenty of lukewarm water to blanch.
Put them into scalding water, with some salt, to boil slowly about
½ hour. Take them up, drain, and divide them into small pieces. Dip
these into a well-beaten egg, sprinkle them with grated bread; fry
them in plenty of butter a delicate brown. Sprinkle with lemon juice
when done, and serve with slices of lemon as garnish.

Ox Cheek.--(_a_) One of the nicest dishes that comes to table is an
ox cheek. It will require to be well washed, not soaked, and to be
put on the fire in a large boiler full of cold water, and when it
boils it must continue to do so for 4 hours. 1½-2 pints peas should
be in soak all the night before, and put in with the cheek at first.
Onions, carrots, turnips, and celery are also added, and require 2 or
3 hours’ boiling. This makes delicious soup for the following days,
and the cheek itself a savoury and tender dish for a family. What is
left can either be made into a shape for the breakfast or luncheon
table, or cut into dice about 1 in. square and sent to table in the
soup. Hard-boiled eggs, pepper, salt, and nutmeg must be added to the
shape.

(_b_) It has long been in the north a favourite dish for breakfasts,
or lunch when made into a pie; it is a most economical, excellent,
and appetising dish, gentlemen like it for breakfast before a hard
day’s shooting or hunting. Wash the ox cheek in several waters, let
it soak 1 hour, then stew gently until the meat is cooked; remove it
from the stew pot, take out all the bones, which return to the stew
pot--use a digester for this purpose; put the meat on one side until
quite cold, boil 2 eggs hard and leave until cold; any remnants of
bacon or ham you have should be cut into pieces about ½ in. in size.
Take 1½ pint of the stock from which you took the meat, reduce it
one-third by boiling, flavour it with a teaspoonful of Yorkshire
relish or Worcester sauce, pepper, and for those who like it, a
little tarragon vinegar. Trim the meat, that is, take off the white
skin, cut the rest into pieces, about 1 in. in size, lay them in your
dish with the egg cut in slices, bacon or ham, till full, then pour
in your gravy, cover with the paste, taking care to make an incision
in the centre, and bake until the crust is sufficiently cooked. The
pie should be eaten cold. If you have any other bones from meat they
should be added to the stock and boiled for some hours; we always
boil them for 3-4 days, removing the stock occasionally and filling
up again with water, for the longer they are boiled, the more the
stock is likely to jelly, you then have the foundation of many good
soups. The ox cheek may be made into a galantine instead of pie. (M.
E. S.)

Ox-head.--People who have to study economy are often puzzled as to
what is the cheapest and most profitable dish for a Saturday early
hot dinner when the boys and girls of the family are generally
in from school. To those who are not already aware of the many
excellencies and useful purposes to which half an ox head can be
applied, this dish can be safely recommended. At a butcher’s in an
unfashionable locality half a head can be bought uncooked for 5_d._
a lb. with the bones out, or 4_d._ with the bones in. The wary
housekeeper will prefer having the bones left in as so much more
stock is obtained in this case. The head must be soaked 12 hours
in cold water. Then place it in a large saucepan, after dividing
it into 2 portions, with about 4 gals. cold water, 2 onions stuck
with cloves, 4 carrots, 3 turnips, ½ a burnt onion, a bay leaf,
some mixed herbs in a muslin bag, salt and pepper to taste. Stew
slowly for 4-5 hours. The liquor will gradually become reduced in
quantity, and consequently, another gallon of water must be added.
When quite tender, take it out of the saucepan and cut off sufficient
slices to fill a dish: if the appearance of the head on the table
is objected to, serve the meat with some of the gravy, and a fresh
lot of vegetables. The slices do very well indeed for the dining
room, and the servants can have a good dinner from what remains.
Some nice pieces should be left, which can be made into a mould of
collared head for Sunday night’s supper, in the following way: Cut
the meat into little squares and also a small quantity of fat bacon.
Put this into rather more than 1 pint stock with a teaspoonful of
mixed herbs, 3 cloves in muslin, ½ teaspoonful of parsley, a dash of
cayenne pepper, and some salt. Stew all these ingredients together
for about 1 hour. When it has become tepid, wet a plain mould, pour
in the mixture, and set it aside to get cool; serve garnished with
aspic jelly made of gelatine and flavoured with tarragon vinegar.
The first lot of stock makes splendid soup after all the fat has
been carefully removed, and into which anything that is liked can
be put, such as some pieces of ox tail from a tin containing tails
only, because, the stock being so good, it is not necessary to add ox
tail soup to it. A small quantity of French sago and the well beaten
yolks of 2 eggs are a very good addition. The second stock, which is
extracted from the bones, is naturally poorer; but it can be utilised
very successfully for soup, thickened with tinned tomatoes, prepared
tapioca, chestnuts, cold boiled potatoes, leeks, cabbage, carrots,
lettuce, &c.; in fact, it can be employed in any way most handy. Such
a large quantity of stock can be made from this very inexpensive
dish, that, with the addition of 6_d._ worth of fresh bones, enough
soup and gravy for a moderate-sized family can be obtained to last
about a week. (C.)

Ox-tails.--Thoroughly wash and divide into 4 in. pieces 1 or 2 ox
tails, put them into a stewpan, with a bunch of sweet herbs, a little
salt and cayenne pepper, and rather more than 1½ pint stock. Simmer
very gently for 2½ hours, then take out, and let them drain on a
sieve. Brush them thickly over with the yolk of a well-beaten egg,
and cover with breadcrumbs. Broil a fine brown on both sides very
quickly, serve with a good gravy or sauce tartare.

Potted.--Take 1 lb. cold roast beef, free from skin and sinews, mince
and then pound in a mortar to a paste. In pounding, add by degrees a
large saltspoonful of salt, scarcely that quantity of black pepper, a
pinch of cayenne, a little finely powdered mace, and 2 oz. clarified
butter. Press into small jars, and cover with a slight coating of
warm clarified butter; tie down tightly with bladder or paper. The
clarified butter, after being used for covering, need not be wasted,
but will do nicely for basting poultry or game.

Pressed.--(_a_) Take a piece of the brisket, or of the thick flank,
trim it, and rub it well for 3 days with salt and saltpetre. Pound
3 oz. allspice, 1 oz. cloves, 1 oz. black pepper, 2 lb. salt, and ½
lb. brown sugar in a mortar. Tie up the beef, and put in a pan, rub
it with the above ingredients every 12 hours for a week, drain it
from the pickle, pour over it the juice of 2 or 3 lemons, and 1 glass
brandy. Chop up 2-3 lb. beef suet, put a layer at the bottom of the
dish, under the beef, and the rest on the top, cover it with a paste
of flour and water, and bake for 6-7 hours. When done remove the
crust (drain off the juice), and put the beef to press under heavy
weights. Glaze it, and garnish with aspic jelly.

(_b_) To glaze.--The easiest way is to cut a thick slice from a
piece of glaze, which may be bought at no great expense; remove the
surrounding skin, and place it in a small-sized jam-pot to melt in
the oven. When it has become quite liquid, and while it is still hot,
apply it with a paste brush over the upper surface of the beef, which
should be already trimmed and placed on the dish on which it is to be
served, before the application of the glaze. It will soon get cold,
and will then be ready for serving.

Pot au feu.--Take a piece of fresh silverside of beef weighing 6
lb., and about ½ lb. bones, tie up the meat neatly with string,
and put both into a 6 qt. saucepan; fill it up with sufficient
water to come well over the meat and bones, and set it on the fire;
remove carefully with a skimmer the scum that will rise as the water
gets warm but do not allow it to boil. Add at intervals during the
process about 1 pint cold water in small quantities; this will have
the effect of checking the ebullition, and will help the scum to
rise. When the scum is all removed, put in about 1 oz. salt, a small
handful of whole pepper and allspice, 1 onion stuck with 12 cloves,
1 onion toasted almost black before the fire or on the hob, 1 leek,
3 carrots of average size cut in 2 in. lengths, 2 turnips of average
size each cut in 4, and a _bouquet garni_--i.e., 2 bay leaves, 2 or
3 sprigs each of thyme and marjoram, a clove of garlic, and a small
handful of parsley, all tied together into a small faggot. The above
vegetables should not be put in all at once, but gradually, so as not
to check the gentle simmering of the _pot au feu_, which should be
now skimmed for the last time, and placed by the side of the fire to
simmer gently for at least 4 hours. According to the season, all or
some of the following vegetables may be added: A head of celery cut
in 2 in. lengths, 2 tomatoes, 2 parsnips, a handful of chervil. At
the time of serving, strain the broth and skim off all the fat, add
the least bit of sugar (not burnt sugar) and more salt if necessary;
make the broth boiling hot, and pour it into the soup tureen over
small slices of toasted bread, adding according to taste, a portion
of the vegetables cut in thin slices.

Roast.--(_a_) Cut off most of the flap of the sirloin and trim the
joint neatly. Have a clear, brisk fire well built up. Place the joint
close to it for the first half-hour, then move it further off. Baste
frequently. When nearly done sprinkle the joint well over with salt.
Put a small quantity of water in the dripping pan, then pour off the
gravy, free it effectually from fat, and pour it over the joint in
the dish. Time of roasting about 3 hours for a 10-12 lb. sirloin.
Garnish with scraped horseradish and Yorkshire pudding. Serve
horseradish sauce in a tureen.

(_b_) Take a piece of the undercut of sirloin of beef, trim off the
fat neatly, and the thin skin next to it; lard (not too finely) that
side of it with fat bacon, and lay it for a whole day in a pie dish,
with plenty of olive oil, pepper, salt, parsley, slices of onion,
and laurel leaves. Tie it on the spit, cover the larded side with a
piece of buttered paper, roast it at a brisk fire, and do not let
it be overdone. Baste it frequently with its own gravy, and a short
time before serving remove the piece of paper to let the larding take
colour. Serve with its own gravy.

Salt.--Wash the piece of beef thoroughly, then proceed as in boiling
fresh beef, omitting the salt. Serve garnished with carrots.

Scalloped.--Melt together 2 oz. Parmesan cheese and 2 oz. butter,
finely mince ½ lb. tender and rather underdone cold roast beef; mix
this with the cheese and butter, seasoning it with a little pepper
and salt; have ready some tin or plated scallop shells, buttered and
sprinkled over with breadcrumbs finely grated; pour in the mixture,
sprinkle over it some more breadcrumbs, and then grate Parmesan
cheese over the top; they may be baked either in the oven or in a
Dutch oven before the fire. Serve very hot.

Spiced.--(_a_) Take the bones from a piece of thin flank, and put it
for 10 days into the following pickle--it should be covered. Boil
for 20 minutes 2 gal. water, 5 lb. salt, 2 lb. coarse sugar, 2 oz.
saltpetre, 2 oz. black pepper and of mixed spice, bruised and tied in
muslin, and bay leaves. Clear the scum as it rises, and let it stand
till cold. To boil the meat, put it in cold water, to cover, with a
wineglassful of vinegar and a few vegetables. Let it come very slowly
to boiling point, simmer it very slowly, and leave it in the pickle
till it is cold. If it is hard, it is cooked too fast. Vinegar helps
to make it tender, and it (as well as all boiled meat) is much less
dry if it is left till cold in the liquor. Before boiling, the thin
flank should be sprinkled with chopped parsley, herbs, and allspice,
rolled, and tied with tape. (E. A. B.)

(_b_) ½ lb. black pepper, ½ lb. white ditto, 3 oz. allspice, 3 oz.
cloves, 2 oz. saltpetre, 1 lb. salt, 1 lb. coarse brown sugar. Grind
all the spice, and pound the saltpetre fine; mix all the ingredients
well together. Get a round of about 26 lb. small beef, with 2 lb.
extra fat, to replace the marrow bone, which must be cut out of the
centre; let the meat be as fresh as possible, remove any kernels,
then thoroughly hand-rub every inch of the round, put it with all
the ingredients into a stone crock, or pan, where it will make its
own pickle, rub it well, and turn it in the pan every second day for
2-3 weeks. To cook it: Bind it into good shape with tape; put 1 qt.
cold water, and a plate of suet or good dripping into a large pot;
put in the beef, and completely cover it with suet or dripping; place
another plate above all, and put the cover on the pot. Bake for 6
hours in an oven, turning the beef at the end of the third hour.

Steak (_a_). À la Bordelaise.--Take a rib of beef, remove the bone,
and cut the meat into 2 steaks, trimming them neatly. Take a marrow
bone, break it, remove the marrow in one piece, blanch it for a
minute in hot water, and put it into the oven to keep it warm. Broil
the steaks, and serve them over some Bordelaise sauce, placing on
each the marrow, cut in slices and brushed over with a little thin
glaze. _Bordelaise Sauce._--Mince finely 2 or 3 shallots, blanch them
for a few minutes, press out the water from them, and put them into
a saucepan with a cupful of white wine; let them boil 20 minutes,
then add 2 cupfuls Spanish sauce, a dust of pepper, and some parsley
finely minced; let the sauce give a boil or two, and it is ready.
Well-flavoured gravy, thickened with browned flour and butter, may be
used instead of Spanish sauce.

(_b_) The great secret in cooking a steak lies in having a perfectly
clear red fire-no black or smoking coal. It should also be quite
even, so as to be at an equal distance all over (nearly 1 ft.) below
the gridiron. Before putting on the gridiron throw a handful of salt
on the top of the fire; then place the gridiron on to get quite hot.
Before putting on the steak rub the gridiron well over with a piece
of suet or fat. See that the steak is cut of an equal thickness-¾
in., certainly not less. It should on no account be beaten. Place it
on the gridiron, and turn frequently with steak tongs. If these are
not at hand, use a fork; but put it into the edge of the fat, on no
account into the lean, as that would let out the gravy and spoil the
steak. The time for cooking must depend on the thickness of the steak
and on the fire--10 minutes is the rule. Serve on a very hot dish,
on which should be ready, sliced very thin, a shallot. For gravy,
use Cock’s Reading Sauce and a very little boiling water. After the
steak is dished pepper and salt well, and rub it over with a piece of
butter.

(_c_) Stewed.--Season and lay them in a stewpan, put in ½ pint water,
a blade of mace, an anchovy, and small bunch of herbs, a piece of
butter rolled in flour, a glass of white wine, and an onion, cover
close, and let it stew till the steaks are tender, then take them
out, strew some flour over them, fry them in butter till they are of
a nice brown and pour off the fat; strain the sauce they were stewed
in, pour it into the pan, and toss it up together till the sauce is
quite hot and thick, then lay your steaks in the dish, pour the sauce
over them, and serve with horseradish and pickles. (S. S.)

(_d_) Pie.--Have your steak cut up and placed in its dish (nearly
covered with water) in the oven for 1½ hour, with a cover over the
dish. The oven should be about the heat for rice pudding. Open the
door if likely to dry the gravy. When cooked take it up, and after
properly flavouring it, and adding a hard-boiled egg cut up, lay
on the crust, and replace the pie in the oven until the paste is
properly cooked.

(_e_) Ditto.--Cut up 1½ lb. fillet steak or rump steak, with 2
kidneys, previously boiled, 2 eggs boiled hard and cut lengthways in
4 pieces, pepper and salt lightly, flour the steak and kidneys, place
some of the meat and some of the egg in the dish, and a piece of
butter the size of a walnut; add a teacupful of good gravy, seasoned
with a teaspoonful of Worcester and 1 dessertspoonful Harvey sauce;
fill the dish with the remaining portions of meat and eggs. Cover
with the paste, and bake slowly for 2½ hours.

(_f_) Pudding.--Line your basin with thin suet crust. For a small
pudding take ¾ lb. rump steak, cut in thin slices, without fat or
gristle; make a powder of pepper and salt, dip each slice into it,
and lay it round in layers in the basin until nearly full. Fill up
the centre with oysters or mushrooms, tie it tight, and boil for 3
hours; add water in the saucepan as required, but it must not reach
the top of the pudding basin. Fill up the basin with good stock.

Tea.--(_a_) Use Gard’s patent meat juice extractor. Its principal
virtue consists in the beef tea being cooked just enough to render it
most digestible. Put about ¼ pint water to ½ lb. beef, the roll of
the shoulder.

(_b_) Put the beef, cut in pieces or slashed, into a jar with a
cover, and tie it over with paper; stand the jar in a saucepan with
plenty of water, but not enough to make the jar float. Setting the
jar in the oven dries the meat. It should be well boiled gently, and
the lid kept on the saucepan to keep the steam in.

(_c_) Mince 8 oz. gravy beef very finely, pour over 8 oz. cold water,
and let it stand 1 hour; pour off the liquor, and it is ready.

(_d_) Dr. Stutzer has exposed the common superstition about the
nourishing powers of beef tea. He extracted all the extractible
matter from 100 gr. of beef with 100 gr. water, and a good proportion
of salt, at a gentle heat for 4 hours, but could only succeed in
obtaining in solution 1/12th the nourishing matter of the beef, the
other 11/12th remaining behind in the _bouilli_. In other words, we
should have to take ½ gal. beef tea made with beef to each pint of
water before we got as much nourishment as is contained in ¼ lb. of
steak. We might, it is true, evaporate our beef tea down to, say ½
pint, but we doubt if it would be palatable to the least squeamish
invalid.

Tongue.--(_a_) Never boil a tongue, only simmer, and allow 3 hours
for a large one. Never cure small ones. ¼ hour to every lb. is the
usual time given when meat is simmered, for meat should not boil,
as it hardens it; but you may know when the tongue is done, by its
peeling readily. The skin should peel off as a glove, when drawn,
does from the hand; and if the tongue is to be eaten cold, it can
be glazed; or if warm, a few well-browned and sifted breadcrumbs
put over it, and a paper frill should encircle its root. Many
garnish warm tongue with flowers in the old-fashioned way; but these
adornments interfere with the carver; serve browned or glazed, with
simply a frill.

(_b_) A dried tongue should be put to soak all night in cold water;
if it is only pickled, 2-3 hours will suffice. Put the tongue in a
saucepan sufficiently large, and with as much cold water as will
cover it well; put it on the fire until it comes to boil, then remove
it to the side, let it simmer but not boil. A bunch of herbs in the
water when boiling is a great improvement; while cooking the water
should be skimmed.

(_c_) Put the tongue into an earthen pan, and lay on the top of it
a few slices of butter; then cover the pan with a flour-and-water
crust, and bake, according to size, in a moderately hot oven. When
done, take off the skin, and straighten the tongue on a board, by
means of skewers at the tip and root. When cold, glaze it, ornament
it with a frill of paper, vegetables cut into shapes, and curled
parsley.

Tournedos.--Cut some rump steak or fillet of beef in slices about
½ in. thick, trim them all to the shape of cutlets (pear shape),
lay them in a marinade composed as follows: Olive oil and tarragon
vinegar in equal parts, an onion and a carrot sliced; pepper, salt,
and bay leaf, a sprig of thyme, parsley, and a few cloves. There
should be enough marinade to cover the fillets, and they should lie
in it for 12 hours. When wanted, take them out of the marinade, fry
them in butter quickly on both sides, and arrange them in a circle on
a dish alternately with slices of bread cut to the same shape as the
fillets, and fried a golden colour also in butter. Pour in the centre
of the dish some well made sharp sauce (sauce piquante, or sauce
poivrade), and serve.

Vinaigrette.--Cut in thin slices the cold beef of the _pot au feu_.
Mix in a small basin 1 teaspoonful mustard with some water and the
yolk of an egg; stir it continually, and at the same time drop in
some olive oil, drop by drop, until the sauce becomes pretty thick;
then add a little vinegar, and continue stirring and dropping in
the oil until you have as much sauce as you require. Add a hard egg
chopped up in small pieces some chopped-up parsley and chervil, a
little salt, and 3 tablespoonfuls good cream. Arrange the slices of
beef round the dish, and pour the sauce over them.

_Mutton_ (mouton). Baking.--In baking a joint in any kind of oven,
the following rules must be enforced to command success. First of
all, the joint must be placed in a proper baking tin, which can be
bought of any ironmonger for 6-8_s._ This baking tin is a double tin,
one placed inside another and has raised grating to place the meat
on, which prevents its being sodden in the fat. Water is put in the
under-tin to prevent any scorching of the dripping, which imparts
such an unpleasant taste to the meat; the small amount of steam from
this water helps to keep the meat from drying and hardening, but is
not sufficient to sodden it. Secondly, the joint must be put into
a thoroughly hot oven, which hardens the outside enough to keep in
the gravy. After the first ¼ hour of brisk heat, lower the fire a
little, keeping a moderate fire for the rest of the time. The joint
must be turned the under side uppermost when it is half cooked, or
it will not be evenly done or browned, as the main heat in stoves or
kitcheners proceeds from the top of the oven. Thirdly, the oven door
should be opened every 10 minutes for a second or two to allow the
vapour from the meat to escape: it is the confined vapour of meat
in a close oven that makes a baked joint offensive to a sensitive
palate. To sum all up in a few words, the oven must be thoroughly
hot when the joint is first put in, the meat must be raised above
the dripping, water must be used in the under tin, and the oven door
must be opened every 10 minutes. Suppose we have a leg or shoulder
of mutton to cook, in an ordinary kitchener or stove oven, place
the joint, ready trimmed, on the grating of your baking tin, the
underside uppermost, as when it is turned it will bring the proper
side up to send to table, and be ready for the final browning. Dust
it over lightly with flour, and put a lump of dripping in the upper
tin to baste with; pour sufficient cold water in the underneath
baking tin. Put the joint into the hot oven, and let it remain ¼
hour, if a joint of 10-12 lb.; but if only 5-6 lb., 10 minutes will
be enough. Open the oven door once in that time, and baste it at the
end of the ¼ hour, then lower the fire a little, and keep a steady
even fire all the time the joint is cooking. Baste every 10 minutes,
at the same time the door is opened to let the vapour escape. Turn
the joint, when half cooked, and flour it a little; and ¼ hour before
it is finally cooked dust it well with flour, and do not baste it
again unless any part of the meat refuses to moisten and brown, when
a very little dripping may be put on this part to bring it to its
right colour. When the meat is ready to dish up, take the baking tin
out of the oven, put the meat on a warm common dish, and return it
to the oven to keep hot while the fat is being separated from the
gravy, which is best done by pouring both fat and gravy into a hot
basin, and then skimming the fat off quickly with a large spoon. A
shoulder of mutton will make very little gravy, and should have some
made gravy added to it. An economical way of making the gravy nice is
to boil a teacupful of water in a saucepan with a good pinch of salt
and a little white pepper in it. Mix ½ teaspoonful flour in a little
water until smooth, and stir into the boiling water. Let it boil a
minute, and when all the fat is skimmed off the gravy pour the gravy
into the saucepan, letting it simmer a second, and pour it over the
meat or into a gravy tureen, and send to table.

Breast.--(_a_) With the poor, to whom fat is a necessity, this dish
is much in vogue, but to be economical, even from their point of
view, it must be bought at a low price. Persons accustomed to the
prime parts of mutton are wont to despise the breast; but it may,
with a little care and skill, be made into excellent dishes. It is
essential that it should be partly prepared the day before using, as
it cannot be freed sufficiently from fat until cold. After preparing
in the following manner the meat may be made either into a mutton
pasty, Devonshire pie mutton pudding, stew, or curry. It is besides
excellent eaten cold. Cut the breast into convenient pieces, and lay
them in a saucepan, meat downwards, sprinkle with pepper and salt,
and slice 3 onions over them. If it is desired to use the fat drawn
from the mutton in any way in which the flavour of onions would be
objectionable, they must be omitted. Set the stewpan at a low heat,
and allow the meat to cook gradually in its own fat and juices. It
will take about 3 hours. When done put away the meat on a dish, and
the fat in a basin. The next morning a little gravy will be found
beneath the cake of fat, which will, from a breast of mutton weighing
about 3 lb., be as much as ¾-1 lb. It is excellent fat either for
making family cakes and pies or for frying. Use the gravy, with the
addition of a little water or stock, onion or other vegetables to
dress the meat, in any of the ways above mentioned.

(_b_) Boil it tender, and take out the bones; have ready some parsley
and thyme, well chopped, a little salt, pepper, and some breadcrumbs;
mix them well, and lay on the top of the lamb, put it down before the
fire to brown, and serve it up with a good gravy and a few capers.

Broth.--(_a_) Take ½ lb. Scotch barley, 5-6 lb. mutton (neck or
breast), put on the fire with 5 qts. of water, and bring it slowly to
a boil. Turnips, carrots, onions, or leeks and celery cut up small,
with ½ pint dried green peas, to be added ½ hour after the meat and
barley have boiled. The whole then to be simmered 2½ hours longer.
The fat must be removed as it rises to the surface when boiling. If
preferred, the meat can be served as a separate course, with some
large vegetables round it.

(_b_) Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton (say 6
cutlets), saw, short off, the end of the ribs in one piece, also the
chine, divide the cutlets, and trim off the fat. Put the cutlets,
ribs, and chine into a saucepan with 2 qts. cold water, and 2
tablespoonfuls pearl barley; when the saucepan has been on the fire
for ½ hour, throw in 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 turnip, and ½ head celery,
all cut in small squares the size of peas. Keep on skimming the
broth of all fat, and scum at intervals; when it has boiled another
hour, add pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of powdered thyme, and a
dessertspoonful of finely mixed parsley. Then let the broth simmer
gently till wanted, removing the ribs and chine at the time of
serving.

Casseroles.--Boil 6 large potatoes; when done add salt, pepper,
grated nutmeg, 3 yolks of eggs, 1 oz. butter; beat all well together
over the fire a few minutes, then pass through a sieve. Butter a
large baking sheet; place the potato on it in a flat heap 1½ in.
high. When cold, cut them out with a plain cutter the size of a
patty, egg and breadcrumb; make an impression at one end with a
smaller cutter, to represent the top of the patty; fry a golden
colour in hot lard. Remove the inside, and fill them with the mince
moistened in the same way as for patties. Serve very hot on a napkin.

Chops.--Take some chops from a loin of mutton, trim them neatly, and
remove all fat; lay them in a deep dish, with slices of onion, a few
cloves, whole pepper, salt, and sweet herbs; add oil and vinegar in
equal parts just sufficient to cover them; let them marinade for
10-12 hours, turning them occasionally, then broil over a clear fire;
arrange them neatly on a dish. Fry one or two shallots, minced very
finely in butter; when just beginning to take colour, pour on the
chops, and serve with sharp sauce in a boat.

Croquettes.--Roll up the mince in balls, egg and breadcrumb, and fry
them in hot lard. They can be made into any shape, such as round
balls, diamonds, sugar loaf, or cutlets. They must be served with
fried parsley, and very hot.

Cutlets. (_a_) Cold.--Trim some neck cutlets very neatly, remove
every particle of fat, and cut the bone quite short. Lard them finely
with bacon or ham, and put them into a braising pan on a slice of fat
bacon. Add a sliced carrot, a turnip, and an onion, also sliced, a
bundle of sweet herbs, whole pepper, and salt to taste. Add a little
gravy or good stock--if liked, a glass of white wine. Braise gently
for an hour or so. When sufficiently done, drain and put them to
press until cold between 2 dishes. Trim them again, glaze with some
of the gravy reduced for the purpose, and serve with clarified aspic
jelly and sprigs of chervil or tarragon, or with cold tomato sauce.

(_b_) Stewed.--Take some lean, neatly trimmed mutton chops from the
loin, and fry them lightly a good brown. Have ready sufficient good,
well-seasoned gravy, in which put a few slices of pickled cucumber.
Add the chops, and stew most gently 1½-2 hours.

(_c_) With apples and gravy.--Take some cutlets from the neck, trim
them neatly; season with pepper and salt, put them in a deep dish,
with slices of apples and chopped onions over, pour in sufficient
stock or gravy to cover them; put the dish in the oven, cover it
over, and let the contents braise gently for ¾ hour, or until
thoroughly cooked; serve in the dish in which they were cooked.

(_d_) À la maître d’hôtel.--These may be prepared over night by
cutting from a neck of mutton as many as will be required; cut the
bones rather short, and cut a cutlet from between every 2 bones,
these with the bone being only the thickness of the bone itself;
trim off some of the fat, flatten them, season with pepper and salt,
and set them in the larder for the night. The next morning prepare
the sauce before cooking the cutlets. For this take 1 oz. butter, 1
teaspoonful finely chopped parsley, and a few drops of lemon juice;
mix these well together with a knife on a plate, then proceed to
fry the cutlets in clarified butter on both sides till quite done;
put them at once on to a very hot dish, and put little bits of the
_maître d’hôtel_ butter all over them; these at once melt and form a
nice savoury gravy.

(_e_) Lamb cutlets.--Take a neck of lamb, divide it into cutlets,
trim them neatly, dip them in liquefied butter, sprinkle them with
pepper and salt, and broil them in a double gridiron in front of a
brisk fire; dispose them in a circle on the dish round a pyramid of
spinach.--Pick and wash perfectly clean 2-3 lb. spinach, put it into
a saucepan with a little water, and let it boil till quite done. Turn
it out on a hair sieve to drain, throw the water away, and pass the
spinach through the sieve. Put a good lump of butter into a saucepan
with a pinch of flour, mix well, add the spinach, pepper and salt to
taste, and a little milk; stir well and serve.

(_f_) Savoury.--Cut the cutlets from a neck of mutton rather thick,
lard and put them in a braising pan, with enough good gravy to cover
them; add an onion stuck with cloves, a sliced carrot, a faggot of
herbs; braise till quite tender. Remove them from the gravy, strain,
then reduce it, and skim well. When cold trim the cutlets carefully,
simmer till hot in the reduced gravy. Have ready a block of bread
(pyramid shape), fry it in butter, put it in the centre of the dish,
the cutlets round it (the gravy in the dish), and garnish with new
carrots and turnips (cut up small, and previously tossed in butter),
arranged alternately between the cutlets. Instead of the block of
bread and garnish of carrots and turnips, they may be served with
peas or beans, tossed in butter, or with any purée of vegetable, or
with tomatoes, &c., according to the season.

Haggis.--The outer covering of this is made from the stomach or
paunch of a sheep, which requires great care in the cleansing. It
must be well washed, and then be allowed to soak for several hours in
salt and water; after this, turn it inside out, put it into boiling
water to scald, scrape it well, and then put it into a large basin
of cold water to remain till wanted. Care must be taken in scraping
that no thin places are left, or they will burst in the boiling.
Take a sheep’s pluck, clean it well, piercing the liver and heart
in several places to let out the blood. Boil the liver and lights
for 1½ hour, putting them into fresh water after they have boiled
for ¼ hour, and adding the remainder of the pluck to boil with them
during the last ½ hour they are on the fire. Take them off and trim
away any discoloured parts and the skin. Grate half the liver, and
mince all the rest as finely as possible. Chop 2 good-sized onions
and 1 lb. suet, and mix with ½ pint oatmeal previously well dried, 2
teaspoonfuls salt, a dash of cayenne, 1 teaspoonful black pepper, and
a little grated nutmeg. To this add the juice of a small lemon, and ½
pint good brown gravy. Mix all thoroughly, take the bag or skin from
the cold water in which it has lain since preparing, and into it put
the mixture. Sew the skin up securely, not forgetting to leave room
for it to swell, and at once put it into boiling water, to remain
gently simmering for 3 hours after it again comes to the boil. Just
at first it must be occasionally pricked with a needle, to let out
the air, and prevent it from bursting. Some people tie it in a cloth
as well, for fear of this happening; but it ought not to have one,
and with attention it will turn out perfectly well without. A haggis
is also sometimes made from the stomach or pluck of a calf or lamb,
but that of the sheep is most generally used. If lamb is used for
this purpose, great care must be taken to sew up any thin places, or
possibly holes in the skin, which from being so tender often occur.
Occasionally a small quantity of beef, finely minced, is added to the
other ingredients, as described for filling the haggis, but it is
more generally made without this addition. It must be served directly
it is taken off the fire, as hot as possible, with no gravy or sauce
of any kind, nor any garnish, as the gravy from the inside flows all
over the dish directly the knife is put into it.

Haricot.--Toss some chops or mutton cutlets in butter till they are a
good colour all over. Take them out. Have some carrots and turnips,
also potatoes, all cut the same shape, and pass them in butter on
the fire, each vegetable separately, till they are half-cooked.
Strain the butter so used; add to it a good pinch of flour, or more
according to quantity, to thicken the sauce. When the mixture begins
to acquire a golden colour, put in as much water (or stock) as will
be required for sauce, together with the meat, pepper, salt, a bunch
of sweet herbs, with a clove of garlic or a shallot in it. When
the meat is half-cooked, add the carrots, after a little time the
potatoes, then the turnips. Serve when done, removing the sweet herbs.

Hashed.--(_a_) Mince an onion and fry it in butter to a brown colour,
add 1 tablespoonful flour, stir well, pour in enough stock or broth
to make the sauce, with a dash of vinegar, pepper, salt, and spices
to taste. Let the sauce give a boil, then strain it, and when cold
put in the slices of meat well trimmed of any outside parts, and a
good allowance of pickled gherkins cut in slices. Let the whole get
warm by gentle simmering, and keep it hot till wanted for table.
Serve garnished with fried sippets. Cut out of a loaf slices 1 in.
thick, shape them into triangles or arrow-heads all of a size; put
some butter in a frying-pan, and when quite hot lay the sippets in
it. Turn them frequently, adding more butter as it is wanted, and
taking care that they are all fried to the same light golden colour.
A readier way, but producing not so nice a sippet, is to lay the
pieces of bread in the frying basket, and dip it in a saucepan full
of boiling fat. They must afterwards be laid in front of the fire to
drain.

(_b_) Cut your meat in slices, free from fat, gristle, and skin. Take
a flat dish, and cover the bottom with dry flour, seasoned to taste
with pepper and salt; rub each piece of meat all over in this flour,
and lay them in a “Dutch oven,” i.e., a brown stoneware jar or pot
with a lid, and one small hole in it. When you have packed as much
meat as you require, pour on the whole some cold gravy free of fat
(or stock), seasoned with a dessert spoonful of or more of Worcester
or any other favourite sauce; put on the lid, and put it into a slow
oven. It may be left any number of hours, and only requires to be
occasionally looked at, and a little gravy or hot water added to it,
and stir now and then to prevent it getting dry.

(_c_) Roast 1 large or 2 small onions until they are quite black;
cut the meat in small thin pieces; put the fat, skin, and bones in a
saucepan with the onions and water, allowing for the latter to waste;
let all stew until the gravy looks good and rich; then strain, and
put the meat and gravy on again, letting them simmer gently until the
meat is quite cooked; put a sufficient quantity of mushroom or walnut
ketchup in a cup, and stir in enough flour to make a very thick
batter, also a liberal quantity of cayenne; add this to the hash,
giving it one “boil up,” stirring occasionally, and serve as usual
with sippets of toasted bread. (F. J. H.).

(_d_) Chop the bones of the meat and let them simmer 3-4 hours, with
2 good-sized onions previously fried, thicken with flour, and add a
little Harvey sauce and soy, then strain. Put the meat (which should
be cut into nice slices, but not too thin) into the gravy, and let
it heat thoroughly; just before serving, stir in whilst on the fire a
good-sized piece of butter. Add pepper and salt.

(_e_) Fry in a saucepan 3 small onions and 3 small slices bacon or
ham until they are brown; then add a little more than ½ pint water,
and thicken it with flour; then strain it, and add it to the meat,
with a little Harvey’s sauce; pepper and salt to taste. It will take
about an hour to hash.

(_f_) Cut the mutton into nice slices, free from skin and fat,
and dredge each slice on both sides with flour; take 6 good-sized
mushrooms, trim them, cut each into 4 pieces, and put them into a
stewpan to stew, with a small piece of butter; add a little good
stock, some pepper and salt, and, when sufficiently done, put in the
meat. Let it heat through slowly, stirring frequently to prevent
burning; but be careful that it does not boil, or the meat will be
hard; and, as soon as the flour loses its raw taste and thickens the
hash, it is done, and should be served immediately with sippets of
neatly cut thin toast or fried bread round the dish.

Irish stew.--(_a_) Cut up into cutlets about 3 lb. best end of a neck
of mutton, saw off the chine bone, and trim off the fat; season the
cutlets well with pepper and salt, and put them with the bones into a
stewpan, just covering them with cold water; stew gently for ½ hour,
remove from the fire, skim the fat from the gravy, and then return it
with the chops into the stewpan; add about 8 potatoes cut in halves,
4 onions sliced, 2 turnips, and 1½ pint of either stock or water;
cover the stewpan, and simmer gently for 1½-2 hours. Serve with the
potatoes in the centre of the dish, the cutlets arranged all round,
and with the onions and gravy poured over.

(_b_) For a more economical stew, take the scrag of mutton, together
with any trimmings, bones, &c., from the best end. To 1 lb. meat put
2 lb. old potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces, with 2 onions sliced,
pepper and salt, cover with cold water or weak stock, and simmer
gently for 2 hours; when half done add a few whole potatoes, and when
the ingredients are well amalgamated skim off superfluous fat, and
serve very hot.

(_c_) Take any thin pieces of mutton that have been cut off the
loin or breast, and cut them in pieces 4 in. square. Put them in a
stewpan, and cover them with boiling water. Add 2 doz. whole onions,
pepper and salt, put on the cover closely, and draw it to the side
of the fire, and let it boil slowly for 1 hour. Add a little boiling
water to it. Wash and pare 2 doz. potatoes, put them in the stewpan
amongst the mutton, and let them boil till quite soft. Stir the
potatoes with the mutton till it becomes smooth, then dish it hot.

(_d_) Put some slices of cold boiled corned beef (never fresh), into
a stewpan with a good deal of water or thin stock, 2 large onions
sliced, and some cold boiled potatoes (whole), a little pepper. Stew
gently until the potatoes are quite soft and have taken up nearly all
the gravy; some will break, but they should be as whole as possible.
Turn all out on a flat dish and serve. (M. M. F.)

Kidneys.--(_a_) À la maître d’hôtel.--Plunge some mutton kidneys in
boiling water; open them down the centre, but do not separate them,
peel, and pass a skewer across them to keep them open; pepper, salt,
and dip them into melted butter; broil them over a clear fire on
both sides, cooking the cut side first; remove the skewers, have
ready some maître d’hôtel butter, viz. butter beaten up with chopped
parsley, salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice; put a small piece
into the hollow of each kidney, and serve very hot.

(_b_) Devilled.--Skin and parboil the kidneys, split them in halves
without separating them, dip them in liquefied butter, and sprinkle
pepper and salt with a judicious proportion of cayenne over them;
place them, spread open, in a double gridiron, and broil either in
front of or on a brisk fire. Serve hot, placing on each kidney a
piece of butter into which has been worked pepper, salt, cayenne, and
minced parsley in due proportions.

(_c_) Fried.--Split asunder, and then free from skin and fat;
sprinkle them with salt and cayenne pepper, and having put them in
the frying-pan, which must be well heated, pour some clarified butter
over them. Fry them over a brisk fire, place them in a dish, or upon
slices of fried toast; make in the pan some gravy mixed with ketchup,
or any sauce which is preferred, and pour it into the dish with the
kidneys.

(_d_) Ditto.--For a breakfast dish they should be first skinned and
cut open lengthwise down to the root, but without quite separating
them. Then season them with pepper and salt, and fry them in butter
for about 8 minutes, turning them when they are half done. Serve them
very hot, each one on a small round piece of buttered toast, a tiny
piece of butter being put upon each kidney.

(_e_) Ditto.--Take six kidneys, remove the skin, and cut them into
quarters, fry them in butter for 5 minutes over a bright fire,
powdering them over with flour; turn them a moment, in order that the
flour may be well cooked. Throw in ½ glass white wine, some mushrooms
ready prepared, some chopped parsley, a little shallot, pepper and
salt, all to cook in the frying-pan for 8 minutes, stirring it during
the time; then serve at once.

(_f_) Grilled.--Cut 3 kidneys in half, dip them in an egg previously
beaten up with salt and pepper; pass them in white breadcrumbs; put a
piece of butter the size of an egg to melt; when melted, dip in the
kidneys and pass them again in breadcrumbs, then grill before a slow
fire and serve with sauce piquante on a rich gravy. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_g_) Put upon a silver skewer about 6 in. long with ornamental head,
and cook in a dish before the fire with a little bacon. The one
imparts flavour to the other; they must be served up together.

(_h_) Stewed.--Cut them (after carefully skinning them) into halves,
or, if large, into quarters, and simmer them gently in rich stock
for 2-3 hours at least. The slower they are done the better, as they
should be quite tender. Then take as much of the stock as is required
for the dish in which they are to be served, thicken it with a little
flour, add a little seasoning and a flavouring of mushroom ketchup,
a dash of Worcester sauce and a teaspoonful of sugar, and let it
just boil up. Then add a large wineglass of claret, and pour over
the kidneys. There should be plenty of gravy, but not so much that
the kidneys swim in it. If only a small dish is required, a wall of
mashed potatoes may be put round the dish, with the kidneys in the
middle; otherwise a great many are required to make it look nice. A
garnish of fried sippets is an improvement.

(_i_) Toast.--Chop very fine some kidneys and a little of the
surrounding fat; season with salt, pepper, a little cayenne pepper,
and grated lemon peel; warm this mixture with a little butter, then
place on thin slices of toast, first beating up and adding one egg to
the kidneys, place the toast in a dish with a little butter; brown
them in an oven, and serve very hot. This is a very appetising little
dish.

Kromeskies.--Cut some pieces of fat bacon as thinly as possible, in
size 1½ in. by 2 in., lay them flat, place a small piece of mince on
each; roll up tightly, taking care that the mince does not escape;
put aside in a cold place, dip each in batter, and fry a light brown
colour. Serve with fried parsley.

Lamb Pie (Agneau).--Cut your lamb in thin slices, and season it with
cloves, mace, nutmeg, sugar, salt, and a little small pepper, and
lay it in your coffin (pie crust), and lay on it and between it a
few raisins of the sun stoned, and a few currants, and a few skirret
roots boiled and blanched, and the marrow of 2 or 3 bones, candied
lemon, dates, and dried citron, preserved barberries, and candied
lettuce, and sliced lemon, and some butter. Close your pie, and when
it is baked let the caudle be white wine verjuice and sugar beaten
up with the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, and set it on the fire, and keep
stirring it till it begins to be thick; then put it in the pie, shake
it together, scrape on plenty of sugar, and send it up.

Lambs’ Tails.--Trim the tails. Place some slices of bacon in a
saucepan, over them a layer of onions and carrots sliced, then the
tails; then a clove of garlic, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, and
some parsley tied up in a bundle, salt to taste, a few cloves, and
some whole pepper. Place the saucepan over the fire for 10 minutes,
then add 1 glass sherry and about 1 pint stock or water, and let the
whole simmer gently for 2-3 hours. Take out the tails, strain the
liquor; let it reduce almost to a glaze, put back the tails in it to
get warm, and serve with a purée of spinach or sorrel.

Leg of Mutton. (_a_) Boiled.--Cut the leg of mutton cleanly across
the meat and bone from the shank down, with as much meat as will
suffice for the meal. Rub it and flour it all over, but specially
the cut meat surface. Plunge it at once into a saucepan or pot of
boiling water to cover it, together with some salt, a few grains of
pepper, and a bunch of parsley. Draw away from the fire, and allow
the water to cool almost completely; then put once more on the fire,
and cook slowly according to weight, till quite done to taste. Serve
with parsley, onions, caper, sorrel, or any sauce preferred; garnish
with meat or potato rissoles. The flour and the plunging into boiling
water will prevent the juice from escaping, and the meat will cut
just as finely as from a whole boiled leg of mutton.

(_b_) Braised.--Take a small leg of mutton, trim it close of all
superfluous fat, saw the shank bone short off, make an incision where
it joins the other bone, bend it in, and tie up the leg with string.
Line the bottom of a braising pan, just large enough to hold all the
ingredients, with slices of fat bacon; place the leg on this, add
2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, 3 carrots cut in pieces, a bundle of
sweet herbs, whole pepper and salt to taste; pack all these things
round the leg, put 2 slices bacon on the top of all, and set the pan
with the lid on the fire for about 15 minutes. Be careful it does not
catch, then pour in enough common cold stock or water just to cover
over the contents, put a piece of buttered paper on the top, then
the lid, and, having placed some hot embers on that, set the whole
to braise on a gentle fire for about 3½ hours. Strain off a small
portion of the liquor, free it from fat, reduce it on the fire not
quite to a glaze, place the leg in the dish, pour the reduced liquor
over it, and round it a stiff purée of dried haricot beans.

(_c_) Roast.--For a 7 o’clock dinner, hang your mutton before the
fire, but 3 yd. distance from it, by 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Wind
up the jack, and let it just be under the influence of the fire, but
no nearer, for 1 hour; then edge it a little nearer, until it is time
really to begin roasting it, and then pay it constant attention until
it goes to table. Dredge it well, so as to froth it, and preserve the
juices, and baste it incessantly. Continue to dredge and baste it,
until within 10 minutes of serving; then roll a piece of butter the
size of a walnut in flour, and make it into a rich paste, and pick
little bits off and stick them all over the leg of mutton, and let
them melt over it for 10 minutes. Do not touch it with the basting
ladle again. Then dish it on a really hot dish, not one that has been
so hastily heated that it as quickly cools, but let dish and plates
be heated well through. Never pour the gravy over the joint; if you
do, you wash off all the brown and frothy appearance and taste that
proper care in roasting should and does produce.

Loin. (_a_) Braised.--Bone and trim off from a loin of mutton all
superfluous fat, lard the thin part, and roll it round; lay the joint
in a stewpan over some slices of fat bacon, add whole pepper and salt
to taste, an onion stuck with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bunch
of sweet herbs; moisten with stock, and let it braise gently for
an hour or so. When done, strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour
it over the joint in the dish, and serve garnished with vegetables
plainly boiled.

(_b_) Stewed.--Select a loin with the flap on; it must not be a fat
loin. Take off some of the fat, carefully remove the bones, which
requires a very sharp knife; see that none of the lean meat is taken
off at the same time. When boned, roll it up tightly, tie it round
with broad tape, and skewer it also. Before serving, remove the tape;
but it will be necessary to keep it skewered together. Place it in
a stewpan with ¼ pint port or claret, and something less than 1 qt.
stock or water. If the meat is fried a light-brown before stewing it
is a great improvement. Add a small bouquet of sweet herbs, a carrot,
turnip, an onion, a blade of mace, a tablespoonful of ketchup, a
dessertspoonful of anchovy sauce, a teaspoonful of salt, and ½
teaspoonful pepper. Simmer all for 3 hours as gently as possible.
Pour the gravy away from the meat, skim off all the fat, add a glass
more wine and a tablespoonful of red currant jelly, thicken with
a ball of flour and butter, rewarm the meat, and pour the gravy
over when it is served. Garnish with carrot, neatly shaped with a
vegetable cutter, and sliced lemon.

Minced Mutton.--Take some meat from a joint of roast, boiled, or
braised mutton; remove the skin and outside parts, mince it very
fine; put a small piece of butter into a stewpan, when melted add
½ tablespoonful flour; stir 2-3 minutes over the fire; add 1 gill
well-flavoured stock; when boiling put in the mince; add salt,
pepper, a little grated nutmeg, chopped parsley, a few leaves of
thyme, also finely minced, and the yolk of 1 egg; stir all on the
fire for some minutes; then serve with bread sippets or croquettes of
potatoes. If put aside until cold this mince can be used in various
ways.

Neck of Mutton.--(_a_) A la Duchesse.--Procure a whole neck of
mutton, that is, the neck not divided down the middle, but cut entire
from the sheep. This will be the scrags united, and will weigh about
3 lb. It must be perfectly fresh. Having well washed the neck, dry,
flour, and fry it, turning it about until nicely browned, then place
it in a deep stewpan or in the soup kettle. Cover it with nicely
seasoned stock, and put in 6 onions, 2 turnips, and 1 carrot. Cover
the pot close, and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender,
as they will be in 1½-2 hours; take them out and set them aside
to garnish the neck, which will take 4-5 hours’ gentle simmering.
When done it should be as tender as chicken, and sufficient time
for cooking should always be allowed, as it is rather improved than
otherwise by standing at a low heat when finished. When the neck is
done take it out of the gravy, which set aside to cool in a pan of
cold water, in order that all the fat may be readily removed. Keep
the neck hot in the meantime, by covering it close in the pot in
which it was cooked. Having taken the fat off the gravy put it into
a stewpan, and let it boil rapidly without the lid, until reduced to
about a pint. If it is not then thick enough, add a teaspoonful of
Brown and Polson’s corn flour and one of flour, mixed smooth in 2
tablespoonfuls of cold water or stock. This done, return the neck to
its gravy, and let it simmer gently for ½ hour. Mince the vegetables
cooked with the meat, place them in a stewpan with a little piece of
butter, shake them over the fire until thoroughly hot; arrange them
neatly in little heaps on the dish round the neck. Peas, asparagus
tops, or sprigs of cauliflower, cooked separately, may be added to
the above vegetables. They not only make an improvement, but look
pretty. The carver will cut the meat from the bone longitudinally in
large handsome slices. A whole neck of mutton gently boiled for 4-5
hours in salted water, with 2 carrots, 2 onions, and 3 turnips, and
served with caper is very good.

(_b_) Boiled.--Prepare, trim, and tie it back in the same way, but
entirely removing the skin, and paring off nearly all the fat; in
boiling there is no waste, on the contrary, the fat swells; ¼ in.
is therefore quite a sufficient thickness to leave. Put it into a
stewpan on the fire with just enough cold water, salted to taste,
to cover it. The instant it boils draw it to the side, and let it
gently simmer until done, when it should be as tender and delicate as
chicken. Allow ¼ hour to the lb. after simmering begins. Serve with
plain melted butter, stirring a tablespoonful of slightly chopped
capers, and a spoonful or two of milk into it, just before pouring
the sauce over the mutton.

(_c_) Braised.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton,
trim off all superfluous fat, lay the joint in a stewpan over a slice
of fat bacon; add whole pepper and salt to taste, an onion stuck
with cloves, 2 sliced carrots, and a bundle of sweet herbs; moisten
with a little stock, and let it braise gently for about 1 hour. When
done strain the gravy, free it from fat, pour it over the joint in
the dish, and serve garnished with carrots cut as for Julienne, and
cooked by being tossed in butter till done.

(_d_) Roast.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck, trim off all
superfluous fat, saw off the chine, wrap up the joint in a piece of
oiled paper. Roast it at a brisk fire, basting frequently. When it
has roasted ½ hour remove the paper, sprinkle the joint freely with
salt, and put it nearer the fire, and as soon as it has taken a good
colour it is ready. Time of roasting must necessarily vary according
to the nature of the fire, the size of the joint, and the taste of
those for whom it is cooked for eating meat overdone or underdone. No
hard and fast rule can be given for the time of roasting.

(_e_) Rolled.--Take a piece of the best end of a neck of mutton,
with a sharp knife remove the skin, taking with it as much meat as
possible from the bones except the fillet, which is to form the
cutlets; saw off the bones, divide the cutlets, trim them, and gather
all the meat from the trimmings and the bones. Lay the best pieces
on the skin with a few pieces of bacon, pound the rest in a mortar
with any other trimmings of raw or cooked meat that may be at hand,
a small piece of butter, half an onion, some sweet herbs, pepper and
salt. Pass this through a sieve, and spread it on the skin, fold up ½
inch of both the long sides, then roll up the skin tight from one of
the narrow sides, tie it up with thread several times round. Fry an
onion with a little bacon fat, put in the meat, turn it round once or
twice, and when it has taken colour moisten with a very little stock,
and let it simmer till done. Remove the string, and serve with the
sauce strained over it. With the cutlets another dish can be made in
the ordinary way.

(_f_) Scrag of Mutton à la Russe.--Take about 1½ lb. scrag of mutton
in one piece, boil it gently for about 3 hours in 1 qt. water with
1 teaspoonful salt, 2 onions, 1 turnip, 1 carrot, and a pinch of
pepper. When the meat is perfectly tender, so that the bones can
easily be taken out, brush it over well with yolk of egg, then
sprinkle over it a mixture of finely sifted breadcrumbs, raspings, a
shake of flower, a little dried and sifted parsley, and sufficient
pepper and salt to season it highly. Put the meat into the Dutch
oven, baste it until brown with 1 oz. butter, and serve with good
gravy or brown caper sauce. The broth may be served with the
vegetables minced in it, a little celery being added, and for those
who like it a small quantity of chopped parsley put into the tureen
and the broth poured boiling on it. Take care to remove all fat from
the broth; it will rise very quickly if the basin is set in a larger
one containing cold water changed frequently.

(_g_) Scrag of Mutton may be used for yet another dish, either by
simmering it gently (after flouring and seasoning it with pepper and
salt, using only rice and an onion sliced in rings, and letting it
stew in water), or it may be made into an Irish stew, for which it
will require to be cut into small pieces, floured and seasoned, and
stewed with potatoes and onions in just enough water to cover it for
about 2 hours. Half the potatoes to be sent up with it should be cut
into quarters, and should not be put in until the stew is half cooked.

Pasty.--The undercut of a shoulder is best for this purpose. With
a sharp knife cut the lean meat away from an uncooked shoulder of
mutton; let the slices be thin. This will not in the least interfere
with the upper side, which may be hung as long as required after the
undercut is removed. Lay the slices of meat in a pie-dish, sprinkle
pepper and salt over them, and nearly fill the dish with a gravy that
will jelly, made from mutton shanks and a little gravy beef, 2 nicely
fried onions, a few pepper-corns, and a very small bit of mace. If
for eating cold cover the pasty with a good puff paste, and bake in
a quick oven. If to be served hot a cover of mashed potatoes, or a
crust as for Devonshire pie, is suitable.

Patties.--Make ¼ lb. paste, roll thin, and line with it 4, 6, or
9 patty pans; the pans must be previously buttered, and the paste
cut with a crimped cutter; fill them with rice. When baked remove
the rice, fill the patties with mince made a little more moist with
gravy. Serve on a napkin, arranging them nicely on the dish. Serve
very hot. The patties can be ornamented with fried parsley, or in any
way you please.

Pudding.--Get 1½ to 2 lb. scrag of mutton, take off all the fat,
boil it gently for 2 hours, meat downwards, in 1 qt. water, with 2
onions and a good seasoning of pepper and salt. Take up the meat;
set the broth aside to cool, in order that you may take off the
fat. Carefully remove the meat from the bones. Make a crust with
the fat from the scrag of mutton or beef suet, in the proportion of
2 oz. fat to 4 oz. flour; line a pudding basin with this, slice in
2 cooked potatoes, lightly pepper and salt them, then the onions
cooked with the mutton, then the meat of the scrag, and, as a great
improvement to the pudding, a sheep’s kidney sliced, or half an ox
kidney; sprinkle pepper and salt over, and put on the top 2 more
sliced potatoes. Fill up the basin with some of the broth, put on a
lid of paste, and boil the pudding for 2 hours. Return the bones to
the remainder of the broth, with an onion; let them boil until the
pudding is ready, then serve the broth in a sauce-boat. All meat
puddings should be served in the basins in which they are boiled, a
napkin being neatly folded round. The carver should remove a round
piece from the lid of the pudding, and pour in enough of the broth
from the sauce boat to fill it up; this will ensure each person
getting the same kind of gravy. This pudding may be made of sheep’s
head after it has been boiled. To make the crust for a richer
pudding, use equal quantities of suet and flour. Mix a pinch of salt
with the flour and suet, make into a paste with cold water in the
proportion of ½ pint to 1 lb. of flour. Flour the paste board, and
roll out the crust ¼ in. thick. Dissolve a little butter, and brush
the inside of a basin thickly with it, then line with the paste.

Rissoles.--Make a short paste with 6 oz. flour, 3 oz. butter, a
pinch of salt, 1 whole egg, and 1 yolk; mix all into a paste, roll
it out to the thickness of a penny piece; place the mince at equal
distances, say 1½ in.; egg lightly, cover with paste of a similar
thickness, press the paste around each piece of mince, and cut it out
with a crimped cutter. Egg each rissole, and pass it in bread crumbs;
fry in hot lard, and serve.

Roast Quarter of Lamb.--Let the fire be clear, but not too fierce.
Cover the joint with greased paper, and baste it frequently; ½ hour
before serving remove the paper and base the joint with butter and
lemon juice, lastly sprinkle a little flour and salt over it. Time of
roasting 2-2½ hours.

Roast Saddle of Mutton.--Trim the joint carefully, roast it at
a brisk clear fire; baste frequently, and when done dredge it
plentifully with salt, and serve with the gravy well freed from fat.

Saddle of Lamb, venison fashion.--Hang a saddle of lamb as long as it
will keep, having previously dusted it all over with black pepper.
After it has hung, chop together some shallots, a good-sized sprig of
green rosemary, a small one of tarragon, or only a few small leaves
of tarragon, and a sprig of marjoram. Pound together 6 cloves, 6
juniper berries, and 1 teaspoonful black pepper; mix these with the
herbs. Rub the mixture well into the lamb all over, and lay it in a
deep dish; sprinkle over any remains of the seasoning; mix a glass
of red wine with a glass of vinegar, pour it over the meat, and let
it lie in this marinade 2-3 days, turning and basting it every day.
Before cooking, wipe off the herbs. Lard the joint if preferred. Put
it in an earthen baking-pan and cover it with pieces of butter. Add
a little broth or boiling water to the marinade in the picking dish.
Put this on the fire to simmer a minute in a little saucepan; then
strain and add some by degrees to baste the meat with, and when this
is nicely browned, put the rest of the marinade in the baking dish
with a good sprinkling of salt in the sauce and over the meat. The
latter must be frequently basted to prevent its drying; 1½ hour is
long enough to bake it. Pour a cup of cream or good milk over it a
few minutes before serving it; stir this well round the crusting of
the dish. Skim the fat off the sauce. Put the yolk of an egg in the
same tureen, and stir the gravy boiling hot into it. Garnish the meat
with slices of lemon.

Sausages.--Prick them lightly with a fork or trussing needle, and
fry them in butter or lard, turning them frequently until thoroughly
cooked.

Scollops.--Trim the mutton in the same way as for mince, but it must
not be cut so small. It should be as thin as possible, about the size
of threepenny pieces; make a sauce as for mince, and place it in
scallop shells; sprinkle with baked breadcrumbs, pour a little warm
butter over; arrange them on a napkin, and serve hot.

Sheep’s brains.--(_a_) Prepare the brains as directed in (_b_);
when cold cut them into dice, and dip them into a batter made as
follows:--Mix 2 large tablespoonfuls flour with 4 of water, a
tablespoonful of dissolved butter or oil, the yolk of an egg and a
pinch of salt and pepper. Let it stand for 2 hours. When ready to use
beat the white of the egg to a froth, and mix with the batter. Fry in
oil or other good fat, taking care that it boils when you drop in the
_beignets_ one by one.

(_b_) Wash them thoroughly and boil them very fast so as to harden
them, either in water highly seasoned and flavoured with onion or in
stock. When done (they will take about 20 minutes), take them up and
allow them to stand until cold, then cut them into thin slices, dip
them in egg, and afterwards in very finely sifted breadcrumbs with
an equal proportion of raspings, a pinch of flour, and enough pepper
and salt to season highly. Fry in a little butter, first on one side,
until brown and crisp, then on the other until finished. Serve on a
hot dish with a little thick rich gravy.

(_c_) Take some lambs’ or sheeps’ brains, and first boil them in
milk; then chop them finely, and mix with them a few bread crumbs, a
small quantity of cream, seasoning of salt and pepper, and the yolk
of an egg to bind the ingredients. Roll this mixture into small round
balls, cover them with egg and breadcrumbs, and fry them a light
brown. To be served on a napkin, with fried parsley, like rissoles.

(_d_) Well wash the brains and soak them in cold water till white.
Parboil them till tender in a small saucepan for about ¼ hour; then
thoroughly drain them, and place them on a board. Divide them into
small pieces with a knife. Dip each piece into flour, and then roll
them in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in butter or well clarified
dripping. Serve very hot with gravy. Another way of doing brains is
to prepare them as above, and then stew them gently in rich stock,
like stewed sweetbreads. They are also nice plainly boiled and served
with parsley and butter sauce.

(_e_) Take off the skin, and let them soak for 2 hours in lukewarm
water; when white blanch them in boiling water, to which salt and
a little vinegar have been added; when quite firm lay them in cold
water. Line a stewpan just large enough to hold the brains, with
bacon, a very small onion stuck with a clove, a sprig or two of
parsley, and a slice or two of lemon; cover with more bacon, and pour
in a little broth. 15-20 minutes are quite enough to cook them, but
they should be cooked an hour or two before dinner to be properly
flavoured. When wanted, have ready some fried sippets of bread, and
dish with a piece of bread and brains alternately, and in the centre
pour some good white sauce, with mushrooms, or truffles if you have
them, a tiny onion or two, or any rich flavouring, and serve very
hot; or, having dished the brains and the sippets, work a couple
of spoonfuls of rich white sauce with a little fresh butter, salt,
cayenne, a sprig or two of parsley finely chopped, and the juice
of half a lemon, till quite hot over the fire; pour this over the
brains and serve quickly. Calves’ brains are very good in the same
way, or served with tomato sauce, or brown butter, as follows: Fry
some parsley, but keep it as green as possible; also fry some butter
till it is a good dark brown; add to this a spoonful of vinegar and
a little salt and pepper. Dish the brains, with the fried parsley
in the centre, and pour the butter sauce carefully round them (not
over), and serve.

Sheep’s heads.--(_a_) Clean the head well, boil it 2 hours, remove
the bones; egg and breadcrumb the meat; boil the brains in a piece of
muslin ¼ hour, chop with a little parsley and onion, serve round the
head; the tongue boiled and served in the dish or separately; or the
tongue and brains may be sent in one dish, and the meat served with
gravy.

(_b_) Get a perfectly fresh sheep’s head, and having taken out the
tongue and brains soak it in tepid water. With a blunt knife break
all the soft bones inside the head, and take care most thoroughly
to cleanse it. Put it into a saucepan, with enough water to cover
it and a tablespoonful of salt. To ensure perfect cleanliness, when
it has boiled 5 minutes take the head out and pour away this water.
Put the head on again to boil with 2 qts. water, and 6 onions, 2
turnips and carrots, pepper and salt. Let it boil gently for 3-4
hours, or until so tender the meat will readily slip from the bones;
having taken them all out carefully, place the meat of the head on
a hot dish, and pour over it either a good onion, parsley, or caper
sauce. Or take all the vegetables cooked with the head, rub them to
a _purée_ through a sieve, have ready a little good butter sauce
made with milk, nicely season it, mix the _purée_, pour over the
meat, and serve. The broth is very good with the addition of a little
celery and chopped parsley, and may be served either with or without
the vegetables cooked with it. A slight thickening of corn flour is
liked by most persons. Excellent soup of any kind may be made of this
broth, and an economical one by merely boiling a few bacon bones
in it with any other bones or scraps. Chapman’s wheat flour makes
a cheap thickening for plain soups, and tapioca is very good and
nourishing.

(_c_) Steep the head for 2-3 hours, then split it, take out the
brains and tongue, boil the head gently for 3 hours with a few
carrots, onions, a stick of celery, a bundle of sweet herbs, a few
cloves, whole pepper and salt to taste, then breadcrumb, and brown
the head slightly in front of the fire. Mince the lights, cut the
liver in slices, and fry them; boil the brains in a piece of muslin.
In dishing up, put the mince on a dish, then the head opened out, the
tongue cut in slices, the brains divided into four, and the slices of
liver ranged artistically all round; judicious seasoning is essential.

(_d_) To singe.--The way in which this is done in Scotland is by
heating an iron bar of any kind red hot (a poker would do quite
well), and singeing all the wool off the head with it; 2 pieces of
iron would save time, one to replace the other as it cools, but the
operation does not take long. A piece of stick is put up the nostrils
to hold the head steady by. When there is a smith’s forge convenient,
the singeing is generally done there, as it would make an unpleasant
smell in a house; but if there is none near, any outhouse would do.
The head must be soaked and washed in cold water before boiling.

Sheep’s heart.--(_a_) Place them in boiling water for a few minutes,
as it prevents the greasy taste after eating them, stuff with
ordinary veal stuffing (suet, herbs, breadcrumbs, lemon, and an egg),
place in a pan and bake for 1 hour, and serve on toast with gravy.

(_b_) Make a forcemeat with 2 oz. beef suet and 2 oz. fat bacon
finely minced, add ¼ lb. breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, a little chopped
parsley and thyme, and a little grated lemon peel; if liked, the
very faintest _soupçon_ of onion; this quantity will stuff 2
sheep’s hearts. Let the hearts lie in warm salt and water for ½
hour to disgorge the blood; then cut away as much as possible of
the windpipe, and see that no clots of blood remain in the cavities
of the heart. Mix your forcemeat with sufficient beaten egg to bind
it--one should be sufficient for this quantity. Stuff the hearts with
it, pressing it well down into the holes. Secure the flaps of skin
over the top with a needle and thread, tie on a spit, and roast,
basting constantly. Serve with plain gravy and red currant jelly. A
sheep’s heart will take ½ hour.

(_c_) Having washed the hearts, stuff each with an onion parboiled,
and then minced fine; add to it 2 tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs, ½
teaspoonful chopped and dried sage, and sufficient black pepper and
salt to season highly. Press the stuffing well into the hearts, and,
if necessary, fasten a little muslin over the top to keep it in.
Whilst roasting baste very frequently. Sheep’s hearts may be baked
stuffed in this manner, but care must be taken not to let them get
dry. Any heart that may be left is excellent hashed.

Sheep’s Liver.--(_a_) A fresh liver to be steeped in milk 12 hours,
cut in slices, brown with dripping or butter and a dust of flour,
onion and pepper. Make a sauce with flour and water, cold, and pour
over the liver after it is brown. Let it simmer for an hour, or
longer, until quite tender. This is a Polish recipe, and no salt used.

(_b_) À la Française.--Cut some slices of liver ½ in. thick, and lay
them neatly in a stewpan slightly buttered, sprinkle pepper and salt
over the upper sides. Slice 2 oz. fat bacon as fine as possible, chop
a teaspoonful of parsley and a small shallot very fine, and spread
them evenly over the liver, cover the stewpan closely, and set it
on a fire so moderate that it will draw out all the juices without
simmering--the least approach to this hardens the liver and spoils
it. If the range is too hot, set the stewpan on an iron stand. When
the liver has thus stood for 1½ hour it will be done. Take it up, put
it on a hot dish, and cover it close whilst you boil the bacon and
the gravy together for 2 minutes, then pour over the liver and serve
immediately. Liver cooked in this manner is digestible, and can be
eaten by persons who could not venture to do so when it is fried.

(_c_) Pudding.--Take 1 lb. boiled sheep’s liver, grate it, and mix
with ½ lb. fat bacon or suet, ½ lb. breadcrusts soaked in water, or
breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. flour, pepper and salt, and enough water or milk
to make a paste. Grease a pudding basin, put in the mixture, cover
with greased paper, and steam 1½ hour. Serve with brown gravy.

Sheep’s pluck.--Cut the liver and lights in thin slices, and put
them in a pie-dish or jar with layers of sliced potatoes and onion,
chopped sage and herbs, pepper and salt. A few slices of bacon may
be added. Cover with a thin piece of suet or with greased paper, and
bake 1½ hours. When there is no oven this may be stewed.

Sheep’s tongues.--(_a_) These are very good cooked fresh, with the
addition to the water of a little common salt, a pinch of saltpetre,
allspice, and black pepper. Boil gently until perfectly tender,
and when skinned split them down the middle, dip them in dissolved
butter, and then in raspings, and let them brown nicely on the
gridiron. When ready to serve pour a little good gravy round them.
For eating cold, after skinning, glaze the tongues.

(_b_) Wash and scald the tongues, and stew in some nicely flavoured
stock till very tender, drain them on a sieve; then put each tongue
in an oiled or buttered paper, with a seasoning over it of sweet
herbs and mushrooms chopped finely, and mixed with a good piece of
butter, and pepper and salt to taste. Boil or fry them, and serve the
papers on a napkin. Great care should be taken that the papers are
thoroughly greased, and that each end and side is securely folded
twice to prevent the juices and butter from escaping; if this is not
attended to, the tongues will be like pieces of indiarubber.

(_c_) Strew salt over the tongues, and let them lie until the next
day, then drain off all that has run from them, and put them into a
pickle made of a tablespoonful of salt, half a one of bay salt, a
tablespoonful of saltpetre, a pinch of allspice and black pepper. Two
days afterwards put a teaspoonful of coarse sugar. This quantity will
salt 3 or 4 tongues, and can be used many times with the addition of
a little common salt. Cook them as directed in (_a_).

Sheep’s trotters.--(_a_) Clean, scald, and skin 4 trotters, boil them
in salted water until the large bone can be easily removed. Next put
them in a saucepan with fresh water, and salt, and let them boil away
till quite tender and glutinous: pour off the water, leaving just
enough to make the sauce, add a piece of butter rolled in flour, 1
doz. button mushrooms sliced, and some white pepper, then stir in the
yolks of 2 or 3 eggs beaten up with the juice of half a lemon, and
strained. Let the whole simmer away gently until wanted, but on no
account boil.

(_b_) Stew the trotters for about 3 hours. Take out the bones, so
as not to injure the skin, and fill up the places from which the
bones have been removed with forcemeat. Put them into a stewpan with
sufficient of the water in which they were boiled to cover them, and
add a spoonful of ketchup or Harvey’s sauce, and a little pepper and
salt. Allow them to stew gently for ½ hour, take them out, strain
the gravy, and boil it down to a glaze. With this glaze the trotters.
Serve with croutons of fried bread round the dish.

Shoulder of Mutton.--(_a_) Rub it over with salt and pepper, fill
the inside with a savoury forcemeat of herbs, with plenty of parsley
and no eggs; roll it up and skewer it into a neat oval form, or bind
it with a tape; lay it in a stewpan with 2 onions, 2 carrots, some
herbs, a bay leaf, pepper, salt and a little broth or water; stew it
gently over a slow fire or in the oven, basting it often. When nearly
done, take off the cover, and let the meat brown in the oven. Before
serving, take up the meat carefully, remove the binding, and place it
on a dish to keep warm while you strain the gravy; take all the fat
off, and boil it down to a strong glazing. Pour this over the meat.
Tomato or sorrel sauce may be put round the dish, or cucumber sauce
served with it.

(_b_) First take out the blade bone. Have a pointed knife, a French
boning knife is best; make an incision all round the thin end of the
bone, keep the knife close to it, and mark all round the bone first
one way and then the other, being careful not to go through the flesh
or skin. When you get to the joint, take hold of the bone with a
cloth and twist it round, and it will come out. The sinews may want
cutting here and there. It is much more difficult to take the bone
out entire, but it can be done; yet it is seldom needful to take out
more than the bladebone. Now make a forcemeat with the following
ingredients: 3 oz. breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley,
1 teaspoonful chopped onion, 1 teaspoonful lemon thyme (green, if
possible), a slice or two of lean ham chopped fine, 2 oz. butter, 2
yolks of eggs, a little grated nutmeg, a little salt and pepper; make
this into forcemeat or stuffing. Use this forcemeat to fill the place
of the bone; fasten the end with 2 small skewers. Now put the mutton
before a sharp fire or in a brisk oven to brown without cooking
through. When done, take from the fire, lay the joint in a shallow
pot that will take it, pour off the fat from the dripping-pan, and
put into it a little hot water; stir the gravy, and put it in with
the joint, and a little water if necessary; the stock should reach
half-way up the joint. Add an onion, a blade of mace, a carrot, and
a little lemon rind pared thin. Let it stew about two hours, basting
it now and then. When the joint has stewed about an hour, turn it
over on the other side, and, when done, take it up on the dish in
which it is to be served; take a little of the stock in which the
mutton has been cooked, and thicken it with a little butter rolled
in flour, adding 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, a little lemon
juice, pepper, and salt; pour this over the mutton, and serve. The
stock would make a very good soup the next day, with the addition of
a little sago or vermicelli. (E. A. Robbins.)

(_c_) Boned.--Take a shoulder of mutton not too fat, remove the bone
as far as the first joint from the knuckle, sprinkle the incision
with pepper and salt. Make a stuffing the same as for veal, with
½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 oz. beef suet chopped fine, a little chopped
parsley and thyme, a little onion minced, salt and pepper, also a
little grated nutmeg, and one egg; place the stuffing into the above
incision, fold over the meat into its former place, and tie it up
tightly with string. Shoulder of mutton done in this way may be
roasted, but should properly be braised--that is, first fried of a
golden colour in oil or clarified butter, and then put into a stewpan
with 1½ pint stock, and any trimmings of vegetables at hand; 4 or 5
cloves, 6 peppercorns, salt, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Leave it
to boil gently for 2 hours, strain off the stock, remove the fat,
let it reduce on the fire until it becomes like glaze poured over
the mutton, and serve. Another very nice stuffing can be made by
putting butter instead of suet; a little shallot and garlic may also
be used. Another way of doing a shoulder of mutton when boned and
stuffed as above is to tie it tightly in a cloth before putting it to
braise, care being taken to arrange the shank bone and first joint
so as to appear like a duck’s head, the shank bone making the beak.
This is more appropriate for a cold dish, as it can be very prettily
ornamented with white of eggs and beetroot, aspic and parsley. The
shoulder should be glazed before being ornamented. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_d_) Cavalier’s Broil.--Half roast, or stew, or parboil a
moderate-sized shoulder of mutton, lift it into a hot dish, score it
on both sides down to the bone, season it well with fine salt and
cayenne or pepper, and finish cooking it upon the gridiron over a
brisk fire. Skim the fat from any gravy that may have flowed from it,
and keep the dish which contains it quite hot to receive the joint
again. Warm a cupful of pickled mushrooms, let a part of them be
minced, and strew them over the broil; when it is ready to be served
arrange the remainder round it, and send it to table instantly.

Squab Pie.--(_a_) Season mutton chops (those from the neck are best)
pretty highly with pepper and salt, and place them in dish in layers,
with plenty of sliced apples sweetened, and chopped onions; cover
with a good suet crust and bake. When done pour out all the gravy at
the side, take off the fat, and add a spoonful of mushroom ketchup,
then return it to the pie.

(_b_) The quantities depend on the size of the pie. The following
are the ingredients: Take the best end of the neck of mutton, cut it
into chops, trim the fat; pare, core, and slice as for a tart 6 or
8 apples; chop up a small onion; put a layer of apples and a little
onion at the bottom of the dish, then a layer of chops, next a layer
of apples and onions, and so on till the dish is full. Scatter among
the apples ½ teacupful moist sugar, and shake a very little pepper
and salt over the meat. Put on a crust and bake as an ordinary meat
pie. It may be eaten with either sugar or salt.

(_c_) Take 1½ lb. scrag of mutton, cut it up into convenient pieces,
and put it into a stewpan with ½ pint water, 2 large pinches of salt
and 1 of pepper, and 2 large onions sliced. Let it simmer for 2 hours
or until perfectly tender, then set the gravy to cool. Draw all the
bones out of the meat, and arrange it neatly in a pie dish, place
on the top the onions cooked with it, sprinkle lightly with pepper
and salt, and spread over a thin layer of nicely sweetened apple
sauce or marmalade, and having removed the fat from the gravy pour
it over the whole. Make a crust as follows: use suet finely shred,
not chopped, in the proportion of 3 oz. to 5 oz. flour, and water in
that of ½ pint to 1 lb. flour. Having mixed these ingredients with a
pinch of salt into a smooth paste, roll it out and beat it until the
suet and flour are thoroughly incorporated. Then roll it out in the
usual manner and put it on the pie. This crust is very good eaten
hot, and is wholesome and digestible. If a richer crust is desired, 1
oz. butter or lard may be added to the given proportions, which are
about sufficient to make a crust for 1½ lb. mutton. If pie-crust is
objected to, a layer of well mashed potatoes may be substituted, or
slices of bread fried a light brown and laid on as a cover are very
good. The whole of the contents of the pie having been thoroughly
cooked it will be ready so soon as the crust, of whatever kind, is
nicely baked.

_Pork, &c._ Bacon. With cabbage.--Take equal quantities of onion and
bacon (fat and lean), chopped finely; fry the onion in butter, and
before it takes colour add the bacon; when this is cooked, add some
cabbage, parboiled and shredded; then put in pepper to taste, and
toss the whole on the fire till quite done. Serve as a garnish, more
particularly to goose or duck.

With potatoes.--(_a_) Mash some cold (previously boiled) potatoes
roughly (not too fine) with a lump of butter and a little pepper,
form them into a flat round cake about 2 in. thick; fry it in a
frying-pan to a rich brown, turning both sides, and place slices of
fried bacon round it in the dish. Serve hot; a little beef gravy put
into it when done will give a good flavour. The bacon may be inserted
into the mass of potato as in a pie, instead of being set round the
edges.

(_b_) Slice up raw potatoes into round slices ¼ in. thick (or chop
them into moderately sized dice), fry with butter, and serve hot with
bacon, in same way as (_a_).

Boiled.--Take a square piece of bacon, scrape the rind quite clean,
and cut off any part that is the least tainted or rusty. Soak the
bacon for 2 hours in water, then turn it, and set it on the fire in
a saucepan with plenty of cold water. Let it boil very slowly by the
side of the fire, removing any scum as it rises. When thoroughly done
drain it, remove the skin (to be preserved to flavour the stock
pot), and cover the bacon with baked breadcrumbs.

Broiled.--(_a_) Cut thin slices from a piece of streaky bacon, trim
them carefully, put them in a double gridiron, and broil them a few
minutes on or in front of a clear fire, turning them frequently.

(_b_) Cut the slices all of a size, roll them up one by one on a thin
skewer; then either broil them before the fire, or put them in a tin
in the oven for a few minutes.

Fat.--The fat of cold boiled bacon is much better than anything else
in which to fry onions for making curry. It should be cut into small
pieces, and when melted in the frying-pan the slices of onions should
be added and fried in the usual way. The flavour is much better for
curry than when dripping or even butter is used. If there be not
enough bacon to do the entire frying, whatever there may be should
be added to the fat used. Cold bacon fat is also much better than
when uncooked for wrapping round oyster or small balls of mince for
frying, it is so much more delicate, and less greasy. It should be
cut as thin as possible. The fat in which bacon has been fried is
the best thing in which to fry liver, veal cutlets, or anything
with which bacon is to be served. Slices of bread fried in it are
excellent for breakfast, served quite hot with a slight shake of
pepper over each; and if neatly cut and dished up, and garnished with
a little parsley, they look as appetising as they taste.

Fried.--(_a_) Trim some slices of bacon, dip them in hot water,
dry them in a cloth, then put them in a frying-pan, and turn them
frequently till done.

(_b_) Slices from a piece of boiled bacon can be cooked as in (_a_),
or broiled, and are better than those cut from raw bacon.

(_c_) Cut some thin slices of streaky bacon, cut off the rind, and
trim them. Put them into a frying-pan on the fire, and turn them
often, until quite hot; then roll up each slice, and garnish the dish.

With spinach.--Line a pudding-shape all through with thin slices
of bacon. Take some boiled spinach, seasoned and chopped as if for
table. Cut some carrot and turnips into square pieces, and a few
small onions (if liked); whip up the yolk of an egg with a little
pepper and salt. Mix the carrots and turnips well with the egg and
seasoning, stick them thickly alternately at the bottom and round the
sides of the tin, and fill up the middle with the dressed spinach.
When the tin is full cover it with thin slices of bacon, steam it one
hour, turn it out in a corner dish, and lift up the bacon whilst you
pour in some rich brown gravy, then replace the bacon neatly.

Boar’s Head (_Hure de sanglier_).--To cure and prepare an ordinary
pig’s head to have the appearance of a wild boar’s head, the
head should be cut off deep into the shoulders before the pig is
scalded. The bristles must be singed off with lighted straw. Bone it
carefully, beginning under the throat; spread the head out on a large
dish, and rub it well with the following ingredients, previously
mixed together: 5 lb. common salt, 3½ oz. saltpetre, 5 oz. coarse
brown sugar, rather less than ½ oz. juniper berries, 4 bay leaves,
cloves, mace, marjoram, basil, and a small handful of thyme. Rub the
head thoroughly with this, then pour over it a bottle of port wine
(port wine lees will do as well), and let it remain in this pickle
a fortnight, taking care to turn it over every day; it will then
be ready for dressing. Take it out of the brine, wash it well and
then thoroughly dry it with a clean cloth. Prepare a forcemeat as
follows: Chop up about 1 lb. veal, and the same of fat bacon, season
with chopped mushrooms, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and parsley. When all
are finely chopped, put them into a mortar, and pound them together
with the yolks of 3 eggs to make it bind. When pounded, remove the
forcemeat into a basin. A boiled red tongue and about 2 lb. cold
boiled fat bacon will also be wanted, and some truffles. Spread the
head out on a board, pare off all the uneven pieces from the cheeks,
cut these pieces into narrow slips, cut the tongue up into pieces of
a similar shape, avoiding the skin and gristle. Spread the inside
of the head with a thick layer of forcemeat, then place on it the
fillets of tongue, fat bacon, &c., inserting rows of sliced truffles
between, and here and there some pistachio nuts, of which the skin
must have been removed by scalding; again spread a layer of forcemeat
above these, then another layer of the fillets and truffles, and so
on, until there is enough to completely fill up the head and keep it
in shape; then close it, sew it up with fine twine, for which use a
trussing needle, being sure to take up enough of the skin with each
stitch to prevent the possibility of the forcemeat escaping. Spread a
strong clean cloth with butter, sew the head up in this, giving it as
much as possible its original form. Put it into a large braising pan
together with 2 prepared cowheels cut into pieces, and any trimmings
of meat there may be; if there should be any bones or remains of
cold game in the house, especially grouse, they should be added and
would much improve the flavour. Over this pour a sauce prepared in
the following manner, and of which there should be enough to cover
the head. Chop about 1 lb. beef suet, and the same of fat bacon; put
them into a stewpan with a handful of parsley, 6 green onions, a bay
leaf, and a sprig of thyme, these all being tied together, 2 carrots,
2 onions, each stuck with 4 cloves, the pulp of two lemons, salt, and
a teaspoonful of whole pepper. Stir all these over the fire for about
10 minutes, watching that they do not get brown; then add a bottle of
sherry or Madeira, and about 1 qt. or more of good broth; boil this
by the side of the fire gently for 1½ hour, then strain it through
a tammy, pressing it well to extract all the goodness, and pour the
whole over the boar’s head. Set the braising pan over the fire, and
as soon as it boils draw it to the side and allow it to gently simmer
for about 5 hours. When nearly done, take the pan off the fire, and
when the steam has passed off a little remove the head on to a dish.
It will be probably found that it has shrunk a good deal in the
cloth, so it will be necessary to tighten this to keep it in shape;
having done this, put it back into the broth, and let it remain there
until it has become quite cold and firm. The head must then be taken
out of the stock, which will have set into a jelly; place it on a
large baking dish, and put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt
the jelly which has adhered to the cloth; when this has melted, at
once take it out of the oven and remove the cloth carefully. Glaze
the head with some rich brown glaze; place it on a dish standing on a
bed of chopped aspic jelly. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled white
of egg, and black truffles cut into diamonds, or any other shapes,
also some sprigs of parsley. A little of the chopped aspic may also
be put on the top of the head, small slices of cut lemon and cucumber
are an improvement placed on the border of the dish beyond the
chopped aspic.

Brawn (_Fromage de cochon_).--(_a_) The head, feet, tongue, and ears
of a pig, having been salted, are boiled with the outside skin of a
loin, also salted for a few days. Boil very gently for a long time,
till the bones will easily slip out. Take great care that every one
is carefully picked out. Keep the skin of the loin whole, but cut
the rest into pieces about 2 in. square. Line the brawn mould with
the skin, then roll each piece lightly in mixed spice and powdered
herbs, flavoured to taste. Pack them tightly in the brawn tin, put on
the top, and press it with a heavy weight 24 hours. It is then ready
for turning out. Keep it in the following pickle:--Take a sufficient
quantity of water (more than will be enough to cover your brawn), add
to every gallon of water 2 handfuls of whole malt, and salt enough to
give it a strong relish. Let the mixture boil for 1 hour; then strain
it into a clean vessel. When quite cold, pour it off into another
vessel, keeping back the white sediment; then put in your brawn. A
little vinegar may be added, if liked. Fresh pickle should be made
about once in 8 days, if the brawn is to be kept long. A common brawn
tin is a cylinder of tin without top or bottom, but with 2 round
pieces of tin which fit loosely inside it. The tin is about 5 in. in
diameter and 1 ft. in height. A heavy weight must fit inside it.

(_b_) Take 4 pigs’ feet, the ears, the tongue, and any pieces you
may have, and soak them in salt and water overnight till thoroughly
cleansed. Boil them gently for 3 hours, with only enough water to
moisten the meat and prevent it from burning; then take out all the
bones, cut the tongue into slices, and the ears and bits of skin
into strips. Season with pepper, salt, and allspice, and boil in the
same liquor for an hour; 6-7 minutes before finished, add a carrot
cut into small pieces and a little parsley, chopped fine and scalded.
Put into moulds when done.

Ham (_Jambon_) Boiled.--Although the same principles apply to the
boiling of hams as do to joints, it is very essential that hams
should be soaked in water 24-48 hours, and the water should be
changed 2 or 3 times; then they should be washed and scraped and
scrubbed perfectly clean, and, being properly trimmed, they should
be laid in a boiler filled with cold water, with the addition of
carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, marjoram, bay
leaves, cloves, and mace--the proportions of which things must be
regulated by the size of the ham and the skill or taste of the cook.
Many other things are put in by those who like them--coriander seeds,
juniper berries, a small wisp of hay, and even leather shavings,
which latter, in the words of an ancient authority, are supposed to
give the ham a high flavour. A small handful of saltpetre some put
in, to give the flesh a good colour. If the ham is a good one, the
colour will be good without the addition of saltpetre, neither is
it necessary to tie up a ham in cloth; but what is undoubtedly an
improvement to a boiled ham is the addition of a bottle of sherry
to the water it is boiled in. Great attention must be paid to the
removal of the scum, and the temperature of the water should never
be allowed to rise above simmering. An ordinary sized ham will take
4-5 hours to cook. When it is done, it should be allowed to remain in
the liquor until it is nearly cold, then it is taken out, the skin
is removed, and the top is covered with baked breadcrumbs, glazed,
or ornamented as fancy may suggest, with lard, aspic, &c. If it is
intended to cut a ham hot, then it should only be partly boiled, and
finished by braising.

For a glaze, take 4 lb. shin of beef, 4 lb. knuckle of veal, and 1
lb. lean ham; cut them into small pieces, and put them into a stock
pot, with about 2 qt. cold water--enough to cover the meat--let it
come gradually to the boil, skim carefully, occasionally adding a
dash of cold water; when clear, boil it for 8 hours more, and then
strain it through a sieve into a pan. Remove the fat when cold. Pour
it into a stewpan--be careful not to let the sediment go in--with 1
oz. whole black pepper, ½ oz. salt, and boil it over a clear fire,
leaving the pan uncovered; skim, and when reduced to 1 qt. strain it
through a tammy into another stewpan; then let it simmer till, on
taking out some with a spoon and allowing it to cool, it will set
into a jelly; great care is required to keep it from burning. It
should be kept in earthenware pots, and when required for use melted
by putting the pots into saucepans of boiling water. To glaze the ham
and tongue, wash them over with the melted glaze, using a brush kept
for the purpose.

Boned.--Boil the ham, remove the bone, then roll it and put it into
a basin or large mould. Put a heavy weight over it, and when cold
turn it out and garnish. Forcemeat may be inserted before rolling if
liked, or it may be well soaked, then boned and braised, and either
served hot or treated as above.

Cake.--A capital way of disposing of the remains of a ham, and makes
an excellent dish for breakfast: Take 1½ lb. ham, fat and lean
together; put it into a mortar, and pound it; or, if you have that
invaluable auxiliary to a kitchen, a sausage machine, pass it through
the latter; boil a large slice of bread in ½ pint milk, and beat it
and the ham well together; add an egg beaten up. Put the whole into a
mould, and bake it a rich brown.

Omelet.--Beat up 3 eggs with pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of
parsley, the least bit of shallot, but chopped fine, and as much ham,
half lean and half fat, cut up in very small dice as will fill a
tablespoon. Cook in butter the usual way, but do not over do it.

Sandwiches.--(_a_) Use English mustard, and no salt; but be very
careful not to have too much fat on the slices of ham, and, above
all, to cut out every particle that is at all rancid.

(_b_) Grate finely as much well-cooked ham as you are likely to
require, flavour it with a very little cayenne and some nutmeg. Roll
out some good puff paste very thinly, cut it into two perfectly even
portions, prick in one or two places to prevent it rising too highly,
and bake in a quick oven till of a golden brown. Then take out and
let it stand till cool, when spread a little fresh butter lightly
over the whole. This should not be done till the paste is perfectly
cool. Now spread the grated ham evenly over the paste, lay the second
piece of puff paste over it, and with a very sharp knife cut into
small-sized sandwiches. This is a charming supper dish.

Toast.--(_a_) Mince finely ¼ lb. cooked ham with an anchovy boned
and washed; add to them a little cayenne and pounded mace. Beat up 2
eggs, mix with the mince, and add just sufficient cream to keep it
moist; make it quite hot, and serve very hot on small rounds of toast
or fried bread.

(_b_) Chop some ham (which has been previously dressed) very small,
and to a large tablespoonful of it add an egg well beaten up, a small
bit of butter, and a little cream. Mix all together over the fire
till quite hot. Have ready some neatly cut pieces of bread, about the
size of a crown piece, but a little thicker, fried in good butter;
spread the mixture on these, and serve them on a napkin.

Westphalia Loaves.--Mix 4 oz. grated smoked ham with 1 lb. mealy
potatoes, well beaten till quite light, a little butter and cream,
and 2 eggs. The mixture must not be too moist. Form into small loaves
or balls, and fry in butter a light brown. Serve in a napkin, dry; or
if preferred, they may be sent up in a dish with brown gravy.

Pigs’ Feet.--(_a_) Put the feet into a stewpan with a thin slice of
bacon, 1 blade of mace, 6 peppercorns, 3 sprigs of thyme, 1 onion,
and 1 pint good gravy, and stew them till perfectly tender; the
time this will take must depend upon the size of the feet. When
they are so tender that the bones separate easily from the flesh,
strain the liquor; reserve the bacon, chop it up finely, and add it
to the sauce with a thickening of butter and flour. Split each foot
in two lengthways, and serve with the gravy poured round, and with
nicely-cut sippets of fried bread.

(_b_) Stew 4 pigs’ feet till perfectly tender; if the feet are small
they will only require 3 hours, but if large 4 will not be too long.
Take them out of the stewpan most carefully, drain thoroughly, and
cover them with some freshly made mustard, pepper and salt to taste,
the mustard being laid on rather thickly; then put them in front of a
very clear hot fire, and let them toast quickly. If this operation is
carried out slowly, the feet will become so tough as to be perfectly
uneatable. When they are a rich brown colour serve them on a very hot
dish, with a good thick brown gravy. This dish is little known, but
is most excellent.

Pigs’ Liver.--Wash and soak a pig’s liver till it is quite clean and
free from blood; cut it into slices rather less than ½ in. thick,
season with pepper; lay them in the sauté-pan with a little butter,
and fry over a good fire. When done on one side turn them; put into
the pan, and fry with them some shallots and a few sprigs of parsley.
When done drain the liver and lay it on a very hot dish. Mix with
the butter in which it was fried ½ wineglassful white wine and 1
teaspoonful flour well beaten up together. Do not let it boil. When
the sauce is poured over the liver add the juice of a lemon, and
serve very hot and quickly. Should the dish be ready before it is
wanted, keep it hot over steam or in a bain-marie, but never put it
in an oven.

Pork (Porc). And Kidney Pudding.--For a quart basin, mix a ¼ lb.
suet, finely shred, with 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste with 1½
gill water. Roll it out and beat it, in order to break up any lumps
of suet; line a greased basin with the paste, reserving sufficient of
it to make a cover to the pudding. Cut thick slices from the chump
end of a fore loin of pork, put a layer at the bottom of the basin,
sprinkle pepper and salt over, then a layer of sausage meat, and a
layer of mutton or pork kidneys cut in quarters, and so on until the
basin is nearly full. About 1½ lb. pork, 1 lb. sausage meat, and 3
kidneys will be enough for a quart basin. Pour in as much stock,
water, or gravy made from the bones of the pork as the basin will
hold, put on the lid of paste, and having tied the pudding over with
a cloth, boil it for 2 hours.

Chops.--Cut some cutlets from a neck of pork, trim them neatly, and
take off the chine bone; give them a few blows with the bat, and
grill them on, or in front of the fire; sprinkle them with salt, and
arrange them in a circle on a dish with mashed potatoes in the centre
and the sauce round them.

Croquettes.--Cold roast pork is the best for this purpose. Take about
½ lb., chop it very finely, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, well
chop a small onion and a shallot, and boil them in a teacupful of
good stock; add to this the floured meat, flavouring it with pepper,
salt, and a tiny bit of sage, also well chopped. Make this up in
the form of sausages, slightly flattened; egg and breadcrumb them,
and fry them a light-brown colour. The remains of any cold meat may
be used for croquettes made in the same way, omitting the sage, and
adding a little mushroom ketchup or Harvey sauce; in doing so, care
must be taken not to make the mixture too moist. A few spoonfuls of
cold mashed potato, of bread crumbs, or of cold well-boiled rice may
be mixed with the mince; less meat will then be required, and the
croquettes will, if anything, be nicer.

Pie.--(_a_) Make a paste with ¼ lb. lard and ½ oz. butter to every
lb. of flour. Rub a little of the lard into the flour, and then melt
the rest of the butter and lard in hot milk and water. When it rises
skim it off and mix it warm with the flour, adding sufficient milk or
water to make the paste, and a little salt to taste. Knead it well,
and then raise the crust in an oval shape. Take some pork with a
little fat, cut it into small square pieces, season them with salt,
pepper, and cayenne, a little mace, and some finely-shred sage; fill
the pie closely, cover it and decorate with paste ornaments, then
bake in a slow oven for about 2 hours or more, according to the size
of the pie. When done, pour a little gravy made from the trimmings of
the pork in through a hole at the top.

(_b_) For making little pork pies for breakfast, like those sold in
the shops: 3½ lb. flour, 1 lb. lard, 1½ pint water, 3 teaspoonfuls
pepper, 6 of salt, 5 lb. of meat. Boil the lard and water together,
pour boiling on the flour, having first made a hole in the flour; mix
well, and let it stand by the side of the fire--it must not be too
cold or too hot, or it will not raise nicely; mould it as an ordinary
raised pie the size you wish, fill the pies with the meat cut in very
small square pieces, season it, pour a little water in, put on the
lid, pinch the edges together, trim round with scissors, and ornament
with leaves formed with a paste cutter; let the pies stand at least 4
hours before baking, put them in rather a slow oven, bake 1½-2 hours;
when brought out of the oven, pour in the hole of the lid of the
pies, through a funnel, as much gravy as they will take, previously
made from the bones and trimmings of the pork.

Roast.--To ensure the crackling being crisp and eating short, care
must be taken not to put the joint too near to the fire at first;
it should be placed at some little distance, if not the crackling
would harden before the meat would be warmed through. If very lean,
a little good salad oil should be rubbed in before putting down to
roast, and it must be kept thoroughly well basted during the time of
roasting.

Sausages (Saucisses).--(_a_) Take of fat and lean about equal
portions, rather less of fat; chop very fine, season with pepper,
salt, nutmeg, and mace. When filling up the skins, have some warm
water, and put in with the meat by degrees, just to soften the meat
and make it go in easily.

(_b_) Take 2½ lb. lean of pork, 3 lb. fat, 3 tablespoonfuls
finely-powdered sage, 1 oz. salt, 1 oz. pounded pepper; having cut
the meat and fat into pieces, mix well together, and press it through
some well-cleaned skins with a sausage machine, and twist the links
into the lengths required.

(_c_) Mix equal quantities veal, pork, and beef suet, chopped up. To
every 1 lb. of each add ½ lb. breadcrumbs, a little lemon peel and
nutmeg, a few sage leaves, and a very little savory and marjoram.
Season highly with pepper and salt, and proceed as in (_b_).
Lovelock’s sausage-making machine greatly facilitates operations.

Sucking Pig (Cochon de lait).--Take a sucking pig about 3 weeks old
the day it is killed; be particular to see it is well cleansed; when
this is done and the stuffing sewed into the belly--before doing
which the inside must be well wiped with a clean damp cloth--wipe the
outside of the pig, and rub it well all over with some salad oil;
while it is roasting baste it well very frequently with dripping, to
keep the skin from blistering, till within ¼ hour of its being done,
when you must baste it with a little fresh butter. When you serve the
pig the 2 sides must be laid back to back in the dish, with half the
head on each side, and one ear at each end, all with crackling side
upwards; garnish the dish with slices of lemon, and serve it up with
a rich brown gravy in the dish, and also a sauceboat of the same,
with one likewise of bread sauce with a few currants in it. Some add
a little port wine to the gravy. When the pig is baked, which is the
best way of dressing it, you must mix the yolk of a raw egg with a
tablespoonful of salad oil to rub it well all over with, basting it
frequently with 2-3 oz. butter tied in a piece of clean rag. Stuffing
for the pig:--4-5 oz. breadcrumbs, 2 oz. chopped sage leaves, one
egg, a little butter, pepper, salt, and cayenne.

Tripe.--This requires to be well cooked and nicely served, and it is
then both light and nutritious, and can often be eaten by invalids,
or persons having a delicate digestion. Choose a nice white piece;
wash it well, and put into a stewpan with sufficient milk and water
in equal parts to cover it; let it simmer gently for about ½ hour
after it has boiled up. Serve with white sauce, made as above, but
omitting the parsley, and garnish the dish with slices of beetroot.
Onion sauce may be substituted if preferred, or it may be served
simply with a little of the liquor in which it has been cooked poured
over it, and some plainly boiled Spanish onions handed round in a
vegetable dish; but the first recipe is the most appetising way of
sending it to table. It should always be remembered that a little
time expended in garnishing tastefully goes far towards making
economical cookery a success.

_Veal_ (Veau).--Braised Loin.--Take about 2 oz. butter, 1 carrot, 1
onion, a little parsley, sweet herbs, a leaf or two of basil, and
a bay leaf; brown a large crust of bread, and put it in a stewpan
with the above things, and fry them until they are brown; then flour
the meat, and brown it well, putting it back in the saucepan; add a
little stock, and baste it in the gravy till done, and keep turning
the meat. Simmer 4 lb. for 3-4 hours.

Calves’ Brains (_a_).--Lay the brains in cold water to whiten. Put
them in a stewpan with a little water, a tablespoonful of vinegar, an
onion, 2 or 3 cloves, a little white wine, salt, and white pepper.
Simmer the brains ½ hour, then lay them on a sieve to drain. When
cold cut them in slices, and dip them either in butter or egg and
breadcrumbs, seasoned with salt and white pepper; fry them in butter.
Serve as a side dish or accompaniment to any delicate vegetable.

(_b_) and Tongue.--After the brains have soaked with the head in
cold water 6-8 hours, remove the thin pellicle covering them, and
let them soak some time longer in cold water. Have ready a saucepan
just large enough to hold the brains covered with water. Put into
it a sufficiency of boiling water, and the juice of a lemon, salt
to taste, and a bay leaf; lay the brains in this, and let them boil
gently about 20 minutes. Lay the brains on a dish, with the tongue
(previously boiled with the calf’s head) split in two, on either side
of them. Serve with tarragon, tomato, or piquante sauce.

Calves’ Feet. Fritters.--If calf’s foot jelly has to be made, the
meat remaining after the boiling down may be well utilised in this
way. They must not be allowed to boil for jelly until they fall to
pieces, nor would it be necessary for the jelly’s sake to do this;
but while firm, though well-boiled, remove them from the stock, take
out the bones (returning these to the stock to continue boiling for
the sweet jelly), and lay the meat flatly on a dish to get cold.
When cold cut them into small pieces, dip each in batter, and fry
them a light brown colour; these must be well drained from the fat,
piled high on a dish, and sent to table as hot as possible, with the
following sauce poured round them: Thicken ½ pint stock with corn
flour or arrowroot, add 2 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar, one of
Mogul or other sauce, a little salt, and a lump of sugar, with a
little browning, if necessary, to make it a good colour.

Jelly.--(_a_) Add to 2 feet 1½ pint water, and boil them for several
hours. To 1 pint of this stock add nearly ½ pint wine and a little
brandy, the rind and juice of a lemon, 3 oz. lump sugar, the white
and the shell of one egg well beaten, and a small quantity of
saffron, which improves the colour. Let all the ingredients boil,
then let the stock stand in the saucepan a few minutes to settle,
before straining it through a jelly bag till quite clear.

(_b_) Ditto.--To 4 calves’ feet, well cleaned and broken, pour 4 qts.
of water, and let them stew until the stock is reduced to rather less
than 2 qts. Put the stock in a brass pan, and when quite firm and
cold clear it from all fat. Add to it a bottle of good sherry (or
1 pint brandy and 1 pint sherry) ¾ lb. white sugar, the juice of 6
lemons, and the whites and shells of 8 eggs, well beaten. Heat this
over a clear fire, but do not stir it; just as it boils throw in ¾
oz. isinglass. When it has boiled 16 minutes take it off the fire
and let it stand 3 minutes to cool. Put the rinds of 3 lemons, pared
thin, into the jelly bag before the fire, and pour the jelly through.
Once or twice put through the bag will render the jelly quite clear.
The jelly should be put in wet china moulds.

Pie.--Put into a saucepan on the fire as many calves’ feet as you
think you shall have occasion for, and water sufficient to cover
them, with 2 or 3 blades of mace, and boil them till they are tender;
then take out the feet, and strain off the liquor; lay a thin sheet
of puff paste at the bottom and round the edge of a deep dish; then
pick the flesh off the bones, and lay half of it in, strew ½ lb.
currants clean washed and picked, and ½ lb. raisins stoned, overlay
on the rest of the meat; skim the liquor, and sweeten as much of it
as will nearly fill the pie with ½ pint of white wine, and pour it
into the dish. Put on a lid of good puff paste, ornament the top, and
bake it 1½ hour.

Pudding.--Take 1 lb. flesh of calves’ feet finely shred, ½ lb. suet
shred as small, a nutmeg grated, some candied orange peel minced,
some salt and some currants, a little grated bread, and 7 eggs,
leaving out the whites of 3; mix all well together, tie up in a
floured cloth, and boil 3 hours. The sauce is white wine, sugar, and
butter melted.

Calf’s Head (_a_) Boiled.--Take a calf’s head, divested of hair by
the butcher, let it be split in two lengthwise, and lay it in cold
water to soak for 6-8 hours. On taking it out of the water, remove
the tongue and brains, bone the head carefully, and cut it up in
comely square pieces, making, say, 3 or 4 out of each half; lay the
pieces in a saucepan full of cold water on the fire, and as it comes
to the boil remove the scum. When it has boiled 20 minutes, lift
up the pieces and lay them in cold water, to remain for an hour or
two. Mix in a large saucepan on the fire ½ lb. cooking butter, or
clarified beef suet or dripping, with 4 heaped tablespoonfuls flour,
fill up with sufficient boiling water to well cover up the pieces
of head, add 2 onions stuck with 6 cloves, a good-sized bunch of
sweet herbs, and parsley, whole pepper and salt _quant. suf._, and
the juice and thin rind of 2 or 3 lemons; stir well, and when the
whole boils fast put in the pieces of head tied up in a thin cloth,
as well as the tongue, skinned. Let the whole boil slowly for 2-3
hours. Drain the pieces of head, arrange them tastefully on a napkin
in a dish, and serve hot or cold, with any of the following sauces
in a boat: caper, parsley, piquante, poivrade, ravigote, remoulade,
tarragon, tartare, tomato, &c.

(_b_) Fritters.--Cut into small round slices, lay them in a pie dish,
strew over them some chopped chives, tarragon, and parsley, the juice
of ½ lemon, and 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this
pickle for 2-3 hours--not forgetting to turn them occasionally, so
that both sides may obtain the flavouring--take them out, drain them
well from the moisture, dip in batter, and fry a light golden colour
in enough boiling fat to well cover them. They must be served very
hot, piled high in a dish on a napkin.

(_c_) Hashed.--Cut the remnants of a boiled head into uniform pieces
the size of half an apple. Melt in a saucepan 1-2 oz. butter,
according to the quantity of meat to be hashed; amalgamate with it
1-2 tablespoonfuls flour, then stir in ½ pint, more or less, white
stock. Stir well, then add a few button mushrooms, white pepper
and salt to taste, and let the sauce boil for 10 minutes. Put the
saucepan by the side of the fire, and lay the pieces of calf’s head
in it; let them get hot slowly, but not boil. Just before serving
stir in off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of
a lemon, and strained; also a small quantity of either tarragon or
parsley very finely minced.

(_d_) Pie.--Stew a knuckle of veal till fit for eating, with 2
onions, a few isinglass shavings, a bunch of herbs, a little mace,
and a few white peppercorns in 3 pints water; keep the broth from the
pie. Half boil the head, and cut it in square pieces; put a layer of
ham at the bottom of your dish, then some head, first fat, then lean,
with forcemeat balls and hard eggs cut in halves, and so on till the
dish be full, but be careful not to place the pieces too close, or
there will be no space for the jelly. The meat must be well seasoned,
then put a little gravy and a little water in, and cover with rather
a thick crust; bake in a slow oven, and when done put in as much
gravy as it will possibly hold, and when perfectly cold turn it out.
The different colours and clear jelly have a very pretty appearance.

Liver.--Cut up into slices ½ lb. calf’s liver and the same quantity
of fat bacon; put first a layer of bacon at the bottom of a pie dish,
then one of liver, sprinkle with pepper and salt, add 1 medium-sized
onion and 1 apple, both cut up; cover down, and let it stew gently in
the oven for about 1¼ hours. No water is required, as the liver makes
sufficient gravy.

Croquettes.--Take some cold veal, remove carefully all fat and
outside parts, and mince it finely; melt a piece of butter in a
saucepan, add a little flour, stir; then add a small quantity of
stock and the minced meat, with some parsley, finely chopped; season
with pepper, salt, and a little powdered spices; stir well, and as
soon as the mixture is quite hot remove it from the fire. Beat up
and strain into a basin the yolks of 1 or 2 eggs with the juice of
half or of a whole lemon, according to the quantity of mince; put
2-3 tablespoonfuls mince into the basin; mix them well with the egg
and lemon; then add the whole to the rest of the mince; mix well,
and turn it out on a dish. When cold, fashion it in breadcrumbs to
the shape of corks, taking care to make them all of a uniform size;
then roll them in egg, and again in breadcrumbs. Let them dry a short
time; then fry in plenty of hot lard, and serve with fried parsley.

Curried.--Take a 2 qt. saucepan, put into it 2 tablespoonfuls fresh
butter, place on the fire, and, when the butter is melted, throw
in a middle-sized onion, sliced, and fry it until of a light brown
colour. Add 1 tablespoonful curry powder, and 1 teaspoonful salt.
Let the curry powder get well mixed with the butter and onions, then
add a coffee-cupful of gravy; keep stirring, so that all may be well
cooked; then put in the meat cut into small squares, each about the
size of a small walnut, and with the most pour in ½ pint good gravy.
Keep over a brisk fire for 5 minutes, stirring all the time; then
cover up and leave it to stew gently till the meat be quite tender.
If necessary, add a little more gravy while thus stewing, unless a
dry curry be preferred. Serve hot, with rice in a separate dish. It
will be an improvement to fry the pieces of meat in butter before
putting them in the curry sauce.

Cutlets.--(_a_) Prepare some thin cutlets, trim them neatly, season
with salt and pepper. Take some fat bacon, and some of the trimmings
of the cutlets, chop them up very finely, add breadcrumbs, sweet
herbs, a little shallot, all finely minced; beat them up with an
egg, and cover the cutlets over with the forcemeat; then egg and
breadcrumb them and fry to a golden brown colour. Serve with rich
brown gravy round them, and garnish them with half-quarters of lemon.

(_b_) Remove every bit of skin, vein, or sinew from the veal, and
chop it fine; well salt, pepper, and a little minced parsley, shape
like cutlets (use an egg to bind them, if needed), and if you have
them use the bones; egg and breadcrumb them twice, and fry in boiling
butter; serve with sorrel, spinach, or tomatoes.

Fritters.--For these the remains of cold veal should be cut in small
neat pieces; dip each in batter and fry a light brown; in serving
pile them high on a dish, pouring over them a good brown sauce, well
thickened with tomatoes when in season, or, if not, the gravy must
itself be thick and strongly flavoured with tomato sauce. Fritters
of cold calves’ head or feet both make a nice savoury dish; for the
former, cut the pieces of calves’ head into round slices, laying
them in a pie dish, and sprinkling over them chopped parsley,
tarragon, and chives; squeeze over them the juice of a lemon, and add
2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. After remaining in this mixture for 2-3
hours, turning them over from time to time, take them out, drain them
well from the moisture, dip each piece into batter, and fry them a
nice light golden colour, in plenty of hot fat. Serve very hot, and
piled high, on a napkin. Fritters from calves’ feet may be made when
the feet are being used for making jelly. When the meat is about half
cooked, take off some of the best portion of it, returning the bones
to the stock for jelly; let it simmer on a dish to get cold; when
cold cut it into long or cutlet-shaped pieces, dip them in batter,
and fry them a light colour; they must be well drained from the fat
and piled high in the centre of the dish, pouring round them the
following sauce, which should be ready prepared, and they must be
sent to table very hot. For the sauce, take ½ pint stock, add to it
1 tablespoonful Mogul sauce, 2 of tarragon vinegar, a lump of sugar,
a little salt, and enough browning to make it a good colour; thicken
it with corn flour, and boil the sauce well, so that the flour may be
well cooked before using.

Hashed.--Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all
browned parts, and mince it very fine. Fry a shallot chopped small
in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw colour add a large
pinch of flour and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped
parsley, pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock
if necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the
fire. When quite hot stir into it off the fire a yolk of egg and the
juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with sippets
of bread fried in butter round it, and 3 or 4 poached eggs on the top.

Minced.--(_a_) Remove all outside pieces, gristle, and fat from any
cold veal, roast or boiled. Mince it finely either with a knife or
mincing machine; season with pepper and salt, chopped lemon peel,
and a blade of mace. Put it in a stewpan with sufficient white
stock to moisten it well, and let it simmer gently until quite hot,
but not boiling. Remove the mace, add sufficient cream to make it
quite white, stir it over the fire, and serve in a dish with a
border of mashed haricot beans, potatoes, or spinach. Poached eggs
may be served on the top, or tiny rolls of bacon may be arranged
symmetrically, either with or without the eggs.

(_b_) Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, trim off all brown
parts, and mince it very finely. Fry a chopped shallot in plenty of
butter; when it is a light straw colour, add a large pinch of flour
and a little stock; then the minced meat, with chopped parsley,
pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well; add more stock if
necessary, and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the
fire. When quite hot stir into it, off the fire, the yolk of egg and
the juice of a lemon strained and beaten up together. Serve with
sippets of bread fried in butter round it, and 3-4 poached eggs on
the top.

Patties.--Prepare some patties; take some cold veal, trim off all
browned parts, gristle, and fat, and mince it very finely with a
little fat bacon; add a little cayenne, salt, mace, and the grated
rind of half a lemon; mix well, and moisten with some white stock;
simmer by the side of the fire till quite hot, then stir in (off the
fire) the yolk of an egg and a little strained lemon juice. Fill the
patties with the meat, put on the covers, and serve hot.

Pie.--(_a_) Cut the veal into square pieces, and put a layer of them
at the bottom of a pie dish. Sprinkle over them a portion of minced
savoury herbs, a little spice, lemon peel finely chopped, and some
yolk of egg hard boiled, then a layer of ham cut thin. Proceed in
this manner until the pie dish is full. Lay a puff paste on the
edge of the dish, and pour in ½ pint water; then cover with crust,
ornament with leaves, brush over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in
a well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour--longer if the pie be very large.
When you take it from the oven, pour in at the top, by means of a
funnel, ½ pint strong gravy. This should be made sufficiently good
that when cold it may be cut in a firm jelly. This pie may be very
much enriched by the addition of mushrooms, oysters, or sweetbreads.

(_b_) Cut steaks from a neck or breast of veal, season well, slice
2 sweetbreads, lay a puff paste rim round the dish; then put in the
meat, sweetbreads, some yolks of hard-boiled eggs, and some oysters
when in season, on the top; lay on the whole some very thin slices of
ham, and fill up the dish with water; cover with puff paste; bake,
and when taken out of the oven pour in at the top a few spoonfuls of
good veal gravy, and some cream to fill up; but first boil it up with
a teaspoonful of flour.

(_c_) And Ham Pie.--Cut some thin slices off the leg or neck of veal,
free them from skin and gristle, lard them well, and season with salt
and pepper. Have some eggs boiled hard and some thin slices of ham.
Make some forcemeat balls with fat bacon, the trimmings of the veal,
chopped onions, parsley, and sweet herbs, grated lemon peel, salt,
cayenne, and pounded mace. Pound all in a mortar, and bind with one
or two eggs. Line a pie dish with good paste, and fill it with layers
(not too close)--first one of ham, then one of veal--of forcemeat
balls, of the eggs (cut in halves), and so on; a few mushrooms may
be added; put in some gravy; lastly a layer of thin bacon; and cover
all with tolerably thick crust, glaze. Bake for about 4 hours in a
moderate oven. Make a hole in the top, and pour in some good savoury
jelly, made with ox or calf’s foot, knuckle of veal, and trimming of
bacon and ham, well flavoured with onions, more herbs and lemon peel,
cleared with the whites of egg.

(_d_) Ditto.--Take 2 lb. veal cutlets, ½ lb. boiled ham, 2 doz.
oysters, ½ lb. fresh-made sausages, 2 tablespoonfuls savoury minced
herbs, ¼ teaspoonful grated nutmeg, a little mace, pepper and salt
to taste, with a strip of lemon peel finely minced, 2 hard-boiled
eggs, and ½ pint water; cut the veal into square pieces, put a layer
of them at the bottom of a pie-dish. Sprinkle over this a little
of the herbs, spice, seasoning, and lemon peel. Cut the eggs into
slices, put some of the slices and about 8 oysters with part of
the sausages, cut into 3, then a layer of the ham in thin slices.
Proceed thus until the dish is full, arranging it so that the ham is
at the top. Put puff paste on the edge of the dish, then pour in ½
pint cold water. Cover it with crust, and ornament with leaves, cut
from the remaining paste; brush over with yolk of egg, and bake in a
well-heated oven for 1-1½ hour. When removed from the oven, pour in
at the top, through a funnel, ½ pint rich gravy, so that when cold it
will form a jelly. Mushrooms may be added to this pie.

Quenelles.--Remove the skin from 1 lb. veal cutlet, and cut it into
small pieces. Put into a stewpan 1 gill water, a pinch of salt, and
a small piece of butter; when boiling stir in as much flour as will
form a paste; when it is smooth put it away to get cold, then take
half the quantity of butter that you have of veal, and half the
quantity of paste you have of butter; put the paste into a mortar,
pound it well, then add the butter, pound it, then add the veal;
pound well for 10 minutes, add one whole egg, 3 yolks of egg, salt,
pepper, a little grated nutmeg; work well together, pass through
a wire sieve, stir in ½ gill cream, shape the quenelles with 2
tablespoons, place them in a well-buttered sauté pan, leaving a clear
space on one side; put a good pinch of salt in that space, pour in
sufficient boiling water to cover the quenelles, and leave them to
poach for 10 minutes; then drain them carefully on a cloth, arrange
on a dish, and serve with rich gravy or any sauce you like. (Jane
Burtenshaw.)

Roast.--Take 4-6 lb. best end of neck of veal, trim it neatly, and
joint the cutlets. Put it to roast at a very moderate fire, and baste
it plentifully every 10 minutes, first with butter and then with its
own gravy. It will take 1½-2 hours. During the last ¼ hour bring the
joint nearer to the fire, and sprinkle it plentifully with salt.
Serve with the gravy over, carefully strained and freed from fat, and
with the juice of a lemon and a small piece of fresh butter added to
it.

Rolled.--Neck of veal, best end, 5 lb.; bacon, a few rashers;
parsley, minced, 1 tablespoonful; breadcrumbs, 4-5 oz.; 1 good-sized
onion, ¼ nutmeg, 3 cloves, 1 blade of mace, 1 egg, 1 oz. butter,
a little glaze, pepper and salt, and little lemon thyme. Get the
butcher to bone the veal; lay this on the table, the skin to the
table. Split or cut nearly through the thick part of the veal,
and turn the upper half over on the thin part, to make it all one
thickness. Cut a few thin slices off it, about 5-6 oz., flatten the
veal with a chopper or rolling pin, and prepare the forcemeat. Chop
very fine the parsley, thyme, a very small bit of onion, and about 1
oz. of the lean of the bacon. Chop all these ingredients separately,
and then all together. Next, with a sharp knife scrape the pieces of
veal free from skin and fibre, also scrape about 2 oz. of the fat
of the bacon; chop this and the veal together very fine, and pound
in a mortar, adding to it the other ingredients, with butter, the
nutmeg grated, and a little salt and pepper, and the breadcrumbs,
and the egg to bind it. Mix well together, then take this forcemeat
out of the mortar, and spread it on the veal; over this lay 2 or 3
rashers of bacon out of the back. Roll the veal up tight, sew it up
with a needle and thread, and bind round with a piece of tape; place
the meat in a stewpan just the size to hold it, and pour into it
sufficient water or stock to nearly, but not quite, cover it, put
round it any pieces of bacon or trimmings of the veal that may be
left, the stalks of the parsley and thyme, the onion and cloves, a
little celery, and a couple of bay leaves if you have them. Set the
stewpan on the fire, and let the meat stew gently about 2 hours. When
done take it from the fire, and let it remain in the stewpan till
nearly cold, then take it up on one dish, lay another on it, with
some heavy weights on it to press the meat. In the evening remove
the top dish and weights, take off the tape, cut and draw out the
threads, melt a little glaze, and glaze over the veal, and it will
be ready to serve. It will cut and eat well, and the stock will make
soup or aspic.

Scallops.--Let the meat be cut into very thin slices and then
chopped, but not too finely; put it into a stewpan with a little
white sauce, or, if here is none ready made, in another saucepan,
thicken a little stock with flour, and add a tablespoonful of cream
or good milk (if milk, a little bit of butter must be added); season
with salt and pepper, and a very little nutmeg; let this boil,
stirring constantly, until thick enough; add this sauce to the
meat, and let it remain simmering, stirring it the while, for a few
minutes; fill scallop shells with this, cover with fresh breadcrumbs,
sprinkle them over with oiled butter, and put them in the oven until
they are a light brown colour.

Shape.--Take 1½ lb. veal and stew gently with an onion, a stick of
celery, carrot, bunch of herbs tied in muslin, pepper and salt, in
water sufficient to cover it. It will take about 1¾ hours to cook,
and should not be overdone, or it will lose flavour. While the meat
is cooking take a mould, and set 2 cut hard-boiled eggs, some pieces
of olive, and diamonds of beetroot, in aspic jelly, allowing about an
inch of ornamental jelly to stand until firm. Mince the cooked veal,
carefully excluding all fat, mix 1 pint liquid jelly with the veal,
ornament with 2 hard-boiled eggs, olive, and beetroot round the sides
of the mould, and when the mince is nearly cold place it carefully
on the set jelly. Decorate with parsley and rings of finely sliced
tongue. If aspic is not at hand, strain 1 pint of the stock from the
stewing, dissolve ½ oz. Nelson’s gelatine in ½ tumbler cold water,
boil it up, mix it with the mince; add 1 glass sherry and a squeeze
of lemon, pour into a mould arranged with hard-boiled egg and a nice
savoury shape will be obtained, though it will not look so well as
with clear aspic. If the liquor is not wanted, it does for a white
stock.

Stewed Breast (Blanquette).--(_a_) Put a breast of veal, after being
blanched, into a stewpan, with a bunch of herbs, onions, cloves,
pepper, salt, a blade of mace, some lemon peel, a good piece of
butter (about 2-3 oz.). Let it simmer gently, then add a pint of
veal broth, or hot water; when almost tender take it out, put it in
a dish, get out the long bones, and strain the liquor to the veal
again. If liked, add some fresh mushrooms, or some oysters blanched
in their own liquor. Thicken it when done with a little flour,
butter, some very thick cream, and the yolks of 2 eggs; stir it well
together. It must not boil, but simmer, for fear the sauce should
curdle. Squeeze some lemon juice just as you serve it, and stir it
well. Garnish the dish with sliced lemon or fried oysters.

(_b_) Take 3-4 lb. breast of veal, cut it up into pieces 2 in. long,
and put them into a saucepan with 2 carrots, an onion, and a head of
celery cut into small pieces; add parsley, thyme, bay leaves, cloves,
pepper and salt to taste, and sufficient stock or water to cover the
meat. Simmer about an hour, or until quite tender. Take out the piece
of veal and strain the gravy through a colander. Melt in a saucepan 1
oz. butter, and add 1 oz. flour; mix well, and put in as much liquor
from the veal, well freed from fat, as will make sufficient sauce;
let it get quite hot, then stir in, off the fire, the yolks of two
eggs beaten up with a little lemon juice and strained. Put in the
piece of veal, when quite hot add a little chopped parsley and a few
mushrooms, and serve.

Suet Pudding (baked or boiled).--Chop ½ lb. veal suet, put it into 1
qt. rich milk, set it upon the fire, and when pretty hot pour it upon
8 oz. bread crumbs and sugar to your taste; add ½ lb. currants washed
and dried, and 3 well-beaten eggs; put it into a floured cloth or
buttered dish, and either boil or bake it an hour.

Sweetbread (Ris).--(_a_) Prepare the sweetbreads in the usual way for
cooking. Place them on the fire in a saucepan with a piece of butter,
sprinkle them with flour, stir and moisten with a little water, add
salt and pepper, and a bunch of parsley. Cook them gently, and just
before serving add some small onions and some mushrooms which have
been previously cooked. Thicken the gravy with the yolk of 2 eggs and
a little lemon juice, and serve hot.

(_b_) When well washed and cleared from skin, they may be larded with
delicate strips of very fresh bacon or not, according to taste. Boil
till nearly done, then put them into a thickly buttered deep dish
which will stand the oven (metal or earthenware), strewing the bottom
of the dish with thin slices of carrot and onion, add a ladlefull of
good broth, salt and pepper, and brown in the oven till of a dark
golden colour. Take out the sweetbreads, strain the juice, adding
some good veal stock and a few drops of lemon juice, and serve.

(_c_) Butter a stewpan or good-sized saucepan thickly, line it with
slices of carrot and onion, put in the sweetbreads prepared as above,
i.e. washed and freed from skins, and larded, but not boiled. Let
them brown well over a brisk oven, shaking occasionally to prevent
adherence, and turning. When of a deep golden hue all over, moisten
with 3-4 tablespoonsfuls thick cream, or cream of the previous day,
slightly on the turn, add enough veal stock to nearly cover the
sweetbreads, cover hermetically, and put charcoal on the lid; place
over a moderate fire, as it were between 2 fires, which is the French
equivalent for our oven-cooking, and let them stew gently for nearly
an hour. To serve them, strain the sauce, add a little lemon juice.
They are very good done in this way also, and served upon fresh young
peas, spinach, or sorrel, done in the French way. It is essential
that the stock used should be _blond de veau_ or veal stock, because
one of the first rules of all good cookery is that all meats should
be cooked in their own sauces, i.e. that the sauce should be of the
same meat as the thing cooked.

(_d_) Stewed.--Trim some sweetbreads, and soak them in warm water
till quite white, blanch in boiling water, and then put them in cold
water for a short time. When cold, dry them, and put them in some
well-flavoured white stock, stew for ½ hour. Beat up the yolks of 2
or 3 eggs with some cream, a little finely-minced parsley, and grated
nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste; add this to the sauce, put it on
the fire to get quite hot; dish the sweetbreads, pour the sauce over,
and serve.

Tea.--Cut into small dice 1 lb. lean meat, place on the fire with 2
tablespoonfuls water, 1 teaspoonful salt; stir this gently until the
gravy is drawn, then add 1 qt. boiling water, simmer slowly for ¾
hour, skimming off the fat; when done strain through a sieve. It may
be made richer and more tasty by adding, when first warming the meat,
a little butter, onion, and parsley.

Vol-au-vent.--Roll out a sufficient quantity of good puff paste 1
in. thick, and stamp it out with a fluted cutter to the size of the
dish upon which it is to come to table. Mark it out with another of
a smaller size, leaving about 1½ in. at the edge of the paste, which
brush over with a beaten-up egg. Put it into a quick oven to rise and
become a good colour. When done, remove with the point of a knife the
piece marked out for the top, and scoop out all the soft part from
the inside; then turn upon a piece of writing paper to dry. Fill it
with minced veal and a small quantity of white sauce. As it is only a
professed cook who can make a vol-au-vent, it is much best to order
it from a confectioner’s and only fill it at home.


=Game=, =Poultry=, =&c.=--The cooking of game and poultry demands
especial care on the part of the cook, from the delicacy of flavour
and tenderness of flesh of these viands. The fine aroma of all
feathered game is best developed by roasting, and it may be observed
that in the case of young birds a few days “hanging” will be found
sufficient to render them tender, while in the case of old ones
it is far better to first roast them slightly--to bring out the
flavour--and then make them into a _salmis_, or to cut off the breast
for fillets and use the remaining portions for making soup. The
average time for hanging will vary as follows:--

                            In Mild       In Cold
                            Weather.      Weather.

  Capon                     3 days.       6 days.
  Chickens                  2  ”          4  ”
  Duck, Goose, Turkey       2  ”          6  ”
  Hare                      3  ”          6  ”
  Partridge                 2  ”      6 to 8 ”
  Pheasant                  4  ”         10  ”
  Pigeons, young            2  ”          4  ”
  Pullet, young fat         4  ”         10  ”
  Rabbit                    2  ”          4  ”

When the weather is moist or rainy, the articles must be kept
somewhat less time. Keeping may be prolonged by putting a little
finely powdered charcoal in a muslin bag inside the game, changing
the charcoal daily.

The following general methods of dressing game may conveniently
precede special recipes for each kind.

_Aspic._--Cut the breast of a brace of birds into fillets, cook them
in the oven, smothered in butter, in a tin with pepper and salt, and
put them between 2 plates under a weight to get cold. With the rest
of the flesh of the birds make a forcemeat as follows: Pound it in
a mortar with an equal quantity of lean veal; add as much butter
as there is game meat, and as much breadcrumbs soaked in stock and
squeezed dry; mix the whole thoroughly well in the mortar, then pass
the mixture through a sieve; return it to the mortar; work into it 1
tablespoonful Spanish sauce or chaudfroid sauce, pepper and salt, a
little powdered sweet herbs or spices, then the yolks of 2 and the
white of 1 egg. Put this composition into a plain buttered mould,
steam it for ½ hour, and turn it out. When cold cut it in slices,
and cut the slices into rounds all of a shape; cut all the fillets to
the same size; cut also some ready-cooked truffles into slices; set
some white of egg in a jam pot placed in a saucepan full of boiling
water, turn it out, cut it in slices, and from them cut pieces all
of a size. Pour a little well-flavoured aspic jelly into a mould:
when it begins to set arrange the above materials, filling it up with
jelly until the mould is full, and when quite set turn it out.

_Boudin._--Pick out all the meat from any kind of cooked game, pound
it in a mortar. To 4 oz. of this add 4 oz. of the raw flesh of veal
or of fowl, also pounded; work the two together in a mortar, and add
4 oz. butter and 4 oz. paste made as for fish boudin, season with
pepper and salt, a very little powdered sweet herbs, then pass the
whole through a sieve. Return the composition to the mortar, work
into it 1 tablespoonful brown sauce (Espagnole), the yolks of 2 and
the white of 1 egg. Put the mixture into a buttered mould, and steam
it for 1 hour, then serve with brown sauce.

_Chaudfroid._--Roast 2 partridges, and when cold divide them into
joints; trim each joint neatly, removing the skin from it; dip them
in some chaudfroid sauce, made hot for the purpose, and if when
cooled the pieces of partridge are not well covered over with it,
repeat the operation. Arrange the pieces pyramidally on a dish, with
a border of chopped-up aspic jelly round them. The wings and breasts
cut from the birds used to make the sauce can be served in various
ways in the form of fillets, and the legs can also be utilised,
either to make a stew, or for the stock pot.

For the sauce, remove the legs, breast, and wings from 2 uncooked
birds, pound the carcases in a mortar, put them into a saucepan, with
a piece of ham or bacon chopped up, an onion, a carrot, 1 oz. butter,
a bundle of sweet herbs and spices, pepper and salt to taste; put the
saucepan on the fire, and when the contents are quite hot add a small
cupful of white wine (sherry or marsala), and a few minutes after add
rather more than a pint of good ordinary stock; let the whole gently
simmer over an hour, then strain and remove all fat carefully; mix
a little butter and flour in a saucepan, and stir on the fire till
the mixture browns, then gradually add the liquor and a cupful of
unclarified aspic jelly. If at hand a cupful of well-made Spanish
sauce may be used instead of the thickening of butter and flour.

_Croquettes._--Pick out from the remnants of any roast white game
a quantity of meat from the breasts, mince it all finely, and put
it into a saucepan, with a piece of butter previously melted, and
amalgamated with a pinch of flour; add pepper and salt, and a grate
of nutmeg. Stir well, and add, off the fire, the yolk of an egg
beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained. Spread out this
mince (which should be pretty stiff) on a marble slab, and when it
is nearly cold fashion it in breadcrumbs into small portions in the
shape of balls or of corks. Dip each in a beaten-up egg, and then
roll it in very fine baked breadcrumbs. Let the croquettes rest a
while, then fry them in hot lard, to a golden colour. Serve on a
napkin with plenty of fried parsley.

_Croustades._--Boil a quantity of rice in salted water till done.
Strain off the water, put the rice in a saucepan, and keep moistening
with as much milk or stock as it will absorb; add a handful of
Parmesan cheese and a little pepper. When the rice is thoroughly
done, or rather overdone, spread it out evenly to the thickness of
about 2 in. on a slab or dish. When quite cold, cut with a 2 in.
patty cutter as many “rounds” as the layer of rice will admit. Beat
up an egg, roll each “round” or “croustade” in it, and then cover it
well with breadcrumbs, repeating the operation if necessary. Make an
impression with a smaller patty-cutter on the top of each croustade,
dispose them carefully in the frying-basket, and plunge it into very
hot lard. When the croustades have taken a good colour, drain them,
and, lifting the cover (formed by the impression of the smaller
cutter), scoop out the rice from the inside of each croustade with a
teaspoon. Fill them quickly with game _purée_, and serve.

_Kromeskies._--Pick out all the meat from the remnants of any kind of
game, pound it in a mortar with a little butter, and pass it through
a hair sieve; put it into a saucepan with a little butter, pepper,
salt, and spice to taste, give it a turn on the fire, then take it
off; stir in, off the fire, the yolk of 1-2 eggs and some lemon
juice. Spread out the mixture to get cold, and divide it into very
small portions. Cut some slices of bacon as thin as possible, and to
the size of 1½ in. by 2½ in., place on each slice a teaspoonful of
the mince, and roll it up neatly in the bacon; beat up together the
yolks of 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful brandy, 1 of olive oil, and 4-5 of
cold water; incorporate with this about 3 tablespoonfuls flour and a
good pinch of salt; keep on beating the mixture for a little time,
then add as much water as will make it of the right consistency. When
ready to use this batter, stir into it quickly the whites of 2 eggs
beaten up to a froth. Dip each kromesky in it, and fry them a nice
colour in hot lard.

_Pie._--(_a_) Have ready a forcemeat as follows: Chop equal
quantities of veal and fat bacon, with a little lean ham, and season
it highly with pepper, salt, and spice, and, if at hand, a few
truffles. Line a pie-dish with a layer of veal highly seasoned with
pepper, salt, and spice, and pieces of bacon or ham. On this lay the
game, either whole or in joints, as you choose, and fill up with
forcemeat, and, if necessary, a little more veal and ham in pieces,
and some truffles if handy. Cover with a good crust and bake.

(_b_) Can be made of a fowl, a rabbit, and 2 partridges (fowl only
if a pheasant is not at hand). They must be dressed, and put into
a large stewpan, and boiled until the flesh comes easily from the
bones; then the different meats of each must be passed separately
through a potting machine, or beaten well in a mortar (it is of
little consequence which), and spread in layers in an ordinary game
pie dish, with a layer of forcemeat between each layer--say a layer
of chicken, then one of forcemeat, then one of partridge, then one
of forcemeat, and so on--but on each layer pepper, a little salt,
Worcester sauce, tomato sauce, chili vinegar, or other flavourings
must be placed, and a few slices of shallot or truffles also. Then
take the inner pie dish in which the layers are placed, and put it
in the oven for 10 minutes. The jelly, which is generally served on
the top, can be made of the liquor in which the game has stewed,
flavoured to taste with vinegar, ketchup to taste, with gelatine
added, and passed through the jelly bag as ordinary jelly.

_Shikaree Pie._--Make a rich soup with 3 or 4 brace of partridges or
grouse, and the knuckle of a ham cut in pieces; stew slowly until the
breasts of the birds are done; take out the same, and some of the
lean of the ham; pound these when cold in a mortar, with a little
pepper, salt, allspice, lemon peel, and mushroom powder. When the
soup is reduced so as to form a rich consommé, let it cool and take
off the fat. Take a pheasant and 2 brace of partridges, or 3 brace
of grouse, cut into nice pieces, stew slowly for a short time in the
soup until tender; make a raised pie crust; when the game is cool
place a layer of game, then of the forcemeat, then more game, and
so on until the pie is full; add the gravy, place on the cover, and
bake; when cooked carefully remove the cover, pour in the rest of the
gravy; place the pie in a cool cellar or larder, so as all may be
jellied next day when required. This may be made of any game.

_Vol au Vent from cold Game._--Take the meat from a cold pheasant or
a brace of partridges, and a little cold ham or tongue; cut up small
into dice. Break up the bones and stew them with the trimmings in
about a gill of white stock seasoned with a blade of mace, 3 or 4
allspice, a little nutmeg and salt. Let it simmer for ½ hour, strain;
then add, if procurable, ½ pint of the smallest button mushrooms.
These should be first rubbed with a bit of flannel and a little salt
to take off the skin. When nearly done stir in 1 gill rich cream, and
a large piece of butter into which some flour has been rubbed. Put in
the meat and a few minced truffles; stir slowly until it boils. When
the sauce has well thickened pour it into the paste. Garnish, and
serve at once. Make some brioche paste into shapes by putting a piece
of bread into the centre of a mould; also cut out a few flowers,
leaves, &c., for ornament. Bake and take out the bread or mould. Some
persons make a few little balls of the paste as well, boil, and serve
them with the sauce. If button mushrooms cannot be had, use a small
tin of French champignons or a few white pickled mushrooms.

The following are special recipes.

_Cygnet_ (Cygne).--(_a_) The cygnet must not be skinned; pick the
bird, and truss it like a goose. Take 2 lb. rump steak, which chop
fine, and season with spice, a piece of onion or shallot, and butter;
rub the breast of the bird inside and out with beaten cloves, then
stuff it with the above, taking care to sew it up carefully and tie
tightly on the spit, that the gravy may not escape; inclose the
breast of the bird in a meal paste, after which cover it all over
with paper well greased with beef dripping. About ¼ hour before the
bird is taken up, remove paper and paste, and baste with butter and
flour till brown and frothy. For gravy--strong beef and ½ pint port
wine; pour over the bird, and serve with hot currant jelly. A squeeze
of lemon is an improvement.

(_b_) Truss it as a turkey, cover it with strips of fat bacon, and
roast it for 1 hour, then take it up and put it into a stewpan
just large enough to hold it, at the bottom of which lay 2 blades
of mace, 2 onions sliced, 1 carrot, 1 head celery, ½ lb. butter, 1
tablespoonful soy, 1 gill mushroom ketchup, 1 pint good gravy, 1 pint
port wine. The bird to be stewed in the above until tender (about 1½
hour). When done, place it on a dish with a cover; strain the liquor
into a stewpan, and boil away until only sufficient is left to serve
with the bird; of course judgment must be used as to the quantity
required. During the boiling of the sauce add ½ lb. Sultana raisins,
and season the whole with a little lemon juice and cayenne to taste,
then thicken with a little flour and butter mixed together, and boil
with the sauce; pour over the bird, and serve very hot.

_Duck_ (Canard, caneton). Roast.--Pluck, singe, and draw, blanche
the feet and remove their skin; make a stuffing with sage, onions
(previously blanched and chopped fine), and breadcrumbs, using twice
as much onion as sage, and twice as much breadcrumbs as onion, add a
little butter, pepper, and salt to taste. When stuffed, truss them,
tie some thin slices of bacon over the breasts, roast for 15 minutes
before a brisk fire, basting well with butter, remove the bacon from
the birds a minute or two before they are ready. Serve with gravy in
the dish, but not over the birds.

Stewed.--Half roast the duck, place it in a stewpan with 1 pint good
gravy, 3 glasses red wine, an onion, a bit of lemon peel, a bunch
of sweet herbs, an anchovy or a teaspoonful of the sauce, pepper,
and salt. It will not need stewing more than an hour, and should be
done very slowly. When done, strain the gravy, skim it, and add a
dessertspoonful of Worcester sauce. Thicken with butter and flour,
return the gravy to the stewpan, make the duck hot, and serve.

_Fowl_ (Poulet, poularde, volaille). Boiled.--Place 2 fowls trussed
for boiling, with an onion and a piece of butter inside each, into a
saucepan with sufficient water and 3 oz. butter, 2 carrots, a bunch
of sweet herbs (parsley, thyme, and celery), whole pepper and salt
to taste; let them boil slowly till done--about 1 hour. Serve within
a border of plainly boiled brussels sprouts, and with onion sauce
poured over them.

Braised Drumsticks.--Braise some drumsticks of fowls, and arrange
them upright round the outside of a small basin, which may contain
finely chopped salad with its dressing. Slices of tongue and curled
ham may be placed alternately between the drumsticks. The plate
and lower part of the basin should be hidden by mustard and cress,
relieved by thin slices of beetroot.

Chaudfroid.--Cut from the white part of a boiled chicken oval pieces
about 2 in. long. Make some sauce with 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, and
½ pint very strong stock. Let it boil up once, add ¼ oz. of gelatine
if the stock is not quite a stiff jelly when cold. When the sauce
is beginning to set, mask each piece of chicken thickly with it.
Place a layer of aspic jelly, roughly broken up, on a dish, and when
the sauce on the pieces of chicken is quite cold and set, lay them
neatly on the aspic; in the centre of the dish heap up cold cooked
peas or beans, or a macédoine of vegetables.

Cold Fowls.--(_a_) Boil the fowl in the stock-pot and let it stay
in the stock till both are cold, it will be much better flavoured.
For the sauce, either of these will do. (1) Melt 2 oz. butter, add
1½ oz. flour, and 1½ gills white stock or milk. When it boils, add
½ teaspoonful lemon juice, and 2 tablespoonfuls cream. (2) Like the
above, but with the yolk of an egg instead of the cream. (3) Boil 1
or 2 heads of celery tender in white-stock or milk and water, and rub
them through a fine sieve. Take ½ pint of the liquor, thicken with
butter and flour, add the celery, and just boil. All these sauces
must be thick enough not to run off the fowl into the dish. Crumbs
coloured with cochineal, and then dried to crispness in a very slow
oven, or tinted with beetroot juice or horseradish dyed red, makes
a pretty garnish. The boiled liver rubbed through a sieve over the
fowl, and contrasted with slices of boiled carrot cut into fanciful
shapes, and put at intervals round the dish with parsley, makes a
change in the mode of serving, and has the recommendation of being an
eatable garnish.

(_b_) The meat of large cold roast fowls, however dark in colour, and
however tough, may be made tender by gently simmering in a stewpan
over the fire in the usual way, or better still, in the oven; for
the latter, cut the fowl into joints, place them in a deep pie-dish
with enough cold water to completely cover them; place the dish on
the bottom shelf of the oven, which should not be too hot, and let it
remain until sufficiently tender to draw out the bones; watch it in
order to add more water as the first reduces. It must be kept quite
under water all the time, or it would dry up and become hard and
brown; at the same time it does not do to put it in too much water at
first, as it would draw the goodness from the meat. It will probably
take about 1½ hour to do; and prepared in this way, it will be ready
to use for rissoles, croquettes, curry, or mince, taking care to chop
up a little fat streaky bacon with it. The liquor in which it has
been cooked will be very good to moisten it as required, or it may be
added to the stock-pot.

Country Captain.--Cut up a chicken into small pieces, melt some
butter in a saucepan, and put into it an onion shred very fine, fry
until quite crisp, sprinkle the fowl well with curry powder, add some
salt, and fry until thoroughly cooked, turning the pieces frequently.
Serve very hot, with the fried onions on the top.

Curried.--Mix together 1 tablespoonful mild curry powder, 1½
tablespoonful dried flour, and 2 large saltspoonfuls salt; skin and
cut in neat pieces the remains of cold fowl, dip them into the curry
powder, pressing the powder in. Thinly slice one large onion, peel,
core, and chop a sharp apple. Have in a fryingpan a piece of butter
larger than a walnut; when hot, cook the onion in it, turning often.
It should not be brown, and may require a little more butter. When
tender, add the apple, just to make hot; then put the onion and apple
into a hot stewpan, and keep warm. You will now require about 2 oz.
butter, made hot in the fryingpan. Put in the fowl, turn frequently
to prevent browning or burning, for the fowl should only be a deep
yellow. When of that colour, and enriched with the butter, place it
in the stewpan with the onion and apple. Pour over by degrees 1 pint
hot, not boiling, milk. Shake the stewpan over a clear, slow fire
2-3 minutes, and leave by the side of the fire to simmer gently for
¾ hour. Skim from time to time. The curry should be as smooth as
cream, but a little thicker. These quantities are for half a fine
fowl. Send to table very hot, with a dish of rice and a cut of lemon.
By strictly following this recipe, it will be scarcely possible to
discover that the fowl has been previously cooked. Mild curry powder
should be used.

Cutlets.--(_a_) Take the fillets of 3 chicken, which will give you 6
large and 6 small ones; flatten them with the handle of a knife which
has been dipped in cold water; pull off the upper skin from the large
fillets with the knife, and take the sinews from the smaller ones;
dip them in oiled butter, and place them in a sautépan, shaking a
little fine salt over them. Have ready prepared a rich white sauce,
in which a few prepared cockscombs, quenelles of veal or chicken
shaped into balls the size of a marble, some button mushrooms, and a
few dice of truffles have been stewed. When it is time to dress the
cutlets, fry them lightly and quickly, drain the butter from them,
pour over them a few spoonfuls of white sauce, and just at the last
a spoonful of thick cream; arrange them in a circle in the dish,
alternately a large and a small fillet, filling the centre with the
sauce of cockscombs, &c., which has been preparing. If you wish to
have 10 cutlets, 5 chickens will be wanted for this dish. (_b_) Take
the 10 fillets, pare them well; then take the small bones from the
pinions, scrape them, and stick one of these bones into the point of
each fillet--this must be very nicely done; season them with pepper
and salt, dip them into yolk of egg (2 will be required), then into
breadcrumbs, next into some melted butter, and breadcrumbs again; see
that they are quite covered. Cut the small fillets into dice, and
stew them in a purée of cucumbers and onions, thickened with the yolk
of egg, and seasoned with salt and a very little sugar, also some
mushrooms cut into dice; put this into the middle of the dish, and
having broiled the cutlets, arrange them in a circle round it. They
should not be broiled a minute before they are wanted. If preferred,
the small fillets may also be broiled in the same way as the others;
in that case the purée of cucumbers should be omitted, and they
should be served with a good white sauce, into which a little cream
has been stirred just at the last, and some slices of truffle lightly
fried.

Devilled.--Cut the inner part of the leg in 4 long slits, taking care
not to cut them through. Put in each cut a little piece of butter,
some mustard, pepper, and salt, and a little lemon juice. Place the
legs in a tin in front of the fire for about ¼ hour, taking care they
do not get too brown; the last thing turn them over, and finish on
the top side with a little more butter, pepper, salt, and mustard.

Fricassée.--The fowl is usually divided into 12 or 14 pieces. What
are called the legs make 2 and sometimes 4, but this is seldom done;
the wings make 4, and the breast and back are cut up, according to
the size of the fowl, into 2 or 3 pieces respectively. The mode of
proceeding is this: Having plucked and singed the bird, lay it on its
side on a table, grasp the thigh and leg together with the left hand,
and with a sharp knife cut down to the socket of the thigh bone;
pull the limb back with the left hand, disengage the thigh bone from
the socket, cut the skin neatly round the thigh, and put the limb on
one side. Do the same with the other leg and thigh. Cut off the head
and neck close to the body. To remove the wings, lay the fowl on its
back, and make an incision along the breast bone 1 in. from the ridge
of it, cutting down to the joint of the wing bone, which you disjoint
from the carcase; Then cut right down, and remove the wing. Take off
the other wing in the same way.

You now grasp the fowl with the left hand, and inserting the knife,
cut right through towards the vent, then pull the breast back, and
cut it off altogether. Having removed the inside of the fowl, you
chop off the ribs on either side of the back, and trim this piece
neatly as well as the breast piece. The breast and the back are each
cut across into 3 or 2 pieces, according to circumstances. Taking
now each leg in turn, you make an incision round the heel, and pull
the flesh back, chop off the bone above the heel, and pull back the
flesh; then chop off the head of the thigh bone. The 2 wings are
divided at the second joint, the head of the bones being cut off, as
well as the spur at the end of the second joint.

Care must be had in chopping off the bones to do so at one blow, and
to have a sufficiently heavy knife to make a clean cut. The blow
should be given with the part of the knife next the handle; a meat
chopper would be too heavy. Another point which requires attention
is to let each piece, especially the wings and legs, have its proper
allowance of skin. The cuts should be given freely, and at one
stroke, as it were, so as to avoid any little bits of flesh or skin
hanging from any of the pieces.

Fillets.--Take 3 small fowls--the backs and legs cannot be used for
this dish, but they will come in usefully in making white soup, and
in many other ways. The fowls should be fat and white. Clean and pick
them well, scalding the legs in boiling water. Having singed the
chickens, cut the fillets from the breasts; flatten and trim the 6
large fillets; of the 6 small ones make 3, by sticking 2 together.
Then lay them in a sauté or frying-pan (a delicately clean one),
covering them with melted butter, and sprinkling fine salt over them,
and let them remain until just before dinner time; then put the
sautépan on the fire, and fry the fillets lightly on both sides until
they are firm, which will show that they are done. Having drained off
the butter gravy will be found at the bottom of the pan; add to this
3-4 spoonfuls of rich white sauce well seasoned, moving the pan over
the fire, and not letting the sauce boil at all; were it to boil, the
fillets of chicken would be spoiled. Cut some slices of stale bread,
rather thicker than a penny piece, stamp it out either into rounds,
or into pear-shaped pieces, one on the other; fry these pieces of
bread in butter until of a light brown colour. Dress the 9 fillets in
a circle, with a piece of the fried bread between each. Put the sauce
into the middle of the dish, and put a little of it over each fillet
with a spoon, taking care not to let it touch the fried bread, which
should be nice and crisp. Serve them up at once very hot.

(_b_) Having prepared the fillets as (_a_), flatten them and garnish
the larger ones with truffles as follows: Cut thin small rounds
of truffles, and having made 3 or 4 round slits in each of the
fillets, place a round of the truffle in each of these slits, taking
care not to carry it through the fillets, which would break them.
After garnishing, dip each fillet into melted butter, as also the
smaller fillets, and fry them lightly, so as to leave them slightly
underdone. Take them off the fire, drain off the butter, reduce the
sauce as before, and add to it a few spoonfuls of well-flavoured
white sauce; put the fillets into this, and let them simmer gently,
moving them during the time until they become firm, which will
show that they are done enough. Dish them up alternately, a large
garnished fillet and then a small plain one. Stir a good spoonful of
thick cream into the sauce, pour it into the centre of the dish, and
with a spoon put some of the sauce over each of the small fillets,
but not over those which are garnished. Serve very hot.

Galantine.--(_a_) Bone a large fowl, sprinkle the inside with salt
and pepper, take 1½ lb. lean veal, ½ lb. fat bacon; pound together,
and pass them through a wire sieve, add a little chopped parsley and
thyme, a little grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper; when this is well
mixed place it on the fowl with a few truffles, pieces of tongue,
previously dressed, cut the same size as the truffles, place these
at equal distances and fold over the fowl carefully, so that the
forcemeat is well enclosed in it, tie it up tightly in a strong
cloth, tying the ends in the same way as a roley poley pudding, place
a large pin in the centre to keep it quite tight while boiling:
put into a large stewpan any veal trimmings, lean bacon, and fowl
trimming with the bones of the fowl, and 1 large carrot, 3 large
onions, some parsley, thyme, 2 bay leaves, some peppercorns, and
salt, fill with cold water; when boiling put in the galantine, leave
it to boil gently for 1½-1¾ hour, according to the size, but not
longer; then take off the cloth while hot, and roll the galantine
tightly again in it, taking care which side is the breast; place
the galantine between 2 common dishes or boards breasts uppermost,
place a weight on it (for a galantine of this size a 7 lb. weight is
sufficient); leave it until cold, when it should be garnished with
some pale aspic jelly. If the galantine appears dry on the outside
glaze it lightly and garnish with parsley. Galantines can be made of
turkey, pheasant, partridge, or grouse in the same way as the above,
only the livers should be lightly fried and added to the forcemeat.
(Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_b_) To bone a fowl, proceed as follows: Give a blow to the legs
just above the heel with a heavy kitchen knife, so as to break the
bone; cut the skin round; then, holding the foot, give it a twist,
and pull it off, thereby removing the strong sinews of the leg. Chop
off the wings just above the second joint, then slit the skin of
the neck lengthways; pull this out, cut it off close, and cut the
skin square. Lay the fowl breast undermost and make an incision all
along the back, from end to end; then with a pointed knife--what is
called a vegetable knife will do very well--proceed to detach the
flesh from the carcase, beginning at the neck end; when you come to
the wing bone disjoint it from the carcase, and then make a slit
inwardly along the wing joint, and remove the bone; work along down
to the leg, and when you come to the thigh bone disjoint it from
the carcase. Also do the other side in the same way. Now work along
each side, detaching the breast; and this requires great care not
to injure the skin, especially over the breast bone. When you have
worked round both sides, remove the carcase--which can be drawn at
leisure, and should be boiled along with the galantine when this is
put to cook and you have the fowl all boned except the thigh and leg
bones on each side. The mode of getting rid of these is this: Make
an incision along the thigh, dissect the bone from the flesh, scrape
the flesh along the leg bone, and finally pull this out, and it will
carry the remaining sinews with it. All that now remains to be done
is to cut out the “wishing-bone,” which will probably have remained
in the flesh of the breast, as well as the two large white sinews of
the breast. (The G. C.)

Grilled Legs.--Take the legs of cold fowl, score them well, and rub
in plentifully some made mustard, salt, and cayenne; broil over a
clear fire and serve with: _grill sauce_. Take 1 gill good gravy, add
to it 1 tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, 1 teaspoonful French mustard,
a few chopped capers, and a little grated lemon peel; add a little
butter rolled in flour, a few drops of chili vinegar, simmer until
quite hot, pour over the legs, and serve.

Old Hen.--(_a_) To make this tender, it should be divided into
joints, after picking and drawing; place these pieces into a deep
baking dish with a pinch or two of salt, filling the dish with cold
water so as to more than cover the meat. Set it in the oven and let
it remain there for 3-4 hours, or until it is sufficiently done to
draw the bones out easily, which must be ascertained by occasionally
taking it out to try; it will also require watching to see that
the water does not dry up, or if it does, to keep adding from time
to time a little hot water to keep the meat covered till it is
sufficiently done. When this is the case, draw out the bones, remove
all the skin, and take the sinews from the drumsticks. The meat will
now be perfectly tender, and may be used for curries, rissoles,
fricassées, or in any other way in which ordinary chickens are used.

(_b_) Pluck, draw, and singe the hen and put it into a saucepan with
just enough water to cover; stew very gently for 1 hour, keeping the
lid of the saucepan on all the time. Take up the bird, cut it into
medium-sized pieces, and roll round each piece a thin slice of bacon;
place in a pie dish, cut 2 hard-boiled eggs into slices, lay these
among the pieces of fowl, sprinkle over a tablespoonful of minced
parsley, season with pepper and salt, and pour over all the gravy in
which the fowl was stewed, or as much of it as the dish will hold;
cover with a light crust and bake one hour. Any gravy left over
should be saved, as it makes excellent light stock for many purposes.
(Bessie Tremaine.)

(_c_) Put 4 quarts water in a pot with 3 teaspoonfuls salt, 1 of
pepper; stuff the hen with veal stuffing, after taking off the head;
take off the legs and draw out the strings, and truss. When the water
boils, put in the hen with 4 pieces salt pork, ½ lb. each, or whole
if preferred; add ½ lb. onions, 1 lb. celery, 6 pepper-corns, a bunch
of sweet herbs; boil slowly 1½ hour. Mix 3 oz. flour with 2 oz.
butter, melt in a small pan with 1 pint of the liquor from the pot,
½ pint milk, the onions and celery cut up fine and added to it. Boil
for 20 minutes until rather thick. Serve the hen on a dish with the
pork, pouring the sauce over all. The remainder of the broth makes
excellent white soup. (Soyer.)

(_d_) When plucked and drawn joint it as for a pie. Do not skin
it. Stew 5 hours in a covered saucepan with salt, mace, onions,
or any other flavouring; turn out into so deep a dish that the
meat be covered with the liquor. Let it--and this is the secret of
success--stand thus in its own jelly for a day or two; then serve as
a curry hash or pie, and it will be found nearly equal to a pheasant.

(_e_) Stuff with forcemeat; put an onion inside; let the fowl simmer,
not boil, for 4 hours, just covered with water. Send it to table with
either onion or white sauce, with a small pickled cucumber cut finely
in it; garnish with bacon; the stock will make Palestine soup.

(_f_) Pick, singe, and truss, as usual; put into the inside of the
fowl a large lump of fat bacon, and sew the neck and vent, so as to
fasten the bacon in securely; dust the fowl with flour, and tie it up
in a cloth, put it into a pan with a close-fitting lid, and nearly
cover the fowl with warm, not hot water; put in also 2 onions, a
sliced carrot, and 1 or 2 cloves; let the water come to the boil as
slowly as possible, and then let it simmer in the gentlest manner for
3 hours, or longer if the fowl be a large one. Take it carefully out
of the cloth and completely smother it with any sauce you prefer.
Next day break up the carcase of the cold fowl, and put it back into
the liquor it was boiled in, with the drumsticks if you have them;
add a cupful of rice, a blade of mace, and some pieces of turnip,
boil 2 hours gently, and pulp through a sieve everything that will
pass. You will have a small quantity of excellent soup; salt and
pepper to taste.

(_g_) The following way makes excellent potted meat: After dressing
the fowl, skin it, cut it up, and stew gently into a digester with a
ham bone and 1 qt. water for 6 hours; strain the liquor off, pass the
fowl through a sausage machine, then beat in a mortar or wooden bowl,
keep adding the liquor to moisten it; season according to taste, put
into pots, and cover with clarified butter.

Panada.--(_a_) Take the meat of a cold roast fowl, carefully removing
all the skin, and put it in a stewpan with ¼ pint water, a few herbs
and vegetables (if allowed), and a shallot. Boil these ingredients
very gently, and, when quite tender, take out the meat and mince
it, and then pound it in a mortar with 1 oz. butter, and as much of
the liquor as is required to bring it to pulp. Put this back into a
stewpan, after rubbing it through a hair sieve, with about 1 gill
stock made from the bones of the fowl, a gill of cream, a slight
seasoning of pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of flour.
Let this simmer gently till it thickens sufficiently, and serve hot,
with toast sippets; or it may be eaten cold.

(_b_) Skin the chicken and cut it up in joints. Take all the meat
off the bones, and cut up into small pieces; put it in a jar with
a little salt, tie it down, and set it in a saucepan of boiling
water. It should boil 4-6 hours; then pass it through a sieve with a
little of the broth. It could be made in a hurry in 2 hours; but it
is better when longer time is allowed. Do not put the wings in the
panada.

Poos-pass.--Put a fowl into a saucepan with 3½ qt. water and boil for
½ hour; then take it off the fire and strain and skim it. This done,
put the gravy, fowl, and 4 oz. rice (or 2 oz. for each person) again
into the saucepan, and stew them for ¾ hour, adding salt, cloves, and
cardamoms to your taste.

Roast.--(_a_) Take a piece of butter the size of a walnut, mix with
it some pepper and salt and a little flour, put it inside the fowl,
then baste it with a little butter (a small tin is best to use
instead of a dripping pan). When the fowl is done pour the gravy
(made with the giblets, thickened with flour and flavoured with
mushroom ketchup) into the tin, and strain over the bird. Tiny suet
dumplings to be served in the dish with it.

(_b_) Fowls require constant attention in dredging and basting, and
the last 10 minutes let butter rolled in flour be stuck over them
in little bits, and allowed to melt, without basting. The gravy
for fowls should always be thickened, and slightly flavoured with
lemon-juice. Sausages or rolled bacon should be served on the same
dish, and white mashed potatoes always be handed with poultry.

Salad.--Pick 1 lb. meat quite free from bone, and thoroughly cleanse
a good head of celery; chop both very fine, or, better still, pass
through a mincing machine; put this in a large basin. Beat the yolk
of an egg until it is thick, mix with it 1 teaspoonful made mustard,
a pinch of salt, and ¼ teaspoonful white pepper. Beat well into the
mixture ½ teacupful thick cream, and add the juice of a small lemon
drop by drop, beating the mixture with a fork all the time. Stir
this dressing well among the minced chicken and celery. Mould with a
spoon into any shape you like, and serve on a dish with beetroot cut
into fanciful shapes. Some prefer a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar
instead of lemon juice, and salad oil can be used instead of the
cream; but the cream makes it much whiter and daintier in appearance,
and gives a better flavour.

Soufflé.--Pound the white flesh of a roast or boiled chicken in a
mortar with quarter of its bulk of butter, and with pepper, salt, and
spices to taste. Mix all well together, add a gill of cream, or of
Béchamel sauce, and leave it to get nearly cold; then add the yolks
of 3 or 4 eggs, according to quantity, and lastly the whites of the
eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Put it at once into a soufflé tin, or
into paper cases, and bake in the oven.

Stewed (sauté).--Slice 2 onions and fry them in oil or butter with
a fowl cut up as for fricassée. When the pieces of fowl have taken
colour, moisten with 3-4 tablespoonfuls French tomato sauce, and as
much stock free from fat as may be necessary to make enough gravy;
add 6 button mushrooms cut in half, some minced parsley, pepper,
salt, and powdered spices to taste, and let the whole simmer till
done.

Timballe.--Bone and cut up 2 chickens, lard the pieces, put them
into a stewpan with some mushrooms, shallot, spices, pepper, minced
parsley, a little butter, a glass of white wine, and two large
spoonfuls of good stock; simmer till quite done. Boil some truffles
in white wine, add them to the chicken, and let it all cool. Butter
a mould, line it with rolled paste, beginning at the middle of the
bottom, and continuing till it comes to the top; the rolls of paste
must lie firmly one over the other. Have a piece of paste, a little
larger than the bottom, to come up the sides; brush it over with the
yolk of an egg and put it in, pressing it well down; put a lining
of forcemeat balls round the sides nearly to the top, lay in the
chicken and truffles, cover the whole with paste, fixing it firmly,
make a hole in the top, bake 1½ hour, fill up the hole with a piece
of paste, turn out the timballe, cut a small hole in the top, pour in
some reduced gravy, and serve.

Vol-au-Vent.--Roll out some puff paste to the thickness of ¾ in. on a
baking sheet. A plate or a piece of paper cut in a circle being used
as a guide, cut the paste all round it with a sharp knife dipped in
hot water and held at such an angle that the top of the disc of paste
be slightly (not more than ⅛ in.) less in diameter than the base.
Carefully brush over with beaten-up egg the round of paste, taking
care not to egg the sides, then, using a knife dipped in hot water
as above, make an incision ½ in. deep within 1 in. of the edge all
round the top, and put the vol-au-vent case in a brisk oven. If the
oven be at the right temperature, and the paste well made, ½ hour’s
baking will cook it. Being removed from the oven, the top is lifted
off, the inside is taken away in flakes, and, should it be necessary,
the sides of the vol-au-vent are strengthened inside by having
pieces of the flakes stuck against them with white of egg. Lastly,
the vol-au-vent is placed at the mouth of the oven for 10-15 minutes
to dry up the inside. Fill it with quenelles, adding as much as is
wanted of sauce, and garnish the top with truffles, cockscombs and
mushrooms. Or, more economically, use none of these last, and simply
put on the paste cover.

_Goose_ (Oie). Roast: see Fowl.

Liver patty (pâté de foie gras).--(_a_) Line some small moulds with
puff paste, fill them with rice, and put on the covers, egg the top,
and bake in a moderate oven; take off the covers, remove the rice,
and fill them with sliced foies gras and truffles, tossed in some
thick well-flavoured brown sauce; put on the covers, and serve hot.

(_b_) Take 1½ lb. turkey or goose livers (the latter is best) and ½
lb. calves’ liver, chop fine, and then pound in an iron mortar or
pass through an iron sieve; then add ¼ lb. butter, put on the fire,
and stir about 2 minutes, then add ⅛ pint cream, 12 drops rose water,
and a little cayenne pepper and salt, keep it on the fire, and stir 5
minutes more; add truffles and a teaspoonful of brandy, put it again
on the fire, and keep stirring till it becomes thick, when you may
pour it into jars, and as soon as it is hard cover with butter.

Pie.--Boil a neat’s tongue till it is tender, peel it, and cut off
the root and tip end. Bone a large goose and a large fowl. Mix ½
oz. beaten mace with a spoonful of pepper and one of salt; season
the inside of the fowl and of the goose, put the fowl in the goose
and the tongue in the fowl. Make some raising paste and raise it up
high, put in the goose breast uppermost, sprinkle some seasoning on
it, lay on ½ lb. butter; put on the lid. Rub the pie all over with
the yolk of an egg, and ornament the sides and top. Bake 3 hours. If
it is to be eaten hot, put the bones of the goose and fowl into a
saucepan with 1 qt. water, a bundle of sweet herbs; 2 blades of mace,
a little pepper and salt, and stew it till it is about half wasted;
then strain it off, and 1 hour before the pie is done, take it out
and put the liquor in, and when it is done send it up hot. If it is
to be eaten cold, put no liquor in, but cut it in slices, cut across,
put it in a dish, and garnish it with parsley.

_Grouse_ (Coq de bruyère).--For roasting, grouse should be young, and
in selecting them the wing feathers should be examined. If these are
sharp and clearly defined at the ends, the bird is young and may be
safely roasted. Very young grouse, partridges, and all woodcock and
snipe are never better than on the day of their death; but when this
opportunity of eating them in perfection has once been allowed to
pass over and the flesh has been permitted to get thoroughly cold and
stiff, it is the better for a few days “hanging,” to allow it to grow
tender again. An old-fashioned rule is to wait till the feathers come
away at the slightest tug, but the complete adoption of that plan is
apt to make game too “high” for delicate palates. Grouse are very
good about the 6th or 7th day after shooting, and when drawn, singed,
and trussed with the head under the wing--the decapitation of a game
bird is a barbarous innovation--should be skewered together and
fastened to the spit. Then set them down before a very sharp clear
fire, and keep them well basted with butter during the whole time
they are cooking, about 30 minutes. When nearly done sprinkle over
them a little flour, and put them to the fire again, and serve on a
buttered toast soaked in the dipping pan; garnish with watercress,
and accompany the grouse with good beef gravy, bread sauce, and fried
crumbs in boats.

To make fried breadcrumbs, toast carefully in the oven a few thin
slices of bread with the crusts cut off, and then rub them done and
pass them through a colander. Put a liberal allowance of lard into
a stewpan or frying pan, make it very hot, and take care that the
fat is perfectly clear and transparent. Fry the prepared crumbs,
taking care not to overdo them, and drain them before the fire very
thoroughly and completely, as the whole success of fried crumbs
consists in their being sent to table perfectly dry and quite hot.
To make bread sauce take ¾ lb. stale breadcrumbs rubbed through a
colander and put it in a stewpan with a little white stock, white
peppercorns, salt, a blade of mace, and an onion. When this has
soaked, add 1 pint of milk and a little butter; simmer gently,
and keep stirring the sauce till it is smooth. Then remove the
peppercorns, mace, and onion, beat up the sauce well with a spoon,
make it hot and serve in a sauceboat.

Cold roast grouse are very well in a _salmis_ made as follows: Cut
the bird into pieces, and put the best of these into a stewpan. Take
the bones and odds and ends, break them up and put them into another
stewpan with some good gravy, a few fragments of cooked ham, a bit of
lemon peel, 6 shallots, 2 glasses white wine, a bay leaf, parsley,
pepper, and a little salt. Let this boil for about 1 hour, and strain
it on to the grouse in the other stewpan. Simmer all together without
letting it boil, and serve very hot with sippets around.

Excellent soup may be made either of roasted or half roasted old
birds--let them be as tough as they may; or the soup may be made
as follows: Skin 3 or 4 old grouse, cut them up, and fry them with
slices of lean ham, sliced onions, carrots, turnips, and 2 shallots.
Put the fry into a saucepan, and add 2 qt. good stock. Throw in a
little chopped celery, minced parsley, and a faggot of sweet herbs.
Let this simmer for 2 hours, strain, and serve. Fillets from a
young bird, deftly prepared by frying, may be put into this soup,
which should be very strong. In the north of England grouse pie is
very popular, and is made either as a pastry or as a raised pie,
and differs from other simple and compound game pie in no single
particular.

Braised.--Truss as for boiling. Place the birds in an oval stewpan,
the bottom of which must be first covered with slices of streaky
bacon, a carrot sliced, a head of celery cut up, a good sized onion
stuck with six cloves, a small bunch of parsley and sweet herbs, and
18 black peppercorns. Fry a raw beetroot in butter, after peeling and
slicing it, and with it a few slices of onion, moistening it with
about ½ pint broth; pour this over the grouse, add a teaspoonful of
brandy, covered with buttered paper, put on the lid covered with live
embers, or, if not, place the pan in the oven and let it remain until
the birds are done, when they must be taken out and put on a dish
to keep hot. Then strain the liquor from the vegetables, skim off
the grease, and boil it down until it is a semi-glaze; add to it a
spoonful or two of good brown sauce and a very little red wine; let
this boil by the fire for 5 minutes; skim it and pass it through a
tammy into a small stewpan to keep hot. Set the birds on their dish,
garnish with the slices of bacon cut in neat pieces, and some small
balls of carrot; pour the sauce over and serve. The carrot balls
should be previously dressed by boiling them down in a stewpan with
a little butter, about a wineglassful of vinegar, a little pounded
sugar, grated nutmeg, and salt; let them stew steadily, turning
them over occasionally, for about an hour, or until the moisture is
absorbed. There should be enough liquid to cover them.

Broiled.--Cut off the pinions and legs and tuck the thighs inside
the birds; split them down the back, season well with pepper and
salt, and brush them over with clarified butter: place them on a
gridiron, and when the fire is perfectly clear, broil them carefully,
taking care they are not at all smoked. When done glaze them nicely
and serve them with a border of fried potatoes or of small balls of
mashed potato fried brown. Mix a teaspoonful of anchovy sauce with
a pat of fresh butter, let it melt on the dish in which the grouse
is to be served. When melted, place the grouse over it, and serve
directly with a squeeze of lemon juice over the bird. It may be done
in the same way, but instead of on the gridiron, which is not always
convenient, the grouse may be placed in a sautépan with a little
butter, setting the pan in the oven and basting them well until done.

Larded.--Lard the breasts in close rows, place slices of streaky
bacon in an oval braising-pan, with vegetables; on these place the
grouse, with enough liquor to cover them, the liquor being composed
of ⅓ French vinegar and ⅔ of good stock; baste them frequently, and
when done set them on a baking-sheet in the oven for a few minutes to
dry the larding; after this glaze and dish them, garnish them with a
border of stewed red cabbages, and on this some very small sausages,
made of chopped calves’ liver, bacon, and breadcrumbs, seasoned with
pepper, salt, lemon peel, chopped fine, a little nutmeg, chopped
parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, and 2 yolks of eggs, mix thoroughly,
and fry, in small round or flat cakes, a nice brown colour. Reduce
the liquor in which the birds were stewed to a glaze, having first
cleared it from all grease, strain it over the birds and serve.

Roast.--Pluck and truss them as a fowl for roasting. They should
be well hung but not high. Draw the inside and well-wipe, but do
not wash them. Place a round of buttered toast in the dripping-pan,
and let the birds roast over it. The fire must be sharp and clear,
and they must be kept well basted the whole of the time they are
cooking. They should be well cooked, but not at all over-done, or
they would be spoilt; they ought to look just a little pink near the
bone when cut. When done remove the toast on to the hot dish, set
the birds on it, and pour over each just enough melted butter to
cover the breast. Fried breadcrumbs may be round them in the dish, or
handed separately. No gravy is sent up with roast grouse; there is
sufficient moisture in the toast. If more than 2 birds are sent up,
one round of toast would not be sufficient; there should be a piece
under each bird just large enough for it to rest upon.

_Guinea Pigs._--Though in England the animal is usually treated as
a pet, in its native country it has been reared for ages as a food
supply. They should be in good condition, and 8-18 months old, as
that is the period when they are in perfection, when older they are
more fit for soup or stock. Kill them by dislocating the neck, and
it is desirable to bleed them in the throat afterwards to avoid
discolouration. The hair should be scalded off, and they must be
emptied in the usual way. They present very much the appearance of
little sucking pigs, and are ready for the best offices of the cook.
They are generally cut up and stewed in a savoury way until the skin
is quite soft and the meat comes easily from the bones. Being small,
they may be tossed up quickly in a great many delicate ways, and
are very useful as a game course when game is out of season. They
are excellent in stews, curry, pies, puddings, brown or white soup,
and make a first rate colourless stock for velouté, &c. They may be
served as entrées in a great many ways. The pure white breed is the
best for table use, as the skin of the darker varieties does not
look so delicate when cooked. The easiest way for anyone to proceed
who wishes to try guinea pig as food is to buy one or two, and hand
them over to their pork butcher to be killed and scalded. It is
essentially a delicacy, and must be paid for as such. (C. Cumberland.)

_Hare_ (Lièvre).--Hares vary much in quality, according to the nature
of their feeding ground. Mountain hares have their admirers, and for
soup are excellent; but for a roast or jug most people justly prefer
the plump natives of the Eastern Counties. When a hare is fresh the
body is stiff, and if she is young the claws will be smooth and
sharp, and the cleft in the lips not spread much. The ear, moreover,
will tear easily. A leveret has a knob or small bone near the
fore-foot; when this disappears it is a hare. In this country it is
customary to dress hare either as a roast, jugged, or in soup. For a
roast it is indispensable that the animal be young; in fact a ¾-grown
hare makes a far more tender and succulent roast than when fully
developed.

Fillets.--Take a fine fat hare, carefully clean and prepare it, then
with a sharp knife take off at the joint the shoulders and legs.
Make a sharp cut lengthways on each side close to the backbone,
take off the slices of meat; also bone the legs; take the liver and
scald it; then heat a pan on the fire, place in it 2 or 3 slices of
fat bacon; when the drip or essence is boiling put in the meat cut
from the back and that of the legs; it must be cut into pieces. Add
2 minced shallots and a little pepper and salt; fry of a nice brown
colour. Meanwhile make some good hare stuffing, made into little
balls, with a well-beaten egg; fry them also of a nice colour. Mince
the liver finely, and stew it in some good gravy, flavour with 2
tablespoonfuls mushroom ketchup, a little taragon or chili vinegar,
salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice; thicken with a bit of butter,
into which some flour has been rubbed, when ready pour this over the
hare fillets and let all boil up. Serve very hot, garnish with crisp,
hot sippets of fried bread alternately with stuffing balls and a few
slices of lemon.

Jugged.--(_a_) The carcase and rest of the hare cut into joints,
fry with some bacon until browned; take it out, dust over the meat
some pounded dry parsley, thyme, savory, and a little pounded mace
and allspice. Mince 2 shallots, put all into a jug or jar, cover
the meat with some brown stock, add pepper and salt. Close the jug
with a bladder, and place it over the fire in a saucepan of boiling
water. Let it boil well for some 3 hours, more or less according to
age of hare. When tender take the meat out, strain off the fat from
the gravy, thicken with a little flour, boil it up, place the hare in
a deep dish, and pour the gravy over. Care should be taken to keep
the saucepan full of boiling water all the time. Some add to the
seasoning given the juice of a lemon and ½ gill claret instead of
stock. This, however, takes away the hare flavour.

(_b_) Put 1 lb. gravy beef in an earthenware stew mug, a bunch of
herbs, consisting of celery top, parsley, sweet marjoram stems, and
an onion, stuck with 6 cloves. Season each joint of the hare with a
little pounded mace, pepper, and salt, lay them in the stew-mug, and
cover with spring water, put on the lid, and place in the oven to
stew for 2½ hours or longer. When quite done, lift out each joint in
a hot soup tureen, strain the gravy, and thicken it with flour and a
little butter; boil it up, add ¼ pint port wine, pour over the hare
and serve.

(_c_) After skinning, let it soak in water for several hours,
changing it 3 or 4 times. Then cut it up and wash it again; drain
it in a colander. Put it in a jar with a sheep’s milt, lemon thyme,
parsley, a very little sweet marjoram, nutmeg, mace, pepper and salt
to taste. Tie it down with a cloth, and put it into a saucepan of
water up to the neck. Boil for 3-4 hours, according to the size of
the hare. Mix a little flour with Indian soy, ketchup, or any sauce
that is approved of. Put it into a jar, and boil for another ¼ hour.
Add forcemeat balls if preferred. (E. P.)

(_d_) This may be made with hare only, but the flavour is much
improved by cooking some beefsteak with it in the proportion of 1½
lb. to a good sized hare. In any case about 1 lb. or rather less of
fat streaky bacon should be added, cut into small slices. The beef
should be cut up into small pieces, and the hare into joints. Flour
these well on both sides, and sprinkle with black pepper and a little
salt; lay them in alternate layers in a jar that will stand in a
large saucepan of cold water. To this add a small onion stuck with 6
cloves, a very little allspice, and a bunch of sweet herbs tied in
muslin. The best pieces of hare should be at the bottom. Pour into
the jar about a pint of cold water, set the saucepan on the fire,
and let it stew for about 4 hours after the water boils. Just before
taking up add a tablespoonful of ketchup and ½ glass port wine. The
beef and bacon will have almost disappeared, and if preferred, may
be quite removed by straining the gravy over the hare, after having
nicely arranged the several joints on the dish in which it is to
be served; care must be taken to keep it very hot while straining.
Should any of this dish be left from dinner, it will be quite as good
when warmed up if it be again put into the jar and set in a saucepan
of water to boil as before; as soon as it is quite hot through it
should be taken off the fire, as it of course does not require any
more cooking. Forcemeat balls should be made and fried in butter to
serve in the dish with the jugged hare, keeping them hot in the oven
until wanted.

(_e_) In France, _civet de lièvre_ is a well-known stew of hare,
varying in some important particulars from the national English jug.
Having cased your hare, put by the liver, lungs, and heart, taking
care to throw away the gall, and mix the juice of a lemon with the
hare’s blood. Joint the hare into neat pieces, seasoning each with
salt and pepper.

Take ¾ lb. lean bacon, chop it and plunge it into boiling water for
5 minutes, then throw it into a stewpan with 1½ oz. butter until
it takes colour, when put the pieces of hare into the pan, and add
a large onion stuck with cloves, a few peppercorns, and a little
thyme, bay leaf, &c. Fry the meat for 12-15 minutes, and when its
moisture is reduced add a bottle of red wine and reduce the liquid
to ¾. Sprinkle the meat with a little flour, fill up with good hot
stock, and stir the sauce until it boils. Cover the stewpan, and
let it simmer over a moderate fire for 3-3½ hours. When the hare is
done, take up the pieces and put them into another stewpan. Add to
the sauce a glass of port wine or a little gravy, pass it through
a sieve, and reduce it over a brisk fire. Thicken with the hare’s
blood, let the sauce boil up, and pour it over the meat, adding at
the same time 1-1½ doz. mushrooms (previously trimmed, blanched,
and stewed in butter and lemon juice). Let simmer gently for a few
minutes, and dish up garnished with small onions “glazed.”

Roast.--The trussing of a hare for roasting requires great attention.
It is of the last importance that the ears and tail be carefully
skinned, and that the ears be propped up with a skewer to keep
them in an erect position. In casing a hare it is always well to
preserve the blood, as this is an useful adjunct by no means to be
thrown recklessly away. When the hare is properly trussed, prepare
a stuffing as follows: Take the crumb of a penny loaf rubbed fine,
¼ lb. chopped beef suet, a little fresh butter, some parsley, sweet
herbs, and a rather liberal proportion of lemon peel chopped fine.
Season with pepper, salt, and a little powdered nutmeg. Remove the
gall carefully from the liver, chop the liver very fine, and mix
it together with the other ingredients of the stuffing, adding at
the same time the yolks of 2 eggs and a glass of red wine. Fill the
cavity with the stuffing, and sew or skewer it up. Then put the
hare to roast before a sharp fire for about an hour--according to
size--and baste it thoroughly well with butter, or, still better,
put 1 qt. milk and ½ lb. butter into the dripping-pan, and baste
constantly. When done the hare must be finally basted with butter,
sprinkled with salt, and dredged with flour till it froths. Then
serve it in a hot dish with gravy under, and gravy and red currant
jelly served separately. Leverets may be roasted in the same way,
but will not require more than 35-40 minutes’ cooking. Both hares
and leverets may be larded previously to roasting, on the back and
thighs, and when one is so unlucky as to have a full-grown hare to
roast, this process of larding should never be omitted. When it is
desired to get two dishes, an _entrée_ and a roast, out of a hare,
the animal should be cut in two, the hindquarters larded, stuffed,
and roasted as above, and the forequarters cut in pieces, stewed with
a pint of water, a gill of red wine, an onion stuck with cloves, a
fagot of sweet herbs, a blade of mace, and a little pepper. When the
hare is done take it out, then put a large lump of butter into a
stewpan, melt it, put in a spoonful of flour, stir till it is smooth,
and then by degrees pour in the strained gravy. Stir it well, put in
the hare and a little ketchup, season with pepper and salt, give it a
shake, serve hot, and garnish with lemon.

Salmis.--When the hare is trussed, fasten slices of fat bacon over
the back, and lightly roast it, basting constantly to prevent its
getting dry. Let the hare get cold, then divide the meat into neat
pieces, using all the bones and trimmings to make gravy. Put these on
to boil, with 1 lb. gravy meat cut small and fried, 4 onions fried, a
carrot, a turnip, a slice of lean ham, a lump of sugar, and a small
teaspoonful of salt and of black pepper, add 2 qt. water, and boil
gently for 3 hours; then strain, cool, and take off all fat. This
done, put the gravy into a stewpan, and boil it without the lid until
it is reduced to a pint, and is very rich and thick, then stir in the
juice of a lemon, and a gill of claret. Put the hare into the gravy,
and let it stand for an hour, taking care it does not boil or even
simmer.

Shape.--The remains of jugged hare may be used much in the same way
as the veal. Remove the meat from the bones and pound it. Warm the
gravy, adding a large glass of port, a tablespoonful of red jelly,
and ½ oz. Nelson’s gelatine, making about 1¼ pints. Take a quart
mould, ornament with small forcemeat balls, stir the strained gravy
into the pounded meat, and, when nearly cold, pour on the balls. When
set, turn out and ornament with rings of lemon and parsley, putting
(last thing) a few dabs of jelly on the top.

_Larks_ (Mauviettes).--The following recipes for cooking larks are
mainly from the pen of A. G. F. Eliot-James:--

Broiled.--Chop some parsley very fine, mixing it with butter, pepper,
and salt. Stuff the birds with this, tie them at both ends, and broil
on a gridiron over a clear fire or gas. Serve on slices of fried
bread on a very hot dish, and send melted butter to table with them.

Croustade.--A favourite _entrée_. The birds are prepared by being
boned and stuffed (q.v.), after which they are baked in a croustade
of fried bread, with a rich sauce.

In Cases.--Bone the larks skilfully, put the livers on one side,
and set the bones and trimmings to boil in some good stock, broth,
or even water, with carrots, onions, parsley, pepper, salt, a few
cloves, a bay leaf, and a few pieces of ham or bacon. When well
reduced, train this gravy, and put it by. Cut up the larks’ livers,
as also some fowls’ livers, or some calf’s liver, all in small dice;
do the same with half their quantity of bacon. Fry a few shallots a
light yellow in plenty of butter, then put in the liver and bacon,
with minced parsley, pepper, and salt, and a little powdered spices.
Toss the whole on the fire for a few minutes, then turn out on a
sieve, and pass them through while hot. Have some paper cases ready
oiled, put a layer of this _farce_ in each, then a moderate-sized
piece in each lark, roll up the birds neatly, and place one in each
case, with a thin slice of fat bacon over it. Bake them in the oven
not longer than 10-15 minutes. At the time of serving, thicken the
gravy by mixing a little flour with some butter, and then adding
the gravy to it. Fill the cases with gravy, and stew a little
finely-minced parsley over each. The pieces of bacon may be removed
or not before serving.

Pie.--Pluck, singe, draw, and truss 1 doz. larks, save the trails,
chop them fine, mixing with them some scraped bacon, 6 mushrooms,
some sage, parsley, and sweet herbs, all finely chopped, with pepper,
salt, nutmeg, and mace. Mix all thoroughly well together, divide into
12 portions, and stuff the birds with it. Spread over the bottom of
a pie dish fat bacon pounded to a paste, with a seasoning of pepper,
salt, and sweet herbs, with a little mace and nutmeg. Put in the
larks, sprinkling some more seasoning over them. Fill up any hollows
with scraped or pounded bacon; lay some thin slices of fresh butter,
and then over them some very thin slices of fat bacon. Have ready
some rich pastry, of which form the top crust; egg it over and bake.
When ready, lift the crust, remove the bacon, and pour in some rich
gravy; replace the crust, heat up again, and serve.

Potted.--An excellent breakfast dish. The birds must be very
carefully picked, singed, and drawn, dried well, and seasoned inside
and out with pepper, salt, and mace, then put into a stone jar with
plenty of butter, tied down, and baked in a moderate oven. When quite
cooked, the gravy should all be drained off, and the larks put into
potting jars. Have clarified butter poured over them, be closely tied
down, and kept in a dry place.

Roast.--The most usual method of dressing larks is, of course, by
roasting. For plain roasting, they are simply plucked, singed, drawn,
and trussed, have thin slices of bacon pinned over their breasts, and
are set down before a brisk fire, being basted the whole time. The
last 5 minutes or so the bacon is removed, and bread crumbs sprinkled
over them until they are well covered. They are, of course, tied to
the spit or else strung on a wooden skewer. The best way is to put
each bird on a separate skewer, as they then get more thoroughly
basted than when several are close together on one stick. They
should be served on a layer of well-fried breadcrumbs, and the dish
prettily garnished. Some people omit the breadcrumbs while roasting.
The bacon should in that case be left on until quite the last thing,
and the breast just frothed up with a little flour before serving.
Either butter or bacon fat can be used for basting; if the latter,
substitute butter for it for the last five minutes.

Stew.--(_a_) Pluck, singe, and truss 1 doz. fine larks; peel a large
onion, stick 6 cloves into it, and put it into a stewpan with some
melted fat bacon, toss it about a little, remove the onion, add some
fresh mushrooms finely chopped, and some truffles; put in the larks,
and toss all the ingredients together over the fire for a short time.
Pour in some well made veal gravy and stew over the fire until the
larks are quite tender. Chop a spoonful of parsley very fine, beat
up the yoke of an egg in ¼ pint cream, and add to it by degrees the
parsley; put this into the stewpan with the larks, stir it together,
and then allow to stand; remove all fat, and squeeze in some lemon
juice just before serving.

(_b_) (À la Florence).--Pluck, singe, and trim 8 larks; prepare
a forcemeat of chopped mushrooms and parsley, grated ham and
breadcrumbs, pepper and salt to taste--the mushrooms should
predominate over the other ingredients; mix with butter. Place the
larks in a stewpan, cover with rich veal stock, adding salt and
pepper to taste, and a little colouring. Stew very gently for about
¾ hour. Have ready in a basin the following sauce: The yoke of an
egg beaten up in a small glass of sherry, with the juice of half a
lemon and a little cayenne, thicken with arrowroot or flour; rub some
mashed potatoes through a sieve, make a wall of them round a rather
deep dish, hold a salamander over for a few moments just to colour
them, set the larks in the centre, place the dish in the oven to keep
hot while you strain the stock, to which add the sauce, and stir over
the fire in a lined saucepan until nearly boiling; then pour over the
larks, garnish the dish with slices of lemon, and serve as hot as
possible.

Stuffed. Baked.--Take 8-10 fine larks, pluck, singe, and draw them.
Prepare the following stuffing: Mince very fine the white meat of a
chicken, also a slice of boiled ham and a slice of raw bacon, chop
some sage leaves, and mix all these ingredients together, with a
little pepper and salt and some finely pounded mace. Divide this
forcemeat into two parts, stuff the birds with one, and reserve the
other to use in the following manner: Cut as many slices of bacon as
there are birds, spreading over each slice some of the forcemeat;
then place a lark on each slice of bacon and wrap it up in it. Lay
them side by side in a baking-pan, put a cover over it, and bake in a
moderate oven. When the larks are done, dish them on a very hot dish,
pouring over them some rich veal gravy with a little lemon juice
squeezed into it. Garnish with slices of lemon and serve.

Vol-au-vent.--For this dish the birds are boned and stuffed as if for
serving in paper cases. They are then sent to table in a vol-au-vent
case, with a rich white game sauce and mushrooms or truffles.

_Ortolans._ Fried.--Truss as for roasting; dip each bird in the yolk
of eggs well beaten, and then sprinkle over thickly with breadcrumbs,
fry in boiling lard, or butter, or oil. Serve on fried breadcrumbs
mixed with a savoury powder made of mushrooms or truffles. The bread
for the crumbs should have been soaked in lemon-juice and port wine.

In cases.--The birds for this dish are baked in paper cases. First
pick, singe, and bone them, cut ¼ lb. bacon into small pieces, and
put it in a sautépan with 2 shallots, 2 bay leaves, some parsley,
thyme, and marjoram, 1 doz. whole peppercorns, and salt, fry until
brown; then add ½ lb. calf’s liver, cut in pieces, cook this till
brown; then turn the contents of the pan into a mortar and pound
them, rub through a sieve, place back in the mortar and repound,
adding the yolks of 3 hard-boiled eggs, when thoroughly mixed add
6 truffles chopped fine. Stuff the ortolans with this mixture, and
place each bird in a well-oiled paper case, brush over with oil, and
put into a quick oven. Make a rich sauce of the bones of the birds,
half a pint of good gravy stock, and a glass of port wine, reduce to
about a gill, and when the birds are ready to serve, pour a spoonful
of this sauce over each, sending to table as hot as possible.

Roast.--Let the birds hang till quite tender, then pluck and singe,
but do not draw, truss as you would quail, wiping them carefully
all over first of all. Wrap each bird in a young, freshly-gathered
vine leaf, and tie them on a bird spit, put down at a moderate
distance from a brisk fire, and roast, according to size, 20-25
minutes. Place under the birds, in the dripping-pan, slices of toast
to catch the trail, baste incessantly with butter during the time
they are roasting, dish up on the toast, and serve on a very hot
dish. Some people sprinkle the birds over with fine breadcrumbs just
before serving, and serve on breadcrumbs, made from bread soaked in
lemon-juice and port wine, instead of toast. Send to table with them
a well-made orange or lemon gravy, prepared thus: Simmer in some good
stock, about ½ pint, 4 or 5 strips orange or lemon peel (whichever
flavour is preferred), a few basil leaves, the juice of the lemon or
orange, salt and pepper to taste, and a glass of port wine; allow all
these ingredients to simmer 15 minutes, strain, heat again, and serve
as hot as possible in a sauce tureen with a cover. Bacon should never
be wrapped round ortolans; it destroys their delicate flavour.

Stewed à la Provençale.--Cut off the feet and heads of the birds,
provide the same number of large truffles as there are ortolans; cut
a hole in each truffle and fill it with French forcemeat. Season the
birds well, and lay them on their backs on the truffles. Set them
in a deep stewpan, and cover with slices of bacon--in this method
of cooking, bacon is admissible--and about ½ pint stock (veal) and
½ pint port wine. Stew for 20 minutes, or a trifle longer, closely
covered. Take out the truffles and ortolans, strain the sauce through
a hair sieve, and when cool remove every particle of fat; reduce it
by gentle reboiling to about one half the quantity, then add ½ pint
brown Spanish sauce; reduce again, and resoak toast in this sauce
and arrange the truffles and ortolans on it, piling them up in the
dish. Ortolans can be dressed in any of the ways suitable for other
small birds, such as quails, larks, and wheat-ears, but, being so
expensive, few people are disposed to other than cook them plainly
without trying any experiments which may or may not answer. (E. J.)

_Partridges_ (Perdrix, perdreaux).--Partridges are excellent in
pies and puddings, or _en salmis_, made as directed for grouse, and
any fragments left over are well disposed of in _croustades_ and in
little paper cases, while the carcases are invaluable for making
stock.

Boiled.--(_a_) Take 2 partridges (not at all high), truss them as
fowls are trussed for boiling, and put them into a panful of boiling
water, salted to taste; let them boil slowly 15-20 minutes. Then
serve on a bed of either celery, mushroom, onion, or tomato sauce.

(_b_) Put them in plenty of boiling water, boil them for 15 minutes,
and serve with celery sauce made thus: Take the white part of 6 heads
of celery, wash, pare, and cut it into pieces about 1 in. long; boil
these in plenty of water until tender, and strain. Meanwhile, take 1
gill white gravy, ½ pint cream, and a little butter rolled in flour.
Boil it up till it is thick and smooth, add a little grated nutmeg,
put in the celery with a little salt, and give the whole a boil up.
Stir in (off the fire) the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice
of a lemon, pour some of the sauce over the birds, and serve the
remainder in boats. It is perhaps an improvement to boil the celery
in stock instead of water.

Braised.--(_a_) Truss 2 birds as for boiling, and lard their breasts
very finely with fat bacon, put them into a small braising pan over
2 slices bacon, add 2 small onions stuck with 6 cloves, 2 carrots
cut in pieces, a bundle of sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, a
cupful of stock, and one of white wine; place a buttered paper over
all, and braise them gently for 2 hours, keeping a few hot embers on
the lid of the pan. Serve with their own liquor, strained, and well
freed from fat.

(_b_) Aux choux.--To make this, truss a brace of partridges as fowls
are trussed for boiling, mince about a ¼ lb. fat bacon, put it into
a saucepan on the fire, and when it is quite hot put in the birds,
and toss them in this till well coloured all over; meanwhile blanch
a small cabbage or a savoy in salted water, drain it, squeeze all
the water from it, chop it up, and put it into the saucepan with the
birds; add pepper and salt to taste, a bundle of sweet herbs, and 2
or 3 pork sausages, moisten with a little stock, and let the whole
simmer for 2 hours. Remove the bundle of herbs, and serve with the
cabbage and the sausages each cut in two, round the birds.

Broiled.--Take a young partridge, by no means high, split it down the
back, flatten it with the cutlet bat, brush it over with liquefied
butter or olive oil, sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and put it
into a double gridiron; broil over a brisk fire, first on one side
and then on the other, just long enough to set the flesh; serve over
a lump of _maître d’hôtel_ butter.

Pie.--Cut the breasts or fillets and the legs off 2 or 3 birds,
sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and cook them in the oven,
smothered in butter and covered with a buttered paper. Pound the
carcases and make of them some good gravy, but do not thicken it.
Take the livers of the birds with an equal quantity of calf’s liver,
mince both, and toss them in butter over the fire for a minute or
two; then pound them in a mortar with an equal quantity of bacon,
2 shallots parboiled, with pepper, salt, powdered spice, and sweet
herbs to taste. When this mixture is well pounded, pass it through
a sieve. Put a layer of this forcemeat into a pie dish, arrange
the pieces of partridge on it, filling up the interstices with the
forcemeat. Then pour in as much gravy as is required, put on the
cover of either puff or short paste, and bake for about an hour.
When done, a little more gravy, boiling hot, may be introduced
through a hole in the centre of the crust. If liked, the breasts of
the birds may be larded with fat bacon, and truffles and mushrooms
added, especially if to be eaten cold; also a little melted aspic or
calves’-foot jelly may be added with the gravy. (The G. C.)

Pudding.--Skin a brace of birds, cut them up into comely pieces, and
put them, with a few mushrooms, into a basin lined with suet paste,
add 2 shallots and some minced parsley, season with pepper and salt,
put in a very little stock or water, cover up the pudding, tie it up
in a cloth, and boil it for about 3 hours.

Roast.--(_a_) Pick, draw, singe, and truss, placing a slice of bacon
over the breast of each bird. Roast at a moderately brisk fire,
removing the bacon a few minutes before the birds are done. Serve
with plain gravy and bread sauce in boats. (_b_) Carefully drawn,
singed, and trussed, the partridges should, with a piece of butter
in the inside, be put down to a brisk fire, well basted with butter
and dredged with flour to froth up well. Like grouse, they should
be roasted quickly, and if in proper condition--that is to say,
tender--not “high,” must not be overdone, or they will be frightfully
dry. About 20 minutes, or a little less, if the birds are young, will
suffice. Partridges should be served on a toast with gravy, fried
crumbs and bread sauce, and may be garnished with watercress or lemon.

Salad.--Trim all pieces carefully, and remove the skin from them;
beat up in a basin 3 parts olive oil and 1 of tarragon vinegar, with
pepper and salt to taste, and some finely minced tarragon, chervil,
or garden cress; dip the pieces of partridge in this, arrange them
on a dish with some lettuce or endive dressed in the same sauce, and
ornament the dish with hard-boiled eggs, pickled gherkins, anchovies
(thoroughly washed), capers, &c. Mayonnaise sauce may be used instead
of this plain dressing; and, if there is enough of the pieces of
breast, they may be inclosed in a border of aspic jelly, and the
salad put in the centre with the other pieces.

_Pheasant_ (Faisan).--The hen pheasant is esteemed the better bird.
Great caution must be exercised in “hanging” the pheasant just long
enough to become tender and develop its fine aroma without getting
too high. Pheasants are trussed in the same manner as partridges,
and it is no longer customary to serve them with the tail feathers.
A slice of fat bacon is fastened over the breast, and is removed
towards the close of roasting to allow the bird to take colour.
Pheasants are also often larded, and roasted with a piece of paper
over the breast. The fire should be clear, but not too fierce, as the
white flesh of the pheasant requires somewhat slower cooking than
the brown meat of the grouse and partridge. About 40 minutes will
generally be found sufficient to roast a pheasant, which should be
thoroughly done, as nothing is more detestable than white meat in the
slightest degree undercooked.

Roast.--Pick, draw, singe, and truss, placing 2 shallots and 1 oz.
butter inside the bird. Lard the breast very finely, tie a thin slice
of bacon over the larding, and roast the bird at a moderate fire,
basting it frequently with butter. A few minutes before the bird is
done remove the slice of bacon so as to let the larding take colour.
Serve with plain gravy, fried breadcrumbs, and bread sauce. Time,
about 30 minutes.

With Truffles.--Bone a pheasant, stuff it with some sliced truffles,
place some thin slices of fat bacon in a casserole, skin the bird,
and place over it some more bacon, covering it thoroughly; add a
little veal gravy, seasoned with pepper and salt. Cover close and
simmer until done, taking care it does not burn. This is served cold,
garnished with clear jelly, 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs cut into shapes,
and sliced gherkins.

_Pigeon_ and Beefsteak Pie.--Take 2 pigeons and ¾ lb. rump steak,
quarter the pigeons and slice the steak very thin, put on each slice
of steak a small piece of fat bacon, season it with pepper, and roll
it up. Season the pigeon with pepper, salt, and powdered spices, and
put a piece of butter on to each piece, then arrange the pigeons,
and the rolls of steak in a pie dish with a few hard boiled yolks of
eggs; pour in a small quantity of meat or calves’-foot jelly, just
made liquid, cover over the pie, and bake for about 1 hour in a well
heated oven.

_Plover_ (Pluvier, Vanneau). Fillets.--Take 3 plovers, and out of the
breast of each skilfully cut 2 fillets, lay them in a buttered tin,
sprinkle them with pepper and salt, and cover them with a buttered
paper. Cut up the carcases, and put them in a saucepan with a piece
of bacon and a little butter, an onion, and a carrot, sliced; toss
them on the fire for 5 minutes, moisten with stock, add any mushroom
trimmings, and let the sauce simmer for 2 hours; strain off the
liquor, and, having carefully removed all fat, thicken it with a
little butter rolled in flour, adding at the time of serving a few
drops of lemon juice. Put the tin containing the fillets in the oven
for a short time just to set them; then turn them into the sauce, and
keep them quite hot until the time of serving; arrange a neat border
of sippets, fried in butter, round a dish, dispose the fillets in the
centre, and pour the sauce over.

Roast.--Pluck, singe, and remove the gizzard, but nothing else. Tie a
thin slice of bacon over each bird; put them to roast at a brisk fire
over slices of toasted or fried bread laid in the dripping-pan, one
for each bird; baste well with butter; remove the bacon just before
serving, and sprinkle the birds with salt. When done lay them on the
toast, serve with plain white sauce in a boat, and garnish with cut
lemon.

Toast.--See Snipe.

_Quail_ (Caille).--Quail as seen in England, has generally been
subjected to a process of artificial fattening, but the wild birds
of the south--at least those taken in autumn--have some advantage in
flavour over their semi-civilised compeers. The modes of dressing
them are almost endless, but when simply roasted they are delicious.
To roast quails, pluck, draw, singe, and truss them; then cover the
breast of each bird with a vine leaf, and over that place a thin
sheet of fat bacon; tie this on with thread, and put the quails on a
long skewer, attach it to the spit, roast for 10-15 minutes before
a clear fire, and serve (if preferred) on toast. The excessively
delicate and ethereal aroma of the quail renders the addition of
sauce not only unnecessary but injudicious.

In Cases.--Bone some quails, and divide each one in two; put the
livers on one side, and set the bones and trimmings to boil in some
good stock, broth, or even water, with carrots, onions, parsley,
pepper, salt, a few cloves, a bay leaf, and a few pieces of ham or
bacon. When well reduced, strain this gravy and put it by. Cut up the
quails’ livers, as also some fowls’ livers, or some calves’ liver,
all in small dice; do the same with half their quantity of bacon. Fry
a few shallots a bright yellow in plenty of butter, then put in the
liver and bacon with minced parsley, pepper, and salt, and a little
powdered spices. Toss the whole on the fire for a few minutes, then
turn out on a sieve and pass the mixture through while hot. Have some
paper cases ready oiled, put a layer of this “farce” into each, then
a moderate-sized piece into each half quail; roll it up neatly, and
place in its case with a thin slice of fat bacon over it. Bake them
in the oven not longer than 10-15 minutes. At the time of serving
thicken the gravy mentioned above by mixing a little flour with some
butter, and then adding the gravy to it. Fill with gravy, and strew a
little finely-minced parsley over each case. The pieces of bacon may
be removed or not at pleasure before serving.

Roast.--Pluck, draw, singe, and truss them; then cover the breast
with a vine leaf (if obtainable), and over that place a thin sheet
of fat bacon; tie this on with thread, and put the quails on a long
skewer, attach it to the spit; roast for about 10 minutes before a
clear fire, and serve (if preferred) on toast.

_Rabbits_ (Lapereaux).--In selecting rabbits for the table, the
housekeeper should know that small claws and teeth denote youth,
and that when the claws are long, thick, and curved, protruding far
beyond the fur, the animal is generally more than 4 years old, and,
of course, on this account less desirable than his offspring. The
Belgian hare-rabbits are considered the best of all as food; and,
whatever the preference of the consumer may be, it should never be
forgotten that wild rabbits, if not usually so plump, are as a rule
more gamey in their flavour, and are said to be far less subject to
diseases of all kinds than the tame, bred and pampered as these are
upon a more or less artificial diet. A wild rabbit, carefully roasted
and served with all the accessories which are given to a roasted
hare, becomes a very fair imitation of this latter dainty; and if it
will not actually “jug,” it makes a most excellent curry, whilst the
liver, properly fried, is a very toothsome little mouthful indeed.

Baked.--Open a 2 lb. tin of rabbit round the side (all tins should be
opened in this way if the meat is required to be turned out without
breaking); place the tin in boiling water to melt the jelly; pour
the liquid into a saucepan, and add half a teacupful of gravy, which
should be seasoned, but not thickened. Grate 3 oz. breadcrumbs; add a
dessert spoonful of marjoram, a teaspoonful of thyme, a teaspoonful
of chopped parsley, and ½ lb. minced ham or bacon. Mix together, and
season with pepper and salt; put a thin layer of this mixture at the
bottom of a pie dish well buttered, then a layer of rabbit and a
layer of seasoning alternately until the dish is full. Pour the gravy
over all and cover with a dish, and bake 15 minutes.

Boiled.--Truss the rabbits, and put them in cold water for 2 hours,
changing the water 2 or 3 times. Put them into boiling water with a
lump of stale crumb of bread, and boil them for 40-45 minutes. Have
ready abundance of onion sauce made thus: take 2 doz. large, or 3
doz. small silver onions, peel them, take off the first coat, split
them and throw them into cold water, and boil them till they are
tender, changing the water twice, then squeeze and rub them through a
colander. Put into a stewpan ½ lb. butter, or ¼ lb. butter and 1 gill
cream, dredge in carefully a little flour and a little salt, throw in
the onions, and shake them up gently till the mixture is smooth; keep
stirring all the time.

Having the rabbits piping hot, smother them in the onion sauce, and
garnish with lemon and sippets. An excellent sauce for boiled rabbit
may also be made by boiling and pounding the liver. Add to this some
good veal stock, or broth from the rabbit, season with mace and
allspice, boil up and strain; then roll a piece of butter in flour,
throw it into a stewpan, and before it colours pour in the previous
mixture and add a little minced and blanched parsley.

Curried.--Place ¼ lb. butter into a stewpan on the fire, slice into
it a good-sized onion or 2 small ones, and fry till they become a
golden brown (being very careful not to let them burn); add one
tablespoonful of curry powder, mix and fry lightly; then put the
rabbit (which ought to be previously cooked and cut in pieces) in
the pan; keep stirring a few minutes; throw in gently a little salt,
and add slowly a teacupful of milk; stir it all well together on
the fire, keeping it covered for ¼ hour, and, when it looks thick,
squeeze the juice of a lemon into it. If it appears too rich, skim
the butter off, and add a little more milk.

Cutlets.--Soak the rabbits all night, and pour boiling water over
them before cooking. Cut cutlets out of the back and hindlegs. Roll
these in egg and breadcrumbs, and serve with potatoes cut thin and
fried in butter.

Fricassée.--Fry 2 onions cut in slices to a nice brown, and lay them
at the bottom of a stewpan. Open a 2 lb. tin of rabbit, and set it in
a saucepan of boiling water. Keep the tin in the water long enough
to melt the jelly from the pieces of rabbit; pour the melted jelly
among the fried onion, add ½ teacupful gravy, and simmer while the
rabbit is being fried; thicken the gravy slightly, and slide the
rabbit out gently on a plate. Egg, breadcrumb, and quickly fry each
piece brown, or roll each piece well in flour and fry. Put the pieces
carefully into the gravy and onion, leave them 5 minutes near the
fire to imbibe the gravy and get thoroughly hot; toast some thin
slices of bacon in a Dutch oven, put them round a hot dish, and place
the rabbit in the centre. The stew must not simmer after the pieces
of the rabbit are put in, else they will break from the bone. The
difficulty lies in keeping the pieces of rabbit whole, as they are
too much cooked in the tins, and when heated again they often present
a jumbled appearance of strips of flesh and bleached-looking bones.

Pie.--Skin 2 rabbits, wash them thoroughly, and cut them into small
joints. Have ready some lean bacon and 1 lb. rump or beef steak.
Cut both in small pieces, and place them all on a large dish or
a chopping board, sprinkle them well with salt, pepper, chopped
parsley, and thyme. Mix all well together, put them in a pie dish,
adding forcemeat balls or the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. Fill the
dish with water, cover the whole with a light paste. Beat up an egg
with a pinch of salt, glaze the pie with it, and bake in the oven for
2 hours.

Stewed.--Cut a rabbit in pieces, wash it in cold water, a little
salted. Prepare in a stewpan some flour, and clarified dripping or
butter; stir it up until it browns. Then put in the pieces of rabbit,
and keep stirring and turning, until they are tinged with a little
colour; then add 6 onions, peeled, but not cut up. Serve all together
in a deep dish.

With Onion Sauce.--Place a tin of rabbit, when opened, in boiling
water until the rabbit is thoroughly heated; pour off the liquid, and
put a few pieces of butter on the top of the rabbit while in the tin.
When the liquid butter has permeated all the rabbit, slide it out on
a hot dish carefully, so as not to break the pieces, and cover it
with good onion sauce. Serve with a piece of boiled bacon or streaky
pork.

_Rook_ Pie.--(_a_) Soak the rooks in salt and water (having
previously removed the backs and giblets) to draw out the bitterness,
and then proceed as if making a pigeon pie. (A. O. H.)

(_b_) Skin and draw the rooks (6 will make a large pie), cut out the
backbones, taking great care not to break the gall. Put these aside,
as they are not used. Season the other parts well with pepper and
salt, lay them in a deep pie dish, and pour over them ½ pint water,
and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Cover with a good light
crust, and lay over that again a sheet of buttered paper, as the pie
will take 2½-3 hours baking. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Snipe_ (Bécassine).--Bisque. Take 6 nice plump snipes, cut the meat
from the breasts, simmer half of them lightly in fresh butter, with a
little salt, to be afterwards cut into scallops; make the rest into a
forcemeat for quenelles to be served in the soup. Take out the larger
bones from the carcases, roughly chopping the latter; put them all
into a stewpan with a little butter, a sprig of thyme, a bayleaf,
a little nutmeg, 3 shallots, and a pinch of pepper; fry them brown
on a brisk fire, and add ½ a pottle mushrooms, chopped, and about a
bottle of Sauterne wine; to this add ½ lb. rice which has been boiled
in broth, 1 qt. white stock, letting it boil gently for 1 hour. Then
drain this through a sieve into a basin, in which allow the liquor
to remain, pounding the rest thoroughly in a mortar; replace this in
the stewpan with the broth they were boiled in, stir it over the fire
for a short time, and rub it through a tammy to remain till wanted.
Let it remain in a cool place. Just before it is wanted for table,
cut the fillets reserved from the breasts into small scallops, and
make the forcemeat up into small quenelles or balls; put these into
the soup tureen, and pour the bisque over them quite hot, but not
boiling. Sippets of fried bread should be handed round with this
soup; they should be cut round, and a small incision cut on one side
of each before frying, so as to be easily able to take out a small
piece from the centre, on which to place a little of the trail. This
must be prepared by putting it into a stewpan with a small piece of
butter, a little pepper and salt, and a spoonful or two of good brown
sauce. They must be fried lightly, and then rubbed through a hair
sieve with a wooden spoon. Fill the croutons with this, warm them for
a minute or two in the oven, and serve them in a plate.

Fried.--Split them down the back, trussing like a spatchcock; put
the trails and livers carefully aside. Heat a frying pan, put in
sufficient lard to half fill it. When boiling, add a little salt;
then fry the birds 10 minutes; place on a napkin in front of fire
to drain and keep hot; pour off all the clear lard; throw a cupful
of sifted breadcrumbs, with the trails and livers, into the gravy
that remains in the pan; fry of a golden colour; serve up round the
snipe: a dash of cayenne added to the crumbs is sometimes liked. All
wildfowl cooked in this way are excellent, the larger birds being cut
into joints.

Pie.--Take 6 couple of snipe, cut the birds into quarters, make a
rich forcemeat of some cold ham, tongue, veal, or chicken, seasoning
with a little sweet herbs, pepper, salt, cayenne, some breadcrumbs,
mushrooms minced fine, mix all together with the yolks of 2 beaten
eggs; place a layer of snipe breast downwards, either in the dish, or
a raised crust--the latter is preferable--then forcemeat, then birds,
then forcemeat, and so on; fill in with some rich gravy, and bake.
When done raise the cover and fill up with gravy; next day place in
ice, and serve cold. Drink Chablis or White Hermitage with this dish.

Roast.--Trim, but do not draw the birds, wrap each in a thin slice
of fat bacon, and roast about 10-15 minutes at a brisk fire. Baste
frequently with butter, keeping a piece of toast in the dripping pan.
Serve on the toast.

Toast.--Half roast some snipe, plover, or woodcock, first removing
the trails. When cold pound the meat, season with pepper, salt, and
a little finely grated lemon peel, make into a mass with the beaten
yolk of an egg; meanwhile place the bones and trimmings in a stewpan
with a little brown stock, a glass of port wine, a little minced
shallot, pepper and salt, let it simmer until the gravy is drawn;
bruise the trails, add them with a little butter and flour to the
gravy, bring to the boil, and strain, adding when ready a squeeze of
lemon. Toast nicely on each side some thin slices bread, butter the
toast and cut into shapes, spread the pounded snipe on these, place
in a Dutch oven to warm, and when lightly brown serve in a hot dish,
pouring the gravy over all.

_Turkey_ (Dinde). Blanched.--Cut the meat into small pieces free from
the bone; season with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg; put this into
a saucepan with sufficient white sauce to moisten it; let it simmer
very gently for 5 minutes; turn it out on a hot dish, and serve with
tiny fried pieces of bacon all round it. To make the white sauce, put
¼ pint milk into a saucepan, and simmer, with a strip of lemon rind
in it for 5 minutes; mix a dessertspoonful of cornflour in a little
cold milk, and thicken the sauce with it; stir the sauce gently over
the fire for one minute; take out the lemon rind, and stir in ½ oz.
butter after the sauce has cooled for a minute; then heat the turkey
in it.

Boiled.--Wash the turkey in tepid water, and rub it all over with
lemon juice; then put it into a saucepan full of boiling water, with
a large piece of butter, 2 onions, a head of celery, some sliced
carrots, a bunch of parsley and sweet herbs, whole pepper, mace,
cloves, and salt to taste. Let it boil slowly, and remove carefully
any scum that may rise. Serve with celery sauce, or oyster sauce.

Braised.--Truss the turkey as for boiling; stuff it with truffle and
chestnut stuffing. Line the bottom of a braising pan with slices
of bacon; lay the turkey on these, and place more slices of bacon
on the top of it. Put in 2 carrots and 2 onions cut in slices, and
sweet herbs, parsley, bay leaf, a clove of garlic, and whole pepper,
and salt to taste; moisten with some stock and a tumblerful of
sherry. Lay a round of buttered paper on the top, put on the lid, and
braise on a moderate fire for about four hours, then serve with the
gravy strained and freed from excess of fat. _Truffle and Chestnut
Stuffing._--Remove the outer skin from a quantity of chestnuts, set
them to boil in salted water with a handful of coriander seeds and
2 bay leaves. When nearly done, drain off the water, and remove the
inner skin of the chestnuts. Mince 1 lb. fat bacon and 2 shallots,
give them a turn on the fire in a saucepan, then put in 1 lb. of
the chestnuts (boiled and peeled) and ½ lb. truffles, both cut up
into moderate-sized pieces; add pepper, salt, and spices to taste,
a little powdered thyme and marjoram; give the mixture another turn
or two on the fire, and it is ready. A simple form of stuffing can
be made by omitting the truffle. _Chestnut Stuffing._--Boil the
chestnuts as above. When cooked (they must be rather underdone),
drain and remove the inner skin, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and
spices, and stuff the turkey, inserting while so doing ½ lb. butter
(or beef suet) cut into small pieces. An onion, chopped finely, may
be added to the stuffing.

Devilled.--Take a cooked leg of turkey or large fowl, cut it all over
to the bone, pepper and salt it well, using black pepper and cayenne,
then get some mixed mustard, mix it with about a third its quantity
of flour, and plaster the leg over with this mixture as thick as it
will stick, also stuffing the gashes with it. When this is done, put
it on a gridiron on a clear fire, serve hot.

Galantine.--Take a turkey, bone and trim it. Take 1 lb. veal and
½ lb. fat bacon, pound them together in a mortar, season with
powdered spice and sweet herbs, pepper and salt to taste, then
pass the mixture through a wire sieve. Cut ½ lb. boiled tongue in
pieces about 1 in. square, cut 6 truffles each into 3 or 4 pieces;
lay the prepared turkey, skin downwards, on the table, sprinkle it
with pepper, salt, and powdered spices; lay the pounded meat, the
truffles, and the tongue on it, then roll it up neatly as a roly-poly
pudding, and tie it up tightly in a cloth; put all the trimmings of
the turkey into a saucepan large enough to hold the galantine; add a
calf’s foot cut in pieces, the trimmings of the bacon (mind they are
perfectly sweet), 2 or 3 onions, 2 carrots cut in pieces, a clove of
garlic, a bundle of sweet herbs (thyme, marjoram, parsley, and bay
leaf), cloves, whole pepper, mace, and salt in proportions according
to taste; fill up with such a quantity of cold water as will leave
room for the galantine to be put in, set the saucepan on the fire,
and boil for 2 hours, strain, and when the liquor boils put in the
galantine, let it boil 2-2½ hours; then lift it out, put it on a
plate, and when it has cooled a little take off the cloth, tie it up
afresh, and lay it between 2 dishes with a moderate weight upon it,
to remain till cold. Care must be taken in this last operation that
the “seam” of the galantine be made to come undermost. When quite
cold, glaze the galantine, and garnish it with aspic jelly. _Aspic
Jelly._--Pack into a stewpan 2 calves’ feet, chopped in small pieces,
a few slices of ham, and the carcase of a fowl, with 2 onions and 2
carrots cut into slices, a head of celery, 1 shallot, and parsley,
sweet herbs, spices, pepper, and salt to taste; fill up with the
liquor in which the galantine was boiled or with any other common
stock, and set the whole to simmer gently for 3-4 hours. Strain off
the liquor into a basin, and when cold carefully remove all the
fat. Then put the jelly into a saucepan, and add to it as much _suc
colorant_ as may be required to give it the proper colour. Put the
saucepan on the fire, and when the jelly is melted whisk into it the
whites of 2 eggs and a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar; let it come
to boiling point, and strain it through a jelly bag. If not quite
clear warm it again, and strain it a second time. _Glaze._--Take a
small quantity of the above jelly, freed from fat and strained, but
not clarified; set it on the fire to reduce till it presents the
appearance of treacle, and keep on skimming it all the time, then
lay it on hot with a paste brush. _Boning._--There are two ways of
boning. Knives are sold for the purpose, but a sharp pocket-knife
will do. Lay the bird on its breast, and cut through the skin along
the middle of the back. Keep the knife always close to the bone, and
cut away the flesh on either side, turning it back as you go. Cut
through the joints of the leg and wing bones, and keep cutting till
you have separated the breast-bone, when the whole of the body will
come out intact. The legs and wings are rather more difficult, but
the only thing is to cut very carefully, and on no account to pierce
the skin, turning the skin and flesh inside out, like a stocking, as
you go along. The legs should be cut off at the first joint, and the
last bone of the wing is sometimes left in. When all the bones are
out, fill the bird with tongue, stuffing, chestnuts, or whatever
else you may have, remaking it, as far as may be, into the shape
of an unboned bird. Some persons prefer to lay it flat and roll it
round, tying it with string. Another way is to make an incision at
the back or the neck only, just as if the fowl were to be drawn, and
to take all the bones out there, turning the skin back from the body,
as directed above as for the limbs. The slits, whether intentional or
accidental (and a beginner will probably have a few of these latter)
should be sewn up with fine cotton.--(E. A. B.)

Grills.--For grilled fowl and turkey legs. Let them stand 10 minutes
in boiling water, so as to get quite hot through, then well pepper
them, and fry them in lard until they are nicely browned. (E. M. K.)

Patties.--A nice way of using up the small pieces of turkey. Mince
some of the meat with grated lemon peel, nutmeg, a little salt, white
pepper, cream and butter warmed, fill the patties, and bake as usual.

Roast.--Pluck, singe, draw, wipe thoroughly, and truss a fine turkey,
stuff it with plain forcemeat, pack it up in some thin slices of
fat bacon, and over that a sheet of buttered paper, roast before
a clear fire, basting frequently with butter. ¼ hour before it is
done, remove the paper and slices of bacon. Sprinkle with salt, just
before serving. Garnish with pork sausages, and serve with a boat
of gravy. Time of roasting 2-3 hours. _Forcemeat._--(1) Take 1 part
finely-shredded suet and 2 of breadcrumbs, season with pepper, salt,
powered spices, sweet herbs, and finely minced parsley; mix all well
together; then add as many eggs as will bind the ingredients together
into a stiff paste. (2) Pound to a paste in a mortar, slightly rubbed
with garlic, equal parts of veal and fat ham or bacon, then pass them
through a wire sieve, and return them to the mortar. Work into the
paste thus obtained ¼ its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity
of breadcrumbs, soaked in milk or in stock, with the yolks of one
or more eggs, according to quantity. Add minced parsley and pepper,
salt, spices, and powdered sweet herbs to taste. _Gravy._--Mince an
onion finely, fry it in butter to a dark brown, then add ¾ pint of
good stock, pepper and salt to taste, a small piece of ham minced
small, a sprig of thyme, one of parsley, and a little Worcester
sauce. Let the whole boil 5-10 minutes put it by till wanted, then
strain it into a sauce boat.

With Mushrooms.--Open a tin of turkey, set in boiling water to melt
the jelly, pour the melted jelly into a saucepan, slightly thicken
it with cornflour and sufficient mushroom ketchup to make it a good
flavour, season it, and keep hot while the turkey is being freed from
bone and minced. Open a small tin of mushrooms, and mince them with
the meat; mix well in the gravy; keep the mince hot for 10 minutes,
and then serve on rounds of toast for breakfast. The turkey can be
simply sliced, and the mushrooms left whole, if preferred.

With Oysters.--Open a tin of oysters and mince them finely, saving
the liquor, and mix well together with them 5 oz. grated breadcrumbs,
1 oz. fresh butter slightly melted, the rind of ½ lemon chopped
small, 1 tablespoonful minced parsley, a pinch of cayenne, a small
teaspoonful of salt, and ½ teaspoonful white pepper. Cut into neat
pieces the contents of a tin of turkey, leaving the bones in; butter
a pie-dish, and put alternate layers of turkey and oyster forcemeat.
Put a teacupful of the oyster liquor into a saucepan, melt a large
teaspoonful of butter in it, and thicken with cornflour. Pour over
the turkey and oysters, and bake 15 minutes in a hot oven.

To use up a Turkey.--If roasted, stuff it with pork sausage meat.
Instead of paying 10_d._ per lb. for a mixture of pork, bread, and
water, buy 1 lb. trimmings, and let the cook mince it herself. Roast
turkey comes in cold several times in a small family. Sometimes the
legs may be devilled. The meat should be carefully picked off the
wing bones, back, &c. Let it be minced very finely, stewed in milk,
a little pounded mace, salt, and thickening; then let it get cold,
and make a top-and-bottom-crust pie of it. If economy be the order
of the day, make the crust of “fleed” or “flick,” in this way: Pull
all the skin off, beat it well with a mallet or rolling-pin till
about the consistency of lard, then, having made 1 lb. flour into
paste with water, roll it out, and dot the “flick” over it; give it
a good coat of flour; repeat this process till you have put in ¾ lb.
of “flick;” bake in a quick oven. If for tarts, 1 lb. “flick” to 1
lb. flour. Now comes the most important part of all. Take all the
bones that have not been on the plates, break up the back and breast
bones, put them in a saucepan with 2 qt. water, a carrot, a turnip,
a few peppercorns, a little bit of mace, lemon peel, a little bit
of ham, &c.; let it boil hard all day till reduced to 1 qt., strain
through muslin or fine flannel; put it into a clean saucepan, have
ready nearly a breakfast cupful of batter, not too thick. While
boiling hard pour in the batter with one hand, stir quickly with the
other. Let it boil for a few minutes, strain through a sieve into the
tureen. Excellent soup.

_Venison_ (Venaison).--This is of 3 kinds. The fallow deer, the red
deer, and the roebuck supply venison of very different qualities. In
the opinion of most competent judges, English park-fed buck venison
is the best and richest, and is followed in order of excellence by
the red deer venisons of Scotland and Germany, slightly coarser in
fibre, and less abundantly supplied with fat. A great fuss is made
on the Continent about the roe-deer or _chevreuil_, but this pretty
little animal supplies rather poor venison--good as to flavour--but
dry, and as a rule destitute of fat. A fat buck is usually divided
into haunch, neck, shoulder, and breast. The haunch and neck are
generally roasted, the shoulder and breast being reserved for
pasties, stews, or chops. In buying venison for immediate cooking
great caution should be observed, as if it has been hanging long
enough to permit serious disintegration of the tissue, it will be
uneatable. Its condition may be ascertained by running a skewer
under the bone. If it smells sweet the meat is good. Venison may be
hung 10-15 days, according to the weather, and should on no account
be kept so long as to render overcooking necessary, as it is best
cooked of all when, without being actually underdone, the meat still
retains its gravy. While hanging--if possible in a clear draught of
air--venison should be wiped and peppered occasionally, especially
on the “cut” parts. The haunch, both on account of its size and
the delicate quality of its fat, requires great care in cooking.
It should be wiped, almost washed, rubbed over with butter, and
sprinkled with salt. The next operation is to cover the haunch with
a large sheet of buttered paper all over it, again covering with a
sheet of common water paste about ½ in. thick. When the paste has
been carefully applied and thoroughly joined, 3 sheets of buttered
paper should be securely fastened with string over all. Placed then
in a cradle-spit before a large fire, a fine haunch will take about
3-3½ hours roasting. It should be frequently basted. When done the
paper and paste must be taken off, and the haunch salted, basted
with butter, dredged with flour till it assumes a brown colour,
and served on a hot-water dish. The best sauce for venison is made
with a little of the gravy, ½ lb. red currant jelly, 2 or 3 knobs
of sugar, and 1 gill red wine simmered together till the jelly is
melted. Jelly should also be served separately. Roast venison may be
accompanied by French beans, white haricots, or perhaps, best of all,
with stuffed tomatoes. The neck is dressed in the same manner as the
haunch, pasted and papered, and requires in roasting about ¼ hour to
1 lb. Venison should be carved as quickly as possible on to silver or
hot-water plates.

Collops.--Venison collops or minced collops are both excellent, and
must be made from the uncooked meat as follows: Cut the meat into
collops (small thin cutlets or _emincés_, or mince it if you wish
“minced” collops), and season this with pepper, salt, and mixed
spices. Throw some butter into a stewpan, put in the collops, brown
them and then add equal quantities of good brown gravy and red wine.
Add to this a little fine sugar, a dash of vinegar, and a spoonful of
ketchup. Stew slowly till done. Then take out the collops, strain the
sauce and serve quickly. These collops may be served within a wall of
well cooked white haricots, garnished with baked tomatoes.

Roast Haunch.--(_a_) Trim the joint neatly, wipe it well with a
cloth, rub it over with butter, and sprinkle it with salt; then wrap
it up in a sheet of buttered kitchen paper Make a paste with flour
and water, roll it out to the thickness of ½ in., wrap the joint in
this, and close up all the openings carefully by wetting the edges
of the sheet of paste; lastly, pack up the haunch into a final sheet
of well-buttered paper; put it to roast at a good fire for about
3 hours, basting it occasionally; then remove the paste and paper
coverings, baste the haunch plentifully with butter, and when nearly
done dredge some flour over it and some salt. Serve on a hot-water
dish.

(_b_) As roe-deer is very dry, a haunch of it is much improved by
being closely larded with fat bacon and then placed to marinade in
equal parts of oil and red wine, with sliced carrots and onions and
judicious flavourings of whole pepper, cloves, salt, chopped parsley,
and sweet herbs. The joint may be left in this pickle for some days,
and should be well basted with it. Then wrap the joint up in oiled
or buttered paper, and baste it well while roasting before a clear
fire. When nearly cooked remove the oiled paper to let the meat take
colour, glaze the joint, and serve with rich gravy and with red
currant jelly. Roe-deer also may be braised, in which case it should
also be well larded. The neck may be jugged like hare, or it can be
made into cutlets, haricot, &c.

Hashed.--Hashed venison is a very popular dish, and the modes of
preparing it are many. The following is a good plan: Cut some cold
haunch or neck of venison into thin slices, and put these aside. Put
any of the venison gravy that may be left, the bones and trimmings,
½ pint red wine, and a little stock into a stewpan, with 4 shallots
chopped very fine, 4 cloves, and 2 spoonfuls of ketchup. Let it
simmer very slowly for 1½ hour, and strain it off. Put a piece of
butter rolled in flour into a stewpan, add the gravy, pepper, and
salt, and let it gradually advance to a boil; then take it off the
fire, and when almost cold put in the venison; let it get quite
hot through without boiling (or the meat may be hardened), and put
it into a hot dish garnished with forcemeat balls or sippets. This
method may also be very successfully applied to cold mutton. Red
currant jelly should be served with either dish.

Pasty.--Venison pasty may be made in 2 ways, either by stewing the
venison first, and then putting it into a pie, or in the following
fashion: Take the breast and shoulder of a buck, remove all the
bones and every particle of skin and sinew, wash thoroughly, and cut
the venison into handsome pieces, saving the fat to put at the top.
Should the venison be short of fat, mutton fat may supply its place
if it be laid in a marinade of vinegar and red wine for 12 hours.
Next proceed to make the paste, by rubbing 2 lb. butter into ½ a
peck flour, and mixing it into a paste with cold water till it is
moderately stiff. Cover the edge and sides of a pasty dish, and lay
in the venison closely, peppering and salting each piece, and put
in 1 gill water. Cover the pie with a piece of paste ½ in. thick,
leaving a hole at the top, and then take the remainder of the paste,
roll it out, add to it ½ lb. butter in lumps, sprinkle some flour
on it, double it and roll it out 4 times; then wet the paste which
already covers the pie, and apply the second paste over it. Make a
round place at the top, and put on a rose, or any ornament you may
think of: put a sheet of paper over the top, and bake for 4 hours in
a sharp oven. When it is done, lift up the rose, and pour in 1 pint
venison gravy; shake it about and serve.

Stew.--(_a_) Shoulder and breast of venison are rarely roasted, it
being far more artistic to stew them or put them into a pasty. To
stew a breast or shoulder of venison the skin and bones should first
be carefully removed and the meat rolled or skewered together: then
put into a stewpan with 1 qt. water, ½ pint red wine, a bundle of
sweet herbs, cloves and mace in a bag, and a little pepper and salt,
and stew very gently for about 3 hours. Then take out the meat, skim
off the fat, take out the spice and herbs, throw in a piece of butter
rolled in flour, and boil till it is thick and smooth; then season
with a _soupçon_ of cayenne pepper, put in the meat again, make it
hot and serve in a hot dish with the sauce over. Currant jelly should
be served with this very nice and inexpensive dish.

(_b_) Venison may also be cut into steaks or chops and broiled on a
well anointed gridiron, but although very wholesome, it is not so
toothsome in any way as when roasted or stewed. A neck of venison may
also be divided into cutlets, which should be beaten with a cutlet
bat, pared neatly and larded with finely-cut bacon. Next a stewpan
is lined with bacon and bacon trimmings and minced vegetables, the
cutlets are put in and covered with good stock. The liquid should be
allowed to boil up and diminish to one-half. When the cutlets are
done they may be taken out, and the sauce strengthened with a little
port wine strained and poured over the cutlets, which may be served
on a cushion of tomato sauce.

_Wildfowl_ (Canard, Halbran). Grilled.--Take a tender fat young
mallard or pintail, or a brace of widgeon, split down the back, after
removing the head, neck, and wing bones, truss as for a spatchcock,
carefully take out the breast bone, rub the inside with mushroom
powder, chop up small the bones and trimmings, simmer slowly with the
gizzard and liver for about ½ hour in a little good brown stock, add
1 teaspoonful made mustard, 2 large teaspoonfuls port wine, a little
pepper and salt, and either some cayenne or else Chili vinegar; let
it boil for a short time and strain. Grill the birds over a clear
fire--a mallard or pintail will take about 20 minutes, widgeon 15
minutes--serve very hot, pour the boiling gravy over, first squeezing
into it the juice of half a lemon.

Roast.--Wild duck should not be dressed too soon after being killed.
In cold, dry weather it will be more tender and finer flavoured after
keeping 7-8 days. Roast before a quick, clear fire, ardent enough
to throw out a great heat. Let it remain without basting, for 5-6
minutes, to keep the gravy in, afterwards baste incessantly with
plenty of butter. A few minutes before serving lightly dredge with
flour, then baste and send to table brown and frothed. Wild duck, if
overdone, loses its flavour; 20-25 minutes before the right kind of
fire, will be sufficient. Serve on a very hot, dry dish. If dressed
to perfection, the duck will give sufficient gravy. Send to table as
hot as possible, with a cut lemon and sauce.

Salmis.--(_a_) Cut up any cold wildfowl, draw the gravy from the
bones and trimmings by simmering in brown stock seasoned with
minced shallot, pepper and salt; let it do slowly for ½ hour, then
add 2 glasses port wine or claret, 1 teaspoonful Chili vinegar, 1
tablespoonful mushroom ketchup, and 1 of Worcester sauce, let it
boil 10-15 minutes longer and then strain; pour the gravy over the
cold bird in another stewpan, bring gently to the boil, add a little
cayenne and lemon juice and serve very hot.

(_b_) Take any kind of wildfowl, half roast them, when cold cut into
nice pieces, removing the skin; place the meat on one side. Then take
the trimmings, head, neck, wings, bones, liver and gizzard, back, &c.
Break all up small, place in a stewpan with some pepper and salt, a
green chili, or if not procurable a little cayenne pepper, 2 shallots
minced fine, and some good brown stock, simmer slowly for 1 hour,
then add 1 oz. butter, into which a little flour has been rubbed,
let it thicken, then strain; put the game into another stewpan, pour
over the gravy, adding ½ pint button mushrooms or a small tin of
champignons, boil up slowly and serve very hot, with a few slices of
lemon and fried sippets for garnish.

_Woodcock._ Roast.--Remove the gizzard from each bird, truss and
wrap the birds in bacon, and roast them at a brisk fire, basting
them continually with butter. Place a slice of toast in the dripping
pan to catch the trail, and serve the birds on that toast. Plain
white sauce to be served in a boat with them. Time of roasting 10-15
minutes.

Toast.--See Snipe.


=Vegetables.=--_Artichokes._--Boiled.--Parboil the artichokes for
10 minutes in water, with vinegar or lemon juice and salt to taste.
Take them out, cutting off all the leaves and removing the “choke,”
trim them neatly in the shape of diminutive pattypans. Lay them in
a saucepan with plain white stock, and let them simmer gently till
done. Drain them on a cloth. Arrange them on their dish, and pour
over them some white sauce, made as follows: Mix in a saucepan 1½
oz. butter and 1 tablespoonful flour, stir in ½ tumblerful white
stock or even hot water, add pepper and salt to taste, then stir in
off the fire the yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon
and strained.

Fried.--Cut 2 green artichokes into 8 or more “quarters,” according
to the size of the artichoke, and trim off all that is uneatable from
each, putting them as they are trimmed in cold water with the juice
of a lemon squeezed into it to prevent their turning black. When the
“quarters” are all done, dip them in batter, see that each piece is
well coated with it, and fry them in plenty of boiling lard; serve
piled on a napkin and garnished with fried parsley.

Stewed.--Prepare the artichoke quarters as for fried. Boil them in
salt and water, with a lemon squeezed into it, till nearly done. Melt
2 oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, add as
much water as will make sufficient sauce, then pepper, salt, and a
little powdered nutmeg to taste; lay the artichokes in this, and when
quite done stir in, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs strained and
beaten up with the juice of a lemon.

Stuffed.--Fill each with as much of the following forcemeat as
it will hold: Pound to a paste, in a mortar slightly rubbed with
garlic, equal parts of raw veal and ham, then pass them through a
wire sieve and return them to the mortar; work into the paste thus
obtained a fourth of its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity
of breadcrumbs soaked in milk, with the yolks of one or more eggs,
according to quantity; add, according to taste, pepper, salt, and a
little grated nutmeg. Lay them all in a well-buttered saucepan, pour
round as much tomato sauce as may be necessary, and let them simmer
gently on a slow fire till done; or they may be cooked in a baking
dish in the oven, in which case a buttered paper should be laid over
them.

_Asparagus._--Boiled.--Scrape each head with the back of a knife and
tie the asparagus in small bundles of 1 doz. heads each; cut off
the ends evenly. Put them into a panful of fast-boiling water, with
plenty of salt, and in about 10 minutes they will be done. Drain at
once, untie the bundles, and serve on a napkin with the following
sauce in a boat: 3 parts olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, a little
mustard, plenty of pepper and salt to taste, beaten up with a fork
until perfectly amalgamated.

_Beetroot._--Baked.--Wash, but be careful not to cut them; put them
into a very slack oven for about 8 hours. When cold peel them and
dress them as follows: Chop ½ onion finely, put it into a saucepan
with a piece of butter. When it begins to take colour, add the
beetroot, cut up into large dice, pepper and salt to taste, and 2 or
3 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar. When quite hot serve.

Boiled.--Wash the beetroot as for baked, and put it into fast-boiling
salted water, to boil 1-2 hours, according to size, then dress as
baked.

With Cream Sauce.--Boil the beetroot, and when cold peel and slice
it; stew the slices until quite hot in some well-flavoured white
stock well freed from grease; strain off the stock, and stir into
it, off the fire, the yolk of an egg beaten up with a little milk
or cream. Arrange the beetroot in a dish, pour the sauce over, and
serve; or serve plainly, boiled with a cream sauce made without
stock. If wanted cold, serve with a mayonnaise sauce, or with a
little plain cream poured over, and with a seasoning of pepper and
salt.

_Broad Beans._--Boiled.--Shell very young and newly gathered beans as
much as possible all of a size. Boil them in plenty of fast-boiling
salted water, with a sprig or two of savoury. When quite done, which
is to be ascertained by tasting one, drain them and serve with the
following sauce, either in a sauce-boat, or poured over them. Mix 2
oz. butter in a saucepan with 1 tablespoonful flour, add 1 tumblerful
boiling water, pepper and salt to taste, and plenty of minced
parsley; stir well until the sauce boils.

_Broccoli and Cauliflower._--Au Gratin.--Boil a cauliflower,
previously well washed and trimmed, in plenty of water, with a due
quantity of salt; be careful not to overboil it; about 10 minutes
will do it. Try the stem with a thin iron skewer, and the moment it,
is soft remove the saucepan from the fire, and put the cauliflower
to drain on a hair sieve. When it is quite cold, cut it up neatly
and carefully, place the roughest pieces flat on a well-buttered
dish, so as to form a sort of foundation; sprinkle this with pepper
and salt, a little nutmeg, and cover it well with grated Parmesan
cheese, dispose the remaining and best pieces on the top, add more
pepper, salt, and nutmeg, cover with grated Parmesan, add a few baked
breadcrumbs, and pour over all a little liquefied butter; bake in a
quick oven 15-20 minutes, and serve. Rubbing the dish with garlic is
an improvement.

Dressed.--Trim and boil a nice firm cauliflower; it should not be
over large, and should be boiled with care, that it may be tender
without being broken. To secure this it should not boil too quickly,
and there should be put into the water used either a little common
or a little soda carbonate and 1 tablespoonful salt. When done, take
up carefully on a sieve to drain, and keep warm while you make the
following sauce: Put into a clean stewpan 3 oz. fresh butter; let it
dissolve on the stove, but do not let it get so hot that it will oil.
Now mix with it 1 dessertspoonful cornflour, and pour on it ¼ pint
boiling water and a little cream and let it boil up. Now put into it
1 teaspoonful chopped parsley and ¼ teaspoonful chopped onion. Let
these boil 1 minute; take from the fire and stir into the sauce the
beaten yolks of 2 or 3 fresh eggs, 1 tablespoonful chili vinegar, and
a little salt. Divide the cauliflower into tufts, and arrange neatly
on a dish. Pour the sauce over, put some sippets of toast round, and
serve.

With White Sauce.--Pick out all the green leaves from a couple of
broccoli, and cut off the stalks close. Put them head downwards
into a saucepan full of boiling salted water. When done pick them
out into sprigs and arrange them head downwards in a pudding basin,
which must have been made quite hot. Press them in gently, then turn
them out dexterously on a dish, and pour over them the following
sauce, boiling hot: Melt 1½ oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it 1
tablespoonful flour, and then add ½ pint boiling water; stir till it
thickens; add salt and white pepper to taste; then take the saucepan
off the fire and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with the juice
of a lemon and strained.

_Brussels Sprouts._--Boiled.--(_a_) Take about 1 qt. sprouts all of a
size, not larger than walnuts, throw them into salt and water for 10
minutes, then put them in fast-boiling water, in which you have put
a small piece of soda to preserve the green colour. When nearly done
pour off the water, and put in as much fresh butter as you can lift
on a teaspoon; toss the pan gently, but do not stir and keep the lid
on by the side of the fire until you have prepared the sauce, which
must be made of good stock, with some of the red gravy from roast
beef added; take a breakfastcupful, and bring it to a boil, then mix
a teaspoonful of cornflour in cold water; add a little browning and
some Harvey’s sauce, or any other brown sauce, then pour the boiling
stock on; give one boil up, and strain the sauce into the pan with
the Brussels sprouts. Let them remain closely covered, and, when
dishing up, squeeze a little lemon juice into the sauce.

(_b_) Trim each sprout neatly, and wash them in several waters. Put
them to boil in plenty of boiling salted water, and, when almost
done, strain them and dry them in a cloth. Put them in a saucepan
with a large piece of butter, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg to
taste. Toss them gently on the fire until they are quite cooked.

_Cabbage._--Boiled.--(_a_) Take 2 summer cabbages, trim off all the
outer leaves, cut the cabbages in half lengthwise, and steep them in
salted water for an hour, then throw them into fast-boiling water,
and when they have boiled 20 minutes change the water for fresh
boiling water, salted to taste. Let them boil till quite done. Put
them on a sieve in the screen to drain all the water from them, and
serve.

(_b_) First boil it very well, then chop it up with a little butter,
add a small quantity of vinegar and pepper, and then fry it for 2
minutes; grate a little Parmesan cheese, and when ready to serve pour
some melted butter over the cabbage and sprinkle the grated cheese
over it.

Cold Slaugh.--Cut a head of hard white cabbage into very fine
shavings; it is seldom shaved fine enough. For 1 qt. cabbage take
the yolks of 3 eggs, beat them well; stir into 1½ tumbler vinegar
2 spoonfuls loaf sugar, 1 tablespoonful olive oil, 1 of thick
sweet cream, or a piece of butter as large as a walnut, 1 heaped
teaspoonful mustard, salt and pepper to taste; mix with the egg, and
put this sauce into a stewpan; when hot add the cabbage, stew until
thoroughly hot, which will only require 4-5 minutes. Toss it up from
the bottom with a silver or wooden fork; take it up and set where it
will become perfectly cold--on ice is best. The quantity of vinegar
would depend upon its strength.

Hot Slaugh.--Take a fine hard head of white or red cabbage, shred it
very finely, and put it into a stewpan with a piece of butter the
size of an egg, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoonful chili and 1 of tarragon
vinegar. Cover the stewpan and toss gently for about 5 minutes, when
the cabbage should be thoroughly hot through. Care must be taken not
to overcook hot slaugh, as it should be borne in mind that this very
agreeable dish is a hot salad, and not stewed cabbage, and should
therefore retain its crispness.

Stuffed.--Parboil a small cabbage or savoy, leaving it whole. Mince
very finely any remains of cold meat, and half the quantity of beef
suet, add a small quantity of chopped shallot, pepper, salt and
minced herbs to taste, the same quantity of fine breadcrumbs as of
suet, and the yolks of 2 or more eggs. Make an incision on the top
of the cabbage, open the leaves lightly, insert the forcemeat and
tie up the cabbage with thread. Line a saucepan with bacon, lay in
the cabbage with a little stock or broth; simmer on the fire for 2-3
hours. At the time of serving, remove the thread from the cabbage;
strain the sauce, free it from excess of fat, thicken with butter and
flour, and pour it over the dish.

_Cardoons._--Boiled.--Cut the stalks into convenient lengths, remove
the prickles on either side of them, and parboil them for 15 minutes
in salted water; drain them, and scrape and rub off the outer skin
from each piece, putting them into cold water as they are done. When
they are all ready, finish cooking them as artichokes.

_Carrots._--À la Maître D’Hôtel.--Trim each carrot neatly, cut it in
half, and boil them in salted water; when done drain off the water,
add a piece of butter to the carrots, some parsley finely minced, a
dust of pepper, a little powdered sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. Give
the saucepan a toss or two on the fire to keep the contents hot till
wanted.

À la Flamande.--When parboiled and drained, put the carrots into a
saucepan with a piece of butter, a pinch of sugar, and as much water
as may be necessary for sauce, add some finely minced parsley and
white pepper and salt to taste. Let the carrots simmer till done
(about 15 minutes), shaking them occasionally. Beat up together the
yolks of 2 eggs and ½ gill cream, stir this into the carrots off the
fire and serve.

À la Nivernaise.--Cut out the red portion of some carrots to the
shape of olives, parboil and then put them into a saucepan with
plenty of butter, a little pounded loaf sugar, pepper, and salt;
add a little stock to prevent their burning, and keep shaking the
saucepan till they are cooked.

_Celeriac._--Boiled.--Peel the roots, and cut them into quarters or
in slices; throw them into boiling salted water, and let them boil
till quite done; drain them, and serve with white sauce.

_Celery._--Boiled.--Trim the roots, and cut to the same length (about
6 in.) 3 heads celery, wash them carefully, tie them together with
string; put them in a saucepan with an onion, a blade of mace, some
whole pepper, salt, and sufficient boiling water to cover them. Let
them boil till quite done, then drain them, remove the string, and
serve with the following sauce over them: Melt 1 oz. butter in a
saucepan, and mix with it 1 dessertspoonful flour, add as much of the
water in which the celery was boiled as is wanted to make the sauce,
put in salt to taste, and stir in off the fire the yolk of an egg
beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained.

On Toast.--Trim the roots, and cut to the same length (about 6 in.) 3
heads of celery, wash them carefully, tie them together with string,
parboil them a few minutes, and drain them. Put a layer of bacon
in a saucepan, lay the celery on this, with an onion and a carrot
sliced, a bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, salt, a blade of mace, or a
few cloves; fill up with enough stock just to cover the celery, and
let it gently simmer till done. Take some of the liquor well freed
from fat, thicken it with a little flour and butter; pour it on a
dish. Have ready a number of slices of bread cut to a uniform shape,
and fried in butter; arrange them on the sauce in a circle, disposing
half a head of celery on each.

Stewed.--Trim and cut to the same length a number of heads of celery,
split them in two lengthwise, tie them in bundles with thread, and
parboil them for 10 minutes in salted water. Drain them, and arrange
them in a saucepan over slices of bacon, with a bundle of sweet
herbs, 2 onions, pepper and salt to taste, and a blade of mace. Add
enough stock just to cover the contents, and simmer gently till the
celery is quite tender. Having removed the string, dispose the celery
neatly on a dish; take some of the stock in which it has been stewed,
remove all fat from it, add a small piece of fresh butter, pour it
over the celery, and serve.

_Dandelions._--Pick before they blossom, and cut roots off just below
the leaves, thus keeping them together. They should be picked over
well, washed in cold spring water, chopped up into ½ in. lengths,
and boiled with a little salted water, or steamed over salted water;
the latter method is preferable. Spread a cloth over a colander,
drain the dandelions through it, and squeeze out all the water; chop
up fine, and put into a saucepan with a small lump of butter and
some salt; stir it over the fire for a few minutes, then turn on
to a hot dish, put a soup plate over it and set it over steam for
a few seconds, remove the soup plate, cut it or mark it in squares
like spinach, garnish with sippets and serve. Dandelions will be
found more bitter in taste than spinach; if lemon juice is added to
them while cooking, and a very little powdered white sugar, this
bitterness will be counteracted. (Eliot-James.)

_Egg-Plant Fruit._--Boil the fruit until tender, halve them
lengthwise, and scoop out the inside, leaving a shell about ½
in. thick. Take a small quantity of any kind of meat or poultry
previously cooked and well freed from fat, skin, and gristle;
mince it finely, and then pound it quite smooth with the pulp of
the vegetable (not the seeds), and with some sweet herbs, chopped
mushrooms, or any flavouring preferred; season the whole with pepper
and salt, toss it for a few minutes in a saucepan with a piece of
butter, and a little stock to moisten it (if necessary), fill the
cavities with this mixture, add a layer of fried breadcrumbs, pour
over them some liquefied butter, put them into the oven for a few
minutes, and serve very hot.

_French Beans._--The nice flavour of this wholesome vegetable depends
not only on its freshness, but also on the mode of cooking. When
very young and very small, it is better not to cut them, but simply
take off the tops and tails, and a thin stringy strip at each side
of the bean, then wash, but do not leave them in water. Throw them
into a saucepan of fast-boiling water, with 1 tablespoonful salt to
each ½ gal. water. Boil quickly, with lid off, till tender, and at
once drain in a colander, taking care to shake or press gently with
a wooden spoon, every drop of water from them; serve very hot, with
pieces of fresh butter between each layer of beans. When the beans
are not so young or so small, they should be cut into thin, slanting
strips, and dressed in the same way.

_Haricot Beans._--(_a_) Soak them for 12 hours, put them in a
saucepan of cold water, let it come gradually to the boil, then
simmer till quite tender; drain and put them at once into a stewpan,
with some fresh butter, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little
lemon juice, toss them well, and serve very hot.

(_b_) The usual way in America for cooking white haricot beans is in
the old-fashioned New England dish, “pork and beans.” Parboil a piece
of the middling of salt pork, and score the skin. Allow 1 lb. to 1
qt. of the dried beans which must be soaked overnight in lukewarm
water. In the morning put them on to boil in cold water; when they
are soft drain off the water, put the beans in a deep dish, half bury
the pork in the middle, adding a very little warm water. Bake a nice
brown. Some like a dessertspoonful of sugar mixed in with the beans
before placing them in the dish.

_Jerusalem Artichokes._--Wash them well, peel and shape them to a
uniform size; throw them into boiling salted water, and let them boil
15-20 minutes; drain them at once thoroughly; put them on a dish and
serve with the following sauce poured over them: Mix over the fire
1½ oz. butter, with 1 tablespoonful flour; add ½ pint boiling water,
white pepper, and salt to taste; stir till the sauce thickens, then
take the saucepan off the fire, and stir in the yolks of 2 eggs,
beaten up with ½ gill cream.

_Laver_ or _Sloke_.--Only good during the winter months. After being
gathered and washed and picked clean, put it with water into an iron
pot, and boil it until it is a pulp. If too thick, add a little more
water, taking care it does not burn. It cannot be boiled too much,
and the darker the colour the better laver it is. It will keep fresh
for a week, and when wanted for table it must be heated, with a lump
of butter put in, and served in a silver saucepan, which is kept hot
by the fire. Laver is eaten with roast meat, with pepper and vinegar.
Lemon juice is preferable to vinegar.

_Lentils._--(_a_) Soak in cold water for 24 hours. Boil in plain
water for 2½ hours, drain off the water, put with the lentils in the
saucepan a small lump of butter, a little pepper and salt; stir well
together and serve hot. Another way is to soak as above, and stew in
good beef tea, gravy, or thin soup for 2½ hours. The German lentils
are the best.

(_b_) Fry 3 or 4 onions sliced, in 1 oz. butter. Put into a saucepan
with ½ pint red lentils, and 1 pint water; simmer 1 hour, then add
1 dessertspoonful curry powder and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice. Serve
with boiled rice.

_Mushrooms._--(_a_) Chop up half a small punnet of mushrooms,
having first taken off the skins and stalks; also a handful of
washed parsley and 3 small shallots. Scrape ¼ lb. ham, of which the
proportions of fat and lean should be about equal; if the ham be
too lean, some fat of bacon can be used with it. Also chop a little
thyme. Mix all well together, seasoning with pepper and salt, and
fry them over the fire for a few minutes, and until done; then mix
in the yolks of 3 eggs, and set it aside while the mushrooms are
preparing (these must be large ones); take off the skins and stalks,
and, having trimmed the edges neatly, fill each one with some of
the above preparation. Spread a sautépan thickly with butter, place
the mushrooms in it side by side, shake some raspings of bread
plentifully over them, and set them in the oven for about ¼ hour;
they should be nicely browned. Arrange them on a dish in the form
of a pyramid, and pour round them a little of the following sauce,
which must have been previously prepared and be waiting hot and ready
for use: Chop 2 shallots, wash them in several waters to take away
the strong taste, wring them dry in the corner of a napkin, and put
them into a stewpan with about 1 doz. small white mushrooms finely
minced; add a little thyme, a small bay leaf, and a dessertspoonful
of salad oil; shake these together over the fire for 5 minutes; add 1
small wineglassful white French wine, and then set it on to reduce to
half its quantity; moisten this with a little good white sauce; let
it boil up, free it from the oil, take out thyme and bay leaf. Let
it be of the consistency of ordinary sauces, which can be regulated
by adding a little white stock if too thick, or boiling up to reduce
if too thin. When ready, set it aside in a small stewpan to keep hot
till wanted.

(_b_) Pick and peel ½ pint mushrooms, wash them well, put them into
a lined saucepan with ½ pint plain white sauce, made with rice, new
milk, and well seasoned with mace, salt and paper, white or cayenne
as preferred. Let the mushrooms stew until quite tender, then add 1
spoonful butter rolled in arrowroot sufficient to thicken it; simmer
a few minutes longer and serve.

(_c_) Skin and wash the mushrooms, then dry in a cloth; butter each
one on the inside, sprinkle salt and pepper over, and grill until
tender.

(_d_) Peel 1 pint mushrooms and cut off their stalks; boil these and
the parings; when ready, strain. Put the mushrooms, chopped fine,
into a stewpan; pour in the gravy, add some chopped parsley, season
well with pepper and salt, and stew the whole gently for 40 minutes
over a moderate fire. Beat up 6 eggs, mix with the other ingredients;
have ready some buttered cups, pour the mixture into them, and bake
quickly; turn out on to a hot dish, and serve with white sauce.
(Eliot-James.)

_Nettles._--In some parts of Scotland the young shoots of nettles
are used as greens, but chiefly by the poor. This is probably the
result of prejudice. The following recipes will be found excellent
as a vegetable: (_a_) Select the light green tops and leaves of the
nettles, wash them carefully in 2 waters; a little salt and a small
piece of soda should be dissolved in the second water. Boil till
quite tender, then turn them into a colander and press them quite
dry. Place on a hot vegetable or entrée dish, scoring them backwards
and forwards 3 or 4 times. Place a small piece of butter the size
of a walnut in the centre, and pepper and salt and send very hot to
table. Melted butter can be served separately if desired. (_b_) A
more savoury way of dressing the nettle tops would be the following.
Wash and prepare the tops as before, drain and dry them, then chop
them into a fine mince. Put this mince into a stewpan, in which has
been placed a little good stock or gravy; add to this a pinch of
salt, a little pepper and powdered sugar, and a squeeze of lemon
juice, or, if liked, a little finely chopped onion. When ready to
serve thicken with a little flour and butter, and a teaspoonful of
cream. Place on toast, and serve very hot with poached eggs, or
garnish with hard-boiled eggs cut in slices.

_Olives._--Stir some chopped parsley and scallions into some butter
melted over the fire. Moisten with some gravy or good broth, a glass
of white wine, some capers, and an anchovy pounded in a spoonful of
olive oil. Put into this sauce some olives, which have previously
been stoned by peeling the fruit spirally off the nuts with a sharp
knife. Bring it to the boil, and thicken the sauce with a little
light colouring of butter and flour, made separately. If liked, the
stones of the olives can be replaced by a veal stuffing, which has
been cooked first.

_Onions._--(_a_) Cut off the roots close of 2 Spanish onions, and
remove the outer peels or any that are in the least dry, then parboil
them in salted water for 10 minutes; dry them in a cloth, and cut
them in half lengthwise. Put them in a saucepan over a slice of fat
bacon, add a faggot of sweet herbs, 2 or 3 cloves, and some whole
pepper, with salt to taste; pour in a sufficient quantity of very
good stock to just cover them, and let them stew gently for 2 hours.
Strain off a portion of the liquor, free it from superfluous fat,
reduce it by letting it boil for ¼ hour, dish up the onions, pour the
reduced sauce over, and serve.

(_b_) Peel off the very outer skins, cut off the pointed ends like
a cigar, put them in a deep dish, and put a piece of butter and a
little salt and pepper on the place where the point has been cut off,
cover them with a plate or dish, and let them bake for not less than
3 hours. They will throw out a delicious gravy.

_Parsnips._--(_a_) Scrape and boil some parsnips, then cut each
lengthwise in 4, and fry them very brown, and dish in twos and twos.
There is no vegetable so nourishing as parsnip, and when done in this
way is much more tasty than the English way.

(_b_) Boil 4 or 5 parsnips till tender, mash them up, and add 1
teaspoonful flour, 1 beaten egg, and a little salt; make the mixture
into small cakes with a spoon, and fry them in butter a delicate
brown. Serve on a napkin.

_Peas._--Melt ¼ lb. butter in a saucepan, then add 1½ pint young
peas, pepper and salt to taste, 2 small onions (whole), a small bunch
of parsley, and half a head of lettuce, tied up together, and a pinch
of sugar. Toss on a slow fire till the peas are cooked, then remove
the parsley, lettuce, and onions, and serve with a little finely
minced parsley mixed in the peas.

_Potatoes._--(_a_) With Cream.--Put into a stewpan a piece of butter
rolled in flour, 1 gill cream, pepper, salt, and a very little
nutmeg, also the juice of half a lemon; stir these over the fire till
boiling. Then add slices of freshly boiled new potatoes, and after
warming them up in the above sauce, serve very hot.

(_b_) A la Russe.--Cut some raw potatoes into dice, after washing
and peeling, and fry them in olive oil, with half the quantity of
mushrooms finely minced.

(_c_) Au Gratin.--Put a few spoonfuls of good white sauce into a
stewpan with a ¼ lb. grated Parmesan cheese, and half that quantity
of butter, also the yolks of 4 eggs, a small piece of glaze, lemon
juice, pepper and salt, and nutmeg; stir all this over the fire until
well mixed, but it must not boil. Cut some potatoes into slices,
stick some well-pointed three-cornered croutons of fried bread round
the edge of the dish, standing up to form a border, and place a close
row of slices of potato within it, and a layer over the centre of the
dish: spread a layer of the cheese preparation over them, then repeat
the potatoes and mixture till the dish is complete, and smooth some
of the sauce over the top. Shake breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan over
the surface, so as to quite cover it, and put the whole into the oven
for about ¼ hour, or until warmed through, and a nice colour.

(_d_) Balls.--Take ½ doz. potatoes, boil them, pass them through a
sieve, and work into them, in a bowl, 1 gill of cream and the yolks
of 3 eggs; add pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste, and some parsley
finely chopped. When they are well mixed and smooth, take them up
by tablespoonfuls, roll each in a ball, flatten it, and flour it
slightly. Lay them all in a sautépan with plenty of butter melted,
and cook them slowly. Turn them over when one side is done, and serve
hot as soon as both sides are coloured.

(_e_) Cut very thin slices right across the largest potatoes; lay the
slices in flat layers on a small plate that will bear the heat of the
oven. Spread fresh butter freely over the potatoes; then add another
layer, and so on until the potatoes are about 4 in. high. Give ½ lb.
fresh butter to 2 large potatoes. Bake until the potatoes are tender,
about ½ hour, in a quick oven.

(_f_) Fried.--Pare some potatoes so as to give each the form of a
cylinder, then cut each cylinder in slices ⅛ in. thick. By this means
all the pieces of potato will be the same size. Dry them thoroughly
in a napkin; put them in the frying basket, and fry them a light
colour in plenty of lard; drain, sprinkle freely with salt, and serve.

(_g_) Rissoles.--Take cold meat, veal or ham, cut it small and season
with pepper, salt, cut pickles, and a little parsley; moisten with a
little stock. Mash some potatoes and make them into a paste with the
yolks of 1 or 2 eggs. Put some of the seasoned meat on one half, and
fold over like a puff. Fry a light brown.

(_h_) Stewed.--Rub a saucepan with a clove of garlic, put 2 oz.
butter into it, and when it is melted add 6 potatoes, peeled, and cut
in quarters. Put in a little hot water, pepper and salt to taste, a
small quantity of grated nutmeg, some minced parsley, and the juice
of ½ lemon. Let the whole stew slowly till the potatoes are quite
done.

(_i_) Cakes.--The following is an old country recipe for potato
cakes: 1 lb. mashed potatoes, 2 oz. butter, 1 lb. flour, ½ teacupful
cream, a pinch of salt, and 1 egg; roll out the cakes thin, and bake
in a quick oven.

(_j_) Mashed.--Boil some potatoes, and pass them through a coarse
hair sieve. Put them into a saucepan with a good lump of butter, and
salt to taste; add a little milk, and work them well with a spoon on
a slow fire for some minutes, adding small quantities of milk as they
get dry.

(_k_) Calecannon.--Potatoes and greens mixed together, is an
agreeable mixture and forms a pleasant change. The greens and
potatoes are boiled separately, the former squeezed, when
sufficiently dressed, quite dry and chopped up very fine; the latter
mashed, the chopped greens added to them, with butter, pepper, and
salt to taste, and the yolk of 1 egg or more. A pudding dish should
be well buttered, the mixture put into it, and placed in a hot oven
for about 6-7 minutes; the contents of the basin then turned out and
served on a vegetable dish.

_Pumpkin._--Take a slice of pumpkin, remove the rind, and cut the
pulp into large dice, having first removed the pips. Put them into
a saucepan with a piece of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and a
little water. Let it stew slowly till quite done, then either mash it
up with a spoon or pass it through a sieve. Mix a little flour and
butter into a saucepan, add the pumpkin pulp and a little milk or
cream, also a pinch of sugar and a little grated nutmeg. Work it well
on the fire, and serve with sippets of bread, fried in butter, round
it.

_Red Cabbage._--(_a_) Wash, trim, and cut up a large cabbage into 5
or 6 slices. Put them into boiling water for ¼ hour; then stew them
gently in broth till quite tender; drain, and serve with reduced
brown gravy, flavoured with a dash of lemon juice or vinegar. If
very small, they may be dressed whole in the same manner. (_b_) A
Flemish recipe: Wash and trim a cabbage, put it into a saucepan, with
sufficient cold water to cover it; let it come gradually to the boil,
then add 4 or 5 apples peeled, cored, and quartered, a small piece
of butter, pepper and salt; stew gently till quite tender, strain,
add to the liquor a thickening of butter and flour, 1 teaspoonful
vinegar, and 1 of currant or gooseberry jelly. Dish the cabbage with
the apples round it, and the sauce over. (_c_) Having well washed the
cabbage, shred it very small, and put it, with a slice of ham minced,
into a stewpan with some melted grease (from the pot-au-feu), add
an onion stuck with cloves, pepper and salt; simmer gently--tossing
frequently--till quite tender. Just before serving remove the onion
and cloves, add the yolks of 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoonful vinegar; serve
very hot with fried sausages.

_Salsify._--(_a_) Boiled.--Scrape the roots, cut them in short
lengths, and throw them into vinegar and water as they are being
done. Boil them till tender in salted water, drain them, toss them
into a saucepan with a piece of butter, a little lemon juice and some
minced parsley, add salt, and serve.

(_b_) Fried.--When boiled, split each piece in half, and steep them
for ¼ hour in tarragon vinegar with pepper and salt, then drain, dip
them in batter, and fry them in hot lard. Serve with fried parsley.

(_c_) Scolloped.--Boil the salsify as in (_a_), cut them into pieces
½ in. long. Add some cream to the sauce instead of lemon juice and
parsley, with pepper and a little anchovy sauce; put in the salsify,
give them a toss in the sauce, then put them into scollop shells,
squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on each, sprinkle plenty of
breadcrumbs over, and put the shells in the oven to brown.

_Scorzonera._--(_a_) Roots should be prepared by washing, scraping,
and topping, as are carrots; then put them in cold water tied in
small bundles, and boiled till tender, in the same way as asparagus,
serve on toast with butter sauce; this for plain boiling.

(_b_) Fried.--Prepare as in (_a_), and boil till tender; then
dip in a batter made as follows: Beat 2 eggs with ¼ lb. flour, 1
saltspoonful baking powder, and 1 teacupful water until as smooth as
possible, adding the water by degrees; season with salt and pepper.
This batter is very good for frying any vegetables.

(_c_) With Cheese.--Mix some grated Parmesan with butter which has
been melted in white sauce, or plain cream, as preferred. Boil the
scorzonera roots, and lay them neatly in a dish, pour over the sauce,
which has been thoroughly heated, but not allowed to boil, sprinkle
it well all over with grated Parmesan, then brown it in the oven, or
with a salamander.

_Seakale._--(_a_) Trim it and tie it up in bundles, and lay them
in plenty of salted water, boiling fast; when quite done, drain
them well, and serve with a plain salad dressing in a boat, or with
white sauce over. _Salad Dressing_: 1 pinch of salt, 1 of pepper, 2
tablespoonfuls olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, and 1 teaspoonful
mustard. Take the ingredients in the above proportions, and beat them
smooth. _White Sauce_: Put into a saucepan, with 1 pint white stock,
a small onion, one clove, a blade of mace, and a faggot of herbs;
boil for 1 hour, strain, thicken with 1 dessertspoonful arrowroot,
boil up again, and add by degrees ½ pint cream.

(_b_) Choose short, thick kale, trim it carefully and tie it in
bundles, boil in water with plenty of salt; when tender, drain
it carefully and lay it in a dish on toasted bread dipped in the
water the kale has been boiled in; serve with melted butter sauce.
Finely grated cheese sifted over the kale is considered by many
an improvement. In this case the kale should be browned with a
salamander before being sent to table.

_Sorrel._--Pick and wash a quantity of sorrel, put it into a saucepan
with a little water and some salt, when thoroughly done drain off all
the moisture and pass the sorrel through a hair sieve. Amalgamate a
piece of butter and 1 tablespoonful flour in a saucepan on the fire,
put in the sorrel and stir well for some minutes, then add pepper and
salt to taste, and the yolk of 1 egg beaten up with a little cold
stock and strained.

_Spinach._--(_a_) Pick and wash perfectly clean 2-3 lb. spinach, put
it into a saucepan with a little water, and let it boil till quite
done. Turn it out on a hair sieve to drain, throw the water away, and
pass the spinach through the sieve. Put a good lump of butter into a
saucepan with a pinch of flour, mix well, add the spinach, pepper and
salt to taste, and a little milk; stir well and serve.

(_b_) Mashed.--Pick and wash the spinach very carefully, and then put
it into boiling salted water, and boil 10 minutes, or until quite
tender; drain, then pass it through a hair sieve, season with pepper,
salt, and put it into a stewpan with a piece of butter and a few
tablespoonfuls of cream or Béchamel sauce; stir over the fire until
quite hot, and serve either with cutlets, fricandeau, grenadins,
poached eggs, &c., or in a vegetable dish with fried sippets of bread.

_Tomatoes._--(_a_) Baked.--Cut 6 tomatoes in halves, remove the
pips, and fill the inside with a mixture of breadcrumbs, pepper, and
salt, in due proportions; place a small piece of butter on each half
tomato, and lay them then close together in a well-buttered tin. Bake
in a slow oven about ½ hour, and serve. They may be eaten hot or cold.

(_b_) Forced.--Prepare the following forcemeat: 2 oz. mushrooms
minced small, 2 shallots, likewise minced, a small quantity of
parsley, a slice of lean ham chopped fine, a few savoury herbs,
and a little cayenne and salt. Put all these ingredients into a
saucepan with a lump of butter, and stew all together until quite
tender, taking care that they do not burn. Put it by to cool, and
then mix with them some breadcrumbs and the well-beaten yolks of 2
eggs. Choose large tomatoes as nearly of the same size as possible;
cut a slice from the stalk end of each, and take out carefully the
seeds and juice; fill them with the mixture which has already been
prepared, strew them over with breadcrumbs and some melted butter,
and bake them in a quick oven until they assume a rich colour.

(_c_) Meat Pudding.--Cover the bottom of a pudding dish with
breadcrumbs; put on them a layer of underdone meat, cut in thin
slices; then a layer of tomatoes, peeled and also sliced; to 1 pint
add 1 even tablespoonful sugar; then a few bits of butter, pepper,
salt, and a little onion if agreeable; then breadcrumbs, meat, and
tomatoes, repeating until the dish is full; put over all a layer of
breadcrumbs, and bake until a light brown. Serve hot.

(_d_) Stuffed.--Dip some tomatoes in hot water, peel them, cut them
in half, and remove the pips. Rub a baking sheet with shallot, butter
it well, and lay the tomatoes in it, filling each half with the
following composition: 2 parts breadcrumbs, 1 part ham finely minced,
and, according to taste, parsley and sweet herbs also finely minced,
and pepper and salt. Put a small piece of butter on each half tomato,
and bake them ¼ hour. Have ready some round pieces of buttered toast;
on each of these put a half tomato, and serve.

_Truffles._--First prepare the sauce. Put into a small clean stewpan
2 oz. butter, set on the stove, and slice into it 1 onion, 1 carrot,
and a little lean ham cut into squares, fry altogether of a light
brown. Now stir into these 1 dessertspoonful flour, add 1 bay leaf,
a sprig of thyme, a few sprays of parsley, 3 cloves, a small blade
of mace, a little salt and cayenne, and ½ pint of stock. Mix well
together with a wooden spoon, and set on the fire to simmer ½ hour,
taking off the scum as it rises. Next cut from a square loaf a thick
slice of bread; it should be quite 1 in. thick. Scoop out the middle,
so as to make a hollow about half-way through the bread, and fry in
plenty of clean lard to a golden brown. Drain on a sieve and keep
warm. Now wash 6 large truffles, and cut into thin slices, put them
into a sautépan or frying pan, with a little butter and a small
quantity of minced parsley and onion, fry gently about 10 minutes,
taking care they do not get dry when done. Place the truffles in the
hollow of the bread, strain the sauce over, put some of the ham on
the corners of the bread, and sprinkle a little chopped hard-boiled
eggs over the truffles. This makes a very pretty and savoury dish
for the second course, and is a good way of finishing a bottle of
truffles that may have been required for any other purpose.

_Turnips._--(_a_) Boiled.--Take small new turnips, peel, and boil
them in salted water; drain them thoroughly. Melt 1 oz. butter in a
saucepan, add to it 1 dessertspoonful flour, pepper, salt, grated
nutmeg, and a small quantity of milk or cream; put in the turnips;
simmer gently a few minutes, and serve.

(_b_) Mashed.--Take new or old turnips, pare them, and put them to
boil in salted water; when done drain them, squeeze out the water
from them, and pass them through a hair sieve. Put the pulp into a
saucepan with a piece of butter, pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg;
stir well, and moisten with a little milk or cream. Then work them
with a spoon on a slow fire until sufficiently dried up.

_Turnip Tops._--(_a_) When green vegetables are scarce, many people
find desirable dishes made from turnip tops, if properly and
presentably cooked. The growth of these turnip tops may be forced
by placing the roots in a greenhouse, hot frame, or any warm place,
when the tops will soon be seen to begin to sprout, and will prove
far more delicate and edible than the ordinary turnip tops grown in
a garden or field from turnips. When the tops are quite small and
almost white (which they will be if the roots are covered over with
straw) they may be dressed to resemble seakale, with white sauce,
and will be found very delicious, having no strong turnipy flavour.
When grown larger and the leaves are green, the stalks get fibrous
and stringy; the leaves should then be stripped off and boiled with
plenty of water. When sufficiently done, strain and squeeze off the
water as much as possible, mince them fine, and put them through a
sieve as is done with spinach. Serve very hot with sippets of fried
toast, or with gravy if preferred.

(_b_) Take a quantity of turnip tops, picked clean and washed, put
them in a saucepan with a little water. When thoroughly done put
them on a hair sieve to drain. When all the water is thoroughly
drained from them, pass them through the sieve. Mix in a saucepan
1 tablespoonful flour with about 1 oz. butter, add the turnip-top
purée, stir well, put in pepper and salt to taste, and serve hot in a
dish garnished with fried sippets of bread, and lay on the top ½ doz.
poached eggs. Fill a shallow sautépan with water and sufficient salt,
add a little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and some leaves of parsley.
When the water is on the point of boiling (it should never be allowed
to boil) break 2 or more eggs into it (according to the size of the
pan), and put on the cover. When done, take them out carefully, brush
them clean on both sides with a paste brush, and cut each egg with a
round fluted paste cutter, so as to get them of a uniform shape.

_Vegetable Marrow._--(_a_) Parboil 2 moderate-sized marrows, cut in 4
lengthwise, drain them carefully, and dispose them on a well-buttered
dish, previously well rubbed with shallot or slightly rubbed with
garlic. Sprinkle plenty of grated Parmesan over them, pepper and
salt, and grated nutmeg; put a few pieces of butter on the top, and
over all a good sprinkling of very fine baked breadcrumbs. Bake about
20 minutes, and serve in the dish.

(_b_) Stuffed.--Pound to a paste in a mortar, slightly rubbed
with garlic, equal parts veal and ham; then pass them through a
wire sieve, and return them to the mortar. Work into the paste
thus obtained ¼ its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity
of breadcrumbs, with the yolks of 1 or more eggs, according to
quantity. Add some minced parsley, and according to taste, pepper,
salt, spices, and powdered sweet herbs. Cut in half, lengthways,
2 average-sized vegetable marrows; take out the inside, fill each
half with the stuffing, and wrap it up in a piece of white paper
well buttered and tied with string; lay them all close together in
a buttered tin, cover this up with a plate or another tin, and put
it into the oven. When you judge the marrows are quite done, take
them carefully out of the papers, lay them on a dish, and serve with
a small quantity of well-flavoured clear gravy or some tomato sauce
poured over them.


=Salads= (Salade, Mayonnaise).--These consist of uncooked vegetables
dressed with a piquant liquor in which oil and vinegar play a
prominent part.

_Dressings._--The following are favourite recipes for salad dressings.

(_a_) 2 teaspoonfuls mixed mustard, 2 tablespoonfuls salad oil; mix
well, and add 1 teaspoonful powdered sugar, 4 tablespoonfuls good
cream, 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. Sufficient for a salad for 4 persons.

(_b_) 1 teaspoonful unmade mustard, the same of sugar, 1 saltspoonful
salt, and the yolk of a fresh egg, beaten together; mix gradually 1
tablespoonful cream or milk, 2 of vinegar, and 1 or 2 of salad oil
according to taste, with a little cayenne.

(_c_) The yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, cream, vinegar, pepper, salt,
and mustard. Rub the yolks smoothly in a mortar, and add gently 4-5
large tablespoonfuls cream, a small teaspoonful of made mustard,
pepper, salt, and lastly 2 large tablespoonfuls vinegar. Mix well,
and pour over the salad.

(_d_) Put the salad into a bowl after being well drained, sprinkle
with salt and pepper, and pour over 2 tablespoonfuls oil to every
tablespoonful of vinegar. The vinegar should always be added at the
last. On the Continent people often add a spoonful of powdered sugar
to this mixture.

(_e_) 3 tablespoonfuls oil to 1 of vinegar is a better proportion,
and yolks of eggs are not amiss in any salad.

(_f_) Put the lettuce, which should not be wet, in the salad bowl.
Take some sprigs of tarragon, some chervil, 1 or 2 small chives,
and a little bit of parsley, cut into small pieces, mix them with
the lettuce, and sprinkle with a saltspoonful of salt and some
pepper. Put into a tablespoon 1 mustardspoonful of mustard, fill up
the spoon with vinegar, stir well, and pour over the lettuce, then
add 3 tablespoonfuls best salad oil, and mix well. This is better
than mixing the ingredients first. The chervil and tarragon should
never be omitted. The leaves of the common dandelion are also a good
addition to salad, as they have an agreeable, slightly bitter flavour.

(_g_) The yolk of 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 teaspoonful mustard, 2
tablespoonfuls oil, 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar, 1 teaspoonful
common ditto, ½ teaspoonful sugar. Rub the egg very smooth, add a
little salt, then the mustard, then the oil by degrees, working it
with the rest till quite smooth; then add the cream, and lastly the
vinegar.

(_h_) Boil 2 eggs hard, pound up the yolks with 2 tablespoonfuls
vinegar, 1 saltspoon salt, 1 of pepper, and the same of mustard.
When well mixed, add 4 tablespoonfuls oil, and the white of the eggs
chopped very fine.

(_i_) Mix the yolks of 2 unboiled eggs in a basin with a teaspoonful
of salt; whisk; then add, by small quantities, 1 pint finest Florence
oil (salad); mix thoroughly, and add 1 tablespoonful made mustard,
3 tablespoonfuls vinegar, 1 of tarragon vinegar, 1 dessertspoonful
elder vinegar; add to the whole a small spoonful of pounded sugar, a
little cayenne, and a small quantity of salt. Bottle for use.

(_j_) Carefully strain the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin, place it in
a cool place, or, if necessary, on ice; add a teaspoonful of salt,
mix well; then proceed to pour in, a few drops at a time, some salad
oil, without ceasing to stir the mixture. When one spoonful of oil is
well incorporated with the yolks of egg, put in, in the same manner,
a teaspoonful of tarragon vinegar; keep on adding oil and vinegar in
these proportions until you get a sauce the consistency of very thick
cream, then add white pepper to taste, and more salt if necessary.

The subjoined comprise all the vegetables, &c., ordinarily employed
in salads.

_Artichoke_ (de Topinambour).--Take some cold boiled Jerusalem
artichokes and some onions, slice them, and pour over them a mixture
of oil, vinegar, pepper and salt, garnish with cold boiled carrots
cut to the shape of olives, and with some pickled cauliflower and
beetroot.

_Asparagus_ (d’asperges).--Scrape the end of each head with the back
of a knife, and tie them in small bundles of 1 doz. heads each, cut
off all the part of the asparagus which cannot be eaten, put them
into a panful of fast-boiling water, with plenty of salt, and in
about 10 minutes they will be done. Drain them, and leave them to get
cold, then dispose them on a dish previously rubbed with a little
shallot, and pour over them the following sauce: Strain the yolks of
2 eggs into a basin, mix with them a teaspoonful of salt, and then,
without ceasing to stir, pour in, drop by drop, 4 tablespoonfuls oil
and 1 of French white vinegar, adding the vinegar at intervals during
the process of pouring the oil. Lastly, stir in a little pepper;
garnish the dish with slices of hard-boiled eggs.

_Beetroot_ (de Betterave).--(_a_) Take a well-washed beetroot, either
bake it in the oven, or put it into a saucepan of boiling water and
boil for 1-2 hours, according to size; when cold, peel and slice it,
arrange the slices in a dish, and pour over the dressings.

(_b_) Arrange the slices of beetroot with alternate slices of
hard-boiled eggs, pour over them a mixture of ¾ oil and ¼ plain
vinegar, duly flavoured with pepper and salt; garnish the dish with
small button onions, and with sprigs of chervil and tarragon.

(_c_) Slice a cold boiled or baked beetroot, arrange it in slices
overlapping each other, pour over a mixture made with cream, a very
little vinegar, pepper, and salt; garnish the dish with horseradish
and hard-boiled eggs, whites and yolks separate.

_Cabbage_ (de Chou).--(_a_) Wash the greens well, and take off the
outside leaves. Tie them in small bunches, and boil in plenty of
fast-boiling water, drain them in front of the fire, and serve cold
with a mixture of 3 parts oil, 1 of vinegar, pepper and salt to
taste, poured over them.

(_b_) Take some cold boiled Brussels sprouts, and put them into a
dish previously rubbed with garlic or shallot, pour over them a salad
mixture made with 3 parts oil and 1 of vinegar, pepper and salt to
taste; garnish with pickled beetroot and minced sweet herbs.

(_c_) Chop up some greens or cabbage, and serve as in (_b_); garnish
with slices of sausage and pickled gherkins.

_Carrots_ (de Carottes).--Slice some cold boiled carrots, arrange
them in a dish with a dressing made with cream and lemon juice,
or oil and vinegar, with pepper and salt; garnish the dish with
hard-boiled eggs shredded, with minced parsley and capers, and
chopped olives.

_Cauliflower_ (de Chou-fleur).--(_a_) Boil a cauliflower in salted
water till tender, but not overdone; when cold cut up neatly in small
sprigs. Beat up together 3 tablespoonfuls oil, and 1 of tarragon
vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste; rub the dish very slightly
with garlic, arrange the pieces of cauliflower on it, strew over them
some capers, a little tarragon, chervil, and parsley, all finely
minced, and the least bit of dried thyme and marjoram powdered. Pour
the oil and vinegar over, and serve.

(_b_) Pick off the flower from 1 or 2 cold boiled cauliflowers,
dispose them in a dish, and pour over them some dressing made of
cream and lemon juice, or oil and vinegar with pepper and salt to
taste; garnish with minced parsley, powdered sweet herbs, capers,
and, if liked, anchovies and stoned olives.

_Celery_ (de Céleri).--(_a_) Take the inner and tenderest stalks
of 3 heads celery, cut them in strips 1 in. long, and about the
thickness of young French beans. Rub the salad bowl slightly with
shallot or even garlic. Mix the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs with 3
tablespoonfuls salad oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, the least bit of
flour of mustard, and pepper and salt to taste. Add the celery to
this sauce, turn it well over, garnish with the hard-boiled whites,
and if at hand 2 truffles (fresh, not preserved), either minced or
sliced.

(_b_) Cut up some raw or cold boiled celery into convenient lengths,
put these into a salad dish, and mix with them some salad dressing,
to which a small quantity of mustard has been added, garnish with
boiled onions, chopped beetroot, and shredded whites and yolks of
eggs, and cold boiled carrots cut to the shape of olives.

_Cucumber_ (de Concombre).--Pare off the rind of a good-sized
cucumber, slice it as thinly as possible and arrange it on a dish;
sprinkle with pepper and salt; pour over it a mixture made with 3
parts oil and 1 of vinegar.

_Egg_ (aux Œufs).--Wash and bone some anchovies, divide them into
fillets the whole length of the fish. Wash, dry, and divide into
quarters some small lettuces. Boil some eggs (6-8) hard, slice
one-third of them, and chop up quite finely the rest, yolks and
whites separately; arrange these symmetrically in the centre of a
dish well raised in the centre, put the fillets of anchovies on the
top so as to form squares, with a caper in the centre of each square.
Make a border with the quarters of lettuce and the slices of egg,
arranged alternately; sprinkle over the border some finely shred
chervil, and pour over either a mayonnaise sauce or a mixture of 3
parts oil and 1 of tarragon vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste.

_Endive_ (de Chicorée).--(_a_) Wash 2 heads endive, drain them
thoroughly, and cut them up. Wash and cut up in small dice 1 head of
celery. Work to a smooth paste in a basin the yolk of 1 hard-boiled
egg, 1 teaspoonful mustard, white pepper and salt to taste, and the
least bit of cayenne; add by degrees 3 dessertspoonfuls cream, 1 of
tarragon vinegar, and 1 of plain vinegar; stir till quite smooth,
add the salad, work it well, and garnish with pickled gherkins,
hard-boiled eggs and beetroot. The salad should be mixed just before
serving.

(_b_) Pick off the outer leaves of 1 or 2 heads of endive, and wash
them well; when perfectly dry mix with them some salad dressing, made
quite smooth with the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, oil, vinegar,
pepper and salt, and, if liked, a little mustard.

(_c_) The same may be made in a dish previously rubbed with garlic or
shallot, and with dressing, without the eggs, or with cream, vinegar,
pepper and salt; it may be garnished with beetroot and chopped
celery, and hard-boiled eggs.

_Fish_ (au Poisson).--Cut into neat collops any remnants of fish,
steep them for 1 hour in a mixture of 2 parts oil and 1 part vinegar,
with a few slices of onions, a sprig of thyme, pepper and salt, and
parsley. Make a foundation of lettuce, cut into convenient pieces,
in a dish, dispose the fish over it, ornament with beetroot and
hard-boiled eggs, and serve with the following plain mayonnaise
sauce. Put the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin, add salt to taste, then
proceed to pour in, a few drops at a time, some salad oil, without
ceasing to stir the mixture. When about 1 tablespoonful oil is well
incorporated with the yolks of eggs, put in, in the same manner, 1
teaspoonful French vinegar. Keep on adding oil and vinegar in these
proportions until you get a sauce the consistency of very thick
cream. Then add white pepper to taste, and mix well.

_French Bean_ (de Haricots).--String some French beans and boil them
whole in plenty of salted water, when cold dress them with oil,
vinegar, pepper, and salt, some tarragon and capers finely minced,
and garnish with hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, and beetroot. The dish
must be well rubbed with a shallot.

_Game_ (au Gibier).--Cold grouse, partridge, or pheasant may be used
in this way. Cut them into joints, and put them into a pie-dish;
season with salt and pepper, and pour over them the juice of a lemon
and about 2 tablespoonfuls very fresh salad oil; let them remain in
this for 3-4 hours. Having cut up and well dried a fresh lettuce,
place it in a flat dish, and arrange the pieces of game which have
been in the oil and lemon juice neatly in the centre; over the game
pour a salad sauce, which should be of the consistency of thick
cream. Ornament the top with slices of hard-boiled egg, fillets of
well-washed and scraped anchovies, and garnish with tiny sprigs of
parsley. Cold chicken, or the white meat from a cold turkey cut into
small pieces, may be treated in this way.

_Green Pea_ (aux petits Pois).--Put some cold boiled peas--marrowfats
are best--into a dish previously rubbed with a shallot, and pour over
them a mayonnaise sauce or a plain salad dressing, and garnish the
peas with small heads of green mint.

_Lettuce_ (de Laitue).--(_a_) Wash 2 heads lettuce, dry them
thoroughly, and break the leaves or cut them into convenient pieces;
put the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs into a basin with 1 teaspoonful
mustard, pepper and salt to taste, and 1 tablespoonful oil; work the
mixture into a smooth paste, and add consecutively 3 tablespoonfuls
oil and 2 of tarragon vinegar, then add a handful of garden cress, a
little tarragon finely minced, and the whites of the eggs coarsely
chopped. The mixture must be well stirred. Lastly add the lettuce,
turn it well over, and serve.

(_b_) Wash 2 heads lettuce, dry them thoroughly, and put them into
the salad bowl. Take some sprigs of tarragon and chervil, 1 or 2
small chives, and a little bit of parsley, mince them finely, mix
them with the lettuce, and sprinkle with a tablespoonful of salt, and
some pepper. Put into a tablespoon 1 mustardspoonful of mustard, fill
up the spoon with vinegar, stir well, and pour over the lettuce, then
add 3 tablespoonfuls best salad oil, and mix well.

(_c_) Take a lettuce, remove the outer leaves, wash, drain it
thoroughly, and cut it into small pieces; take some fresh-cut garden
cress (also washed and drained), and a few spring onions, put them
in a salad bowl, with the following dressing: Take the yolks of
2 hard-boiled eggs, and rub them quite smooth in a mortar, add a
teaspoonful of mustard, a little cayenne, with black pepper and salt
to taste, and 4-5 tablespoonfuls cream; lastly, add a tablespoonful
of tarragon vinegar; mix well, and it is ready.

_Lobster_ (de Homards).--(_a_) Cut a number of pieces of the flesh
of a lobster into convenient sizes. Have some well-flavoured
aspic jelly, just melt it, pour a layer of it ¼ in. thick, into
a border mould; when it begins to set, arrange the pieces of
lobster, reserving 2 or 3 of the best, in the mould, with leaves
of tarragon; fill up with jelly, and lay the mould on ice to set.
Cut the remainder of the lobster, and dress it with lettuce, as an
ordinary salad. Turn out the border on a dish, fill the inside with
salad heaped up, lay the reserved pieces of lobster on the top, and
ornament with any design made of whites and yolks of eggs, truffles,
and aspic jelly, all finely minced.

(_b_) Take 1 or 2 fresh lobsters, cut up all the flesh into
convenient pieces, reserving the soft part to mix with the dressing,
and a few of the best pieces to ornament the salad. Prepare some
lettuces, as for an ordinary salad, mix the lobster and lettuce
together with a fork in the bowl, and pour over it a mixture made as
for asparagus salad, to which has been added the soft part of the
lobster and a little mustard. Garnish the dish with the pieces of
lobster reserved for the purpose, with the spawn, and with slices of
hard-boiled egg, sprigs of chervil, or tarragon.

_Meat_ (Vinaigrette).--Cut some cold meat into neat slices, brush
them over with oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle a
little vinegar over, and dispose them on a dish, upon a foundation
of lettuce cut into convenient pieces, and ornament with hard-boiled
eggs, beetroot, and pickles. Serve with plain tartare sauce, viz.
put the yolks of 4 eggs into a basin with salt and mustard to taste,
and stir olive oil over them, 1 tablespoonful at a time; after each
tablespoonful oil put in 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar. Keep on
stirring this until the sauce is of the desired consistency; then add
pepper, the least bit of cayenne, and 2 shallots, or a few pickled
gherkins or onions chopped very finely.

_Onion_ (d’oignons).--Cut up a cold boiled Spanish onion and some
cold boiled potatoes, mix with them a dressing made with oil,
vinegar, pepper and salt; sprinkle over some powdered sweet herbs,
and garnish with pickled red cabbage, hard-boiled eggs, stoned and
chopped olives, and capers.

_Oyster_ (des Huîtres).--For this dish some little pail-shaped white
china cups must be procured, in size about the same as a ramakin
case: 6 make a pretty dish, 1 in the centre and 5 round it. In each
cup place an oyster, free from beard, or if very small 2 oysters may
be used. Above add 1-2 teaspoonfuls salad, cut very small, and with
which some good creamy salad-sauce has been mixed. Each cup must be
differently garnished, using for this beetroot, hard-boiled yolk of
egg, hard-boiled white of egg, and mustard and cress, each to be
finely and separately chopped. Fill up one cup with a layer of the
beetroot, with a pinch of the yolk of egg in centre; another with a
layer of white of egg, with a little beetroot in centre; a fourth
with mustard and cress, with beetroot in centre, and so on; ringing
the changes on the above, and taking care that no two are alike. It
is a very pretty dish and very much liked. The little cups should be
served standing on a flat dish, with a napkin beneath to prevent them
from slipping about.

_Potato_ (de Pommes de terre).--(_a_) Rub a dish with a shallot;
dispose on it some cold boiled potatoes cut in slices; beat together
3 parts oil and 1 part (more or less according to strength) tarragon
vinegar, with pepper and salt to taste. Pour this over the potatoes,
and strew over all a small quantity of any of the following: powdered
sweet herbs; mint, parsley, chervil, tarragon, or capers, or a
combination of them all, finely minced.

(_b_) Cut cold boiled potatoes in small cubes. Bone and fillet a few
anchovies, and chop them up; take the same quantity of capers. Mix
all together with some finely-minced tarragon or powdered sweet herbs
and a plain salad dressing as in (_a_). Put on a dish rubbed with
shallot, and make a border round it of pieces of hard-boiled eggs and
stoned olives.

(_c_) Take equal parts cold boiled potatoes and cold boiled Spanish
onions; cut them into convenient pieces; sprinkle powdered sweet
herbs over, and pour over them a salad dressing as in (_a_). Serve
with a border of small radishes.

(_d_) Take 4 or 5 cold boiled potatoes, ½ small beetroot, ½ small
Spanish onion, plainly boiled, and about 3 in. pickled cucumber.
Cut them all in slices, and arrange them on a dish. Pour over them
a salad dressing as in (_a_), adding a little English mustard to
it, and strew powdered sweet herbs over. Serve with a border of
hard-boiled eggs cut in slices.

(_e_) Cut some cold boiled potatoes in slices, arrange them neatly
on a dish, slightly rubbed with shallot or garlic, and pour the
following sauce over them; mince equal quantities of capers and
parsley, and a few leaves of tarragon and thyme; add oil and vinegar
in the proportion of 2 to 1, and pepper and salt to taste; beat all
well together.

(_f_) Pound 6 well-washed anchovies in a mortar, with 2 hard-boiled
yolks of eggs, 1 dessertspoonful French mustard, and a sprig or two
of tarragon; then gradually work in salad oil, add pepper and lemon
juice to taste, and salt if necessary. Strain the sauce over a dish
of sliced cold boiled potatoes, and strew over all plenty of minced
truffles.

_Russian_ (Russe).--Boil some carrots and turnips in salted water
with a small piece of butter, but do not let them be overdone;
when cold cut out of them, with a vegetable scoop, a number of
pieces the size of an olive; cut some beetroot in the same way, and
likewise some truffles. Take equal parts--say a cupful--of each of
the above, and a similar quantity of preserved fresh (not dried)
haricot beans ready cooked, and of asparagus points preserved in
the same way; 2 tablespoonfuls respectively of capers, of French
pickled gherkins, cut into the shape of capers, and of anchovies,
perfectly cleaned, and cut into small pieces; 2 doz. or more olives
stoned, 1 tablespoonful tarragon and chervil minced fine, and half
that quantity of chives, also minced. Mix the whole lightly together
into a sauce, made with raw yolks of eggs, oil, vinegar, pepper, and
salt, well worked together. Ornament with hard-boiled eggs, caviare,
lobster spawn, olives, pickles, truffles, &c. The Spanish preserved
sweet capsicums (Pimientos dulces) are a great addition to the above,
not only for their exquisite taste, but on account of their brilliant
colour.

_Sardine._--Bone and skin some sardines and divide them into fillets;
have ready some lettuces as for an ordinary salad, arrange these in
the centre of the dish, pour over them a plain salad mixture, to
which a little mustard has been added; dispose the fillets all round
alternately with French olives washed and stoned.

_Tomato_ (de Tomates).--(_a_) Peel some good-sized tomatoes, not over
ripe, cut them in slices and remove the pips, lay them in a dish with
oil and vinegar in the proportion of 2 to 1, sprinkle pepper and salt
over them according to taste, a few leaves of basil finely minced,
and some onions very finely sliced. They should lie in the sauce for
2 hours before serving.

(_b_) Take some tinned tomatoes, cut them up, slice very thin a raw
onion, put them into a dish, and pour over them a mixture of 4 parts
oil, 1 of vinegar; pepper and salt to taste; sprinkle with powdered
sweet herbs. The dish may be previously rubbed with garlic or shallot.

_Watercress_ (de Cresson).--(_a_) Take plenty of fresh young sprigs
of watercress, wash them and dry them thoroughly, put them lightly in
a dish, and pour over them a mixture made with 3 parts olive oil and
1 of lemon juice or vinegar.

(_b_) To (_a_) add a few sliced shallots, and garnish with tufts of
scraped horseradish.

(_c_) Pick out a quantity of nice sprigs of watercress, turn them
over in a mixture of 3 parts olive oil and 2 of tarragon vinegar,
with salt _q.s._; then put them round the dish or serve separately in
a bowl.


=Puddings, Pastry, and Sweet Dishes.=--_Agnew Pudding._--Stew 2-3 lb.
apples, peeled and cored, with sugar to taste, and a little lemon
peel, until reduced to a pulp; remove the lemon peel. Whisk 3 eggs to
a froth, and then mix them with the apple pulp and 3-4 oz. butter,
slightly warmed. Beat all well together until quite smooth. Border a
pie dish with puff paste, pour in the mixture, and bake in the oven.

_Albert Pudding._--Beat ½ lb. butter to a cream, add ½ lb. crushed
loaf sugar, ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. chopped raisins, the juice of a lemon,
some candied peel cut very fine; mix all well together, beat 6 eggs
(yolks and whites separately), mix all together, put into a mould,
boil 3½ hours. Serve with wine sauce.

_Alexandra Ice Pudding._--Make 1 pint custard of milk or cream and
the yolks of 4 eggs, and sugar to taste; break up and sift through a
sieve ¼ lb. ratafia cakes; mix this with the custard, adding a few
drops of extract of bitter almonds and freeze to 22° F. Have ready 2
oz. strawberries preserved whole, drain them well from their syrup,
and dip each one in lemon juice. Put a layer of the ice into the
mould, then a few strawberries, and so until all are used. Let the
mould remain imbedded in ice for 2 hours.

_Almond Génoise._--Beat in a mortar 2 oz. blanched almonds, adding
some orange-flower water as wanted to prevent their oiling. Beat up
in a bowl 2 oz. fresh butter (warmed) with 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar,
add the almonds, the yolks of 4 and the whites of 2 eggs, one at a
time, then very gradually 4 oz. fine flour. Continue beating until
the mixture is perfectly smooth, then flavour it with some essence
of vanilla, and bake as above. Spread the Génoise with apricot jam
as above, and, instead of chocolate, use the following icing: Put
the whites of 2 eggs into a basin with a little lemon juice and some
_glacé_ sugar; well work the mixture with a wooden spoon, and, as
it gets thin, keep on adding more sugar until a smooth paste of the
consistency of butter is obtained. Lay the icing evenly on the slab
of Génoise with a palette knife, put it in the oven for a minute to
set the icing, and put it out at once in a cold place, then cut up
the slab as above.

_Almond Jumbles._--Beat ½ lb. butter to a cream, with ½ lb. loaf
sugar, pounded fine; mix with 1 lb. flour, and ¼ lb. almonds,
blanched and shred fine, or beaten to a paste, with the juice of a
lemon; work it well together, roll it out, then cut it into small
round cakes, and bake them in a quick oven.

_Almond Pastry._--Pound 3 oz. almonds, ¼ lb. butter, 2 oz. loaf
sugar, with a little rose-water till it becomes a thick paste. Spread
it on a buttered tin, bake in a slow oven. When cold divide it into
8 pieces, put a spoonful of preserve on each piece, and cover with
whipped cream.

_Almond Pudding._-½ lb. sweet almonds pounded, ¼ lb. pounded sugar,
¼ lb. breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. butter, 6 eggs, leaving out one white. Melt
the butter, beat the eggs; add the sugar, then the butter, then the
breadcrumbs and almonds; beat all together, butter a mould, put in
layers with 3 tablespoonfuls apricot jam; boil 1½ hour; serve with
sweet sauce, made with a tablespoonful of jam and a little water.

_Almond Rice Pudding._--3 oz. ground rice boiled in 1 pint milk; when
cold add 6 oz. melted butter, 6 oz. sugar, 6 eggs, 3 whites, and a
few blanched bitter almonds; when baked, stick it with sweet almonds.

_Almond Savarin._--Take 1 lb. fine sifted flour, 4 oz. pounded loaf
sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter, 8 eggs and 1 oz. German yeast. Dissolve
the yeast in rather less than ½ pint tepid milk, strain it, and work
into it so much of the flour as will produce a soft dough. Roll this
into a ball, place the remainder of the flour into a deep basin, lay
the ball of dough on it, cover up the basin, and leave it in a warm
place until the ball of dough (the sponge) has risen. Now add the
sugar, the butter (just liquefied), the eggs, and a pinch of salt,
and work the mixture lightly with the fingers until it becomes a
smooth paste. Butter plentifully a large plain border mould (Savarin
mould), mince some blanched almonds, not too fine, and strew the
mould with as many of these as will stick to the butter; then pour
in the cake mixture, which should not fill the mould more than ¾
full. Place the mould, covered up, in a warm place, and when the cake
has well risen bake it in a moderate oven for about 1½ hour. Before
turning the cake out of the mould stab the top of it (which will
be the bottom when the cake is turned out) with a knife in several
places, and pour all over it a mixture of 2 parts old rum, and one
of very sweet syrup, so as to soak it well, but not too much, to the
depth of an inch; then turn it in a dish, and serve. It may be eaten
either hot or cold.

_Amber Pudding._--(_a_) Put 1 lb. butter into a saucepan, with ¾ lb.
crushed sugar; melt the butter, and mix well; then add the yolks of
15 eggs, well beaten, and as much candied orange peel (pounded to a
paste) as will give colour and flavour. Line a dish with paste, fill
with the mixture, lay a crust over, and bake in a slow oven.

(_b_) Loaf sugar 4 oz., melted butter 4 oz., the yolks of 4 eggs, and
1 tablespoonful orange marmalade; make all hot over the fire, then
add 2 oz. candied orange peel in large slices, put a thin crust in a
tin, pour in the above mixture, and bake ½ hour.

(_c_) ½ lb. white sugar, ½ lb. butter, boiled together for 5 minutes:
when hot pour it upon the yolks of 8 eggs, well beaten; line a dish
with puff paste, put some marmalade in the bottom, pour the mixture
over it, and bake in a slow oven for ½ hour. This pudding is so rich,
it is better eaten when cold.

(_d_) Line a pudding dish with good puff paste, take ½ lb. fresh
butter, ½ lb. loaf sugar, and 8 eggs; take the yolks of the eggs, mix
with the sugar and butter on the fire till it becomes thick, but not
boiling; whip the whites of eggs to a froth, and mix with the other
when cold. Put any sort of jam at the bottom of the dish, pour the
mixture of eggs, &c., over it, and bake for ½ hour.

_‘Angels’ Food._--Beat well the whites of 11 eggs, add 1½ tumblerfuls
(3 gills) of pulverised sugar sifted 3 times, then add 2 teaspoonfuls
extract of vanilla, and lastly 1 tumblerful (½ pint) of flour, which
has been sifted with 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar 5 times; the
flour must be measured both before and after sifting; it will be
found to have gained a little, which increase must be rejected, using
only the level tumblerful. Stir lightly together, and pour it into
a new ungreased tin pan. Bake it in a moderate steady oven for 40
minutes. Cover it for the first 20 minutes with a sheet of paper.
Let it cool in the pan, by turning the pan upside down, resting the
edge of the pan upon 2 plates, in order to allow the air to circulate
under the cake. Do not shake the pan while in the oven, or while
cooling, or it will be heavy. It should be eaten the day it is baked.
This cake is very fashionable in America just now; but to succeed
with it, it is necessary to observe absolutely the directions.

_Apple and Quince Tart._--Lay a disc of puff paste on a round tin,
and place a strip of paste all round it as for an ordinary jam tart.
Spread on the inside a layer of quince marmalade ¼ in. thick. Peel
and core some apples, cut them in slices ¼ in. thick, trim all the
slices to the same shape, dispose these slices over the marmalade,
overlapping each other, and in some kind of pattern; strew plenty
of sugar over, and bake in a quick oven till the apples are a good
colour.

_Apples and Tapioca._--Peel 4-6 good-sized apples, take out the core,
and fill up the cavity with sugar and powdered cinnamon, putting a
small piece of butter on the top of each. Place them in a baking
dish, and strew round them about a cupful of tapioca (raw) mixed with
sugar and some grated lemon rind; fill the dish with water, and put
in a gentle oven until both apples and tapioca are done.

_Apples, Baked._--Baked apples are very nice filled in with plain
custard, also with rice and cornflour, dressed as for a pudding, and
poured in where the cores were; or take a piece of quince cheese and
place it in when the apples are about half done. Blackberry jam also
is very nice, but must not be put in till the apples are done, or it
spreads over the dish too much.

_Apple Cake._--Take 1 lb. lump sugar, put it to 1 pint water, let
it boil till quite dissolved and ready to candy; then add 2 lb.
apples pared and sliced, and the peel of a lemon, if liked. Boil all
together till quite stiff; then put it into a mould, and when cold it
will turn out. Serve with custard round, and, if liked, a few almonds
blanched, split, and stuck in the cake. These cakes will keep for
several weeks.

_Apple Charlotte._--Cut from a household loaf a number of slices of
uniform thickness (¼ to ⅜ in.); butter a plain mould and all the
slices of bread; shape one of them round to fit the bottom of the
mould, and another one for the top; cut the rest in pieces 1 in.
wide, and the height of the mould in length; lay one of the round
pieces at the bottom of the mould, and line the sides with the small
pieces, carefully smearing the edges with white of egg, so as to make
them well hold together. Stew a quantity of apples with plenty of
brown sugar, a little water, the juice and the thin rind of a lemon,
and a piece of cinnamon; when thoroughly done pass them through a
hair sieve; fill the mould with this purée, put on the round slice of
bread for the cover, and set in a quick oven for about 1½ hour.

_Apple Compote._--Peel, core, and halve 6 large apples, trimming them
so as to get them all of a size; drop them as they are done into cold
water with the juice of a lemon squeezed into it, to prevent their
turning brown. Have ready a strong syrup (made with 1 lb. sugar and
1 qt. water) boiling hot; put the apples into this, with the thin
rind of a lemon and 2 or 3 cloves. As soon as they are cooked (great
care must be taken that they do not break), take them out and dispose
them, concave side uppermost, on a glass dish; place a piece of
currant jelly or quince jelly in the hollow of each apple, then well
reduce the syrup, and, when cold, pour as much of it as is necessary
under the apples.

_Apple Cream Cake._--Rub 1 oz. butter into ¾ lb. flour, and take half
a pint of sour cream; dissolve 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate in 1
teaspoon boiling water, add it to the sour cream, and stir until it
froths well. If the cream is very sour, it may require a little more
soda. Be careful that it is frothy, or else the paste will not be
light. Stir the frothing cream into the flour, enough to make a soft
paste; line a greased plate with a thin layer of paste; have ready
some stewed apples, sweetened and perfectly cold, grated lemon peel
mixed in just before they are put into the cake, and as little juice
from the apples as possible, or the crust will be soddened. Spread
the stewed apple over the paste, leaving a narrow margin for the top
crust to adhere to the bottom; roll out the top crust 1 in. thick;
pinch the edges well together to make it a little ornamented round
the edge, and bake it in a quick oven. This quantity of paste should
make two good-sized cakes, the size of a dinner plate; a tin plate
is best to bake them on; they are equally good cold or hot, and are
eaten with sugar and cream.

_Apple Custard._--Apple chips or rings are as nice as ordinary
fruit, and in winter much cheaper. They can be got at an ordinary
grocers, and must be soaked 12 hours before using. Take ½ lb. of
the fruit when soaked, and stir gently with sugar, lemon peel and
cloves to taste, till tender. When cool, pour into a glass dish,
and cover with the following custard: ½ pint milk, 1 egg, ½ small
teaspoonful cornflour, 2 lumps of sugar. Mix the cornflour carefully
with the milk, then whisk the egg and add it with the sugar (which is
best sifted); put the whole into a jug and stand in boiling water,
stirring well till it thickens, then pour it over the apples, and
grate nutmeg on the top. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Apple Devil._--The following is a delicious way of dressing apples,
and is not very well known: Peel and core about 30 good baking
apples, and slice them into a little cold water; add equal weight
of lump sugar, the juice and peel of 2 lemons cut very thin, 2 oz.
very finely grated ginger, and 1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper. Boil all
together till the apples look quite clear. The quantity of cayenne
can be diminished to suit the taste. This will keep good for 2-3
years, and is to be eaten as a preserve. If required for a dish for
dinner, beat up the whites of 4 eggs till very stiff; sprinkle with a
little crushed sugar whilst beating. When very firm pile it on some
of the preserve previously placed in a dish, and put in the oven till
nicely browned. It may be served either hot or cold.

_Apple Dumplings._--Take some finely sifted flour, say ½ lb., and ¼
lb. suet very finely shred, and well freed from skin. Mix the suet
and flour, add a pinch of salt and ½ teaspoonful baking powder, with
sufficient cold water or milk to make it of the right consistency.
Knead it well, and roll it out to the thickness required. Divide this
paste into as many pieces as are required for the dumplings. Take
some large-sized apples, peel, core, sprinkle them with moist sugar,
then insert into the cavity of each some butter, sugar, and a clove.
Cover them with the paste, and join the edges carefully. Tie each
dumpling up in a floured cloth, and boil about 1 hour. Untie them
carefully, and turn them out without breaking them; serve with cream
and sugar. A little currant jelly may be substituted for the butter,
sugar, and clove.

_Apple Fool._--(_a_) In the country where milk and apples are
plentiful, this is a cheap treat for children, and very nice. In
towns, it may be necessary to soak a little light bread in the milk
and beat it up with the apples to make them go further. Bake good
sharp apples slowly, then they will not burst; when done, take out
the pulp, rub it smooth, sweeten, add a little lemon flavouring, and
a tablespoonful of new, or a teaspoonful of condensed, milk, and
serve in a bowl. (Mary Hooper.)

(_b_) The proportion of milk or cream would be 1 pint new milk to
2 lb. apples. It is impossible to give the exact quantity of sugar
also, as it must entirely depend on the kind of apple used, some
apples requiring so much more sweetening than others; it must be a
matter of taste. It is better not to put too much in at first, but a
certain amount must be put in with the first boiling of the apples,
and more added afterwards if not sweet enough. The apples must be
peeled, the cores removed, and then put into a pudding basin with a
little water, just enough to start the juice, loaf sugar, and a few
cloves. Cover the basin with a plate, and put it into a moderately
hot oven to cook the apples gradually until quite soft, when they
must be beaten until smooth with a wooden spoon. The milk must have
been previously boiled, sweetened, and allowed to get cold. Add
this by degrees to the beaten apple; mix thoroughly, and, when well
amalgamated, serve it cold in a glass dish. Unless the milk be new,
cream should be used with it in equal quantities. A bay leaf boiled
with the milk is a great improvement.

_Apple Ginger._--(_a_) 7 lb. apples, pared and cored, 7 lb. pounded
loaf sugar, 2 oz. ground ginger, the juice of 3 lemons, 1 pint water.
Boil slowly rather more than ½ hour. Put in moulds and cover with
paper.

(_b_) Peel, core, and quarter 2-3 lb. small russet apples. Any apples
will do that do not break in the boiling, but small ones look better.
Put them in a jar with layers of whole ginger, about 2 oz. Make a
syrup with ¾ pint water, 1 oz. ginger, and 1½ lb. lump sugar, and
pour it boiling over the apples. Let it stand till the next day, then
simmer the whole very slowly until the apples are tender and look
transparent; take the apples out and drain them, and boil the syrup
fast until it is thick. Pour it again over the apples, and when cold
bottle.

(_c_) 4 lb. apples, 1 qt. water, 4 lb. sugar, 2 oz. best essence of
ginger. Pare the apples, and cut them in slices as for a pie. As you
pare and core them, throw them into a basin of cold water. Boil the
sugar and water nearly 15 minutes until it forms a nice syrup; then
put in the apples. Do not stir them much. Add the ginger; boil 1 hour
till it becomes yellow and clear. Be sure not to let it boil fast.

_Apple Pudding._--(_a_) Make a paste with equal quantities sifted
flour and finely chopped suet, a pinch of salt, and a little water.
Roll it out thin into a large piece, place this over a well-buttered
basin, and push it in so as to line the basin with it, cut it off all
round so as to leave enough to fold up; roll out the trimmings to
such a size as to cover the top of the basin. Pare, core, and slice
a quantity of good sound apples. Put them in the basin with brown
sugar to taste, and either some chopped lemon peel, 2 or 3 cloves,
or a little grated nutmeg; add a small piece of fresh butter, pack
the apples tight in, put on the cover of paste, turn up the edges and
press them down, tie a floured pudding cloth over, and put the basin
into a saucepanful of boiling water, which should come well over the
pudding. Boil 2-3 hours according to size.

(_b_) Stew 2 lb. apples to a pulp; sweeten to taste while stewing,
and when taken off the fire stir in 2 oz. good fresh butter; when
cold, add 2 eggs beaten up; butter well the bottom and sides of a
pudding dish; strew crumbs of bread 2 in. thick, over the bottom
and sides, put in the apples well mixed with the 2 eggs, strew
breadcrumbs over the top, and a few tiny bits of butter and white
sugar. Bake in a moderate oven, and serve the pudding with cream or
custard.

_Apple Rings._--(_a_) Soak apple rings for 12 hours in cold water,
when they will be fit for every use in casking apples, and found
superior to our English apples, for sauce, puddings, &c., in
particular. (J. B. F.)

(_b_) These cook much nicer and softer if they are soaked overnight
in sufficient cold water to cover them, using the same water to
stew them with. If this is not convenient, put them in an enamelled
saucepan--an iron one turns them black--and nearly cover them with
cold water. Put in a small piece of stick cinnamon, and a few cloves:
this flavouring seems to suit them better than lemon peel; add
sufficient sugar when they begin to simmer, and stew until soft,
which should be in ½ hour. When apple rings are stewed, they can be
spread on a suet paste and be used for roly-poly puddings, or be
eaten with blancmange or boiled rice, or be made into puffs, open
tarts, or an apple pasty. For example, line a Yorkshire pudding tin,
greased, with short paste, put in a deep layer of stewed apples and
cover it with a lid of paste, pinching the edges well between finger
and thumb in a crinkled fashion; brush over the top with water,
sprinkle castor sugar thickly over, and bake for ½ hour in a moderate
oven; turn it carefully out of the tin by placing a flat board on the
top of the pasty, and turn the tin bottom upwards, when the pasty
will come out of the tin; now place your dish on the bottom of the
pasty and turn it over again, which will bring the pasty right side
uppermost, and if done carefully it will not break. If any of the
sugar falls off, grate some sugar on the bare places. To be eaten
either hot or cold. Covered tarts can be made with apple rings in
this way: line a shallow tin, or a dinner plate, with a thin paste,
spread a layer of stewed apple and cover with a lid of paste--either
short or puff--and bake it for 20 minutes; cover with thin icing,
made by beating the white of an egg with 1 tablespoonful castor sugar
and 1 teaspoonful lemon juice together for 5 minutes with a whisk;
spread this icing over the tart with a knife and set it in a cool
oven for ¼ hour to harden. These covered tarts can be made to look
pretty by spreading the white icing evenly over the crust, letting
it harden 5 minutes in the oven; colour a small portion of the icing
with cochineal, and put it round the edge in little pink buttons,
setting the tart back in the oven for the rest of the time to harden.
Apple rings can be cooked nicely in deep tarts; but, unless there is
a good bottom heat to the oven, they do not cook sufficiently soft in
the same time it takes to bake the crust properly, and it is best to
have them stewed first.

_Apple Roly-Poly._--Make a suet crust, roll it out thinly, put slices
of apple all over it, sift over the apple sugar and the grated peel
of a lemon or powdered cinnamon; roll it up, pinch the ends very
securely; boil it in a cloth 1½ hour, and, if large, 2 hours.

_Apple Snow._--(_a_) Pare and core 6 good-sized apples, steam them in
2 tablespoonfuls water, with a little lemon peel, till quite soft.
Add ¼ lb. finely sifted white sugar, and the white of 1 quite fresh
egg. Beat it well for ¾ hour without stopping, and serve as you
please. It looks best in custard glasses heaped up.

(_b_) Take ¼ lb. of the pulp of roasted apples, ¼ lb. powdered loaf
sugar, the juice of half a lemon, some of the rind rubbed into 2
lumps of sugar and then pounded, and the whites of 3 or 4 eggs. Whip
all together for an hour, till it is like whipped cream, and drop it
lightly into a glass dish.

(_c_) Stew some apples till tender, sweeten to taste, mash them up,
and place them in the centre of a dish; round and over them place a
layer of boiled rice (dry); whisk the whites of 3 or 4 eggs until
quite light and frothy; cover the whole with this froth, sprinkle
over it powdered sugar, colouring a little of it with cochineal.

_Apples, Stewed._--(_a_) Peel and core 6 apples, put the cores and
parings into 1 qt. water, and simmer gently. Strain off, and pour the
liquor over the apples, adding the juice of half a lemon, and 3 oz.
white sugar. Boil gently till the apples are quite tender, then turn
out into a basin, and beat up with a fork, gradually adding about 1
teacupful cream. When the whole is about the consistency of cream,
pile up in a glass dish, and put away in a cool place. Whipped cream
or the whites of eggs, well whisked, may be put over the top before
serving.

(_b_) For a small dish, 5 large apples will be enough. Peel them,
take out the cores, put them into a pie-dish with their weight of
loaf sugar, 1 pint water, half the rind of a lemon, and a few drops
of cochineal. Put them in the oven until done through. Remove the
apples on to a dish without breaking, put the liquor into a stewpan,
and set it on the fire to reduce to a syrup; pour it over the apples,
first taking out the lemon peel. They may be done in the same way
without colouring; the lemon peel should then be taken out at the
same time as the apples. Cut the peel up into very fine strips, and
when the syrup is made, throw in the strips of peel, to be served up
in it round the apples. The syrup should be perfectly clear. Just
before sending to table, put 1 teaspoonful red currant jelly in the
hole at the top of each apple, or a dried cherry on the top of each
makes a pretty garnish.

_Apple Tart._--Lay a disc of puff paste on a round tin, spread a
layer (about ⅜ in. thick) of apple marmalade over it, leaving a rim
1 in. wide clear all round; roll out, and cut some of the paste in
strips the size of a straw; form a trellis-work with them over the
marmalade, then put a border of paste all round over the rim. Glaze
the top of the border and trellis with beaten-up egg, and bake in
quick oven.

_Apricot Cake._--Make a cake with 3 eggs, their weight in butter,
flour, and sugar; beat up the eggs till very light, mix with them
their weight in castor sugar; now add the flour, into which you
have mixed ½ teaspoonful baking powder; and lastly the butter, just
dissolved by putting into a hot stewpan and shaking round. It should
be dissolved, but not hot. Beat the cake a few minutes; put into a
small cake tin, and bake ½ hour in a rather quick oven; when done,
take from the oven, and let stay in the tin while you prepare the
apricots, cut them in halves, take out the stones. Make a syrup with
¼ lb. sugar to ½ pint water; boil up, and put in the apricots, and
stew gently till they are done, they should not be broken; lift them
out, and reduce the syrup by quick boiling; let it cool, turn the
cake very gently out of the tin; cut the cake round about ½ in. from
the edge, take off the same, scoop out the centre, fill it with the
apricots and put a whip of cream on the top, and the remainder of the
apricots can be arranged round the base, the insides turned upwards,
the stones cracked, and the kernels blanched, and one put in the
centre of each half apricot.

_Apricot Chartreuse._--Take a tin of preserved apricots, turn out
the contents into a saucepan, add 6 oz. sugar, ½ pint water, and a
glass of wine; let them boil up; strain off the syrup, take out the
kernels, remove the outer skin carefully from the apricots, and leave
them to get cold. Add to 1 pint of the syrup 16 sheets best French
gelatine steeped in a little water, boil up the whole, and clarify
with 3 whites of eggs; have 2 plain moulds, one about 1¼ in. more
in diameter than the other, pour a very little jelly at the bottom
of the larger mould, and place in it a layer of slices of apricots
prepared as above, and a few split kernels; cover this with more
jelly, but only put enough to get a smooth surface; lay this on ice
to set. When it is quite firm, put the small mould inside the large
one, taking care to place it exactly in the middle, so that the
vacant space between the two moulds be of the same width all round.
In this vacant space dispose slices of apricots and the rest of the
kernels, filling up the interstices with the jelly until all the
space is filled up. Place the mould upon ice: whip a pint of cream
with ½ oz. dissolved isinglass and some of the apricot syrup, which
must be added to it a very little at a time, or the cream will not
rise to a froth. When the cream is ready and the jelly set, remove
the inner mould by pouring warm water into it, and fill up the inner
space of the chartreuse with the cream: set it on ice for an hour,
turn out and serve.

_Apricot Cream._--Take a tin of preserved apricots, turn out the
contents into a saucepan, add 2 oz. sugar, let them boil for ¼ hour,
and pass them through a tammy. Dissolve 1 oz. or 7 sheets best French
gelatine in a little milk, whip to a froth a pint of cream. Mix the
gelatine with the apricot pulp, then quickly work into it the cream,
pour the mixture into a mould, and put it on ice to set. When wanted,
dip the mould in hot water and turn out the cream.

_Apricot Omelet._--Beat up the whites of 4 and the yolks of 6 eggs
with a very small pinch of salt. Put a piece of fresh butter in the
omelet pan, and directly it is melted pour in the eggs. As soon
as they are set, fold up the omelet, inserting within the fold as
much apricot jam as will lie in it. Turn out the omelet neatly on
its dish, cover it with powdered sugar, and glaze it with a red-hot
salamander.

_Apricot Toast._--Take some ripe but not over-ripe apricots, halve
and stone them. Make some syrup with plenty of white sugar and some
water: when boiled for 2 hours strain; lay the pieces of apricot in
the syrup, and add a glass of white wine; simmer for a few minutes.
Cut out of the crumb of a milk loaf some rounds a little larger than
the apricots. Fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter, drain and
arrange them in a circle on a dish with a piece of apricot on each
round, concave side uppermost: put a kernel in the centre of each,
pour the syrup well over, and serve with some whipped cream in the
centre of the dish.

_Arrowroot Blancmange._--(_a_) Take 1 qt. milk and mix 3 oz. best
arrowroot with a cupful of it cold. Then boil the rest of it with 6
laurel leaves or a chip of vanilla as preferred, pour it boiling
on the arrowroot, stir quite smooth, sweeten, boil the whole for 10
minutes, taking care it does not burn, and put into a mould. The
cause of its cracking is either bad arrowroot or under-boiling.

(_b_) Dissolve a little isinglass or gelatine in the milk with
which the arrowroot is made; it will stand, but it is the nature of
arrowroot to become liquid after a short time. Sago and tapioca both
make very nice blancmange, and are firmer than arrowroot. They may be
either flavoured with lemon or vanilla, or served plain with jam and
cream round them.

_Arrowroot Pudding._--Mix 1 teacupful arrowroot with ½ pint cold
milk; put 1 qt. milk into a saucepan, with cinnamon, lemon or orange
peel, and boil it, sweetening it with 2 oz. sugar. Pound 12 bitter
almonds, and mix them with the arrowroot and cold milk; strain it
through a hair sieve, and add it to the boiling milk, stirring it
well. When it begins to thicken, add 1 teaspoonful fresh butter, and,
when thoroughly done, pour it into a mould. Do not turn out until
quite cold.

_Arrowroot Shape._--Mix 2 oz. arrowroot in ½ pint cold water, let
it settle; pour off the water, and flavour the arrowroot with a
little orange-flower water. Boil 1 qt. milk with some sugar and a
little cinnamon, strain through a tammy on to the arrowroot, stirring
all the time; simmer a short time, still stirring; put it into a
well-oiled mould, turn it out the following day, and serve it with a
custard made with 1 pint milk, 4 yolks of eggs, and flavoured with
orange-flower water.

_Aunt Eleanor’s Tartlets._--Prepare ½ lb. apples, as for a tart, and
put them in a stewpan with a wineglass of water, 4 oz. preserving
sugar, a small piece of cinnamon, 4 cloves, and 2 small strips of
lemon peel; stew until the apples are quite tender, when pass them
through a sieve, and set them aside to cool. Should the apples not be
rather sharp, a squeeze of lemon juice may be added. Now break 2 eggs
into a basin, and whisk them until well mixed, stir to them gradually
half a stale penny sponge cake, and 1 oz. loaf sugar reduced to a
fine powder, and, last of all, 2 oz. liquefied butter; mix well. Line
some pattypans with good puff crust, and put in them first a little
of your apple pulp, and cover this with a layer of the egg mixture.
Bake in a moderate oven until of a fine golden brown, and serve
either hot or cold, as preferred.

_Baba._--Have ready 1 lb. fine flour passed through a sieve, 4 oz.
raisins (stoned), 4 oz. currants, 8 eggs, 4 oz. pounded sugar, 4 oz.
fresh butter, 1 glass brandy, 1 oz. German yeast. Dissolve the yeast
in ½ pint tepid milk, strain it, and mix in it a good handful of the
flour; work it lightly with the hand into a light soft dough, which
is called “the sponge,” put it into a deep stewpan or basin, leave it
in a warm place to rise, put the remainder of the flour on a slab or
pastry board in a heap, make a hollow space in the centre, break the
eggs into it, add a good pinch of salt, and pour the butter just warm
on to the eggs; work all lightly together, using the fingers of both
hands, raising the hands up and down, so as to beat the air into the
paste, when whisking the white of an egg; this should be done just
before the sponge is ready, then mix in the sponge in the same light
way, and lastly, add the rest of the ingredients; lift the whole into
a large well-buttered mould, and put it in a warm place free from
draught until it is nicely risen: bake 1½-2 hours in a moderate oven;
serve hot, with either red currant jelly or apple jelly, melted with
a little brandy, in a sauceboat.

_Baden-Baden Pudding._--Boil ¼ lb. rice in milk to a smooth mash, and
with it 1 in. vanilla to flavour. Soak ½ oz. gelatine in cold water a
few minutes, then add it to the rice to boil. Whip a pint of cream,
with a ¼ lb. sifted sugar, to a froth. When the rice is cooled to
lukewarm, stir it briskly into the cream. Wet a mould, fill it with
the mass, and set it in a cold place, or in ice. Turn it out when
firm.

_Bakewell Pudding._-½ lb. butter, the yolks of 8 eggs, the whites
of 2, ½ lb. powdered white sugar; cover a pie-dish with puff paste,
put a layer of any kind of preserves about 1 in. thick; gently melt
the butter, add that to the eggs. When nearly cold, beat all well
together and flavour with almond essence; pour the mixture into the
dish about 1 in. thick; bake it about 1 hour in a moderate oven.

_Batter Pudding._--(_a_) Take 2 eggs, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 of
butter, and 1 breakfastcupful milk. Beat the butter to a cream, beat
the eggs, add a little white sugar, and for a change the grated rind
of a lemon; put in the flour and milk, and beat all together. Pour
the mixture into a buttered shallow dish, and bake 20 minutes in a
sharp oven. It may also be baked in common saucers instead of a dish,
when the puddings should be doubled up when turned out, so as to form
semicircles on the dish, and sifted sugar strewn over them.

(_b_) Make a batter of 2 eggs, 1 pint milk, 6 tablespoonfuls flour,
and a pinch of salt; line a pie-dish with marmalade or preserve,
and bake 40 minutes in a quick oven; apples sliced into the batter
instead of the jam are very good.

(_c_) Mix ½ lb. flour in a basin with ½ teaspoonful salt; break
in 2 eggs, mix well, and gradually add 1 pint milk, mixing it all
the time. Should there be any lumps, they should disappear in the
moistening. Let it stand a short time to rise, butter a pie-dish,
pour the batter in, and bake in a quick oven; it ought not to take
more than ½ hour to bake; it should have risen very high, and must
be served at once, before it has time to fall. For boiling, butter a
pudding basin, pour the same batter into it, tie down tightly with
a cloth, and put it into a saucepan of boiling water. It should be
moved about for a few minutes after it is put into the water, to
prevent the flour from settling in any part. It will take rather more
than 1 hour to boil; turn it out, and serve at once, with either wine
sauce or sweet sauce round it in the dish.

_Biscuit Charlotte._--Line a basin closely with some thin finger
biscuits, so as to form a complete case. Peel, slice, and core 12
apples, and stew with them a few cherries in butter. Fill the case
with the fruit, but leaving a hole in the centre, in which place a
small glass, which may contain any jam or preserved fruits; boil 1
hour and turn out. Pour over or serve with clotted cream or custard.

_Bishop Pudding._--Butter some thin slices of bread, without crust,
and over the butter spread a good layer of jam. Cut the slices into
convenient pieces. Line and border a deep pie-dish with puff paste,
arrange the slices of bread and butter in the dish until half full.
Make an ordinary, rather milky ground rice pudding, flavour the milk
with which it is made with the rind of a lemon. Sweeten to taste,
and add to it 2 or 3 beaten-up eggs, according to the size of the
pudding. Pour this mixture into the pie-dish, and bake in a brisk
oven.

_Blackberry Mould._--Put 1 lb. ripe blackberries into a pudding
basin, place this in a larger one of hot water, put a plate on the
top, and let it remain in the oven until the fruit is soft. Press
out all the juice and mix it with rather more than 1 lb. apples,
previously pared, cored, and cut into quarters; put both together
into a preserving pan; let them boil for ½ hour, and then add ¾ lb.
powdered loaf sugar; let it boil for 10 minutes more, stirring with
a silver spoon, when it will be ready to put into the mould, which
should be of earthenware. A little grated lemon peel should be added.

_Blackberry Puddings and Tarts._--Both are better for having a small
quantity of any good cooking apple mixed with the berries; the apples
should be sliced as thinly as possible, and should be at once stirred
in with the other fruit and with sugar.

_Blancmange._--Take 6 bitter almonds and 8-9 oz. sweet almonds
blanched and peeled, pound them in a mortar with a little
orange-flower water; when reduced to a paste add rather less than 1
pint milk, pounded loaf sugar to taste, a little more orange-flower
water. Strain the mixture through a cloth, squeezing it well, into a
basin containing 8 or 9 sheets best French gelatine dissolved in 1
pint water; mix well, put into a mould set on ice, turn it out just
before serving.

_Bombay Pudding._--(_a_) Soojee is only the native name for semolina.
Cut slices of bread without crust, ½ in. thick, and toast them a
light brown on both sides. Then boil brown sugar to a syrup, and
pour it over the bread, which become saturated with it.

(_b_) Half roast 2 lb. soojee, then boil it in water until it becomes
very thick; butter a soup plate, and pour the boiled soojee into it;
when it has cooled and congealed cut it into 8 cakes; rub the cakes
over with the yolk of an egg, dredge with finely sifted flour, and
fry in butter until they acquire a rich brown colour. Arrange them in
a dish, and pour over them a thick syrup flavoured with lemon juice.

_Boston Pudding._--Rub 6 oz. butter or nice beef dripping into 1 lb.
flour; add 6 oz. currants or sultana raisins, 6 oz. moist sugar,
½ teaspoonful powdered cinnamon, and ¼ nutmeg, grated. Dissolve 2
teaspoonfuls soda carbonate in ½ pint milk, being careful to mix the
soda perfectly smooth and free from lumps in a tablespoonful of the
milk first, and then add the rest of the half pint, stirring it well
before mixing it with the other ingredients, so that the soda does
not settle to the bottom of the milk. Beat all together for a minute,
and put the mixture into a buttered mould, which should not be quite
full. The pudding cloth should be allowed room for the pudding to
swell, which it does considerably. Plunge into fast-boiling water,
and keep boiling for 2½ hours. This makes a very light pudding, and,
if properly made, no trace of the soda--which many people object
to--can be detected.

_Bread Pudding._--(_a_) Put all scraps of bread into the oven
until they become a nice brown, roll them while hot quite fine.
For a good-sized pudding take ½ lb. crumbs ¼ lb. brown sugar or
golden syrup, ¼ lb. currants or raisins, 1 pint milk, 1 teaspoonful
allspice, and 1 pint boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the
crumbs, stir them well, and let them soak until soft; then add all
the ingredients, mix well, rub the pie-dish with dripping, fill it,
put some more dripping on the top of the pudding, and bake ½ hour.
This pudding is a general favourite with children and servants.

(_b_) Cut a roll in thin slices, well butter a mould, and stick it
all round with raisins stoned and opened; put the bread lightly in;
make a sweet batter with 3 or 4 eggs, flavour it with vanilla: pour
it over, and leave it to soak well; bake or steam for an hour. Any
flavouring may be used.

(_c_) 1 lb. breadcrumbs, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. currants, 1 pint milk,
six eggs, 4 oz. butter, and 1 lb. sugar. Pour the boiling milk on
the breadcrumbs, cover with a plate and let it remain for 1 hour;
then add the butter, currants, raisins stoned and cut a little, and
the sugar; mix all well together, adding candied fruit, a little
grated lemon peel, and spice, and the eggs well beaten; boil 4 hours
in a buttered basin or mould, and serve with sweet sauce. If it be
requisite to add a little flour, boil an hour longer.

(_d_) Grate 3 oz. breadcrumbs, and pour over them ¾ pint boiling
milk, in which a lump of butter, the size of an egg, has been
dissolved. Soak for ½ hour; then add 1 tablespoonful moist sugar,
and the yolks of 3 well beaten eggs; beat with a fork for 3 minutes;
spread a layer of any kind of jam 1 in. thick at the bottom of a
pie-dish, not greased. Pour the mixture over the jam, and then heap
on the top the whites of the 3 eggs well whisked with a little castor
sugar. Bake in a gentle oven for ½ hour, taking care the bottom of
the oven is not hot enough to scorch the jam.

(_e_) Make a quantity of breadcrumbs by rubbing the crumb of a stale
loaf through a fine wire sieve; put 1 pint milk and 1 oz. fresh
butter into a saucepan on the fire, with sugar to taste, and the thin
rind of a lemon, cut if possible in one piece; when the milk boils
strew breadcrumbs into it until a thick porridge is obtained; turn it
out into a basin. When cold remove the lemon rind, and stir in one by
one the yolks of 4 eggs, mix well, then stir in the whites of 2 eggs
beaten up to a stiff froth and a small quantity of candied citron
peel cut very thin. Have a plain mould, buttered and breadcrumbed
very carefully all over, pour the composition into it, and bake it
about ½ hour. To be eaten hot or cold.

(_f_) Line the bottom and sides of a basin with slices of bread; mix
a pot of jam with a little hot water, put a layer of the jam in the
basin, then a layer of bread, then more jam; continue this until the
basin is full; put a plate on the top. Turn out the next day, and
serve with custard round it.

(_g_) 6 oz. stale brown breadcrumbs, 6 oz. fresh butter, 4 eggs (the
yolks and whites whisked separately), ½ oz. powdered cinnamon, ½ lb.
coarsest brown sugar. Cream the butter, then mix well with the sugar
till quite smooth, add the well-beaten eggs, and stir in gradually
the other ingredients. Steam the pudding for 2 hours or even more (it
cannot be too much done). When turned out, pour melted cherry jam
over it, and serve hot.

(_h_) Cut the crust from slices of a dry tin loaf ¼ in. thick; spread
with butter slightly and cover thickly with preserve. Take a quart
mould and butter perfectly--to look well the mould should be marked
plainly in broad flutes. Pile the prepared bread lightly in the
mould, having first cut it in diamonds as for sippets. Beat 4 eggs
with a pint of milk, sweeten and pour over the bread. Lay a buttered
paper on the top, and after standing ½ hour cook in boiling water for
1 hour. A cloth should be tied over the mould above the paper, and
the water should only reach ¾ of the mould. A clear arrowroot sauce
flavoured with sherry should be served with it, and a large spoonful
of fresh jam spread on the top when turned out.

(_i_) Take 1 egg, its weight in fresh butter (melted), its weight in
flour, 1 dessertspoonful marmalade, 1 ditto raspberry jam, the weight
of the egg in breadcrumbs, and 1 teaspoonful soda carbonate. Break
the egg and beat it up well; add the melted butter, the flour, the
breadcrumbs, and the jam and marmalade; beat all up well together,
and, lastly, put in the soda carbonate. Butter a basin, pour in the
mixture, tie it down well, and steam it in a saucepan for 1½ hour.
Turn out and serve with custard sauce. This is a light and delicious
little pudding, and can be of course made larger by using double
or treble the quantities. It turns out quite dark, and light as a
feather. It is also nice with fruit sauce of any kind.

(_j_) Break the bread into small pieces and pour on them as much
boiling water or milk as will soak them well. Let these stand till
the liquid is cool, press it out, and mash the bread till it is quite
free from lumps. Measure this pulp, and to every quart stir in ½
teaspoonful salt, 1 teaspoonful grated nutmeg, 3 oz. moist sugar, mix
all well together, and put it into a well-buttered pie-dish. Break
1½ oz. butter in small pieces over the top; bake in a moderate oven
1½ hour. Or, to every ¾ pint pulp add 1½ pint milk, sugar to taste,
4 eggs, 1 oz. butter; pour the milk boiling on the bread, let it
stand till cold, add the other ingredients, beat well, and put into
a buttered basin, tie it down tightly, plunge it into boiling water,
boil for 1¼ hour.

_Brioche._--Dissolve 1 oz. German yeast in ½ pint tepid water, strain
and mix with it enough flour to form a light dough, put this sponge
to rise in a warm place in a basin covered up with a cloth. When it
has risen to double its size, put 1 lb. flour on the pastry slab,
make a hollow in the centre, place the sponge in it with 1 lb. fresh
butter just warmed sufficiently to make it liquid, ¼ oz. salt, 1 gill
milk, and 10 eggs; work all lightly together into a paste, adding
more flour if needful, to the consistency of bread dough, roll it
into a ball, and put it by for 3 hours covered up in a warm place.
Then flatten it out, fold up the edges towards the centre, and make
it into a ball again, repeating this operation 3 times. The last time
take rather less than ¼ of the paste away, make the remainder into a
round cake, flatten it slightly, and place the lesser portion on the
top, wetting the under side of it. The brioche should look like a
cottage loaf. Glaze it all over with egg, and bake it on a buttered
tin in a quick oven about ¾ hour.

_Brown or Quay Pudding._--2 eggs, their weight in flour and butter,
the weight of one in sugar; beat the butter to a cream with the
sugar, add the eggs well beaten, stir in the flour, then stir in
2 tablespoonfuls raspberry jam or jelly. Just before putting the
pudding into the mould, beat in ½ teaspoonful soda carbonate. Boil
or steam for 1¾ hour. Leave plenty of room for the pudding to rise
in the mould. Serve with wine or sweet sauce. If preferred, put
2 tablespoonfuls nice treacle or golden syrup, with ½ teaspoonful
ground ginger, instead of the raspberry jam.

_Cabinet Pudding._--(_a_) Spread the inside of a mould with butter,
and ornament the bottom and the sides with dried cherries or raisins
and candied peel; fill the mould with alternate slices of sponge
cakes and ratafias or macaroons, then fill up the mould with a cold
custard made with 7 eggs and 1 pint of milk boiled with 6 oz. sugar,
flavour with rind of lemon or vanilla, all well mixed together; steam
the pudding for 1¼ hour, and when done serve with whip sauce made in
the following way: Put 4 yolks of eggs into a small deep stewpan,
add 2 oz. sifted sugar, a glass of sherry, a little lemon juice and
grated peel, and a grain of salt: whisk the sauce over a moderate
heat, taking care to set the stewpan which contains the sauce in
another of somewhat larger size already containing a little hot
water, and as soon as it presents the appearance of a well-set creamy
froth pour it over the pudding, and serve immediately.

(_b_) Well butter a plain mould and ornament it by sticking dried
cherries along the sides in rows at equal distances from top to
bottom, letting them meet in the centre. Place ratafia cakes and
sponge biscuits cut to half their thickness in alternate layers,
until the mould is full; pour over them sherry and a little brandy,
just as much as they will absorb. If the mould be a large one, the
yolks of 8 eggs will be required, these to be beaten with as much
new milk as will make a sufficient quantity of custard to pour over
the cakes and to quite fill the mould; a little grated nutmeg, and
ginger if liked, to be added to the custard while beating. If the
milk is not new a few spoonfuls of cream must be mixed with the milk.
Cover the mould with a sheet of buttered writing paper, and place it
in a stewpan half filled with boiling water; put on the lid, and let
the pudding steam for 1½ hour. A hot custard may be poured round the
pudding as sauce, or some red currant jelly diluted and thinned with
a spoonful of hot water may be served with it; neither must be poured
over the pudding.

(_c_) Butter a plain mould, ornament it with raisins split and stoned
in the same way as in (_b_), nearly fill up the mould with slices
of bread and butter (leaving room for the bread to swell), cut from
the crumb of a French roll, the slices should not be very thin, but
should be well buttered. Make a custard of the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs
(according to the size of the mould) and milk, flavouring as before;
pour this over the bread and butter until the mould is full, cover
with buttered writing-paper, and steam for 1½ hour. Serve with sweet
sauce in the dish.

_Caledonian Cream._--2 oz. raspberry jam, 2 oz. red currant jam, 2
oz. sifted loaf sugar, the whites of 2 eggs. Put all into a bowl, and
beat with a spoon for ¾ hour.

_Cambridge Pudding._--Take 1 lb. flour, 1 dessertspoonful Borwick’s
egg powder, 3 oz. white sugar, 6 oz. good dripping, a pinch of salt,
a teacupful of sultana raisins or currants, and 1 oz. candied peel
cut fine. Mix well together, then stir in ½ pint milk; pour into a
buttered dish, and bake more than ½ hour. Another plain pudding is
to line a basin with paste made of dripping; then put a layer of
treacle, then a layer of paste, and so on until the basin is filled;
then tie in a cloth and boil 1½ hour.

_Canary Pudding._--The weight of 3 eggs in sugar and butter, the
weight of 2 eggs in flour, the rind of a small lemon, 3 eggs. Melt
the butter to a liquid state, but do not allow it to oil, stir to
this the sugar and finely minced lemon peel, then very gradually
dredge in the flour, stirring the mixture well all the time, then
add the eggs well beaten, mix well until all the ingredients are
thoroughly blended, put into a well-buttered basin or mould, boil for
2 hours, and serve with wine sauce. (Beeton.)

_Caramel Custards._--Put a handful of loaf sugar in a saucepan with
a little water, and set it on the fire until it becomes a dark brown
caramel, then add more water (boiling) to produce a dark liquor
like strong coffee. Beat up the yolks of 6 eggs with a little milk;
strain, add 1 pint milk (sugar to taste) and as much caramel liquor
(cold) as will give the mixture the desired colour. Pour it into a
well-buttered mould; put this in a _bain-marie_ with cold water;
then place the apparatus on a gentle fire, taking care that the
water does not boil. Half an hour’s steaming will set the custard,
which then turn out and serve. By using the white of 1 or 2 eggs in
addition to the 6 yolks, the chances of the custard not breaking are
made more certain.

_Caramel Pudding._--(_a_) Prepare a mould by giving it a thick
coating of caramel sugar; when this has set, pour into the mould a
custard, made of the yolks of 8 eggs and 1½ pint best cream; steam
for 1 hour and serve when cold.

(_b_) Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with ¼ pint water until
the syrup becomes a deep brown. Warm a small basin, pour the syrup
in it, and keep turning the basin in your hand until the inside is
completely coated with the syrup, which by that time will have set.
Strain the yolks of 8 eggs from the whites, and mix them gradually
and effectually with 1 pint milk. Pour this mixture into the prepared
mould. Lay a piece of paper on the top. Set it in a saucepan full of
cold water, taking care that the water does not come over the top of
the mould, put on the cover, and let it boil gently by the side of
the fire for 1 hour. Remove the saucepan to a cool place, and when
the water is quite cold take out the mould, and turn out the pudding
very carefully.

_Carrot Pudding._--(_a_) ½ lb. each of raisins and currants picked
and stoned, ½ lb. finely chopped beef suet, ¾ lb. breadcrumbs, ½ lb.
each of carrots and potatoes (raw) when scraped and grated, ¼ lb.
fine moist sugar, a little finely cut lemon peel (or if preferred 2
oz. candied peel), spice to taste, a teaspoonful of salt. Very little
liquid is required to form the right consistency, as the moisture
from the vegetables is nearly sufficient. What more is wanted should
be milk. Boil in a basin or mould 4-5 hours. Serve with or without
brandy sauce. This is a very nice and inexpensive pudding, no eggs
being used.

(_b_) 1 lb. grated carrot, 6 oz. breadcrumbs, 6 oz. raisins, 6 oz.
currants, 6 oz. sugar, ½ lb. suet, half a nutmeg, half the rind of
a lemon grated, 2 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 egg, and a little salt.
Mix all well together, and put it into a well-buttered mould. Boil 4
hours.

_Castle Pudding._--Mix 1½ oz. finely sifted flour with the same
weight of powdered sugar. Dissolve in a basin before the fire 1½ oz.
fresh butter, beat it to a cream; whisk 2 eggs, and mix them slowly
with the butter, stir in the sugar, and afterwards the flour; add a
spoonful of grated nutmeg and ½ lemon peel grated. Put the mixture
into tins, and bake in a moderately heated oven for 20 minutes.

_Charlotte Russe._--These are best made in a plain round tin. Take
some Savoy biscuits, using half at a time, and keeping the rounded
side next the mould; form a star at the bottom by cutting them to
the shape you require to fit into each other; touch the edges of the
biscuits lightly with white of egg to hold them together, but be
very careful not to let the egg touch the mould, or it will stick
and prevent it from turning out. Having made a star for the centre,
proceed in the same way to line the sides by placing the biscuits
standing upright all round it, their edges slightly overlapping each
other; these must also be fastened to each other, and to the centre
star by a slight application of white of egg, after which the tin
must be placed in the oven for a few minutes to dry the egg. For a
small mould, ½ pint double cream, 3 teaspoonfuls pounded sugar, and
rather more than ¼ oz. gelatine would be sufficient. The cream must
be whisked to a stiff froth with the previously melted gelatine,
the sugar, and a few drops of vanilla flavouring; pour this mixture
into the mould, covering it with a slice of sponge cake, the size of
the mould, to form a foundation when it is turned out; the biscuits
forming the sides must have been cut evenly with the top, and must
be touched lightly with the white of egg to make them adhere to this
foundation slice. Place the mould on ice until required, then turn
it out on a dish and serve at once. This requires great care in the
turning out.

_Cherry Jelly._--Make some jelly as above, and flavour it with a
small quantity of noyeau. Have some preserved cherries stoned; pour
some jelly in a mould, dispose some cherries round, cover with jelly,
then put in more cherries, and so on until the mould is full.

_Cherry Pudding._--Mix 3 tablespoonfuls flour to a smooth paste with
part of 1 pint milk; then add the remainder. Warm 1 oz. butter, and
stir it in; 3 eggs well beaten, and a pinch of salt. Stone 1 lb.
bottled cherries, and stir them into the batter. Tie up in a pudding
cloth, or put into a shape, and boil 2 hours. Serve with sweet butter
sauce.

_Cherry Tart._--Make a short paste with 1 white and 3 yolks of eggs,
1 oz. sugar, a little milk, 1 oz. butter, a pinch of salt, and
sufficient flour. Work it lightly, roll it out to the thickness of ¼
in.; line a flat mould with the paste, uniting the joint, carefully
with white of egg, fill the mould with uncooked rice and bake it.
Stone 1½ lb. stewing cherries and cook them with some sugar, a little
sherry, and a few drops of cochineal to give them a nice colour.
Remove the rice and put in the stewed cherries. Serve hot or cold.

_Chestnut Compote._--Roast about 30 chestnuts, take off the peel, and
put them into a preserving pan with ¼ lb. sugar, pounded, and half a
glass of water. Let them remain until they have absorbed the sugar,
then take them out and dress them high on a dish; squeeze over them
the juice of a lemon and sprinkle them with fine sugar, when they are
ready to serve.

_Chestnut Cream._--Peel about 20 sound chestnuts, and parboil them in
slightly salted water until the skin comes off easily. Pound them in
a mortar, and pass them through a fine sieve. Soak 1½ oz. gelatine
in ½ pint milk, add 6 sweet almonds blanched and bruised, the thin
rind of half a lemon, and sufficient sugar. Let the whole come to the
boil, and then put it by to cool a little, and strain this on the
chestnut purée, mixing the two very thoroughly. Add a wineglassful
of dry curaçoa, and, lastly, ½ pint cream; mix thoroughly, pour into
a mould, set it on ice to set, and turn it out on a bed of cream
whipped with sugar to a froth. If the cream put into the mixture is
previously whipped, it is an improvement.

_Chestnut Pudding._--(_a_) Boil 20-30 chestnuts in water till they
feel tender, then dry them in the oven; take off the shells and
skins, and pound the nuts to powder. To 6 oz., add 4 oz. butter
beaten to a cream, 3 oz. loaf sugar, 6 fresh eggs, and 1 gill new
milk. Butter a mould, stick it tastefully with either cherries or
raisins; put in the pudding, cover it with writing paper spread with
butter, and steam over fast-boiling water for 1½ hour, or bake in a
quick oven ¼ hour less. Serve with clarified sugar or with sauce.

(_b_) Boil 40 good-sized chestnuts, rub them through a sieve, and
place in a stewpan with a pinch of salt, ¾ pint cream, 3 oz. butter,
¼ lb. sifted sugar, and half a stick of vanilla, pounded fine. Stir
these gently over the fire till the mixture begins to thicken and
then at once stir more rapidly, until it leaves the bottom and sides
of the stewpan. Then remove it from the fire, add the yolks of 6 eggs
and the whites of 4, whipped to a firm froth, mix well, and pour it
into a plain mould well buttered; place a buttered paper over the
top, and let the pudding steam for 1½ hour, or rather less. When
done, turn the pudding carefully out on to a hot dish, and serve with
diluted hot red currant jelly round it, the top being sprinkled with
white sugar; or, better still, with diluted apricot jam, which should
be poured quite warm over and around the pudding.

_Chocolate Blancmange._--Grate ¼ lb. chocolate into 1 qt. milk,
add 1½ oz. gelatine, and ¼ lb. powdered sugar; mix all in a jug,
and stand it in a saucepan of cold water over a clear fire; stir
occasionally till the water boils, and then stir continuously while
boiling about 15 minutes. Dip a mould in cold water, pour in the
blancmange, turn out when set.

_Chocolate Pudding._--(_a_) Soak ½ lb. gelatine with a little cold
water, put it in a pan with ¼ lb. grated chocolate, 1 oz. sugar,
and 1 pint milk; stir till it boils. Break the yolks of 4 eggs in a
basin, stir with a wooden spoon. When the chocolate boils allow it to
stand one minute, then pour it on the yolks, return to the pan, and
stir till it thickens, not letting it boil; pour into a wet mould.

(_b_) Take 4 rolls, cut off the crust, and leave them to soak, until
quite soft, in milk sweetened according to taste. Add a lump of
butter the size of an egg, a little cinnamon, the yolks of 6 eggs,
and the whites beaten to snow, and, lastly, ½ lb. grated chocolate.
Stir up all the ingredients, and, when thoroughly mixed, fill the
pudding mould, which must be a closed one, and boil 2 hours, putting
it into the water when boiling. Serve up with a cream custard,
flavoured with vanilla.

_Chocolate Strudels._--Beat well the whites of 2 eggs and the yolks
of 4, warm a piece of butter the size of an egg, and add it to the
eggs with a little salt; work in by degrees as much fine flour as
will form a rather stiff dough, knead this till quite smooth. Divide
the paste into small balls, roll them round in the hands, then, with
a smooth rolling-pin, roll them out very thin--as thin as possible.
They should be about the size of a saucer, but rather oval. Grate
vanilla chocolate, and mix it with some pounded almonds and the yolks
of 2 or 3 eggs, with the whites beaten to a snow. Spread hot butter
over the strudels, and then the chocolate as thin as a knife-blade.
Roll them up, when the shape will be larger in the middle, and
tapering off at both ends. Lay them 1 in. apart in a baking tin, or
a large stewpan, that has been well buttered; cover, and bake them
in the oven, or over a slow fire, with red coals on the lid to draw
them. When they are risen and beginning to colour, pour some hot milk
over, and finish baking a very pale brown. The last thing before
putting them in the oven they should have some grated chocolate and
crushed sugar strewn over them.

_Citron Pudding._--Take ½ pint cream, 1 tablespoonful flour, 2 oz.
white sugar, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix all these ingredients
together with the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs. Cut 2 oz. citron into
thin slices, place pieces of it in small buttered moulds or cups,
fill them with the mixture, and bake until the pudding assumes a
light brown colour. This quantity will make 5 puddings, which are
sufficient for a side dish.

_Claret Jelly._--1 bottle of claret, the juice and rind of 1 lemon, 1
sixpenny pot of red currant jelly, ½ lb. loaf sugar, rather more than
1 oz. isinglass in hot weather (in winter 1 oz. is quite sufficient),
a wineglassful of brandy. Boil altogether for a few minutes, taking
care that the red currant jelly is well dissolved and thoroughly
mixed with the other ingredients: 10 minutes will generally effect
this, but a good deal depends on the general temperature. Serve with
cream sauce as follows: ½ pint cream sweetened and flavoured with
vanilla whisked to a stiff froth; pour round the jelly, not over it.
Half these quantities will fill a mould large enough for 6 people.

_Clarges Street Pudding._--1 pint new milk, ¾ oz. isinglass, 1 bay
leaf, the peel of 1 Seville orange, lemon and sugar to taste. Boil
altogether; when the isinglass is dissolved take it off the fire and
add immediately the yolks of 8 eggs and 1 pint cream; when nearly
cold, add 1 wineglassful brandy, pour into a mould, turn out, and
serve with the following sauce: The juice of 2 lemons, an equal
quantity of water and sugar to taste; cut the peel of the lemon into
long thin shreds and boil in the syrup till quite tender; pour it
over the pudding, letting the shreds remain on the top.

_Clifton Pudding._--Boil a teacupful of rice for nearly an hour in a
cloth, putting it on in cold water. Have ready sweet sauce, made of ½
pint milk (or water), 1 tablespoonful flour, and 3 lumps sugar; pour
this over just before sending to table.

_Coconut Pudding._--(_a_) Break the shell of a moderate-sized
coconut, so as to leave the nut as whole as possible. Grate it after
removing the brown skin, mix it with 3 oz. powdered loaf sugar and ½
oz. lemon peel. Mix the whole with milk, and put it into a tin lined
with puff paste. Bake it a light brown.

(_b_) Grate a coconut, make a custard (2 eggs to 1 pint milk),
sweeten to taste, add a small glass of brandy and a little nutmeg.
Stir the coconut into this, add a bit of butter the size of a hen’s
egg. Line a shallow dish with puff paste, and bake of a light brown.

_Coffee Cakes._-¼ lb. powdered almonds, ½ oz. ground coffee, 2 whites
of eggs; beat the whole together, drop this on white paper, and bake
slowly.

_Coffee Cream._--Dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in just enough water to
cover it; put to ½ pint cream 1½ teaspoonful very strong clear coffee
with powdered sugar; let it just boil, leave it standing till nearly
cold, then pour it into a mould, and when quite set turn it out.

_Coffee Ice Pudding._--Pound 2 oz. freshly roasted coffee in a
mortar, just enough to crush the berries without reducing them to
powder. Put them into 1 pint milk with 6 oz. loaf sugar, let it boil,
then leave it to get cold, strain it on the yolks of 6 eggs in a
double saucepan, and stir on the fire till the custard thickens. When
quite cold, work into it 1½ gill cream whipped to a froth. Freeze the
mixture in the icepot, then fill a plain ice mould with it, and lay
it in ice till the time of serving.

_Coffee Jelly._--1 teacupful very strong coffee. Dissolve in it 1
packet Nelson’s gelatine. Put on the fire 1 pint milk and 6 oz. lump
sugar; when nearly on the boil pour in the coffee and gelatine. Let
all boil together for 10 minutes; pour into a wetted mould, and keep
in a cool place till stiff.

_Coffee Pudding._--Make a teacup of strong well-cleared coffee, beat
4 eggs with 5 oz. sugar, 1 pint milk previously boiled, and half a
pinch of salt; add the coffee, strain into a pie-dish 2 in. deep,
put the dish into a saucepan, with sufficient boiling water to reach
to the middle of the dish: put into a moderate oven till quite firm:
when cold sprinkle pounded sugar over it, and glaze with a red-hot
iron.

_College Puddings._--These are made with breadcrumbs, suet, eggs,
sugar, and currants. To ½ lb. finely grated breadcrumbs add 6 oz.
beef suet, carefully chopped, and free from skin, and the same
quantity of well-washed and dried currants, 2 oz. pounded sugar, 2
teaspoonfuls chopped lemon peel (this must have been peeled from the
lemon as thinly as possible, as any portion of the white part would
cause the puddings to taste bitter), 3 eggs, well beaten (yolks
and whites separately), a little grated nutmeg, and half a small
wineglassful of brandy; moisten with 1 tablespoonful milk. Mix all
these thoroughly, and pour into small tin cups, previously well
buttered. To be baked for somewhat less than ½ hour in a moderate
oven, and served with or without a little wine sauce in the dish, but
not over the puddings, which should be sent up with a sprinkling of
castor sugar over each.

_Conservative Pudding._--4 oz. sponge cake, ½ oz. ratafias, 1½ oz.
macaroons, put them into a basin, and pour over ½ gill rum and 1 gill
good cream; add 6 well-beaten eggs (beat for 10 minutes); butter a
pint mould, stick it tastefully with preserved cherries, put in the
pudding, tie it over with writing paper spread with butter, and steam
over fast boiling water for 1½ hour. Turn out carefully and serve
with clarified sugar (flavoured with almonds) in the dish, not poured
over the pudding. 3 oz. loaf sugar, a laurel leaf, and ½ gill water
boiled 10 minutes will make the sauce.

_Cornish Pasties._--Make a crust with 1 lb. flour, 2-3 oz. of suet
or dripping, ½ teaspoonful baking powder and cold water. Roll it out
and cut it in rounds ½ yd. or less in diameter; place on each round
a suitable quantity of chopped potato, onion, turnips, herbs, and a
small quantity of meat, cooked or uncooked, salt or fresh; season
with salt pepper and close each round, leaving a ridge along the
middle. Bake 1 hour or less according to size. These may be eaten
cold or hot. The weight when baked will be that if the pasties are
large. Boiled rice, leeks, vegetable marrow, currants, apples, sugar
of the dry ingredients, or more and spice may be used instead of meat
and vegetables.

_Cottage Pie._--Mince any kind of cold meat together--beef, mutton,
veal, pork, or lamb--put it about 1-1½ in. in a deep pie dish, and
cover it with gravy; do not spare salt and pepper; cover it over with
mashed potatoes smooth at the top, and cut it across in diamonds
with a knife; bake till it is crisp and brown at the top. A little
Worcester sauce may be considered an improvement if onions are not
objected to.

_Cottage Pudding._--Break some bread into very small pieces,
sufficient to fill the pudding basin you wish to boil it in; then
turn it out into a larger basin, and measure the milk in the same
basin ¼ full; put on to boil, with enough sugar to sweeten. When
taken off the fire, put a lump of butter in the hot milk, and, when
melted, stir it well and pour over the bread; cover closely with
a plate for 20 minutes; then beat it with a fork, and mix in some
currants, raisins, candied peel, and some mixed spice; beat 2 eggs
well, and add them last, stirring the whole vigorously with a fork.
Boil in the same basin which the bread and milk were measured in,
for 2 hours, the basin being well buttered, of course. Beating the
bread with a fork keeps it from getting heavy or lumpy, and the bread
should be torn to pieces, not cut, as the ragged edges of each morsel
of bread absorb the milk better than when cut. Crusts can be used
for this pudding, and if too hard to break they can be cut fine, and
then pounded between a thick newspaper with a flat iron. The same
ingredients make a good baked pudding; only more milk is required to
make a softer batter of the bread.

_Crab-Apple Cheese._--Wipe the apples in a clean dry cloth, and
examine each one, to be sure that they are perfect. Any damaged ones
should be cut with a fruit-knife, and only the sound part used. Put
them in a covered jar in a slow oven till quite tender, then squeeze
them through coarse canvas (called in some places “cheese-cloth”),
allow ¾ lb. lump sugar to 1 lb. pulp, and boil for ½ hour, skimming
well; put into moulds, and paper, as any other preserve. If the
jelly is desired clear do not squeeze the fruit. Tie the canvas over
a large jug, and lay the fruit on it, letting it drain. This is
wasteful, however, unless the fruit is afterwards pressed and boiled
separately; besides, the rich flavour of the apple core would be
wanting in the jelly.

_Cranberry Jelly._--Prepare the fruit as for tart. (_a_) To 1 qt.
cranberries add 1 lb. sugar and ½ pint water; simmer them together
for ½ hour; strain through a sieve, and when cool put by in pots.

(_b_) Soak ½ oz. gelatine in as much water as will cover it for
½ hour; boil ½ pint water and ¼ lb. sugar to a syrup; throw in 1
lb. cranberries, and simmer till the fruit is tender. Dissolve the
gelatine, put it with the fruit, add 2 glasses sherry (or any other
white wine), the juice of a lemon, and a few drops of cochineal; boil
all together for 5 minutes. Place a jelly pot in the middle of a
mould, pour the fruit round it; turn it out when cold on to a glass
dish, and put cream in the centre.

_Cranberry Tart._--Place 1 qt. cranberries in a pan of cold water,
and let them remain 12 hours. Wash them in several waters till
the salt flavour is quite gone; dry on a coarse cloth, and pick
carefully. Mix in a basin with ¼ lb. finely powdered white sugar, and
squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fruit. A glass of white
wine is a great improvement to the flavour. Put all into a pie-dish,
with a light paste for the top, and bake. A small tin of American
apples, cut up finely, with equal proportions of cranberries, is a
nice variety of the ordinary apple pie.

_Creams, Buttermilk._--Fresh buttermilk 1-2 qt., according to the
size of the dish required; hang it up in a thick cloth, through which
the whey can drip, for 2-3 days, then beat it well up with either
fresh fruit or jam, or jelly, or rhubarb. The buttermilk must not be
too much watered in the churn, else it will be too thin; some can be
taken out at first, in case the butter requires much scalding.

_Cream, Clotted or Scalded._--Set the afternoon’s milk in a large
flat tin, or earthenware pan, leave it till 11 o’clock the next
morning, then with great care and steadiness, so as not to disturb
the cream, place it on a large saucepan or stewpan ⅔ full of water;
let the water boil under it, simmering for more than half the day,
till the first cream is thick, yellow, and crinkled like leather, and
has receded from the edges of the pan all round, showing the second
cream. When the latter looks thoroughly thick and set, remove the pan
very carefully to a cool place till the following day, then skim it,
allowing no milk to come with it, as that would inevitably thin the
cream.

_Cream, Whipped._--Rub 4 or 5 pieces sugar on a lemon, then add the
juice to them with 1 good tablespoonful brandy; when the sugar is
dissolved and sweetened to taste, put it into a basin; take ½ pint
cream, and pour in, gently stirring it with the whip, then continue
to whip steadily, not too fast, until the cream becomes thick, but be
careful not to turn it to butter. Put it away for a few hours into a
cold larder, then it will become quite thick and ready to put over
your jelly or trifle; it is best to whip it the day before it is
wanted.

_Crystal Palace Pudding._--1 oz. isinglass, ½ oz. ratafias, 1½ pint
milk, yolks of 3 eggs, ½ lb. sugar, a few currants, 6 sponge cakes,
flavour with almond, lemon, bay leaf, or vanilla. Dissolve the
isinglass in the milk, add the yolks of the eggs, and make as for
custard. When nearly cold, stick the top of the mould, after oiling
it, with currants, then a little custard; moisten, but do not soak
the cake in milk. Cut the cake in pieces, fill the mould alternately
with cake and custard, strewing a few currants between. When quite
set, turn out and cover with custard.

_Curaçoa Jelly._--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient
pieces, and put them in a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. cold
water; set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw
it away, and wash the pieces of feet carefully; then put them on
again with 2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours,
removing the scum carefully during the process; then strain the
liquor into a basin, and when quite cold and set take off all the
fat, and wash the top of the jelly with a little hot water, so as to
get rid of every vestige of fat. Put the jelly in a saucepan on the
fire; directly it is melted add sugar to taste, the juice and the
thin rind of 1 lemon, and the whites of 3 eggs whisked to a froth.
Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place the thin rind of a lemon
at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour the mixture over it. The bag
should have been previously rinsed in boiling water, and the first ½
pint of jelly that comes through must be returned to the bag. If the
jelly does not come out quite clear, the operation of straining must
be repeated. Add sufficient dry curaçoa to the clarified jelly to
flavour it well. Fill a mould with it, and place it on ice to set.

_Currant Jelly._--Take 8 lb. very ripe currants, red and white; pick
off all the stalks, and put them in a wide earthen pan; then take
them up in handfuls, and squeeze them till the juice is all crushed
out of them, which will take some time. Leave them in the pan, with
the juice, for 24 hours. Put 2 lb. raspberries in a saucepan, with 2
teacupfuls water, and boil them for a few minutes, till they are all
crushed. Then pass all the currants and raspberries through a hair
sieve, pressing them with a wooden spoon to extract all the juice.
If the juice should be very thick, pass it also through a jelly bag.
Weigh the juice, and for every lb. of it put 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken
into large pieces. Put the sugar into a preserving pan, with 1 pint
water; pour all the juice on it. Let it boil for ½ hour, stirring
frequently. Then put it into small bottles, and cork it for use. 2
tablespoonfuls in a tumbler of water make a very refreshing drink
in summer. Cherry syrup may be made in the same way with Morella
cherries.

_Custards._--(_a_) Boil, and when boiling, pour ½ pint milk upon 1
egg beaten up. Put in a dish, and stand this on a larger dish of hot
water. Bake ½ hour.

(_b_) To 1 oz. isinglass, dissolved in ½ pint milk, add 1 pint thin
cream, sugar to taste, and 3 bay or laurel leaves. When these just
simmer, pour them upon the yolks of 5 eggs, well beaten. Put the
whole on the fire, and stir it one way till it begins to thicken;
then strain it through a fine sieve, and let it stand till new-milk
warm; then add 1 tablespoonful lemon juice, stirring it well, and
afterwards pour it into a mould.

(_c_) To make about 7 custards, boil 1 pint milk with 3
dessertspoonfuls sugar. Beat the yolks and whites of 2 eggs well
together, and pour the milk, when slightly cool, on to the eggs, and
beat well together. Fill white china French custard cups; stand them
in a bain-marie, and let them cook until they become solid, taking
care to let no water get on the top. When set, take the bain-marie
off the fire, and put the cups in the oven for the custard to
slightly brown. Vanilla or any flavouring can be used.

_Damson Cheese._--Pick off the stalks, and to every lb. of fruit put
¾ lb. loaf sugar; boil as for jam till the damsons are tender, then
rub them carefully through a hair sieve, and to every lb. of the pulp
allow another ¾ lb. sugar, pounded this time. Boil it an hour very
slowly, constantly stirring; then pour it into pots or moulds, and
tie down with brandy papers. When cold it will be quite firm. If
wanted sweet, 1 lb. sugar must be allowed for each boiling. (Bessie
Tremaine.)

_Danish Jelly._--Take ¾ pint claret, ½ pint sherry (Marsala is best),
½ pint brandy, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ½ pint cherry juice, the juice and
peel of 1 lemon, 1½ oz. gelatine. Mix all these ingredients together;
boil, and strain them into a mould. The gelatine should be put to
soak the night before in a very little cold water. This jelly must
not boil quickly, else it will spoil the colour. Let it cool before
putting it into the mould. Serve with a rich custard flavoured with
vanilla round it.

_Date Pudding._--Take ¼ lb. finely grated breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. chopped
dates, 3 oz. sugar, 6 oz. chopped suet, with grated nutmeg to taste.
Mix 1 teaspoonful Yeatman’s yeast powder with ¼ lb. flour, add this
to the other ingredients, moisten with milk, mix well, and boil for 4
hours in a basin. Serve with wine sauce.

_Diplomatic Pudding._--Decorate a plain mould with a lining of
currants and pistachio nuts, and fill the outer part with jelly; when
the jelly is set remove the lining by putting a little warm water in
it; make a custard with 1 pint milk and the yolks of 4 eggs, flavour
the milk with vanilla, add ½ oz. isinglass, stir it into the custard
when hot; break up 1 or 2 sponge cakes and macaroons, cut up a few
candied fruits, put a layer of each until the mould is full, pour
in the custard, leave it in a cool place until wanted; then dip the
mould into tepid water a second, turn it out on a cold dish, and
serve.

_Egg Snow Pudding._--Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil in a sugar
boiler with a gill of water until the syrup becomes a deep brown.
Warm a small basin, pour the syrup into it, and keep turning the
basin round until the inside is completely coated with the syrup,
which will by that time have set. Whisk the whites of 6 eggs to a
stiff froth, then pour them into the prepared basin, which they
should only half fill. Tie a piece of paper over the top of the basin
and place it in a large pan containing a sufficient quantity of hot
water to float the basin; cover the pan and so place it on the range
as to keep the water very hot without actually boiling, for this
would spoil the pudding. After the lapse of about ¾ hour turn out the
pudding on a dish with the caramel syrup, which will come out of the
mould round it.

_Egyptian Pudding._--1 lb. suet, 1 lb. raisins, ¾ lb. fine bread, ½
oz. allspice, 4 figs chopped fine, 4 tablespoonfuls sugar, 2 eggs,
2 glasses brandy, the peel of ½ lemon chopped fine. Mix all well
together, and put into a mould. Steam it for 4 hours.

_Eton Pudding._--1 lb. breadcrumbs, 4 oz. candied peel, 2 oz. finely
shred beef suet, 4 oz. sugar, 2 eggs; cut the peel into strips, and
mix with the other dry ingredients; beat the eggs well, and add last
of all. If more moisture is wanted, use milk. Steam in a basin 1½
hour; serve with sherry sauce.

_Falkland Pudding._--Take 4 well-beaten eggs, add 1 teacupful good
cream, the breast of a cold chicken finely minced, ¼ lb. Parmesan
cheese grated, 2 oz. macaroni well boiled and cut small, a little
salt and pepper, and a grain or two of cayenne; stir all well
together till it is well mixed (add the cream and eggs lastly); boil
it in a plain oiled mould, glaze it, and serve with a rich brown
gravy or tomato sauce round it.

_Fat Rascals._-¾ lb. butter rubbed in with 1 lb. flour and ½ lb.
currants. Finger the paste lightly, roll it thin, and cut it into
small rounds. Serve these hot, split in two, and buttered inside.

_Fig Pudding._--2 lb. best figs, 1 lb. beef suet, 2 lb. flour, the
same quantity of bread, 2 eggs, and milk; cut the figs into small
pieces, grate the bread finely, and chop the suet very small; mix
these well together, add the flour and eggs, which should be well
beaten, and add sufficient milk to form a stiff paste; butter a mould
or basin, press the pudding into it very closely, tie it down, and
boil for 3 hours; turn it out, serve with melted butter, wine sauce,
or cream.

_Flummery._--Put 1 oz. isinglass or gelatine into a jug, pour upon
it 1 pint boiling water, and let it stand for ½ hour, or until it
is dissolved; then put it into a brass saucepan, adding the peel of
1 lemon and the well-beaten yolks of 3 eggs, ½ pint sherry, and loaf
sugar to taste; let it simmer or just boil up together. When this
is done put it into a cool place until it is lukewarm, when add the
juice of 1 lemon. Run it through a jelly bag into moulds.

_French Pie._--Any remains of cold meat, free from fat or gristle,
pass through a mincing machine till finely minced, season with
anything liked, and moisten with plenty of gravy; have ready some
potatoes nicely mashed, and, after warming the mince in a saucepan,
turn it out into a pie dish; heap the mashed potatoes well up, spread
2 or 3 bits of butter on the top, and place in a hot oven till
hot and brown. When well made this is a delicious dish, and very
economical; any scraps may be used, the chief point being to mince
everything well; the potatoes should be large and old.

_Frijoles._--The most valuable and attractive way to use haricot
beans is in the style of the national cookery of Mexico called
frijoles, pronounced fre-o-les. Boil them soft, drain, put them in a
frying-pan with sage and onions, fry with olive oil until brown.

_Fruit Compote._--Take equal parts red currants, white currants,
raspberries, and very ripe cherries. Remove all the stalks, the
stones from the cherries, and pick the currants one by one; sprinkle
plenty of powdered lump sugar over the fruit, add 1 wineglass best
French pale brandy, or more according to the quantity of fruit; toss
them lightly until the sugar is all dissolved. Serve within a border
of sponge cake.

_Fruit Creams._--Dissolve 1 oz. gelatine in 1½ pint good milk, and
then let it come very gently to the boil, having sweetened it to
taste, and then strain through a hair sieve. When quite cool, add ½
pint of the juice of any fresh fruit (carefully excluding the pulp)
to the milk, remembering that the brighter the fruit the better the
effect. Stir until well mixed, and add 1 glass brandy, which must
be thoroughly incorporated with the milk and gelatine. Beat with an
egg whisk until quite stiff, then put in a mould, and when cold turn
out. In the very hot weather, sometimes more than 1 oz. gelatine is
necessary to make the cream quite firm. If no fruit juice is handy,
some of the raspberry or strawberry acid, made in the summer from
fresh fruit, makes a very good substitute, only it must be diluted
and sweetened to make the proper quantity of liquid, otherwise the
mould would not be full. Fresh orange or lemon juice also answers
very well. In the hot weather this cream is much improved if imbedded
in ice before serving. It is necessary to whip this mixture a very
long time, in order to give it the proper honeycomb appearance.

_Fruit in Jelly._--Prepare a very clear transparent jelly, and
flavour it very delicately with maraschino. Place a mould upon ice,
and put into it a layer about 1 in. thick of the jelly; when set
arrange some fruit of different kinds, and in some sort of order or
grouping put spoonfuls of the jelly between, and at the sides of the
fruit, to keep it in position. It must be done slowly, allowing the
jelly to set before adding more fruit. Lastly, add another layer of
the jelly, and leave it to get quite firm. It is an improvement to
steep the fruit in maraschino or brandy (according to the flavouring
of the jelly) before putting it into the jelly.

_Fruit Macédoine_.--Use preserved fruits, as peaches, plums,
greengages, cherries, apricots, pineapples, &c. Let them be nicely
cut and arranged in a glass dish, pour the juice or liquor in which
each has been preserved together into a very clean stewpan, add
sugar until sweet enough, and a few drops of brandy or liqueur; let
this boil gently until sufficiently thick, stirring it during the
time, and skimming if necessary; the syrup must be quite clear. When
done, pour it over the fruit, and let it remain until cold, when it
is ready to serve. Macédoines, properly so called, are made in a
mould with clear jelly; for making in this way, apples may be used,
cut into different shapes, and dyed with different colours. To do
this, the pieces of apple must be boiled in a very light syrup, some
coloured with a little cochineal, some with saffron. When the fruit
has well taken the colour, drain it well before putting it into the
mould, as the least drop of syrup would prevent the jelly being
clear. Some pieces of the apples should be white; a few bits of
greengages, angelica, or brandy cherries may also be used with these
and the coloured apples, and will improve the flavour. To place these
or any other fruits for the macédoine, first pour into the mould a
little of the jelly, which must be good, clear wine jelly, and set
it to freeze; then arrange symmetrically any variety of fruits you
wish to use, pour in some more jelly, again set it to freeze, and
so proceed till the mould is filled to the top. Let it freeze till
wanted, then dip a cloth in hot water, and rub the mould all over,
turning it into the dish in which it is to be served. The greater the
variety of fruits the better the macédoine will be, whether made with
jelly or in syrup.

_Fruit Pudding._--May be made of fruit of all kinds, fresh or
bottled. If fresh fruit is used, it must be stewed with water and
sugar until it is about as much cooked as it would be in a fruit
pie. If bottled fruit is used, the syrup only should be boiled with
sugar, and the fruit simmered in it for a minute or two. Take some
stale bread, cut a round piece the size of half a crown, and lay it
at the bottom of a basin, and arrange around it strips or fingers of
bread about ½ in. wide, remembering to leave a space the width of
the finger between the strips. When the fruit is ready, and while it
is still hot, put it in, a spoonful at a time, so as not to displace
the bread, and, as a further means to this end, put the heavier part
of the fruit (the pulp and skin and stones, if there are any) at
the bottom of the mould, and the juice last of all. Cover the top
entirely with stale bread, cut into very small dice; lay a plate on
the pudding, put a weight on the plate, preserving the juice that
rises above the plate, and set the pudding in a cool place till
wanted. If it is well pressed down it will turn out in a shape,
and will be found an excellent pudding. This dish is served at the
hydropathic establishments as a substitute for fruit pies and tarts,
as pastry is not considered wholesome. In cold weather it will turn
out if it is made 3-4 hours before it is wanted; but in warm weather
it will need to be made overnight.

_Fruit Tart._--Stone some cherries, greengages, or plums, and stew
them for 1 hour with plenty of sugar and ½ tumblerful water. Make
a short paste with the white of 1 and the yolks of 3 eggs, 1 oz.
butter, 1 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, a little water and sufficient
flour. Roll it out to the thickness of a penny piece, line a mould
with it, uniting the joins with white of egg, fill it with rice and
bake it. When done remove the rice, put in the stewed fruit, and
serve.

_Fruit Trifle._--Any kind, or 2 or 3 kinds of fruit, will do for
this dish. You can put at the bottom of the dish a layer of fresh
raspberries, then a few slices of stale sponge cake, soaked in
wine, would be an improvement, but the wine may be omitted; then a
layer of stewed red currants, then a few ratafias, now a few stewed
cherries, and over these a little boiled custard, and on top of this,
if convenient, a whip of cream in form of a pyramid, and over this
a few hundreds-and-thousands--a tiny comfit, of various colours,
sold by confectioners. In country establishments it is not difficult
to get variety of fruit, and cream is generally in the house, or
can easily be got. It is an improvement to many dishes, but when it
cannot be had the custard alone will do. The top can be ornamented
with almonds, blanched and cut into spikes, or with candied peel
stamped out with a tin cutter in leaves or any other design, or the
hundreds-and-thousands strewed over.

_Frying Batter._--Beat up together 2 tablespoonfuls brandy, the yolks
of 2 eggs, 1 tablespoonful olive oil, and 4 or 5 tablespoonfuls cold
water. Amalgamate with this 3 tablespoonfuls of fine flour, and a
good pinch of salt. Beat the mixture 5-10 minutes, adding a little
more water if too thick. When ready to use it, stir into it lightly
and quickly the whites of 2 eggs whisked to a froth.

_Furmity._--Old housed dry wheat will not suit for this, it must be
new wheat, grown and threshed that summer, and the newer the wheat
the better the furmity. Take about 2 large tablespoonfuls wheat to
each basinful milk, and in an iron saucepan boil the same till
the wheat is tender. Mix 1 tablespoonful flour with a little cold
milk, add that, together with a morsel of salt, a little sugar, and
allspice, to the wheat; stir the pan till it boils again, when it
is ready. The quantity of allspice, sugar, and flour, to decide the
thickness of the furmity, depends on taste.

_Garibaldi Cream._--Make a cream with 1 qt. milk, 9 sheets best
French gelatine, sugar to taste, and the yolks of 8 eggs. Flavour it
with any essence you like, strain it, and divide it into 3 basins.
Colour the first a deep red with cochineal, the second green with
spinach greening, and leave the third its original colour. These
operations must be done while the cream is still warm, and it must be
kept so in a bain-marie during the following process. Lay a shape in
water or on ice, pour some of the red cream into it, to the thickness
of less than ½ in. When this is set, pour in a similar layer of the
plain cream, and when this is set pour in a layer of the green cream.
Go on pouring in layers in the same way, until the mould is filled.
When the cream is quite set turn it out and serve. Care must be
taken, in pouring in each kind of cream, to get each layer the same
thickness. This is best done by measuring with water how much liquid
will go to make a layer of the required thickness, and then getting a
cup which holds just that quantity, and using it to measure the cream.

_Génoise Pastry._--Take ¼ lb. freshest butter, put it in a bowl, and
warm it until it can be beaten with a spoon; add to it 4 oz. powdered
loaf sugar, and beat the two together until a smooth white cream is
obtained, then add one egg, and keep on beating the mixture till it
is smooth again, then add 3 more eggs in the same manner. The germ of
the eggs should be removed. Lastly, incorporate quickly ¼ lb. fine
flour with the mixture, and as soon as it is smooth, pour it out to
the thickness of ½ in. on a buttered flat tin, which must be put
into the oven at once. When done (in about 10-15 minutes) turn out
the slab of Génoise, and put it to cool, under side uppermost, on a
sieve. There is a great knack in beating this pasting to prevent its
curdling. Should this happen, it can generally be remedied by beating
as quickly as possible until the mixture is smooth again. Take a slab
of Génoise, spread on the top of it the thinnest possible coating of
apricot jam, then a coating of chocolate icing. Put it into a very
hot oven for rather less than a minute, take it out, and place it in
a cold place to get cool. Then cut it up with a sharp knife in any
shapes liked.

_Gingerbread Pudding._--2 oz. lard or butter, 2 tablespoons brown
sugar, 2 ditto golden syrup, 1 egg, 1 teacupful milk, 1 teaspoonful
ground ginger, 8 oz. flour, 1 teaspoonful baking powder. Work the
butter and sugar together, then add the egg beat well, now add
treacle and milk, then the flour and baking powder.

_Ginger Cream._--Dissolve ¼ oz. isinglass, whip up 1 pint cream until
it is quite thick, then add ½ pint ginger syrup. Cut up the preserved
ginger into very small dice, and stir it well into the cream; add the
isinglass and stir it well. Pour it into a mould and let it stand
until wanted, then turn it out as you would a jelly.

_Ginger Pudding._--Take the weight of 4 eggs in sifted sugar,
butter, and fine flour; beat the butter to a cream, stir to it the
sugar, add ½ teaspoonful ground ginger (more if a strong flavour is
wanted); beat the eggs, white and yolks together, for at least ¼
hour; add these to the other ingredients, together with the flour,
very gradually, beating the mixture well with a fork or wooden spoon
all the time. When thoroughly mixed, well grease a fluted tin mould;
put in the mixture and bake ¾ hour. This pudding eats well cold, but
for a second serving it may be cut into slices, and each slice to be
again cut with a fluted tin biscuit cutter, then fried lightly in
butter, served up in a pile, with sifted sugar over, and eaten with a
wine sauce. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Gooseberry Cheese._--Take 6 lb. unripe rough gooseberries (green
hairy ones are best), cut off blossoms and stems, put them in water
for 1-2 hours, then take and bruise them in a marble mortar, and put
them into a brass pan over a clear fire, stirring them until tender,
then add 4½ lb. lump sugar, pounded, and boil till very thick and of
a fine green colour, stirring all the time.

_Gooseberry Cream._--Soak ½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint milk, when soaked,
add to it 1 pint cream and ¼ lb. lump sugar, set on the stove,
stirring occasionally, when nearly boiling take from the fire and mix
with it 1 pint green gooseberries that have been previously boiled
in an enamelled stewpan, with a little sugar and a little thin lemon
rind, and then pass through a hair sieve with a wooden spoon, colour
with a little spinach greening, and set away to cool; when nearly
set, whip up and put into a mould, and set aside till wanted; to
make the greening, mash a handful of spinach, pound in a mortar, and
squeeze through a clean cloth, add a little of this to the cream;
before it sets it will give it a pretty delicate shade. Note.--Fruit
should always be cooked in an enamelled stewpan or in earthenware, as
copper is likely to spoil it.

_Gooseberry Fool._--Pick 1 qt. quite young gooseberries and put them
in a jar with a very little water and plenty of sugar. Put the jar
in a saucepan of boiling water till the fruit be quite tender, beat
it through a colander, and then add gradually 1 pint cream with
sufficient sugar to sweeten; garnish the dish with macaroons or
ratafias.

_Gooseberry Pancakes._--Melt some fresh butter in a frying-pan, put
in 1 qt. gooseberries, fry them till tender and mash them; beat 6
yolks of eggs and three whites, sugar to taste, 4 spoonfuls cream, 4
large spoonfuls breadcrumbs, and 8 spoonfuls flour; mix all together,
then put to them the cooked green gooseberries and set them in a
saucepan on the fire to thicken; fry in fresh butter, and sift sugar
over.

_Gooseberry Pudding._--The following pudding is better when made
with red currants and raspberries, or even with black currants. Stew
some fruit with sugar till thoroughly done, pour off all the juice,
and put the fruit while hot into a pudding basin, which has been
previously lined with slices of bread made to fit exactly. Fill the
basin up with the fruit, and cover it over with a slice of bread;
let it stand till quite cold, with a plate on it. Boil up the juice
which was poured off, with a little more sugar, and let that get
cold. When served, the pudding must be turned out on a dish, and the
juice poured all over it so as to colour the bread thoroughly. A rich
custard or some cream is a great improvement.

_Gooseberry Tart._--Make a short paste with 4 oz. flour, 3 oz.
butter, 2 oz. sugar, the yolks of 3 eggs, a little water, and a pinch
of salt. Work it smoothly and roll it out to the thickness of rather
more than ⅛ in. Place a “flan” ring on a baking sheet, lay the sheet
of paste over it, and with the fingers fit it carefully inside the
ring, then cut off all the part that is above the ring, fill the
shape with uncooked rice, and bake for ½ hour in a moderate oven;
then take out all the rice, and put in its place a compote made as
follows: pick a quantity of gooseberries, put them in a saucepan with
plenty of loaf sugar and a little cold water; when they come to the
boil drain them off from the syrup; let this boil for 10 minutes,
then return the gooseberries to it.

_Gooseberry Toast._--1 pint green gooseberries; clean them thoroughly
from stems and dried blossoms; then toast to a bright brown as many
slices of stale bread as will make 3 layers for a quart pie-dish. Dip
each piece of toast in milk, sprinkle the upper surface with white
powdered sugar, having your berries stewed 10 minutes, so that none
of them shall be broken. Cover one slice of toast with them; the
berries are to be covered with another slice, and thus proceed for
each layer. The whole to be placed in a moderately hot oven for ¼
hour before sending to table.

_Greengage Soufflé._--Boil some greengages with sugar; when done
pass through a sieve. Mix 1 gill milk with 1 tablespoonful potato
flour, and stir over the fire till it thickens. When cold work into
it the yolks of 4 eggs and as much of the greengage jam (about 4
tablespoonfuls) as will make the mixture of the proper consistency.
The whole must be thoroughly well mixed. Lastly, mix in quickly and
effectually the whites of 6 eggs, beaten up to a stiff froth; pour
the mixture in a plain mould, put it into the oven at once, and serve
as soon as it has well risen.

_Greengage Tart._--Make a short paste with 1 white and 3 yolks of
egg. 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. butter, a small pinch of salt, and sufficient
flour. Work it lightly, and roll it out to the thickness of ¼ inch.
Line a flat mould with this paste, uniting the joints carefully with
white of egg, fill it with uncooked rice, and bake it. When done,
remove the rice, and put in greengages treated as follows: Stone the
fruit, and cut them in halves, and stew it for 1 hour with plenty of
powdered loaf sugar and a little water, adding at the last a liqueur
glass of pale brandy. To be served hot or cold.

_Groat Pudding._--Take 1 breakfastcupful groats, let them soak for
some hours, pick them carefully from the husks, tie them loosely in
a cloth, and boil for 3 hours; then untie the cloth, and add a few
currants and a little raw sugar, tie them up again quite tightly, and
boil for another hour.

_Ground Rice Pudding._--(_a_) 2 oz. ground rice, 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz.
butter, and 1 pint new milk. Boil 15-20 minutes, pour into a buttered
mould; when cold, turn out and serve.

(_b_) ¼ lb. ground rice, swell it in 1 good pint milk, 6 oz. castor
sugar, 4 oz. butter oiled, 4 eggs, rind of a lemon grated, a few
sweet almonds pounded. Put in a buttered dish with paste round the
edge. The butter to be added last thing.

_Gruel._--(_a_) Groat.--Boil ½ lb. groats in 2 qt. water, with a
blade of mace; when the groats are soft, put in white wine and sugar
to taste. Serve in a china bowl with toast.

(_b_) Sago.--4 oz. sago scalded in hot water, then strained through a
hair sieve, and set over the fire with 2 qt water. It is to be boiled
and skimmed till thick and clear, then 1 pint red wine, and sugar to
taste is to be added, when it is served in a tureen, with a slice of
lemon and dry biscuits.

(_c_) Barley.--Made in the same way, but with the addition of 3 oz.
currants, which would seem rather an unpalatable mixture to our
modern notions.

(_d_) Water.--1 tablespoonful oatmeal is to be boiled in 3 pints
water till it is perfectly fine and smooth; if it shows signs of
becoming too thick for drinking, more water is to be added. When
taken from the fire, it must stand to cool; then white wine, sugar,
and nutmeg to taste is to be added. This would seem an exceedingly
palatable drink; and, if lemon juice were substituted for the wine, a
simple and inexpensive one. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Hasty Pudding._--Put 1 pint milk into a perfectly clean quart
stewpan, with 5 or 6 bay leaves; have ready on the hob a basin of
flour; as soon as the milk boils remove the bay leaves, take some
flour in the left hand and let it fall lightly into the milk (which
must be kept boiling fast the whole time), stir without ceasing,
adding flour until it is about the consistency of porridge, then let
it boil a few minutes longer, still keeping it stirred. Turn it out
on a hot dish, stick pieces of butter all over it, sprinkle moist
sugar, and grate some nutmeg, when the butter and sugar will melt
and mingle, and, running all over and round it, form a delicious
sauce. Do not be too sparing of butter and sugar, and the cook need
not be discouraged if she does not succeed in her first attempt, as
experience alone can teach her how to sprinkle the flour in properly.
If it is not done very lightly, lumps of uncooked flour will be the
result.

_Hominy and Samp._--(_a_) Hominy is white Indian corn, divested of
its outer skin by scalding in hot lye, and then winnowed and dried.
Samp is hominy, pounded till it is about as fine as coarse oatmeal.
To cook hominy, wash it through 2 or 3 waters, pour boiling water
on it, and let it soak for at least 10 hours; then put it into a
stewpan, allowing 2 qt. water to 1 qt. hominy, and boil it slowly 4-5
hours, or until it is perfectly tender; then drain it, put it into
a deep dish, add salt and a bit of butter, and serve as a vegetable
with meat. Samp is cooked in the same way, but rather less water is
used; for instance, put 1½ pint to 1 qt. samp. It is also good cut
when cold into slices, and fried for breakfast.

(_b_) Baked.--To 1 cupful cold boiled hominy, allow 2 cupfuls milk, 1
heaped teaspoonful butter, 1 teaspoonful sugar, a little salt, and 3
eggs. Beat the yolks and whites separately. Mix the yolks first into
the hominy alternately with the melted butter, then the sugar and
salt, and mix in the milk gradually, being careful to leave no lumps
in the hominy. Lastly, stir in the whites of the eggs, and bake in a
buttered pudding dish until delicately browned.

(_c_) Boiled.--Soak 1 pint hominy in 2½ pints boiling water over
night. In the morning add 1 pint sweet milk, and let it boil ½ hour
over a brisk fire; add a small piece of butter, salt, and pepper. It
should be as soft as mush, and is generally eaten for breakfast with
cream and sugar.

(_d_) Fried.--Cut the cold boiled hominy in slices, and fry in hot
lard or dripping, or moisten to a soft paste with milk; beat in some
melted butter; bind with a beaten egg; form into round cakes with
your hands; dredge with flour, and fry a light brown.

_Ice Puddings._--These puddings are made in as great variety as ices
themselves, the difference in them being chiefly in flavouring. The
great secret of securing their perfection is to ice the material to
22° F. before putting it into the pudding mould. For ice puddings,
and indeed for every kind of ice which, after being made, requires to
be embedded in freezing mixture, it is absolutely necessary to have
moulds suitable for the purpose, with closely-fitting lids. Possessed
of these, an ordinary cook should have no difficulty in serving ice
puddings, as they are made long before the busy time of sending
up dinner; but without suitable utensils it is much better not to
attempt making these puddings. Take 1½ pint clarified syrup and the
strained juice of 3 lemons. Put the mixture in the freezing-pot,
and when nearly frozen add essence of citron to taste, and 1 oz.
pistachio nuts blanched, and split in half lengthwise; finish
freezing, put into a mould, and lay it on ice till wanted.

_Ice Soufflé._--Clarify some sugar by mixing a good teaspoonful of
white of egg, previously well beaten, with 1 pint water; put this
into a very clean stewpan, add 1 lb. sifted white sugar and boil
together over a slow fire, carefully taking off the scum as it rises
until none remains; then strain it through a fine clean cloth, when
it should be clear. Take ½ pint of this clarified syrup with the
yolks of 6 eggs, 1 whole egg, and ½ port-wine glassful of maraschino;
stir them together, and then pour them into a pudding basin which has
been warmed by having hot water in it, taking care that it is quite
dry again before using. Set this on a stove of hot ashes, and begin
whisking the mixture briskly, continuing to do so until it attains
the consistency of a smooth light batter. Tie or otherwise fix a
band of double paper round the lining of a soufflé dish, so that it
stands 2 in. higher; fill this with the preparation to within ½ in.
of the edge of the paper. It will be necessary to have a circular
tin box, with a closely fitting lid, large enough to contain the
soufflé, which must now be put into it; put on the lid, and plunge it
into a pailful of crushed ice, with which has been mixed some salt
and saltpetre (about ¼ lb. each mixed together); cover the pail with
a piece of coarse wet flannel, and let it so remain in the ice for
about 3 hours, or until it is time to send it to table; then remove
the paper, and sift over it either a little grated chocolate, or
some macaroon biscuit powder, which will just give it the appearance
of having been baked. Any other flavouring may be used instead of
the maraschino, if preferred, using some other liqueur, or vanilla,
lemon, orange, &c.; or a small cupful of very strong coffee made in
the usual way, may be substituted if a soufflé au café is desired.

_Jamaica Jelly._--Boil to a clear jelly 1 lb. sugar, mix with 2 oz.
clarified isinglass and 1 wineglassful Jamaica rum. Damp a mould, and
pour the jelly in, let it cool, and turn out. Ornament with clotted
cream and small clusters of purple grapes.

_Jam Pudding._--Take equal quantities fine flour and suet, remove all
skin from the suet, slice it very thin, and then chop it quite fine,
mix together, and moisten with cold water; add a very little salt,
knead it well, and roll it out quite thin (about ⅙ in.). Spread the
paste equally over with any kind of jam to within ½ in. of the edge,
moisten the edges with water, roll up the pudding, pinch the edges
together; put it into a cloth, which must be tied at both ends. Put
the pudding into boiling water, and boil about 2 hours.

_Jam Roll._-½ lb. butter must be stirred to a cream, then the yolks
of 12 eggs added, and ½ lemon peel grated. Add by degrees ½ lb.
sifted sugar, ¼ lb. fine flour, and the same of potato flour, or,
if preferred, the whole ½ lb. may be of the former. When these are
well mixed add the egg whites whipped to a snow. Thoroughly stir all
together. Make 4 or 5 white paper plates by stretching the paper
over any round utensil (a large dinner plate will do), plait up an
edge 1 in. deep, and tack it round with a needle and thread to keep
it upright. Butter these paper plates, and lay them on baking tins.
Spread over each a layer of the above mixture not thicker than a
thin pancake. Bake them in a moderate oven a nice yellow, but do not
let them tinge brown. When cold cut away the paper round, turn the
cakes over, and peel off the bottom paper, but take great care not to
break the cakes. Lay one cake over the other, with preserve between
each, till all are piled up. It may be all of one sort of preserve,
or varied, one layer of marmalade if liked. Dissolve powdered sugar
with a little lemon juice. Spread it thickly over the top and sides
of the cake to make a glazing. Put it in a cool oven to dry, or it
may simply be pared smoothly all round, and strewn thickly with
sifted sugar. If required as a roll, the cake mixture must be poured
into a large flat baking tin as thin as before, and when of a nice
yellow colour take it out of the oven, quickly turn it out on to a
flat board, and while still hot spread it over with preserve, but
not too near the edges. It must then be quickly rolled, beginning
at the edge next you, and then left to cool before being cut. Great
care is required to do the rolling of the pastry, but practice and
perseverance will soon overcome the difficulty. Before leaving to
cool, sprinkle it thickly with sugar as before.

_Jam Tartlets._--Take some puff paste, roll it out ½ in. thick, and
line some patty-pans with it. Cut some rounds out of the bottom of a
stale loaf 1 in. diameter less than the patty-pans, put one in each
pan exactly in the middle, and press it down; bake in a quick oven
until the paste has well risen--about 15 minutes. Remove the pieces
of bread, and fill each tartlet with either apricot, strawberry, or
currant and raspberry jam.

_Jelly Baskets._--Orange skins can be emptied of their fruit and
cut out in the shape of baskets, as follows: Mark out the shape of
a basket upon the skin of 6-8 oranges without piercing the fruit.
The handles should be formed across the stalk end of the fruit, and
should be a good width. Take out the quarters which will not be
required, and with the small blade of a sharp penknife cut out the
baskets. Then pass the flat part of a teaspoon carefully under the
handle to separate it from the fruit, and scoop out the remainder of
the pulp, which easily comes out through the open spaces. Fill the
skins with different-coloured jellies. The baskets may be scalloped
or ornamented, according to the taste of the operator.

_Jelly Pie._--Boil 5 eggs hard; when cold, cut them in slices and put
them closely round a pie dish, with sweet herbs chopped very fine,
and scalded and put in small heaps. Fill the dish with ham, fowl,
veal, or any other meat cut in very thin slices; make a very rich
gravy the previous day, which will be a firm jelly when cold. Fill up
the dish with it, and bake for ½ hour. When required to be used cold,
turn it out, and garnish.

_Jersey Wonders._--1 lb. flour, 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. white sugar, a
little nutmeg, ground ginger, and lemon peel; beat 4 eggs and knead
all well together; a taste of brandy will be an improvement. Roll
them 3 in. thick, cut off a small slice and roll into an oval, not
too thin; cut two slits in it, but not through either end; pass the
left hand through the aperture to the right, and throw into boiling
fat. A brass or metal skillet is best to cook them in; about 5
minutes to cook them, turn once.

_Jumbles._--(_a_) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. sugar, 6 oz. butter, 1 oz. sweet
almonds, 1 oz. bitter almonds, 1 egg. Mix these well, drop in small
lumps on a tin and bake for a few minutes in a hot oven.

(_b_) ½ lb. best flour, 6 oz. loaf sugar, ¼ lb. butter. Rub the
butter and half of the sugar into the flour, beat along with it 1
egg, about 20 drops essence of lemon, mix all together, and roll out
the cakes with the remainder of the sugar; a little ammonia carbonate
is an improvement. Turn in fancy shapes, and bake on a hot tin about
15 minutes; but the time must be regulated according to the oven, but
quick baking is desirable.

_King Henry’s Shoestrings._--Make a batter with ¼ lb. flour, ¼ pint
milk, a piece of butter the size of an egg, the juice of a lemon,
and powdered loaf sugar to taste. When well mixed set it on the fire
for 10 minutes, till the batter comes easily from the sides of the
saucepan. Mix in (off the fire) a handful of sweet almonds, chopped
up, and the yolks of 4 eggs. Let the whole get cold, then work into
it the whites of 3 eggs, whisked to a froth, and spread out the
batter on a baking sheet. Sift plenty of powdered sugar over, bake 10
minutes in a slow oven, cut it out in strips, serve hot or cold.

_Leche Crema._--Beat up 3 eggs, leaving out 2 of the whites, and
add to them gradually 1½ pint milk, then mix very carefully 4
tablespoonfuls fine wheat flour, and 2 oz. finely powdered loaf
sugar, with grated lemon peel to flavour. Boil these ingredients over
a slow fire, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until the flour
is quite dissolved. Prepare a dish with ¾ lb. ratafia cakes at the
bottom, having a glass of cognac or any liqueur poured over them,
and when the cream is sufficiently boiled, pour it boiling through a
sieve on the cakes. This delicious dish is always served up cold, and
should have some finely powdered cinnamon dusted over. The genuine
recipe, obtained from the Nuns of St. Clare Convent at Palmas, in the
Canary Islands.

_Lemon Cream._--Soak for 2 hours a 6_d._ packet of gelatine in a
large cup of good milk; then place the milk and gelatine in a clean
saucepan on the fire, adding the very thin rind of 2 lemons; keep
stirring this on the fire till the gelatine is quite dissolved,
then add 2 oz. pounded white sugar, stir again on the fire till the
sugar is dissolved, then strain this on to 1 pint cream in a bowl
(the cream must not be too thick), and keep whisking it gently till
thoroughly mixed, then add the strained juice of 2 good lemons; keep
whisking the whole till nearly set, but take care not to beat too
hard or too strong; when nearly cold, pour into a mould (crockery),
and turn out in the usual manner when wanted for table.

_Lemon Dumplings._-½ lb. grated bread, ½ lb. suet, chopped fine, ¼
lb. loaf sugar powdered, 2 eggs, the juice and thin rind of a lemon.
Mix, make 8 dumplings, and boil 1 hour.

_Lemon Pudding._--To ½ lb. good butter add 2 lb. loaf sugar, broken
as for tea, the yolks of 12 eggs and the whites of 8, the rinds of 4
lemons, to be peeled very thin and minced as fine as possible, and
the juice of 6; put all those into a saucepan, and boil them till the
sugar is dissolved and it is as thick as honey, taking care to stir
it well all the time it is on the fire; then pour it into a jar, and
add a wineglassful of brandy or whisky; tie it very close. When going
to use it add 4 tablespoonfuls very fine-grated bread for a small
pudding. This will keep for 6 months.

_Lemon Soufflé._--Beat very lightly the yolks and whites of 8 eggs
separately, add 1 teacupful white sugar, the rind of 2 lemons, and
the juice of 1; bake for ¼ hour in a moderate oven.

_Lemon Sponge._--Whisk the whites of 6 eggs till firm. Boil 1 oz.
isinglass in 1 pint water till it is reduced to ½ pint; when nearly
cold add it gradually to the eggs, also the juice of 4 lemons, and
the grated rind, 1½ lb. loaf sugar powdered; whisk all together till
it is as thick as sponge.

_Lemon Toast._--Beat the yolks of 3 eggs and mix with them ½ pint
milk; dip slices of bread into the mixture, then fry them a delicate
brown in boiling butter. Take the whites of the eggs, beat them to a
froth, add to them 3 oz. white sugar and the juice of a small lemon.
Stir in a small teacupful of boiling water, and serve as a sauce over
the toast.

_Lentil Pudding._--3 oz. lentil flour, 1 oz. cornflour, 1 pint milk,
3 eggs, and a pinch of salt; pour the milk boiling gradually on to
the flour, stirring it; when cool add the eggs well beaten; mix well,
boil an hour in a buttered plain mould; serve with sweet sauce.

_Macaroni au Gratin._--Drop the macaroni into boiling water, and cook
till quite tender. Make a sauce of milk, thickened with flour and
butter, to which add a small spoonful of made mustard, cayenne, and
salt to taste. Let the macaroni remain in this a short time; turn out
on a buttered dish, and cover with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
Brown in the oven.

_Macaroni, Boiled._--Put into a large saucepan plenty of water,
salted to taste; when the water boils throw in the macaroni, broken
into convenient lengths, but not too short; stir frequently. When
the macaroni is done, pour in a jugful of cold water, and strain the
macaroni quite free from any water. According to its size macaroni
takes 20-30 minutes to cook; it should not be done too much.

_Macaroni Cheese._--Take sufficient boiled macaroni to fill a square
dish or tin; when buttered pile up with layers of macaroni and grated
cheese (a highly flavoured and dry cheese is best); add plenty of
mustard and butter, some cayenne, salt, and pepper; cover all with
the grated cheese, bake a yellow brown, serve very hot.

_Macaroni Pie._--Take a piece of gravy beef, cut in small pieces, put
it into a saucepan with an onion sliced, and a piece of butter; toss
it on the fire till the onion and the pieces of meat are browned;
then add a glass of white wine, a faggot of sweet herbs, a carrot cut
in pieces, spices, pepper, and salt to taste, a few mushrooms, and
a fair allowance of tomato sauce. Let the whole simmer for 2 hours,
then strain, and skim off superfluous fat. Put the boiled macaroni
into a saucepan with a piece of butter, plenty of Parmesan cheese,
and as much of the sauce or gravy as it will absorb; toss it on the
fire a little while, and put it by till wanted. Make a smooth and
stiff paste with 1 lb. fine flour, 5 oz. fresh butter, 2 or 3 yolks
of eggs, 2 oz. sugar, a pinch of salt, and sufficient tepid water.
Roll it out to the thickness of ⅛ in., and line with it a plain round
mould previously buttered, uniting the joints carefully with white
of egg. Have ready some very small fillets of breasts of chicken,
just cooked with butter in a covered tin in the oven, some cooked ham
or ox tongue cut in dice, some truffles, mushrooms, and cockscombs,
cut in convenient pieces and cooked in the gravy used to dress the
macaroni. Fill the lined mould with all these things in judicious
proportions, letting the macaroni, of course, predominate, and adding
during the process a little more sauce or gravy and a due allowance
of Parmesan cheese; cover up the mould with a disc of the paste,
unite the edges carefully, and bake in a moderate oven for about an
hour. Turn out the mould carefully and serve.

_Macaroni Pudding._--(_a_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni (vermicelli,
fidelini, or spaghetti), break them up small, and put them into 1
pint boiling milk, sweetened to taste with lump sugar. Let them boil
till quite done; add ½ oz. fresh butter, and pour the whole into
a pudding dish; then stir in the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with a
little cold milk and strained. Strew some powdered cinnamon or some
grated nutmeg on the top, and bake for about 20 minutes.

(_b_) Take 2 oz. small macaroni, broken up small as in (_a_), put
them with the thin rind of a lemon into 1 pint boiling milk sweetened
to taste with lump sugar; when quite done, turn it all out into a
pudding dish, remove the lemon rind, and stir in ½ gill cream beaten
up with the strained yolks of 2 eggs. Strew powdered cinnamon over,
and bake as in (_a_).

_Macaroni Soufflé._--Break up about 1 oz. small macaroni into very
small pieces, throw it into fast-boiling salted water, let it boil 20
minutes, then drain off the water and put the macaroni into ½ pint
milk, with sugar to taste and a piece of cinnamon; let it boil till
it has absorbed all the milk. Put it by to get cold, work into it
the yolks of 4 eggs and the whites of 6 whisked into a stiff froth,
pour the mixture into a tin large enough to allow room for rising,
strew a little finely powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at
once into a quick oven. It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as
soon as the soufflé has well risen, and its top has taken colour, it
is ready, and must be served immediately in the tin itself, a little
finely powdered sugar being sprinkled on the top.

_Macaroni Timbale._--Take ½ lb. Naples macaroni, boil it until quite
soft, drain it on a cloth, cut it in pieces ½ in. long, well butter
a plain mould, line it with buttered paper, place in it the macaroni
endways, so as to give the appearance of honeycomb when turned out.
Make a paste thus: Put 1 gill water, a small piece of butter, and
a little salt into a stewpan to boil. When boiling throw into it 1
tablespoonful flour, leave it a few minutes, then stir in 1 egg, turn
it on to a plate until wanted. Take 1 lb. veal cutlet, remove the
skin and bone, pound it in a mortar, and add to it half the quantity
of the above paste, and a quarter of the quantity of butter, with
salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste, mix all together, add 1 whole egg
and 3 yolks, pass it through a wire sieve, stir in 1 gill white stock
or milk, pour it into the mould, and steam for ½ hour. Serve with
truffle or plain brown sauce.

_Macaroni with Tomato Sauce._--Throw 1 lb. macaroni into a saucepan
of boiling water and salt; the water must be quite boiling. When
sufficiently cooked, strain off all the water, put it into a
saucepan, with 3 oz. butter, 3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, and the
tomato sauce. Keep it on the fire until the macaroni acquires a fine
colour from the tomatoes, but care must be taken not to keep it too
long on the fire, lest it become soft and pasty. The tomatoes are
prepared for the sauce as follows: Take ripe tomatoes, wash, dry
them, and cut them into halves; put them into a saucepan without any
water, with salt, pepper, a few cloves, a little onion and celery,
and boil till sufficiently done; pass through a sieve, and pour into
the saucepan of macaroni as mentioned above.

_Malvern Pudding._--It is made by cutting slices of bread ¼-½ in.
thick, according to taste, or as to whether it be required for
children or matured persons. These slices have next to be cut into
such triangular shapes as will admit of their filling the side of
a basin when placed points downwards. This is the only part of the
process that requires a little judgment and care. If the basin
required be large, or, say, of a quart size or more, and the slices
of bread are not wide enough to admit of the triangular pieces
reaching to the top of the basin, then some slices of a suitable
width may be cut to fill up with. This done, a round slice may be
put at the bottom, and then an inch or so in thickness of stewed
rhubarb. Then more slices of bread, among which the trimmings may
be utilised. Then another inch of the stewed rhubarb, and so on
till the basin is filled. The last layer of bread should be whole,
if the loaf be conveniently large, if not, the straight edges of
two pieces may be placed together, and a knife run round them close
to the edge of the basin so that they may be pressed down a little
below the level of the edge to allow for the little swelling of
the bread that will occur. To bind the whole together, 2 eggs to 1
pint basin should be used. The eggs should be well beaten with a
large tablespoonful of milk to each egg. With this stewed rhubarb,
unless it has been simmered to a dry or almost candied form, it is
better to pour a suitable quantity of the beaten eggs and milk as
the layers are formed, as, by doing this, all the spaces between the
bread will be filled, and thus firmly bound together with custard
when cooked. As to the quantity of butter on the bread, that will
depend on taste. A little sherry sauce is an agreeable addition. The
character and flavour of this pudding may be varied in an agreeable
way by stewing a few raisins, sultanas, currants, prunes, or figs,
and inserting them between the bread and butter as above described.
It is better to stew these dried fruits for a pudding of this kind,
for all the boiling the pudding proper requires is 15-20 minutes, or
long enough to set the custard. A pudding made of similar materials,
in a flat pan and baked in a slow oven, is equally good, and affords
another agreeable variation. In seasons when eggs are scarce, a large
tablespoonful of cornflour may be put to ¼ pint milk, or rather
less, according to the quantity of bread used; and if this be whipped
up with one egg, it will be sufficient to stiffen a pint pudding,
so that it will stand firmly on the dish. For a boiled pudding the
top should be well covered with the custard, as this will soon set,
and thereby prevent the steam in the boiling pan from making the
top layer of bread too sopped. In Worcestershire--whence it derives
its name--it is generally made with cranberries. But gooseberries,
currants, raspberries, strawberries, and so on, are equally suitable
fruit for it.

_Manchester Pudding._--This is a variety of the well-known Bakewell
pudding, the difference consisting in the addition of milk and
breadcrumbs to the cheesecake mixture, namely, butter, yolks of eggs,
sugar, lemon juice and peel beaten to a cream, which in the Bakewell
pudding is laid over the layer of jam. Alexandra pudding and Durham
pudding are synonyms of the variety of Bakewell pudding known as
Manchester. There is another kind of pudding, also called Manchester,
which consists of breadcrumbs, milk, lemon rind, butter and sugar
boiled together, eggs being added when cold, and the mixture baked
in small shapes, and served with a morsel of jam on each, and with
cinnamon sauce. (The G. C.)

_Maraschino Jelly._--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient
pieces, and put them into a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. cold
water; set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw
it away, and wash the pieces of feet carefully; then put them on
again with 2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours,
removing the scum carefully during the process; then strain the
liquor into a basin, and when quite cold and set take off all the
fat, and wash the top of the jelly with a little hot water, so as to
get rid of every vestige of fat. Put the jelly into a saucepan on
the fire; directly it is melted add sugar to taste, the juice and
the thin rind of one lemon, and the whites of 3 eggs whisked to a
froth. Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place the thin rind of a
lemon at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour the mixture over it.
The bag should have been previously rinsed in boiling water, and the
first ½ pint jelly that comes through must be returned to the bag. If
the jelly does not come out quite clear, the operation of straining
must be repeated. Add sufficient maraschino to flavour the jelly,
then pour it into a mould, and put it on ice to set. At the time of
serving dip the mould in warm water, and turn out the jelly.

_Margot Pudding._--Cut 3 slices bread (thickness of five-shilling
piece), spread lightly with butter and thickly with jam; lay the
slices one above another in a pudding dish; pour over a glass of
whisky or brandy, and when soaked in fill up with melted butter made
as follows: 2 oz. butter, 4 teaspoonfuls cornflour, 3 tablespoonfuls
sugar, 1 pint water, boil it, and pour over the bread, then bake till
the pudding is a nice brown.

_Marlborough Pudding._--(_a_) ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sifted white sugar,
4 yolks of eggs well beaten; first put the sugar in a basin, then add
and stir in the eggs; flavour with vanilla, and bake ½ hour in a dish
lined with puff paste. The pudding is greatly improved if some of the
mixture is kept back, and, when all is ready, just warmed through and
poured round as a sauce.

(_b_) Cover a pie dish with a thin puff paste, then take 1 oz.
candied citron, 1 oz. of orange, and 1 oz. of lemon peel, sliced
very thin, and lay them over the bottom of the dish. Dissolve 6 oz.
butter without water, and add to it 6 oz. pounded sugar, the yolks of
4 well-beaten eggs. Stir them over the fire until the mixture boils,
then pour it over the sweetmeats, bake the pudding in a moderate oven
for ¾ hour, and serve it hot or cold.

_Marlborough Tart._--Line a tart tin with good puff paste, set in a
quick oven, and when half baked pour on the following mixture: 2 eggs
well beaten, 2 oz. sifted sugar, 4 oz. citron or candied peel cut
into strips, mix all together; finish the baking, and serve when cold.

_Marmalade Pudding._--(_a_) Baked.--1 large tablespoonful marmalade,
1 breakfast-cup fine breadcrumbs, ½ teacup castor sugar, 1 egg, ½
pint milk. Put a layer of marmalade at the bottom of a pie dish. Rub
some stale bread through a wire sieve until a breakfastcupful is
made, mix this with the sugar, and put it over the marmalade. Beat up
the egg, add to it the milk, pour this custard into the dish. Bake in
a very moderate oven 1-1½ hour. Should be a pale brown.

(_b_) Boiled.-½ lb. suet, ½ lb. breadcrumbs, ½ lb. brown sugar, 2
oz. ground rice, 2 tablespoonfuls marmalade, 2 eggs. Chop up the
suet (which should be dry beef suet) as finely as possible, make the
breadcrumbs by rubbing stale crumb of bread through a wire sieve,
beat up the eggs; mix all the ingredients well together in a large
basin; let the mixture stand overnight, if possible, before cooking;
well grease a pudding basin, fill it with the mixture (it should be
quite full), tie it over with a pudding cloth which should be dipped
into boiling water and floured well, tie the corners of the cloth
loosely over the top; put into a large saucepan of boiling water,
boil steadily for 4 hours.

_Meringues._--Whisk the whites of 12 eggs in a bowl until they take
the appearance of a white substantial smooth froth, looking almost
like snow. To obtain this, it is essential that the whisk and basin
be perfectly clean and dry, if in the slightest degree greasy the
eggs would not rise sufficiently. Lay aside the whisk, and with a
spoon mix in 1 lb. castor sugar; this must be done very lightly, if
worked too much it will lose its firmness, and it would be difficult
to form the meringues. Cut some stiff foolscap paper into strips,
about 2 in. wide, then take a tablespoon and gather it nearly full
of the batter, by pressing it up against the side of the basin, and
getting it as much as possible into the form of an egg; scoop this
off slantingly on to the froth, passing the spoon sharply round it
before leaving it, to make it smooth and round and quite like an egg.
Proceed in this way till all the froth is used up, and leaving a
space of about 2½ in. after each meringue. Place the bands of paper
containing them side by side on the table, and, when all are made,
shake some rather coarse-sifted sugar over them, and let them stand
for about 3 minutes. To bake meringues it will be necessary to have a
board made of well-seasoned wood, about 1 in. thick, to fit the oven.
On this place the paper bands of meringues, holding them at each end
of the paper, and giving each band a little shake before placing it
on the board, to get rid of the superfluous sugar; place the bands
close together, and put the board into an oven of very moderate heat,
to bake a light cream colour. When they are cooked remove them very
carefully from the paper, and with a silver dessertspoon scoop out
the soft white part from the inside. After this they must be put
back into the oven for a short time to dry; the oven must be quite
cool, and they must be watched to see that they do not become a
deeper colour; this should be done on a baking-sheet, on which they
should be carefully placed. If kept in a large covered glass jar in a
perfectly dry place, these meringues will keep good for a long time.
They must be quite cold before putting away. When required for table,
fill the insides with whipped cream, slightly sweetened and flavoured
with vanilla or any other flavouring preferred, or, better still,
with a dessertspoonful of cream-ice; join two of the shells together,
and dress them piled high in a glass or silver dish.

_Mince Pies._--(_a_) An excellent and useful mincemeat can be made
by the following recipe, especially in the country, where apples
are cheap. But, if they are too expensive, half the given quantity
can be used, and breadcrumbs substituted for the other half. Shred
½ lb. suet, roll it, a little at a time, on a board with 1 lb. raw
sugar, mix with it 1½ lb. apples, ½ lb. raisins, ½ lb. currants,
2 oz. candied peel, all minced, 1 teaspoonful ground ginger, 1 of
mixed spices, and the peel and juice of a lemon. Take care that
the ingredients are well mixed together, and, if possible, let the
mincemeat be prepared a few days before it is wanted for use. The
crust for the pies can be made in the same way as for steak pie, or
as follows: Rub ½ lb. lard into 1 lb. flour, make it into a paste
with 1 gill cold water. As this is a short crust, as little water as
possible should be used, and, if well worked up, the given quantity
will be sufficient. Put the paste on the board, roll it out once to
the required thickness, line greased saucers or patty-tins with it,
put in a liberal allowance of mincemeat, fit on a cover, and bake in
a slow oven for 40 minutes.

(_b_) Have ready some mincemeat made in the following way: 6 lb.
raisins, 6 lb. currants, 2 lb. dates, 2 lb. French plums, 6 lb.
apples, ½ lb. each candied citron, lemon and orange peel, 12 lemons,
6 sweet oranges, 6 lb. Demerara sugar, 1 teaspoonful each of mixed
spice and ground ginger, with 1 pint good brandy, 1 of Marsala, 1
of sherry, and a wineglass of noyeau or curaçao. Have the raisins,
dates, and plums carefully stoned, the candied peel cut into small
dice, the apples peeled, cored, and cut into small pieces. Mince
finely all the above with the pulp from the lemons and oranges. Well
clean and dry the currants, and add them, with the sugar and spices,
to the minced ingredients. The lemons and oranges must be grated to
obtain all the outside peel, the juice squeezed thoroughly from them,
and the pulp, before being minced, must be freed from all the pips
and white inner peel. Dissolve the hard sugar from the candied peel
in the orange and lemon juice, and add it, with the grated rind, to
the mincemeat. Mix all well together in a large pan, add the brandy,
liqueur, and wines. Press the mincemeat closely into stone jars,
after again thoroughly mixing it, and cover it closely. Keep it in a
cool, dry place. Should a mincing machine be used, the ingredients
for mincing should be mixed before putting them through it, except
the suet, which is always better chopped with an ordinary chopper.

(_c_) Butter slightly a number of patty-pans, take a piece of the
paste, roll it out to the thickness of ¼ in., and line the pans with
it. Put 1 wineglassful brandy into the mince, stir it well, and put a
small quantity of it into each pan; brush the paste round with white
of egg, and put on a cover of paste rolled out to about ⅓ in. thick.
Press the edges well together, brush the top with cold water, strew
finely powdered sugar over, and bake about ½ hour.

_Mocha Pudding._--Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with ¼ lb. powdered
loaf sugar, add gradually 2 oz. flour and 2 oz. potato flour; lastly,
the whites of 4 eggs whipped to a stiff froth. When the whole is
well mixed, put it in a buttered plain mould and bake. Turn out the
cake when done, and when it is quite cold cover it evenly all over
with the following icing, ornamenting it with piping of the icing
pushed through a paper cone. This last operation must be done with
care, lest the heat of the hand warm the icing. When the cake is
finished it should be put in a cold place, or on ice, till the time
of serving. The Icing.--Take ½ lb. fresh butter and ¼ lb. powdered
loaf sugar, and beat them to a cream in a bowl, adding drop by drop,
during the process, ½ teacupful strongest coffee that can be made.

_Mousseline Pudding._--4 oz. pounded sugar, 4 oz. fresh butter, the
rind of 1 lemon and the juice of two, with the yolks of 10 eggs, to
be mixed together in a saucepan and stirred on a slow fire until
quite hot; then strain the mixture into a basin, and amalgamate
lightly with it, as you would for a soufflé, the whites of the eggs
whisked into a stiff froth. Pour into a well-buttered mould, and
steam for 20 minutes. Serve with jam or fruit sauce. The water should
boil when the pudding is put into steam, but on no account after.

_Nesselrode Pudding._--Blanch about 35 large chestnuts, then rub
through a sieve, and mix with a syrup made of 1 lb. clarified sugar,
1 pint cream, and the yolks of 10 eggs. Stir over a slow fire; when
near boiling take it off, and pass it through a tammy. When cold,
add 1 glass maraschino, set it in a freezing pot, add 1½ oz. citron,
3 oz. currants, and 2 oz. stoned raisins (previously soaked in
maraschino); add a plateful of whipped cream, with the whites of 2
eggs beaten to a froth. When all is quite frozen put it in a mould;
put it again in the freezing pan till required.

_Newcastle Pudding._--Cut 4 penny sponge cakes in half and spread
with jam, cook them in milk; make a plain custard of 2 eggs and ½
pint milk; boil the milk; when nearly cold add the eggs, and boil
until it begins to thicken, then pour over the cakes.

_Norfolk Dumplings._--Mix thoroughly 1 teaspoonful Borwick’s baking
powder and a little salt with 1 lb. flour in a dry state; then pour
on gradually about ½ pint cold water or milk, mix quickly into a
dough, to be put immediately in small pieces into boiling water, and
boiled 20 minutes without taking the lid off. They eat very like
dough dumplings when properly made. Serve with milk sauce. Together
with potatoes, they form the staple food of the Norfolk poor, who,
when unable to obtain meat dripping, eat them with treacle or honey.
They may also be frequently seen on the tables of the wealthy, and,
when accompanied by game, goose, or duck gravy, are by no means
unworthy the attention of an epicure.

_Oatmeal Pie._--Boil, in 1½ pint water, 2 tablespoonfuls Scotch
oatmeal until it jellies on a plate; let it stand till cold, then
cover the bottom of a small pie dish with oatmeal; lay on it slices
of Australian mutton; chop up an onion, some parsley, and two leaves
of sage; put some over the meat, with pepper and salt, then another
layer of oatmeal; lay on it slices of mutton and seasoning as before;
cover all over with oatmeal, and dust the top with flour; bake for 1½
hour in a moderate oven.

_Oatmeal Pudding._--Soak in water for 12 hours ½ pint fine oatmeal,
pour 1 pint boiling milk over it, add a little salt, and put it into
a buttered basin (just large enough to hold it), with a well-floured
cloth tied tightly over it; boil for 1½ hour, turn it out and serve
with cream, or boiled milk thickened with flour.

_Omnibus Pudding._--Take 6 oz. fine flour, 6 oz. fresh suet shred
fine, 6 oz. raisins stoned, 4 oz. treacle, 4 oz. milk. Mix well, put
into a basin, tie a cloth over, and boil for 3-4 hours. Serve with
brandy sauce.

_Orange Chips._--Cut some Seville oranges in halves, squeeze the
juice through a sieve; soak the peel in water; next dry; boil in the
same till tender, drain and slice the peels, pour the juice over
them; take an equal weight of sugar, put sugar, peels, and juice into
a broad earthenware dish, and set it over the fire, not close enough
to crack the dish, stir frequently until the chips candy; then set
them in a cool place to dry, which process will take 3 weeks.

_Orange Compote._--Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with 1 gill
water in a saucepan; when it boils add the thin rind of 3 oranges
minced finely or cut into very narrow strips. Let the whole boil 5
minutes, add a liqueur-glass of brandy, and pour the syrup (hot) over
6 whole oranges, peeled and cored, or cut up in any form liked. Leave
the oranges in a basin with the syrup till quite cold; then pile them
up on a dish and serve.

_Orange Cream._--Soak 1 oz. packet of gelatine, and add it to 1 pint
milk in which 6 oz. lump sugar has been dissolved. Add a little lemon
peel, and boil all together for 10 minutes. Strain the milk and add
to it ½ pint orange juice and the juice of 1 small lemon. Stir well,
and pour into a mould till set. This is excellent. Improved by the
substitution of cream for milk.

_Orange Fool._--Mix the juice of 3 Seville oranges with 3 eggs well
beaten, ½ pint cream, a little nutmeg and cinnamon, and finely sifted
white sugar to taste. The orange juice must be carefully strained.
Set the whole over a slow fire, and stir it until it becomes about
the thickness of melted butter; it must on no account be allowed to
boil; then pour it into a dish for eating cold.

_Orange Fritters._--Cut some oranges in halves, use a sharp knife to
remove the peel, pith, and pips. Stand the bits of orange in a basin
with a small wineglassful of brandy and a spoonful of sugar for one
hour. When ready to fry them drain them first on a sieve, then dip
them separately in a batter made thus: Add 2 oz. melted butter to ¾
lb. flour, and 2 yolks of eggs. Mix these ingredients together with
a wooden spoon, working in at intervals ½ pint tepid water; it must
be worked up with the spoon until it looks creamy, and just before
you use it add lightly 3 whites of eggs, whisked previously to a fine
froth.

_Orange Jelly._--Make a syrup with 1 pint water and 1 lb. loaf
sugar, boil it with the thin rind of 4 oranges and 2 lemons, skim
it carefully and add the juice of 8 oranges, let it boil about
20 minutes; skim and add the juice of a lemon and either 1 pint
calvesfoot jelly, made as above, or 16 sheets best French gelatine
dissolved in ½ pint of water and clarified with white of egg. Peel 2
sweet oranges, removing every particle of skin of both kinds, core
them to get rid of the pips, and cut them in thin slices in such a
way as to get rid of the pellicle round each quarter. Proceed to
fill the mould, disposing pieces of oranges in it in a symmetrical
fashion, place it on ice to set, and turn it out when wanted.

_Orange Mould._--Very pretty dish, made by peeling 3-4 large oranges,
and dividing them into sections, being careful not to break the
skin. Boil ¼ lb. lump sugar in 2 tablespoonfuls water to crackling
height. Arrange the sections round the sides of a well-oiled basin,
previously dipping each into the sugar, which will act as a sort of
glue, and, when cold, will be found to have stuck firmly together,
forming a shape. Turn out on a dish, and fill with coloured fruit,
strawberries, raspberries, &c., upon which is placed some whipped
cream.

_Orange Pudding._--3 oz. stale sponge cakes or ratafias, 3 oranges,
½ pint milk, 3 eggs, ¼ lb. sugar. Pour boiled milk on sponge cakes
(which should be in crumbs); rub the rind of 2 oranges, and add the
juice of 3; beat up the eggs, stir them in, sweeten to taste. Put the
mixture into a pie dish lined with puff taste; bake ½ hour; turn it
out of the dish, and sprinkle sifted sugar over it.

_Orange Puffs._--Grate the rind of 4 oranges, add 2 lb. sifted sugar,
pound together and make it into a stiff paste with butter and juice
of the fruit; roll it, cut it into shape and bake in a cool oven,
serve piled up on a dish with sifted sugar over.

_Orange Salad._--Peel 8 oranges with a sharp knife, so as to remove
every vestige of skin from them; core them as you would core apples,
and lay them whole or cut in slices in a deep dish; strew over them
plenty of powdered loaf sugar; then add 1 large wineglassful pale
brandy; keep the dish covered close till the time of serving.

_Orange Sponge._--Make an orange jelly with 1 oz. gelatine or
isinglass to 1 pint water and about ¼ lb. sugar. Peel 2 oranges
very thin, add the juice, rasp the sugar on the peel. Dissolve the
gelatine thoroughly on the fire, then put in the orange and sugar,
and, when quite melted, strain it clear into a basin. When nearly
cold, but on no account set, whisk it well for a long time until it
comes to a white froth, then pour it into a mould and put it in a
cool place, then turn it out and serve in a glass dish.

_Orange Tart._--Take 4 Seville oranges, squeeze the juice and
pulp from them; boil the oranges until quite tender, add double
their weight of sugar and pound fruit and sugar to a paste. With
a teaspoonful of butter and the juice of the oranges, beat well
together adding the pulp, also freed from pips and pith, line a
shallow pie-dish with a light paste, put in the orange paste, bake it
and cover with custard or cream.

_Orange Tartlets._--Line some patty-pans with sweet short paste, fill
them with uncooked rice, and bake to a light brown colour; remove the
rice, and fill each tartlet with oranges prepared as for a compote,
only cut into smaller pieces; pour syrup over before sending to
table, or else sift sugar over, as preferred.

_Orchard-street Pudding._-½ lb. breadcrumbs, 6 oz. beef suet chopped
very fine, 3 tablespoonfuls marmalade, rind and juice of 1 lemon,
1 teaspoonful soda carbonate, 3 tablespoonfuls sugar, 3 eggs well
whipped, a little grated nutmeg, the whole to be thoroughly mixed,
put into a mould, and boil 3½ hours. It should be served with wine
sauce.

_Oswego Pudding._--Pour ½ teacupful boiling milk over 6 Oswego
biscuits; beat them up with ½ oz. sugar and 1 oz. butter; stir in a
well-beaten egg the last thing, and bake in a small greased pie-dish
for 15 minutes. This makes a very light little pudding for 2 people,
and without the butter is good for invalids.

_Pancakes._--(_a_) Mix 2 tablespoonfuls flour with ½ pint cream,
add 2 eggs, and beat the whole well till quite smooth; put in a
tablespoonful of powdered sugar, a little powdered cinnamon, and a
little grated nutmeg.

(_b_) Make a thin batter with 1 pint cream and some flour, put in ½
lb. fresh butter melted, 8 eggs well beaten, ½ nutmeg grated, and a
little salt.

(_c_) Mix 1 pint milk with as much flour as will make a thin batter;
add a glass of pale brandy, a little grated nutmeg, a little powdered
ginger, and a pinch of salt; then add 4 eggs, beat all well together
till smooth.

(_d_) Put into a basin 4 eggs, 4 tablespoonfuls flour, 1 of pale
brandy, 1 of olive oil, and 2 of orange-flower water; mix the whole
into a smooth paste, then dilute it to the proper thickness with
either milk or water.

Warm a perfectly clean small frying pan, put into it a piece of
butter the size of a cobnut, and as soon as, by tilting the pan,
the butter has been made to spread all over the pan pour into it a
ladleful of any of the above batters; again tilt the pan quickly so
as to spread the batter evenly all over it, and directly the batter
is well set run a knife round the pancake and turn it over for a
minute; then roll it up and put it in the screen or the oven to keep
hot while the next pancake is cooked in the same manner; serve on a
napkin with lemon quarters as a garnish. By using lard instead of
butter this process of frying pancakes is rendered somewhat easier.

_Paradise Pudding._--Put into a basin ½ lb. breadcrumbs, 4 apples,
pared, cored, and minced, 4 oz. currants, 4 oz. sugar, salt, and
grated nutmeg to taste, the rind of half a lemon, beat up 4 eggs; mix
all well together, and stir in half a wineglassful of brandy; put
into a buttered mould, and steam for 2 hours; serve with sweet sauce.
Beer can be used instead of brandy, but not milk, as it makes the
pudding heavy.

_Paste for Patties._--(_a_) Take 1 lb. fine flour; pass it through
a wire sieve on to a pastry slab; add a pinch of salt and 2-3 drops
of lemon juice; wet it with cold water into a paste about the same
consistence as the butter about to be used; flatten the paste with
the hands; place on it 1 lb. butter that has been worked well in
a dry cloth; fold up the sides and ends of the paste, and roll it
out the length of ½ yd.; fold it in 3, turn it round, and roll it
the other way; leave it 20 minutes, then roll it twice more, and so
on until it has been rolled 6 times; this done, roll the paste to
the thickness of ½ in.; cut it with a plain round cutter dipped in
boiling water, turn each patty over, place them on a baking tin, egg
the top, and with a small cutter make a deep incision to form the
cover. Bake in a quick oven.

(_b_) Puff.--Take 1 lb. best flour, rub it through a sieve, place it
a little distance from the fire for a short time to get thoroughly
dry; then rub in the half of ¾ lb. butter, the juice of ½ lemon, mix
it lightly up together; roll it out as thin as a crown piece, put a
layer of butter all over it, double it in 4, and roll it out again,
do this twice, by which time all the butter will be in. Then fold it
up and put it down in a plate on the stones of the larder for ½ hour
to get cold. After this roll it out 3 times, and it is fit for use.

(_c_) Dripping.--Have cool hands, a cool room, fresh well-clarified
beef dripping, and dry flour. Be as particular about making the
pastry as if it were being made with the best butter. Cooks so often
fail to make good pastry with dripping because they do not take pains
with it. To every lb. of flour allow 6 oz. dripping and 1 teaspoonful
baking powder. Put the flour into a basin with the baking powder and
a pinch of salt; rub into it the dripping, which should be broken up
into small pieces; when well rubbed in, moisten with about 1 gill
water, enough to make a smooth, stiff paste. Flour the paste-board
and the rolling-pin, and roll the paste out on the paste-board, fold
it over again and roll again, repeating 3 times, handling it as
lightly as possible. It is then ready.

_Peach Cheese._--Take a number of green peaches, rub them carefully
in a cloth to remove all dust. Put them into a stewpan with a
small quantity of water--about ½ pint to 1 lb. of fruit (for large
quantities a smaller proportion of water might be used). When the
peaches are perfectly soft, rub them through a fine sieve with a
wooden spoon, laying aside some of the stones, which should be
broken, and their kernels added to the peach pulp. Weigh the pulp,
stir it over the fire until quite hot, add half its weight in sugar,
some lemon juice, and a little grated peel; stir the whole on the
fire until well thickened, put into shapes. It should be quite hard
when cold, and turn out easily. If the pulp be very watery, boil for
20 minutes before adding the sugar. This preserve will keep for a
long time if sufficiently cooked, only perfectly sound fruit should
be used. It is not necessary to peel the peaches.

_Peach Compote._--(_a_) Put into a casserole for every dozen peaches
¼ lb. sugar and a glass of water; bring it to the boil, and skim
well; add the peaches, peeled, and either whole or in halves, without
their stones in either case. Let them boil a few minutes until they
feel done; then arrange them in a glass dish, reduce the syrup, and
pour it over them.

(_b_) Boil 4 lb. sugar in 2½ pints water; let it simmer 10 minutes
after coming to the boil; fill bottles with fruit, shaking it down;
when the syrup is cold, fill up each bottle with enough to cover the
fruit; cork them well at once; stand the bottles in a boiler of cold
water, and let it come to the boil slowly; after which simmer a few
minutes; let the bottles get cold in the water; keep them in a cool
place.

_Peach Cream._--Steep ½ oz. isinglass in ½ pint cream, and stir over
the fire until dissolved. When almost cold, mix with it the strained
juice from a tin of peaches, and the juice of a small lemon. Pour
¾ of this cream into a glass dish, and allow it to set. Colour the
convex sides of the halves of peaches delicately with cochineal.
Place them with the coloured sides upwards upon the set cream. Pour
the remainder of the cream carefully between the fruit. Allow this
also to set, and the dish will be ready to serve. ¾ pint blancmange,
with the yolks of 3 eggs stirred to it while scalding hot, make a
fair substitute for the cream.

_Peach Toast._--Cut some round slices off some milk rolls, remove
the crust and fry them a pale yellow in fresh butter. Take a tin of
preserved peaches, turn out the liquor into a saucepan, add a little
sugar and a glass of white wine; boil it up, put in the peaches,
simmer a few minutes, drain them, and place half a peach, concave
side uppermost, on each piece of bread, put a piece of currant jelly
in the cavity of each peach, pour the syrup round, and serve.

_Pears, Stewed._--Peel the pears, and cut them into halves, without
removing the stalks, and carefully take out the cores; then put them
into a jar, with a lid, which should fit closely--empty salt jars
answer the purpose perfectly; add a small quantity of lemon peel and
1 or 2 cloves. Pour over them a syrup of sugar and water, in the
proportion of ½ lb. loaf sugar to every pint of water. After closing
the jar, put into the oven, which must not be too hot. Let the pears
bake till tender--about 5-6 hours; then turn them out of the jar to
cool. To keep them, put them into clean jars or bottles when quite
cold, and tie them down carefully like jam. If they do not keep,
the fault will probably lie with the fruit. The proper baking pears
should be used, and they must not be too ripe. If gently cooked, the
colour will be good without any addition, but, if necessary, about 3
drops cochineal may be added when the fruit is nearly done.

_Peripatetic Pudding._--Take 6 sponge cakes and 6 eggs, ¼ lb. sifted
sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter, ½ lb. marmalade, and 2 glasses of sweet
wine. Mix these ingredients well together, and paper the mould. Bake
for ½ hour.

_Piedmont Tartlets._--Make a paste with 1 oz. butter, 2 oz. flour,
the yolk of an egg, a little water, a pinch of salt; roll it out to
the thickness of ⅛ in., and line some patty-pans with it. Take 2 oz.
finely grated Parmesan cheese, beat it up in a bowl with the yolks
of 2 eggs; add pepper, salt, cayenne and nutmeg, according to taste,
very little of the two latter, then work in 3 tablespoonfuls cream,
fill each patty-pan with the mixture and bake them in a moderate oven
till done.

_Pikelets._--1½ oz. German yeast, a little flour, 1 qt. warm milk,
a cupful of melted butter, a little salt. Time to bake, 5 minutes
after the top has blistered. Make the milk warm, and stir it into the
yeast with a little salt. Add a sufficient quantity of flour to make
it into a batter. Set it to rise for ½ hour, then add a cupful of
melted butter. Stir it well in, pour it into iron rings previously
placed on a hot plate, and bake them very lightly on both sides. When
required, toast them on each side, taking care they do not burn;
butter them nicely, cut them across, and put them upon a hot plate,
serving them quickly hot and hot.

_Pineapple Cream._--Dissolve 2 oz. isinglass in 1 small cupful
boiling water; when dissolved add it to 1 qt. good cream, stirring
it continually that it may not curdle. Then add a ¼ lb. sifted loaf
sugar, and the juice of a pineapple, bruised and strained; whisk the
whole thoroughly together for a few minutes; then pour into a mould,
and set in ice or a very cold place until well set.

_Pineapple Fritters._--Make a thick batter with 2 eggs, 1 teacupful
new milk, 2 oz. sifted flour, 3 stale penny sponge cakes, 1 doz.
ratafia biscuits, and 1 teaspoonful sugar reduced to a fine powder.
For these fritters use the pineapples preserved in tins. Divide the
slices into small triangular pieces, dip each in the batter, and fry
to a golden brown colour in plenty of boiling lard. Dish them on a
folded napkin, sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar, and serve
them as quickly as possible. Send to table with them, in a tureen, a
sauce made as follows: Strain the pineapple juice, which will be left
in the tin, into a small enamelled saucepan, and add to it the juice
of ½ lemon, 1 wineglassful white wine, and 1 teaspoonful powdered
sugar. Bring this to boiling point, and thicken to the consistency
of thin cream with arrowroot, mixed with a little cold water. If
preferred, the pine may be minced and mixed with the batter.

_Pineapple Jelly._--Take a tin of preserved pineapple, pound the
contents in a mortar, add 6 oz. sugar and ½ pint water; boil the
whole for ¼ hour, then strain through a tammy; add the juice of a
lemon and 1 pint clarified calvesfoot jelly. Pour into a mould, and
when set turn it out by dipping the mould in warm water. Pieces of
pineapple may be put in the jelly.

_Pineapple Toast._--Take a small tin of preserved pineapple and a
stale sponge cake; cut the sponge cake in slices ½ in. thick, and
trim them and the pineapple to the same shape; place lightly the
slices of cake, on both sides, in butter. Arrange on a dish in a
circle, alternately, a slice of cake and one of pineapple, take as
much syrup out of the tin as may be necessary, add to it a glass of
sherry or a liqueur glass of brandy; pour this over the dish and
serve cold.

_Plum Pudding._--(_a_) Put 10 oz. flour into a large basin, with a
tiny pinch of salt, and, having passed 1 lb. suet through the mincing
machine, rub it with both hands into the flour until it is quite
smooth, then add 10 oz. fine breadcrumbs, mixing each thing well as
you do it. Then add the 1 lb. currants, having well washed and dried
and picked them (for there are stones among them), then add 2 lb.
stoned raisins, then ½ lb. brown sugar, ½ lb. candied peel and the
peel of a lemon grated, a small spoonful of spice; beat up 8 eggs,
and with a little milk mix altogether well with both hands, adding
half a tumbler or less of brandy; this should be mixed at night and
left until the morning, with a cloth thrown over it. The next morning
mix it up well with your hand, and put it into a tin form, which
should be well buttered; the tin should have a well-fitting cover,
which should be buttered also. Put the tin into a cloth, and tie it
so well down that there should be no risk of the cover coming off;
put it into a saucepan of furiously boiling water, and let it boil
8 hours, taking great care that the water never ceases boiling. The
pudding is much better boiled 3 hours more the second time, the day
it is eaten. Boiling in a cloth without the tin covered shape spoils
the goodness of the pudding, which all goes into the water. (E. C.
Scouce).

(_b_) Not too rich, and very inexpensive: ½ lb. Valencia raisins
stoned, ½ lb. currants, 3 oz. flour, ½ lb. beef suet chopped very
fine, ½ lb. breadcrumbs grated, 2 oz. soft sugar, 2 oz. candied peel,
and the rind of a small lemon, chopped very fine, ½ nutmeg grated;
mix all well in a bowl, and add a wineglass of rum or brandy, and
4 eggs well beaten. Cover over with a plate, and let it stand all
night; in the morning stir it up well, and add 1 small teacupful of
milk; mix thoroughly, and put it into a well-buttered mould. Lay
a buttered and floured paper over the top, and tie all in a large
cloth. Boil 6 hours, a week or more before it is wanted, and then at
least 4 hours the day the pudding is required; serve with wine sauce.

(_c_) That will keep.--1 lb. stale bread in crumbs (very fine, must
be passed through a wire sieve), 6 oz. flour, 1¼ lb. raisins, weighed
after stoning; 1¼ lb. moist sugar, 2¼ lb. currants, well cleaned and
dried; 1½ lb. best beef suet, finely chopped and free from skin; 3
oz. mixed candied peels, cut as thin as possible; a small teaspoonful
of salt, and ½ small nutmeg grated. Mix all these dry ingredients
together in a large earthen pan, then add the yolks and whites of 10
eggs well beaten together, and, lastly, 4 wineglassfuls sherry, and
rather more than 3 of brandy; stir all these together very thoroughly
with a wooden spoon. This quantity will make 3 puddings. Boil them 4
hours, either in basins or in earthen moulds tied over the top with a
cloth. After this drain them and set them on the kitchen shelf, not
too near the fire, but to keep dry. When wanted boil them for 1 hour.
They will keep any time, and are as good at a year’s end, or even
better, than at first.

(_d_) Plain.--Take of currants, raisins (sultanas), and sugar each
1 lb., 2 lb. breadcrumbs brown or white, 2 lb. carrots grated, 2
lb. potatoes grated, 1 lb. suet, ½ lb. lemon peel, salt to taste,
1 oz. ground ginger, 1 lb. flour, 2 or 3 eggs, 2 teaspoonfuls soda
carbonate, 1 ditto tartaric acid, the two latter well mixed with the
flour and breadcrumbs, dry, a little brandy and rum if liked, with
milk sufficient to moisten. This will make a large pudding, but can
be divided. Boil 6-8 hours.

(_e_) 4 lb. raisins, 2 lb. currants, 2 lb. beef suet, 1 lb. moist
sugar, 1 lb. flour, 1 lb. breadcrumbs, 8 oz. mixed candied peel, 3
tablespoonfuls golden syrup, ½ pint brandy, 1 nutmeg, 1 teacup beer,
and 13 eggs. The above ingredients should be well mixed with a wooden
spoon. This quantity will make 5 or 6 puddings, and should be boiled
11 hours; they will then keep good for some months (quite 6 months),
and, when one is going to be served at table, should be boiled for 2
hours.

_Plum Purée._--Stew a quantity of plums, with sugar to taste, and not
too much water. When quite done pass through a hair sieve, stir well,
and when cold it is ready.

_Plum Tart._--Stone some plums and stew them for an hour, with plenty
of sugar and half a tumblerful of water. Make a short paste with
the white of 1 and the yolks of 3 eggs, 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. sugar,
a pinch of salt, a little water, and sufficient flour. Roll it out
to the thickness of a penny piece, line a mould with it, uniting the
joints with white of egg, fill it with rice and bake it. When done
remove the rice, put it in the stewed fruit, and serve.

_Poor Knights._--(_a_) These can be made out of slices of stale bread
neatly trimmed. They should be about ½ in. thick, and should either
be cut in fingers, squares, or some other shape. Soak the pieces in
milk long enough to soften them, but not to break. Drain the pieces
and fry in boiling dripping until nicely browned on both sides. Place
them on kitchen paper to drain, and then serve with jam or marmalade,
put between every 2 slices; scatter some castor sugar on the top, and
serve.

(_b_) The bread used in Germany for these is the “brödchen,” somewhat
larger than dinner buns. These are cut into 3 rounds ½ in. thick;
beat up 3 eggs in ½ pint milk, in which soak the bread till soft;
then dip the pieces into brown breadcrumbs, and fry with butter over
the fire till a golden colour, crisp, but not hard; put preserve
between 2 pieces, sprinkle with white sugar, and serve hot. The bread
from an ordinary English loaf is best, with the crust cut off before
soaking.

_Porter Jelly._--Put 1 cow’s heel into 5 pints water, boil it down to
3 pints; when cold, skim off the fat. Then put it into a pan with the
rind of a lemon, a little cinnamon, sugar to your taste. When quite
hot, just before it boils, add 1 tumbler porter, and the white of an
egg to clear it; run it through a jelly bag. This may be taken either
warm or cold, and is very strengthening.

_Potato Pie._--For a pie for about 10 people, take a loin of mutton
(it is more tender than beef), 4 sheep kidneys, a cow heel from
the tripe shop, 20 oysters, ½ lb. mushrooms, an onion, pepper and
salt. Cut the mutton into chops (taking off some of the fat, and
also bones), the kidneys into about 4 pieces each, the heel into 9
portions, the onion sliced; mix all together, and put into a large
pie dish; cover well with potatoes cut in pieces; a little water must
also be put in, and then a good pie crust. It is a good plan to cook
all in the dish a while before putting on the latter. If covered with
another dish the top will not be brown. The large bones from the cow
heel, mutton, trimmings of mushrooms and oysters, if well simmered,
make good extra gravy, which can be poured in after the pie is cut
into. The best dish is a large tin one, to be kept for the purpose. A
clean table-napkin should be pinned round before sending to table.

_Potato Pudding._--Boil 4 large potatoes, and pass them through a
sieve; stir into them powdered loaf sugar to taste and the yolks of
2 or 3 eggs; add a few drops of essence of lemon, then the whites of
the eggs whisked to a froth; mix quickly and well; pour into a plain
mould, buttered and breadcrumbed, and bake for 20 minutes in a quick
oven. Serve with sweet sauce.

_President’s Pudding._--Cut some slices of stale bread, and dip each
one in a custard made thus: Beat up 1 egg with a wineglassful of
milk and ½ oz. pounded sugar, fry the bread quickly in butter, pile
on a dish with layers of jam between the slices, pour a thin boiled
custard over, and sift some sugar, then serve.

_Primrose Pudding._--Make some batter with ½ lb. flour and ¾ pint
milk; break 2 eggs into the flour, and stir well, add 2 oz. moist
sugar and a pinch of salt, add gradually ¾ pint milk, stirring the
ingredients all the time. Stir with a wooden spoon until the batter
is perfectly smooth, let it stand an hour or more; then stir into it
1 qt. or more of freshly gathered primrose petals. Pour this mixture
into a well-greased basin, put a buttered paper on the top, tie down
the basin with a well-floured cloth and plunge it into perfectly
boiling water, move it about a little for the first few minutes, and
boil 1½ hour. Cowslips, rhubarb, or gooseberries can be used in the
same way.

_Prince’s Pudding._--Take 1 pint breadcrumbs (brown crumbs made by
baking and rolling out crusts will do), let them be quite dry, and
mix in 1 teaspoonful baking powder, 1 oz. sugar, 1 oz. flour, 1
well-beaten egg, and enough milk to moisten the whole, but not to
make it thin. Grease a pie dish, and put a layer of sultana raisins
at the bottom, pour in the mixture carefully, and bake ½ hour; turn
it out for serving. This makes a pretty pudding if put into a fluted
mould lined with raisins, and then boiled for 1 hour.

_Prune Cake._--Stone 1½ lb. prunes, crack the stones and add the
kernels, blanched. Stew till soft with the rind and juice of a lemon,
sugar to taste, and 1½ pint water. Stiffen with 1 oz. gelatine
dissolved in a little water. It can be tinted with cochineal if
desired, and is best served with custard or cream and ornamented with
a few almonds.

_Prune Mould._--Take 1¼ lb. good prunes, put them on a fire, covered
with cold water. Let them boil for a minute, then take them off,
drain them, and take out the stones. Crack the stones, take out the
kernels, and blanch them in boiling water for a minute, take off
the brown skin. Dissolve half a sixpenny packet of gelatine in cold
water. Put it on the fire with 4 oz. sugar. Let it boil 5 minutes;
colour with cochineal and 2 glasses red wine. Place the plums, with
a kernel on the outside of each, into a casserole mould, and pour in
the liquid. When set turn it out, and fill the hole up in the middle
with whipped cream.

_Prunes, Stewed._--Stew 1 lb. prunes with a little sugar and water
till they are quite soft, take out the stones, crack them, and put
back the kernels; line the inside of a mould (first decorated with
split almonds) with the prunes, keep on pouring in a little jelly
to make it turn out (a small breakfastcupful of jelly or dissolved
gelatine will be about enough). It is best made in a mould with a
hole, which should be filled with whipped cream.

_Punch Jelly._--Take 2 calves’ feet, chop them into convenient
pieces, and put them in a saucepan with rather more than 2 qt. water,
set the saucepan on the fire; directly the water boils throw it away,
and wash the pieces of feet carefully, then put them on again with
2 qt. cold water, and let them boil slowly for 3 hours, removing
the scum carefully during the process; then strain the liquor into
a basin, and when quite cold and set, take off all fat and wash the
top of the jelly with hot water so as to get rid of every vestige of
fat. Put the jelly in a saucepan on the fire; directly it is melted
add sugar to taste, the juice and rind of a lemon, and the whites of
3 eggs whisked to a froth. Beat up the mixture till it boils. Place
the thin rind of a lemon at the bottom of a jelly bag, and pour
the mixture over it. The bag should have been previously rinsed in
boiling water; and the first ½ pint of jelly that comes through must
be returned to the bag. If the jelly does not come out quite clear,
the operation of straining must be repeated; add sufficient rum to
the clarified jelly to flavour it well, pour into a mould and place
it on ice to set. At the time of serving dip the mould in hot water,
and turn out the jelly.

_Queen Adelaide’s Pudding._--Take the crumb of a 3_d._ loaf, rubbed
fine, ½ lb. beef suet, free from skin, and rubbed fine, ½ oz. each of
citron, lemon, orange chopped fine, ½ nutmeg grated, ½ lb. currants
well washed and picked, pounded white sugar to taste, 1 wineglassful
sherry, and 6 eggs well beaten and strained. The whole to be well
mixed and put into a buttered mould, and kept continually boiling for
4 hours. Serve with wine sauce.

_Queen Mab’s Pudding_ (to be eaten cold).--Throw into 1 pint new milk
the thin rind of a lemon, heat it slowly by the side of the fire,
and keep it at boiling point until strongly flavoured; sprinkle in
a small pinch of salt and ¾ oz. finest isinglass. When dissolved,
strain through muslin into a clean saucepan with 5 oz. powdered and
sifted loaf sugar and ½ pint rich cream. Give the whole one boil,
stir it briskly, and add by degrees the well-beaten yolks of 5 eggs.
Next thicken the mixture as a custard over a slow fire, taking care
not to keep it over the fire a moment longer than necessary; then
pour it into a basin, adding 1 large tablespoonful orange-flower
water, the same of brandy. Stir till nearly cold, when mix with it 1½
oz. citron, cut in thin strips, and 2 oz. dried cherries. Pour into
a mould just rubbed with a drop or two of pure salad oil. For sauce,
serve round the pudding, as a garnish, strawberry, raspberry, or any
fruit syrup preferred.

_Quince Cakes._--Boil quinces till soft enough to pass a knife
through, drain the fruit on a sieve, peel them, scrape, and extract
the core; pass the pulp through a sieve, boil with an equal quantity
of powdered sugar till the mass easily separates from the saucepan.
Put into moulds, and keep for some days in a warm place.

_Railway Pudding._--Carefully stone raisins enough to line a small
well-greased pie dish, with the fruit opened. Fill the dish up with
breadcrumbs, and pour over a little milk with which a well-beaten egg
has been mixed. Bake, and serve turned out of the dish.

_Raised Pie in China Mould._--This may either be made with veal and
bacon, with chicken, rabbits, or game. A mixture of these three
last, or any of them together makes a most delicious pie. Almost any
game may be used in this way, but great care must be taken that it
is perfectly fresh. Streaky bacon must be used in the proportion of
¼ lb. bacon to every lb. of meat. If veal, it should be cut as for
cutlets, but rather smaller. If poultry or game, only the best parts
should be used. Cut into pieces not too large, lay them in a flat
dish, dredge them plentifully on both sides with flour, also with
black pepper and salt; place a layer at the bottom of the mould-liner
in which the meat is to be baked, packing them closely together; lay
thin slices of bacon about 2 in. wide over this, dredge some flour
and a little pepper, but no salt over the bacon, and proceed with
alternate layers of meat and bacon until the liner is full, taking
care that the top layer is of meat and bacon mixed; pour lukewarm
water over this until you see it reaches the top of the liner; cover
it with a crust of flour and water, in which you may mix a little
well clarified dripping to prevent it from drying up too fast. This
crust is merely to keep in the moisture while baking, and is not
served with the pie. Place it in a moderately hot oven, and let it
bake 4-5 hours, according to the size of the pie. When sufficiently
baked, remove the crust, and set the pie in a cool place until the
next day to get perfectly cold; place the liner in the china mould,
and serve with chopped aspic jelly, covering the meat. Hare does not
mix well with any of the above; but, should you have a cold tongue,
some small pieces cut into squares, and not too thin, will be found a
good addition, particularly if the pie be made of chicken or rabbit.

_Raisin Pudding._--Rub ½ lb. dripping into 1 lb. flour; mix 1
teaspoonful baking powder well with the flour; add 1 teacupful
raisins, 1 oz. candied lemon peel, ¼ lb. moist sugar, and 1
teaspoonful mixed spice. Beat 2 eggs well, mix 1 gill milk with the
eggs, and stir into the dry ingredients. This should make a stiff
batter. Bake 1 hour in a moderate oven, in a greased Yorkshire
pudding tin. It is lighter and crisper on the outside when baked in a
shallow tin. It does not require any sauce.

_Raspberry and Currant Tartlets._--Line some patty-pans with short
paste rolled out as above, fill them with uncooked rice to keep their
shape, and bake them in a moderate oven till done. Remove the stalks
from some raspberries and currants, add some syrup made with sugar
and a little brandy or sherry; empty the tartlets of the rice, fill
each with the fruit, and put them into the oven to get hot. They may
also be served cold.

_Raspberry Custard._--Take ½ pint ripe raspberries or raspberry jam,
press through a sieve to clear it of seeds, mix with the juice 1
pint milk in which 1 dessertspoonful corn-flour has been stirred,
free from lumps; beat a large egg thoroughly, mix it with the other
ingredients, and set the whole in a clean white saucepan to boil;
stir constantly, or it will be lumpy.

_Ravioli._--Make a firm paste with flour, eggs, and a little water.
Roll it out in sheets as thin as possible; cut them out in rounds
about 3 in. diameter, put on each a morsel of the stuffing described
below; fold them over, and turn up the edges, thus forming tiny
rissoles. Let them dry for two hours, then put them carefully in
boiling salted water, to boil for 20 minutes. Drain them and dress
them with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. The stuffing: Boil some
spinach, pass it through a sieve, and squeeze out effectually all
moisture from it. Mix with it half its bulk of fresh curd, or the
same quantity of breadcrumbs soaked in cream, season with grated
nutmeg, pepper, salt, and grated Parmesan cheese.

_Rhubarb Cream._--Bake an ordinary rhubarb tart and cut off the top
crust, leaving only the outer edge. Whip, till very stiff, cream
slightly coloured with cochineal, and place in its stead. Garnish
with triangles of the top crust, in the centre of each of which is
placed a clot of white cream.

_Rhubarb Flummery._--Peel and cut up 2 lb. rhubarb, put it in a basin
with a little cold water, not enough to quite cover it, place a plate
over the top, and set it in the oven till soft. Soak ½ oz. gelatine
in 3-4 tablespoonfuls water, and, having strained the juice from
the rhubarb, put the juice into a stewpan with the melted gelatine,
and stir it until quite dissolved. With a wooden spoon rub the
softened rhubarb through a sieve, mix this with the gelatine, add 6
tablespoonfuls thick cream, stirring in as much powdered sugar as may
make it sweet enough, probably 6-8 oz. Set this on the fire again to
warm, but on no account to boil, and stirring it all the time. When
hot, turn it into a mould or basin dipped in cold water, and let it
stand till set. Serve in a glass dish with custard round it.

_Rhubarb Fool._--Cut up a bundle of spring rhubarb, and gently stew
it till soft, with a teacupful of moist sugar; add the juice of a
lemon, mash all up well, and turn into a glass dish. Beat ½ pint
cream and pour it over the rhubarb, mix it together till it becomes
frothy. Let it stand ½ hour before serving.

_Rhubarb Fritters._--Peel young rhubarb and cut the stalks
into lengths of about 2-2½ in. Make a batter by mixing 6 large
tablespoonfuls flour with 1 pint milk, as smoothly as possible; add
a pinch of salt and 2 well-beaten eggs. If the rhubarb be very young
and tender it may not require peeling, it would then be sufficient
to wipe each piece with a damp clean cloth; dip each piece into the
batter and fry in boiling lard until a nice golden brown. Serve very
hot, piled high on a napkin, and well powdered over with castor
sugar. Half this quantity would be enough for a small dish.

_Rhubarb Jelly._--Take some rhubarb, wipe it with a clean wet cloth,
peel it, and cut it into pieces 1 in. long. To each lb. of rhubarb
add ¾ lb. white sugar. Put it to boil for about 10 minutes, or until
the juice is well drawn. Strain it into a preserving pan, let it boil
quickly until it clings to the spoon, skim it, and put it into jam
pots or moulds. The quickest way to know if it will set is to drop a
little on to a plate to cool.

_Rhubarb Mould._--Take 1 qt. red rhubarb and cut it in pieces; put it
in a saucepan with a lid, and let it boil till quite a pulp; melt ½
oz. gelatine in hot water; when dissolved put it with 1 lb. powdered
white sugar to the rhubarb, and boil for 15 minutes; add a few drops
of essence of lemon; pour the rhubarb into a mould. Next day dip the
mould in hot water, turn out into a glass dish, pour round it some
custard made as follows: The yolks of 2 eggs, a tumbler of milk, 4
lumps of sugar; simmer till thick; add a few drops of essence of
vanilla.

_Rhubarb Pudding._--Well butter a pie dish, and line the bottom and
sides with slices of thin bread and butter; moisten those at the
bottom of the dish by sprinkling a little hot water over them; over
these put a layer of rhubarb cut into small pieces; scatter moist
sugar over the rhubarb, and grate some of the rind from a fresh
lemon over the sugar; then add another layer of bread and butter,
and sprinkle a teaspoonful or two of hot water over them, and repeat
the rhubarb, sugar, and lemon; finish by covering the top with bread
and butter, slightly moistening it as before; scatter a very little
of the moist sugar all over the top of the pudding, and add little
bits of butter here and there above the sugar, as well as round the
edge of the dish. Bake in rather a slow oven at first, and send it to
table nicely browned.

_Rhubarb, Stewed._--To 1 lb. rhubarb, cut in pieces 1-2 in. in
length, allow ½ lb. loaf sugar, and the grated rind of one lemon.
Have ready a large tin saucepan of boiling water, throw the rhubarb
in, and stir the pieces down with a wooden or silver spoon. Put the
cover on, and for 3-4 minutes it may be left, then the cover taken
off; the rhubarb is not again left until it is done. It may be
quietly turned in the saucepan with the spoon so as not to break the
rhubarb. The moment it boils it softens, and in three minutes or less
time, according to whether the rhubarb is old or young, strain it off
quickly with the cover tilted on the saucepan. Let it slip from the
saucepan into a pie dish; sprinkle the loaf sugar and grated lemon
over it, and leave until cold.

_Rhubarb with Figs._--6 lb. rhubarb (weighed after being skinned and
cut), 5 lb. moist sugar, 1 lb. figs, and ¼ lb. candied lemon peel,
cut small; let the sugar and other ingredients remain on the top of
rhubarb till next day; boil 1 hour.

_Rice, Boiled._--Take 1 lb. Patna rice, wash it well in several
different waters; pick from it all discoloured grain, husk, &c.,
and put it into a very clean saucepan with a little alum or salt to
raise the scum. Let it boil till tender; it need not be covered. Try
by taking out a grain and pressing it between your thumb and finger;
if done it will mash easily, and you will know the rice is cooked
enough. Turn the rice into a fine colander, or any strainer; and let
cold water run on it from the tap to separate the grains; shake off
the water, and put the rice between 2 plates to warm in the oven,
of which the door should be left open. Care must be taken that the
rice does not get too dry. Cooked in this way, every grain will be
separate, while at the same time the rice will be thoroughly done--a
combination very seldom arrived at except by very careful cooks.

_Rice Croquettes._--(_a_) Boil ¼ lb. rice in milk flavoured with the
thin rind of a lemon, or a piece of vanilla, and sweetened to taste.
When the rice is done and has absorbed all the milk, remove the
substance used for flavouring and work in 3 or 4 eggs (leaving out
the whites of 2) into the rice; spread it out to get cold, and then
fashion it into croquettes to be egged, breadcrumbed, and fried in
the usual way.

_Rice Croquettes._--(_b_) Boil 3 oz. rice in some broth, stir it
well, add some butter and 2 yolks of eggs little by little. Of this
mixture take 1 tablespoonful on to a well-floured board, and press it
out thin; prepare some forcemeat of game, take a spoonful for each
croquette and lay it on the rice, form it into a roll so that the
rice can be spread smoothly over it; when all are prepared in this
way, dip them in egg and vermicelli, and fry them in butter.

_Rice, Empress._--Boil 3 tablespoonfuls rice, picked and washed
clean, in 1 pint milk, with sugar to taste, and a piece of vanilla;
when quite done put it into a basin to get cold. Make a custard with
1 gill milk and the yolks of 4 eggs; when cold mix it with the rice.
Beat up to a froth 1 gill cream, with some sugar and a pinch of
isinglass dissolved in a little water; mix this very lightly with the
rice and custard; fill a mould with the mixture, and set it on ice.
When moderately iced turn it out on a dish, and serve.

_Rice Fritters._--Boil 3 tablespoonfuls until it has fully swelled,
then drain it quite dry, and mix with it 4 well-beaten eggs, ¼ lb.
currants, and a little grated lemon peel; nutmeg and sugar to taste.
Stir in as much flour as will thicken it, and fry in hot lard.

_Rice._--Kedgeree.--Put 1 breakfastcupful well-dried boiled rice into
a deep dish; add to it nearly as much cooked white fish, well freed
from all bones, with some finely chopped parsley, 2 anchovies, 3
chilies, with pepper and salt to taste. Break over all 2 fresh eggs
boiled for not more than 3½ minutes. Mix these ingredients thoroughly
together with a fork; melt rather more than a tablespoonful of butter
in a stewpan, and make the mixture very hot over the fire.

_Rice Mange._--Rub smooth about 2 oz. ground rice in a little milk,
then take 1 qt. milk and boil it with the peel of half a lemon, a bay
leaf, and a few almonds; sweeten it with loaf sugar, and stir the
rice into it over the fire, until it is thick, and then put it into
a mould; when turned out cover it with a custard. If the mould has a
hole in it, it may be filled with sweetmeat instead. Wet the mould
before you put in the rice.

_Rice Meringue._--Put 1 teacupful rice into ½ pint milk and let it
simmer till soft, then add the yolks of 3 beaten-up eggs to the rice
in the stewpan, and beat up the whole with a teaspoonful of moist
sugar. Turn it out into a buttered tin or pie-dish, piling it up high
in the centre, and spread a thick layer of apricot jam over it. Whisk
the whites of the 3 eggs to a froth with a teaspoonful of castor
sugar, spread the froth over the jam, and sprinkle sugar on the top.
Bake for 20 minutes; if a very hot oven, leave the door partly open.
Serve at once, in the pie dish, with napkin round. The pie dish can
be placed within a silver dish for serving.

_Rice, Moulded, with Mushrooms._-½ lb. rice, 3 oz. butter, 4 cloves,
1 blade mace, 1 onion, 1 lemon, 12 good-sized mushrooms, 1½ pint
stock or broth, a few breadcrumbs. Wash the rice, and put into 1½
pint boiling stock or broth, adding 1 oz. butter, the onion, cloves,
and mace; stir the rice occasionally to prevent its sticking to the
bottom of the stewpan; let it stew slowly with the lid on. In about
1½ hour it should be tender and dry; if not quite dry, stir over
the fire for a few minutes with the lid off, then it will soon dry.
Take from the fire, and stir into it the yolks of 3 and the white of
1 egg, 2 oz. butter, a little salt; stir over the fire a minute to
set the eggs; butter a plain mould (a border mould would be best);
sprinkle the bottom and sides with fine breadcrumbs; when the rice
has cooled a little, fill the mould, and bake in a well-heated oven
30-40 minutes, so as to be of a golden-brown shade; let it stand 5
minutes after it is taken from the oven, then slip a knife round the
inside of the mould, and turn out on the dish in which it is to be
served; scoop out the centre, and fill with the mushrooms already
prepared thus: Peel the mushrooms, put into a stewpan 2 oz. butter,
let it brown, put in the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper and
a blade of mace pounded, a dredge of flour, and the juice of half a
lemon; shake round, and stew gently ¼ hour. (E. A. Robbins.)

_Rice Pie._--Take of coarse oatmeal and of rice each one large
cupful. Put it into a saucepan with enough cold water to cover it,
and simmer until it is tender. Then add 2 oz. raisins or currants, 2
oz. brown sugar, 2 oz. suet, a little spice, and ½ pint skim milk.
Bake in a cool oven 1 hour.

_Rice Pudding._--Pick and wash in 2 or 3 waters, 2 handfuls of rice,
and put it to cook in rather less than 1 qt. milk, sweetened to
taste, and with the addition of the thin rind of 1 lemon, cut in one
piece, and a small stick of cinnamon. Let the rice simmer gently
until it has absorbed all the milk. Turn it out into a basin, and
when cold, remove the lemon rind and cinnamon. Then stir into it the
yolks of 4 eggs, and 1 whole egg beaten up, add a small quantity of
candied citron cut into small pieces, and mix it well in. Butter and
breadcrumb a plain tin mould, put the mixture into it and bake in a
quick oven for about ½ hour. To ascertain when the pudding is done,
insert a bright trussing needle into it, it will come out clean when
the pudding is done.

_Rice, Savoury._--Rice is not so much used in England as it deserves
to be, or is too often sent to table in such a way as to make it
unpalatable. The following mode of cooking it is an excellent one,
and forms a good substitute for potatoes when that vegetable is
scarce, especially as an accompaniment to a hash or stew, with rich
gravy: Put 2 tablespoonfuls Carolina rice into a stone jar with ½
pint good stock, 1 tablespoonful Worcester sauce, ½ tomato, 1 onion
chopped finely, a very little garlic (if the flavour is not liked,
this may be omitted), ½ oz. butter, and the same of dripping or
bacon fat; a little black pepper, 1 teaspoonful salt, and 1 chili,
or cayenne pepper to taste; cover with a perforated lid to allow
evaporation, and set in a slow oven for about 2 hours, until all
the liquor is absorbed. On no account stir the rice, but shake
occasionally if necessary; every grain will then be separate.

_Rice Shape._--Boil 2 oz. Patna rice, well picked and washed, in 1
pint milk, sweetened to taste, and flavoured with vanilla; dissolve
½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint milk, and add it to the rice with ½ pint
cream. Stir the mixture lightly until cold, put it into a shape, set
it on ice or in a cold place, and when firm turn it out and serve
with custard or jam, or with both.

_Rice Soufflé._--Pick and wash a teacupful of rice. Put it into a
saucepan with 1 pint milk sweetened to taste, and a pod of vanilla;
let the milk boil till the rice is thoroughly done. When cold, remove
the vanilla and work in the yolks of 6 eggs one by one; then stir in
the whites of 8 eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Pour the mixture into
a plain cake mould; put it into the oven at once; bake for about ½
hour, and serve in the mould with a napkin pinned round it.

_Rice Sweet Dish._--Boil some rice in milk, thick, but not too soft,
add sugar and vanilla or cinnamon, and spread it out to cool on a
buttered tin plate; stand the plate to keep a little warm, and cut
pieces from the rice, roll it on a board spread with breadcrumbs into
croquettes, sprinkle with egg and crumbs, and bake or fry in butter.
The flavouring can be varied by sprinkling grated chocolate in the
rice, or pounded almonds, currants, raisins, &c. In rolling out
spread preserve, roll the rice round it and serve with chocolate or
caramel sauce.

_Richelieu Pudding._--Remove the outer skin from the white flesh
either of a pheasant or a fowl; mince it finely. Stew some truffles
in white wine, and mince them also. Make a smooth paste with a little
water, butter, flour, and salt to taste: leave it to get cold. Take
8 oz. meat, 4 oz. butter, 2 oz. paste, and a small quantity of the
minced truffles; pound all well in a mortar, adding gradually the
whites of 2 eggs, the yolks of 3, and a small quantity of sauce (made
from the trimmings of the fowl); add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When
quite smooth roll out the forcemeat with flour, and shape it into
balls or cutlets; drop them into nearly boiling stock, do not let
them quite boil. When sufficiently cooked, drain and leave them till
cold, egg and breadcrumb them; after 2 hours, egg and breadcrumb them
again, and fry in boiling lard. Serve with truffle sauce, or make a
sauce with the trimmings of the fowl or game, flavour it well with
shallot, and add a glass of sherry or white wine.

_Richmond Maids of Honour._--To 6 oz. fresh butter add ½ lb. dry
curd, and mix well together. In another basin beat up the yolks of
4 eggs with a wineglassful of brandy; to this add a very mealy cold
boiled potato, well powdered, and free from lumps, 6 oz. castor
sugar, 1 oz. each sweet and bitter almonds well pounded, the juice
of 1 and the grated rinds of 3 lemons, and ½ grated nutmeg. Mix
these well together, and add to the curds and butter. Again mix very
thoroughly. Butter a number of tartlet pans, line them with the best
puff paste, and place a spoonful of the mixture into each; put them
without delay into the oven, and bake quickly. When done the paste
should be very light and pale-coloured, and the interior a delicate
golden-brown.

_Risotto._-½ lb. whole rice, 3 oz. butter, 1 shallot or small onion,
some rich gravy, 2 gr. saffron, a little grated nutmeg, 3 oz.
Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Wash the rice, melt the
butter in a stewpan, and fry the shallot, chopped, until of a light
gold colour. Put in the rice and fry it, stirring constantly for 10
minutes, over a slow fire; then add some boiling, strong gravy and
boil all up for 18 minutes; draw it back, have ready the saffron
soaked in a little hot water, strain it into the rice, then add 3 oz.
grated Parmesan, a few dice of fresh butter, and a pinch of grated
nutmeg; stir all together for a minute over the fire, and serve at
once very hot. The risotto should be of a pale gold colour, the rice
kept whole, and not too dry.

_Roman Pudding._--Butter your basin and line it with well-boiled
macaroni, round like a beehive; have ready veal, ham, tongue,
chicken, or cold game (all cut very fine), 1 oz. Parmesan cheese, a
little nutmeg, pepper, salt, lemon peel, and cayenne, 2 eggs, and a
cupful of cream. Mix all together, and fill your basin; boil for ½
hour, glaze it, and serve it up with good brown gravy. It is very
good cold. Less cream if you do not wish it to be very rich.

_Russian Jelly._--Take 2 oz. Nelson’s or 14 sheets best French
gelatine, soak them in a little more than 1 pint hot water. When
dissolved add sugar to taste, the juice of 1 lemon, the whites of 2
eggs beaten up to a froth, and 2 liqueur glasses of cognac. Whisk on
the fire till the whole boils; place the thin rind of the lemon at
the bottom of a jelly bag, pour the mixture over, and when it has
passed out clear and is almost set, whisk it with an egg whisk until
it assumes the consistency of white of egg whisked to a froth. Fill a
mould with the frothed jelly, press it well down, and place it in a
cool place or on ice to set.

_Sago Pudding._--Take fruit of almost any kind, apples, rhubarb,
raspberries, blackberries, &c.; stew until soft with water or not as
required, and then add sufficient small sago to make it thick, and
stew till all is a jelly. It is particularly nice made with rhubarb,
and can be eaten hot or cold turned out of a shape.

_St. Honoré Pudding._--Make a stiff, short paste with flour, butter,
eggs, and water; roll it out flat, cut out a round about 6 in. in
diameter, and place it on a baking sheet. Make some _choux_ paste as
follows: Put about 1 pint water into a saucepan with a few grains of
salt, a piece of butter the size of an egg, and as much sugar, with
plenty of grated lemon peel. When the water boils, throw gradually
into it sufficient flour to make a thick paste; then take it off the
fire, let it remain 10 minutes, and work into it 3 or 4 eggs. When
cold, put this paste into a biscuit bag, and press out a roll of
it all round the disc of short paste, uniting the two ends neatly
together. Then on another baking sheet press out a number of balls
the size of a walnut, put the 2 sheets in a moderate oven until the
paste is baked to a good colour. Then stick with white of egg all
these balls on the top of the roll of _choux_ paste, quite close
together. In the case so prepared place a layer of stewed pears, and
over it some whipped cream well heaped up in the centre. The roll and
border of _choux_ balls may be, or not, glazed with sugar at the time
of baking, and may be ornamented with glacé cherries, grapes, &c.,
according to taste.

_Samp Pancakes._--Boil 1 pint samp, drain it, and add to it while hot
1 pint white corn meal, 1 saltspoonful salt, and 3 tablespoonfuls
of fresh butter. When cool add 3 eggs, beaten very light, or 3
tablespoonfuls strong yeast; the whole should form a thick batter.
Bake them upon a griddle, which should be greased or scraped before
each cake is baked; serve with butter. If yeast be used in preference
to eggs, they should be made several hours before they are needed.
Cover them in a warm place, and do not bake them until they are well
risen.

_Samp Pudding._--Boil 1 pint milk, and stir into it 3 tablespoonfuls
butter and 3 of sugar, with 1 tablespoonful nutmeg and powdered
cinnamon mixed; set it away to cool; then add 6 well-beaten eggs with
1 pint cold boiled samp, beat it well, pour it into a deep dish, and
bake for 1 hour; ½ pint molasses may be used instead of sugar, and
the pudding may be tied in a cloth, and boiled instead of baked.

_Singing Hinny._--1 lb. flour, ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. currants, mix with
cream, roll it out rather thin, and bake on a girdle.

_Sir Watkin Wynn’s Pudding._--6 oz. chopped lemon peel, 4 oz. beef
suet chopped fine, 4 oz. white breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful of flour,
3 oz. moist sugar, 2 oz. apricot jam, a small liqueur glass of
maraschino or of curaçoa, 1 dessertspoonful milk, 3 fresh eggs. Mix
all together, pour into a buttered shape, and steam 3 hours. Apricot
jam sauce to be served under the pudding.

_Snowballs._--(_a_) Wash ½ lb. rice thoroughly, then take some small
pudding cloths, grease them, and spread over each a layer of rice.
Pare and core some apples, put one in the middle of each layer of
rice, draw up the ends of the cloth carefully, so that the apple is
smothered in the grain, tie tightly, and boil. (_b_) Boil the rice
till quite soft, sweetening it to taste, then put it into small round
cups. When quite cold turn out, and sift white sugar over them. These
are very nice eaten with custard.

_Snow Cake._--1 lb. potato flour, ¼ lb. white sugar, ½ lb. butter,
worked to a cream, the whites of 6 eggs well whisked. Mix all
together for 20 minutes, season with ½ teaspoonful essence of lemon.
Bake in a moderate oven. To test if baked stick a clean knife through
the middle, and when it comes out clean and dry the cake is ready; it
must be put into a buttered tin. The cake should have a pretty brown
colour outside, not too dark; inside it is white as snow, hence the
name.

_Snow Mould._--Melt ½ small packet Nelson’s gelatine in ½ pint water,
add to it ½ lb. grated sugar, the whites of 2 eggs, and the juice of
2 good-sized lemons. Whip the whole mixture for about 20 minutes,
pour into a mould. Serve with custard over.

_Snow Pancakes._--Mix in a basin ¼ lb. flour, with a little salt,
some grated lemon peel, and sufficient new milk to make rather a
thick batter, mix and beat the mixture well. Melt some butter (or
fresh dripping) in a frying pan, divide the batter into 4 parts, and
just before frying beat up very quickly 1 tablespoonful fresh snow
into each pancake. Fry on both sides till of a pale brown colour,
fold them up, inserting a little sugar within the folds, sprinkle
sugar over them, and serve immediately with a cut lemon and powdered
sugar.

_Snowdon Pudding._--Put 1½ oz. sago (the small kind), or ground
rice, and 6 oz. veal suet chopped as finely as possible, and quite
free from skin, into a basin, add a pinch of salt, 12 oz. sifted
breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. orange marmalade, rather more than less, and the
yolks and whites of 4 eggs well beaten. Mix well, add 3 teaspoonfuls
brandy, and sweeten to taste with powdered loaf sugar. The above
quantity would probably take about 4 tablespoonfuls, but no rule can
be laid down for it, as some marmalade is so sweet that but little
sugar would be wanted. Butter a plain mould, not sparing the butter,
ornament the bottom and sides with dried cherries or raisins, and
then fill it with the mixture. In doing this be very careful not to
displace the fruit; it would not do to pour it in, it should be put
in with a spoon. Cover with buttered writing-paper, and steam for 1½
hour. Turn out carefully, letting it stand to cool for 1-2 minutes
before doing so. Dilute some marmalade by pouring a very little
boiling water over it, just enough to enable the chips of peel to be
strained off; if not sweet enough, stir in a little white sugar, and
pour it as sauce round, but not over the pudding. If preferred, wine
sauce may be served with it, but the other looks better, and keeps up
the flavour of the marmalade used in making the pudding.

_Soufflé._--Butter, 3 oz.; sugar, 3 oz.; flour, 6 oz.; milk, 1 pint;
rind of 1 lemon, a little grated nutmeg, ½ wineglass of brandy.
Beat the butter to a cream (this may be done quickly by putting it
into a warm basin, and stirring it backwards with the hand), add
4 well-whisked eggs, the flour, and sugar (some of the lumps of
which have been rubbed on a fresh lemon to extract the flavour, and
then pounded with the rest), a grate of nutmeg, the brandy, and by
degrees the milk. Butter a soufflé dish or pie dish, pour into it the
mixture, and bake in a well-heated oven 30-40 minutes, but do not
take from the oven till wanted for table. Many good light puddings
are spoiled by taking from the oven or pot before they are wanted.

_Sponge Cake Pudding._--Butter a mould or basin, and stick it over
with small pieces of preserved ginger, or sultana raisins. Soak some
sponge cake in sherry, and when the wine is absorbed put it into the
basin, and fill it up with custard. Boil about 1 hour, and serve with
sweet sauce.

_Sponge Pudding._--Rub 6 oz. butter or beef dripping into 1 lb. dry
flour, in which a level dessertspoonful of ground ginger and 6 oz.
brown sugar have been mixed; dissolve 2 level teaspoonfuls soda
carbonate in ½ pint milk, mixing it smooth and free from lumps before
adding to the flour. Beat all together into a soft batter, and pour
into a buttered basin. Allow the pudding plenty of room to swell in
the cloth, which it does considerably; plunge into very fast boiling
water, and keep boiling 2½ hours. Turn it out, and serve with wine
sauce; but some prefer to eat it dry.

_Strawberry Chartreuse._--Take 1 qt. calvesfoot jelly, well flavoured
with lemon peel alone. Take a quantity of fine strawberries freed
from stalks, and cut in half length-wise. Warm the jelly sufficiently
to pour out. Have 2 plain moulds, one about 1¼ in. more in diameter
than the other; pour a very little jelly at the bottom of the larger
mould, and place in it a layer of strawberries, cover them with more
jelly, but only put enough to get a smooth surface; lay this on ice
to set. When it is quite firm, put the small mould inside the large
one, taking care to place it exactly in the middle, so that the
vacant space between the two moulds be of the same width. In this
vacant space dispose strawberries prepared as above, filling up the
interstices as you go on with jelly until the whole of the space is
filled up. Place the mould upon ice; whip 1 pint cream to a froth,
dissolve ½ oz. isinglass in a little water, mix it with rather more
than a cupful of strawberry juice sweetened to taste and obtained by
mashing the fruit and pressing it through a tammy. Add this to the
whipped cream a little at a time. When the cream is ready and the
jelly set, remove the inner mould by pouring warm water into it, and
fill up the inner space of the chartreuse with the cream. Set it on
ice for an hour, turn out, and serve.

_Strawberry Cream._--Take 3 pints ripe strawberries, and crush
each one separately. Put them in a basin with 4 oz. powdered loaf
sugar, stir until the sugar is melted, and well mixed with the
pulped strawberries, then put them in a trifle dish. Now put 1 qt.
cream in a saucepan on a stove, and when at boiling point stir in
2 oz. arrowroot mixed with a little cold new milk. Let this boil
for 1 minute, then set it aside until sufficiently cool not to risk
breaking your dish, when pour it over the pulped strawberries, and
put the dish in a cool place until the cream is cold and set. Just
before serving cover the cream with the whites of 6 eggs, beaten to a
solid froth. If colour is liked, a portion of the white of egg may
be coloured with a few drops of prepared cochineal, and put in the
centre of the dish. Raspberries are very good served in this way.

_Strawberry Shortcake._--1 qt. flour, 5 oz. lard, 1 even teaspoonful
soda, 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, a pinch of salt. Mix the salt
and cream of tartar with the flour, pass it through a sieve, then rub
the lard with the flour, add the soda dissolved in enough milk to
form a soft dough; divide it into 4 parts, roll one part out, cover
a straight-sided Vienna cake tin with it, roll out another piece and
lay it upon the first, cut the edges off evenly. Repeat this with the
remaining two pieces and another tin. Bake quickly. When done lift
the upper piece of crust from each cake., butter the inner surfaces
and place between the two crusts a layer 1 in. thick of fresh berries
slightly mashed and sweetened. Cover the top with fresh berries, sift
a little sugar over them and serve at once. It is eaten in slices
with rich cream poured over it. A pretty way to make them is to cut
the dough with a tart-cutter 3½ in. in diameter; bake two pieces, one
on top of the other, place strawberries between, as above, and serve
one little cake to each person with cream round it.

_Strawberry Tartlets._--Make some short paste with 2 oz. sugar, 2 oz.
butter, the yolks of 4 eggs, a little water, a pinch of salt, and
sufficient flour; work it lightly, and roll it out to the thickness
of ⅛ in. Line some patty-pans with it, fill them with uncooked rice
to keep their shape, and bake them in a moderate oven till done.
Remove the stalks from some strawberries, add some syrup made with
sugar and a little brandy or sherry. Empty the tartlets of the rice,
fill each with the strawberries. Put them in the oven to get warm,
and serve.

_Suet Pudding._--(_a_) ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. beef suet chopped fine,
1 teaspoonful salt. Mix with sufficient milk or water to keep them
together; boil 2½ hours in a basin or a cloth. (_b_) 1 lb. beef suet
chopped fine, 6 large spoonfuls flour, 1 teaspoonful grated ginger,
1 teaspoonful of salt, 1½ pint milk, and 4 eggs. Boil 3 hours in a
basin, or 2½ hours in a cloth, (_c_) 1½ pint milk mixed with 1 lb.
flour, add 2 eggs, 4 large spoonfuls beef suet chopped fine, ½ lb.
currants or raisins stoned, 1 teaspoonful grated ginger, the juice
of a lemon (or the rind of one grated), a very little salt and brown
sugar to taste. Butter a pie dish, fill with the mixture, bake 1½
hour, turn it out, and serve with powdered sugar over and wine sauce
round.

_Swiss Pastry._--Weigh 3 or more eggs in the shell, and take their
weight in powdered sugar, in dried flour, and in fresh butter. Put
the butter in a basin, and set it over another containing hot water
to remain until melted; then stir in the sugar by degrees, using a
wooden spoon. When well mixed gradually add the flour, and also a
pinch of salt, stirring all the time. When the flour is all in, break
in one of the eggs without beating it, merely removing the speck,
and then adding the egg, both yolk and white; whisk the batter well;
then add another egg in the same way, again whisk, and so on till all
the eggs are in. Continue the whisking until the batter looks light.
Have ready a shallow tin with a rim to it, which must be lined with
paper plentifully buttered; pour in the mixture directly it is ready,
and put it at once into the oven to bake until firm and slightly
brown. The pastry should not be more than 1 in. thick. A very clean
Yorkshire pudding tin may be used to bake it in, or a good-sized
cutlet pan is as good as anything. When cold, cut it into any fancy
shapes, splitting the cake and putting strawberry or apricot jam
between; cut into fingers, which maybe iced over the top, some pink
and some white--they make a very pretty dish. For making into a set
shape, hollow oval cutters are the best, in graduated sizes. Put the
largest piece at the bottom of either a glass or silver dish, spread
a layer of strawberry or raspberry jam on it, then the next size,
and so on till the smallest piece at the top is also covered with
jam. Make a border round of apricot jam, and fill up the hollow with
whipped cream. A very slight sprinkling of finely chopped pistachio
nuts may be strewn over the top of the cream by way of ornament if
desired.

_Swiss Pudding._--Take the yolks of 7 eggs, ½ oz. isinglass, beat
them well, add 1 pint good milk and sugar to taste. Put this in a
mould, and boil the pudding ¾ hour exactly. Let it stand in the mould
till cold. The sauce for this pudding is made with ¼ pint white wine,
¼ lb. sugar, with the juice and the rind of a lemon pared very thin.
Boil this till it becomes like a syrup. When cold, pour it round the
pudding, but not till it is ready to be sent to table, then put a few
strips of orange marmalade or apricot jam on the top and round the
pudding.

_Swiss Roll._--Take the weight of 3 or 4 eggs in their shells of
finely powdered sugar, and the same weight of butter and flour. Melt
the butter, add the sugar and the yolks of the eggs (freed from the
speck); beat the mixture well, add the beaten-up whites of half the
eggs, then half the flour, the rest of the whites (also beaten up),
and of the flour. When quite smooth spread it out about ½ in. thick
over a well-buttered tin, and bake for 15-20 minutes in a moderate
oven, spread it all over equally with jam, roll it up, and put it
into the oven again for a short time, sprinkle with powdered sugar,
and serve cold; if liked, with custard over it.

_Tansy Pudding._--Boil 1 qt. milk with a little lemon peel and 2
laurel leaves, strain it over a ¼ lb. Naples biscuit; beat up the
yolks of 8 and the whites of 4 eggs with 1 spoonful rose-water; put 1
handful tansy leaves and 2 handfuls spinach in a mortar, pound them
and squeeze the juice through a cloth; grate in half a nutmeg, put in
½ lb. fine sugar with ½ lb. butter melted. Mix the ingredients all
together, put it over a slow fire, and keep it stirring till it is
thick, then take it off and set it away to cool, and stir in a glass
of brandy. Put a puff paste round the edge of the dish, pour in the
ingredients, put a little candied sweetmeats over it, and bake it ¾
hour in a moderate oven.

_Tapioca Cream._--Take equal quantities pearl tapioca and raw cream,
boil the tapioca thoroughly, whip the cream till it drops thickly
from the spoon; mix the two together, flavour with lemon or vanilla
essence, and sweeten to taste, serve cold in a glass dish. This is
excellent, eaten with either preserved peaches, pears, &c., or stewed
fruit.

_Tapioca Pudding._--Boil ¼ lb. tapioca with 1 pint milk sweetened
to taste, and flavoured with either lemon peel, vanilla, or
orange-flower water according to taste; pour the mixture into a
buttered pie dish, and bake for ½ hour. If preferred with eggs, the
boiled tapioca should be allowed to cool, and then 2 eggs well beaten
up may be added before baking; but this kind of pudding is more
wholesome, especially for children, without eggs, if made with plenty
of milk.

_Tapioca Snow._--Take 3 tablespoonfuls tapioca, and put in a stewpan
with a piece of butter the size of a hazel nut and 1 pint milk; let
it boil until transparent. Whip 2 yolks of eggs for 10 minutes,
and put into it. Turn out into a dish, then whip the whites of the
eggs to a strong froth with a pinch of salt, and when they are well
frothed, add 3 oz. not too finely pounded sugar. If liked, flavour
the tapioca.

_Tapioca Soufflé._--Soak 1 tablespoonful tapioca in water for 2
hours, set it to boil, adding powdered loaf sugar to taste, and milk
till the mixture is of the consistency of porridge; flavour it with
grated lemon peel, work in when cold the yolks of 3 and the whites
of 4 or 5 eggs whisked to a stiff froth; then pour quickly into a
soufflé mould, and bake till it has well risen; serve immediately.

_Tipsy Puddings._--Beat up for about 10 minutes 4 eggs, freed from
the speck, with 4 oz. powdered loaf sugar; then gradually incorporate
with them 4 oz. finest pastry flour. Warm some dariole moulds and
prepare them as follows; Put some liquefied fresh butter in the
mould, turn it round in all directions so as to get it evenly
buttered, pour off superfluous butter, and before it has time to cool
put some glacé sugar (loaf sugar very finely sifted) into it, turn
it over so as to get a coating of sugar all over, then tap the mould
gently on the table so as to get rid of all the sugar that does not
adhere to the butter. When all the moulds are thus prepared fill them
evenly with the composition, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a slow
oven. Turn out the puddings, trimming the tops if necessary. Melt 3
tablespoonfuls powdered loaf sugar in ½ tumbler old rum; dispose
the puddings on a dish, and with a spoon pour the sweetened rum over
each in turn. Strew some minced pistachio nuts over the top of the
puddings, placing a preserved cherry on each, and serve cold.

_Treacle Pie._--Line a pie dish with thin paste, cover with treacle
as for roly-poly pudding, and continue alternate layers of paste
and treacle till the dish is full, finishing with paste; bake in a
moderate oven.

_Treacle Pudding._-½ lb. flour, 1 oz. suet (finely chopped), ¼ lb.
treacle, pinch salt, 1 teaspoonful ginger, 1 teaspoonful baking
powder. Mix, cover with greased paper, and steam 3 hours, taking care
that it never stops cooking. The baking powder is home made. The
pudding should be like sponge cake.

_Trifle._--Place in a glass dish a layer of macaroons and ratafias,
moisten them with 1 glass sherry and ½ glass brandy; put a layer of
apricot jam or quince jelly over this. Make a plain custard, and
when cold pour it over the jam or jelly. Take 1½ pint rich cream, ¼
lb. sifted sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, the grated peel of ½ lemon,
2 tablespoonfuls noyeau, and 1 of white wine; whisk the whole well
together, and as the froth rises lay it on a sieve in a cool place.
Cover the custard with the whipped cream. Ornament with crystallized
fruit and strips of angelica.

_Tutti Fruiti._--Soak 4 penny sponge cakes in 1 wineglassful orange
or raisin wine, and put over them a layer of jam. Make a custard with
the yolks of 3 eggs, and pour over the whole. Make a stiff whip of
the whites, and arrange this over the custard. Scatter all over the
top two pennyworth of hundreds-and-thousands, and arrange some very
thin strips of candied peel in a pattern on the top of the whip, and
serve.

_Vanilla Cream._--Boil a stick of vanilla in 1½ pint milk, with
sugar to taste. Beat up the yolks of 8 eggs, pour the flavoured milk
on them, and keep on stirring in a bain-marie until the custard
thickens. Melt 9 sheets best French gelatine in a little milk, add
this to the custard. Whisk to a froth ½ pint cream, mix quickly with
the custard, put into a mould, place it in a cold place or on ice to
set, and at the time of serving dip the mould in hot water, and turn
out the cream.

_Vanilla Soufflé._--Put into a saucepan a piece of fresh butter the
size of a walnut, 1 large tablespoonful flour, a small pinch of salt,
and stir in gradually ½ pint milk; add powdered loaf sugar to taste,
and stir on the fire till the mixture thickens and boils. When nearly
cold work into it the yolks of 4 eggs, and as much vanilla essence
as will flavour it strongly, and then, quickly and thoroughly, the
whites of 6 eggs whisked to a stiff froth; pour the mixture into a
tin large enough to allow room for rising, strew a little finely
powdered sugar over it, and place the tin at once into a quick oven.
It will take 15-20 minutes to cook, and as soon as the soufflé has
well risen, and the top has taken a good colour, it is ready, and
must be served immediately in the tin, a little finely powdered sugar
being sprinkled on the top.

_Venus Pudding._--Take a quart mould, butter it well, and ornament
it with candied ginger; make a rich custard with the yolks of 12 and
the whites of 6 eggs, 1 pint cream, and loaf sugar to taste, then
dissolve 1 oz. isinglass in sufficient milk to fill up the mould;
when cold add a glass of rum or sherry; pour the mixture into the
mould, and place it on ice to set. Before adding the isinglass put
aside a little of the custard for sauce, add some ginger syrup to
this, and serve cold with the pudding.

_Victoria Pudding._--This requires care in its preparation, and
should be made the day before it is wanted. Make a custard with 4
eggs, 1 pint milk, and ¾ oz. isinglass, flavouring it with vanilla
and brandy. The vanilla should be cut into small pieces, tied up in
a muslin bag, and boiled in the milk; the brandy should be added
when cold; a very small quantity of the latter is sufficient. Let
the custard get quite cold, when it will become thick and lumpy. Dip
a jelly-mould into cold water, and with a spoon arrange the custard
in the design at the bottom of the mould, carefully filling all the
holes. Slice some penny sponge cakes in halves, dip them in sherry or
Marsala, and then place them in layers in the centre of the mould,
with preserves (either strawberry or raspberry) between each layer,
filling up in the meanwhile the space between the cake and the mould
with custard, so that when turned out the custard appears as a crust
around it. It should remain in the mould for at least 12 hours to
stiffen. Turn it out on a dish and garnish with strawberry jelly.

_Waffles._--1 qt. sour milk, 4 eggs, 3 oz. butter, ½ teaspoonful
salt, 2 teaspoonfuls soda, flour enough to make a thick batter. Bake
and serve hot.

_Wigs._--Take ¼ peck of fine flour, ½ lb. butter rubbed in fine, ½
lb. sugar, ½ nutmeg, ½ race of ginger, 3 eggs, beat well, and put to
½ pint yeast and 3 spoonfuls sack; make a hole in the flour, and pour
in, with as much milk just warm as will make it into a light paste.
Let it stand before the fire, to rise, ½ hour; then make it into 1½
doz. wigs, brush them over with egg, and put into the oven. Bake ½
hour in a quick oven.

_Wine Jelly._--2 oz. gelatine, ¾ lb. loaf sugar, 3 lemons, ½ pint
sherry, 1 wineglassful brandy, whites of 4 eggs, 1½ pint water. Put
the water, gelatine, sugar, and the rinds of the lemons, peeled very
thinly, into a pan. Stir till the gelatine and sugar have dissolved,
and boil; then add the strained lemon juice, wine, and the whites of
eggs, whipped with a little cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, and
throw in a little cold water 3 times to check the boiling and throw
off the scum. Allow to simmer ¼ hour, then strain through a cloth or
jelly bag (which has been rinsed out in hot water) 2 or 3 times until
clear, then add brandy. When the jelly is beginning to set, pour into
a wet mould.

_Wine Roll._--Soak a penny roll in raisin wine till it has
quite absorbed all the liquid. Sprinkle it thickly with
“hundreds-and-thousands,” and pour round it a rich custard. Jam may
be previously spread over the roll (before soaking) if liked.

_Winter Cream._-½ oz. gelatine, 1 pint new milk, 1 pint cream, 2
yolks eggs, ½ pot apricots, ½ pot strawberry jam (pound pots),
juice of 1 lemon, a few drops of ratafia essence, a few drops of
cochineal. Soak the gelatine in a little of the milk; when it has
absorbed the milk, put it into a clean copper stewpan with the rest
of the milk and the cream; set on the fire, keeping it stirred with a
wooden spoon; when it is nearly boiling stir into it the well-beaten
yolks of 2 eggs, but be sure it does not boil, or the cream will be
curdled. Now take from the fire and pour into a large basin; mix with
it thoroughly the jam, which has been rubbed through a hair sieve,
adding the ratafia and the lemon juice, also a little cochineal to
give it a brighter colour. When the cream begins to set, whisk it a
few minutes, and put into a mould, and set away in a cool place. In a
few hours it will be ready to serve. (E. A. Robbins.)

_Yorkshire Pudding._--5 tablespoonfuls flour, pinch of salt, 1 pint
new milk, 2 eggs. Put flour and salt into a bowl, add slowly the milk
to make a smooth batter, then add the eggs, previously well beaten.
Fat should be put into the tin and allowed to come to boil, the
batter is then to be poured in and baked 20 minutes in a hot oven.
Can be finished under the joint if desired.


=Confectionery.=--The following recipes comprise the few kinds which
are adopted for home manufacture.

_Almond Hardbake._--Mix 1½ lb. moist sugar with ¾ pint water, put
the mixture into an earthenware pipkin, and let it boil until it is
brittle. Blanch 2½ oz. sweet almonds, split them in halves lengthwise
through the broadest part of the almond, and add them and 3 oz.
butter to the boiled sugar; let it continue to boil until it hardens.
Try by letting a little bit of the hardbake fall into cold water; if
it hardens immediately, it is done. Oil a flat dish, and pour the
hardbake on it to set.

_Barley Sugar._--Dissolve and boil 1½ lb. loaf sugar in ½ pint water
and the white of ½ egg; when it is at candy height, add a teaspoonful
of strained lemon juice, and boil it quickly till it recovers its
former state; pour it over a marble slab, and when it becomes stiff
cut it in strips and twist it.

_Chestnuts, Candied._--Remove the outer skin from some large
chestnuts, rejecting any one of them which is not perfectly sound;
throw them into a tinned pan full of boiling water, and let them
boil just long enough to allow of the second skin being removed.
Having done this, put them into another similar pan full of boiling
water, and as soon as they are done (they should be tender, but
rather underdone) drain the water from them, and put them into
a basin full of lukewarm water, with the juice of 1 or 2 lemons
squeezed in it. When the water is perfectly cold take out the
chestnuts very carefully, and dry them; put them into a basin, and
cover them with clarified sugar boiling hot, prepared as follows:
Take 6 lb. pounded sugar and put it into a sugar boiler--an untinned
copper vessel--with 1 qt. water. Beat up the whites of 3 eggs with 1
pint water, and add this to the rest. Set the pan on the fire, and
keep stirring the sugar; when it rises add a little cold water, and
repeat this every time the sugar rises until 1 pint water has been so
expended, and by that time the sugar will no longer rise, and a dark
scum will have gathered on the top. Remove the scum carefully, and
strain the syrup through a wetted napkin. Put the syrup back into the
boiler--having previously scoured it quite clean--and boil until on
taking some between thumb and finger and drawing them apart the sugar
will form a thread. The next day put the chestnuts with the syrup
into the sugar boiler, and let them boil for 5 minutes, then put them
by in the syrup to remain another day. The third day strain off the
syrup, boil it till on being raised on the skimmer, and blown through
it will form into bubbles; pour this over the chestnuts. On the
following day prepare some syrup as above, and boil it till a small
modicum dropped into cold water will harden, and can be made into a
ball; drain the chestnuts from the former syrup, dip them carefully
one by one in the fresh syrup, and put them on a wire sieve in a warm
place to dry. When dry they are ready.

_Chocolate Creams._--(_a_) Mix 2 oz. Bermuda arrowroot smoothly with
1½ gill cold water; add 12 oz. pulverised sugar, and boil rapidly
8-10 minutes, stirring continually. Remove it from the fire, and stir
till a little cool; flavour with vanilla or rose; continue stirring
till it creams, then roll into little balls. Melt some chocolate over
steam (add no water), and when the cream balls are cold roll them in
it one by one, and lay on a buttered slab to cool. The creams may be
varied by dividing the cream into 3 parts, adding grated coconut to
one, chopped almonds to another, and pistachios to the third.

(_b_) Grate 8 oz. vanilla chocolate; put into a stewpan, with 8
oz. sugar, 8 yolks of eggs, 1 pint cream. Stir the whole over the
fire until the preparation begins to thicken, allowing the yolks to
sufficiently set without curdling; strain the cream through a clean
napkin, placed over a fine hair sieve, then pass it again through a
tammy cloth with pressure into a basin, then clarify 1 oz. best cut
isinglass, or gelatine; mix the whole well together, and pour it into
a mould embedded in rough ice.

(_c_) Put 1 lb. loaf sugar in a stewpan; pour upon it as much milk or
thin cream as the sugar will absorb. Dissolve it over the fire, and
boil slowly until it will candy when dropped into cold water. Neither
stir it, nor allow it to stick to the pan; take it off and stir it
until you can cream it with a spoon. Add a tablespoonful of extract
of vanilla, and beat it till cool enough to handle. Then fashion it
into balls the size of a filbert; lay these aside on buttered paper.
Put ½ lb. unsweetened pure chocolate in a tin plate over a kettle
of boiling water, and when it is dissolved dip the bonbons into it
and lay them out on buttered paper to cool. If the sugar grains like
sand instead of creaming, it has been boiled too long, and it will be
necessary to begin anew with other sugar.

_Coconut Candy._--Place in an earthen pipkin 1 lb. best loaf sugar
cut as for table, with a breakfastcupful of cold spring water. Let
it remain until the sugar is dissolved, and then set it on a clear
fire to boil for about 5 minutes, or rather more. As the scum rises
carefully skim it away until the sugar looks quite white and thick,
and then stir into it ¼ lb. grated coconut, taking care that it is
a nice fresh one. Again set it on the fire, and with a wooden spoon
stir it continuously until it rises quite up in the pipkin, then
at once spread it out on well-dried sheets of writing-paper, which
should be warmed before the fire before putting the coconut upon
them; the paste should be rather more than ½ in. thick. Let it
remain in this way until nearly but not quite cold, when the paper
must be removed, and it can then be cut up into small squares. Let it
get thoroughly dry before storing it in tin boxes for use. It is an
improvement to give it a slightly pink colour by adding a few drops
of cochineal to the sugar just before putting in the coconut. Some
people grate this, and spread it out to dry for a day or two before
it is used for candy.

_Marzipan._--(_a_) ½ lb. almonds, ¾ lb. sugar, the white of an egg,
and the juice of half a lemon. The whole to be well pounded together
till it acquires the consistency of a soft dough.

(_b_) Blanch, and then pound very fine 1 lb. sweet and a few bitter
almonds, adding a few spoonfuls of rosewater; put the almond paste
in a stewpan with 1 lb. powdered sugar, and stir over the fire till
a smooth paste is obtained, which will not stick to the finger when
touched. Turn it out on to a pasteboard well strewn with powdered
sugar; roll out the paste, divide it into cakes of any shape you
like, and put them on sheets of paper on the baking sheet well
sprinkled with sugar; bake in a slow oven until of a pale yellow
colour.

_Popcorn Candy._--Put into an iron kettle 1 tablespoonful butter,
3 tablespoonfuls water, and 1 cup white sugar; boil until ready to
candy, then throw in 3 qt. nicely popped corn; stir vigorously until
the sugar is evenly distributed over the corn; take the kettle from
the fire, and stir until it cools a little, and in this way you may
have each kernel separate and all coated with the sugar. Of course,
it must have your undivided attention from the first to prevent
scorching. Almonds, walnuts, or, in fact, any nuts are delicious
prepared in this way.

_Toffee._--(_a_) Take 1 breakfastcupful rich cream (if slightly sour
it would be just as good, or better), 1 breakfastcupful pounded white
sugar, pour the above into a very clean copper saucepan, and boil
slowly over a clear but not too hot fire. The mixture will first
become quite liquid, and will afterwards gradually thicken; when
almost done pour in 1 dessertspoonful essence of vanilla and 1 of
whisky. When the mixture becomes very frothy, and leaves the sides
of the pan clean, pour it out as quickly as possible on to a flat
buttered dish. It should set at once, cut it into squares; before
it is cold it should be quite smooth, and of a creamy white; it
should be “short,” without being at all crisp or crumbly. The only
difficulty is to know the exact moment to take it off the fire. This
can only be learned by practice.

(_b_) Put 3 oz. butter into a brass preserving pan, and, as soon as
it is melted, add 1 lb. brown sugar. Keep these stirred gently over a
moderate fire for 15 minutes, or until a little of it, dropped into
cold water, breaks clean between the teeth without sticking to them.
When it is boiled to this point it must be poured out immediately, or
it will burn. The grated rind of a lemon, or a small teaspoonful of
powdered ginger added when half done, very much improves the taste.

(_c_) 1 lb. treacle or golden syrup, 1 lb. moist whity-brown or
Demerara (this is best) sugar, ½ lb. fresh butter. Mix the treacle
and sugar well together in a large china-lined saucepan, and add the
butter broken into small pieces. Place the saucepan on a clear fire,
and stir slowly until all be incorporated. After this stop stirring,
or the toffee will “sugar”; boil about ½ hour, and be careful not to
let it burn. The juice of ½ lemon added is a great improvement. Have
a buttered tin ready to pour the toffee on, and when nearly done put
a little into cold water to taste if it be done enough.

(_d_) Put ¼ lb. butter into a saucepan over a clear fire, and when
it is melted add to it 1 lb. brown sugar; boil for 15 minutes.
Have ready some almonds (1½ oz.) blanched and halved, and a little
very finely grated lemon peel. Add these to the mixture, boil and
stir until when dropped into cold water it hardens directly; then
immediately pour it on to well-buttered dishes or on to marble slabs.
The almonds may be added after the toffee is put on to the dishes.
Also, ½ lb. treacle and ½ lb. sugar may be substituted for the 1
lb. sugar. When nearly cold, it should be marked with the back of a
knife.

_Rahat Lukum._--Make a syrup with 3 lb. best sugar and 3 pints water;
clear it with the whites of 3 eggs and the juice of a lemon. Dissolve
6 oz. purest wheat starch in ¾ pint cold water, strain it, and add it
to the clear syrup when it is boiling; reduce the whole by boiling
to ⅔. It should be very thick and stringy. Flavour the paste with
attar of roses or any sweet essence. Have ready a large dish well
covered with almond oil; empty the paste on the dish when it is cool,
spread it about 1 in. thick, then have ready another dish covered
with finely-powdered sugar, and when the paste is quite cold turn
it over very carefully upon the sugared dish. Absorb the oil with
silver paper or blotting paper; cut the paste into pieces 2-3 in.
square; powder them with sugar, and keep them very dry. A finer rahat
is made with rose or cherry syrup, with blanched almonds stirred in
before the paste thickens. This recipe was obtained at Athens from
a Sciote lady. The ladies of Scios are considered the most skilful
confectioners in the Levant.


=Ices.=--The following general remarks on ices are condensed from a
series of papers on the subject by Mary Hooper, in the _Queen_.

Freezing-powders.--Ice, in combination with salt, is the best
material for making ices; but when travelling, or in remote
districts where ice is difficult to procure, freezing powders are
of the greatest service, and those of the best makers are perfectly
satisfactory in their action. Indeed, there is no doubt freezing
powders would be more largely used than they are at present, were
it not that they are more expensive than ice. For cooling water and
other liquids, and for refrigerating food in the sick chamber, where
it is sometimes impossible either to keep or manage ice for this
purpose, freezing powders are invaluable. They are useful also when
a very rapid and strong freezing mixture is required, being used
instead of salt with the ice. It is desirable in choosing a freezing
machine to ascertain if it is as well adapted for the use of powders
as of ice, as some of them lined with metal would be corroded by the
action of the former.

Keeping and Choosing Ice.--It is often necessary--in cases of
sickness, for instance, in the houses of the poor--to keep a small
quantity of ice without a refrigerator. This is best done by wrapping
the ice first in paper--newspaper answers as well as any other--and
then covering it up in woollen or other cloths; place the ice thus
wrapped as much as possible out of draughts. Each time the ice is
opened, dry paper should be supplied; the sheets will last for
some time, and can be dried as often as desired. There is a great
difference in the quality of ice. Rough English ice, from being
frozen at a low temperature, is brittle, and melts rapidly; and that
taken from ponds is utterly unfit for drinking purposes, for there is
abundant proof that the poisonous properties of such water, and the
living organisms it contains, are not destroyed by its having been
frozen. Much of the foreign ice sold in this country as Wenham Lake,
is uncleanly, and a necessary rule to observe in the choice of ice
for the table is that it is perfectly clear and crystal-like, and
of a smooth and shining surface. In all cases, after being broken
up, ice should be rinsed before being sent to the table. A proper
awl for breaking ice into small pieces costs but a few pence, and
should always be kept at hand; otherwise, to their great injury,
forks and knives, with a hammer, and other unsuitable implements, are
substituted. When not in use, the point of the awl should be stuck
into a cork, both to prevent its being broken or causing injury to
inadvertent people.

Freezing-machines.--The only way to avoid failure in the domestic
manufacture of ices is to have one of the small patented machines,
which, besides being certain in action, require but 3-4 lb. ice to
freeze as many quarts of ices.

The principle which guides all freezing operations is--first, to have
the vessel which contains the material to be frozen embedded in the
freezing mixture, ice and salt, and then so rapidly and skilfully
to rotate it that ice soon begins to be made at the sides. This is
then scraped to the middle, and the whole thoroughly mixed, so as
to ensure an equal freezing throughout the mass. This process is
continued until a satisfactory result is obtained, when the ices will
be left in the freezing mixture to harden and ripen. The cost of
the necessary apparatus--namely, a pail, which should have a hole,
stopped with a cork, near the bottom, in order that water may be
drawn off as the ice melts, a pewter freezing pot, and spatula--for
freezing in the primitive manner, will be at least equal to that of
a patent machine for making ices. There are a large number of these
competing for public favour, each one possessing some special feature
of merit. In the choice of such a machine it should be ascertained
that it is simple in action, not liable to get out of order, of good
seasoned wood and the best workmanship, and that ices are made in
it rapidly, and with but a small quantity of freezing material. The
tendency in most perpendicular machines is to freeze too hard at the
bottom and too lightly at the top. This defect is remedied by the
Patent Horizontal Revolving Freezer (Kent, 199 High Holborn), and
the arrangement by which the ices are turned from the sides of the
freezing pot to the middle is perfectly satisfactory. In one of these
small freezers so small a quantity as 1 pint to 3 qt. can be frozen
with 3 lb. ice in as many minutes. The tubs being closed at the end,
and perfectly air-tight, prevents the waste of ice by the action
of the atmosphere, and thus secures a uniformity and intensity of
cold within the freezer, tending to produce very perfect, light, and
smooth ices.

For whatever method ice is required for freezing, it is necessary
both that it should be broken small, that is in pieces about the size
of small walnuts, and be thoroughly mixed with the salt. The easiest
way of breaking ice is to put it in a sack and crush it with a wooden
mallet. This done, well rolled salt of strong good quality should be
mixed with the ice, in the proportion of 1 lb. salt to 2-3 lb. ice.
It is safe to say that nearly all the failures in making ices result
from the neglect of these simple directions.

The expense of a thermometer for taking the temperature of ices, and
a saccharometer for ascertaining the correct amount of sweetness
in ices, is but small, and they are real helps to inexperienced
confectioners. For instance, if there is any doubt about the ices
being sufficiently frozen, if the thermometer registers less than
22°F. you will be sure that the ices will not melt too rapidly on
being served. Even in the hottest weather, a well-made ice will not
dissolve as soon as taken from the freezer.

As it is only for a short period in the year that the favourite
fruits for flavouring ices can be had fresh, it is necessary to
make of them syrups or preserves. To make strawberry and the like
preserves without sugar is somewhat difficult in domestic practice,
though, if the niceties of the process are observed, failure ought
not to follow.

Dessert ices are now served in many beautiful forms, to represent
flowers, fruit, vegetables, and other tasteful objects. For these
special moulds are provided, into which the ices, having been made
as before described, are pressed. After being left embedded in ice
for more than an hour, the moulds are dipped in lukewarm water to
facilitate turning out, and, having been carefully wiped to free them
from salt, the moulds are opened, the ices placed on a suitable dish,
and they are then rapidly painted with carefully prepared vegetable
colours, as the nature of the case may require. These ornamental ices
must have considerable care, but any person with ordinary skill, and
able to give time and attention to detail, may manage them.

In colouring ices before freezing with a pink tinge, it is desirable
to avoid cochineal, as it is prepared with a strong acid, which, in
coming in contact with the pewter, is apt to turn the cream of a
violet shade. Breton’s vegetable colourings, to be had at Italian
warehouses, are as pure and good as any which can be made at home,
and the vegetable carmine is free from the acid of cochineal. In
families where ices are in constant request it is desirable to have
simple syrup--that is, sugar boiled to the requisite strength--always
ready prepared. The most useful quality of syrup is that registering
30°-36° on the saccharometer. The preparation of this is easy,
nevertheless it requires care.

Simple Syrup.--Put 2 lb. finest lump sugar into a copper pan with 1
qt. cold water; stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved; let
it come to the boil, and take off any scum as it rises. Draw the
pan to the side of the fire, and let the syrup boil gently until it
registers 30°-36°. If the sugar is boiled too fast, it will cause
trouble to an inexperienced operator, as it will candy. Should
this happen, more water must be added to the sugar, and boiling go
on again until the syrup attains the requisite strength. If a small
quantity of syrup is made, it must be tested by the saccharometer
in a deep mug or jug, as in the boiling pan there will not be depth
of liquid for the instrument. If no saccharometer is at hand, an
approximate idea of the strength of the syrup can be obtained by
letting a drop fall into a glass of cold water; if it retains its
shape, the syrup will answer your purpose. If fine lump sugar is
used, the syrup, when done as directed, will be perfectly bright,
with a slight yellow tinge, and as thick as new honey; no other
process of clarification will be needed. This syrup is exceedingly
useful for many purposes, and will keep for any length of time.

_Brown Bread Ice._--(_a_) Make a custard of eggs and milk, flavoured
with vanilla. Cut up some brown bread into dice, dry it in the oven,
and put it hot into the cold custard; freeze; pour iced custard round
it in the dish in which it is to be served.

(_b_) To 6 yolks of eggs, well beaten, add gradually 1 pint boiling
milk, with ½ lb. sugar boiled in it. Pour this on to some very fine
crumbs of brown loaf; beat all together; add ¼ pint cream.

_Cake, Iced._--(_a_) Mix thoroughly ½ lb. flour, ½ lb. ground rice, ½
lb. currants, ¼ lb. sugar, 5 oz. mace and cloves, some mixed peel, a
few bitter almonds pounded, some sweet almonds split, 1 teaspoonful
carbonate of soda, melt ½ lb. fresh butter in ¾ pint warm milk,
add the yolks and whites of 4 eggs beaten separately; pour this by
degrees on to the dry ingredients, add a glass of brandy, beat it
well; put into a buttered mould, and bake.

(_b_) Beat up the whites of 2 eggs; then add ½ lb. castor sugar and
the juice of a lemon or a few drops of orange-flower water. Beat the
mixture until it hangs upon the fork in flakes, then spread over
the cake, dipping the knife in cold water occasionally. Stand it
before the fire, and keep turning the cake constantly, or the sugar
will catch and turn brown. As soon as it begins to harden it may be
removed. The icing must not be put on until the cake itself is cold,
otherwise it will not set. A few drops of cochineal will colour it if
desired.

_Cherry Water Ice._--Take out the stones of the cherries, pound them
in a mortar in order to get the flavour, and then pass them through
a sieve with the fruit. Add syrup, and freeze as strawberry water
ice. The flavour of the kernel should come out well in cherry ices,
a few drops of home-made extract of almonds (bitter almonds infused
in spirit) is therefore an improvement. If the cherries do not give
sufficient sharpness, add a little lemon juice.

_Chocolate Ice Cream._--Mix 2 teaspoonfuls Van Houten’s cocoa in a
gill of cold milk, stir it into 1 pint cream or custard, add vanilla
flavour, and sweeten. Scraped and sifted chocolate, so as to bring it
to a fine powder, can be used; but the cocoa named is on all accounts
best for this cream.

_Chocolate Icing._--Put into a saucepan ½ lb. powdered loaf sugar, 2
oz. grated chocolate, and about 1 gill water; stir on the fire until
the mixture assumes the consistence of a thick, smooth cream. Lay the
icing evenly on the cake or pastry, with a palette knife, and put it
into the oven for a minute or two to set the icing.

_Coconut Ice._--Put on in a brass or copper pan 4 lb. loaf sugar,
with 2 pints of cold water, stir till it comes to the boil, by which
time the sugar should be quite dissolved, let it boil to candy light,
and draw it to the side. Have a large coconut pared and grated, mix
together with the milk, add ¾ of it to the sugar, and stir till it
begins to candy. Have a sheet of paper greased and laid upon a stone
slab; on it place 4 iron rods so as to form a square, into which pour
the tablet. Repeat the above process with 2 lb. sugar and 1 pint cold
water, adding a little cochineal to colour it, and the remainder
of the grated coconut; when ready, pour it over the first sheet of
tablet, which will be set by the time you have done the second; when
quite cold, turn it over, draw off the paper, and cut it in stripes
3-4 in. long.

_Coffee Ice Cream._--Make a custard, without any flavour, of 1 pint
cream and 4 yolks of eggs. Put into this ¼ lb. freshly-roasted mocha
coffee berries; they should, if possible, be used hot. Cover up the
stewpan closely with its lid, putting a napkin over to keep in the
steam. Let the custard stand for an hour, strain and sweeten, and
when cold put it into the freezing pot. Cream thus prepared will
not take the colour of the coffee, and when carefully made is very
delicate and delicious. Coffee ice cream is also made with a strong
infusion of coffee, or Branson’s extract of coffee can be used. To
make the infusion, put 2 oz. ground coffee into a French cafetière,
and pour over it 1 gill fast-boiling water. When the infusion has
all run through boil it up, and pour it over 2 oz. more coffee. Put
the infusion thus obtained to 1 pint sweetened cream or custard and
freeze.

_Ginger Ice Cream._--Make a custard of 1 pint cream and 4 eggs put
to it. Cut up in small pieces 2 oz. preserved ginger, add sufficient
ground ginger to flavour well, and syrup or sugar to taste. Stir
occasionally until cold, and put it into the freezing pot. Care
should be taken to use fresh and good ground ginger, as otherwise it
is apt to impart a mouldy kind of flavour.

_Lemon Water Ice._--Wash the lemons in cold water in order to ensure
cleanliness. Take a few lumps of sugar, and rub them over the peel
until you have enough to flavour the ices; probably 2 fine lemons
will be sufficient. Put this lemon sugar into 1 qt. cold filtered
water, and let it stand 10 minutes, or while the lemons are squeezed.
About ½ pint juice is usually needed, with sufficient syrup to
register 24° by the saccharometer. Having strained the juice and
water flavoured with the lemon sugar, add the syrup, and strain into
the freezing pot. When the ices register 22° F., press well down in
the pot, and leave them in the freezing mixture for an hour. A little
Nelson’s gelatine is useful to give richness and body to water ices;
but care must be taken not to use more than the quantity named. Soak
and dissolve in boiling water ¼ oz. Nelson’s gelatine, add it to the
quart of water to be used for the ices, thoroughly mix it with the
other materials, and afterwards strain them.

_Pineapple Ice Cream._--Press the juice from a fine ripe pineapple,
add that of a lemon, with syrup or pounded sugar to give the required
sweetness. Mix with an equal quantity of rich cream, and strain into
the freezing pot. Or, make a custard as follows: boil 1 pint milk,
pour it whilst boiling on the yolks of 6 eggs; stir rapidly over the
fire until it thickens, taking care not to curdle it. With a little
experience a perfect custard may be thickened in this way in less
than 7 minutes, a much longer time being required if the milk is not
boiled. When cold, add pineapple pulp made as follows: Boil 1 lb.
pineapple sliced and peeled, in 1 gill water for 10 minutes, pound
the fruit and rub it through a sieve, add syrup or sugar to taste.
When cold mix with the custard, and strain into the freezing pot.
Lemon juice can be added if necessary.

_Strawberry Ice Cream._--Pick and press through a coarse sieve fine
ripe strawberries to make as much juice as you require, then strain
through a coarse sieve, and mix with it fine powdered sugar in the
proportion of ¼ lb. to each ½ pint of juice. Stir into each ½ pint
of the sweetened juice 1½ pint rich cream, and a few drops of pink
colouring. Mix all well together and strain into the freezing pot. As
the flavour of strawberries varies in different seasons, and they are
more acid at one time than another, some judgment in the use of sugar
is necessary, and sufficient of it should always be used to bring out
the flavour of the fruit. Sometimes it will happen, after freezing
has begun, that a little more sweetness is desirable. This is best
given by adding a little plain syrup, taking care to mix it well in;
for the perfection of ices depends in a great measure on all the
materials being well incorporated. For this reason the direction is
given to strain into the freezing pot after all is stirred together.

The product from 2 qt. cream, made as above, should be 3-3½ qt. firm
ice cream of the highest quality. It is probable, however, that by
some machines and the ordinary ice pail so good a result would not
be obtained. The horizontal freezer will yield the given quality.

When the fresh fruit juice cannot be procured, preserved juice or
preserved strawberries must be substituted. Of these the first is the
best; but when there is not a fairly suitable apparatus, or other
conditions are unfavourable for its domestic manufacture, it will be
best to purchase it. In this case it should be borne in mind that a
preparation of the fresh juice is necessarily somewhat expensive, and
that a cheap article is generally flavoured with some unwholesome
chemical imitation of the true flavour.

_Vanilla Ice Cream._--This favourite ice is easily made. It is
needlessly expensive to use the vanilla pod itself. To flavour 1 pint
custard a whole pod would have to be boiled in the milk. But, as the
bright essence is often wanting in delicacy, and is not unfrequently
merely an imitation of vanilla made from deleterious material, it is
desirable to have a home-made extract. To make it, cut the pods into
very small pieces, put them into a small bottle with 1 tablespoonful
brandy to each pod; let them stand for a week or longer, shaking
occasionally. Drain the extract into another bottle, and keep well
corked. The flavour of the vanilla pod itself will not have been
exhausted by taking the extract, and, if boiled in milk, will flavour
puddings, creams, custards, &c. Vanilla sugar is made by putting
the pods into a closed jar of fine sifted sugar, and allowing them
to remain in it for a week or longer. Afterwards the extract can be
made. There is a great difference in the quality of vanilla, and when
it is deficient in flavour, it has without doubt been deprived of
aroma by some such process as that of making vanilla sugar. Vanilla
ices require a good custard, made of cream with 4 eggs to the pint,
and to be well sweetened. Vanilla extract must be used with reference
to its strength, and the flavour of it should be kept delicate.
Should it be preferred to use the pod itself for flavouring, it is
usual to strain the milk or cream in which it has been boiled in
a strainer, coarse enough to allow the seeds to pass through, and
thus a distinctive character is given to the ices. Water ices are
occasionally flavoured with vanilla, but are not to be recommended.
For invalids and delicate persons vanilla is useful, as it is a safe
and light stimulant.


=Cheese= (Fromage).--The cookery of cheese is a much-neglected
subject in this country, though deserving of study.

_Baked_ (Fondu).--(_a_) Take ¼ lb. grated cheese, add it to 1 gill
milk in which is dissolved as much powdered bicarbonate of potash as
will stand upon a threepenny-piece; mustard, pepper, &c. Heat this
carefully until the cheese is completely dissolved. Then beat up 3
eggs, yolk and whites together, and add them to this solution of
cheese, stirring the whole. Now take a shallow metal or earthenware
dish or tray that will bear heating; put a little butter on this and
heat the butter till it frizzles. Then pour the mixture into this,
and bake or fry it until it is nearly solidified. A cheaper dish
may be made by increasing the proportion of cheese--say 6-8 oz. to
3 eggs, or only 1 egg to ¼ lb. cheese for a hard-working man with
powerful digestion. The chief difficulty in preparing this dish
conveniently is that of obtaining suitable vessels for the final
frying or baking, as each portion should be poured into and fried or
baked in a separate dish, so that each person may, as in Switzerland,
have his own fondu complete, and eat it from the dish as it comes
from the fire. (Prof. W. M. Williams.)

(_b_) Melt ½ oz. fresh butter in a saucepan, stir into it 1
tablespoonful flour; when the two are well amalgamated put in a small
quantity of milk and about 3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese. Stir the
mixture on a slow fire till it assumes the appearance of thick cream,
but be careful not to let it boil, then add 1 clove of garlic, a
small quantity of flour of mustard, a dash of powdered nutmeg, and
some white pepper; mix thoroughly, and, if required, add a little
salt; keep on stirring the mixture at a very moderate heat for about
10 minutes, then remove the pod of garlic, take the saucepan off the
fire, and stir the contents occasionally until quite cold, when you
stir into them the yolks of 3 eggs, beaten up with a little milk
and strained, and finally the whites of 5 eggs whisked into a stiff
froth. Pour the mixture into a deep, round tin, put it into the oven,
which must not be too hot; in about 20-30 minutes the fondu will have
risen and taken colour. Pin a napkin round the tin, and serve quickly.

_Biscuits_ (Galettes).--(_a_) Take 4 oz. grated cheese, 3 oz. finely
grated breadcrumbs, 2 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful flour of mustard, 1
saltspoonful cayenne, 1 of white pepper, and 2 beaten-up eggs; melt
the butter and mix all the ingredients together, and let them stand
an hour. Knead and work out the paste as thin as possible, and cut
into triangles or roll it up into thin sticks about 3 in. long. Bake
in a quick oven for 16-18 minutes; serve hot.

(_b_) Have a little puff or short paste ready, and sprinkle over it a
little cayenne, and as much grated Parmesan cheese as the dough will
take; double up the paste, roll it out rather thin, and cut it with a
round paste cutter, glaze with an egg, arrange on a floured tin, and
bake in a sharp oven till of a light yellow colour.

_Boiled._--(_a_) Put 1 tablespoonful milk in a saucepan, with a bit
of butter the size of a nutmeg, and ¼ lb. good cheese, grated fine.
Put the whole on a slow fire until it boils, then add 1 egg well
beaten. Stir all well together, turn it into your dish, and brown it.
Serve very hot.

(_b_) Put 4 oz. good cheese, sliced as thin as possible, 2
tablespoonfuls cream, a piece of butter the size of 2 walnuts, into
a saucepan and boil, stirring it gently all the time till it becomes
thick and smooth, then add a raw egg and a little cayenne pepper. Put
the saucepan again on the fire, stirring as before till the whole is
quite hot. Serve on small squares of dry toast. The above is enough
for four people.

_Boulettes._--Take equal weights of eggs, breadcrumbs, butter, and
grated cheese; these must be well beaten together, leaving out
half the whites of the eggs; season them with salt and a little
cayenne pepper, and make them up into little balls; these must be
dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, and fried a light brown in lard or
well-clarified dripping. The fat must not quite boil before the balls
are put in, or they will become too dark a colour before they are
sufficiently cooked; they should be served up high in a dish on a
napkin.

_Canapés._--Cut some stale bread in thin slices, which must be
stamped out into shapes with a cutter. Fry these lightly in butter or
boiling lard; cover the top of each with Parmesan or Cheshire cheese,
add a little pepper and salt and mustard, and put them before the
fire till the cheese is dissolved. Serve hot on a napkin.

_Custard._--(_a_) Butter a rather small flat dish (one that will
stand the oven--an old strong one would be best), whisk 2 eggs a
minute or two, and mix with them ¼ pint cream, or cream and milk
mixed; now grate 2-3 oz. dry pieces of any kind of cheese, to these
add a little salt and a few grains of cayenne pepper, mix all well
together, pour into the buttered dish, and bake in a rather sharp
oven 10-15 minutes; when done, set the dish over another, a size
larger, and send to table immediately. The custard should be firm,
and brown and light in the time stated.

(_b_) A breakfastcupful of sliced cheese, the same quantity of milk,
and 2 eggs; butter a pie-dish, put in the cheese, pour the milk over,
and then stir in the beaten-up eggs; bake for ½ hour; if a smaller
quantity is required, put a teacupful of cheese and milk and 1 egg.

(_c_) Cut the cheese into shreds, or grate it, or chop it up fine
like suet. To every lb. cheese thus treated add ¼ oz. potash
bicarbonate. Put the mixture of cheese and bicarbonate into a
saucepan with either 3 times its bulk of cold water or 4 times its
bulk of cold milk, and mix well. Put the saucepan on the fire and
bring the mixture slowly to the boiling point, taking care to stir
it all the time. Having got it to boil, keep it hot until the cheese
is melted, which does not take long. Turn it out into a dish, and
the result gives a beautiful nutritious mixture which thickens like
a custard in cooling. This custard may be eaten with impunity even
by those persons who would be ill after eating a piece of cheese
the size of a nut, and is peculiarly adapted as food for all persons
who work hard with either brain or muscle. Fancy dishes may be
made in the following manner, e.g., take the mixture of cheese and
bicarbonate and water (or milk) given above, and add to it 2 eggs,
white and yolk beaten up together, for every ¼ lb. of cheese in the
mixture. Put into a dish or a series of little dishes (previously
buttered), and bake till brown. This must be eaten with bread or
biscuit. Another way is to make the mixture a little thinner by
adding a little more milk or water, and to put it in a pie-dish with
slices of bread laid one over the other. The custard should be poured
in cold, and left for an hour to soak before it is baked. This dish
is a great improvement on the ordinary bread and butter pudding.

_Cream._--Take 2 tablespoonfuls raw cream, rather less than 2
tablespoonfuls grated Parmesan cheese, a very little cayenne pepper,
and salt to taste. Mix these ingredients carefully together and quite
smoothly, then spread it on some good puff paste, lay another piece
of puff paste over it, then press round carefully with the fingers,
cut out with fancy cutters into any shapes you may select, egg and
breadcrumb the shapes, and fry in boiling lard or butter.

_Fritters_ (Beignets).--Put about 1 pint water into a saucepan with
a piece of butter the size of an egg, the least bit of cayenne, and
plenty of black pepper. When the water boils throw gradually into it
sufficient flour to form a thick paste; then take it off the fire and
work into it about ¼ lb. ground Parmesan cheese, and then the yolks
of 3 or 4 eggs and the whites of 2 beaten up to a froth. Let the
paste rest for 2 hours, and proceed to fry by dropping pieces of it
the size of a walnut into plenty of hot lard. Serve sprinkled with
very fine salt.

_Meringues._--2 oz. Parmesan cheese, 1 oz. Gloucester or any other
kind of good cheese that is dry (the piece that has become too
mean-looking to go to table in its present state will do admirably
for this purpose, also for many other dishes), the whites of 2 eggs,
pepper and salt, lard to fry. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater,
and beat the eggs on a plate, with the blade of a broad knife, to a
firm froth, add to this the cheese and a little salt and pepper, make
into balls the size of a walnut, throw them into plenty of boiling
lard, and fry 2-3 minutes, when they will be a delicate brown and
double their former size; drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Put a
clean napkin into a dish, arrange the meringues on it, and send to
table as quickly as possible. There should be a little fresh parsley
between the meringues; it improves the appearance.

_Potato._--Take 6 medium-sized potatoes, as nearly as possible equal
in shape; wash them quite clean, dry them, and on that side of them
which will more readily stand uppermost make an incision ¼ in. deep
with a patty cutter as large as the size of each potato will allow;
then put the potatoes in the oven to bake. When quite done, remove
the covers (marked out with the patty cutter), and with a teaspoon
empty each potato as thoroughly as is possible without breaking the
skin; pass through a sieve what is taken out of the potatoes. Take 4
tablespoonfuls of the potato snow thus obtained, 1½ tablespoonfuls
grated Parmesan cheese, and mix the two thoroughly with ½ gill milk
and the yolks of 2 eggs, pepper and salt to taste, and the least bit
of cayenne or grated nutmeg, or both. Beat up the whites of 3 eggs to
a stiff froth, mix the whole well together, fill quickly the potato
skins with the mixture flush with the top, and bake them long enough
for the mixture to rise and take a golden-brown colour; about 20
minutes.

_Potted._--(_a_) Cut ½ lb. good, sound, mellow Stilton cheese in
slices, with 2 oz. fresh butter. The cheese must not be either green
or very ripe. Add a small quantity of mace and some made mustard.
Pound all together in a mortar until a thick, smooth paste, and the
ingredients well amalgamated. Then press it down in a jar or glass,
and run some oiled butter over the top.

(_b_) Beat 3 lb. Cheshire cheese in a mortar with ½ lb. butter, a
large glass of sherry, a little mace, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix
all thoroughly together, put into pots, and pour a little clarified
butter over the top.

_Pudding._--(_a_) Take 4 tablespoonfuls finely grated breadcrumbs,
the same quantity of grated cheese, and 2 eggs, mustard, pepper,
and salt to taste. Butter a pie-dish, then put in the breadcrumbs,
cheese, mustard, &c.; beat up the 2 yolks with a small cup of milk,
and put into the pie-dish; beat the whites into a froth, and put them
in with a good-sized lump of butter. Place the dish in a quick oven
for 20 minutes, and serve very hot. Enough for 4 or 5 persons.

(_b_) Melt ½ oz. fresh butter in a saucepan, stir into it 1
tablespoonful flour; when the two are well amalgamated, put in a
small quantity of milk and about 3 oz. grated Parmesan cheese. Stir
the mixture on a slow fire till it assumes the appearance of thick
cream, but be careful not to let it boil; then add some white pepper;
mix thoroughly, and, if required, add a little salt; keep on stirring
the mixture at a very moderate heat for about 10 minutes; take the
saucepan off the fire, and stir the contents occasionally until quite
cold, then stir into them the yolks of 3 eggs beaten up with a little
milk and strained, and finally the whites of 5 eggs whisked into a
stiff froth. Put the mixture into a pudding dish, and put it into the
oven at once. Serve quickly as soon as the pudding has risen, and the
top is well browned.

(_c_) Mix 2 eggs with 5 oz. cheese and ½ pint boiling milk; put into
a pie-dish, and bake ¼ hour: to be turned out and sent to table on a
napkin.

(_d_) Soak in fresh milk a breakfastcupful of stale breadcrumbs; add
to it 2 well-beaten eggs, 1 oz. butter, and 6 oz. grated cheese; mix
well, strew breadcrumbs over the top, and bake a light brown. (Bessie
Tremaine.)

(_e_) ¼ lb. cheese chopped very fine, 1 egg well beaten, teacupful of
new milk or cream, a small piece of butter dissolved in it, cayenne
pepper and salt; bake for 20 minutes.

(_f_) Take 6 oz. grated cheese, 2 eggs, 1 oz. butter, a small
teacupful of milk, and beat up all together in a basin; then put them
in a small baking dish and bake a light brown.

_Puffs_ (Talmouses).--Put into a stewpan 3 oz. butter with 1½ gill
milk, stir them together over the fire with a wooden spoon. Directly
it boils gradually add 3 oz. flour, and continue stirring until
it separates from the sides of the pan, forming a ball of paste,
then add by degrees 6 beaten eggs, ½ lb. Parmesan cheese, and ¼ lb.
Gruyère, or the whole quantity may be Parmesan if more convenient.
Season well with salt, pepper, and a very little cayenne. When
thoroughly mixed, make the paste up into little balls no larger than
a pigeon’s egg, and fry them in hot lard; it must not be boiling,
or they will be too dark a colour; they take a very short time to
fry, and should be a light golden brown. Let them drain on paper for
a minute or two before the fire, and serve in pyramid on a folded
napkin garnished with parsley. Half this quantity would be enough
for a small dish. Another way: Equal weight of eggs, butter, fresh
breadcrumbs, and grated cheese; mix the dry ingredients together,
seasoning rather highly with pepper and salt and a little cayenne.
Put them into a mortar with the butter, the yolks of all and the
whites of half the number of eggs, and pound them together until
thoroughly mixed. Make up into small balls, egg and breadcrumb them,
and fry in hot, but not boiling, lard as before. To be similarly
drained and served. Two eggs and their weight of other ingredients
make a small dish.

_Ramakins._--(_a_) 2 eggs, 2 spoonfuls flour, 2 oz. melted butter, 2
oz. grated cheese. Mix all well together, and bake for ¼ hour.

(_b_) 3 oz. toasting cheese, 4 oz. good Cheshire cheese, 2 oz.
butter, and the yolks of 3 eggs; pound altogether very fine in a
mortar; boil a fresh roll in thin cream, or good milk, only give it
one boil up, then mix the whites of the eggs with the roll, and all
the other ingredients in a basin, and beat it very well with a fork;
then put it into paper cases, or one large one, and bake in a Dutch
oven. The mixture will be good if made overnight, which is sometimes
a convenience. (F. R. A.)

(_c_) ¼ lb. Cheshire cheese, ¼ lb. Parmesan, ¼ lb. fresh butter, 4
eggs, the crumb of a small roll, pepper, salt, and mace to taste.
Boil the crumb of the roll in milk for 5 minutes, strain, and put
into a mortar; add the cheese, which should be finely scraped,
the butter, the yolks of the eggs, and seasoning, and pound these
ingredients well together. Whisk the whites of the eggs, mix them
with the paste, and put it into small saucers, half filled. Bake
10-12 minutes. (W. C. D.)

_Roasted._--Grate 3 oz. fat Cheshire cheese, mix with it the yolks
of 2 eggs, 4 oz. grated bread, and 3 oz. butter; beat the whole well
in a mortar, with 1 dessertspoonful mustard, and a little salt and
pepper. Toast some bread, cut it into proper pieces, lay the paste
as above thick upon them; put them into a Dutch oven, covered with a
dish, till hot through, remove the dish, and let the cheese brown a
little; serve as hot as possible.

_Sandwiches._--(_a_) Take 2 oz. grated cheese, 2 oz. pounded ham, 1
teaspoonful mixed mustard, a very small quantity of cayenne pepper
and salt; mix all together with the beaten-up yolk of an egg. Spread
the mixture between thin slices of bread, and fry in boiling lard or
butter.

(_b_) Cut some slices of bread a day old, ⅛ in. thick, and some
very thin slices of Gruyère cheese. Pick the leaves of a quantity
of watercress, and mince them as fine as you can, then dry them in
a cloth, mince them still more, and dry them again; then knead them
with as much fresh butter as they will take up, adding a very little
salt and white pepper; butter the slices of bread with this mixture,
put the slices of Gruyère between 2 slices of bread, press them
lightly, cut out the sandwiches into the shape of Savoy biscuits, and
serve immediately.

_Scallop._--Soak a small teacupful of stale breadcrumbs in fresh
milk; beat into this one large egg, a teaspoonful of melted butter,
and 3 oz. grated cheese, pepper and salt to taste. Strew sifted
crumbs over the top, and bake till it is of a delicate brown.

_Soufflé._--(_a_) Take 6 oz. grated cheese, 2 eggs, 1 oz. butter, a
small teacupful of milk, and beat up all together in a basin; then
put them in a small baking dish and bake a light brown. (H. E. C.)

(_b_) In a medium-sized round-bottomed saucepan, melt 1 oz. butter,
add 1 oz. flour, and ¼ pint milk, 3 oz. grated Parmesan, salt,
cayenne or pepper to taste, and boil well. Then stir in the yolks of
2 or 3 eggs, and beat the mixture thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
Whip the whites of 3 or 4 eggs to the stiffest froth, and stir very
lightly but thoroughly into the saucepan. Bake immediately in a very
hot oven for 20 minutes, and serve at once in the dish in which it is
cooked. The mixture can also be steamed for the same time or rather
longer, or it can be baked for 5 minutes in paper cases. If it is
baked as a whole, use earthenware made thoroughly hot before the
soufflé is put in. Pretty red pans can be bought quite suitable to
send to table, and as the great difficulty with soufflés is to get
them to table before they cool and sink, it is very advantageous to
have some pan that retains heat longer than the tin commonly used.
The pan or tin must be well greased. Fresh-grated Parmesan is the
best cheese for the purpose, or sometimes Gruyère for a change, but
any dry well-flavoured cheese can be used. (E. A. B.)

_Stewed._--Cut ½ lb. Cheshire and Gloucester cheese in thin slices,
put it into a stewpan with a little ale or white wine, and keep it
stirring over the fire till it is melted; then put in a spoonful of
mustard, the yolks of 2 eggs; beat up, stir it a moment over the
fire, then put it in a small deep dish or soup plate, and brown it
with a very hot iron or salamander; have ready thin toasted sippets
or fried ones, cut triangularly. Stick them all round, and in the
middle. Send it up hot and quick.

_Straws_ (Bâtons).--(_a_) Equal proportions of butter, flour, and
cheese seasoned with salt and cayenne, and just enough butter to roll
the mixture into a good paste. Cut the straws the desired size with a
paste cutter, and bake them in a quick oven till they are quite crisp
and a golden blown colour. The ordinary American cheese makes them as
well as any other.

(_b_) 4 oz. flour, 4 oz. butter, 4 oz. Parmesan or other good cheese,
grated, a little salt, and as much cayenne pepper as would cover a
sixpenny piece. First mix the dry ingredients, and then proceed as
for puff paste; cut the mixture into very narrow straws 4 in. long,
round them at the sides with a knife, and bake a pale gold colour;
serve hot. (F. C.)

(_c_) ½ lb. dried flour, ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. grated Parmesan or
Gruyère cheese, 1 teaspoonful flour of mustard, 1 saltspoonful
cayenne, and 1 saltspoonful salt. Rub the butter into the flour,
then mix the whole well together; beat the whites of 2 eggs with ¼
pint cold water, and stir in enough to form a firm paste; knead the
paste well, then roll it out ⅛ in. thick, and cut it into straw-like
strips about 5 in. long. Bake in a quick oven till of a pale brown
colour--about 5 minutes. Pile them on a dish prettily, and serve
either hot or cold. Must be kept in a dry place.

(_d_) ¼ lb. Parmesan cheese, ¼ lb. flour, 2 oz. butter, ½ teaspoonful
dry mustard, and a little cayenne pepper; grate the cheese, mix it
and the flour into a paste with as small a quantity of water as
possible, and the butter, which will be nearly sufficient to make the
paste without water; roll and cut as thick as straws, and mark with
the marker in stripes; bake a nice brown. This quantity will probably
last for some time, and can be kept in a tin. When required for use
re-warm before the fire, which crisps them better than re-warming in
the oven.

(_e_) ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. Parmesan cheese grated, ¼ lb. fine flour,
well mixed with 1 small saltspoonful cayenne pepper, 1 egg, and a
little salt. Roll it out into a thin paste, and bake a light brown.
Cut it into a neat form, and serve quite hot on a napkin.

(_f_) Make a paste with 6 oz. flour, 4 oz. butter, 3 oz. grated
Parmesan cheese, moisten with a little cream or milk, season with
salt, white pepper, and cayenne; roll it out thin, cut into narrow
strips, and bake in a moderate oven.

_Tartlets._--Make a paste with 1 oz. butter, 2 oz. flour, the yolk of
1 egg, a little water, a pinch of salt, roll it out to the thickness
of ⅛ in., and line some patty pans with it. Take 2 oz. finely grated
Parmesan cheese, beat it up in a bowl with the yolks of 2 eggs; add
pepper, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg, according to taste--very little of
the two latter; then work in 3 tablespoonfuls cream, fill each patty
pan with the mixture, and bake in a moderate oven till done.

_Tomato._--Take some tomatoes (the tinned ones do very well), chop
them finely, cut up some cheese in small pieces, mix with a little
milk, and season with pepper and salt. Have some slices of toast
ready, and when the mixture is soft pour it over the toast, and serve
very hot. Time, about 10 minutes. (E. Brace.)

_Toast_ (Rôties).--(_a_) Grate some rich cheese, add pepper to taste,
a beaten egg, and sufficient milk to make it of the consistency of
thick cream. Warm the mixture on the fire, and when quite hot pour it
over some slices of hot buttered toast; serve immediately.

(_b_) English Rarebit.--Toast a slice of bread on both sides, put it
into a cheese plate, pour a glass of red wine over it, and put it to
the fire till it soaks up the wine; then cut some cheese in very thin
slices, and put it thick on the bread; put it in a tin oven before
the fire, toast it till it is brown, and serve it up hot. Or this
way: Toast your bread, soak it in the wine, and set it before the
fire to keep hot; cut the cheese in very thin slices, rub some butter
over a pewter plate, lay the cheese on it, pour in 2-3 spoonfuls
white wine, set it over a chafing dish of coals, and cover it with
another plate for 2-3 minutes; uncover it, and stir it till it is
done and well mixed, put in a little mustard, put it on the bread,
brown it with a hot iron or salamander, and send it away hot.

(_c_) Scotch Rarebit.--Toast a piece of bread nicely on both sides,
and butter it; cut a slice of cheese nearly the size of the bread,
put it in a cheese toaster, and toast one side, then put the toasted
side on the bread, and toast the other side nicely.

(_d_) Welsh Rarebit.--Slice some rich cheese into a stewpan, pour
in a very little old ale, and set over the fire to simmer. When
the cheese is quite melted pour it on to some hot toast, and serve
quickly. Mustard and pepper should be spread on the cheese before
serving. Some use butter, but ale is far nicer.

(_e_) Ditto.--Take rather a thick slice of either Cheddar or
Gloucester cheese, cut into small pieces, put it into a small
saucepan, with 1 teaspoonful mustard, 2 tablespoonfuls ale, a very
little salt, and a small piece of butter; let it get well heated,
stir it up well till it becomes the consistency of thick cream. Pour
the mixture on a slice of toast cut into four, dredge a little pepper
on the top and serve on a table napkin, very hot.

(_f_) Ditto.--Use a small iron saucepan. Grease with butter all the
inside; then pour 3-4 tablespoonfuls good rich milk or cream into
it; then 3-4 large mustardspoonfuls of made mustard; then about ½
oz. butter in small pieces; then about a ¼ lb. good Cheddar cheese;
then dust the whole over with ground black pepper, and be not afraid
of putting on too much pepper. Set the saucepan aside. Place a dish
before the fire which is to go to table. Take a round of a loaf of
bread, cut very thick and the hard crust cut off; toast, and then
butter one side only, and put it, toasted side downwards, on the
dish before the fire. Now set the little saucepan on the fire, and
stir its contents with an iron spoon till the cheese is melted.
Immediately then pour it on the bread which is before the fire and
send to table; of course, with hot plates. (L.)

(_g_) Ditto.--Make some slices of toast about ¼ in. thick, trim off
the crusts, and spread them with butter. Slice very thinly some rich
cheese (about ¼ lb.) into a stewpan, add 1 small teaspoonful flour of
mustard, a little salt and cayenne, ½ oz. butter, and pour over it a
very little ale or porter, let it simmer until quite hot, pour it on
the toast, and serve immediately.


=Eggs= (Œufs).--Few English cooks have any idea of the number of ways
in which these nutritious articles may be dressed.

_À la Bonne Femme._--Slice an onion, fry it in butter to a light
brown, add a teaspoonful of vinegar; butter a dish, spread the onion
and vinegar over it, break the eggs into it, put the dish into the
oven; when the eggs are done strew fried breadcrumbs over them, and
serve very hot.

_À la Maître d’Hôtel._--(_a_) Make a sauce with boiling milk, rather
highly seasoned and thickened with butter and flour and an onion
chopped small; let it simmer gently for ½ hour, then add 2 oz. fresh
butter and some finely chopped parsley; next lay in 4-6 hard-boiled
eggs, cut in quarters or sliced, heat them through carefully, and
serve very hot; squeeze in the juice of a lemon just before serving.

(_b_) Take 6 eggs, boil hard, and when ready plunge them into cold
water to enable you to take off the shells easily; this must be
carefully done so as not to damage the appearance of the eggs; then
cut them into rounds--each, if properly managed, will cut 4. Have
ready a sauce made as follows: Add to ½ pint ordinary good white
sauce, a slight sprinkling of nutmeg, some very finely chopped
parsley, say a teaspoonful, and about a saltspoonful of the green
part of some shallots also very finely chopped. Put the eggs into
this, make them hot, and serve heaped high on a dish, with the sauce
poured round and over the eggs.

_À la Tartuffe._--Fry lightly some bacon; when done, lay it in a
dish that will stand the fire, pour over it 2 spoonfuls strong stock
flavoured with wine, and break in carefully 5 or 6 eggs, dusting
them with pepper and salt. Let them cook over a slow fire, and pass
a heated shovel over them to set the whites. The yolks _must not
harden_.

_And Artichokes._--Strip the green leaves from 6 artichokes, and boil
the bottoms in hard water for ½ hour, boil 3 eggs for 10-12 minutes,
cut them across, and place on each artichoke half an egg, leaving the
round end uppermost; put them each on a small round of toast, which
must be cut with a round cutter, and serve on a very hot dish, with a
little good melted butter or some rich gravy.

_And Caviar._--Cut some small slices of French rolls into rounds,
lightly butter them, then spread some very fresh Russian caviar on
them, add a sprinkle of lemon juice. Now cut some hard-boiled eggs
into rounds, and lay a round on each round of French roll.

_And Mushrooms._--(_a_) 1 lb. mushrooms, 2 raw eggs, 2 hard-boiled, 3
oz. butter, 2 tablespoonfuls mushroom ketchup, 1 of vinegar, 1 onion,
a little grated nutmeg, mashed potatoes. Peel the mushrooms and put
into a rather large stewpan, with the butter, a small onion minced
fine, a little grated nutmeg, 2 tablespoonfuls mushroom ketchup, 1
of vinegar, a little salt and pepper; let them stew about 20 minutes
with the lid on, when done, add the yolks of 2 eggs to thicken the
sauce, but do not let them boil after the eggs are in, or the sauce
will curdle. Have ready some nicely mashed potatoes and 2 hard-boiled
eggs, put a wall of the potatoes round an entrée dish, pour some of
the sauce in the centre of the dish, then arrange the mushrooms piled
high in the middle of the dish, and the remainder of the sauce over,
and ornament the dish with the eggs cut in quarters or in slices, and
serve. (E. A. Robbins.)

(_b_) Put 2 oz. butter into a stewpan; break over it 4 fresh eggs;
add 1 tablespoonful chopped mushrooms, ½ teaspoonful salt, ¼ ditto
pepper. Stir this mixture over a clear fire continually with a wooden
spoon till it is of a thickish consistency, and serve very hot,
poured over hot buttered toast.

_And Olives._--4 or 5 eggs, 4 large or 6 small olives, 1 slice ham,
cooked, ½ oz. butter, a pinch of red pepper. Boil the eggs about 8
minutes, and put into cold water, as they will peel better. Pare the
olives, and mince them, also the ham. Now take the shells off the
eggs, cut a small piece off each end to make them stand. Now cut in
halves, take out the yolks carefully, and put in the mortar with the
ham and olives; pound to a smooth paste with ½ oz. butter, season
with a little red pepper, and fill the whites of the eggs. Put a
napkin on a dish, stand the half eggs on it, having smoothed over the
top, and add some strips of toast. Or they can be served without the
napkin and a little tartar sauce poured round them. The eggs should
stand up like little cups.

_And Sorrel._--Boil a number of eggs in their shells for 3-4 minutes,
then dip them into cold water, carefully remove the shells, and place
them again in hot water to make them quite hot; drain, and serve them
on the following purée with sippets of bread fried in butter round
the dish. Pick and wash a quantity of sorrel, put it into a saucepan
with a little water and some salt, when thoroughly done drain off all
the moisture and pass the sorrel through a hair sieve. Amalgamate a
piece of butter and 1 tablespoonful flour in a saucepan on the fire,
put in the sorrel and stir well for some minutes, then add pepper and
salt to taste, and the yolk of 1 egg beaten up with a little cold
stock and strained.

_And Tomatoes._--Boil some ripe tomatoes, and pulp them through a
coarse sieve. Mix this pulp with 3 or 4 eggs (according to the size
of your dish), a little very finely chopped onion (some persons like
freshly-cut garlic rubbed across the pan instead), pepper and salt,
and fry all together lightly; a little chopped ham or cold boiled
potato may be added if liked.

_Au Gratin._--(_a_) Wash, bone, and mince finely an anchovy; mince
some parsley and chives, or shallot; mix all these well with some
fine breadcrumbs, season highly with pepper and salt, and a dash of
nutmeg; place some of this mixture and a little piece of butter in
as many small cups (that will stand the fire) as you wish to cook
eggs. Set them over a clear, gentle fire, and when this gratin is
nearly done, break an egg gently into each cup. When done, pass a hot
shovel over each to set the whites, dust over them a little salt and
pepper, and serve them in their pots, very hot. Bacon minced may be
substituted for the anchovy, but then less butter will be required;
chopped mushrooms are also a good addition.

(_b_) Cut some hard-boiled eggs in slices, and lay them on a
well-buttered dish, with grated Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and
the least bit of powdered nutmeg; sprinkle some baked breadcrumbs
over all, put the dish in the oven, and serve as soon as the contents
begin to colour.

(_c_) Slices of hard-boiled eggs laid on a dish with baked
breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt, the least bit
of nutmeg, and some butter; put into the oven, and serve as soon as
they begin to take colour.

(_d_) Put into a dish that will bear the oven 1 tablespoonful flour,
several yolks of eggs, a little very finely chopped parsley and
shallot, some salt, pepper, and nutmeg; mix all well together, and
put them into the oven just long enough to let the mixture attach
itself to the dish. Then take it out, put a few bits of butter on
this gratin, and break on it carefully the number of eggs you desire
to cook, seasoning them with a little pepper and salt. Let them just
simmer in the oven, and serve, while the yolks are still quite soft,
with a garnish of either fried or fresh parsley. The dish which they
are cooked in should be placed on a neatly folded napkin, and must be
thus served.

_Baked._--(_a_) Melt 1 oz. butter in a pie-dish, put the dish into
the oven just to brown the butter, break 6 eggs separately into a
cup and pour them carefully into the pie-dish; bake them for about
5 minutes or until the white is set, then sift a tablespoonful of
fine breadcrumbs, which have been previously browned, over the eggs,
through a tin strainer; warm over with a salamander and serve;
garnish the dish with parsley.

(_b_) Beat up 4 eggs well, to each egg allow 2 tablespoonfuls new
milk and ½ teaspoonful finely chopped parsley, seasoning with pepper
and salt to taste. Melt some butter in an enamelled pie-dish, pour in
the mixture, and bake quickly in a hot oven.

_Bread._--1 pint sifted meal, nearly 1 pint buttermilk, 1 egg, a lump
of lard the size of a small walnut, and 1 teaspoonful salt. Just
before baking, add 1 teaspoonful soda dissolved in 2 tablespoonfuls
warm water, and add 1 teaspoonful salt. If the milk is sweet, add 2
tablespoonfuls cream of tartar.

_Buttered._--(_a_) Make a thick square of buttered toast, buttering
it well on both sides, and cutting it into 4 or 6 pieces; let it
stand before the fire to keep hot, but not sufficiently near to dry
it up. Break 3 fresh eggs into a stewpan over the fire (both yolks
and whites), having previously melted in it a piece of butter the
size of a walnut; add a little salt, and 1 tablespoonful cream or
good milk; stir it rapidly over the fire until it begins to thicken;
then take it off and beat it until quite smooth; set it on the fire
again, and keep stirring until it is very hot and thick. With a
spoon heap this lightly up on to the square of buttered toast which
has been keeping hot before the fire, making it stand as high as
possible. Serve instantly.

(_b_) Boil 2 eggs hard. Let them get cold. Chop up yolks and whites
finely, and spread them on hot buttered toast with pepper and salt to
taste.

_Curried._--(_a_) Boil 6 eggs quite hard, and when cold cut each
into 4 pieces, so that they may stand on the dish with the points
uppermost; lay aside. Fry 2 onions, shred very fine, in butter, add 1
tablespoonful powder, 2 oz. butter rolled in flour, and by degrees ½
pint veal stock; let the whole boil up for ¼ hour, then stir in very
slowly 2 tablespoonfuls cream, simmer 5 minutes; put in the eggs and
let them heat slowly for 4-5 minutes, and serve in the sauce with
boiled rice.

(_b_) Cut an onion in very thin and very small slices; fry in butter,
flour them while doing to thicken the butter; they must not burn.
Take 1 tablespoonful curry powder, or be guided by the strength of
it; place in a bowl, squeeze the juice of ½ lemon, add a pinch of
salt, 1 teacupful rich gravy or stock, ½ teacupful milk or a little
cream, stir all together well; boil some eggs hard, take off the
shells, cut them into quarters or halves, stir your curry powder that
has been mixed as before directed; let all boil together, and when
boiling take off the fire and put in the eggs; serve in a deep dish,
with snowballs of rice round. If the eggs are required to be soft,
poach them instead of boiling hard.

(_c_) Slice 1 large or 2 small onions into rounds, and fry in a good
quantity of butter until quite brown, but not in the least black;
then add 2 tablespoonfuls good gravy, well freed from grease, and,
when that has mixed nicely with the onions and butter, add 1 small
teaspoonful good curry powder; thoroughly mix this with your gravy,
&c., and avoid lumps; let all simmer gently for 10 minutes, then
put in 6 hard-boiled eggs cut in rounds, and let them cook till
thoroughly hot, serve either with rice round, or, as some like it
better, with the rice on a separate dish. Salt to taste should, of
course, be added to the above.

(_d_) Boil 6 eggs quite hard, shell them, and cut them up into thick
rounds or pieces. Pile them in the middle of a small dish, with plain
boiled rice arranged in a ring around them. Slice 2 or 3 onions,
and fry them in a little butter, add 1-2 spoonfuls curry powder to
1 dessertspoonful flour, and with ½ pint water; pour them into the
frying-pan. When the curry is made, pour over the eggs. Garnish with
slices of lemon.

(_e_) For this dish the eggs must be boiled hard, the shells removed,
and the eggs cut in halves. A good curry sauce, made after the
proper Indian fashion, should have been prepared previously, and
then heated up again, the eggs, while still hot from boiling, being
placed with the halves upright in a hot dish, with the curry poured
round, but not over them, the dish garnished with fried rice balls
nicely browned, and plain boiled rice sent to table with it, but in a
separate dish.

(_f_) Fry 2 onions in butter, with 1 tablespoonful curry powder and
1 pint good broth. Let it all stew till tender; then mix in a cup
of cream (or milk thickened with arrowroot and a dust of sugar).
Simmer a few minutes; then lay in 6-8 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half
or quarters, and heat them through, but _do not let it boil_. If
procurable, use coconut milk instead of cream. Serve with rice.

(_g_) Cut 2 onions in slices, and fry them to a light golden
colour in plenty of butter, add 1 tablespoonful curry powder and
a sprinkling of flour, moisten with a cupful of stock, and simmer
gently for 10 minutes, then add 6 hard-boiled eggs cut in slices,
simmer for a few minutes longer, and serve.

(_h_) Mix very smoothly some curry powder with nicely flavoured rich
gravy, halve some hard-boiled eggs, take out the yolks, and beat
them in a little of the gravy and curry powder; replace them into
the whites, of which the under part must be cut a little to make
them stand nicely in the dish. Simmer them in the rest of the gravy,
thicken it with a little butter and flour, garnish with fried onions,
and serve with boiled rice in a separate dish.

_Devilled._--Boil a number of eggs very hard; when cold, remove the
shells, and cut each egg in half. Take out the yolks and pound them
in a mortar with a few boned anchovies, pepper, salt, and a pinch of
dry mustard, moistening with a little butter. Fill the empty whites
cut in halves with this mixture, and arrange in a dish garnished with
parsley. This is a great favourite at Cinderella suppers.

_En Matelote._--Put a good piece of butter or lard into a saucepan,
cook in it several--about 1 doz.--small onions whole; let them
only slightly colour, add a little white wine and stock in equal
quantities, pepper and salt to taste, also a sprinkling of nutmeg
and a small bunch of sweet herbs. Let all simmer gently for about 15
minutes, then reduce, strain off the herbs and the onions, reserving
the latter; break as many eggs as you may require, very carefully
so as not to break the yolks, into the sauce, and poach them one
after the other. When sufficiently cooked, serve them on a hot dish
with the onions (whole) round them, thicken the sauce to a proper
consistency, pour over the eggs and serve at once with little fried
sippets round.

_Fried._--Parboil some well-washed rice in plain water, then simmer
till quite done in some good gravy, with a very little curry powder.
Serve with some fried eggs on the top.

_Forced._--(_a_) Boil 4 or 5 eggs 10-15 minutes; when done put
into cold water. When cold take off the shells, and cut in half
lengthways, take out the yolks, and put in a mortar with 1
teaspoonful chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful lemon thyme, and ¼
teaspoonful green onion, all finely minced; 1 teaspoonful essence of
anchovies, 1 grate of nutmeg, a little salt, a few grains of cayenne,
and 1 oz. butter. Pound these ingredients well together; when quite
smooth use this mixture to fill the whites of the eggs. Oil a border
mould or shallow mould with funnel, put a little melted aspic in the
bottom, let it set, and then put some of the half eggs on the aspic;
then pour over them very gently some more of the aspic, let this set,
and put on more of the eggs and more aspic; by this time the mould
should be full; set on the ice or in a cool place to get firm till
wanted, turn out in the usual way, and fill up the centre or form a
border of small salad around, add a little oil and vinegar over, and
serve.

(_b_) 10-12 eggs, 1 oz. truffles, ½ pint mushrooms, 1 blade of mace,
a grate of nutmeg, 1 dessertspoonful parsley, a small slice of onion,
4 oz. butter, ¼ pint cream, a little good white stock, a small bunch
of sweet herbs, 1 wineglass white wine, the juice of 1 lemon, or a
little of the peel, a few slices of ham or tongue, pepper and salt.
For the croustade have a stale quartern tin loaf rather close, pare
off the crust, and with a sharp knife carve the crumb into the shape
of a fluted cup or vase, make an incision all round the top about 1
in. from the outer edge, and after it is fried scoop out the middle
carefully. The croustade should be fried in plenty of boiling lard in
a large stewpan or frying kettle, and should be of a golden brown.
When done drain it on a sieve or on a piece of white paper, and keep
warm till wanted. Boil the eggs about 10 minutes, then put them into
cold water. When cold shell carefully. Cut the eggs in half, take
out the yolks, and put the whites aside till wanted. Mince very
fine the parsley, truffles, mushrooms, onion, and a little of the
ham separately, and then all together. Pound the mace, and put to
it a grate of nutmeg. Chop the eggs a little, add them to the other
ingredients in a stewpan, with 2 oz. butter, and a little pepper
and salt. Stir over the fire a few minutes, then add the yolks of
2 uncooked eggs to bind the mixture. When it thickens, and seems
cooked, turn it out on a plate. Fill the whites of the eggs with this
mixture, and put the halves together to look like whole eggs. When
they are all filled put them in a basin, and stand the basin in a
little hot water to keep the eggs hot while you make the sauce. For
this stir the remainder of the butter and a tablespoonful of flour
over the fire. When the butter is dissolved stir into it a little
white stock in which has been boiled a small bunch of sweet herbs,
a small onion, a little thin lemon rind, and the cream. When it
boils add to it the wine, lemon juice, a pinch of sugar, and pepper
and salt to taste. Pile the eggs high in the croustade, and serve
croustade with pieces of ham previously warmed, and the chopped
truffles between the eggs; pour the sauce round the base and serve.

_In Cases._--Oil some small paper cases as for ramakins, put into
each a piece of butter the size of a hazel nut, with a small pinch
of minced parsley, some pepper, salt, and the least bit of cayenne.
Break an egg into each case, add a teaspoonful of grated Parmesan
and a sprinkling of baked breadcrumbs. Put the cases in the oven for
about 5 minutes, and serve. They may also be so prepared a number at
a time in a silver dish, and served in it.

_Nogg._--Beat up the yolks of 4 eggs with 4 dessertspoonfuls
powdered sugar; add ½ tumblerful brandy gradually, a teaspoonful at
a time, and beating continually; add a pint of rich cream gradually,
and still beating: beat up the whites of two eggs separately and
thoroughly, and put this on top of the mixture. (S. H. R.)

_Omelets._ Apricot.--Beat up the whites of 4 and the yolks of 6 eggs
with a very small pinch of salt. Put a piece of fresh butter in the
omelet pan, and directly it is melted pour in the eggs. As soon
as they are set, fold up the omelet, inserting within the fold as
much apricot jam as will lie in it. Turn out the omelet neatly on
its dish, cover it with powdered sugar, and glaze it with a red-hot
salamander.

Brussels Sprouts.--Boil 25 young Brussels sprouts until they are
tender, divide each sprout into 4 or more portions according to size,
dry on a cloth, beat up 6 eggs, yolks and whites; mix the sprouts
with them, adding pepper and salt to taste. Melt 1 oz. fresh butter
in the pan, when hot, put in the mixture, sprinkle with pepper and
salt, and fry until of a nice brown colour. Serve quickly, sending
butter sauce, sharpened with a dash of lime juice, to table with it.

Cheese.--(_a_) Grate 4 oz. good cooking cheese, beat up 6 eggs, only
using the whites of 4; add the grated cheese to them, and by degrees
½ pint cream. Season well with pepper and salt, using cayenne pepper,
if liked, and fry with butter in the ordinary way, serving as quickly
as possible when ready.

(_b_) Beat up 3 or 4 eggs with 1-2 tablespoonfuls grated Parmesan
cheese, and pepper and salt to taste. Put a piece of butter, the
size of an egg, into a frying-pan; as soon as it is melted pour in
the omelet mixture, and, holding the handle of the pan with one
hand, stir the omelet with the other by means of a spoon. The moment
it begins to set, cease stirring, but keep on shaking the pan for
a minute or so: then with the spoon double up the omelet, and keep
shaking the pan until the under side of the omelet has become of a
golden colour. Turn it out on a hot dish and serve, with plenty of
grated Parmesan cheese strewn over it. The cheese must be of good
quality, and grated at the time--not the musty powder which so often
does duty for Parmesan.

Haricot Beans.--These make a very nourishing omelet; but require to
be carefully prepared beforehand, i.e. they should steep at least 6
hours in cold, slightly salted, water. It is a good plan to set them
to steep overnight, especially if they are required for luncheon or
early dinner. After steeping they must be boiled in fresh water until
perfectly soft, and then mashed in milk, for ½ pint beans ½ teacupful
milk will be required; when mashed, rub through a sieve or fine
colander; then add 2 tablespoonfuls finely grated breadcrumbs, ½ oz.
finely chopped parsley, and 4 eggs, yolks and whites, well beaten,
a tablespoonful of melted butter, or else olive oil, and salt and
pepper to taste. Mix the whole thoroughly, and pour into a buttered
pan or enamelled dish. Bake ¾-1 hour in the oven, which should not be
too hot; when served send a sharp brown sauce to table with it.

Macaroni.--Boil 2 oz. macaroni until it is perfectly tender; then
drain it. Rub 2 tablespoonfuls flour into a smooth paste with a
little cold water, boil in a lined saucepan ½ pint new milk, pour
it when boiling on the flour paste, and stir well until thickened.
Add to it the macaroni, which should be cut up into small bits; have
ready beaten 4 eggs and ½ oz. parsley chopped up fine; add these to
the milk at the same time as the macaroni, season with white pepper
and salt, and pour the mixture while hot into an enamelled pie-dish,
which should be well buttered. Bake in a moderately hot oven until
browned over, then turn out, and serve with onion sauce, if liked; if
not, with brown sauce.

Plain.--(_a_) Beat up 3 or 4 eggs with 1 dessertspoonful parsley very
finely minced, and pepper and salt to taste. Put a piece of butter
the size of an egg into a frying-pan; as soon as it is melted, pour
in the omelet mixture, and, holding the handle of the pan with one
hand, stir the omelet with the other by means of a spoon. The moment
it begins to set cease stirring, but keep on shaking the pan for a
minute or so; then, with the spoon, double up the omelet and keep
shaking the pan until the under side of the omelet has become of a
golden colour. Turn it out on a hot dish, and serve.

(_b_) Break 3 eggs, yolks and white, into a basin, add salt and
pepper to taste, and beat them with a Dover’s whisk till thoroughly
blended. Have the frying-pan previously on the fire with a lump of
butter in it, the size of a walnut. Throw in the beaten eggs just
before the butter boils. Let them set, and then fold up the omelet,
and serve on a hot dish. A few chopped herbs and parsley may be added
to the eggs before frying.

Plain Sweet.--Beat up well 3 eggs (whites and yolks), add to them 1
oz. butter broken up into small pieces and 1 oz. sifted sugar; stir
well together, put 1 oz. fresh butter into the omelet pan; when it
fritters pour in the mixture, and continue stirring until it is set,
then turn the edges over until the omelet is of an oval shape, brown
it with a salamander, and sift sugar over before sending to table.
This will only make a small omelet; if a larger is required, double
the proportions of the ingredients.

Potato.--Boil 6 mealy potatoes, then dry them well, and mash them
with ½ oz. butter, add 1 oz. breadcrumbs, very finely grated, the
yolks of 6 eggs and the whites of 4 seasoning with white pepper and
salt; melt a little butter in the omelet pan, and when it is quite
hot pour in the mixture, and fry it of a nice golden brown colour
over a not too fierce fire. For omelet making a gas boiling-burner
is far preferable to a stove; the heat can be so nicely regulated,
and the operation so much more comfortably carried on than over a hot
coal range.

Rice (Savoury).--Boil 3 oz. rice, after well washing in 2 or 3
waters, in 1 pint water until the water is entirely absorbed, when
it is nearly cold; add to it 3 well-beaten eggs and ¼ oz. chopped
parsley. Butter a lined pie-dish, pour in the omelet, and bake in a
moderate oven. Serve with fine herbs sauce.

Rice (Sweet).--Follow the above recipe, only use instead of chopped
parsley 1 oz. sifted white sugar, and omit the seasoning and sauce.

Rum.--Make a plain sweet omelet with 4 whites and 6 yolks of eggs.
When cooked strew sugar over, and, instead of glazing it, pour a
wineglassful of hot rum over it, and set it alight as it is being put
on the table.

Savoury.--(_a_) Beat up 3 or 4 eggs with 1 dessertspoonful parsley
very finely minced, ½ clove of shallot, also finely minced, pepper
and salt to taste. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a
frying-pan; as soon as it is melted pour in the omelet mixture, and,
holding the handle of the pan with one hand, stir the omelet with
the other by means of a spoon. The moment it begins to set, cease
stirring, but keep shaking the pan for a minute or so; then with the
spoon double up the omelet, and keep shaking the pan until one side
of the omelet has become a golden colour, and it is ready.

(_b_) Beat 2 eggs in a basin, season with cayenne and salt, mix with
it 1 teaspoonful each of finely chopped onion and parsley, melt ½
oz. butter in an omelet pan, pour the mixture into this, and keep
stirring it over the fire until it sets, then roll and serve. About 3
minutes will serve to cook this omelet, which should be of a delicate
brown when done.

(_c_) Besides parsley, add a very few fresh sweet herbs and a few
chives, all very finely minced. Powdered sweet herbs may be used, but
in either case great care should be taken not to put in too many.

Shallot (Francatelli’s recipe).--Break 3 eggs into a basin, add 1
spoonful cream, a small pat of butter, broken into pieces, a little
chopped parsley, and the shallots, well chopped, some pepper and
salt; then put 2 oz. butter into the omelet pan. While the butter is
melting, whip the eggs and other ingredients well together until they
become frothy. As soon as the butter begins to fritter, pour the eggs
into the pan, and stir the omelet; as the eggs appear to set, roll
the omelet into the form of an oval cushion. Allow it to acquire a
golden-brown colour on one side over the fire, and then turn it out
on its dish. Pour a thin sauce, or gravy, or half glaze under it, and
serve.

Soufflé.--Break carefully 6 eggs, separating the yolks and whites.
Strain the yolks and add to them 2 tablespoonfuls powdered sugar and
a little lemon juice or orange-flower water, stir well together. Whip
the whites into a stiff froth, and then mix lightly with the rest.
Heat some fresh butter in the pan, pour in the mixture, when ready
sprinkle it over with sugar, and either put it into the oven for a
few minutes to rise, or else hold a salamander over it. (Eliot James.)

Spinach.--Chop up all together ¼ lb. spinach (it should be young and
tender), ¼ lb. beets, ½ oz. parsley, and ½ oz. leeks and lemon-thyme
mixed. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, then add by degrees,
a heaped-up tablespoonful of well-dried flour, 4 spoonfuls milk,
4 eggs well beaten, and 2 oz. butter melted; mix the whole well
together, put into a pan, and bake 20 minutes in the oven. This is
rather more solid food than the ordinary fried omelet, but, when well
made, an appetising dish. If beet is not liked, sprouts can be used
instead.

Sweet.--(_a_) Beat up the whites of 4 and the yolks of 6 eggs, with a
very small pinch of salt. Put a piece of fresh butter in the omelet
pan, and directly it is melted pour in the eggs. As soon as they are
set fold up the omelet, inserting within the fold as much apricot
jam as will lie in it. Turn out the omelet neatly on its dish, cover
it with powdered sugar, and glaze it with a red-hot salamander.

(_b_) Beat up the eggs as in (_a_), with the addition of a large
pinch of powdered cinnamon, and 2 tablespoonfuls powdered loaf sugar.
When cooked glaze with sugar and serve.

Swiss.--Made with grated cheese in the following manner: Grate 2 oz.
Parmesan cheese, melt 2 oz. butter, and add to the cheese also ½ oz.
finely chopped parsley, 1 oz. breadcrumbs, finely grated, ¼ pint new
milk, and 4 eggs well beaten; fry in the usual way, with a little
butter in the pan, which must be properly heated before the mixture
is put in.

Tomato.--Scald 6 ripe tomatoes, pare them and remove the ends and
seeds. Stew them until tender, then mash them and rub through a
sieve; add 2 oz. finely grated breadcrumbs, 4 well-beaten eggs,
4 tablespoonfuls milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix all
thoroughly, pour into a buttered dish and bake in a moderately hot
oven. Serve with vinegar or brown sauce, not made with stock, as is
ordinary brown sauce, but merely browned butter thickening thinned
with vinegar.

_Poached._--(_a_) To be covered with the white, they should be broken
into a saucepan with plenty of boiling water, enough to cover them.

(_b_) Stir the water round very fast, then drop the egg in the middle
of the whirlpool, and keep stirring the same way till it is set.

(_c_) Fill a shallow sauté pan with water and sufficient salt; add a
little vinegar, a few peppercorns, and some leaves of parsley. When
the water is on the point of boiling (it should never be allowed to
boil) break 2 or more eggs into it (according to the size of the
pan), and put on the cover. When done, take them out carefully, brush
them clean on both sides with a paste brush, and cut each egg with
a round fluted paste cutter, so as to get them of a uniform shape.
Serve on a purée made as follows: Pick and wash perfectly clean 2-3
lb. spinach, put it into a saucepan with a little water, and let it
boil till quite done, turn it out on a hair sieve to drain, squeeze
the water out, and pass the spinach through the sieve. Put a good
lump of butter into a saucepan, fry it a light brown, add a pinch of
flour, mix well, put in the spinach, pepper and salt to taste, and
a little milk, stir well, dispose the spinach on a dish, laying the
poached eggs on the top of it, and a border of fried sippets round it.

(_d_) Poach some eggs (one for each person and one over) in salted
water, with a little vinegar, some peppercorns, and a few leaves of
parsley, in a shallow sauté pan, just long enough to set the yolks
slightly; take out each egg with a slice, brush it clean with a
paste brush, and cut it with a round fluted paste cutter, about 2
in. diameter, so as to get all the eggs a uniform shape, and leave
neither too much nor too little white round them. Turn the egg over
carefully, brush it clean, and lay it in the soup tureen, ready
filled with boiling hot clear consommé. The water in which the eggs
are poached should be kept at boiling point, but never boil. Some
leaves or very small sprigs of chervil may be served in the soup.

(_e_) Served with a sauce composed of curry powder mixed to a paste
in milk, to which is added sliced onions and butter; the sauce should
be strained, and then poured round the poached eggs, which have been
previously arranged in a hot dish.

_Purée._--Beat the yolks of 7 hard-boiled eggs in a mortar with 1½
oz. fresh butter, a little very finely minced parsley, some salt and
pepper to taste, and the yolks of 3 raw eggs; mince the whites of the
boiled eggs as fine as possible, and toss them over the fire, with
about ½ pint good gravy, till they become rather thick; press the
pounded yolks through a colander in the centre of a dish, put the
minced whites round them, and arrange as a garnish some sippets of
bread, brushed over with beaten egg; put the dish into the oven, or
before the fire in a Dutch oven, to brown, and serve very hot. This
is an extremely pretty dish.

_Rolls._--Allow one egg for each person, ¾ pint of milk and 4
teaspoonfuls flour for every three eggs; beat whites and yolks
separately, mix the flour smoothly with the milk, then add the eggs
and whisk well. Fry a little at a time in a buttered omelet-pan, roll
as an omelet; serve very hot. To be eaten with sugar or treacle.

_Savoury._--Take 4 eggs, boil them hard, when cold shell them, and
cut them in half lengthwise, take out the yolks, beat into a smooth
paste. To each egg allow a good slice of butter, ½ teaspoonful
anchovy sauce, and cayenne pepper to taste. This should all be
thoroughly mixed with the yolks; then fill the white halves with
this paste. Serve on a napkin, and garnish with parsley. This is a
most appetising dish, either for dinner or supper, and enough for 8
persons.

_Scalloped._--(_a_) Mash some potatoes very smoothly, and boil some
rice. Boil 5 eggs for 3 minutes; when they are cold remove the
shells, and chop the eggs up roughly. Mix a teacupful of the mashed
potatoes, the same quantity of rice, and the eggs together; add some
chopped capers, very little vinegar, some melted butter, pepper,
salt, and Worcester sauce. Put the mixture into scallop shells, with
breadcrumbs and a little butter. Bake a light brown.

(_b_) Boil 3 or 4 eggs hard. When cold, remove the shells and chop
the eggs roughly, have ready a small teacupful of mashed potatoes,
another of rice; mix all together, add capers, a little melted
butter, pepper, and salt, put into scallop shells with breadcrumbs on
top, and bake a pale brown.

_Scotch._--Boil some eggs hard enough to set the whites, so that you
can remove the shells without breaking the white. After peeling the
shell clean off, cover them completely with a savoury forcemeat, in
which let ham or finely chopped anchovy bear due proportion. Fry of a
gold colour, and serve with good gravy in the dish.

_Scrambled._--(_a_) Break 4 eggs into a clean stewpan with 1 oz.
butter, and a little salt and pepper; beat it all up until the yolks
and whites are well mixed, then stir it over the fire with a wooden
spoon till cooked; it should never be clotted or hard. A spoonful
of stock, or any sauce, is a great improvement. Mushrooms minced
and tossed in a little butter, cold asparagus cut into nice pieces,
or even sliced cucumber placed in with the eggs 1-2 minutes before
serving, make pleasant varieties of this little dish.

(_b_) Put in a saucepan 2 tablespoonfuls cream and a piece of butter
the size of a walnut, well beat up 4 eggs, and when the butter is
melted and quite hot pour in the eggs, and stir over the fire for a
few minutes.

(_c_) Beat up 3 eggs well, add ½ teacupful cream or milk, salt to
taste, and a small pat of butter; pour into a shallow stewpan, stir
over a clear fire until the mixture grows quite thick; have ready a
buttered slice of toast on a hot dish, turn the eggs out on to the
toast, and serve with a sprinkling of pepper.

(_d_) Take a piece of butter about the size of a walnut, put it into
a saucepan to melt. Take 3 eggs, break them, and put them into the
saucepan with a little salt. Put the saucepan on the fire, stir the
eggs quickly till they begin to set, then serve on a piece of dried
toast. Take care to stir the eggs quickly, and take them out of the
saucepan as soon as they begin to set, or they become hard.

(_e_) Beat up some eggs in a basin with pepper, salt, and a small
quantity of French tomato sauce; melt some butter in a saucepan; add
the eggs, and stir with a spoon until nearly set. Serve on toast, or
in a very hot dish. If no tomato sauce is added to the eggs, a little
chopped parsley should be sprinkled over them just before serving.

(_f_) Peel a large tomato, free it from pips, and chop it up small,
also chop 2 slices Spanish onion; put both into a saucepan with
plenty of butter, and pepper and salt to taste; stir on the fire till
the onion is quite cooked, but not coloured; then throw in 4 eggs
beaten up, and keep on stirring the whole till the eggs are nearly
set; serve at once within a circle of bread sippets fried in butter.

_Snow._--Whisk the whites of 6 eggs with a little powdered lump sugar
into a stiff froth; set 1 qt. milk, sweetened to taste, to boil; drop
the egg froth in it by tablespoonfuls; a few seconds will cook them;
take them out, and put them on a sieve to drain. When all the egg
froth is cooked, strain what is left of the milk; let it get cold,
and mix gradually with it the yolks of the eggs with any flavouring
you like. Put the vessel containing this into a saucepanful of water,
and keep stirring on the fire until the custard thickens. To serve,
pile up the whites on the dish, pour the custard round them, and
sprinkle the top with “hundreds and thousands.”

_Stewed._--Mince an onion very small, and fry it in good butter till
well coloured, stir in some good stock, well seasoned with pepper and
salt, and a very little flour; let it stew till the onion is quite
soft, the flour thoroughly cooked, and the sauce rather thick. Lay in
as many hard-boiled eggs as you please, cut in quarters or slices,
and stir them very gently (lest the yolk should break from the white)
till quite hot, when they should be served at once.

_Stuffed._--(_a_) Make a savoury forcemeat with some very finely
minced ham, veal, and one anchovy, with seasoning of salt, pepper,
and a little cayenne. Have ready 6 or 7 hard-boiled eggs. Take the
shells off very carefully, cover them thickly with the forcemeat.
Brush the yolk of a beaten egg over them, and set them to brown in a
moderate oven for about 15 minutes. When done put them on a hot dish,
and pour some good brown gravy round them. A slight variation, and
perhaps an improvement, is very carefully to open the eggs without
entirely separating the tops, to take out the yolks, add them to the
forcemeat, and when all has been well pounded together, to replace
the yolks by this forcemeat, close the eggs carefully, and proceed as
above.

(_b_) Take 6 hard-boiled eggs, cut them in half crosswise, remove the
yolks, and cut a small piece off each half egg, so as to make them
stand upright. Take 6 anchovies, bone and wash them clean, pound them
in a mortar with 1 oz. butter, the yolks of the eggs, pepper, and a
little tarragon finely chopped, fill up the whites with this mixture,
pile them up on a dish and serve.

(_c_) Cut some hard-boiled eggs in half. Mince the yolks with olives,
capers, anchovies, and truffles, a little tarragon and chervil; add
some pepper and salt. Fill each half egg with this mixture, pour some
liquefied butter over, warm in the oven, and serve each egg on a
bread sippet, cut with an ornamental cutter, and fried in butter.

_Sur Plat._--This is a most convenient dish when a slight meal is
wanted in a hurry. Put a fireproof china saucepan on the fire, or on
a spirit lamp. Place a lump of butter in it, and as soon as it melts,
break in 3 or 4 eggs. Let them remain long enough for the whites to
set, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve in the saucepan very
hot.

_Swiss._--(_a_) Although sometimes made with Parmesan, Gruyère is
the correct cheese to use. Spread the bottom of a silver dish rather
thickly with good fresh butter and cover it with very thin slices of
the cheese, which should not be an old one or it would not melt well.
Over this break as many eggs as you wish to have, taking care to keep
the yolks whole; sprinkle a little salt, some black pepper, and a
very little grated nutmeg over this, and pour over it about a quarter
of a pint of good thick cream. Finish by strewing the top with grated
cheese, and bake for ¼ hour. If not brown enough, pass the salamander
over the top and serve immediately; very thin and nicely cut dry
toast should be handed with it on a plate.

(_b_) Butter well a stoneware or silver or pewter dish that will
stand the heat of the oven; line the sides of the dish with shavings
of Gruyère or some good American toasting cheese. Drop on to the
already buttered dish 4 or 6 raw eggs, pour over them about 3
tablespoonfuls of good cream; season with salt, cayenne, and a small
grate of nutmeg, sprinkle a little grated cheese over all, and 2
tablespoonfuls more cream; place in the oven for about 7 minutes, or
till the eggs are set.

(_c_) Spread the bottom of a dish with 2 oz. fresh butter; cover
this with grated cheese; break 8 whole eggs upon the cheese without
breaking the yolks. Season with red pepper and salt if necessary;
pour a little thick cream on the surface, strew about 2 oz. grated
cheese on the top, and set the eggs in a moderate oven for about ¼
hour. Pass a hot salamander over the top to brown it.

(_d_) Mix with 2 oz. grated cheese, 2 oz. oiled butter, 6 eggs, salt,
pepper, and some finely chopped parsley, tarragon, and spring onions.
Fry lightly, brown the top, and serve very hot.


=Sauces, Butters, Gravies, Stuffings, &c.=--These are employed to
lend a zest to the flavour of the foods they accompany, seldom
contributing any nutritious element themselves.

_Agro Dolce._--This sauce is made thus: ½ lb. _pignoli_ or pine-cone
kernels, 6 oz. fine chocolate, 10 oz. sugar, ½ pint best vinegar,
3 oz. _candito_ or candied orange or lemon, all mixed in rich good
gravy, made from the material which composes the dish, such as wild
boar, hare, &c.

_Anchovy Butter_ (au Beurre d’anchois).--(_a_) Take 2 oz. fresh
butter, 4 oz. boned anchovies, pounded to a smooth paste, and 3
oz. watercress, well washed and picked from the stalks. Mix the 3
ingredients well together, and pass them through a hair sieve. Shape
the butter into small balls, ice them, and serve with dry toast or
biscuits.

(_b_) 3 or 4 anchovies boned and pounded, 3 oz. parsley, weighed
after it has been picked from the stalks, wash clean; boil for 8-10
minutes, till tender, with a small piece of soda in the water to keep
it green; strain the water off and squeeze the parsley dry with the
hand. Pound up in a mortar the parsley with 4 oz. fresh butter and
the anchovies. Rub this through a sieve and let it drop on the dish
on which it is sent to table. It should have a rocky appearance.
Toast to be served at the same time.

(_c_) And Olive.--Take equal parts anchovies (washed, boned, and
pounded fine), French olives (stoned, washed, chopped up, and then
pounded), and fresh butter. Mix these 3 ingredients well together,
and pass them through a very clean sieve, shape the mixture into
balls, ice, and serve with Oliver biscuits, or with little squares of
crisp toast.

(_d_) Heat a dinner-plate until it will melt ½ oz. butter placed
on it; take the yolk of a fresh egg, beat it with a fork into the
butter, add 1 teaspoonful anchovy sauce, cayenne pepper and salt to
taste. Have ready some freshly-browned squares of toast, dip them
into the mixture, covering both sides, and serve at once. (Bessie
Tremaine.)

_Apple Sauce._--(_a_) Pare, carefully core, and cut up the fruit; put
it into a preserving pot or jar, and stand it in a saucepan of water
over the fire till cooked. When quite done pulp the fruit, sweeten
to taste with a little brown sugar; add (if liked) a piece of butter
about the size of a large bean, and flavour with a little ground
cinnamon or a few cloves; if the latter, they must be put in while
the apples are cooking, taking care not to break them during the
pulping. (Bessie Tremaine.)

(_b_) Peel and core 6 large apples, add to them 1 gill water and 2
tablespoonfuls moist sugar--the apples must be cut in pieces. Place
the saucepan containing these ingredients on the fire to boil until
the apples are soft; a little more water may be added if necessary,
but the less the better; rub through a colander or sieve, or if in a
hurry, mash with a fork. This must be warmed up again before serving,
and a little more sugar added if necessary.

_Apricot Sauce._--(_a_) Halve the apricots and take out the stones;
break these, crush the kernels, and stew them with the fruit in
a little water. Add a glass of white wine (some light German or
French wine is better than sherry); sugar to taste and a spoonful
of arrowroot or flour, mixed with water, to thicken. Strain before
serving.

(_b_) Put half a pot of apricot jam in a saucepan with ½ pint water
and a glass of sherry; boil, strain, and serve.

_Béchamel Sauce._--Time, 2 hours; put 1 pint white stock into a
stewpan with a bunch of sweet herbs, a small sprig of parsley, a bay
leaf, 2 cloves, and a little salt; set it over a gentle fire to draw
out the flavour of the herbs, then boil it until reduced to nearly
half the quantity; mix 1 tablespoonful arrowroot in 1 pint cream and
let it simmer for a few minutes; then pour in very gradually the ½
pint stock, and simmer it all together for 10-12 minutes, or until
it is of the proper consistency. Should it be too thick, add a little
milk or white stock.

_Black Butter_ (Beurre noir).--Put a large piece of butter into a
saucepan, and leave it on the fire until the butter becomes of a dark
brown colour, but do not let it burn; then throw in some parsley
chopped fine, a wineglassful of tarragon vinegar, a little salt, and
some powdered white pepper, and serve.

_Bordelaise Sauce._--Mince finely 2 or 3 shallots, blanch them for
a few minutes, press out the water from them, and put them into a
saucepan with a cupful of white wine, let them boil 20 minutes, then
add 2 cupfuls Spanish sauce, a dust of pepper, and some parsley
finely minced; let the sauce give a boil or two, and it is ready.
Well-flavoured gravy, thickened with browned flour and butter, may be
used instead of Spanish sauce.

_Brandy Butter._--(_a_) 6 oz. butter, 6 oz. powdered loaf sugar, a
small glass of brandy, and the same quantity of sherry. Beat the
butter and sugar to a cream; add the brandy and sherry very slowly,
beating all the time. It is best iced.

(_b_) Beat 2 oz. fresh butter to a cream, then add 2 oz. sifted
sugar, and 1 wineglassful brandy drop by drop, mixing well all the
time; continue beating until they are all thoroughly incorporated
and the mixture looks like smooth solid cream. It is better than the
usual melted butter with many puddings besides plum pudding.

(_c_) Take ¾ lb. fresh butter and beat it to a cream, add ¼ lb.
finely sifted sugar, add very slowly 1½ wineglass brandy, and
continue beating until well mixed.

_Brandy Sauce._--(_a_) Mix 1 dessertspoonful French potato flour in
a little cold water, stir into it ½ pint boiling water. Let it boil
for 2 minutes; add 3 oz. lump sugar, the juice of a lemon, a grate of
nutmeg, and 1 oz. sweet, fresh butter. When this is dissolved stir in
1 gill brandy, and do not afterwards boil the sauce.

(_b_) Mix 1 tablespoonful potato flour or arrowroot with a little
cold water, then add as much water as will make enough sauce, with
powdered loaf sugar to taste, and keep it on the fire until the sauce
thickens; put into it at the time of serving as much brandy as may be
necessary.

_Breadcrumbs._--(_a_) Baked (Chapelure).--Bake any odd pieces of
bread (taking care that none of them be greasy) to a rich brown
colour. When cold pound them in a mortar, sift them through a fine
sieve, and put them by for use.

(_b_) Fried.--Toast carefully in the oven a few thin slices of bread
with the crusts cut off, and then rub them down or pass them through
a colander. Put a liberal allowance of lard into a stewpan or frying
pan, make it very hot, and take care that the fat is perfectly clear
and transparent. Fry the prepared crumbs, taking care not to overdo
them, and drain them before the fire very thoroughly and completely,
as the whole success of fried crumbs consists in their being sent to
table perfectly dry and quite hot.

(_c_) Plain.--Take the crumb of a stale loaf, and rub it through a
wire sieve. They should be made from day to day.

_Bread Sauce._--(_a_) Take 3-4 tablespoonfuls sifted breadcrumbs,
pour over sufficient boiling new milk to cover, put a plate over
the basin to keep in the steam; when cold put them into a saucepan
with 2 tablespoonfuls good white stock, a small slice of onion, 3
or 4 peppercorns, a small blade of mace, and a little salt; when
boiling, stir in a piece of butter the size of a pigeon’s egg in
which a little flour has been rubbed, let the bread sauce thicken,
take out the peppercorns and mace, serve very hot. Good white gravy
can generally be made for this from the head and neck of the fowl,
&c., for which the bread sauce is required. Some add a small piece of
lemon peel.

(_b_) The great secret of the uneatable bread sauce one so often
tastes is that the breadcrumbs are not grated finely enough. Grate
the breadcrumbs, and then pass them through a colander into a basin,
and pour over them some boiling milk (say ½ pint to a teacupful of
crumbs), in which onion and spice to taste have been previously
boiled, and strained off. This stands till the bread is thoroughly
soaked, when it is put into a saucepan with more milk if necessary,
salt, and pepper, and boiled to the proper consistency.

_Brown Sauce_ (Espagnole).--Butter slightly a gallon saucepan, put a
layer of slices of onion at the bottom, over this 2 lb. lean veal,
1 lb. beef, and ½ lb. ham, all cut in small pieces; add ½ pint
gravy stock. Put the saucepan on the fire, stirring the contents
frequently. When the meat is well coloured add 1 carrot cut in
small pieces, 1 bay leaf, some parsley, thyme, and marjoram, 1 or 2
cloves, a little whole pepper and salt to taste, then put in as much
more stock as will well cover the contents of the saucepan. Let the
whole boil gently for about 3 hours, and strain the liquor through a
tammy. Put into a saucepan ¼ lb. butter and 2 oz. flour, stir on the
fire till the two are well mixed, and are of a light brown colour;
then gradually add the strained liquor boiling hot. Set the saucepan
at the side of the fire, and let it simmer for 1½ hour, carefully
skimming the contents from time to time. Lastly, turn out the sauce
into a basin, and if not wanted immediately let it be stirred every
5-10 minutes till quite cold. In a good larder it will keep several
days, but it should be warmed every day in hot weather.

_Brown Butter Sauce._--Put 4 oz. fresh butter in a stewpan on the
fire, and keep stirring it until it becomes brown by frying; then add
a small wineglass of tarragon vinegar, ditto of Harvey’s sauce, a
tablespoonful of chopped capers, a little anchovy, and either a gill
of brown sauce or gravy. Boil this together for 5 minutes, and serve.

_Caper Sauce_ (aux Capres).--(_a_) Put 2 oz. butter in a saucepan
with a tablespoonful of flour, and stir well on the fire until the
mixture assumes a brown colour; add rather less than 1 pint stock,
free from fat, season with pepper, salt, and a little Worcester
sauce. When the sauce boils, throw in plenty of capers, let it boil
once more, and it is ready.

(_b_) 4 oz. butter melted, to which add 2 oz. flour and ½ pint
milk; when it thickens, 2 tablespoonfuls cream, 1 teaspoonful
finely chopped parsley, 1 of fennel, and 1 of capers, 2 of tarragon
vinegar, salt and cayenne to taste. A little chopped tarragon is
an improvement, and that and the parsley and fennel ought to be
previously boiled.

_Celery Sauce_ (au Céleri).--Boil 2 or 3 heads of celery in salted
water, with a bunch of sweet herbs and some whole pepper and salt to
taste; when thoroughly done, pass them through a hair sieve. Melt a
piece of butter in a saucepan, mix a tablespoonful of flour with it,
then add the celery pulp, stir, and dilute to the proper consistency
with milk or cream.

_Chaudeau Sauce._-½ pint foreign wine, ½ pint water, the yolks of
8 eggs, the peel of a lemon rasped off in sugar, the juice of a
lemon and 4 oz. sugar, including that on which the lemon was rasped,
must be well whisked in a stewpan; then set over the fire, and the
whisking continued until the sauce thickens and is about to boil.

_Chaudfroid Sauce._--Remove the legs, breast, and wings from 2
uncooked birds, pound the carcases in a mortar, put them into a
saucepan, with a piece of ham or bacon chopped up, an onion, a
carrot, 1 oz. butter, a bundle of sweet herbs, and spices, pepper and
salt to taste. Put the saucepan on the fire, and when the contents
are quite hot add a small cupful of white wine (sherry or marsala),
and a few minutes after add rather more than 1 pint good ordinary
stock; let the whole gently simmer over an hour, then strain,
and carefully remove all fat; mix a little butter and flour in a
saucepan, and stir them on the fire till the mixture browns, then
gradually add the liquor and a cupful of unclarified aspic jelly. If
at hand a cupful of well-made Spanish sauce may be used instead of
the thickening of butter and flour.

_Cherry or Plum Sauce._--Wash and stone the fruit, put them on to
stew with a glass of red wine, a little water, a little powdered
cinnamon, and a slice of toasted bread. Break the stones, and boil
them apart in just water enough to cover them. When the fruit is well
done pass all through a coarse sieve, strain it, and add the water
from the stones. Sweeten to taste, and thin it with wine or water if
too thick.

_Chestnut Sauce_ (aux Marrons).--Remove the outer skin from a number
of chestnuts (carefully excluding any that may be the least tainted),
put them to boil in salted water with a handful of coriander seeds,
and 2 bay leaves. When thoroughly done remove the inner skin and
pound the chestnuts in a mortar, adding a little stock (free from
fat) now and then. When a smooth paste is obtained, fry an onion in
butter to a light colour, add the chestnut paste and sufficient stock
to get the sauce of the desired consistency; add salt and pepper to
taste, pass through a hair sieve and serve.

_Chestnut Stuffing._--Remove the outer skin from a quantity of
chestnuts; set them to boil in salted water with a handful of
coriander seeds and 2 bay leaves. When nearly done drain off the
water, and remove the inner skin of the chestnuts. Cut up ½ lb.
butter into small pieces, mix it with the chestnuts, when cold,
together with an onion finely minced. Sprinkle the mixture with
pepper and salt and a little powdered spice to taste, and stuff the
turkey with it.

_Cinnamon Sauce_ (Cannelle).--Boil 3 oz. sugar with a stick of
cinnamon broken up in small pieces in rather more than 1 pint water;
after it has boiled a little time skim well and strain; add a small
quantity of arrowroot or potato flour mixed with a little cold
water, let it boil once more, and serve; or it may be served without
thickening.

_Clear Butter_ (Beurre fondu).--Melt as much fresh butter as may be
wanted in a very clean stewpan, taking care that it does not get at
all brown, to prevent which keep moving it about over a moderately
hot fire with a wooden spoon. When it is all melted take it off the
fire, and let it stand for a few minutes until the thick part settles
at the bottom of the pan, then carefully pour off the clear butter,
season it by stirring in a little powdered salt, and serve at once.

_Cold Meat Sauce._--(_a_) Chop very finely the yolks of 4 hard-boiled
eggs, 4 shallots, a little chopped parsley, chervil and tarragon.
Mix the herbs and eggs with 2 tablespoonfuls best salad oil, some
salt and pepper, and gradually add 4 spoonfuls vinegar. Arrange some
slices of cold meat in a circle in a dish, ornamented with pieces of
cucumber and slices of the hard-boiled whites of eggs. If liked, a
few chopped capers can be added to the sauce, which must be poured
over the meat. This is very appetising for breakfast or for luncheon.

(_b_) Chop a little onion very fine (green onion, if you have it;
there should be about ½ teaspoonful, or rather less); mix this
smoothly with a bit of butter the size of a small walnut on a plate
till the butter becomes soft and creamy; put this into a basin,
adding a teaspoonful of made mustard, a little salt and pepper,
nearly a teaspoonful of powdered sugar, and a tablespoonful of milk;
mix these ingredients together, and add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, or
rather less, if liked.

_Corach._--1 oz. cayenne pepper, 8 cloves of garlic, 2 spoonfuls
walnut pickle, 1 qt. vinegar, 2 spoonfuls mushroom pickle, and a
small quantity of cochineal. Put the whole into a bottle, which must
be shaken every day for 3 weeks; then the liquid must be strained off
for use, and 1 pint fresh vinegar put on the grounds and more corach
made.

_Cream Sauce_ (à la crème).--Into 1 pint melted butter, made with
very little flour, stir about 1 gill cream beaten up with the
strained yolk of an egg.

_Curries and Curry Powders._--(_a_) 1 oz. cardamoms freed from husk,
1 oz. cloves, 2 oz. each caraways, ginger, and black pepper, 1 oz.
cayenne, 3 oz. cumin, 1½ lb. turmeric, 4 oz. fenugreek; all freshly
ground; improves by keeping.

(_b_) 4 oz. turmeric, 2 oz. coriander seeds, 1 oz. each cumin,
cayenne, pepper, and ginger, ½ oz. each cardamoms and caraway, 2 dr.
mace; all finely powdered, well mixed, sifted, and kept corked.

(_c_) 12 oz. coriander, 6 oz. black pepper, 4 oz. turmeric, 3 oz.
cumin, 1½ oz. cayenne, ½ oz. cardamoms, 2 dr. cloves, 1 oz. pimento,
3 oz. cinnamon, 2 oz. ginger, 1 oz. mace, 1 oz. mustard.

(_d_) 5 oz. coriander, 4 oz. cumin, 3 oz. each turmeric, fennel seed,
and cayenne, 2 oz. black pepper, 1 oz. fenugreek.

(_e_) 12 oz. coriander, 8 oz. turmeric, 2 oz. each cumin, caraway,
and long pepper, 1 oz. cayenne, ½ oz. cardamoms.

(_f_) 1 lb. turmeric, ¾ lb. coriander seed, 3 oz. ginger, 2 oz. black
pepper, 1½ oz. red pepper, ½ oz. cardamom seeds, ¼ oz. caraway seeds,
80 cloves, finely powdered. Well mix together, and put into stoppered
bottles.

(_g_) 13 oz. coriander seed, 3 oz. cumin, 2 oz. black pepper, 4 oz.
China tumeric, ¾ oz. cayenne pepper, ¼ oz. capsicum, ¼ oz. white
ginger, ½ oz. cardamoms, ¼ oz. cloves, ¼ oz. allspice. All to be
finely powdered and well mixed together.

(_h_) Cut up a fowl, rabbit, or any cold meat in small pieces about
1 in. square. Mix in a basin to a smooth paste ¼ lb. butter and 2
tablespoonfuls curry powder. Put 2 oz. butter in a frying-pan, when
boiling put in 6 onions and 2 shallots, cut fine; fry a light brown,
then add the curry powder which was mixed, and when all is melted put
in the meat. Stir constantly till done, or it will burn. A fowl will
take ¼ hour to fry, and must be well skimmed. In a moist curry add a
little gravy.

(_i_) Cut some onions in thin slices, and fry them a good brown in
butter, add a breakfastcupful of milk, in which a tablespoonful of
curry powder has been mixed; let all boil together for 20 minutes,
stirring the whole time; then add the vegetables previously
parboiled, and let the whole simmer by the side of the fire for about
an hour. Potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, and turnips can be used; but
broad beans alone make a delicious curry.

(_j_) Put a good-sized piece of butter into a stewpan, slice into it
2 good-sized onions, and fry till they become a golden brown colour;
sift over the onions about 1 tablespoonful curry powder (Crosse and
Blackwell’s is the best), mix and fry lightly. Take a fowl or rabbit
previously cooked, and joint it neatly, cut into rather small pieces,
and put it into the stewpan; then take a good large teacupful of
fresh milk, mix a small quantity of flour with it, add to the meat a
pinch of salt, and, if you have it, a tablespoonful of mangoe sauce;
mix all well together, and let it simmer on the fire 20 minutes,
then squeeze over it the juice of ½ lemon or a small lime; if there
is not sufficient gravy, a little more milk may be added, and if too
rich strain off a little of the onions. The remains of a cold fowl,
rabbit, or a veal cutlet are excellent for this curry; also any kind
of white fish, lobster, or shrimps; if for fish only, all the onions
must be strained off; the gravy should be of the consistency of good
cream, and a bright yellow colour.

(_k_) Cut into small squares the meat and 2 onions, with a
dessertspoonful of sugar; put these into a stewpan with 2 oz. butter
to take good colour. Then add 1 teacupful good stock, some raisins,
say 12, cut small; curry powder to taste, pepper and salt, and a few
slices of apple. When these are all mixed together, gently cook for
3-4 hours.

(_l_) Cut 1 lb. meat in small pieces, slice an onion and fry in
butter until of a light brown, then add 1 tablespoonful curry powder,
1 teacupful water, 1 breakfastcupful gravy, the juice of a lemon, and
a little salt. Stew all until nearly dry, and serve quite hot. Curry
should always be made of cooked meat.

(_m_) 18 oz. turmeric powder, 1 oz. cayenne, 2 oz. black pepper,
4 oz. ground ginger, 12 oz. cumin, 12 oz. coriander. Butler and
M’Culloch, of Covent-garden Market, will either mix these ingredients
or send them separate.

(_n_) 1 lb. 4 oz. coriander seed, 1 oz. cumin ditto, 1 oz. fenugreek
ditto, 1 oz. mustard ditto, 2 oz. poppy ditto, 4 oz. tumeric, in
powder, 2 oz. ginger ditto, 2 oz. black pepper ditto, 1 oz. red
pepper ditto, 2 oz. garlic.

Each of the first four ingredients must be well roasted separately
in a dry frying-pan (free from grease), constantly stirring all the
time; they must then be pounded and sifted through muslin before
being weighed, as the loss is considerable in the husking. The poppy
seed must be ground, but does not need sifting. All the powders
must then be carefully mixed. The garlic must then be added, picked
clean from all skin, and the whole again beaten with a pestle in
a mortar till the garlic is thoroughly incorporated with the other
ingredients. Bottle and cork tightly. A tablespoonful is enough for a
curry.

(_o_) Take 2 large onions, shred them, and put them into a stewpan
with a bit of butter; brown them well, cut the meat into squares, put
it into the pan, in which the fried onions are, and brown it also.
Then add the curry powder, a little salt, a small piece of coconut
grated, and a coffeepotful of rich milk or cream. Put the lid on the
pan, and let it stew 15-20 minutes, as the meat requires.

(_p_) 2½ large spoonfuls butter, simmer, and add 2 or 3 slices onion
to fry; when the onions are nicely browned take them out, and put
in a tablespoonful of curry powder, with an onion chopped, and 2 or
3 cloves garlic; fry for about 10 minutes longer, then put in the
meat, every now and then throwing in a little cold water to prevent
burning. When the meat is tolerably well done add a cupful of water,
cold or hot, and simmer gently; when all the water is evaporated and
the meat thoroughly cooked, the curry is done. The mixture should be
well stirred all the time, or it will stick to the bottom of the pan.

(_q_) Take 2 lb. meat of any sort; pass it through a sausage machine,
or mince it. Previous to doing this braise 2 onions in a stewpan with
a little butter and 2 tablespoons curry powder or paste. Then add the
minced meat and stir the whole together for about 1 hour over the
fire. Add a tablespoonful of vinegar and serve. The above quantity is
sufficient for 12 persons.

(_r_) Cut 1½ lb. chicken, or any meat or fish, into small pieces,
wash them well, and sprinkle 1 teaspoonful salt and 1 tablespoonful
curry powder (mixed) over them. Fry sliced onions (number according
to taste) in 3 tablespoonfuls fresh butter, put the meat in, and
fry for ¼ hour, pouring in at the same time 2 cups boiled gravy.
3 tablespoonfuls coconut milk should be added, or in its stead a
lump of fresh butter rolled in flour. Simmer for 10 minutes. Just
before serving add a squeeze from a lime. Rice should be served on a
separate dish.

(_s_) 2 large tablespoonfuls curry powder, 1 dessertspoonful salt,
the same of black pepper. Fry and chop very fine 4 onions, then
moisten the curry powder with water, and put it in a stewpan, with
all the above ingredients, and ¼ lb. butter. Let it stew for 20
minutes, stirring all the time to prevent burning, then add 1½ lb.
cold meat, or fresh meat or any fowl or rabbit, cut into short thick
pieces, without fat, add ½ pint milk or good stock to make the curry
thick. Boil all up at once, and then let it stew gently for 3-4
hours. When ready add lemon juice or chili vinegar.

(_t_) Make the stewpan very hot, and then put some butter into it;
when melted add onions cut into small pieces. When they are browned
add your raw meat, also cut small, and simmer for 3 hours. When the
meat is well cooked add 1 dessertspoonful curry powder (more if liked
very hot) and ½ teaspoonful curry paste, or less, mixed with a little
drop of water. Breast of mutton is best, and a little fat is an
improvement.

_Custard_ (à la crème).--Beat up the yolks of 2 eggs with powdered
sugar, according to taste; stir in ½ pint milk, and 1 or 2
teaspoonfuls orange flower water. Stir in a bain-marie on the fire,
and when the sauce thickens it is ready.

_Devil_ (à la diable).--(_a_) Take 2 tablespoonfuls black pepper, and
¼ spoonful cayenne; take some thick slices of meat, beef or mutton,
or some legs of chicken or other poultry; cut the meat several ways,
but not through, and put the pepper in the interstices; broil on a
clear fire. Sauce.--2 tablespoonfuls roast-meat gravy, 2 port wine,
½ lemon juice, ½ respectively anchovy sauce, Harvey sauce, Worcester
sauce, and Reading sauce, and a little shred lemon peel and some of
the stuffing of duck or goose (if the “devil” is made of either);
otherwise have a little chopped onion boiled tender in gravy, and put
it into the sauce, which is only to be made hot on the fire.

(_b_) Cut up cold meat or bones, lay them in a shallow dish, and
pour over them a mixture made thus: Take 1 teaspoonful powdered
mustard, 2 teaspoonfuls each Worcester sauce and mushroom ketchup,
1 teaspoonful chili vinegar, ¼ teaspoonful cayenne, 1 teaspoonful
salad oil, 1 of lemon juice, and 1 wineglassful claret. Put the dish
into the oven, stir the meat about in it for 10 minutes or a little
longer. This is very nice made of cold fowl or kidneys.

(_c_) Fry the meat brown in butter. Have ready a mixture made as
follows: some good gravy or stock, a little Worcester and tomato
sauce and ketchup; chop very fine some mixed pickles, add them with
pepper and salt, and stir well; when you have taken up the meat out
of the pan, set the mixture in it to get hot, then pour it over the
meat, and serve on a hot-water dish. Cold fish cooked in this way is
also very good.

(_d_) The following is a most excellent devil mixture, which may be
used for every sort of wet devil; pigs’ feet, chicken legs, fish,
and indeed almost anything, is very good when cooked with it: 4
tablespoonfuls cold gravy, 1 of chutney paste, 1 of ketchup, 1 of
vinegar, 2 teaspoonfuls made mustard, 2 of salt, and 2 tablespoonfuls
butter. Mix all the above ingredients as smoothly as possible in a
soup plate; put with it the cold meat, or whatever you wish to devil,
and stew gently until thoroughly tender.

(_e_) Take 4 tablespoonfuls gravy, 1 of mushroom ketchup, 1 of
vinegar, 1 teaspoonful chutney or chowchow, 2 of made mustard, 1
of salt, and 2 tablespoonfuls butter. Mix all smoothly in a soup
plate, put it with the cold fowl or turkey, and stew gently until hot
through.

(_f_) Mix in a teacup equal quantities of mustard, ground pepper, and
vinegar (a little Watkin’s relish is an improvement when liked); take
the bones, slit the meat down to the bone, and fill the slits with
this mixture, rub it well in all over the meat, then broil over a
clear fire, and send to table at once.

_Dutch Sauce_ (Hollandaise).--(a) Put 3 tablespoonfuls vinegar in a
saucepan, and reduce it on the fire to one-third; add ¼ lb. butter
and the yolks of 2 eggs. Place the saucepan on a slow fire, stir the
contents continuously with a spoon, and as fast as the butter melts
add more, until 1 lb. is used. If the sauce becomes too thick at any
time during the process, add 1 tablespoonful cold water and continue
stirring. Then put in pepper and salt to taste, and take great care
not to let the sauce boil. When it is made--that is, when all the
butter is used and the sauce is of the proper thickness--put the
saucepan containing it into another filled with warm (not boiling)
water until the time of serving.

(_b_) Melt 2 oz. butter in a saucepan, mix with it the yolks of 3
eggs, a good spoonful of flour, a little salt and nutmeg, and about
3 tablespoonfuls cold water. Stir this over the fire till on the
point of boiling, when the sauce should be a little thick. Draw the
saucepan to the side of the stove, and stir in slowly 3 oz. more
butter, add the juice of a lemon, and serve hot.

(_c_) ½ lb. butter, 3 yolks eggs, 1 lemon, 10 whole grains black
pepper, pinch salt. Break yolks of eggs into a saucepan, add the
pepper, crushed but not powdered, the salt, the juice of lemon; whisk
it well. In another saucepan melt the butter to cream (taking care
not to boil), then with a spoon drop the butter slowly on to the
eggs, stirring all the time; beat it well together, strain through a
tammy cloth, and place the saucepan in a bain-marie until dinner is
served; add a small piece of butter the last moment.

(_d_) The yolks of 2 eggs raw, ½ teacupful cream, piece of butter
size of a walnut, 1 teaspoonful tarragon vinegar. Make the cream,
butter, and vinegar hot, and pour gently over the eggs, stirring one
way till well mixed.

(_e_) The yolks of 2 eggs, the juice of ½ lemon, ¼ lb. butter, 1
teaspoonful salt, and a little white pepper. Stir this in a clean
stewpan over the fire till the butter is melted (it must never boil),
then stir in a pint of melted butter, and strain through a silk
sieve. When wanted, stir it over the fire till hot.

_Egg Sauce_ (Béarnaise, Mousseuse).--(a) Grate 2 oz. vanilla
chocolate and stir into it ½ pint cream, and ½ pint milk with sugar
to taste; when it boils add the yolks of 3 or 4 eggs, whisk until it
froths well, return it to the stewpan, and stir until it thickens,
but do not let it boil. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff
froth with a little sifted sugar, stir this to the rest, and serve at
once.

(_b_) Flavour 1 pint milk with vanilla or any flavouring preferred,
add sugar to taste, let it nearly boil, then stir in off the fire
the yolks of 2 or 3 eggs and 2 teaspoonfuls flour; stir until it
thickens. Beat up the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth with a
little sifted sugar; at the moment of serving add the froth to the
sauce, and it is ready.

(_c_) Put 3 or 4 shallots and a little garlic, with some allspice,
roughly pounded, and a little mace, into a saucepan with a tumblerful
of water and half that quantity of tarragon vinegar. Let the whole
boil till reduced to one tumblerful; strain this liquor, and let it
get cold; strain the yolks of 3 eggs, mix gradually with them the
above liquor, salt to taste, and a 2 oz. pat of fresh butter; stir
the mixture over a slow fire until it thickens, then add a small
quantity of tarragon, finely minced, and serve.

(_d_) Egg Foam Sauce.--Rasp off the yellow rind of ½ lemon, with 1½
oz. loaf sugar. Put this, with 3 eggs and 1 teaspoonful arrowroot,
in an enamel stewpan. Stir in ¼ pint water, and a tablespoonful of
either brandy, rum, or maraschino. Set it over the fire, and whisk it
thoroughly till the froth fills the stewpan. This may be served with
either warm or cold dishes.

_Epicurean Sauce._--8 oz. each mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup, 3
oz. shallots, 2 oz. each port wine and Indian soy, ½ oz. each cloves
and white pepper, ¼ oz. cayenne; macerate 14 days in warm place;
filter; add white wine vinegar to make 1 pint.

_Fairy Butter._--Take the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs and beat
them in a mortar with 2 tablespoonfuls pounded white sugar and 1
teaspoonful orange flower water, or any flavouring that is preferred.
When brought to a smooth paste add ¼ lb. fresh butter and mix all
well together. Then put it into a very coarse cloth and force it
through it (by squeezing and wringing it) on to a dish.

_Fennel Sauce_ (au Fenouil).--Blanch a small quantity of fennel in
boiling water and salt for a minute, take it out, dry it on a cloth,
and chop it finely; melt 2 oz. butter, add 1 tablespoonful flour to
it, mix well, put in pepper and salt to taste, and a little more than
a tumbler of hot water; stir on the fire until the sauce thickens and
begins to boil. Take the saucepan off the fire, stir into it the yolk
of an egg beaten up with the juice of half a lemon, and add plenty of
chopped fennel.

_Fine Herbs_ (Provençale).--Put into a saucepan 1 gill salad oil,
1 onion, 1 tomato, 3 or 4 button mushrooms, and a small piece of
garlic, all finely chopped. When the whole has been on the fire a
few minutes, add 1 tablespoonful flour and stir well; then pour in 1
glass white wine and ½ pint stock, add a bunch of sweet herbs; pepper
and salt to taste, 2 cloves, and a bit of nutmeg. Let the sauce boil
for ¼ hour, then strain and serve.

_Fish Sauce._--(_a_) 1 pint nasturtium blossoms to be gathered, and
put into a jar with 1 qt. good vinegar, 6 shallots, 3 teaspoonfuls
salt, 2 of cayenne pepper; let these stand together for 7-9 days,
then strain the liquid off, and to every pint of it add 2 oz. soy,
and the same of essence of anchovies. Bottle this and cork it well.
This sauce is also good with game.

(_b_) 2 oz. butter, 1 large dessertspoonful flour, 2 tablespoonfuls
mushroom ketchup, 1 dessertspoonful anchovy essence, 1 of chili
vinegar, 1 teaspoonful pounded sugar, 1 of Indian soy, 1 gill gravy,
1 wineglass sherry. Proceed thus: Put into a small copper stewpan the
butter, let it dissolve and stir into it with a wooden spoon a large
dessertspoonful of flour; stir this over the fire till it begins to
brown. Now put in the gravy and stir over the fire till it begins to
thicken; then add the other ingredients, leaving the sherry till the
last; it should be smooth and rather thick. The wine should never
boil long, as it loses its flavour.

(_c_) Make ½ pint white sauce, add 1 tablespoonful curry powder, and
some pickles chopped up small with a little of the vinegar.

(_d_) The yolks of 2 eggs, ½ teacupful cream, a little cayenne pepper
and salt. Mix them together and simmer in a pan, stirring all the
time till it thickens. When cold, add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar.

_Forcemeat._--(_a_) Pound to a paste in a mortar slightly rubbed with
garlic equal parts veal and fat ham or bacon, then pass them through
a wire sieve, and return them to the mortar. Work into the paste
thus obtained ¼ its bulk of butter, and about the same quantity of
breadcrumbs, soaked in milk or in stock, with the yolks of one or
more eggs according to quantity. Add some minced parsley and pepper,
salt, spices, and powdered sweet herbs, to taste.

(_b_) Breadcrumbs, hare’s liver scalded and then minced fine, with ½
lb. ham, 1 anchovy, some lemon peel, sweet herbs, well seasoned by
salt, pepper, and nutmeg, if the flavour be liked will, when mixed
with 1 glass port and 2 eggs, make a good forcemeat for hare. Add a
little fresh butter to it if the ham be lean.

(_c_) ½ lb. breadcrumbs, ¼ lb. chopped suet, 1 teaspoonful white
pepper, 2 of salt, 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, one of sweet
marjoram, one egg, and a little milk. Beat all together, and make
into small balls.

(_d_) Take 1 part finely shredded suet and 2 of breadcrumbs, season
with pepper, salt, powdered spices, sweet herbs, and finely minced
parsley; mix all well together, then add as many eggs as will bind
the ingredients together into a stiff paste.

_Gascony Butter._--Take equal quantities parsley picked from the
stalk and parboiled, anchovies washed, boned, and pounded, and fresh
butter. Mix the ingredients well together, and pass them through a
hair sieve; shape the butter into egg-shaped balls, ice them, and
serve with a piece of toast under each ball.

_Gherkin Sauce_ (aux Cornichons).--Put ½ pint vinegar into a
saucepan, with a clove of garlic, 2 shallots finely minced, a sprig
of thyme, a bay leaf, pepper and spices to taste, and, if liked, a
little cayenne; let the whole boil for ½ hour, then add ½ pint stock
or broth. Melt a piece of butter the size of an egg, mix a little
flour with it, then the above liquor carefully strained. Stir the
sauce till it boils, add salt if required, a little minced parsley,
and 2 or 3 pickled gherkins finely minced.

_Glaze._--(_a_) Take 4 lb. shin of beef, 4 lb. knuckle of veal, and
1 lb. lean ham, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a
stockpot with about 2 qt. cold water--enough to cover the meat--let
it come gradually to the boil, skim carefully, occasionally adding
a dash of cold water; when clear boil it for 8 hours more, and then
strain it through a sieve into a pan. Remove the fat when quite
cold. Pour it into a stewpan--be careful not to let the sediment go
in--with 1 oz. whole black pepper, ½ oz. of salt, and boil it over
a clear fire, leaving the pan uncovered. Skim, and when reduced
to 1 qt. strain it through a tammy into another stewpan; then let
it simmer till--on taking out some with a spoon and allowing it
to cool--it will set into a jelly; great care is required to keep
it from burning. It should be kept in earthenware pots, and when
required for use melted by putting the pots into saucepans of boiling
water. To glaze hams, tongues, &c., wash them over with the melted
glaze, using a brush which should be kept for that purpose.

(_b_) Melt 2 oz. butter and 2 oz. lump sugar in saucepan till brown,
add 2 spoonfuls jelly made from shank of mutton or gelatine; let all
boil up. Put it over the tongue or ham with a feather or brush.

_Governor’s Sauce._--The following is a Canadian recipe: Slice 1 peck
of green tomatoes, sprinkle them with a cupful of salt, and let them
stand a night; in the morning pour off the liquor, and put them into
a saucepan with vinegar enough to cover them. Add 6 green or red
chilies, 4 large onions chopped fine, 1 teacupful brown sugar, 1 of
scraped horseradish, 1 tablespoonful each cloves and allspice, and 1
teaspoonful each red and white pepper. Let it simmer till soft, put
into jars, and keep air-tight. (Bessie Tremaine.)

_Gravy_ (Jus).--(_a_) Cut up an onion, carrot, and turnip, and fry
them a nice brown in oil or butter; then dust in a tablespoonful
of flour, and brown that also. Add 1 pint boiling water, parsley,
herbs, a bay leaf, pepper and salt, and a little vinegar, and let
it simmer by the side of the fire for ½ hour or more. Just before
serving add a tiny piece of sugar and a little spice, a teaspoonful
of anchovy or other sauce, or a little lemon, should it be available.
If it is not a good colour, it must be coloured with burnt sugar; but
a few onion skins put in at first will probably make it dark enough.

(_b_) To Colour.--Burnt Spanish onions, to be obtained at any Italian
warehouse. Put a small piece into a basin, pour some boiling water on
it, and mash it with a spoon. Pour into and boil with the gravy.

(_c_) Ditto.--Make an iron spoon very hot, put into it some moist
sugar, and drop it into the gravy.

(_d_) Ditto.--A few bakers’ raspings will both thicken and brown
gravies.

(_e_) Ditto.--Flour, baked in a tin dish until it is well browned, is
a very good colouring to keep ready for use.

(_f_) Ditto.--Put a lump of butter and 1 tablespoonful flour into
a stewpan, stir, and let it get well browned; pour to it a little
water or meat broth; have ready some shallot, parsley, and onions
chopped very fine, throw all in the pan, with pepper and salt, and a
few drops of vinegar; put in your meat, but only let it get warmed
through.

(_g_) Put 1 slice of ham, 1 lb. gravy beef, 1 lb. veal, 1 onion, 1
clove, some celery, a faggot of herbs, a little lemon peel, 1 liqueur
glass sherry, and just enough water to cover them into a stewpan.
Cover it close and simmer till nearly dry, but do not let it burn,
turn the meat occasionally. Then pour over it 1½ pint boiling water,
and boil gently for 2 hours; skim and strain. Mix 1 oz. flour with
1 oz. butter, moisten it with a little of the gravy, then add it
gradually to the rest, simmer altogether for ½ hour, remove any scum
that may rise, strain again and serve.

_Green Butter._--(_a_) 4 sardines or anchovies, well washed, and
pounded in a mortar; 4 oz. parsley free from stalk, and boiled till
tender, the water to be well squeezed out, then chopped and rubbed
through a sieve with the anchovies, and 2 oz. fresh butter. Make it
up into shapes.

(_b_) Pick and boil 2 oz. parsley; wash and bone 2 oz. anchovies, and
pound them with the parsley; rub it all through a sieve; mix well
with 4 oz. fresh butter; shape it into one large or several small
pats, as you please, and serve it with a lump of ice and some hot dry
toast.

_Grill Sauce._--(_a_) 1 tablespoonful cream, 1 of vinegar, ketchup,
1 teaspoonful mustard, Harvey or Reading sauce, a little cayenne and
salt; warm in a saucepan, and pour over the grill.

(_b_) Take 1 oz. butter, and knead into it 1 teaspoonful mustard
flour, ½ saltspoonful cayenne pepper, and the same of white pepper.
When mixed put it into a small enamelled saucepan; stir until it is
melted, when add to it 1 wineglass port wine, 1 teaspoonful Worcester
sauce, the same of Harvey sauce, ½ teaspoonful soy, the same of
essence of anchovies, and 1 dessertspoonful mushroom ketchup. Stir
it over the fire until at boiling point, and send it to table in a
warmed butter boat. This sauce will be found good with any kind of
grilled bones.

_Harvey Sauce._--12 oz. quin sauce, 4 oz. soy, ¼ oz. cayenne.

_Horseradish Sauce_ (Raifort).--Grate a quantity of horseradish,
boil it in sufficient water to give it the consistency of sauce,
add a pinch of salt and 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls tarragon vinegar,
then stir in off the fire 1 gill cream beaten up with the yolk of
an egg; or, if a cold sauce is desired, make it as follows: Grate
a good-sized stick of horseradish very fine, take the yolks of 2
eggs, ½ gill cream, and mix them well together; add 2 tablespoonfuls
vinegar, by degrees to prevent it curdling; pour the mixture over
the horseradish, stir all well together, and serve in a small dish.
If made in very hot weather, it is better for standing on the ice a
little while before serving.

_Jam Sauce_--Mix ½ pot apricot jam with a cupful of water; warm it
on the fire, add a wineglassful of sherry, pass through a fine hair
sieve.

_Liver Sauce._--Take the livers of any kind of poultry, rabbits, or
hares; scald them and mince them finely. Melt a piece of butter in
a saucepan, add a little flour to it and a small quantity of minced
shallots. Let the whole fry for a minute or two, then add gravy stock
in sufficient quantity to make a sauce, a small pinch of powdered
sweet herbs and pepper, spices and salt to taste. Put in the minced
livers and a glass of port wine. Let the sauce boil for 20 minutes,
and at the time of serving add a small piece of fresh butter and the
juice of half a lemon.

_Lobster Sauce_ (Homard).--Take a hen lobster, pick out the meat, and
break it into pieces, not too small; pound the shell of the lobster
and the spawn with some butter till a smooth paste, pass it through a
sieve; make 1 pint melted butter, put the meat from the lobster into
it, add a dust of cayenne, and when the sauce boils stir into it the
lobster butter that has come through the sieve, and ½ pint cream.

_Maître d’Hôtel Butter._--(_a_) Put 2 oz. fresh butter into a
basin, with the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt to taste, and a
small quantity of parsley freed from moisture and finely minced.
Incorporate the whole well together, and keep it in a cool place till
wanted.

(_b_) Melt ¼ lb. butter in a clean saucepan with some very finely
minced shallot (or chives) and parsley, pepper, salt, and the juice
of 1 lemon. Stir it well till done, and pour over, or round, the fish
or meat with which it is to be served. This recipe is improved by the
addition of a couple of spoonfuls of béchamel, or rich white sauce
and the yolk of one egg.

_Marmalade Sauce_ (Orange).--Dilute ½ or ¼ pot marmalade--according
to amount of sauce required--with half the quantity of water. Boil it
up, strain, and pour over the pudding. White wine may be substituted
for the water, or a little brandy may be added to the water.

_Melted Butter_ (au Beurre).--(_a_) Put a piece of butter half the
size of an egg into a stewpan; when melted add ½ tablespoonful flour;
and stir over the fire a few minutes; add 1 gill hot water, and stir
until boiling, then add a good pinch of salt and the yolk of 1 egg
previously beaten up with 1 tablespoonful milk, stir it into the
butter; strain and serve. (Jane Burtenshaw.)

(_b_) Melt 1 oz. butter, and add to it 1 dessertspoonful flour, salt,
and white pepper to taste; stir on the fire for a minute, then put in
a little more than a tumblerful of boiling water; keep on stirring
for 5 minutes, but do not let the sauce boil.

_Mint Sauce_ (Menthe).--Chop as finely as possible a quantity of mint
leaves, previously washed. Add to them sufficient white wine vinegar
and water in equal parts to float them, and a small quantity of
powdered sugar. Let the sauce stand for an hour before serving.

_Mustard._--(_a_) 9 oz. water, 8 oz. mustard flour, 2 oz. salt; mix
smooth; add 6 oz. more water, mix.

(_b_) Take a good heaped handful of salt, put it into a jug, pour
1 pint boiling water; let this get cold, then mix it with as much
mustard as it will use up, and put the mixed mustard in a jar and
cover it; it will keep good, and not dry and discolour in the
mustard-pot.

(_c_) Mix 1 qt. brown mustard seed with a handful each of parsley,
chervil, tarragon, and burnet, a teaspoonful of celery seed, and
cloves, mace, garlic, and salt according to taste. Put the whole into
a basin, with enough wine vinegar to cover the mixture. Let it steep
24 hours, then pound it in a marble mortar. When thoroughly pounded
pass it through a fine sieve; add enough vinegar to make the mustard
of the desired consistency, and put into jars for use.

(_d_) Take mixed whole spices, and boil in vinegar with 2 lumps
sugar; then mix mustard into a stiff paste with cold vinegar. With a
red-hot Italian iron heater stir quickly while you mix the boiling
vinegar after straining the spices. This will keep for years, well
corked in a wide-necked bottle.

_Olive Sauce._--Mix quite smoothly 1 spoonful flour in 4 of good
salad oil, add 6 shallots, chopped, with a very little lemon peel,
mix with stock and 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, some pepper and salt,
and a bay leaf. Boil for 20 minutes, and strain. Place on the fire
again, and add 6-8 stoned olives, cut up small. Serve round a mince
of mutton.

_Onion Sauce_ (pauvre homme).--(_a_) Peel and parboil some onions,
drain, and cut them in quarters, put them into a stewpan with
sufficient well-flavoured white stock to cover them; keep on the lid,
and simmer gently until quite tender, pass them through a sieve; add
to the pulp sufficient milk, cream, or béchamel sauce as will be
necessary to make the sauce; stir over the fire until quite hot, add
seasoning of pepper and salt if required, and it is ready.

(_b_) Parboil some onions a few minutes, mince them roughly and put
them into a saucepan, with plenty of butter, a pinch of sugar and
pepper and salt to taste; let them cook slowly, so that they do not
take colour, and add 1 tablespoonful flour. When they are quite
tender pass them through a hair sieve. Dilute the onion pulp with
sufficient milk to make the sauce of the desired consistency; add a
tablespoonful of Parmesan cheese, stir well, make it hot, and serve.

(_c_) Boil some onions in milk, with pepper, salt, and nutmeg. When
quite done pass them through a sieve. Put some butter and flour into
a saucepan; when the butter is melted and well mixed with the flour
put in the pulp of the onions, and add either milk or cream, stirring
the sauce on the fire until it is of the desired consistency.

_Orange Sauce_ (Bigarade).--Pare off, as thinly as possible, the
yellow rind of 2 Seville oranges; cut it into very thin shreds,
and boil them in water for 5 minutes. Melt a piece of butter in a
saucepan, add to it 1 tablespoonful flour, and stir until it begins
to colour; add a gill of stock, pepper and salt to taste, the juice
of the oranges, and a good pinch of sugar; then put in the boiled
rinds, stir the sauce until it boils, and serve.

_Oyster Sauce_ (aux Huîtres).--(_a_) Parboil the oysters in their
own liquor, beard them, and reserve all the liquor. Melt a piece of
butter in a saucepan, add a little flour, the oyster liquor, and
enough milk to make as much sauce as is wanted. Put in a blade of
mace and a bay leaf tied together, pepper and salt to taste, and
the least dust of cayenne. Let the sauce come to the boil, add the
oysters, and as soon as they are quite hot remove the mace and bay
leaf. Stir in a few drops of lemon juice, and serve.

(_b_) To make this in perfection is really one of the simplest
operations in cookery Open 24 oysters; scald them, beard and wash
them, and strain the liquor from them very carefully. Put all this
into a stewpan of rich melted butter; let the oysters get thoroughly
hot through; add the juice of a lemon, and serve.

(_c_) Mock.--1 teacupful good gravy, 1 of milk, 3 dessertspoons
anchovy sauce, 2 of mushroom ketchup, 2 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful
pounded mace, whole black pepper. All to be boiled until thoroughly
mixed.

_Parsley_ (au Persil).--(_a_) Pick the parsley while quite green,
wash it in cold water to remove all dust, &c., cut off all the
stalks, and lay it on paper before the fire till quite crisp. It
is never so good a colour if dried in the oven. Crumble it in your
hands, then pass it through a wire sieve, which will retain all the
stalks and let the parsley go through; put it into wide-mouthed
bottles, and cork tightly. When required for use, boil it with a
little soda for 5 minutes.

(_b_) And Butter.--Melt 1 oz. butter, and add to it 1 dessertspoonful
flour, salt, and white pepper to taste; stir on the fire for 2
minutes, add a little more than 1 tumblerful boiling water by
degrees, and a small quantity of parsley, blanched and finely
chopped; keep on stirring for 5 minutes, but do not let the sauce
boil.

(_c_) Fried.--Pick out a number of sprigs as much of a size as
possible, hold them together by the stalks, and shake them repeatedly
in cold water, so as to thoroughly wash them; then shake out the
water from them, and dry them thoroughly and effectually in a cloth,
cut off the stalks close, put the parsley in the frying basket, and
dip it for about a minute in boiling hot lard or oil, never ceasing
the while to shake the basket. Turn out the parsley on a napkin in
the screen in front of the fire to drain. Parsley should be fried
just before it is wanted.

_Pepper Pot._--(_a_) Get a buck pot (those made by the Buck Indians
in Demerara are the best), and put into it 1 qt. cold water, 3
tablespoonfuls cassareep, salt to suit taste, and a handful of “bird”
peppers. Your meat must be well cooked, and after cutting it into
small pieces throw it into the liquor in the pot, and let it boil
for ¾ hour. The pepper-pot is now fit for use, but you will find it
better and more palatable when many days old. You can from day to
day add any broken pieces of meat left from table, taking care to
warm your pot every day, to see that the meat is always covered with
gravy, and never to put fish into it. You may put hard-boiled eggs
and cooked meats of all sorts, whether fresh or salted; the greater
the variety, the sweeter your pot. When fresh gravy is added (i.e.
your qt. of water, and 3 tablespoonfuls cassareep, &c.) you must take
care to have your pot boil for ¾ hour, as at first. Take care not to
cover your pot, when put aside, till cool. Pork and ox tail are the
best things to start the pot with. The “odds and ends” are scraps of
any sort of flesh or fowl, drumsticks, &c. When handed round (the
pot itself should come to table neatly covered with a table napkin),
rice (of course boiled separately) should be handed at the same time,
and on no account put into the pot. If a proper “buck” pot cannot be
obtained, a round earthenware one is a fair substitute.

(_b_) Take a good-sized jar (jam-pot shape if possible), into it
put any cold cooked meat you have, viz. ham, bacon, fowl, rabbit,
game, beef, or mutton, &c.; mix them together, flavour with shallot,
cayenne pepper, and salt; pour in some good stock, and plenty of
cassareep sauce; this last ingredient is difficult to obtain out of
the West Indies. It is by far the best; but if unobtainable, add soy
or Harvey’s sauce to taste. Make thoroughly hot in the oven; serve
with a table napkin folded round the pot. The pepper-pot is kept
going for weeks without cleaning, and is replenished with the various
ingredients as required. The West Indians improve its flavour by
adding their own native green and red pepper pods, which are very hot.

_Plum Pudding Sauce._--(_a_) Fresh butter and powdered lump sugar
beaten together until the mixture becomes of the consistency of cream.

(_b_) Beat up the yolks of 6 new-laid eggs with 6 tablespoonfuls
powdered lump sugar; add ½ tumbler pale brandy, and rather more than
½ tumbler sherry; put the mixture in a jug, place this in a saucepan
full of boiling water, and froth up the sauce for about 10 minutes
with a chocolate mill.

(_c_) The best French pale brandy.

(_d_) Foam Sauce.--1 cup white sugar, 3 of butter, 1 tablespoonful
flour. Beat to a cream, put it on the stove, and add 1 wineglassful
sherry or ½ wineglass brandy; stir quickly until it is all foam.

(_e_) Hard Sauce.--4 oz. butter, 5 oz. sugar, beaten to a cream; pile
it on the dish. You can add a scrape of nutmeg or a little lemon
juice when beating it, or brandy, as you like--not enough to thin it,
only to flavour.

(_f_) Beat up together ¼ lb. butter, 4 teaspoonfuls brown sugar, 1
egg, and 1 wineglassful wine. Boil it up once, and serve immediately.

_Polish Sauce._--Put a piece of butter and 1 tablespoonful sugar in
a stewpan, and when melted throw in 1 tablespoonful flour and let it
brown. Then stir in ¾ pint red wine; add a good handful of currants
washed and picked, the same quantity of raisins stoned, a small
handful of almonds blanched, powdered cinnamon and bruised cloves.
Let all simmer ¼ hour or till the currants are plumped and soft.

_Prune Sauce._--Boil ½ lb. prunes in a little water till soft, then
take out the stones and break them in a mortar; put the fruit and
crushed stones in a stewpan with a glass of wine, the juice of a
lemon, and a strip of its peel; add ½ teaspoonful powdered cinnamon,
some sugar, and the syrup in which the prunes were boiled; simmer
a few minutes, then pass the sauce through a coarse sieve. If too
thick, add a little more water or wine.

_Pudding Sauce._--(_a_) Pour ½ pint fast boiling water on 1 large
tablespoonful flour, mixed smoothly in 1 gill ale. Sweeten with 2 oz.
raw sugar, add a large pinch of grated nutmeg, or any other spice,
stir over the fire until it boils, then put in 1 oz. butter, and when
it is dissolved the sauce will be ready.

(_b_) The yolks of 4 eggs, and the juice of 2 lemons, sugar to taste,
and if you choose, a wineglass of hock; make these hot in a pan, and
when it begins to thicken, add the whites, which have been beaten to
a froth, and serve with the pudding almost directly.

(_c_) Scald 1 oz. Jordan almonds and 6 bitter almonds; bruise them
in a mortar with 4 oz. sugar and 1 tablespoonful _eau de fleurs
d’oranger_ to a pulp. Put this in a small stewpan, with 1 gill of
cream, 2 yolks raw eggs, and with a wire whisk whip the sauce (always
one way) over a very slow heat till it becomes a substantial smooth
froth.

(_d_) A little caramel, the yolks of 2 eggs, ¼ pint cream, ½ glass
brandy or sherry, stir in a jug till it thickens; put on ice to cool.

_Quin Sauce._--2 gal. each mushroom ketchup and walnut ketchup, 1
gal. soy, 1 lb. garlic, 6 lb. sprats; boil ¼ hour; strain; bottle.

_Raspberry Sauce._--Put into a stewpan 4 well-beaten eggs, 2
teaspoonfuls flour, 1 pint fresh raspberry juice, and ¼ lb. sugar;
whisk this over the fire till it thickens and rises well; serve while
it is light and frothy. Other similar fruit may be used in the same
way. If red currants be chosen more sugar will be required.

_Ravigote Sauce._--(_a_) Take equal parts parsley, chervil, garden
cress, and tarragon; mince them very finely. Rub a saucepan with
shallot, melt a piece of butter in it, add a little flour, mix
thoroughly, then add stock _quant. suff._, pepper, salt, a glass of
white wine, and the herbs. Let the sauce come to the boil, then throw
in a small pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon, and serve.

(_b_) Pound in a mortar some fine herbs, previously chopped--viz.
parsley, chervil, cress, pimpernel, celery, chives, scallions--a
spoonful of capers, 1 or 2 anchovies; reduce to a smooth paste, add
the yolk of an egg, salt, pepper, 1 spoonful oil, and 1 of vinegar.

_Rum Butter._--Grate 1 lb. coarse brown sugar as fine as possible,
add ½ small nutmeg grated, melt a little over ¼ but not quite ½ lb.
butter, stir in the sugar and nutmeg; add 1 wineglassful good rum,
and beat it well up. Pour into a deep glass dish or basin, and when
cold sprinkle powdered white sugar well over it.

_Sharp Sauce._--(_a_) Robert.--Put a large piece of butter rolled
in flour into a saucepan, add chopped and blanched parsley and
mushrooms, a little chopped shallot, and the least bit of garlic.
Moisten with a cupful of stock, add salt, a grate of nutmeg, and some
English mustard; amalgamate thoroughly, and serve in a boat.

(_b_) Poivrade.--Take 3 parts olive oil, 1 of tarragon vinegar, a
little mustard, plenty of pepper and salt to taste, beat them up with
a fork until perfectly amalgamated.

(_c_) Piquante.--3 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, 3 anchovies, 2
tablespoonfuls mushroom, 1 oz. cayenne. Bruise all well together in a
mortar, and mix with them 1½ pint boiling vinegar. Shake the bottle
occasionally, and let it stand 2-3 weeks. Then strain and bottle for
use.

(_d_) Brown Sharp Sauce.--Cut a small carrot and a few shallots
into dice, put them into a stewpan with a small pat of butter, some
parsley, and parsley roots, 2 or 3 slices lean ham, a little thyme, ½
bay leaf, a clove, a little mace, and a few grains of peppercorn and
allspice. Set the stewpan on a slow fire till the contents attain a
fine brown colour; keep stirring with a wooden spoon; pour into it
4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar, and add a lump of sugar. This must
reduce until almost a glaze. Moisten this with some rich brown gravy,
preferably with that made from veal and ham, but in any case it
must have had mushrooms, parsley, and green onions boiled in it for
flavouring, a little plain consommé should also be added; season with
a little cayenne and salt. This should be tasted to ascertain whether
it be salt enough, and also to ensure its not being too acid; should
it be so, add a little more of the brown gravy; skim off the fat,
strain the sauce through a tammy, and serve.

(_e_) White Sharp Sauce.--Put a small bunch of tarragon into a
stewpan with 4 tablespoonfuls white vinegar (or, if there be
no fresh tarragon, tarragon vinegar may be used), and about 20
peppercorns; let the vinegar reduce to a quarter of its original
quantity. Have ready some good white sauce which has been flavoured
with a few mushrooms, a bunch of parsley, and green onions. Pour
6 tablespoonfuls of this sauce into the stewpan with the vinegar,
and 2 tablespoonfuls stock; let this reduce over a hot fire. Strain
it through a tammy, and then put it again on the fire. When it has
boiled, take it off the fire, thicken it with the yolks of 2 eggs
and stir in a small bit of butter. Should it be rather brown, add a
spoonful of cream to restore the white appearance, and add a little
cayenne pepper and salt.

_Shrimp Sauce_ (Crevette).--Take ½ pint shrimps, pick out all the
meat from the tails, pound the rest in a mortar with the juice of
half a lemon and a piece of butter; pass the whole through a sieve.
Make 1 pint melted butter, put the meat from the tails into it,
add a dust of cayenne, and when the sauce boils stir into it the
shrimp butter that has come through the sieve, with or without a
tablespoonful of cream.

_Soubise Sauce._--Peel and blanch 6 onions, cool them in water,
drain, and put them in a stewpan with sufficient water or white
stock, to cover them; add some cayenne, bay leaf, a little mace, a
small piece of ham or bacon; keep the lid closely shut, and simmer
gently till tender, take them out, drain thoroughly, press through
a sieve or tammy cloth, add ½ pint béchamel made in the following
manner: Put into a stewpan a little parsley, 1 clove, ¼ bay leaf,
some sweet herbs, and 1 pint white stock; when boiled long enough to
extract the flavour of the herbs, &c., strain it, boil up quickly,
and reduce to half the quantity, mix 1 tablespoonful arrowroot with
½ pint milk or cream, pour on the reduced stock, and simmer for 10
minutes.

_Spinach Greening._--Take enough spinach for a small dish, wash, and
pound it in a mortar until quite soft; then lay it in a strong, clean
kitchen cloth to wring out the juice. This is best done by 2 persons,
one at either end of the cloth, each twisting the extremity round a
wooden spoon to form a handle. This will enable them to wring the
cloth so tightly as to easily extract all moisture from the spinach.
This juice must be immediately placed in a small stewpan and held
over the fire until it thickens, it must be then turned out upon a
hair sieve to drain away the watery part. When this has all come
away, rub the spinach green through the sieve with a wooden spoon,
and it is then ready for use.

_Sweet Sauce._--(_a_) Melted butter and sugar.

(_b_) Ditto, with addition of either raspberry juice or raspberry
vinegar.

(_c_) Mix arrowroot with cold water, pour boiling water on it,
stirring till it thickens. Add to this lumps of broken sugar which
have been rubbed on lemon peel (to imbibe the flavour), and the
strained juice of a lemon.

(_d_) Cut the peel of a large lemon into very narrow strips, let them
remain in water by the fire for 1-2 hours, then boil them up with
Demerara sugar till like syrup, squeeze the juice in, put the lemon
straws on the pudding, and pour the sauce over. This sauce is very
good with Sir Watkin’s pudding.

(_e_) Melted currant jelly, with or without the addition of a little
water. Wine or rum would be a considerable improvement to several of
the above recipes (though not essential), especially to (_e_).

_Tartare Sauce._--(_a_) Stir into the yolk of a new-laid egg, drop
by drop, 1 tablespoonful salad oil; when well mixed, add by degrees
a little chili vinegar, 1 tablespoonful of vinegar, 3 teaspoonfuls
mustard, a little salt and pepper, and some finely chopped parsley;
beat all until of the consistency of cream; cover closely, and set in
a cool place until wanted. It should be made 4-5 hours before used.

(_b_) To the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs add the yolk of 1 raw egg, 1
teaspoonful mustard and a little salt. Mix the whole well together,
then by degrees add ½ pint salad oil. Beat the whole well together
until it becomes of the consistency of good paste, then add tarragon
vinegar to taste. When the sauce is to be sent to table add a little
chopped tarragon and chervil.

(_c_) Take 2 or 3 shallots, some chervil, and tarragon. Shred them
fine, then add some mustard (either dry or wet), salt, pepper, and a
very little oil and vinegar, stirring constantly. If your sauce gets
too thick put a little more vinegar, and if it tastes too salt add a
little oil and mustard.

_Tomato Sauce_ (Tomate).--(_a_) 10 lb. ripe tomatoes, 1 pint best
brown vinegar, 2 oz. salt, ½ oz. cloves, 1 oz. allspice, ½ lb. white
sugar, 1 oz. garlic, ½ oz. black pepper, ½ oz. cayenne pepper. Wipe
the tomatoes clean, and boil or bake till soft; then strain and rub
through a sieve that will retain the seeds and skins. Boil the juice
for 1 hour, then add the above ingredients (all the spices must be
ground). Boil all together for a sufficient time, which may be known
by the absence of any watery particle, and by the whole becoming a
smooth mass; 5 hours will generally suffice. Bottle without straining
into perfectly dry bottles, and cork securely when cold. The garlic
must be peeled. The proportions of spice may be varied according to
taste.

(_b_) Take 1 peck tomatoes, 10 large onions, or shallots in
proportion, 6 capsicums, and ½ lb. salt. Cut the tomatoes, onions,
and capsicums very small, and work them well together with the salt.
Let it stand 3 days in an earthen vessel, then add 1 oz. black
peppercorns, 1 oz. allspice, and a few cloves, and boil it for nearly
1 hour, stirring it often to prevent it from burning. Then beat it
through a colander, and when cold add ½ pint vinegar to keep it from
fermenting, and bottle it up, adding 1 tablespoonful vinegar at the
top of each bottle. Cork and seal it down, and it will keep for years.

(_c_) Choose ripe tomatoes, and bake till tender, pulp through a
sieve. To every lb. of pulp allow 1 pint chili vinegar, 1 oz. garlic,
1 oz. shallot, plenty of horseradish, ½ oz. ground white pepper, ½
oz. salt. Boil the whole together until every ingredient is tender.
Rub the mixture through a sieve; then to every lb. add the juice of 2
lemons. Boil the whole together until it attains the consistency of
good cream. When cold bottle it; keep it dry and cool.

(_d_) Break with a wooden spoon ½ sieve ripe tomatoes, and rub them
through a hair sieve into a preserving pan; set the pan on the
fire, and keep stirring them until they boil well and become of the
consistency of very thick cream; as soon as they boil, add 2 oz.
shallots and 1 oz. garlic, keep stirring, and, just before taking
them off the fire, put in a few chilies or a little cayenne pepper,
adding salt to taste; pour off into wide-mouthed bottles as soon as
sufficiently boiled, and when cold cork the bottles, covering the
corks with resin.

(_e_) Cut up the tomatoes, and put them into a saucepan containing a
little water, with some parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, and laurel
leaf according to taste, a clove of garlic, a few cloves, some whole
pepper, and salt. Let them boil till thoroughly done, then strain off
the water, and pass them through a hair sieve. Put a piece of butter
in a saucepan, add to it when melted a spoonful of flour and the
tomato pulp; mix thoroughly, and when hot the sauce is ready. (The G.
C.)

(_f_) To every lb. tomato (ripe) rubbed through a sieve, after being
baked, add 1 pint vinegar, 1 oz. garlic, 1 oz. shallot sliced very
fine, ½ oz. white pepper, ½ oz. salt. Boil these together, and strain
them through a hair sieve. To every lb. add the juice of 3 lemons,
and boil the whole together till it has acquired the consistency of
cream. When cold bottle it, and keep it in a dry place well corked.

(_g_) Boil in a covered jar, in a saucepan of water, ripe tomatoes,
with ¼ oz. shred shallots to every lb. of the fruit. When quite
tender rub the pulp through a sieve, and to every lb. add 1 pint
vinegar and the juice of 2 lemons, ½ oz. salt, ¼ oz. white pepper
ground, and 1 small teaspoonful cayenne pepper. Boil over a slow fire
until the sauce is sufficiently thick. Keep it in ½ pint bottles,
well corked and covered with bladder, in a dry place. Capsicums may
be used instead of the cayenne, and if liked a very small quantity of
garlic; either or both must be boiled in the jar with the tomatoes.

(_h_) Slice tomatoes, put them in a weak solution of salt and water
for 2 days, then scald them well, as the salt is not to season but to
toughen them a little. Put them in a kettle with water enough to just
prevent them from burning, and let them slowly cook for an hour; then
add 1 qt. vinegar, 1 full tablespoon each of powdered mace, allspice,
and cloves, ½ spoonful mustard seed, 1 teacup brown sugar, and a few
slices of onion. A little celery seed or other flavouring of celery
is an improvement. Pour this on, and cook ½ hour longer.

(_i_) ¼ peck green or half-ripe tomatoes, 3 onions (or shallots, if
preferred); slice them, cover with vinegar, and stew them well, with
a spice bag of pepper, cloves, ginger, and chilies, until quite a
pulp, when strain all the vinegar away, and press the pulp through a
coarse sieve. Mix in a little cold vinegar, 1 oz. arrowroot, 1 oz.
mustard, mix this with boiling vinegar, and add all to the pulp with
cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Just boil it all up again, adding
as much of the vinegar the tomatoes were stewed in as will make the
sauce as thick as good cream. Sugar may be added if the tomatoes are
very sour.

(_j_) Gather the tomatoes quite ripe on a sunny day. Cut them into
quarters, and put them into a saucepan with salt _quant. suff._, a
good handful of basil, and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic. A little water
should be put into the saucepan to prevent the tomatoes catching.
When they are thoroughly done turn them out upon a hair sieve, and
wait till all the water has drained from them. Throw away this water,
and pass the tomatoes through the sieve. The pulp thus obtained
is put into a saucepan to boil for about ½ hour, and a moderate
quantity of black pepper maybe added according to taste. When the
sauce is quite cold, put it into wide-mouthed bottles, cork tightly,
and tie up each cork with string or wire; dip the neck of each
bottle into melted rosin, and you may then put them away to be used
when required. The bottles should be of moderate size, for, once
opened, the sauce will no longer keep good. Another way consists
in letting the tomato pulp reduce in the saucepan until it assumes
the appearance of a very thick paste, care being taken to stir it
constantly. When cold it is put away like jam, in pots. When wanted
for use, a small quantity of it is dissolved in hot water. (The G. C.)

(_k_) Bake tomatoes when quite ripe until quite tender, then rub them
through a coarse sieve; weigh, and for every lb. of pulp take 1 qt.
chili vinegar, 1 oz. garlic, 1 oz. shallots, both peeled and sliced,
and a ¼ oz. salt. Boil the chili vinegar, garlic, shallots, and salt
together until the ingredients are tender; them rub them through a
sieve, and to each lb. of all the ingredients mixed together add the
juice of 3 lemons. Boil the whole again to the consistency of thick
cream, bottle it when quite cold, and keep it in a cold dry place. ½
pint good ketchup should be added to the sauce when opened for use.

(_l_) Zuchillo (Tomato sauce to dress macaroni with).--Take about
1 lb. trimmings of beef, as much fat bacon, all cut into dice, and
put them into a saucepan with an onion cut into dice, then thrown
into cold water and squeezed dry in a cloth; add or not a clove of
garlic; then put the whole into a saucepan, and let it remain on the
fire, shaking it occasionally, till the onion is almost melted away;
then add parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper, and salt. Take a piece of
conserva (tomato pulp dried in the sun to the consistency of damson
cheese), cut it in pieces the size of a pea, put in the pieces a few
at a time, always stirring the contents of the saucepan. The conserva
must be fresh and soft; if it is old and tough, it must first be
softened by kneading it with a little water. When sufficient conserva
has been put in, moisten with water a spoonful at a time. Let the
whole simmer some 10 minutes longer; then strain, remove superfluous
fat, and the sauce is ready. To make zuchillo with fresh tomatoes,
cut them in pieces, remove pips, water, and stalks, and then put
in the pieces instead of conserva, a few at a time. In this case
it is not necessary to moisten with water, but rather to let the
sauce reduce, and be careful not to put in fresh tomatoes until the
first lot is somewhat reduced. Another way is to use either fresh or
bottled tomato sauce, and put it in a spoonful at a time. The tomato
sauce must be in the French form, with no vinegar in it.

_Truffle Sauce_ (Périgueux).--Rub a saucepan with a shallot, melt a
piece of butter in it, add a very small quantity of flour and the
trimmings of the truffles chopped coarsely; moisten with some good
stock free from fat, and a little white wine, season with pepper,
salt, and the least bit of nutmeg. Let the sauce simmer about 10
minutes, and it is ready.

_Truffle and Chestnut Stuffing._--Mince 1 lb. fat bacon and 2
shallots, give them a turn on the fire in a saucepan; then put in 1
lb. chestnuts, boiled and peeled, and ½ lb. truffles, both cut up in
moderate-sized pieces; add pepper, salt, and spices to taste; also a
little powdered thyme and marjoram. Give the mixture another turn or
two on the fire, and it is ready.

_Vanilla Sauce._--Boil 1 pint milk with a piece of vanilla and some
loaf sugar, take it from the fire and stir into it the yolks of 3
eggs and 2 teaspoonfuls flour; stir it over the fire till thick. Whip
the whites of the eggs to a stiff snow with a spoonful of sifted
sugar, and at the moment of serving add the snow to the sauce,
not broken up entirely, but just dipping partly under it. Other
flavourings may be given if preferred--orange peel or lemon, cinnamon
or almonds, according to taste.

_Watercress Butter._--Pick the leaves of a quantity of watercress
and mince them as fine as you can; then dry them in a cloth, mince
them still more, and dry them again. You then knead them with as much
fresh butter as they will take up, adding a very little salt and
white pepper, and with a couple of butterman’s striped pats shape
your watercress butter in as many pats of as many shapes as you are
able to work out. Do the same with some plain butter, and serve the
two on a glass dish.

_Whipped Cream._--Cream should be whipped in a very cool place the
afternoon before wanted; flavour delicately with lemon or vanilla,
and beat in a little of the finest-sifted white sugar. When it will
stand up when heaped with a spoon put on a tammy that is only used
for sweet things; place that on a dish in a cool larder to drain till
wanted. In London what is called double cream should be used.

_White Sauce._--(_a_) Take a good-sized piece of fresh butter, put on
the fire in a perfectly clean small saucepan (a brass pan is best);
when the butter is melted stir in 2 or 3 tablespoonfuls flour, when
thoroughly mixed with the butter add gently new milk (or cream if
wanted rich), stirring all the while till of the proper thickness.
Flavour with salt, pepper, a little grated nutmeg, and small piece
of lemon peel; boil up together. Just before serving add lemon juice
to taste, and stir in the yolk of 1 egg off the fire. Great care is
required in stirring in the flour and milk over the fire to prevent
lumping.

(_b_) Put 2 oz. fresh butter into a saucepan. As soon as it is melted
mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour; mix the two well together. Then
add about 1 tumblerful hot water, pepper and salt and nutmeg; stir
till the sauce begins to thicken; then stir in, off the fire, the
yolks of 2 eggs, beaten up with the juice of a lemon, and strained.

(_c_) Put ¾ pint cream into a saucepan with the rind of a lemon, ½
teaspoonful whole white pepper, and a sprig of lemon thyme, and let
these infuse for ½ hour, when simmer gently for a few minutes till
there is a nice flavour of lemon. Strain it, and add a thickening of
3 oz. butter and 1 dessertspoonful flour; stir this well, and put in
the juice of a lemon at the moment of serving. Mix with 1 teacupful
white stock, and add a little salt. This sauce should not boil after
the cream and stock are mixed together. Milk may be used instead of
cream.

(_d_) 1 oz. butter, 1 oz. flour, ½ pint milk or cream. Make it quite
smooth, add 2 oz. gelatine dissolved in a little water. Remove from
the fire, add a little lemon juice, strain into a basin, let it cool
and thicken. Dip in the pieces of chicken cut into neat joints,
place on a hair sieve; when cool dip them in again, till well covered
with the sauce. Arrange on a dish with slices of boiled beetroot
round, alternately with the white of hard-boiled eggs. Cut into
rings, and the yolk rubbed through a strainer over the chicken. A
little salt might be added to the sauce.

_Wild Duck Sauce._--Put in a saucepan 1 tablespoonful Harvey’s sauce,
1 tablespoonful Worcester sauce, a little salt, cayenne to taste, a
small glass of port wine, and the strained juice of ½ large lemon.
Mix well, and make hot. Just before serving stir in--by the side of
the fire, not on it--1 large teaspoonful made mustard; pour into a
warm sauce tureen, and serve hot.

_Wine Sauce_ (au Vin).--(_a_) Mix 1 tablespoonful potato flour with 1
gill sherry, beat up another gill of sherry with the yolks of 4 eggs;
mix the two together, add powdered loaf sugar and powdered cinnamon
to taste, and a third gill of sherry. Put the whole in a saucepan,
and keep stirring on the fire until the sauce thickens, when it is
ready.

(_b_) Put 2 oz. butter into a stewpan with a little parsley, a small
(blanched) onion, 1 or 2 mushrooms (previously tossed in lemon
juice), all finely minced, turn them well over the fire but do not
let them brown; add 1 oz. flour, seasoning of salt, pepper, and mace,
1 pint Chablis (or other light wine); simmer gently for ½ hour, skim,
and serve hot.

_Worcester Sauce._--(_a_) 15 gal. white vinegar, 10 gal. walnut and
mushroom ketchup, 5 gal. Madeira wine, 4 gal. soy, 1 gal. brandy
containing ¼ lb. assafœtida, 25 lb. salt, ½ lb. each pimento,
coriander, mace, and cinnamon; boil 20 lb. pigs’ liver for 12 hours
in 10 gal. water, frequently renewing the water; chop up the liver,
work with the water, strain, and mix with the other ingredients.

(_b_) ½ oz. cayenne pepper, ½ oz. shallots, ½ oz. garlic, ¼ pint
Indian soy, 1 qt. white vinegar. Put the 3 first ingredients, after
being pounded, into a jar, then pour the vinegar boiling upon them,
and before bottling add the soy.


=Flavours.=--This term is here made to embrace flavouring extracts
prepared from fruits, artificial substances which have the odour and
flavour of certain fruits, and compounds for flavouring liquors,
cigars, &c. The artificial fruit essences are composed chiefly of
compound ethers; when tartaric, oxalic, succinic, or benzoic adds
enter into their composition it is to be understood that these acids
are employed in the form of saturated solutions in cold alcohol.

_Almonds, Bitter._--4 oz. oil of bitter almonds, 1 oz. tincture of
turmeric, 1 qt. 95 per cent. alcohol.

_Apple._--4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. nitric ether, 2
oz. aldehyde, 1 oz. acetate of ethyl, 10 oz. valerianate of methyl, 1
oz. saturated solution oxalic acid in alcohol.

_Apricot._--4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 10 oz. butyrate of
ethyl, 5 oz. valerianate of ethyl, 1 oz. œnanthylate of ethyl, 2
oz. salicylate of methyl, 1 oz. butyrate of amyl, 1 oz. saturated
solution of oxalic acid in alcohol.

_Brandy._--(1) Mash 25 lb. raisins, 12 lb. prunes, 6 lb. figs, 1 lb.
sliced pineapple; infuse 15 days in 20 gal. proof spirit, stirring
every day; filter.

(2) Put 1 oz. green oil of cognac in ½ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol.
Cork tightly, shake frequently for 3 days, and add 2 oz. strong
ammonia. Let stand 3 days longer; place in 3 gal. stone jar, 1 lb.
fine black tea, 2 lb. prunes (mashed and with the kernels broken);
pour on 1 gal. spirit 20 o.p.; cover close; let stand 8 days; filter
the liquor, and mix it with that containing the oil and ammonia.
Bottle for use. (Monzert.)

(3) 1 pint of (2), 15 gal. fine pure spirit 20 o.p., ½ pint plain
white spirit; colour with caramel.

_Capsicum._--From powdered capsicums, as black pepper.

_Celery._--Bruise 2 oz. celery seed and put into a percolator; pour
on 1 pint deodorised alcohol, and water until 1 pint of extract has
passed through; triturate with 1 dr. carbonate of magnesia, and
filter.

_Cherry._--(1) 3 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 5 oz. ethyl
benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. saturated solution benzoic
acid in alcohol.

(2) Black.--10 oz. ethyl acetate, 5 oz. ethyl benzoate, 2 oz. ethyl
œnanthylate, 1 oz. saturated solution oxalic acid in alcohol, 2 oz.
solution benzoic acid in alcohol.

_Cinnamon._--Dissolve 2 dr. cinnamon oil in 1 pint deodorised
alcohol; add gradually 1 pint water, and stir in by degrees 4 oz.
powdered Ceylon cinnamon; shake several times, and filter through
paper.

_Coffee._--Infuse 1 lb. ground roasted coffee in 1 gal. 95 per cent.
alcohol.

_Coriander._--Mix 4 oz. powdered coriander seed with 1 dr. coriander
oil; add to 1½ pint 95 per cent. alcohol and ½ pint water; macerate
24 hours, decant the liquid, put the sediment into a percolator, and
pour on it the decanted liquor, adding alcohol until 1 qt. has run
through.

_Ginger._--Moisten 4 oz. powdered ginger with a little alcohol in a
percolator; pour on alcohol till 1½ pint tincture has passed through;
mix with 8 oz. syrup.

_Gooseberry._--1 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl
benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 5 oz. saturated solution tartaric
acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic acid, 1 oz. saturated
solution benzoic acid.

_Grape._--10 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. chloroform; 2 oz. aldehyde, 2 oz.
ethyl formiate, 10 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate,
5 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid, 3 oz. saturated solution
succinic acid.

_Hickory-nut._--Crush 1 bush. hickory nuts, and infuse 1 month in 12
gal. 95 per cent. alcohol; strain and filter.

_Lemon._--(1) Partially air-dry 4 oz. outer rind of lemons; bruise
in a stone mortar; add 2 qt. deodorised alcohol at 90°, and agitate
until the colour is extracted; add 6 oz. recent oil of lemon; let
stand till clear; filter.

(2) 5 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. nitric ether; 2 oz.
aldehyde, 10 oz. ethyl acetate, 10 oz. amyl valerianate, 10 oz.
saturated solution tartaric acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic
acid.

_Melon._--3 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. aldehyde, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 4
oz. ethyl butyrate, 5 oz. ethyl valerianate, 10 oz. sebacic ether.

_Nutmegs._--Macerate 2 dr. nutmeg oil and 1 oz. powdered mace for 12
hours in 1 qt. deodorised alcohol; filter.

_Orange._--(1) As lemon (1), using 4 oz. outer rind of orange, 1 qt.
alcohol, and 2 oz. oil of orange.

(2) 10 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. chloroform, 2 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl
acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 1 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. ethyl
benzoate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 10 oz. amyl acetate, 10 oz.
essence of orange, 1 oz. saturated solution tartaric acid.

(3) Steep 1 lb. orange peel in 1 gal. 95 per cent. alcohol 15 days;
filter.

_Orris._--Infuse 2 oz. powdered orris root for 20 days in 1 qt. 95
per cent. alcohol; filter.

_Peach._--(1) 5 oz. glycerine, 2 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 5
oz. ethyl formiate, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 5 oz. ethyl valerianate, 5
oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. sebacic ether, 2 oz. methyl salicylate.

(2) Steep 10 gal. dried peaches, 10 gal. oak sawdust, 5 lb. black tea
in 40 gal. proof spirit for 1 month; strain and filter.

_Pear._--10 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 10 oz. amyl acetate.

_Pepper, Black._--From powdered pepper, as ginger, pouring on alcohol
till 1 qt. has passed through, and omitting the syrup.

_Pineapple._--3 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. chloroform, 1 oz. aldehyde, 5
oz. ethyl butyrate, 10 oz. amyl butyrate.

_Plum._--8 oz. glycerine, 5 oz. aldehyde, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz.
ethyl formiate, 2 oz. ethyl butyrate, 4 oz. ethyl œnanthylate.

_Prune._--Infuse 25 lb. mashed prunes for 15 days in 6 gal. proof
spirit, stirring every day; press and filter.

_Raisin._--Infuse 25 lb. mashed raisins for 15 days in 6 gal. proof
spirit, stirring every day; press and filter.

_Raspberry._--4 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. nitric ether, 1 oz. aldehyde, 5
oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 1 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz.
ethyl benzoate, 1 oz. ethyl œnanthylate, 1 oz. sebacic ether, 1 oz.
methyl salicylate, 1 oz. amyl acetate, 1 oz. amyl butyrate, 5 oz.
saturated solution tartaric acid, 1 oz. saturated solution succinic
acid.

_Rose._--Bruise 2 oz. 100-leaved roses, macerate in 1 qt. deodorised
alcohol, press out the alcoholic extract, add 1 dr. oil of rose, and
filter through paper. May be tinted with cochineal.

_St. John’s Bread._--Cut up 50 lb. St. John’s bread (carob beans, or
locust pods) into small pieces; infuse for 15 days with 12 gal. proof
spirit, stirring every day; filter.

_Sassafras._--Granulate ½ lb. sassafras bark, and infuse in ½ gal. 95
per cent. alcohol for 20 days; filter.

_Soup-herbs._--Put 1 oz. thyme, 1 oz. sweet marjoram, 1 oz. sweet
basil, 1 oz. summer savory, 1 dr. celery seed, into a percolator;
pour on sufficient alcohol to make 1 pint extract.

_Strawberry._--2 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. nitric ether, 5 oz. ethyl
acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. methyl
salicylate, 3 oz. amyl acetate, 2 oz. amyl butyrate.

_Vanilla._--(1) 1 dr. vanilla in slices, infused for 20 days in 1
pint 95 per cent. alcohol; filter.

(2) 1 oz. vanilla in fine pieces, triturated with 2 oz. sugar to
coarse powder, placed in a percolator; pour on dilute alcohol till 1
pint has run through; mix with 1 pint syrup.


=Coffee.=--Before roasting, it is a good plan to wash the berries.
They must be thrown into lukewarm water, washed rapidly between
the hands, the water changed once, the berries rinsed again, then
strained, rubbed between a clean cloth, and put to dry in the sun or
beside the fire. This washing does no harm, and certainly cleanses
the coffee from dust or colouring, and also serves to prove the
quality. The berries that float on the top of the water are not
good. Raw berries, when thrown into cold water, should sink at once.
But, if preferred, the coffee may be cleansed by rubbing between 2
towels. The roasting of coffee requires great care and attention; its
goodness greatly depends on this. If suffered to burn, its aroma is
destroyed, and it is made bitter and unwholesome. If not sufficiently
browned, neither the strength nor the aroma will be developed, and
its taste will be most unpleasant. Examine the berries, pick out any
black or discoloured ones, and see that there is no stone among them.
Have a clear fire, but not too fierce. Fill the drum half full. This
must be constantly turned, but not too quickly, that the berries may
be roasted equally. After about 5 minutes good heat, take the drum
from the fire and shake it well. Open the slide to let the steam
out, return the drum to the heat, continue the turning, and after a
short time again withdraw and shake it, then open it to see if the
coffee is colouring properly. Should a strong smell of roasting and
an apparent smoke escape, and should a slight crackling noise begin,
take the drum from the fire, shake it for a minute, open the slide,
and if the coffee is too pale, return it to the fire. When it has a
fine cinnamon-brown colour, turn it out on a large flat dish, spread
it quite apart, and as soon as it is cold, put it in a close-shutting
canister or cork it well in dry bottles. A spoonful of moist sugar
thrown in with the berries is said to improve the quality in
roasting. Those who have not a drum can use an iron stewpan, in which
case a little piece of butter half the size of a walnut is melted in
the pan, then the coffee berries put in and the lid put on. Every
minute it must be shaken and tossed without removing the lid. Have
ready a wooden spoon, which should be kept for the purpose, and when
the coffee begins to smoke and crack, draw it quickly from the strong
heat, and stir it thoroughly till it is nicely browned. It will burn
in half a minute by too strong a fire. Finish as stated above. An
excellent coffee-roaster is made by Sugg, Charing Cross.

If possible, use freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee; let it
be of good quality, with no admixture of chicory. If the beans have
not been ground just before they are required for use, put the ground
coffee into a plate or dish before the fire, and heat it thoroughly.
Pour boiling water through the coffee-pot, put in the coffee--about
½ teacupful for each person--pour on to it perfectly boiling water,
and let the pot stand by the fire for a few minutes. These directions
will answer equally well, with some slight variations, for Loysell’s
coffee-pot, Gen. Hutchinson’s cafetière, or, with the addition of hot
water in the outer receptacle, for Ashe’s kaffee-kanne. A capital,
though somewhat costly, coffee-pot is sold by E. Boyes, 14 High
Street, Borough. Let it be clearly understood that the pot in which
coffee is made is of comparatively little consequence, provided that
it is scrupulously clean, the water boiling, and not in excess,
and that the coffee is pure and plenty of it. If café au lait is
required, the milk should be quite hot, but not boiling, and when the
coffee is really good and strong, equal quantities of coffee and milk
will be found to be the right proportions.

To make café noir, use no percolating, filtering, or steaming engine
of any sort. Pound the roasted berries in a mortar to a fine powder,
which keep in a tightly corked glass bottle. The coffee-pot may
be a tin pannikin of the simplest shape--a truncated cone, or a
cylinder rather narrower at the top than at the bottom. To make a
cup of coffee, first place into the pannikin 1 teaspoonful (heaped)
of the coffee powder, then fill up with water, hot or cold; stir
the contents with a teaspoon, and hold the pannikin over the fire
or a lighted gas burner; when the contents boil, stir it once more,
and again hold it over the fire; then, stirring a third time, pour
the contents into a coffee-cup, and as soon as the coffee has
sufficiently cooled, by which time the powder is well settled to the
bottom, drink it. For those who take sugar, put a sufficient quantity
of it into the pannikin before boiling the coffee. When hot water is
used, it takes about 1 minute to make 1 cup of coffee.


=Foreign Dishes.=--The following notes comprise the chief special
dishes of various foreign countries. They will afford many a useful
hint to the English housewife who is not prejudiced against foreign
cookery.

_American._--Boston Brown Bread.--1 pint tepid water, 2 gills of
wheat flour, 1 pint rye meal, 1 pint of Indian meal, ½ pint molasses,
1½ gill smart yeast, 1 teaspoonful salt, 1 small teaspoonful soda
carbonate; mix well, pour it into a tall straight-sided mould with a
tight cover. Let it rise 3-4 hours. Steam or boil it for 4-5 hours.
Remove the cover and set it in a moderate oven to dry for ½ hour.
Serve hot in slices.

Buckwheat Cakes.--Buckwheat depends entirely on its treatment;
crushed and kneaded into heavy loaves, it forms the impossible
pumpernickel; finely ground and deftly handled, it becomes the
famous buckwheat cake. To make the latter well-known dish, 2-3
tablespoonfuls fine buckwheat flour are mixed overnight with a
little yeast in order to--as the bakers say--set the sponge. In the
morning the “sponge” is added to some buckwheat flour, moistened
simply with warm water, when the whole mass “rises” immediately into
the form of an excessively light batter. Enough of this batter to
make an ordinary muffin (about 2 tablespoonfuls) is placed on the
well-anointed “griddle”--a flat piece of iron, well-known in the
northern counties of England--the cake is turned quickly with a flat
“slice,” and in about 2 minutes assumes a pale brown colour, and is
done. This accomplished, the quicker the cake is transferred from the
griddle to the mouth the better. Eaten hot it is delicious, but once
allowed to settle, becomes heavy and “stodgy” to an inedible degree.
These cakes may be eaten with butter and sugar, with molasses, honey,
or maple syrup, and are in any way excellent--when hot.

Cheese Biscuits.--Take 4 oz. grated cheese, 3 oz. finely grated
breadcrumbs, 2 oz. butter, 1 teaspoonful flour of mustard, 1
saltspoonful cayenne, 1 of white pepper, and 2 beaten-up eggs; melt
the butter and mix all the ingredients together, and let them stand
an hour. Knead and work out the paste as thin as possible, and cut it
into triangles or roll it up into thin sticks about 3 in. long. Bake
in a quick oven for 16-18 minutes; serve hot.

Chow-Chow.--Take 2 heads of cabbage, 2 heads of cauliflower, 2 qt.
dwarf onions, 2 qt. small tomatoes, 12 cucumbers, and 6 roots of
celery; cut into small pieces and boil each vegetable separately
until tender, then strain and take 2 gal. vinegar, ¼ lb. mustard,
¼ lb. mustard seed, 1 pot French mustard, 1 oz. cloves, and 2 oz.
turmeric; put the vinegar and spices into a pan, and let them come to
the boil, then mix the vegetables, and pour the liquor over.

Chowder.--A chowder is always made in a deep iron pot. Cut 6 oz.
pickled pork into dice. Put it, with 2 large onions sliced, into the
pot; fry till the onion begins to brown; remove the pork and onions.
Slice 5 or 6 medium-sized potatoes and 3 lb. fresh cod or other
firm fish. Put into the pot a layer of potatoes, then one of fish,
seasoning each layer as you proceed with a sprinkling of the fried
onions and pork, also a little soup herbs, pepper, and salt. Pour on
cold water enough to barely cover the whole, and boil 20 minutes;
then add 3 large ship biscuits soaked in milk, also ½ pint hot milk.
As soon as it boils again remove it from the fire, and serve it at
once. A cup of claret is sometimes added, but in that case the milk
is omitted; or clams are frequently used instead of fish, in which
case a layer of sliced or canned tomatoes is added.

Clam Fritters.--Put a sufficient quantity of clams into a stewpan,
straining the liquor, and pouring about half of it over the clams,
adding a little black pepper, but no salt. Let them stew slowly for
½ hour, then take them out, drain off all the liquor, and mince the
clams as finely as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You should
have enough clams to make a large pint when minced. Make a batter of
7 eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed gradually
with 1 qt. milk and 1 pint sifted flour, stirred in by degrees, and
made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then gradually mix the
minced clams with the butter, and stir the whole very hard. Have
ready, in a frying pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling lard.
Put the batter in with a spoon, so as to form round thin cakes; fry
them light brown. Drain well, and serve hot.

Cucumber Sauce.--(_a_) Peel some cucumbers, and then grate sufficient
to make 4 tablespoonfuls; to this quantity add an equal quantity
of the best olive oil, 1½ tablespoonfuls vinegar, salt and cayenne
pepper; stir well until wanted for use. Serve with salmon, lamb, or
mutton cutlets. (_b_) Peel some cucumbers, cut them up quite small
and put them into a saucepan with a little vinegar, cayenne pepper,
salt, a small onion, also cut up, and a few celery seeds. Stew gently
for 2-3 hours, add a small pat of butter, and serve with cutlets.

Egg Pie.--Boil 1 doz. eggs hard and put them in cold water to get
cold; peel and slice them; butter a pie dish, and then put in the
eggs in layers, with butter, breadcrumbs, pepper, and salt between
the layers until the dish is full, putting breadcrumbs and butter at
the top; pour in a cupful of cream, and bake until the top is brown.

Fish Roe Sauce.--Boil 2 pickled herrings, take out the roes, and
while hot mix with them ½ lb. butter, a little parsley and onion
finely minced, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice; serve poured over
broiled mutton chops, or with boiled fish.

Gumbo Filet.--Cut up a chicken, wash and wipe it perfectly dry,
pepper and salt it; fry the pieces until brown in hot butter or lard;
sprinkle with flour. Add 2 chopped onions, a little finely minced
parsley, together with pounded mace, and a clove or two, and sweet
herbs--thyme and marjoram. Pour over a little white stock or broth,
and then stir gently to prevent burning, until cooked. Then add
sufficient stock and the liquor from 1 qt. oysters. Boil until it
is wanted. Just before serving put in the oysters, and sift into it
a tablespoonful of the gumbo filet. Stir well to the bottom, let it
come to the boil, and serve immediately. Rice boiled as for curry,
each grain distinct, should be served with it. Gumbo filet is made of
the tender young leaves of the sassafras, picked in spring, and dried
carefully in the shade, powdered fine, bottled, and corked.

Ham Steaks.--Cut some slices of raw ham, and put them into a frying
pan, with ½ teacupful water. When the water has boiled away, and the
steaks (which should be turned) have become a light brown on both
sides, dredge them over with flour, and pour over them the following
sauce: Take ½ teacupful cream and ½ teacupful milk, put them into a
saucepan with a small piece of butter, a teaspoonful of mustard, and
a dash of cayenne; let it just boil, and pour over the ham.

Lemon Sauce for Fish.--Put into a saucepan ¼ lb. butter and the
juice of a good-sized lemon, with pepper and salt to taste; beat up
altogether until thick and quite hot; do not allow it to boil. Remove
it from the fire and add the beaten-up yolks of 2 eggs. Serve with
boiled fish.

Milk, Thickened.--This is a very popular breakfast dish in New
England households. Take 1 qt. milk, 1 small teacupful flour, ½
teaspoonful salt, and 5 lumps white sugar. Take 1 teacupful of the
milk to mix the flour, place the rest on the fire. When boiling add
the mixed flour, salt, and sugar. Boil 5 minutes. To be eaten with
cream, sugar, and spice.

Milk Toast.--Another favourite dish. Take ½ pint milk, 2 teaspoonfuls
butter, and a little sauce. Put to heat over the fire; toast slices
of bread; lay each slice, as soon as toasted, in a deep dish, and
pour the heated milk over it, placing the next slice upon it, with
more of the milk. When the dish is filled pour over the remainder of
the milk, cover it, and serve hot.

Okra.--Take 2 lb. lean beef, and cut it up into small pieces. Peel ½
gal. tomatoes, remove the seeds and hard parts, and put them, with
a small onion chopped up and the beef, into a stewpan (not iron).
Simmer gently in some butter for a short space, stirring well, then
add the okra--previously cut into slices--and stir again for about 10
minutes. Then add 1 gal. boiling water, season to taste with spices,
pepper, and salt. Boil slowly, stirring frequently, and mashing up
the okra. Just before serving add a small pat of butter.

Pan Dowdy.--Fill a pudding pan with apples pared, quartered, and
cored. Cover the top with a crust rolled out of light bread dough,
make a hole in the lid, and set the pan in a brick oven. After it has
cooked, lift the crust and add molasses, or brown sugar, a little
powdered cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, also 1 tablespoonful butter.
Stir it well, cut the crust into square bits, mix all together, cover
it with a large plate, return it to the oven for 3-4 hours. Serve
hot. A pan dowdy may be baked in a stove oven, in which case the
apples had better be stewed, and the crust baked separately, then mix
all together and bake 2 hours.

Pork and Beans.--1 qt. navy beans, ½ lb. pickled pork, 2 teaspoonfuls
thickly mixed mustard, 1 large tablespoonful molasses. Soak the beans
in tepid water all night. Next day change the water, place them on
the fire, and boil them a few minutes, not long enough to crack them,
drain them, place them in a “bean pot,” or deep earthenware pan,
nearly bury the pork in the middle of the beans, add the mustard,
molasses, pepper and salt, with enough water to cover the whole. If
they become too dry, add a teacupful of water when they are half
done. Serve with Boston brown bread.

Pumpkin Pie.--“Punkin” (pumpkin) pie is an invariable adjunct either
to dinner or to “a high tea,” a species of repast much affected “down
East.” It is prepared in this wise. The prime ripe parts of the
pumpkin are carefully separated from the seeds and rind, and gently
stewed till quite tender. The pumpkin is then strained through a fine
sieve, and eggs and milk are added in sufficient proportion to form a
thick custard-like substance; sugar and allspice are then added, and
the mixture is put into a flat dish previously lined with good paste,
and a little powdered nutmeg is strewed over the top. The pies are
then baked in a moderate oven. The thickness of the layer of pumpkin
should be 1½-2 in. When well prepared, “punkin pie” is a delicious
dish, and is never eaten in America without the accompaniment of a
small fragment of cheese.

Tomatoes.--(_a_) Baked.--Take large tomatoes, wash them, wipe and
cut them in two. Put them in a baking tin with the skin downward,
season well with pepper and salt, and place in a hot oven. When done
put a piece of butter on each tomato, and serve on a hot dish with
or without sharp sauce. (_b_) Cut a very large tomato in half and
flour the cut side; heat the pan and lay the slices in, floured side
down. When brown turn over, and when quite done dish up and pour over
a teacupful of hot cream or milk. (_c_) Hashed.--Well butter a pie
dish, put in a layer of sliced tomato, then a layer of any kind of
cold meat (sliced very thin or minced), then a layer of thin bread
and butter, and so on till the dish is full. Season the whole well
and bake till quite brown. (_d_) Stewed.--Put ripe tomatoes into
hot water, and when scalded take off the skins; throw them into an
earthen pipkin, cut in slices, and stew gently till tender. Season
with butter, pepper, and salt; and serve with sippets of buttered
toast. In some parts of America breadcrumbs and sugar are added to
the stew instead of other seasoning.

Veal Cake.--Take 3 lb. veal and chop it up very finely with ¼ lb.
pork, 1 cupful breadcrumbs, 3 teaspoonfuls salt, 1 of black pepper, ½
teaspoonful cayenne, and a few cloves. Mix all well together with 2
raw eggs. Put it into a plain mould and steam for 2 hours; then put
into a cool oven for a short time just to dry it. Turn it out, when
cold, and cut it into thin slices. Garnished with aspic jelly, it
makes a very nice luncheon dish.

White Cabbage Salad.--Set a firm white cabbage in cold water, and
let it stand some hours, then dry well and shred very fine. For
the dressing take a piece of butter the size of a walnut and a
tablespoonful of flour, mix well, and add 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar;
scald for a minute, then add the beaten yolk of 1 egg and 2
tablespoonfuls cream, with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over and
serve.

Whortleberry Cakes.-¾ cupful sugar, ¼ cupful butter, 1 cupful milk,
3 cupfuls sifted flour, 1 heaping teaspoonful baking powder, 1 small
teaspoonful salt, 2 eggs, 1 heaping pint whortleberries. Mix the
baking powder with the flour, beat the butter and sugar to a cream,
add the milk and beaten eggs, then the flour, stirring in lastly
the berries over which you have previously dredged a little of the
flour. Pour into 12 small tin cups buttered and heated, serve hot for
breakfast or tea, with butter. They can be baked in muffin rings.

_Belgian._--Asparagus.--(_a_) Boil in the usual way as much asparagus
as required, and arrange it neatly on a folded napkin in a flat dish.
Boil some eggs hard (allowing one egg to each person), and divide
them in halves lengthwise. Border the asparagus with these halves,
placing them with the yolks upwards. Serve this dish very hot, and
send to table with it a sufficient quantity of butter, simply melted
and made quite hot, but without any thickening.

(_b_) Having cut all the hard white part from some cold boiled
asparagus, arrange it neatly on a dish, and cover it with a thick
mayonnaise sauce. Place round this some slices of cold boiled ham,
cut very thin and rolled. Alternate these with halves of hard-boiled
eggs, as in (_a_), and garnish with small sprays of parsley. Forced
eggs, flavoured with ham or tongue, may be used with this dish
instead of the ham and eggs, if preferred.

(_c_) Cut the tender parts of some boiled asparagus into lengths of
2 in.; mince finely some parsley and young onions with a few leaves
of lettuce; put them in a saucepan with butter, a little water, salt,
pepper, a little nutmeg, and a pinch of flour; simmer, stirring
occasionally, until the onions, &c., are done. Scald the asparagus in
this, and serve very hot with croutons of fried bread. Small sprigs
of cauliflower, broccoli, or peas which have been previously boiled
are also good served in this way. If for peas, a little sugar may be
added when liked.

Flamande Sauce.--This is an excellent sauce with which to serve
almost any vegetable that has been previously cooked. It is made
thus: Put into a saucepan butter, a slice of lemon, salt, pepper, and
a little water; scald in this the vegetable to be re-warmed, drain,
and put it into a dish. Thicken the sauce with a pinch of flour and
the yolks of 2 eggs, and serve with the vegetable at once. Care must
be taken not to curdle this.

Greens.--(_a_) Boil some turnip or any other greens preferred; mince,
drain them well, and put them into an enamelled stewpan, with enough
thick cream to moisten them; add white pepper, salt, and, if liked,
a soupçon of grated nutmeg. Stir well together over the fire until
quite hot. Have ready as many well-flavoured sausages as you require,
baked brown. Arrange the greens in a mould in the centre of an entrée
dish, and garnish them with the sausages. New milk and butter may
take the place of cream if preferred.

(_b_) Prepare some greens, as in (_a_), and arrange them so as to
cover the centre of the dish on which they are served. Poach some
eggs in shapes for the purpose; or, when poached, trim them round.
Place these upon the greens, and arrange round the dish alternately
thin slices of ham rolled and toasted, and sippets of dry toast.

Mackerel.--(_a_) Remove the bones and skin from some cold boiled
mackerel, and arrange the flakes in a rather high mound in the centre
of a flat dish. Cover these with a thick mayonnaise sauce, made green
by mixing with it either finely chopped fennel, parsley, tarragon, or
chives. If either of the two former, it should be just scalded first.
Garnish with prawns or crawfish and sprays of paisley and fennel.
Mustard and cress or Italian corn salad can take the place of the
parsley and fennel for garnish.

(_b_) Having cleaned some fresh mackerel, divide each fish into 4
or 6 pieces, according to size. Stew them until tender in enough
sauce to cover them. For this use white sauce, made with veal stock,
flavoured delicately with essence of shrimps or anchovies, salt,
cayenne, and the juice of a lemon. A strip of lemon peel should be
stewed with the fish, and removed before it is served. Open 2-3 doz.
mussels, remove the yellow part from them, and wash them in their
liquor; blanch them in the sauce, drain, and arrange them round the
fish, and pour the sauce over.

Shoulder of Mutton.--Choose a small fresh shoulder, and steep it
in a marinade. To make this, simmer for 20 minutes in 1 pint water
2 or 3 bay leaves, a bunch of parsley and lemon thyme, an onion, 3
cloves, 1 teaspoonful each pimento berries and black peppercorns, and
a small piece of ginger; add 1 teacupful each claret and brown sugar,
and ½ teacupful vinegar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the
marinade at boiling point. Pour it into a shallow pan that will just
hold your shoulder of mutton, and, when cold, put the mutton in, and
keep it turned and basted with the pickle every day from 4 days to
a week, according to the weather. When ready, remove the bones from
the mutton, and fill the hollows with a forcemeat, as for veal kidney
(below). Bind the shoulder into shape, and roast it until well done.
It should be well floured and basted, that it may be well browned.
Have ready 1 lb. French plums (not prunes) stewed in equal parts of
claret and water, and a lump or two of sugar. Arrange these, with
the liquid in which they were cooked, in the dish round the mutton.
To make the gravy, put the bones from the mutton in a saucepan with
1 pint stock and 1 wineglassful of the marinade, and simmer until
the liquid is reduced to ½ pint. Pour this to the gravy in the pan,
remove as much of the fat as possible, and thicken the gravy slightly
with brown roux. Send it to table with the mutton as hot as possible.
A loin or fillet of mutton will answer as well as the shoulder. The
same marinade can be used 2 or 3 times if it be first reboiled and
skimmed. This recipe is very useful if you want to keep meat for
a few days in hot weather, but it must be watched carefully and
protected from flies.

Veal Kidney.--Remove the skin and fat from a veal kidney, and cut it
in halves lengthwise. Mix with ½ lb. sausage meat 1 teacupful fine
breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful truffles cut into pieces the size of
very small peas, an egg slightly beaten, pepper and salt. Mix these
well together with a fork. Cover each half of the kidney with this
stuffing, and wrap them securely in pieces of pig’s caul, large
enough to allow for the forcemeat swelling a little. Put them in an
enamelled baking tin with a little butter, and bake them ¾-1 hour,
according to the size of the kidney, basting now and then until
nicely browned. Cut them into slices about 1 in. thick, and arrange
them in 2 rows in an entrée dish, with each slice overlapping the
other. For the sauce, thicken slightly ⅓ pint strong stock with brown
roux (flour and butter stirred together on the fire till brown). Pour
this to the gravy in the pan, and strain it into a saucepan; remove
as much of the fat as possible, add 1 wineglassful sherry, and stir
over the fire until the sauce is at boiling point. Serve in the dish
with the kidneys. Pork kidneys not divided are good dressed in this
way, as also are thick strips of calf’s liver.

_Canadian._--Codfish Balls.--Take equal quantities mashed potatoes
and boiled codfish minced fine; to each ½ lb. allow 1 oz. butter and
a well-beaten egg; mix thoroughly. Press into balls between 2 spoons;
drop into hot lard, and fry till brown.

Cookies.--Mix together 1 lb. powdered loaf sugar, 1 lb. flour, and
½ teaspoonful soda carbonate; rub in ¼ lb. butter; make into a
soft paste, with 3 eggs beaten, 1 dessertspoonful cream or milk,
and essence of almond to taste; roll out 1 in. thick, and cut into
biscuits with a wineglass. Bake 10 minutes in a moderate oven. They
must be kept in a dry place, and will continue good for 3 months.

Corn Bread Loaf.--Ingredients: Yellow meal, 2 cups; flour, 1 cup;
cream of tartar, 2 teaspoonfuls; soda and salt, 1 teaspoonful; eggs,
2; sugar (golden) ½ teacup: butter, 2 oz.; new milk, 2 cups. Mode:
Mix salt, soda, and cream of tartar with flour and meal, cream the
butter, and beat the eggs and sugar together, and add to the mixture,
stirring in the milk lastly, and beating the butter well till smooth.
Bake in buttered round iron cake pans, 4 in. deep. This loaf should
be cut from the centre, like a tart. Sometimes honey is substituted
for the sugar, or the loaf made without sugar, split and spread with
honey, and then cut as above.

Corn Meal Muffins.--Warm milk, 1 pint; flour, 1 cup; sugar, 1
tablespoonful; salt, 1 teaspoonful; compressed yeast, 1 cake. Mix
well, and add enough corn meal to make a thin batter. Set to rise
overnight. In the morning add 1 teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm
water, and 1 oz. melted butter. Bake in muffin tins. These yeast
muffins do not, like those made with soda, get heavy when cold.

Cream Toast.--Toast even slices of white bread a light golden brown.
Scald the cream, and thicken with a very little cornflour, just the
consistency of custard. Simmer till well done and no raw taste left.
Stir in a piece of butter, and pour some of it evenly between layers
of the hot toast.

Crullers.--Rub 2 oz. butter into 10 oz. flour and 1 tablespoonful
white sugar. Knead into a stiff paste, with 3 eggs beaten--if the
eggs are not sufficient to moisten the flour, 1 spoonful milk can be
added. Flavour with lemon or almond, and leave it an hour covered
with a cloth. Pinch off pieces, the size of small eggs; roll them
out into an oval shape the size of your hand, and the thickness
of half-a-crown. Cut 3 slits with a paste cutter or knife, in the
centre of each oval; cross the 2 middle bars, and draw up the 2 sides
between; put your finger through, and drop the cruller into boiling
lard in a stewpan wide enough to admit of 3 at once. Turn them as
they rise, and, when a light brown, take them up with a fork and
lay them on a dish, with paper underneath them. They are best eaten
within 2 days after they are made; but, if kept longer, it recrisps
them to place them in a moderate oven for 10 minutes; 2-3 lb. lard
are required, and what is left will do again with the addition of a
little more.

Johnny Cake.--Mix together 2 teacups Indian meal, ½ cup flour, 2
tablespoonfuls brown sugar, 2 teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, 1 of soda
carbonate, and 1 of salt. Rub in 1 tablespoonful butter, add milk
enough to make a cake batter, and bake in a greased pound cake tin.
It is best eaten hot, with plenty of butter.

Waffles.--(_a_) Rice.--Boiled rice, 1 cup; eggs, 3; butter, 1 oz.;
sour milk, 2 cups; salt and soda, 1 teaspoonful each. Stir the rice
to separate the grains well; add the butter creamed, and the eggs
frothed; dissolve the soda, stir into the milk; add to the mixture
with flour enough to make a batter, rather thick; heat the waffle
irons and rub well with butter; fill ¾ only, and bake carefully.

(_b_) Raised.--Sifted flour, 1 qt.; salt, 1 teaspoonful; warm milk,
1½ pint; compressed yeast, ½ cake, or 3 tablespoonfuls liquid yeast:
creamed butter, 2 oz. Set the yeast, with the warm milk, butter, and
salt, to rise overnight. When required in the morning, add 3 eggs,
well beaten, and ½ teaspoonful soda dissolved in warm water. Heat the
waffle irons, butter them well, and fill nearly ¾ full; take care not
to scorch them.

(_c_) Cream.--Sifted flour, 4 cups; soda, cream of tartar, and salt,
1 teaspoonful each; eggs, 3; cream, 2 cups. Mix the soda and cream of
tartar, and salt with the dry flour, mix the beaten yolks with the
cream, and make a smooth batter. Add the whites of the eggs beaten to
a froth. Butter the waffle irons, and fill ¾ full. Bake a light brown.

_Cape._--Bobotie.--Take a small leg of mutton and mince it very
fine, add to the bones and sinews 1 pint water and let it simmer
slowly for ½ hour, then soak a thick slice of white bread in the
hot broth and when cool mix it with the meat, to which add 6 eggs,
well beaten. Take 2 large white onions, chop them very fine, with
a clove of garlic and some salt, fry them in butter until brown,
then stir in 1 tablespoonful good Indian curry powder and mix the
whole well together. Put into a pie dish or cups, putting a lemon
leaf and a small lump of butter into each cup, then put in the meat
mixture: beat up an egg with a little milk and rub over the top,
cover with lemon leaves and bake for 1 hour. As lemon leaves are not
always obtainable in England, a small piece of lemon peel for the
flavouring, and vine leaves to keep from burning would perhaps not be
a bad substitute.

Sasatijs.--Much the same as the Indian “kabobs.” Take a leg of mutton
and cut the best part of it--about 3 lb.--into small squares, then
chop a plateful of sliced white onion fried in butter, to which
add 1 tablespoonful of good curry powder and 1 cup tamarind water
or vinegar; stir the meat into the sauce, and let it stand for a
whole night, then thread the meat upon thin bamboo sticks, or very
slender wooden skewers, lean and fat pieces alternately; grill upon
the gridiron just before they are required, and serve very hot with
rice. The sauce must be boiled and also served very hot. This is a
favourite dish at Cape picnics, and when travelling with the bullock
waggon. The sasatijs are always left on the bamboo sticks when
served up. To boil rice for Sasatijs.--To 1 cup good whole rice take
exactly 3 cups cold water, add a pinch of salt; boil in an enamelled
saucepan, but do not stir the rice. When the water is apparently all
absorbed by the rice, tilt the lid of the pot and let it steam dry.

_Dutch._--Bloaters, Pickled.--Take 1 doz. bloaters, wash them
thoroughly, well drain and dry them, and lay them in enough milk to
completely cover them. When they have lain in this for 24 hours,
drain them thoroughly, and lay them in a pie dish with 6 slices of
lemon and the same quantity of Spanish or Portugal onion, 4 bay
leaves, 2 oz. capers, 12 cloves, and about 18 peppercorns, and as
much oil and vinegar in equal proportions as will completely cover
the herring. Lay them by in a cool place till wanted.

Eel Patties.--Skin, clean, and wash an eel, cut it up into small
pieces, and cover it with vinegar. Melt in a saucepan 2 oz. butter,
stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour, and 2 tablespoonfuls stock or
broth, well freed from fat, add the finely minced rind of ½ lemon,
some chopped capers, 1 teaspoonful minced parsley, with salt and
nutmeg to taste. Take the pieces of eel out of the vinegar, put them
into the sauce, and let them stew until thoroughly cooked. Have some
patty-pans lined with short paste, put into each 1, 2, or 3 pieces
of eel, cover over with the same paste, make a small opening in the
cover, brush them over with an egg, and bake in a quick oven. The
sauce should be well reduced, and served separately.

Herring Salad.--Thoroughly wash 4 soft-roed bloaters, remove the
bones and skin, and put the roes aside; arrange the 4 fillets of each
fish neatly round a dish. Chop finely and separately the whites
and yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs, also some parsley, some shallot or
parboiled onion, and some pickled beetroot, keeping each separate.
Lay these different things in some sort of pattern in the centre of
the dish. Take the roes and mash them by means of a spoon with enough
oil and vinegar, in the proportions of 2 to 1, to make a thickish
sauce; add pepper to taste, and pour the same over the herring
fillets, avoiding to disarrange the minced eggs, &c., in the centre.

Oysters.--(_a_) Open some oysters, beard them, and loosen them
carefully from their shells. Sprinkle over each oyster a small
proportion of anchovies, well washed, boned, and finely minced, a
little pounded mace, squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice, add a
small piece of butter, and lastly sprinkle a little flour or fine
breadcrumbs over. Put the shells into a slow oven to bake until the
contents are of a light brown colour. Serve very hot with cut lemons.

(_b_) Remove some oysters from their shells, and put them into a
stewpan with their liquor; add 4 finely minced, boned, and skinned
sardines, the juice of ½ lemon, a few chopped capers, and grated
nutmeg to taste; lastly, add flour and butter in due proportions, and
stew gently until cooked. Have ready some shapes lined with short
paste. Put 2 or 3 oysters into each, cover over with paste, make an
incision in the top, and bake in a quick oven.

(_c_) When they have been well cleaned put them, with some sea-water,
some lemon juice, and grated nutmeg, into a saucepan. Let them just
come once to the boil, remove them from the fire, and let them stand
until the next day, then put them into earthenware jars, pour melted
butter over them, and keep them in a cool place. When prepared
in this way they can be used for patties, sauces, and also for
scalloping.

(_d_) Soak for one night 3 or 4 herring-roes, dry them on a cloth,
and cut them up in 3 or 4 pieces, about the size of an oyster. Get
some scallop shells, put in each a piece of fresh butter the size of
a small nut, the least bit of pounded mace, a few drops of anchovy
sauce, or ¼ anchovy well washed, boned, and minced. Squeeze a few
drops of lemon juice and sprinkle a little flour or breadcrumbs
over; then lay a piece of roe on this, with 3 or 4 capers, and again
sprinkle a little flour or breadcrumbs over, and put them into a slow
oven till they begin to colour.

Parsley and Lemon Sauce.--Wash a handful of parsley and mince it up
finely with the pulp and rind of a lemon; melt a pat of butter in a
saucepan, mix with it 1 tablespoonful flour, add the minced parsley
and lemon, sufficient broth or stock to make the sauce, a little
pounded mace and a few capers; stir over the fire, and when partly
cooked add, off the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up.

Pike.--(_a_) Soup.--Boil until quite soft 2 oz. well-washed rice
in sufficient salt and water, with a small piece of butter. Take 1
lb. flesh of pike well freed from bones and skin, divide it into
small pieces, and toss them in butter until cooked; mince it finely,
together with 3 hard-boiled yolks of eggs, pound in a mortar,
and stir them into the rice, with salt and pepper to taste; add
sufficient water to make the soup, and pass the whole through a fine
sieve. Let the soup come to the boil, and serve over small sippets of
toast.

(_b_) Stewed, with Butter Sauce.--Prepare some stock. Cleanse the
fish, remove the inside, cut off the fins, rub it well with salt,
and pour over it a glass of vinegar. Lay the fish in the stock,
and simmer gently until thoroughly cooked, strain, and serve with
the following sauce: Put 3 oz. butter in a saucepan, add to it 2
spoonfuls milk and some grated nutmeg, add sufficient stock strained
from the fish to make the sauce. Let the sauce boil, then add, off
the fire, the yolks of 2 eggs beaten up with 1 gill cream, pour over
the fish, and serve. This dish is improved by stewing the fish the
previous day, then allowing it to get cold in the stock, and stewing
it a second time when wanted.

Sardine Sauce.--Remove the tails, skin, and bone from 1 doz.
sardines, cut them up into small pieces. Take a shallot, a small
quantity of parsley, and the thin rind and pulp of ½ lemon; mince all
very finely. Melt in a saucepan a pat of butter with 1 tablespoonful
flour. When it has taken colour, add the above mince, with enough
stock to make the sauce; let it boil, and lastly add a little grated
nutmeg.

Sorrel Sauce.--Pick from the stalks and wash carefully 2 handfuls of
sorrel, drain, and then chop it somewhat coarsely. Melt in a saucepan
a pat of butter, mix with it 1 small tablespoonful flour, add the
sorrel and ½ pint cream, a little stock, salt, and grated nutmeg; let
it come to the boil, and it is ready.

Trout.--(_a_) Choose small fish, cleanse and wash them, remove the
fins, and rub them well over with salt; mix a handful of flour with
some salt and pepper, roll the fish over in it, and then fry them in
hot fat until of a light brown colour, drain and serve.

(_b_) Take some rather small trout, remove the insides, cut off the
fins, wash them carefully, and sprinkle them with vinegar. Put into a
stewpan one pint of stock or broth well freed from fat, ½ pint wine,
¼ pint vinegar, a few slices of onion, some parsley, bay leaf, whole
pepper and salt to taste, lay the trout in this and simmer gently,
without letting them quite boil, until done. Strain off the sauce,
place the fish on a hot dish, garnish with parsley, and serve either
with oil and vinegar, or with the following sauce. Melt a small piece
of butter in a saucepan, stir into it 1 tablespoonful flour, and add
some of the strained sauce from the fish, let it boil, and pour over
the trout.

_German._--Beer Soup.--Bake to a good dark-brown ½ lb. bread, which
has been previously soaked in oiled fresh butter, crumble it up, and
add 1½ pint beer, the same quantity of red wine, some thin rind of
lemon peel finely chopped, some cinnamon, cloves, and pounded white
sugar. Boil the whole up lightly, and serve with some thin slices of
bread fried in butter, laid on the top.

Bowle.--The drink one gets in Germany under the name of “bowle” is
prepared in several ways, according to the season. In principle it
is a simple mixture of wine and some aromatic herb or seasonable
fruit, and sweetened to taste, which is sometimes further improved
by a slice of orange. Some people add champagne, others, more
economically, some effervescing water, additions which are not
always improvements. It is best to dissolve the sugar in a little
water, and pour it upon the herb or fruit in a suitable receptacle,
and then add a light (still) Rhenish or Moselle wine; the latter is
preferable. An agreeable variation may be made by using some red
wine, perhaps 1 bottle in 4 or 5. This mixture should stand covered
until the taste has become pleasingly noticeable, and then, in some
cases, the substance used should be removed to avoid the bitter
flavour which comes later. The quantities required can only be learnt
by experience. The favourite German bowle is the Maibowle, made of
Maikraut or Waldmeister (Asperula odorata, woodruff), which is found
late in April and May. Strawberries (wild strawberries are better),
apricots, peaches, pineapples, crushed or sliced, make delicious
drinks. Celery is also used. There are also numerous “essences” and
“extracts” in common use, which make one independent of the seasons,
but they only indifferently take the place of fresh fruit, with
perhaps the exception of the essence of pineapple, which is not bad.

Bretzeln.--Mix 1 large tablespoonful yeast into a good ½ pint warm
milk; stir it into 1½ lb. of flour, and beat it well. In another
pan beat ½ lb. butter to cream; add to this 2 oz. sifted sugar, 3
eggs, another tablespoonful yeast, and a little salt. Put the dough
into this, and beat altogether thoroughly till quite smooth; cut off
pieces the size of an egg, roll them into round bars 6-8 in. long,
and tapering off at the ends. Lay them on buttered tins, curving them
in half circles or new-moon shapes, leaving space between each. Put
them by gentle warmth to rise, and when light brush them over with
egg; dust sugar over, and bake them a pale brown.

Carnival Krapfen.--Whisk 2 eggs well, add to them 1 oz. sifted sugar,
2 oz. warmed butter, 2 tablespoonfuls of yeast, 1 teacupful lukewarm
milk, and a little salt. Whip all well together, then stir in by
degrees 1 lb. of flour, and, if requisite, more milk, making thin
dough. Beat it until it falls from the spoon, then set it to rise.
When it has risen, make butter or lard hot in a frying-pan, cut from
the light dough little pieces the size of a walnut, and, without
moulding or kneading, fry them pale brown. As they are done, lay them
on a napkin to absorb any of the fat.

Cherry Soup.--1 lb. cherries (sour cherries are best in summer,
and dry ones in winter), a little spice, a little potato flour or
arrowroot, a glass or so of red wine (viz. common claret). Remove
the stones from 1 lb. cherries, pour water over them, and stew them
with a little spice and cinnamon for about an hour; then rub them
through a hair sieve, and let them boil with a little potato flour
or arrowroot. Add sugar and red wine (common claret) to taste; a
wineglassful is about enough. Serve with sippets of roll or toast.

Chocolate Soup.--3 pints milk, ½ lb. chocolate, the yolks of 2 eggs,
1 teaspoonful potato flour or arrowroot, a little sugar and cinnamon.
Break the chocolate into small pieces, and mix it with a little
boiling water until it becomes a paste. Boil the milk, and mix it
all together with the addition of 1 teaspoonful arrowroot or potato
flour. Let it all boil for a minute or so, stirring it the while,
and then add sugar and cinnamon to taste. Before serving beat up the
yolks of 2 eggs, and put them in the tureen, pouring part of the soup
in first while well stirring it, and then adding the rest. Sippets
of rusk (toast is not general in Germany, but would do as well) are
sometimes sent up in it.

Dicke Milch.--This is merely new milk put into a pie dish or other
shallow vessel, and allowed to stand 2-3 days, according to the
weather, until it is sour and thick, but not quite so stiff as blanc
mange. Only experience can guide one as to the exact stage at which
it is ready to use. If left too long, a watery fluid rises to the
top. It is eaten with breadcrumbs and sugar.

Dingy Pudding.--Stir together the yolks of 4 eggs, 2 oz. sugar, and
1½ oz. almonds, sliced in their peel. Then stir in 2 oz. grated
chocolate, 2 teaspoonfuls grated brown bread, soaked in red wine, 2
oz. currants, ½ teaspoonful allspice or 6 pounded cloves, and add the
egg whites whisked to a snow. Steam the pudding in a covered mould,
and serve with chocolate sauce poured over. Allow 1½ hour to steam.

Dresdener Torte.--Take ½ lb. butter, and beat it with 4 eggs and 5
yolks for ½ hour; put in after you have beaten it 8 oz. castor sugar,
3 spoonfuls cream, ½ lb. fine flour, 1 spoonful white wine, the
rind of a grated lemon; beat it well together, fill the whole in a
buttered form, and bake it for ¾ hour.

Egg Dumplings.--Beat 2 oz. butter to a cream, and stir in the yolks
of 3 eggs, with 1 oz. powdered sugar; mix 2 tablespoonfuls good yeast
with 1 teacupful lukewarm milk; add this to the above. Having warmed
1 lb. fine flour, stir this in by degrees; the mass should be as
thick as a light bread dough. Beat it well and set it to rise; then
dredge a paste-board with plenty of flour. Form, with light handling,
egg-sized rolls, and set them to rise a second time on the board.
Put 2 oz. butter and the same of loaf sugar in a stewpan, with milk
enough to cover the bottom nearly 1 in. deep; let this boil by the
time the dough has risen; place carefully in the stewpan as many as
it will hold without crowding. Bake them in the oven or over a clear
fire, with red coals on the lid: ½ hour should bake them sufficiently.

Flummery.--Dissolve 1 oz. isinglass in 1 pint boiling water, let it
stand 2 hours, pour it into a saucepan with ¼ lb. sugar, the juice
and peel of a lemon, and the yolks of 4 eggs; set it on the fire, and
keep stirring till it boils; strain it through a flannel bag, and
when almost cold pour it into the mould, which must be dipped in cold
water before you fill it.

Fricadel.--Take 1 lb. uncooked lean veal and ½ lb. lean ham, mince
both finely with a small bunch of parsley, lemon thyme, and lemon
peel, add a little grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful salt, half that
quantity of white pepper, and a pinch of cayenne; mix well with
the above 4 oz. good butter and 5 oz. biscuit powder, beat 4 eggs
well, add to them 1 teacup cold water, and stir these to the other
ingredients; when thoroughly mixed take your baking pan, and mould
your fricadel in the centre of it to a flat round or oval shape,
cover it with biscuit powder, put some butter in the pan to baste it
with, and cook it until of a nice golden brown, either in an oven or
before the fire. When nearly done, put 2-3 tablespoonfuls thick cream
in the pan and baste the fricadel with it; when done, which will be
in about ¾ hour, lift it with 2 egg slices carefully on to the dish
you will serve it on, and surround it with a thick rich brown gravy.
Thick captain’s biscuits are best for the biscuit powder.

Frothed Milk Soup.--Pound 6 bitter almonds and boil them in 2 qt.
milk, or, instead of the almonds, use half a stick of vanilla; add
sugar to taste, and a little salt. Beat separately 4 eggs; the whites
must be whisked to a stiff froth, then mixed with the yolks. Let the
milk just cease boiling, and whisk in the eggs till it froths well,
but not over the fire or the eggs will curdle. Serve with small
sponge biscuits.

Frothed Wine Soup.--Beat 4 eggs and the yolks of 4 others in a
stewpan; add 4-6 oz. sugar, ½ pint water, the grated peel and rind of
a lemon, and a bottle of white wine; place it over a slow fire, and
whisk it continually till quite frothy and on the point of boiling,
but no further; serve as soon as it is ready, or the froth will
subside; hand sponge or other light cake with it.

Groat Pudding.--Boil raspberries or red currants, press and strain
the juice. To 1 pint this add 1 pint red wine, and set it on the
fire with ample sugar to sweeten. When it boils sprinkle in ¼ lb.
coarsely-ground corn, barley, or groats; stir this till it thickens
and is done, then put it into a wetted mould; when quite cold, turn
it out on a dish. Any fruit sauce may be poured over it. The same red
pudding may be made with rice, nudels, or sago. It should turn out of
the mould in a jelly, but not too stiff.

Grütze.--(_a_) As made in Hamburg and Norway, 3½ lb. red currant
juice, 3 pints water, sugar _ad lib._, flavouring of almonds or
cinnamon 1 oz. Set this mixture on the fire, and when it boils add 1
lb. sago or 1¼ lb. ground rice; boil for ¼ hour, stirring frequently.
Pour into moulds to cool. Should be eaten in soup plates with sifted
sugar and milk. Any acid fruit-juice will do as well.

(_b_) 2 lb. red currants, ½ lb. raspberries, boiled in 1½ pint water;
when quite soft pass through a sieve; make this juice quite boil; add
¾ lb. sago well soaked in water; let it boil ¼ hour, stirring it all
the time. Wet a mould with cold water, pour in, and when cold turn
it out. To be eaten with milk, cream, or custard. Any other fruit or
preserve will do.

Gulasch.--Cut a tender piece of steak into quite small pieces, lay
them in a deep frying-pan, with a little bacon, some slices of onion,
a little pepper and salt, and fry them in butter till the gravy looks
brown; then add a little lemon juice, a small quantity of water, and
a wineglassful of wine if liked; cover the pan, and let the contents
simmer till the meat is quite done.

Honigküchen.--1 lb. honey, 1 lb. flour, ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. almonds
pounded coarsely, 1 dr. pounded cloves, the grated peel of a lemon,
and ½ oz. soda carbonate dissolved in water. Let the honey and butter
come to a boil over the fire, take this off, and in a few minutes
stir in the flour and spice by degrees, then the almonds, and lastly
the soda. Let the mass stand all night in a cool place, In the
morning roll it ½ in. thick, cut it into little square cakes, put ½
almond in each corner, and a slice of peel in the middle. Bake them
in a moderate oven a pale brown.

Knödeln.--(_a_) Beat ¼ lb. butter to a cream, beat 3 eggs to a froth,
and add gradually to the butter; then add about 2 breakfastcupfuls
breadcrumbs; mix and make into balls the size of a walnut. Perhaps
salt ought to be added. In clear soup they are excellent.

(_b_) Mash 3 or 4 large potatoes smoothly with 1 large tablespoonful
flour, mix with 1 well-beaten egg; make into balls the size of a
walnut, and boil. These are served with meat in the place of other
vegetables, or baked.

Köche (Moulds).--We have no suitable term for this sort of dish in
English. Sponge pudding is the nearest, but this does not do it
justice; nor is custard right. We must therefore call it a mould.

(_a_) Bread.--Stir well together the yolks of 6 eggs and 3 oz.
powdered sugar, mix in 2 oz. grated bread, any approved flavouring
of spice or grated lemon peel, and the whites of 4 eggs whisked to a
stiff snow, stirred lightly in at last; have a mould well buttered,
sprinkle in it some finely shred blanched almonds, and lay here and
there a thin slice of candied peel; put the mass into the mould and
steam it with care; boil sugar to a thread height and pour it over
when the köche is turned out of the mould. Serve it without delay.

(_b_) Chestnut.--Stir 2 oz. butter with 3 oz. sugar, the yolks of
6 eggs, and 4 bitter almonds pounded fine. Have chestnuts boiled
and pounded smooth or grated; add ¼ lb. these, and then stir in the
whites of 4 eggs whisked to a snow. Steam the mass in a well-buttered
mould; when turned out serve with any approved sauce.

Kräplen.--1 pint milk, 2 lb. flour, 2 oz. fresh butter, 5 eggs,
1 tablespoonful pounded sugar, 2 tablespoonfuls rosewater, 2
tablespoonfuls good yeast, and a good pinch of salt. These
ingredients must be mixed in the following manner. Having warmed the
milk just lukewarm, stir in the flour, working it as dry as possible.
The butter should be placed in a cup near the fire till warm, and
then pour it on to the dough, and work it well in; then beat up the
eggs, and pour them little by little on to the dough, kneading it
well all the time. Lastly, mix in the sugar, salt, rosewater, and
yeast, and beat it well together until you see blisters coming in it.
Now divide it in pieces about the size of 2 fingers and ½ in. thick.
Let these stand in a warm place until they have well risen, and then
bake them on buttered tins till they are of a rich golden colour,
and, while warm, sprinkle well with white sugar and grated cinnamon,
if the flavouring is not objected to.

Lebkuchen.--1 pint honey, ¾ lb. sugar, 1½ lb. fine flour, ¼ lb.
almonds in the skins, each one sliced into 4 or 5, ½ lb. mixed
candied peel sliced and cut up ½ in. long, the peel of a lemon cut
very small, ½ oz. powdered cinnamon, 1 dr. powdered cloves, ½ nutmeg
grated, a small glass of rum, and 1 saltspoonful carbonate soda. Put
the honey and sugar in a stewpan over the fire, and when it boils up
throw in the almonds; let them simmer 5 minutes, then take the pan
from the fire, put in the spice and peel. Let it cool a little, then
stir in the soda, next the rum, and lastly work in the flour. While
this dough is still warm roll it out as thin as possible; cut oblong
pieces, about 4 in. long and 2 broad; lay them nearly close together
on buttered or well-floured tins, and let them remain all night in a
cool place. Bake them next day, after the bread in a baker’s oven.
They must not be done brown. As soon as they are taken out, draw a
knife across the tins to divide them in the pieces above described,
and when cold break them apart. Boil some moist sugar in a little
water till it will draw into threads, glaze them on one side with
this, and let them dry.

Marzipan.--Blanch, and then pound very fine 1 lb. sweet and a few
bitter almonds, adding a few spoonfuls of rosewater; put the almond
paste in a stewpan with 1 lb. powdered sugar, and stir over the
fire till a smooth paste is obtained, which will not stick to the
finger when touched. Turn it out on to a pasteboard well strewn with
powdered sugar; roll out the paste, divide it into cakes of any shape
you like, and put them on sheets of paper on the baking sheet well
sprinkled with sugar; bake in a slow oven until of a pale yellow
colour.

Marien Cakes.--To 1 lb. flour add ½ lb. butter, 10 oz. sugar, 6 eggs,
the rind of a lemon finely grated, and a little nutmeg and cinnamon.
These must be well worked into a rather stiff paste, and cut into
round cakes after being rolled out nearly 1 in. thick. These must
be placed on tins for baking after being ornamented on the top with
currants and pieces of sweet almonds cut small.

Monastery Wine Soup.--Boil ¼ lb. rice in 1½ pint water until quite
soft, and with it the thin yellow rind of a lemon; add by degrees a
bottle of any white wine; sweeten with 3-4 oz. sugar, and whisk in
the yolks of 4 eggs when ready to serve.

Neun-loth Pudding.--This favourite pudding is made as follows:--Stir
½ pint milk into 4½ oz. fine flour and 4½ oz. powdered loaf sugar.
Put into a stewpan 4½ oz. butter and ½ pint milk. When this is hot
and the butter melted, stir in the other milk and flour; keep the
mixture stirred over the fire till it boils and thickens, then turn
it out in a pan to cool. Stir in the yolks of 9 eggs, 4½ oz. almonds
blanched and pounded, and, lastly, the 9 egg-whites whisked to a
stiff snow. Stir all briskly together, butter a mould or basin, fill
it, and boil the pudding 1½ hour. The water must not cease boiling.
Serve arrack sauce or white wine sauce with it.

Nudels.-These are home-made maccaroni, and serve all the purposes
for which it is used in Italy. They may be appropriated to any sweet
dishes by first boiling them soft in milk or water 10-20 minutes,
and then mixing them with eggs, sugar, spice, preserves, &c. A
straight rolling-pin and a smooth pasteboard are indispensable in
the manufacture of nudels. For nudel paste, beat 2 eggs, work into
them by degrees as much flour as they will take, and knead them into
a smooth, stiff dough. Cut this into 4 or 6 parts, make a ball of
each, and roll it out as thin as possible; indeed, it cannot be too
thin, for perfection is only gained when it is thin enough for one
to be able to read through it. Lay each cake on a napkin as it is
finished. They will resemble fine chamois leather. By the time you
have rolled out the last cake, the first one will be dry enough to
cut as follows: Divide the cake into quarters by cutting straight
across each way. Lay the pieces one on the other, with their inner
edges equal, and begin cutting them with a sharp knife into strips as
narrow as twine; indeed as thread-like as you can to the end. Then
scatter them apart to dry, and proceed in turn with the other cakes.
When you have rolled out one of the little balls to its full tension,
turn in an edge, roll it up tightly, and thus cut it into little
rings, which will open when thrown into the boiling soup or water.
Little stars, &c., may be stamped out with very small tin cutters.
The cakes may be laid one on the other for cutting, and may be cut
finer and quicker by using an ordinary ruler, as for ruling lines
nearly close together. When allowed to dry well, they will keep any
length of time in paper bags or tin canisters. A variety may also be
made by cutting the paste into tape widths like ordinary macaroni. If
preferred perfectly white, use only the whites of eggs in mixing the
paste. Be careful to keep the paste-board constantly dredged with dry
flour while rolling out the nudels.

Parsnip Pudding.--Wash and scrape 2 or 3 parsnips, and boil them in
milk or water till tender. Mash or pound them smooth, stir in a piece
of butter warmed, and sugar, lemon, or cinnamon to taste. Mix in 3 or
4 well-beaten eggs, according to the size of the pudding, and a small
glass of rum or brandy. Put it in a buttered dish, strew crumbs over,
put little lumps of butter on the top, and bake it in a moderate
oven; or butter a mould, strew it with crumbs thickly, and boil it.
Serve with pudding sauce.

Plinsen.--These are much the same as our pancakes, only there are
more varieties, both in the batter used and the method of treating
the pancakes after being fried. 4 tablespoonfuls flour, 4 eggs, 2
oz. warmed butter, a little salt, 1 tablespoonful sugar, and ½ pint
cream or lukewarm milk enough to make a thin batter; stir this well.
Fry pancakes, exceedingly thin, a pale brown on both sides. Lay one
on the other, with sugar and cinnamon, or other spice, between. Strew
sugar plentifully over the top one, and glaze it with a salamander
or other red-hot iron. For fruit, to the above batter add 2 oz.
currants, well washed in hot water, and ½ lemon peel grated. Use very
little butter or lard in frying the plinsen. Spread over each one a
thin layer of preserved or stewed fruit. Roll them up. Lay them close
together in a dish, sift sugar and cinnamon over, and serve with
sweet sauce.

Sago Wine Soup.--First wash the sago, and then boil for an hour in
plenty of water, a pinch of salt, some cinnamon and rind of lemon. By
this time the water should be reduced by one half. Fill up with red
wine, add some slices of lemon, and sugar to sweeten. Let it come
to the boil once more, and when serving the soup sprinkle it with
powdered sugar and cinnamon.

Salsenaugen.--Make a dough of 6 oz. flour, 4 oz. butter, 4 oz. sugar
flavoured with vanilla or lemon, 4 hard-boiled yolks of eggs, and 2
oz. pounded almonds. Knead it out as thick as a finger, stamp it with
cutters into leaves and rings, and pile them up; wash them over with
the white of egg in a snow and strew them thickly with sugar. Then
sprinkle with water, and bake, after which put a jelly in the centre.

Sand-torte.--Take ¼ lb. butter, ¼ lb. sugar, grate the rind of lemon,
and beat it well for ½ hour. Mix in 2 eggs, and 2 yolks one after the
other, with ¼ lb. fine flour; beat it well together, and fill the
whole in a buttered form; strew some finely cut almonds on the top,
and bake it for 1 hour.

Sauerbraten.--One of the great national dishes of Germany is
sauerbraten. Lay a piece of beef in a deep dish and pour a cup of
vinegar over it. Let it remain in this 2-4 days, turning and basting
it every day. To prepare for cooking wipe it dry; cut strips of fat
bacon the size of a little finger; roll them in a mixed seasoning
of salt, pepper, and pounded cloves. Make holes in the meat with
a large skewer, and put in the pieces of bacon. Make butter hot
in an iron pot or stewpan just large enough; put in the beef and
set it over a brisk fire, letting the steam escape to hasten the
browning; dredge it with flour, and turn it when one side is brown.
When the meat is nicely coloured add about 1 pint water, 2 carrots,
quartered lengthwise, a large onion or two sliced, 2 or 3 bay leaves,
1 teaspoonful whole pepper, a blade of mace, ¼ lemon peel, and a
good sprinkling of salt. Cover closely, and let it steam slowly 2-3
hours, adding a little water when necessary. At serving time take up
the meat, and keep it hot while you skim the fat off and strain the
gravy. The unbroken carrots may be laid round the meat. Add lemon
juice or vinegar if the sauce requires more acid; thicken with flour,
give it a boil up, pour a little over the meat, and serve the rest in
a sauceboat.

Schmarn Batter.-½ lb. flour, the yolks of 4 eggs, a little salt,
sugar, either nutmeg or grated lemon, and cream or milk enough to
give a rather thick batter; must be briskly and well stirred. Then
add the whites of the eggs, whisked to a snow; about 2 oz. butter
must be made quite hot in a stewpan, and into this pour the batter
over a brisk fire. Cover, and let it remain till a nice brown crust
has formed at the bottom, of not too dark a colour. As soon as this
incrusting takes place, break up the schmarn with a little iron
spatula or fork, and let it set and brown again; then break it up
smaller by tearing it lightly apart, and serve it without delay.
If salad is to be served with schmarn, leave out any flavouring of
nutmeg, &c., if disapproved of, as also the sugar. To the above
schmarn either cream, stewed prunes, or fruit syrup may be added at
table.

Schmarollen.--Let a pint of new milk boil, stir in 1 oz. sugar with
flour enough to thicken it; boil until the mixture no longer hangs
to the sides of the pan, then turn it out and when cool stir in 4
well-beaten eggs. Have 1½ pint milk boiling in a stewpan, and with
a spoon dipped each time in water, cut klösse out of the mass, and
simmer them in the milk a few minutes. Turn all into a dish, cut 2
oz. butter over them, and bake it a pale brown in a quick oven.

Spatzen.--Stir flour into cold water or milk, with a little salt, to
make a thick batter, beat it well with a wooden spoon; drop little
flakes or buttons into boiling water. This is easiest done by putting
some of the batter on a trencher or flat plate and flaking it quickly
off into the pot with a knife, dipped constantly in the water. Boil
them 5 minutes; they will swim on the top when done; strain and dish
them. Have ready a piece of butter melted in a stewpan, and a handful
of crumbs in it, crisped brown; pour this over the spatzen, and serve
while they are light and hot. A piece of butter may be stirred in as
they are dished. If preferred richer, use an egg or two and milk for
the batter.

Sticklerspersgrod.--For this simple and cheap dish, well flavoured,
ripe, red gooseberries are used; 4 lb. gooseberries, with ½ lb.
raspberries, keep them stirred gently in a stewpan over a clear fire
till the fruit is quite soft, then mash and strain the juice through
a cloth; make this juice quite boil, then add ½ lb. sugar and 6 oz.
cornflour or arrowroot, let it boil 10 minutes, stirring it all the
time; wet a mould with cold water, pour in, and when cold turn it
out. 1 pint juice to ¼ lb. cornflour are the best proportions. To be
eaten in soup plates, with sifted sugar and milk.

Stölle.--Mix 2 oz. dry yeast with ½ pint warm milk and ½ lb. flour.
Set this to rise. Take 1½ lb. flour, ¼ lb. sugar, 4 eggs, 1 oz.
bitter almonds pounded, ½ nutmeg, the grated rind of a lemon, a
little salt, and milk enough to work these into a dough. Add to this
the light sponge dough, and mix both well. Add ½ lb. softened butter,
½ lb. stoned raisins, ½ lb. currants, 2 oz. sweet almonds, cut in
slices, and the same of candied peel. Knead the whole, cover, and set
it to rise. When light flour the paste-board, turn the cake out, and
mould it into a long roll. Lay it on a flat baking tin; cut, with a
knife, 2 slits all along the roll, near 1 in. deep, so that the 3
divisions on the top are equal in width. Set it to rise. Bake it in
a moderate oven. When done rub it over with butter, and strew sugar
over when cold.

Strudels.--This form of pastry can only be described by the English
term roly-poly, in a very diminutive size. There are various ways of
making the paste, but they all agree in this one particular--that
it must be worked into a tough dough and very smooth. One way is to
beat 2 eggs and the yolks of 2 others, warm a piece of butter the
size of an egg and add it to the eggs with a little salt, work in
by degrees as much fine flour as will form a dough; knead this till
quite smooth. Divide the paste into small balls, roll them round
in the hands, then with a smooth rolling pin roll them out as thin
as possible. They should be the size of a saucer, but rather oval.
Spread over them whatever they are to be called after. Roll them up,
when the shape will be larger in the middle, and tapering off at both
ends. Lay them 1 in. apart in a baking tin or large stewpan that has
been well buttered, cover, and either bake them in the oven or over
a slow fire, with red coals on the lid to draw them. When they are
risen and beginning to colour, pour some hot milk over, and finish
baking a very pale brown.

Zweibach.--(_a_) Ingredients: 1 lb. flour, ¼ lb. sugar, ¼ lb. butter,
½ pint milk, and 2 tablespoonfuls good yeast. Warm the milk and stir
the yeast into it. Put the flour in a pan, and throw the sugar among
it. Make a hollow in the middle, and stir the yeast and milk into the
hollow like a thin batter. Cut up the butter on the flour, cover,
and set it to rise. Then beat it until the dough no longer hangs to
the hand or spoon. Let it rise again till it cracks on the top. Cut
and mould from the dough long cakes 1 in. thick, 5-6 in. long, and 2
broad. Set them on a buttered tin 2 in. apart; let them rise on this,
then brush them over with milk and bake them. Next day slice them
open with a sharp knife, lay them on a tin with the crust under, and
put them in a cool oven till they are crisp and baked yellow. (_b_)
Beat 6 eggs well, melt ¼ lb. butter in ½ pint new milk, stir into
this ¼ pint fresh yeast and 3 oz. powdered sugar. Then stir in, by
degrees, as much flour as will make a batter so thick that the spoon
moves with difficulty. Cover and place it in warmth to rise. In about
an hour sprinkle flour in, and work it well together, but not to a
stiff dough. Form cakes as described in (_a_), and finish the same
way in all particulars. Either caraways or anise seeds may be mixed
in them. The latter are very good and wholesome for infants’ food.

_Indian._--Bhartas.--Bharta holds the same relative position in the
cuisine of the East that salad does in that of the West. Bhartas can
be made of every kind of vegetable, either singly or in combination,
and many kinds of fruit; also with meat, fish, &c. From this it will
be seen that it is impossible to give recipes for every kind of
bharta, nor is it really necessary, as, once the spirit of the thing
in its various forms is mastered, anyone with ordinary ingenuity
will be able to successfully work out the problem for themselves.
The components of a bharta consist of, first, a chatni or zest, and,
secondly, the substantial part being a vegetable, vegetables, fruit,
meat, fish, &c. The latter constituent is in most cases cooked,
but there are a few exceptions in which its nature will permit of
it being used either raw or cooked--tomatoes for example. Bhartas
prepared with meat and fish are eaten as dishes by themselves, while
the more substantial vegetable bhartas may either form a separate
dish or be used as an accompaniment to curry, &c. For the Chatni or
Zest.--Ingredients: 6 spring onions, 2 green chillies, the juice of
½ lemon; salt to taste. Mode: Slice the onions as fine as possible,
chop the chillies crossways in circles, mix together, add the salt,
squeeze the lemon juice over all, and let the whole soak for ¼
hour at the very least. The onions must be of a fairly good size.
The chillies may be increased if the palate will permit, and for
appearance sake half may be green and the other half red, but fresh
of course. When limes are procurable, the juice of a whole one may
with advantage be substituted for that of the lemon. Cayenne pepper
and ordinary onions may be used when fresh chillies and spring
onions cannot be had. Mustard oil may be omitted but it is a great
improvement to all bhartas.

Brianees.--Brianees are spiced dishes somewhat resembling a mixture
of curry and pilau. They consist of meat, fish, or cheese, highly
seasoned and partially fried, which is put in a saucepan with
condiments of various kinds, carefully covered over, and then
steamed or boiled. The following example will suffice: Zarebrian
Punneezee.--Ingredients: ½ lb. cheese; 2 lb. rice; a small quantity
clarified butter; ½ lb. onions; 1 oz. flour; ¼ lb. dried pea flour;
cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, saffron, ½ teaspoonful of each; ½ oz.
green ginger; ¾ oz. salt. Cut the cheese into small round slices, and
sprinkle them with flour; then fry in clarified butter till brown.
Grind the cardamoms and cloves, and add to the cheese. Spread a few
clean little sticks on the bottom of a saucepan (this is the native
way of preventing any substance from being burnt at the bottom of the
pan), and place the cheese on them. Fry the green ginger, onions, and
curry stuff, and add the mixture to the cheese. Parboil the rice, and
put it over with a small quantity of the rice water. Colour a little
rice with saffron, and put it into the saucepan under the rice on one
side, and the dried pea flour on the other; then pour a little hot
clarified butter over. Make a plain biscuit or thin cake of flour and
water, and place it on the rice. Cover the saucepan, put a live coal
or bit of charcoal on the top of the lid, and boil the whole until
the rice is done.

Burdwan.--This is made of almost any kind of meat which has been
previously roasted or boiled. Poultry, game-birds, hare, rabbit, kid,
veal, or venison are all suitable for the purpose. If the material
chosen happens to be raw, it can easily be made available by being
semi-boiled or semi-roasted especially for the purpose. The following
typical example will explain the mode of procedure. For the chicken
used therein, any other kind of meat, as fancy may suggest, can be
substituted.

Take a good chicken which has been left from a previous meal, or
purposely prepared, as explained above; a small teacupful of good
clear stock, a small Spanish onion, a wineglassful of white wine
(Chablis is the best), ½ oz. butter, 6 chillies (a little cayenne
pepper will do instead), the juice of ½ lemon, a small piece of
garlic. Mix the stock, onion (previously boiled or roasted), wine,
butter, chillies, and garlic, and let them thoroughly amalgamate
in a stewpan over a moderate fire. Then add the chicken cut up as
for curry. Allow the whole to simmer till done, when squeeze in the
lemon juice. It ought to be served very hot, accompanied by a dish of
boiled rice or kichri.

Chachki or Vegetable Curry.--Ingredients: 1 breakfastcupful shelled
peas, ½ lb. pumpkin, 1 small teacupful clear veal stock or water, 2
onions 1 in. diameter, 3 green chillies, a small clove of garlic, 1
tablespoonful curry powder, salt to taste, 1 wineglassful mustard
oil, or 2 oz. butter. Mode: Chop the onions, garlic, and chillies,
and then reduce them all to a pulp in a mortar. Boil the oil (or
butter) in a frypan, add the curry powder, onion, garlic, and chilli
pulp, and salt; let it fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly,
then put in the peas and pumpkin; when of a golden colour put the
whole into a saucepan. Pour the stock or water into the frypan just
used; let it boil up, scraping it as you do in making gravy; when
it has boiled for a few minutes, add it to the contents of the
saucepan, and let it simmer till tender, when serve. All vegetable
curries are made in the same manner, and any number of vegetables
may be used according to taste. When potato or spinach is one of the
ingredients, it will be necessary to ¾ boil them in water before
frying them; this will prevent the objectionable liquor given off by
them from entering into the gravy.

Chapatis.--1 lb. flour (the coarse kind preferable), 2 oz. butter,
1 teaspoonful salt, some water. Work the butter and salt into the
flour, add gradually sufficient water to form the whole into a dough.
Roll some of it out on a board with a rolling pin till about 1/16
in. thick; cut it into a circular form with an inverted saucer, and
bake it on a girdle over a clear fire; when done on both sides, place
it on a trivet before the fire, turning it occasionally. By the
time that the second cake is baked on the girdle, the first will be
toasted enough. Now butter the first chapati, and put it on a plate
in the oven. Repeat the process till all are ready.

Chicken Country-Captain.--A plump chicken, 4 oz. butter, 4 onions 1
in. in diameter, ½ teaspoonful each ground green chillies, ground
coriander seed, and salt, ½ teaspoonful ground turmeric. Cut up the
chicken as for curry; if uncooked veal, mutton, &c., is about to be
used instead of the chicken, it must be cut up after it has been
semi-broiled or semi-roasted. Slice the onions as fine as possible,
fry ¼ the quantity in the butter till of a golden brown colour,
drain them carefully from all superfluous grease, and put aside in
an oven to get crisp. Now put the ground chillies, coriander seed,
tumeric, and salt into the frypan, and after the contents have fried
for a minute, add the chicken and the remainder of the onions, and
keep constantly stirring the whole till the chicken is quite tender.
Serve garnished with the crisped onions. Boiled rice is generally an
accompaniment when time is no object.

Chicken Curry.--A small fowl, 1 pint stock, 6 onions about 1 in.
in diameter, 4 oz. butter, 1 small clove of garlic chopped fine, 2
green chillies (failing which, 3 dried bird’s-eye chillies) chopped
fine, 1½ heaped tablespoonfuls curry powder and ½ lemon. Slice the
onions fine, take a third of them and fry with half the butter
till crisp and of a nice golden colour; drain them carefully from
all superfluous grease and put them aside. Then fry the chicken,
cut up as directed, in the surplus of the butter left from the
last operation; when the meat is slightly coloured, put them also
aside. Now take a saucepan, put into it the curry-powder and the
remaining half of the butter; let it fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring
occasionally, then throw in the uncooked onions. Amalgamate well with
the contents of the saucepan, and after they have fried for a few
minutes add the stock chillies, salt, and garlic; stir well, and let
the liquor reduce to one-third of its original quantity, the cover
of the pan being drawn slightly aside to enable the steam to escape.
When it has reduced, add the chicken. Allow the whole to boil briskly
for 2 minutes; then place it on the edge of the hob to simmer gently
till cooked, stirring the curry frequently to enable the meat to
take up the gravy. In about 20 minutes it ought to be ready, but the
surest guide is to observe the appearance of the drumsticks; if the
bones are found protruding by the flesh having shrunk, it is done.
Finally, the piece of the lemon and the fried onions, which have been
put aside from the first operation, must be added to the contents
of the saucepan, and the whole quickly stirred, after which no time
should be lost in serving the curry.

Coconut Pudding.--Grate fine a large coconut, fry it slightly with a
little butter. Make 1 pint custard with some new milk, 4 well beaten
eggs, a little nutmeg, 1 tablespoonful loaf sugar; stir in gradually
a small glass of brandy, adding the coconut by degrees. When well
mixed, fill a pie dish, that has been lined with puff paste with the
mixture, bake in a gentle oven; about 20 minutes will suffice.

Coconut Soup.--3 pints prepared stock, the kernels of 2 large
coconuts, yolks of 2 eggs, juice of a lemon, 2 blades of mace, 1
saltspoonful ground cinnamon, salt and white pepper to taste, a
little corn or rice flour. Throw away the liquor inside the kernels
of the coconuts, remove the brown outside rind, and rasp them as fine
as possible. Mix the stock with the rasped kernel, add the mace,
cinnamon, pepper and salt, and let the whole simmer for ½ hour or
so, when carefully strain it through fine muslin. Make a paste with
the lemon-juice, the yolks of the eggs beaten up, and sufficient
cornflour till of the consistency of thin batter; add this gradually
to the liquor before prepared, stirring all the while. Let it simmer
till ready, when serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice.

Curries.--Oriental dishes, with few exceptions, are prepared in
sufficiently small morsels to permit of their being eaten with the
hand, without the aid of knife, fork, or spoon. When, however, this
cannot be avoided, as in the case of pilau of poultry, game, or
joints, the meat is cooked just long enough to allow of its being
separated from the bone by the fingers without being stewed to rags.
Indeed, the whole art of curry and pilau making consists in correctly
timing the simmering process. If it is removed off the fire too soon,
the meat, though done, will be tough, and the spices will not have
had time to permeate the tissues; while again, if too much cooked,
the disintegration of the fibres will have caused the spices to
return into the gravy. Therefore, in either case, a failure will be
the inevitable result. A curry properly cooked must hit the happy
mean between these extremes, yet ought to be able to be eaten with a
spoon and fork only, which is the practice among Europeans in India.
The next rule to be borne in mind is the correct dressing of the meat
which is to be used. Beef, mutton, pork, fish, &c., must be cut into
dice not larger than 1 in. square. Poultry, partridges, &c., should
be disjointed as follows: The wings and legs into 2 parts at the
joints, and the backs crossways, according to size, into 3 or 4, and
the merrythought separated. It may be as well stated that 2 smaller
birds are preferable to one large. Hares and rabbits, according to
size, ought to have the legs each cut into 3 or 4 pieces, and the
backs crossways into 8 or 9; pigeon’s wings and legs whole, backs in
two. Small birds as quails, larks, &c., in two, lengthwise.

Dal-puri.-½ lb. lentil curry, 1 lb. ordinary light pie pastry. When
the lentil curry has become quite cold, mash it thoroughly in a
mortar till reduced to a fine pulp. Divide it and the pastry into
pieces each of the size of a walnut. There ought to be now twice the
number of the latter as of the former. Take 2 of the lumps of paste
and form them into small shallow bowls, put one of the lumps of the
curry-pulp into one of these bowls; carefully adjust a second bowl on
the first, and roll the whole out to the size of a dessert plate on a
paste board. Make similar cakes till all the materials are used up.
Fry each cake separately in a frying-pan with boiling oil, lard, or
butter, and serve very hot with the dam-pukht.

Dam-pukht.--Dam-pukht, like many Oriental dishes, is of Persian
origin, and etymologically signifies a stew which has been very
slowly simmered; in fact, the whole art of preparing it consists
in carefully simmering it as gently as possible. For this reason,
a gas or oil stove, in the absence of a charcoal fire, is the best
means of cooking it, as, under such conditions, the heat can be more
easily adjusted for the purpose in view than in the case of the
ordinary coal fire. Indeed, in England all Oriental cookery is much
more easily and conveniently prepared with the aid of such stoves.
Therefore, if satisfactory results are desired, the use of coal fires
should, if possible, be eschewed. Dam-pukhts can be made with any
kind of poultry--duck, goose, fowl, &c., or with game birds, such as
pheasants, partridges, &c. As the details of preparing all dam-pukhts
are practically the same, a single example, given below, in which
the process is displayed, will suffice to explain every case. In the
same way, by substituting a brace of pheasants or partridges for the
duck, and with exactly the same quantity of ingredients, a pheasant
or partridge dam-pukht can be made. A goose will require half as
much again, or, in the case of a large one, twice the quantity of
ingredients, otherwise the details are identical.

Dam-pukht of Duck.--A large fat duck (the fatter the better), 2
lb. beef, ½ lb. beef suet, 2 oz. butter, 1 oz. grated breadcrumbs,
1 tablespoonful sweet herbs, 1 teaspoonful each soy and apple
sauce, mustard-oil, olive-oil, pepper and salt, and mixed spices
and birdseye chillies to taste; also any vegetables, such as
carrots, turnips, potatoes, cauliflowers, marrow, &c., which may be
procurable. After the duck has been feathered, singed, and cleaned,
bone it carefully, so as not to break the skin; mix the soy and apple
sauce, mustard-oil and olive-oil well together, and pour it into
the bird. Make a good gravy of the giblets, flavouring with pepper,
salt, and sweet herbs. Mince the beef, suet, and the liver of the
duck very small (if you can procure an extra liver or so by all means
add them), then add the grated breadcrumbs, pepper, salt, spices,
chillies, and sweet herbs, and thoroughly amalgamate the whole well
together. Stuff the duck with the mixture. Now melt the butter and
pour it into the duck, and, having put it into a stewpan, pour the
giblet gravy over it, and let the whole simmer as gently as possible
till tender. When ready, glaze it with ordinary glaze if to be eaten
cold, if hot do not; but, in either case, serve surrounded by the
vegetables plainly boiled, and accompanied with some hot pickles.
Oriental epicures generally accompany dam-pukhts with a very nice
kind of bread, called dal-puri. Dal-puris are also often served with
curries--especially dry curries--pilavs, and very frequently alone.

Dhall Curry.--(_a_) Take ½ lb. mussoor or moong dhall; clean pick,
wash and roast it; mix with it 1 large tablespoonful onions, minced
fine, 1 saltspoonful ground chillies, same of turmeric and ground
ginger, a clove of garlic minced fine, 1 teaspoonful salt; slice 2
onions lengthways, warm a stewpan, throw in 2 oz. butter, fry the
sliced onions crisp, and remove; meanwhile cover the dhall and other
ingredients with about 2 in. water above the whole, let it boil
smartly until the dhall is dissolved: do not stir it while boiling,
but let it cake; rub the mixture through a sieve, pour the dhall into
the melted butter in which the onions were fried, stir until well
mixed, cover the stewpan close, and simmer for about 20 minutes;
serve very hot, with onions floating on the top of the mixture. Dhall
may be made from peas, Egyptian lentils, gram, or haricot beans but
the moong and mussoor dhall are the best.

(_b_) Slice and fry 4 onions in 2 oz. butter. When brown take them
out; put into the butter the same ingredients as in (_a_), fry until
of a golden colour, then add ½ lb. dhall, which fry until well done,
then just cover the dhall with water, let it boil slowly for about 20
minutes, or until dissolved: serve with the fried onions.

(_c_) Prepare the dhall as in (_b_), work it up into a paste, then
have ready some pie crust; roll it very thin, cut out about size of a
saucer, place some of the dhall on each piece, turn the paste over,
pinch the edges, throw into boiling butter or lard, and fry of a nice
gold colour. In India rice boiled as for curry is eaten with dhall.

Fish Moolay.--Fillet a sole, or cut a grey mullet, mackerel, or
haddock into nice pieces; rub with a little curry powder and salt;
fry of a light brown in butter. Grate a coconut, pour over it a
teacupful of boiling water, mash it well with a spoon, then strain.
Cut an onion into slices, fry it in the butter the fish was fried,
with a clove of garlic and 2 chillies (green are best); add the
coconut water; when boiling put in the fish, a little vinegar, salt,
and pepper; stew until the sauce thickens; serve very hot.

Hullvah (Indian Toffee).--Take equal weights of flour, butter,
Sultanas, almonds, and sugar; melt the butter, stir in gradually
the flour, let it fry until of a light brown, then add by degrees
the Sultanas, then the almonds, which must be blanched and sliced;
add the sugar, which should first be made into a thick syrup; keep
stirring until sufficiently cooked, pour into buttered moulds or
shapes.

Jal-frizi.--It is always made of meat--veal, beef, mutton, or
pork--which has been previously cooked. An underdone joint comes
in very handy for the purpose. Take 1 lb. any cold meat available,
6 onions 1 in. in diameter, 2 oz. butter, salt and chopped green
chillies to taste. Remove all bones and gristle from the meat before
weighing; cut it up as for hash. Slice the onions fine; mix the meat,
onions, chillies, and salt well together. Put the butter into the
frypan, and, when it boils, add the rest of the ingredients, and fry
the whole constantly stirring until the onions are tender, when serve
piping hot.

Kedgeree.--(_a_) Take 1 breakfastcupful rice, boiled and strained,
4 eggs boiled hard, haddock or any other white fish; mince them all
together with a knife; put a piece of fresh butter in a stewpan,
make the whole very hot, and season with salt and cayenne to taste.
(_b_) Steep ½ pint split peas or Indian dhall in water, add ½ lb.
picked and washed rice, with a little ginger, mace, and salt; boil
till the peas and rice are swollen and tender, then stir the whole
till the water has evaporated; have ready some hard-boiled eggs cut
in halves, and an onion or two sliced and fried to garnish with. To
be well dressed neither the peas nor rice should be clammy. (_c_) 1½
teacupful of rice, 12 cloves, 6 cardamoms, 2 teaspoonfuls coriander
seeds; let them boil ¼ hour, then add ½ teacupful dhall, let it boil
5 minutes, drain it quite dry. Then put it back quickly into the
saucepan, with a small piece of butter and a little salt; let it
stand on the hob for 20 minutes; garnish with hard-boiled eggs and
fried onions.

Khabobs.--Khabobs, which form another very favourite Indian dish, are
composed of fish, flesh, or fowl, with vegetables and spices. They
are either cut into slices or else pounded and formed into balls,
and then strung on wooden skewers and roasted or fried. They can be
served dry or with gravy. As a rule fresh meat is used, but cold
chicken, with a little bacon or ham to give it a flavour, and cold
roast beef can be cooked in this way. Example:

Khabob Hoossainee.--Ingredients: Meat, 2 lb.; butter, ¾ lb.; onions,
1 lb.; cinnamon, ½ teaspoonful; cloves, cardamoms, black pepper, ¼
teaspoonful; green ginger, coriander, ¼ oz.; salt, ½ oz. Cut the meat
a little larger than walnuts, rub some salt and the juice of green
ginger over the pieces, cut the onions into slices and fry them in
butter, and put on one side. Warm up the meat in the same butter,
and when it is getting dry add a little coriander and water, and
let it simmer gently on a slow fire for an hour; after the meat is
boiled file it on a small wire skewer, first a slice of meat then
one of onion, and so continue to file the slices on as many wires as
required to look nice in the dish. Sprinkle over them the spices,
ground into curry stuff, and fry them in a pan with butter, adding a
little water to soften the meat; when done serve up.

Malagatani Soup.--3 pints stock, 6 onions 1 in. in diameter,
3 tablespoonfuls coarse lentil flour, 2 oz. butter or lard, 1
tablespoonful coriander seed, 1 teaspoonful cumin seed, a pinch of
fenugreek, a few cloves and bird’s-eye chillies, and, if necessary,
pepper and salt to taste; but, as the stock is already flavoured, the
latter will seldom be required a second time. Slice the onions as
fine as possible, and fry them with half the above quantity of butter
or lard; when about half done, add the coriander seed (previously
parched on a hot iron plate, the husks removed and then crushed), the
cumin seed powdered, fenugreek ditto, chillies ditto, and the cloves
whole. Fry the whole well, stirring constantly, until the onions have
acquired a golden tint, adding more butter as required to prevent
burning; parch the lentil flour by placing it on an iron plate on the
fire. Mix the onions, condiments, and lentil flour well together.
Put them all into a saucepan, and pour over them the prepared stock,
which must be boiling hot; simmer the whole for at least ½ hour, when
serve with a separate dish of plain boiled rice.

Malay Chicken (Doopiazeh Curry).--Take 3 oz. butter, 1½ teaspoonfuls
salt, and tablespoonfuls ground onions, 1 teaspoonful each ground
turmeric and chillies, ½ teaspoonful ground ginger, a clove of
garlic, 1 teacupful coconut milk, and 2 or 3 onions cut lengthwise.
Cut up the raw chicken into small pieces, fry crisp, and set aside
the onions; then fry the other condiments of a rich brown; add the
chicken when fried brown, pour in the coconut milk and the fried
onions, let it simmer for an hour; serve with boiled rice in a
separate dish as for curry.

Pilau.--(_a_) Fish.--1½ lb. cod (almost any kind of fish is suitable
for the purpose--turbot, salmon, and sole being the best), 1 lb.
rice, 1½ pints white stock, ¼ lb. butter, a small cupful of salad,
or, better still, mustard oil, ditto curds, 8 small onions, 1½ oz.
lentil flour, 1 dessertspoonful powdered ginger, 1½ tablespoonfuls
coriander seed, 6 cardamoms, 6 cloves, a small clove of garlic,
pepper and salt to taste, 2 hard-boiled eggs. Skin and bone the fish,
wash it well in salt and water, cut it into thick slices, arrange
them in a shallow dish, pour the oil over them, and let them soak for
½ hour, turning them over occasionally. Then wipe the oil off with a
clean cloth, rub the slices over with the lentil flour, which wash
off in a few minutes; dry, and finally turn the slices all over with
a fork. Pulp 2 onions in a mortar, together with a third part of the
ginger, coriander seeds, and cardamoms. Mix these with the curds,
adding pepper and salt to taste. Cover the fish with this mixture.
Boil some of the butter, and semi-fry the fish in it. Slice fine
a couple more of the onions, and fry them; when half done add the
semi-fried fish, and fry till a light brown colour, when put aside
to keep warm in the oven. Fry separately 2 more of the onions finely
sliced, and at the same time a third more of the coriander seed and
half the cloves, in a few minutes add 1 small teacupful white stock,
and let the whole simmer gently till it thickens into a sauce, which
place on the hob to keep warm. Put the rest of the onions, coriander
seed, cardamoms, and the garlic into the stock, let it simmer till
reduced to a pint, when strain. Fry the remaining half of the cloves
with butter in a saucepan for 2 minutes, then pour the strained stock
into this saucepan and give the whole a boil up. Parboil the rice in
water, strain it, and finish cooking it in the stock, being careful,
when nearly done, to granulate the rice thoroughly by means of its
own steam, all superfluous liquor, if there be any, being previously
drained off. Serve with the fish arranged on the top of the rice, the
sauce poured over all, and garnished with the hard-boiled eggs cut in
circles, halves, or quarters, according to fancy.

(_b_) Fowl.--1 fowl, 1 lb. mutton, 8 oz. rice, 5 onions, 3 or 4
eggs, ½ lb. butter, 10 black peppercorns, 4 blades mace, 10 cloves,
10 cardamoms, 1 dessertspoonful salt, ¼ oz. green ginger. Put 1 lb.
mutton cut into slices, and four whole onions, into 6 qts. water;
boil all together until reduced to one-third, then mash the meat in
the liquor, and set it aside. Wash 8 oz. rice well, and dry it by
squeezing it in a cloth. Melt ½ lb. butter in a saucepan, fry in it a
handful of onions (sliced lengthwise) until they have become brown,
then remove, and lay them aside. In the butter that remains fry
slightly a fowl that has been previously boiled; take out the fowl,
and in the same butter add the rice, and fry it also a little, and,
as the butter evaporates, add the above-mentioned broth to it, and
boil the rice in it; then put in the pepper, mace, cloves, cardamoms,
and salt, with the green ginger cut in slices. When the rice is
sufficiently boiled, remove all but a little fire from underneath the
“handy,” and put some live coals or charcoal on the cover. If the
rice be at all hard, add a little water to it, and put the fowl in to
get a flavour; finally cover it over with the rice, and serve up with
a garnish of hard-boiled eggs cut in quarters. The “handy” is a sort
of deep basin without handle, made of tin or tin lined copper, with
close-fitting lid.

(_c_) Fruit.--1 lb. Patna rice, 8 bananas (almost every description
of fruit can be substituted--quinces, pears, mangoes, &c.), 1½
lb. sugar, 2 lemons (when procurable, 3 lemons preferable), ¼ oz.
crushed ginger, ¼ oz. crushed coriander seed, 1 doz. each cloves and
cardamoms, and a few small sticks of cinnamon. Make a syrup with ½
lb. of the sugar, flavour it with the ginger and coriander seed, let
it simmer for 10 minutes after the spices are added, then strain and
put aside. Parboil the rice in water, and finish cooking it in the
above syrup, granulating it. Simultaneously with these operations,
make a clear syrup with the rest of the sugar, flavour it with the
juice of the lemons, the cloves, and cardamoms; after it has simmered
for 10 minutes put in the bananas, each cut lengthways into 2 or 4
pieces, let them stew till done. Place the rice in a dish, arrange
the bananas on it, strain off the spices from the syrup in which the
fruit was stewed, and pour it over all and serve.

(_d_) Nuckodee Choofta.--3 lb. mutton, 1 lb. rice, 1¼ oz. suet, 2
eggs, 1 oz. flour, 1 lb. onions, ¾ oz. green ginger, ¼ lb. almonds,
2 oz. salt, ¾ oz. coriander seeds, 10 cloves, 8 cardamoms, 8 black
peppercorns, a little cinnamon, saffron, and butter. Slice the meat
and put it into a saucepan with a sufficient quantity of water, some
sliced onions, green ginger, pounded salt, and coriander seeds, with
a little butter. Boil all together until the meat is done, then
strain the gravy into a basin, take out the meat, and warm it up
in butter with half the cloves, after which add part of the other
spices. Parboil the rice in plain water, then cook it in the gravy
with the cinnamon, take the saffron, grind it with a little water,
and colour a part of the rice, place this over the meat, or on one
side of the saucepan, and the plain rice on the other. Pour some
melted butter over the whole, cover the saucepan close, and set it
near the fire. Mince very finely another lb. of meat, and warm it
up in melted butter with some sliced onions, green ginger, salt,
and coriander seeds; add a little water, and simmer gently till the
meat is done, then put the meat into a mortar with the suet, some
chopped onions, pepper, salt, and the white of the eggs, beat the
whole together into a paste, form it into small balls, roll them in
the flour, and then warm them up in melted butter with cloves; pound
the almonds with a little water and the rest of the spices, and put
it with the balls, which are now to be fried until properly done, and
when ready placed over the pilau and served.

Pishpash.--Wash a breakfastcupful of Patna rice in 2 or 3 waters,
drain; slice an onion. Get a small knuckle of veal, stew the veal
slowly until half done, add then the rice and onion, a blade of mace,
a few white peppercorns, and if liked 2-3 cardamoms. Cover close, and
cook gently until the rice is done; season with salt to taste; serve
very hot. This may be made with the scrag end of neck of mutton, fat
being carefully cut off, or with a fat young chicken. The latter is
most delicate for an invalid.

Quoormah (Persian Curry).--Take 2 lb. fat mutton, cut it into small
pieces as for curry, sprinkle it with 1½ teaspoonful salt. Warm a
stewpan, melt 5 oz. butter, fry 3 onions, sliced thin until crisp;
remove, and add to the butter 1 tablespoonful ground onions, 1
teaspoonful ground chillies, 1 of ground coriander seed, ½ of ginger,
a little cinnamon, and a clove of minced garlic; fry until well
brown; put in the mutton and salt. When this is browned add the crisp
onions, cut small, ½ pint curd, 8 peppercorns, 4 cloves, 5 cardamoms,
and 2 or 3 bay leaves; stir well together. Closely cover the stewpan,
and let the quoormah simmer slowly for about 2 hours. A little water
may be added if it becomes too dry. Serve as curry; pork, beef, veal,
or chicken may be used.

Rice, Boiled.--Take 1 breakfastcupful Patna rice, pick it free of all
foreign matter, wash it in several waters until perfectly clean. Put
it, with a saltspoonful salt, into a large saucepan with sufficient
water to cover it well. This water may be cold or otherwise, as it
does not affect the result. When it is nearly done--which may easily
be known by squeezing a grain between the fingers, for if there
is just a suspicion of a core it is right--take it off, drain off
the water by pushing aside the lid and tilting the pan over. Then
at once put the pan under a tap, cover the rice quickly with cold
water, drain it off quickly, and repeat the process. Now take the
pan containing the drained rice and place it on the hob without any
cover, shaking it constantly about to permit the remaining moisture
to escape as steam. Care must be taken not to allow the grains
adhering to the bottom and sides of the pan to become scorched or
shrivelled up. In 3-4 minutes the rice will have become thoroughly
cooked by the steam, and each grain separate. There must be no
hesitation when you douche the rice with cold water; its object is to
wash away all the starch, which clings to the grains and causes them
to cohere, and the more water you use the quicker will it be done.
The grand secret of boiling rice consists in this washing process.
Of course, it cannot be expected that this knack will be learned to
any degree of nicety at the first essay; a few patient experiments
must, however, finally lead to success, as it is the way in which the
greatest rice-eaters of the world--the natives of India--cook it.

Tamarind Fish.--When used as a relish for breakfast, or to eat with a
curry, it should be first cleaned of the mixture by scraping with a
knife, and then fried, being served very hot.

_Italian._--Bracciolette.--Take a piece of fillet of beef, remove
all fat and gristle, and mince it finely, mixing with it salt, 1 or
2 cloves (powdered), and a little oil and chopped fat bacon, sweet
herbs and parsley to taste. When well amalgamated roll it out, and
divide it into small pieces; form each piece into an olive, roll them
in liquefied butter, and then in fine breadcrumbs. Just before they
are wanted, broil at a good fire, first on one side, then on the
other; if done too long they will be spoilt.

Codfish.--Take 3 lb. cod, pick in pieces, remove all bones and skin;
take an onion in slices, fry with 2 tablespoonfuls Lucca oil, and
1 oz. butter, add 1 tablespoonful chopped parsley, a little ground
cinnamon, mace, and pepper; put in the fish, and stew ½ hour. The
same can be done with salted cod after soaking for some hours, in
which case do not put salt.

Croccante.-½ lb. finely chopped (and blanched) sweet almonds, ½ lb.
loaf sugar, 1 tablespoonful essence of lemon, a piece of butter size
of a walnut; boil in a saucepan till it sets (15-20 minutes), turn
into a flat shape to set; to be eaten cold.

Galoni.-½ lb. flour, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs beaten, ¼ lb. butter;
knead all very thoroughly ¾ hour, roll out very thin, cut in strips
or any fancy shapes, fry in boiling lard, place on a hot dish with a
napkin, sprinkle with pounded sugar, and serve.

Gniocchi of Semolina.--Take 1 lb. good semolina and 1 pint milk. Put
the milk, with an equal quantity of water, on the fire, and before
it reaches boiling point sprinkle in the semolina and let it boil,
stirring all the time. When sufficiently cooked turn it out on the
pasteboard, which has been previously sprinkled with cold water. When
cold, cut the paste into pieces the size of a walnut. Put them on a
dish, season them well with grated Parmesan, sugar, and cinnamon, add
butter; put them in the Dutch oven, and bake 1 hour before serving.

Milanese Stew (Umido).--Take a good-sized piece of beef, and, after
well beating and washing it, put it in a basin, cover it with wine,
and let it remain for a night. In the morning take out the meat, lard
it with strips of bacon, season it with powdered cloves, cinnamon,
and salt, lay it in a stewpan with the wine, a faggot of parsley, one
of sweet herbs, ½ onion, and a clove of garlic. Boil slowly, with the
stewpan closely covered, till the meat is well done.

Minestra.--Cut up 3 or 4 potatoes, add a proportionate quantity of
beans (dried ones best), onions, carrots, and celery, sliced, and,
if in season, sliced vegetable marrow and pumpkin rind. Boil all
these in ¼ saucepan of water till the potatoes are quite soft, adding
salt. Then add ¼ lb. rice or maccaroni; boil a little longer, as the
rice ought not to be soft, and before taking off the fire add 1 oz.
butter (orthodox, a spoonful of fine olive oil), and as much Parmesan
cheese; stir a few minutes and serve. In both cases grated cheese may
with advantage be added afterwards.

Pickled Fish.--Flour the fish and fry it in oil, and put it by to
drain. Pound in a mortar 2 or 3 sprigs of mint, 1 capsicum (fresh, if
possible), 2 cloves of garlic, and salt to taste; gradually work in
some wine vinegar (say about 1 pint), put this sauce into a saucepan,
let it boil for 5 minutes, pour it boiling hot on the fish, and serve
when cold.

Puff Paste as used by the Nuns.--Take 1½ lb. flour, reserve a small
quantity wherewith to dredge the pastry, break into it the yolks
of 2 eggs and 1 white, add ½ glass of tepid water, and 1 spoonful
butter. Knead the paste well, and roll it lightly out several times.
Divide it into 2 or 3 parts; roll each piece out quite thin. Butter
a tart mould, and put in the paste in layers, with butter between
the layers. Cut off the edges all round the mould, and then with a
sharp knife mark a round the size of the cover you wish to take off,
leaving the bottom intact. Bake, and then remove the cover. Fill the
tart with whatever you like, put on the cover again, and serve hot or
cold.

Purses.--Take 1 lb. finest flour and 2 oz. butter, knead both
together lightly with as many eggs as will form a smooth, stiff
paste. Spread it out to the thickness of a penny piece, cut it out in
round pieces 4 in. in diameter, place in the middle 1 teaspoonful any
kind of well-flavoured mince, ready cooked; gather up each piece of
paste, and tie it up with a thin strip of paste. The trimming can be
rolled out again and again till all the paste is used, and any manner
of device can be made with the paste. To cook these things have a
deep frying pan, full of very hot lard, and plunge them in for more
or less time, according to the size and shape of the device.

Ricotta.--Strain 1 gal. fresh whey into a flat copper pan, put it
on a gentle fire, and as soon as a kind of froth begins to rise on
it, add 1 qt. milk, and stir the mixture lightly with a stick until
a thick froth rises all over the surface; gather this froth with a
spoon, and put it to drain in a deep grass basket, or in a very fine
tin colander, and the ricotta is made. It must be carefully avoided
to let the milk and whey come to the boil at any time during the
process.

Risotto.-¼ lb. rice, and boil it with sufficient salt in a little
more water than will cover it, until the rice begins to swell; it
must not get too soft. Then add a pinch of saffron, just to colour
it, or, if possible, 1 tablespoonful tomato sauce; also about 1 oz.
butter, and as much grated Parmesan; stir for a few moments and
serve. This is for 4 people.

Zuchillo (Tomato sauce to dress maccaroni with).--Take about 1 lb.
trimmings of beef, as much fat bacon, all cut into dice, an onion cut
into dice, then thrown into cold water and squeezed dry in a cloth:
add or not a clove of garlic, then put the whole into a saucepan, and
let it remain on the fire, shaking it occasionally, till the onion
is almost melted away; then add parsley, marjoram, thyme, pepper,
and salt. Take a piece of “conserva” (tomato pulp dried in the sun
to the consistency of damson cheese), cut it in pieces the size of a
pea, put in the pieces a few at a time, always stirring the contents
of the saucepan. The “conserva” must be fresh and soft; if it is old
and tough, it must first be softened by kneading it with a little
water. When sufficient “conserva” has been put in, moisten with water
a spoonful at a time. Let the whole simmer some 10 minutes longer;
then strain, remove superfluous fat, and the sauce is ready. To make
“zuchillo” with fresh tomatoes, cut them in pieces, remove pips,
water, and stalks, and then put in the pieces instead of “conserva,”
a few at a time. In this case it is not necessary to moisten with
water, but rather to let the sauce reduce, and to be careful not
to put in fresh tomatoes until the first lot is somewhat reduced.
Another way is to use either fresh or bottled tomato sauce, and put
it in a spoonful at a time. The tomato sauce must be in the French
form, with no vinegar in it.

_Jewish._--Bola D’Amor.--Clarify 2 lb. white sugar; drop a spoonful
into cold water to ascertain if it is of a proper consistency; form
it into a ball, and try if it sounds when struck against a glass.
When it is thus tested, take the yolks of 20 eggs, mix them up
gently, and pass them through a sieve; then have ready a funnel, the
hole of which must be about the size of vermicelli; hold the funnel
over the sugar while it is boiling over a charcoal fire; pour the
eggs through, stirring the sugar all the time, and taking care to
hold the funnel at such a distance from the sugar as to admit of the
egg dropping into it. When the egg has been a few minutes in the
sugar, it will be hard enough to take out with a silver fork, and
must then be placed on a drainer; continue adding egg to the boiling
sugar till enough is obtained; place in a dish a layer of this paste,
over which spread a layer of citron cut in thin slices, and then a
thick layer of the eggs prepared as above. Continue working thus in
alternate layers till high enough to look handsome. It should be
piled in the shape of a cone, and the egg should form the last layer.
It must then be placed in a gentle oven till it becomes a little set,
and the last layer slightly crisp; a few minutes will effect this.
It must be served in the dish in which it is baked, and is generally
ornamented with myrtle and gold and silver leaf.

Amnastich.--Stew gently 1 pint rice in 1 qt. strong gravy till it
begins to swell, then add an onion stuck with cloves, a bunch of
sweet herbs, and a chicken stuffed with forcemeat; let it stew with
the rice till thoroughly done, then take it up and stir in the rice
the yolks of 4 eggs and the juice of a lemon; serve the fowl in the
same dish with the rice, which should be coloured to a fine yellow
with saffron.

Fish, fried.--Frying fish Jewish fashion, simple as it is, is rarely
quite successful, except in a Jewish household. Lay the fish for
about 20 minutes in water, in which put a small quantity of salt. Any
fish will be nice this way--soles, plaice, or a not too thick slice
of salmon. Dry the fish thoroughly with a perfectly clean cloth, and
flour it lightly with the flour dredger. Have ready a frying-pan
with some good frying oil, beat up 2 eggs and pour them into a plate
or pie-dish; pass the fish through the eggs then plunge it into the
boiling oil, and fry a light brown. Care must be taken that the oil
is really boiling, or the fish will be soft and flabby.

Fish stewed with egg and lemon sauce.--A salmon head, or a slice or
two of salmon or halibut, or cod, are the nicest for this dish. Put a
little chopped parsley, a little onion, a very small piece of ginger,
and a little saffron, previously dissolved in hot water, with some
pepper and salt at the bottom of a saucepan. Cut up the fish in not
too small pieces, and lay it on them: then cover with water, and let
it cook slowly. When almost done, take the yolks of 7 eggs and beat
them well; add to them gradually the juice of 5 lemons (strained),
pour this very slowly over the boiling fish, gently shaking the
saucepan to prevent curdling; directly the sauce thickens it is done.

Juditha.--Put some gooseberries into a saucepan with very little
water; when they are soft pulp them through a sieve, add several
well-beaten yolks of eggs, and sweeten with white sugar. Have ready a
shape of biscuit ice, or any other cream ice, that may be preferred;
take off a thick slice of the ice from the top carefully, and without
breaking, so that it may be replaced on the ice. Scoop out a large
portion of the ice, which may be mixed with the gooseberry cream,
and fill the hollow with it. Cover the shape with the piece that
was removed, and serve. This is an elegant dish. The ice should be
prepared in a round mould; brown bread ice is particularly adapted to
a Juditha.

Matso Cakes.--Make a stiff paste with biscuit powder and milk and
water; add a little butter, the yolk of an egg, and a little white
sugar, cut into pieces, and mould with the hand, and bake in a brisk
oven. These cakes should not be too thin.

Matso Diet Bread.--Simmer 1 lb. white sugar in ¼ pint water, which
pour hot upon 8 well-beaten eggs; beat till cold, when add 1 lb.
matso flour, a little grated lemon peel, and bake in a papered tin or
in small tins. The cake must be removed while hot.

Passover Pudding.--Mix equal quantities of biscuit powder and shred
suet, half the quantity of currants and raisins, a little spice and
sugar, with 1 oz. candied peels, and 5 well-beaten eggs; make these
into a stiff batter, and boil well, and serve with a sweet sauce.
This pudding is excellent baked in a pudding tin. It must be turned
out when served.

_Levantine._ Bouillabaisse.--This far-famed dish of the Marseillais,
is, as a rule, unapproachable to English people, owing to the
quantity of garlic and oil, often of inferior quality, used in its
preparation; but if the oil is really good, it is hardly tasted at
all when well cooked; however, butter may be used instead. (_a_)
Take some “rascasses”--or, where not obtainable, any other rock
fish--lampreys, and lobsters. Slightly fry in a good quantity of
butter in a stewpan some onions, shallots, and parsley; then put in
the fish, and add sufficient water to cover the fish, season with
pepper and salt, and put in a pinch or two of flour and saffron; boil
for about 10 minutes; pour the rich gravy obtained over thick slices
of bread, and serve the fish and the bread and gravy in separate
dishes. (_b_) Boil about 1 lb. small fish with a quantity of water
for rather over 1 hour, then pour out the whole, and press the fish
through a colander. When this thick rich gravy or soup is obtained,
proceed as in (_a_), only, instead of adding water, use the fish
gravy. Rock fish, lampreys, and lobsters should always be employed to
make a really good bouillabaisse; crabs may also be added.

Chestnut Pudding.--It is easily made. Boil about 25 large chestnuts,
peel, and pound them well in a mortar. Mix the yolks of 12 and the
whites of 6 eggs, well beaten with 3 pints cream and ½ lb. fresh
butter; sweeten with white sugar. Then add the chestnut paste,
stirring over fire till it thickens. Prepare a pie-dish with puff
paste, pour in mixture, and bake. It may be eaten with wine sauce or
without.

Grasse Nuts.--Take 6 eggs, 1 tablespoonful orange-flower water, and
6 oz. powdered sugar; beat it up with as much flour as it will take
up. When formed into a paste, roll it out twice, then knead. Cut off
small pieces, and roll them long with the fingers and knot them; put
on a tin to bake a light brown. When done, have ready 6 oz. white
sugar in a preserving pan, clarify and boil the sugar, then toss in
the cakes, and continue tossing until all the sugar is used and the
cakes are quite dry and white; spread out to cool.

Orange-flower Cakes.--Take 1 lb. very fine white sugar, melt it with
orange-flower water, and clarify it perfectly. Take a handful of
orange flowers, bleach them with a little water and lemon juice, and
press them very hard indeed in a white cloth. When the sugar is very
much reduced, to about half, throw the flowers in. Have ready the
white of an egg well whipped with a little water. When the orange
flowers have burst (they pop), pour in the egg gently, stirring all
the time. Directly the sugar rises, take off the fire, and pour
quickly into white paper moulds of any form. These cakes should be
very white and light.

Orange-flower Puffs.--Prepare a batter as though for pancakes, add 1
tablespoonful or more, according to taste, good orange-flower water;
add a little powdered sugar, fry in butter or dripping, as with apple
fritters, powder with white sugar, and serve hot.

Stuffed Vegetable Marrow Flowers.--Pick the flowers when full blown,
wash them and stuff with half-boiled rice, minced veal, sweet herbs,
onions, and an egg; stew in beef stock. This makes a very pretty and
excellent _entremet_, the flowers remaining yellow, with green ribs.

_Polish._--The great feature of this cuisine is the very frequent
use of flour or oatmeal mixed with the meat. They also employ
curdled milk, both sweet and sour, and excessive use of spices,
marmalade, and salted provisions, the Polish sour-crout, and the
wild horse-radish. A Pole sneers at our homely necessary adjunct
of the dinner table, the potato; he clings tenaciously to his
salted cucumbers, which a Polish table is never without, and which
completely usurp the place of the potato among the poor, forming in
some cases their chief provision. Poland is a soup-eating nation;
although to our uninitiated eyes, the different materials of which
they are concocted seem inharmonious.

Barszcz.--A favourite Polish soup is Barszcz. Put 4 lb. beef, 1 lb.
smoked ribs of pork, ¼ lb. ham, and 12 button mushrooms, onions and
leeks into a large stewpan. Add 1 pint expressed juice of beetroot.
Cook until the meat is tender, then add a hare, a fowl, and a duck,
previously roasted to colour and give it a good flavour, and again
some beetroot juice. Boil ¼ hour, and add some whites of eggs beaten
with a little water to clear the soup. Cut up the boiled meats into
convenient portions, and serve them in the bouillon, garnished with
button mushrooms, tiny onions, slices of beetroot alternately with
some fingers of celery and sprigs of parsley, all thoroughly well
cooked beforehand; some fresh fennel, balls of force-meat and some
broiled sausages, the small ones usually eaten abroad, about the
length and thickness of the forefinger. This recipe is in the above
quantities requisite for a large consumption. It can, however, be
easily modified to suit any requirement, especially as regards the
game and poultry added. Judgment must step in and regulate the due
proportion of ingredients in a lesser or greater quantity as desired.
The beetroot juice is quite peculiar to Poland. Without it few dishes
are concocted or brought to table. Wash your beet carefully, then
scrape it and cut in 4 lengthway pieces. Put them in a saucepan, and
cover well with lukewarm water; keep it a soft heat for the space of
3-4 hours, by which gentle process the juice acquires an agreeably
acid flavour.

Chotodriec.--Put 1 qt. salted cucumber juice, and a small quantity
of leaven into a large saucepan, and boil well. Allow it to cool
gently, and then mix in 1 qt. curdled milk. Boil one young beetroot,
cut up finely in strips, in a separate saucepan. When done add it
also to the soup, with some of the water wherein it was boiled, to
colour a good red. Have ready 4 hard-boiled eggs, cut either in
thin slices or small fillets, the latter being preferable; a good
tablespoonful of finely chopped fennel and chives; some slices
of fresh cucumber, and the flesh of a whole cray-fish, or crab,
whichever most preferred, cut up in fair sized pieces. Add all these
ingredients one after another to the soup, which must be served cold
without bread, accompanied by small pieces of ice to make it colder
still. Some palates have a complete and unconquerable objection
to beetroot; when this happens to be the case, substitute sorrel,
dressed like a spinach purée, with a little butter, for the obnoxious
beetroot. There is a simplified method of making chotodriec by
mixing the curdled milk with the juice of crushed fresh cucumber,
some chopped fennel and chives; also sorrel; the hard-boiled eggs in
rounds and slices of cucumber crushed in at the last moment. Melon
is often substituted in this case for the cucumber, and makes a
pleasing diversity. The salted cucumber juice for making chotodriec
is prepared by the Polish cooks in the following manner. Wipe some
moderate sized green cucumbers carefully in a clean linen cloth,
and put them to what is termed “sweat” for 24 hours in a warm, dry
place. Have a wooden cask staved in at the top well scalded; if it is
a possibility, use a cask that has contained either hock or sherry
previously. Place the cucumbers at the bottom, one against the other,
and cover them with a bed of chopped fennel, some young leaves of the
cherry-tree, and some crushed coriander seed. Pour some salted water
on them, which has been already boiled, and allowed to get cold. Then
cover up the cask carefully, and place in some cool place, resting on
pieces of wood, to prevent the cask touching the ground. Cold water
previously boiled must be added, should the moisture ooze away. The
cask must be watched every day, and any mould which may by chance
accumulate on the top be carefully removed. At the expiration of 2
months, the cucumbers are considered to be sufficiently salted and
flavoured, and ready to be eaten. The water should not be excessively
salt, as it is the usual custom for the poor to steep their bread in
it, on the principle that it is sinful to waste, besides giving their
bread an unwonted relish.

Zrazy.--Another famous dish. Take the undercut from a sirloin of
beef, cut it through into cutlets a bare inch thick; beat them with
a cutlet bat or the blade of a heavy knife till they are about half
the original thickness; trim them to a nice round shape. Make a
good-sized piece of butter quite hot in a stewpan, lay in the slices
with salt, pepper, a pinch of pounded cloves, and an onion or some
shallots that have been minced and delicately browned in butter, or
(if not objected to) a small clove of garlic pounded or bruised fine.
Cover close, and let the zrazy steam in their own gravy till tender.
Turn them when one side is coloured, and taste them occasionally. If
the gravy dries away, add a little stock or soup. When done quite
tender, take up the slices. Skim off any superfluous fat from the
sauce; dust a little flour in; darken the sauce with sugar browning;
let it cook for a minute; then pour it over the meat, and garnish
with sliced potatoes fried in butter.

_Russian._--The Russian people, during the great fasts--which
last 4-7 weeks, and which recur 4 times during the year--sustain
themselves entirely on the soup made with the bitter cabbages, and
a handful of dry salted fish called _sniedky_. It is clean tasted,
but you need be a lover of this fish to relish it. It is not unlike
whitebait; it is salt and dry, and leaves a somewhat soapy taste.

Borshch.--Take 3 lb. good fat meat, wash it well in warm water, boil
it 2-3 minutes, take it out and wash it in cold water; cut it in
pieces, and put it in the pot, pouring some stock over it; add some
vegetables and a head of cabbage cut in 8 pieces; when the cabbage is
well boiled, add according to taste the juice of beetroot or kwass
(weak beer made of rye, very similar to treacle beer) or vinegar, and
salt; then boil it until all is ready. You may add to this borshch,
1 lb. smoked ham, previously washed in warm water, dried, and boiled
twice; lift it immediately and wash it in cold water, cut it in
pieces, and put it in the borshch; then boil all together. Before
serving, skim off the fat, take out the cabbage and put it in another
pot, to which add 1 lb. sliced beetroot and some stock; boil it, add
a little of the juice of the beetroot uncooked, to give it colour,
and pepper and salt to taste. Prepared in this manner, borshch is
excellent. The ingredients are as follows: 2½-3 lb. beef; 1 lb. ham;
1 head celery; parsley and 2 onions; 2 or 3 leaves of laurel; 1 small
head of cabbage; 10-20 gr. pepper, salt, juice of beetroot, and some
fennel.

Nalym.--Chop an onion, fry it in 2 spoonfuls fresh butter melted, add
1 spoonful flour; mix; pour in a little water, and set it to simmer
on the hot plate. When it begins to boil, put in 5-6 potatoes, which
you have cut in pieces, with some salt. Clean thoroughly, and salt
your fish, cut it in convenient pieces, and let all simmer together,
add some barley grits, a little parsley, and black pepper. The fish
thus dealt with is called in Russian _nalym_, which is translated
_lavaret_, a name familiar to travellers as that of a kind of trout
which inhabits the lakes of Switzerland. Soup made from sea fish is
not so much relished, as Russia is especially rich in fresh-water
fish. They sometimes make _shchi_ with sea fish.

Oucha.--Made for great occasions. Cook 2-3 lb. some small fishes, or,
if you prefer just a fowl, with carrots, turnips, onions, a few herbs
and some spice and salt; add a little nutmeg, clear with white of egg
or with caviare, and strain through a fine cloth. When this broth is
ready, place in it sterlet cut in good slices; add a glass of cold
water and let it stew, removing all scum. When the sterlet is cooked
pour the oucha into a tureen containing slices of lemon, without
either rind or pips. Add champagne to taste, and give it all a boil
up, adding parsley and fennel. When you serve it do not cover the
tureen. This fish is very delicate. It is usually served in the pan
in which it has been cooked; therefore in large establishments silver
saucepans are used.

Shchi.--The Russians, like the Germans and other northern nations,
are fond of a subacid flavour in their food: many of their soups are
thus flavoured; and where they are not, a very common thing is for
a dish of clotted sour cream to be placed on the table, from which
the consumer may take what is necessary to give his _plat_ (whether
soup, pork, or anything else) the degree of acidity which suits his
palate. A very little of this sour cream goes a far way however, a
spoonful or two being sufficient to convert a very excellent dish of
brown soup into what, according to our lights, would be considered a
sour and unpalatable mess; but the shchi has generally a sufficiently
subacid flavour of its own. It is made in this way. At the beginning
of winter a store of cabbages is laid in by almost every household;
these are chopped up into shreds, and placed in barrels with vinegar
and salt, when a certain amount of fermentation takes place, and the
cabbage becomes a kind of sauerkraut. From these barrels a portion
is taken as required, and that is pretty commonly daily, for the
shchi is not only the most characteristic national food in Russia,
but the regular daily food of the great mass of the people. The
portion so taken is made with meat into a cabbage broth, which is the
shchi. With the broth there is always served a number of lumps of
the boiled meat that made it. To make the shchi good, the degree of
fermentation that it passes through in the barrel has to be carefully
watched, for, if it goes too far, putrefaction sets in, and, if not
absolutely spoiled, the cabbage at least acquires a high flavour,
which is not agreeable to everyone. The shchi which we have been
describing is shchi pure and simple, but it can be infinitely varied;
by grating and mixing with it other items, it can be made to assume
the appearance of almost any vegetable soup, from green-pea soup to
cock-a-leekie: but, under whatever guise it appears, its identity
can always be traced by the subacid flavour which is ever present in
greater or less force. Whatever form it takes, however, when well
made it is excellent.

Siberian Pilemaignes.--Chop 2 onions, add slices of ham and fat
bacon, and a tender piece of game. Chop all these together, adding
some black pepper and a few cloves. For the paste, take 3 glasses
flour, 2 eggs, 7 spoonfuls salt water, and 1 teaspoonful salt; work
this into a tolerably stiff paste, and roll it out as thin as you
can without breaking it. Place on it at equal distances balls of the
forcemeat, cover them well with paste, and press them all round to
prevent coming out. With a knife or mould divide them into little
crescent-shaped tarts. Plunge them into boiling salted water, and
look at them in 10 minutes and see if they are done. If so, take
them out carefully with a slice, and place them in a deep dish. You
can moisten them with a sauce made of stock and butter, with lemon
juice or vinegar. If you have put plenty of bacon in do not make any
sauce, as they will contain sufficient gravy. Do not forget that the
forcemeat is put into the paste _uncooked_.

Stouffate--Salt a piece of beef, lard it with ham or smoked tongue,
or else fat bacon. Put in an earthenware pot (not in a metal pan)
several slices of bacon or butter, vegetables, and spice, and on
this lay the meat. Pour over it some wine, and 2 spoonsful vinegar
or lemon juice. Let this simmer, adding a little water sufficient
to moisten the meat on all sides. When sufficiently cooked put the
meat on a dish, remove all fat from the gravy, to which add a little
stock; strain it if necessary, and pour it over the meat.

_Scottish._--Brochan.--Brochan is excellent as a supper dish or as
a hot nourishing drink in winter when coughs and colds are on the
outlook for victims. This is the way it is made: A sufficiency of
water is put in a pan on the fire and allowed to boil; for every
pint water in the pan, 1 small dessertspoonful of meal is put into
a basin and mixed with ½ breakfastcupful sweet cream, according
to the quantity of meal; this, with salt to taste, is poured into
the boiling water, and the whole allowed to boil for about 1 hour.
It is served in cups or small basins; into each of these is put 1
tablespoonful golden syrup, or thin slices of cheese, and the boiling
gruel is poured into each. The oatmeal used is that known in Scotland
as medium ground.

Skink Soup.--A much-liked and often made soup, made from the shin of
beef. A well-broken shin of beef is put into 1½ gal. boiling water
and boiled for 2 hours; it is then taken out, and the meat cut from
the bone in small neat pieces, the liquor being skimmed at the same
time. The bone is returned to the liquor and boiled 4 hours longer.
This part of the process is generally done the day before the soup is
wanted. The vegetables are then added in about the same proportion
as for mutton broth. Add the pieces of beef at the same time, with
pepper and salt to taste, and boil till the vegetables are tender.

Sowens.--The sids of oats are made into a dish called sowens, which
is delicious, and, being light and wholesome, is often recommended by
doctors for invalids. The sids are the inner husks of the oat grain;
they retain a fine floury substance, which is what sowens are made
of. To make sowens, the sids are first put into a narrow-mouthed
wooden tub, like a small barrel with an open end, called a “sowen
bowy,” and cold water mixed with them. The sids rise in dry bubbles
to the top of the water, and must be stirred with the spurtle till
all are wet; they are then covered with cold water to the depth of
6-8 in., and allowed to set for a week in summer, and a few days
longer in winter, to sour. When sour, a tin sieve, called the sowen
sieve, is placed over a wide-mouthed jar or tub, and the tubful of
sour sids poured through the sieve; the sids remain on the sieve, and
a drab liquid runs into the tub below. The sids which remain on the
sieve have some cold water poured over them to wash out any sediment,
are squeezed between the hands for the same purpose, and then thrown
away. The water in the wide tub is allowed to set for 2 days after
the foregoing operation, and is then fit for use; a thick sediment
will be at the bottom, and clear water at the top. When wanted for
use, the water is poured off, and sufficient of the sediment put into
a pan and boiled with a little water for ½ hour; it is then served in
soup plates and eaten with new milk.

_Spanish._--Ajo blanco.--This soup is extensively eaten in Andalusia.
Pound 1 clove of garlic and 7 well-dried beans, or better still,
almonds, in a small spice mortar to a smooth paste. Moisten this
paste with olive oil, drop by drop, then water by degrees, so as
to thoroughly incorporate and amalgamate the whole. Add until it
is sufficiently wet to soak some bread, which must be added later
on, pouring in some vinegar and a little salt. Then put in the
breadcrumbs, size of half an almond, and allow it to soak. A final
mixing of the bowl, and this quaint and perfectly national dish
awaits consumption.

Bacalao.--_Bacalao_, or salted cod, in this land of rigid
Catholicism, is almost indispensable as food on the many last days
in the calendar. (_a_) Cut up the cod after it has been soaked for
24 hours, and lay the pieces so as to cover the bottom of a pipkin;
pour on this a thick stratum of grated bread, garlic and parsley
in profusion, then more codfish, then bread again, and so on till
the pipkin is full to the top. Fill all the crevices with raw oil,
garlic, pepper and salt; close the pipkin, and boil till the contents
are nearly dry, when serve. (_b_) Lay onions, cut in thick circles,
at the bottom of a pipkin, with tomatoes, a grain of garlic, and
cinnamon; on these place a layer of codfish sliced, and so on in
alternate layers. Pour in plenty of oil, cloves, peppers, whole and
ground, and then set on the fire to boil, without adding any stock,
till the juice of the tomatoes and onions is nearly absorbed. (_c_)
Codfish with honey or sugar may be eaten by boiling the pieces,
draining them dry, soaking in honey, flouring, and then frying; or
the pieces may be covered with yolk of egg, floured, and powdered
over with sugar. (_d_) Codfish _a la vizcaino_ (in the Biscayan
method) may be nice. After soaking and cutting in bits, put it on
to boil; meanwhile toast a few tomatoes before the fire, skin them,
and mash them well up with a wooden spoon; chop up plenty of onions
very small, and put them to boil in oil. Just before they turn colour
add the tomatoes. Now place the cod in a pipkin, throw in the onions
and tomatoes with the oil in which they were cooked, and set on a
slow fire to simmer gently till quite done. (_e_) Codfish _con ajo
de arriero_ (with muleteer’s garlic) is prepared by boiling the fish
first, then adding a sauce at the time of serving, made by frying
garlic in oil, and adding peppers, green and red, with vinegar in
equal quantity with the oil.

Chorizos.--The ordinary _chorizos_, or plain sausages, are prepared
thus: the lean of pork chopped very small is steeped in a small
tub with salt, pepper, white and red, to give it a colour, wild
marjoram, which has been well pounded and passed through a sieve,
and garlic bruised. It is here beaten up well, so that the meat and
condiments may become well incorporated, and it is so kept for 3-4
days, taking care to turn it over once or twice a day, and to work
it with the hands. After that time fry a little to taste and try,
adding such seasoning or other ingredients as may appear necessary;
when ready fill the skins, having prepared them the day previous with
an infusion of wild marjoram, a little salt, and water sufficient to
cover them. Longaniza, which are larger, longer, and very tender, are
made in the same way, but without hot pepper, and with the addition
of a little aniseed boiled in white wine. The coarse longanizas is
made by chopping up the liver, tongue, heart, kidney, and intestines.
Some sausages are scented by drenching the mincemeat in white
wine flavoured with powdered cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg; and
occasionally this sauce is further thickened with eggs beaten up with
or without sugar, the meat being minced small, so as to form a thick
paste, adding sometimes honey or cream.

Cocido.--First and foremost on the list of soups comes the cocido,
or far-famed olla podrida, so supremely dear to the national heart.
Every province has some particular method for the concoction of
cocido, to which mode it faithfully adheres. The following method is
that of the Spanish capital, Madrid, that being the most general.
Throw 1½ lb. either mutton or veal into a vessel, with water (the
Spaniards use a pipkin, called in the vernacular a “marmite”), 1½
lb. garbanzos, or chickpeas, one good slice of lean raw ham, and
any _debris_ (no matter how small) of game or poultry. Cook gently
with the lid on, skim, and add a little bacon cut small, and as
much salt as necessary; cook for another ½ hour, then pour off the
broth slowly, to be used afterwards for the soup and sauce; add
as much vegetable as you please, thoroughly well washed, and cook
over a clear fire until done. About 5 minutes before the olla is
ready, throw in a piece of chorizo (black pudding). Serve the meat
separately on one dish, the vegetables on another, and in a third the
sauce for the whole.

Gaspacho.--There are 2 other soups much affected by this nation, and
these are, strange as it may seem, eaten cold. The first is gaspacho.
This is always regarded as the most refreshing of all the national
dishes. The poor glory in it; and the rich, during that time when
the beams of a too scorching sun enervate the Spanish frame, fly to
gaspacho as an unfailing “pick-me-up.” Put some chopped chives and
cucumber cut up in the shape of dice into a large salad bowl, add a
small quantity of water, a pinch of salt, lemon juice and oil. Throw
in some crumbled bread, which must be able to float. Finally sprinkle
some fine chopped marjoram over the whole, and your gaspacho is ready.

Morcillas, or Black Puddings.--These savoury articles are prepared
as follows: Mince up the fat that has been taken from the stomach of
the pig into very small pieces, and throw it into a large tub with
salt, onions, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon, all chopped small; pound
the whole together till the spices are well mixed, and then add the
blood slowly, using a wooden spoon. As soon as the paste is made,
fry a little and taste, adding more seasoning if required. Now fill
the skins, leaving them a little thin, so that they may not burst in
cooking, which operation is performed by boiling in a large saucepan
full of lukewarm water. Care must be taken that the puddings are
placed in the saucepan slowly and without crowding, and as soon as
the vessel is filled loosely, set it on a quick fire. After boiling
for a moment or two, pierce each pudding with a needle threaded with
a wisp of fennel to let out the air, and reduce the fire. When it is
found that on pricking no blood issues from the puddings, they may
be considered cooked. Remove the puddings very cautiously from the
saucepan, place them on the table in a clean cloth, dry, and then
hang them up. The water in which they have been boiled may be used
as stock. Some insert rice with the mincemeat instead of the other
ingredients, and there are many other recipes.

_Turkish._--The following are mainly from the pen of Marie Kibrizli
Pasha, and first appeared in the _Queen_:--

Asuree.--Take 2 lb. wheat, unground, and wash it; throw it into a
large saucepan cold water and boil for 1 hour; then dry it near the
stove on a cloth. When it is quite dry beat it in a mortar to get off
the husks; then put the wheat into a strong muslin bag, tie it up;
put it into a saucepan of cold water, and let it boil all day until
the water becomes of the consistency of jelly. Then take out the bag,
squeeze it until all the water is out, and throw the dregs away. Put
1 lb. white sugar in the water and boil it until it becomes like
jelly; if not sweet enough, add more sugar. Put a handful of sultana
raisins in a dish with a few blanched almonds, cut small; mix these
with the jelly and put it in glass dishes. It will keep many days,
and is a strengthening and a very nice dish.

Cerkestal.--Remains of fowls may be stewed with an onion, pepper,
salt, and a little water. Wash and bruise 6 walnuts, and mix them in
some of the gravy, adding a small quantity of cayenne pepper, and
serve as a sauce.

Dolma Hindi (Stuffed Turkey or Fowl).--Take 2 handfuls rice and half
boil it; then cut up 1 doz. chestnuts, a handful of currants, and a
handful of pistachio nuts; melt about ¼ lb. butter in a saucepan,
then mix all well together, adding a little salt and a little cayenne
pepper, with a very small quantity of bruised cinnamon. Then stuff
the turkey or fowl with this, and sew up the breast; put it on a flat
baking dish with a little butter, and baste it with butter. This
stuffing is used in Turkey for all kinds of birds and sheep that are
roasted whole.

Dolmas.--Chop some mutton or beef very finely, with a little of the
fat; add an onion, pepper, salt, and a little boiled rice, and mix it
all together. Then take some cabbage leaves and put them into boiling
water for a minute or two, and roll the meat into them like small
sausages; then stew them in a little broth or water with a small
piece of butter in it.

Elva.--Take 1 lb. semolina and ½ lb. butter; put the butter into
a saucepan, and brown it well; then sprinkle the semolina into
it slowly, and keep stirring until it all becomes well mixed and
browned. When sufficiently done, put ½ lb. white sugar and 1 pint
milk into another saucepan, and boil it; then blanch about 30-40
almonds, cut them in halves, and throw them into the semolina; then
stir in the syrup slowly, and mix well. When it becomes like a thick
paste, turn it into moulds to cool, and then turn out on the dishes.

Etena Zarvatte (Ragout).--The Arab cook (for the cooking in Turkey is
always done by Arab women) takes 1 lb. meat, either beef or mutton,
and cuts it into small pieces. She then fries it just sufficiently
to brown it in a little butter or dripping, adding salt, pepper, and
a tumblerful of water. She then cuts up 1 lb. French beans, and puts
the whole into a stewpan to simmer slowly, adding water as it is
required, and serves it when the whole is of a good consistency and
there is a good gravy. Any kind of vegetables, carrots or potatoes,
will do instead of beans.

Kabaps (Kabobs).--Take some slices of mutton or beef, with a little
of the fat and an onion, chop them very fine, add pepper, salt, and
a little flour; mix all well together with a little water, so as to
make a thick dough; then roll it round skewers and bake it in a slow
oven. As soon as the gravy forms, take it off the skewers and put it
on a dish with sippets of toasted bread, and throw the gravy over it.

Kabrac Dolmassi (stuffed vegetable marrows).--Take 1 or 2 kabracs
(vegetable marrows), cut them in halves across, and scoop out the
seeds and a little of the pulp; then rub in a little salt. Scrape
off the rinds, then chop ½ lb. mutton very finely, add 1 large onion
chopped very small, and a little parsley, also chopped, then season
with a little pepper, salt, and about a pennyworth of uncooked rice.
Mix all together and stuff the vegetable marrow with it, then put
them to boil slowly, with only a small quantity of water in the
saucepan.

Kourabiedes.--Break ½ lb. fresh butter into ½ lb. finest rice flour,
add ½ lb. finely-powdered sugar and a pinch of salt, moisten into a
rather firm paste with orange-flower water, knead lightly, and divide
into balls the size of a mandarin orange, bake for ½ hour between
buttered sheets of paper; powder with sugar when done.

Kufté.--Mince 1 lb. lean beef very small; add salt, pepper, and a
chopped onion, grate the crumb of 2 French rolls, or a large piece of
bread and mix it with the meat, and add 2 eggs; then mix all together
into a dough. Then roll it into small sausages, first putting them
into a little flour. Brown about ¼ lb. butter in a frying pan, and
fry the meat in it, and when dished throw the butter over it.

Lokma.--Take 1 lb. flour, then beat up 10 eggs; mix them with the
flour, and add a pinch of salt, then put in a glass of water to thin
it a little. Take ½ lb. butter, brown it in a frying pan, and put the
paste in small round pieces into it, let them brown slowly, taking
care to turn them and keep them separate. Take 1 lb. white sugar and
1 teacupful cold water, and boil them in a clean saucepan; when the
syrup is done, throw the balls in, and boil them until they are well
sweetened, then serve them either hot or cold.

Ouzum Yaprac Dolmassi (dolmas with vine leaves).--During the spring
in Turkey large quantities of the young vine leaves are gathered.
They are then carefully placed in layers in large earthenware jars
or pans that are not porous. The leaves for winter use have layers
of salt placed between them, but those for summer use do not require
it. Place a good handful of salt over each layer of leaves, and press
them down tightly. When the jars are within 2 in. of being full fill
them with water. Then place a piece of wood across the top, and
put a stone on it to keep out the air. The Dolmas are made in the
following way: Take 1 lb. veal, with a little of the fat, mince the
meat very finely, and add salt, pepper, and a pennyworth of raw rice,
and a large onion chopped very small. Mix it all together into a
dough. Put an iron saucepan full of water on the fire; when it begins
to boil throw into it 30-100 leaves, as you may require, and let them
boil 5 minutes, stirring them well; then turn them out on a dish to
cool; when cold break off the stalks, and roll a small quantity of
the meat into each, taking care to close the leaf well. Place them
carefully in layers in a saucepan without water, and closely, one
over the other. Then take a good-sized piece of butter, brown it in
the frying pan, and pour it over the dolmas. Half fill the saucepan
with hot water, cover it and put it on a stove, to boil slowly until
the dolmas are done. Care must be taken not to let them mix together.
To get them well out without breaking, the saucepan must be turned
upside down on a dish. Beat up an egg and mix it with a little flour,
then put a small quantity of the water in which the dolmas were
boiled into a smaller saucepan, and stir the egg into it. Pour this
sauce over the meat.

Pilau.--Take 3 or 4 large tomatoes and boil them. When they are quite
soft mash them well, adding a little salt, and put them back in the
same water in which they were boiled, and add ½ lb. rice. When the
rice has absorbed all the water, and is well done, take the saucepan
off the fire, and put it to stand near, so as not to cool; then put
a good-sized piece of butter in a frying pan, and when it is well
browned mix it up well with the rice, and serve it hot.

Pouf Burek.--The Arab takes ½ lb. flour and 2 eggs, and makes a
paste; then rolls it out thin; then grates some new cheese, chops
some parsley very finely, mixes them, and spreads the mixture over
the paste. She then doubles up the paste, or folds it once, and cuts
out small round cakes with a coffee cup. She then puts a good-sized
piece of butter in a frying pan, and when it is nicely browned she
fries the little cakes in it, and serves them hot.

Prassas (leeks with oil).--Take 2 doz. leeks and wash them well, cut
them in two, leaving only a small part of the white end, and throw
away the rest; then cut them into pieces the size of dice, and throw
them into water to wash them. Put a breakfastcupful of the best Lucca
oil in a saucepan, and brown it slightly; then have ready 3 large
onions cut up small, and throw them into the oil to brown a little.
Mince a little parsley and mix it with the leeks, and then put them
into the oil, adding 2 or 3 glasses hot water. Cover it well; season
well; let it boil slowly until the leeks are done. Serve it cold.

Suburek.--Take 1 lb. flour and add a little water and salt, so as to
make a thick paste, roll and divide it into 3 portions, then roll
out 2 portions and put them aside to serve for rolling up the third
portion. Then take 8 eggs, mix them with the third portion, roll it
out very thin, cut it into 8 portions and throw them into boiling
water on the fire, one after the other. When they are half-boiled or
nearly done, spread one of the uncooked portions in a pie dish that
is not very deep, and put 4 of the 8 boiled portions in it. Then take
some minced beef or mutton, well seasoned and slightly browned in a
frying pan with butter, mix a little minced parsley with it, and put
it in the dish, then put the remaining 4 _boiled_ portions over it
and cover the whole with the remaining large portion, then brown a
little butter in the frying pan and put it over the paste. Bake it in
the oven. A very good dish.

Tauf--Ghezon.--Draw 2 fowls, and put them to boil slowly; when they
are half done take off all the white meat and put it into another
saucepan to boil in milk, adding a small quantity of the water in
which the fowls were first boiled. When the meat is reduced to a pulp
mix it well with pounded white sugar, so as to make it quite sweet.
Serve cold on a dish sprinkled with pounded cinnamon. This is a
strengthening dish for an invalid.

Tauk Dolmas.--After drawing a fowl, chop the liver, gizzard, and
heart very finely and add seasoning; boil some rice and mix it with
a small piece of butter, then mix all together and stuff the fowl
with it; make a little gravy with the neck and head, and serve with
it. This dish should be stewed slowly.

Tuginar (ragoût with artichokes).--Take 1 lb. mutton or veal, and
cut it in small pieces. Take 8-10 artichokes and wash them well,
stripping off all the leaves, then cut the bottoms in 4 quarters; cut
up 2 onions and mince a little parsley, and mix them. Then put a ¼
lb. butter into a stewpan, and put the meat in; when it is a little
browned, throw in 2 or 3 tumblers of water, cover it, and let it stew
gently for ¼ hour. Add a little seasoning, according to taste, with
the onion and parsley; then put in the artichokes to cook until they
are done, and then serve the dish. Other vegetables, such as broccoli
or Brussels sprouts, may be substituted.

_West Indian._--Cavershed Fish.--Cut a sole into 3 or 4 pieces,
according to size; flour each piece, have ready a frying-pan with
some good frying oil, put it on the fire, and when the oil boils lay
the fish in it, and fry a light brown; drain each piece well, and,
when cold, lay them on a dish. Boil ½ pint vinegar, with a little
allspice, ginger, and pepper, and throw it over the fish.

Coconut Cakes.--Break a coconut, remove the brown skin and cut it
up into quite small pieces (somewhat larger than grains of rice).
Put 1 lb. coarse brown sugar into a saucepan, with a teacupful of
water; when it boils, skim off the scum, or strain through muslin,
add the coconut and a little ginger, and boil (stirring constantly)
till the sugar begins to thicken; then drop a little of the mixture
from a spoon on to a board or dish which has been well damped with
cold water; if it sets so that it can be raised with a knife without
breaking, drop all the mixture in like manner in little cakes. Grated
coconut can be done in the same way.

Crab Backs.--This dish is truly delicious; once eaten as prepared
by a black cook, it is one never to be forgotten. The crabs must
be caught and brought in alive; the cook must kill them herself,
and divide the claws and bodies from the backs; when doing so she
must be careful not to break the gall in the body, which would
cause the whole of the meat in the crab to taste bitter. Boil these
sufficiently, and, when cold, pick all the meat from the claws and
bodies; the fat, which is of a very dark colouring, must be well
mixed with the meat and stirred; add pepper, cayenne pepper, salt,
and lime juice to taste, also bread or biscuit crumbs; have the
backs nicely cleaned, fill them with the above mixture, sprinkle
breadcrumbs over them, and bake for about 10 minutes. Some people
prefer crab backs without the addition of the fat, when they are not
nearly so rich, and are of a much lighter colour.

Eater Drink.--An Indian drink. Take 3 doz. ripe fruit of the eater
(ita) palm, place them in a jar, and pour boiling water over them.
Let them stand until they are sufficiently soft to allow the rind to
come off easily. Scrape the fruit, and when cool sweeten, and it is
ready for use. This palm is as light as cork, and grows abundantly in
the interior of Guiana.

Fly.--Grate 3 or 4 sweet potatoes (the white sort), place them in a
stone jar, with 3 gal. boiling water, 1 doz. cloves, clear sugar to
taste, and clarify with the white shell of an egg. Let it stand 24
hours, then strain, bottle and cork tightly; it is fit for use in a
week.

Fou-fou Soup.--Peel 1 doz. plaintains, wash and boil them, place
them in a dish till cooked, then pound them in a wooden mortar,
occasionally moistening the pestle with cold water, to prevent it
sticking, until they become one solid lump. Moisten a spoon with
water, and after carefully separating the fou-fou from the mortar
place it in a dish and serve with soup. The spoon should always be
first moistened with soup before cutting the fou-fou, or it would be
most difficult to cut it at all. The soup can be made of plantains,
tannias, ochras, pigeon peas, black-eyed peas, pumpkin, or any
vegetable. When made of ochras procure a good-sized dish of ochras,
cut off the heads, wash and cut in slices, place them in a pot with
as much water as you require soup, with ½ lb. salt beef, ½ lb.
salt pork, cold, or fresh meat, 2 or 3 fresh fish, a small piece of
salt fish, a few shrimps, 2 fresh peppers, one chopped onion, and
seasoning. When most thoroughly boiled, or rather simmered, serve
hot in a tureen, and the fou-fou served separately at the same time.
When fou-fou soup is made of dry peas they must be well soaked, and
then boiled for some time before the meat, &c., is added. When made
of plaintains only these must be mashed when sufficiently cooked. A
favourite way with the negroes is to cut the plaintains in slices,
and boil a great many of them in soup without making them into
fou-fou; when done in this way they call it “cutty-cutty.”

Groundnut Cakes.--Put 2 lb. these nuts (they can be bought in any
small greengrocer’s shop, and are sometimes called monkey nuts) in
the oven on a tin, and let them bake until you can remove the red
skin of the kernel quite easily; then shell them all, take off all
the skins and divide them in halves; make them into little cakes, as
in recipe for coconut cakes.

Mawbery.--Get fourpennyworth mawbery bark from a chemist, boil it
with a little water, and let it stand till cool. Add sufficient water
to fill 12 bottles, and sweeten to taste, strain, and brew it for
some time. Bottle and let it stand 24 hours, when it is fit for use,
and it is a pleasant drink, slightly bitter. The bottles must never
be corked and the froth which works up must be taken off. Never let
it stand more than 2 days after it is fit for use.

Pepper-pot.--Pepper-pot cannot be prepared without cassaripe, and
it may be interesting here to describe the mode of manufacture of
that very excellent sauce, which is also used to great advantage in
soups and sauces. It is made from the cassava root, bitter cassava,
which is thus prepared: Peel and grate the roots on a large grater,
which must be placed in a tub to receive it, put the pulp that has
been grated into a mataube (a mataube is a long tube-like squeezer
made of reed, by the Buck Indians, the lower end has a handle, the
upper part is hung up on a tree, or some such convenient place). Hang
up the mataube when quite full of cassava pulp, and pull the lower
handle until all the juice is expressed. This juice must be allowed
to settle in a tub; it is then to be strained; the settlement of
the cassava juice is often converted into a very inferior kind of
starch. Now place the strained juice into a large pot, and reduce
it by repeated boiling greatly, and keep constantly skimming while
boiling it; it will be found that the colour will change from
white milky-looking juice to yellow, and lastly to black. During
the boiling a small quantity of sugar and a few bird peppers (from
which cayenne pepper is ground) should be added; then let the juice
cool, bottle and cork it, and it is ready for pepper-pot, and for
colouring soups and gravies. Good cassaripe is very thick and black.
The cassava pulp, which is left dry, when all the juice is expressed,
makes very delicious bread; it is placed in hoops in an oven, without
the addition of any liquid, merely pressed together in a thin round
wafer form, baked in an oven, and then taken out while still quite
pale in colour, and exposed for some time to the burning West Indian
sun. This bread is very delicious when toasted and buttered, served
hot.

Place a sufficient quantity of meat--whether pork, beef, or
mutton--to fill the earthen pot you possess (the Demerarians usually
use a black earthen open pot, made by the Buck Indians) in a pot of
boiling water; let it boil a few minutes. Then take out the meat,
and cut it up in pieces, as you would for a stew; place these in the
buckpot, and fill to the top with boiling water; put in with the
meat sufficient cassaripe to make the sauce a rich colour, 6 fresh
peppers, or a spoonful of cayenne, tied up in a bit of muslin; boil
this for an hour; remove it then from the fire, and boil it up every
day once whether it is used or not. It should be served hot in the
buckpot in which it is cooked, which should be placed on a clean
plate and so brought to table. On no account serve the pepper-pot in
a dish other than it has been cooked in, and that dish should always
be earthen. Cold meat without gravy or onions can be added, in fact
any meat that is not seasoned or stuffed.

Pepper Punch.--Pound one pennyworth of dry ginger in a mortar, with
12 bird peppers, and boil this for a short time in a little water,
place this in a stone jar, adding ¼ pint lime juice, strained, ¼ pint
white rum, ¼ pint gin, ½ pint brandy, and sugar to taste, with 10 qt.
cold water; stir the whole well together, cut a white lemon in two
and throw in, tie the jar down, and place in the sun for 2 days, then
bottle off, cork very tightly, and use when ripe; if this is to be
kept any time, the corks should be tied with twine, or wired, or they
will fly like champagne corks. This quantity is sufficient to fill 12
quart bottles.

Pinaree.--An Indian drink. Grate the bitter cassava and express the
juice; sift the pulp and take all the coarse remains from the sifter,
say 2 pints, moisten with fresh boiled cassaripe, grate 2 sweet
potatoes, put all in a jar, cover with a leaf, and leave for 3 days,
when a small quantity can be drunk with water. If allowed to stand
many days, this becomes a most intoxicating drink, and is much used
by the Buck Indians.

Pine Drink.--The rind of 1 pineapple to a quart bottle. Pare off the
rind rather thickly, place it in a stone jar, with a few cloves, and
1 qt. boiling water; let it stand 24 hours, strain and sweeten to
taste, bottle and cork tightly. It is ready for use in 2-3 days.

Salmagundy.--Wash a Dutch herring, remove the flesh from the bones,
and lay it in a dish; put a few slices of onion on it. Boil ½ pint
vinegar, with a little allspice, ginger, and pepper; when cold, pour
it over the herring.

Slip and Dip.--This is a Barbadian dish. Procure some eddoes,
boil them till they will slip out of the skin readily by slightly
pressing. Stew some tchad (a kind of salted herring) with butter,
seasoning, &c., and eat the boiled eddoes with the stew. The two
together are called “Slip and Dip,” just as with us fried salt beef
and fried greens and potatoes rejoice in the name of “Bubble and
Squeak.” Eddoes boiled, with butter sauce and lime juice poured over
them, or with anchovy sauce, are used as vegetables.

Sorrel Drink.--This fruit grows almost wild at two seasons of the
year in Demerara, and is of a very rich claret colour, and makes a
delicious drink or preserve. The tops are useless, also the seeds.
Sometimes the above is boiled into a thick syrup, and mixed with rum,
when it is called sorrel bounce.

Sous.--Take the head of a young pig, tie it up in a very clean and
thin cloth, and boil it in strong salt and water till sufficiently
cooked. Then take it up and place it in an open vessel, cover it
with slightly salted water. Let it remain in this for 2 hours, then
take the head and remove the cloth, cut it up into delicate pieces,
together with the tongue, ears, and trotters. Place all these on a
large dish, with several rings of large onions, and some slices of
fresh peppers; squeeze some limes till you have enough juice to fill
⅓ teacup, stir a little salt into this, fill up the cup with water,
strain it, and pour over the pieces of pork; garnish with parsley,
and serve cold either for breakfast or luncheon. Calf’s head treated
in the same manner is equally good.

Spacha, or Conserve of Spices.--Shell and peel 25 walnuts, 1 lb.
monkey nuts, a few cobnuts, and a few sweet almonds, pound them
in a mortar, but not too finely; put 1½ lb. coarse brown sugar in
a saucepan with 1 breakfastcupful water, let it boil, then strain
through muslin, return it to the saucepan with the nuts, and 1
teaspoonful each ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper,
and rather less of ground allspice all mixed together; boil for
½ hour, stirring constantly, thicken it slightly with 2 luncheon
biscuits finely pounded, boil for another ¼ hour, then with a spoon
put the mixture into custard glasses, and sprinkle a little ground
cinnamon on the top of each glass. To be eaten cold.

Swizzle.--Fill a wine glass ⅔ full with brandy, and the other third
with Angostura bitters; put this into a jug, with 2 wineglasses of
water, and another of finely crushed ice, with a spoonful of sugar
(not lump), and swizzle with a swizzle stick until a thick froth
rises; then pour into glasses, and drink immediately; the above is
enough for 2 men. A well-beaten egg is often added to the above, but
the swizzle is then not so refreshing.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

‘The _Queen_ Recipes.’ London. 6_d._

Mary Hooper: ‘Cookery for Invalids, persons of delicate digestion,
and for children.’ London, 1883. 3_s._ 6_d._

Mary Hooper: ‘Little Dinners; how to serve them with elegance and
economy.’ London, 1875. 5_s._

Mary Hooper: ‘Everyday Meals, being economic and wholesome recipes
for breakfast, luncheon and supper.’ London, 1883. 5_s._

H. L. S. Lear: ‘Maigre Cookery.’ London, 1884. 2_s._

A. G. Payne: ‘Choice Dishes at small Cost.’ London, 1883. 3_s._ 6_d._

Susan Anna Brown: ‘Mrs. Gilpin’s Frugalities; remnants, and 200 ways
of using them.’ New York, 1883. 5_s._

‘The Vegetist’s Dietary, and Manual of Vegetable Cookery.’ London,
1877. 6_d._

Catherine Ryan: ‘Convalescent Cookery; a family handbook.’ London,
1881. 2_s._ 6_d._

Lady Sarah Lindsay: ‘A Few Choice Recipes.’ London, 1883. 4_s._ 6_d._

Susan Anna Brown: ‘The Book of 40 Puddings.’ New York, 1882. 2_s._
6_d._

Mrs. Matthew Clark: ‘366 Menus and 1200 Recipes of the Baron Brisse,
in French and English.’ London, 1882. 5_s._

Charles Elmé Francatelli: ‘The Modern Cook; a practical guide to the
culinary art in all its branches; comprising, in addition to English
cookery, the most approved and recherché systems of French, Italian,
and German cookery, adapted as well for the largest establishments as
for the use of private families.’ London, 1881. 12_s._

Mrs. Henry Reeve: ‘Cookery and House-keeping; a manual of domestic
economy for large and small families.’ London, 1882. 7_s._ 6_d._

Jules Gouffé: ‘The Royal Cookery Book.’ London, 1880. 10_s._ 6_d._

The _Queen_. London, weekly. 6_d._




_THE HOUSEWIFE’S ROOM._


This apartment should represent in the household the important
place occupied by the laboratory in a manufactory. In it should be
found the necessary means of examining the qualities of the various
articles consumed in the household, and of combating the evils which
surround the inmates. This statement presupposes a wide knowledge on
the part of the housewife, who, indeed, is often expected to know
more than many professors--hence the value of a book like the present
as a guide. For facility of reference, the main facts useful to the
housewife in her daily duties, i.e. facts which she is particularly
called upon to know outside the ordinary routine of cooking and
housework, will be grouped together in sections.


=Testing.=--Chemistry is a valuable science, and more fully
appreciated every day in its application to home matters; but the
average housewife cannot be expected to qualify herself as an
analyst. At the same time there are many simple tests for the purity
of air, water, and foods that can easily be brought within the range
of an ordinarily intelligent woman, and will be found of great
service.

_Air._--Apart from poisonous gases due to sewers, &c., there is a
constituent of air, which, in excess, becomes poisonous also. This is
carbonic acid. Wholesome air does not contain more than 5 volumes of
carbonic acid in 10,000; as the proportion increases, the quality of
the air deteriorates till it becomes actively poisonous. The simplest
method of estimating approximately the proportion of carbonic acid
present in the air of a room is by shaking up a small quantity of
lime water with a certain amount of the air to be tested. The lime
water is prepared by shaking slaked lime with distilled water,
allowing it to settle, and then carefully drawing off the clear
liquid by a siphon, so as not to disturb the sediment. It can be
obtained from any druggist, but should be freshly made.

When this lime water is shaken up in a bottle of air containing
carbonic acid, the acid combines with the lime, forming an insoluble
powder of carbonate of lime, and when this is in sufficient quantity
it makes the water turbid, or milky, so that it can be recognised
by the eye. By having a series of bottles of various sizes, filling
them with the air to be tested, placing in each bottle a large
tablespoonful of lime water, and then shaking them vigorously for
3 or 4 minutes, so that all the air in the bottle shall be brought
in contact with the lime water, and all the carbonic acid be taken
up by the lime, we shall find that in one bottle of the series the
turbidity is just perceptible, while in bottles of less size the
fluid remains clear, and in those of greater size it is dense.

The following table is given by Dr. Smart as expressing the relation
between the size of the bottle in which turbidity occurs and the
volume of carbonic acid in the air:--

  +--------------+----------------++--------------+----------------+
  |    Size of   | Carbonic Acid  ||    Size of   | Carbonic Acid  |
  |   Bottle in  | in volumes per ||   Bottle in  | in volumes per |
  | fluid ounces.|  10,000 air.   || fluid ounces.|  10,000 air.   |
  +--------------+----------------++--------------+----------------+
  |     20.6     |       3        ||      5.5     |       12       |
  |     15.6     |       4        ||      5.1     |       13       |
  |     12.5     |       5        ||      4.8     |       14       |
  |     10.5     |       6        ||      4.5     |       15       |
  |      9.1     |       7        ||      3.5     |       20       |
  |      8.0     |       8        ||      2.9     |       25       |
  |      7.2     |       9        ||      2.5     |       30       |
  |      6.5     |      10        ||      2.0     |       40       |
  |      6.0     |      11        ||              |                |
  +--------------+----------------++--------------+----------------+

If an 8 oz. bottle shows turbidity, the presence of more than 8
volumes per 10,000 is indicated; how much more must be determined
by a second experiment. Taking a 6½ oz. bottle, the air is known
to contain less than 10 volumes if no precipitate is developed.
The carbonic acid can then be stated as constituting from 8 to
10 volumes per 10,000 of the air. But a third experiment with a
bottle intermediate in size will correspondingly reduce the limits
of uncertainty regarding the carbonic acid figure. There is no
test-paper which can be made practically useful as a quantitative
test for carbonic acid. (_Sanitary Engineer._)

_Water._--The tests for water embrace impurities which affect the
character of water for drinking, cooking, and washing purposes.
Drinking-water should not be too soft, as it provides much of the
lime required in building up the bones of the body; the chief evil in
drinking-water is the presence of organic ferments. For cooking and
washing purposes, water cannot be too soft, and, if used boiled, the
presence of organic matters is practically neutralised.

Drinking-water.--In 1871, Dr. Hager published a valuable and
simple test for the presence of fermentable poisonous matter. He
proposed a tablespoonful of a clear solution of tannin to be added
to a tumblerful of water. If no gelatinous turbidity occurs within
5 hours, the water may be considered good. If turbidity occurs
within the first hour, the water is unwholesome. If turbidity is
displayed within the second hour, the water is not to be recommended.
Previously, in 1866, Dr. Hager had recommended for travellers,
as a precaution in cholera times, the addition of the following
solution (20 drops to 1 pint) to any water they might be about to
drink:--Tannic acid, 5 parts; syrup, 4 parts; distilled water, 6
parts; spirit of wine, 12½ parts.

A very simple test for the purity of water is given by Heisch. He
observes that good water should be free from colour, and unpleasant
odour and flavour, and should quickly afford a good lather with a
small proportion of soap. If ½ pint of water be placed in a clean
colourless glass-stoppered bottle, a few grains of the best white
lump sugar added, and the bottle freely exposed to the daylight in
the window of a warm room, the liquid should not become turbid, even
after exposure for a week or 10 days. If, while the stopper remains
secure, the water becomes turbid, it is open to grave suspicion of
sewage contamination; but if it remains clear, it is almost certainly
safe for drinking and all domestic purposes.

Hard or Soft Water.--Dissolve a small quantity of good soap in
alcohol. Let a few drops fall into a glass of water. If it turns
milky, it is hard; if not, it is soft.

Earthy Matters or Alkali.--Take litmus paper dipped in vinegar, and
if, on immersion, the paper returns to its true shade, the water does
not contain earthy matter or alkali. If a few drops of syrup be added
to a water containing an earthy matter, it will turn green.

Carbonic Acid.--Take equal parts of water and clear lime water. If
combined or free carbonic acid is present, a precipitate is seen, in
which, if a few drops of muriatic acid be added, an effervescence
commences.

Magnesia.--Boil the water to 1/20 part of its weight, and then drop a
few grains of neutral carbonate of ammonia into a glass of it, and a
few drops of phosphate of soda. If magnesia be present, it will fall
to the bottom.

Iron.--(_a_) Boil a little nut-gall, and add to the water. If it
turns grey or slate colour, iron is present. (_b_) Dissolve a little
prussiate of potash, and if iron is present, it will turn blue.

Lime.--Into a glass of the water put 2 drops oxalic acid, and blow
upon it; if it gets milky, lime is present.

Acid.--Take a piece of litmus paper. If it turns red, there must be
acid. If it precipitates on adding lime water, it is carbonic acid.
If a blue sugar-paper is turned red, it is a mineral acid, and there
would be reason to suspect poisonous metallic salts.

_Foods._--Foods are adulterated in three principal ways, viz.:--(1)
By replacing a superior article or ingredient by an inferior or
cheaper substitute, (2) by adding foreign matters capable of giving
an appearance of superiority, (3) by adding water to increase the
weight, this being often accompanied by incorporating foreign
materials which absorb much water though perhaps otherwise harmless.

Bread.--Pure flour (wheaten) may be replaced by various meals of
inferior nutritive value and lower price; if done on a scale to
repay the baker, their presence can be at once detected under the
microscope. This kind of adulteration is nearly always accompanied
by the use of alum, which improves the appearance of bread made
from inferior flour, and enables it to hold much more water. The
presence of alum can be ascertained easily and rapidly by the logwood
test: soak some crumbs of bread for 6 or 7 minutes in an alcoholic
solution of logwood containing an excess of carbonate of ammonia,
and squeeze it--a more or less deep blue colour is produced. Alum is
often used too to hide the employment of damaged flour, containing
perhaps only 7 per cent. of gluten instead of 12. The presence of
mineral adulterants, which seldom occurs, is proved by burning a
sample of the bread and weighing the ash, which should not exceed
7 parts in 1000. Bread is sometimes made of the flour from wheat
which has “sprouted” or germinated, and is then inferior. This
can only be ascertained by examining the flour: if it has a musty
odour and flavour and an acid reaction, the flour has probably
been damp for some time; if there is no mustiness but only an acid
reaction, sprouted wheat has been employed. The acid reaction is
best discovered by stirring some of the flour in water, filtering,
and testing with a solution of corallin rendered red with a trace of
alkali; if the flour is acid it turns yellow.

Butter.--Cheap butters largely consist of admixtures with other
animal fats, especially that known as “butterine” or “bosch.”
Analysis of suspected butter could hardly be undertaken by the
housewife, but the presence of butterine is probable if the butter
breaks in a crumbly manner and loses its colour on being kept melted
for a short time at the temperature of boiling water (212° F.).

Milk.--Adulteration chiefly consists in adding water to skim milk and
in mixing skim milk with that sold as new. Analysis is possible only
to the skilled chemist, but a rough test may be made. The lactoscope
devised by Dr. Bond, of Gloucester, is based on the principle of that
of Prof. Feser, of Munich, in which the opacity of fresh milk is
taken as proportionate to the amount of butter fat. It is useful as
providing a ready means of determining with approximate accuracy the
richness of milk, and is therefore a rough but sufficient test where
adulteration is suspected. As supplied by the Sanitary and Œconomic
Association of Gloucester, it consists of a little glass dish with
some black horizontal lines on the base, a small measure, and a sort
of pipette. The measure is filled with water and emptied into the
dish; the pipette is filled with the milk to be tested, which is then
dropped into the water, the drops being counted. The mixture of water
and milk is stirred, and when the horizontal lines can no longer
be seen, say, from a height of 2 ft., the number of drops of milk
used are compared with a table supplied, and the approximate amount
of butter-fat is read off. This instrument must not be confounded
with the various lactometers, which aim at estimating the quality
of a milk by its density (specific gravity)--an utterly erroneous
proceeding, seeing that a poor milk will often show a higher density
than a rich one.

For new milk a capital test is to pour a small quantity into an
ordinary glass test-tube graduated from 0 at the top to 100 at the
bottom; on allowing the sample to stand, cream will form, and its
proportion can be read off at a glance, always allowing 20 hours’
rest. Good new milk should show an average of 11½ per cent. of cream,
and will sometimes reach 80 per cent. The quality of skim milk is
less easy to estimate by ready means. It should average not less than
1 part of fat in 1000.

As a precaution against possible infection by diseased milk, it
is advisable to let all milk be boiled before use, as the boiling
temperature is fatal to the disease germs. Such milk, however, is not
so digestible or palatable to many people.

Tea.--The present low prices of tea do not afford much scope for
profitable adulteration in this country. The chief falsifications
to be on the look out for are the artificial colouring of green
teas, which, naturally, are hardly distinguishable from black; and
the substitution of re-rolled exhausted leaves for genuine fresh
leaves. There is also in cheap teas often a considerable proportion
of mineral matter, i.e. added dirt. This last can be readily detected
by chewing a small quantity of the leaf, when dirt will be felt in
the mouth. The presence of exhausted leaves will be manifested by the
increased weight of solid matters left on boiling a sample repeatedly
and drying the residue. With genuine teas, the average weight of
leaves (dried) remaining after exhaustion is 65 per cent.; therefore
1 oz. of tea thoroughly boiled should not give more than ⅔ oz. of
exhausted leaves weighed after drying. If the figure is higher, the
addition of exhausted leaves to the original tea may be suspected.

Coffee.--Coffee-berries can scarcely be adulterated without easy
detection, therefore the best safeguard is to buy the berries and
grind them at home. Ground coffee is nearly always adulterated with
chicory: in fact a certain proportion is allowed by law, and the
chicory is itself often largely mixed with various rubbish which
by roasting gives a brown colour to water. The simplest plan for
detecting the sophistication of ground coffee is to sprinkle some in
a glass of cold water: pure coffee will not colour the water for some
time, while chicory and its substitutes will do so immediately.

Cocoa.--This is never sold in the pure state, and no two preparations
are alike. The only safeguard is to buy it in packets bearing
the name of one of the well-known makers, whose preparations are
wholesome and adapted to the demands of the palate.

Pickles.--Pickles and preserved vegetables are often coloured highly
by the addition of copper or by boiling the articles in copper
vessels. The presence of copper, even in very small proportion, can
be easily and rapidly detected by plunging a bright knife-blade into
the vessel for a few moments, when, if copper be present, it will
coat the knife. Another evil in cheap pickles is the adulteration
of the vinegar by means of sulphuric and other acids, generally
sulphuric, that being one of the cheapest. A very small addition of
sulphuric acid can be detected by pouring a few drops of the vinegar
on a small piece of lump sugar and then evaporating the vinegar away
on a water bath; the residue will become more or less blackened
(carbonised) according to the amount of free mineral acid present.
(Hassall.) A water bath can be extemporised out of a china tea-saucer
placed on a small saucepan in which water is boiling. A further risk
in vinegar containing sulphuric acid is that the acid has been made
from pyrites and is contaminated with arsenic.

Pepper.--Pepper-corns may readily be judged by tasting; they cannot
easily be replaced by other seeds, but may have been damaged by
sea water and retain but little pungency. Ground pepper is often
adulterated with flour or starch, whose presence is at once revealed
by the microscope. The same may be said of most spices.

Obviously the housewife cannot conduct a critical chemical analysis
of any article coming into her household; the most she can do is to
detect the presence of inferior or injurious goods. Where analyses
are desired, the author will provide them on the terms stated below,
on samples being sent to the publishers of this volume, with the
necessary instructions:--

  1. Chemical and microscopical examination of water,
       each sample                                          £2  2  0

  2. Chemical examination of bread, flour, lard, butter,
       jam, marmalade, sauces, ale, wine, spirits, for
       adulteration only, each sample                        1  1  0

  3. Chemical examination of milk, coffee, tea, spices,
       pickles, and sweetmeats, for adulteration only,
       each sample                                           0 10  6


=Cleaning and Renovating.=--This is a wide and important subject,
embracing not only the person and personal attire, but also the
furniture and fittings of the dwelling and the various utensils of
the household. Classification is adopted as far as possible.

_Chip or Straw Goods._--To Clean.--Wash in warm soap liquor, well
brushing them both inside and out; then rinse in cold water, and they
are ready for bleaching.

To Bleach.--(_a_) Put a small quantity of salts of sorrel (oxalic
acid) into a clean pan, and pour on it sufficient scalding water to
cover the bonnet or hat. Put the bonnet or hat into this liquor, and
let it remain in it for about 5 minutes; to keep it covered, hold
it down with a clean stick. Dry in the sun or before a clear fire.
(_b_) Having first dried the bonnet or hat, put it, together with a
saucer of burning sulphur, into a box with a tight-closing lid. Cover
it over to keep it in the fumes, and let it remain for a few hours.
The disadvantage of bleaching with sulphur is that the articles so
bleached soon become yellow, which does not happen to them when they
are bleached by oxalic acid.

To Finish or Stiffen.--After cleaning and bleaching, white bonnets
should be stiffened with parchment size. Black or coloured bonnets
are finished with a size made from the best glue.

Straw or chip plaits, or leghorn hats and bonnets, may also be
cleaned, bleached, and finished as above.

_Feathers._--(_a_) To clean feathers from their own animal oil, steep
them in 1 gal. water mixed with 1 lb. lime, stir them well, then
pour off the water, and rinse the feathers in cold spring water. To
clean feathers from dirt, simply wash them in hot water with soap.
Rinse them in hot water. (_b_) To clean white ostrich feathers: 4
oz. white curd soap cut small, dissolved in 4 pints water, rather
hot, in a basin. Make the solution into a lather by beating it with
birch rods, or wires. Introduce the feathers and rub well with the
hands for 5 or 6 minutes. After the soaping, wash in clean water as
hot as the hand can bear. Shake until dry. (_c_) Slightly soften
the soiled feathers with warm water, using a camel’s-hair brush.
Next raise each feather with a flat piece of wood or paper-knife,
and clean them with spirits of wine. Dry with plaster-of-Paris, and
afterwards brush them carefully with a dry camel’s-hair brush. (_d_)
Make a strong solution of salt in water, saturate a large and thick
cloth with it. Wrap the bird up in the damp cloth in as many folds as
you can, not disarranging the plumage. Look at the bird in 6 hours,
and if not long dried on the blood will be soft; if not soft, keep it
in the cloth longer, and re-wet it. When soft, rub out with gentle
pressure, putting something hard under each feather with blood on,
and rubbing with the back of a knife. Of course each feather must
be done separately. (_e_) Col. Wragge treated the soiled plumage of
albatrosses, Cape petrel, &c., by simply washing the feathers in
rain water, after the process of skinning, and then laying a thick
mixture of starch and water over the portion to be cleansed. Next he
laid the birds aside, and left them till the plastering of starch had
become thoroughly dry. He then removed the dry plaster by tapping it,
and found that the feathers had become much cleaner. Old specimens
may be cleaned in this way. Feathers may be “set” by just arranging
them naturally with a needle or any pointed instrument. (_f_)
White.--Dissolve 4 oz. white soap in 2 qt. boiling water; put it into
a large basin or small pan, and beat to a strong lather with a wire
egg-beater or a small bundle of birch twigs; use while warm. Hold
the feather by the quill with the left hand, dip it into the soap
liquor and squeeze it through the right hand, using a moderate degree
of pressure. Continue this operation until the feather is perfectly
clean and white, using a second lot of soap liquor if necessary.
Rinse in clean hot water to take out the soap, and afterwards in cold
water in which a small quantity of blue has been dissolved. Shake
well, and dry before a moderate fire, shaking it occasionally that it
may look full and soft when dried. Before it is quite dry, curl each
fibre separately with a blunt knife or ivory paper-folder.

Coloured.--These are to be cleaned, and rinsed in warm and cold
water, as above, but not rinsed in blue water. Coloured feathers may
also be cleaned in a mixture of 1 part fresh gall and 3 of lukewarm
water, washing them in this mixture in the same manner as in the soap
liquor. But they will require more rinsing when done by this method,
in order to take off all smell of the gall. Dry and curl as before.

Grebe.--Carefully take out the lining, and wash with warm water and
soap, as directed for white ostrich feathers, but do not shake them
until they are quite dry. Before re-making, carefully repair any
rents there may be in the skin.

To Purify Feathers for Beds, Pillows, &c.--Prepare a quantity of lime
water in the following manner: Well mix 1 lb. quicklime in each gal.
of water required, and let it stand until all the undissolved lime
is precipitated, as a fine powder, to the bottom of the tub or pan,
then pour off the clear liquor for use. The number of gallons to be
prepared will, of course, depend on the quantity of feathers to be
cleaned. Put the feathers into a clean tub, pour the lime water on
them, and well stir them in it until they all sink to the bottom.
There should then be sufficient of the lime water to cover them to
a depth of 3 in. Let them stand in this for 3 or 4 days, then take
them out, drain them in a sieve, and afterwards well wash and rinse
them in clean water. Dry on nets having a mesh about the same size
as a cabbage net; shake the net occasionally, and the dry feathers
will fall through. When they are dried, beat them well to get rid of
the dust. It will take about 3 weeks to clean and dry a sufficient
quantity for a bed. This process was awarded the prize offered by the
Society of Arts.

_Fenders._--(_a_) Have your bright steel fenders and fire-irons well
rubbed with mercurial ointment, and leave all bright parts smeared
over with it; they will not rust while left all winter. (_b_) Rub
them well with sperm oil; after which some people put unslaked lime.
Wrap the fenders in paper to keep off dust. (_c_) Take a piece of raw
mutton fat (the loin fat is best) and melt it in front of the fire,
and rub it thickly all over the bright fenders and fire-irons, and
then do them up in several thicknesses of brown paper; you will find
them free from rust in the spring. The fat must be raw, not cooked,
and melted just enough to rub on.

_Firearms._--(_a_) A good and simple way of cleaning and recolouring
the barrels and other metal parts of a double-barrel shot gun which
are quite rusty. Take the barrels from the stock, and put them in
clean cold water free from gritty matters. Attach the brush to the
washing-rod, and get out all adhering powder and residues; next
take tow and wash until the barrels are quite clean. If the parts
have rusted it will be necessary to use a little emery flour. Dry
the barrels with clean cotton rags, rubbing until the metal feels
warm. Plug the ports and muzzles securely, then cleanse the outside
parts with a strong alcoholic solution of caustic potash, aided, if
necessary, with a little emery flour and a soft rag. Rinse thoroughly
in water, dry thoroughly, warm, and while warm rub over every part
with the following preparation: pure (dry) zinc chloride, 1 oz.;
antimony nitrate, ¼ oz.; olive oil, 2 oz.; well rubbed down into a
smooth uniform paste. After ½ hour’s exposure, rub off excess of this
paste, and polish with clean soft rags. In warming the metal, avoid
overheating it so as to injure the temper.

(_b_) In the Volunteer service there are several fluids used, which
are composed of either turpentine, naphtha, petroleum, benzine, or
gasoline, about one-third, or according to fancy, with Rangoon oil.
But the instructions to the troops are--a damp rag, flannel or tow,
is all that is required to clean the barrel out; if much water is
used, it is liable to run into the action. The butt should be raised
when washing out. After washing out and drying, an oily rag or
flannel to be used. On many occasions the oily material will be found
to be efficacious, without the previous use of water.

(_c_) Easy method of cleaning guns and rifles when leaded.--If a
muzzle-loader, stop up the nipple or communication hole with a
little wax, or if a breech-loader insert a cork in the breech rather
tightly; next pour some quicksilver into the barrel, and put another
cork in the muzzle, then proceed to roll it up and down the barrel,
shaking it about for a few minutes. The mercury and the lead will
form an amalgam, and leave the barrel as clean and free from lead as
the first day it came out of the shop. The same quicksilver can be
used repeatedly by straining it through wash-leather; for the lead
will be left behind in the leather, and the quicksilver will be again
fit for use.

(_d_) If the barrels have become leaded, wet the tow on the rod with
spirits of turpentine, as the latter enjoys the property of removing
any leading almost equally with quicksilver. Newark’s gun-cleaning
composition also answers admirably for this purpose, and prevents
rust. Paraffin will also be found useful where neither of the
foregoing can be obtained. Never touch the grooves of a rifle with
emery, as it will dull their edges, and, consequently, affect the
shooting power. (_Land and Water._)

(_e_) Fill a stable-bucket one-third full of hot water. The water
should not be too hot--not hotter than the finger can bear. If
scalding hot, it is likely to cause the rib to start. Dismount
barrels from stock, and place breeches in the bucket. Pour some of
the water into the muzzles from a jug, and sponge the barrels out
with a woollen rag or tow until the water comes out perfectly clear,
both at the nipples and when jerked out of the muzzle by action of
cleaning-rod. Wipe the water off the exterior of the barrels, then
dry the interior with woollen rags; four or five changes of rag are
required. When the insides of the barrels are perfectly dry, pass an
oiled rag down. Remove fouling from nipples and adjacent parts by
means of a stiff brush or woollen rag. Any sharp instrument should
on no account be used. Oil out the barrels, being careful not to
miss the parts round the nipples, between rib and barrel, and ramrod
bands. Remove fouling from hammers in the same way as from the
nipples. Rub the hammers, trigger, trigger-guard, &c., clean with a
dry woollen rag, then rub them with an oiled one, which should be
passed all over the stock. Clean and oil the ramrod. The oil used
should be animal, not vegetable. Neat’s-foot oil (of the consistency
of grease) is excellent, never rusting the gun in the least. On
returning from a day’s shooting, if it is not convenient to clean the
gun at once, an oiled rag should be passed outside of the barrels and
stock.

_Floorcloths and Carpets._--(_a_) Oilcloths.--In buying an oilcloth
for a floor, endeavour to obtain one that was manufactured several
years before; as the longer it has been made previous to use, the
better it will wear, from the paint becoming hard and durable. An
oilcloth that has been made within the year, is scarcely worth
buying, as the paint will be defaced in a very little time, it
requiring a long while to season. An oilcloth should never be
scrubbed with a brush; but, after being first swept, it should be
cleaned by washing with a large soft cloth and lukewarm or cold
water. On no account use soap, or take water that is hot; as either
of them will certainly bring off the paint. When it has dried, you
may sponge it over with milk, which will brighten and preserve the
colours; and then wipe it with a soft dry cloth. (J. R.)

(_b_) Wash with a large, soft, woollen cloth and lukewarm or cold
water, dry thoroughly with a soft cloth, and afterwards polish with
milk, or a weak solution of beeswax, in spirits of turpentine.

(_c_) Oilcloth may be improved in appearance by rubbing it with a
mixture of ½ oz. beeswax in a saucerful of turpentine. After being
applied it must be well rubbed with a dry cloth; otherwise the floor
will be quite slippery.

(_d_) Cleaning New Linoleum.--Equal parts of salad oil and vinegar is
the best thing for the purpose, as it keeps it clean longer than skim
milk, which is commonly used. If dirty, wash the linoleum first with
soap-and-water. Soda rapidly destroys it, but soap or grease improves
the wear.

(_e_) Oilcloth made from Carpet.--The following recipe is
communicated to the _Cultivator and Country Gentleman_ by a
correspondent:--Nail the old Brussels carpet loosely to the floor,
in a large attic or wood-house chamber not in use. Then paint it
over with a thick coat of linseed oil and burnt umber. Let it dry
in thoroughly; add a coat of good varnish. Let that dry for a week
or two, and it can be washed with milk-and-water like any oilcloth.
Paint it on the wrong side, and nail it down closely, for it need not
be taken up for many years. As the varnish and paint wear off, renew
them, and thus it will last four times as long as common oilcloth. It
may be ornamented with a border of scarlet, green, or blue lines.

(_f_) Sweeping Carpets.--Before applying the broom, scatter over the
carpet the refuse tea-leaves from the teapot. These should be set
apart and saved in a pot kept for the purpose, squeezing the water
out thoroughly in the hand. First rub the leaves into the carpet
with the broom, and then sweep as usual. This will prevent dust,
and brighten the colours. Indian meal (maize flour) is recommended
for this purpose by many experienced American housekeepers. A small
sweeping machine, with a box to catch the dust, is now often used.

(_g_) Cleansing Carpets.--Put 4 tablespoonfuls ammonia to 1 bucketful
of water, with soap, scrubbing-brush, and cloth; scrub and wash the
carpet just as you would an unpainted floor, changing the water
frequently. Leave the windows open, and the carpet will soon dry.
In cities where bituminous coal is used, carpets are scrubbed as
regularly as wooden floors, and with happy effects. Instead of
taking up a carpet every 6 weeks during the winter, as some in muddy
districts think necessary, a careful wiping every week of the carpet
with a mop wrung from clean water will remove the dust and brighten
the colours. A thorough sweeping should precede this wiping-up.

(_h_) Carpets may be washed on tables or on the floor. In either case
they must be taken up and well beaten and swept. Grease is taken
out by rubbing hard soap on the spot, and scrubbing it out with a
brush dipped in clean cold water. Each spot must be rubbed dry with
a cloth as it is washed. Dissolve a bar of soap in 2 gal. water, by
cutting it into the water and heating to a boil. Lay the carpet on
the floor and tack it down, or have a heavy board, 3 ft. wide by
12 ft. long, laid on stout stands, or horses, and throw the carpet
over that, keeping a clean board or sheet underneath to receive the
carpet as it is cleansed. Provide brushes, and a quantity of coarse
cotton cloths, flannels, and a large sponge. Take 2 pails filled with
blood-warm water, put 2 qt. of the melted soap into one of them to
scour the carpet with, and use the other for rinsing. Dip the brush
in the soapsuds, and scour a square yard of the carpet at a time,
using as little water as possible, not to soak it through. When the
soap has done its work, rub it well out of the carpet with a flannel
or coarse sponge, sucking up with these all the wet and dirt left
by the brush, rinsing the article used in clean water repeatedly.
Have ready a pail of clean cold water, with enough sulphuric acid
or sharp vinegar in it to taste sour; dip a clean sponge in this,
squeeze and rub it well into the spot just cleansed. Afterward wipe
dry with coarse cloths, rinsing and hanging them where they will be
dry when the next yard is washed. Finish yard after yard in this way,
rubbing each clean and dry as you go. Keep a good fire in the room
to dry the carpet thoroughly. If scoured on a frame, nail the carpet
against the side of a house in the sun to dry. This is a tedious, but
thorough process. Hearth rugs may be cleaned in the same way, beating
and brushing them well, and tacking on a large board before washing.
Scrub one-sixth of it at a time unless you are expeditious, and dry
well with an old sheet. The secret of having carpets look well is
to wash and rinse them thoroughly, without soaking them through.
Ingrain, tapestry, Brussels, and Turkish carpets are all cleaned in
this way. Good authorities recommend a teacupful of ox-gall to a pail
of soapsuds, rinsing with clean water.

(_i_) Removing Grease Stain.--To take oil out of a carpet, as soon as
it is spilled put on plenty of wheat flour or whiting, to absorb the
oil and keep it from spreading. If the oil is near a seam, rip it, so
that the spot will not spread, and put whiting on the floor under the
carpet. Next day sweep up all the flour above and under the carpet
with a stiff brush, and put on plenty of fresh flour. To take out
grease spots, rub them with white flannel dipped in raw spirits of
turpentine. If they show after a while, rub again on both sides. If
there are grease spots on the floor, remove them with potters’ clay
before the carpet is laid down.

(_j_) Ditto.--Upon the grease stain lay a little damp fullers’ earth,
and, after standing for some time, rub it gently into the carpet,
and then wash off by using a little ammonia carbonate, and the colour
will be restored.

(_k_) Following are systems adopted by professional carpet cleaners.

All carpets and hearth-rugs, whether intended for dry or thorough
cleaning, must first be well beaten, and swept or brushed with a
hard broom. A carpet, to be properly beaten, should be hung on a
stout line, the wrong side outwards, and well beaten by two or more
persons, according to its size, some standing on one side and some
on the other. The sticks used should be pliable, and well covered at
the ends with cloth in the form of a knot in order to prevent the
carpet being torn or the seams split by the sharp ends of the sticks.
After being thoroughly beaten on the wrong side, the carpet should be
turned and treated in the same manner on the right side.

Dry Cleaning.--Have ready a number of dry coarse cotton or linen
cloths, some coarse flannels, and one or more large pieces of coarse
sponge; two or more hard scrubbing or scouring brushes, some large
tubs or pans, and pails, and also a plentiful supply of both hot and
cold water.

First take out all grease spots; this may be effected in several
ways. Well rub the spot with a piece of hard soap, and wash out with
a brush and cold water, and well dry each spot before leaving it.

Or use, instead of the soap, a mixture of fullers’ earth, gall, and
water, well rinsing and drying each spot as before. When this has
been done, the carpet may be cleaned by one of the three following
methods:--

(1) With Soap Liquor.--Cut up a bar of soap and dissolve it over a
fire in 2 gal. water. Put 2 qt. of this dissolved soap into a pail
of warm water. Dip a scrubbing-brush into this soap liquor, and
scour with it about 1 sq. yd. of the carpet; be careful not to let
the liquor soak through to the back. When this piece is thoroughly
cleaned, rub the soap well out of it by means of a coarse flannel or
sponge, sucking up all the wet and dirt made by the brush; rinse the
flannel or sponge frequently in warm water. Now take a clean sponge
and dip it into a pail of common sour, squeeze it out, and then rub
the sour well into the part just cleaned and rinsed. Rub as dry as
possible with clean, coarse cotton or linen cloths before proceeding
with the cleaning. The whole carpet is to be cleaned, spirited, and
dried in the same manner, a square yard at a time.

(2) With Gall.--Put a bag of very fresh bullocks’ gall into a pail
containing 2 gal. cold water, with 4 oz. pearlash dissolved in it,
and well mix it either with a stick or your hands. Have ready,
besides this, 2 pails cold water, a large sponge, a couple of
flannels, and some dry, coarse cloths. Dip the brush into the gall
and water, and scrub the carpet, a square yard at a time, as quickly
and as carefully as possible. Rinse, and suck up the gall and dirt
with a large flannel or sponge, which is to be frequently rinsed in
the pails of cold water. Well dry with cloths before beginning a
second square.

By adopting this simple process, any carpet, whatever its size, may
easily be cleaned on the floor; the process is especially useful when
the carpet is not very dirty, or when it contains delicate colours,
as the gall cannot possibly injure them. The only objection to this
method is that when cleaned with gall there is often a disagreeable
smell left in the carpet; but if the gall be obtained from a
fresh-killed bullock, and the carpet, after cleaning, be hung for a
few hours in a current of fresh air, the whole of this smell will go
off.

(3) With Ammonia.--Dissolve in a small pan 1 oz. pearlash in hot
water, and mix with it 1 gal. ammonia, which must be obtained from a
drysalter, not from a chemist. Dip a sponge or coarse flannel into
the ammonia, take it out rather wet, and well rub it into the carpet,
then dip the scouring-brush into the liquor and well scour the part
already sponged as quickly as possible. The dirt and ammonia must
then be sucked up in the sponge or flannel, and the part well dried
with flannels and cloths before proceeding with the next. Each
square yard will take about 20 minutes to clean and dry thoroughly.

This is another very simple method, the only objection to it being
that the carpet will smell of the ammonia for some time if it is kept
in the room in which it has been cleaned; it should therefore be hung
for 3 or 4 days in the open air or under an open shed, taking care,
however, that it does not get wet.

In dry cleaning, special care must be taken not to allow the liquor
to soak to the back of the carpet or rug; and also that, before
commencing, the floor or board on which the operation is conducted,
is perfectly dry. A good fire should also be kept in the room during
the whole time, as much of the success of the operation depends on
rapid drying.

_Floors._--(_a_) First sweep well. Have a small tub or bucket of warm
water; an old saucer to hold a piece of brown soap; a large thick
tow-linen floorcloth; and a long-handled scrubbing-brush. Dip the
whole of the floorcloth into the water, and with it wet a portion
of the floor. Next, rub some soap on the bristles of the brush, and
scrub hard all over the wet place. Then dip your cloth into the
water, and with it wash the suds off the floor. Wring the cloth, wet
it again, and wipe the floor with it a second time. Lastly, wash the
cloth about in the water, wring it as dry as possible, and give the
floor a last and hard wiping with it. Afterwards go on to the next
part of the floor, wet it, scrub it, wipe it 3 times, and proceed
in the same manner, a piece at a time, till you have gone over the
whole; changing the dirty water for clean, whenever you find it
necessary. For a large room, fresh warm water will be required 4
or 5 times in the course of the scrubbing. When the floor has been
scrubbed, leave the sashes raised while it is drying. For scouring
common floors that are very dirty, have by you an old tin pan with
some grey sand in it; and after soaping the brush, rub it on some
sand also. Always commence operations at the corner farthest from the
door and work towards the door.

(_b_) Take some clean, sifted, white or silver sand, and scatter it
on the floor. Dissolve 1 lb. potash or pearlash, in 1 pint water,
and sprinkle the sand with this solution. Have a pail of very hot
water, and well scrub the boards lengthwise with a hard brush, and
use the best mottled soap. Change the water frequently. The potash,
if applied as directed, will take out all stains. Ink stains may be
removed from boards by using either strong vinegar, or salts of lemon.

(_c_) The following will be found useful in cleaning and restoring
colour to wooden floors:--1 part calcinated soda allowed to stand ¾
hour in 1 part slaked lime; then add 15 parts water, and boil. Spread
the solution, thus obtained, upon the floor with a rag, and after
drying, rub with hard brush and fine sand and water. A solution of 1
part concentrated sulphuric acid and 8 parts water will enliven the
wood after above application. When dry, wash and wax the floor.

(_d_) Remove ink from floors by scouring them with sand wet with
water and a little oil of vitriol, mixed. Then rinse them with strong
saleratus water (potassium bicarbonate).

(_e_) Take ¼ lb. fullers’ earth and ¼ lb. pearlash, and boil together
in 1 qt. water, and, while hot, spread it on the greased surface,
allowing it to remain 14 or 15 hours; after which it may be scoured
off with sand and water.

(_f_) Procure some good light benzoline, scrub the stained portion
with a hard brush dipped in this, then wipe with a dry flannel. Make
a strong solution of common washing soda in hot water, place a little
unslaked lime, broken into coarse powder, over the stains, and pour
on sufficient solution of soda to wet the lime thoroughly. Leave this
mixture on for a short time, then scrub hard with plenty of clean hot
water, and wipe dry with clean flannel.

(_g_) A small quantity (say 2_d._ worth) oxalic acid (poison)
dissolved in ½ pint hot water; apply on a rag tied to a stick; wash
off with soda, soap, and water.

(_h_) Marks of tempera (whitewash) can be removed by a good scrubbing
with soap and water; oil stains require to be softened with
turpentine, and then scraped off. There is a soap called Philadelphia
Kitchen Crystal Soap, which removes oil stains rapidly; it must never
be put into water, but a damp flannel is rubbed on it, and the stains
are scrubbed with the lather. It also removes dirty marks on paint
quickly and easily.

_Furniture._--(_a_) Scratches on furniture may be removed by rubbing
with a woollen rag dipped in boiled linseed oil. The article must
then be varnished with shellac dissolved in alcohol.

(_b_) To clean and restore the elasticity of cane
chair-bottoms.--Turn the chair bottom upwards, and with hot water and
a sponge wash the canework well, so that it is well soaked; should it
be dirty, use soap; let it dry in the air, and it will be as tight
and firm as new, provided none of the canes is broken.

(_c_) Straw Matting.--Wash it with weak salt and water and dry it
well, or boil a small bag of bran in 2 gal. water, and wash the
matting with the water, drying it well.

(_d_) Ink Stains out of Mahogany.--Put a few drops of spirits of
nitre (nitric acid) in a teaspoonful of water, touch the spot with a
feather dipped in the mixture, and on the ink disappearing, rub it
over immediately with a rag wetted in cold water, or there will be a
white mark, which will not be easily effaced.

(_e_) Ditto.--Apply spirits of salts (muriatic acid) with a rag until
the spots disappear, and immediately afterward wash with clear water.

(_f_) Ditto.--To ½ pint soft water put 1 oz. oxalic acid, and ½ oz.
butter (terchloride) of antimony; shake well; when dissolved, it will
be very useful in extracting stains from mahogany, as well as ink, if
not of too long standing.

(_g_) Furniture creams or French polishes.--These are better bought
than home made. Nearly 100 good recipes exist, and maybe found in
‘Spons’ Mechanic’s Own Book.’

_Furs, Skins, and Rugs._--(_a_) Fur.--Soap or water will spoil it.
Get some clean common whiting--powdered, and plenty of it--put it
in a damp place for a day or so, but on no account let it get wet;
rub it into the fur with the hand, and don’t be afraid to rub it.
Now let it stop till next day, give it another good rubbing, then
shake out all the whiting you can, and give it a good brushing with
a clothes-brush. It will now be pretty clean, except the skin at the
bottom of the fur. To remove the dirt from thence get the fur over
the back of a chair, and use the point of the clothes-brush very
briskly, at the same time giving a short puff of wind every time
you give a stroke with the brush. With a little patience you will
remove every trace of whiting, grease, or dirt. Lastly, pour a little
spirits of wine on a plate, dip the point of the clothes-brush in
this, and lightly pass it over the fur; move the brush the same way
as the fur runs.

(_b_) Ditto.--Take equal parts of flour and powdered salt (which
should be well heated in an oven), and thoroughly rub the fur. It
should afterwards be well shaken, to free it from the flour and salt.

(_c_) Ditto.--Lay the fur on a table, and rub it well with bran made
moist with warm water. Rub until quite dry, and afterwards with dry
bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, and the dry with a
piece of book muslin.

(_d_) Ditto.--Thoroughly sprinkle every part with hot
plaster-of-Paris, and brush well with a hard brush. Then beat it with
a cane, comb smooth with a wet comb, and press carefully with a warm
iron; when dry, shake out all loose plaster-of-Paris.

(_e_) Hearth-rugs.--Hearth-rugs should never be cleaned on the floor,
but on a large scouring board, and should only be operated upon ⅙
of their length at a time. After being cleaned, they require to be
dried very quickly; as otherwise, on account of the thickness of the
pile, they are apt to sadden. Hearth-rugs may be cleaned by either
the first or second methods given for dry-cleaning carpets; with the
following exception, that when the first method is adopted, only 1
lb. soap dissolved in 1 gal. hot water will be required. After the
rug is finished, dip a clean sponge into a pail containing a little
common sour, and well rub it into the face of the rug.

(_f_) Sheepskin Rugs and Mats.--Dissolve 1 bar soap in 2 gal. boiling
water. Put 2 qt. of this into a tub or pan containing about 2 gal.
warm water. First rub out the dirt and grease spots with the strong
soap liquor, or, if necessary, with fullers’ earth. Then put the rug
or mat into the tub containing the weak soap liquor, and well wash
and punch it. Throw away this first liquor, and mix another lot with
the same proportions of warm water and dissolved soap, and again
well wash the rug; and so continue until it is perfectly clean. Then
rinse well in cold water to take out all the soap, and afterwards
in cold water in which a small quantity of blue has been dissolved.
This blue water will only be required for white skins. After this
has been done, the mat or rug should be wrung out, shaken, and hung
to dry with the skin side towards the sun, but not when the heat is
scorching, or the skin will become hard and brittle. It should, while
drying, be frequently shaken and hung up first by one end and then by
the other.

(_g_) Ditto.--Wash while fresh in strong soapsuds, first picking
from the wool all the dirt that will come out. A little paraffin, 1
tablespoonful to 3 gal. water, will aid in removing the impurities.
Continue to wash the skin in fresh suds till it is white and clean.
Then dissolve ½ lb. each of salt and alum in 3 pints boiling water,
put into it water enough to cover the skin, which should soak in the
solution 12 hours, and then be hung on a line to drain. When nearly
dry, nail it, wool side in, on a board, or the side of a barn, to
dry. Rub into the skin 1 oz. each of pulverised alum and saltpetre,
and if the skin is large double the quantity. Rub for an hour or two.
Fold the skin sides together, and hang the skin away for 3 days,
rubbing it every day or till perfectly dry. Then with blunt knife
clear the skin of impurities, rub it with pumice or rottenstone, trim
it into shape, and you have a door-mat that will last a lifetime.
If it is to be dyed, have a shallow vessel as large as the skin in
which to prepare the dye, so that the skin can be laid wool-side down
smoothly into the vessel that all parts may be equally immersed in
the dye. This should not be more than an inch deep, otherwise the
skin might be injured by the hot dye. After colouring, again stretch
the skin to dry, and then comb with a wool- or cotton-card.

_Glass Articles._--(_a_) Mirrors.--Wet the surface of the glass with
gin, to remove the stains. Then rub with a cloth dipped in powdered
blue. Polish with a silk handkerchief. Be very careful not to touch
the frames.

(_b_) Ditto.--To clean glass in frames, when the latter are covered
or otherwise so finished that water cannot be used, moisten tripoli
with brandy, rub it on the glass while moist, and when dry rub off
with a silk rag; to prevent the mixture injuring the cloth on the
frame, use strips of tin bent to an angle; set these on the frame
with one edge on the glass; when the frames are of a character that
will not be injured by water, rub the glass with water containing a
little liquid ammonia, and polish with moist paper.

(_c_) Ditto.--Take part of a newspaper, fold it small, dip it in a
basin of clean cold water, and when it is thoroughly wet squeeze it
out as a sponge, and then rub it hard over the face of the glass,
taking care that it is not so wet as to run down in streams. After
the glass has been well rubbed with the wet paper, let it rest a few
minutes and then go over it with a fresh dry newspaper, till it looks
clear and bright, which it will do almost immediately.

(_d_) Windows.--Procure a washleather of convenient size and some
“paper-hanger’s” canvas; 2 yd. divided into 3 pieces, will be a nice
size to work with. Have the cut sides hemmed, and they will last a
long while. When it is desired, use one; boil or soak for an hour
or so in a solution of soda and water to get out the “dress”; then
wring out, and rinse in as many courses of clean water as you like;
then partially dry (practice will enable you to judge), fold to a
convenient size, and it will be ready for use. The soda solution
will now be cool enough for the leather (if too hot it will shrivel
the leather); wash in the same manner, and wring superfluous
moisture out; then wash the glass thoroughly with it and plenty of
elbow-grease, and polish off with the canvas.

(_e_) Ditto.--One of the best materials is a mixture of calcined
magnesia with enough purified benzin to produce, when shaken up, a
thick milk. It should be kept in vessels provided with well-ground
glass stoppers. For use, a small quantity of the mixture is applied
to a muslin rag, or better, to a wad of cotton, and the windows are
rubbed with this. It may be very readily cleaned off without leaving
any deposit in the corners.

(_f_) Glass Globes.--Rub inside with a little wet pumice-powder on a
cloth, and in 2 minutes you would not know that they were not newly
purchased. The best way to cleanse dirty glass of all kinds is to
put a small quantity of spirits of salts (hydrochloric acid) into a
basin of water, and to place the dirty articles in the liquid for a
few minutes, when it will be found that the glass is clean, and only
requires drying. If very dirty, the globes may require to stay in the
liquid a little longer. This plan is very useful for cleaning the
pendant drops of glass chandeliers, water bottles, &c., as no soap
is required. Care must be taken not to drop the undiluted spirits of
salts on the clothes or hands.

(_g_) Photographic Glass Plates.--One of the most powerful--if not,
indeed _the_ most powerful--detergents for refractory plates is the
mixture of sulphuric acid and bichromate of potash recommended by
Carey Lea some years ago. It is especially useful with glasses which
have been frequently used, or which from the nature of the treatment
they have undergone resist the action of both acids and alkalies
completely. Its utility is dependent upon the powerful action of
chromic acid upon organic matter, and we have never yet met with
a plate which did not succumb to its treatment. One precaution is
necessary in using it, however; it must be carefully removed from
the glass by copious washing as soon as possible after it has done
its duty. If allowed to soak for some time, as is frequently the
practice, the plates appear to absorb the solution (the penetrating
power of which is extraordinary), or an insoluble compound becomes
firmly attached to the surface and stedfastly refuses to be
displaced. Though generally invisible, it results in a peculiar
mottled appearance between the glass and the developed film which
entirely ruins the picture. We recently treated a number of plates
which had become useless from this cause with various detergents,
including acids as well as alkalies, but to no purpose; friction with
various abrading powers failed to remove the defect, and we were
well-nigh compelled to give it up. Remembering, however, that cyanide
of potassium has been utilised by carbon printers for the purpose of
reducing the strength of over-printed proofs--which it does by virtue
of its action upon the insoluble compounds of chromium--we resolved
to try its efficacy on our refractory plates, when all the mottling
disappeared as if by magic. Those amongst our readers who dare to
fly in face of all that has been lately written upon the dangers
attending cyanide and bichromate of potash have here a “wrinkle.”
Surely those who have dared bichromate will not fear the minor
dangers of cyanide. (_Brit. Jl. Phot._)

(_h_) Ditto.--A cream of tripoli powder and spirits of wine, with
a little ammonia added, is a very good solution for cleaning glass
plates. Old collodion is also very good; it should be thinned down
with an equal bulk of spirits of wine; add an excess of iodide of
potassium, and shake till the solution is saturated. Caustic potash
is very good; so is carbonate of soda. If the plates be new, and
covered with little gritty particles which do not come off on the
application of potash, they may be removed with nitric acid.

(_i_) Ditto.--Take a dilute solution of potash permanganate, and
pour on enough to wet the sides of the vessel to be cleaned. A film
of hydrated manganic oxide is deposited, which is then rinsed with
hydrochloric acid. Chlorine is formed, which acts in the nascent
state on the organic matter, which becomes readily soluble. The
permanganate solution can be used again and again till its oxidising
power is exhausted. (Walz.)

(_j_) Ditto.--Dissolve 15 gr. potassium iodide in 5 oz. water and 5
oz. alcohol, afterwards adding 3 gr. iodine and enough whiting or
rottenstone to make a creamy paste Rub a little of this on the glass
with a rag until clean, then polish with a cloth. (J. Hughes.)

(_k_) Glass Slides.--“I had tried previously to remove the hardened
balsam in many ways, and had succeeded fairly with a mixture of
prepared chalk, methylated spirit, and liquid ammonia, but found this
objectionable because it was such a dirty job. I now simply warm the
slides over a flame, and push off the covers into strong sulphuric
acid (oil of vitriol), and leave them therein for a short time; when
clean, drain off, and rinse with a little fresh acid, and finish
off by washing well in water. As much balsam as possible is removed
from the slides by scraping with a knife, and then sulphuric acid
is rubbed upon them with a glass rod. They are then well washed. If
necessary, a finishing touch may be given with a warm solution of
washing soda or methylated spirit and ammonia, to remove all trace
of grease. Sulphuric acid should be added to water, or water to
sulphuric acid, very gradually.” (Thos. H. Powell.)

(_l_) Removing Grease.--Dissolve soda carbonate in water, in the
proportion of 1 of the former to 10 of the latter, and let the liquid
boil in a clean untinned iron pot. Slake 8 parts quicklime in a
covered vessel and add the hydrate thus formed to the boiling liquid,
stirring it meanwhile. Great care must be exercised in using this
caustic solution, which must not be allowed to touch the hands; the
glass must therefore be dipped in it by the aid of tongs or pliers.
When the grease is dissolved, the glass is to be well brushed and
subsequently rinsed in water.

(_m_) Removing Paint Stains.--3 parts potash, 1 oz. caustic lime; lay
on with a padded stick and let remain some hours.

(_n_) Ditto.--Moisten with washing soda dissolved in warm water;
renew for ½ hour; wash off with clean water.

(_o_) Bottles.--If oily or otherwise greasy, they should not be
washed with water, but wiped with dry tow, or a dry dirty cloth, so
as to remove as much grease as possible. By changing the cloth for
one that is clean, the vessel can be wiped until all traces of grease
disappear.

(_p_) Ditto.--A strong solution of an alkali, such as pearlash, may
be used, whereby the removal of the grease is materially facilitated.

(_q_) Ditto.--If soiled by resin, turpentine, resinous varnishes,
&c., wash with a strong alkaline solution, and rub by means of the
wire and tow.

(_r_) Ditto.--If the alkali fail to act, a little sulphuric acid
may be employed with advantage. The latter acid will also be found
advantageous in removing pitch and tar from glass vessels. Nitric or
sulphuric acid may be employed to clean flasks which have contained
oil.

(_s_) Ditto.--“To clean a silver-bottle, pour in a strong solution of
potassium cyanide; shake a few times, pour out, and rinse with water
2 or 3 times, and your bottle is perfectly clean. Keep the solution,
and filter and strengthen when required. By doing this you can sun
your bath better in 2 hours than in a week’s exposure in the dirty
black bottles photographers appear to delight in.” (_Phil. Phot._)

(_t_) Ditto.--Alexander Müller, of Berlin, after speaking of the
various methods in vogue for cleaning glass vessels, as, for example,
sand (which is objectionable, as it scratches glass), shot (good,
but should be followed by a wash of dilute nitric acid, to get rid
of lead), brushes, copper scale (also good, but requires subsequent
rinsing with some dilute acid), bits of paper or linen, wood ashes,
salt (especially rock-salt), gypsum and marble-dust (very good),
ground bones (likewise excellent), he concludes as follows:--Chisel
or tongue-shaped pieces are cut from thick pieces of indiarubber, and
a sharp brass or platinum wire is fixed into the thick end to serve
as a handle. With this washer and its flexible handle, we are able to
“lick” out, to a certain extent, any kind of a bottle. For beakers
and capsules, we greatly prefer it to the hair pencil and feather
commonly used; for, owing to their fibrous structure, the precipitate
gets entangled in them, while they also lose some of their
nitrogenous particles, which would affect the accuracy of careful
nitrogen determinations, as, for example, in water analyses. Finally,
to clean glass or porcelain vessels from the greatest variety of
adherent organic substances, he recommends a mixture of bichromate of
potassium and sulphuric acid as superior to ether, alcohol, benzine,
&c.

(_u_) Bottles which have contained petroleum, wash with thin milk
of lime, which forms an emulsion with the petroleum, and removes
every trace of it; by washing a second time with milk of lime and a
small quantity of lime chloride, even the smell may be so completely
removed as to render the vessel, thus cleansed, fit for keeping beer
in. If the milk of lime be used warm, instead of cold, the operation
is rendered much shorter. (_Ding. Pol. Jl._)

(_v_) Decanters.--There is often much difficulty experienced in
cleaning decanters, especially after port wine has stood in them for
some time. The best way is to wash them out with a little pearlash
and warm water, adding a spoonful or two of fresh slaked lime if
necessary. To facilitate the action of the fluid against the sides of
the glass, a few small cinders may be used.

(_w_) Ditto.--Soak the decanters for some hours in warm soda and
water; if there is much cutting on the outside, a brush will be
necessary to remove the dirt and stains from the crevices. Cut a
potato into small dice, put a good handful of these into the decanter
with some warm water, shake the decanter briskly until the stains
disappear; rinse in clean cold water, and let them drain until dry.
Vinegar and sauce cruets can be cleaned in the same way.

_Gloves._--Kid. (_a_) Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm
water; lay the glove flat on a board, the bottom of a dish, or other
unyielding surface; dip a piece of flannel in the lather and well rub
the glove with it till all the dirt is out, turning it about so as
to clean it all over. Dry in the sun or before a moderate fire. When
dry they will look like old parchment, and should be gradually pulled
out and stretched. (_b_) Have a small quantity of milk in a cup or
saucer, and a piece of brown Windsor or glycerine soap in another
saucer. Fold a clean towel or other cloth 3 or 4 times thick, and
spread the glove smoothly on the cloth. Dip a piece of flannel in the
milk, and rub it well on the soap. Hold the glove firmly with the
left hand, and rub it with the flannel towards the fingers. Continue
this operation until the glove, if white, appears of a dirty yellow;
or, if coloured, until it looks dirty and spoiled, and then lay it
to dry. Gloves cleaned by this method will be soft, glossy, and
elastic. (_c_) French method: Put the gloves on your hands and wash
them in spirits of turpentine until they are quite clean, rubbing
them exactly as if washing your hands; when finished, hang them in a
current of air to dry and to take off the smell of the turpentine.
(_d_) Eau de Javelle, 135 parts; ammonia, 8; powdered soap, 200;
water, 150. Make a soft paste, and use with a flannel.

Washleather. (_e_) Take out the grease spots by rubbing with magnesia
or with cream of tartar. Then wash with soap dissolved in water as
directed for kid gloves, and afterwards rinse, first in warm water
and then in cold. Dry in the sun, or before the fire.

Buckskin.--(_f_) To ¼ lb. Paris white add the same quantity of
scraped pipeclay and 3 oz. best isinglass; boil all well down,
stirring the while. Put the compound on thick, and, when dry, beat
it well out by clapping your hands together, &c.; then carefully
iron the gloves with a hot smoothing-iron. (_g_) When dirty, wash
3 times in clean warm (not hot) “soap lather.” Put a little blue
in, wring them well, then put them in as good a form as you can--as
nearly what they should be when dry as practicable. When nearly dry,
but sufficiently damp to form to the hand, put them on; if difficult
to get on, damp a little; then press or push them off, and when dry
(from the fire) they will be as good as new, and white and clean,
and not mark anything. (_h_) 1 oz. gum arabic to 1 lb. white lead
(powder), free from lumps, to be well dissolved and strained through
muslin; afterwards mix your lead stiff and put it by until perfectly
hard. Be very careful not to leave water in the box or sponge after
using. (_i_) Take ½ lb. prepared chalk, ½ lb. prepared alum, 3 cakes
pipeclay, ½ oz. oxalic acid, ½ oz. isinglass, 1 oz. powdered pumice,
1 tablespoonful starch, 6 tablespoonfuls sweet oil, 2 oz. white soap.
To be mixed in boiling water; the oxalic acid and prepared alum to be
added last.

All gloves are better and more shapely if dried on glove trees or
wooden hands.

_Hands._--The hands are apt to be stained or tainted by contact with
many substances in everyday use. The following are most common.

Tar. (_a_) Rub with fresh orange or lemon peel.

(_b_) Mix together pulverised extract of liquorice and oil of aniseed
to the consistency of thick cream; rub on thoroughly with the hand,
then wash off with soap and warm soft water.

Disagreeable Odours. (_c_) Ground mustard, mixed with a little
water, is an excellent agent for cleansing the hands after handling
disagreeably or strongly odorous substances, such as cod-liver oil,
musk, valerianic acid and its salts. Scale-pans and vessels may also
be readily freed from odour by the same method. (Schneider.)

(_d_) All oily seeds, when powdered, answer for this purpose.
Flax-seed meal, for instance, removes odours as well as mustard.
The use of ground almond-cake as a detergent is well known. The
explanation of this action is somewhat doubtful, but it is not
improbable that the odorous bodies are dissolved by the fatty oil of
the seed, and emulsionised by the contact with water. In the case of
bitter almonds and mustard, the development of ethereal oil, under
the influence of water, may perhaps be an additional help to destroy
foreign odours. The author also mentions that the smell of carbolic
acid may be removed by rubbing the hands with damp flax-seed meal,
and that cod-liver-oil bottles may be cleansed with a little hot
sesamé or olive oil. (Huber.)

Silver Nitrate. (_e_) Wash in solution of 10 parts potassium iodide,
1 iodine, 1 ammonia, in 100 water. (Liesegang.)

(_f_) Wash in strong solution of cupric chloride, and, about a minute
later, in soda hyposulphite. (Underwood.)

Nitric Acid. (_g_) Wash immediately and put on some lime chloride.

(_h_) On the stain or stains place sufficient caustic soda (the
usual reagent strength) with the end of the stopper (if the stain
is all covered it will do); gently rub it with any solid for a few
seconds, then wash it off; then gently rub the spot with a finger
nail, when it will come off almost completely; put on a little dilute
hydrochloric acid, when the spot will disappear entirely. If not,
repeat the whole process, which will be sure to remove it without the
least injury to the hand.

(_i_) Wash the hands in a solution of soda-ash and bleaching powder,
add the solution of soda-ash to the bleaching liquor as long as a
precipitate forms, then wash; the remaining stains will wear off in
time. Wash in this daily till the stains are completely removed.

Potassium Bichromate. (_k_) Rub the stains with a solution of
sulphurous acid, and subsequently wash with distilled or soft water.
(_l_) To a warm, strong solution of soda hyposulphite add a small
quantity of sulphuric acid; this may then be used on the stains with
similar effect. (_Photo. News._)

_Ivory and Bone Articles._--(_a_) Spirit of turpentine is very
efficacious in removing the disagreeable odour and fatty emanations
of bones or ivory, while it leaves them beautifully bleached. The
articles should be exposed in the fluid for 3 or 4 days in the sun,
or a little longer if in the shade. They should rest upon strips
of zinc, so as to be a trifle above the bottom of the glass vessel
employed. The turpentine acts as an oxidising agent, and the product
of the combustion is an acid liquor which sinks to the bottom, and
strongly attacks the ivory if allowed to touch it.

(_b_) Make a thick puddle of common whiting in a saucer. Brush well
with a tooth-brush into the curved work. Brush well out with plenty
of clean water. Dry gently near the fire. Finish with a clean dry
hard brush, adding one or two drops (not more) of sweet oil.

(_c_) Mix about a tablespoonful of oxalic acid in ½ pint boiling
water. Wet the ivory over first with water, then with a tooth-brush
apply the acid, doing one side at a time, and rinsing; finally dry in
a cloth before the fire, but not too close.

(_d_) Take a piece of fresh lime, slake it by sprinkling it with
water, then mix into a paste, which apply by means of a soft brush,
brushing well into the interstices of the carving; next set by in a
warm place till perfectly dry, after which take another soft brush
and remove the lime. Should it still remain discoloured, repeat the
process, but be careful neither to make it too wet nor too hot in
drying off, or probably the article might come to pieces, being most
likely glued or cemented together. If it would stand steeping in
lime water for 24 hours, and afterwards boiling in strong alum water
for about an hour and then dried, it would turn out white and clean.
Rubbing with oxide of tin (putty powder) and a chamois leather, will
restore a fine gloss afterwards.

(_e_) Well clean with spirits of wine, then mix some whiting with a
little of the spirits, to form a paste, and well brush with it. It
is best to use a rubber of soft leather where there are no delicate
points; put a little soap on the leather, and dip into the paste
and rub the ivory until you get a brilliant polish, finish off with
a little dry whiting; the leather should be attached to flat wood
surface, and rub briskly.

(_f_) When ivory ornaments get yellow or dusky-looking, wash them
well in soap and water, with a small brush to clean the carvings, and
place them while wet in full sunshine; wet them 2 or 3 times a day
for several days, with soapy water, still keeping them in the sun;
then wash them again, and they will be beautifully white.

(_g_) Rub with soda bicarbonate applied on a tooth-brush dipped in
warm water.

_Leather Goods._--(_a_) Carriage tops that have faded and become
grey can be restored by washing with a solution composed of 4 oz.
nut-galls, 1 oz. each of logwood, copperas, clean iron filings, and
sumach berries; put all but the iron filings and copperas in 1 qt.
best white wine vinegar, and heat nearly to boiling point; then add
the copperas and iron filings; let stand for 24 hours, and strain off
the liquid; apply with a sponge. This is equally good for restoring
black cloths.

(_b_) Enamelled leather tops that have been soiled by dust and rain
should be washed with soft water and Castile or crown soap. Apply
the water with a sponge and then scrub with moderately stiff brush;
cleanse with clean water and dry with a “shammy.” Never apply any
kind of oil or top dressing without first cleaning the leather.

(_c_) Mouldy Leather.--Remove the surface mould with a dry cloth, and
with another cloth apply pyroligneous acid.

(_d_) Russet Leather-covered Mountings.--Remove all stains and dirt
by rubbing the leather with a cloth and a little oxalic acid, and
restore the colour and finish by the use of salts of lemon (tartaric
acid) applied with a woollen cloth. Rub the leather until a good
polish is produced.

(_e_) Rubber-covered Mountings.--Rub the covered as well as the
metallic parts with a “shammy” and a little tripoli, and finish with
a clean woollen cloth.

(_f_) Chamois-leather.--Make a solution of weak soda and warm water,
rub plenty of soft-soap into the leather, and allow it to remain
in soak for 2 hours, then rub it well until it is quite clean.
Afterwards rinse it well in a weak solution composed of warm water,
soda, and yellow soap. If rinsed in water only, it becomes hard
when dry, and unfit for use. The small quantity of soap left in the
leather allows the finer particles of the leather to separate and
become soft like silk. After rinsing, wring it well in a rough towel,
and dry quickly; then pull it about and brush it well, and it will
become softer and better than most new leathers.

(_g_) Morocco Leather.--Strain well over a board, and scour with
stiff brush, using tepid water and soft-soap, made slightly acid
with oxalic acid; when done, unstrain the leather, and dry in a cool
place; do not saturate the leather, but keep the board inclined; when
dry, rub a little oil lightly over the surface with a rag.

(_h_) Saddles.--If much soiled, wash the leather with a weak solution
of oxalic acid and water, and, when dry, with the watery portion of
beef blood. The latter can be preserved by adding a little carbolic
acid, and keeping it in a bottle tightly corked.

(_i_) Brown saddles may be cleaned to look as well as new by the use
of tepid water and crown soap; if the latter cannot be had, use pure
Castile soap.

_Marble_, _Stone_, _Plaster_, _&c._--Marble.--(_a_) Take finely
powdered pumice and vinegar; wash the surface with the mixture, and
leave it for several hours, then brush hard and wash clean. When dry,
rub with whiting and washleather. (_b_) Equal parts caustic potash,
quicklime, and soft-soap; make into a thick paste with water, and
apply with a brush; leave for about a week, and apply again and again
until the stain has disappeared. (_c_) 2 parts soda (carbonate), 1 of
pumice, and 1 of finely powdered chalk. Mix into a fine paste with
water. Rub this over the marble, and the stains will be removed; then
wash with soap and water. (_d_) Wash thoroughly with soda and warm
water to remove any grease, and apply oxalic acid by laying a piece
of white cotton cloth saturated upon the spots for a short time. If
it destroys the polish, repolish with oxide of tin and water applied
with a cloth. If the stains are not deep, rub the surface only with
the oxalic acid and water upon a small piece of cloth quickly, and
wash, to free the marble of acid. Then, to give it a gloss, rub with
chalk wet with water. (_e_) Marble figures may be washed clean by
putting them out in a heavy shower. (_f_) Spots from sulphur and
phosphorus, caused by lucifer-matches, can be extracted from marble
by carbon bisulphide. (_g_) Removing rust from marble depends upon
the solubility of iron sulphide in a solution of potassium cyanide.
Clay is made into a thin paste with ammonium sulphide, and the
rust-spot is smeared with the mixture, care being taken that the spot
is only just covered. After a lapse of 10 minutes, this paste is
washed off, and replaced by one consisting of white bole mixed with a
solution of potassium cyanide (1:4), which is in its turn, washed off
after a lapse of about 2½ hours. Should a reddish spot remain after
washing off the first paste, a second layer may be applied for about
5 minutes. (_h_) Brush the dust off with a piece of chamois, then
apply with a brush a good coat of gum arabic about the consistency
of thick mucilage, expose it to the sun or wind to dry. In a short
time it will peel off. If all the gum should not peel off, wash it
with clean water and a clean cloth. If the first application does not
have the desired effect, it should be tried again. (_i_) Rub with the
following solution: ¼ lb. soft-soap, ¼ lb. whiting, 1 oz. soda, and
a piece of blue the size of a walnut; rub it over the marble with
a piece of flannel, and leave on for 24 hours, then wash off with
clean water, and polish the marble with a piece of flannel or an old
piece of felt. (_j_) Take 2 parts common soda, 1 of pumice, and 1 of
finely powdered chalk; sift through a fine sieve, and mix with water;
rub it well over the marble; then wash the marble over with soap and
water. (_k_) To take stains out of white marble, take 1 oz. ox-gall,
1 gill lye, 1½ tablespoonfuls turpentine; mix, and make into a paste
with pipeclay; put on the paste over the stain, and let it remain for
several days. (_l_) To remove oil-stains, apply common clay saturated
with benzine. If the grease has remained on long, the polish will be
injured; but the stain will be removed. (_m_) Ironmould or ink-spots
may be taken out in the following manner: Take ½ oz. butter of
antimony and 1 oz. oxalic acid; dissolve in 1 pint rain-water; add
enough flour to bring the mixture to a proper consistency. Lay it
evenly on the stained part with a brush, and, after it has remained
for a few days, wash off, and repeat the process if the stain be not
wholly removed.

Stone.--(_n_) To remove grease from stone steps or passages, pour
strong soda and water boiling hot over the spot, lay on a little
fullers’ earth made into a thin paste with boiling water, let remain
all night, and if the grease be not removed, repeat the process.
Grease may sometimes be taken out by rubbing the spot with a hard
stone--not hearth-stone--using sand and very hot water, with soap and
soda.

Plaster.--(_o_) By means of Dutch rush or shave-grass (_Equisetum
hyemale_), or exceedingly fine sandpaper, the plaster must be rubbed
over in an equal manner, and in every part. The rubbing, being done
in a skilful manner, opens the pores of the plaster; then brush
it over with the thick oil used for moulding, which will give it a
very pleasing yellow tint, and at the same time great solidity. If,
however, a white colour is preferred, soak the cast, after the first
operation has been performed, in a stearine bath. If placed in a
bath of hot stearine, and allowed to remain 4 hours, it will acquire
almost the solidity and the polish of marble.

Alabaster.--(_p_) Make a paste with quicklime and water; spread this
well over the discoloured article, and leave on for about 24 hours;
then remove with soap and water, applying some friction on parts
which are worse than others. (_q_) If not too much discoloured, clean
with a strong lye of soap and water. (_r_) The superficial dirt and
grease having been removed, wash with diluted muriatic acid.

_Metal Goods._--Brass.--(_a_) Wash with rock alum, boiled in a strong
lye in the proportion of 1 oz. to a pint; polish with dry tripoli.
(_b_) The government method prescribed for cleaning brass, and in use
at all the United States arsenals, is claimed to be the best in the
world. The plan is to make a mixture of 1 part common nitric acid
and ½ part sulphuric acid, in a stone jar, having also ready a pail
of fresh water and a box of sawdust. The articles to be treated are
dipped into the acid, then removed into the water, and finally rubbed
with sawdust. This immediately changes them to a brilliant colour.
If the brass has become greasy, it is first dipped in a strong
solution of potash and soda in warm water; this cuts the grease, so
that the acid has free power to act. (_c_) Rub the surface of the
metal with rottenstone and sweet oil, then rub off with a piece of
cotton flannel, and polish with soft leather. (_d_) A solution of
oxalic acid rubbed over tarnished brass soon removes the tarnish,
rendering the metal bright. The acid must be washed off with water,
and the brass rubbed with whiting and soft leather. (_e_) A mixture
of muriatic acid and alum dissolved in water imparts a golden colour
to brass articles that are steeped in it for a few seconds. (_f_)
First boil your articles in a pan with ordinary washing soda, to
remove the old lacquer; then let them stand for a short time in dead
aquafortis; then run them through bright dipping ditto. Swill all
acid off in clean water, and brighten the relieved parts with a steel
burnisher; replace in clean water, and dry out in beech sawdust. Next
place your work on stove till heated, so that you can with difficulty
bear your hand on articles, and apply pale lacquer with brush: the
work will burn if heated too much or too rapidly. (_g_) Put a coat
of nitric acid over the part you want cleaned, with a piece of rag;
as soon as it turns a light yellow, rub it dry, and the brass will
present a very clean appearance; if not, repeat. (_h_) Oxalic acid
and whiting mixed and applied wet, with brush, and brushed again
when dry with soft plate-brush to polish with dry whiting. (_i_) The
general idea is to use strong oil of vitriol or a strong solution
of oxalic acid. Now, these two substances are very corrosive, and,
although they undoubtedly clean the brasswork most effectually, they
do mischief in literally eating it away, so that delicate engraving
and fine edges soon disappear. In cases of brass name-plates, these
acids gradually insinuate themselves underneath the black filling
of the letters, generating gas, and forcing it up bit by bit. The
best thing to use is lemon pulp: the waste lemon from grog or
lemonade does excellently. It should be tied up in a piece of rag,
plum-pudding fashion, and when it becomes dry it should be dipped in
water. After the brasswork has been rubbed with the lemon it should
be well washed with water, and then finished off with rottenstone
and oil. One word about brass plates. There is no greater eyesore
to those who worship neatness than to see a rim of worn-away paint
round the brass plate on the hall door of an otherwise well-appointed
house. Such a defect may be easily avoided by cutting out a piece of
thick cardboard to the shape of the plate, and covering over with
it the paint surrounding the metal during the process of cleaning.
Another fatal mistake is to suppose that the black letters require
cleaning; they do not, and any efforts in this direction only result
in their being gradually worn away. (_j_) Embossed Surfaces.--Make
a mixture of 1 part nitric acid, 2 water, and 6 hydrochloric acid.
Boil the articles to be cleaned in a strong soda-lye, and then leave
them in the above solution, until they become covered with a black
layer. Remove from the mixed acids, rinse in plenty of water, and
use a fine scratch-brush to remove the black mud. When clean, rinse
in hot water, and dry in hot sawdust. Articles thus treated acquire
a brilliant lustre. To give a very rich orange-yellow tone to the
brass, the nitric acid may be replaced by an equivalent weight of
powdered alum. (_k_) Brass Instruments.--If the instruments are
very much oxidised or covered with green rust, first wash them with
strong soda and water. If not so very bad, this first process may be
dispensed with. Then apply a mixture of 1 part common sulphuric acid
and 12 of water, mixed in an earthen vessel, and afterwards polish
with oil and rottenstone, well scouring with oil and rottenstone, and
using a piece of soft leather and a little dry rottenstone to give
a brilliant polish. In future cleaning, oil and rottenstone will be
found sufficient. (_l_) Take a strip of coarse linen, saturate with
oil and powdered rottenstone, put round the tubing of instrument,
and work backwards and forwards; polish with dry rottenstone. Do not
use acid of any kind, as it is injurious to the joints. To hold the
instrument, get a piece of wood turned to insert in the bells; fix
in a bench vice. The piece of wood will also serve for taking out
any dents you may get in the bells. (_m_) Oil and rottenstone for
this purpose are, though very efficacious, objectionable on account
of dirt, on account of the oil finding its way to the pistons, and
because the instrument cleaned in this manner so soon tarnishes.
Dissolve some common soda in warm water, shred into it some scraps
of yellow soap, and boil it till the soap is all melted. Then take
it from the fire, and when it is cool add a little turpentine, and
sufficient rottenstone to make a stiff paste. Keep it in a tin box
covered from the air, and if it gets hard, moisten a small quantity
with water for use.

Scale-pans.--(_n_) Pour sufficient ammonia in the pan to cover the
bottom, and rub briskly till dry with a handful of dry pine sawdust.
For very dirty pans, take about 1 dr. potash bichromate, powder it in
a mortar, mix it with 2 or 3 times its bulk of concentrated sulphuric
acid, and add twice as much water. With this rub the pans (having a
care for the fingers), rinse well, and finish with rottenstone.

Brass or Copper.--(_o_) Mix together 1 oz. oxalic acid, 6 oz.
rottenstone, and ½ oz. gum arabic; all these are to be finely
powdered. Then add 1 oz. sweet-oil and sufficient water to form the
mixture into a paste. Apply a small portion to the article to be
cleaned, and rub dry with a flannel or washleather.

Bronze.--(_a_) For cleaning bronze statues, when blackened by
smoke and soot, wash with plenty of clean water, accompanied with
mechanical friction. Even this simple treatment is undesirable;
because the friction, however slight, accompanying the washing,
destroys, or tends to destroy, the sharpness of the outlines; and
the sulphurous and sulphuric acids of the prevailing smoke rapidly
corrode the surface of any bronze statue which is constantly being
washed. For these reasons, the Nelson monument at Liverpool, was
left untouched when it was re-erected, after the building of the new
Exchange surrounding it. It has been a matter of much debate whether
the soot-blackened surface of a bronze statue is not more pleasing to
the eye, than the metallic lustre of a new, or newly-cleaned statue.
(_b_) Weber finds that a dilute solution of caustic alkalies removes
overlying dirt, and allows the green patina to become visible. Where
the metal was not originally oxidised, the alkali simply cleanses
it, and does not promote any formation of green rust. (_c_) By
dipping fustian in soluble glass, and washing it with soap directly
afterwards, we get a fabric largely impregnated with silica, which
will be found very well adapted for cleaning bronzes, &c. Samples
of the material were in the Vienna Exhibition, and attracted some
notice. (_d_) The method of restoring a bronze tea-urn turned black
in parts will depend, to a great extent, on the metal and the colour.
Clean the surface, first of all, with whiting and water, or crocus
powder, until it is polished; then cover with a paste of graphite
and crocus, mixed in the proportions that will produce the desired
colour. Heat the paste over a small charcoal fire. If the bronzing
has been produced by a corrosive process, try painting a solution of
potassium sulphide over the cleaned metal. There are many recipes for
bronzing, and it is impossible to say which is suitable. The bronzed
surface may be polished; but it cannot be bright unless the surface
of the metal itself is polished, and then covered with transparent
lacquer to preserve the brightness.

Coins.--Coins can be quickly cleansed by immersion in strong nitric
acid, and immediate washing in water. If very dirty, or corroded with
verdigris, it is better to give them a rubbing with ½ oz. pure potash
bichromate, 1 oz. sulphuric acid, 1 oz. nitric acid; rub over, wash
with water, wipe dry, and polish with rottenstone or chalk. (Lyle.)

Copper Electros.--Copper electros should be well cleaned after
working, as the ink between the fine lines in time generates acids,
which destroy the electro. For this purpose turpentine and the brush
are employed; others also recommend the electros to be afterwards
well rubbed with an oil as free from acid as possible. Should the ink
be so dried up as to resist it, creosote should be applied, and the
electros treated with the brush.

Copper Vessels.--Use soft-soap and rottenstone, made into a stiff
paste with water, and dissolved by gently simmering in a water-bath.
Rub on with a woollen rag, and polish with dry whiting and
rottenstone. Finish with a leather and dry whiting. See also _Brass_.

Gas Chandeliers.--Very few chandeliers are gilt; they are burnished
and lacquered with yellow lacquer. Proceed as follows, whether gilt
or lacquered: Take the chandelier to pieces, and boil in strong soda
lye for a few minutes; brush over with a soft brush, pass through a
strong solution of potassium cyanide (deadly poison), wash through a
tubful of boiling water, dry in clean sawdust, wipe up bright with a
washleather, and relacquer.

Gilt Mountings.--Gilt mountings, unless carefully cleaned, soon lose
their lustre. They should not be rubbed; if slightly tarnished, wipe
them off with a piece of Canton flannel, or what is better, remove
them if possible, and wash in a solution of ½ oz. borax dissolved in
1 lb. water, and dry them with a soft linen rag; their lustre may be
improved by heating them a little, and rubbing with a piece of Canton
flannel.

Gold.--(_a_) To remove the brown tarnish from coloured gold, take a
piece of tissue-paper damped in liq. ammoniæ, gently rub the gold
till the tarnish disappears, then wash off carefully with soft brush,
soap, and water, dry in sawdust or before the fire; if this is not
sufficient, entrust the article to a jeweller. (_b_) Mix a little
rouge and spirits of wine together, and apply to the jewellery with a
rather stiff brush, and turn the brush round and round--not to brush
as if to polish, but rather tickle it and pat it with the hair of the
brush; but be sure to keep the brush wet with the mixture. After you
have got the tarnish off, wash it out with soap and boiling water,
and dry in box-dust. Take care of any stones with foil behind. (_c_)
Rub with a piece of tissue-paper, screwed up and wet with the tongue.
This will often do it; if not, re-colour it. (_d_) A weak solution of
potassium cyanide will clean gold braid. Use with small sponge, and
wash off with clean water. Strength, say 10 or 15 gr. to the oz. of
water. Care should be taken that the solution does not get into any
cuts or wounds, as it is very poisonous. The strength of the solution
would greatly depend on the condition of the lace. It can be made
stronger if necessary. (_e_) A solution of 20 dr. lime chloride, 20
dr. soda bicarbonate, and 5 dr. common salt, in 5¼ pints distilled
water, is prepared and kept in well-closed bottles. The article to
be cleaned is allowed to remain a short time in this solution (which
is to be heated only in the case of very obstinate dirt), then taken
out, washed with spirit, and dried in sawdust. (_Chem. Cent. Blatt._)

Iron and steel.--(_a_) Take a spongy piece of fig-tree wood and well
saturate it with a mixture of sweet-oil and finely powdered emery,
and with this well rub all the rusty parts. This will not only clean
the article, but will at the same time polish it, and so render the
use of whiting unnecessary. (_b_) Bright iron or steel goods (as
polished grates and fire-irons) may be preserved from rust in the
following manner. Having first been thoroughly cleaned, they should
be dusted over with powdered quicklime, and thus left until wanted
for use. Coils of piano-wire are covered in this manner, and will
keep free from rust for many years. (_c_) Dissolve ½ oz. camphor in 1
lb. hogs’ lard, and take off the scum; then mix with the lard as much
black-lead as will give the mixture an iron colour. Rub the articles
all over with this mixture, and let them lie for 24 hours; then
dry with a linen cloth, and they will keep clean for months. (_d_)
Table knives which are not in constant use should be put in a case
containing a depth of about 8 in. quicklime. They are to be plunged
into this to the top of the blades, but the lime must not touch the
handles. (_e_) Steel bits that are tarnished, but not rusty, can be
cleaned with rottenstone, common hard soap, and a woollen cloth.
(_f_) Removing paint from iron.--After a number of experiments, it
has been found that a paint-softener made of 1 lb. lime to 4 lb.
potash and 6 qt. water works better than any other proportions.

Plate Powders.--(_a_) Equal parts precipitated iron subcarbonate,
and prepared chalk. (_b_) An impalpable rouge may be prepared by
calcining iron oxalate. (_c_) Take quicksilver with chalk, ½ oz.,
and prepared chalk 2 oz., mix them. When used, add a small quantity
of spirits of wine, and rub with chamois leather. (_d_) Put iron
sulphate into a large tobacco pipe, and place it in a fire for ¼
hour, mix with a small quantity of powdered chalk. This powder should
be used dry. (_e_) The following makes a liquid polish for silver
plate--3 to 4 dr. potassium cyanide, 8 to 10 gr. silver nitrate, and
4 oz. water; apply with a soft brush, wash the object thoroughly with
water, dry with a soft linen cloth, and polish with a chamois skin.
(_f_) Take 2 oz. hartshorn powder and boil it in 1 pint water; soak
small squares of damask cloth in the liquid, hang them up to dry,
and they will be ready for use, and better than any powders. (_g_)
Add by degrees 8 oz. prepared chalk in fine powder to a mixture of 2
oz. spirits of turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, ½ oz. spirits of camphor,
and 2 dr. aqua ammonia; apply with a sponge, and allow it to dry
before polishing. (_h_) Mix together 1 oz. fine chalk, 2 oz. cream of
tartar, 1 oz. rottenstone, 1 oz. red-lead, and ¾ oz. alum; pulverise
thoroughly in a mortar. Wet the mixture, rub it on the silver, and,
when dry, rub off with a dry flannel, or clean with a small brush.
(_i_) An excellent preparation for polishing plate may be made in
the following manner:--Mix together 4 oz. spirits of turpentine, 2
oz. spirits of wine, 1 oz. spirits of camphor, and ½ oz. spirits of
ammonia. To this add 1 lb. whiting, finely powdered, and stir till
the whole is of the consistency of thick cream. Use this preparation
with a clean sponge, cover the silver with it, so as to give it a
coat like whitewash. Set the silver aside till the paste has dried
into a powder; then brush off, and polish with a chamois leather. A
cheaper kind may be made by merely mixing spirits of wine and whiting
together.

Silver and Plated Goods.--(_a_) East Indian jewellers never touch
silver ware with any abrasive substance, but use, instead of
polishing paste, &c., slices of lemons; the goods to be cleaned are
well rubbed with these, and then left in a pan for a few hours,
covered with slices. For delicate jewellery, a large lime is cut in
half, the article inserted, the two halves applied together and tied
up for some hours; the article is then washed in several waters,
placed in a pan of nearly boiling soapsuds, stirred about, rinsed,
and dried on a metal plate, the smooth parts being gently rubbed
with wash-leather, if required. (_b_) Potassium cyanide solution
(rather weak) dissolves off the dirty surface gradually, but great
care is required. (_c_) Green tamarind pods (potash oxalic) are
greater detergents for gold and silver than lemons, and are often
employed for the purpose of removing stains, firemarks, &c. (_Boston
Journal of Chemistry._) (_d_) Eisner states that a polish equal to
that obtained by the use of the finest plate powder, can be produced
by simply cleaning the silver in water in which potatoes have been
boiled. (_e_) Dead or engraved silver goods should never be cleaned
with plate powder, but be washed out with a soft brush and some
strong alkali, and well rinsed afterwards. When the dead or frosted
parts are quite dry, the polished parts are carefully cleaned with
powder. (_f_) The following directions are given by a silversmith in
Christiania:--Silver filagree work is best cleaned by the application
of spirit of ammonia by means of a soft brush, and afterwards
thoroughly washing in soft-soap and warm water, and rinsing in
clean warm water, and quick drying by linen rags, blotting-paper,
or some similar clean absorbent. Should this method, after several
repetitions, cease to have the required effect, the article will have
to be sent to a silversmith to be heated and boiled in acid. The best
mode of preservation is to wrap the article in tissue paper before
placing it in the case. (_g_) The simplest and cleanest substance
for cleaning silver articles is, according to Professor Davenport,
soda hyposulphite. It acts quickly, and is inexpensive. A rag or a
brush, moistened with a saturated solution of the salt, cleanses
even strongly oxidised silver surfaces in a few seconds, without the
application of any polishing powder. (_h_) Mix 8 oz. prepared chalk,
2 oz. turpentine, 1 oz. alcohol, 4 dr. spirits of camphor, and 2 dr.
liquor of ammonia. Apply this mixture to the article with a sponge,
and allow to dry before polishing. (_i_) Dissolve 12 oz. potassium
cyanide in 1 qt. water; dip in this solution, and brush it with a
stiff brush until clean; then wash and dry. (_j_) A paste composed
of washed whiting, precipitated magnesia carbonate, and precipitated
iron peroxide. (_k_) Gin. (_l_) Apply whiting mixed with sweet oil
on a shammy. (_m_) Take 2 qt. water, ½ oz. hartshorn, and 1 oz.
whiting, and boil the whole together. While boiling, put as many of
the silver or plated articles into the vessel as it will conveniently
hold, and let remain for 5 minutes; withdraw, and leave to dry.
Polish with clean linen or woollen rags, which, after being soaked
in the above-named liquor, have been well wrung. Finally rub with a
clean soft leather. (_n_) The ink eraser sold by stationers has the
property of cleaning and brightening silver and gold mountings, such
as meerschaum pipe fittings, pencil-cases, watch-cases, &c. (_o_) Cut
some flakes of white curd soap, and put them into a saucepan of water
to simmer; sew the ornaments up in a muslin bag, and place in the
liquid for about 10 minutes whilst on the fire.

Tarnished Silver Lace.--(_p_) Sponge over with a weak solution of
potassium cyanide. (_q_) Dab over with a cream of heavy magnesia
and water, allowing this to dry, and then brushing it off with a
soft-haired brush.

Zinc Vessels.--Zinc articles, if small, can be cleaned by being
pickled in spirits of salt (hydrochloric acid) with water added, till
the articles are nicely cleaned, in about 3 minutes, without being
too strongly attacked, then washed and dried. Large articles like
refrigerators are cleaned by being rubbed with a swab, dipped in raw
spirits, then washed with water, and finished with whiting.

_Paint._--(_a_) Paint should be more often swept than scrubbed,
for too frequent scrubbing causes it to decay. Use as little soap
as possible, and wash it off with plenty of clean water to prevent
discoloration. To clean paint that has not been varnished, put upon
a plate some of the best whiting; have ready some clean warm water,
and a piece of flannel, which dip into the water and squeeze nearly
dry; then take as much whiting as will adhere to it, apply it to
the paint, when a little rubbing will instantly remove any dirt or
grease; wash well off with water, and rub dry with a soft cloth.
Paint thus cleaned looks equal to new, and, without doing the least
injury to the most delicate colour, it will preserve the paint much
longer than if cleaned with soap, and it does not require more than
half the time usually occupied in cleaning.

(_b_) When painted work is badly discoloured, put 1 tablespoonful
ammonia water into 1 qt. moderately hot water, and with the aid of
flannel, wipe off the surface. Rubbing is not necessary.

(_c_) Take 1 oz. pulverised borax, 1 lb. shavings of best brown soap,
and 3 qt. water. Put the soap and borax into the water, allow it to
simmer until all the soap has been dissolved, stir it frequently,
but do not allow it to boil. Apply it to the paint on a piece of old
flannel, and rinse with clean water.

(_d_) Dissolve ½ oz. glue, and a bit of soft-soap the size of a
walnut, in about 3 pints warm water, and with a well-worn whitewash
brush well scrub the work, but not sufficient to get off the paint;
rinse with plenty of cold clean water, using a washleather; let it
dry itself. Work done in this manner will often look equal to new.

(_e_) First take off all the dust with a soft brush and pair of
bellows. Scour with a mixture of soft-soap and fullers’ earth, and
use lukewarm water. If there are any spots which are extra dirty,
first remove these by rubbing with a sponge dipped in soap and water.
Commence the scouring at the top of the door or wainscot, and proceed
downwards; dry with a soft linen cloth. When cleaning paint, it is
always better to employ two persons, one to scour and the other to
rub dry.

Paint-brushes.--(_a_) To soften brushes that have become hard,
soak them 24 hours in raw linseed oil, and rinse them out in hot
turpentine, repeating the process till clean. (_b_) Wash in hot soda
and water and soft-soap.

_Paper and Books._--(_a_) The amateur book-cleaner had better begin
to practise on some worthless volume, until he acquires the necessary
skill. All traces of lime, &c., used in the cleaning process must be
removed from the book, else in time it may be completely destroyed.
The first thing to be done in a book that wants washing, is to cut
the stitches and separate the work into sheets. Then a glance may be
taken for the separation of those leaves or sheets which are dirty
from those which have stains of ink or oil. The dirty leaves are
now placed in a bath composed of ¼ lb. lime chloride and the same
quantity of soda to about 1 qt. water. These are left to soak until
the paper has regained its proper tint. The pages are now lifted
out tenderly into a second bath of cold, and if possible running,
water, where they are left at least 6 hours. This removes all traces
of lime. The paper, when thoroughly dried by exposure, must be
dipped into a third bath of size and water, and again laid out to
dry. This restores the consistency of the paper. Pressure between
printers’ glazed boards will then restore smoothness to the leaves.
The toning of the washed leaves in accordance with the rest of the
book is a delicate process, which requires some experience. Some
shag tobacco steeped in hot water will usually give the necessary
colouring-matter, and a bath in this liquid the necessary tone.

The process described above may do for water-stains; but if the
pages are dirted by grease, oil, coffee, candle-droppings, or ink,
different treatment will be required. Dilute muriatic acid with 5
times its bulk of water, and let the oil-stained pages lie in the
liquid for 4 minutes--not longer. Then remove, and wash, as before,
in cold water. If the grease is a spot in the middle of a page, place
between 2 sheets of blotting-paper, or cover with powdered French
chalk (the blotting-paper is preferable), and pass a hot iron over
the place. This will melt the grease, which is immediately soaked up
by the chalk or paper.

For dirty finger-marks, the following is recommended: Cover the mark
with a piece of clean yellow soap for 2 or 3 hours, then wash with a
sponge and hot water, and dip the page in weak acid and water. Give
another bath of hot water, and then thoroughly cleanse with cold
water. To remove ink-stains, dip the page in a strong solution of
oxalic acid, then in a solution of 1 part muriatic acid and 6 water,
after which bathe in cold water, and allow to dry slowly. Vellum
covers which need cleaning may be made almost equal to new by washing
with a weak solution of potash binoxalate, or, if not much soiled,
warm soap and water. Grease may be removed from the covers of bound
books by scraping a little pipe-clay, French chalk, or magnesia over
the place, and then ironing with an iron not too hot, else it will
discolour the leather. (_Publishers’ Circular._)

(_b_) Press powdered fullers’ earth lightly upon the greasy spot, and
allow it to soak out the grease.

(_c_) Hannett says the spots may be removed by washing the part
with ether, chloroform, or benzine, and placing between white
blotting-paper, then passing a hot iron over.

(_d_) A more expeditious, and thought by some, the best way, is to
scrape fine pipe-clay, magnesia, or French chalk on both sides of the
stain, and apply a hot iron above, taking great care that it is not
too hot.

(_e_) After gently warming the paper, take out all the grease you can
with blotting-paper, and a hot iron, then dip a brush into essential
oil of turpentine, heated almost to ebullition, and draw it gently
over both sides of the paper, which must be kept warm. Repeat the
operation until all is removed, or as often as the thickness of
the paper may render necessary. When all the grease is removed, to
restore the paper to its former whiteness, dip another brush in
ether, chloroform, or benzine, and apply over the stain, especially
the edges of it. This will not affect printers’ or common writing ink.

(_f_) Lay on a coat of indiarubber solution over the spot, and leave
it to dry. Afterwards remove with a piece of ordinary indiarubber.
Any operation with ether, chloroform, or benzine, should never be
conducted by candle-light, as their vapour is apt to kindle even at
several feet from the liquid. (_d_) will remove grease from coloured
calf, even if the spot be on the under side of the leather; it may
thus be clearly drawn right through.

(_g_) Apply a solution of pearlash (in the proportion of 1 oz.
pearlash to 1 pint water) to oil-stained drawing-paper.

_Parchment and Vellum._--(_a_) Immerse in a solution of acetic acid,
and gently rub the stained parts while wet on a flat board with lump
pumice, then bleach with lime chloride. This process was recommended
in the _English Mechanic_. It is not very successful, but it makes
it white enough for bookbinding. It has, however, the objectionable
qualities of not making the parchment flexible, and when dried it is
as hard as a board, and it has no gloss like the virgin parchment. On
no account must the parchment be washed in very hot water, or held
before a fire, as it will shrivel up in a most provoking manner.

(_b_) Benzine applied with a sponge. It will remove almost every
stain, and does not destroy the texture in the least.

_Pictures, Prints, and Frames._--Pictures.--(_a_) Remove the works
from their frames, and first of all examine the surface of each
separately and with care. Then, if there are no cobweb cracks, no
cockled-up edges of bits of paint likely to peel off, and no unburst
bubbles of colour, take an old soft cloth, and some white of egg,
and wash the surface, a square inch at a time, with a spiral motion
of the hand, not pressing too heavily. If there is much dirt, make
a basin of bread, treacle, and new milk with a trifle of turpentine
in it, and wash with soft flannel and sponge; after, use white of
egg. If mildew from damp walls has attacked the canvas, and even
the surface, let a committee of artists be called; there are so
many varieties of this form of injury, it is well to understand
the particular case. If coal gas, foul air, or other pollution is
suspected of having injured the varnish, an artist chemist, learned
in varnishes of the different schools, must prescribe; but if the
surface is injured, or the colour scales off, no amateur can repair
the crack; and in every case, before returning the well-cleaned
and well-rubbed surfaces to their frames, let good plate glass be
securely fastened over each to prevent future injury.

(_b_) Pictures may be cleaned by rubbing the thumb over the painting
moistened with saliva, or by a raw potato cut in half and rubbed
evenly over the picture.

(_c_) Dissolve a little common soda in urine, then add a grated
potato and a little salt; well rub this over the paintings till
clean. Wash off in spring water, and dry with a clean cloth.

(_d_) First rub the picture well with good whisky, which will make
the varnish come off in froth, then wash well with cold water, and
when dry varnish again; this will restore the picture to its original
colour unless very old. Keep the picture covered from dust till the
varnish is dry.

(_e_) The painting is first removed from the frame, and the dust and
smoke brushed off with a pencil or feather. After this it is washed
with a sponge dipped in well water. It is next covered with a thick
layer of soap; shaving soap is the best for the purpose, because
it remains moist and does not dry on. After the soap has been on 8
or 10 minutes it is all washed off with a strong brush or pencil,
adding a little water if necessary. The soap that still adheres is
rinsed off sufficiently with water, and the picture left to dry. When
completely dry, it is further cleansed with nitro-benzol--also known
as nitro-benzine, artificial oil of bitter almonds, or essence of
mirbane. It is a yellowish oily, poisonous liquid, with a powerful
smell of bitter almonds. It is formed when coal-tar benzol is mixed
with fuming or concentrated nitric acid under suitable precautions.
The nitro-benzol is poured into a dish, and a clean linen rag is
dipped in it, and passed over the painting. This quickly removes all
the adherent dirt. This linen rag must be frequently exchanged for a
clean one. When the rag remains clean after going over it repeatedly,
the cleansing is finished. If the colours look dull after going over
it the last time and letting it dry, it is given a thin coat of the
finest olive oil, and after a while must be varnished with a good,
quickly-drying varnish. (Von Bibra.)

(_f_) The picture had better first be sponged with cold water and
allowed to dry, then apply solution of hydrogen peroxide with a
clean sponge in successive lines, not going over the same surface
twice; again allow to dry. If the solution is sufficiently strong,
the painting is now tolerably clean; if not, a second or third
application is necessary. Peroxide of hydrogen, hydroxyl, or hydrogen
di-oxide (H_{2}O_{2}), owing to the readiness to part with half
its combining weight of oxygen, is a powerful bleaching agent; but
the way in which it serves to clean oil paintings is accounted for
thus:--Sulphuretted hydrogen, which is present in the atmosphere,
especially in the neighbourhood of towns, attacks the lead in the
paint and forms lead sulphide, which is readily soluble in peroxide
of hydrogen, water and lead sulphate being the result; thus

  PbS + 4H_{2}O_{2} = PbSO_{4} + 4H_{2}O    (J. T. C. Williams.)

Prints.--(_a_) Presuming these to be mounted, proceed in the
following manner. Cut a stale loaf in half, with a perfectly clean
knife; pare the crust away from the edges. Place them on a flat
table, and rubbing the surface with the fresh-cut bread, in circular
sweeps, lightly but firmly performed, will remove all superficial
markings. Soak the prints for a short time in a dilute solution of
hydrochloric acid, say 1 part acid to 100 of water, and then remove
them into a vessel containing a sufficient quantity of clear chloride
of lime water to cover them. Leave them here until bleached to the
desired point. Remove, rinse well by allowing to stand an hour in
a pan in which a constant stream of water is allowed to flow, and
finally dry off by spreading on clean cloths. Perhaps may require
ironing between two sheets of clean paper.

(_b_) Put on a smooth board, cover it thinly with common salt finely
pounded; squeeze lemon juice upon the salt so as to dissolve a
considerable proportion of it; elevate one end of the board, so that
it may form an angle of about 45° or 50° with the horizon. Pour on
boiling water from a tea-kettle until the salt and lemon-juice be all
washed off; the engraving will then be perfectly clean, and free from
stains. It must be dried on the board, or on some smooth surface,
gradually. If dried by the fire or the sun it will be tinged with a
yellow colour.

(_c_) Hydrochloric acid, oxalic acid, or eau de Javelle may be
employed, weakened by water. After the leaves (if it be a book) have
by this means been whitened, they must be bathed again in a solution
of soda sulphate, which will remove all the chlorine, and leave the
pages white and clean. They will, however, have lost all firmness of
texture, owing to the removal of the size from the paper. It will,
therefore, be advisable to give a bath of gelatine and alum made with
boiling water, to which may be added a little tobacco, or any other
simple substance to restore the tint of the now too white paper.

(_d_) Immerse each mildewed sheet separately in a solution made
in the proportions of ½ lb. lime chloride to 1 pint water. Let it
stand, with frequent stirring, for 24 hours, and then strain through
muslin, and finally add 1 qt. water. Mildew and other stains will be
found to disappear very quickly, and the sheets must then be passed
separately through clear water, or the lime chloride, if left in
the paper, will cause it to rot. Old prints, engravings, and every
description of printed matter may be successfully treated in the same
manner.

(_e_) “I have in my time cleaned many hundreds. The plan which I
adopt is as follows:--I place them, one or two at a time, in a
shallow dish, and pour water over them until they are completely
soaked or saturated with it. I then carefully pour off the water,
and pour on to the prints a solution of lime chloride (1 part liquor
calcis chloratæ, to 39 of water). As a general rule, the stains
disappear as if by magic, but occasionally they are obstinate. When
that is the case, I pour on the spot pure liquor calcis chloratæ,
and if that does not succeed, I add a little dilute nitro-muriatic
acid. I have never had a print which has not succumbed to this
treatment--in fact, as a rule they become too white. As soon as they
are clean they must be carefully washed with successive portions of
water until the whole of the chlorine is got rid of. They should
then be placed in a very weak solution of isinglass or glue, and
many collectors colour this solution with coffee-grounds, &c., to
give a yellow tint to the print. They should be dried between folds
of blotting-paper, either in a press or under a heavy book, and
finally ironed with an ordinary flat-iron to restore the gloss;
placing clean paper between the iron and the print. Grease stains are
much more difficult. I find benzine best. Small grease spots may be
removed by powdered French chalk being placed over them, a piece of
clean blotting-paper over the chalk, and a hot iron over that.” (F.
Andrews.)

(_f_) Mildew often arises from the paste used to attach the print.
Take a solution of alum of medium strength and brush on back and
face of the engraving 2 or 3 coats, then make the frame air-tight by
pasting a strip of paper all round the inside of glass, leaving about
½ in. overlapping (taking care not to paste the paper on the glass,
so as to be seen from the front), then place your glass in frame,
take the overlapping piece and paste to side of rebate; place your
picture in position, spring backboard in, and then place a sheet of
strong paper (brown) on the table, damp it, and paste round back of
frame, lay it on to the paper, leave to dry, cut level. If this does
not answer there will be no help for it, but dust off as the mould
accumulates. Do not brush on surface with the alum if the engraving
is coloured, but several coats on the back.

(_g_) A plan recommended by Wm. Brooks is to get a dish or china tray
a little larger than the engraving to be operated upon; if, smaller,
there is a great risk of tearing and damaging the engraving. The
bleaching agent used is Holmes’ ozone bleach. The strength preferred
is 1 part bleach to 10 of water, well shaken up before pouring into
the dish. A much stronger solution can be used (say 1 in 5), but the
weaker it is the easier is its removal from the paper afterwards.
The engraving is immersed in the solution face upwards, avoiding
bubbles. The only caution to be observed is that the sodden engraving
is somewhat rotten, and needs careful handling. If the engraving be
only slightly stained, ½ hour will suffice to clean it, but if quite
brown it may require 4 hours. After all the stains are removed, and
the paper has regained its whiteness, pour the solution back into the
bottle, as it can be re-used till it becomes discoloured; fill up the
dish with water, changing frequently for about 3 hours, or place it
in running water. When the engraving is sufficiently washed, it can
be taken out, blotted off, and hung up to dry. When quite dry, it may
be ironed on the back with a warm flat-iron, which must not be too
hot. (_Brit. Jl. Photog._)

(_h_) If the engravings are very dirty, take 2 parts salt and 1 soda,
and pound them together until very fine. Lay the engraving on a
board, and fasten it with drawing-pins, and then spread the mixture
dry equally over the surface to be cleaned. Moisten the whole with
warm water and a little lemon-juice, and, after it has remained about
a minute, or even less, tilt the board up on its end, and pour over
it a kettleful of boiling water, being careful to remove all the
mixture, and avoid rubbing. If the engraving is not very dirty, the
less soda used the better, as it has a tendency to give a yellow hue.

(_i_) Does not injure the quality or texture of the engraving.
Immerse the print in a lye made by adding to the strongest muriatic
acid its own weight of water; to 3 parts of this mixture add 1 of
red oxide of lead or black oxide of manganese. If the print is very
dirty, it may remain in the liquid 24 hours without harm. Indian
ink stains should be first assisted out with hot water, and pencil
marks with rubber or breadcrumbs. If there be old paste on the back,
it must be removed with warm water. The saline crystals left after
immersion are removed by several rinsings in warm water.

(_j_) To remove surface dirt from engravings and mezzotints, the most
effectual plan is to use common bookbinders’ paste, applied with a
paste brush, both to front and back of the print; the paste will take
up the whole of the dirt, which will come away with the paste when it
is removed with water. A bath of plain water completes the operation,
from which the print will emerge as fresh as when first issued. Many
a guinea has been earned by this simple but efficacious plan.

Frames.--(_a_) Fly-marks can be cleaned off with soap and water used
sparingly on end of finger covered by piece of rag. When all cleared
off, rinse with cold water, and dry with chamois leather; next buy 1
lb. (1_d._) of common size, and 2 penny paint pans. Boil a little of
the size in one of the pans with as much water as will just cover it.
When boiled, strain through muslin into clean pan, and apply thinly
to frames with camel-hair brush (called technically a “dabber,” and
costing 6_d._ to 1_s._ each). Take care you do not give the frames
too much water and “elbow grease.” On no account use gold size, as it
is used only in regilding, and if put on over the gold would make it
dull and sticky.

(_b_) Dissolve a very small quantity of salts of tartar in a wine
bottle of water, and with a piece of cotton wool soaked in the liquid
dab the frames very gently (no rubbing on any account, or you will
take off the gilt), then stand up the frames so that water will drain
away from them conveniently, and syringe them with clean water. Care
must be taken that the solution is not too strong.

(_c_) If new gold frames are varnished with the best copal varnish,
it improves their appearance considerably, and fly-marks can then be
washed off carefully with a sponge. The frames also last many times
longer. It also improves old frames to varnish them with it.

(_d_) Gilt frames may be cleaned by simply washing them with a small
sponge, moistened with hot spirits of wine or oil of turpentine,
the sponge only to be sufficiently wet to take off the dirt and
fly-marks. They should not afterwards be wiped, but left to dry of
themselves.

(_e_) Old ale is a good thing to wash any gilding with, as it acts at
once upon the fly-dirt. Apply it with a soft rag; but for the ins and
outs of carved work, a brush is necessary; wipe it nearly dry, and do
not apply any water. Thus will you leave a thin coat of the glutinous
isinglass of the finings on the face of the work, which will prevent
the following flies’ fæces from fastening to the frame, as they
otherwise would do.

(_f_) The _Papier Zeitung_ recommends the following method of
renovating gilt frames. It consists in applying with a camel-hair
pencil a gum solution to which has been added gold bronze having the
colour of the frame. Before mixing with the gum water the bronze
must be washed with water until it runs off perfectly clear. If one
application does not suffice, it may be repeated until the spot
entirely disappears, but of course one coat must be dry before the
next is applied. Spots treated in this way look very well at first,
but it will not last, for it is not able to resist the moisture in
the air unless it is specially prepared. For this purpose an ordinary
bristle brush is rubbed with a piece of yellow wax until it is
somewhat sticky, then it is passed very lightly over the spot several
times as when dusting it. This gives it a very thin coat of wax that
hardens in 2 or 3 days; in the meantime it must be protected against
dust.

_Sponge._--(_a_) First clean, wash, and squeeze out the sponges;
then dip them into a 2 per cent. solution of potassium permanganate.
Here they become quite brown (from separated manganic oxide); after
10 minutes, take out, wash in water, again well press, and dip
into a 2 per cent. solution of oxalic acid [some prefer diluted
sulphuric (1:20) or diluted hydrochloric acid (1:15)], in which they
become perfectly white. Success mainly depends on the soaking in the
permanganate solution; if they are macerated too short a time they
do not become thoroughly white; if too long, they are apt to become
rotten. (Siemens.)

(_b_) First clean the sponges by immersing in dilute hydrochloric
acid. Then soak in a bleaching liquid, composed of 1 part sodium
hyposulphite, 12 water, and 2 hydrochloric acid. After some time,
remove and well wash. To the last wash-water a little glycerine is
added in order to preserve the sponges soft. The liquid is best
pressed out by passing the sponges through a clothes-wringer.

(_c_) Toilet sponges which have been in use, often become peculiarly
slimy, fatty, and almost useless, owing to some action of the soap.
Mere washing in distilled water does not remove the difficulty.
It may be overcome by using fused calcium chloride. The sponge is
pressed as much as possible, placed on a plate, the powdered calcium
chloride is sprinkled upon it, and allowed to deliquesce upon the
sponge. After about ½ hour, the sponge may be washed in water and
dried, when it will become white. (Valta.)

(_d_) Soak the sponges, previously deprived of sand and dirt
by beating and washing, in a 1 per cent. solution of potassium
permanganate. Remove them, wash thoroughly with water, and press out
the water. Next put them into a solution of ½ lb. sodium hyposulphite
in 1 gal. water, to which 1 oz. oxalic acid has been added, and
leave in the solution for 15 minutes. Finally, take out, and wash
thoroughly. By this treatment the sponges are rendered perfectly
white. Many sponges contain a more or less dark-coloured brownish
core. If treated only with permanganate and acid, the core is either
not bleached at all, or, if it has been somewhat bleached, the tint
is apt to grow again darker. (Borham.)

(_e_) Soak for 10 minutes in a 2 per cent. solution of potash
permanganate; then in a 2 per cent. solution of oxalic acid with the
addition of a little sulphuric acid for about ½ hour; finally treat
with a 2 per cent. solution of potash carbonate for ½ hour, wash,
and dry. The solution of potash carbonate produces the yellow colour
often particularly wanted. (_Chem. and Drug._)

(_f_) A sponge employed in photographic manipulations for a few
months loses all its valuable qualities, becoming black, hard, and
greasy, and contaminating anything which it touches. To clean it,
a solution of potash permanganate in water is prepared of such
a strength that it appears of a wine colour, and into this the
unserviceable sponge is immersed, and allowed to remain for some
time. When taken out and squeezed, it is next put into a diluted
muriatic acid of ordinary commercial quality, being immersed and
kept saturated therein for some time as before. The most appropriate
strength of this acid solution is about 10 parts water to 1 of acid.
The sponge is taken out after sufficient treatment, squeezed well to
free it from the acid, and then washed well in good spring water.
When taken out, it will be found to be quite clean, to have again
assumed its light colour, and to be free from all foreign matter.
Sponges treated in this way become like new sponges, and can be
used without any fear of their contaminating, even if employed for
the filtration of neutral liquids. The main thing to be attended to
in this plan of purifying sponge is to see that it is thoroughly
saturated both by the permanganate and the acid solutions, which
should be allowed ample time to soak through the mass; care must also
be observed to wash the sponges thoroughly with plenty of water at
the end of the operation. (Dr. J. Stinde.)

(_g_) When sponges get greasy, let them dry, and then work them with
a small quantity of turpentine, and after a few minutes wash them
with warm soap-and-water with a little bit of soda. This will get
them quite clean with very little trouble. (E. T. Scott.)

(_h_) Put a handful of salt on the sponge, and rinse the salt well
through the sponge. Let the sponge dry in a thorough draught of air.
The latter precaution alone will keep sponges free from sliminess,
unless they become saturated with soap.

(_i_) I tried the effect of sulphuric acid as follows:--In a large
basin mixed about 1 pint water and 2 tablespoonfuls sulphuric acid
(common oil of vitriol), then steeped the sponge about 2 hours, wrung
it out several times in the acid, and finally well washed out the
acid in clean water; it was then just like new, having regained its
former size, colour, and elasticity, with not the slightest trace of
its former sliminess. It was a large bath sponge, and in an extremely
bad condition. (J. W. Jackson.)

(_j_) Dissolve some citric acid in water in a hand-basin, and wash
the sponge in it as in (_i_).

_Stuffed Specimens._--(_a_) Give a good brushing with a stiff
clothes-brush. After this warm a quantity of new bran in a pan,
taking care it does not burn, to prevent which quickly stir it.
When warm, rub it well into the fur with your hand. Repeat this a
few times, then rid the fur of the bran, and give it another sharp
brushing until free from dust. (_b_) Sponge with white soap and warm
water, rubbing well into and about the roots of the hair, but avoid
using an excess of water to soak into the stuffing, or the specimen
will, in all probability, never thoroughly dry, and moths and rot
will be the result. Dry in a current of air as free from dust as
possible; brush the fur occasionally as it dries (a coarse comb at
first will, perhaps, separate the hairs better). Before putting it
into its case, wash freely with benzoline, rubbing with the fur; you
may never dread moths, and your specimen will always be clean if
your case is properly made and closed up air-tight by means of paper
pasted over every joint and crack.

_Teapot._--(_a_) Fill with boiling water and add some strong washing
soda; let it remain for a day or two. (_b_) Weak solution of spirits
of salt (hydrochloric acid).

_Textile Goods._--The arrangement of a laundry is dealt with in
another section. The present section is concerned with the ordinary
household washing, drying, ironing, and starching operations.

The first step is to sort the dirty linen the day before washing
actually takes place. White goods should be separated from coloured,
and linen from woollen. Repairs may often be considerably reduced by
doing them while the articles are soiled and before the ordeal of the
washtub has converted thin places into holes and small holes into
large ones.

Much labour is saved by putting the articles in soak overnight, which
dislodges the dirt and avoids the hard rubbing otherwise necessary.
A good soak mixture is an inch cut off a bar of soap to every 4 gal.
of water used, and a dessert spoonful of washing powder, allowing
both soap and powder to dissolve before introducing the clothes. For
body linen the water should be hot, for bed linen it may be cold.
Curtains, blinds, fringes, and other articles which harbour dust
and smoke should be soaked in plain cold water. Another excellent
soak mixture is made as follows:--Dissolve 2 lb. soap in 5½ gal.
nearly boiling water; add 3 tablespoonfuls ammonia and 1 of spirits
of turpentine; soak the clothes in this mixture for 3 hours before
washing.

On washing day the first care is to get a copper full of boiling
water. Meantime the articles in soak can be prepared. Always commence
operations with the most delicate goods.

Thus laces and fine muslins are dealt with first. If to be boiled
they must be tied up in a clean coarse muslin bag, but usually they
will hardly require this treatment, but simple washing will suffice.
In this case pass them into a hot soak mixture as already described
and work them with the hands without rubbing, till clean. Then rinse,
first in warm water, then in cold; fold; roll up in a clean towel,
and put aside ready for starching.

Go over the body linen in soak and pay special attention to stains
and extra dirty spots. Wring the articles as free as possible from
the dirty water, beginning always with the finest, and put into
another tub containing a warm soak; here wash again, and then pass
through a tub of clean cold water to remove adhering suds. Next fill
the copper with clean cold water and add the same quantities of
soap and washing powder as before; wring the goods out of the cold
washwater, put them into the copper, bring to boiling, and let boil
for 10-15 minutes. Pass successive lots into the copper in the same
way, replenishing the water, soap, and washing powder as needed. Each
lot as taken from the boiler should be rinsed first through hot and
then through cold water, well wrung, dipped, an article at a time, in
water containing some blue, wrung out, shaken, folded, and put on one
side. The bluewater will need additions of blue occasionally.

When all the body linen has gone through the copper, the table and
bed linen may follow in the same way; but after the second rinsing
on leaving the copper these articles can at once be hung out to dry.
The kitchen linen will come last and be washed in the suds of the
previous batches.

Drying should always be at least partially effected in the sun if
possible. When available, nothing is better than exposing linen on a
clean lawn. Failing this it must be hung on wires or ropes provided
for the purpose. Galvanised wire lasts longer and is cleaner than
rope. Both require rubbing clean with a damp cloth before use. After
sunning, the drying must always be completed before a good fire,
especially in the case of body linen. Table and bed linen should be
taken in while still damp, and folded and mangled before drying by
the fire. Body linen is not mangled, but ironed or starched.

Ironing may be done without starching, or with. Calicoes are
generally ironed on the right side, as they thus keep clean for
a longer time. In ironing a frock, first do the waist, then the
sleeves, then the skirt. Keep the skirt rolled while ironing the
other parts, and set a chair to hold the sleeves while ironing the
skirt, unless a skirt-board be used. Silk should be ironed on the
wrong side, when quite damp, with an iron which is not very hot, as
light colours are apt to change and fade. In ironing velvet, turn up
the face of the iron, and after damping the wrong side of the velvet,
draw it over the face of the iron, holding it straight; always iron
lace and needlework on the wrong side, and put them away as soon as
they are dry.

Starching is applied chiefly to shirts, cuffs, and collars, and in a
rougher way to print dresses and white petticoats. A good cold-water
starch is prepared as follows. Mix in a basin 3 tablespoonfuls of
laundry starch and sufficient cold water to make a paste; then add 1
teaspoonful of white soap shredded and dissolved in warm water and 1
teaspoonful powdered borax, mixed in ½ teacupful of boiling water;
stir well together till it froths. To starch collars, &c., wring them
from bluewater a few at a time, well rub them in the starch, and
wring hard, stirring up the starch for each fresh lot; rub them a few
at a time, fold, and pass through a close mangle or wring hard in a
towel. Iron immediately.

Boiled starch for shirts, &c., is made in the following manner.
(_a_) Into a _warm_ basin put 4 tablespoonfuls of starch; rub down
with warm water to a thickish paste; add 1 in. cut off the end of
a bedroom composite candle, a piece of spermaceti as large as a
pea, and 4 drops turpentine. Slowly pour in boiling water, with
vigorous stirring till the starch turns transparent without losing
its thickness. Take the shirts in a damp state, and first dip the
fronts and collars, squeezing them tightly, and then the cuffs; be
expeditious, as the starch should be used quite hot. Rub moderately,
hang up to dry; when quite dry, damp with cold water, fold with the
two sides of the front in contact, and roll up for a day before
ironing, wrapping in a damp cloth if the weather is dry.

(_b_) A liquid starch gloss which is well recommended consists of
5 oz. glycerine and 2 oz. each spermaceti, gum senegal (cheap gum
arabic) and borax in 49 oz. water, mixed and boiled together; 2 or 3
teaspoonfuls of this are added to ¼ lb. boiled starch.

Ironing starched goods requires more care. For cold-starched cuffs
and collars it is well to have a table with a thick flannel and a
clean cotton or linen cloth tightly stretched upon it. Lay the collar
evenly on the table, and run a moderately hot iron lightly along the
wrong side first; turn it, and do the same on the right side. Repeat
this once or twice rather quickly until it begins to feel a little
dry. Then press heavily and evenly on the right side, pulling out
button-holes, and ironing them straight. A fine polish is put on by
using the edge of the iron, and rubbing with it from the top of the
collar to the band, leaning heavily. Curl the collar, and put aside
to harden. Cuffs are ironed in the same way; if reversible, with a
band in the middle, the band is ironed thoroughly and finished first.

Hot-starched cuffs and collars are ironed in the same way but with a
hotter iron.

When ironing a shirt, lay the back of the sleeve smoothly on the
table; iron each side smoothly. Iron the wrist-band smoothly, wrong
side first, and then right side. Next iron the shoulder-strap, then
the neck-band or collar, doing the latter extremely carefully, and
polishing it nicely. Now double the back of the shirt, and iron it on
both sides. Spread the shirt out, and iron all the front except the
breast. Lay a board covered with flannel under the breast, and iron
very nicely, polishing highly at the last. Hang up to dry well, fold
neatly, and put away.

The following curious recipe is recommended for restoring linen
which has been scorched at the fire in drying. “It is almost
needless to premise that if the tissue of linen is so much burnt
that no strength is left, it is useless to apply the following
composition; for nothing could prevent a hole from being formed,
although the composition by no means tends to injure the fabric. But
if the scorching is not quite through, and the threads not actually
consumed, then the application of this composition, followed by 2
or 3 good washings, will restore the linen to its original colour;
the marks of the scorching will be imperceptible, and the place will
seem as white and perfect as any other part of the linen. Mix well
together 2 oz. fullers’ earth reduced to powder; 1 oz. hen’s dung; ½
oz. cake soap, scraped; and the juice of 2 large onions, obtained by
the onions being cut up, beaten in a mortar, and pressed. Boil this
mass in ½ pint strong vinegar, stirring it from time to time, until
it forms a thick liquid compound. Spread this composition thickly
over the entire surface of the scorched part, and let it remain on
24 hours. If the scorching was light, this will prove sufficient,
with the assistance of two subsequent washings, to take out the
stain. If, however, the scorching was strong, a second coating of
the composition should be put on after removing the first; and this
should also remain on for 24 hours. If, after the linen has been
washed twice or thrice, the stain has not wholly disappeared, the
composition may be used again, in proportion to the intensity of the
discoloration remaining, when a complete cure will seldom fail to be
effected. It has scarcely ever happened that a third application was
found necessary. The remainder of the composition should be kept for
use in a gallipot tied over with bladder.”

Having dealt with the general operations, it will be well to add a
few notes on special processes for certain classes of goods.

Bed Ticks.--Apply starch by rubbing it in thick with a wet cloth,
then put the tick in the sun. When dry, rub it with the hands. If
necessary, repeat the process, and the soiled part will be as clean
as new.

Black Goods.--After washing, rinse in water containing salt, to fix
the colour.

Chintzes.--As coloured dresses, adding a little ammonia to the water.

Coloured Dresses.--As flannels, omitting the washing powder. Wash
quickly in _warm_ water, wring hard, wash again, rinse in cold water
and hang to dry.

Crape Scarfs.--If the fabric be good, these can be washed as
frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will
be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been
employed among other colours in the patterns. In cleaning them, make
a strong lather of boiling water, suffer it to cool; when cold, or
nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately
in cold hard water in which a little salt has been thrown (to
preserve the colours); rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the
open air; pin it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not
in any part be folded together. The more rapidly it dries the clearer
it will be.

Flannels.--The great difficulty in washing flannels, blankets, and
all woollen goods without causing excessive shrinkage is due to
the nature of the fibres, which, under the conditions of rubbing
and heat, become matted together in a kind of felt, reducing the
dimensions of the article and adding to its thickness. The following
recipes for washing such goods, are all destined to prevent this
felting process.

(_a_) The water should be only warm, not boiling, and soda silicate
or caustic ammonia is preferable to soap as a detergent. Flannels
well soaped and shrunk when first fulled always remain softer and
shrink less ultimately than those not so treated. The felting power
of wool varies considerably, and it should be selected accordingly
for fabrics intended to be frequently washed. Flannels should not be
rubbed or beaten in washing, merely rinsed, and soiled spots soaped
and brushed with a soft brush. It is important not to press the
material until thoroughly dry.

(_b_) Buy the flannel in the piece, put it into a tub, and cover it
with boiling water, turning it about with a stick to allow the air to
escape from between the folds. Leave it in the water until the next
day, when take out and hang on a line to drain and dry. It must not
be wrung or pressed, but allowed to get rid of the water in its own
way. When made up into trousers or jackets, it will never shrink any
more; but in the case of shirts, there may be a slight shrinking in
the course of time, though not to nearly the usual extent. Flannel
should be washed in lukewarm water, and without soda, when, if it has
been properly shrunk before being made up, it will last very well.

(_c_) The great principle is, not to have the water any hotter than
a _lady’s_ hand can comfortably bear. Cut up, overnight, some pieces
of yellow or mottled soap, into a large saucepan of cold water;
next morning allow this to heat gradually, until all melted. Have
two tubs of the hot water ready, into which pour some of the melted
soap, and whisk it with the hand to make a thoroughly good lather.
The first tub must be more than double the strength of the second,
which latter should have plenty of blue in. In the first tub wash the
white flannels, without rubbing _any_ soap on, excepting on stains
of perspiration, &c. Directly after they have been done through the
first tub, do them in the same way through the second, shake well,
and hang out immediately. Coloured flannels can follow in the same
way. Stockings should always have a third wash. The small pieces of
soap left in the bedroom soap-dishes come in nicely for melting down.

(_d_) Flannel should be soaked in cold hard water before making, and
hung up to drain and dry without any squeezing or handling in the
water. After this it will not shrink in washing. Fill a tub with
spring water, place the flannel in it, and take out as soon as it
sinks to the bottom. It does not lose the appearance of new flannel
when dry.

(_e_) To prevent shrinking in washing, soak the flannel for a night
in cold water when dirty, and the next morning wash with curd soap in
very lukewarm water. Do not wring, but press the water out and hang
to dry.

(_f_) White Flannel. Use pipeclay, which should be mixed to proper
consistency in a pipkin; stand on the fire till warm, stir with wax
candle for 5 minutes, add a modicum of soap and a dash of Prussian
blue, and stand by to cool, and always use cold, laid on with a
sponge, and dry in shady breeze. For grease spots, lay over them pure
clay, size the thickness of a crown piece, then place in the sun,
and the clay will absorb all the grease without fail. When trousers
are dry, rub them to loosen the clay, which brush off, and you will
have cleaner looking trousers than by washing, and they will be fit
to wear two or three times without pipeclaying. The same for flannel
jackets.

(_g_) In order to keep flannel from shrinking and felting as much as
possible, dissolve 1 oz. potash in a bucketful of rain-water, and
steep the fabric in it for 12 hours. Next heat the water with the
cloth in it, wash it out without rubbing, simply drawing it through
several times. Then place the flannel in another bath consisting of 1
spoonful wheat flour to 1 pint water, and wash in like manner. Then
rinse in lukewarm rain-water. Flannel washed in this manner becomes
very clean, and will scarcely shrink or felt.

(_h_) It must strictly be observed that the heat does not rise beyond
100° F., and the fabric to be washed must be immersed in a bath of
boiled soap, to which 1¼ dr. sal ammoniac per pint of fluid have
been added; ¼ hour’s immersion in a well-covered vessel will have
dissolved the fat and dirt sufficiently, and a beating or rubbing
will no longer be necessary in order to wash the fabric clean. Very
dirty spots are rubbed in with soap, and brushed with a soft brush.
If one washing is not to satisfaction, repeat the process in a weaker
soap bath, observing the same cautionary rules, and conclude with
rinsing in cold water. It is also important not to smooth the fabric
in a half-moist condition; because in this case, the condition of
felting is complied with in this operation; while smoothing of the
sharply dried substance is performed without being accompanied by the
evil effects of shrinkage. The addition of sal ammoniac is to be left
out with sensitive colours.

(_i_) Scotch methods for Shawls.--Scrape or cut up 1 lb. soap, and
boil in a small quantity of water. When sufficiently cool, beat to a
jelly with the hand, at the same time mixing with it 3 tablespoonfuls
spirits of turpentine, and 1 of spirits of hartshorn. Wash the shawl
thoroughly in this, then well rinse in cold water, and, when all the
soap is out, in salt and water. This last need only be done when
the shawl contains delicate colours. Then fold the shawl between
two sheets, being careful not to let two folds of the shawl come
together. Mangle, and afterwards iron with a very cool iron.

(_j_) To wash red or scarlet flannel when soiled, mix a handful of
flour in a quart of cold water, and boil 10 minutes. Add this to some
warm suds, and wash the flannel gently, rinsing rather than rubbing;
rinse in 3 or 4 warm waters, and the brightest scarlet will never
lose its colour. Soft soap or olive soap should be used for woollen
goods in preference to bar soap.

(_k_) After rinsing, a wringing machine dries them better than any
other method. The drying must be done _rapidly_, and the articles
should be shaken and pulled during the drying.

Lace.--(_a_) Washing Black Lace.--Mix bullocks’ gall with sufficient
hot water to make it as warm as you can bear your hand in, and pass
the lace through it. It must be squeezed, not rubbed; and it will be
well to perfume the gall with a little musk. Rinse through 2 cold
waters, tinging the last with a little blue. After drying, put it
into some stiffening made by pouring boiling water on a very small
piece of glue; squeeze out, stretch, and clap it. Afterwards, pin out
on a linen cloth to dry, laying it very straight and even, and taking
care to open and pin the edge very nicely. When dry, iron on the
wrong side, having laid a linen cloth over the ironing blanket.

(_b_) Cleaning White Lace.--Boil gently for 15 minutes in a solution
of white soap; put it into a basin holding warm water and soap, and
keep gently squeezing it (do not rub it) till it is clean, and then
rinse it from the soap. Then take a vessel of cold water, into which
put a drop or two of liquid blue; rinse in it. Have ready some very
clear gum arabic water, or some thin rice-water. Pass through it.
Then stretch out even, and pin to dry on a linen cloth, making the
edge as straight as possible; open out all the scallops, and fasten
each with a pin. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin smoothly over
it, and iron on the wrong side.

(_c_) Ditto.--Cover an ordinary wine bottle with fine flannel,
stitching it firmly round the bottle. Tack one end of the lace to
the flannel, then roll it very smoothly round the bottle, and tack
down the other end, then cover with a piece of very fine flannel or
muslin. Now rub it gently with a strong soap liquor, and, if the lace
is very much discoloured or dirty, fill the bottle with hot water,
and place it in a kettle or saucepan of suds and boil it for a few
minutes, then place the bottle under a tap of running water to rinse
out the soap. Make some strong starch, and melt in it a piece of
white wax and a little loaf sugar. Plunge the bottle 2 or 3 times
into this and squeeze out the superfluous starch with the hands;
then dip the bottle in cold water, remove the outer covering from
the lace, fill the bottle with hot water, and stand it in the sun to
dry the lace. When nearly dry take it very carefully off the bottle,
and pick it out with the fingers. Then lay it in a cool place to dry
thoroughly.

(_d_) Ditto.--Take a black bottle covered with clean linen or
muslin, and wind the blond round it (securing the ends with a needle
and thread), not leaving the edge outward, but covering it as you
proceed. Set the bottle upright in a strong cold lather of white soap
and very clear soft water, and place it in the sun, having gently
with your hand rubbed the suds up and down on the lace. Keep it in
the sun every day for a week, changing the lather daily, and always
rubbing it slightly when you renew the suds. At the end of the week,
take the blond off the bottle, and (without rinsing) pin it backward
and forward on a large pillow covered with a clean tight case. Every
scallop must have a separate pin; or more, if the scallops are not
very small. The plain edge must be pinned down also, so as to make
it straight and even. The pins should be of the smallest size. When
quite dry, take it off, but do not starch, iron, or press it. Lay it
in long loose folds, and put it away in a pasteboard box.

(_e_) Thread Lace.--As in (_d_).

(_f_) Ditto.--When it has been tacked to the bottle, take some of
the best sweet oil and saturate the lace thoroughly. Have ready in a
wash-kettle, a strong cold lather of clear water and white Castile
soap. Fill the bottle with cold water, to prevent its bursting,
cork it well and stand it upright in the suds, with a string round
the neck secured to the ears or handle of the kettle, to prevent
its shifting about and breaking while over the fire. Let it boil in
the suds for an hour or more, till the lace is clean and white all
through. Drain off the suds and dry it on the bottle in the sun.
When dry, remove the lace from the bottle and roll it round a white
ribbon-block; or lay it in long folds, place it within a sheet of
smooth white paper, and press it in a large book for a few days.

(_g_) Starching Lace.--Use a very thin boiled starch or the liquor in
which rice has been boiled. Dip the lace in the starch, and squeeze
out. Clap between the folds of a towel to partially dry it. Lay wrong
side up on the table, slightly picked out, and place a piece of
muslin over. Rub a cool iron over several times, till a little dry.
Take up, and with the fingers pick it out to show the pattern and the
edge. Iron again. Pick out once more, carefully draw to each side,
and give a final ironing. The iron must be very cool, or the lace
will be stiff; moving it about in the hands, and drawing it out tends
to make it flexible.

Loose Colours.--As black.

Silk Goods.--(_a_) Silk scarfs and stockings are best washed in tepid
water, with white soap dissolved in it, then rinsed quite free from
soap, wrung dry in a towel, and ironed dry on the wrong side with a
muslin cloth between the iron and the silk.

(_b_) Heat some rain or soft water, and while on the fire cut into
it slices of good yellow soap, to make a lather; put the stockings
in while the lather is warm, but not scalding, and wash in two such
waters (a wineglassful of gin in the first water is an improvement);
rinse well in lukewarm water, having ready a second rinsing water,
in which is mixed a little blue (not the common kind, but such as is
used for muslins and laces), or rose pink, which can be procured at
a chemist’s, and is used in the same way as the blue, by tying it up
in a piece of flannel and squeezing it into the water. After rinsing,
put the stockings between towels and let them get almost dry;
place on a small sheet, lay out quite flat, as they are when first
purchased, tack to the sheet with a needle and thread, turn the sheet
over them, and mangle. If it is not convenient to mangle them, the
next best plan is to put 4 or 6 stockings one upon the other between
muslin, lay them on a stone doorstep, and beat them with the rolling
pin. They must not be mangled or beaten in towels, as the pattern of
the towels would be impressed on them. If the stockings have lace
fronts they will more particularly require the tacking mentioned
above to make them look nice. No soda or washing powder of any kind
must be put to them. They must be done quickly.

Stains, Removing.--The great difficulty in eradicating stains is
to do so without damaging the often delicate tints of the fabric.
Following is a synopsis of the best plans in use, arranged according
to the nature of the substance causing the stain.

Acids.--Nearly all acids produce a red discoloration on goods dyed
black or blue with vegetable dyes. If the acid is strong, the fabric
will probably be locally destroyed as well as stained. The best
treatment for all acids is the _immediate_ application of a strong
alkali, either ammonia, potash, or soda, but ammonia is the most
satisfactory. When once the stain is old nothing will efface it.
Nitric acid stains are the most troublesome, as the acid bleaches
away the original colour. Repeated moistening with a very strong
solution of potash permanganate (Condy’s fluid may be used as a weak
substitute) followed by rinsing with water, is said to be effective.

Anilines.--(_a_) Wash out in alcohol containing some acetic acid,
unless the colours of the fabric would be damaged by acetic acid, in
which case use alcohol alone. (_b_) Try a solution of sodium sulphite.

Coffee, Chocolate, &c.--Apply a mixture of glycerine and egg-yolk;
wash out with warm water, while still damp iron on the reverse side
with a moderately hot iron.

Dust.--White and cotton coloured goods only require beating and
brushing. For old dry stains on coloured silk and woollen goods,
apply alcohol mixed with yolk of egg, let dry, and scrape off; wipe
away remaining traces of the egg by means of a linen rag dipped in
warm water.

Fruits, Red Wine, Vegetable Dyes.--The greater part may be removed
without leaving a stain, if the spot be rinsed in cold water in which
a few drops of aqua ammoniæ have been placed, _before the spot has
dried_. Wine stains on white materials may be removed by rinsing
with cold water, applying locally a weak solution of chloride of
lime or dilute chlorine water, or eau de javelle (potash or soda
hypochlorite), and again rinsing in an abundance of water. Some fruit
stains yield only to soaping with the hand, followed by fumigation
with sulphurous acid (fumes of burning sulphur); but the latter
process is inadmissible with certain coloured stuffs. If delicate
colours are injured by soapy or alkaline matters, the dye must be
renewed by applying colourless vinegar of moderate strength. For
coloured cotton and woollen materials, the stain is washed with hot
soapy water (to which more or less chlorine water has been added,
according to the fastness of the dyes), rinsed in water containing a
little ammonia, dipped in a solution of soda hyposulphite and then
in a solution of tartaric acid, and finally washed in hot water. For
silk and satin goods the same programme must be followed but with
very dilute solutions. Another plan is to treat with salts of sorrel
(hydrogen potassium oxalate) or with solution of soda hypochlorite.
The latter especially must be carefully removed when the object is
attained. Another well-tried plan, when space is available, is to
spread the stained fabrics on the ground in the open air, smear the
spots with soap, and sprinkle ground potash or common salt upon them.
Water is added and replaced when lost by evaporation. After 2 or 3
hours’ exposure the whole fabric may be washed, and will usually be
found freed from its stains.

Grass.--White goods need only be washed in boiling water. Coloured
goods, whether cotton, woollen, silk, or satin, are damped with a
solution of tin chloride and immediately washed out in abundance of
water.

Grease.--(_a_) Simple washing in soap and water. (_b_) Stains from
oil colours will yield to a mixture of soap and caustic potash. (_c_)
Chalk, fullers’ earth, or steatite (French chalk) diffused through a
little water to form a thin paste, spread upon the spot, allowed to
dry, and then brushed out. (_d_) Ox-gall and yolk of egg. The ox-gall
should be purified, to prevent its greenish tint from degrading the
brilliancy of dyes or the purity of whites. Thus prepared it is most
effective, especially for woollens. It is diffused through its own
bulk of water, applied to the spots, and rubbed well in with the
hands till the stains disappear, after which the stuff is washed with
soft water. (_e_) Volatile oil of turpentine will take out _recent_
stains, for which purpose it ought to be previously purified by
distillation over quicklime. Wipe the stain with a sponge dipped in
oil of turpentine, cover with filter paper (blotting-paper) and pass
a hot iron over several times; finally wash out in warm soapy water.
(_f_) Benzine or essence of petroleum is commonly used for removing
grease spots; but these liquids present the inconvenience of leaving,
in most cases, a brownish ring. To prevent this, the garments, &c.,
should be laid out flat, _in daylight_, upon a cake of plaster of
Paris, or upon some folds of blotting-paper, moistened with sulphuric
ether, otherwise known as rectified ether, and rubbed gently with
a soft brush or clean linen rag. This process, if necessary, may
be repeated. It neither injures the colour nor the material, and
evaporates completely on exposure to the air. Another remedy is to
scatter powdered gypsum or lycopodium on the moist surface, brushing
the powder away when dry. (_g_) Equal parts strong ammonia water,
ether, and alcohol form a valuable cleaning compound. Pass a piece of
blotting-paper under the grease spot, moisten a sponge, first with
water to render it “greedy,” then with the mixture, and rub with it
the spot. In a moment it is dissolved, saponified, and absorbed by
the sponge and blotter.

Gelatine, Glue, Blood, Sugar.--Wash in clean warm water.

Green nuts, Tanning Juices.--Wash white goods in weak eau de javelle
or chlorine water. For coloured goods, first damp, and then touch the
spot with more or less dilute chlorine water, afterwards rinsing in
clean water.

Ink, Ironmould.--For ink stains, dilute hydrochloric acid, which
must subsequently be carefully washed out, will mostly be found
effectual. For the same purpose oxalic acid or salts of sorrel
(hydrogen potassium oxalate) may also be employed, and that most
economically, in fine powder to be sprinkled over the stains and
moistened with boiling water. The action of these solvents may be
hastened by gentle rubbing, or still better by placing the stained
portion of the fabric in contact with metallic tin. If there is much
ironmould to be removed, dyers’ tin salt (stannous chloride) will
perform the same work at less expense than the oxalic acid compounds.
Another solvent for such stains consists of a mixture of 2 parts
argol with 1 of powdered alum. On coloured cotton and woollen goods
let a drop from a burning tallow candle fall on the stain, and then
wash out in a concentrated solution of pyrophosphate of soda. On fast
dyes, lime chloride or tartaric acid may be used. On fine silk or
satin goods damp with strong vinegar and leave covered for some time
with beechwood ashes, washing finally in strong soapy water. Some
iron stains submit to a washing in a solution of yellow prussiate of
potash with addition of sulphuric acid; the blue colour thus produced
is removed by rinsing in a solution of potash carbonate. One of the
simplest and most efficacious removers of ink stains is milk, applied
_instantly_.

Lime and other Alkalis.--If white goods, wash out in clean water.
For coloured cottons or woollens, silk or satin, wet the stuff, and
apply successive drops of dilute citric acid; when the stain has
disappeared, wash thoroughly in clean water.

Mildew.--(_a_) Dip the spot into a strained weak solution of lime
chloride (2 teaspoonfuls to 1 qt. water) for a moment and expose
to the sun for a few minutes; repeat till gone, and then rinse
thoroughly in clean water. (_b_) Soak in water for an hour and then
sun. (_c_) Moisten with lemon juice and lay in the sun. (_d_) Moisten
with lemon juice, cover with a paste of soft-soap and chalk, and sun
for ½ hour; repeat till gone.

Milk, Soup.--For white goods, wash thoroughly in soapy or lye
water; for coloured cottons and woollens, wipe the stain with a
sponge dipped in pure turpentine-oil or benzine, remove excess with
blotting-paper, and wash out in warm soapy water. For silks and
satins use purest benzine ether.

Nitrate of Silver.--(_a_) Dip in a neutral solution of copper
chloride and touch the spot with a crystal of soda hyposulphite
dipped in ammonia. (_b_) Damp with solution of potash hypermanganate
and dip into solution of potash bisulphite. (_c_) Moisten with
solution of mercury bichloride (a deadly poison). (_d_) Moisten
repeatedly with very weak solution of potassium cyanide and rinse
thoroughly in clean water.

Oil, Paint, Varnish.--(_a_) New stains will submit to carbon
bisulphide, or spirits of turpentine. (_b_) Cover old stains with
butter or olive oil, and when softened apply first spirits of
turpentine and then benzine. (_c_) For white goods, and coloured
cottons and woollens, damp the patch, and pass a sponge dipped in
turpentine-oil or benzine repeatedly over the stain, then lay on a
sheet of blotting-paper and pass a hot iron over; finally wash out in
warm soapy water. (_d_) For silks and satins spread on a thin paste
of ether and magnesia carbonate; when the ether has volatilised,
brush away the magnesia, or rub with crumb of bread.

Perspiration.--Wash in a solution of soda hyposulphite, and then
bleach if the goods are white.

Stearine, Wax.--Remove with a knife; place a piece of wet linen
beneath, cover the stain with several layers of blotting-paper, and
pass a hot iron over. Any remaining trace can be removed by a sponge
dipped in benzine.

Tar, Pitch, Resin.--For coloured cottons and woollens the stuff
is damped, and fat is applied to the stain, on which soap is well
rubbed. The soap is allowed to act for a few minutes, and is washed
out alternately with oil of turpentine and hot water. If this has not
succeeded, the yellow of egg mixed with some oil of turpentine is
applied, and when this has dried it is scratched away, and thorough
washing out in hot water ensues. The last method is the washing of
the stuff in water mixed with a little muriatic acid, and thorough
rinsing out in pure river water. For silk and satin, the stuff is
wetted, and a sponge dipped in a solution of ether and chloroform
is rubbed over the stain. If the stain is no longer noticeable,
white clay is strewn over it, over which blotting-paper is placed,
and the stain is extracted by passing a hot smoothing iron over. If
this process has not been successful, the yellow of egg mixed with
chloroform is used in the same manner.

Unknown origin.--(_a_) For white goods, and coloured cotton goods, a
small quantity of soap is dissolved in lukewarm water, and for each
pint is added a coffee spoonful of ammonia. The stain is wiped with
a sponge steeped in this fluid, and the material is finally washed
out in water. (_b_) For coloured woollen stuffs, dissolve 20 parts
ox-gall, 40 of borax, 500 of spirit, and 200 of ammonia, adding 30
of glycerine and the yellow of two eggs. The stuff is washed in this
boiling solution. It is subsequently rinsed in clean warm water,
and dried in the air, but not in the sun. (_c_) For silk and satin,
dissolve 40 parts borax and 10 of soap in 70 of diluted spirit and
30 of ether, adding 10 of magnesia carbonate and the yellow of two
eggs. The mixture is applied to the stain, and the stuff is washed in
lukewarm water, rinsed in cold water, and dried at a moderate warmth,
being subsequently ironed with a moderately hot iron.

Urine.--Wash in alcohol or very weak solution of citric acid.

Vinegar, Wine, Acid Fruits.--For white goods, wash out in clean
water, to which ammonia has been added. For coloured cotton and
woollen materials, silk, and satin, diluted ammonia is spread over
the satin, and when it has disappeared a thorough washing in water
ensues.

Wine, Beer, Punch.--Wash in soapy and then clean hot water.

_Tobacco Pipes._--A very simple and effective plan. Cut ½ in. from
the end of an ordinary cork, and fit it tightly into the bowl of the
pipe. Then with a knife cut a hole through the cork wide enough to
admit the nozzle of a water tap with a little pressure, turn on the
water gently until the flow through the stem is sufficiently strong,
and let it run until the pipe is clean.

_Violin._--(_a_) Use soap and water, but avoid its running through
the “_f_” holes. Clean the interior with _dry_ rice.

(_b_) Moisten the solid parts with salad oil, then mix same oil and
spirits of wine together in a basin, trying its strength first on a
part of the neck or scroll, then with a piece of white linen rag,
dipped in the oil and spirit, rub the soiled parts, keep shifting the
rag as it gets dirty: it will take several days to do, but keep the
parts well soaked, where dirty, with oil after every rubbing; but by
no means scrape it.

(_c_) Ordinary paraffin oil. _Slightly_ saturate a rag of soft silk,
and proceed to wash your violin therewith. The effect is almost
magical; the paraffin dissolves the crust of dirt and resin and
cleans the varnish without injuring.

(_d_) For the outside, a strongish solution of washing-soda, applied
with piece of flannel. If you find the soda remove the varnish (as it
does with some oil-varnishes), use soap-and-water, and then paraffin.
When clean, rub with linseed-oil; spirits of wine removes the old
resin at once, but sometimes takes the varnish with it. For the
inside, get a handful of rice, steep in solution of sugar and water 5
minutes, strain off, and nearly dry the rice till just sticky. Put in
at sound-holes and shake till tired. This will pick up all dirt, then
turn out.

_Violin Bows._--(_a_) Take a small piece of flannel, wet it (cold
process), well rub it with best yellow soap, double it, holding the
hair gently between the finger and thumb, rub gently till clean,
using plenty of soap; rinse flannel, wipe off, then wipe dry with a
piece of calico or linen; in an hour afterwards it will be ready for
the resin. (_b_) A solution of borax-and-water.

_Wall-papers._--To remove oil stains or marks where people have
rested their heads, from wall-papers, mix pipeclay with water to the
consistency of cream, lay it on the spot and allow it to remain till
the following day, when it may be easily removed with a penknife or
brush.

_Watches._--A correspondent of the _Watchmaker and Metal-worker_
tells how he cleans watches with benzine. The method may be useful
for other fine work. He says: I immerse the parts in benzine and dry
in boxwood sawdust. This gives the gilding a fresh, new look, which
I have not been able to get by any other process. The movement must
be entirely taken down. The dial screws may be screwed down tightly
and left, but all parts united with screws must be separated, so
that there will be no places where the benzine can remain and not
be at once absorbed by the sawdust. I have a large alcohol cup,
which I fill about half full of benzine, taking down my movement and
putting the larger pieces in the fluid. The scape wheel, balance,
and delicate parts I treat separately, that they may not be injured
by contact with the heavier pieces. I then take the pieces one at a
time, and tumble them into the sawdust. In a few seconds they will be
dry, when I pick them out and lay in a tray, using brass tweezers,
which do not scratch. I treat all the parts in this way except
the mainspring, when a slight use of the brush and clean chamois
will remove all dust. Of course, the holes must be cleaned with a
pointed peg; and I wipe out the oil sinks with chamois over the end
of a blunt peg, but it is not often necessary to clean the pinions
with a peg; they will come out of the sawdust bright and clean. The
mainspring must not be put in benzine unless you want it to break
soon after. The fluid seems to remove the fine oily surface which a
spring gets after working for a time, and which is very desirable to
retain; so I clean my springs by wiping with soft tissue paper. If
they are gummy, I put on a little fresh oil to soften, and wipe off,
being careful not to straighten out the springs.


=Vermin, Destroying.=--Before proceeding to classify the various
kinds of noxious creatures whose presence is objectionable to man,
and giving hints for their destruction or removal, it will be well
to put forward a word of caution _against_ using any substance
which will _poison the vermin_ in situations where their bodies can
putrefy unseen and produce unpleasant and injurious odours. Wherever
poisons are mentioned in the following recipes their use is intended
exclusively away from the dwelling, and there are many sound reasons
why poisons should be avoided on all occasions.

_Insects._--As this word is commonly used in the household it
embraces a considerable number of small creatures outside the class
known as insects to naturalists, and may be regarded as including all
winged and creeping vermin.

Before descending to special remedies against different insects a
few lines may be devoted to that universal insecticide the so-called
“Persian insect powder.” This is of two kinds, one produced in the
Transcaucasian region and another in Dalmatia. The first is the
produce of _Pyrethrum roseum_ and _P. carneum_, and the last of _P.
cinerariæfolium_ [_Chrysanthemum turreanum_], all common wild flowers
in their special districts. The useful part of the plants is their
flowers, which are gathered when half developed, in dry weather,
dried in the shade under cover, ground to powder, and stored in
air-tight vessels. The plants can be cultivated in warm climates. The
Dalmatian gives the stronger powder, or perhaps the powder sold there
is less adulterated. Experiments have conclusively proved that while
these powders are perfectly harmless to human beings and domestic
animals, they are distinctly poisonous to all insects having open
mouth parts, such as bees, wasps, ants, mosquitoes, flies, fleas,
bugs, dragon-flies, spiders, carpet-beetles, &c.

Ants.--(_a_) White ants will eat the whole timber work of a house
without noise. They bore close to the surface of the wood, but
without destroying it, so that there is no visible indication of
what they are doing. They will even bore through the boards of a
floor and up the legs of a table, leaving the latter a mere shell.
The principal woods used in this country which are said to resist
the white ant are cedar, greenheart, ebony, and lignum vitæ, and the
heartwood of jarrah. Pitch pine is sometimes attacked. White ants
will not attack new teak, but will bore through teak to get at yellow
pine. Arsenic seems to prevent the attack of these insects, and is
sometimes used for this purpose in the concrete, mortar, paint, and
plaster of buildings. Arsenic is also mixed with aloes, soap, &c., to
form a wash to exterminate these insects. Creosoting is an effectual
preservative against white ants, but on account of its smell is only
adapted for out-door work, and can hardly be applied to very dense
tropical timbers. A cheap source of arsenic for this purpose is the
lime arsenite residue from aniline dyeworks.

(_b_) Black Ants.--Scatter a few leaves of green wormwood about their
haunts. (_c_) To clear them from pantries, chalk the shelves upon
which the provisions are put, so that the ants cannot move about; or
apply moistened fly-paper and lay about the pantry; or apply quassia
tincture, and soak crumbs of bread with it, and lay it about the
pantry. (_d_) Leave a vessel, such as a butter-crock, containing at
the bottom a few stewed prunes, or a little water in which prunes
have been stewed, uncovered in the places frequented by the ants; it
will attract them, and thousands will drown in it. (_e_) Boil pieces
of string in beer and sugar, and lay them in the ants’ way; collect
once in 24 hours, when they will be found covered with ants, and drop
into boiling water. (_f_) Pour benzoline down the holes. (_g_) Pour
boiling water down the holes. (_h_) Rooms on a ground floor may be
cleared by carefully pouring some strong oil of vitriol down each
hole. This will be fatal to the living insects and all their eggs,
but will destroy flooring, plaster, and bricks wherever it touches.

(_i_) Red Ants.--Grease a plate with lard, and set it where the
insects abound. They prefer lard to anything else, and will forsake
sugar for it. Place a few sticks around the plate for the ants to
climb up on. Occasionally turn the plate bottom up over the fire, and
the ants will fall in with the melting lard. Reset the plate, and in
a short time you will catch them all.

Blackbeetles.--(_a_) Keep a hedgehog. (_b_) Set a deep dish or
earthen pan, containing a little sugared beer by way of attraction;
it will entrap the insects in vast numbers, if a few pieces of wood
are inclined against the sides to serve as ladders. They will tumble
in when they reach the edge, and the glazed sides will prevent their
getting out. (_c_) Immediately before bedtime, strew the floor of
those parts of the house most infested with the vermin with the
green peel, cut not very thin, from the cucumber. (_d_) A mixture
of Persian insect powder and powdered wormseed, thrown about where
they frequent. (_e_) Use powdered borax, about ½ lb. to each room.
It requires perseverance and care in its use. It should be scattered
about freely wherever they congregate, and particularly in cracks
and crevices where they can hide from it. It may be blown or forced
by the blade of a knife into narrow cracks. The effect of the borax
is to cause them to emigrate. It may kill a few, which will be found
afterwards in a dried withered up condition lying about on the floor.
They may be swept up without injury to carpets or furniture.

Bugs.--The following are paste poisons:--(_a_) 1 oz. mercurial
ointment, ¼ oz. corrosive sublimate, ¼ oz. Venetian red. (_b_) Soft
soap and cayenne pepper. (_c_) Soft soap and corrosive sublimate.
(_d_) Soft soap and strong snuff. The following are washes for
furniture or floors:--(_a_) A small quantity (6_d._ worth) salts of
wormwood, dissolved in a bucket of hot writer. (_b_) Solution of
pyroligneous acid, arsenite of potash, decoction of oak bark, and
garlic. (_c_) 2 dr. corrosive sublimate, 8 oz. spirits of wine rubbed
in mortar till dissolved, then add ½ pint spirits of turpentine.
(_d_) 1 lb. each sal ammoniac, and corrosive sublimate, 8 gal.
hot water. (_e_) 1½ oz. camphor, 8 oz. each spirits of turpentine
and spirits of wine. (_f_) Weak solution of zinc chloride. (_g_)
Benzine. (_h_) Equal parts spirits of turpentine and kerosene.
Application:--(_a_) The room must be thoroughly cleared; take the bed
and bedclothes into the open air, and beat them thoroughly; take the
bedstead to pieces, and after a thorough purification with hot water,
plug every hole and crevice with one of the pastes given above; stop
all cracks, &c., in the floor and walls with the paste also. (_b_)
Empty the room; scrape off all paper and burn immediately on the spot
in charcoal brazier; fill all cracks in plaster, paint, and wormwood
with a poison paste; scent the floor with a wash; burn all old scraps
of carpet.

Crickets.--(_a_) Half fill some jampots with water and set at night.
(_b_) A covered box with perforated lid containing a little salt or
oatmeal.

Earwigs.--Place lengths of hollow bean-stalk or other tube where the
insects collect, and each morning empty them into boiling water by
blowing sharply through.

Fleas.--In Beds.--(_a_) Sprinkle chamomile flowers in the bed. (_b_)
Use young leaves of wild myrtle in the same way. (_c_) Strew fresh
mint under the beds. (_d_) Have walnut leaves about the person.
(_e_) Place a piece of new flannel in the bed, and there seek the
vermin. (_f_) Sprinkle the bed or night dress with a little solution
of camphor in spirits of wine. (_g_) Sponge your person with camphor
water-¼ oz. camphor, ½ oz. tincture of myrrh in 1 qt. water, shake
well before use.

In Rooms.--(_a_) Slice a strong onion and rub the bottom edge of the
trousers. The favourite point of attack is at the ankles and the legs
up to the knee; they do not jump so much from above. (_b_) Make a
strong decoction of laurel leaves by filling a large copper with the
leaves, adding as much water as possible, and boil for 4 or 5 hours.
Then take the leaves away, and deluge the floors with the boiling hot
liquor. The liquor will but very slightly discolour the ceilings,
which can be whitened again.

On Animals.--(_a_) Oil of pennyroyal will certainly drive them off;
but a cheaper method, where the herb flourishes, is to dip dogs and
cats into a decoction of it once a week. Mow the herb and scatter it
in the beds of pigs once a month. Where the herb cannot be got, the
oil may be procured. In this case, saturate strings with it and tie
them around the necks of dogs and cats, pour a little on the back
and about the ears of hogs, which you can do while they are feeding,
without touching them. By repeating these applications every 12 or 15
days, the fleas will leave the animals. Strings saturated with the
oil of pennyroyal, and tied around the neck and tail of horses, will
drive off lice; the strings should be saturated once a day. (_b_)
Equal parts ox-gall, oil of camphor, oil of pennyroyal, extract of
gentian, spirits of wine; wash.

Flies.--In Rooms.--(_a_) A castor-oil plant growing in the room kills
many and drives away the rest. (_b_) A bunch of walnut leaves keeps
them out. (_c_) A large, handsome Japanese lily (_Lilium auratum_)
behaves like the castor-oil plant. (_d_) Soak blotting-paper in a
solution of sugar of lead, and sweeten with molasses. (_e_) Mix
treacle, moist sugar, or honey with 1/12 of orpiment. (_f_) Boil ¼
oz. of quassia chips in 1 pint water for 10 minutes; strain; add 4
oz. molasses. (_g_) Spread laurel oil on picture frames, curtains,
&c. (_h_) When going to bed, blow some Persian or Dalmatian insect
powder into the air of the room and close it for the night; burn the
dust swept from the room in the morning.

On Animals.--(_a_) Procure a bunch of smartweed, and bruise it to
cause the juice to exude. Rub the animal thoroughly with the bunch of
bruised weed, especially on the legs, neck, and ears. Neither flies
nor other insects will trouble him for 24 hours. The process should
be repeated every day. A very convenient way of using it, is to make
a strong infusion by boiling the weed a few minutes in water. When
cold it can be conveniently applied with a sponge or brush. Smartweed
is found growing in every section of the country in the United
States, usually on wet ground near highways. (_b_) Scatter lime
chloride on a board in the stable or pen.

Harvest Bugs.--Smear the legs all over with (_a_) Decoction of
colocynth; (_b_) strong vinegar; (_c_) paraffin; (_d_) thick soap
lather; (_e_) tincture of iodine; (_f_) benzine; (_g_) tar ointment
(_h_) 1 oz. insect powder (Dalmatian) macerated in 1 oz. weak spirit,
and then diluted with 2½ oz. water.

Mosquitoes and Gnats.--To keep them away from the person:--(_a_) 1
oz. each olive oil and oil of tar, ½ oz. each glycerine, spirit of
camphor, and oil of pennyroyal, 2 dr. carbolic acid; mix and shake
well before use. (_b_) Sponge with 1 oz. camphor dissolved in 1 qt.
cold water. (_c_) Dissolve as much camphor as possible in olive or
castor oil, boil down the oil to half, and smear on the face and
hands. (_d_) Mix 3 oz. olive oil, 2 oz. oil of pennyroyal, 1 oz.
glycerine, 1 oz. ammonia; shake well; apply, avoiding the eyes. (_e_)
Rub lime juice on the skin. (_f_) Essential oil of lemon. (_g_)
Rub with bruised laurel leaves. (_h_) Dust the face and hands with
potato flour. (_i_) Vaseline or petroleum ointment. (_j_) Rub on 4
oz. glycerine, 4 dr. oil of turpentine, 2½ dr. oil of spearmint.
(_k_) Hang a piece of camphor in a muslin bag from the topmost coat
button-hole. (_l_) Dissolve in a cupful of water as much alum as
the water will contain--in other words, make the strongest solution
possible of alum and water; add ⅓ proportion of aromatic vinegar,
and ¼ of glycerine; keep it in small flat phials convenient for the
pocket, and apply it constantly during the day. Rae mentions that he
does not believe without its alleviating influence he would have been
able to carry out his journey in Lapland, so severe were the attacks
of these insect pests.

Driving from Bedstead.--Hang on the bedstead: (_a_) a few bruised
leaves of pennyroyal; (_b_) a sponge dipped in camphorated spirit;
(_c_) a bunch of elder; (_d_) a bunch of wormwood; (_e_) a bough of
ash.

Driving from Room.--Burn: (_a_) Camphor in a tin dish over a candle
so that it evaporates without igniting; (_b_) cow-dung; (_c_)
wormwood; (_d_) juniper wood sawdust.

Moths.--Numerous opinions have been expressed from time to time as
to the most effective means of preventing the ravages of the larva
of the “clothes-moth.” The most practical may be summarised as
follows. (_a_) When the number of garments or other fabrics is small
an efficient plan is found to be to keep them exposed to the air and
liable to constant disturbance, with occasional shaking and beating.
(_b_) One writer finds it a very good plan to put winter things, such
as curtains, furs, heavy shawls, dresses, extra blankets, &c., away
in wine cases, papered inside and out with newspaper; when nailed
down, every crack or crevice is pasted over. This should be done
in April, before any moths are about; the clothes are then safe.
Other articles which cannot well be packed away for the summer,
such as dress-coats, are quite safe if folded in plenty of sound
newspaper. (_c_) Another states that articles put away for 5 years
in a warehouse were perfectly uninjured in all cases where they were
_completely_ wrapped in linen, while every part not thus protected
was more or less destroyed by moth. (_d_) One experimenter placed 4
moths in the balance, and found that they weighed 2¾ gr. They were
then placed in a watch-glass, and dried over the steam of boiling
water. There remained ·830 gr., say 30 per cent., or, in other terms,
if 100 lb. of the grubs were dried they would lose 70 lb. or 7 gal.
of water (and this is exclusive of what the insect must have lost in
perspiration and other animal functions). The remedy which suggested
itself was, that if we could render our garments absolutely dry,
even if the mother moth should deposit her eggs, they could not grow
or live in the absolute absence of moisture; and that if we could
place our garments for a short time, during the moth season, May and
June, in a close chamber, heated by steam pipes to the boiling point,
aided by a little chloride of calcium, on trays to absorb moisture,
the necessary conditions would be met; and even if the mother moth
had succeeded in depositing her eggs before the hot chamber process
had been applied, it would still prove effective, as the eggs would
be hard-boiled and rendered unproductive. Possibly if drying ovens
were kept available at a small charge, they would find extensive
employ, as the losses incurred by dealers in furs is immense; and in
private families for the treatment of clothing, blankets, and other
articles they would be of great value. (_e_) The use of a vacuum
and hot gases has been under experiment by the Government of the
United States. It is believed that a large cylinder of boiler iron
may be filled with woollen goods, either cloth or made-up garments,
in unbroken bales or boxes; the top screwed on air-tight; the air
exhausted by an air-pump worked by the steam engine, and the vacuum
filled after a sufficient time to kill all active developed moths
and grubs, with air which has passed through a stove filled with
ignited charcoal or anthracite coal. This atmosphere will contain no
supporter of respiration; it consists of nitrogen, carbonic acid,
and carbonic oxide, and some watery vapour, with a little sulphur
and traces of other volatile impurities contained in the fuel. The
carbonic oxide is a violent poison. The other gases named are all
either inert, unable to support life, or positively noxious. They
will penetrate under the pressure of 15 lb. to the sq. in. into every
nook and cranny between the folds of the goods, and into every empty
pore of the woollen fibres themselves. They can be introduced at
such a temperature as may be determined to be best and sufficient.
Experiments at Nottingham reported in the _Journal of Applied
Science_ show, if correctly performed, that woollen goods may be
exposed for 3 hours to an atmosphere in a close vessel heated to
250°F. (121°C.) without injury, and that even 295°F. (146°C.) is not
seriously injurious to the fibre, though it changes the colours of
some goods. One difficulty in caring for great quantities of these
goods is the labour and exposure incident to opening packages, taking
out to handle separately each article, exposing it after brushing to
the attacks of the moths, always ready for action at the only season
when this overhauling is needed. (_f_) The larva of the clothes-moth
will only attack and devour substances that immediately serve it for
food, and will not gnaw through the most flimsy envelope, provided
this is not edible. But still in these the most careful folding
will fail to keep them out, as the tiny hatchlings will find their
way through the seams; these should be pasted together, but as the
insects are particularly fond of paste this should be poisoned either
with a little corrosive sublimate or by triturating some camphor
with it. Moths will never eat through brown paper. This must be of
the right sort, i.e. made from old tarred ropes, and smelling of
tar. Larvæ of clothes-moths, if they can get at nothing else, will
feed on ordinary paper if kept in a damp place. The protection of
the wrappers consists in their coarse tarry nature. (_g_) Dust the
articles with alum dried to a cinder and powdered. (_h_) Mix 2 oz.
snuff, 4 oz. cedar sawdust, 1 oz. black pepper, 1 oz. camphor, 1
dr. lupulin (hop flowers), and blow it into corners with a powder
bellows. (_i_) Soak blotting-paper in a mixture of oil of camphor
and spirits of turpentine, and lay it among the goods. (_j_) Prof.
Riley says that the early days of June should herald vigorous and
exterminating warfare against these subtle pests. Closets, wardrobes,
all receptacles for clothing, should be emptied and laid open, their
contents thoroughly exposed to light and air, and well brushed and
shaken before being replaced. In old houses much infested with moths
all cracks in floors, wainscots, shelves, or furniture, should be
brushed over with spirits of turpentine. Camphor or tobacco should
be placed among all garments, furs, plumes, &c., when laid aside for
the summer. To secure cloth linings of carriages from the attacks
of moths, sponge them on both sides with a solution of corrosive
sublimate of mercury in alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave
a white mark on a black feather. Moths may be killed by fumigating
the article containing them with tobacco or sulphur, or by putting
it, if practicable, into an oven heated to about 150° F. (_k_)
Nothing is better than Mikado moth papers (Fleming, 101 Leadenhall
St., E.C.), placed between folds of the articles to be protected, and
occasionally renewed.

Poultry Lice.--(_a_) Damp the skin beneath the feathers and dust on
powdered sulphur. (_b_) Scatter male persimon leaves on the floor of
the house, or wash the house with a decoction of the leaves. (_c_)
Thoroughly lime-white the house, adding sulphur to the lime.

Slugs and Snails.--Lay salt on the trails.

Wasps.--(_a_) Put pulverised commercial potassium cyanide, one or
two tablespoonfuls, into the entrance of the nest without disturbing
it or the insects; they enter never to return. (_b_) At noon, or
soon after, when the insects are abroad in search of food, fumigate
the hole with sulphur; dig out the comb and destroy everything in
it; then place a wine bottle, half full of water, in the hole,
leaving the mouth of the bottle within an inch of the surface of the
surrounding earth; on taking it up next morning, you will find every
one of that family safe in the trap. (_c_) Pour some tar into and
around the nest and ignite it; take care to have the head and hands
covered with gauze. (_d_) Spread arsenic and the dust of loaf sugar
(1 to 20) on pieces of orange peel out of the reach of children.
(_e_) Hang bottles containing treacle and water in the plum trees and
other resorts, and examine daily.

_Rats._--(_a_) Mix together 8 oz. strong cheese and 2 oz. powdered
squills, and place in their haunts and runs. It acts immediately, and
the rats die instantly; whereas most of the pastes, &c., allow the
animals to retire into their holes, where their subsequent death and
putrefaction may cause great inconvenience from effluvia. (_b_) Make
a strong solution of copperas water, and paint the walls of the whole
cellar, then pound up copperas, and scatter it along the sides of the
walls and into every hole where it can be thrown. (_c_) In the runs
and holes, lay a mixture of tar and broken glass. (_d_) Feed them
liberally for several days on a smooth surface, then damp the floor
and smear it with caustic potash; the rats, in running over it while
feeding at the bait, get their feet besmeared with it, which causes a
burning or corroding of the flesh. At the same time they lick their
feet to relieve the pain, and are either so annoyed or poisoned that
they leave the premises. (_e_) Scatter lime chloride in their haunts
and holes. (_f_) Having caught one, tar him all over, or coat him
with paste containing tincture of asafœtida, and turn him into the
hole again.

Traps.--(_g_) Scald common gin traps and set them at the holes,
covered with sawdust, avoiding touching the gins with the naked hand.
(_h_) Feed the rats for 3 or 4 nights successively, leaving the
traps (box traps) fixed open and baited with the following paste,
so that they may go in and out and feed at their ease. If the rats
are numerous and the premises extensive, take 4 lb. bread crumbs,
4 lb. flour, ½ pint treacle, 1 teaspoonful essence of anise, and ½
teaspoonful essence of musk; mix the whole well together, and bait
the traps. Several traps should be so prepared. On the night the rats
are to be taken, bait as usual, having the traps set for catching.
(_i_) Set a steel trap in the run and cover it with a butter cloth.
A fresh cloth must be used each time. (_j_) Fill a barrel about half
full of water. Make the cover ½ in. smaller all round than the inside
of the top of the barrel. Drive a nail or wire on each side of the
cover exactly opposite each other, as a pivot, and fit in the barrel,
so that a light weight will readily tip the cover. Put the bait on
top, in a firm way, and place an empty barrel or box near by. (_k_)
Mix 1 lb. oatmeal or flour, ½ oz. aniseed, 1 oz. cassia, 2 oz. white
sugar, all finely powdered; feed with this mixture for 5 nights at
least before you tilt up the trap, which must be concealed with straw
scented with 4 drops oil of rhodium, 8 drops oil of cinnamon, and 8
drops oil of caraway. The paper on which the food is placed must
also be scented with the same. When you cease to catch any at night,
feed again, and when you suppose all to be caught in one place,
remove the trap to another.

_Snakes._--(_a_) In all probability, the acclimation or encouragement
of certain animals which seek out snakes as their favourite food
will do more towards effecting extermination than anything else.
The mongoose enjoys a reputed pre-eminence in this respect which
is quite undeserved--it need hardly be said that the “antipathy”
which it is supposed to entertain toward its prey is a chimera born
of an argument by analogy to human prejudices. The ichneumon hunts
snakes to eat them; so do various foxes, tayras, rats, civets,
grisons, weasels, genets, paradoxures, and other members of the
_Viverridæ_ and _Mustelidæ_. Still more addicted to an ophidian diet
are pigs; it is said that Mauritius was cleared of venomous species
by a number of wild hogs turned loose there. Toads, frogs, fish,
lizards, newts, and even slow-worms devour young snakes; indeed,
it is only their popularity as an article of food that serves to
restrain their increase, for they are produced in broods of from
twenty to a hundred or more. But their greatest enemies are birds.
Peacocks, in particular, will desert the home where they are fed in
a district abounding with snakes; not long ago, six pairs of pea
fowl were employed to get rid of the vipers on an island off the
west coast of Scotland, which they rendered almost uninhabitable by
their abundance. Storks, pelicans, cassowaries, sunbitterns, cranes,
falcons, and some vultures are also perpetually on the look-out
for snakes, while the scientific title of the secretary bird,
_Serpentarius reptilivorus_, sufficiently indicates its proclivities.

(_b_) A pitfall of some kind sunk below the level of the ground in
an infested district, and furnished with water frogs, and a cage of
rats, or some such small deer, might help to rid the neighbourhood.

(_c_) For every one that may be expected to find its way into a trap,
however arranged, a dozen might certainly be taken, living or dead,
by those who would make a business of pursuit; and for capturing them
alive there is no safer or better appliance than the “twitch.” This
consists of a simple loop of string passed through an eye at the
end of a long crooked stick, and controlled by the hand. Directly a
snake is seen it is hooked out into the open, if need be, away from
all shelter, the noose dropped over its head and drawn up tight, and
in that way it can be carried, powerless to do harm, or deposited in
any receptacle which is ready for it. Collectors, too, would find
this little apparatus far more practicable than the net or tongs.
Places likely to form a resort for the deposition of eggs--situations
which combine warmth, moisture, and protection, as a rule--should
be diligently explored; and rocks or other fastnesses known to be
their favourite breeding grounds should, if possible, be frequently
disturbed by blasting. (A. Stradling, C.M.Z.S.)


=Removing Stoppers.=--It not unfrequently happens that when a
stoppered bottle has remained undisturbed for a considerable time,
the stopper becomes firmly fixed in the neck of the bottle, and
cannot be moved by the hand in the ordinary way. The removal of a
fixed stopper requires judgment and tact, in order to preserve the
bottle unbroken. One or other of the following means may be resorted
to:--(_a_) Place the bottle firmly on a table, and hold it with the
left hand. Then apply the right hand to the stopper, and pull it
forcibly on one side, using the thumb as a fulcrum at the exterior
of the neck of the bottle. If the stopper moves, the motion will
be indicated by a ticking kind of noise; and the stopper can then
be withdrawn without further trouble. This plan should be tried at
various parts, observing to pull the stopper towards the operator,
and not away from him. (_b_) By tapping the stopper on alternate
sides with the handle of a hammer, or with a piece of wood, it can
frequently be loosened. (_c_) Dip one end of a cloth in boiling
water, and then wrap it round the neck of the bottle; the heat causes
the neck to expand which allows the stopper more room, whereby it
can often be removed with ease. (_d_) Or the flame of a spirit lamp
may be applied to the neck of the bottle with the same effect. But
in both cases the operation must be performed quickly, in order
that the heat may not get at the stopper and expand it, for if such
is the case, it remains as firmly fixed as before. (_e_) Pass a
piece of strong twine round the neck of the bottle and fix one end
of the string to a hook; the neck will be heated by the friction
occasioned by drawing the bottle rapidly backwards and forwards,
the bottle being held in one hand, and one end of the string in
the other. The heat expands the neck as before described. (_f_)
Stoppers are sometimes fixed by the coagulating or crystallisation
of substances between the inside neck of the bottle and the stopper.
The application of oil, or water, or muriatic acid, to the top of the
bottle, will often dissolve away so much of the hard matter as to
render the removal of the stopper easy. (_g_) When the fixed stopper
of a glass bottle resists all management--such as warming the neck
with a cloth wet with warm water, by tapping, and by the wrench,
or by all these in combination--there is another means which will
frequently succeed. Let the bottle be inverted, so as to stand on the
stopper in a vessel of water so filled that the water reaches up to
the shoulder of the bottle, but not to the label. Two or three nights
of this treatment may be required sometimes before the stopper will
yield. (_h_) Another method is to use a stopper extractor. This can
easily be made out of a block of wood 3 in. square and 2 in. thick,
by cutting a hole through its centre large enough to receive the head
of the stopper. The use of the above is preferable to pulling out two
drawers, sticking the head of the stopper between them, and twisting
the bottle round. To apply the extractor, it is placed over the
stopper, and grasped firmly in one hand, while the neck of the bottle
is held by the other. A gentle, but firm and steady twisting motion
is then used, care being taken to keep both hands moving in the same
plane, but in opposite directions. If the pressure be applied too
vigorously or spasmodically, or if the lines of the direction of the
opposite forces be not quite parallel, there is a danger of wrenching
off the head of the stopper or breaking the neck of the bottle.


=Housekeeping.=--Volumes might be written on this subject, with
column after column of figures to illustrate exactly how much of the
annual income should be expended on each item; but when done, the
labour would be practically fruitless, for the simple reason that
each household has its own special wants. The skill and knowledge of
the housewife are constantly devoted to the solution of the question
how to supply the needs of the house. No brief summary of hints or
information can help her. Every topic discussed in this volume has
a bearing on the subject and must be studied. A few words of advice
may be offered:--(1) Keep account of every penny received and spent.
(2) Pay cash. (3) Study quality before price: cheap things are seldom
economical. (4) Avoid both extravagance and waste. (5) Trust nothing
to the servants. (6) Consult the index of this volume whenever you
are in doubt.


=Marketing.=--The following observations condensed from two series
of articles in that inestimable journal _The Queen_, will indicate
what is in season during each month of the year; they will also
contain suggestions as to the best mode of marketing and the signs
and symptoms by which the quality of foods may be judged. Obviously
remarks on the latter heads when once made will not need repetition.


January.

_Meat._--Of meats, beef and mutton are of course in season all the
year round; pork only in the cold weather. Veal can be had at any
time, but it is cheaper in late spring and summer; and even lamb as
an article of luxury can be bought as early in the year as this. Doe
venison can be bought this month. The greatest difficulty a young
housekeeper has to encounter is that of going to choose meat at the
butcher’s. No rules without experience in applying them are likely
to be of great value. Good beef should be red, with a purplish hue
where it has been lately cut. If it is very brilliant scarlet or very
pale, it is not good. The fat should be opaque, not transparent,
and should be abundant on the ribs and under the sirloin; there
should be plenty of white or yellowish suet inside the animal, and
even on the lean joints there should be specks of fat mixed up
with the meat. It should not waste much in cooking, though this
has to do with the stove as well as the meat, and it should not be
watery--lying, for example, in a pool of moisture on the block. All
this may have to do with the wholesomeness of the meat, as these
are the indications to show that the animal was in good health when
it was killed, and that it was not “knocked on the head to save its
life.” Even for those who do not like any fat with meat, a lean
joint should be ordered, not a joint that would be fat on a healthy
animal. This does not apply to the preposterously fat beasts killed
about Christmas time, that are scarcely in a state of health from
repletion, and the meat is too rich to be very wholesome, and far
too fat to be economical. The yellow colour of the fat in Christmas
beef is caused by feeding on oilcake instead of green food. Then,
as regards the tenderness of meat, it should be fine grained, and
should not have thick strips of sinew or gristle running through it.
All meat has some in some parts, of course; for instance, in the
coarse end of the ribs (i.e. the ribs nearest the tail) there is a
strip of gristle about 1½ in. under the skin. It is there always,
and is very tough and prominent in old meat. Butchers often cut it
out, and it should be cut out before cooking; but it is better still
to insist on having the first cut of the ribs (i.e. the shoulder
end). All these indications are, it may be easily seen, comparative
rather than absolute, and an inexperienced housewife walking into a
butcher’s shop will be puzzled to know exactly how red, what tinge
of purple, what proportion of fat, and what thickness of gristle she
is to be prepared to expect. It is for each woman to decide whether
she will choose her own meat or leave it to the butcher’s choosing.
At any rate, the butcher will do his part of the bargain better if
he clearly understands that his customer knows good meat from second
rate, and will not overlook shortcomings in quality or weight. The
meat should be weighed frequently, if not invariably, and the butcher
should not be allowed to send more than is ordered, or less than he
charges for. Comparatively few butchers kill their own meat. They
buy at the dead-meat markets such parts of such animals as they have
the best sale for. A first-class butcher in a wealthy neighbourhood,
only buys the best meat and the prime joints; but a butcher in a poor
neighbourhood, with a low-class trade, finds a ready sale for coarser
inferior meat, and in some town slums it seems as though every
animal had at least 6 heads and a corresponding number of internal
arrangements. The coarse meat may be perfectly wholesome; it would
be in a respectable shop; but, being coarse or tough, it commands
a much less price in the wholesale market, the sales at which, and
the ruling prices, are quoted constantly in the daily papers. The
price given is at per stone of 8 lb. Retail buyers can often make an
excellent bargain in the meat markets, either by arranging with a
salesman to have a certain quantity delivered once or twice a week,
or by going to the market themselves. On a Saturday night, or on any
night in bad keeping weather, meat of all kinds can often be bought
at much less than its usual price. Against this has to be set the
trouble, the value of the time, the railway fare, and the possibility
of an inexperienced person being taken in.

Beef is no doubt the cheapest meat to buy. It is most satisfying, and
there is least bone. The prime joints of beef, and the leg and loin
of mutton are usually about the same price, and in these there is
not much difference; but the cheaper joints of mutton are very bony,
while the cheaper joints o£ beef can be quite solid meat with no bone
at all. These solid pieces of beef are what economical people should
buy, instead of ribs and sirloins, and rump, for every day household
use. They are far less fat than the more expensive joints, and
therefore they waste less in cutting at table as well as in cooking.
Ribs of beef cut to greater advantage for a large party if the bone
is taken out and the meat rolled. The cheaper joints are the thick
flank, “leg of mutton piece” (part of the shoulder), the shin, clod,
and sticking piece. Of these the last three are only fit for stewing
or braising, as the meat is tough, though it is wholesome and
nourishing. It is very suitable for economical pies and puddings, but
needs separate stewing first. Of mutton the leg is most economical,
though the shoulder is generally lower in price. Breasts of mutton
are sometimes sold at a very low price, and may then be cheap for
stewing or braising. On the whole, the fillet is probably the most
economical joint of roasting veal; the breast is better fitted for
stewing, but it should be considerably lower in price than the leaner
and less bony joints.

_Fish._--Cod is now at its cheapest; soles, more or less in season
all the year; lemon soles, which are rather less round in shape,
less firm in texture, and about half the price of the black soles;
haddocks, skate, conger, hake, herrings, plaice, ling, all of which
are among the cheapest of fish; whiting, halibut, oysters, lobsters,
crabs, shrimps; with shell-fish, such as winkles, whelks, and
mussels, all are in season. Turbot, smelts, brill, flounders, and sea
bream, red and grey mullet, are also to be recommended. Rhine salmon
puts in an appearance this month, and, taken in conjunction with
early cucumber, is delicious in flavour if extravagant in cost.

_Game and Poultry._--Turkey is never better than at this season;
but we may recommend our readers, if they wish to taste turkey in
perfection, to eschew the larger specimens, and pin their faith on a
hen turkey of 7-9 lb. in weight. Among birds eaten with the trail,
the golden plover is perhaps one of the best when skilfully dressed,
either as a roast or _en salmis_. Larks, excellent either roasted,
_en caisses_, or as an adjunct to rump-steak pudding, are also
abundant; while from America are imported the savoury pinnated grouse
and succulent canvas-back duck--not to be eaten except with currant
jelly and celery salad. Grouse went out in December, but there remain
fowls, chickens, geese, pheasants, partridges, wild ducks, hares,
rabbits, capercailzies, snipe, and woodcock.

_Vegetables._--Broccoli, cabbage, savoys, spinach, Scotch kale,
and sprouts for green; the green part of leeks is also useful as a
garnish. Celery, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, and turnips for
white vegetables. Lettuce, endive, beetroot, cresses, and forced
cucumbers for salad. Potatoes can be bought at 50_s._ to 60_s._ a
ton, according to size and quality. There is no economy in buying
very small potatoes, as even at a low price, they are dear in the
long run. Small consumers will find it more economical to buy by
the sack of 168 lb. or the bushel of 56 lb. They should be kept in
the dark and covered so that frost cannot reach them. Every week
until new potatoes come in, the old ones grow dearer, and it is more
difficult to get them good. A rough skin is said to indicate a mealy
potato, and a smooth skin a waxy one; but that is not a sure guide,
and the best way is to boil a sample and watch the result. There
are few potatoes that cannot be made good by appropriate cooking,
but some are good anyhow. Salsify--better known and appreciated in
France and in America than in this country--an excellent vegetable,
susceptible of varied treatment at the hands of a skilful cook--is
also to be obtained.

_Fruit._--Not now very plentiful. American apples, by the lb. or
barrel, can be had in plenty, but they are not cheap. Apple chips can
be used for all cooking purposes where fresh apples are employed, and
are no doubt the cheapest substitute for fresh fruit. Medlars, pears,
and hothouse grapes are the only home-grown fruits. American grapes,
sent over in barrels of sawdust, and oranges are so familiar that we
almost forget they are foreign. This is pre-eminently the season for
dried and crystallised fruits of all kinds. Old raisins (which can,
of course, be bought at a much cheaper rate than any new crop) are
better than new for cake and pudding making, as the skins are less
tough, and large cake bakers commonly buy their year’s stock late in
the season.


February.

_Meat._--Beef, mutton, pork, and in a lesser degree veal are all
in season, and lamb begins to appear frequently on our tables; but
neither lamb nor veal has yet attained its highest flavour.

_Fish._--Turbot and brill are still seasonable, and are much alike,
though turbot is considered the better, and is the dearer of the two.
The flesh should have a yellowish tinge, and these, like all other
flat fish, should be preferred when they are thick in proportion to
their size. Turbot keeps well for a few days, and should be hung up
by its tail, not laid flat. Other fish are still in season that were
in the markets last month. The lists of the London fish markets give
the following names: Soles, plaice, sturgeon, eels, conger, skate,
haddocks, sprats, halibut, herrings, whiting, mackerel, hake, roker,
coal fish, smelts. As much fish is caught and brought to London that
should be left in the sea, it does not follow that all the prices
quoted are of fish in full season. There are names in the list quite
unfamiliar to some readers, but there is not one that does not
belong to a fish that, good of its kind and well cooked, is fit to
set before any one. We often should fare better and save money if we
lengthened our list. Codfish, haddock, plaice, flounders, and the
ever-welcome sole are in fine condition, but herrings and mackerel
are not to be recommended. Smelts, whitings, and red mullet are still
in season. Of late years the conger-eel has taken up a position
formerly denied to him, and although in bad odour, on account of his
cheapness, he is not a bad fish when carefully dressed, and, above
all things, makes an excellent soup. Shell-fish are scarce, dear,
and--with the exception of oysters--are not so good as later in the
season. Salmon is never finer than during this month.

_Game and Poultry._--Game is on the wane. Grouse, pheasant, and
partridge are over, and game imported from the forests of Norway and
the prairies of Illinois but inadequately fills the place of our
home-grown birds. In default of these come swimming and wading fowl,
woodcock, snipe, and golden plover. Wild duck holds its own, and
always presents an appetising morsel. Of all Lenten fowl, the curlew
holds the chiefest place, and affords an admirable dish either as a
roast or _en salmis_. The godwit is also an excellent bird. Larks are
to be had, and, in default of ortolans, are agreeable if diminutive.
Hares are still to the fore, and rabbit is to be obtained, and may be
roasted, smothered in onions, or best of all exhibited in a curry.

Barndoor poultry waxes scarce and dear. Turkeys no longer abound as
at Christmas, and guinea-fowl are found the best substitute. Spring
chickens present but a diminutive appearance, while geese and ducks
are becoming rare.

_Vegetables._--Seakale and rhubarb can be added to the list of
vegetables, but they are still costly, though before the end of the
month forced rhubarb will be common.

_Fruit._--Oranges are now at the lowest prices, and very plentiful.
It is a time of year when bottled and tinned fruits are in great
request, both for dessert and for cooking.

Apples, with the exception of the _reinette_ and other varieties of
russets, are becoming scarce. France and America, however, send us
lady-apples, and a few choice pippens, such as the famous Newtown
variety.

_Breadstuffs._--Good flour should have a very slight yellow tinge,
should not feel gritty between the fingers, and it should be
adherent, so that a handful pressed together retain its shape. There
should be no mouldy smell nor acid taste. The best test of all is
to bake a loaf of bread, always granted that the character of the
flour is not to be held liable for shortcomings of cook or yeast.
The very fine and white pastry flour makes the best-looking and
also delicious-tasting bread, and is much to be preferred for puff
paste and rolls; but for family use seconds flour and seconds bread
is better, for not only is it cheaper, but it is more nourishing,
because it contains less starch and a larger proportion of bone and
flesh forming material. Rice is added in making bread, sometimes
because it is cheaper than flour, at other times because it retains
water. Bread made so is heavier and of closer texture. Potatoes are
used only in small quantity, to assist the action of the yeast. Alum
enables flour to be used that without it could not make passable
bread.

As it cools, bread begins to lose weight. This may be stopped by
throwing a thick cloth over the loaves, but the crust thereby
becomes heavy. No private person would need to do this, but as
household bread is sold by weight, and every customer may demand a
full 4 lb. to each quartern, or 2 lb. to an ordinary loaf, it is
sometimes in the baker’s interest to do so. When bread is left at the
house it is not customary to weigh it, but the humbler housekeepers
who fetch their bread take care to have a slice thrown in as
makeweight if the scale does not turn at 2 lb. or 4 lb. Fancy bread
is never sold by weight.

It is customary to allow about 1 lb. baker’s bread a day for each
person. Two people would eat a half-quartern loaf between them. Of
course, individual appetites vary, and if there is great abundance
of other food, the bread bill may be diminished; but (though, of
course, there should be no idea of stinting the supply) 1 lb. a day
is an ample allowance, and if more is consumed there is probably some
waste going on, new loaves being begun before the old are finished,
and pieces of bread thrown into the dustbin or hog-tub. This is as
unnecessary as it is undesirable. Half a stale loaf can be made fresh
by warming it through in the oven. Slices of bread should not be cut
till they are needed; but if they are cut, they can be made into
puddings or fritters for the nursery tea or kitchen supper, much more
popular and wholesome, and no more costly, than the monotonous bread
and butter and bread and cheese. Smaller pieces can be dried and
pounded for cutlets or fish; soaked in cold water or milk, they come
in for rissoles and stuffing.


March.

_Meat._--Pork is not seasonable in hot weather, and is not often seen
on table after this month. Beef, mutton, and veal are obtainable as
usual, and lamb can also be had, though it will be dear for a few
weeks yet.

_Fish._--Slightly salted and smoked haddocks are consumed in enormous
quantities in London. Fresh or smoked, they are always a low-priced
fish. There is not much to be remembered in choosing such fish,
except that they should be large and thick; the smaller ones are all
bone and skin. They should be scalded to draw out the salt and to
make them soft, a preliminary to cooking that is often forgotten.

Perhaps nothing varies in quality and price so much as fish.
It must be in season, as it is always tasteless and insipid,
sometimes actually unwholesome, at other times. Fish out of season
should not be bought, however cheap it seems to be. It is always
in best condition just before spawning, when it is filled with
roe. Afterwards it loses the store of fat, and becomes poor and
watery. It must be fresh, and this is not easy of detection to
the inexperienced. The smell is a guide; but fish kept on ice may
not smell disagreeably, yet it may have been a long time out of
the water, and as soon as it is taken from the ice it will begin
to decompose, and in a few hours of warm weather will be quite
uneatable. It should be bright and red about the gills and eyes, not
dull and brown; but this also is an appearance that the fishmongers
know how to give the fish long after nature has taken it away. It
should not have been knocked about or bruised; the scales should be
all there. A large fish is usually to be preferred to a small one,
provided it be not old and coarse fleshed, and consequently tough,
for the small contain a greater proportion of bone. The flesh should,
with some few exceptions, have a bluish tinge when freshly cut. It
should be firm, though not tough; but the firmness has something to
do with good cookery. Salt enough to make the water like weak brine,
or a little vinegar, tends to make the flesh of boiled fish firm.

In choosing any shell-fish, the great thing to be considered is
the weight in proportion to size. The heavier they are the better;
the lighter fish are apt to be watery. Of lobsters choose those
with broadest tails. The very large lobsters, hoary with white
incrustations on the shell, are often old and tough.

Cod is a winter fish, flourishing best in the coldest waters.
Whitebait is brought into town each afternoon for the late dinners
of fashionable London, as it loses its freshness even in a few hours,
especially when the warm weather of June and July comes. Smelts when
fresh are brown on the back and silvery-looking. They are not so
plentiful now as in late autumn.

Monday is a dangerous day to go marketing, because perishable goods
may have been kept from the Saturday before. For the same reason, on
Saturday night fish may often be bought very cheap, because, though
it is perfectly good at the time, it will not keep for 36 hours.

All oily fish must be perfectly fresh, and they do not generally keep
long or well. Salmon trout, for instance, is said never to be eaten
in perfection except by the fisherman, and many cases of poisoning
with mackerel have been sufficiently severe to be noticed in the
papers, while mild cases of discomfort due to that cause are known to
every one. Mackerel lives but a very little time after it is taken
out of the water. There are two mackerel fisheries, one in the spring
and one in the autumn, and the fish are sometimes sold even in London
at a very low price; in the fishing villages a score or more can be
bought for a shilling. Nothing like this price is to be met with
in town, but yet they are among the cheapest foods as soon as the
fishing boats are in full work; and tons will be sold this month and
next from barrows in the streets, often excellent fish, though they
cost about a quarter of what we pay at the fishmonger’s. It should be
bright and silvery looking, not bruised about the head.

Of salmon, it is usual to allow about ½ lb. for each person, if
a handsome piece is wanted for boiling; less will do if a large
party is to be provided for, but more is needed for a dinner of 2
or 3 persons. The middle of the fish costs more than the head and
shoulders, and the tail less than either. Salmon goes farther than
most kinds of fish, but only very seldom is it a cheap food. A curdy
appearance between the flakes generally denotes a good fish. Turbot
and the smaller species of the same genus are in prime condition.
Brill is an admirable fish when chicken-turbot is not to be had.
Soles are firm and white as ever. Salmon, now in splendid condition,
has to endure the rivalry of the dainty trout. Towards the end of
the present month shad begin to ascend the Severn and some of the
rivers of France. This delicate fish is never better than when simply
grilled. Eels are now in season, and may be served either as a stew,
a spatchcock, or _à la tartare_.

_Game and Poultry._--Goslings are to be found, and in the opinion of
many are much more agreeable in their youthful beauty than in the
mature and adipose condition of stubble-fed geese. Guinea-fowl are
always good, great and small, and perhaps are best when nipped in the
bud as mere eggs--a delicious morsel to a delicate palate.

Very little game is to be had, and that little consists, besides
hares, of aquatic birds, woodcock, snipe, plover, widgeon, and teal,
together with curlew.

_Vegetables._--The vegetable market shows signs of spring. Forced
cucumbers appear to keep salmon company. Spring salads take the place
of winter. Artichokes from France are tolerably plentiful, and that
excellent vegetable--sorrel, which forms such an agreeable addition
to shad or to a _fricandeau_, is to be seen in our markets, although
at present it finds but little favour in the sight of English cooks.
Covent Garden imports sweet potatoes for the benefit of American
customers, and custard-apples from the island of Madeira. New
potatoes, carrots, turnips and parsnips are more abundant than in the
preceding month. Portugal sends green peas, and imported asparagus
becomes less costly.

_Fruit._--We should be badly off for fruit if it were not for
oranges, which are actually cheaper than English apples in the apple
season. Now is the time to make marmalade, as Seville oranges are
plentiful. If oranges or any other fresh fruit have to be kept, they
should be in the dark, and laid on wood, not on a plate or dish. It
is better to put them in rows, and not heap them up. Grapes are still
in the market, flanked by apples and pears of the most durable kinds,
and early strawberries.


April.

_Meat._--Grass lamb is the meat of the season.

_Fish._--Whitebait is a choice natural product. It is supposed that
this delicious fish can only be obtained, either “plain,” “devilled
black,” or “devilled red,” in true perfection at those excellent
hostelries which by its means have attained celebrity. No greater
mistake exists. It is within the power of every gentleman to have as
good whitebait at his own table as he can obtain elsewhere. Fresh
bait, ample flouring, and boiling--absolutely boiling--lard will
solve the problem in the most satisfactory manner.

Salmon is getting cheaper--if not better--and plump chicken-turbot is
still in. The gigantic but rather coarse halibut remains, with plaice
and flounder. Dainty brook-trout and larger specimens of the same
genus, from the Irish lakes, present an agreeable spectacle; while
the gurnet is in great force. Whiting is yet in season, but mackerel
and herring are better later on. Oysters take their leave.

_Game and Poultry._--Spring chickens, ducklings, goslings, and
guinea-fowl but feebly replace the juicy birds of the autumn and
winter months.

_Vegetables._--Among the prime vegetables of the month asparagus
holds the chiefest place, and is always delicious. To those who
have not yet tasted it we may recommend cold asparagus, with plain
salad-dressing, as a breakfast dish without a peer. Green peas, early
French beans, seakale, sorrel, spinach, succulent mushrooms, early
carrots, and baby turnips are plentiful.

_Fruit._--Pines, melons, oranges, hothouse grapes, peaches,
nectarines and strawberries, and a few durable apples and pears
apart--fruit is scarce; but delicious tarts can be made of green
peaches and apricots.


May.

_Meat._--Veal and lamb are in full season, and sweetbreads are in
great request. As the supply is always limited, butchers not seldom
try to pass off bullock’s sweetbread--i.e. the pancreatic gland--on
their customers. True sweetbread is a gland in the neck of the young
animal only. This should not be tolerated, as bullock’s sweetbread
is coarse-flavoured and hard, and needs long and careful washing
and cooking before it comes to table. It can, however, be made very
palatable with care, and is occasionally worth buying as a change,
under its rightful name, and at a legitimate price. Brains parboiled
in salt and water to harden them are another good substitute for
sweetbreads, and offer one more change from the perpetual joint and
fowls that are on every table.

_Game and Poultry._--A young fowl has large feet, knees, and neck
in proportion to its size, and its thighs look white or pinkish. An
old one has thin, scraggy legs and purplish tinge on its thighs; the
scales look hard and horny, and often there are long hairs on the
skin. If the beak is on, it should be soft, and so with the breast
bone, which is frequently broken by the poulterer to give the bird
a plump appearance. The length and size of the claws is another
indication of age; the size is little or no guide, as that depends on
the variety and the feeding. The small-boned, short-legged varieties
are generally said to be the best. A very fat bird is to be avoided,
for it wastes much in cooking, and even what remains of the fat
cannot be eaten. Birds that are kept in the dark and crammed previous
to killing become very fat, but the flesh loses flavour and firmness,
and they are far inferior to barndoor fowls. Cleanliness is also
essential to the production of a well-flavoured fowl; the same may be
said of ducks, now as ducklings to be eaten with the earliest green
peas. Full-grown ducks are better in late summer or autumn. Their age
can be judged from the appearance of the feet, and by the pliability
of the bill. The down that covers them may be an indication of
youth, but it may also be put on by the poulterer with a sprinkling
of gum.

Chickens, turkey poults, ducklings, goslings, and guinea-fowl dispute
supremacy, but very little is to be said for any of them. The pigeon
is possibly the best bird procurable during May. Plover’s egg, always
delicious, even when eaten under difficulties, seems to gain in
beauty when presented in the form of an aspic.

_Fish._--May is the true mackerel month. The herring too puts in an
appearance during the month of May, and is a thoroughly delicate
fish. The only valid accusation against the herring is on account of
his innumerable bones, but this is not the true reason of his being
voted unfashionable. Unfortunately, the herring is too cheap, and,
in consequence of this defect, is in the habit of haunting vulgar
localities, and thus excluding himself from the refined society that
he is so well qualified to exhilarate.

Whiting and smelts still appear, but are practically superseded by
whitebait. The Salmonidæ are in grand condition. Salmon, salmon
trout, lake and brook trout prevail on our dinner-tables; but the
most delicate member of the entire family is rarely seen. Either from
scarcity, the distance of the lakes from the metropolis, or from some
other cause, the beautiful silvery char seldom reaches London. Small
as he is, he has all the richness of the _salar_, and possesses a
delicacy all his own. Turbot now ceases, and codfish has retired.
Brill, gurnet, soles, plaice, and flounders are in season. Oysters
having departed, other shell-fish improve much in quality. Lobsters
and crabs now lose much of the dryness that is so conspicuous a fault
with them during the winter months.

_Vegetables._--Vegetables are now plentiful and cheap. In warm
seasons that are yet sufficiently damp they grow quickly, and the
fibre is less woody and hard than that of vegetables grown in cold or
dry weather. With the warm weather comes the difficulty of transport,
but it is not yet so great as in July and August, when the plants
are full of sap and ferment quickly under a hot sun. Gardeners
have a habit of keeping vegetables for a few hours in a hot bed or
greenhouse before sending them to the kitchen. They have some idea
that it improves the quality--an idea that is wholly erroneous, and
should be combated. Potatoes are often laid in the sun for a few
hours to dry, but they should never be allowed to lie long enough
for fermentation to set in. All withered vegetables should have the
stalks freshly cut, and the ends should then be put in a bowl of
water, just as withered flowers would be treated. Through the stalks
they suck up water enough to fill their shrunken cells, and make
them green and stiff once more, but to plunge the entire plant under
water is a mistake, and after a few hours of such treatment the water
is often perceptibly warm, and the leaves bruised and decaying. Of
course this does not apply to washing vegetables and salads, which
cannot be too thorough and complete, especially of the vegetables
that many housekeepers buy off barrows in the streets.

Asparagus is now in great perfection, and green peas wait upon the
insipid duckling. Unless young, quickly grown, freshly gathered, and
properly cooked, green peas are apt to be a failure, and when four
important conditions have to be fulfilled the chances are naturally
against success. Summer cabbages, cauliflowers, spinach, young
carrots, turnips, and potatoes are all to the fore; nor do salads
fail to keep pace with these, as cabbage, lettuce, summer endive, and
corn-salad are to be had in profusion.

_Fruit._--The weak point of May is fruit, as almost the only good
fruit that can be obtained at a reasonable price is the orange.
Strawberries are to be bought for money, but in this instance the
open-air-grown fruit is far preferable to the productions of the
hothouse.


June.

_Meat._--Lamb is now in fine condition, and, besides the ever-welcome
fore-quarter, supplies admirable material for entrées of various
kinds. Lamb’s head, either baked and served upon a mince or stewed
with green peas, will always find legions of admirers.

On the subject of veal mankind is by no means so unanimous as on that
of lamb, and in this country especially veal is generally denounced
as unwholesome. Although it is unfortunately the custom to allow
calves to grow unreasonably large before the day of sacrifice, and
to compensate the loss of whiteness by phlebotomy, thereby losing
much of the tenderness and succulence of the meat, veal is after
all one of the most valuable materials for the production of dainty
dishes. Calf’s head is susceptible of various treatment and the ears
are esteemed choice morsels. Tongue, liver, sweetbread and feet have
their several admirers. Breast of veal, either stuffed or curried,
is a good dish, and so is the _fricandeau_ well larded and served
with mushrooms, peas, spinach, or--best of all--with sorrel. To
the various forms of _paupiettes_, _escalopes_ and cutlets there
is verily no end, and to sum up its qualifications, veal makes an
excellent roast. This latter remark, however, applies only to the
loin. The huge mass called in English fillet of veal is one of the
most tasteless and barbarous of joints.

Buck venison is in season from the middle of this month until
September. It is one of those delicacies of the table that is not
very often bought in the open market, and no one looks a gift horse
in the mouth. Lean venison is scarcely worth eating, and is often
sold at a very small price; the fat should be thick and abundant,
clear and bright looking; the hoof smooth and close. In cool weather
a haunch may hang for a fortnight, and it should be kept perfectly
dry by wiping with cloths. Tastes, however, differ greatly as to the
length of time that venison should be hung, and indeed “high” meat or
game is actually in a state of decomposition, and it has been known
to produce symptoms of poisoning in persons unaccustomed to its use.
It begins first to decompose near the bone, and its state can best be
ascertained by running a skewer into the middle of the joint.

_Fish._--Lobster, whiting, trout, eels, and salmon, continue in
season. The tiny Thames flounder is exceedingly sweet in flavour, and
although lacking the firmness of the sole has peculiar merit of its
own, either accommodated in _sootje_, or fried in perfect style.

_Game and Poultry._--Goslings and half-grown geese--called in many
country places green geese--are in season from now to September. The
29th of that month is a fixed date when every one knows that geese
are in season to continue so until early spring. Ducks have no such
date in their history; and, beginning in April or May as ducklings
at a high price, they grow larger and cheaper all through the summer
until the decline and disappearance of green peas. The age of both
these birds may be guessed from the toughness of pinion, beak, and
feet; from the deep orange or red colour of the feet of an old goose,
those of a young bird being yellow; from the downy appearance of the
feathers, and the size of the quills. A duck or goose, especially if
not very young, is better for hanging a day or two, but it must not
be in the least high, as the abundant fat would be rank. Rabbits,
that is wild rabbits, are out of season. A few are seen in the shops,
for they are not protected by game laws, but careful housekeepers
know better than to buy them. Tame rabbits are fattened for market
all the year round, though it is in winter that they are imported and
sold in largest quantities.

Chickens are larger, and turkey poults assume respectable dimensions;
but the great event of the present month is the advent of quail,
wheatear, and ortolan. These delicious birds are doubly welcome
at the present moment, as they afford inestimable relief from the
insipid sameness of spring banquets. Of all game birds the quail
is the most dainty, and combines in the highest degree delicacy of
texture, beauty of form, and subtle aroma.

It is generally admitted that of all small birds the ortolan is the
best, although some fastidious epicures affect to prefer the becafico
and the reed-bird. Caught in great numbers in the south of France,
ortolans are subjected to a preliminary process of fattening before
the day of doom. Perhaps the most refined method of cooking ortolans
is the traditional one of wrapping them in a vineleaf and simply
roasting them. Johannesberg is the wine of all others which has the
greatest sympathy with the tiny bird of the sunny south. Wheatears
abound on the great South Downs of England, and these plump morsels
may be dealt with in the same fashion as their foreign compeer.

_Eggs._--During spring and early summer eggs are cheap and good.
Those of the plover, turkey, and guinea-hen are exquisite in flavour,
and always command a comparatively high price; but the productions
of the barndoor fowl, the game-fowl, the bantam and Cochin China are
to be obtained at a very moderate price, while the choice vegetables
now in season suggest varieties of omelet but little known to the
English cuisine. Eggs should be put by for winter use during this
month or next. Recipes for preserving them are given on p. 117. Fresh
eggs are not easy things to choose. It is quite easy to distinguish a
distinctly bad egg, because, on holding it to the light, it is seen
to be opaque, and a fresh egg is transparent; but there is no such
visible difference between a new-laid egg and one that is some days
or weeks old. The actual difference consists in the evaporation of
water and its replacement by air, so that at one end there is a large
air bubble in a stale egg. This is often enough to cause a rattling
of the yolk if it is shaken close to the ear. Sometimes the yolk is
seen to be settled on one side. The comparative weight is a sure
test, for the air is lighter than the water, and a stale egg floats
in brine where a fresh one sinks; but the drawback of this test is
that the salt and water are not available in the market. Dissolve 2
oz. kitchen salt in 1 pint water. When a fresh-laid egg is placed
in this solution it will descend to the bottom of the vessel, while
one that has been laid on the day previous will not quite reach the
bottom. If the egg be 3 days old it will swim in the liquid, and if
it be more than 3 days old it will float on the surface, and project
above the latter more and more in proportion as it is older.

_Vegetables._--Green vegetables of all sorts are now at their best.
Green peas, asparagus, summer endive, spinach, and sorrel. New
potatoes are plentiful, and though really inferior to the ripe tuber,
are greatly preferred by many persons pretending to taste.

As is fitting in summer, salads are to be found in great abundance,
and perhaps the best of these is the Cos lettuce; for plain salad or
for _mayonnaise_ of fish or fowl no better basis exists. Lobster,
crab, salmon, trout, sole or chicken _mayonnaises_ form an agreeable
interlude in any repast, and the prevailing fashion of serving a
plain salad with roast meat is both healthful and appetising. In
all salads compounded of Cos lettuce it should never be forgotten
that tarragon vinegar is indispensable, as this pleasant condiment
relieves the flavour of the lettuce in the most agreeable and
refreshing manner.

_Fruit._--At present rhubarb and gooseberries are the only fruits
available for kitchen purposes. Apricots have even descended to
street barrows; they are imported, and of the hard variety generally
used for cooking. By the end of the month we shall be thinking of
jam, and it is not amiss to issue an early warning against the idea
that damaged or over-ripe fruit is good for jam.

Early raspberries, cherries, currants, apricots, peaches and
nectarines are to be obtained, but the strawberry is master of the
situation. Some pretend that the flavour of the wild strawberry is
superior to that of the finest cultivated varieties. Strawberries
make an excellent beginning for the day, and never taste better than
when plucked and eaten at once. One great advantage the strawberry
unquestionably has over other fruits--it may be eaten at any time and
in any quantity “without compunction.”


July.

_Meat._--The fiery temperature of the dog-days renders necessary
some departure from the national system of alimentation. Even the
carnivorous Briton turns aside with weariness, if not absolute
loathing, from huge masses of tough beef and tasteless mutton, and
sighs for a break in the monotony of our insular cuisine. There is
veal it is true, but the fatted calf is not relished by everybody,
and grass lamb, although now in superb condition, has lost the charm
of novelty, and, like salmon, is viewed askant during the torrid days
of July.

Red-deer venison is the flesh of a thoroughly wild animal, and
possesses a high flavour, but is unfortunately not free from a
certain dryness and toughness of fibre, resulting from “too high
training” or superabundance of exercise; while buck venison is a
delicious compromise between the wild flavour of “beasts of venerie”
and the luscious products of artificial feeding.

By many epicures the neck of a fine buck is held in almost equal
estimation with the haunch. Lovers of tit-bits linger affectionately
over a venison fry; this prime delicacy must be ordered of venison
dealers a few days in advance, especially if the weather be very hot.

Large joints--excepting in the case of venison which is readily
convertible into stews and hashes--are not to be recommended, and a
recourse to “kickshaws” is almost unavoidable.

_Game and Poultry._--Entrées of fowl are always dainty and wholesome.
Quail and ortolan still supply the roast, which in this month
receives an important addition in the leveret--the _avant-courier_ of
the game season.

A guinea-fowl well hung is the nearest approach to a pheasant that
the season affords. Then there are turkey poults, green geese, ducks,
wild ducks, wheatears, and plenty of poultry, besides rabbits.

_Fish._--The fish for the month are salmon and salmon trout, which
will not be cheaper or better than now; grey and red mullet, which
was in ancient Rome prized above all fish, and is still thought a
delicacy; prawns, shrimps, crayfish, most often used for soup or
garnish to other fish; mackerel, still abundant, but not so good as
it was some weeks ago; fresh haddocks, conger, whiting, herrings,
eels, soles, plaice, turbot, Thames flounders--the cheapest of flat
fish, and sometimes muddy-flavoured, though a good flounder makes not
a despicable dish. A large number of ling, hake, or white salmon,
coalfish, roker, and other little-known fish find their way to the
less fashionable quarters of London, and are sold at a low price.

At the best tables trout take the place of salmon, while
chicken-turbot and whitebait supply an agreeable variety, and
the much-vilified mussel partly fills up the vacancy left by the
secession of the oyster. The John Dory is now in fine condition, and
yields to no fish in the sea for fineness of texture and delicacy
of flavour. It is unhappily the custom to stuff the Dory with an
over-rich stuffing and serve him with a potent sauce. This treatment
effectually destroys the fine flavour of a fish which requires no
stronger condiment than caper-sauce.

_Vegetables._--Of vegetables we have a great abundance. Green peas
are plentiful and cheap, and the later varieties will keep our tables
supplied for many weeks yet. French beans, said to be in season
when beef is in perfection, broad beans, artichokes, cauliflowers,
cabbage, carrots, marrows, outdoor mushrooms if the weather is
propitious, outdoor cucumbers for the next 10-12 weeks, and salad of
all kinds grown quickly and crisp in summer weather, new potatoes at
their best, all belong to July.

_Fruit._--Walnuts should be ready for pickling at the beginning of
this month. They should be so soft that a pin easily penetrates them.
This is a good time to make all sorts of pickles; but it is cheaper
to buy them than to buy all the materials. Ketchup can be made of the
shell when the walnuts are ripe in September.

What fruit ripens this mouth depends greatly on the part of England
where one looks for it. In the large markets, where much foreign
fruit comes, the seasons are not definitely defined, and all sorts
of fruits are to be found out of their proper season. Much, probably
more than half, of the peaches and nectarines and better kinds of
fruit grown for sale, are grown in houses, or at least with some
protection of glass. Without it they will hardly ripen in the north
of England, and everywhere the uncertainty of spring weather, and the
fatality of a wet frost while the fruit is setting, make the glass
almost a necessity where the crop is raised for profit.

The cry of “cherry ripe” is still familiar, and the subacid fruit is
exceedingly grateful to a parched palate. Strawberries are on the
wane, but raspberries, currants, and gooseberries take their place.
On the good qualities of raspberry and currant tart it is needless to
dilate.


August.

_Game._--The great events for the fashionable and dining world during
the coming month are, no doubt, the commencement of grouse shooting
on the 12th, and of black-cock shooting on the 21st. At one time,
when it was less customary for gentlemen to sell game, a great part
of that sold in shops was obtained in some questionable manner.
Perhaps even now there will be some who do not think of marketing
for grouse, but wait until a present comes from friends at a Scotch
or Yorkshire moor. From whatever source grouse are obtained, the
housekeeper ought to know if they are old or young birds, in order to
avoid the old in case of purchase, and to cook the young and hang the
old in case of gift. It is comparatively easy to distinguish the two
when lying side by side. The undeveloped plumage, the smooth legs,
the short spur are conspicuous. The old birds are usually larger than
the young, and the bones of the pinion and thigh stiffen with age.
They are not so easy to distinguish apart, except by practice. The
old birds not only are improved by longer hanging, but require longer
to cook, so that it is better not to serve old and young on the same
day. Except for this addition, the meat supply remains as for last
month.

_Vegetables._--Some of the summer vegetables are past their best
days, but their place is speedily taken by others. Vegetable marrows
can be cut and hung up for winter use, and French beans are still
tender enough for pickling, though the length of time they will
continue so depends on getting a due proportion of rain with summer
sunshine. In dry seasons vegetables are always stringy and tough.

_Fruit._--Gooseberries, raspberries, and currants will not last the
month out in the warmer parts of England. Even if they are kept from
the birds they drop from the trees as soon as they are perfectly
ripe, and there is so much other fruit that they are not missed.
Strawberries are nearly over, although a few late varieties are
still fit for table. But there is no scarcity of fruit for those who
have money in pocket. The market lists comprise peaches, nectarines,
apricots, greengages, melons, grapes, green figs, early pear and
apples, pine-apples, oranges, lemons.

_Groceries._--With regard to groceries, there are two very distinct
points to be debated. In the present day no hints on marketing are
in any way complete without some consideration of the advantages
and disadvantages connected with retail shops and co-operative
stores. It will be conceded by every one that the stores are not
well adapted for the sale of goods involving great latitude of
choice. Nor, as a rule, have they large trade in articles of an
exceptionally perishable character. Rapidity of distribution is one
of the conveniences that customers at stores have decided they prefer
not to pay for. Housekeepers, as well as servants, who are accustomed
to have a boy to call daily for orders, and return in an hour’s time
with the order, though it be only 6_d._ worth of sugar or 1 lb. of
steak, often have an insuperable objection to the stores. The fact is
that the stores make heavier demands upon their foresight than people
can meet. None of us is so long-sighted in her household arrangements
that she would like to be wholly dependent on the stores. The country
shops exist for the benefit of even the most uncompromising adherents
of the stores, and, that being so, it is just as well to remember
that if no one ever deals with the shops they may some day die of
inanition, and that during a slow decline they must deteriorate. It
is, no doubt, a remembrance of these facts that induces many persons
to deal with local tradesmen, even though they make no tangible
difference in their prices for ready money. And then the competition
of the stores has brought into existence the ready-money shops. Some
are well known to all. There is no reason why they should not sell
as well and as cheaply as the stores if they adhere strictly to the
“no credit” system, if they spend no more than the stores do on
rent in a fashionable neighbourhood, advertisements, ground-floor
space, plate-glass windows, and such unnecessary luxuries. But the
difficulty of enforcing ready-money payment is very great where
the bulk of the customers are weekly wage-earners, liable to be
thrown out of work at any time through ill-health, winter weather,
depression of trade. It would not be necessary to insist on the want
of thrift that makes these people live always on the wages of the
week to come, instead of on the wages of the week gone by, if this
were a habit solely confined to the uneducated classes. But it seems
the ordinary custom of most persons earning limited incomes--and it
is productive of so much misery that the one hint for housekeepers of
all degree needing most to be pressed home is that to make a practice
of paying ready money is the only way to ensure good value, either in
the goods purchased or in comfort gained.


September.

_Meat._--As for the meat market, buck venison goes out, and pork is
again seasonable. It need scarcely be said that fresh pork is eaten
all the year round by a section of the public. All meat ought to be
very cheap. The highest prices for mutton always mean for Southdown,
of which there is only enough to supply a small percentage of
customers. Not a twentieth part of the mutton killed is Southdown,
so that butchers cannot fairly quote the prices given for it as a
justification of exorbitant retail prices of mutton in general.
Southdown sheep carry most of their weight in the hind quarter, and
the Leicester and other coarser sheep are heavier in front, and
this also must be allowed for in quoting market prices, as the fore
quarter is always cheaper than the leg and loin.

Ham must not be too new. The best manufacturers keep their hams for
some months before they send them out; but people in a small way of
business cannot afford to turn over their money so slowly, and it
never would answer to keep cheap hams. If the consumer has no place
to keep them, it is often possible to make arrangements to have
them kept a month or two at the shop. Ham and bacon must be hung up
in a warm but airy place, and they are generally tied in canvas or
paper bags. They are often hung in a kitchen, which does very well
if it is not too warm. There is much fashion and fancy as to choice
of different parts of bacon. The streaky covering of the rib bones,
corresponding to the thin flank of beef and breast of mutton, is
preferred for boiling, and commands a high price, strangely enough,
because that is one of the cheapest parts of other meat. A leaner
part is the back, or part of the gammon. The cheapest is the fore
hock or fore end, for boiling or family use. Part of the thick flank
is very good for boiling. To choose bacon, a knife or skewer should
be run in close to the bone, and, when withdrawn, should have no
strong, rancid smell. The bacon should not have yellow, “rusty”
patches.

_Game and Poultry._--Partridge-shooting begins with the month. Much
the same hints must be given to distinguish old from young as for
grouse. The tough, hard beak is characteristic of last year’s birds;
the under half of the beak breaks or bends if a young bird is held
up by it. There is also in the breast plumage of an old bird a mark
shaped like a horseshoe. They should have dark-coloured bills and
yellowish legs. French partridges, with the beautiful grey and brown
plumage, are not considered so good eating; they are slightly larger.

September witnesses the advent of the stubble-goose in all the glory
of sage and onions and apple-sauce, but many prefer gosling, or
tender adolescent “green” goose, to the plump stubble-fed bird. This
animal must of course be roasted to get rid of his superabundant
fat; but in Ireland a curious dish, called a goose-pie, is often
consumed by the robust inhabitants, and boiled goose is sometimes
eaten in the rural districts.

_Fish._--Net-fishing ended last month, but line-fishing still goes
on. Good takes of herring are reported from the Scotch coast, and
before the month is out the Cornish fishermen will be drawing their
harvest of pilchards from the sea, packing and curing them for
foreign exportation. This yearly exportation of pilchards is one
of the unaccountable food customs of England. We send them to the
Mediterranean, and we import sardines in oil. Sardines are eaten
everywhere, and yet the two fish are so much alike that many persons
believe them to be the same in different stages of growth; and in
appearance and flavour they both strongly resemble herrings, which
are eaten in England far more than any other fish. It is said of
herring, pilchard, and sardine, that if you hold them up by the
dorsal fin, one tilts its head up, the other its tail up, and the
third swings even.

Oysters are again in the market. Small ones with fairly smooth shells
are the best, though it may be advisable to buy the larger and less
delicate fish at a lower price for scalloping or cooking.

In a country admirably supplied with lobsters the tiny crayfish cuts
an insignificant figure, except in the eyes of those who by foreign
travel have become awakened to its rare merit. To be thoroughly
appreciated, the crayfish should be eaten hot, and “accommodated” _à
la bordelaise_.

Among true fishes grey mullet holds the chiefest place during
the present month. This excellent fish may be cooked in various
ways--boiled, broiled, or _au vin blanc_. John Dory holds his
position, but salmon is gone and codfish is hardly yet in season;
turbot and brill are good in September, and the latter fish is no
insignificant rival to the turbot.

_Vegetables._--This month sees many of the winter’s potatoes out
of the ground, and stored in a dry dark place for winter. In
choosing them it should be remembered that large deep eyes cut to
waste. Champions, for instance, are good, but on this account not
economical. A rough-skinned potato is generally floury; but there are
many exceptions to this rule. Small potatoes are seldom economical,
even at a low price, the waste in peeling being so great. The best
way to try them is by cooking a few in various ways.

As the golden tints of summer are succeeded by the brown hues of
autumn, a certain falling off in vegetables begins to make itself
felt; but ripe potatoes, scarlet tomatoes, creamy cauliflowers, and
abundant artichokes console us in some measure for the asparagus,
peas and beans of earlier days. Summer salads are scarce, while
the celery and endive of winter have not yet appeared. Cold cooked
cauliflower makes an excellent salad, and potato salad is well known
in America and in Germany. The comparative cheapness of artichokes
at this season is a strong inducement to indulge in one of the most
delicate of all possible salads. Cut up and served either with plain
salad dressing, or better still with a rich _mayonnaise_, artichoke
bottoms present a delicious dish, and if a little cooked and finely
minced truffle be added, the salad gains much in elegance and flavour.

It is a delusion to suppose that the small button mushrooms are the
only variety worthy of careful cookery. The huge field mushrooms are
excellent when toasted and eaten for breakfast, with a little pepper,
salt, and butter, and a slice of well-made dry toast.

_Fruit._--Stone-fruit of all kinds is to be had in abundance.
Peaches and plums, apples and pears, form the basis of many charming
tarts, pies, and puddings. West Indian pines are to be bought at
a low price, and as the tropical fruit lacks the high flavour of
hothouse fruit, it is perhaps eaten to the best advantage when sliced
and dressed with wine, sugar, and a little orange or lemon juice.
Magnificent melons of all sizes, shapes, and colours, from the huge
green rosy-hearted water melon, and the rocky-looking Dutch variety
to the elegant “cantelupe,” the dainty “nutmeg,” the recherché
“green fleshed,” and the tiny “golden drop.” In this country it is
but too common to regard the melon simply as a dessert fruit, to be
eaten with sugar and accompanied by wine. Eaten in this way the melon
is excellent; but perhaps the true use of the melon, like that of
most fruits, is to form the initial dish of the day. In America it is
customary to begin breakfast with a melon seasoned with pepper and
salt.

The apple crop is commencing in most parts of the country; but winter
apples will not be picked until quite the end of the month.

Buying at the Stores almost necessitates buying in large quantities.
Whether it is wise to do this more than one is compelled must depend
to some extent on the facilities for keeping groceries. If they are
anything tolerable, it will not be amiss to give a large order for
necessaries at the beginning of the month or quarter, when last
month’s earnings or income have just been paid. Some groceries
improve by keeping, as, for instance, candles and soap, which harden
by exposure to the air, and so do not waste in use.

Many others are no worse for keeping. Under this head come all the
groceries that are sent out in air-tight tins and bottles, and
these are also delightfully independent of a bad store-room; and
the greater number of the rest will keep without harm in wood or
earthenware for any reasonable length of time. The things that do
harm with keeping are those that are artificially dried, such as
oatmeal and maize meal, which readily take up moisture from the
surrounding air and turn bitter. Salt, and, to some extent, sugar,
have the same disagreeable absorbent power, but they can easily be
dried, and return to their former condition. Cheese is another thing
that improves with keeping in a damp place, or closely covered; but,
as the process of ripening is really a careful cultivation of mites
and mould, and, as mould is fatal to most food, it is not wise to buy
a store of cheese and keep it in the store-room.

To choose groceries is not always an easy thing. One would need to
qualify for a buyer in the grocery trade to do it well. But a few
hints every one can pick up, and every one will find useful. The
quotations in the daily newspapers will not help us much, for those
paragraphs bristle with trade terms, and are barely intelligible to
the outsider. A grocer selects sugar by the taste and smell; to the
average housekeeper all sugars smell alike. Mites are common in moist
sugar, less so in crystallised, and they may be detected by dropping
a pinch into water; the sugar sinks and the mites float. Presently
the sugar dissolves, and the sediment may fairly be taken for sand or
other adulterant. The profit on the sale of cane sugar has of late
been extremely small; in fact, cane sugar has often during the past
year sold for less than it cost to bring it to England. The chief
adulterant used is grape sugar, which is made from starchy matter.
Grape sugar has much less sweetening power than cane sugar--5 parts
of the former doing the work of 3 of the latter--and it crystallises
with difficulty. The sugar prepared from beet, of which much is used
in England, is cheaper, and therefore it also may be said to be used
as an adulterant, when it is passed off for cane sugar; but the two
sugars nearly resemble one another, and there is no reason to suppose
that beet sugar is unsuitable for preserving. There is, however, this
difference in the two sugars--i.e. that the treacle drained off from
beet sugar has an unpleasant flavour, and so cannot be used as cane
treacle is. Lump sugar and crystallised sugar are least likely to
be adulterated, and are therefore better to buy than ordinary moist
sugar.

Rice is sold under many names. Aracan is the lowest priced, and that
grown in Rangoon is not much dearer. Patna rice is recommended for
curries, because it is said to keep its shape better when boiled,
and occasionally Carolina, which is very large grained, is spoken
of. True Carolina is seldom met with in this country; there is but
a limited supply, and little of that leaves America; selected Patna
does duty under its name. The rice that swells most in cooking is the
best. Rice is like potatoes, and different sorts develop different
tendencies, and need different treatment. Good Rangoon is generally
cheapest for household purposes, and good rice broken is more
advantageous than inferior rice whole. Tapioca used to be an article
of luxury, but is now as cheap as sago, which it strongly resembles
in taste and nourishing power. Corn-flour can always be recommended.
To ensure having a genuine article it is well to order the brand of
an established house.


October.

_Meat._--The grosser viands, supplied by the butcher, are in great
perfection. Beef, mutton, and veal are all to be recommended, and
lamb has been replaced by pork. Esteemed coarse and indigestible by
many, the flesh of youthful swine yet possesses rare merits.

_Game and Poultry._--Pheasants come into the market. Ude says they
should “be eaten when blood runs from the bill, generally 6-7 days.”
Cooked quite fresh, they have not much more flavour than a fowl; but
the time of keeping depends on the weather. In damp, warm weather
nothing keeps long or well. The birds should be plucked just before
cooking; always hung in the feathers. The development of the spur in
the cock bird, and of the wing feathers in both cock and hen, show
the age. The hen is smaller, but generally thought better.

Hares are plentiful. Many are brought from abroad. The average weight
of a hare is about 5-7 lb., but it is not a suitable dish to serve
for a large party, as, except for the slices on either side of the
back, there are no choice morsels to be carved from a hare. There are
few dishes that it is so hard to carve well. An old hare should be
well hung, and jugged rather than roasted. It may be distinguished
from a young one by its size, by the much-spread cleft in the upper
lip, by the rough and blunted claws, and by the comparatively small
size of the knee joints. A hare should hang some time, “better not
paunched or skinned, but if paunched, it should be wiped inside every
day, and sprinkled with pepper and ginger.” Some persons advise that
an old hare should lie for a time in vinegar and water. Vinegar
always has the effect of softening the fibres of meat, and so making
it less tough. It is for this reason that vinegar is often added to
boiled meat or stew.

Rabbits are also very plump and good, and barndoor poultry is
abundant. Capons, ducks, geese, and young turkeys crowd the markets.
By no exercise of the culinary art can the tame duck be made to
rival her wild compeer, but she is nevertheless very toothsome when
“accommodated” _aux olives_.

_Fish._--Among the fishes of the present month may be found John
Dory, grey mullet, and red mullet. During October turbot is very
fine. A sigh of regret must, however, be exhaled over the persistence
of English people in accompanying this delicate fish with the rich
stew popularly known as lobster sauce. _Hollandaise_ sauce and caper
sauce are much to be preferred, for one reason among others, that
they permit the epicure to taste the fried smelts or fried oysters,
with which every turbot should be served.

Smelts, soles, whiting, skate, eels, and the famous Dublin Bay
haddock are now in season; but although codfish is supposed to
be “in” from September to March, the true gourmand will reserve
the pleasure of discussing that magnificent dish--cod’s head and
shoulders with oyster sauce--until at least November. Sea bream, a
fish in good condition during the autumn and winter, only requires
to be properly understood and properly dressed to be thoroughly
appreciated.

_Vegetables._--Potatoes need be covered only when there is fear of
frost; but they must never be exposed to the sun, especially when
they are washed and freed from the particles of earth that cling to
their skins. They should be turned over, and any diseased ones picked
out from time to time.

The common way of buying potatoes is by weight or by measure. Small
consumers almost always buy by weight, but it is not in any way a
good plan. It is dear. 2_d._ a lb. is not an uncommon price; 9_s._ a
bushel is almost unheard of. Last year it was easy to get very fair
potatoes at 1_s._ 6_d._-2_s._ a bushel of 56 lb. There must be few
households where a bushel of potatoes could not be eaten while they
were good, and they would keep very well in a sack at the bottom of
a cupboard, if no better placed offered. In larger quantities they
can be had cheaper than by the bushel. Just as with carrots, or
onions; they are cheapest soon after they are dug out of the ground;
and carrots keep well in any outhouse or cellar that is fairly
dry, stacked a few inches from the ground, and covered when the
frost comes. Per bushel the price is very moderate; but they make a
considerable item in housekeeping expenses when they are bought one
or two at a time from the greengrocer’s stall. Onions are even easier
to keep, for they do not dry up as carrots are apt to dry in the
kitchen cupboard, nor sprout so soon as carrots if they are too damp.

Vegetables are also sold by the sack or by the stone of 8 lb. Local
customs vary much. The actual weights and measures are standard the
same over all the country; but what is sold by weight in one county
is sold by measure in another. One needs be a ready reckoner to
turn pounds into gallons, stones into bushels or sacks, quarts into
pecks. And it is easy to see that a given measure does not contain
the same weight of any two things. A gallon nominally holds ⅛ of a
corn bushel, which is 7 lb. Practically a gallon measure of fruit
may weigh anything over 5½ lb. Sometimes though the measure is
spoken of, the weight is given. Of course, the larger the fruit, the
less advantageous to the purchaser to measure instead of weigh. The
disadvantage may be enough to compensate for the great waste of small
potatoes, small apples, or other fruit.

To pass over the truffle when discussing the luxuries of October
would be an unpardonable omission. The diamonds of the kitchen are
never in more superb condition than at present. On their immense
value, from their faculty of communicating an incomparable flavour to
everything with which they are associated, it is needless to dilate.
France rejoices in no less than 4 species of truffles; and of these
priority of place is universally granted to the black truffle of
Périgord.

Apart from the important position occupied by truffles in sauces,
salads, _farces_, and entrées, the truffle possesses the admirable
faculty of enhancing the flavour of Burgundy about fifty per cent.

With the exception of peas, beans, and asparagus, almost every
vegetable is in season. Artichokes, tomatoes, _aubergines_, cardoons,
cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, and winter spinach may all be had.

_Fruit._--Lovers of fruit may rejoice in late peaches and plums,
early apples and delicious pears. Grapes are also abundant; and the
advent of ripe walnuts is enthusiastically hailed.

Plums can be kept many weeks if wrapped in thin paper and laid singly
on wood. Damsons and bullaces hang through the early frost, and can
be kept through November, laid out on wooden trays. They are besides
the most suitable fruit for bottling and preserving for tarts, and
are greatly in demand, and generally much dearer than cooking plums.

Mulberries and blackberries are plentiful, but the former travel
so ill that they have not much place in the markets. Blackberries
are seldom sold except in country and seaside towns. The American
blackberry, having a larger and fuller-flavoured fruit, and more
serrated leaves, has been introduced into this country, and promises
to be a valuable addition to our list of autumn fruits.

The best way of keeping ripe nuts is in an earthenware crock covered,
in a cellar, where they remain quite moist up to Christmas. Those who
have forgotten to make walnut pickle in July can turn the shells into
good ketchup now.

Chestnuts are generally sent to our markets from abroad, and, there
being little demand for them except as luxuries, they are dear. The
Spanish chestnut grows and ripens well in many parts of England; but
most of the trees are valued chiefly for their ornamental appearance,
it not being worth while to plant trees for the sake of the nut
harvest.


November.

_Fish._--At the head of the fish list is the cod, which has never
quite disappeared from the market, though its season is from November
to March. It is best in cold, frosty weather, and caught in high
latitudes. The Dogger Bank is the fishing ground best known by name,
but there are several different species brought to the London market,
which perhaps accounts for the great variety in the quality of this
fish. A thick head, red gills, bright eyes, flesh bronze-shaded where
it is cut, are all indications of a good and fresh fish. It should
besides be elastic to touch, with a stiff back and tail, which shows
that it is likely to be firm-fleshed. It will crimp only when it is
very fresh. The sound and liver are both esteemed. Cod liver is a
very suitable food to buy for an invalid, if it should happen to be
relished, as it is both nourishing and digestible.

The following are mentioned as fish in season; Barbel, brill, carp,
cod, dace, eels, haddocks, herrings, ling, perch, pike, plaice,
skate, smelt, soles, sprats, tench, whiting, cockles, mussels, crabs,
lobsters, oysters. In this country fresh-water fish do not form an
important article of food. Their excellence depends almost entirely
on the character of the stream in which they are caught. Like all
fresh-water fish, the larger they are the better. Shell-fish are also
among the foods that vary most according to special conditions of
their life. Well-known instances of mussels having proved poisonous
when taken from the copper sheathing of an old pier, and of shrimps
that caused symptoms of poisoning because they were caught at the
outlet of a sewer, have originated a belief that to eat any cheap
shell-fish is dangerous to health. But there seems no foundation for
the belief.

_Meat._--There is nothing new to be said about meat this month. Beef,
mutton, veal, doe venison, pork are in season. Small pork, with a
thin rind, a fair amount of fat, finely-grained lean, and small bones
is to be chosen for roasting; bacon pork is fatter and larger. The
quality of pork depends on the food that has fattened it.

_Game and Poultry._--Birds are never more plentiful than in November.
Partridges, pheasants, grouse, wild duck, teal, plover, dotterel,
woodcock, snipes, widgeon, ducks, geese, turkeys, fowls, are all in
season. The best turkeys are said to be fattened in Norfolk. At any
rate, most persons will agree that those fed and fattened in England
are preferable to those sent from Ireland, France, or Belgium. The
number consumed in England at Christmas is very much greater than the
number fattened in this country. The best indication of youth is the
absence of spur and the smooth skin, soft and silky to touch, which
with age becomes hard and wrinkled. As to plumpness, that may be felt
by the breast and thighs. It is not quite easy to see if a fowl is
plump, for either it has its feathers on or else it is trussed, and
the skill of the poulterer is used to give the bird its best possible
appearance. With this aim it is pressed into a round plump shape, a
thin layer of fat is laid over the breast, known as the leaf, and
supposed to come out of the bird, but quite as often fetched from
the butcher’s shop, and even white down is powdered over and secured
with a little gum. A hairy turkey, with reddish or purplish thighs
and back, is likely to be old, so is one of unusually large size. The
chief attainment of a successful poultry breeder is to get size and
youth together, but it is only the successful who accomplish it.

Partridges and pheasants are much cheaper than last month. It is
no longer quite so easy to distinguish old birds from young, as
the plumage is gradually developing. One sign of youth is that the
penfeathers are pointed in a young, rounded in an old bird. It
happens very often that wild duck, widgeon, teal, and sometimes the
common plover are sold at a very low price in the London markets,
or are hawked about the streets. All these birds are apt to be
coarse-flavoured, rank, and fishy. It is rare that a widgeon is
anything else. Teal is the best of the three, and a good wild duck
is not to be despised. The most of them are caught in the fens of
Lincolnshire, where they abound. All these birds have soft pliable
legs and feet while they are fresh, and the legs very soon dry and
stiffen. They should be eaten as fresh as possible, for keeping only
develops the oily flavour. Of plovers there are two kinds, the golden
and the grey, the latter being the commoner and the former the better
kind. Neither is so commonly seen on fashionable tables as plovers’
eggs, for which, however, the eggs of other semi-aquatic birds are
often substituted.

_Coals._--A few words about coals may not be unacceptable to
some housekeepers. They always last longer if they are kept in a
well-ventilated coal-cellar. Shut up, they give off gas, which helps
forward their speedy consumption, and is also unwholesome to the
inmates of the house. Country people cannot do better than keep the
coals out of doors--that is, if they can so arrange that they are
not likely to be stolen to any large amount. If they are wetted, so
much the better, for they burn slower, and make less dust. By far the
cheapest way is to have a truckload (about 7 tons) direct from the
colliery; in that way they cost several shillings a ton less. The
coalheaver is one of those public functionaries who comes in for a
good share of general abuse. As coals are sold by weight, the most
obvious way of delivering short measure is by wetting them, when a
given bulk weighs more. It is also easy to fill the sacks less than
full. A respectable coal merchant would not lend himself to any such
practices. Of course, with connivance of the servants, it is easy to
deliver any quantity of coals a sack or two short; but that might
equally be said of any other goods. Coke helps much to economise
coal, and should be purchased of the gas company. Briquettes made of
coal-dust are very cheap and most enduring fuel; they are sold by
special agents.


December.

_Meat._--All meats are in their primest condition in this month.

_Game and Poultry._--Barndoor poultry specially challenges attention
during the present month. Deliciously plump, fat, well-fed capons
come from the Eastern counties.

To the enormous turkeys so popular at Christmas-tide we cannot accord
unqualified admiration, as they are terribly apt to be dry and
tasteless--not to say stringy. Smaller turkeys than those in fashion
at the present moment yield a far greater amount of satisfaction.
Perhaps the best way to deal with a turkey of exaggerated dimensions
is to boil and serve it with celery sauce or oyster sauce, both
excellent accompaniments to any kinds of boiled poultry.

Towards the end of the month doe venison puts in an appearance. Hares
and wild rabbits are still very good, and even tame rabbits, when
very fat, are by no means to be despised. Rabbits are often sold
skinned and trussed for table, and in that state they are not so
easy to choose well. The claws should be smooth and sharp, the knee
joints large, the ears soft; when it is old its fur turns grey. If
fresh it will be supple and moist, with a blue tinge on the flesh.
Wild rabbits have more flavour; tame are whiter, fatter, and more
delicate. Fowls, geese, pigeons, teal, turkeys, widgeon, wild duck,
larks, ortolans, partridges, pheasants, plovers, quails, snipe,
woodcock, and swan are all in season just now, and at no time is
there so much choice of birds. Pigeons vary much; to waste and to
fatten is with them only the work of hours. They should not be fully
fledged when they come to table, and the fillets should be bright
red; when old these darken to purple and the legs are thin.

Grouse are getting scarce, and are but feebly replaced by
capercailzie and ptarmigan. Partridges and pheasants are still in
prime condition, and all sorts of water-fowl are in great abundance.
Woodcock and snipe, having had ample time to recuperate after their
migration, are now superbly plump, while to those who cannot afford
such expensive luxuries the golden plover affords a tolerable
substitute. The lark also affords a toothsome morsel.

_Fish._--Codfish is now in its prime; the perennial sole still
appears in many shapes on well-appointed tables; while sturgeon,
turbot, skate, whiting, and the delicious smelt contend for notice.
Red mullet also charms the eye and palate.

_Vegetables._--The vegetable world, albeit less generous than in the
summer months, still affords sufficient luxuries. Brussels sprouts,
spinach, savoys, and Scotch kale, rival in tenderness the excellent
greens so much sought after at Christmas. Carrots are still good;
while cardoons and salsify--a root which has curiously enough, like
cardoons, dropped out of fashion in England--are also to be obtained.
Radishes, endive, and beetroot supply salads, and celery is in prime
condition.

Forced seakale and beans are already in the market. Broccoli,
parsnips, celery, artichokes, turnips, leeks, onions, sorrel, beet,
winter salads, are the commonest vegetables.

_Fruit._--For fresh fruits we have apples and pears home-grown,
and apples, oranges, tomatoes, grapes from abroad, and hothouse
pineapples and melons. In dried fruits the choice is endless.
Raisins, currants, and sultanas are but three names given to many
different kinds of dried grape. They should be plump and moist, and
have few or no stones in their skins. Large cake-makers often pour
boiling water on them to make them swell and look plump in the cake.
The relative prices vary a good deal. As a rule, currants cost less
than raisins or sultanas; but then they are not so nourishing nor
so sweet, and they do not go so far. The best raisins are generally
sold on the stalks for table fruit, and they are to be preferred for
cooking. From raisins one passes by an easy transition to almonds.
Jordan almonds are about double the price of the Valencia, which,
however, serve very well for many purposes. The best are long and
oval-shaped, the commoner kind rounder and flat. Bitter almonds
come from Mogador. Peach nut oil is often used to flavour in their
stead, but should be used with great care, as it is a poison; indeed,
many persons cannot eat anything flavoured with bitter almonds,
even though the flavouring is not at all strong. Green almonds and
pistachio nuts are very much liked by some persons, but they are not
imported in large quantities, possibly because they soon turn rancid.

All kinds of French and Portuguese plums are said to improve by
keeping. The various kinds of tinned fruits have, to some extent,
driven these out of popular favour.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

F. R. Hogg: ‘Indian Notes.’ London. 1880. 5_s._

Dr. R. Riddell: ‘Indian Domestic Economy and Receipt Book, with
Hindustan romanized names; comprising numerous directions for plain
wholesome cookery, both Oriental and English; with much miscellaneous
matter, answering all general purposes of reference connected with
household affairs likely to be immediately required by families,
messes, and private individuals residing at the Presidencies or
out-stations.’ Calcutta and London. 8th edition, 1877. 6_s._

The _Queen_. London, weekly. 6_d._




_THE DINING-ROOM._


=Dietetics.=--The naturally proper introduction to the art of serving
meals is a knowledge of the science of eating. To gain this it is not
necessary to study anatomy, nor physiology, nor even chemistry; it is
sufficient for the ordinary individual to make himself familiar with
the main facts relating to the nutritive and digestive qualities of
the various foods, and to exercise a moderate amount of common sense
in applying the facts to his own particular case.

_Quantity and Quality of Food needed._--The subject has recently been
attacked in very sensible language by Dr. R. M. Hodges, in a paper
read before the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, from whom
much that follows is quoted.

Dr. Hodges remarks that the amount of food required by a healthy
adult will surprise most persons, even those who are good feeders.
While this varies with the work performed, the heat or cold of the
weather, and the condition and quality of the food taken, it has been
estimated that, in the case of a man in health and of average size,
the total daily ration should weigh about 6 lb. 13¼ oz., of which 1
lb. 5¼ oz. consist of dry food substance, the remaining 5½ lb. being
water.

According to Church, under ordinary circumstances a daily ration
should contain something like the following proportions and
quantities of its main ingredients:--

  Water                             5 lb.  8 oz.   320 gr.
  Albuminoids, or flesh-formers     0 lb.  4 oz.   110 gr.
  Starch, sugar, &c.                0 lb. 11 oz.   178 gr.
  Fat                               0 lb.  3 oz.   337 gr.
  Common salt                       0 lb.  0 oz.   325 gr.
  Phosphates, potash, salts, &c.    0 lb.  0 oz.   170 gr.

This might be furnished by a mixed diet of the following foods:--

                             oz.
  Bread                      18     }
  Butter                      1     }
  Milk                        4     }
  Bacon                       2     }   Altogether these quantities
  Potatoes                    8     }   will contain about
  Cabbage                     6     }   1 lb. 5¾ oz. of dry substance,
  Cheese                      3½    }   though they weigh
  Sugar                       1     }   in all 6 lb. 14½ oz.
  Salt                         ¾    }
  Water alone and in tea,           }
    coffee, beer, &c.        66¼    }

It will be seen that the weight of this allotment exceeds by 1 oz.
even when the solid matter contained in beverage is omitted--that of
the analytic table which precedes it. This excess is mainly owing to
the fact that in all articles of food actually used there are small
quantities of matters (cellulose, &c.) which cannot be reckoned as
having a real feeding value. (A. H. Church, ‘Food.’)

Authorities on the subject of diet say that nitrogen is the most
essential of all foods, and that a certain amount--about 316
gr.--should be taken daily by an adult man. If the minimum quantity
of nitrogen (which, for the sake of argument, may be put as low as
250 gr.) be not consumed, the various functions of the body languish,
and a degree of weakness is induced, with greater or less rapidity,
according as the quantity falls much or little below 250 gr. per
diem. But let the consumption drop to an average of only 138 gr.,
which is the smallest amount necessary for the bare maintenance of
life, and in a year or two (not at once, for every body contains
a store of nitrogen) important modifications of the nutritive
processes, with distinct predispositions to disease, will inevitably
be established. (Parkes.)

These results of experimental investigation have a practical
significance. They find expression in the fact that a failure
to consume all the essential elements of full rations, whether
nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous, will sooner or later, as in the
disastrous Irish and Lancashire famines, give rise to a train of
symptoms which have been justly denominated those of “chronic
starvation.”

From the small knowledge of the value of food possessed by
individuals as well as the public, a diminution in its adequate
supply easily escapes attention; loss of appetite is looked upon with
indifference, and the first steps are inadvertently taken toward
a condition which is as full of meaning in the case of a single
person as when a whole community are its subjects. The absence or
the keenness of appetite affords no indication of the amount of
food which the stomach will digest and the body assimilate or an
individual be benefited by swallowing.

The body requires not only to be fed, but filled; and the object of
eating is as often to bring up past arrears as to supply present
demands. Quality of food, with all the heat and force it may contain,
will not make up for quantity, which is required for constructive
and reparative purposes. The constant waste of flesh and blood can
only be compensated for by an equivalent assimilation of actual
materials. Yet, in spite of this self-evident proposition, a large
proportion of the better educated classes of the community readily
deceive themselves and mislead others in regard to the amount of food
necessary for their welfare and nutrition.

From a practice, often beginning in infancy with the common maternal
prejudice against giving solid food at a sufficiently early period
and in adequate amount, persisted in through childhood from an
erroneous idea that “meat once a day” is an ample supply of animal
food, still continued during adolescence, especially in the case of
girls, under the conceit that eating heartily, or “between meals,”
is neither wholesome nor lady-like, a habit of going without enough
sustenance is finally established in adult life which is further
perpetuated and confirmed by a great variety of influences. Among
the more common may be mentioned personal temperament, disturbed
mental conditions, languid indoor life, fatigue and exhaustion,
theoretical dietetic prejudices, fastidiousness as to eatables,
unwise distribution of meals, insufficient variety of food, too
rigid domestic economy, and, pre-eminently, the revived fashion of
tight lacing. These, and a multitude of similar agencies, apart from
pathological derangements, are well-recognised causes of deficient
bodily nourishment and prolific sources of disturbed health,
revealing themselves in deficient weight, “weakness,” anæmia (want
of blood), feeble circulation, neuralgia, cough and throat trouble,
constipation, headache, backache, nausea, and a variety of phenomena,
unconnected with sensible organic alterations, but characterised by
neurotic and functional symptoms easily magnified by the patient and
overtreated by the physician.

As testifying to the widespread ignorance relating to food and
feeding, the following extract may be quoted from the _Medical
Times and Gazette_, May 24, 1884, p. 712:--“At the existing (1884)
International Health Exhibition, London, the ‘Vegetarian Society’
are furnishing a sixpenny dinner to 400-500 people daily. From a
carefully kept account of the substances used for the bill of fare
the following ‘food equivalents’ have been reduced, showing that each
diner receives, of

  Albuminoids                  0·63 oz.
  Fat                          0·44 oz.
  Carbohydrates                3·17 oz.
  Mineral matters              0·09 oz.

Physiologists lay down the standard diet for ordinary labour pretty
much as follows:--

  Albuminoids                  4·2 oz.
  Fat                          1·6 oz.
  Carbohydrates               18·7 oz.
  Mineral matters              1·0 oz.

It appears, therefore, that it would require about six of the
sixpenny dinners to support a man during a day’s hard labour.”

The consequences of an insufficient dietary, says Hodges, are most
frequently exemplified in young people, of both sexes, growing
school children, boys fitting for college, _débutantes_ in society,
young mothers of families, seamstresses, shop girls, &c.; and,
although they also appear at other periods of life, and under other
circumstances than those which have been enumerated, it is during the
years of adolescence that the utilisation of feeding has its supreme
value, and its prophylactic and curative effects, as a therapeutic
method, are most easily obtained. Sir Andrew Clark, Grailly Hewett,
Clifford Allbutt, and others, who have described the ailments which
follow inadequate alimentation, have especially urged the necessity
for greater attention to the question of diet in the bringing up of
families.

The underfed constitute so considerable a class that a large part
of medical practice is devoted to attempts at satisfying their
importunate demands for “something which shall make them feel
better.” To attack with drugs symptoms which are daily regenerated by
starvation is labour in vain, so long as that condition is permitted
to exist. But if the famished tissues of those who say they are not
sick, and there is nothing the matter with them, only that they “do
not feel well,” and “cannot eat,” be permeated with the fat which is
so often loathed in food--if veins be filled with a more bounteous
supply of blood, and if outdoor air be made attainable without
the expenditure of an already slender supply of strength--their
bodily functions will take on renewed vigour and be reanimated from
better life-giving resources, force will be stored up, energy will
be developed, and innumerable discomforts evicted. The futile use
of iron, quinine, bitters, elixirs, and other so-called “tonics,”
either when self-prescribed or methodically directed by physicians,
and the insuccess of medicines, as a rule, to relieve the wearisome
complaints daily listened to from persons whose mode of living is
an injustice to themselves, do not always serve as a reminder that
suitable nutriment, in some form or other, is the only real “tonic,”
and that its methodical consumption can alone relieve the protean
afflictions of many, if not most, of these querulous supplicants.
To say to them in a vague and general way that a nourishing diet
should be taken, and that anxiety and overwork are to be avoided, is
to give weak advice. The most rigid and literal obedience to fixed
and precise rules in regard to the quantity and character of their
food and the times of taking it--in fact, the carrying out of a
process of “stuffing,” practised at short intervals of time, without
regard to appetite and pushed to the stomach’s maximum capacity of
digestion--is necessary to extricate them from their deplorable
situation.

The theoretical standard of a full ration has been given. The
conventional standard, however, is an unsettled one. The statement
that a person eats as much as other members of his or her family may
mean a great deal or nothing, for there are large and small eaters
both by habit as well as by example, and there can be no criterion of
the amount proper to be eaten under given circumstances except that
which is determined by a physician’s judgment. This amount, as has
been said, should not only be specified exactly, but its consumption
ensured, and nothing but precise and positive evidence accepted in
regard to the fulfilment of the specifications given. (R. M. Holmes.)

_Function of Food._--The subject is treated from another point of
view by F. W. Moinet, in a lecture on Food and Work, read before
the Pharmaceutical Society, who observes that as the food we eat
or drink--the latter term applying only to the condition of the
article used whether fluid or solid--is the only source from which
the elements forming the constituents of the body are derived,
it naturally follows that no article of food can satisfy the
requirements of life which fails to comply with this condition. But
as comparatively few articles of food contain all these elements, or
in their proper proportion, it follows that we must combine different
articles of food together to make a satisfactory meal, i.e. a meal
not only sufficient to satisfy the appetite, but also capable of
supplying the different elements required by the tissue to replace
what has been spent on work. Hence the reason and necessity of living
on a varied diet, which experience taught our ancestors long before
the scientific facts on which it is founded were discovered. For
with the exception of milk, which is a perfect food, no ordinary
article of diet contains all the necessary elements. But this is not
only a necessity, but also a great advantage, as our food would be
very apt to pall on our palates were it always the same, so nature
liberally supplies us with a great variety to choose from, which are
nearly equally capable of nourishing the body, and at the same time
suiting different tastes, which to some individuals is a matter of
importance, either from habit or natural peculiarity, still more
valuable to the invalid whose recovery sometimes depends not on
medicine, but on diet.

Another reason of this variety in nature is that all animals and
vegetables are not found to flourish under the same conditions of
climate and soil; hence in different countries the food supply is
often obtained from different sources, plants and animals, especially
the former.

The function of food may be described as twofold:--1st, to afford
material to replace what is spent in labour, physical or mental,
muscular or brain; 2nd, to supply fuel which is spent in force.

A considerable proportion of our food, especially the fatty and
starchy matters, after being digested and assimilated and stored up
in the various tissues, is slowly burnt or oxidised by the oxygen
which has been carried from the lungs by the blood; the fat is
decomposed into carbonic acid and water, which are given off by
the lungs and the kidneys and skin. By this oxidation, or burning,
heat and force are generated to keep up the temperature of the body
and keep the vital functions going, and to supply physical and
mental energy, all the internal and external work of the body being
performed by the combustion of the stored-up fat in the tissue. Hence
the necessity of a regular and constant supply of food to warm the
body, supply mental and physical energy, and repair the waste of
the tissues. This brings us naturally to consider next whether this
twofold function of food is performed by the same or any article
of food. In some cases it is; but as most articles of food do not
contain the substance required in suitable proportion to perform
both these functions, we require to take more than one article of
food to make up what the other lacks, and in this way we get a diet
sufficient to fulfil both these functions. It is for this reason
that articles of food, or their nutritive principle, have been
classified according as they contribute especially to the growth and
nutrition of the body, or to the production of heat and force, into
two great classes:--(_a_) Heat-producers; (_b_) Flesh-formers, or
non-nitrogenised and nitrogenised compounds.

  (_a_) _Heat-producing, or Non-nitrogenised._
                   Sugar          }             { Carbon
                   Starch         } composed of { Hydrogen
                   Gum            }             { Oxygen
                   Oils and Fats  }

  (_b_) _Flesh-forming, or Nitrogenised._
                                                { Carbon
                   Albumen        }             { Hydrogen
                   Gluten         }             { Nitrogen
                   Fibrin         } composed of { Oxygen
                   Casein         }             { Sulphur and
                   Legumin        }             { Phosphorus

Of these compounds those which contain nitrogen are used principally
for building up the muscles, while those which contain no nitrogen
are burnt up in the body to yield heat and force. The flesh-forming
compounds are not obtained solely from animal food, as gluten and
legumin are derived from the vegetable kingdom, from cereals and peas
and beans respectively; while the heat-producers, with the exception
of some oils and fats, are obtained solely from the vegetable
kingdom. So that for perfect health our food must contain sufficient
of both these two classes of compounds to repair the tissues, and
to supply heat and force (the mineral substances being contained in
these compounds, also partly supplied by the water we drink). As
to the relative proportion in which they should be present in our
food, there is no hard and fast line; this would be an impossibility
unless we were to weigh and analyse every article we eat. We judge
by experience what will satisfy the appetite and enable us to
feel up to our work. Besides, it must vary considerably according
to circumstances,--1st, the amount of work or exercise; 2nd, the
climate. Thus physical or bodily exercise compels us to eat more than
when idle, our increased hunger or appetite being nature’s method of
indicating to our minds that our bodies require food to replace what
has been expended in force and to repair the waste of the tissues.
Then the colder the climate more food is required, especially of the
heat-giving varieties, as more will be spent in keeping up the warmth
of the body. Cold is also more conducive to physical work than warm
weather, so that for this reason also more food is required in a cold
climate.

The following table by Dr. Stevenson Macadam gives an idea of the
relative amount of flesh-formers and heat-producers in certain
articles of food, showing the amount of heat-producing elements they
contain for every 10 parts of flesh-formers.

  +----------------+---------------+----------------+
  |                | Flesh-forming.| Heat-producing.|
  |----------------+---------------+----------------+
  | Rice           |      10       |      123       |
  | Potatoes       |      10       |      115       |
  | Barley         |      10       |       57       |
  | Oatmeal        |      10       |       50       |
  | Wheaten Flour  |      10       |       44       |
  | Milk           |      10       |       40       |
  | Fat Pork       |      10       |       30       |
  | Fat Mutton     |      10       |       27       |
  | Beans          |      10       |       22       |
  | Beef           |      10       |       17       |
  | Hare           |      10       |        2       |
  | Veal           |      10       |        1       |
  +----------------+---------------+----------------+

In the tropics, where little exercise can be taken, the waste of
tissues is small, so that little nitrogenous food is required, and
only a moderate amount of fat is taken; the need of heat-producers is
comparatively small, so that starchy products, as millet and rice,
are the principal articles of food. But gradually as we come north
there is a marked increase both in the fatty and nitrogenous articles
of food, until in the Arctic zone oily substances and animal food
are the staple articles of existence, the amount of them that an
Esquimaux will eat being something almost incredible, yet necessary
to resist the severe cold.

The vegetable kingdom alone can supply all that is necessary for
the human body both of flesh-forming and heat-producing substances,
and we must not for a moment imagine that animal food is the only
source of flesh-formers, as the world’s population is supported to a
large extent on vegetable products, especially in tropical regions,
while in colder climates, where vegetable products are hardly to
be obtained, flesh and fat are indispensable. Thus man is clearly
omnivorous; while men may be advantageously almost vegetarians in one
climate, mixed eaters in another (as with us), and almost exclusively
flesh eaters in a third, as in the Arctic regions. But there are some
people who live exclusively on a vegetable diet (vegetarians) in our
country, believing that such a diet is right in principle. Only those
are true vegetarians who exclude milk, butter, eggs and cheese, as
these are the very essence of animal food.

Man is capable of deriving all that is required for living and
working from the animal or vegetable articles of food, either
separately or combined. The question, therefore, is whether a purely
vegetable diet or a mixed diet of vegetable and animal food is the
better suited for our existence. To judge the question we have some
facts to go upon. (1) We are so physically constructed as to be
able to derive our nourishment from both animal and vegetable food.
(2) In the Arctic regions hardly any vegetables are to be obtained.
(3) Man alone has the intelligence to obtain food from all sources,
and, by cooking, to render it fit for nourishment. It apparently
follows, therefore, that while we are suited for either diet, or
rather a combination of both, we may also select to some extent our
diet according to our individual taste, habit of body, and other
circumstances, as work and climate, experience having taught us that
for the enjoyment of good health our diet must be regulated by the
circumstances we have mentioned.

_Nutritive values of Foods._--The following tables, based on those
published by Letheby,[2] show the nutritive values (per lb.) of
various food-stuffs, with their composition.

(_a_) ANIMAL FOOD-STUFFS.

  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+
  |                   |  Value  |     Carbon.    |    Nitrogen.   |
  |                   | per lb. |                |                |
  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+
  |                   |  _d._   | Grains per lb. | Grains per lb. |
  | Butter, fresh     |   16    |       6456     |       --       |
  | Butter, salt      |   12    |       4585     |       --       |
  | Lard              |    9    |       4819     |       --       |
  | Bacon, dry        |    9    |       5987     |       95       |
  | Cheese, cheddar   |    8    |       3344     |      306       |
  | Beef              |    8    |       1854     |      184       |
  | Bacon, green      |    8    |       5426     |       76       |
  | Suet              |    7    |       4710     |       --       |
  | Pork, fat         |    7    |       4113     |      106       |
  | Dripping          |    6    |       5456     |       --       |
  | Mutton            |    5    |       1900     |      189       |
  | Herrings, red     |    4    |       1435     |      217       |
  | Cheese, skim      |    3    |       1947     |      483       |
  | Liver, bullocks’  |    3    |        934     |      204       |
  | White fish        |    2    |        871     |      195       |
  | Milk, new         |    2    |        599     |       44       |
  | Milk, skimmed     |    1    |        438     |       43       |
  | Buttermilk        |     ½   |        387     |       44       |
  | Whey              |     ½   |        154     |       13       |
  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+

(_b_) VEGETABLE FOOD-STUFFS.

  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+
  |                   |  Value  |     Carbon.    |    Nitrogen.   |
  |                   | per lb. |                |                |
  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+
  |                   |   _d._  | Grains per lb. | Grains per lb. |
  | Sugar             |    5    |      2955      |       --       |
  | Cocoa             |    4    |      3934      |      140       |
  | Oatmeal           |    2    |      2831      |      136       |
  | Pearl barley      |    2    |      2660      |       91       |
  | Rice              |    2    |      2732      |       68       |
  | Flour, seconds    |    1½   |      2700      |      116       |
  | Bread, bakers’    |    1½   |      1975      |       88       |
  | Rye meal          |    1¼   |      2693      |       86       |
  | Peas, split       |    1    |      2698      |      248       |
  | Maize meal        |    1    |      3016      |      120       |
  | Barley meal       |    1    |      2563      |       68       |
  | Carrots           |    1    |       508      |       14       |
  | Parsnips          |    1    |       554      |       12       |
  | Beer and porter   |    1    |       274      |        1       |
  | Treacle           |    1    |      2395      |       --       |
  | Potatoes          |    ½    |       769      |       22       |
  | Turnips           |    ½    |       263      |       13       |
  | Vegetables, green |    ½    |       420      |       14       |
  +-------------------+---------+----------------+----------------+

_Digestibility of Foods._--There cannot be the least doubt that in
the matter of digestion no rule holds good for all stomachs alike,
and it is absurd to attempt to lay down a hard and fast line. At
the same time, some idea of the relative period required to digest
various substances may be gained from a study of the published
results of experiments, though one very doubtful element is left
out of the case altogether, namely, the quality of the cooking,
which every one knows influences the digestibility of the food. The
most complete list is that by Dr. Beaumont, from observation of the
process in the stomach of a wounded soldier.

  ------------------------+---------------+-------
         Articles.        | Preparations. | Time.
                          |               | h. m.
  ------------------------+---------------+-------
  Rice                    |   Boiled      |  1.0
  Pigs’ feet, soused      |   Boiled      |  1.0
  Tripe, soused           |   Boiled      |  1.0
  Trout, salmon, fresh    |   Boiled      |  1.30
    ”      ”       ”      |    Fried      |  1.30
  Apples, sweet, mellow   |     Raw       |  1.30
  Venison, steak          |   Broiled     |  1.35
  Sago                    |   Boiled      |  1.45
  Apples, sour, mellow    |     Raw       |  2.0
  Cabbage, with vinegar   |     Raw       |  2.0
  Codfish, cured, dry     |   Boiled      |  2.0
  Eggs, fresh             |     Raw       |  2.0
  Liver, beef, fresh      |   Broiled     |  2.0
  Milk                    |   Boiled      |  2.0
  Tapioca                 |   Boiled      |  2.0
  Milk                    |     Raw       |  2.15
  Turkey, wild            |   Roasted     |  2.18
    ”       ”             |   Boiled      |  2.25
    ”     domesticated    |   Roasted     |  2.30
  Potatoes, Irish         |    Baked      |  2.30
  Parsnips                |   Boiled      |  2.30
  Pig, sucking            |   Roasted     |  2.30
  Meat hashed with        |   Warmed      |  2.30
    vegetables            |               |
  Lamb, fresh             |   Broiled     |  2.30
  Goose                   |   Roasted     |  2.30
  Cake, sponge            |    Baked      |  2.30
  Cabbage-head            |     Raw       |  2.30
  Beans, pod              |   Boiled      |  2.30
  Custard                 |    Baked      |  2.45
  Chicken, full-grown     |  Fricasséed   |  2.45
  Apples, sour, hard      |     Raw       |  2.50
  Oysters, fresh          |     Raw       |  2.55
  Bass, striped, fresh    |   Broiled     |  3.0
  Beef, fresh, lean, rare |   Roasted     |  3.0
    ”   steak             |   Broiled     |  3.0
  Corn-cake               |    Baked      |  3.0
  Dumpling, apple         |   Boiled      |  3.0
  Eggs, fresh             |  Boiled soft  |  3.0
  Mutton, fresh           |   Broiled     |  3.0
  Mutton, fresh           |   Boiled      |  3.0
  Pork, recently salted   |     Raw       |  3.0
  Soup, chicken           |   Boiled      |  3.0
  Oysters, fresh          |   Roasted     |  3.15
  Pork, recently salted   |   Broiled     |  3.15
  Pork, steak             |   Broiled     |  3.15
  Corn-bread              |    Baked      |  3.15
  Mutton, fresh           |   Roasted     |  3.15
  Carrot, orange          |   Boiled      |  3.15
  Sausages, fresh         |   Broiled     |  3.20
  Beef, fresh, lean, dry  |   Roasted     |  3.30
  Bread, wheat, fresh     |    Baked      |  3.30
  Butter                  |   Melted      |  3.30
  Cheese, old, strong     |     Raw       |  3.30
  Eggs, fresh             | Hard boiled   |  3.30
   ”      ”               |    Fried      |  3.30
  Flounder, fresh         |    Fried      |  3.30
  Oysters, fresh          |   Stewed      |  3.30
  Potatoes, Irish         |   Boiled      |  3.30
  Soup, mutton            |   Boiled      |  3.30
    ”   oyster            |   Boiled      |  3.30
  Turnip, flat            |   Boiled      |  3.30
  Beets                   |   Boiled      |  3.45
  Corn, green, and beans  |   Boiled      |  3.45
  Pork, recently salted   |     Raw       |  3.0
  Beef, fresh, lean       |    Fried      |  4.0
  Fowls, domestic         |   Boiled      |  4.0
    ”       ”             |   Roasted     |  4.0
  Veal, fresh             |   Broiled     |  4.0
  Soup, beef, vegetables  |   Boiled      |  4.0
    and bread             |               |
  Salmon, salted          |   Boiled      |  4.0
  Heart, animal           |    Fried      |  4.0
  Beef, old, hard, salted |   Boiled      |  4.15
  Pork, recently salted   |    Fried      |  4.15
  Cabbage, with vinegar   |   Boiled      |  4.30
  Ducks, wild             |   Roasted     |  4.30
  Pork, recently salted   |   Boiled      |  4.30
  Suet, mutton            |   Boiled      |  4.30
  Veal, fresh             |    Fried      |  4.30
  Pork, fat and lean      |   Roasted     |  5.15
  Suet, beef, fresh       |   Boiled      |  5.30
  Tendon                  |   Boiled      |  5.30
  ------------------------+---------------+-------

This may be compared with the following table of precedence in
digestibility of some animal foods, on the authority of Chambers:--

  Sweetbread and Lambs’ Trotters.
  Boiled chicken.
  Venison.
  Lightly Boiled Eggs, New Toasted Cheese.
  Roast Fowl, Turkey, Partridge, and Pheasant.
  Lamb, Wild Duck.
  Oysters, Periwinkles.
  Omelette (?), Tripe (?).
  Boiled Sole, Haddock, Skate, Trout, Perch.
  Tripe and Chitterlings.
  Mutton.
  Roast Beef.
  Boiled Beef.
  Rump Steak.
  Roast Veal.
  Boiled Veal, Rabbit.
  Salmon, Mackerel, Herring, Pilchard, Sprat.
  Hard-boiled and Fried Eggs.
  Wood Pigeon, Hare.
  Tame Pigeon, Tame Duck, Goose.
  Fried Fish.
  Roast and Boiled Pork.
  Heart, Liver, Lights, Milt, and Kidneys of Ox, Swine, and Sheep.
  Lobsters, Shrimps, Prawns.
  Caviare.
  Smoked, Dried, Salt, and Pickled Fish.
  Crab.
  Ripe Old Cheese.

The contradictions are sufficiently glaring.

From some recent experiments by Jessen it would seem that raw meat is
more digestible than cooked, which is perhaps not astonishing when
due allowance is made for the way in which that operation is often
performed. Thus the times required for digestion were:

  Raw beef, shaved fine                        2  hours.
   ”  mutton                                   2    ”
   ”  veal                                     2½   ”
  Boiled beef, half done, shaved fine          2½   ”
  Raw pork                                     3    ”
  Boiled beef, well done, shaved fine          3    ”
  Roast beef, half done, shaved fine           3    ”
  Roast beef, well done, shaved fine           4    ”

Klenze, experimenting on 18 kinds of cheese, found that cheddar was
digested in the shortest time (4 hours), while unripe skim Swiss
cheese required 10 hours for solution. There is no difference in
the digestibility of all sorts of hard cheese, or all soft cheese,
but all fat cheeses are dissolved the most rapidly, because, being
open by reason of the fat, they are the more readily attacked by
the solvent. There is no connection between the digestibility and
the percentage of water present in the cheese, but there is some
connection with the percentage of fat and the degree of ripeness.

_Animal Foods._--There is surely no need to insist on the value of
animal foods. At the same time there can be no doubt of a general
tendency among town dwellers to eat too much meat. Twice a day is
quite often enough for a meat meal, and then it should not form
more than about ⅕ of the whole meal. Fresh fish is an excellent
and wholesome substitute for meat, especially in the case of brain
workers. Cheese is highly nutritious, but digestible only by those
living out of doors; this does not apply, however, to the soft
cream-cheeses. Lard, dripping, butter, and even butterine or bosch,
have great value as heat-producing foods.

_Vegetable Foods._--Few people rightly estimate the true value of
vegetables, apart, that is to say, from the starchy products of the
vegetable kingdom, such as potatoes, sago, rice, &c. Many people
hardly think of eating cabbage or spinach with their meat, yet
there is no more wholesome food as an adjunct to the dinner table.
The same may be said of many other vegetables. On the authority of
the _Medical Record_, asparagus is a strong diuretic, and forms
part of the cure for rheumatic patients at such health resorts as
Aix-les-Bains. Sorrel is cooling, and forms the staple of that
_soupe aux herbes_ which a French lady will order for herself after
a long and tiring journey. Carrots, as containing a quantity of
sugar, are avoided by some people, while others complain of them
as indigestible. With regard to the latter accusation, it may be
remarked, in passing, that it is the yellow core of the carrot that
is difficult of digestion--the outer, a red layer, is tender enough.
In Savoy the peasants have recourse to an infusion of carrots as a
specific for jaundice. The large sweet onion is very rich in those
alkaline elements which counteract the poison of rheumatic gout. If
slowly stewed in weak broth, and eaten with a little Nepaul pepper,
it will be found to be an admirable article of diet for patients of
studious and sedentary habits. The stalks of cauliflower have the
same sort of value, only too often the stalk of a cauliflower is
so ill-boiled and unpalatable that few persons would thank you for
proposing to them to make part of their meal consist of so uninviting
an article. Turnips, in the same way, are often thought to be
indigestible, and better suited for cows and sheep than for delicate
people; but here the fault lies with the cook quite as much as with
the root. The cook boils the turnips badly, and then pours some
butter over it, and the eater of such a dish is sure to be the worst
for it. Try a better way. What shall be said about our lettuces? The
plant has a slight narcotic action, of which a French old woman, like
a French doctor, well knows the value, and when properly cooked is
really very easy of digestion.

_Fruits._--There are few who cannot enjoy fruit in one form or
another. For diabetics only the least desirable kinds, as certain
nuts and almonds, are available, all others, as containing sugar,
being forbidden. Sufferers from acid dyspepsia must select carefully,
and limit their consumption to the least irritating--a few
strawberries or a few grapes. Diarrhœa and dysentery preclude the
use of all fruit. On the other hand, for constipated persons it is
sometimes the only trustworthy remedy which they can use continuously
with comfort; it is also of benefit in renal diseases, by its action
on the bowel. Atonic persons generally take it well, and feel the
better for its digestive property Those in normal health may eat
almost any ripe fruit. The bland varieties are the most wholesome and
nutritious--strawberries, apples, pears, grapes, and gooseberries.
The last named, however, with currants and raspberries, are less
wholesome than the others. Stone-fruits are apt to disagree with
the stomach; but the more watery, as peaches and large plums, are
better than the smaller and drier, as apricots and damsons. The pulp
of oranges renders them heavy. Among other foreign fruits, bananas
are wholesome. Dried fruits and the skin of fruits in general are
indigestible. Nuts, the edible part of which is really the seed,
contain much albumen and some fat in a condensed form, and are
particularly difficult of digestion. Fruit may be taken with a meal
or on an empty stomach. In the former case it promotes digestion by
its gently irritating effect on the mucous membrane of the stomach
and intestine. If an aperient effect be desired, it had better be
taken in the morning before breakfast or between meals. A succulent
and pleasantly acid variety is best for both of these purposes,
while it is also a food. The quantity of fruit which should be
taken depends on the kind. If it belongs to the bland nutritious
class, a healthy person may now and then partake of it as freely
as of any other wholesome food; but he will gain most benefit if
he take only a little, and take it regularly. The same may be said
of the invalid with whom fruit agrees. Cooking removes much of the
acidity from crude fruit, and renders it lighter as well as more
palatable. So treated, it is productive of good and no harm; but it
is a fundamental principle that whatever fruit is eaten uncooked
must be fully ripe and not over-ripe. This may sound trite, and
indeed the principle is commonly admitted, but not, it would seem,
by all, for we still find people, and not a few, who will themselves
deliberately take, and worse, will give to their children, green
gooseberries, green apples, &c., the very hardness of which, apart
from their acid pungency, suggest their unfitness for digestion. Such
people use as food an acid irritant poison, whose necessary action
is to cause excessive intestinal secretion, with more or less of
inflammation. Hence arises diarrhœa. On the other hand, fruit which
is over-ripe, in which fermentation has begun, is a frequent cause
of this disorder, and equally to be avoided, and perhaps also more
difficult to avoid because the insidious beginning of decay is not
easily recognised. It should never be forgotten by any who incline to
follow the season in their feeding, that the want of such precautions
as the above may produce that dysenteric form of diarrhœa, “British
cholera,” which is occasionally as rapidly fatal as the more dreaded
Asiatic type of that disease. (_Brit. Med. Jour._)

_Bread and other Grain Foods._--Arguments on the bread question
threaten to be endless, probably because the champions on both sides
have just enough scientific knowledge to enable them to misstate
the case. The most reasonable review of the whole circumstances is
contained in one of Prof. Church’s papers in _Nature_. He deals first
with variations in composition in the grain itself. These variations,
chiefly affecting the percentage of nitrogen, depend upon hereditary
qualities in different strains of the wheat-plant; upon climate and
season: and, to some extent, but not so largely as is often stated,
upon cultivation, soil, and manure. The hard translucent wheats,
_blés durs et glacés_, are of high specific gravity, about 1·41,
and, owing to their lengthened and wrinkled shape, of low weight per
bushel; these wheats are rich in nitrogen. The soft opaque wheats,
of less specific gravity, about 1·38, and, owing to their rounded
and plump form, of high weight per bushel, are poor in nitrogen.
The hard wheats grown in Poland, in Southern Russia, in Italy, and
in Auvergne, are used in the manufacture of macaroni, vermicelli,
semolina, and pâtés d’Italie. The softer and more starchy wheats
are especially appropriate for the production of fine white flour.
According to the most recent analyses, the percentage of nitrogen in
different varieties and samples of air-dry wheat may range from 1·3
up to 2·5--numbers corresponding to 8·23 and 15·83, respectively, of
gluten or flesh-forming substances. But the same variety of wheat may
give a grain having 3 per cent. more gluten in a bad season than when
matured in a fine summer. More than this, one may select from the
same field, the same plant, or even the same ear, individual grains
which shall show quite as wide a variation in gluten as that just
cited.

Church next considers “how much flour and how much bran will 100
parts of ordinary soft wheat yield on the ordinary system of
low-milling adopted in England?” As the averages from an immense
number of independent estimates we may put down the flour at a
total of 80, the bran at 17, and the loss at 3. Thus, from an
economical point of view, we appear to lose ⅕, or 20 per cent., of
our wheat by submitting it to the numerous treatments involved in
the manufacture of flour. But is this really the case? We think not.
For much of the nitrogen in the rejected parts is not in the form of
flesh-forming matter, and much that does so exist in the bran passes
unaltered and unused through the alimentary canal, because of its
close incorporation with fibre. But on the other side we must not
forget that bone-forming materials are clearly deficient in wheaten
flour, and that those phosphatic compounds present in bran are
readily soluble to a large extent, not only in the several digestive
secretions with which they come in contact in the body, but also in
pure water.

But in comparing and contrasting bread made from flour with that
made from whole wheat, Church considers other points. We shall find
it impossible to make, by means of leaven or yeast, a light spongy
loaf from whole wheat finely ground, the so-called _cerealin_ of
the bran inducing chemical changes which result in a moist, clammy,
dense product. Even whole wheat merely crushed into meal, and not
ground, partakes of the same defect. Fine flour, on the other hand,
yields a bread which is light enough before mastication, but which,
when masticated, possesses a marked tendency to become compacted into
dense lumps which may never become penetrated by the gastric and
intestinal juices, and which are a frequent cause of constipation.
Whole-meal bread cannot be charged with this defect; indeed it acts
medicinally as a laxative, and by reason of its mechanical texture
is hurried rather too quickly along the digestive track, so that the
full virtue of such of its nutrients as are really soluble becomes in
part lost. Yet there is no doubt that for many persons, especially
those who have passed middle age and are engaged in sedentary
occupations, whole wheaten meal in the form of bread, biscuits,
scones, &c., forms an invaluable diet.

The following analysis may present some of the foregoing statements
in a cleared light, and may add some additional particulars of
interest. They represent, so far as a couple of sets of average
results can do so, the percentage composition of ordinary white bread
and of the whole-meal bread made by Hill and Son:--

  ---------------------------------------+--------+--------------
                                         | White. |  Whole meal.
  ---------------------------------------+--------+--------------
     Water                               |  40·0  |     43·5
  [a]Albuminoids or flesh-formers        |   7·0  |  [b]10·5
     Starch, dextrin, and sugar          |  50·7  |     40·6
     Oil and fat                         |   0·6  |      1·6
     Cellulose and lignose               |   0·5  |      1·8
  [c]Ash or mineral matter               |   1·2  |      2·0
  ---------------------------------------+--------+--------------
                                                     (Church.)
      [a] Calculated from total nitrogen present.
      [b] As much as 12·5 in some samples.
      [c] Includes common salt added.

Another writer who has worked out the facts arrives at closely
similar conclusions. He sums up thus:--(_a_) The carbohydrates of
bran are digested by man to but a slight degree. (_b_) The nutritive
salts of the wheat grain are contained chiefly in the bran, and,
therefore, when bread is eaten to the exclusion of other foods, the
kinds of bread which contain these elements are the more valuable.
When, however, as is usually the case, bread is used as an adjunct
to other foods which contain the inorganic nutritive elements, a
white bread offers, weight for weight, more available food than
does one containing bran. (_c_) By far the major portion of the
gluten of wheat exists in the central four-fifths of the grain,
entirely independent of the cells of the fourth bran-layer (the
so-called “gluten cells”). Further, the cells last named, even when
thoroughly cooked, are little if at all affected by passage through
the digestive tract of the healthy adult. (_d_) In an ordinary mixed
diet, the retention of bran in flour is a false economy, as its
presence so quickens peristaltic action as to prevent the complete
digestion and absorption, not only of the proteids present in the
branny food, but also of other foodstuffs ingested at the same
time. (_e_) Inasmuch as in the bran of wheat as ordinarily roughly
removed there is adherent a noteworthy amount of the true gluten of
the endosperm, any process which in the production of wheaten flour
should remove simply the three cortical protective layers of the
grain would yield a flour at once cheaper and more nutritious than
that ordinarily used.

On this same subject the _Lancet_ remarks that bread which contains
all the constituents of the wheat, except the outer, insoluble and
irritating portion of the seed, seems, when the appetite for it has
been obtained, to be more satisfying and digestible than the white
and fashionable product which is found on most tables, of rich and
poor alike. It is believed, too, that for children, the whole meal
is the best for sustaining growth and for building up the skeleton
strongly and in perfect form. The supply of whole-meal bread is now
much facilitated by the improvements that have been introduced in
the decorticated or granulated flour, to which Lady John Manners
called public attention in her paper on Wheat-meal bread. In the
decorticated whole meal the extreme outer coating of the wheat grain
is, by a special process of abrading, to the perfection of which
Dr. Morfit has rendered able service, cleverly removed. After the
abrading process is completed, the whole of the grain is reduced to
a fine flour, in which there is retained all the substances that are
nutritious and digestible. Considering the fact that the whole-meal
bread, when properly manufactured, is easily assimilated, we are led
to the conclusion that it must be more nutritious generally than any
other bread, in which starch predominates.

Oatmeal (Robinson’s for choice) is not adapted for making bread, but
forms an excellent porridge--say 2 handfuls coarse oatmeal, 1½ pint
water, well mixed, boiled ½ hour, and eaten with milk and treacle or
brown sugar. The same may be said of Robinson’s Patent barley, which
is wonderfully nutritious and adapted to youthful stomachs, besides
being excellent in puddings (Keen, Robinson, and Co. are the makers).

Maize contains invaluable ingredients, and the preparation known
as Brown and Polson’s corn-flour cannot be too extensively used,
especially in custards and blancmanges.

_Salt._--The _Lancet_ publishes the following:--“We have received
from a correspondent a letter making some inquiries into the use of
salt, and we are given to understand that among other follies of
the day some indiscreet persons are objecting to the use of salt,
and propose to do without it. Nothing could be more absurd. Common
salt is the most widely distributed substance in the body; it exists
in every fluid and in every solid; and not only is it everywhere
present, but in almost every part it constitutes the largest portion
of the ash when any tissue is burnt. In particular it is a constant
constituent of the blood, and it maintains in it a proportion that
is almost wholly independent of the quantity that is consumed with
the food. The blood will take up so much and no more, however much we
may take with our food; and on the other hand, if none be given, the
blood parts with its natural quantity slowly and unwillingly. Under
ordinary circumstances a healthy man loses daily about twelve grains
by one channel or the other, and if he is to maintain his health that
quantity must be introduced. Common salt is of immense importance
in the processes ministering to the nutrition of the body, for not
only is it the chief salt in the gastric juice, and essential for
the formation of bile, and may hence be reasonably regarded as of
high value in digestion, but it is an important agent in promoting
the processes of diffusion, and therefore of absorption. Direct
experiment has shown that it promotes the decomposition of albumen
in the body, acting probably by increasing the activity of the
transmission of fluids from cell to cell. Nothing can demonstrate its
value better than the fact that if albumen without salt is introduced
into the intestine of an animal no portion of it is absorbed while
it all quickly disappears if salt be added. If any further evidence
were required it would be found in the powerful instinct which impels
animals to obtain salt. Buffaloes will travel for miles to reach
a “salt-lick”; and the value of salt in improving the nutrition
and the aspect of horses and cattle is well known to every farmer.
The popular notion that the use of salt prevents the development
of worms in the intestine has a foundation in fact, for salt is
fatal to the small threadworms, and prevents their reproduction by
improving the general tone and the character of the secretions of
the alimentary canal. The conclusion therefore is obvious that salt,
being wholesome, and indeed necessary, should be taken in moderate
quantities, and that abstention from it is likely to be injurious.”

_Weather._--The weather should govern our diet as much as it does
our clothing. In cold weather we require to enrich our blood and
fatten our bodies. We should then eat heartily of substantial food
and drink milk and cocoa. In hot weather, “the lightest possible
food should be taken, and that in moderation. Very little tea or
coffee, plenty of milk, with fish, and but little meat, and that
well cooked, and a moderate indulgence in iced drinks are indicated.
Spirits and heavy wines are, of course, interdicted. It should be
known that frequent and excessive thirst is often aggravated by
an injudicious consumption of ice. Such extreme thirst will often
be immediately allayed by hot drinks, a fact which has been often
verified. It cannot be too strongly insisted on that over-feeding and
over-drinking (of any fluid whatever) are most pernicious, especially
either before or after prolonged or considerable exertion. The
principal meal of the day should be taken at sunset.” (_Lancet._)

Lightness is the first essential alike in the food and drink taken
in warm weather. There is then less work to be done, less waste
of tissue, less need of the pre-eminently muscle-forming and
heat-producing substances, meat and bread; and fruit, as being both
palatable and easily obtainable, is much in use. Its advantages are
that it provides a seasonable change of diet, light and wholesome if
well chosen, and a palatable tonic and stimulant of digestion with
aperient properties. (_Brit. Med. Jour._)

_Anti-fat Diet._--There is inconceivable folly in the fear of
fatness. We do not for a moment deny that it is possible the
organism may be too heavily packed with adipose tissue, and that the
action of its several parts may be hampered by this encumbrance,
while, as a whole, it is needlessly burdened; but this is a totally
different matter from the fatness against which the fears of the
multitude are for the most part unreasonably directed. There is
not the least physiological connection between the accumulation of
fat and fatty degeneration. As a matter of fact, what is known as
“fatty degeneration” occurs more frequently in those who are lean
than in those who are “fat” in a popular sense. It is therefore a
misconception to suppose that fatness is in itself a disease. It
only becomes morbid when, by mechanical pressure, fat impedes the
functions of the organs, or by weight it unduly burdens the body
so as to exhaust the strength or make too large a demand on the
resources of force and vitality. Unfortunately, the true nature
of the objections to fatness are not explained, and misconception
is rather confirmed than removed by the prevailing mode of urging
arguments against “fat” and in favour of remedies by which it is
proposed to get rid of it. Practically speaking, it is idle to
suppose that fatness can be certainly prevented by dieting. There are
many ways of fat-making, and those persons who have a tendency to its
production will make fat however they are fed--in truth, almost as
rapidly on one class of diet as on another. There are idiosyncrasies
which may in a limited number of instances be taken advantage
of to check the tendency to form fat, but these specialties of
chemico-nutritive function are by no means common; and, speaking
generally, it must be said that, except by starving the body as a
whole, fatness cannot be prevented. The exceptions to this rule are
chiefly such as may be explained on the principle of a special tissue
appetite. Thus, for example, a man whose muscular system has been
healthily developed somewhat in excess of the other parts of his
organism may have what might be called a muscular-tissue appetite
of such voracity that it will, so to say, seize upon the bulk of
the nutriment supplied to the blood, and make muscle regardless of
what may be left for the nutrition of nerves, &c. Such a person
will lose fat without growing thin, so far as muscle is concerned,
by a mere reduction of diet, without reference to the kind of
food cut off, so that the latter do not chance to be essential to
muscle nutrition. In the same way, though with different results,
a “nervous” person, in the popular sense--that is, an individual
whose nervous system is in perpetual activity, working incessantly
and feeding voraciously--may consume so much of the food supplied
for the body as a whole that only nervous tissue is nourished, and
the rest of the body languishes. This is an instance of growing thin
while feeding well, and it is the converse of the process by which,
in another class of persons, growth of muscle persists in spite of
a reduced diet. There are, in this way, persons whose specialty it
is to make adipose tissue, and they will wax fat even when muscles,
nerves, and the higher organisation are relatively in a condition
approaching starvation. These and a score of other matters have to be
taken into account when calculating the probabilities--or rather the
improbabilities--of success in the endeavour to diminish the fatness
of any individual by a system of dieting. As regards the use of drugs
against fats, setting aside such obvious modes as robbing the blood
of its proper nutriment by purging and nauseating, we do not believe
it is practicable to prevent the formation of adipose tissue or even
to promote an elimination of fat by the use of medicines, unless it
be by correcting some error in the chemico-vital processes of the
organic economy, to which a particular remedy may, as a temporary
expedient in here and there a suitable case, be intelligently
directed. Measures against fatness are, from the very necessities of
the enterprise and the conditions under which it must be carried out
in the great majority of instances, predestined to failure. It would
save a deal of disappointment, and a great many incidental injuries
to health might be avoided, if these facts could be more generally
understood; and we think medical practitioners generally may be
fairly asked to state and explain them. (_Lancet._)

_Diet for Night-work._--For night-workers, the best plan includes a
hearty breakfast when they rise, which is generally between 12 and 3
o’clock; some outdoor exercise and relaxation should precede a good
dinner, partaken between 6 and 9 o’clock at night, before beginning
work. If the work is to continue until 4 or 5 o’clock in the
morning, a light but nutritious repast should be eaten shortly after
midnight, in order to fortify the system for labour during the hours
immediately following, when the vital powers are most enfeebled. When
the work is done, and before retiring, a very simple lunch should be
taken in the form of good hot broth or beef tea, or a glass of light
wine and a couple of biscuits. This will generally ensure sleep by
withdrawing blood from the brain, where it has been concentrated by
mental effort. In ordinary cases of sleeplessness, not confirmed by
long-continued habit, a light meal of this kind will generally prove
a remedy.

_Diet for Children._--The great mortality of infants in this country
is due to improper feeding. The following simple rules should be
attended to. If the child can be nursed by the mother, give it
nothing else for six months. If it cannot be so reared, give 1-1½
pint of good milk every day for the first 6 months, and 1½-2½ pints,
with the addition of barley-water, or a teaspoonful or two of corn
flour, till a year old. Take care that the milk is good and the
bottles clean. As it gets its teeth, give it small quantities of more
solid food, but do not indulge it in everything that comes to table.
Growing children require a due proportion of meat.

With regard to condensed milk, it contains much less flesh-forming
material than is generally supposed. Taking four per cent. for
cow’s milk as a fair average, the directions on the can, if followed
out, give unexpected results. For children’s use, we are told to
dilute the condensed milk with 4 or 5 parts of water. Taking the
lowest figure, we should then have 5 parts of diluted condensed milk
which, according to Dr. Stutzer, would only contain 1·76 per cent.
of flesh-formers, instead of 4 per cent., while the milk sugar would
be increased from 4·5 to 10·85 per cent. We know that woman’s milk
contains more sugar than cow’s, but still not in the above surprising
proportions. Now that so much canned milk is used for infants brought
up by hand, it becomes a question how far mothers who cannot suckle
their children are responsible for the health and even lives of their
children by giving them milk from the tin instead of that from the
living animal.

_Diet for underfed Subjects._--The following remarks are derived from
Dr. Hodge’s essay before referred to.

As a stomach may become over-distended and permanently dilated by
long gluttony or by the accumulated ingesta which a slow and feeble
peristalsis refuses to move on, so may it also become contracted from
the habitual want of sufficient victualling, sometimes to such a
degree that the introduction of enough food can only be accomplished
after the gradual dilatation of its receptacle. This may be effected
by increasing the frequency of meals. The custom, common in America,
of leaving a long interval between them is the reverse of that
desirable for those who require extra feeding. The ordinary European
arrangement adopts a system which is worthy of imitation, a “little
and often” being the motto of the eater. It is useless to attempt
too much at one time. The stomach conforms slowly, and rebels at a
certain limit, but a brief respite and a short intermission put it
in a less antagonistic attitude. If, for the reasons given, or from
mere disinclination, 2 meals have been all which the subject under
treatment declares can be “got down,” as is often the case, then 3
must be taken or the time between successive feedings shortened to
2 hours, according to the aggregate amount of nourishment intended
to be given and the readiness with which its forced consumption is
effected. It is an advantage, therefore, that certain periods of the
day, not precisely fixed, but approximate, should be established as
meal times. For instance, before rising, at the usual breakfast hour,
in the middle of the forenoon, at the accustomed luncheon, in the
middle of the afternoon, at the regular dinner, and on going to bed.

It is a common impression that to take food immediately before going
to bed and to sleep is unwise. Such a suggestion is answered by a
reminder that the instinct of animals prompts them to sleep as soon
as they have eaten; and in summer an after-dinner nap, especially
when that meal is taken at midday, is a luxury indulged in by many.
Neither darkness nor season of the year alters the conditions. If
the ordinary hour of the evening meal is 6 or 7 o’clock, and of
the first morning meal 7 or 8 o’clock, an interval of 12 hours, or
more, elapses without food, and for persons whose nutrition is at
fault this is altogether too long a period for fasting. That such an
interval without food is permitted explains many a restless night,
and much of the head and back ache, and the languid, half-rested
condition on rising, which is accompanied by no appetite for
breakfast. This meal itself often dissipates these sensations. It
is, therefore, desirable, if not essential, when nutriment is to
be crowded, that the last thing before going to bed should be the
taking of food. Sleeplessness is often caused by starvation, and a
tumbler of milk, if drunk in the middle of the night, will often
put people to sleep when hypnotics would fail of their purpose. It
should be borne in mind that a full bladder is a frequent cause of
early morning wakefulness. Rising and passing water will often send
restless sleepers back to bed for a refreshing nap, which, without
relief from this source of reflex irritation, would not have occurred.

Food before rising is an equally important expedient. It supplies
strength for bathing and dressing, laborious and wearisome tasks for
the underfed, and is a better morning “pick-me-up” than any hackneyed
“tonic.”

Skilful feeding by a nurse who recognises the art which may be
exhibited in coaxing food into the stomach is often of advantage.
Food thus administered must be introduced in large mouthfuls. Every
gourmet knows how necessary this is for the satisfaction of the
palate, and the correctness of the fact is substantiated by reason
and by analogy. Well-shaped wisely-seasoned, large morsels make a
relishing and appetising mouthful, inviting repetition. In divided
bits they quickly satiate or excite repugnance. By this epicurean
method the stomach is rapidly and persuasively charged with a
sufficient supply of nourishment, as it never can be by the feeble
pickings of an apathetic eater.

In cases where food is urgently called for, its artificial
introduction is an easy and beneficial manœuvre. It does not require
a stomach tube, and has but little resemblance to the procedure
resorted to with the insane. It may be practised with insignificant
discomfort by means of a soft rubber catheter, not exceeding a No. 12
in size, fitted to a small glass funnel, into which the nutriment is
poured, or it may be sent through the tube by a Davidson’s syringe.
The catheter need enter but a short distance into the œsophagus. If
no resistance be offered, the operation can be performed by almost
any one, even by the patient himself. Milk, cream, broth, eggs, and
homogeneous liquids are thus readily deposited, and to the desired
extent, in the stomachs of those disinclined to eat.

The number of females, especially those who “do their own work,”
whose food consists almost wholly of bread and tea is very large. How
inadequately they are nourished is shown by the statement that, in
order to get the required amount of aliment, persons who eat nothing
else must consume about 4 lb. of bread. As this is so much more than
any one can dispose of with comfort, the practice of eating butter
with bread is almost universal. This not only meets the necessity
for a heat-producing, non-nitrogenous food; but the unattractive
character of dry bread as an eatable is compensated for by the
relish of a savoury addition. In proportion as the use of butter is
increased, the requisite quantity of bread may be decreased. To eat
“more butter than bread” should not therefore be the reproach to
growing children which it is often made, and the large amount of the
former which may be profitably disposed of by the underfed, without
“disturbing their stomachs,” is not surprising if the process by
which oleaginous substances are taken into the system is recalled.
“Fat, butter, and oily matter in general require no digestion; the
emulsion into which they are mechanically converted, chiefly by the
pancreatic and duodenal secretions, passes (almost directly) into the
general circulation of the blood.” For reasons similar to those which
make cream and butter such useful articles of diet, and because the
habitual food of insufficient eaters is so lacking in fatty matter,
cod-liver oil has acquired its well-deserved place among therapeutic
and alimentary agents.

The tendency of those whose appetite is deficient to lay great
stress upon their readiness to take food which does not require
mastication makes them willing consumers of soup. And yet of all
articles entering into the common dietary soups are perhaps the most
deceptive, and certainly the most important to discountenance with
the underfed. They fill up the stomach at the expense of solid,
“staying” nourishment, and contain so little in the way of sustenance
that they are therapeutically almost worthless. As a rule they are
but some form of meat tea, and are now known to have a food value
not unlike that which wine would possess, and which they resemble
chemically. “They may have on the system a stimulant action somewhat
analogous to theine. They may render more prompt and efficacious the
assimilation of any wholesome food with which they may be associated,
and they may even give so effective a fillip to an exhausted system
as to enable it to dispense for a time with real food; but it is
clear that they must not be looked to for direct nutrition.”

Broths, however--that is, soups which contain large quantities of
solid matter, disintegrated meat, vegetables, macaroni, vermicelli,
_pâté d’Italie_, rice, barley, sago, tapioca, &c.--are often, and in
proportion to the consistency thus given, excellent alimentation.
They are palatable and easily consumed in considerable quantities
at a time. _Soupe à la Reine purée de gibier_, various vegetable
_purées_, chowder of fish, _bisques_ of oyster, clam, lobster, are
illustrations of the perfection of this kind of cookery. That they
may be what is sometimes called “rich” is no objection. The digestive
powers of the underfed are usually good, though the owners of them
may not think so. They are apt to be active and ravenous, even if the
appetite is not.

The meat from which soup is made, allowed to become cold, should be
compounded to a paste in a mortar, and then returned to the soup.
Veal, pigeon, and rabbit are especially adapted to this procedure.
“French” cooks prefer to make “chicken broth” from rabbit.

Notwithstanding its capacity to digest, there is, invariably,
something repulsive to an insensible stomach in what are
conventionally called “roasted joints.” This antipathy, together with
considerations of convenience as regards the size of portions to
be cooked, makes it almost imperative, for protesting but frequent
eaters, that meats should be either broiled or stewed; and steaks
of various kinds, chops, cutlets, chicken, game, some kinds of
fish, and shell-fish become, therefore, the only really available
resources of the caterer of an ill-ordered appetite. And yet no more
difficult undertaking can be given non-hungry patients than that of
eating beefsteak. Apart from its somewhat uncertain quality, nothing
requires more mastication, and the class named always declare that
there is no item of food of which they are already more “tired.” Any
other variety of meat--mutton, veal, venison, &c.--cooked in the
form of steak is more readily eaten. The short, compact fibre of
mutton chops, especially those from the loin, makes them less likely
than beefsteak to be badly cooked, and far easier to be consumed.
Well-selected, carefully-cut lamb chops, in their proper season, are
a delicacy of the highest order, and rarely fail to be appreciated by
the most benumbed eater.

Meats stewed, or semi-stewed, and then partially browned in the
oven (braised, as it is called in the language of cookery), are
attractive and submissive preparations, and this method of cooking is
an excellent one for purveying small portions of animal food. In the
various forms and denominations of stewing and braising, the _cordon
bleu_ finds scope for the highest aspirations of culinary art.

They impart an appetising flavour to viands cooked to extreme
tenderness, the perfection of these methods being found in their
application to sweetbread--a costly luxury, but an article which, by
its slight demand for mastication and its nutritious qualities, is
peculiarly adapted to the requirements of an invalid eater. Others of
the viscera, besides the pancreas, and the thymus gland--namely, the
brains, the liver, the kidneys, the testicles of lambs, successfully
lend themselves to this process of cookery, and like calves’ heads,
pigs’ feet, and sheep’s tongues, are converted into delicate and
easily-assimilated nutriment for those who are ignorant of, or can
overcome, the associations which they suggest.

Of various mechanical processes available for rendering food
easily eaten, preparatory mincing offers great advantages, and is
particularly applicable to chicken and veal. A common and attractive
method of serving both in the form of minced meat is that of
_croquettes_, which are most easily prepared by the aid of Lovelock’s
mincing machine.

Dr. Hodges does not hesitate to assert that of all the modes in which
minced meat may be presented, the calumniated and much-libelled
sausage is, in winter time, one of the most useful and successful
articles for frequent feeding. Lean and fat meats, more digestible
together than separately, are discriminately mixed in the compact and
appetising form of this ubiquitous and popular comestible, the sole
secret of whose easy digestion is that it should not be eaten except
when it has become thoroughly cold after cooking. Bread and butter
can be tolerated with complete immunity when hot buttered toast would
provoke exasperating dyspepsia, and it is exactly thus that sausage
cold stands in relation to that which is served hot. Presenting the
albuminates and fat in an economical, savoury form, easily obtained
and made ready for consumption, sausage, in some countries, might
almost be said to have become a national food, and it offers to the
fastidious or indifferent eater an article of diet from which great
benefit may be derived. A trial of this stigmatised edible will be
followed by a ready recognition of its alimentary value in the class
of cases under consideration.

As has been remarked already, food, to be taken outside the
conventional meal hours, must be of a kind easily obtained anywhere,
readily “kept in the house,” and which does not demand preparation or
delay. Few persons can command the services of a “professed cook,” or
of a good “plain” cook, or have either at their disposal every two
hours in the day. The practical articles of diet which meet these
restricted requirements of convenience are few, and of these the
chief in importance are eggs, milk, cream, butter, and bread.

“Raw albumen is one of the most digestible of foods; coagulated,
it is comparatively indigestible.” Eggs, to be easily digested,
must be eaten uncooked, since albumen under prolonged heat acquires
progressive degrees of toughness. Eggs should not be cooked by
boiling, but by placing them in hot water, and allowing them to
remain there for 7-10 minutes.

When cooked, buttered, salted, and peppered, they are soon tired of
as articles of food, and alleged to be “bilious.” Cooking, moreover,
involves waiting and preparation. An uncooked egg is always ready
and at hand, is clean to be kept anywhere, and scarcely needs to be
broken into a glass. With a little knack it may be swallowed direct
from the shell, as most persons know if in childhood they have had
access to country barns. A raw egg weighs 2-2¼ oz., and is said
to contain about the same flesh-forming and heat-giving material
as an equal amount of butcher’s meat. It offers in perfection the
quickest and neatest mode of taking a large equivalent of substantial
and nutritious food at a swallow. Beaten-up eggs are a certain
provocative of dyspepsia. When subjected to this process, an inviting
draught of creamy froth is brought to the unfortunate recipient--a
tumblerful of air, which has been introduced in the largest
possible amount to a given quantity of egg, milk, wine, sugar,
and nutmeg--than which nothing could be better devised to promote
indigestion, abominable eructations, and the most uncomfortable
flatulence or acidity. Every beer drinker has the good sense to blow
off the “head” of his mug of beer, or to wait patiently for the
froth to subside, before he imbibes the draught; and if crotchety
persons will not learn the trick of swallowing an egg whole, they
can compromise the difficulty by slowly stirring the white and the
yolk, which may be thus mixed together, and made to seem a less
revolting dose without the incorporation of air by beating. Taken
as a medicine, and looked upon as such, eggs are at least equally
palatable with cod-liver oil, for which they offer an equivalent
substitute, adapted to winter or summer, as the latter hardly is,
and far more rapidly digested. There is no limit to the number which
may be taken with advantage continuously and for months at a time.
Eighteen eggs are required to furnish the flesh-forming materials and
other nutrients sufficient for the various needs of an adult man in
one day.

Milk and cream are convenient, and therefore important and desirable
articles of food. It is a common assertion of patients that milk
“always disagrees with them”--that they have “never been able to
take it.” This statement, which, as a rule, may safely be attributed
to mere prejudice, is also in some cases a true one, simply for the
reason that the milk is drunk too rapidly, or because it is not
rich enough, an easy remedy being to take the given quantity more
slowly, or to increase by addition the amount of cream which the milk
naturally possesses, the trouble being due, in the first instance,
to the fact that a large and solid cheese curd is suddenly formed
in the stomach by the rapidity with which the milk is deposited in
that organ, and in the second, to the hardness of the casein derived
from milk with an insufficient percentage of cream, which is always
inconstant in amount (varying between 10 and 15 per cent.) or in
composition, the water alone ranging from 45 to 65 per cent. Milk
is often too poor, but never too rich, for purposes of enforced
nutrition, and the fact is incontrovertible that it is the model food
for digestibility.

By adding cream to milk the amount of fat is increased and the curd
is softened; and its digestion can be still further facilitated by
the disintegration of its coagula, accomplished by crumbling in
bread, cracker, &c., or by the addition of a small amount of cooked
meal or flour.

By this latter means cold milk is made warm, which gives it
an increased efficacy. This end may also be attained and the
distastefulness of warm milk removed by flavouring it with the
preparations of cocoa, weak coffee, or some of the inert substitutes
for the latter sold by grocers, the best of which perhaps is that
known as “New Era coffee,” consisting simply of roasted and ground
wheat. But, as hot milk demands a certain amount of trouble, cold
milk alone, or with bread broken into it, is, after all, the only
practical resource so far as its use for frequent nutriment is
concerned; and 2 qt. of milk, or 3 pints of milk and 1 pint of cream,
are not more than the minimum quantity desirable for ingestion in 24
hours. Clear cream may be administered in doses of a wineglassful
after each meal, as any other medicine might be, and a great deal
can be disposed of by eating it liberally added to cooked fruit and
various dessert dishes.

Blanc mange, Italian cream, and the various forms in which many
delicate farinaceous articles are cooked, may thus be made more
eatable through the zest given them by this accompaniment. There is
a great difference in the palatableness as well as digestibility of
cream which is obtained from milk by centrifugal force, as is largely
done for the market, and that which is skimmed after “setting.”
This distinction should be borne in mind in prescribing cream which
is to be taken uncooked. The last-named product is by far the more
desirable article.

Very few patients, especially women, drink a sufficiency of water to
maintain their health or an adequate nutrition. Water is an important
constituent of food, is, indeed, the carrier of food into and through
the system, and forms more than ⅔ of the whole body. Neglect to keep
up the supply of water leads to a diminution in the quantity of
blood, and lessens the body’s strength.

When it is remembered that there are daily eliminated 18-32 oz. of
water from the skin by perspiration, 11 oz. from the lungs, and 50
oz. from the kidneys, it is easy to see that the amount consumed by
many persons falls short of the demand, and that their bodies must
be insufficiently supplied with the requisite degree of moisture;
some 66 oz. of water alone, and in tea, coffee, beer, &c., being
required for a daily supply over and above that which is contained
in the solid food of a full ration to make good the average regular
waste. The constipation which is so common in ill-nourished persons
is largely due to a want of liquid in the intestinal canal. This,
therefore, will be ameliorated by the free use of water, as is also
the constipating tendency of milk, which is sometimes complained
of, the curds being liquefied and reduced in size, and thereby made
more readily digestible. Its effect on hardened fæcal masses or
accumulated mucus in the intestines is equally obvious, and explains
in part the intention as well as the success of the hot-water craze
at present so popular.

The underfed are benefited, and the process of feeding is helped, by
alcohol. But the amount of alcohol which such persons may take as a
food adjunct with advantage is very small. The cumulative effects
of a medicinal dose at stated intervals are of greater utility than
the more instant result of a larger allowance swallowed in a single
drink. A measure of alcohol which produces an effect quickly--that
is, which flushes the face, or exhilarates, as a sherry-glass of
wine does with most females, for instance--is a toxic dose, and will
be followed by reaction. It is a quantity short of this which is
allowable. A teaspoonful, or at most a dessertspoonful, three or four
times a day, is usually as much as can be borne without such sequelæ
as are above alluded to.

Spirits serve their purpose better than wine, for the reason that
the relative quantity of alcohol administered is more measurable.
Wines vary in strength; spirits are comparatively uniform. Tinctures
even, or elixirs, may be given when spirits are objected to either
on principle or from prejudice. In any case there should be a large
dilution with water, as a more gradually stimulating effect is thus
produced. Alcoholic medicines ought never to be taken on an empty
stomach.

Great pains should be taken to discountenance everything which
reduces the bodily heat, and employments or amusements which in any
sense tax the strength ought to be abandoned when a forced diet is
attempted. Even ordinary exercise is often objectionable, and its
complete discontinuance sometimes so important that confinement to
bed is a necessity. Those who raise animals are practically made
aware that a restless disposition is fatal to successful growth in
vigour and flesh. The truthfulness of this observation is equally
apparent with human beings who need “building up” in the literal
sense of these remarks.

Mere fattening is not the object of full feeding, but it is to
a certain extent its necessary accompaniment. The motive of the
measure, as has already been stated, is to add to the quantity and
quality of the blood, and it is hardly possible for an individual
to grow fat without a decided increase in the volume of his blood.
Weighing at stated intervals is therefore an important procedure, and
there is no other way to make sure that the subjects of treatment are
sufficiently well fed to gain blood. Persons who put on fat rarely
fail to improve in colour; their comfort is enhanced; warmth of
body is gained, in itself no slight improvement; the pulse becomes
fuller; the cheeks grow redder; the spirits are raised; the general
mien becomes brighter; and these phenomena are explainable only
by admitting that there has been an accession to their stock of
blood. The scales thus become a thermometer of improving health and
strength, by the aid of which the physician measures the progressive
results of his regimen. Like the “pass book” used at banks, they
reveal in a ready and serviceable way the healthful standing of an
individual, the relation of his resources to the wear and tear checks
which he is continually drawing, and whether his account is nearly
or quite overdrawn, or superfluously plethoric. They ought not to be
put into requisition too frequently, and only when there is reason
to think that an encouraging increase of weight has taken place.
This should manifest itself soon after systematic feeding has begun,
and continue at the rate of 2 lb. a week, and not less than 1 lb.,
so long as improvement seems desirable, or until a weight has been
reached, the minimum of which shall be equivalent to 2 lb. for each
inch of stature.

Experience and observation have universally confirmed the expediency
of a heartier and more systematised diet than recently prevailed.
Its utilitarian advantages are publicly recognised. Within twenty
years the rations of armies, of institutions, charitable, penal, and
medical, have been liberally increased. Family habits in regard to
eating, since the flush times of the civil war, have greatly changed,
and the large allowance of food requisite for the maintenance of a
sound health can scarcely be exaggerated in any statement of its
details. In the application of this accepted dogma to special and
personal cases there is much, however, still left to be desired. (R.
M. Hodges.)

_Drinks._--There are physiological facts in relation to drinking
which ought to be recalled by those who know them, and brought to
the knowledge of the unskilled in medicine, because they concern
the promotion of health. Thus it is essential that there should
be constantly passing through the organism a flushing, as it
were, of fluid, to hold in solution and wash away the products of
disassimilation and waste. Those who do not recognise the fact that
¾ of the entire organism is normally composed of fluid cannot fully
realise the great need which exists for a copious supply. If there
be not a sufficient endosmose, the exosmose must be restricted, and
effete matters, soluble in themselves, but not dissolved because
of the deficiency of fluid available, will be retained. Take, for
example, the uric acid; this excrementitious product requires not
less than 8000 times its bulk of water at the temperature of the
blood to hold it in solution; and if it be not dissolved it rapidly
crystallises, with more or less disastrous consequences, as in gout,
gravel, and probably many other less well-recognised troubles. We
only mention this particular excrement by way of illustration. In
all, it may be fairly concluded that not less than 3½ pints should be
consumed by any person in the 24 hours, and when the body is bulky
4 or even 5 pints should be the average. It is, moreover, desirable
that the fluid thus taken should be in the main either pure water, or
water in which the simplest extracts are held in solution.

So far as the mere sensation of thirst is concerned, there can be no
question that it is a mistake to drink too much or too frequently
in hot weather; the fluid taken in is very rapidly thrown out again
through the skin in the form of perspiration, and the outflow
being promoted by this determination toward the surface, a new and
increasing demand for fluid follows rapidly on the successive acts
of drinking and perspiring, with the result that “thirst” is made
worse by giving way to it. Meanwhile, it must not be forgotten that
thirst is Nature’s call for fluid to replace that lost by cutaneous
exudation in warm weather; and if the demand be not met, what may
be regarded as the residual fluid of the tissues must be absorbed,
or the blood will become unduly concentrated. To thirst and drink,
and perspire and drink again, are the natural steps in a process
by which Nature strives to maintain the integrity of those organic
changes which the external heat has a tendency to impede. The natural
and true policy is to supply an adequate quantity of fluid without
excess. Therefore do not abstain from drinking, but drink slowly,
so as to allow time for the voice of Nature to cry “Enough.” There
is no drink so good as _pure_ water. For the sake of flavour, and
because the vegetable acids are useful, a dash of lemon-juice may be
added with advantage. The skin should be kept fairly cool, so that a
sufficient quantity of the fluid taken may pass off by the kidneys.

Sufferers from certain common forms of indigestion forget the
immediate effect of loading the stomach with cold drinks. If hot
drinks are sometimes debilitating to the organ of digestion, cold
drinks are certainly not always bracing, but, on the contrary, are
often depressing. It is especially desirable to remember this fact
when the weather is more than commonly lowering to the nervous tone
of the organism. Even though the fluid taken may be what is called
stimulating, the consequence of its being cold is to chill the
gastric organ and depress the nerve centres, whence it derives its
supply of nervous force. The peculiar form of indigestion now very
prevalent, in which food is retained an unreasonable time in the
stomach, with the result of flatulence, and it may be of irritative
reaction on the part of the nerves of the viscus, and neuralgic
pain as a consequence, is in a large proportion of instances the
direct effect of persistent chilling of the gastric organ by copious
draughts of cold drink. It is recognised that cold drinks are
dangerous in very hot weather, acting as irritants, but it is not,
apparently, understood that the mischief they do as depressants may
be even greater, and that this effect is to be especially dreaded
when the weather is itself depressing by cheerless or unseasonable
cold. (_Lancet._)

Water.--When fluid taken “as drink” is itself heavily charged with
solid matter, it cannot fairly be expected to so entirely rid itself
of this burden in the process of digestion and absorption as to be
available for solvent purposes generally, although the separation
between solid and fluid ingredients of the food is doubtless
fairly complete in the processes preparatory to assimilation. The
aim should, nevertheless, be to supply the organic needs in this
particular abundantly, and with such fluids as are not overloaded
with solids, but simple and readily available as solvents. Another
urgent reason for drinking freely of bland fluids is to be found in
the need of diluents. This is something slightly different from mere
solution. Many of the solids of the tissue waste are of a nature to
irritate and even disorganise the kidney, if they be brought to that
organ for excretion in too concentrated form. There is no reason
to suppose that the kidneys are liable to suffer from over-work
if the specific secreting power of the kidney cells be not too
heavily taxed. If only the products of disassimilation be diluted,
so that they can be passed through the kidney by the simple process
of exosmosis, the organ will discharge its function without injury
or exhaustion. As a matter of fact and experience, those who drink
innocuous and unstimulating fluids freely do not suffer from kidney
trouble, but are almost uniformly healthy--at least, so far as the
excreting functions are concerned. It is a popular fallacy that the
kidneys may and ought to be relieved by the determination of fluid to
the surface of the body and perspiration. Except in cases of organic
disease of the kidney, or where, as in the elimination of a special
product, it is desirable to use the skin as an emunctory, the fluid
diverted from the kidney is wasted so far as flushing purposes are
concerned.

But if water be the drink, how shall it be drunk? The means must have
regard to the end required of them. To moisten food and prepare it
for digestion it is hardly necessary to say that it should be taken
with a meal; a couple of tumblerfuls at dinner is not an excessive
quantity for most persons. For thirst-quenching properties nothing
can surpass this simplest of drinks, and all which approach it in
efficacy owe their power almost entirely to it. As to temperature,
there is no real ground for supposing that one should not drink a
sufficiency of cold water when the body is heated by exertion. The
inhabitants of hot climates have no such objection. Some tropical
wells are dug so deep that the water within them, even in hot
seasons, is as cool as that of a European spring. In fevers, too,
the use of ice in quantities sufficient to allay thirst is a part of
rational and legitimate treatment. The shock which has to be avoided
in all such states is not that which cools the mucous membrane,
but that of sharp chill applied to the surface of the body. Some
persons, however, find it convenient and beneficial to imbibe a
certain amount of warm water daily, preferably at bedtime. They find
that they thus obtain a bland diluent and laxative, without even
the momentary reaction which follows the introduction of a colder
fluid, and softened by abstraction of its calcareous matter in the
previous process of boiling. This method, which is an accommodation
to jaded stomachs, has its value for such, though it is not great
even for them; but it affords no noticeable advantage for those of
greater tone. The use of water as an aid to excretion deserves some
remark. In certain cases of renal disease it has been found to assist
elimination of waste by flushing, without in any way irritating
the kidneys. Every one is probably aware of its similar action
on the contents of the bowel when taken on the old-fashioned but
common-sense plan of drinking a glass of water regularly morning and
evening, without any solid food. Whatever may be true of harmless
luxuries, enough has been said to show that health, happiness, and
work find stimulus enough in the unsophisticated well of nature.
The quality of water may be judged by its fauna and flora. It is a
standing fact that water containing neither fish nor molluscs is
unfit for drinking purposes. The presence of the common watercress
(_Nasturtium officinale_) in a stream is sufficient evidence of the
potability of the water; on the other hand, always avoid the water
of a stream in which the duckweed or water lentil (_Lemna minor_) is
found.

Tea.--Warm infusion of tea has been proved to have a marked stimulant
and restorative action upon the brain and nervous system, and this
effect is not followed by any secondary depression. It further
increases the action of the skin, and raises the number of the pulse,
while it has but little effect upon urination, excepting simply as
a watery diuretic. It tends to lessen the action of the bowels.
Dr. Parkes found that tea is most useful as an article of diet for
soldiers. The hot infusion is a patent protective against extremes
both of heat and of cold; and Sir Ranald Martin proved it to be
particularly valuable in great fatigue, especially in hot climates.
But the habit of tea-drinking is one that grows on its victims like
the similar ones of opium or alcohol. Taken in strict moderation,
and with due precautions in the mode of preparation, tea is, like
alcohol, a valuable stimulant; in its abuse there is also a certain
analogy. There is hardly a morbid symptom which may not be traceable
to tea as its cause. This is a fact that general practitioners often
use to their own satisfaction and to their patient’s advantage, if
it happen to be that kind of patient who does not object to make
some sacrifice in order to be rid of troubles. The alkaloid which
tea contains appears to be less easily absorbed than that of coffee,
owing to the very large quantity of tannic acid present. The tannic
acid in tea is doubtless one of the causes why it is as a drink so
attractive. It is slightly astringent and clean in the mouth, and
does not “cloy the palate.” Tannic acid is also one of the dangers
and drawbacks of tea. It is largely present in the common teas used
by the poor. The rich man who wishes to avoid an excess of tannic
acid does not allow the water to stand on the tea for more than 5, or
at most 8 minutes, and the resulting beverage is aromatic, not too
astringent and wholesome. The poor man or poor woman allows the tea
to simmer on the hob for indefinite periods, with the result that a
highly astringent and unwholesome beverage is obtained. There can be
no doubt that the habit of drinking excessive quantities of strong
astringent tea is a not uncommon cause of that atonic dyspepsia,
which seems to be the rule rather than the exception among poor
women. A word in reference to the now prevalent custom of dining
late, and taking an afternoon tea. “Unless cautiously arranged, it
is apt to produce dyspepsia. The rule should be that the tea should
precede dinner by 3 hours, and not come sooner after lunch than 3
hours, supposing the lunch to have been a good meal; and that if
any tea or coffee is taken after dinner, it ought to be immediately
after, so as to constitute part of the same meal, and to partake in
the same process of digestion. It is most injurious to take tea or
coffee 1-2 hours after dinner, or any other full meal.” (Dobell.)

Coffee.--Coffee, like tea, when used as an article of diet,
especially affects the nervous system. It is a brain and nerve
stimulant; in very large doses, it produces tremors. It increases
the action of the skin, and it appears to have a special power
in augmenting the urinary water. It increases both the force and
frequency of the pulse. Unlike tea, it tends to increase the
action of the bowels. Coffee has been proved to be an important
article in a soldier’s dietary, as a stimulant and restorative.
Like tea, it acts as a nerve-excitant, without producing subsequent
depression. It is serviceable against excessive variations of cold
and heat, and its efficacy in these respects has been established in
Antarctic expeditions, as well as in India and other hot climates.
Dr. Parkes pointed out that coffee has a special recommendation in
its protective influence against malaria. While admitting that the
evidence on this point was not strong, he held it to be sufficient
to authorise the large use of coffee in malarious districts. Coffee
should be used as an infusion. If coffee be boiled, its delicate
aroma is dissipated. (_Brit. Med. Jour._) Coffee has a slight value
as a nutriment, and a very high value as a stimulant; when mixed with
boiling milk in the form of _café-au-lait_ it forms the ideal of
breakfast foods for body workers and brain workers, and a very small
quantity of black coffee taken after a full meal serves to stimulate
the stomach to the necessary digestive effort, and to ward off that
sleepiness which is often the attendant of satiety. Supposing all
the dissolved matter to be available for the needs of the body, the
dietetic value of a cup of coffee is more than twice that of a cup
of tea, and if we assume that the stimulating power is due to the
contained alkaloid, then _quâ stimulant_ the cup of coffee has more
than three times the value of the cup of tea. (Poore.)

Cocoa.--The theobromin of cocoa is, chemically, identical with the
thein of tea, and the caffein of coffee. While tea and coffee are
comparatively valueless as true foods, cocoa, by reason of the large
quantity of fatty and albuminoid substances it contains, is very
nourishing, and is of high dietetic value as a tissue-forming food.
Compared with tea and coffee, it is a food rather than a stimulant,
being akin to milk in its composition and place in the diet-scale. It
is useful to sustain the weakly, and to support the strong in great
exertion, as a readily assimilable and general form of nourishment.
(_Brit. Med. Jour._)

Malt Liquors.--The distinguishing characteristic of malt liquors
as articles of diet is their feeding-power, and they owe this to
the presence in the malt of diastase, by which the insoluble and
innutritious starch--the largest fat and heat-producing element
in our food--is converted into the soluble and easily assimilable
glucose sugar. The use of these beverages, then, in moderation--say
2 glasses a day, one at dinner and the other at supper--seems to be
indicated, and would probably prove advantageous, in convalescence
from wasting disease, extreme thinness, feeble digestion, or
where there is difficulty in maintaining the animal heat. The
following table, showing the composition and relative strength of
representative malt liquors, may not be uninteresting to the reader:--

  -----------------------------+----------+----------+----------+-------
                               |   Malt   | Alcohol. | Carbonic | Water.
                               | Extract. |          |   Acid.  |
  -----------------------------+----------+----------+----------+-------
  Burton ale                   |   14·5   |    5·9   |    0     |  79·6
  Edinburgh ale                |   10·9   |    8·5   |   0·15   |  80·45
  Porter (Barclay and Perkins) |    6·0   |    5·4   |   0·16   |  88·44
  Bavarian beer                |    5·8   |    3·8   |   0·14   |  90·26
  -----------------------------+----------+----------+----------+-------

Malt extract has lately been brought into the market, and may be
used where alcohol is for any reason considered undesirable. (Philip
Foster, ‘Alcohol.’)

_Smoking._--Though hardly a branch of dietetics, the habit of smoking
is now so general (and to some people as necessary as their meals
through long habit) as to deserve a few words of notice. Concerning
its merits or demerits doctors are far from being agreed. One
fact, however, is certain. Ptyalin, the active principle of the
saliva or juice of the mouth, is identical in chemical composition
with diastase, and has been supplied to us by nature for the
purpose of effecting the necessary change of starch into sugar.
Now the expectoration which so often accompanies smoking, and is
unduly increased by it, means the loss of large quantities of this
invaluable fluid.

As to the actual effects of tobacco smoke, Dr. Zulinski has recently
published in a Warsaw medical journal the results of a long series
of experiments made by him both upon human beings and animals with a
view of verifying the physiological effects. He found in the first
place that it is a distinct poison even in small doses. Upon men
its action is very slight when not inhaled in large quantities,
but it would soon become powerful if the smoker got into the habit
of “swallowing the smoke,” and Dr. Zulinski ascertained that this
toxical property is not due exclusively to the nicotine, but that
tobacco smoke, even when disengaged of the nicotine, contains a
second toxical principle called colidine, and also carbon oxide and
hydrocyanic acid. The effects produced by tobacco depend, he says,
to a great extent upon the nature of the tobacco and the way in
which it is smoked. The cigar-smoker absorbs more poison than the
cigarette-smoker, and the latter in turn than those who smoke pipes,
while the smoker who takes the precaution of using a narghilie, or
any other apparatus which conducts the smoke through water, reduces
the deleterious effects of tobacco to a minimum. As a rule, the
light-coloured tobaccos are supposed to be the mildest, but Dr.
Zulinski says that a great many of the tobaccos are artificially
lightened by the aid of chemical agents which are not always free
from danger. He adds that several light tobaccos are also open to the
objection of emitting a burning smoke, owing to the large proportion
of wooden fibres which they contain, notably the French “caporal”
and the English “bird’s-eye,” and that the smoke from these tobaccos
is of such a high temperature as often to cause slight inflammation
of the tongue, which with people of mature age is not unlikely to
lead to cancer. The dark tobaccos are often adulterated, too, but
Dr. Zulinski thinks that upon the whole they are the less dangerous.
If tobacconists would only introduce a very cheap stem for pipes,
smokers could afford to use a new stem every time they lit up, and by
this means most of the evils of smoking pipes would disappear.

On cigarette smoking Sir Henry Thompson lately communicated the
following remarks to the _Lancet_. (_a_) The cigarette, without a
mouthpiece, is really never smoked more than half-way through in the
East, where cigarettes are very cheap. It is well understood there,
as it is by all practised cigarette smokers, that every inhalation
from a cigarette slightly deteriorates in quality from the first. A
small deposit of the very offensive oil of tobacco is deposited in
the finely cut leaf, which acts as a strainer, and intercepts the
deposit as it passes. Very little of this arrives in the smoker’s
mouth if he stops when half is consumed. Many Oriental smokers
consume no more than a third. (_b_) If a cigarette with a card
mouthpiece is employed, the noxious matter may be intercepted by
always introducing a light plug of cotton wool into the tube. If now
the cigarette is nearly consumed, a considerable quantity of brown
and very offensive matter will be found in the cotton wool, from the
evil of which the smoker is thus preserved. The wool requires renewal
after half-a-dozen cigarettes. (_c_) The maximum pernicious influence
which occurs through cigarette smoking is attained by the practice
of inhaling the smoke largely direct into the lungs, where it comes
into immediate contact with the circulation, and the toxic effect is
strongly perceptible after three or four consecutive inhalations,
and felt by a sensitive person to the very tips of the fingers. Such
smoking ought to be exceptional. All the fragrance, with a little
only of the toxic effect, is obtained by admission of the smoke into
the mouth only, still more by passing it through the passages of the
pharynx and nose; but pulmonary inhalation, often associated with
cigarette smoking, and rarely with the pipe, constitutes the great
mischief of the cigarette.


=Laying and Waiting at Table.=--The following suggestions are
condensed from a series of articles on the subject by H. Burleigh
in the indispensable _Queen_, intended for households with 2 to 7
servants. Housewives with smaller establishments may still benefit
much by the instructions given.

No table ought to be laid, no tablecloth brought into the room,
until the hearth has been thoroughly swept up, and the mantelpiece
and sideboard well dusted. The neglect of this spoils the look of a
room. Then another most important item is the proper preparation in
the pantry. Most half-taught servants, which means 19 out of 20, will
be continually running backwards and forwards between the pantry and
the dining room bringing things piecemeal, instead of first preparing
every article and bringing up everything, and then shutting the door
on themselves, and quietly laying the table, without the confusing
scramble that the former want of method produces. Servants cannot
know these things unless a mistress has it in her to teach and train
them. It behoves good women to learn each one for herself how to do
everything in her house, so that she may teach those who enter her
service.

For each meal--breakfast, luncheon, and dinner--there are different
rules for laying the table and sideboard. We may call breakfast and
luncheons movable feasts, for each day the laying of the table for
these meals varies according to the food to be sent up, as at these
meals everything is put on at once; whereas for dinner there is one
invariable rule, whether there be many or few courses.

_Breakfast._--Before you begin to lay your cloth, look to the fire,
that it is not in a half-lighted and half-dying condition. If there
is one time more than another in which we value a good clear fire, it
is in the early morning, when the members of a family come down cold
and hungry; but how miserable to descend to a hearth scattered over
with half-burned wood and paper, and a cold fire with a hollow in the
middle. A good stir, a little more coal, a good sweeping up of bars
and hearth ought to be done before the cloth is laid.

The sideboard for breakfast in a small household of 2 or 3 servants
ought to have a sideboard cloth, with a joint or a ham on it, with
a pile of plates on it according to the number of the family; 2
knife rests, a carving knife and fork, and small knives and forks
arranged in stiff rows on each side of the pile of plates, which at
breakfast ought to be in the middle of the sideboard, in front of the
joint. On the right side should stand the bread board, with white and
brown bread, and a bread knife; and on the left side a silver tray,
for handing letters when they arrive, and also if the bell has to
be rung for anything needed or forgotten, the tray is there ready.
In larger households there ought to be a side table, with different
cold comestibles, of course a much larger variety than in a smaller
establishment; but the same rule holds good, that a sideboard and a
side table ought to be straightly and stiffly laid for breakfast.

For the table it is quite absurd to put tablespoons at the corners
with saltcellars. Put any tablespoons that are needed at the right
side of the dish whose contents require one, or in front of the dish.
For each person lay 2 small silver forks, 1 small steel knife, and 1
silver knife. It is a very slovenly way to put only 1 steel knife to
each person, for after eating bacon or any meat with the steel knife,
it is very nasty to use the same knife for marmalade or butter. Small
second-hand silver knives are not expensive to buy for breakfast or
for meat teas; keep them for that purpose, and for children’s fruit
at lunch, and it saves the nicer dessert knives and forks being used.

In laying your cloth take the greatest care that your tablecloth is
exactly in the centre, if not your whole table is thrown out. The
laundress ought to be taught to fold the cloths with 2 outside seams
and 1 inside fold, not in half and in half again. The former way
makes them set so much better. Measure with your apron the distance
of the side folds from the edge of the table. The distances ought to
be exact.

Be careful before arranging your table for every and any meal to
think what will be the general effect on entering the room. Think
of what it will look like from the door, which is almost without
exception farthest from the head of the table, and therefore so
arrange the articles of china and silver that the tallest are nearest
to the hand, and thus the effect of each thing is seen as it slopes
down to the bottom of the table.

One thing has always to be taught to a new servant, and that is to
put knives, forks, and spoons an inch on the table, I. e. to leave
1 in. between the edge of the table and the handles. It is wretched
to see the handles over the edge, and the least touch in passing
swings them round, to say nothing of the untidy effect. Do not leave
a straggling space between the knives and forks for each person, only
sufficient for the width of a plate, and let the prongs and handles
be exactly and precisely together top and bottom. Care in these
details makes such a very great difference in the whole look of a
table. If there are flowers in the centre there will not be room for
large casters. It is quite the proper thing to have casters on the
table for breakfast and lunch, as at these meals every one waits on
himself, except in a few uncomfortably grand houses, and, therefore,
though it is a vulgarity to put the casters on a dinner table, it is
quite right to put them on a breakfast or luncheon table.

After you have arranged your table so far, see that marmalade or
honey, or both, rolled butter, sardines, and all cold things, are
arranged on the table before you bring up the urn, or coffee or
tea, or any hot things. Also have all your sideboard and side table
arranged before any hot things come up. Then remember that it is very
bad style to bring them in in a straggling and single way. After
the urn or kettle and the coffee and tea have been placed on the
table, wait until the cook has placed everything on your tray--eggs,
muffins, or rolls or buttered toast, bacon, fish, hot milk, &c.--and
bring it all up at once, and place them one after the other quickly
on the table. In arranging your table take this simple rule--let
nothing touch another, be able to pass your finger at least round
each article, and place the coffee-pot, teapot, milkjugs, sugar
basins, and slop basin so that each is seen, and has its clear and
distinct place. Let marmalade and butter correspond, and saltcellars
occupy a rather central position at a breakfast table. If small
casters are used, containing salt, pepper, and mustard, they can, of
course, be placed at corners.

Have perfectly clean and freshly made mustard for each meal. Nothing
is worse than to open the lid of a mustard-pot, and see the inside
and the spoon clogged with old dry mustard. Cast your salt in an old
wineglass, and turn it out in a shape. Place a toast-rack always on a
large plate, or else the crumbs make the cloth untidy.

Put a table napkin to each person, and see that your moist-sugar
spoon is not clogged with sugar, but thoroughly clean. If you place
a knife and fork in front of a breakfast dish, or a spoon and fork,
place them so that they meet top and bottom--i.e. let the bowl of the
spoon meet the end of the handle of the fork, and the prongs of the
fork meet the handle of the spoon; the same with a knife and fork. Do
not put a spoon on the preserve glass, but at the side; the same with
a butter knife.

To each person at the breakfast table there ought to be, in addition
to the usual plate, an extra one, very small, for eggs. In buying a
breakfast service, it is better to get more plates and dishes than
are usually sold with a set, otherwise the cook is fond of sending
up dinner plates and dishes, which make an ugly conglomeration. When
it is time to remove the breakfast things, whether it is done by the
cook, parlour-maid, or man-servant, it is a most painful ordeal to a
methodical mistress unless she teaches them how to do it. A tin tray,
not too clean underneath, popped down on the white damask cloth, and
everything put upon it promiscuously, plates upon plates with forks
and knives left in them, others ditto on the top of that, silver
mixed up with knives, delicate glass butter-dishes smashed in among
bacon dishes, &c.

Now for the proper method--a much easier one in the end, both as
regards the comfort of any one sitting in the room, and of the
servant when she deposits the things in the pantry. First take away
the silver; take the slop basin in your left hand, and go round
the table and put into it each dirty teaspoon, fork, eggspoon, and
tablespoon, and put the slop basin on the tray, which should be on
a table outside the door. On the same tray put every other silver
article except the urn, and carry down this tray and leave it, and
bring up another. Then remove the urn; then on the tray take down
bread, meat, and dirty dishes, and take the large plate that the
toast rack has stood on, and place on it every dirty knife, placing
the handles in the plate, which makes less rattling. Then collect
plates neatly in piles, and all the saucers in piles, the cups two
together, and you will see how much less room they occupy. When the
last tray has been removed, bring up your dust shovel and brush, your
hearth brush, crumb brush, or towel and a duster. Brush the cloth
free from crumbs, and fold it up on the table; also the sideboard
cloth, in their exact folds. Leave them on the table and brush up the
hearth, brush up the crumbs under the table, and dust the top of the
sideboard and mantelpiece, arrange the chairs, and, if allowed, open
the window to get rid of the odours of breakfast, and you thus leave
the room neat and ready for morning occupation.

A servant can be trained to do all this in ¼ hour from the time she
enters the room until the dusting is finished. When she goes into the
pantry to wash up, instead of finding everything mixed up, and thus
leading to a general washing up of greasy plates and silver spoons
in one greasy water, she ought first to wipe the knives, and put
them away ready for cleaning, and thus secure them from lying about
getting splashed over and rusted. Then all the china should be washed
up, first in warm water and soap--no soda, as soda eats away the
glaze and the pattern--and then rinsed in cold water, and put away in
their places. The eatables ought never to be taken into the pantry
at all, but placed at once in the larder--the bread in the breadpan,
and the meat on larder dishes, not dining-room dishes left in the
larder. The silver ought to be washed up in a quite separate tub,
and if servants would only wash up silver in a proper manner, very
little plate cleaning would be required. It makes one shudder to see
and hear heaps of silver being tumbled higgledy-piggledy into a tub,
and when it has been roughly banged about and gloriously scratched,
it is equally roughly tumbled out again and left to drain, the very
thing that ought not to be done. In washing up silver, take each
article singly, wash it well in hot water and plenty of soap; when
it is washed leave it in the water, and go on in this way until all
is washed. A very good mixture for washing silver in is a lump of
soft soap and a lump of whiting put into hot water, and beaten up to
a lather with an egg whisk. The great secret in making silver look
well is the way in which you dry it. Take each thing out separately,
leaving the others in the water; dry it as dry as a bone; dry it as
if your glass cloth or plate cloth were a polishing leather, and do
not put it down as finished until it is quite hot with friction. This
simple rule is sufficient to make silver always ready for table.

You require two cloths, one for the first wet, the other to finish
with; but remember to finish off each thing thoroughly at once. If
you leave silver to drain, or half finished, there is always a film
and a stickiness about it. Before the servant commences any washing
up, she ought to put the tablecloth and sideboard cloth in the screw
press. If you leave any crumbs in a cloth, they stain it, and 2 or
3 washings will sometimes not remove the stain. In addition to your
screw press, have 2 deal boards with spliced ends, and beautifully
smooth, and a shade smaller than your press. Lay your cloths between
these boards, and it keeps them clean. Take the boards out each time,
and after breakfast put the breakfast cloth at the bottom, and the
luncheon cloth at the top. Once a week have these boards scrubbed,
and your cloths will always be clean.

A great addition to a breakfast table is stewed fruit; it not only
looks pretty, and gives an air of refinement to the table, but it is
really necessary for health. As the old Spanish proverb says: “Fruit
is medicine in the morning, food at noon, and poison at night”; and
another version says: “It is gold in the morning, silver at noon, and
lead at night.” We do not eat half enough fruit in England, and fruit
is much dearer than it ought to be. With proper management a lady
can lay in every Saturday a week’s store of fruit--not, of course,
the small summer fruits, which must be bought daily. But apples and
pears for stewing will keep both before and after cooking, and there
are prunes, oranges, melons, all of which are most excellent and
wholesome if eaten early in the morning.

_Luncheon._--The luncheon table is never 2 days alike, and it is a
meal that perhaps is the prettiest of the 3, and certainly calls for
taste and management. The proper way to lay the different places for
people and the way to arrange the silver and knives on the sideboard
is always the same, but the disposition of dishes is almost each
day different. For the sideboard, let it be stiffly laid, but of
a different stiffness from a sideboard for breakfast. Instead of
arranging small knives and forks tightly on each side of the plates
as for breakfast, they must be spread out, but straight and stiff.
Place in even rows a few tablespoons, dessert spoons and forks, also
small knives. Knives ought never to appear on the sideboard for a
late dinner, but for breakfast and lunch, because the family wait on
themselves at these meals.

Some large and some small plates ought to be put in piles, the former
separate from the latter. Sufficient small plates ought to be put
for the different sweets and for cheese. The fashion that has of
late prevailed of having only large plates, is better omitted than
observed, like many other fashions; taste and suitability ought to
be the guides and the reasons for fashions. Unfortunately, the only
reasons for adopting many fashions is merely because some one with a
title has done it.

On the sideboard at luncheon there ought to be the bread trencher,
but it is quite wrong to put it for dinner. On the sideboard ought
also to be any cold meat, for which there may not be room on the
table. A butler’s tray and stand are not necessary or suitable for
breakfast or luncheon, especially where there is a dinner waggon and
side table.

The first thing in laying your lunch table, is to make it as pretty
as you can; and sifted sugar in a coloured basket, wine, fruit,
sweets, and rather fanciful glass, all being put on from the
beginning, make a lunch table a very pretty sight. With regard to
the laying of the table; for lunch put for each person a large and
small knife, and 2 large and 1 small forks, and a dessertspoon. You
may either place the dessertspoon between the large knife and the
small knife, and the small fork between the two large ones, taking
care that the end of each handle is even, and an inch off the edge of
the table, or you may put the dessert spoon and fork in front of each
plate, making the handle of the spoon even with the prongs of the
forks. It is quite wrong to put a dessert spoon and fork on the table
for a late dinner, because at dinner we are properly waited on; and
therefore where it would be bad style to place them for dinner, it is
equally out of taste and common sense not to place them for luncheon.
It is quite correct to place casters on the table for lunch, either
in the middle, or, if small ones, at the corners, or on each side of
the centre of the table. Flowers being generally in the middle, the
table must be arranged accordingly.

With regard to the way of placing tablespoons, every servant and
every mistress has a different way; but the best style, if you have
the room, is to let the saltcellars be on a line with the top of
the large silver forks, and as far from the edge of the table as
the length of the handle of a large silver fork. Then place your
tablespoons on each side of the saltcellar, so that the bowls of
the spoons are clear of the saltcellar; and thus the handles can
be closer together, for compactness in every detail is the very
foundation of good service at table. It is not of any great moment
if the tablespoons are put at cross corners or not; and sometimes to
put them across the corner is a convenience, especially for a lunch
table; but, if they are put across corners, then one spoon should be
turned one way, and the other another way. If they are arranged the
first way, then the water bottles should stand just off the tip of
the inside spoon, a little towards the inside of the table. The salt
ought to be moulded out of a wineglass. If the spoons and salt are
arranged the latter-mentioned way, then the water bottles should be
placed in front of the middle part of the inside tablespoon. Meat and
vegetables and cold sweets are all put on together at luncheon.

Sometimes servants do not wait at all at lunch, but the more general
way is, after the bell or gong has sounded, to come in to remove the
covers, and sometimes to hand round the first plates and vegetables;
but, unless there are young children, the middle course is best--that
the servant should follow the family into the room, remove the
covers, and depart. Every one prefers waiting on himself at luncheon,
as chatty gossip is more usual than at dinner; and besides, the
servants cannot dine at 12.30, unless there is a full establishment,
and the luncheon hour of the family is in 9 families out of 10 the
dinner hour of the servants, and it is our bounden duty to them to
give them peace and rest at their dinner-time.

Unless there is a hot pudding that will spoil, if not served just
when it is wanted, there is no need to ring the bell until lunch is
finished; and a thoughtful woman will order luncheon with a regard to
her servants not having to be rung up.

For lunch, tumblers as well as wineglasses ought to be placed for
each person. It is quite wrong to place tumblers for the late dinner
on the table, but at lunch it is quite right, because there is no
waiting. The wineglasses, either 2 or 3, should be grouped close
together, the tallest a little from the right side of the tip of the
large knife, and the tumbler below the wineglasses.

The wine decanters for lunch ought to be quarts, and, if possible,
placed on each side of the centre crease of the tablecloth, either
behind the top dish or the bottom dish. If this is not possible on
account of the varying rules for arranging the lunch table, then put
them at the corners.

Sometimes for luncheon 2 water bottles are enough, and then cut
cheese, or sifted sugar, or rolled butter, or preserves can be put
at cross corners opposite the water bottles. Ale, either in a jug,
or bottled ale, can be placed on the sideboard; and it is not at
all the wrong thing to place it on the table, for ale jugs can be
very ornamental, and, if it is bottled beer, the cork ought to be
drawn if it is the habit of the family to drink beer; an ornamental
cork should be put in, and the bottle placed in a silver hock-stand,
either on the sideboard or the table. An ale bottle ought to be
washed before drawing it, so should a claret bottle, or any other
bottle that is not to be decanted, champagne included.

In pouring out bottled ale, if you will only rest it on the edge of
the tumbler where the last rib of the neck of the bottle is, and keep
it straight, not tilting it, except in the most gradual way, there
would be a proper supply of drinkable ale in the tumbler, and not all
froth.

Before laying the lunch table the servant ought to prepare the
room, by making up the fire, sweeping up the hearth, and dusting
the mantelpiece and sideboard. This ought to be done before the
parlour-maid or man-servant dresses for lunch. There is a habit
in many families of using the dining room in the morning, but it
does look so unrefined to sit down to meals with newspapers, books,
workboxes, and writing materials scattered about on chairs and side
tables. When luncheon time arrives all such things should be removed,
either to a morning room or the back dining room, and put in their
proper places.

After washing up the breakfast things the servant ought to prepare
for lunch, by setting on a tray everything needed for the table, and
also the knives ought to be cleaned, both for the early and late
dinner. The French way of cleaning knives is excellent. Wipe the
dirty knives clean, not by washing, but with a piece of paper, then
lay the knife on a knifeboard, and take a cork and dip the end of it
in emery powder, and rub it well up and down the blade with this, and
then wipe clean.

Where there are young children whose dinner is at lunch time, the
arrangements must of course be different. These arrangements depend
so entirely on the numbers in the household, and the ages of the
children, that no decided rules can be laid down. But in every
case an early dinner ought always to be laid luncheon fashion, as
otherwise it can never be laid prettily. What can be more bare and
ungraceful than an early dinner laid in most respects as a dinner,
yet with none of the accessories that make either lunch or dinner
pretty. If the children are very young they require waiting on;
but for older school-room children who, with their governess, have
dinner at lunch time, unless there is a sufficient staff of servants,
waiting is not necessary.

Sometimes it is necessary that hot puddings should come up after
lunch has been half finished, and in bringing the pudding, and
removing other things, of course a little rearrangement of the table
is required. Supposing, too, that the meat was to go down to the
kitchen as soon as every one is helped, then the servant should not
leave the place vacant that the meat has occupied, but rearrange the
dishes so that some other fills its place before she leaves the room.

In taking away the things after lunch is finished, there should be a
proper order observed. All silver articles should be kept separate,
and the double basket should be brought in, to remove the knives
and forks properly, putting each by themselves on each side of the
division. After everything is removed, the crumbs ought to be swept
up, the carving chairs pushed close up to the table, all the other
chairs put in their places, and the window opened. A servant ought to
be taught that it is disrespectful to keep a room in a disorderly and
unfinished condition, by taking away in a dawdling and unmethodical
fashion. Before the last trayful is taken down to the pantry, leave
it outside, and return to sweep up the crumbs and finish the room.

It is very good for young people to wait on themselves and their
elders at the early dinner, and this can be done without any undue
disturbing of their hungry young selves. A good way is to let them
take turns day by day to change the plates, and they should be taught
not to put the plates upon each other without removing the knife and
fork on each, and placing them gently, and without soiling their
fingers, in the double basket, which ought to be in the room, as well
as the basket for dirty plates.

A butler’s tray is not necessary for luncheon.

Fresh fruit is a great ornament on the lunch table, or on the
sideboard, and the dessert plates should be placed there in a pile,
or on the dinner waggon, with the silver knives and forks stiffly
placed on each side of the plates, and close together. No finger
glasses or d’oyleys are used at lunch.

_Dinner._--The dining room ought to be the right heat by attending
to the fire at 4 o’clock in the afternoon through the winter, or
by letting it out if the room is over the kitchen. The intelligent
care of the dining-room fire evinced by so many servants in throwing
some black coals on just as dinner is ready, is too delightful. If
the under bar is well raked out at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, or 5
according to the dinner hour, and well but moderately made up with
first a layer of coke, and then coal, the fire will be what it ought
to be when the time comes to lay the cloth. Then before bringing
in the cloth or anything else for the table, stir the fire, sweep
the bars and grate, and dust the mantelpiece, sideboard, and dinner
waggon. This is a rule very much neglected by servants, both before
luncheon and dinner, but it is a most necessary one, for it is
really a dirty trick to throw the tablecloth, sideboard cloth, &c.,
on a sideboard covered with dust, and an undusted mantelpiece and
ornaments on it are unsightly.

The laying of the table for dinner should not be put off, as it so
often is, until the servant has barely time to scramble through
it; this applies also to all the meals, and there should always be
a comfortable margin of time left, so that a servant can wash her
hands, and change her apron and cuffs and collar, or a footman make
a suitable freshening of himself for waiting at table. To prepare
properly in the butler’s pantry is the great secret for a methodical
and well-trained manner of laying a dinner table. Not one tray, but
two or three if necessary must first be prepared, so that every
requisite for the table is brought up before the servant commences
to lay the cloth. Silver, knives, glass, cold plates, water bottles,
cheese, butter, bread, dessert, finger glasses, &c., ought all to be
prepared, and put into the dining room before commencing to lay the
cloth. Either in laying a table or in cleaning a room, a well-bred
servant ought to shut herself up in the room in which she is busy,
surrounded with all her tools.

Before beginning to lay a cloth, a large clean apron ought to be
tied on, whether it be a man or a woman servant, so that the dress
does not soil the cloth. The thicker the under-cloth the better the
white cloth looks. Have your white cloth most exactly in the centre,
so that the side folds are at equal distances from the edge of the
table, and smooth and stroke and pull your cloth well before you
place anything on it. (Wash your hands well before beginning.) Then
to each person put 2 large knives and 2 large silver forks, both to
be an inch from the edge of the table, and the handles close together
and perfectly even. At the top, just to the right of the end of the
outside large knife, put your tallest and largest wineglass, and
then group the others below, but always slanting a little towards
the right, and close together. Unless you place them in this manner,
it would inconvenience the person using them. Place sherry, hock,
claret, and champagne glasses in this way. Of course this is an
extreme of wineglasses, but these are the wines drunk during dinner.
Generally for every-day use sherry and claret are sufficient, or
sherry, hock, and claret, and if there is champagne, hock may not be
needed. Do not put any tumblers on the table for a late dinner, nor
any port-wine glasses. Unless there is a good staff of servants, you
must lay your table for a dish of each course to be placed at the
bottom o£ the table. To attempt to have everything carved at a side
table, unless you can do it properly, is simply vulgar pretension.
The table can be laid prettily with fruit and flowers, and yet have
the soup, then the fish, then the joint placed at the bottom.

If, when there is only one servant to wait at table, the carving is
done by her at a side table, either the first person she helps must
wait for vegetables, sauce, &c., while she is carving for others,
or they must wait for their fish or meat. The sideboard for the
late dinner must be laid fancifully and prettily, and with such a
disposition of the tallest articles, that all the rest are shown
to good effect. No knives should be seen, all should be silver and
glass. Never turn a tumbler or a wineglass upside down in arranging
a sideboard or a table--it is a vulgarity. At an hotel or restaurant
it is reasonable to do so, where tables are really laid for hours,
as it keeps out the dust; and on the washing-stand of a bedroom it
is proper to turn medicine glasses and tumblers upside down for the
same reason, but not in preparing meals in a private house, where the
glasses are going to be immediately used. Neither should any spoon
or fork be turned upside down, only saltspoons, because otherwise
they would not lie on the top of the saltcellars. Arrange on the
sideboard dessert spoons and forks, some large spoons and forks,
sauce ladles, gravy spoon, fish slice--in short, all of silver that
will be required during the different courses. Lay them out in a
tasty manner, not too straggling, never in bundles as you would keep
them in a plate basket. This is only admissible when there is a large
dinner or ball supper, and then you must of course have a reserve in
bundles, in addition to those you lay out ornamentally.

In laying the table do not place a soup ladle, a gravy spoon, and a
fish slice, or fish knife and fork altogether at the bottom of the
table, as so many servants do. Keep the fish knife and the gravy
spoon on the sideboard until they are wanted. It is quite right to
place the carving knife and fork from the beginning at the bottom of
the table, it is then ready, and yet does not make a confusion; in
fact it would make more of a confusion if you were to place it only
when it was wanted; but remember in laying them to let the bottom of
their handles correspond exactly with the bottom of the handles of
the two large knives, and let the ends lie on the knife rests. Put
4 saltcellars, one at each corner, or a small one to each person as
the custom of the family may be. Place the tablespoons on each side
of the saltcellars, so that the handles are in a line; and if you
prefer to place your tablespoons straight, let the saltcellars be
on a line with the ends of the large knives, but if you prefer to
put your tablespoons at cross corners, they ought to be nearer to
the edge of the table. If you place the tablespoons straight, the
water bottles ought to stand off a little from the tip of the inside
tablespoon. If the tablespoons are at cross corners the water bottles
must stand across the middle of the inside tablespoon, and in this
case you may turn the handle of one tablespoon one way, and that of
the other spoon the other way; but when you place them straight, it
is better style to have both handles in a row. You may either place
4 water bottles, or 2 water bottles and 2 pint decanters of dinner
sherry, letting them correspond at cross corners. Pint decanters have
gone very much out of fashion, in these days of handing everything,
but they look pretty and cosy. As a guide how far apart you should
place the knives and forks for each person, put a plate down between;
the edges of a large plate should go over the knives and forks, a
small plate should not. Salt ought to be moulded in a little hillock,
either out of a small china eggcup, or a wineglass that has lost its
stem, and then turned out into the saltcellar. Remember to place
knife rests. The butler’s tray is a very ugly object unless a clean
tray cloth is put over it; but it is a very necessary relief to the
sideboard, as it holds the pudding and cheese plates, knives, and
cheese, which ought all to be arranged there during the laying of the
cloth, and room left for 2 vegetable dishes--if the family is small;
if not, a large side table is needed. The dinner waggon should only
be used for dessert plates, and such dessert dishes as cannot be put
on the table until dinner is over. Wines for dessert ought also to be
placed in the dinner waggon. Each dessert plate ought to be arranged
quite ready for placing, with its d’oyley, finger glass, knife, fork,
and spoon. The finger glass ought not to be even half full of water.
If dessert plates are used without a d’oyley or a finger glass, then
place your dessert knife and fork handles on the plates, and let the
points go over the plate; this prevents their falling or straggling.
The arrangement of the dessert ought always to be the care of the
mistress, unless she has a housekeeper, and even then it requires
her supervision. It is a thing that requires a lady’s taste and
touch. Each day the dishes require wiping, the papers rearranging;
and once a week, at least, the dishes want washing. Nothing is worse
than to see an old dessert from yesterday put on the table without
to-day’s restoration; better go without. Nothing is better than a
pretty and fresh dessert paper. For strawberries or any of the small
summer fruits that stain in the helping, it is better taste to place
them on the bare dish, unless you use the leaves that belong to the
fruit; but do not use too many, and be sure to wash them. Never use
artificial leaves or flowers to decorate dessert; in fact, never
use flowers at all to decorate fruit, it is not true taste. For all
winter and dried fruits dessert papers are best, also for biscuits
and cake. Do not overload any dessert dish, and never put out ginger
either wet or dry, or guava, &c., on a dessert dish, but on a small
glass one, and place this on the dish, with a dessert paper under.

Small crystallised fruits are pretty arranged in ornamental paper
cups especially made for dessert. Fill each with a different kind,
and by leaning them against each other you can make a sort of
pyramid. If only one dish of meat is put on at each course, a water
dessert jug and goblets can be placed at the top of the table. It is
impossible to give more detailed directions as to how the dessert
dishes should be arranged on the table, only taking care there be not
too many dishes. If the door of the dining room is farthest from the
head of the table, let your tallest ornaments be near the head of the
table. If you have occasion to bring in any odd chairs for a dinner
or supper, do not put them on the side of the table opposite the
door. If these two last hints are remembered, you do not spoil the
general effect.

After removing the meat course, and all that belongs to it,
remembering to turn out also the plates, so that the cook can be
going on with her washing-up, return to the room, and shut the door.

If there is a tart, go to the sideboard, and place on a tray 2 clean
knife rests, and a knife and fork--the latter, of course, to be
silver. Place these to the right and left of your master, the handles
an inch from the edge of the table; then put a tablespoon to the
right of where the tart dish will be, _not_ by the side of the knife.
Look round, and remove unsightly articles, such as tumblers that
have been used for beer, and remove also any large knives that have
not been used during the meat course; also put the saltcellars in
their places, and water bottles. These little matters are easily and
quickly done, and give a much more suitable and refined appearance
to the dinner table for the serving of the sweets; for, naturally,
the table gets a little disordered during the meat course from people
using salt, mustard, cayenne, water, &c.

However small the article may be, always bring it to the table on a
tray, or take it off in the same way. Now bring in and place before
your master the tart or pudding and put the other sweets on the side
table. Take in your right hand the sugar basin, and hold a pudding
plate in your left. If your master puts the first helping on the
plate that is before him, then the one you have in your hand does to
replace it, and if there is only one servant waiting, of course this
is the best way, but if two are waiting, then one can always hold a
plate for a helping to be put on it. If two servants are waiting, the
second follows with the sugar and sauce, if the latter be needed.
When every one has had pudding or tart, remove it before handing the
other sweets, or, if it is merely an every-day family dinner, you may
hand the sweets to those that refuse pudding. As you remove a pudding
plate that has been used, replace it with a clean one, with a fork
upon it, with the handle on the plate and the prongs over the edge
to keep it steady. Then hand the other sweets, holding the dishes
with your hand underneath and very firm. If it should be jelly,
blancmange, or cream, a tablespoon is sufficient, but for pastry a
large fork as well as a spoon is needed. In handing entrées or sweets
that require cutting, the first cutting should be done by the servant
at the sideboard before she hands the dish. In dishing sweets, never
decorate them either with flowers or anything else, except their
own cooking belongings. It is very bad taste simply because it is
without any reason. A glass dish set in a silver one is the best,
with a fringed d’oyley between, barely showing, but just enough to
prevent a hard look. If there are not any silver dishes, then hand
the glass dish by itself. Inexperienced servants commit the mistake
of offering sweets to people who have already some of another kind on
their plate. You must wait, and give a clean and separate plate for
each sweet. Not only is it better taste and style, but your own sense
will tell you that one sweet will spoil another, if eaten together.
If there is game, it comes in before the sweets, and without any
vegetables. In the case of a game course following the entrée and
meat course, do not trouble to rearrange the table so exactly as
before the sweet course, but still, a sharp natty servant will always
give some touches before each. The bread-sauce ought to be in one
tureen and the gravy in another, if it is game that requires gravy,
and the breadcrumbs should be handed on a flat dish, as you would cut
toast for soup. To all game hand cayenne pepper but no sauces, as the
game flavour would be destroyed. If the game should be wild duck,
it ought to be dished quite dry, and, as soon as you have placed it
before your master, place by his side a cut lemon, cayenne pepper,
and the sauce, which should be poured over the breast after it has
been cut. In the same way, if, at the meat course the dish should
be a fore-quarter of lamb, you must place by the side some butter,
lemon, and cayenne pepper, and you must have ready in your hand a
small dish on which to receive the shoulder when it is removed. The
lemon, butter, and cayenne should be put in between the shoulder and
the ribs after it is cut and before removing the former.

Another hint for beefsteak puddings, if that dish should happen to
represent the meat course. Have a hot-water jug, with boiling water;
place it by the side on a little china stand. The pudding should be
carved by cutting a round out of the top, and then pour plenty of the
boiling water in; make an incision at the bottom of the pudding, and
rich gravy will rush out; take a tablespoon, and ladle it into the
pudding several times. This by no means impoverishes the pudding, but
improves it, especially if there are kidneys in it.

To prepare for the cheese course. Remove everything belonging to the
sweet course, and then return to the room, and shut the door. There
is so much less rule observed nowadays, and so much more carelessness
indulged in, that the proper rules will soon be lost sight of,
and there is not one house in 20 where one sees the cheese course
properly done. The proper rule is this--before cheese is brought in
everything should be removed, except water and salt--because these
are the only things that are required with cheese, so far as the
things on the table are concerned. The port wine and ale are on the
sideboard, and so are the tumblers and wineglasses in which they
ought to be handed. As you remove the dirty pudding plates, replace
them with cheese plates, with a small knife and fork on each, with
the handles resting in the plate. Never place a cheese plate with
only a knife. Half the reason why it is popularly supposed to be
unladylike to eat cheese, is that it has been so generally eaten with
only a knife, and this is done away with if a silver fork is used.
In fact a fork is sufficient without a knife. If two servants are
waiting, the second holds the tray while the other places everything
on it; but if there is only one, she has to use a smaller tray, and
then it is a better method to remove all the silver together, and
then all the glass. If any one has used a tumbler to drink water
out of during dinner, do not remove it, but leave it for the same
use during cheese. There are many ways of handing cheese, the most
refined being to hand it, cut in squares from which the rind has been
removed, on a round glass dish or small tazza, and some rolled butter
on another; or it may be handed in a china dish with 3 divisions--for
butter, for biscuits, and for cheese. This latter is the more
convenient where there is only one servant. But many people like to
have the cheese placed on the table when they are alone; and in that
case you must place your cheese scoop or knife ready to the right
before you place the cheese on the table, and remember to bring it
on a tray. If the cheese is put on the table, you must stand at your
master’s left side with a spare cheese plate in your hand. Several
squares of cheese are cut, and you must place on this a small silver
fork, and hand it round to each person, as you would a dish, and each
takes a piece on to their own plate with the fork. Then hand bread,
or biscuits, or oat cake, or pulled bread, and butter. Then go to
the sideboard and pour out, in a port-wine glass, some port wine, not
to the brim, and 2 tumblers of ale. (This is supposing that there are
3 gentlemen at the table.) Hand these on a small round tray; if a
gentleman takes the port wine, return to the sideboard with your tray
and pour out another glass, and hand with the ale.

Now remove the cheese course, but if cheese straws or cheese pudding
or cheese soufflé are eaten instead of plain cheese, you must observe
the same rules, the only thing you have to remember is to hand
cayenne with these.

There is only one proper way to wait at table, and the foundation of
good waiting is, that there is a reason and a suitableness in every
rule, there is also a graceful simplicity in good waiting. And by
clearing as you go, which is the key-note of all these directions, it
is a help to every one. Firstly, the family comfort and refinement
are more attended to, the cook gets her dishes and plates, and has
not a general descent upon her of greasy things, muddled up with
others, and the things can be taken to the butler’s pantry in a more
methodical manner.

Having a proper table in the hall for placing dishes on greatly
facilitates their removal down stairs. A flap table with strong
supports is the best for a narrow hall, or a trestle table, which
should not be put out until the first course has begun.

Now, to prepare for dessert. Having followed the rules, you will
find there is very little left to remove. Having cleared the table,
remove the slip cloth from the bottom, and take all the crumbs away.
A scraper with a handle is best, as a brush is not often enough
washed; always use a pudding plate--a clean one, of course--to scrape
the crumbs into. First bring a fork to take away the pieces of bread
with, and then scrape the cloth very carefully, for nothing stains
damask more than breadcrumbs, if the cloth is screwed down in a press
with crumbs left in it. Never bring a dessert plate to the table
until you have quite cleared it of crumbs. Spread out your dessert
dishes, and fill up the spaces with others, that you have kept on
the dinner waggon. After you have placed spoons to the right of each
dish, place to each person the proper wineglasses, and lastly, the
wine, before your master, and if you have used other decanters during
dinner, the dessert decanters are nice and bright. See that the
sifted sugar basin that has been used at the pudding course is wiped,
and the sifter clean before putting it on the table.

Where there is only a house and parlour maid, it is absurd to expect
her to hand the dessert dishes; and even if two are waiting, it is
rather a bore in every-day life. It is kinder to the servants to let
them go to their washing-up, and pleasanter to oneself to be without
them.

One of the untidy customs of nowadays is to leave the sideboard
half-cleared, and for the servants to withdraw, leaving many things
about there that have nothing to do with dessert, and which had much
better be cleared away and put in their proper places, including the
sideboard cloth, while the family are at dessert.

As soon as the servants have left the room, the fire in the
drawing-room ought to be attended to if it is winter, and any little
touches the room requires; and before the lady of the house leaves
the dining room it is a good plan to ring the bell, as a hint to the
cook to look to the coffee, which should either be brought in when
the drawing-room bell rings, or at a regular hour. (II. Burleigh.)

_Folding Serviettes._--A few examples only are given. Those wishing
for more are referred to the ‘Book of Dinner Serviettes,’ published
at the _Queen_ office.

[Illustration: 84. Dinner Serviette. 86. Dinner Serviette.]

[Illustration: 85. Dinner Serviette. 87. Dinner Serviette.]

The accompanying figures illustrate how to fold serviettes, and
present details as to the manner of folding them. Fig. 84 is a dinner
serviette (folded) with bread inside. Fig. 85 shows first detail
of folding, half the length of serviette. Fold the serviette in 3
thicknesses lengthwise, and turn back one half of the top flap in 3
plaits along the centre line. Fig. 86 shows second detail of folding,
whole length of serviette. Proceed by folding the serviette at right
angles from the centre. Then trace the dotted line and the waved line
which equally divides the triangle formed by the second folding. You
will then have Fig. 87, third detail of folding. Trace the two waved
lines shown, and fold from the outside towards the centre to form a
square underneath the triangle, as shown in Fig. 88, fourth detail
of folding. Finish by folding back the corners as indicated by the
arrows.

[Illustration: 88. Dinner Serviette. 89. Breakfast Serviette.]

[Illustration: 90. Breakfast Serviette. 91. Breakfast Serviette.]

[Illustration: 92. Breakfast Serviette. 93. Breakfast Serviette.]

[Illustration: 94. Breakfast Serviette. 95. Marie Louise Serviette.]

Fig. 89 is a breakfast serviette (folded), with bread inside. Fig. 90
shows first detail of folding, half the length of serviette. Commence
by folding the serviette in 3 thicknesses, and form one half of the
top flap into a centre plait. Fig. 91 shows second detail of folding.
Turn over and fold the serviette in halves as shown in Fig. 91,
and trace the waved lines. Then fold from right and left. You will
then have Fig. 92, third detail of folding. Take up the top layer,
and fold as indicated by the dotted lines of the triangle. Thus you
come to Fig. 93, fourth detail of folding, and Fig. 94, fifth detail
of folding. The same manipulation is repeated from the opposite
side, and the corners placed under the centre plait. To arrive at
a satisfactory result the folding must be done very carefully, and
serviettes ought to be very slightly starched by the laundress.

The Marie Louise Serviette.--Open the serviette before you; fold
it in half, with the edges at the top; plait 4-5 in. of the damask
upwards to within 1 in. of the top, as described in Fig. 95; turn
the serviette over, and make a similar plait on this side (see
Fig. 96); plait this up crossways in the manner of a closed fan, and
with the finger and thumb draw out the points between the folds, as
described on the left-hand side of Fig. 97; place the lower part of
the fan in a wineglass or serviette ring; it will then assume the
appearance represented in Fig. 98.

[Illustration: 96. Marie Louise Serviette. 97. Marie Louise
Serviette. 98. Marie Louise Serviette.]


=Carving.=--The following excellent instructions are summarised from
a series of articles by D. Q. P., published in the _Queen_ some time
since.

_Fish._--It is scarcely necessary to state that the duties of the
carver do not commence until the fish is on the table; but, granting
that fish may be easy to cut up, yet it is quite as possible to
mangle and destroy its appearance as it is to destroy the look and
flavour of a fowl. Fish requires in its way the same qualities and
skill. There should be the same knowledge of the general anatomy, and
of the choice and ordinary parts. Delicacies and tit-bits abound in
all fish. A fish slice should always be used, and the best form for
it may be likened to the sole of a Turkish slipper, the pointed toe
turning a little upwards, and the handle springing from the centre
of the heel. The fork usually accompanying the fish slice is not by
some people considered an absolute necessity, an ordinary dinner fork
doing such service as is required.

If a spoon or ladle has to be used, care must be taken never to
spill, or make a mess, or heap up a great quantity of what is being
helped upon a plate at a time. Avoid jerking, or the slipping of
knife, fork, or slice, always keeping the elbows well into the sides,
and letting the strength necessary to be exercised come from the
hands and wrists. Never, either, grasp your carving implements too
near the hilt; rather hold them, as well for the sake of appearance
as for cleanliness and neatness, as much at the end of the handle as
possible.

Cod.--With regard to codfish, the flaky system of apportionment
should generally be adopted, though, under certain circumstances,
what applies to the cutting up of salmon may be remembered, with
the addition that the liver and the sound of cod, playing as they
do very important parts, must be dispensed in fair quantities with
each helping of the solid. Very requisite, in dealing with these
little adjuncts, is it for the carver to calculate to a nicety the
proportions which will allow a taste for everybody at the board.

Cod’s head and shoulders is looked upon by some as a vulgar dish.
After delicately slicing away in one or two unbroken flakes a small
portion of the solid shoulder, a piece of the gelatinous flesh
in and about the jowl should also be placed upon the plate, as
this is a particularly nutritious and succulent substance. It is
impossible to do much more than to dig out this rather unmanageable
substance, clearing away the jaw and other bones, and leaving them
upon the dish; though, despite the readiness with which the flesh
comes away, it is not always easy to get rid of them entirely, and
a few may inevitably adhere to the portions distributed. But, as
the characteristic of these helpings must be a certain amount of
unsightliness, the bones are of little consequence, and must be
expected.

Flounders.--Fried flounders are not by any means to be despised; but
of course, like fillets, fried or stewed eels, flounder souchet,
smelts, whitebait, and such small fry, need no carving; though
“helping” must always be considered as a very material element in the
carver’s art.

Gurnet.--The gurnet is not so common as either of the foregoing; it
is treated with the fish slice precisely upon the same principles as
those prescribed for the haddock.

Haddock.--The haddock, which is generally cooked and served in a
curled posture, will best recommend itself to the carver who has an
eye to excellence in quality and cookery; the flakes should fall
right and left, with a creamy suffusion upon the slightest touch of
the fish-knife’s point as it is run down the spine. The thickest or
shoulder end of the fish is the best; and if there be a preference,
the inner side is likely to be the more delicate, and, therefore,
suited to the special or appreciative friend, for whom the carver
should always have a thought.

Herring.--The last remark also applies to the fresh herring, when of
too great dimensions to form one portion by himself; he, like the red
mullet, is more delicate when small in size, just enough for one.

John Dory.--The John Dory is to be carved upon precisely the same
principles as the turbot, with additional emphasis laid on the
importance of the fin, whilst the skin is in itself an exquisite
delicacy--never to be tampered with by the carver. The wart-like
growths which mar to some extent the back of the turbot are absent in
the John Dory, which may be said to be always the better, the larger
he is. His head, important as it looks, does not recommend itself,
and, as a rule, being filled with parsley, should be left untouched
upon the dish.

Mackerel.--Mackerel, though a simple dish for the carver to attack,
must not be passed over without a word. When boiled, it should never
be hacked by an attempt to divide it through and through; but the
fish slice should be inserted from his tail upwards, to his gills,
reserving for a special friend the tail quarter, and, if the fish be
in roe, perhaps just a suggestion of an unfair share of the latter.
The head and backbone are easily disengaged from the remaining
underneath side upon the dish, and there is no question that it is
better not to turn it over when this part is to be helped. A broiled
mackerel, on the contrary, being split, should be cut through and
through, bone and all.

Mullet.--The red mullet, again, makes very little demand upon
dexterity, nothing being requisite beyond a fair division,
longitudinally, into 2 parts, if the fish be too large for one. The
so-called liver, usually just visible under the opening of the gill,
is a most precious morsel, and must fairly be apportioned, whilst the
head itself presents much pretty picking, the brain not being the
least. Small red mullet, however, besides being superior in quality
to the large, have the advantage of forming just sufficient for a
single portion.

Salmon.--Salmon is a fish which offers very little difficulty to
the carver, and so long as a due proportion of thick and thin be
neatly cut--again in oblong squares--from the side lying uppermost,
nothing remains to be attended to. The _thick_, however, must always
predominate in quantity, and it is better to begin cutting from the
left, and also better, as in the case of the turbot, to raise the
bone when the upper side is gone than to attempt to turn the fish
over to get at the remaining lower side. The head and tail, though
usually despised, and rarely seen at table, have nevertheless some
very succulent picking on them, but do not offer much of a field for
the carver to display his skill upon. He has but “to help” them as
neatly as may be. Equally, this is pretty much all he has to do when
the fish is brought to table in slices; he has usually but to make an
equal division of the slice, taking care, of course, that each half
is made up of thick and thin together.

Shell-fish.--Shell-fish likewise only generally has to be “helped,”
being usually cut up before it is sent to table, and therefore
does not need more than a word of recognition here; but it maybe
permissible to add that the lobster has no part, not even the
minutest tendril, that is unworthy of attention.

Sole, &c.--In speaking of the turbot and dory, nearly all has been
said that is necessary to guide the carver in his handling of brill,
large sole, and plaice.

Turbot.--Lying flat upon its back, plunge the point of the fish slice
at once into its thickest folds just below the jowl, and run it down
in an imaginary central line to the tail; then split the flesh into
oblong squares, each terminating with a due proportion of fin; for
remember the fin of the turbot is a delicacy which should never be
overlooked. A careful eye should be had to the number of guests to be
helped; for if recourse must be had to the under side of the fish,
it is well to bear in mind that here the carver will find himself
amongst a shoal of starry wart-like growths, by no means agreeable
to the masticatory functions. Still, of course, when these are
eliminated, there is plenty of good eating on this under side or back
of the waistcoat, and it is better to lift the bone away from it (in
doing which there is no difficulty, if the fish be well cooked) than
to attempt to turn him over when the white front has disappeared.

Whiting.--Fried whiting served in this same form should be very large
to be so manipulated; but it is a fairer plan for the consumer than
cutting the fish deliberately in half. Thus, both the haddock and the
whiting should be helped in portions made up of the largest flakes
obtainable, and, if the former be stuffed, naturally some of the
stuffing must be placed on each plate.

_Meat._--The edge of the knife must be of preternaturally dangerous
sharpness, and the fork must not have been used too persistently
as an instrument for the extraction of corks. Bright, straight,
sharp-pointed prongs, and keen-edged flashing blades, are
indispensable for good carving. The round form, slight curve, and
rather rough surface common to buckhorn handles, afford a grip and
purchase absent from the ordinary straight bevel-edged ones of ivory
or bone. Remember that for carving joints the handles of the knife
and fork are to be short and the blades and prongs long, and that
for game and poultry the very reverse of this is necessary, greater
firmness of blade and point in the latter case being requisite.

Beef.--First the sirloin. The fillet or under-cut, being always
better when eaten hot than cold, should generally claim first
attention. It must be cut transversely into thick slices, like a
tongue; as also should be the fat at the thinner end, a portion of
which should go with each slice of lean from the thicker. The joint
must be turned over, to enable the carver to get at it conveniently;
and, according to the number of persons to be helped, he should cut
so many slices at once, before setting the bone up in its proper
position again. By this means he can, when helping from the main
bulk of the joint, give a portion of the fillet to each, without
having constantly to turn the joint from one side to the other. Some
people prefer that both upper and under side of a sirloin should be
cut alike--that is, transversely--and, though generally considered
an extravagant way, it is not without its advantages; the chief of
these notably being that each slice has an equalisation of brown
and juicy meat--there being, so to speak, no outside cut, each help
having, in a section, brown and underdone in the same slice. A piece
of the fat from the flap or lower end of the joint must, of course,
accompany every portion, as in the case of the fillet, and it should
be remembered that these two sorts of fat are very different in
quality; the under, or fillet, being of a far more juicy, delicate,
and tender quality than the upper, especially when hot. The upper,
however, accompanied as it is by the crackly edge of skin, is
exceedingly toothsome, with a flavour peculiarly its own.

The ordinary plan of carving the sirloin, however, recommends itself
to most housewives as the better, from the fact that lean and fat go
together necessarily with each slice. It is generally advised that,
before slices are cut, the point of the knife should be inserted
a short distance between the meat and the bone, both of the chine
(or short upright bone) and the rib (or long bone). Then the knife
has but to be passed dexterously down the face of the meat, and
each slice comes away easily and clean from the edges. Only, of
course, those who are helped first, in this instance, get the brown
or well-done outside, and those later on the under-done or juicy.
Therefore it is always necessary for the carver, as an act of common
civility, to ask those whom he is helping whether their preference
be for well or under done. Slices of roast beef from the upper side
cannot well be cut too thin, when carved in the ordinary fashion,
excepting perhaps the first or outside slice, which admits, from
its crispness, of having a little more substance. The joint should
be kept perfectly straight upon the dish--that is to say, at right
angles with the line of sight of the carver--nothing looking worse
or more awkward than for the meat to be twisted all awry; and in
fact no real facility is afforded by doing so, for, if the carver
does but stretch his arms out far enough to bring his right hand and
wrist well above the joint, he will find that by holding the knife
almost perpendicularly, and cutting downwards, he has, with the
support from the fork, all the purchase necessary. On no account,
either, may he stand up, set his arms akimbo, or bow his back; all
the strength requisite can be exercised from his chair, by inclining
the body sufficiently forward. The muscular exertion demanded is
seldom greater than most ladies, with practice, can supply, and they
should not be deterred by any slight sense of fatigue in the early
days of their carving career, as it will prove a gentle exercise well
calculated to strengthen their hands and wrists, without in any way
disfiguring them.

During all pauses in the carving, the knife and fork should be placed
on the knife rests, and never thrust and left under the joint; nor,
while the carver adds the gravy to the plate of meat in front of
him, with the spoon in his right hand, is it well for him to hold
both knife and fork in a bunch, as it were, in his left. To do
this gives a slovenly, hasty, eating-house sort of effect to the
process, especially if, at the same time, the dish be tilted with
the left hand, for the easier filling of the spoon. This is always
an inelegant proceeding, calculated to endanger the purity of the
tablecloth, by the sluicing of the gravy over the edge of the dish,
or, even worse, by the capsizing of the joint itself. A carver cannot
be too careful never to make a mess; and if every meat dish has, as
it should have, a well, there is no excuse for his doing so. A tiny
crust of bread put under one end of the dish to cant it a little, in
the absence of a gravy well, is at the most all that can be pardoned
in the way of disturbing the equilibrium of the dish. If a portion of
the garnish of horse-radish is to go with each helping, it must be
dispensed with the points of the fork. The gravy spoon should always
be put in a vessel of hot water, and placed at the right hand of the
dish, up to the moment of using. So essential, too, are hot plates to
a perfect condition of roast meat, that a second plate, for a second
helping, is strongly to be advocated; and for the same reason, though
a dignified calm should characterise the carver’s behaviour, there
should be, on the other hand, no approach to dawdling.

Attention to simple details like these distinguishes the good from
the bad carver, and renders the execution of the task rather a
graceful act than otherwise. In carving the sirloin and similar
ribbed joints, a too pliant blade is not desirable. When, however,
we are dealing with a round of beef lying flat before us, or the
boiled silver side, or a piece of roast so-called boned beef, the
knife cannot well be too yielding, nor, again, the slices cut too
thin. Never either omit with this sort of joint, where one has
to cut directly towards the fork, to raise its finger guard, for,
if the knife slip, it will run straight up over the bow of the
prongs, to the imminent peril of the carver’s hand. For, of course,
in manipulating a piece of meat with the surface to be cut lying
uppermost, the left or fork hand is higher than the right or knife
hand--nearly the reverse of the position necessary in carving a
joint standing upright. In this case the knife is held nearly
perpendicularly, the fork nearly horizontally--just, indeed, the
contrary to the manner of using the tools for a flat joint.

With the aitch-bone, as with the round of beef, it may be desirable
to cut rather a thick slice from the outside before beginning to
help; but the habit is wasteful, and should be adopted with judgment.
These are not difficult joints to carve, if it be always remembered
that a knife with a thin pliant blade is absolutely necessary. Of
course a delicate morsel of the fat must go with each serving. The
brisket of beef is not a joint very usually to be met with; but it
has its merits, and has only to be cut neatly across the bones, to
prevent its having a jagged, untidy look on its reappearance at
table. What has been said concerning the carving of the sirloin of
beef applies in all respects to the carving of the ribs, except that,
these having no under-cut, the task is rendered less diversified.
The beef tongue must likewise be carved precisely upon the same
principles as the sirloin, when that joint is cut transversely, like
its fillet; the fat at the root of the tongue, of course, not being
overlooked.

Mutton.--All details about knife, fork, spoon, dish, position of
joint, and of the body, arms, and hands of the carver--referred to
when speaking of beef--are equally necessary with regard to haunch
and saddle of mutton. The first thing to be done in carving the
former being to make at the knuckle end a deep cut across, down to
the bone, with the point of the knife, this forms a basis for a well,
into which the gravy will run from every succeeding cut, which ought
to pass at right angles to the first incision--that is, all along, in
continuous and thick (but not too thick) slices--the whole length of
the joint. The moment room at the knuckle end, where the first cut
was made, is obtained for the insertion of the spoon, a modicum of
the gravy which has accumulated in the hollow should be distributed
with each helping, as, of course, it is the richest, being absolutely
pure essence of meat. Care too must be taken never to forget putting
a little extra fat upon each plate, as the haunch of mutton fat is
highly prized; and whoever is most expeditious in assisting the
guests may be counted the best carver of mutton, for that it should
be piping hot is indispensable.

Saddle should be cut very much upon the same principles as the
haunch, and presents no great obstacles to the carver. If a
preference be given to carving the slices obliquely instead of
straight, the thin end of the saddle should then be on the right
of the carver. Each side of the chine or backbone is to be dealt
with alike, the first slice always taken from as close to the bone
as possible. As the fat lying in the region of the kidneys is held
in great estimation, a portion of it should go with every helping;
and therefore it is advisable for the carver directly the cover is
taken off the joint to tilt the saddle a little on one side, and cut
away at once from underneath it as much of this same fat as will be
required to go the whole round of the table. He should then slip
it all into the gravy well, and thus it will be quite ready for
him to help from, otherwise, if this be not done at starting, and
attempts are made to get at it after he has begun to cut into the
joint, he will in all probability spill the rich gravy settling in
the channel made by his first incisions--an unpardonable wasting of
good stuff--or he will overlook the kidney fat altogether, to the
disappointment of everybody concerned; and the fat is not nearly so
good cold as hot.

The popular leg of mutton owes perhaps a great deal of its popularity
to the ease with which it may be cut up. Little has to be done,
save to pass the knife straight down at right angles with the bone,
and not obliquely, as one would carve a ham. Then, according to the
preference of the guests, tolerably thick slices from either the
knuckle or the upper end may be distributed, the knuckle end being
always the better done, though not always perhaps the choicest in
flavour. Many little fancies and predilections for certain tit-bits
will be met with: 2 quaint pieces of brownish, crisply-roasted fat,
like ears or little wings, protruding from the upper end of the
joint, being, with the Pope’s-eye, notable instances. Some are fond
of having this joint dished with the under side uppermost, so as to
get at the finely grained meat lying under the Pope’s-eye; but this
is an extravagant fashion, and one that will hardly find favour in
the eyes of economical housewives.

On the butcher’s proper attention to the process known as “jointing”
depends mainly the facility with which a loin of mutton is cut up,
and we must not attribute blame to the carver who has to struggle
against the neglect by that functionary of this important matter. If
it has been rightly attended to, the carving knife can be made easily
to find its way between the chine bone, and can then, without any let
or hindrance, be passed down through the ribs, separating them one
after another, again reserving the outside chop for those who prefer
the meat brown and well done. The fat and lean go together with each
bone, in common sequence, demanding little or no thought from the
carver, save perhaps here and there, where an ugly or rugged bit of
skin requires to be trimmed off neatly.

Next to the loin of mutton comes the shoulder, as the joint offering
the least difficulty to the carver. The knife has but to be passed
from the outer edge of the shoulder across the meat towards the
carver, until the bone is reached. Take away slice after slice in
this direction, and then resorting to the meat lying on either
side of the blade bone, according to the quantity required, in
this instance cutting lengthways of the joint. When no more can be
obtained from the upper side of the joint, it must be turned, and
there are many people who do not consider that they have had the
best of a shoulder of mutton until this side is attacked. It will
now present almost the appearance of a new joint, being quite flat,
and offering a succession of juicy slices along its entire length.
These have to be dexterously removed, very much upon the principles
recommended when flat joints were spoken of. These slices are
preferred for hashing, however, by those who think that the quality
of the grain of the meat from this part of the joint renders it
inferior at the first cooking to the upper.

It is not necessary, with one exception, to say anything about joints
of lamb, for they only have to be manipulated according to the rules
laid down for mutton. The exception is a fore-quarter of lamb. In
removing the shoulder from the breast--the first point to which he
directs his attention--hold the shoulder firmly with the fork, and
proceed with the point of the knife to cut through the smoking crisp
brown skin in a circular line, at the junction of the two joints.
Following the same line for a second time, and now thrusting the
knife farther into the meat, a very little exertion with the left
hand makes it easy to raise the shoulder from the breast, whilst
a pat of butter, a little cayenne pepper, some salt, and a good
squeeze of lemon are placed between them by the carver. When, in a
moment or two, these ingredients have assimilated with the gravy,
it is sometimes, for the sake of convenience, thought desirable to
place the shoulder upon another dish, hot, and standing ready at the
carver’s left hand, or held there by a servant. This done, inquiry is
made of those about to be helped as to their preference for brisket,
ribs, or a piece of the shoulder. The brisket should be separated
from the ribs by one long cut from left to right, and then subdivided
at the distance of one or two bones, by cuts at right angles with
the line which separated the brisket from the ribs. These again, in
like manner, are divided into chops by carving them similarly to the
shorter bones of the brisket, and upon the same principle as when
cutting up a loin of mutton.

Venison.--Those who have any experience in carving haunches or
saddles of mutton have very little to learn with regard to venison;
the principles which guide them in dealing with the former have only
to be followed out in the latter. A haunch of venison is carved
exactly like a haunch of mutton; but, being somewhat larger, it
is advised by some authorities that the broad end of the haunch,
instead of the side, should be turned towards the carver for the
purpose of giving him greater command over the joint. This system
leads to an entire disturbance of the appearance and general
arrangement of the table; and a skilled carver should be independent
of such twistings to meet his convenience, except under great
emergencies. Epicures pretend that there is a vast difference between
the flavour of the slices cut close to the vertebræ and those farther
removed, and the carver must make concessions to such notions, and
give those whom he is helping their slice from the region which they
prefer. Never either must he omit to give a dip of the rich gravy
always accumulating in the channel whence the slices are taken, nor
an ample portion of fat with the lean. Expedition, but without hurry,
is essential in carving venison, as, like mutton, it chills very
rapidly: but, as on the whole a haunch of venison is not a difficult
dish to deal with, there never should be anything to complain of on
the score of delay. As the shoulder of venison is usually sent to
table stewed and rolled, the bone having been removed, it presents
no difficulty whatever to the carver, and being, so to speak, a fat
joint, has to be dealt with according to the principles already
laid down. Sometimes, however, the shoulder is roasted, as is also
the neck; but these--with braised brisket, fillets, and steaks--do
not demand any special comment as to their carving; for what has
been learned about cutting up sheep should prove sufficient for
the comparatively rare occasions when the carver is called upon to
discuss deer.

Veal.--The commonest form in which veal offers itself is perhaps
a roast breast, and if a carver has had any experience in cutting
up fore-quarter of lamb, he will at once recognise the similarity
between a breast of veal and the aforesaid joint of lamb after the
shoulder has been removed. Like it, the veal is composed of ribs and
brisket, and may be cut accordingly, that is, first, by separating in
one long incision the ribs from the brisket, and then the rib bones
one by one, after the manner of chops generally. The gristly brisket
may be cut in squarish portions, inquiring of course always of the
guests whether they prefer the latter or the former. The brown,
well-cooked parts in veal are usually most esteemed; and if the
sweetbread, as it sometimes is, be sent to table with the joint, it
ought naturally to be fairly distributed. Once more, in manipulating
the roast fillet of veal, the carver has only to remember what has
been said respecting a round of beef, with the addition that a
portion of the stuffing, which is inserted between the flap and the
main bulk of the meat, be served with each helping, and that the
brown outside, or first slice, is considered a very choice morsel.

A knuckle of veal, being in shape somewhat like the knuckle end of a
leg of mutton when it has been divided, needs but few directions for
carving. The slices from the thicker end are the best; that would be
to the right of the first incision into the meat.

The butcher is mainly responsible for the good carving of a loin of
veal, for if he have not done his jointing properly, it is hardly
possible to cut it up decently; whereas, if he has done his work
well, the carver has but to feel his way with the point of the knife,
on lines already laid down, to be able to disengage the separate
portions--never, by the way, overlooking the kidney, and the kidney
fat, lying on the under side of the joint.

It is not very easy to describe the exact method of carving calf’s
head, but a little experience and examination of its organic
development soon suggests what has to be done. When upon the dish,
the nose and mouth should be to the right of the carver, and the
first incision should be made right down to the bone, and running
all along from the back of the nearest ear down towards the nose,
and slices be cut away in the same direction. With each of these
should go a piece of what is called the sweetbread of the throat,
a substance to be found under the ear, and, so to speak, at right
angles with the line of the first incision, and it should be cut
towards the carver in the direction in which it lies. Calf’s head has
a multitude of succulent morsels, to wit, the ears, the flesh round
the eyes, and the eyes themselves. Also the palate, which, lying
under the head, is to be got at when the jaw bone is removed; and
where, likewise, some nice lean becomes accessible. On a separate
dish, of course, the tongue and brains are served, of which every one
is invited to partake.

Sheep’s head is held to be a very vulgar dish, and a lamb’s head,
perhaps, only one degree less so. Still he who is unfortunate enough
at any time to find himself with the responsibility of carving or
helping such viands may take courage if he has any knowledge of what
is demanded of him when similarly situated with a calf’s head, the
heads of the smaller animals being then very easy of manipulation.

Pork.--Like calf’s head, a sucking pig seems at first sight to be
rather an appalling dish, and undoubtedly a little experience is
requisite before one becomes quite _au fait_ with the business.
But the whole substance is so tender, and yields so readily to the
knife, that after a slight knowledge of the anatomy of the animal has
been acquired, all difficulties vanish. The little piglet generally
appears upon the board divided into four parts; the head, like the
body, being cloven in twain, a cheek being placed at either end of
the carcase. In dealing with the latter, the shoulder has first to be
removed by passing the knife circularly round its junction with the
body, pretty much as one does with fore-quarter of lamb. The leg is
then treated after the same fashion, when the ribs will be open to
view, for gentle division. Each side of the animal is disposed of in
the same way; the larger joints being considered, perhaps, the least
delicate (if, where all is delicacy, there can be a “least”) are
usually offered to the robuster appetites at table. As in the case of
all dishes abounding in choice morsels, the epicure is sure to have
his fancies about sucking pig--one preferring the ribs, another the
neck, and a third the meat from the shoulder.

Concerning leg of pork, really little or nothing additional has to
be said. The knife only needs to be carried straight down through
the crackling to the very bone; as each slice is taken away, such
stuffing, gravy, &c., as accompany it, is distributed either from the
joint itself or from sauceboats. Allowing for a slight difference
in form, it has to be treated like most of the leg joints that come
to table, and the same may be said of the loin. As you dispose of a
loin of mutton, so do you of a loin of pork, the due value of the
crackling, fat, and brown tit-bits being kept in mind. The butcher
here again is responsible for the jointing, and the cook for the
judicious scoring of the crackling.

Ham alone remains to be noticed in this part of our subject, and
according as one wishes to have fine or economical slices, must it
be carved. In the first case, the start is made upon the prime part
at once; in the second, from quite the lower end of the knuckle,
advancing gradually at a gentle angle towards the thicker and prime
part of the meat. A pliant, very sharp knife is indispensable, as the
slices cannot well be too thin, or too evenly and smoothly cut. It is
of little concern to the carver whether the ham be hot or cold, and
the same may be said of joints generally.

Odd Dishes.--Very little need be said about “helping” dishes of
meat, as part of the carver’s duty, even where no actual knife and
fork execution is required. A rump steak, for instance, hardly needs
to be carved, but it has to be cut and helped very neatly, and not
distributed in irregular mis-shapen hunks, but rather, as a rule, in
oblong finger-shaped pieces, with a nice modicum of fat attached, if
possible, but certainly going with each portion of lean. And because
meat pies again have to be cut and helped, not carved, the carver, so
called, must not look upon them as beneath his consideration.

If he thinks that hashes, curries, ragouts, what-not, do not give him
a fair field for the display of his skill with knife and fork, and
that, therefore, it does not signify how they are helped, he will be
grievously mistaken.

Except where a great number of portions have to be served, avoid the
use of the knife sharpener at table: it has always an eating-house
effect about it. It is disagreeable to the ear and if executed with
the flourish of dexterity, not unfrequently is likely to splash right
and left; for unless the knife be wiped previously, and this is a
very awkward and unsightly process, some of the juices of the meat
inevitably cling to it, to be scraped off against the sharpener,
which in its turn is made greasy, and therefore jeopardises the
purity of the tablecloth. If, however, a sharpener has to be brought
into play, the simplest and most efficacious is the ordinary round
butcher’s steel, always supposing the power of using it properly in
conjunction with the knife has been acquired. Short of this, the
little contrivance consisting of a series of discs overlapping each
other, so as to form a wedge-shaped socket with the finest of thin
edges conceivable, into which the edge of the knife is dropped and
then pushed gently backwards and forwards, is very useful, and may
be recommended as fully answering its purpose, and if carefully
manipulated entirely without risk. It also is cleaner, less
unsightly, and creates less unpleasant noise than the common steel,
whilst a child might manage it. At any rate, ladies should always
use it in preference to any other sharpening instrument. The habit
of feebly drawing the edge of the carving knife downwards, to and
fro, against the back edge of another knife, should only be thought
of under very pressing circumstances; it is an extremely inelegant
action.

_Poultry._--Once learn its anatomy and the best method of separating
its limbs, and very little more knowledge will enable you to
manipulate skilfully any of the feathered tribe. The chicken should
lie upon its back at right angles with our line of sight, and its
tail end to our left hand. The fine plump breast tempts naturally
the insertion of the fork, which should be driven firmly, but
delicately, and almost perpendicularly into it, a little to the
left of the centre, a prong on either side of the ridge of the
breast bone. Secure hold should be at once got by this process of
the whole carcase, for if it be intended to cut up the entire fowl
at once it may be, and should be all but done without once removing
the fork. The next process is to separate the wing, or both wings,
and this is done by passing the knife sharply along the line of the
breast, as far outside the breast bone as will leave a fair share
of meat attached to it, and yet give an ample portion to the wing.
Thus, cutting from left to right, and downwards, as we approach the
right extremity of the bird, let the knife diverge a little farther
outwards, so as to clear the merrythought, and strike the joint of
the wing. Unless the creature be of preternatural antiquity, the
junction is easily severed, and bone and flesh come away almost with
a touch. Having removed both wings in this way, lower the fork hand
so as to cant the chicken a little on to its side, and then pass the
blade of the knife under the projecting elbow, as we may call it, of
the leg, and, forcing it outwards, disengage it too from the body by
severing with the point of the knife the joint by which it is still
slightly held. Then turn the bird bodily over on to its other side,
without removing the fork, and dispose of the second leg in a similar
fashion. Restoring then the chicken to its original position, pass
the knife transversely across the breast a little to the right of the
highest point of the breast bone. Cut down gently, inclining the edge
of the blade to the right, press outwards and upwards slightly, and
the merrythought comes away. There must be no tearing of the skin;
every incision of the knife must go clean through that, for nothing
looks worse than to see one portion with the skin half torn away,
and hanging in a long ribbon from another. The merrythought is now
disposed of by just separating the little joints by which it is still
attached when the upper end of its bone has been separated from the
breast, and having a nice clean edged covering of skin. Again turn
the carcase on to its side, and by an action with the knife, similar
to that by which you removed the legs, force away by an upward
pressure the two side bones one after the other, that is the two
bones which the removal of the merrythought has revealed. There is
nothing now to prevent the knife being swept clean through the ribs,
and so disengage breast and back. At this stage the fork is withdrawn
from the breast, which has now become a trim, tempting, and oblong
portion; the back only remains to be dealt with. Turning it over,
press the knife firmly down upon the right end of it, and holding it
so steadily, lift the left extremity with the fork, and the back is
immediately dislocated near the centre; complete the separation by
severing with the knife such portions of skin and flesh as may yet
cause the joints still to adhere one to the other. Arrange then all
these various portions neatly on the dish, and still assuming that
the demolition of the whole bird was necessary, it will be ready to
serve, remembering that a piece of the liver should go with that
wing which has it not. On some occasions--carving for a large number
of children to wit--it may be necessary to divide each leg into two
portions by severing the thigh bone from the drumstick, as it is
called.

Boiled or roast, such is the mode of cutting up a fowl. Supposing,
however, that some special part alone is wanted, say the
merrythought, it can hardly be got at without first cutting the wing,
or wings; not perhaps disengaging them entirely, but certainly so far
as to get at the particular joint required. It ensures neatness in
the long run, and it is highly essential that a bird, if it reappears
at table, should look neither hacked nor mangled. If a fowl approach
the proportions of a capon, it will seldom be well to drive the fork
into the breast at starting, because then the first thing to be done
is to make the breast yield the utmost number of slices; these should
be cut, to begin with, from as close to the wing as possible, working
upwards on either side till the breast bone be reached. Only when
these, the choicest parts of the bird, are distributed, will it be
necessary to go into the dissection of the carcase as aforesaid; and
it must not be forgotten that under this method the wings are reduced
to what may be called a mere picking.

Very special fancies are found to predominate amongst all who
partake of poultry, and it is essential that the carver does not
neglect to consult each individual’s predilections. A very little
experience, too, will show how indispensable it is to have poultry
carving knife and fork in exquisite order. The knife must be firm
and sharp-pointed, or it will never disengage anything like stubborn
joints.

Duck.--The anatomy of the fowl once mastered, that of the duck or
duckling becomes immediately patent to the most casual observer. The
slight difference which exists in their general conformation, and
which arises chiefly from the legs of the duck being set farther back
on the body, is not sufficient to require much additional comment;
but it may be said that, whereas the wing of the “flyer” is held in
the highest repute, so is the leg of the “swimmer”; and when a very
small and tender duckling is under the knife, one wing and leg taken
off together, without division, will be no more than enough for one
portion. The stuffing is got at by cutting open at its lower end,
by a semicircular incision, the little apron of skin just below the
breast. This should be done so neatly that it falls back into its
place when the spoon is withdrawn, and must on no account be left
jagged. Nevertheless, the carver should never put any of the stuffing
upon a plate without first asking whether it will be agreeable. Some
housewives, when a pair of ducks or ducklings appear, allow only one
of them to be stuffed, and this is perhaps wise. As with a large
chicken, so with a large duck, the most must be made of its breast
by cutting the utmost number of long and delicate slices that it
will yield, commencing always as close to the wing as possible. Very
marked will be the difference in the apparent amount of separate
portions which will be got off a duck by a good and a bad carver; and
it is only a little exaggeration to say that the good one will make
the bird go twice as far as the bad. All sorts of odd out-of-the-way
tit-bits can be got off the carcase by any one who has had the wit to
keep a watchful eye on a dexterous knight of the carving knife and
fork--for practical carving is learned more thoroughly by watching an
expert than by any other means. Amongst the tit-bits of a duck some
people look upon the feet as very pretty picking, and they should
always appear at table, not only for the above reason, but as giving
a character to the dish.

Turkey.--The turkey, though looked upon as the king of the poultry
yard, is not by any means a subject that calls for a very unusual
amount of skill on the part of the carver. Beyond the fact that
care should be taken to cut neatly a succession of long slices from
the breast, each with its nice little edge of untorn skin, there is
really not much for the knife and fork to do. The cutting of slices
from the breast should begin as close to the wing as possible, and
proceed upwards on both sides, to the ridge of the breast bone.
Some people prefer exactly to reverse this process; but it is not
important. The stuffing under the breast is got at precisely as in
the case of duck. The severing of the wings and legs is only on rare
occasions necessary at table, as the breast of the bird usually
yields an ample supply for an average number of guests. But in the
event of the carver being called on to disjoint a leg or wing, he
will only have to draw upon his acquaintance with the anatomy of the
chicken. When, on the following day, the remains of a turkey appear
in the form of a grill or a devil, the cook should have made any
carving of the dish unnecessary.

Goose.--Though the anatomy is similar again to that of the chicken,
the greater size and strength of the bird give greater toughness to
the joints, and call for the exercise of more force of wrist and hand
in their separation. The point of the strong sharp blade must be made
to find its way between the bones, as any attempt to cut through them
will lead to disaster. Supposing the whole of the breast to be gone,
then, and that the leg and wing bones have to be operated on, proceed
upon the principles enunciated in the case of the chicken. Turn the
bird on one side, and, after forcing with the blade of the knife the
projecting angles or elbows of the bones back from the carcase, when
coming to the leg, separate the thigh from its socket, which will be
a less easy task than in the case of the pinion-bone of the wing. The
merrythought, if comparatively a small item for so large a bird as
a goose, must be disengaged. The dissection of the remainder of the
bird, upon its reappearance as a hash or what-not, will generally
devolve upon the cook; but, come in what guise it may, most excellent
picking may be found in every quarter. Stuffing is an element of
roast goose never to be overlooked; it is to be found and reached in
the same way as in the duck. The skin of the apron and elsewhere is,
as usual, on no account to be torn off or left ragged, particularly
as with this bird it is accounted very choice in flavour.

Guinea Fowl.--Guinea fowl, peahen, or peacock, and other such
“strange fowl” as are on rare occasions put before a carver, being in
their anatomy sufficiently similar to the turkey for all practical
purposes, may be passed over here. Boiled or roast, they must be
treated with the same discrimination.

Rabbit.--A rabbit for roasting is somewhat differently trussed to
when it is intended for boiling; in the latter case the head is
placed on the dish to the right of the carver, and in the former
to the left. In both cases, however, the back is the chief point
to operate upon. If roast, separate the back on either side from
the legs and shoulders; then divide the back into two equal parts;
then disengage leg and shoulder one from the other, jointing them
according to the number of portions required. If boiled, a very
similar process may be adopted; the knife’s point has but to be
inserted where a joint appears, and it yields to the slightest
pressure. Very seldom is the rabbit substantial enough to justify its
treatment after the manner of the hare--that is, by taking slices out
of the back, and so on, down to the limbs, without disengaging them;
but where the bulk of the animal is sufficient to allow of this, it
is certainly the more tempting, easy, and appetising method.

Pigeon.--Beyond bringing into play the strength and neatness which
are demanded whenever actual bone has to be severed, there is little
to be done with knife and fork. If the bird be divided cleanly into
two equal parts by a sharp strong cut right through everything, as
it were, from beak to tail, each portion must be further manipulated
by those before whom it is placed; the carver has no further concern
with it. But should it be necessary to divide a pigeon into 3
portions, then 2 legs and 2 wings will make 2 out of the 3--if, in
cutting them off, the carver is careful to leave enough meat on the
breast to allow of that being presented as the third.

_Game._--Woodcock.--When a woodcock is under the knife and fork, the
carver will be very careful to examine the toast, to see that all the
trail is upon it, or rather that the liver, which is the essential
element of the trail, is not still left within the body. To do this
he may with a slight touch of the knife, when he has secured the
breast with the fork, force back the legs, and so, by disengaging
the back, turn the bird as it were inside out; the liver will then
fall upon the toast, and should be spread upon it evenly, with the
addition of a little pat of butter, pepper, and salt, and a squeeze
of lemon. As to cutting up the woodcock, the task is very simple. The
bird may be divided into 2 or 3--the breast for one, and each leg
and wing for the second and third portions; but, as the back is very
small, and yet very choice, it had better be reserved for the special
friend, seeing that there is not enough of it to divide; the thighs,
however, are accounted almost equal _bonnes bouches_.

Snipe.--Perhaps the next amongst the “trail birds” to rank with
the woodcock, who is the king of them all, is the snipe. He will
generally, upon his modicum of toast, form not too large a portion
for one good appetite; but he may be made to do for two less robust,
by splitting him exactly in twain upon the usual plan. This is a bird
that brooks no delay in the helping. He should be eaten hissing hot.

Plover.--The plover calls for no special directions. Larger than the
snipe, but smaller than the woodcock, he may be treated according to
the appetites--halved, trebled, or presented upon one plate whole,
with the toast as a matter of course. If for plover or snipe we read
“quail,” what has been said above will be all that is necessary. The
ortolan also might be included. The hints anent the disposal of the
liver, &c., on the toast, under the woodcock, may be taken to apply,
more or less, to all similar arrangements. The carver should be
careful to eliminate the little sandbag or crop, which sometimes may
be found in close proximity to the liver; otherwise, if spread upon
the toast, its grit will render the whole entirely uneatable.

Wild fowl.--Like turkey or goose, wild duck (and indeed all wild
fowl, including the teal and widgeon) offers to the carver the most
tempting of breasts, whence to cut away a succession of delicate
slices; but he may not remove these until he has inserted sparingly
a sprinkling of cayenne pepper between the scorings he has made
with his knife, and given an ample squeeze of lemon over them, to
drive the pepper well into the interstices. The breast alone is
held to be the choice portion of the bird, though there is pretty
picking elsewhere, but further dissection of him, when necessary, for
immediate or future purposes, such as hashes, &c., may be carried on
upon the oft-referred-to chicken principles.

Landrail.--The landrail, not often met with at table, may be easily
carved by treating him like a snipe; he is trussed in the same
manner, but of course is trailless.

Hare.--The hare stands pre-eminent amongst game, and is so generally
popular, and yields so much capital eating, that it should be looked
upon as a very special dish for the carver. The head on the left of
the carver and the body lying at right angles to the line of sight,
slices are cut out of the back all along its length from left to
right. Clean, neat, and regular should they be, each with its nice
little edge of brown skin; and when, from both sides of the spine,
all the meat has been cut away, both the legs must be disengaged by a
sharp incision, much after the manner in which the wing of a chicken
is removed. Then the shoulders, by a semicircular cut round the
joint, are displaced, the point of the knife feeling for the junction
at the socket of the bone. Next, in the same way, let the knife
travel to about the centre of the back, the carver feeling with its
point for a favourable nick in the vertebræ through which, with some
little exercise of strength, he may drive the blade, and so divide
the body in two. The stuffing must be served in moderation with each
portion; and, as the remnants of a hare are generally turned to good
account, it is as well, except under extraordinary circumstances, not
to serve any of the bones upon the plates, but to cut as neat-looking
slices as may be from shoulders and legs. Plenty of gravy should also
be helped from the dish by the carver, in addition to that served
separately; otherwise the portions may look unattractively dry when
first placed before the guest. All parts of a hare are so full of
flavour, that, beyond the fact that the back is usually the most
tender, there is little superiority in it. The ears and brain are
amongst the extra little tit-bits affected by the connoisseur.

Partridge.--Roast partridge usually coming, as it does, at the close
of the feast, a very small portion of bird should be served to each
guest; in this case, cut him up precisely as you would a chicken, and
all at once, without removing the fork; and, by thus making him go
as far as possible, you do as much justice to the excellence of the
bird as the vagaries of custom will allow. Of course, the choicest
morsels, the wings, the breast, and the merrythought, that is, should
go to the more delicate appetites; but that is no reason why legs
and back should be comparatively wasted, as they often are, when
accompanied on the plate by more fleshy pieces, or be left neglected
by the carver on the dish. He who knows anything of the flavour of
game will be as well contented with the head and back, or leg of a
young partridge in good condition as with any other part of it, if
it come at the customary tail end of a dinner, and when a mere taste
is all that is expected or desirable. But when the partridge appears
as a very important element at a choice repast, then hand him over
bodily one bird on a hot-water plate to each guest, and so evade all
carving responsibilities; or, short of this, cleave him in twain,
fairly from beak to tail, as a pigeon, and let no more than two
discuss him; or, once again, at the most, cut him into three, as also
directed with the pigeon.

Pheasant.--Treat the pheasant with similar deference; for, if young
and in good condition, though one part may be better than another,
there is no part open to disdain. According to the size of the bird
so may you cut him up, but, as a rule, his breast will yield a
sufficient number of slices to make it advisable to deal with him in
the manner advocated for a turkey; otherwise he has to be dissected
entirely as if he were a chicken, remembering at the same time that,
according to the position he occupies in the menu, so should your
helping be proportioned. If he represent in any way the _pièce de
résistance_, be fairly bountiful, not giving a slice of the breast
alone to one person, but some extra “snack” of picking with it, thus
letting the choice, and the less choice, morsels be duly blended.
On the other hand, if the pheasant come up to table at the usual
conventional time, the slices from the breast will be generally
enough to go round, if the carver allows no slice to reach the
magnitude of anything beyond a taste. He may know if a cock pheasant
(cock pheasants are generally the better) be young or old by a glance
at the spurs--the short and blunt indicating youth, sharp and long
the reverse; and it is well for the carver to note this at starting,
as it will prepare him for the amount of strength he will have to
put forth in separating the joints. Bread sauce and gravy, as with
the partridge, are served separately; but should there be a toast
beneath the bird upon the dish, a piece of the toast must go with
each portion, a search for the stuffing be entered on, and some of it
dispensed.

Grouse.--Beyond putting a very strong emphasis on the value of the
back of the grouse, we need only refer to what has been said of the
partridge to know how to deal with him. He is worthy in every way of
the same high consideration, either as one, two or three portions;
but if cut up into this latter or more quantities, a piece of the
back must go with each, if the carver regard justice as a leading
element of his craft. The habit now of not sending up the bird’s head
is, some think, reprehensible; as, like that of the pheasant and
partridge, the skull if split in two offers a delicate morsel in the
shape of the brain. A piece of the toast, too, usually to be found
beneath the grouse should find its way to everybody’s plate.

Blackcock.--Being of the genus grouse, here will be the place to say
what one has to say about the blackcock; and once more a knowledge
of the chicken’s anatomy will be the key to the whole position. The
tenderness and delicacy of the flesh, however, of game birds make
them less favourable subjects for the young carver to experimentalise
upon. The thigh of this bird is held by the epicure as the portion
which attains the culminating flavour. Therefore, though slices may
be cut from the breast to begin with in the usual fashion, they
may not trench upon this tit-bit, which should be preserved intact
for the special friend or friends, since there are two thighs. To
decapitate this bird, and to send him to table headless, is to
deprive some one of an exquisite _bonne bouche_. When cut in two,
there is very pretty picking about the head; and whilst on the dish
it serves at once to mark this distinguished member of the feathered
community.

Capercailzie.--The capercailzie, though very seldom met with at the
ordinary English dinner table, may not be overlooked here, for,
though a very much larger bird than grouse or blackcock, it is yet
to be ranked amongst the same species. In fact, it is a woodland
grouse, and sometimes attains the size of a goodly turkey; which is
as much as to say, from our point of view, that we should treat him
accordingly.

Ptarmigan.--Ptarmigan, too, though less uncommon and smaller than the
capercailzie, would not need any especial dissection, and has merely
to be cut up according to his size; whilst of course the buttered
toast on which he is served may, or may not, be partaken of; and it
is just as well for the carver to inquire.

In dispensing any rare or unusual bird it is quite essential that
the carver should point out to those at table who are unacquainted
with its precise character what it is, and recommend this or that
particular part to their consideration. Also in the matter of toast,
when it may contain the trail of game, the carver should be very
careful not to give any of it to those who may happen to dislike it.
There are many people who will only eat game when it is quite fresh,
and who would shudder at the thought of consuming the trail.


=Dinners.=--To commence with the manner of eating soup. In olden
days it was customary to “drink” it out of a basin. In these days
no one “drinks” soup--it is “eaten”; whether it be mock turtle or
the clearest Julienne, it is eaten out of a soup plate at dinner,
and with a tablespoon. To use a dessertspoon for this purpose is
not _comme il faut_. There is a reason in this: soup is nothing if
not hot; and, as it is the custom to give but a very small help of
soup--about half a ladleful to each person--it is eaten quicker and
hotter with a large spoon. The reason for small helps of soup is that
the various courses to follow do not render it expedient to commence
with a plateful of soup. At ball suppers, when soup is served in soup
plates, it is also eaten with a tablespoon; but when served in small
cups a spoon is not used, and it is actually drunk, although fashion
does not sanction the expression “I have drunk some soup.”

For fish, the two dinner forks are now superseded by the little
silver fish knife and fork. When oysters are given, however, they
precede the soup, and are eaten with an ordinary dinner fork, and
not with the fish fork. In eating oysters the shell is steadied on
the plate with the fingers of the left hand; the oysters are not
cut, but are eaten whole. Large dinners are ordered mainly with
a view to please the palates of men with epicurean tastes; it is
not expected that ladies should eat of the most highly seasoned
and richest dishes, but should rather select the plainest. This
particularly applies to young ladies and young married ladies; and
there are certain things that young ladies are not supposed to eat of
at dinner, although handed to them in their turn--as, for instance,
marrow patties, foie gras patties, snipe with trail, woodcock with
trail, caviare, bloater cheese. Small helps of fish are always given.

Some entrées are eaten with a knife and fork, others with a fork
only. All entrées that offer any resistance to a fork being passed
through them require the aid of both knife and fork, such as cutlets,
filet de bœuf, sweetbreads, &c.; but when rissoles, patties,
quenelles, boneless curry, vol-au-vents, timbales, minces, &c., are
eaten, the fork is used and the knife is discarded. In the case of
the lighter entrées, the contact of the knife is supposed to militate
against their delicate flavour, and with regard to the pastry of
patties and vol-au-vents, it would be considered bad style were a
knife to be used in addition to the fork.

When game is eaten, it is needless to say that the old licence for
holding a bone delicately between the fingers and thumb has long
since expired. The leg of a chicken, pheasant, duck, or wild duck
is never given to a guest as a help, save on those occasions when
there are more guests present than there are helps from breasts and
wings to offer them. Under these circumstances the carver is reduced
to the necessity of falling back upon the legs; but in this case
only the upper part of the thigh is given, the drumstick being cut
off--thus a guest has little difficulty in separating the meat from
the bone. The wing of a bird, however, is a very usual help given
to a lady. Formerly it was thought a correct thing to sever the
wing at the joint, and then to cut the meat from the bone; but this
required a certain amount of strength in the wrist and dexterity of
action, as, if the bird happened to be not of the youngest, there
was a chance that a nervous or clumsy young lady would lodge one
half of the wing on the tablecloth; so the fair recipients of a wing
in the present day do not run this risk or take this trouble, but
simply cut off from the bone the meat that is easily got at, leaving
those morsels about which there is the slightest difficulty. An
inexperienced carver occasionally gives the gizzard with the wing,
and some inexperienced young ladies make an attempt to eat it; the
gizzard should not be left in the wing by the carver. In the case of
small pigeons, golden plovers, snipe, quails, larks, &c., a whole
bird is given to each help, and the proper way to eat these birds is
to cut the meat from the breast and wings, and to eat each morsel
at the moment of cutting it; the bird should not be turned over and
over on the plate, or cut in half, or otherwise dissected. The legs
of Bordeaux pigeons are not as a rule eaten, and half a bird only is
given, as there is sufficient meat on the wing and breast to satisfy
an ordinary second-course appetite; when the legs of smaller birds
are eaten, such as snipe or golden plover, the meat is cut off as
from breast or wing. Young ladies, as a rule, do not eat these birds,
or any second-course delicacy of this description; a help of chicken
or pheasant, on the contrary, is usually accepted by them.

On the subject of vegetables there is but little to be said; when
large potatoes are served in their skins, a salad plate is offered
at the same time, so this difficulty is thus provided for. When
asparagus first comes into season, it is often given in the second
course instead of in the first, in which case it is eaten as a
separate dish; when it is handed with meat or poultry, it is eaten on
the same plate containing either; and although served on toast, the
toast is not meant to be eaten, and it is merely intended to receive
the superfluous moisture from the asparagus. In eating asparagus,
elderly gentlemen still hold the stalks in their fingers; the younger
generation cut off the points of the asparagus with a knife and fork;
but asparagus tongs render helping an easy matter. Seakale is often
given in the second course when first in season; the toast on which
this is served is also not eaten. When mushrooms are served on toast,
this toast is generally eaten. Seakale is eaten with a knife and
fork. Artichokes are an awkward and untidy vegetable to eat: they are
only given in the second course as a separate vegetable. The outside
leaves are removed with the knife and fork, and the inner leaves,
which surround the heart or head of the artichoke, are conveyed to
the mouth with the fingers, and sucked dry; epicures consider these a
“dainty morsel,” but at a dinner party young ladies would not attempt
to eat them.

Savouries are not eaten by young ladies when they dine out, and
seldom in the home circle. Savouries of the description of macaroni
with cheese, cheese fondus, cheese straws, cheese soufflés,
_choufleur au gratin_, olives, &c.--these things are not supposed to
suit the palates of young ladies. In eating sweets, a dessertspoon is
only used for compotes of fruit or fruit tarts, or those dishes where
juice or syrup prevails to the extent of rendering a dessertspoon
necessary. But whenever it is possible to use a fork in preference
to a spoon, it is always better to do so; and jellies, creams,
blancmanges, ice puddings, &c., are always eaten with a fork.

As a matter of course, young ladies do not eat cheese at dinner
parties. The usual mode of eating cheese is to cut it in small square
pieces, and place it with the knife on a morsel of bread, and then
convey the bread to the mouth with the fingers. When celery is given
with cheese, it is cut into fair-sized mouthfuls, which are put in
the mouth with the fingers, and bites are not taken from a stick of
celery held between the fingers schoolboy fashion. Salad is always
eaten with the joint, off small salad plates, placed on the left side
of the dinner plate; it is eaten with the knife and fork.

To turn from dinner to dessert. Ices are eaten with a small gold
ice spoon. Fruits that require peeling--such as peaches, apricots,
nectarines, &c.--are peeled with a dessert knife and fork, and eaten
with a spoon and fork, as are oranges. Pears and apples are peeled
and eaten with a knife and fork, as is pine or melon; with the latter
a spoon also is required. Strawberries are also eaten with a spoon
and fork when cream is given with them, otherwise they are held by
their stalks and dipped into powdered sugar. Cherries, gooseberries,
grapes, and currants are also eaten with the fingers, and so on down
the gamut of fruit. A slice of dessert cake is broken and eaten as
bread would be, and is not cut with the knife into small pieces. The
finger glasses are used after fruit has been eaten, and the tips of
the fingers are then dipped into the water and dried on the serviette
with as little parade as possible, always bearing in mind that the
serviette is not a chamber towel or the finger glass a washhand
basin, and also that, when the serviette is used for wiping the lips,
it should be done quickly and deftly, attracting as little notice as
possible, as it is not a pretty sight to see a person deliberately
occupied in wiping their mouth or their moustache again and again
during dinner; a lady must be a very untidy eater who requires to
wipe her mouth constantly during dinner.

When liqueurs are handed with the ices, young ladies are not expected
to take them, and, as a rule, a young lady would not drink more than
half a glass of sherry with soup or fish, one glass of champagne
during dinner, or a glass of sherry if champagne is not given, and
half a glass of sherry at dessert. A married lady would perhaps drink
a glass and a half of champagne at dinner, in addition to a glass
of sherry with fish or soup. Some ladies drink less than this, and
others perhaps a little more, and if a lady does not intend drinking
more wine than remains in her glass, she should make a little motion
of dissent when the butler is about to replenish it. Otherwise a good
glass of wine is sent away untasted; and in all cases when a lady
only intends drinking half a glass of wine, it would be no breach of
etiquette for her to say to the butler at the moment of his offering
her wine, “Only half a glass, please;” good wine is a costly luxury,
and should never be unnecessarily wasted, even by a guest at a dinner
party.

_Bills of Fare._--The following are selected from a very large
number, which have been published from time to time in the _Queen_.

For 2.--(_a_) Brunoise. Sole au gratin. Filets de bœuf aux
champignons. Pommes de terre sautés. Roast blackcock. Stuffed
tomatoes. Tartelettes Piémontaises. (_b_) Potage à la Cussy. Perches
sur le gril. Poule au riz à la Milanaise. Haricots verts en salade.
Omelette au jambon. (_c_) Consommé au riz. Filets de soles à la
Béchamel. Côtelettes du mouton panées aux tomates. Haricots verts
à la Lyonnaise. Parmesan. Tourte de Reine-claudes. (_d_) Brunoise.
Friture d’éperlans. Hachis de veau aux œufs pochés. Cailles rôties.
Salade de laitue et cresson. Gateau de pommes de terre.

For 2 or 3.--(_a_) Croûte au pot. Boiled salmon, fennel sauce.
Roast quails. Watercress salad. Asparagus. Cream cheese. Gooseberry
tartlets. (_b_) Bonne femme soup. Sole au gratin. Boiled mutton
cutlets. Carrots à la maître d’hôtel. Rice soufflé. (_c_) Potage aux
pointes d’asperges. Whitebait. Filet de bœuf rôti à la Française.
New potatoes au beurre. Lettuce salad. Cheese fondue. (_d_) Spring
soup. Red mullets in papers. Fricandeau with spinach. Asparagus.
Macaroni cheese. Iced gooseberry fool. (_e_) Potage à la jardinière.
Saumon grillé à la Tartare. Côtelettes de mouton aux concombres.
Roast grouse. Watercress. Salad of French beans. Greengage tartlets.
(_f_) Grouse soup. Fried eels. Stewed steak. Mashed potatoes.
Vegetable marrow au gratin. Macaroni cheese. Apple tart. (_g_)
Tomato soup. Grey Mullet. Sauce blanche. Braised loin of mutton.
Potatoes à la Lyonnaise. Stuffed vegetable marrow. Cheese fritters.
Plum tart. (_h_) Julienne. Fried fillets of sole, tartare sauce.
Hashed venison. French beans au beurre. Macaroni au gratin. Apricot
omelet. (_i_) Consommé aux haricots verts. Filets de maquereaux
à l’Italienne. Croquettes de volaille. Côtelettes de mouton à la
Nivernaise. Tomates farcies. Gruyère. Tourte aux abricots. (_j_)
Consommé au riz. Truite saumonée grillée à la Tartare. Grenadins de
bœuf à l’Espagnole. Salade de homard en aspic. Génoises. Compôte de
framboises et groseilles. (_k_) Potage au vermicelle. Rougets sauce
aux câpres. Rissoles de homard. Fricassée de poulet. Haricots verts
à la Lyonnaise. Omelette au parmesan. Salade de fruits. (_l_) Potage
au pauvre homme. Côtelettes de mouton, pommes de terre à la maître
d’hôtel. Asperges, sauce poivrade. Omelette au jambon. (_m_) Croûte
au pot. Filets de sole à l’Italienne. Braised loin of mutton. Navets
glacés. Salade de choufleurs. Cheese straws. Caramel custards. (_n_)
Potage au macaroni. Saumon sauté au beurre. Cuisses de poulets au riz
à la Turque. Broccoli sprout salad. Fondue au Parmesan. (_o_) Potage
aux œufs pochés. Croustades de volaille à la suprême. Filets de bœuf
grillés aux pommes de terre. Choufleurs au gratin. Chartreuse de
pêches. (_p_) One dozen oysters. Consommé de volaille aux quenelles.
Chartreuse de perdrix. Grenadins de bœuf à l’Espagnole. Petits
soufflés au Parmesan. Salade d’oranges. (_q_) Purée of celery. Fried
smelts. Lark, steak, and kidney pudding. Mashed potatoes. Spanish
onions stuffed. Cheese. Apple fritters. (_r_) Purée of lentils.
Boiled haddock and egg sauce. Hashed mutton. Mashed potatoes.
Seakale. Cheese. Ginger pudding. (_s_) Potage au pauvre homme. Raie
au beurre noir. Côtelettes de mouton au naturel. Purée de pommes de
terre. Omelette au Parmesan. Tartelettes de pommes. (_t_) Julienne.
Cabillaud à la crème. The legs of a turkey devilled, purée of
chestnuts. Cauliflower salad. Mince pies. (_u_) Potage au macaroni.
Sole au gratin. Civet de lièvre aux champignons. Choux de Bruxelles
à la maître d’hôtel. Mirlitons aux confitures. (_v_) Onion soup.
Broiled whiting. Stewed steak. Haricot bean salad. Fig pudding. (_w_)
Chestnut soup. Mutton croquettes and cauliflower. Roast teal. Celery
à la sauce blanche. Cheese. Sweet omelet. (_x_) Potage à la purée
de laitues. Vol-au-vent of cod. Epigrammes de mouton aux tomates.
Chartreuse de perdrix. Œufs au gratin. Biscuit au mocha. (_y_) Croûte
au pot. Côtelettes de mouton en papillote. Stewed steak. Mashed
potatoes. Vegetable marrow au gratin. New Forest cream cheese. Pommes
au beurre. (_z_) Purée of endives. Slices of cod, Italian sauce.
Quenelles of rabbit, with minced olives. Roast partridges. Tomatoes
stuffed with mushrooms. Fondue. Génoise pastry, with whipped cream.

For 3 in August.--Lazagne. Rougets en papillote. Côtelettes de mouton
à la Soubise. Grenadins de chevreuil, sauce groseille. Artichauts,
sauce blanche. Roast grouse. Croûte d’ananas.

For 3 in September.--Potage à la jardinière. Filets de soles à la
cardinal. Cromesquis de perdreaux. Côtelettes de mouton à la Soubise.
Haricots verts à la poulette. Grouse. Pouding soufflé purée de prunes.

For 3 or 4.--(_a_) Potage à la purée d’asperges. Whitebait.
Côtelettes d’agneau aux concombres. Cailles rôties, salade de
laitue. Macaroni au gratin. Gooseberry tartlets. (_b_) Potage à
la jardinière. Sea bream, sauce piquante. Fricassée de poulets.
Filet de bœuf rôti à la Française. New potatoes au beurre. Green
artichokes à la sauce blanche. Petits soufflés au Parmesan. Compote
d’oranges. (_c_) Purée de gibier Cabillaud à la crème. Aloyau
rôti à l’Anglaise. Choux de Bruxelles au jus. Pommes de terre au
naturel. Macaroni au gratin. Beignets de pommes. (_d_) Potage aux
pâtés d’Italie. Filets de soles à la Orly. Fricandeau aux épinards.
Wild ducks, bigarrade sauce. Salade pommes de terre. Stewed cheese.
Rice soufflé. (_e_) Palestine soup. Fried whitings. Croquettes of
beef, Brussels sprouts. Roast pheasant. Watercresses. Scolloped
oysters. Omnibus pudding. (_f_) Brunoise. Sole à la ravigotte.
Filets de bœuf à la jardinière. Plovers (3 or 4). Croustades aux
huîtres. Beignets soufflés. (_g_) Oyster soup. Baked John Dory.
Mutton cutlets en papillote. Roast pheasant. Cauliflower au gratin.
Génoises au chocolat. (_h_) Croûte au pot. Rouget grondin au Madère.
Côtelettes de mouton, purée de pommes de terre. Bécasses rôties (3
or 4). Chouxfleur en salade. Pommes à la Condé. (_i_) Macaroni soup.
Cod and oyster sauce. Roast goose, apple sauce, potatoes, Brussels
sprouts. Cheese. Damson tart. Vanille custards. (_j_) Potage à la
royale. Matelotte de harengs aux champignons. Croustades de volaille.
Grenadins de veau à la macédoine. Filet de bœuf rôti à la Française.
Salade de cresson. Tomates au gratin. Gruyère. Charlotte de pommes.
Omelette au rhum. (_k_) Potage à la Sévigné. Oyster kromeskies.
Côtelettes à la Maintenon. Roast capercailzie. Watercress salad. Peas
(preserved) à la Française. Ramequins. Sir Watkin Wynn’s pudding.
(_l_) Consommé aux nouilles. Sea bream au Madère. Veal cutlets à
la Milanaise. Braised fowls à la jardinière. Fondue au Parmesan.
Bakewell pudding. Salad of oranges. (_m_) Celery soup. Haddock and
egg sauce. Grenadins of beef à l’Espagnole. Cauliflowers à la crème.
Potatoes sautées. Larks à la minute. Stewed cheese. Mirlitons au
cassis. (_n_) Brunoise. Maquereaux grillés, à la maître d’hôtel.
Fricandeau--New potatoes à la Lyonnaise. Boiled ham--Petits pois à
l’Anglaise. Œufs au gratin. Beignets d’oranges. (_o_) Consommé aux
pointes d’asperges. Fried fillet of soles, cold tartare sauce. Ris de
veau aux champignons. Rumpsteak au beurre d’anchois. Pommes de terre
sautées. Salade de laitue. York cream cheese. Soufflé à la vanille.

For 4 in August.--(_a_) Tortue claire. John Dory, sauce Hollandaise.
Petits pâtés à la financière. Côtelettes d’agneau aux concombres.
Roast neck of venison. French beans. Tartelettes d’abricots. Gelée au
marasquin. (_b_) Consommé de volaille. Grilled trout, tartare sauce.
Rissoles de volaille. Timbales de foie gras aux truffes. Côtelettes
de mouton à la Réforme. Boiled chickens. Artichokes. Ices.

For 4-6.--(_a_) Spring soup. Broiled salmon, tartare sauce.
Whitebait. Lamb cutlets, spinach. Rump steak, fried potatoes. Roast
quails, salad. Asparagus. Macaroni cheese. Apple soufflé. (_b_)
Clear mock turtle. Boiled salmon, Dutch sauce. Beef olives. Roast
quarter of lamb, new potatoes, salad. Curried eggs. Cheese. Rhubarb
Tartlets. Meringues with cream. (_c_) Consommé au pointes d’asperges.
Codfish au gratin. Grenadins of beef à la macédoine. Braised capons,
stuffed mushrooms. New potatoes. Seakale. Cheese. Watercress-butter.
Mousseline pudding. Chartreuse of oranges. (_d_) Potage printanier.
Fillets of mackerel, Italian sauce. Mutton cutlets, stewed peas.
Wild duck, bigarrade sauce. Cheese fritters. Bakewell pudding. (_e_)
Potage crecy au riz. Fried whitings. Filets de pigeons en caisses.
Braised loin of mutton, Soubise sauce. Turnip-top salad. Stewed
cheese. Orange fritters. (_f_) Consommé au céleri. Salmon grilled
à la maître d’hôtel. Croquettes de volaille. Paupiettes de bœuf
à l’Espagnole. Pintade rôtie au cresson. New potatoes sautées au
beurre. Asperges, sauce blanche. Omelette au Parmesan. Bouchées aux
confitures. Nougats à la crème.

For 6.--(_a_) Potage à la Sévigné. Brill au Madère. Mutton cutlets
à la Maintenon. Braised fowls à la jardinière. Cheese tartlets. Fig
pudding. Compote of oranges. (_b_) Potage aux nouilles. Vol-au-vent
of cod and oysters. Roast haunch of mutton. Seakale. Potatoes.
Canapés of anchovies. Cheese and celery. Rhubarb tart. Vanille
custards. (_c_) Potage aux ravioli. Torbay whitings à la Hollandaise.
Filets de pluviers aux truffes. Rump steak, potatoes sautés. Choux
frisés à la flamandes. Watercress-butter and cheese. Beignets
d’oranges. Caramel pudding. (_d_) Potage au macaroni. Baked gurnet.
Quenelles of veal à la nivernaise. Grenadins of beef with peas.
Roast partridges. Neufchâtel cheese. Watercress-butter and celery.
Mousseline pudding. Damson tartlets. (_e_) Tomato sauce. Grey mullet
à la maître d’hôtel. Oyster kromeskies. Mutton cutlets sautées with
French beans. Roast goose. Lettuce salad. Parmesan fondue. Tourte
of greengages. Marmalade pudding. (_f_) Clear oxtail soup. Boiled
salmon, sauce tartare, cucumber. Lamb cutlets with peas. Roast
ducklings. Cherry tart, cream. Anchovy toast. Cream cheese and
Gorgonzola, handed with brown biscuits. Strawberries and cherries.
(_g_) Clear gravy soup with peas. Salmon cutlets with piquant sauce.
Hashed duck. Roast loin of lamb boned and stuffed, mint sauce,
French beans, potatoes, purée of peas. Fresh strawberry cream,
apricot fritters. Cheese fondue, watercress sandwiches. Strawberries
and melon. (_h_) Giblet soup. Fillets of sole à la maître d’hôtel.
Rissoles of lamb. Roast chicken with watercress, purée of haricot
beans, potatoes, stewed vegetable marrow. Currant and raspberry
tart, whipped cream. Cheese canapés, tomato salad. Cherries and
apricots. (_i_) Potage à la Duchesse. Potage à la purée de levraut.
Sole à la Normande. Filets de rougets aux fines herbes. Mauviettes en
caisses au gratin. Fricassée de poulet à la chevalière. Côtelettes
de venaison aux haricots verts. Grouse. Madelienes. Pouding à la
Nesselrode.

For 6-8.--(_a_) Potage aux pâtés d’Italie. Saumon, sauce aux câpres.
Kromeskies de volaille. Tendrons de veau aux petits pois. Filets
de bœuf à la Béarnaise. Cailles rôties. Haricots verts à la crème.
Ramequins. Salade de fraises aux oranges. Boudin glacé à la vanille.
(_b_) Bisque de homards. Petites croustades aux huîtres. Filets
de soles à la Normande. Saumon, sauce au fenouil. Salade Russe.
Œufs farcis à la royale. Soufflé de riz à la vanille. Mirlitons au
marasquin. Bouchées aux confitures. (_c_) Bouillabaisse. Friture
d’éperlans. Turbot, sauce Hollandaise. Macaroni aux tomates. Fonds
d’artichauts à la sauce blanche. Salade de choufleurs. Fondue au
Parmesan. Charlotte de pommes. Petits choux à la crème. (_d_) Potage
à l’oseille. Turbot, lobster sauce. Poulet sauté à l’estragon.
Boudins de veau aux truffes. Filet de bœuf braisé à la jardinière.
Haricots verts en salade. Fondue au Parmesan. Chartreuse à l’ananas.
Compote de cerises. (_e_) Consommé de volaille aux quenelles.
Paupiettes de soles à la crème. Kromeskies de homard. Côtelettes
d’agneau aux tomates. Canetons rôtis. Petits pois au beurre.
Vegetable marrow au gratin. Tartelettes de Reine Claudes. Boudin
glacé au café.

For 8.--(_a_) Vermicelli soup. Trout à la Genevese, salmon cutlets.
Lamb cutlets and peas. Fricasséed chicken. Roast ribs of beef. Calf’s
head, tongue, and brains; boiled ham; with vegetables. Roast ducks,
compote of gooseberries, strawberry jelly, Italian pastry, iced
pudding. Dessert and ices. (_b_) Julienne soup. Filleted soles, with
shrimp sauce. Croquettes de veau. Ragout of kidneys and mushrooms.
Roast turkey and sausages, with cauliflower and potatoes. Trifle and
mince pies. Grapes, preserved ginger, &c.

For 8-10.--(_a_) Clear oxtail soup. Boiled turbot, lobster sauce.
Stewed pigeons. Mutton cutlets, sharp sauce. Roast sirloin of
beef. Broccoli, mashed potatoes, seakale. Wild ducks. Cheese,
celery, anchovy toast. Sir Watkin Wynn’s pudding. Maraschino jelly.
Cheesecakes. Apple tartlets. (_b_) Clear game soup. Boiled salmon,
fennel sauce. Fricassée of fowls with mushrooms. Grenadins of veal
with spinach. Braised saddle of mutton, with carrots, turnips, and
broccoli. Roast guinea-fowl larded. Lettuce salads. Cauliflower
with cheese. Orange jelly. Charlotte Russe. Génoise pastry. Apricot
tartlets. Nesselrode pudding. (_c_) Croûte au pot. Two sea-breams
stewed. Fried fillets of soles, tartare sauce. Larks in cases.
Grenadins of beef with Brussels sprouts. Braised saddle of mutton.
Stewed celery. Roast woodcocks. Endive salad. Macaroni au gratin.
Charlotte Russe, mousseline pudding. Croûtes of pineapple. Génoises
au chocolat. (_d_) Consommé aux quenelles. Boiled turbot. Lobster
sauce. Croquettes of game. Mutton cutlets and spinach. Fresh
silverside of beef à la Napolitaine. Cauliflowers à la crème, potato
sautées. Roast wild ducks, bigarade sauce. Russian salad. Tartlettes
Piémontaises. Nougats à la crème. Jam tartlets. Venus pudding.
Garibaldi cream. (_e_) Potage à la Sévigné. Matelotte d’anguilles.
Friture de merlans. Croustades de volaille. Salmis de perdreaux.
Fricandeau aux tomates. Grouse rôties. Salade de cresson. Œufs farcis
à la royale. Beignets de pêches. Génoises au chocolat. Boudin glacé
aux fruits.

For 10.--(_a_) Clear consommé aux pointes d’asperges. White soup à
la bonne femme. Small turbot, sauce tartare. Fried smelts. Larded
sweetbreads, braised and served with rich brown gravy. Fillets of
chicken à la poulette, with white button mushrooms and truffles.
Saddle of mutton. Roast pheasants or partridges. Apple charlotte,
meringues à la crème de vanille. Cheese soufflé. (_b_) Bouillabaisse.
Quenelles truffled. Cutlets à la J’aidit. Quails and salad. Iced
artichokes. Ham and green peas. Sardines on toast. Parmesan omelette.
Ices.

For 10-12.--(_a_) Oyster soup. Red mullet. Stewed pigeons. Boiled
capon and tongue (celery sauce). Curried mutton. Stewed pears and
cream. Apple jelly. (_b_) Tomato soup. John Dory. Oyster vol-au-vent.
Braised beef. Partridges. Trifle. Apple fritters. (_c_) Julienne
soup. Fillets of soles. Oyster patties. Mutton cutlets. Kromeskies.
Roast beef. Boiled turkey. Guinea-fowls. Lemon soufflé. Cabinet
pudding. Meringues. Apricot cream. Cheesecakes. (_d_) Spring soup.
Turbot and lobster sauce. Sweetbreads. Mutton cutlets with Soubise
sauce. Croquettes. Saddle of mutton. Chickens and tongue. Wild ducks.
Soufflé. Castle pudding. Trifle. Orange jelly.

For 12-14.--(_a_) Mulligatawny; clear gravy soup. Braised salmon;
stewed eels; fried smelts. Fricandeau of veal with spinach; pork
cutlets with tomato sauce; croquettes of fowl with tartare sauce;
curried lobster, rice. Boiled capon; tongue; saddle of mutton,
laver, broccoli, potatoes. Woodcocks or wild ducks. Conservative
pudding, raspberry cream, calf’s foot jelly. Cheese fondue. (_b_)
Bisque d’écrevisses. Petites croustades, purée de gibier. Filets de
soles à la Russe. Gigot de chevreuil, sauce poivrade. Faisans à la
Bohémienne. Timbales milanaises. Mousse à l’ananas. Dinde truffée.
Salade Italienne. Cardons à l’Espagnole. Pâté de foie gras. Suprême
de pêches. Plombière aux avelines. Dessert. (_c_) Potage velours.
Caisses de volailles. Saumon-sauce crevettes. Suprême de poularde
à la Maréchale. Salmis de bécasses. Aspic de foie gras au vert
pré. Sorbets au Kirsch. Dinde truffée. Salade Russe. Cêpes à la
Bordelaise. Homard, sauce remoulade. Croûte Parisienne à l’ananas.
Corbeille de fruits glacés. Dessert.

Plain Dinners for a Week.--Sunday: White soup. Turbot, sauce
Hollandaise. Braised loin of veal, potatoes and parsnips. Roast
fowls. Swiss pudding. Orange sponge. Monday: Vegetable soup. Hashed
turbot. Burdoan stew, potatoes. Minced veal, calecannon. Coconut
pudding. Caledonian cream. Boiled cheese. Tuesday: Soles. Rice
and chicken cutlet. Leg of mutton, currant jelly, Spanish onions,
brown potatoes. Sponge cake pudding. Dutch cream. Scotch woodcock.
Wednesday: Crécy soup. Cod steaks, with mock oyster sauce. Reform
cutlets, carrots. Stewed rabbit and risotto. Newcastle pudding.
Jelly. Cheese and celery. Thursday: Italian soup. Mutton cutlets.
Bouilli beef, potato and Brussels sprouts. Sir Watkin Wynn’s pudding.
Prune mould. Macaroni and cheese. Friday: Artichoke soup. Red mullet.
Mutton cooked to imitate venison, cauliflower à l’Allemagne. Potato
pears. Tapioca snow. Jelly. Anchovy toast. Saturday: Fish, dressed
cold or hot. Indian curry. Beefsteak pudding. Brown bread pudding and
jam sauce. Dutch flummery.

Lenten and Vegetarian Dinners.--(_a_) Bouillabaisse. Fried smelts.
Turbot, Dutch sauce. Macaroni with tomatoes. Green artichokes, white
sauce. Cauliflower salad. Parmesan fondue. Apple charlotte. Baked
fritters and custard. (_b_) Haricot bean soup. Cod (Brandade de
Morue). Fried soles. Turnip tops and poached eggs. Stewed potatoes.
Savoury omelet. Cheese. Pancakes. (_c_) Oysters (au naturel) served
with lemon. Potage maigre au lait. Fillets of sole fried, tartare
sauce. Parsnip fritters. Purée of haricots. Boiled salmon, shrimp
sauce. Potatoes mashed in shape. Lobster salad. Rhubarb fool. Rice
meringue. Anchovy toast, with eggs. Gorgonzola cheese. Celery.
Biscuits. Dessert. (_d_) Haricot bean soup. Lobster croquettes.
Fillets of soles with mushrooms. Red mullet, Italian sauce. Turbot,
Dutch sauce. Poached eggs with spinach. Cauliflower with cheese.
Macaroni with tomatoes. Mousseline pudding. Jam tartlets. Pineapple
toast. Chocolate cream. (_e_) Green pease soup. Potato omelette,
curried eggs. French beans stewed, cauliflowers and white sauce,
new potatoes plain boiled. Gooseberry tart with custard, plain rice
pudding. Cheese macaroni. Dessert. (_f_) Carrot soup. Mushroom pie,
broccoli and buttered eggs. Colecannon, stuffed vegetable marrow,
stewed green peas. Orange jelly, bread pudding. Cheese straws.
Dessert. (_g_) Palestine soup. French bean omelette, eggs baked with
parsley. Potatoes Italian fashion, baked tomatoes, green peas plain
boiled. Cherry tart, blancmange. Cheese pudding. Dessert. (_h_)
Vegetable marrow soup. Swiss omelette, stuffed eggs. Fried potatoes,
broad beans and parsley sauce, mushrooms stewed in milk. Raspberry
and currant tart, whipped cream; semolina pudding. Ramakins, cheese,
celery, &c. Dessert. (_i_) Lentil soup. Macaroni omelette, savoury
rice fritters. Potatoes baked, haricot beans, stewed carrots. Apple
tart, tapioca pudding, cheese soufflé. Dessert. (_j_) Dried pease
soup, vegetable pie (carrots, turnips, potatoes, celery, eggs, &c.).
Boiled haricot beans, potato shape, winter greens. Mince pies, rice
balls. Cheese omelette. Dessert. (_k_) Purée d’asperges, potage à
la crème de riz. Œufs à l’Indienne, omelette au naturel, macaroni
aux tomates. Pommes de terre à la maître d’hôtel, petits pois à la
Française, salsifis à la crème, concombres à la poulette, céleri à
la Chetwynd. Jelée de fraises, jelée à la Russe, crème d’amandes,
beignets d’oranges. Kluskis au fromage, soufflé au Parmesan.
Glaces--Crème de vanille, eau de fraises. Dessert. (_l_) Coconut
soup, brown soup, asparagus omelette, cucumber pie, savoury eggs. New
potatoes tossed in butter, celery fried in batter, stewed tomatoes,
cauliflowers with grated cheese. Apple jelly, Charlotte Russe,
Bakewell pudding (cold), almond puffs, iced pudding. Cheese fondue,
devilled biscuits. Ices--Strawberry cream, lemon water. Dessert.
(_m_) Purée de tomates, potage à la Jenny Lind. Œufs farcis aux
champignons, omelette aux fines herbes, riz à la Milanaise. Pointes
d’esperges à la Colbert, artichauts à la Hollandaise, pomme de terre
à l’Italienne, épinards au velouté. Crème au caramel, macédoine de
fruits, meringues à la crème, gelée de cerises. Canapés au fromage,
crème de fromage. Glaces--Crème de framboises, eau de mille fruits.
Dessert. (_n_) Chestnut soup, curry soup. Raised savoury pie, carrot
fritters, egg patties. Potato balls, braised celery, brown sauce,
turnips with white sauce, stewed beetroot. Plum pudding, coffee
cream, Punch jelly, lemon sponge. Cheese macaroni, savoury rice.
Ices--Orange cream, Noyeau water. Dessert. (Eliot James.)

Christmas Dinners.--(_a_) Clear game soup. Boiled turbot, lobster
sauce. Braised turkey. Roast sirloin of beef. Mashed potatoes.
Brussels sprouts. Stewed celery. Plum pudding. Mince pies. Almond
cheesecakes. Punch jelly. Scotch woodcock. Cheese straws. (_b_)
Oxtail soup. Codfish, oyster sauce. Pork cutlets, sharp sauce. Beef
olives. Roast turkey. Potatoes. Jerusalem artichokes. Broccoli. Plum
pudding. Mince pies. Meringues. Charlotte Russe. Cheese. Celery.
(_c_) Potage à la Nivernaise. Turbot, sauce Hollandaise. Kromeskies
à la purée de gibier. Filets de bœuf à la Macédoine. Dinde truffé
à la braise. Bécassines. Salade de cresson. Chouxfleurs au gratin.
Ramequins. Plum pudding. Petits choux à la gelée. Nougats à la crème.
Parfait au café. (_d_) Consommé de volaille. Boudins de merlan.
Filets de soles à la Orly. Chartreuse de perdreaux. Côtelettes de
mouton à la Soubise. Aloyau rôti à l’Anglaise. Pommes de terres
soufflées. Choux de Bruxelles sautés. Bécasses rôties. Salade Russe.
Fondue au Parmesan. Plum pudding. Crème au chocolat. Gelée au
Marasquin. Savarin au rhum. (_e_) Clear game soup. Turbot, tartare
sauce. Stewed beef. Roast turkey. Boiled ham. Mashed potatoes.
Brussels sprouts. Cheese. Plum pudding. Mince pies. Curaçoa jelly.
Vanilla cream. Tipsy puddings. Charlotte Russe. (_f_) Gravy soup.
Boiled turbot. Lobster and Dutch sauces. Fillets of rabbit. Larks
in cases. Braised turkey. Roast sirloin of beef. Brussels sprouts.
Mashed potatoes. Plum pudding. Chartreuse of oranges. Mince pies.
Stewed pears. Cheese, biscuits, and dessert. (_g_) For Children.
Clear soup with custard. Fillets of sole, béchamel sauce. Roast
turkey. Boiled ham. Mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts. Plum pudding.
Mince pies. Orange jelly. Charlotte Russe. (_h_) Family Dinner. Gravy
soup. Codfish, oyster sauce. Game Kromeskies. Stewed kidneys. Braised
beef, with vegetables (à la jardinière). Roast turkey and sausages.
Spinach. Jerusalem artichokes. Potato snow. Anchovy toast. Stilton
cheese. Plum pudding. Mince pies. Pineapple jelly. Chocolate cream.

_Wines._--The question of drinks is much debated. Generally 2, or at
most 3, kinds, of wine should suffice. With soup, fish, and sweets,
either sherry, chablis, sauterne, or hock; with the rest of the
dinner, claret or Burgundy and champagne. It has become the fashion
of late years to serve this last-named wine rather profusely, with
more regard to quantity than quality, but mediocrity is not tolerable
in the matter of champagne. To second or even third class clarets
or Burgundies there can be no objection; they may not possess the
bouquet of the finest brands, but they are quite drinkable of their
kind, whereas inferior champagne is simply an abomination. The same,
in a lesser degree, perhaps, applies to Madeira and port. It is a
mistake to suppose that first-rate port wine and Madeira are not to
be had for love or money, but in many instances such wretched stuff
is put on the table under those names that people have been scared
by it, and there are but few who are bold enough to help themselves
to either wine. There is, however, no particular obligation to have
port wine at dessert. A bottle of first-class Burgundy can well take
its place, and it is an easier matter to procure the latter than the
former.

All wines, but more particularly clarets and Burgundies, require
some care during their transit from the cellar to the dinner table,
especially in cold weather. In the majority of private houses the
wine cellars are no better than they should be, and more fitted to
store coals than wine. Delicate wines are quite unfit to drink when
they come out of most private cellars. To restore wines to their
right condition many persons adopt such rough means as plunging the
bottle in a bucket of hot water or putting it in front of the fire
in the fender, proceedings which have the double effect of warming
the wine and utterly spoiling it. The proper way to set to work is
to bring up the day before or in the morning all the wine that is
wanted for one day, and to place the bottles standing in a room in
which there is a fire, but nowhere near the fire; the wine will then
gradually recover its proper temperature and tone and be fit to
drink. When bottles have stood for half a day or more there will be
no difficulty in decanting the wine bright, whereas it is almost an
impossibility to get wine otherwise than foul if it is decanted the
moment it is taken from the bin.


=Breakfasts.=--There is an almost endless variety of dishes suited to
the breakfast-table. The following may be mentioned as examples:--

Trout or mackerel split open and broiled; scrambled eggs on anchovy
toast; buttered eggs with tomato sauce; fried soles with cut lemon;
kidneys stewed or fried; kidney toast; ham toast; omelets; kedgeree;
kromeskies; curried fowl or rabbit; rissoles; potted meat; lobster
or salmon cutlets; potted pig’s head; poached eggs; boiled ham;
hard-boiled eggs curried; wet devil; brawn; broiled chicken and
mushrooms; stewed mushrooms; grilled kidney; savoury rice; sheep’s
brains; boiled pig’s feet; baked eggs; fish pudding; fish cakes; fish
scallops; Scotch woodcock; lobster toast; pressed beef; chicken pie;
veal and ham pie; sardines on toast; potted meat; bloaters on toast;
egg paste; Brighton toast; devilled eggs; veal cake; eel pie; sausage
patties; bacon omelet; sweetbreads; fried ham and egg; salt-fish.


=Luncheons.=--Excepting in very rare and ceremonious cases, luncheon
is a decidedly informal meal, and no long invitations are given.
In the country it is a pleasant mode of seeing friends who live at
too great a distance to drive over for a morning visit with the
uncertainty of finding any one at home, or who do not like a long
drive in the dark to dinner. In London many ladies give it to be
understood by their intimate friends that they are always to be
found at home at luncheon time; but this is of course a somewhat
expensive mode of life, necessitating the daily preparation of a
luncheon sufficient for an uncertain number of guests. It is an
excellent method of seeing friends who may be merely passing through
the town to invite them to luncheon, as their evening hours are
frequently engaged. Also it is a convenient form of hospitality in
small households, as, the meal being less formal, less is expected
in the way of preparation, decorations, and attendance. Soup is not
customary at luncheon, and fish is not necessary; though there is
no objection to its appearance in the form of an entrée. There may
be cold dishes, both of meat and sweets, which of course economises
labour where the kitchen establishment is small; and champagne is
not offered, sherry, claret, and port being sufficient. The table
is not elaborately decorated with flowers as it is for a dinner
party; and though there is most frequently a little fruit, no great
expense is incurred for dessert, and it is not customary to have
ices or liqueurs. There is no necessity as at a dinner party to have
an equal number of gentlemen and ladies, for it is not usual to go
down to luncheon arm-in-arm--in fact, everything is calculated to
make the gathering as little formal as possible. It is by no means
necessary at an ordinary luncheon party that the master of the house
should be at home; in his absence one of the daughters of the family
would take the foot of the table and carve, the hostess of course
taking the head of the table. If there are no grown-up daughters, the
governess, if there is one, often carves, or the hostess asks any
gentleman who may be present to do so. Some people profess to prefer
a luncheon party where the servants are sent out of the room as soon
as they have removed the covers, alleging that conversation is more
unrestrained. This may be the case, but it generally results in the
guests having to go without what they require. If they attempt to
get up and help themselves there is always a fuss and a rush to get
what they require for them; and generally they prefer doing without
vegetables or the second glass of wine which they want rather than
give trouble and disturb their entertainers. It is much better to let
the servants wait as they would at dinner; it is very disagreeable
for the guests to have to change their own plates, and still more
so to see the dirty plates either left on the table or piled up on
dumb-waiters at the corners. Any dishes of hot meat should be removed
when they are done with, as they are not appetising to look at when
getting cold, and their places should be filled with whatever sweets
there may be. Serviettes are quite as much needed at luncheon as
at dinner; but finger-glasses and doyleys are not used, even when
fruit and cake conclude the repast. The invitations to luncheon are
generally either verbal or contained in friendly notes; formal cards
are not used. The general hour is 1.30 or 2, the latter being most
common in London, and the former in the country, more especially in
winter. The guests usually arrive about ¼ hour before the time named,
and the hostess always asks the ladies whether they will like to go
upstairs and take off their hats and jackets. Sometimes they do so,
but often prefer merely leaving any warm wraps in the drawing-room;
elderly ladies especially often do not care to remove their bonnets.
After luncheon is over the party returns to the drawing-room. There
is no arbitrary rule as to when the guests take their leave, as it
depends on intimacy and many other circumstances; but the average
time is ¼-½ hour. Neither tea nor coffee is offered. These remarks,
of course, apply only to private and informal luncheon parties. When
there is any great state occasion, such, for instance, as a luncheon
given on the opening of a church, the laying of a stone or anything
else of a public character, the entertainment is more of the nature
of a dinner partaken of at an early hour--ceremonious invitations
are issued, each lady is escorted by a gentleman as at dinner, and
champagne is invariably given.


=Teas.=--Afternoon tea is not in fashionable circles regarded as
a meal; but merely as a light refreshment, to break what would
otherwise be a 6 hours’ abstinence between a 2 o’clock luncheon, and
an 8 o’clock dinner. Tea is served, or brought into the drawing-room
at 4-5 o’clock, but not later than 5; it is not served in the
dining-room, save when an “at home” or large 5 o’clock tea is given.
The housekeeper, lady’s maid, cook, or whoever may be acting as
housekeeper, makes the tea, fills the hot-water kettle with boiling
water, fills the sugar-basin and creamjug, and places the teacups on
the tray, with teaspoons, a plate of thin bread and butter or cake,
if not both. The footman, before taking in the tea, places a low
table in front of his mistress, or of the seat usually occupied by
her when pouring out tea, or he sees that the table near to her chair
is clear of articles, that he may at once place the tray upon it. The
small tea-table is not covered with a white cloth; but if covered
with a smart drawing-room table cover it would not be taken off; the
tables used for tea are chiefly small round tables, covered in velvet
or embroidery, and trimmed with lace, or are square wicker-work
tables; tea is not served on large tables, neither are chairs placed
in order around the small tea-table, but remain in their usual
position in the drawing room. Neither plates, doyleys, or serviettes
are used at afternoon tea. The hot-water kettles in use are hanging
silver kettles on stands, or silver or china kettles, about the size
of a teapot, which do not require a stand. Teapot stands, or tea
cosies, are not used, and are considered bad style. When the mistress
pours out the tea, cups of tea are not handed by a servant.

When the mistress does not care to give herself the trouble of
pouring out the tea for an indefinite number of callers, cups of tea
according to the number of persons in the drawing-room are brought in
on a salver, with cream and sugar, thin bread and butter and cake.
If two servants are in attendance, one hands the tea, the other the
cake and bread and butter; if only one servant is kept, all is placed
on the same tray. The servant hands the tray first to his mistress,
if no guests are present; but when guests are present tea is first
handed to the lady of highest rank, and to the married ladies before
the unmarried ladies. He then takes away the salver or tray, with its
contents. He does not leave it in the drawing-room, or put it down
while he is there. The tea is either brought in at the usual hour
for having tea, or, if required earlier, the mistress of the house
rings the bell, and orders it to be brought in. She does not mention
how many cups of tea are required, as if she were giving an order
at an hotel; but says vaguely, “Bring some tea, please.” It is the
servant’s duty to notice how many persons are in the drawing-room,
and how many cups of tea are consequently required. It is advisable
to bring in an extra cup, in case another visitor should arrive in
the meantime.

At small 5 o’clock teas, when the number of the guests does not
warrant tea being served in dining-rooms--and the size of the
drawing-rooms determine this matter--the tea is served in the back
drawing-room. A good-sized square table is placed in a convenient
corner of the back drawing-room, a white damask tablecloth is spread
on the table, and as many cups and saucers are placed upon the
table as there are guests expected. The cups include teacups and
coffee-cups, but more teacups than coffee-cups are usually required;
the cups are placed in rows. The teacups are placed at one end or
side of the table, and the coffee-cups at the opposite end or side.
The urn occupies the centre of the table, 2 small teapots and 2
small coffee-pots are placed in the centre of the rows of cups.
A silver jug of cream, and a basin to correspond of loaf sugar,
a basin of crystallised sugar, and a jug of milk for the coffee.
Slop-basins are not used on these occasions, neither are plates,
doyleys, serviettes, or small knives. The sole eatables provided
are thin bread and butter, biscuits, coffee-biscuits, macaroons,
and pound cakes; sponge cakes are rather in favour at children’s
teas, but not much fancied at drawing-room teas. When tea is served
in this fashion, in the drawing-room, the ladies of the house, or
some intimate friend of its mistress, pours out the tea, with the
assistance of some of the gentlemen present. The servants do not
remain in the drawing-room after they have brought in the tea, and
when anything extra is required in the way of additional cups, fresh
tea, more bread and butter, &c., the mistress of the house would
ring and give the necessary orders. The tea-table would be prepared
in the drawing-room half an hour before the hour at which the
guests had been invited. The tea and coffee would not be brought in
until the hour named in the invitation, say, 4 or 5, either hour
being considered equally fashionable. The tea-table is not cleared,
or the things removed, until after the departure of the guests,
when the parlour maid would perform that duty, and re-arrange the
drawing-rooms. It is the footman’s duty to prepare the table for tea,
and to bring in the tea and coffee; the butler carries in the urn; he
also announces the guests as they arrive.

At afternoon “at homes,” or large 5 o’clock teas, tea is served in
the dining-room; a buffet is formed of the dining-table, which is
placed at the upper end or side of the room, if the doing so affords
greater space; thus the buffet extends the length of the room or the
width of it; the buffet is covered with a white damask tablecloth,
and the centre of it is occupied with plated urns containing tea and
coffee, or silver teapots and coffee-pots, and an urn for hot water
and jugs of iced coffee, dishes of fancy biscuits, cake, thin bread
and butter, fruit, &c., are also placed the length of the buffet.
Decanters of sherry and jugs of claret, champagne and hock cup are
placed at distances in front of these, a space being left clear at
the outer edge for the teacups when used. The cups and saucers are
placed in rows behind the urns, and relays of the same on a small
table, or butler’s tray, stand close at hand; wine-glasses are placed
near the decanters, that gentlemen may help themselves to wine. When
claret-cup or champagne-cup is given, small thin tumblers are placed
near the glass jugs. Jugs of cream and milk, and basins of sugar,
are placed on the buffet at intervals. Small plates, doyleys, and
serviettes are never used at this class of tea, unless strawberries
and cream are given, when they are handed on a plate with a
dessertspoon and small fork on each side of it, ready for use. When
ices are given at afternoon teas, they are handed on a small glass
plate, with an ice spoon on the side of the plate; tall ice-glasses
are not good style; a fashionable way of serving ices is in small
paper cups placed on ice plates.

The tea is always poured out on these occasions by the lady’s maids
and upper female servants, but never by the men servants. These women
servants stand behind the buffet, and pour out the tea and coffee,
and hand it across the buffet when asked for.

Ices are not usually under the charge of the servants who pour out
the tea, but under that of the still-room maid or cook, and are
served from a side-table at the back of the buffet, and are handed
to the servants at the buffet when asked for. Piles of ice plates,
paper cups, and spoons are in readiness on the side-table for
immediate use. The guests help themselves to cake and biscuits, or
anything they may require, from the buffet, but the ice wafers are
placed on the ice plates when the ices are served in paper cups,
otherwise a dish of wafers is handed to the lady by the gentleman
who has asked for the ice for her, or she takes it herself. The men
servants are constantly engaged in taking away the glasses that have
been used, and the teacups and saucers. The former are taken to the
pantry to be washed, and the latter to the housekeeper’s room or
still room, and sufficient quantity of glass and china is always
provided, so as to avoid a shadow of inconvenience from the want of
either. The decanters of wine and the jugs of claret and other cups
are replenished by the butler, who replaces empty decanters and jugs
with full ones. When the dishes of cake, &c., show signs of their
being exhausted, the footman replaces them with fresh dishes, which
he procures from the housekeeper’s room. Dessert dishes and glass
dishes are used for this purpose. Where only one man servant is kept
and small “at homes” are given, one of the women servants attends to
this duty, as the men servants would be engaged in opening the door
to the visitors on their arrival and for them on their departure, and
in announcing them in the drawing-room.

Rows of seats are not placed in the dining-room for the guests, and
the room is cleared as far as possible of all movable furniture to
allow all available space.

The much-increasing fashion of giving invitations to high tea has
been adopted by many hostesses, especially by those who, with limited
establishments, find it difficult, if not impossible, to undertake
the requirements of a modern dinner without the objectionable
alternative of hiring assistance. So late a meal as supper may not
be expedient for many reasons, and many a young hostess finds her
difficulties vanish before the less formal appellation “high tea,”
which, if well managed, may be a comfortable repast, but otherwise, a
most uncomfortable substitute for dinner.

Various are the modes of arranging this meal. At the “highest” of
“high teas” the principal dishes consist of hot poultry, game, and
small entrées, which, if placed at once on the table, must be kept
covered while a light fish course is handed round, with which sherry
or other light wines are offered.

Vegetables are not necessary, except where they form part of a dish,
such as stewed pigeons and peas, cutlets with tomatoes, sweetbreads
with mushrooms in white sauce, or stuffed vegetable marrow. Large
mushrooms may be served _au gratin_, and roast fowls on watercress.
Potatoes may always be handed round, either mashed and browned, or,
better still, beaten up with egg and cream, seasoned with pepper and
salt, rolled into dainty little shapes, breadcrumbed and fried.

Should macaroni cheese, a _fondue_, or any such preparation, usually
most welcome to the men of the party, be included, it must be brought
in hot, after the removal of the substantial dishes.

The table is of course tastefully arranged with growing plants and
cut flowers; and at this season bright hedgerow leaves and berries
make charming decorations. Small dishes of fresh or preserved fruits,
bonbons, &c., are placed amongst the creams, jellies, and dishes of
light pastry, also cake, plain and fancy biscuits.

If the hostess be an accomplished tea maker, she will probably
prefer to undertake this important duty herself, having (unless the
table be very large) a small tray by her side with the necessary
paraphernalia, a kettle over a small spirit lamp, and coffee
percolator.

Sometimes tea and coffee are dispensed from the sideboard, but the
person entrusted must be competent, as nothing will tend more to
spoil the enjoyment of the repast for some guests than lukewarm or
weak tea, or muddy coffee. In each case let the cream, hot milk, and
sugar (which must be broken into small pieces) be handed round, as
it is impossible for one person to suit the varied tastes of others
in these items. It may be found more convenient to serve all the
eatables cold, such as cold game, chaud froid of chicken, lobster or
prawn salad, pigeons or other small birds in aspic jelly, mayonnaise
of turbot or salmon, prettily arranged moulds of minced veal and ham,
with sliced eggs, &c.; pies of game or poultry, boiled turkey sauced
with oysters, and many other preparations in cold-meat cookery, too
numerous to be here mentioned. Here also will fruits, sweets, creams,
&c., find their appropriate places, and plates of thinly cut white
and brown bread and butter must either be conveniently placed or
constantly handed round; also plain and fancy bread. Small glass or
china tubs should hold butter made into tiny balls or shapes, and
enough saltcellars be provided to prevent the continual passing and
repassing of them. Inattention to these apparent trifles often create
discomfort in a large party.

Hot buttered toast, tea cakes, and scones frequently appear at a
repast of this description, especially in Scotland, where the variety
of home-made tea cakes is so great.

Then there is the high tea, where the party includes but
4-6--actually a small dinner, but without the name--the soup, heavier
dishes and their adjuncts, a succession of small dishes (from fish
to miniature light puddings) being served _à la Russe_, accompanied
perhaps by wine, the tea or coffee tray being only introduced near
the termination of the repast. Happily, sitting over wine is not
now essential to the enjoyment of most men. Well-managed high teas
are often better appreciated than the more formal, and probably
imperfect, so-called dinner. (M. M.)


=Suppers.=--The essentials of supper are not only lightness and
wholesomeness of material, but grace and elegance of service. It is
possible to make off a single dish one of the wholesomest, as well
as completest, of suppers that can be devised, viz. oysters. Fish of
most sorts, however, is well fitted to take its place amongst the
ingredients of supper, only be warned against salmon in any shape,
and specially in that most dangerous of all, the pickled state. At
supper there is not, nor ought to be, any regularly constituted
succession of “courses,” and the several dishes, whether hot or
cold, should be in their places on the table at the same time. As
regards the question between hot and cold. There are plenty of
hot dishes to be had most easy of digestion, and to the palate of
many people more agreeable than cold; but exclude all manner of
soups. Of the better kind of hot food, the following specimens may
suffice: Chickens (spatchcocked, grilled, roast, and fricasséed),
larded capon, salmis of game, roast partridge or grouse (but not
roast hare), mutton cutlets of different sorts, grills or broils,
patties (oyster for preference), rissoles, and croquettes. Of the
more solid cold articles of food, the greater part will probably
already have appeared at breakfast or luncheon,--boar’s head and
brawn, cold game, round of beef, and chickens with ham or tongue;
there remain mayonnaises (but not of lobster), macédoines, aspic, and
other savoury jellies, galantine, and raised pies in their abundant
varieties. Adjuncts to the feast, such as sandwiches (the best are of
tongue, ham, and potted meat), will never be out of place. Plovers’
eggs too, if they have no other merit, it cannot be denied are of
very extensive popularity. The dishes mentioned will require to be
supplemented by a certain variety of sweet things.


=Miscellaneous.=--_Wedding Breakfast._--(_a_) Clear soup and hot
cutlets, croquettes, or some other suitable entrée may first be
handed round, but it is not _de rigueur_, and all the rest should
be cold and on the table. Cold salmon, mayonnaise of soles, prawns,
lobster, or any other fish liked. Chicken, tongue, ham, galantines,
raised pies, cold cutlets in aspic, savoury jellies; in fact,
anything that can be served at a supper, and the more easy the dishes
are to serve, the better. For instance, the fowls cut up, the tongue
in slices, and all prettily garnished and decorated with lettuce,
endive, beetroot, cucumber, aspic jelly, and eggs. For sweets,
jellies, cream, pastries, trifle, meringues; ices, if liked, and, of
course, the wedding cake. Coffee must be handed round afterwards.

(_b_) In May mayonnaises de saumon, mayonnaises de homard, crevettes
au naturel, aspics aux œufs de pluviers. Chapons à la Béchamel,
pintades piquées, poulets et langue, jambons glacés, galantines de
bœuf, pâtés froids variés. Poulardes rôties, salades à l’Italienne.
Gelées et crèmes, blancmanges, corbeilles aux meringues, corbeilles
de pâtisseries, gateaux Napolitains, gâteau de Savoie glacé. Glaces:
fraises à la crème, oranges à l’eau. Bride cake. Dessert. All cold.

(_c_) Wines: Moselle, champagne, hock, sherry, claret. Botage: à la
reine, à la printanière. Croquettes d’huîtres, escallopes de ris de
veau aux champignons, cotelettes d’agneau aux petits pois. Dinde
farçi à la Périgord, pâté de gibier à l’Anglaise, langues glacées,
jambons glacés, poulets rôtis aux cresson, ptarmigans rôtis, pâté
de foies gras aux truffes, boudins de homard à la Belle Vue, aspic
de crevettes à la Russe, mayonnaise de saumon. Salades de homards:
Gelée à la Lorne, gelée à l’Eugénie, gelée à la Macédoine, crème
à la Sicilienne, crème de fraises, bavarois d’ananas, gâteau de
millefeuilles, meringue à la Christophe, petites meringues à la
Chantilly. Glaces: Crème d’ananas, eau de cerises.

(_d_) Consommé à la d’Esclignac; purée de perdreaux à la crème.
Côtelettes d’Agneau aux concombres; suprême de poulets aux truffes.
Langue de bœuf garnie d’Ecrevisses; pâté de coq de bruyère; balotines
d’Agneau; poulets rôtis aux cresson; galantines de volaille;
mayonnaise de homard; jambon en salade. Petits gateaux à la Génoise;
macédoine de fruit à la gelée; pain d’Abricots au noyau; Charlottes à
la Bohémienne; pâtisseries meringuées. Eau d’Ananas; crème framboise;
crème de vanille.

_Afternoon Dance._--The refreshments usually provided for an
afternoon dance would be brown and white bread and butter, pound
and plum cakes, sponge fingers, and biscuits. Sandwiches of various
kinds are also much appreciated, particularly by guests coming from a
distance, and of these perhaps the following are as nice as any: ham
and tongue, lettuce and anchovy (a little of the latter), or delicate
slices of hard-boiled egg and lettuce, with a touch of anchovy
added. Fruit knives and forks should be laid in each plate ready for
using for peaches, pineapples, &c. Grapes should be among the fruit
provided. Ices, iced coffee, and various “cups” are generally seen at
afternoon dances, such as champagne or claret. There should be 2 or 3
dishes of each kind of refreshment at intervals down the table. (F.
Lilian.)

_Lawn Party._--It is usual to have hot tea, coffee, cakes, brown
bread and butter, fruit and cream, at a lawn party. Iced coffee is
not necessary, but much liked in hot weather. It is made as follows.
To 1 qt. very strong coffee add 1 pint cream and ½ pint milk, and
sugar to taste. Put all into a freezing tin, and freeze until a
little thick; serve in a silver kettle or soup tureen. (A. H.)

_Cinderella Supper._--(_a_) Watercress sandwiches, sardine
sandwiches, anchovy sandwiches, devilled eggs, salad, coffee jelly,
orange cream, sweet biscuits, sponge cakes, claret cup, lemonade
soup. (_b_) Boned turkeys, lobster salads, chicken sandwiches, shrimp
sandwiches, tongue sandwiches, veal croquettes, oyster patties. Ices,
jellies, and creams, claret cup, claret, and a good lemonade; also
some fruit and a selection of fancy confectionery such as will not
soil the glove; candied walnuts, plums, &c., are much liked. (_c_)
The great points to aim at in giving a Cinderella supper, as a sequel
to the fashionable Cinderella dances, are elegance and lightness,
combined with economy.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Edward Smith: ‘Foods.’ London, 1880. 5_s._

Mrs. Loftie: ‘The Dining Room.’ London, 1878. 2_s._ 6_d._

John Perkins: ‘Floral Designs for the Table.’ London, 1877. 5_s._

‘The Book of Dinner Serviettes.’ London, 1876.




_THE DRAWING-ROOM._


The drawing-room is the scene of almost all social gatherings,
whether dancing, theatricals, games, or other amusements be provided.


=Etiquette.=--This chapter cannot commence more appropriately than
with a few remarks on the customs observed in society and the rules
which regulate visits and parties. To enter fully into all these
matters would occupy a very large amount of space. Those requiring
more detail cannot do better than consult the weekly pages of the
_Queen_, in which excellent journal often appear articles on the
latest fashionable customs, and where an inquiry from one in doubt is
sure to meet with a polite reply giving the necessary information.

_Styles and Titles._--It seems difficult to make it clear to the
understandings of many persons that it is incorrect, in speaking of
an earl’s, marquis’s, or duke’s daughter, to omit her Christian name.
They must know that she is habitually styled Lady Clara Vere, yet
they persist in calling her Lady Vere, as if she were a peeress or a
baronet’s wife, instead of a “lady in her own right.” Another equally
common blunder is to speak of a baronet’s wife as Lady Emma Jones;
if for purposes of identification it is necessary to mention her
Christian name at all, it should be as Emma Lady Jones, as nothing
but being the daughter of a peer higher in rank than a viscount gives
the right to be called Lady Emma. Again, it is impossible to persuade
some people that it is the sons of dukes and marquises only who are
called lords; they persist in imagining that because earls’ daughters
are styled lady, it is impossible that their younger brothers
should be only Hon. Mr. The title of dowager is another great
stumbling-block. In propriety it should only be borne by the mother
of the reigning peer or baronet. Should, therefore, a peer (let
us call him Earl of Brighton) succeed his father, his mother, the
widowed countess, should be styled the Countess Dowager of Brighton.
Should he, however, succeed to his uncle, brother, or cousin, that
relative’s widow would have no claim to the title of dowager, but
should be addressed as Mary, Countess of Brighton. It is a very
common saying that a woman may rise in rank, but can never lose what
she has once possessed; but, like many common sayings, this, though
the general rule, is not strictly accurate. A duke’s daughter takes
precedence far before the wife of a baron. Yet if she marry a baron
who is a peer in his own right (not merely a title of courtesy, such
as are borne by peers’ eldest sons), she at once, on becoming his
wife, loses her own rank, and has no precedence, save that of her
husband.

_Shaking hands._--You would not shake hands on being casually
introduced to a person altogether a stranger to you, but yet there
are so many occasions when it is both proper and correct to shake
hands on first being introduced, and the rule on this head is a very
elastic one. For instance, a host and hostess invariably shake hands
with every stranger introduced to them at their house. You would
shake hands on being introduced to the relatives of your relations by
marriage, such as your sister-in-law’s sister or your sister-in-law’s
mother; with your brother-in-law’s brother or father; with your
future husband’s uncle and aunt or cousins; with a brother or sister
or mother of an intimate friend; or under any similar circumstances.
If you do not shake hands on being introduced, ought you to do so
on departure? That depends. There are occasions when to shake hands
would be polite; and there are occasions when your hand would be _de
trop_. If you had enjoyed conversation to any extent with some one
to whom you had been introduced, and found you were getting on very
well, and had a good deal in common, you would naturally shake hands
in taking leave of each other; but if you had only exchanged a few
common-place sentences, a bow would be all that is necessary. The
lady usually takes the initiative, as she does with regard to bowing;
but in reality it is a spontaneous movement made by both at the same
moment, as the hand ought not to be extended or the bow given unless
expected and instantaneously reciprocated. For a young lady suddenly
to offer her hand in farewell greeting to one not prepared for the
honour leads to an abrupt movement on the one part, and to a little
confusion on the other. Shaking hands on taking leave is with some
few people a graceful and pleasant fashion of saying good-bye. About
shaking hands with acquaintances at a dinner party, or at an evening
party, many are in doubt. If the dinner party is a small one, and
there is time to quietly shake hands with those you know, it would be
correct to do so; but if there were little time before dinner, and no
good opportunity for shaking hands, bows to acquaintances at distant
parts of the room, or when seated at the dinner table, would be
sufficient for the time being; while at an evening party it depends
upon your being able to get near enough to your friends to enable you
to do so. Having once shaken hands with a person, you are of course
at liberty to repeat the civility whenever you may happen to meet,
unless a decided coolness of manner warns you that a bow would be
more acceptable than a shake of the hand.

_Letter Writing._--To commence a letter to a comparative stranger,
or to a person with whom the writer is but slightly acquainted, on
any matter of interest, is the first difficulty to be got over. In
all communications with strangers, or almost strangers, it would be
correct to write in the third person. A very slight acquaintance,
however, or a faint personal knowledge, would authorise a letter
being written in the first person if it were to be of any length.
Notes are principally confined to the briefest of communications, as,
when they are lengthy, the repetition of the pronoun “she” and “her,”
“he” and “him,” become wearisome if not involved, to say nothing of
the possessive pronouns which are frequently brought into use, with
the addition of surnames. When it is imperative to write in the third
person, it is most desirable to construct each sentence with care
and with due regard to an extravagant use of pronouns, and never at
any time to resort to the vulgar expedient of attempting a sort of
compromise by making the initial letter of the writer, and of the
person written to, do duty for their respective surnames. To frame
a note without introducing “compliments” at its commencement is the
received mode of writing one. The subject under discussion does not
require this preliminary introduction, and it is best to embody it
in the opening sentence. There are few people careless or ignorant
enough to lapse from the third person into the first in the course of
a short note; but still it is worth guarding against. To turn from
notes to letters, again it is observable that a cramped style, or a
small Italian handwriting, are no longer in vogue, and, when seen,
appear very much out of date. The prevailing style of writing is bold
and free, the characters very upright, and tall toppling “l’s” and
long-tailed “g’s” have quite disappeared from letters in general;
a free use of capitals is also indulged in, which gives a dash of
originality and spirit to a letter when not overdone. Many gentlemen
and a few ladies affect a literary style of letter writing--that is
to say, a margin ¾-1 in. wide is left on the near side of the sheet
of paper, which gives rather an imposing look to it; but this is
only done when the letter is almost a note in the matter of length.
A strictly business habit, adopted for the convenience of being
copied by letter-press, by no means a fashionable one, is to write
on the first and third pages of a sheet of note paper, leaving the
second and fourth pages blank, or to write on the first and fourth
pages, leaving the other two; but some people fall into the mistake
of doing this under the impression that it is rather fine, whereas
it is very much the reverse. Some little care should be taken in
paragraphing a letter to avoid incoherency. Thus, a fresh line and a
capital should be allowed to each new subject. As much variety is
introduced into the letters of the present day as possible; thus,
should a sentence or a remark require to be referred to, the eye can
at once light upon it without re-reading the whole epistle. It used
to be an idea that to underline words in a letter was “missish” in
the extreme, and rather bad style than not: but now, if a writer
wishes to be very emphatic, or to call particular attention to any
remark, an additional stroke of the pen is not objected to; but it
is a liberty not to be taken when writing to those with whom one
is on ceremony. Another practice of the past, which is now happily
discarded, is that of crossing letters. Many people experience a
certain difficulty in the choice of a conventional term with which to
conclude a ceremonious letter, and it must be admitted that there is
not much variety at command, “yours truly,” “yours sincerely,” “yours
faithfully,” with the addition perhaps of the adverb “very,” being
the principal formulas in use; and it is on the whole immaterial
whether “truly” or “sincerely” is employed when writing to friends.
The affectionate expressions addressed to still dearer friends and
relations are beside the question, and yet many devoted husbands
make use of the words “yours truly” when writing to their wives, in
preference to any more affectionate phrase. By way of not concluding
a letter too abruptly, it is usual, before the words “yours truly,”
to add one or other of such phrases as these: “Believe me, dear
Mrs. Jones,” or “I remain, dear Mrs. Jones,” or “Believe me, dear
Mrs. Jones, with kind regards,” and this gives a certain finish and
completeness to a letter which would otherwise be wanting.

A few words as to the actual composition of a letter. It should
always be borne in mind that if a letter has a purpose, a reason,
or an object for being written, this fact should not be lost sight
of, or overweighted with a mass of extraneous matter. Again, it is
idle to devote the first page of a letter to trivial excuses for not
having written sooner, when no particular reason existed why a still
longer delay in writing might not have been allowed to elapse, if
it suited the convenience of the writer. Of course, when a letter
requires an immediate answer, it is then a matter of politeness
to give the reason for the omission, but this should be explained
without circumlocution, and other matters should at once be referred
to. A want of punctuation in a letter will often cause a sentence
or paragraph to be misunderstood, and made to convey the reverse of
what was intended. Notes of interrogation should not be omitted from
a letter when questions are asked, though many consider it a waste
of time to make use of them. Notes of exclamation, when required,
materially assist the clearer understanding of a passage, which,
without them, might have a vague meaning. It is not the fashion in
these days to accuse oneself of writing a stupid letter, a dull
letter, or an uninteresting letter, one’s friends are only too likely
to take one at one’s own valuation, and to endorse the written
verdict; while the solecism of laying the blame of bad writing on
pens, ink, and paper is confined to the servants’ hall, where writing
materials are perhaps not always of the best quality, and seldom
ready to hand. In answering a letter, it is a great proof of a poor
imagination, besides being extremely tedious, when each paragraph
of the letter under treatment is minutely paraphrased. Questions
naturally demand answers, and important facts call for comment; but
trivial remarks and observations, perhaps pleasantly put, were never
expected to be returned to their author with poor platitudes attached
to them.

A postscript was formerly supposed to convey the pith or gist of
a lady’s letter--a poor compliment, it must be confessed, to her
intelligence; it is now considered a vulgarism to put P.S. at the
bottom of a letter containing the few last words, if something is
remembered when the letter is concluded that should have been said,
it is added without apology.

_Answering Invitations._--The extremely rude habit of not answering
notes as soon as they are received is generally done from idleness
and a habit of shirking trouble, though, as the answer must
ultimately be written, it is hard to see what exertion is saved by
not writing it at the proper time. Of the inconvenience to the sender
from not receiving the answer required, no one seems to think, and
there are some who labour under the delusion that it is “fine,” and
increases their importance, to keep people waiting. The inconvenience
to a hostess can hardly be exaggerated. Rooms are not elastic, and
having asked the proper number of people, she can ask no more until
she knows that some of those invited, as is generally the case in
most parties, cannot come. Every day she is kept waiting lessens
the time for inviting others; and then only those with whom she is
sufficiently intimate to give a very short invitation. Politeness
requires that an invitation to dinner should be answered _at once_;
if the servant waits, it should be returned by him; if it is left,
an answer should be sent at the earliest moment; if it is sent by
post, the reply should be sent by the next one. It is no more trouble
to write the answer at once than to wait for the next day. The only
valid reason that a lady can have for delay is when her husband is
out, and she is not quite sure about his engagements. Of course, if
he is only out for a short time it is permissible to wait till he
comes in; but if, as is sometimes the case, he is away from home
for a day or two, she should answer at once to that effect, and
write decisively on hearing his determination. Answers to At Homes,
even when they bear the request “R.S.V.P.,” need not be sent so
promptly; but as soon as it is quite clear to a lady that she cannot
go, it is courteous to say so. Answers to invitations to concerts,
private theatricals, or _any entertainment where the guests are to
be seated_, should be sent _immediately_, as it is necessary for a
hostess to know the number of chairs at her disposal. Answers to
wedding invitations should also be returned immediately.

The art of making excuses is one which people much in society find
it absolutely necessary to cultivate if they wish to retain any
command over their own time, movements, and even property. Tact,
or _savoir vivre_, is the key to this art, while frankness might
certainly be termed the lock in which to place the key when making
polite excuses. Frankness appeals both to the good sense and to the
common sense of the one to whom it is addressed; it softens the
refusal, of whatever character it may be; it gives the assurance that
no slight is intended. There is one stereotyped excuse, a “previous
engagement”; but between friends, and by those with whom frankness is
practised, this explanation is carried a step further, and the nature
of the previous engagement is mentioned, and the name of him or her
with whom it is made. A downright refusal savours of ungraciousness
and discourtesy; whereas a polite excuse is compassed by a little
judicious temporising, which in a way breaks the force of a refusal.
The difficulty of making polite excuses is sometimes increased when
a verbal invitation is given to a husband and wife, and they are not
able to consult as to whether they are unanimous in refusing it. The
way of extrication is for the one to refer to the engagements of the
other, and leave it in doubt for the moment.

Various excuses are permissible in answer to all save invitations
to dinner; this must be accepted, unless a bonâ fide engagement
or illness can be pleaded in excuse. Polite excuses to unwelcome
requests demand even more readiness of thought and speech, as
refusals to such, if not guardedly conveyed, are likely to give
offence, or to create an unpleasant feeling of annoyance.


=Dancing.=--_Preparing Floors._--(_a_) A good plan is to use a little
beeswax in preparing the floor for dancing. Unless it be perfectly
even, a carpenter must be called in to plane away any little
roughnesses, or to fill up interstices between boards with little
slips of wood. When quite smooth, some beeswax must be rubbed on to
one of the weighted brooms sold on purpose, and it must in this way
be thoroughly worked into the boards over every part of the room,
adding a little more wax when needed, but remembering that the less
wax and the more labour bestowed on the floor the better it will be.
When the desired polish is attained, sprinkle the floor all over with
finely powdered French chalk. Cover the waxed broom by tying a piece
of strong baize over it, and with this go up and down the room over
and over again, until the French chalk has been well rubbed over
every part; this will make the floor just right for dancing, and
prevent the possibility of any slight stickiness there might be from
the beeswax. As this process with the powdered chalk occasions a good
deal of dust, it should be all finished some hours before the room is
wanted, so as to give the dust time to settle. The room will require
thorough dusting, not forgetting the upper ledges of doors, mirrors,
&c., which are sometimes neglected, thereby causing a great clouding
of the atmosphere as soon as dancing begins. If the room be a large
one, it will take 2 men quite 2 days to polish the floor for the
first time, apart from any carpentering which may be necessary. Once
done, however, one day will suffice on any future occasion to put it
in good dancing order; going over every part just once, first with
the wax, and then with the chalk, will be quite sufficient.

(_b_) Powdered spermaceti answers well for polishing a floor, being
clean and easily used; it should be sprinkled over, then rubbed, or,
better still, is glided over by some one wearing thin shoes, each
board being taken separately.

(_c_) Wash the boards with milk, and when dry lay on French chalk
thinly but evenly all over the floor; then let 2 men scrub it hard
with brushes until all signs of the chalk disappear: ½ lb. chalk will
do for a large room, as if put on too thick it will soil the ladies’
dresses.

(_d_) The floor must first be planed as smooth as possible, all nail
heads hammered down, well sand-papered with coarse and then fine
paper, washed with new milk, and 6 hours after, dusted slightly with
French chalk. A rough floor may be transformed in an hour by scraping
up a common composite candle very finely, scattering it on the floor,
rubbing it into the wood with your boots, and then dusting it with
French chalk out of a flour dredger. White wax, and then French
chalk, is best treatment for a well-stretched drugget, and the chalk
will make an over-waxed parquet perfect.

_Scenting Rooms._--(_a_) When the roses fade, spread the leaves to
dry, taking away those which are decayed or discoloured; then, in
a jar, place alternate layers of rose leaves, lavender, scented
marjoram, lemon plant, or any perfumed plant, sprinkling each layer
with crushed bay salt, and pressing down very tightly. In the autumn,
when there is nothing more to add, strain away any moisture, turn
all out, and mix well; keep in a wide-mouthed jar with a lid, and
during the winter sprinkle occasionally with eau de Cologne or other
perfume; and, when wishing to scent the room, take off the lid.

(_b_) 1 lb. bay salt, 2 oz. saltpetre, both in the finest powder, a
handful of sweet bay leaves cut as small as possible; the same of
myrtle leaves, rosemary, lavender leaves, and lemon thyme in flower,
the rinds of 4 lemons cut as fine as possible, ½ oz. cinnamon, ½
oz. cloves, ½ oz. allspice, a large nutmeg in the finest powder, 1
oz. storax, 1 oz. bergamot, 1 oz. spirit of lavender, 1 oz. essence
of lemon, 1 dr. musk, 6 oz. powdered orris root. Put all these
ingredients into a jar with a lid that shuts very close, then add the
following flowers as you gather them: 3 handfuls orange flowers, 3 of
clove pinks, 2 of rosemary, 2 of lavender flowers, 2 of jessamine, 6
of rose leaves, and leaves of Aloysia citriodora. Stir it each time
fresh flowers are added. Gather 4 rosebuds early in the morning, and
put them at once into your jar. Do not leave any two leaves sticking
together, and pick out every piece of green. Syringa flowers are a
good substitute for orange flowers. If the pot-pourri becomes too
moist, add orris root powder and spices; if too dry, add bay salt and
saltpetre, only let every powder be as fine as possible, and well
mixed. It cannot be too much stirred at first, and, if well made,
will keep its perfume for many years.

_Old-Fashioned Dances._--_The Triumph_: The ladies and gentlemen
stand in lines opposite to each other; the top gentleman dances down
the centre with the second lady, pursued by her own partner; she
dances back between the two, and the next couple begin, until all the
dancers are engaged. _Cottagers_: 4 people stand for this as in the
quadrille; they cross hands in the centre, and make the half-turn
backwards and forwards; then the second couple hold up their hands,
and the first couple pass beneath and begin again. _Square Eights_:
Ladies and gentlemen in two lines, hands across, then first polka
round, and then galop, and begin again. _Morgiana in Iceland_: The
dancers stand opposite each other in two lines. The top couple go
outside the lines, back again, down the middle, and up again; the
couple at the top holding up their hands, they pass under, and the
next couple begin. _Miss Lunsdam’s Fancy_: The first couple set to
the second lady, hands 3 round, the gentlemen do the same, lead
down the middle and up again, right and left at top. _Lady Doran
Strathspey_: Set and hands across and back again, down the middle
and up again allemand; turn corners, lead outsides. _The Jubilees_:
First and second couple hand across, back again, lead down the middle
and up again; swing corners. _The Quadrille Mazurka_, danced face
to face, in 4, 6, or 8 couples, up to 32. Fig. 1. The 2 couples
facing each other make the complete right and left; the 2 gentlemen,
advancing with their partners, give each other their left elbows,
make a demi tour, change their partners, make the tour sur place
forward, and repeat the figure to bring them back to places. Fig.
2. Wait 8 bars. The 2 opposite gentlemen, holding their partners by
the hand, advance and fall back, cross by right and change places,
make the tour sur place forward, and repeat the figure to bring
themselves back to their places. Fig. 3. Wait 8 bars. The 2 opposite
ladies cross by their right, and re-cross, giving the left hand; the
gentlemen give them the right hand, turning them; their left hand
round the waist. Thus the ladies, still holding each other by the
left hand, make a half round to change places. The gentlemen, still
holding their partners by the waist, make the tour sur place forward.
They cross hands in centre, and make an entire round. The gentlemen,
having changed sides, take their partners’ hand, and fall back with
them, and repeat the figure to regain their places, omitting the
cross hands in centre. Fig. 4. Wait 8 bars. The first gentleman
promenades with his partner round to his place, advances forward and
backwards. The gentleman again advances, and his partner crosses
to left; without quitting her hands, he takes the lady from the
opposite couple with his other hand, who takes the hand of the other
lady behind the gentleman; thus all three advance and retire without
turning. The gentleman then stoops, and passes under the arms of the
two ladies united behind, with which his own are then found crossed.
The three go round to the right; the gentleman then leaves the lady
with her partner, and makes a promenade to his place with his own
partner; both then advance and retire. Fig. 5. Wait 8 bars. Right
and left; the gentlemen, still holding their partners, make a demi
tour, and pass the right arm under the left of their partners, and,
taking them by the waist, thus make the tour sur place backwards.
Half hand round, and petit tour, to return to their places. Then join
4 hands round, and make a demi tour to the left. A tour forward, and
demi tour round to the left, tour forward; double right and left,
and return to their places. Tour sur place forwards and backwards,
and finish by a grand chain as in Lancers. This is a graceful and
telling dance. _The Spanish Dance_ is danced in 3 time with the
waltz step, and is very graceful. The dancers stand in line as for a
country dance, the sexes divided except that the top gentleman stands
on the lady’s side, and the top lady on that of the gentleman, and
every fourth lady and gentleman change places in like manner; first
gentleman and second lady, and first lady and second gentleman of
each set of 4; set to each other and change places; repeat; then
first gentleman and second lady set to their partners, change, and
resume their original places; all four join hands in centre, advance,
retire, and change places; ladies passing to left four times; next
the couples waltz round each other, the second couple taking the
top; while the top couple repeat the figure till the whole line is
completed. _The Swedish Dance_ is as follows: Arrange the company in
lines of 3, a gentleman and 2 ladies, or a lady and two gentlemen,
vis-à-vis, as many sets as can be formed to dance at once; all
forward and back join hands; gentlemen set to opposite lady on the
right and turn, and set to lady on the left, turn, and back to
places; all forward and back, forward again, and pass through to next
set; all forward and back twice; the two top ladies and opposite
gentleman all three join hands round, and back again to places; all
forward and back, forward again, and pass through to the next set;
all forward twice; four ladies cross right, hands round and back
again to places; hands all round and back to places; all forward and
back, forward again, and pass through into next set. (A. H.)


=Amateur Theatricals.=--These form an excellent amusement for winter
evenings, and may be made highly instructive to young members of the
family, besides aiding in developing a degree of culture in manner
and speech with proper guidance. A moderate amount of ingenuity, with
some pasteboard, paper and paste, will suffice to extemporise a stage
and scenery. A few hints on “making up” may be useful.

_Making up._--Given a clean shaven face, the features of which are
not specially prominent, and it is comparatively easy for an artist
in make up to transform it into a fair likeness of any type of
character he wishes to represent, or even to imitate a particular
individual. Of course the actor cannot remould his features, but by
putting on different coloured paints he can present an effect which,
viewed from a little distance, has all the appearance of having been
remoulded. The great secret underlying all the triumphs of this
art is that white brings into prominence and black depresses. For
instance, take a nose that is reasonably straight. Suppose it is
desired to make it a pug. Put a little dark brown on the bridge and
make the end lighter than all the rest of the face. The gradations
have to be nicely shaded, and there comes in the art. To reverse the
process, and produce a marked aquiline, hook, or Jewish nose, put
white on the bridge and darken down the tip a little. That will bring
forth an aristocratic nose that would do credit to any duke in the
British peerage.

Grease paints can now be purchased. These are colours mixed with
a hard grease, a little of which is rubbed on the face and then
smoothly spread over with the finger. One of its most valuable
properties is that it is not affected by perspiration, and requires
grease or soap and water to remove it. Generally the actor rubs a
little vaseline or cold cream over his face and wipes this off with
a rag before washing, thus removing most of the paint and getting
the soap to lather more easily. It does not seem to injure the skin
when it is properly washed off at night, but persons who are careless
may let it block up the pores of the skin or remain in the roots of
the hair or eyebrows. The number of shades in which grease paint
is now made is very great, and every actor who takes pride in his
make up will have from a dozen to twenty kinds. Even in flesh tint
alone there are six varieties, from the very delicate creamy white
of youth to the leaden sallowness of extreme old age. Besides these
there are shades for Chinamen, and for every gradation of Indian
and negro blood. Then there are whites for “high lights” and for
whitening mustaches or eyebrows, browns for shading, blues for veins
and hollows, reds, blacks, and yellows. You must not think they are
all used in one make up, though often seven or eight colours are
combined in an elaborate one. The first thing to do in making up is
to select the proper flesh tint. This having been chosen and applied,
the next thing is generally the rouge. Except in the case of very old
characters, some red must be put on the faces, or the yellow glare
of the footlights will make them look perfectly ghastly. But where
the red is to be put and how much of it and what shade to use, depend
entirely upon the age of the person to be represented. The younger
the person the more delicate the tint of rouge should be and the
higher it should be upon the face. Thus, for a very young man, the
rouge is put on in a half-moon shape, one horn beginning at the inner
corner of the eye and the other extending well up the temple as high
as the eyebrow. As the age increases we cease to run the colour up so
high on the outer side, until for mature years it settles down into
the hollow below the cheek bone.

The rouge being properly applied, we next go to work upon the
wrinkles or hollows. In representing age the principal lines to be
emphasised are those from the nose to the corners of the mouth, from
the corners of the mouth to the chin, from the inner corners of the
eyes to the hollows of the cheeks, and those on the forehead. Some
actors make the wrinkles in blue, others in brown, and others in
grey. It is a matter of taste. The lines are made with thin sticks
of the paint cut to a point, or with a pointed leather stub upon
which the paint has been rubbed. After the wrinkles have been put on
it may be necessary to accentuate them by a line of white or light
colour on the edges, and these lines must be graduated into each
other so as not to seem too hard or abrupt. In representing old men
the strong muscle above the line from the nose to the mouth must be
brought out very strongly with white. The cheek bones under the eyes
must be treated in the same way. Then the eyelids require darkening
for age, and crows’ feet are carefully drawn with a number of thin
irregular lines at the outer comers of the eyes. Where youth is
shown, the upper eyelids and skin under the eyebrow are delicately
rouged. If hollows in the cheeks, temples, or neck are wanted, these
are the next things to be done, and the outlines of the cheeks may
be rounded out with light shades or made to assume eccentric shaped
with darker ones. The muscles of the neck may need bringing out, and
hollows put under each side of the chin. Lips require rouging for
youth, and blueing or darkening for age. Large mouths are made small
by putting rouge only in the centre of the lips, and small ones made
large by rouging all the way, and even extending the corners with a
line of red. Where toothlessness is desirable the teeth are covered
with a thin coating of black wax, which renders them quite invisible.
The process is technically called “stopping out.” The face being now
coloured, rouged, lined, wrinkled, and hollowed, the next things
to be attended to are the eyebrows, and hair or beard if any are
required.

Very few people are aware how important a part the eyebrows play in
forming the expression of the face. Bringing them very close together
will cause a look of meanness or villainy; a high arch will ensure
surprise or vacancy of expression. A slight upward turn of the inner
corner makes some faces very handsome. Eyebrows are often painted;
but if very heavy ones are needed they are stuck on over the true
ones. If the actor is going to wear his own eyebrows or mustache, he
colours them to match his wig with grease paint, which, after being
rubbed on, is combed so that each hair is coloured and there is no
matted appearance. The use of mustaches and beards made on wire and
hung from the ears has almost entirely gone out except among supers
and utility people, as, being independent of the skin of the face,
they did not move with it, and consequently never appeared natural.
The best mustaches and beards are now made upon a thin foundation
of silk, each hair being drawn through separately and knotted. The
foundation is fastened to the face with spirit gum, another modern
invention of great value to actors. It consists of gum dissolved in
collodion and alcohol. This mixture dries immediately it is exposed
to the air, is impervious to moisture, and can only be removed by
spirits or grease. When the actor had to depend upon plain glue or
gum, he was always in fear of losing his false beard, and many are
the funny stories told of swallowing mustaches or transferring them
to the faces of ladies who have had to be embraced in the course of
the action of the piece.

Many actors prefer to make their own beards or whiskers nightly, as
they do not like the feeling of the solid foundation on the skin,
and, indeed, an all-round beard is apt to restrict the easy working
of the jaws. Whiskers or beards are made from wool or crape hair,
both of which can be obtained of any desired shade of the theatrical
wig makers. The hair or wool is drawn through a coarse comb to a
little longer than the length desired. It is then cut close to the
teeth on the under or more solid side. An even mass is thus obtained
which is readily fixed to the gummed cheek. The real art is in the
subsequent trimming, with very sharp scissors, to the shape desired.
Wool is more easily handled, but hair which comes in short lengths,
plaited, is the most realistic. It is this that detectives use for
disguises, and when well put on it is almost impossible to detect its
falsity, as each hair seems to grow out of the skin.

Almost the last stage is the putting on of the wig. If this is not
a bald one, the hair is brought down so that the junction with the
forehead is not seen. Many foreign actors prefer to have their wigs
made with a forehead piece, painted to match the face. Bald wigs are,
of course, made in this way, and the edges are hidden with a thick
dressing of grease paint, or, as it is sometimes called, joining
paste. This being done, a coat of powder of the proper colour is
delicately dusted on the face. Powder is prepared in every shade from
white to orange. It has the effect of deadening the shininess of the
grease paint, of softening the lines and blending the work into one
harmonious whole.

Be careful, too, to make up your hands, a thing which many a good
actor forgets. Yet how absurd it is to see an old, wrinkled face
accompanied by young, plump hands. For an old man, the knuckles
should be whitened, the hollows between them darkened, and the veins
marked with white blue.

Actresses very seldom use grease paint, and, in fact, it is not
necessary for them, as they rarely consent to line their faces. They
generally use a liquid white, which has some mineral basis, and is
in the end hurtful. The safest compound is a preparation of oxide of
zinc, rose-water, and a few drops of glycerine. A little rouge, the
darkening of the eyebrows, and a touch of red on the lips complete
a lady’s make up. Most of them line below and above the eyelashes
with black, which gives brilliancy to the eyes. They are very apt to
overdo this, and then their eyes look like burnt holes in a blanket.

_Stage Illusions._--Many of the peculiar effects which are produced
upon the stage, imitating moonlight, sunlight, thunder, wind, rain,
and other natural phenomena, are a puzzle to those outside of the
business. How such realistic representations of these things as
are often witnessed upon the stage can be made is a question that
often enters the mind of the spectator, and is seldom answered in
a satisfactory manner. It is always the ambition of scene painters
and stage carpenters to devise improved methods of imitating these
things, and hence the stage may be said to try to hold the mirror up
to nature in a material as well as a moral sense. Years of experience
have tended to bring these imitations to a high state of excellence;
but the limits do not yet seem to be reached, and new contrivances
are continually appearing. The electric light is not yet used, but
as its pale blueish tint would be serviceable in particular effects,
stage machinists are now deliberating how it can best be employed.
All of the operations mentioned, together with some which will be
described, are classed under the general term, “stage effects.”
Authors, in writing plays, are always on the look-out for an
opportunity to produce a telling effect. The amount of work bestowed
upon their production in a theatre is simply astonishing to those
unacquainted with that mysterious realm known as “behind the scenes.”

Thunder is a common stage effect, and is used with great advantage in
many plays. In former days it was produced by shaking a large piece
of sheet iron immediately above the prompter’s desk. This contrivance
produced a good imitation of sharp, rattling thunder, but failed to
give the dull roar which is always heard in storms. A contrivance for
this purpose was soon invented. A heavy box frame is made, and over
it is tightly drawn a calf skin. Upon this the prompter operates with
a stick, one end of which is padded and covered with chamois skin.
A flash of lightning, produced with magnesium, and a sharp crack of
the sheet iron, followed by a long decreasing roll upon the “thunder
drum,” produce an effect which is startlingly realistic. Travelling
companies are compelled to be satisfied with the sheet iron alone;
and the tragedian who enters a theatre provided with a complete
thunder apparatus always is happy to think that his battle with the
elements in “King Lear” will be worth fighting.

The rain machine in large theatres is a fixture placed high up in
the “flies.” A cylinder is made of “half-inch” wood. It is usually
5 ft. in circumference, and 4 ft. in length. Upon the inside are
placed rows of small wooden teeth. A lot of dried peas is placed
in the cylinder, a rope belt is run around one end of it and down
to the prompter’s desk, and it is ready for a drenching shower. By
turning the cylinder, the peas roll down between the teeth, and
the noise produced by them makes a good imitation of rain falling
upon a roof. A sudden pull of the rope, accompanied by a gust on
the “wind machine,” gives the sound of the sweep of a blast of
wind during a storm. Travelling companies often meet with theatres
where there is no rain machine. A sufficiently good one, however,
is easily produced. A common child’s hoop is obtained, and a sheet
of heavy brown paper is pasted upon it after the manner of a circus
rider’s balloon. A handful of birdshot is placed upon the paper. The
“machine” is canted from one side to the other, and the shot rolls
around the paper, producing a fairly good rain effect.

Wind is an item that is very useful in heightening the effect
of stage storms. It is often dispensed with in theatres where
strict attention is not paid to details, but not without a loss of
“realism.” It has, moreover, a great influence over the feelings of
spectators. The blind _Louise_ in the “Two Orphans” is much more
pitied when the audience can hear the pitiless blast that makes
her shiver. Hence in every large theatre the wind machine plays an
important part. It is not a stationary apparatus, but can be moved to
any quarter of the compass from which it is desired that wind should
blow. In the last act of “Ours,” every time the door of the hut opens
snow flies in and a shriek of wind is heard. The wind machine in that
instance is placed just outside the door, and the property man works
it, while his assistant amuses himself by trying to throw his paper
snow down _Lord Shendryn’s_ back. The wind machine is constructed
in this manner: A heavy frame is made, in which is set a cylinder
provided with paddles and resembling very much the stern wheels seen
on Ohio River towboats. Across the top of this cylinder is stretched
as tightly as possible a piece of heavy gros-grain silk. This silk
remains stationary while the wheel is turned by a crank. The rapid
passage of the paddles across the surface of the silk produces the
noise of wind. Often travelling companies are in theatres where
there is no wind machine. Then the property man groans audibly and
proceeds to do what, in theatrical parlance, is called “faking” the
wind. He selects a heavy piece of gas hose, called by stage gasmen
“flexible,” and, finding a quiet corner where there is sufficient
space to swing a cat without danger--to the cat--he whirls it around
his head with the greatest possible rapidity. This method produces
very satisfactory results--to every one but the property man. He is
a long-suffering person; but the extraction of wind from “flexible”
causes him to find life tedious.

Every one has heard the startling crash that is produced when the
hero kicks the villain through a four-inch oaken door. One would
think that not only the door but the villain must be completely
shattered. This noise is produced by the crash machine, one of the
oldest implements of imitation still used on the stage. It is similar
to the wind machine in construction. A wheel with paddles set at
an angle of about forty-five degrees to the radii is the main part
of the machine. Upon the top of the wheel one end of a stout piece
of wood is pressed down by fastening the other end to a portion of
the framework. When the wheel is turned, the slats passing under
the stationary piece produce a rattling crash. The principle of
the machine is illustrated by the small boy who runs a stick along
a paling fence and is gratified by introducing into the world an
additional morsel of hubbub.

There is nothing that can be so well counterfeited on the stage as
moonlight scenery. And yet there is nothing which requires more work.
The artist begins the task by painting a moonlight scene. In daylight
such a scene is a ghastly sight. It is done in cold greys and greens,
in which Prussian blue and burnt umber play an important part, and
the lights are put in with white slightly tinged with emerald green.
The strong moonlight of the foreground is produced by a calcium light
thrown through a green glass. The fainter light upon the scenery at
the back of the stage is obtained from “green mediums,” a row of
Argand burners with green chimneys. These are placed upon the stage
just in front of the main scene, and are “masked in” from the view
of the audience a “ground piece.” A row of them is often suspended
from the “flies,” in order to light the top of the scene. This
upper row is masked in by “sky borders.” Thus a soft green light is
thrown over the entire distance, while its source does not meet the
view of the spectator. A usual feature of stage moonlight scenes is
water, because it affords an opportunity for the introduction of the
“ripple”--a charmingly natural stage effect. The main scene in a
moonlight view is always painted on a “drop”--that is, a scene made
like the curtain let down between the acts. The position of the moon
being determined, immediately under it, beginning at the horizon, a
number of small irregular holes is cut in the drop. These are then
covered on the back with muslin and painted over on the front to
match the rest of the water. Behind these holes is placed an endless
towel, about 8 ft. in height, running around two cylinders, one at
the top and one at the bottom. The lower cylinder has a crank by
which the towel is turned. In this towel is cut a number of holes
similar to those cut in the drop. A strong gas burner is placed
between the two sides of the towel. When the machine is turned the
flashing of the light from the passing holes in the towel through
the stationary ones in the drop produce a fine ripple. It is always
better to turn the towel so that the holes pass upward, as that helps
to make the mimic wavelets seem to dance up toward the sky. Instead
of a towel a large tin cylinder has been used, but it is cumbersome
and noisy. It is necessary to turn this towel with great steadiness,
otherwise the ripples will go by fits and starts, and entirely lose
their natural appearance. Stars are easily put into the sky. Each
twinkling orb consists of a spangle hung upon a pin bent into a
double hook. The slightest motion of the drop causes these stars to
shake and the flashing of the light upon them produces the twinkle.

One of the most beautiful effects produced upon the stage is the
change from day to night or from night to day. Of these the former
is the more striking, and a description of it will serve to explain
the principle of both. In order to produce the proper effect the
back drop is made nearly double the height of the usual scenes.
The upper half of it is painted to represent a sunset sky, and the
lower half to represent moonlight. It is hung so that the upper half
alone is visible. The scenery of the distance is then painted upon a
separate piece, which is “profiled”; that is, the irregular line of
the horizon made by trees, mountains, or houses, is sharply cut out
with a circular saw. This piece is placed immediately in front of
the sky drop. A few feet further in front is hung what is known as a
cut gauze drop. This has sides and top of canvas painted as the case
requires; while the centre is filled with fine gauze, which lends an
aerial effect to the distance. Red “mediums” are employed to give a
soft, sunset glow to the scene. At the proper moment, the back drop
is very slowly and steadily hauled up, while the red “mediums” are
slowly turned off and green ones turned on. The moon is made in the
night half of the sky drop, and rises with it. When it rises above
the distant horizon the green “mediums” are turned on to their full
power and the green calcium light is brought into play. The effect of
this change, when carefully managed, is always very beautiful, and is
sure to draw forth applause from the audience.

Moonrise, in a scene where there is no change from daylight to
darkness, is often produced with a muslin drop and a “moon box.” The
muslin drop is painted to represent the sky, the clouds being painted
on strips of canvas cut in the required shape and sewn on. The moon
is made with a box on one side of which a circular hole is cut. Over
this hole is pasted a piece of white muslin. A couple of wires serve
to draw the moon upward. Of course the white illuminated circle shows
plainly through the muslin sky, but disappears when passing behind
the canvas clouds. By having another piece of muslin painted red
and imperceptibly fading to white, placed at the back of the drop
in the moon’s path, the orb of night can be made to appear red at
the horizon and gradually change to pale yellow as it sails slowly
upward. Floating clouds are easily imitated by hanging in front
of the sky drop a gauze drop upon which are sewn muslin or canvas
clouds, and moving the whole slowly.

An ocean of heaving waters is made in this way: Each bounding wave is
cut out separately. The first row is set up with a distance of three
or four feet between each billow; and the second row is set so as to
show in the openings left by the first. Small boys furnish the motive
power. The waves are rocked back and forth, not from side to side;
and the effect is very good. The noise of water rolling upon a beach
is well imitated in a simple manner. A box of light wood is lined
with tin. By putting two or three ounces of bird-shot into this and
causing it to roll around, the desired sound is produced.

Fire scenes are sometimes dangerous; but with proper care they may
be rendered comparatively safe. That they are not so hazardous as
is generally supposed by the uninitiated beholder may be learned
from the following description:--One of the most familiar fire
scenes is that which occurs in the “Streets of New York,” in which
a three-story house burns down, the roof caving in, the shutters
falling, and the walls breaking with a wonderful appearance of
realism. The house is painted on three separate pieces, the top one
of which is swung from the flies; this constitutes the roof. Upon
the second is painted half the wall, and it is joined to the bottom
piece in an irregular zigzag line. The simple dropping in succession
of these pieces to the stage produces the falling of roof and wall.
The fire itself is represented by chemical red fire and powdered
lycopodium used separately, the former to give a red glow and the
latter to represent flames. The shutters, which are to fall, are
fastened to the scene with a preparation called “quick watch.” This
is made of powder, alcohol, and a lamp wick. The window frames and
sashes are made of sheet iron, covered with oakum soaked in alcohol
or naphtha. These sashes and frames are not fastened to the canvas
scene at all, but are placed a short distance behind it on platforms.
The quickest possible touch of flame ignites the oakum, and, in a
moment, the fire runs round the sash, and nothing apparently is
left but the blackened and charred wood. Steam is used to represent
the smoke that issues from the crannies in the walls of the burning
building; and an occasional crash, followed by the ignition of a
little powder to produce a sudden puff of smoke, gives the spectator
the idea of a falling rafter. Behind the entire scene is placed a
very large endless towel, upon which is painted a mass of flames.
This is kept in constant upward motion, and, when viewed through an
open window in the house, gives a good idea of the supposed furnace
raging within.

_Selecting a Play._--The following excellent list of plays adapted
for amateurs was published in the _Queen_ some years since.

  IN 3 OR MORE ACTS.               M. F.   REMARKS.

  Babes in the Wood                7  4
  Don Cæsar de Bazan               9  2  Drama.
  Game of Speculation              9  4
  Heir at Law                     10  3
  Jealous Wife                    12  5
  John Bull                       14  3
  Ladies’ Battle                   5  2  Robertson’s translation.
  Love Chase                      10  7
  New Men and Old Acres           11  5
  Palace of Truth                  6  5
  Plot and Passion                 7  2  Drama.
  Pygmalion and Galatea            5  4
  Rivals                           8  4  Five acts.
  Society                         11  5
  Still Waters Run Deep            9  3  Can be acted in a drawing-room.

Most of the above are beyond the talent and stage resources of any
but the strongest amateur companies.

  IN 2 ACTS.                       M. F.   REMARKS.

  Bachelor of Arts                 8  2  Good comedy.
  Charles XII.                     7  2  Very good dress piece.
  Charles II.                      4  2  Popular comedy and dress piece.
  Court Cards                      5  4
  Follies of a Night               6  2
  House and the Home               3  3
  Jacobite                         3  3
  Liar                             4  3
  Little Treasure                  5  3  Very pathetic.
  My Heart’s Idol                  7  3
  Not a Bad Judge                  9  2  Capital for amateurs.
  Our Wife                         7  2  Good dress piece.
  Paul Pry                         7  2
  Secret Agent                     8  3  The best dress piece for
                                           amateurs.
  Sweet Hearts                     2  2
  Time Tries All                   6  2
  Who Killed Cock Robin?           2  2
  Wonderful Woman                  6  3  Very popular.
  Woodcock’s Little Game           4  3  Capital light comedy.

  IN 1 ACT.

  Area Belle                       3  2
  As Like as Two Peas              3  2  A little vulgar.
  A.S.S.                           3  2
  B.B.                             4  2
  Bamboozling                      6  3
  Betsy Baker                      2  2
  Birthplace of Podgers            7  3
  Boots at the Swan                4  4  Very sparkling.
  Book the Third                   2  1  French _Proverbe._
  Box and Cox                      2  1
  Box and Cox Married              3  3
  Brown and the Brahmins           4  7  Burlesque.
  Comical Countess                 3  1
  Conjugal Lesson                  1  1  A little vulgar.
  Cool as a Cucumber               3  2
  Cozy Couple                      2  2
  Creatures of Impulse             4  3  Burlesque.
  Cup of Tea                       4  1  French _Proverbe._
  Cut off with a Shilling          2  1
  Day After the Wedding            3  2
  Dead Shot                        5  2
  Deaf as a Post                   4  4
  Dearest Mama                     4  3
  Delicate Ground                  2  1  Light comedy.
  Diamond Cut Diamond              7  1
  Done on Both Sides               3  2  Acts well in a drawing-room.
  Double Bedded Room               3  3
  Doubtful Victory                 3  2
  Dumb Belle                       3  2
  Eclipsing the Sun                3  2
  Eton Boy                         3  2
  Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady  6  2  Pretty dress piece.
  Fitz Smyth                       6  2  Funny.
  Give a Dog a Bad Name            2  2
  Grimshaw Bradshaw Bagshawe       4  2  Funny.
  Happy Pair                       1  1  Sparkling _Proverbe_.
  He Lies Like Truth               5  2  Very funny.
  He’s a Lunatic                   3  2  Very amusing.
  His Excellency                   4  2
  Household Fairy                  1  1  _Proverbe._
  Ici on Parle Français            3  4  Popular, but difficult.
  Irish Tutor                      4  2
  John Dobbs                       5  2  Capital for amateurs.
  Lend me Five Shillings           5  2  Funny.
  Little Toddlekins                3  8  Almost the best farce for
                                           amateurs.
  Loan of a Lover                  4  2
  Love and Rain                    1  1  Pretty _Proverbe_.
  Love Laughs at Locksmiths        6  6
  Mad as a Hatter                  5  2
  Morning Call                     1  1  _Proverbe._
  Mummy                            6  2
  My Heart’s Idol                  7  3
  My Preserver                     5  5
  Nice Firm                        8  2
  Nice Quiet Day                   5  3
  Night at Notting Hill            3  2  Funny.
  Nine Points of the Law           4  3
  No. 1 round the Corner           2  0  Good two-character piece.
  Only a Halfpenny                 2  2  Funny.
  Our Clerks                       8  4
  Pacha of Pimlico                 6  2  Funny extravaganza.
  Perfection                       3  2  Easy and pretty little piece.
  Phenomenon in a Smock Frock      4  2  Mathews’ piece.
  Pipkin’s Rustic Retreat          5  3
  Poor Pillicoddy                  2  3  Very funny.
  Pork Chops                       3  1  Extravaganza.
  Quiet Family                     4  4
  Raising the Wind                 6  3  Capital old farce.
  Regular Fix                      6  4  Very good light comedy.
  Retained for the Defence         5  1  Difficult.
  Rifle, and How to Use it         4  3
  Rough Diamond                    4  2  Popular farce.
  School for Coquettes             3  3
  Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing         7  4  Pretty drama.
  Slasher and Crasher              5  2
  Slowtop’s Engagements            2  2  Light comedy.
  Spectre Bridegroom               7  2  One of the most telling of
                                           farces.
  Spitalfields Weaver              4  1  Telling.
  Taming a Tiger                   3  0
  Thumping Legacy                  7  1  Very funny.
  To Oblige Benson                 3  2
  To Parents and Guardians        17  3
  To Paris and Back for £5         9  7  Funny, but a little vulgar.
  Too Much for Good Nature         4  7
  Trying it On                     3  3  Very good indeed for a
                                           drawing-room.
  Turkish Bath                     5  2
  Turn Him Out                     3  2
  Tweedleton’s Tail Coat           4  2
  Twice Killed                     6  3
  Two Bonnycastles                 3  3
  Two Flats and a Sharp            1  2  Pretty comedy.
  Two in the Morning               2  0  Best farce for two males.
  Uncle’s Will                     2  1  Very sparkling.
  Unwarrantable Intrusion          2  0
  Under the Rose                   2  2  Good.
  Vandyke Brown                    3  3  Good farce.
  Whitebait at Greenwich           3  2  Popular, but difficult.
  Who Speaks First?                3  2
  Your Life’s in Danger            3  3

First catch your actors, then choose your play. In other words, fit
your available square men into a square piece, and do not try and
pare them down to the exigencies of a round one. As a rule dramatic
talent and ambition is more common among the emotional than among
the sterner sex. Women, too, adapt themselves more easily to any
part. Also, their range of parts is narrower. It is easier to make
people laugh than to cry, and they also prefer being amused to being
harrowed. Of course low comedy is just as difficult as a higher line,
but a feeble imitation passes muster better than in the serious
parts. Englishmen are less averse to playing the fool in a fool’s
part than risking an exhibition of deeper feeling. It is easy,
therefore, to group your lesser lights round the central low comedy
man, reflecting his genial glow, more or less, according to their
several abilities, and to graft upon the whole a farce. A farce need
not be vulgar. A farce, too, like charity, covers a multitude of sins
in the way of dress, properties, or scenery. Almost any incongruity
of the former is allowable, and any makeshift or hitch in the latter
can be carried off by a ready wit. But supposing comic talent to
be altogether absent in your company, you will probably find the
“old man” element predominating. The younger, better looking, and
more stalwart the individual the more convinced he will be that his
strong point is the impersonation of old men. Yet old men’s parts are
difficult. The very make up in anything but the broadest farce is a
work of art in itself, and the gait, the tone of voice, the laugh,
the down sitting, and the up-rising must never be lost sight of for a
moment. Usually, too, the old man character is an adjunct rather than
the central figure in a piece, and does not bear upon his shoulders
the burden and heat of the day. Yet in skilful hands it is capable of
unlimited expansion, and with weaker vessels can, at worst, but sink
to the level of low comedy.

Of all the parts most difficult to fill that of the lover is the
worst. Like good tenors, there are not enough stage lovers brought
into the world. Englishmen are so shy, so afraid of making themselves
ridiculous by exhibiting sentiment and emotion. They are not given to
making love particularly prettily in real life, much less upon the
boards. The result in amateur circles is generally a stick. All the
same, the lover is an absolute necessity in most plays, and must be
procured somehow or other.

A judicious weighing of the strong points of each member of your
company, and a nice balancing of their weak ones, must decide
you finally in the choice of the piece to be acted. Take into
consideration which characters have much to do together, and whether
the weaker one can be pulled through by the stronger. The performance
is sure to hang fire if a pair of feeble knees have the stage all
to themselves for long, making each other and the audience nervous.
On the other hand, if your company is much of a muchness, choose a
“level” piece in which the parts are fairly equally divided. If the
opposite is the case, give your best actors the strong parts, and
subordinate the others to them.

Make up your mind from the beginning that some one is sure to
consider him or herself ill-suited and ill-used. Women are greater
sinners in this respect than men--more vain, more jealous. But if
a piece, however small, is to “go,” each one must subordinate his
own importance and his own part to the general effect. The cleverer
the actor the more he will make of the smallest part. Nevertheless,
the fact remains that private theatricals are productive of more
quarrelling and bad blood than any other known form of social
amusement. For this reason a stage manager, pure and simple, is
absolutely essential. His word must be law and his rule of iron. He
must give an eye to the general effect; he must order the sitting
down and the getting up, and the crossing, and especially see
that there is plenty of the former. He must see that when several
characters are on the stage together they group well, do not get
behind each other, and balance on the stage. At full rehearsals he
should see that, if it is not practicable to rehearse on the stage
itself, they take place on a square as large as the stage, and with
each piece of furniture and property in its right place; also that
the correct exits and entries are adhered to. This prevents amateurs
feeling strange when they come to a final dress rehearsal on the
stage itself. Any special little scenes between two characters can be
gone over and over again privately.

Finally, having got your ingredients together, do not aim too high.
The more plot, the more action in a piece, the easier it is to act.
Beware of plays which read well, are full of smart dialogue--they
require very finished acting.

A “dressed” or costume piece, though more trouble to get up, is more
attractive than one of modern time. But when feasible, evening dress
refines a modern play very much. Powder must be carefully put on, or
after much heat and action, the performer assumes merely a grizzled
aspect. In a dressed piece do not neglect the smallest details, and
take care the female and male characters are dressed in the same
period. In an outdoor scene, avoid an open parasol or umbrella as you
would poison. It shades the face unless very dexterously manipulated.
Let ladies look well to their “chaussure,” and the length, and
especially the hang of the short skirts. These ought to be round,
nothing looks so bad as a dab behind, showing the lining from the
front.

“Making up” is a very delicate matter in a room where the audience
is so near. It is generally overdone. Rouge is usually put on too
low, it ought never to come below the cheek bone. Many people do not
need to pencil their eyebrows at all, and a mere dab of black on
the lower lid is better than a continuous line. When this latter is
used, however, it is becoming to continue it a very little beyond
the junction of the two lids towards the temples. For a bucolic part
of either sex, a nice fat rosy cheek can be made by adding a little
cotton wool judiciously rouged. Remember an “old man” does not want
his eyes blacked at all.

Now, to touch on a few faults of amateurs.

Firstly, there is a tendency to play too much to the front of the
stage. Do not be afraid of the stage; use it all. Do not come on and
stand front face to the audience, addressing your remarks to them
instead of to the character with whom you are conversing. Turn well
away for your asides, or they sound ridiculous, and give the other a
similar chance of making his. Remember, it is no crime to take a turn
up the stage, with your back to the audience, and say a sentence,
with your head well thrown back over your shoulder.

A second most important point is not to run your sentences together.
Divide them well, giving each its particular character and its full
value. Pause between them. Each word tells, and is put there for
a purpose. And here let me beseech the amateur prompter to have
some mercy on his victims, and not to hound them on, if they stop a
moment, as if their lives depended on their getting the words out.

This brings me to a vital point, that of playing slowly enough.
Amateurs can hardly do “business” of any kind--such, for instance, as
writing a letter--too slowly.

Do not be ashamed of over-acting; it is better than under-acting a
part. Learn your cues with your part, and insist on getting them
correctly. Amateurs cannot take too much trouble.

One word as to elocution. Find out the pitch of your voice which
carries best, and which is at the same time the most natural and
the least exertion to you. You cannot fail then to be heard, always
providing you remember not to drop your voice at the end of a
sentence, and not to clip the final consonants of words.

A few practical hints, to close, as to stage and scenery. Do not
attempt to put a piece with much action and several characters
on to a small stage. The result is simply ridiculous. The stage
_must_ be raised, but a foot or so is enough in any ordinary-sized
drawing-room. If it is too high, the players’ heads appear too near
the ceiling. If possible, keep the front row of audience at least
five feet from the footlights. Take care these latter are not too
strong, but have plenty of lamps fixed on the back of the front
wings and over the curtain inside. For this reason wings, though
more trouble to set up, are preferable to a box scene. They also
obviate the necessity of practicable doors, which do not shut or
open properly, and never look real. It looks better to cut off the
corners of the stage at the back, or, at any rate, to make the side
narrow towards the back. Any trouble devoted to details of furnishing
and setting the stage is well repaid by the effect; but of course
the size and quantity of furniture must be ruled by the size of the
stage. In an evening room scene, take care the lamps or candles are
in the centre of the stage. Outdoor scenes are very difficult to
manage on a temporary stage. A back painted scene is necessary, and
in a room painted scenes look so coarse.

Any carpenter can run up a temporary stage in a drawing room, from a
slight sketch, in a day, without doing any damage to the walls. The
curtain ought to be rehearsed as much as the play, till it goes up
and down or pulls aside without a hitch. (E. E. C.)


=Tricks and Illusions.=--Much amusement may be derived from the
practice of conjuring tricks and illusions, and such entertainments
are not without an educational value, as they excite curiosity and
develop a desire in young minds to acquire knowledge, and induce an
exercise of the reasoning faculties in endeavouring to learn how they
are performed.

_Sleight of Hand._--The following notes on sleight of hand tricks are
taken from a chapter in _A Curious Company_, by that entertaining
writer, Max Adeler.

“Before beginning to explain the _modus operandi_ of the impromptu
illusionist, let me just tabulate eight golden rules, which you must
always bear in mind if you hope for anything like success.

“1. Never look at your hands, unless to attract attention to one of
them.

“2. Cultivate the art of chattering freely, with as much original wit
as you can invent, or plagiarise without fear of detection.

“3. Never tell a lie that you cannot stick to, and illustrate if
necessary. You can always ward off an explanation for a few instants
whilst you remove the chances of discovery, and you will find as
you get on that you can boldly do the most outrageously transparent
things _coram populo_, without being found out or observed.

“4. Your hands must always work _together_, never be easy with one
hand and constrained with the other; unless you can by no other means
distract the attention of some horribly sharp person from one hand,
when an awkward movement of the other will often divert his undesired
watchfulness.

“5. Cultivate the art of scoring off rude people, who ask awkward
questions. If any one _thinks_ he has discovered ‘the way it’s
done’ (but not the right way), _let_ him think so, and swagger his
astuteness, and his desire to slip through to New Zealand will be
all the greater when you prove him wrong. _Sæpe interereunt aliis
meditantes necem._ If you are really found out beyond recovery, don’t
try to carry it off; throw yourself at _once_ on the generosity of
the discoverer or discoverers, and ask him or her not to expose you;
remember you are only an amateur, and not getting your living.

“6. _Never_ go on an instant after you detect the least signs among
the audience of ‘having had enough of it.’

“7. When doing anything quite harmless, make a great _unostentatious_
parade of your innocence; your audience will be all the more ready to
take you on trust when you are taking them in.

“8. Never perform a trick in public which you have not amply
rehearsed in private.

“Your dress will of course, as a rule, be the ordinary evening
dress, and unless you have a great reputation as a prestidigitateur,
no alteration is required. However, a little pocket an inch deep,
contrived in and hidden by the seam of the trousers just where the
tips of the fingers fall when the hand is naturally lowered to the
side is a great convenience for getting rid of small articles when
palmed, or for producing them suddenly by the same means. Otherwise,
the natural movement of getting at one’s handkerchief, &c., will
answer the same purpose, if neatly and unostentatiously done. It is
as well to turn up the coat-sleeves, for though they are _never_ used
in legerdemain, it is impossible to disabuse people of the notion
that they are.

“These maxims (which are, after all, the chief art to be acquired
by the amateur conjuror) having been digested, let us turn to the
considerations of the principles and practice of the science of
legerdemain. These may be summed up thus: Every conjuring trick
or illusion, not involving the use of a stage, apparatus, and
accomplices, is performed in, and has for its foundation one of three
proceedings; these are, (1) The Palm, (2) The Pass, (3) The Slip, and
the motive power of the trio is the same, and is expressed in one
word, viz. ‘cheek.’

“1. _Palming_, is the art of holding in one hand any article (coin,
card, &c.) unknown and unseen by the spectators, or of retaining in
one hand anything which, by the ‘pass’ has apparently left it.

“2. _Passing_, is the art of so palming any article that it is
_apparently_ transferred to some other receptacle, or altering the
position of the cards in a pack unseen by the audience.

“3. _Slipping_, is the art of moving, altering the position of, or
getting possession of any _single_ card without being detected, and,

“4. _Cheek_ is--[3].

“Coin Sleights.--Palming.--1. Place a penny or florin across the
middle joints of the second and third fingers of either hand, as
at _a_, Fig. 99, reproduced from illustrations by Miss Dora Noyes;
on slightly bending the hand in an easy and natural manner, the
coin will be clipped, as at _b_, by the fleshy part of the other
two joints, and the hand may be turned over, and in fact placed in
any position, so long as the back of the hand is presented to the
audience. This is a useful palm on an emergency, as when people
suspect that the coin is in the palm of the hand it may be shown
empty, the top joints of the fingers hiding the coin thus held.

[Illustration: 99. Coin and Card Sleights.]

“2. Place the coin between the joint of the thumb and the hand, and
on slightly bending the thumb the coin will be held flat. This is
most useful for changing, described further on, but as an ordinary
concealment of a coin it is too dangerous except for small coins
which the thumb is large enough to hide.

“3. The principal palm (from which the manipulation derives its
name) is as follows: Place the coin so that one edge just touches
the highest of the three marked lines that cross the palm of the
hand, rather towards the thumb. On slightly bending the hand the coin
will be retained; you will find it difficult at first, but practice
will show you the exact spot, where the difficulty is reduced to a
minimum. If you take the coin flatwise between the thumb, the tips of
the second and third fingers, by naturally closing the fingers over
and clasping them tight in the palm of the hand, the coin will be
brought into the exact position, so that if you pick up a coin, by a
sudden outward sweep you can cover this movement, and on recovering
the hand the coin will be palmed and the hand apparently empty.

“Other means of holding a coin _en cache_ will naturally present
themselves when these have been thoroughly mastered.

“Passing.--1. Take the coin edgeways, between the thumb and the tips
of the second and third fingers of the right hand, having the palm
of the hand upwards, therefore the backs of the fingers presented to
the audience, as at _c_. Approach the left hand to the right, with
back of the hand upwards, and as soon as the left hand hides the tips
of the fingers of the right hand, loosen the thumb so as to drop the
coin on to the second and third fingers, as at _d_. Immediately close
the left hand as if taking the coin out of the right hand and raise
it up; meanwhile bend the fingers of the right hand so as to effect
palm No. 1, and lower it steadily to the side _or_ holding the coin
as in palm No. 1, and hidden by the bend of the little finger raise
the right hand to the mouth and cough slightly before lowering it,
this shows the audience (apparently) that the right hand is empty.
Meanwhile you play about with the left hand, in which the audience
thinks is the coin, and when you have diverted their attention and
disposed of the coin you can imitate the motion with the left hand
of throwing the (imaginary) coin into the air or rubbing it away to
nothing, or any other fanciful way of (apparently) disposing of it,
or if you have safely got rid of the coin, suddenly rub your hands
together and gradually display the two hands both empty. This is one
of the most effective and easy passes.

“2. Lay the coin on the left hand, approach the right to it, take the
coin between the fingers and thumb of the right, carry the right hand
smartly back, performing palm No. 3. Holding the left hand open jerk
the right hand close to it, really holding the penny in the right
palm, but apparently throwing it into the left; as you do it shut
the fingers of the left hand smartly over the palm so as to produce
a slap which people think is the slap of the coin falling into the
hand, hold up the left hand so that people look at it, and lower the
right with the coin palmed (No. 3); if any one is suspicious shift
the coin to palm No. 1, and apparently show the hand empty in some
artful manner. Then do what you like with the imaginary coin in the
left hand.

“3. To pass several coins, let them all be (if possible) of the same
size and hold them tight in the palm of the right hand, then perform
pass No. 2, in exactly the same manner as with a single coin, except
that instead of holding them in the palm they fall with a clink into
the bend of the fingers where they must at once be secured by the
thumb beyond fear of further rattle. The chink thus produced, the
audience thinks is produced by the coins falling into the other hand,
which being immediately closed apparently holds the coins. It is a
ticklish trick to perform well, owing to the necessarily constrained
position of the right hand, but when got well into control is very
effective indeed.

“There are many other palms and passes, but with these all
sleight-of-hand tricks may be done, and out of them the amateur can
invent a quantity of simple little impromptu experiments.

“Card Sleights.--These are far more extensive than coin tricks, for
the cards in themselves are in a way apparatus, the active principles
of which are, as with coin, the palm, the pass, and cheek, to which
are added last, but not least, the slip and the turnover. You must
constantly ‘Ruffle’ the cards, i.e. holding the pack in one hand draw
the fingers or thumb of the other across the edges at one end so as
to rattle them all together. It conceals any manipulation which may
have startled the audience, and should therefore be done in a quick
or _degagé_ manner after every sleight or whenever needed, and as the
audience do not understand it, they think that this movement is the
actual operation by which the wonders are performed.

“Palming.--This is done as follows: Hold the pack as at _d_, Fig. 99,
in the left hand, and covering the pack lengthways with the right,
so that the top joint of the fingers touches the top edge of the top
card, slide the top card forward, and press down the tips of the
fingers; the card will be thus pressed into the hand and lie curled
up in it as in _e_, if thin small cards are used, a card (or even two
or three) thus held will be completely hidden by the hand, and may be
curled up tight without injury to the card. In this sleight, it is
difficult to avoid a constrained position of the hand, but it is very
useful as hereinafter described for changing cards.

“Passing.--This is the great stumbling-block of the amateur
miracle-monger, and will require most practice, for when you begin
it will seem impossible to do it _en cache_. Its object is to
reverse the two halves of the pack (in fact, a sort of automatic
_cut_; in fact the French term is ‘_sauter la coupe_,’ for by its
means the demoralising effect of a cut may be avoided), and when
properly practised and perfected it is done noiselessly, in a manner
incomprehensible to the conjuror himself. Often, practising the pass
before a looking-glass, I have wondered myself at my own performance,
so completely does the automatic and sympathetic movement of the
hands deceive the eye. The pack being divided into two halves, it is
held in the left hand as at _f_, i.e. as seen from the front there is
no division, but really whilst three fingers clasp it, it is divided
(above or below any given card, or, as the case may be) by the little
finger. Now cover the pack lengthways with the right hand, slip the
first finger in also as at _g_, so that the upper half of the pack is
held as it were in a hinge formed by the fingers of the left hand.
Now seize the lower half between the thumb and fingers and the right
hand, and press it sideways into the lower joint of the thumb as at
_h_. Now by means of the fingers of the left hand raise the upper
half hinge-wise, and with the fingers and thumb of the right, lift
the lower half till it is just clear of the top half as at _i_, when
on pressing down the thumb the lower half will be pressed over the
top half as at _j_. The fingers may then be removed, and your purpose
is accomplished; i.e. the top and bottom halves of the pack have
changed places. As you acquire practice it will only be necessary
to insert the little finger of the left hand, instead of two. It
is well to lower the hands sharply as you perform this sleight, to
cover the movement, which, however, by practice is reduced to a
minimum. It is also well, if you feel that some one is suspicious,
to ruffle the cards immediately afterwards to divert suspicion. This
sleight requires much private rehearsal, but is the mainspring of a
great many tricks, and its practice gives the hands a suppleness and
sympathy not to be acquired in any other way.

“The _turnover_ is a sleight, practised when it is desired to present
the backs of the cards whichever way the pack is presented. It is
performed as follows: Beginning exactly as with the pass, except
that when _i_ is reached instead of pressing the lower half over
the top, the movement is continued to _k_, so that the two halves
of the pack face one another, and now whether the top or bottom
half be uppermost, the backs of the cards will be visible. You can
now deal off cards from either half, and when you want to cease,
and begin from the other, hold the cards as in _d_, but the thumb
instead of being over the pack it is underneath as at _l_, so that
the attention of the audience being diverted (by counting the cards
already dealt, or otherwise) by an upward pressure of the thumb the
pack is completely reversed, and the heretofore undermost card is now
at the top. This is the principle of most tricks involving counting
off cards.

“Slips.--These are the most useful and frequently required sleights
practised by the amateur conjuror, and consist of the knack of
drawing a card from the top, middle, or bottom of the pack, and
placing it in any position in the pack which may be required by the
trick.

“1. The pack being held in the ordinary manner in the left hand, with
a chosen card on the top (either placed there by the chooser, or by
the pass, or one of the subjoined slips), lift off the top half,
raising it rather hingewise, so that the _top_ card being retained
by the fingers of the left hand it is left on the top of the half
retained in the left hand, as in _m_.

“2. The chosen card being on the top of the pack, being held as
at _d_, and covered lengthwise by the right hand, by a sudden
contraction of the fingers of the left hand, the top card is drawn
off (under the right hand) as at _n_, with a ‘flip,’ caused by the
bending of the card as it bends and straightens out at the bottom of
the pack. The cards are immediately ‘ruffled’ to disguise the flip.
In the same manner a card may be sprung from the bottom to the top,
or from the top to the centre, in the latter case the pack being
opened a little in the left hand, and the top half slightly raised by
the thumb and fingers of the right hand. The elasticity of the card
will cause it to spring, in the instant it finds an opening.

“3. A card having been chosen, the pack is presented, just raising
the top half to make a place for it, but not looking at the place,
or indeed at the hands at all. The card being inserted, before
replacing the top half the two middle fingers are inserted just over
it, and directly the two halves join, the card is flipped out by
the two fingers as in _n_, and brought to the bottom. The cards are
immediately ‘ruffled,’ and your point is gained, i.e. you know the
exact card chosen. If the chooser demurs to re-inserting the card at
the opening you make--

“4. Spread out the pack fanwise before him, spreading them _to your
right_, and letting the fingers of your two hands meet underneath the
fan. By this means wherever he pushes in his card, you can feel it,
and in collapsing the fan into pack form, the fingers are slipped in
over the top as in slip No. 3, and the card is flipped out as there
set down.

“These demonstrate the active principles of slips, which your own
ingenuity will multiply _ad infinitum_. It will be seen that by their
means any card chosen and returned to the pack may be at once secured
and ascertained, which is the prime object of the card trickster, in
whatsoever experiment he may be engaged. Simply a ‘slip,’ combined
with any of the following ‘exposures,’ will constitute a trick in
itself, far above the comprehension of any one not himself a master
of the art.

“Exposures.--These are the methods of ‘exposing’ a card chosen, and
returned to the pack. Your own fancy will suggest any quantity of
methods, but the following are a few for a start. In fact, almost all
card-tricks consist of one sleight, and a more or less complicated
exposure.

“1. Slip the chosen card to the top. Let the pack be held by any one
(say the chooser of the card) with the face upwards, i.e. so that
his card is at the bottom. See that the pack is held well into the
hand of the holder, secured by the thumb set rather near the edge of
the pack. Now, with your own hand, or let any one else, strike the
pack smartly downwards, and all the cards will be knocked out of his
hand except the bottom one (his own) which remains staring him in the
face, retained by adhesion to his own fingers. Result, natural, but
extraordinary.

“2. Slip the chosen card to the top. Take the pack in the right hand,
and cover it with the left, as you do so sliding the top (chosen)
card sideways till it projects nearly half over the side of the pack.
This state of things will be hidden by the left hand, holding the
pack endways. On dropping the pack bodily from the left hand at an
elevation of about 1½ feet from floor or table, the top (chosen) card
will turn as it falls, and lie face upwards on the top of the pack.
Result, simple, but startling.

“3. Slip the chosen card to the top. Give the chooser a paper knife,
and, holding the pack as at _d_, tell him to cut the pack with it
where he likes. Where he cuts, divide the pack, and lift off the top
half, doing at the same time slip No. 1, which will bring his card
to the top of the lower half. Put down the top half, and observing
that you in no way influenced his cut, tell him to take the (now)
top card. He will be surprised to find it his own. Result, easy but
supernatural.

“Space forbids me to suggest any others, which you can easily work
out for yourself. If time and space would allow, it would be easy to
fill a volume with card tricks requiring no preparation, apparatus,
or accomplices; but as they are all based upon the above sleights,
mere repetition would be useless.

“The following selection are very telling and are easily performed.

“1. To tell any card by looking at its back. This is founded on a
manipulation, which I have not described above, and which is called
the ‘drawback.’ The pack is held in the left hand as at _p_, with
the faces downwards. Look at the bottom card, and as you turn the
pack down draw down the bottom card with the little finger as at
_q_. Asking some one to tell you when to stop, commence drawing back
the cards on the top as at _o_. When told to stop, name the bottom
card (looked at and drawn back) and drawing out all the intermediate
cards, inform the teller that that is the card he stopped at, and
in effect on turning up the remaining cards, the card drawn back
and named will be at the bottom, and apparently the one at which he
stopped. I have done this trick twenty times running without being
detected.

“2. Let any one choose a card and get it to the bottom of the pack
by slips Nos. 3 or 4. Put down the cards haphazard in three packs,
noting at the bottom of which the chosen card is. Ask the chooser in
which pack he would imagine his card to be; if he chooses the right
one (which is lucky) throw away the other two; if not, place the
one he chooses _on_ the right one and throw away the _other_ wrong
one. Redivide the cards left into three packs and proceed as before,
always retaining the pack _at the bottom of which_ his card is, until
only three cards are left, including the right one. If he now chooses
the right one it is exceptional luck, though it often so happens: if
not, appear to hesitate a moment, and then retaining his own and the
one he chooses, throw away the third, and mixing the two left but
remembering his own yourself, throw them down, and the chances are
even he will choose his own card. If he doesn’t, boldly throw down
the one he chooses and turn up the other, which is his own. Casually
observe that you in no way influenced his choice, and leave him
astonished.

“3. Pass or slip the chosen card to the top and make a great show of
a false shuffle, i.e. shuffle all the cards, but retain or manipulate
the top card so that it is shuffled to the bottom and thence back
to the top. Then have the cards cut, and taking them up yourself,
slip out the card by slip Nos. 3 or 4, and re-slip it to the top,
or avoid the entire cut by means of the pass. Having _convinced_
him that his card is lost _in gurgite vasto_ of the pack, let him
count off 8 cards from the top and spread them in any order in a
row, face downwards, _but_ keep your eye on and note the position of
the first or top card, which is his own. Put away the rest of the
pack, and tell him to touch four out of the eight. If he touches his
own amongst them, take up and throw away the four untouched, or if
he does not touch his own, take up those he touches. Then let him
touch two of the four left, and throw away as before, leaving his own
one of the two left. Then let him touch one of the two left, and as
before leave his own solus. Turn it up, and his astonishment will be
unbounded. Your victim will often enable you _always_ to throw away
the ones touched, and of course this improves the trick, otherwise it
is twenty to one against his noticing that you do not always throw
away the same set. If he does, you must trust to providence and let
the best liar win.

“4. Choose out the four kings (or any other four similar cards) and
divide the pack into two halves, place the cards, a black on the top
and a red on the bottom of one half, and a red on the top and a black
on the bottom of the other half, so that when the halves are united
the two blacks will be in the middle and the two reds on the top, as
you reunite them slip in the little finger as at _f_. Make the victim
recite aloud the position of the reds and that of the blacks, and
repeat it after him so that there is _no_ doubt. Freely expose the
faces fanwise (keeping the place) to let him be certain. When this is
accomplished make the ‘pass’ so as to reverse the order of things.
Expose the pack as reversed, and begging him to be more careful in
future repeat the experiment to his utter mystification. If you are
really good at ‘passing,’ this trick may be repeated over and over
again with great effect.

“5. To change a card without the help of the pack proceed thus: Slip
the chosen card to the top, and make a false shuffle. Then take off,
apparently only the top one, but really the top two, and hold them
up by the edges, so that the top (right) one is completely hidden
by the second (wrong) one. Putting the pack quite away behind at
some distance from you, bring forward your (double) card in the left
hand and show it to the chooser, asking if it is his own. As he will
say no, appear confused and let him be quite positive and assertive
that it is not his own. Take the (double) card lengthwise and face
downwards in the right hand, walk back towards the pack, as you do so
draw off the (right) card, leaving the wrong one palmed in the right
hand as at _d_. Bring it forward again in the right hand (which in
holding, the right will conceal the wrong card), as if to make quite
sure, when the chooser will find it to be changed into his own card.

“6. This trick is somewhat similar to the last. Take out the
four kings, and spread them out fanwise, _but_ let the second
have concealed behind it as in the last trick, two other court
cards (court cards are best as being not so noticeable in case of
accident). Hold them up, saying, ‘You see I have here the four
kings,’ close them up smartly and lay them face downwards on the
top of the pack, so that the order is now, 1 king, 2 false ditto, 3
false ditto, 4, 5 and 6 kings. Take off the first (which is real) and
apparently unintentionally show its face and place it at the bottom
of the pack. Take off the next (false one) _without_ showing it,
and place it _into_ the pack near the bottom. Place the next (false
one) similarly _into_ the pack near the top. Take off the fourth
(real) and apparently unintentionally exposing its face, _commence_
to put it into the middle; when half way, however, change your mind
and place it on the top of the pack. Say, ‘Well, these kings are
all well separated now, to mix them still further will you kindly
cut the pack;’ this operation will of course join all four again in
the middle. ‘Ruffle’ the pack and spreading it out fanwise expose
them _en masse_ in the centre. If neatly done this is an excellent
illusion.”

_Physical Experiments._--There are many illustrations of physical
laws which admit of exhibition without the aid of any special
apparatus, and which may be made highly instructive. Most of the
following examples are borrowed from Max Adeler’s _Curious Company_.

[Illustration: 100. Equilibrium Trick.]

(_a_) Equilibrium.--Stick 2 forks into a cork, and place the cork on
the brim of the neck of a bottle (Fig. 100). The forks and the cork
form a whole, of which the centre of gravity is fixed over the point
of support. You can tip the bottle, empty it even, if it contains
fluid, without the little construction over its mouth being in the
least disturbed from its balance. The vertical line of the centre of
gravity passes through the point of support, and the forks oscillate
with the cork, which serves as their support, thus forming a movable
structure, but much more stable than one is inclined to suppose.
This curious experiment is often performed by conjurors, who inform
their audience that they will undertake to empty the bottle without
disturbing the cork. (_b_) If a woodcock has been served for dinner,
or any other bird with a long beak, take off the head at the extreme
end of the neck; then split a cork so that you can insert into it
the neck of the bird, which must be tightly clipped to keep it in
place; two forks are then fixed into the cork, exactly as in the
preceding example, and into the bottom of the cork a pin is inserted.
This little contrivance is next placed on a piece of money, which
has been put on the opening of the neck of the bottle, and when it
is fairly balanced, give it a rotatory movement, by pushing one of
the forks as rapidly as you please, but as much as possible without
any jerk. You will then see the two forks, and the cork surmounted
by the woodcock’s head, turning on the slender pivot of a pin.
Nothing can be more comical than to witness the long beak of the
bird turning round and round, successively facing all the company
assembled round the table, sometimes with a little oscillation, which
gives it an almost lifelike appearance. (_c_) Lifting a glass bottle
full of water by means of a simple wisp of straw. The straw is bent
before being passed into the bottle of water, so that, when it is
lifted, the centre of gravity is displaced, and brought directly
under the point of suspension. It is well to have at hand several
pieces of straw perfectly intact and free from cracks, in case the
experiment does not succeed with the first attempt. (_d_) The next
experiment, though apparently very difficult, will be found easy
enough in practice if the hand be steady. Take a key, and by means
of a crooked nail, or “holdfast,” attach it to a bar of wood by a
string tied tightly round the bar. To the other extremity of the bar
attach a weight, and then drive a large-headed nail into the table.
It will be found that the key will balance and even move upon the
head of the nail, without falling. The weight is under the table, and
the centre of gravity is exactly beneath the point of suspension.
Inertia.--(_e_) Take a broomstick, and place it horizontally, passing
the ends through two paper rings. Then ask two children to hold the
paper rings by means of two razors, so that the rings rest on the
blades. This done, take a stout stick, and, with all your strength,
strike the broomstick in the centre; it will be broken into shivers,
but the paper rings will not be torn in the least, or even cut by
the razors! (_f_) A modification of _e_. A needle is fixed at each
end of the broomstick, and these needles are made to rest on two
glasses, placed on chairs; the needles alone must be in contact with
the glasses. If the broomstick is then struck violently with another
stout stick, the former will be broken, but the glasses will remain
intact. The experiment answers all the better the more energetic the
action. (_g_) A wooden ball is suspended from the ceiling by a rather
slender thread, and a similar thread is attached to the lower end
of the ball. If the lower thread is pulled forcibly it will break
with the force of the pull; the movement communicated to it has not
time to pass into the ball; if, on the contrary, it is pulled very
gradually, and without any shock, the upper thread instead will
break, because in this case it supports the weight of the ball.
Motion is not imparted simultaneously to all parts of a body, but
only to the particles first exposed to a blow, for instance. One
might multiply examples of this. If a bullet be shot from a gun,
it will make a round hole in a piece of wood or glass, whilst if
thrown by the hand--that is to say, with much less force--it will
shiver the wood or the pane of glass to pieces. When the celerity of
the motive force is very great, the particles directly affected are
disturbed so quickly that they separate from the adjacent particles
before there is time for the movement to be communicated to the
latter. (_h_) It is possible, for the same reason, to extract from
a pile of money a piece placed in the middle of the pile without
overturning the others. It suffices to move them forcibly and
quickly with a flat wooden ruler. The experiment succeeds very well
also if performed with draughtsmen piled up on the draught-board.
(_i_) Take a strip of paper, and upon it place a coin, on a marble
chimney-piece. If, holding the paper in the left hand, you strike
it rapidly and forcibly, you will be enabled to draw away the paper
without causing the coin (say a five-shilling piece) to fall down.
(_j_) It is not impossible to draw away a napkin laid as a tablecloth
for one person’s dinner, without disturbing the various articles
laid upon it. A quick motion is all that is necessary, keeping the
napkin tightly extended by the hands at the same time. This latter
experiment, however, is not recommended to boys home for the holidays.

Pressure of Air.--(_k_) The force of air can be shown as acting with
considerable pressure upon an egg in a glass. By blowing in a claret
glass containing a hard-boiled egg, it is possible to cause the egg
to jump out of the glass; and with practice and strength of lungs it
is not impossible to make it pass from one glass to another. (_l_)
The force of heated air ascending can also be ascertained by cutting
up a card into a spiral, and holding it above the flame of a lamp.
The spiral, if lightly poised, will turn round rapidly. (_m_) A
wine glass, a plate, and water will serve for the next experiment.
Pour some water on the plate, light a piece of paper resting on a
cork, and cover the flame with the glass, which turn upside down.
The water rises in the glass. Why?--Because the burning of the paper
having absorbed a part of the oxygen, and the volume of confined
gas being diminished, the pressure of the outer air has driven back
the fluid. Next fill a goblet with water up to the brim, and cover
it with a sheet of paper, which touches both the edge of the glass
and the surface of the water. Turn the glass upside down, and the
sheet of paper prevents the water running out, because it is held
in place by atmospheric pressure. It sometimes happens that this
experiment does not succeed till after a few attempts on the part
of the operator; thus it is prudent to turn the glass over a basin,
so that, in case of failure, the water is not spilt. (_n_) Having
obtained a vase and a bottle, both quite full of water, take the
bottle, holding it round the neck so that the thumb can be used as a
stopper, then turn it upside down, and pass the neck into the water
in the vase. Remove your thumb, or stopper, keeping the bottle in a
vertical position, and you will see that the water it contains does
not escape, but remains in suspension. It is atmospheric pressure
which produces this phenomenon. If, instead of water, we put milk
in the bottle, or some other fluid denser than water, we shall see
that the milk also remains suspended in the bottle. (_o_) Light a
piece of paper, and let it burn, plunging it into a water-bottle
full of air. When the paper has been burning a few seconds close the
opening of the water-bottle by means of a hard-boiled egg, which you
have previously divested of its shell, so that it forms a hermetic
stopper. The burning of the paper has now caused a vacuum of air in
the bottle, and the egg is gradually thrust in by the atmospheric
pressure outside. (_p_) Take a thin piece of wood about ⅛ in. thick,
8 in. wide, and 24 in. long, and lay it upon a table so that it shall
project over the edge. It is evident that the least pressure will
make it tilt and fall. Next spread out a large newspaper over the
end that lies upon the table. Now if you strike a sharp blow with
your fist on the projecting portion, you will be much surprised to
see that the board resists the shock, just as if it were nailed to
the table. If you strike hard you may injure your hand, or perhaps
the board will break into pieces, but you will not lift the simple
paper that holds it. The downward pressure of the atmosphere upon a
wide surface explains the phenomenon. In order that the experiment
may succeed well, the paper should be spread flat and evenly upon the
table, and all the folds should be smoothed out so as to expel the
interposed air.

Equilibrium of Floating Bodies.--(_q_) The equilibrium of bodies
floating upon liquids is an occurrence of daily observation, but such
is not the case as regards aeriform fluids--a soap bubble filled
with air and floating upon a stratum of carbonic acid, for example.
Although this pretty experiment would seem to require complicated
apparatus to carry it out, it may nevertheless be performed very
simply, as follows:--Having procured a glass vessel, such as a
bell-glass, of medium size, place it, mouth upward, upon a tripod
made of coarse wire, or upon any other support. In the bottom of
this vessel place a mixture formed of equal parts soda bicarbonate
and tartaric acid reduced to powder. The quantity of powder to be
employed depends upon the size of the vessel and the thickness
of the stratum of carbonic acid that it is desired to have. Soda
bicarbonate contains carbonic acid to the amount of half its weight,
and consequently it is necessary to decompose 4 grammes (66 gr.)
of bicarbonate to produce 1 litre (61 cub. in.) of carbonic acid
gas. Over the mouth of the glass vessel place a disc of cardboard
of sufficient size to cover it exactly, and, in the centre of this,
make a circular aperture to allow of the passage of a glass rod of
sufficient length to rest upon the bottom and project externally.
Through this tube, and by means of a small funnel, water is
introduced in small quantities at a time (so as not to produce too
lively an effervescence) until the powder is entirely covered. When
the carbonic acid ceases to be given off, the tube is taken out.

Care should be taken to prepare beforehand a solution of soap in
water, or, what is better, some of Plateau’s glyceric liquid. With
either of these liquids, bubbles about 4 in. in diameter are blown
at the extremity of a tube that flares slightly. This tube should
be held vertically while carrying the bubble over the cardboard
cover, and the latter should be carefully removed by sliding it off
horizontally, and the bubble be then detached in such a way that it
shall fall in the direction of the vessel’s axis. If the fall occurs
from a certain height, the ball will rebound as if it were repelled
by a spring. It will then descend and rise again, and finally become
immovable. It is at this moment that it is well to replace the cover,
so that no disturbance shall occur in the interior of the vessel.

The bubble then resembles a small balloon in equilibrium in the
atmosphere of the vessel; but, in reality, it is floating upon the
invisible stratum of carbonic acid. This equilibrium, however, is
of short duration, since the carbonic acid rapidly dissolves in the
liquid envelope of the bubble, and passes into the interior of the
latter, and increases its weight to such a degree as to cause it to
gradually descend to the bottom of the vessel, where it disappears.
But a suspension of several balls may be obtained successively, that
is to say, the experiment may be repeated several times, if, on
removing the cover, care be taken not to disturb the atmosphere of
the vessel.

The soap bubble may be replaced by one of those small rubber balloons
that please children so much, and that weigh, on an average, 1 gramme
each. Upon inflating one of these to a diameter of about 6 in., we
shall obtain an equilibrium that has greater fixedness and duration,
and may observe the phenomenon at our leisure.

Chemical Experiments.--It is well known that the vapours of mercury
are very diffusive in their nature, and some quite singular
experiments have been devised based upon this, and upon the fact that
the salts of silver and the chlorides of gold, platinum, iridium, and
palladium are affected by these mercurial vapours. If any one, for
instance, write upon a sheet of white paper with platinum chloride,
no mark would be visible, as the liquid is quite colourless. If,
however, the same sheet of paper be held over a little mercury, the
metal will be brought out on the paper in dark tints. This magical
apparition of a figure or drawing on a sheet of paper which appears
to be perfectly white is very astonishing to the spectator.

On the other hand, reversing the experiment, a no less marvellous
result is obtained. At first expose the drawing in writing to the
gases of mercury; the lines will become charged with mercury, and
then by simply bringing the drawing in contact with a sheet of paper
previously sensitised with a solution of platinum, the drawing will
be reproduced, line for line, on the white paper. Drawings made in
this way give a charming effect, the tones being very soft and the
lines being distinct and clear.

_Optical Delusions._--Those talking decapitated persons that are
so often seen in various kinds of shows are one of the sights that
always prove successful. They have already astonished a number of
generations past, and will probably prove just as attractive to those
that shall succeed our own. These decapitated persons are seen under
different aspects according to the tricks employed to produce the
illusion, and which all have the same aim in view, that is, to cause
the appearance, on a table or tray, of a living head with no visible
body. This illusion may be produced in several ways. (_a_) At the
Foire aux Pains d’Epices of 1880, one of the side shows exhibited a
decapitated person as follows: The small stage, which was draped with
a black fabric covered with silver spangles, was feebly lighted by
a sort of night lamp attached to the ceiling. To the right and left
were seen panoplies of skulls and cross-bones. The spectators were
in darkness. In the middle of this grim place a tray was suspended
by 3 small chains at about 3 ft. from the floor, and upon this tray
there was a living head--that of a young man who an instant before
had shown himself to the public. His body lay extended out under the
tray, and his head talked, drank, and smoked, while his arms and legs
moved. Both, although quite distinct, were perfectly alive.

The trick by which the illusion was obtained consisted in this: The
body belonging to the apparently decapitated head was hidden behind,
under the tray, and was completely invisible owing to the shadow of
the latter, and the partial darkness of the stage. The apparent body
was that of another person of exactly the same height, size, and
dress, whose head was in the dark and further hidden by black cloth.

(_b_) Recently there was exhibited at Paris, in what is called the
“Théâtre des Merveilles,” another example of a decapitated person.
A young girl first appears before the audience, accompanied by an
executioner clad in red and armed with the traditional axe. Then
the curtain drops, but rises in a few moments, and shows the stage
a little darkened. Near the executioner, however, can be perfectly
distinguished the girl’s head lying on a round table at the back of
the stage; her body is seen lying on a bed at a few feet from her
head, and at her side is the fatal block that has served for the
execution. The effect is dramatic. The trick employed is the same
as the preceding, in that it requires two persons of the same size
wearing the same costume. One of these--the one who showed herself to
the public--makes the head, her body being hidden behind the cloth in
the rear of the stage. The other, who makes the body, has her head
bent far back and hidden in a sort of box, a false cardboard neck
contributing to increase the illusion.

(_c_) Upon entering the room we perceive a black wooden square table
having 4 legs. Over one of its angles there is thrown a piece of
red fabric whose other end may be perfectly seen hanging from the
opposite side. The floor, which is strewn with straw, is continuous
to the back of the stage. There is nothing under the table,
then--there can be no doubt of it. Still, upon this table there lies
on a tray the head of a young girl which smiles and answers questions
that are asked it. The ingenuous spectators are almost persuaded that
the girl has no body; others ask themselves where it is hidden; and
very peculiar suppositions are indulged in on all sides. In a word,
the illusion is perfect.

When, through favour or money, we enter the side scene and look at
the table sideways, we are almost ashamed of having allowed ourselves
to be deceived by so simple a trick; for the apparatus consists, in
fact, only of a mirror fixed obliquely to two legs of the table. This
mirror hides the body of the girl, who is on her knees or seated on a
small stool, and reflects the straw which covers the floor so as to
make it appear continuous under the table, and likewise reflects the
front leg of the table so as to make it appear at an equal distance
from the other side and thus produce the illusion of a fourth leg.
It also reflects the end of the red fabric hanging in front of the
table, and thus makes it appear to hang down also from behind. It
should be remarked that during the exhibition the spectator stands
only a few inches away from the table and head, being separated
therefrom by a wooden railing from which hangs a curtain reaching
to the ground. Such proximity of the spectator and actor would
seem to favour a discovery of the trick; but, on the contrary, it
is indispensable to its success. Were the spectator placed at a
distance, and did the curtain not exist, he might by stooping see his
legs reflected in the mirror. The curtain, then, prevents any one
from looking under the railing, and the rays that might reach him
from the curtain, by being reflected in the glass, are lost beneath
the table, owing to the proximity of the latter.

As may be seen, the trick is easily understood, and, moreover, it
is one of those that gives the best results, since it deceives the
public the best. Besides, it has the merit of great age.

(_d_) The living half-woman is a very ingenious improvement on the
decapitated individual. On entering, we perceive, when the curtain is
drawn aside, an elegant little room decorated with flowers and lights
and hung with curtains and tapestry. In front there are two railings,
and the floor is covered with a carpet. In the centre is seen a small
square table, on which rests a sort of three-legged stool supporting
a cushion and the half body. The latter is the body of a young woman
apparently cut in two just beneath the thighs. Naturally, this young
person shows that she is alive by moving her arms and head, and
speaking and singing. Now, as we can see the 4 legs of the table and
can perfectly distinguish the space under the stool, and that too
in full light, we naturally ask by what means the lower part of the
girl’s body is hidden. On raising the stool, it will be seen that it
is formed only of a hollowed-out disc whose supports are connected
by two mirrors, that make with each other an angle of 45°. These
mirrors rest on the top of the table, which is decorated with regular
designs in mosaic, and reflect the latter in such a way that they
seem to continue uninterruptedly under the stool. The table presents
an analogous arrangement, two legs being connected with the foremost
one by two mirrors (the table is placed cornerwise to the audience).
These mirrors reflect not only the designs of the carpet, which by
their continuity produce the illusion of a vacancy, but also 2 table
legs located on each side behind the railings. The mirror to the left
transmits to the spectators on that side the image of the leg placed
on the left, and this image seems to them to be the fourth leg of the
table. The mirror to the right plays the same rôle with regard to the
spectators on that side. These mirrors, in addition, hide the lower
portion of the girl’s body.

(_e_) The Dircksian phantasmagoria, which was more generally known
as “Pepper’s Ghost,” is another example of the illusive effects of
mirrors suitably arranged. On a moderate scale the same spectral
apparitions can be produced as an entertainment for the drawing-room.

Dircks arranged an oblong chamber in two equal portions, making the
separation by means of one vertical screen of thin glass having a
perfectly true surface. Suppose each chamber to measure 12 ft. square
and 12 ft. high. Let one of these be the stage on which the acting
is to take place; its floor and three of its walls are solid, and
the fourth or front of it is one entire glass screen; the ceiling
must be made to open at different parts to let in light, and have
suitable blinds to regulate the light and shade in which the actors
perform. The chamber opposite, or facing the actors, is in reality
a second stage for carrying out the spectral performances, and is
differently constructed; the two sides may be large folding or
sliding doors, or may be left quite open, or one side closed and the
other open; but the ceiling must cover only that half of the top away
from the glass screen or partition, thus leaving an open space in the
ceiling of 6 ft. by 12 ft.; through this space so left in the ceiling
the spectators obtain a full view of the stage, their seats being
above the half ceiling described, and thrown rather backwards than
forwards; the line of vision thus being at an angle of about 45° with
respect to the vertical glass screen, or plane unsilvered crystal
mirror. It will now be obvious that the actor on the stage beneath
the seats of the spectators can only be seen by reflection, and the
trained actor on the opposite stage, knowing the precise situations
of the reflection as seen by the spectators, performs accordingly, so
that, when really seeming to stand confronting the vision, the actor,
whose reflection is thus seen as a vision, is as far from the screen
on one side as his reflection is cast on the other.

Some striking effects may be produced illustrative of the illusive
properties of optical apparatus constructed on the principle
described. Thus, _a figure placed before a white screen_ is so
strongly reflected, that the spectator cannot divest his mind of
their being the substance and not the shadow which he observes,
particularly as he contrasts them with an adjacent solid figure. By
placing _two figures of corresponding form_ equidistant, one on each
side of the glass mirror or screen, they appear as one, until one is
moved; and if they differ in colour, as one blue and one white, the
effect seems more remarkable. If _a cabinet_, _box_, _or the like_,
is placed, one on each side of the mirror, until the image of one
exactly corresponds with the material figure of the other, then the
spectator may see the visionary figure open a drawer or door, and
remove and replace anything therein, and afterwards the solid figure
repeat the same acts. If the reflection of an actor is thrown on a
transparent screen it is invisible, but by gradually decreasing the
light the spectral appearance will be as gradually developed until
apparently it becomes a firm solid figure in all its proper costume,
and acting in perfect conformity to its designed character.

[Illustration: 101. 102. The Dircksian Phantasmagoria.]

[Illustration: 103. 104. The Dircksian Phantasmagoria.]

The arrangement of the apparatus will be understood by reference to
Figs. 101-104, in which--

Fig. 101 is an external perspective view, Fig. 102 a vertical
section, Fig. 103 a top, or bird’s-eye view, and Fig. 104 a plan.
A, B, C, D, E is a box, closed on all sides, but provided at D with
a door F, and on the other side with another door G, both hinged to
the back A, D. H, I, J are flapped openings on the top of the box;
K, K a partition dividing the interior of the box, made of a good,
clear, and even surface of thin patent plate-glass, kept in its place
within two side grooves; L, M, two separate chambers or compartments
produced by K, K, the transparent mirror; N, a ceiling or screen
over the compartment L, to exclude any object therein from the direct
view of the spectator, as shown by the dotted line, _a, b_.

If two figures be now introduced, one Y, the other Z, and the eye of
the spectator be fixed at A, he will observe two images, one the real
figure Z, the other Y’, the mere reflection of Y. By this arrangement
it is evident that the plain, unsilvered glass, thus viewed at an
angle of about 45° has all the properties of a mirror, but owing
to its transparency two figures are seen, possessing little or no
distinguishable difference between them. Of course a person placed at
Z sees only the figure Y, but, as a piece of acting may, under proper
arrangements of a suitable stage, approach the situation apparently
occupied by Y’, and thus indicate to a spectator placed at A any
pre-arranged dramatic scene requiring Z to be in correspondence with
the visionary figure Y’.

In using the apparatus the flap H must be open, but I may be shut,
being mostly useful to get admission for inserting or withdrawing the
screen or the figures; the flap J may be closed or opened to regulate
the admission or exclusion of light. The doors F, G may both be wide
open, though one is generally sufficient, provided it is turned as
direct as possible to the light. A mirror placed at an angle close
to the opening F or G, will assist the illusion by illuminating the
figure Y, thus heightening the effect of the reflection Y’.

If two geometrically proportionate figures, as spheres, cubes, or the
like, be placed in the situations Y, Y’, then the image at Y’ will be
a vision and a substance combined, as will at once appear by slightly
moving the substantial body in either compartment L or M. Let the
duplicate figure be a box, and then the spectator might observe the
apparent anomaly of the same box being opened and a substance taken
from it and replaced either by a substantial or visionary actor. When
the compartment M is lighted up no vision appears, but the light
being made gradually to fade and disappear, the vision would seem
lifelike, as at first. As it is evident that the right hand of the
vision is the left hand of the actor in the compartment L, all his
acts requiring the right would have to be performed with the left
hand, to appear natural to the spectator. It is also requisite for
insuring a good effect, that no solid figure in the compartment M
shall come before or behind the visionary image, as its transparency
would at once become evident; but if anything of the kind is desired,
then the background, figure, or object, should be placed behind the
actor Y, and become with him also visionary; in this way _a white
screen_ placed behind the actor Y will allow his shadow to appear
on it and give great force and solidity to his reflected figure or
vision at Y’.

A few examples will better illustrate than any elaborate description,
the singular effects that may, in different ways, be adopted for
realising spectral dramas.


1.--DICKENS’S HAUNTED MAN.

A student is seen sitting at a table spread over with books, papers,
and instruments. After a while he rises and _walks about_ the
chamber. In this there is nothing remarkable. But the audience is
perplexed by a different circumstance: they not only see a man rise
from his seat and see him walking about, but they also see that _he
still sits immovably in his chair_--so that evidently there are two
persons instead of one, for, although alike in dress, stature, and
person, their actions are different. They cross and recross; they
alternately take the same seat; while one reads the other is perhaps
walking; and yet they appear very sullen and sulky, for they take no
notice of each other, until one, after pushing down a pile of books,
passes off by walking through the furniture and walls.

The art in this arrangement is to have two actors sufficiently alike
in person, similarly dressed, and placed so that the phantom figure
sits so exactly like the living figure as to match into it. It
consists in having two actors, two chairs, and two tables exactly
matching each other. On the acting stage, the actor, table, and chair
have each their duplicate; so that, if they were pulled a little to
one side, the audience would see two actors, two tables, and two
chairs. But such an exhibition would be a defect, as the table and
chair are mere guides for the spectre actor: if there were no chair
he could not sit, and if no table he could not appear as leaning upon
one, or seem to do so.

In this and other pieces of a like nature, it is presumed that the
parts are not performed in dumb show, but that an able speaker either
explains and gives the dialogue, or that concealed actors address the
audience, timing their speech to the action before them.


2.--THE RETURNED MARINER.

A naval officer or other seafaring character, belonging to some
particular vessel reported to have been wrecked, is seen in a
chamber, into which his wife or sister, &c., on entering rushes
forward to embrace him, but, clasping nothing, immediately falls down
in a swoon.


3.--THE CALIFORNIAN GAMBLERS, OR ROBBERS.

Two men, dressed almost like brigands, engage to play some game with
cards or dice. They sit one on each side of a table, on which they
place their revolvers. After a short play they dispute and wrangle,
during which, one seizing his pistol discharges it at the other.
He is horror-stricken by the bullet being returned to him, and his
playmate passing away by neither window nor door.


4.--THE MISER AND MONEY-LENDER.

He is an aged man, counting his money, and writing up his unjust
gains. His room is furnished with bookshelves and cabinets. With a
small taper before him, he is absorbed in monetary calculations.
Presently a careworn female enters. He shudders--with cold. She opens
a cabinet, takes out a long roll of parchment, replaces it, and
closes the door again--not quietly, but with a clap like thunder. The
miser is colder than ever--shivers more and more, and rises to look
into his cabinet, from which he apparently takes the _same_ roll,
replaces it, and returns to his seat, followed by the reappearing
phantom, which again rapidly disappears.

This requires a duplicate cabinet, parchment, &c.


5.--A STRANGE CHRISTMAS-BOX.

A porter enters the sitting-room of a bachelor while at breakfast.
He lays down a deal box, is paid for it, and retires. It is a
present--and after being turned over and over, hammered a good deal
to burst it open, and seemingly as hard to open as an oyster would
be with a pair of scissors; the cord off, the nails out, and all
ready for inspection, the bachelor is suddenly called to any little
attention, as the over-boiling of his kettle. He has but turned his
back a moment, and behold--a cupid sits on his box! On his approach
it walks round to his breakfast table. He removes the box lid and
finds it crammed full of old clothes returned to him from his last
residence. He is very angry, takes a seat, and is rather startled
to see the box lid open, cupid get into it, and at the risk of the
pretty boy being smothered, down goes the lid again. He reopens the
box, taking from it cloaks, coats, boots, pipes, &c. But, where is
cupid?

The box has its duplicate, and the appointed place marked out for
each. The box seen by the spectators, however tossed and carelessly
used, is very carefully placed _at last_ in one precise spot, where
it matches an opposite empty box, large enough for a child trained
to perform the part. The lid supposed to open does not open, but by
rapid action the eye is so easily deceived as not to observe the
duplicate lid.


6.--THE DUEL.

It is to be fought with swords. After various passes, one is stabbed,
but instead of falling, he either holds his sword behind him, as if
in support, or elevates it, as if appealing to the justice of his
cause; but in an instant, to the horror of his affrighted antagonist,
he rushes on him with a blazing sword.

The sword is a suitable flat perforated gas tube, with a vulcanised
gas tube attached to the handle. A small gas jet above, or an
assistant below, enables the actor instantly to produce the desired
result.

This example is curious, as showing with what nicety the required
effect can be obtained, so as actually to bring the two blades
opposite and crossing each other, when the space intervening may be
20 feet or more. It is easily done by stretching a cord or wire,
or having movable metal or wood rods held upright by a solid base,
placed equidistant on both stages; for it can readily be ascertained
where to place them, so that a sword blade crossing a wire on one
side is absolutely seen crossing the same on the other side.


7.--THE MILLINER BEWITCHED.

A dressmaker and assistants are in a work-room containing a number
of empty props, each with a kind of wire-shaped body for displaying
dresses upon. She scarcely turns round to her work before every
pole has upon it white, black, red, and other dresses, to her
evident consternation. Calling in a friend, they are again empty;
so, settling down, she is once more terrified by a total change of
millinery in cloaks, shawls, bonnets, &c. All this is brought about
by employing corresponding wired props.


8.--THE GIPSY’S PROMISE.

A plain country servant-girl in a white under-dress stands at her
glass, and, having had her fortune told, is ardently wishing to be a
fine lady. As she retires from the glass in her mistress’s room, she
is all amazement to find herself suddenly transformed to a princess.
She is attired in a splendid pink or other silk dress, and wears a
turban with ostrich feathers; but before she can show herself off to
her friends the whole proves a vision!

The arrangement is like the former, only requiring more care and
management.


9.--A HAND SEEN WRITING.

The spectre hand may actually write or gradually withdraw a slide
over the letters. Either way is very surprising. The actor is
behind a black curtain, his hand only seen by reflection. There are
corresponding boards, that on the acting stage being black _without_
any writing. If the board has a piece inserted in it like a valve,
working on centres, the written words or name can thereby be turned
out of sight with sufficient rapidity.


10.--THE OTRANTO PICTURE, OR LIVING PORTRAIT.

A scene from the “Castle of Otranto” may be imitated, representing
the full-length figure in a painting stepping from the canvas into
the picture gallery.

The picture and frame are a phantasm; the figure being represented
by a living actor, or _vice versâ_. He walks from the frame to the
floor; and on returning reassumes the still attitude of painted
portraiture.


11.--WONDERFUL JUGGLERS.

No end of scenes might be brought out under this title, by
employing very little and exceedingly simple mechanical appliances;
as,--_Swallowing_ any length of rope, chain, or other material. To
be effected by passing a long endless band of the same over pulleys
on the real stage, so as to appear entering the mouth of a visionary
actor, keeping his head fixed and mouth wide open at one fixed point.

Strong and weak bandboxes--on which an actor is seen standing, but
which when another actor attempts he falls through, crushing the
whole to the floor. The first actor was a mere spectre, standing on
strong duplicate boxes, which being removed, the other actor has
nothing but the actual weak bandboxes to sustain his weight, which he
therefore crushes flat with the floor.

The handing of flowers, miniatures, letters, or any article, by
the spectre to the real actor, is so easy as scarcely to require
explanation. There must be two of any article to be so used, one
_behind_ a small black screen on the acting stage, and the duplicate
_before_ a like screen on the other stage. While the actor appears
holding the phantom letter, he in reality has taken hold of its
duplicate _behind_ the screen, only producing it the instant the
other (or first seen letter) vanishes.


12.--THE WIZARD’S INCANTATION.

An aged wizard in a den-like habitation, standing within the magic
circle, and with a boiling caldron before him, attended by certain
spirit-seekers, is endeavouring to raise the spectre of some departed
relative. In due form the phantom does appear amidst the vapours of
the caldron.

The caldron has its duplicate, and is in fact the entrance for a trap
door on the opposite stage, through which an actor is mechanically
raised, appearing to the audience as the spectre, for he would be
seen gradually fading away, first becoming transparent and next
slowly invisible.


13.--THE GREENROOM RIOT.

A male and female actor are seen vigorously throwing at each other
the masks, dresses, boxes, and other furniture of the greenroom, with
the absurd effect of never being once incommoded by the hats, cloaks,
coats, and dresses littered about.

Of course each is throwing at nothing, and the audience is amused by
the mixture of the real and the reflected actions.


14.--A SPIRIT-RAPPING SÉANCE.

A company of this sect being assembled, rapping is heard, hands and
heads seen, flowers distributed, and a spirit dimly rises, but just
as the circle is about to depart the table with its books, lights,
&c., turns rapidly round to their great delight.

The table is visionary, and suspended for the purpose.


15.--WILL-O’-THE-WISP.

This ignis fatuus may be represented by a young slender actress in
a white gauze dress, holding in her hand a small neatly-made paper
lantern. A misguided traveller is seen groping his way along a
treacherous heath to trace the whereabouts of the fascinating vision,
which at last vanishes, all but the dimly lighted lantern, which last
of all dies out, and the actor appears emerging from a quagmire.

The small lighted lantern is seen longest, owing to its own
illumination, while its smallness allows its being easily
extinguished.


16.--SPECTRE WORKMAN.

Two men appear to be working a pump, one on each side, like some
ships’ pumps, or fire-engines, but presently quarrel and fight. The
mechanism is connected with an underground shaft, so that opposite
actors cannot fail to rise and fall simultaneously in the requisite
motions; and all the rest is a mere piece of acting.


17.--THE DRUNKARD’S DREAM.

A drunkard is supposed to have ruined himself and family, and
hastened the death of his wife and children for want of proper
sustenance. He is seen lying on a couch, surrounded by visions of his
deceased partner and children. He wakes disturbed as they disappear.
Again retiring to rest they surround him once more, each bringing
him large goblets of his loved beverage, which he attempts to seize,
falls on the floor, and awakens in a state of violent horror and
passion.


18.--CLOWN AND FAIRIES.

A tree is seen rising from a green and flowery mound, on which sits
a country clown half asleep, with his basket, bottle, and broken
victuals before him. Presently a dozen or more fairies forming a
ring dance around the tree, to the great delight of the rustic, who,
rubbing his eyes, attempts to join the merry dancers, who as speedily
flash out of sight.

The mound and trunk of the tree have their duplicate, otherwise the
dancers would not be hid in passing behind it, and would therefore
appear shadowy and unnatural.


19.--THE BLACK GHOST.

This effect is produced by the actor being first dressed in as white
a dress as possible, and then covered with a cowl and flowing black
gown; so that sometimes only the head is seen, at others only the
hand or hands, and occasionally only a foot, or both feet. Or he may
be dressed as usual, in black velvet, wearing a black mask, becoming
observable only whenever he passes before a white screen.


20.--THE SPECTRE DOG.

A well-trained Newfoundland or other dog may appear to cross the
stage as if passing through the furniture, and while jumping towards
his master behind a screen, may appear by reflection as though
attacking the real actor on the stage.


21.--THE HAUNTED HUT, OR WITCH’S LAUNDRY.

The witch, appropriately dressed, in a low cottage chamber, may be
seen with some fantastically dressed young female preparing to wash
clothes. They arrange a large tub, fill it with buckets of hot water
(judging from the white vapour), and put in quantities of linen. Each
takes a turn at washing, raising their work into the air, in the
operation. But presently the girl retires, and on returning, is seen
taking quantities of all kinds of boots, shoes, hats, cats, dogs, and
children out of the washing tub, finishing by throwing the wet linen
into the witch’s face, who becomes excessively aggravated.

This pantomime may be carried to any length. It is effected by
commencing with two real actors on the stage, and then one of them
leaving to commence a series of phantom actions, the audience never
suspecting so odd a change.


22.--TEMPTATIONS OF ST. ANTHONY.

St. Anthony may be seen in his cell surrounded by all manner of imps.
By having a duplicate seat, a number of youthful actors in pantomime
masks and dresses can easily play the phantom part, climbing the arms
and back of the chair, and gambolling at its feet, or upon and around
a duplicate stand or table.

23.--METAMORPHOSES.

These may be carried to a great extent; nothing that poets have
imagined appearing too difficult, not even the change of the human
form to the trunks of trees.

An actress, dressed in a brown or green dress, on taking a certain
assigned place and position, with upraised arms and outstretched
fingers, would appear gradually to become like the young oak or elm,
with but slight indications indeed of humanity, until disenchanted.

Here the only phantom would be that of the trunk and branches of a
tree, either natural or artificially arranged to correspond with the
body and upraised arms and fingers of the actress.

Changes from age to youth, male to female, friend to foe, and so on,
may be achieved by the phantom actor stepping on a small turning
portion of the stage, like a double sentry box, of which one half
turn does the magic business, being occupied by two actors.


24.--TRIAL BY FIRE.

Men in Gothic costume may be seen at an altar, on which wood is
burning. The accused has to test his innocence by a fiery ordeal; for
which purpose the priest advances, declares the crimes, and promises
clearance from guilt should the accused come off scatheless. He is
seen as if washing his hands in the blaze, and burning drops falling
from his clasped hands.

The duplicate altar has upon it a metal dish of inflamed alcohol,
with a sponge dipped in it, which at the moment of clasping the
hands, is raised and pressed by iron tongs, from which the dropping
spirits take fire.


25.--ANY LEGENDARY SAINT’S MARTYRDOM.

Anything of this kind would be too terrible for the stage, but the
principle on which it is conducted may be applied in different ways,
this being but one out of many striking examples.

The stake and faggots are in duplicate. The duplicate stake and
faggots are employed alone for arranging among them gas pipes, and
in suitable metal dishes, either spirits, or thin paper, or both, to
produce varieties of fiery effect. On the acting stage the martyr
would appear surrounded by the terrors of the reality of such a
frightful doom.


26.--EXECUTIONS BY AXE OR GUILLOTINE.

The descent of the instrument of execution is followed by the rising
up or falling down of a black screen, effectively to hide the head,
of which there must be a duplicate in waxwork. The executioner only
is a real actor, and he only has access to the head. When his axe
falls, all the rest takes place on the phantom stage; therefore the
axe literally descends upon and adheres to the very block on which
the audience saw the culprit place his neck.

Such an exhibition would be anything but desirable; at the same
time the _modus operandi_ is capable of happier applications, and
therefore is only introduced on account of its impressive character,
the Author having no desire to encourage the too prevalent vitiated
taste for horrors.


27.--THE NIGHTMARE.

Some disturbance has caused a nervous gentleman to dress in a hurry
in his night-cap, morning gown, and red slippers. With a blunderbuss
under one arm and a night candle in one hand, he proceeds with a
horse pistol in the other to look warily about, when suddenly appears
before him an old grey mare eating hay--the unconscious intruder on
his peace and quiet.

The mare in this instance is the only spectre, and the whole scene is
due to a well-known engraving of such a subject.


28.--THE DOUBTFUL VISITOR.

A lady is informed that a strange lady has called upon her. They meet
in the drawing-room, courtesy to each other, and finally take their
seats on a couch. Soon afterwards they rise, but the stranger rudely
drops her cloak, parasol, reticule, gloves, veil, &c., and runs
off. The lady in astonishment attempts taking up the cloak and other
things, which to her infinite terror seem to be swallowed up by the
floor, so she in her turn makes her escape.


29.--A PANTOMIME.

Supposing the stage to appear as if supplied with real scenery, which
should only after all be phantasms, it is clear that the feats of
harlequins would be infinitely more surprising than with interposed
wood and canvas. Such a scene as jumping through the mouth of a large
mask could in no other way be represented. Fire may be held to the
person without danger, outvieing the red-painted poker so amusing
to youth in all such wild gambolling scenes. The kicks and cuffs
that might be bestowed on a spectre actor, actress, horse, or dog,
without disturbing the gravity or person on whom bestowed, is of
itself sufficiently ludicrous. In fairy and goblin scenes the rapid
appearance and disappearance of such visitors form an essential
part in their introduction, and when they are grotesque, their
phantom-like character would encircle them with all the sparkling
attributes of a lively jest.


30.--GHOST OF CHINA.

Among other parts of any suitable scene, large china jars, dishes,
jugs, plates, or other earthenware and glass, may appear so placed
that on the actor falling on the floor the audience shall hear the
crash of china and glass, and see the whole fall upon him, yet shall
he rise unhurt, as though nothing had happened.

This is obtained by means of communicating wires or cords between the
two stages, so that the one cannot fail to act in concert with the
other.


31.--PILGRIM AND SAINT.

The worthy saint is seen with outstretched sandalled foot, and a
pilgrim with pointed iron-shod staff standing beside him. Wishing to
show the holy man some relics he strikes his staff into the ground to
release his hand in the act of opening out his treasure. But, behold!
he has pinned the saint’s foot to the earth with his pilgrim’s staff.


32.--THE SPECTRE’S KISS.

Two young ladies enter a drawing-room from opposite ends, courtesy
and dance; when their performance is over they approach and kiss each
other, and then seem to be attempting to shake hands, but in vain, on
which one falls down while the other slowly and almost imperceptibly
vanishes.

In many other devices, as in this, the same means for effecting a
near approach may be resorted to, nothing more being required than
a piece of glass supported on a black pole, which, as ascertained
beforehand, exactly distances the two heads, the lips approaching the
glass on an opposite side, in opposite directions, far apart.


It must not be overlooked that these various scenes require different
modes of action, a leading one being the peculiar property that
this phantasmagoria affords of uniting as one body a phantom with
a substance, whether alike or unlike in form and colour. This is a
feature so important that it will not be out of place here to dwell
upon it more at large, to impress so important a property on the
attention of all who may desire an intimate acquaintance with the
subject.

As a preliminary step, let a few chromotographic experiments be made.
Set a yellow cube before the mirror and a blue one behind it, in a
model apparatus, employing the sun’s light. Blue and yellow it might
be supposed would give a cube having a green tint, instead of which
it will be snow white. Again, for blue, substitute a deep pink; and
for yellow white, when the pink will disappear all but the faintest
possible tinge--the shadow or phantom appearing to overwhelm the
coloured substance. These effects are so surprising, simple as they
appear, that, unless tried and seen, description alone must fail to
convince any one of the full force of the results stated.

Acting on this property of matching one body into another, so as
to all appearance to absorb it into itself, many curious dramatic
effects may be produced, whether the subjects be animate or
inanimate. And this mode of procedure is always in demand where the
phantom is required to touch, handle, and repeat the actions of an
ordinary actor.

On this peculiarity of matching one body into another so exactly
depends the striking character of “The Haunted Man,” where the actor
himself is so placed; so likewise “The Miser,” with several others,
where furniture, chairs, or any other things or vessels require to
be so conjoined. In “The Bachelor,” the article used is a box, which
is carried and moved about, but ultimately fixed in a pre-arranged
spot. It would not be easy to perform such parts with animals or with
children, as they would not be likely to keep sufficiently quiet and
immovable. Whenever the actors on the opposite stages have to play
similar parts, then such duplicates of solid and shadow or reflection
must always be employed. Two couches are required to make it appear
that two persons are sitting on one couch, although in reality each
couch has only one occupant; but in the acting the only spectre that
appears is the actor, while the spectral couch is absorbed into and
hid by the real couch. So likewise in sitting to a table--two tables
and two persons must act the part, and the result that follows is the
same as before; but if only _one_ of these actors places anything
on the table, then the opposite actor cannot touch it, unless its
duplicate is already placed there for the purpose, behind a black
screen, by which means flowers, letters, books, &c., may appear to
pass from hand to hand.

The necessity of corresponding stops and marks on the two stages is
shown in “The Duel.” A mark on the floor directs where to place the
feet; slender black rods, set in a weighted foot, mark places for the
body, feet, or hands; and suspended wires or cords answer the same
purpose. But such marks may be, as in the case of “The Milliner,”
some part of the furnishing of the apartment, as there we see taking
place with mere clothes’ props; or, indeed, as in “The Gipsy’s
Promise,” the very person of the actor.

As the entire person is, sometimes, not required to be seen, it
is always easy to exclude any portion by employing a black dress,
screen, or curtain, as in “A Hand seen Writing.”

A curious result is obtained by appearing to give animation to the
inanimate. This may be seen in “The Otranto Picture,” where the actor
standing within a framed recess has all the appearance of a painted
full-length portrait, the stepping of which from the canvas realises
a romantic story of “The Castle of Otranto.”

The absence of all machinery or trap-doors to get rid of “The Ghost”
can be rendered strikingly obvious in two ways: first, by the
very gradual dissolving of the vision until it becomes thoroughly
transparent; or, secondly, by placing in the hand some very bright
object, either a dagger, sword, censor, or small enclosed light. By
using a night light, having a paper or ground-glass shade, the same
will appear as though floating in the air after entirely losing sight
of every other spectral object.

Yet trap-doors and machinery may become accessories in many scenes.
“The Wizard’s Incantation” requires a duplicate caldron, which on the
spectre stage is merely an upright circular frame around a trap-door,
through which the spectre actor has to be raised to be presented
to the audience by reflection. So also in “The Spectre Workman,”
simultaneous action is produced by an underground shaft, which in
some cases may be otherwise produced; even bell-wires, cords, and
the like serving for many purposes, as illustrated in “The Ghost of
China.”

The method of double acting is shown in “The Witch’s Laundry,”
producing some strangely startling results. One or both of two actors
may, by changing to the opposite stage, become alternately spectral
or solid. What they are seen acting as real actors becomes wildly
ridiculous when converted into spectral acts. If after two actors
going through performances decidedly requiring mutual intercourse,
one adroitly passes to the spectral stage, then his friend, or his
adversary, cannot any longer succeed in friendly intercourse, or
commit any fatal act by means of sword or pistol.

Advantage may be taken in many scenes of the marvellous property of
the phantom to overpower and conceal the colour and features of a
corresponding substance. In “Metamorphoses,” this is made evident by
the facility shown in causing the human figure to take the form of a
branching tree, which the wizard can readily disenchant, reproducing
a living actor or actress. By such means the classic stories of Ovid,
or the sprightly and wonderful creations of the Arabian Nights, may
be set before an admiring audience; and when the changes cannot be
exactly thus realised, the mechanical arrangements for turning one
actor from and another actor into view, aided by screens, is so
exceedingly simple as to render minute details superfluous. Actors
may appear to dress and change with the rapidity of lightning; age
may become youth, and _vice versâ_; and even, a gorilla might step
forth an altered creature to trip the “light fantastic toe!”

In some scenes the peculiarity may consist in the spectre passing off
undiscovered, and only be traced by its phantom accompaniments, as in
“The Doubtful Visitor,” who sitting on the same couch with a lady,
departs without any other strangeness of action than leaving behind
some portions of her phantom dress.

In pantomime and legerdemain the Optical Illusions eclipse every
extravaganza hitherto conceived for making the “eyes the fools o’ the
other senses.” And what is still more remarkable, this portion of the
subject is so exceedingly simple to perform that, although short,
yet sufficient directions will be found in the description of scenes
under the respective titles of “Pantomime” and “Jugglers.”

These few observations appeared requisite to impress on the general
reader that each of the preceding scenes involves some peculiarity
in arrangement to produce the effect described, and that, therefore,
they are not all on one model. Some show the actors apart, some
together, and afterwards separate; some with and some without
machinery of any kind; some with phantom actors, others with only
phantom dresses or furniture; and others again employing animals, as
the horse, dog, &c.

The mechanical portion of the arrangements are too various to enter
upon in minute description, but they are generally of such a nature
as any practical workman employed on theatrical machinery will
readily understand. The modes of arranging the transparent mirror
are as numerous as in the employment of ordinary mirrors. It may
be used framed, or for some purposes without any frame whatever;
it may be suspended and slide on framework placed above, by means
of pulleys, thus leaving the stage floor free from any grooving or
any raised portion. Or, it may be made to swing like a hinged door,
whether hinged at top, bottom, or either side. Or, it may turn on
centres, so as to be half in and half out, when turned to right
angles with its common position, being thus capable of regulation to
any desired angle. It is also obvious that the position of the mirror
necessitates a corresponding change in the placing of the spectre
stage, so that the one shall always be opposite the other. As it is
not requisite to cover the entire front of the stage with one or more
mirrors, their use may often be artistically concealed by pillars,
trees, or similar devices, in which case the spectral effects will
be limited to such mirrored portions. When out of use, these large
mirrors can be made to slide, sink, or rise, as done with the scenes
in general use.


=Games.=--Space being limited, choice is made here of a few games not
generally known.

_Bézique_ (Polish).--Polish bézique, sometimes called open bézique,
or Fildinski, is played by 2 persons in the same way as ordinary
bézique, except in the following particulars. The tricks are not left
on the table at Polish bézique, but are thus disposed of: 7’s, 8’s,
9’s, and 10’s (except the 10’s of trumps) are turned face down on the
table as soon as a trick containing any of them is completed. These
cards must not be looked at again during the hand. Other cards, which
are cards that can be used in declaring, are taken by the winner of
the trick, and placed by him face up on the table close in front of
himself, in rows, consisting of aces, kings, queens, and knaves, and
of the 10’s of trumps. At the end of the hand all cards that can be
used in declaring are thus exposed or open on the table. Having been
once played, they can only be used in declaring, and cannot be played
a second time. Whether declared or not, they remain open during the
hand and the play of the last 8 tricks.

Declarations can only be made from open cards, and never from cards
held in the player’s hand. This is the fundamental difference between
Polish and ordinary bézique. As soon as a trick is won containing
a card or cards that can be used in declaring, those cards are
transferred to the open cards (if any) already in possession of the
winner of the trick, and as soon as a card is won that completes a
scoring combination, the declaration is made and the score marked.

For example. A. has 3 open queens, and he wins a trick containing a
queen. Before drawing again, he places the fourth queen in the row
which contains the other 3 queens, and scores 60 for queens.

The 7 of trumps can be exchanged for the turn up when a trick is won
with it, but not when a trick is won with another card by a player
who holds the 7 in his hand. Similarly the 7, if not exchanged,
can be declared when a trick is won with it. If the 7 of trumps is
played, and is won with a higher trump, the winner of the trick
declares or exchanges the 7. The principle is the same throughout,
viz. that declarations are made only out of cards won, and by the
winner of them.

At Polish bézique compound declarations are allowed, i.e. all the
scores that can be made when cards are added to open cards are
made at once, and the same card may be declared more than once (in
combinations of a different class), without waiting to win another
trick. The ordinary rule that a card once declared cannot be again
declared in combinations of the same class, e.g. a king once married
cannot be married again; a fifth ace added to 4 aces already declared
does not entitle to reckon aces over again.

As examples of compound declarations take the following: A. wins the
queen of faintest possible tinge--the shadow or phantom appearing to
overwhelm the coloured trumps with the king. He has in his open cards
3 kings, 4 queens, and the ace, 10, knave of trumps. He declares
royal marriage (40), 4 kings (80), but not 4 queens, as he cannot
again reckon any of the 4 queens already declared in that class of
combination, and sequence (250), in all 370.

Again, the ace of spades is turned up, and the ace of hearts is led.
The second player wins the ace of hearts with the 7 of trumps, and
exchanges the 7 for the turn up. He scores 10 for the exchange, and
10 for each of the aces he adds to his open cards--in all 30. If at
the same time he were in possession of 2 other open aces, he would
score 100 more for 4 aces.

At Polish bézique aces and 10’s must be declared as soon as the trick
is won, and not at the end of the hand, a mode of scoring preferred
by some players at ordinary bézique.

In the play of the hand it is not compulsory to follow suit nor
to win the trick, and a player may win the trick by trumping
notwithstanding that he holds a card of the suit led. But in the
last 8 tricks suit must be followed if the second player has one of
the suit led. The trick in the last 8 tricks must also be won by the
second player if he has a higher card of the suit than the one led.
If he has none of the suit led, and has a trump, he must win the card
led by trumping.

Declarations do not cease at Polish bézique when playing the last 8
tricks. They are made just as in the early part of the hand after
winning a trick and before leading again.

Polish bézique is generally played 2000 up, as the average scores are
considerably higher than at ordinary bézique.

_Block._ Implements.--A board as in Fig. 105, the figures not being
necessary, except when the game is played by correspondence--they are
placed here to simplify the examples--16 pegs, and 2 King pegs; 12
pegs and the King pegs being required for play, the 4 remaining pegs
are a reserve force of 2 for each player.

Play.--Divide the pegs, one player taking the White, the other the
Black. The first to play is decided by lot. Each player then places
a peg into one of the holes in turn, occupying those which he may
consider the most advantageous, until the 12 pegs and the 2 King pegs
have been placed. Then each moves one of his pegs in turn, but only
one hole at a time, and as the lines run.

Points of the Game.--To Block, to Force, and to Make a Line.

(_a_) To block is to get a peg on each side of one of your
adversary’s: this, if an ordinary peg, is its capture, and it is
immediately removed off the board.

[Illustration: 105. Block.]

Example.--Black having a peg in 1, and White playing a peg in 2,
Black captures that peg by playing a peg in 3; but White having a peg
in 4 can capture Black’s peg in 3 by playing another peg in 2; or
White having pegs in 1, 10, and 24, and Black a peg in 9 could block
Black’s peg by playing peg 24 either into 17 or 16.

But to block the King peg, the other holes surrounding him must
be filled, though it is of no consequence by whose pegs. To block
the King peg is game. His only means of escape is by immediately
capturing one of the pegs blocking; if he cannot do this, and cannot
move, the game is over.

Example.--Black’s King peg being in 3, and White having a peg in 4,
is not blocked by White placing a peg in 2, because the hole 11 is
unoccupied. Or supposing Black to occupy 11 (King peg), and 3, and
White 2, 12 and 19, the game would be lost to Black by White playing
2 to 10, which blocks the King; but if Black had a peg in 17, 16 or 1
to immediately play into 9 he would capture 10, which is one of the
blocking pegs, and so liberate the King peg. The other blocking peg
is 12. Capturing 19 would be of no avail, neither would moving his
own peg 3.

(_b_) To force is to get 2 pegs on a line with one of your
adversary’s, in which case you force him to move that peg to the
first vacant hole on its square, in whichever direction it may occur,
and in the event of there not being one vacant on its square, to
whichever square has the nearest.

Example.--Black, occupying hole 1, could force White from hole 3 by
placing a peg in hole 2 in which case White’s peg 3 would have to
move to 4; or by occupying holes 11 and 19, when White would have 2
holes at equal distance--4 and 2; and could move into either unless
the forcer gave the preference.

If the King peg be forced, a peg is thereby gained from the reserve
which is placed in the hole vacated by the King.

(_c_) To make a line is to get 3 of your pegs on one line in any way
but diagonally, in which case the third or last peg moved to make the
line can be at once removed to any vacant hole on the board.

Example.--By occupying holes 1 2 3, 2 10 18, 9 10 11; in fact any way
but from corner to corner as 1 9 17 or 19 11 3.

If your adversary insists upon maintaining a peg in a hole to your
great disadvantage, play your pegs so as to force him from it,
having first prepared a hole for him to move into. That is to say,
be careful that the hole you force him into does not attack your
position, as--Black’s pegs in 2, 4, and 7; White’s pegs in 1 and
6; now Black, moving peg 4 to 3, forces White’s peg 1, which is
compelled to move to hole 8, and so captures Black’s peg 7. On the
contrary, if Black occupied holes 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, and White holes 1,
4, 5, by Black playing peg 11 into 3, White’s peg 1 is forced into 8,
and it being Black’s next move, he occupies hole 1 with his 9 peg, or
2 peg, and so captures the peg he forced. The great point is to place
the pegs in a good position at the commencement of the game.

Rules.--1. Each player places one peg in turn, and when all are
placed, moves in the same manner, but only as the lines run, and one
hole at a time.

2. A force made during the placing of the pegs does not interfere
with that player’s turn; that is to say, if White in playing the
pegs occupies hole 1, and Black hole 3, Black would be forced by
White taking hole 2 and would have to move, but would immediately
afterwards place his peg as was his turn.

3. The placing of a peg gained from the reserve into the hole vacated
by King peg does not count as a move, consequently any advantage so
gained is _nil_.

4. The playing a peg when forced counts the same as its move, and
reaps any advantage gained by occupying the hole it is forced into.

5. A forced peg, having the preference of 2 holes to move into, can
be compelled by the forcer to occupy either.

6. A made block or made force is of no advantage; that is to say, if
Black occupied holes 1 and 3, White could put a peg in hole 2 without
being captured; or Black possessing holes 1 and 2, White could place
a peg in 3 without being forced. The same applies to a peg when
forced into such a position.

7. Any advantage gained in a move, and not noticed before the next
move, cannot be counted.

8. A person drawing a peg is compelled to move it, and on the event
of its being placed in a hole, must there leave it.

9. A peg played to force or block cannot claim the advantage of a
line if it make one by so playing, for instance, Black in 1, 6, 8,
and 23, a white peg being in 15; Black by playing 6 to 7 can either
take it as a line or block 15, but not both. Neither can 2 pegs be
forced or blocked in the one move. The player has the preference in
each case. A peg can, however, block and force in the one move.

Example.--White occupying holes 9 and 8, and Black holes 15 and 24,
Black by getting a peg into 16 forces both 8 and 9; he therefore
compels his adversary to move whichever is most to the forcer’s
advantage. Or white in 10, 19, 13, with Black in 9 and 12, captures
peg 12, and forces peg 9, by moving from 19 to 11.

10. A player, whose turn it is to move, having his pegs so surrounded
that he cannot--draws the game.

11. A player having the whole of his pegs (9) on the board can gain
no more by forcing the King.

12. A game being reduced to only 3 pegs on the board can be drawn, if
not won in 20 moves. (H. E. Heather, _Amateur Chess Magazine_.)

_Chancery._--This new round game at cards requires no tuition, and
can be played by the smallest child, and by any number.

If the company does not exceed 5 or 6, one pack of cards is
sufficient; if it does exceed that number, extra cards are preferable.

A pool is then subscribed, say 5 counters by each player; that is
generally enough to keep it floating for some time, though should it
run out another subscription is called for immediately.

The cards are then scattered in the centre of the table, with their
faces downwards. Each player then draws one in turn, displaying it
before him and calling what it is. Should it only be an ordinary card
or picture drawn each time let the cards drawn lie in a heap before
the player; should aces be drawn spread them conspicuously in front
of the others.

The cards to score points are:

1. The majority in possession when all are drawn.

2. The majority of court cards.

3. Every ace.

4. Every ace to which you have also drawn the deuce of the same suit.

Should any player draw the deuce of the same suit as an ace drawn
he calls the owner’s attention to the fact, who immediately places
the ace with his other cards, it being “killed” and reduced in
value. Should a deuce be drawn before the ace of its suit it must be
replaced with the others again, and another card be taken, the cards
being previously shuffled. A player drawing the deuce of the same
suit as an ace in his possession places it upon the ace, and keeps
them separate from the others, as they score the most points. If a
card drawn pairs with the player on either side, the person drawing
the pairing card has immediately to pass all his cards to the one so
paired, and pay a forfeit of one point to the pool.

When all the cards have been taken the pool-master (it is best always
to appoint one player to occupy this post, or confusion is apt to
ensue) pays out the points scored as follows:

1. For the majority of cards, 1 point.

2. For each ace on which the deuce has not been drawn, 2 points.

3. For majority of pictures, 3 points.

4. For each ace on which the deuce has been drawn, 4 points.

The cards are then mixed for a fresh start, and the pool again
subscribed if run low.

Laws.--1. Each player to take but one card, and in turn; departure
from this rule a fine of one to the pool.

2. If a deuce is drawn before the ace, it is to be replaced; if drawn
after the ace, and replaced in mistake, it cannot be recovered,
provided the ace was conspicuously displayed; the player so doing
loses his turn and pays one to the pool.

3. A player turning a card other than that he draws pays one to the
pool.

4. A player pairing with the last card drawn by the person on either
side of him passes all his cards to that player and pays one to the
pool. Should it so happen that he pairs with both, the one on the
left has the preference.

5. It is not necessary that a player should have any cards in his
possession to be paired with; the last card he drew, whether he has
lost it or not, is the one to count.

6. Any dispute to be settled by pool-master.

7. Pool-master to be chosen for each game if desired. (H. E. Heather).

_Dominoes._--A set of dominoes usually consists of 28 oblong cards,
each consisting of 2 squares united; no 2 pieces are alike, they
being distinguished by pips. It is important for the learner to bear
in mind that there are 7 dominoes of each number, and that each
number is joined to one of each of the others. The calculations of
the game are founded on these facts.

Dominoes are usually made with bone or ivory faces and ebony backs.
They are shuffled, or “made,” as it is technically termed, by being
turned downwards on the table, and mixed quickly by a light pressure
and rapid movement with the hands.

On the Continent, where the game is usually played on a marble or
hardwood table, the dominoes have frequently a projecting metal stud
in the middle of the face; this enables them to be mixed with greater
facility on smooth surfaces, but prevents their being effectually
shuffled on one covered with a cloth, unless a large sheet of
cardboard is interposed. Care should be taken that the back of the
dominoes should not be stained or marked, as, if only one is thus
capable of being distinguished, it lessens in the highest degree the
interest of the game. They should be of good size, as small sets are
very inconvenient to play with, and of sufficient thickness to stand
firmly on their edges, with their faces turned towards the player and
their backs towards his opponent.

As the game usually played is 100, a marker is convenient to score
the successive additions made by each player. On the Continent very
convenient markers are used; but there is a simple plan of making
them extemporaneously with a visiting card. This is to be cut as
shown in Fig. 106.

[Illustration: 106. Domino Marker.]

By turning back the nicks along the dotted lines the number marked
on each is scored; a card so notched will score up to 99, and will
answer for a large number of games before it becomes useless by the
nicks breaking off.

The dominoes having been shuffled face downwards on the table, one of
the two players pushes 2 towards the other, who selects one of the
two, leaving the other for his opponent. Both are then turned up,
and the player who has the highest number has the lead, or “pose,”
as it is called. In England it is frequent for the holder of the 6-6
(double six) to pose first--a stupid plan, as it quite spoils the
first hand, inasmuch as 6-6 may be a very bad domino to play from the
dominoes held.

The 2 dominoes drawn and exposed are again mixed with the others, the
non-leader mixing for them last. Each player then selects 7 dominoes;
the leader plays one, placing it face upwards on the table, and the
opponent matches it from his own hand, playing at either end as he
thinks fit.

Thus, if the first player plays 4-5, the second may play either a 5
to his 5, or, should he think it more advantageous, a 4 to the 4,
thus:

If a double is played first, which gives the second player only one
number to play to, it is usual to place the double in a cross.

In either case the first player plays again, and so on alternately
until one or other has played out, when he scores the pips on the
domino or dominoes remaining in his opponent’s hand.

If one player cannot play at either end, he says “go,” when his
opponent plays on until some number is posed to which he can play.
If neither can play, both hands are shown, and the one that has the
fewest pips wins the score, which should consist of the whole of the
opponent’s pips as well as his own added together. After a score
the dominoes are turned and mixed, the pose or lead being taken
alternately.

Persons who know but little of the game think that the best play
is at once to get rid of the heaviest dominoes, but this is not
necessarily the case; but with a heavy hand, every care should be
taken not to let the opponent close the game leaving you with a heavy
score. In this most simple English game the aim of the player should
be to make his long suit, and prevent his opponent playing.

Following are a few examples of hands played in the ordinary English
game with 7 pieces. In this game the player sees his whole hand of
seven at once, and he knows that his opponent has also seven, or
one-third of the remainder; the other 14 dominoes are untouched,
and he can make his calculations and play his game accordingly. In
this game, each player plays alternately, until one or other has
played all his dominoes, when he scores the number of pips left in
his opponent’s hand. Should either be unable to play, the other
continues until he brings a card to which his opponent can play.
Should both players be unable to play, then the one who has the least
number of pips scores, not only those in his opponent’s hand, but his
own also. To give an example. Suppose 2 players, A. and B., playing
the English game, and having drawn for pose, A. plays first from the
following hand:--6-6, 5-2, 5-0, 4-3, 4-0, 2-2, 2-1.

An inexperienced player would probably play his 6-6, that being a
heavy card, and in all probability he would lose the score if his
opponent had 2 or 3 sixes in his hand.

The proper play would be the 2-2, as it gives B. only one number to
play to, and if, as not unfrequently happens, B. has no twos, A. has
the chance of a splendid game.

Let us take B.’s hand as follows:--6-4, 6-3, 6-1, 5-4, 5-1, 3-0, 1-1.

A. plays 2-2. As B. cannot play, A. plays again, selecting the
card of which he has most (so as to lessen B.’s chance as much as
possible), this would be the 2-5, as he has 2 fives in his hand and
only a single one. If B. plays 5-1, which offers his best chance of
success, A. will play 1-2, and the game will be shut up. On counting
the pips, A. will be found to have 22 and B. 46. A. consequently
scores 68 towards the game of 100.

If, on the contrary, A. plays the 6-6, he may lose, and he cannot
possibly win as many as he could have done with the previous play.

If B. replies to 6-6 with 6-1, A. would then play 1-2, B. 6-4, A.
2-2, B. 4-5, A. would close the game by making 2-all, viz. 2 at both
ends, by placing 5-2 to the 5 end, and his score would be 36, made up
of B.’s 20 pips and A.’s own 16.

A hand with 3 or 4 of any one number is better than a hand with only
2 of each sort, even supposing the first to be much the heavier, as
it gives a command of the game, and enables the holder to shut his
adversary out and to play his own dominoes as he likes, closing the
game if he thinks fit.

Thus take the following hands, A. to play first with the heavy
pieces, viz.: 6-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, 5-4, 5-2, 5-1, and B. to be his
opponent with the light hand: 5-0, 4-1, 3-3, 3-1, 2-2, 2-1.

If A. commences with 6-6, B. must lose, provided A. plays with the
most ordinary skill.

The principle of the game is to play so as to bring the numbers of
which you hold most (and therefore in all probability your opponent
least) at the ends; by this means you play out more dominoes than he
does, and you often have the opportunity of closing the game. But
this must be done with judgment, for it sometimes may happen that the
player who shuts up the game loses, as his opponent may have a less
number than he has, and win the score. It is this uncertainty which
gives interest to the game, for to close the game and win when the
numbers are nearly equal shows the skill and judgment of the player.

_Mill._--This is a good evening game for boys. It somewhat resembles
draughts, and is easily manufactured as follows: Take a sheet of
stiff white cardboard, such as is sold for mounting water-colour
drawings, &c., draw on it 3 oblong squares (Fig. 107) one within the
other; the outside square, say 18 in. by 14 in., the second 14 in. by
10 in., and the third 10 in. by 6 in. Unite the 3 squares by drawing
4 opposite lines from the centre square to the outside square, so
as to make 4 passages, enabling the players to move their men from
one square to the other. Fig. 107 shows the board, with a game in
progress.

In this game the black men are supposed to be winning. At the right
hand black has a double mill, and a single mill at the top; white
has a double mill also, but is afraid to open it, as black would
instantly seize his man.

The lines forming each square should be ½ in. wide. The board can be
made in a few minutes with the help of a flat rule with the inches
marked on it. “Mill” is played by 2 people, each of whom has nine
men; draught men will do. Having chosen who is to commence, begin by
placing a man on any part of the board, either at the corner of a
square or in the centre, of on one of the 4 lines. _The men must not
be placed in the intermediate spaces._ Each line holds a mill, which
consists of 3 men in a row, and the object of each player is to make
a mill, and to prevent his adversary from making one. When a mill is
made call out “mill,” and remove one of your opponent’s men, provided
it does not form one of a mill, which cannot be broken as long as
it remains closed; try, if possible, to get a double mill, that is,
5 men so placed that by moving one man either forwards or backwards
you make a mill each time. If you can get 3 men on 3 corners of one
square--which, if your opponent is a good player, he will prevent
your doing--you are certain at all events of one mill, if not of a
double one. When all the men are on the board you can move a man in
any direction on the lines and up or down the cross lines into the
other squares, but you must not cross the squares in any other way
but by the passages; each passage will hold a mill. A move is from
the corner of either square, on the line, to the centre, or back
again, so on all round the squares if necessary--i.e. supposing you
have only 3 men left, the rest having fallen to your opponent’s
skill, and these 3 are in different parts of the board, you must move
them till you have succeeded in joining them into a mill. When you
have one or more mills, open either by moving a man forward (taking
care that your opponent has not a mill ready to be closed, as he will
then take your man and break your mill), and when you close it again
remove one of your adversary’s men not forming part of a mill. When
a mill is open it is of course in danger. The most amusing part of
the game is when each has arrived at his last mill and is trying to
destroy his opponent’s. The board may also be made of 2 very thin
pieces of wood, joined by 2 hinges in the centre, so as to fold it up
when not in use, painted white or black, and the squares and passages
painted gold or scarlet.

[Illustration: 107. Mill. 108. Pachîsî.]

_Pachîsî._--This is a variety of the game of draughts as played by
the natives of India, as good as, if not superior to, the English
game. The freedom of moving in any direction, and the fact that it
is not obligatory to accept a force, make the game one entirely
of tactics, and are productive of many phases before the game is
finished. The rules are few and simple. The name Pachîsî is derived
from the Oriental expression for “25”--the number of posts in the
square (Fig. 108): _a_ are places for the men when off the board.

Pachîsî is played with a board as in Fig. 108, and 16 pieces on
each side. The centre line of posts is left vacant. A piece may be
moved in any direction along any line (and this includes advancing,
retiring, and a lateral or diagonal move), but no farther than one
post. Captures are made as in draughts, and are not limited in
number, i.e. each piece has the power of a crowned piece in ordinary
draughts. It is not obligatory to capture an adverse piece when it
is possible to do so. The game is won precisely as in draughts, by
capturing all the adverse pieces, or by the adversary being unable to
move.

_Poker._--Poker is a round game at cards, much played in America, but
scarcely known in this country. Recently it has found favour here.
The deal is determined by throwing a card to each player, the lowest
having the first deal, and the deal afterwards proceeding to the
left, as at whist. A pack of 52 cards is used. It is better not to
play with more than 6 players.

The dealer, beginning with the person at his left, throws round 5
cards to each player, giving one card at a time. The dealer shuffles
and makes up the pack himself, or it may be done by the player at his
left, and the player at his right must cut.

To begin the pool, the player next to the dealer on his left must
put up money, which is called an “ante,” and then in succession each
player, passing round to the left, must, after looking at his hand,
determine if he goes in or not; and each person deciding to play for
the pool must put in twice the amount of the ante. Those who decline
to play throw up their cards face downwards on the table, and for
convenience in front of the next dealer.

When all who wish to play have gone in, the person putting up the
ante can either give up all interest in the pool, thus forfeiting the
ante which has been put up, or else can play like the others who have
gone in, by “making good,” that is, putting up in addition to the
ante as much more as will make him equal in stake to the rest.

If a number of players have gone in, it is best generally for the
ante-man to make good and go in, even with a poor hand, because
half his stake is already up, and he can therefore stay in for half
as much as the others have had to put up, which is a percentage in
favour of his taking the risk. This of course does not apply if any
one has “raised,” that is, more than doubled the ante, before it
comes around to the starting point.

Any one at the time of going in must put up as much as double the
ante, and may put up as much more as he pleases, by way of “raising”
the ante; in which case, every other player must put up as much as
will make his stake equal to such increase, or else abandon what he
has already put in.

Each player as he makes good, and equals the others who are in before
him, can thus increase the ante if he chooses, compelling the others
still to come up to that increase, or to abandon their share in the
pool.

All “going in,” or “raising” of the pool, as well as all betting
afterwards, must be in regular order, going round by the left; no one
going in, making good, increasing the ante, or betting, except in
turn. When all are in equally who intend to play, each player in turn
will have the privilege of drawing; that is, of throwing away any
number of his 5 cards, and drawing as many others, to try to better
his hand. The cards thus thrown up must be placed face downwards on
the table, and, for convenience, in front of or near the next dealer.

The dealer, passing around to the left, will ask each player in turn
how many cards he will have, and deal him the number asked for, from
the top of the pack, without their being seen. The dealer if he has
gone in to play for the pool will, in like manner, help himself last.

The players must throw away their discarded cards before taking up,
or looking at those they draw.

In the game every player is for himself and against all others, and
to that end will not let any of his cards be seen, nor betray the
value of his hand by drawing or playing out of his turn, or by change
of countenance or any other sign. It is a great object to mystify
your adversaries up to the “call” when hands have to be shown. To
this end it is permitted to chaff or talk nonsense with a view of
misleading your adversaries as to the value of your hand, but this
must be without unreasonably delaying the game.

When the drawing is all complete, the betting goes around in order,
like the drawing, to the left. The ante man is the first to bet,
unless he has declined to play, and in that case the first to bet is
the player nearest to the dealer on his left. But the player entitled
to bet first may withhold his bet until the others have bet round to
him, which is called “holding the age,” and this, being an advantage,
should, as a general rule, be practised. Each better in turn must
put into the pool a sum equal at least to the first bet made; but
each may in turn increase the bet or raise it as it comes to him; in
which case the bets, proceeding around in order, must be made by each
player in his turn equal to the highest amount put in by any one,
or else, failing to do that, the party who fails must go out of the
play, forfeiting his interest in the pool.

When a player puts in only as much as has been put in by each player
who has preceded him, that is called “seeing” the bet. When a player
puts in that much, and raises it, that is called seeing the bet and
“going better.”

When the bet goes around to the last better or player who remains in,
if he does not wish to see and go better, he simply sees and “calls,”
and then all playing must show their hands, and the highest hand wins
the pool. When any one declines to see the bet, or the increase of
bet which has been made, he “lays down” his hand, that is, throws it
up with the cards, face downwards, on the table. If all the other
players throw down their hands, the one who remains in to the last
wins, and takes the pool without showing his hand.

To “bluff” is to take the risk of betting high enough on a poor hand
or a worthless one to make all the other players lay down their hands
without seeing or calling you.

When a hand is complete, so that the holder of it can play without
drawing to better it, that is called a “pat” hand. A bold player will
sometimes decline to draw any cards, and pretend to have a pat hand,
and play it as such, when he has none.

A skilful player will watch and observe what each player draws, the
expression of the face, the circumstances and manner of betting, and
judge, or try to judge, of the nature of each hand opposed to him
accordingly.

No one is bound to answer the question, how many cards he drew,
except the dealer; and the dealer is not bound to tell after the
betting has begun.

Drawing.--If the player determines to draw to a pair, he draws 3
cards.

If he draws to 2 pairs, he draws one card. If he holds 3 to begin
with, he draws 2 cards, in order to have the best chance of making a
full, inasmuch as, in playing, pairs are apt to run together. But,
to deceive his adversaries and make them think he has nothing better
than 2 pairs, a sharp player will often draw but one card to his 3’s.

It is advisable sometimes to keep an ace or other high card as an
“outsider,” with a small pair, and draw but one card--thus taking
the chance of matching the high cards and so getting a good 2 pairs,
or something better possibly--while at the same time others may be
deceived into believing that the player is drawing to 3’s.

When drawing to cards of the same suit to try to make a flush, or to
cards of successive denominations to try to make a sequence, as many
more cards are to be taken as will be needed to fill out the flush or
the sequence. But it is seldom advisable to venture in to draw for
either a flush or a sequence when more than one card is required to
complete the hand.

When a player holds 4’s in his original hand it is as good as it can
be, and yet it is best to throw away the outside card and draw one,
because others may then think he is only drawing to 2 pairs, or for
a flush or a sequence, and will not suspect the great value of the
hand. When one is in (as he ought seldom to be) without even so much
as a pair, his choice must be either to discard 4 cards, or 3 cards,
and draw to the highest, or 2 highest in the hand, or throw away the
whole hand and draw 5, or look content and serious, stand pat, and
bet high!

The player determining to try this last alternative on a worthless
hand had generally better begin by raising when he goes in, or else
nobody will be likely to believe in his pretended strong hand.

Relative Value of Hands in their Order, beginning with the Best.--1.
A Sequence Flush: Which is a sequence of 5 cards, and all of the same
suit.

2. Fours: Which is 4 out of the 5 cards, of the same denomination.

3. A Full: Which is a hand consisting of 3 cards of the same
denomination, and 2 of likewise equal denomination.

4. A Flush: Which is all 5 cards of the same suit.

5. A Sequence: Which is all 5 cards not of the same suit, but all in
sequence. (In computing the value of a sequence an ace counts either
as the highest or lowest card, that is, below a deuce or above a
king.)

6. Threes: Which is 3 cards of the same denomination, but the other 2
of different denominations from each other.

7. Two Pairs.

8. One Pair.

9. Highest Card: When a hand has neither of the above, the count is
by the cards of highest value or denomination. [Ace is highest.]

When parties opposed, each holds a pair, the highest pair wins, and
the same when each party holds 3’s or 4’s.

When each party holds 2 pairs, the highest pair determines the
relative value of the hands.

When each party holds a sequence, the hand commencing with the
highest card in sequence wins; so also when two or more parties hold
flushes against each other.

That full counts highest of which the 3 cards of the same
denomination are highest. The 2 cards of the same denomination help
only to constitute the full, but do not add to the value of the hand.

When hands are equal so far that each party holds a pair or 2 pairs
of exactly the same value, then the next highest card or cards in
each hand must be compared with the next highest card or cards in the
other hand to determine which wins.

In case of the highest hands (which very seldom occurs) being exactly
equal, the pool is divided.

The main elements of success in the game are: (1) good luck, (2) good
cards, (3) plenty of cheek, and (4) good temper. (_The Field._)

Vint, or Siberian Whist.--This game is at present much played and is
very popular in Russia, and comprises some very interesting features.
The scoring appears complicated, but is not really so, and may be
easily learnt in one evening’s play.

It is similar to whist, with the difference that there are many more
combinations, and the rewards and penalties are greater. The object
is to make the number of tricks you declare, with a certain suit for
trumps, or without trumps, according to the declaration; but should a
less number of tricks be obtained, then a penalty of a certain number
of points is scored to the opponents, according to the number of
tricks short of the number declared. The side that reaches 400 first
scores game, but the hands are played out and scores and penalties
marked as usual. The laws of whist apply to revoke and general rules.
Cut for partners and deal as in whist, the last card not to be turned
up.

Value of Suits.--Spades, as seen below, are the lowest in value, and
“without trumps” the highest.

  “Spades”                   4
  “Clubs”                    6
  “Diamonds”                 8
  “Hearts”                  10
  “Without Trumps”          12
  “Two Spades”              14
  “Two Clubs”               16
  “Two Diamonds”            18
  “Two Hearts”              20
  “Two without Trumps”      22
  “Three Spades”            24
  “Three Clubs”             26
  “Three Diamonds”          28
  “Three Hearts”            30
  “Three without”           32

Declaring.--The dealer commences with one declaration, then the
player on left hand, and so on; each declaration must be of a higher
value than the previous one. Any number of declarations may be made
by any player, but after each declaration all the other players have
the right to declare in their turn, but no declaration can be made
after all the 4 players have consecutively said “Pass.” A player
not wishing to declare says “Pass.” Should, at the commencement,
no declaration be made by the dealer, and all the players in their
turn say “Pass,” the cards are thrown up, and the deal passes on
as usual. This is called a “Bird,” and 300 points are noted, to be
added to the score of points of the winners of the rubber. Several
“Birds” may occur during a rubber, and are noted thus ⩋ = 300 points.
A declaration of “Spades” or other suit, or “Without trumps,” means
that 7 or more tricks will be made with declared suit trumps; “2
Spades” or other suit, 8 tricks will be made; “3 of a suit, or
without trumps,” 9 tricks, and so on.

Scoring--Is noted at the end of each hand, every trick counting thus,
with a declaration of “Spades,” AB., 7 tricks = 28; CD., 6 tricks =
24. A declaration of, say “3 Diamonds,” then AB. 9 tricks = 252; and
CD., 4 tricks = 112; or if AB. make 10 tricks = 280; and CD. 3 = 84.
Big Schlem, 1000; little ditto, 500; rubber, 1000; game, 500. Bird
300 each, scored to winners of rubber.

Honours, &c.--The 10 counts as an honour; 1 or 2 honours do not
count; 3 honours, score according to value of suit thus: 3 honours
spades score 120 (a zero always being added); 4 = 160; 5 = 200.

3 honours in, say hearts = 300; 4, 400; 5, 500. 3 aces count 150;
4, 200; 1 or 2 do not count. A game being played “without trumps,”
honours do not count; but aces score, for 3, 300, 4, 400. The honours
and aces may be in the 2 partners’ hands, as at whist.

Penalties.--Should the number of tricks declared not be made, the
penalty is reckoned thus: For a declaration of, say “Spades,” other
suit, or “without trumps,” 400 points for every trick under the
number declared; a declaration of “Two” of any suit, 800 points;
for “Three,” 1200 points for every trick, and so on. Thus, if the
declaration was “Five” of a suit, or “without trumps,” and only 9
tricks were made, or 2 short, the penalty would be 4000 to be scored
to the opponents. Penalties, honours, aces, &c., are scored above the
line, and do not count towards game, but are scored as points. The
total number of points scored by the losers during the game, and also
the rubber, must be deducted from the winners’ score, the balance, if
any, credited to the winners; or it may happen that the winners of a
rubber may lose in points. Should the game be for stakes, so much per
point should be calculated.


Illustrative “Vint” Hand.

       A.’s Hand.                 C.’s Hand.
  Ace, 10, 7           ♠   |  King, Qn, 5, 4     ♠
  10, 5                ♥   |  Ace, Kg, Kv, 7, 4  ♥
  King, 7              ♣   |  5, 3               ♣
  Ace, Kg, Q, 8, 7, 2  ♦   |  9, 5               ♦

       B.’s Hand.                 D.’s Hand.
  9, 3, 2              ♠   |  Knave, 8, 6        ♠
  3, 2                 ♥   |  Queen, 9, 8, 6     ♥
  Ace, Knv, 9, 6, 2    ♣   |  Queen, 10, 8, 4    ♣
  Knave, 6, 3          ♦   |  10, 4              ♦

A. and B. are partners. A. is the dealer, and begins declaring

  A.--“Diamonds.”
  C.--“Hearts.”
  B.--“Two clubs.”
  D.--“Two hearts.”
  A.--“Three spades.”
  C.--“Pass.”
  B.--“Three diamonds.”
  D.--“Pass.”
  A.--“Four clubs.”
  C.--“Pass.”
  B.--“Pass.”
  D.--“Pass.”
  A.--“Four diamonds.”
  C.--“Pass.”
  B.--“Pass.”
  D.--“Pass.”
  A.--“Pass.”

A. and B. have to make 10 tricks, with diamonds as trumps. C. leads.

  +-----------+
  |     B     |
  |           |
  | C       D |
  |           |
  |     A     |
  +-----------+

A. and B. make 10 tricks, scored thus:

  CD.                     AB.   3 aces     150
                                4 honours  320
  ------------            --------------------
           114                             380

The above hand is only given to show how the declaring may be made.
(_The Field._)


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Mrs. Orrinsmith: ‘The Drawing-room; its decorations and furniture.’
London, 1878. 2_s._ 6_d._

Henry J. Dakin: ‘The Stage in the Drawing-room; or the Theatre at
Home. Practical Hints on Amateur Acting for Amateur Actors.’ London,
1883. 1_s._

Capt. Crawley: ‘The Handy Book of Games for Gentlemen. Billiards,
Bagatelle, Backgammon, Chess, Draughts, Whist, Loo, Cribbage, Écarté,
Picquet, All Fours, Quadrille, Pope Joan, Matrimony, Vingt-un,
Quinze, Put, Speculation, &c.’ London, 1876. 5_s._

Cavendish’s ‘Pocket Guides to Backgammon, Chess, Draughts, &c.’
London, 1878. 6_d._ each.




_THE BEDROOM._


=The Room.=--Some of the conditions affecting bedrooms have been
already discussed on p. 101. It is not necessary to say anything
about the special ventilation of bedrooms, for the same principles
apply to them as to other rooms; but, in passing, it will be well to
mention that there should be a floor space of at least 42 ft. to each
person, and at least 500 cub. ft. of air space--more if possible; 12
ft. is quite high enough for ordinary rooms; all space above this
is wasted, so far as health is concerned. There should be as little
in the way of carpeting, bed and window curtains, as is consistent
with comfort. Light metal bedsteads are the best. The floor is best
stained and polished. Avoid crowding with heavy furniture as much as
possible. If the bed is out of the way of direct draught, it is a
good plan in summer to let down the top sash of the window a little
way. Sleep will be more refreshing and sounder than if the window had
been closed all night.

Edis would have the whole floor of the room stained and varnished,
or painted, and strips of carpet, matting, or rugs thrown down
only where required; these can be taken up and shaken every day
without trouble, and the evil of fixed carpets is thus avoided. If,
however, a carpet must be laid down, let it on no account go under
the bed or within 2 ft. of the walls; the spaces under the bed or
wall furniture would rarely be swept, and under heavy wardrobes and
chests of drawers there would be a gradual accumulation of dirt and
dust, until such time as the annual general turn-out and cleansing
takes place. At least, leave the floor uncarpeted underneath a bed,
so that the boards can be swept daily and scoured weekly. But if the
room is close carpeted, a tightly-stretched piece of holland should
be pinned down under the bed to receive the flue, which is certain
to accumulate; the holland cloth can be taken away and replaced as
frequently as occasion requires.

For the walls, Edis suggests a dark matting dado as a base, and the
remainder of the wall to be distempered of some grateful soft tint,
with graceful pattern border and frieze stencilled on, and here and
there panels formed in the decoration, with enclosing lines of bright
and well-selected colours, wherein might be enframed looking glasses,
and here and there watercolours or photographs, as forming part of
the decoration of the room, but not standing out of it in any too
prominent manner. All this kind of work can be treated simply, and
at little cost, and the distemper work can be rubbed over with bread
crumbs, or brushed down, and so easily cleaned.

The general woodwork of the doors, windows, and skirtings should be
painted in some plain colour to harmonise or contrast with the wall
decoration, and the whole varnished; woodwork finished in this way
can be easily washed or cleaned, and the extra expense of varnishing
will be saved in a few years. Now that good painted tiles can be
obtained at small expense, they may be used in washing stands with
good effect, or the wall above might be lined entirely with them to a
height of 2-3 ft.

With regard to warming bedrooms. It surely requires but very little
common sense to see that it must be thoroughly bad for people to
spend their evenings in warm comfortable rooms, with the thermometer
at 60° F., and then to take their departure for chilly bedrooms,
along cold passages, and to undress in a temperature of 30°-35° F.
Even the strongest constitution must suffer more or less by such a
proceeding. The favourite argument against warm bedrooms is that
it is weakening. Sleeping in badly ventilated, _hot_ rooms, may
be weakening; but sleeping in a temperature of 50°-60° F. cannot
possibly be so. If it were, then healthy sleep in the summer
would be impossible. It is, of course, essential that the heating
apparatus--be it a stove, a fire-place, hot-water pipes, hot-air
ducts, or gas-stoves--should not consume the oxygen from the room
without at the same time provision being made for the admission
of fresh air from without. This fresh air from without need not,
however, come into the room in a cold state. It may be first warmed
by passing near to the fire or heating apparatus. Providing the above
precautions be taken, there is no fear of warm rooms being injurious
to health. Some grates suited to bedrooms have been described on pp.
61-71, especially the “Eagle”; but all grates possess objections for
a bedroom, and probably the very best warming medium would be a soda
acetate stove, as spoken of on p. 82.

As to flowers in a bedroom, it seems pretty safe to assume that the
mischief of a dozen or two is theoretical rather than practical, and
that those who like flowers in their bedroom may indulge their fancy
quite safely. But it should be borne in mind that certain plants may
throw off much larger quantities of carbonic acid gas than others;
and some emit unpleasant odours. In any case, where flowers are grown
in bedrooms, there should be very free ventilation.

The position of the bed in the room is of much importance, although
many are utterly regardless of it. It depends on the size of the
room, the part occupied by the fireplace, and the position of the
windows. If possible, the bedstead should always be put between the
door and windows; not at the end of a long room, where the fresh air
can never blow upon it; and not opposite to the windows, as the glare
from them is not agreeable on first awakening. It is not easy to lay
down fixed rules, but the housewife should give this a proper amount
of thought and care. It is wrong to place beds sideways against a
wall, as they invariably spoil the paper or paint, and will very
likely be badly made.

Servants are very often put in attics without fireplaces. This is an
unwholesome plan which should be avoided, as without a chimney there
cannot be proper ventilation. When an attic is the only available
servants’ room, some ventilation should be effected by boring holes
in the wall, or by making one large hole and inserting a grating.
An open grate is, however, far preferable, as it greatly conduces
to the wholesomeness of any sleeping room to have a fire lighted
in it several times in the course of the winter. Bare boards,
with good strips of carpet round the beds, a chest of drawers,
looking-glass, and neat washstand for each servant, and a couple of
cane chairs, would be quite enough for a room occupied by two maids.
Each maid should certainly have a separate bed, and a comfortable
one. Servants’ beds should never have valances round them, as it
encourages a habit of keeping boxes and rubbish under the beds, which
is most untidy and unwholesome. There should be a couple of bags
hung up for soiled linen, unless a wash-basket can be spared. The
room should be not only swept out every week in turn with the other
bedrooms, but also well scrubbed all over with carbolic soap, and
left to dry with windows and door open. If this is done, the room
will never get stuffy. Encourage everything in the way of neatness
and refinement. Cotton, twill, or unbleached linen is suitable for
sheeting. Each servant should have one clean sheet a week, changing
the upper one to the lower regularly. A clean pillowcase every week
is generally necessary, and one large or two small towels. A bell
communicating between the mistress’s room and the servants’ is a
great convenience for calling them in the morning. Insist on having
the beds stripped and the window opened as soon as the servants are
up.

_The Bed._--To revert to the bedstead, its size and length are well
worthy of consideration. Of course these may vary according to the
fancy of the occupant; but, unless in exceptional cases, a bed should
never be less than 6 ft. 6 in. in length for a grown person. A tall
man may be made utterly miserable by a bed too short for him, while
the extra inches make but little difference, even in a small room.
The width must vary as the tenant likes; but a bedstead to contain 2
persons should certainly never be less than 5 ft. 6 in., and will be
better at 6 ft. in width.

The feather bed is now acknowledged to be a mistake, and detrimental
to health and strength. It is both enervating and luxurious; it heats
and relaxes the spine, and enfeebles the whole frame. Notwithstanding
that warmth is considered of the utmost necessity for an infant,
feather beds are now never put in their cots or bassinettes, wool
and hair mattresses being used instead. In larger bedsteads in
private houses, spring and hair mattresses have almost completely
taken the place of the feather bed. Nevertheless, it should by no
means be tabooed in the case of the old and infirm, who, having lost
the quick pulsation so necessary for the warmth of the body, and
still more the pliability of their limbs, require the surrounding
softness of the feather bed to afford them the caloric they so much
need, and a greater support and more yielding substance than the
mattress to afford them rest. For them the feather bed is highly
useful and desirable; but for the vigorous and the young there is
not this excuse, and it should never be allowed. Besides which it is
expensive, and requires much care to protect it from the moth.

The advantages of chaff beds are many. Real chaff, not chopped straw,
is used for them, and they are cheap, easily filled, and easily
renewed; the latter should be done once a year. Delightfully soft,
and at the same time supporting, they have not the stuffy heat of
feathers, but are warmer than mattresses. A chaff pillow and bolster
to those suffering from headaches are luxuries. In making the bed,
chaff must be well shaken.

The horsehair mattress is now usually preferred, and is an agreeable
substitute, being cooler, more comfortable, and far better than the
feather bed from a sanitary point of view. Then there is the wool
or flock mattress, much less expensive, and very commonly found
in servants’ rooms and in the dwellings of the poorer classes. It
soon, however, wears flat, and even with care becomes lumpy after a
short time, and moth is very likely to attack it. Even when mixed
with hair, it makes an unsatisfactory bed, and loses much of the
springiness which is so pleasant a sensation in one of superior
horsehair. It must be owned, however, that not a little of the
discomfort of wool mattresses is owing to the carelessness with which
they are treated. If now and again they were unpicked, and the wool
well carded, they could easily be restored to their first state and
made clean and comfortable--for the tick which contains the wool
is capable of being washed during the picking and carding process.
French mattresses are irreproachable. It is the custom throughout
France to renew the mattress once a year; and taking advantage of the
summer months, they remove the tick covering, and pick, card, and
pull the wool or hair until they have restored it to its original
elasticity. The tick or covering is then replaced by a clean one,
and very wholesome and pleasant is the result. The wool mattress
is not at any time so pleasant as one made of horsehair, nor is it
so durable; and indeed it is well to bear in mind, that the most
economical method in the end is invariably to purchase the best
material.

The housemaid should have strict injunctions to beat, shake, and turn
all mattresses each morning, and they should be brushed all over
from to time, in order to prevent dust and flue from accumulating
underneath the little leather stars through which the thread for
ticking the mattress down is passed. To prevent the edge of the
mattress from becoming soiled, it is an admirable plan to sew or tack
a border of glazed holland all round the palliasse and mattresses;
and a still better one is to have them put into large white covers,
after the fashion of a pillow case, as these may be removed and
washed at will, keeping the external tick always as good as new.

A straw palliasse is the first thing placed upon the laths of the
bed: with a proper amount of care this should last a lifetime. The
spring mattress takes the place of it in many instances, being an
invention of modern times. It is much more expensive, but is held in
high esteem by most housewives, being considered superior in comfort
to any other kind. But some housewives still prefer the palliasse,
declaring that, with two good hair mattresses placed above it, no bed
can be superior to it in elasticity and comfort.

The spring bed has its faults; the wires underneath, not easily
reached, collect dust, and they may get out of order, in which case
they occasion no small discomfort. The best spring bed is that called
the Sommier Tucker--on a new principle, without a covering, so that
it can be entirely cleaned and dusted throughout. These beds are
undoubtedly cool and have the advantage of giving great elasticity to
the bed, as indeed do all of their kind. A hair mattress is always
placed on the springs; this, if well brushed and tended, ought to
require only occasional renewal, perhaps once in 8-10 years.

The bolster is always of feathers; the pillows may be manufactured
either of feathers or down, according to the fancy of the housewife.
This is quite a matter of taste; and some like a hard, others a very
soft pillow. The shape must also vary, according to the ideas of
those most concerned. The oblong is the usual form, but a square cut
one, after the French fashion, is a very comfortable style of pillow.
The number of blankets must vary, according to each person’s taste
and the time of year, but 2 on an average, are enough for temperate
weather. Great care should be taken in the purchasing of these: they
should be of the best quality, and the wool free from a mixture of
cotton. They should be washed at least once a year; but that ought to
be enough, as they are impoverished by constant cleansing. For winter
wear the Witney blanket is a delightful covering. Sheets may be made
either of linen or cotton, and their textures are numerous; varying
from the delicate fine linen of the wealthy and luxurious housewife,
to the thick, coarse, unbleached cotton of the poorer classes. Linen
is the most durable, and is generally used in preference to cotton,
as being more pleasant to the touch. It is cooler, preferable for
summer wear, and some people are rendered hot and uncomfortable
when sleeping in cotton sheets at any time of the year. In winter
however, much may be said in their favour. By using them, the chill
which first contact with linen invariably gives the skin is avoided.
For children’s beds they are much the best, and can be bought of as
fine a quality as the housewife desires. Twilled cotton wears the
longest, and is a very suitable material for servants’ sheets. For
keeping the feet warm there is no covering so pleasant as the eider
down quilt, its lightness being its greatest recommendation. But each
person has his or her idiosyncrasies on the matter of quilts, and the
arrangement of the bed.

_Making Beds._--Bear in mind, to begin with, that, unless a bed is
properly aired every day, it certainly will not be a place of rest.
Remember the instant you get up, to throw back all top clothes, and
let the air come freely to the lower sheet. This will be a great help
to the housemaid later on. A bed should always be stripped daily.

Every girl should, as a matter of course, learn to make her bed,
and it would be very good for her if she had to do it regularly
as part of the daily routine. Naturally, while little, she would
require help and supervision; but after 14 she ought to make her bed,
and be responsible for the general tidiness of her room, with no
further interference than the sweeping and a little help in turning
the mattresses. Rooms would be more daintily kept if girls were
encouraged to see to such things and the housemaid would be saved a
good deal of work.

The proper course in bed-making is as follows: The bolster and
pillows should, after a slight shake, be laid aside; the mattress
freed of the bedclothes, should be raised and allowed to stay in an
arch for a few minutes, to let the air get to the palliasse or spring
bed; then it should be turned head to foot, or side to side, to
equalise the wear, and well kneaded and shaken, to prevent any hard
lumps gathering. Next lay the binder blanket smoothly over it, then
the sheet, allowing the piece at the top to roll the bolster in, if
you do not use a bolster-case, tuck sheet and blanket firmly in at
foot and sides; shake and toss the bolster well, and see the feathers
are evenly distributed, roll it up in the sheet-end left for that
purpose, and tuck the ends in well under the mattress, straining the
sheet evenly and carefully to prevent folds and creases. Then lay on
the top sheet, tucking it in well first at the foot end. Draw it up
straight and even to the top; repeat this process with the blankets
and the quilt; fold blankets and sheets well in under the mattress,
letting the sides of the quilt hang evenly and loose over them all;
then turn back the top of the sheet ½ ft. over blankets and quilt
and finally turn all together back just below the bolster; shake the
pillows as you did the bolster, place them in position, and then when
you have laid the eider down quilt in its place your bed is made. The
mattress should be dusted daily, and once a week the whole bed should
be brushed and overhauled.


=Sleep.= _Bedfellows._--There is nothing that will so derange the
nervous system of a person who is eliminative in nervous force as to
lie all night in bed with another person who is absorbent in nervous
force. The absorber will go to sleep and rest all night; while the
eliminator will be tumbling and tossing, restless and nervous,
and wake up in the morning fretful, peevish, fault-finding, and
discouraged. No 2 persons, no matter who they are, should habitually
sleep together. One will thrive and the other will lose. So say the
doctors.

_Length of Sleep._--It is manifestly impossible to lay down any
universally applicable rule as to the number of hours which it is
desirable to sleep. Probably no two persons require precisely the
same amount of slumber, and it is scarcely likely that any person
needs the same length of sleep on all occasions. Sleep is the state
in which the fires are, so to say, damped down, and the machinery has
opportunity for cooling. The bow is, as it were, unstrung, and may
recover its elasticity during the recurring periods of slumber. The
great point is to secure what Bichât characterised as “general” sleep
made up of particular sleeps. The whole body should be rested--so far
as any avoidable demand on its energy is concerned--during sleep.
If sleep be thorough, then a short spell will do more good than a
much longer duration of sleep that is incomplete and imperfect,
both in its nature and in its effects. Sleep is a distinctly
natural function, and therefore, both as regards its induction and
management, ought to be performed in conformity with natural laws.
Practically, a man should sleep until he is refreshed. The mistake
many persons make is in attempting to govern what must be a matter
of instinct by volitional control. When we are weary we ought to
sleep, and when we wake we should get up. There are no more vicious
habits than adopting measures to “keep awake” or employing artifices,
or, still worse, resorting to drugs and other devices to induce
or prolong sleep. Dozing is the very demoralisation of the sleep
function, and from this pernicious habit arises much of the so-called
sleeplessness--more accurately wakefulness--from which multitudes
suffer.

The secret of good sleep is (the physiological conditions of rest
being established) to so work and weary the several parts of the
organism as to give them a proportionally equal need of rest at
the same moment. The cerebrum or mind organ, the sense organs,
the muscular system, and the viscera should be all ready to sleep
together, and, so far as may be possible, they should be equally
tired. To wake early and feel ready to rise, this fair and equal
start of the sleepers should be secured; and the wise self-manager
should not allow a drowsy feeling of the consciousness or weary
senses, or an exhausted muscular system, to beguile him into the
folly of going to sleep again when once his consciousness has been
aroused. After a very few days of self-discipline the man who
resolves not to “doze,” that is, to allow some still sleepy part of
his body to keep him in bed after his brain has once awakened, will
find himself, without knowing how, “an early riser.”

_Wakefulness._--The difficulties about sleep and sleeplessness--apart
from dreams--are almost uniformly fruits of a perverse refusal
to comply with the laws of nature. Take, for example, the case
of a man who cannot sleep at night, or rather who, having fallen
asleep, wakes. If he is what is called strong-minded, he thinks, or
perhaps reads, and falls asleep again. This being repeated lays the
foundation of a habit of waking in the night and thinking or reading
to induce sleep. Before long the thinking or reading fails to induce
sleep, and habitual sleeplessness occurs, for which remedies are
sought and mischief is done. If the wakeful man would only rouse
himself on waking, and get up and do a full day’s work, of any sort,
and not doze during the day, when next the night came round his 16 or
20 hours of wakefulness would be rewarded by a sleep of 9-10 hours in
length; and one or two of these manful struggles against a perverted
tendency to abnormal habit would rectify the error and avert the
calamity. The cure for sleeplessness must be natural, because sleep
is a state of natural rhythmical function. You cannot tamper with
the striking movement of a clock without injuring it, and you cannot
tamper with orderly recurrence of sleep without impairing the very
constitution of things on which the orderly performance of the
function depends. (_Lancet._)

Nothing lowers the vital forces more than sleeplessness, which may
generally be traced to one of four causations: (1) Mental worry; (2)
a disordered stomach; (3) excessive muscular exertion; (4) functional
or organic disease. Loss of sleep is, when rightly understood, one
of Nature’s premonitory warnings that some of her physical laws have
been violated. When we are troubled with sleeplessness, it becomes
requisite to discover the primary cause, and then to adopt suitable
means for its removal. When insomnia (sleeplessness) arises from
mental worry, it is indeed most difficult to remove. The best and
perhaps only effectual plan under such circumstances is a spare diet,
combined with plenty of outdoor exercise, thus to draw the blood from
the brain; for it is as impossible for the brain to continue active
without a due circulation of blood, as it is for an engine to move
without steam.

When suffering from mental distress, a hot soap bath before retiring
to rest is an invaluable agent for obtaining sleep, as by its means a
more equable blood pressure becomes established, promoting a decrease
of the heart’s action and relaxation of the blood vessels. Many a
sleepless night owes its origin to the body’s temperature being
unequal. In mental worry, the head is often hot and the feet cold,
the blood being driven to the brain. The whole body should be well
washed over with carbolic soap and sponged with _very_ hot water.
The blood then becomes diverted from the brain, owing to an adequate
diffusion of circulation. Tea and coffee should not be taken of an
evening when persons suffer from insomnia, as they directly induce
sleeplessness, being nervine stimulants. A sharp walk of about 20
minutes is also very serviceable before going to bed. (_Chambers
Journal._)

Sleeplessness is sometimes engendered by a disordered stomach.
Whenever this organ is overloaded, its powers are disordered, and
wakefulness or a restless night is its usual accompaniment. No food
should be taken at least within 1 hour of bedtime. It cannot be
too generally realised that the presence of undigested food in the
stomach is one of the most prevailing causes of sleeplessness. (Dr.
C. J. B. Williams.)

Persons suffering from either functional or organic disease are
peculiarly liable to sleeplessness. When inability to sleep
persistently occurs, and cannot be traced to any perverted mode of
life or nutrition, there is good reason for surmising that some
latent malady gives rise to so truly a distressing condition. Under
these circumstances, instead of making bad worse, by swallowing
deadly sleeping drugs, a scientific physician should be without delay
consulted. Functional disorders of the stomach, liver, and heart are
often the primary source of otherwise unaccountable wakefulness.

Recently, the dangerous and lamentable habit of promiscuously taking
sleeping draughts has unfortunately become very prevalent, entailing
misery and ill health to a terrible degree. Most persons addicted
to this destructive practice erroneously think that it is better
to take a sleeping draught than lie awake. A greater mistake could
hardly exist. All opiates more or less occasion mischief, and even
the state of stupefaction they induce utterly fails to bring about
that revitalisation resulting from natural sleep. The physiological
effect of hypnotics, or sleeping draughts, upon the system is
briefly as follows: They paralyse the nerve centres and disorder the
stomach, rendering it unfit for its duties; they have life destroying
properties in a low degree; the condition they produce is not sleep,
but a counterfeit state of unconsciousness; and they directly poison
the blood, consequent upon its carbonisation, resulting from their
action. Of all hypnotics, chloral is by far the most deadly, and
should never, under any circumstances, be taken except under medical
supervision.

To epitomise what has already been said regarding wakefulness; its
rational cure should be arrived at in each individual case by seeking
out the cause, and then removing the morbid action, of which it is
but a natural sequence. Lastly, sleeplessness under no circumstances
should be neglected, as it acts disastrously both on the mental and
physical forces.

Dr. Corning drops a few simple hints which may be of value. In the
first place, he insists that people should have a regular time
for going to sleep, and it should be as soon as can well be after
sunset. People who sleep at any time, according to convenience, get
less benefit from their sleep than others; getting sleep becomes
more difficult; there is a tendency to nervous excitability and
derangement; the repair of the system does not equal the waste. The
more finely organised people are, the greater the difficulty and the
danger from this cause. The first thing in order to sleep well is to
go to bed at a regular hour, and make it as early as possible. The
next thing is to exclude all worry and exciting subjects of thought
from the mind some time before retiring. The body and mind must be
let down from the high-pressure strain before going to bed, so that
nature can assert her rightful supremacy afterwards. Another point
is, never to thwart the drowsy impulse when it comes at the regular
time by special efforts to keep awake, for this drowsiness is the
advance guard of healthy, restorative sleep. Sleep is a boon which
must not be tampered with and put off, for if compelled to wait, it
is never so perfect and restful as if taken in its own natural time
and way. The right side is the best to sleep on, except in special
cases of disease, and the position should be nearly horizontal.
Finally, the evening meal should be composed of food most easily
digested and assimilated, so that the stomach will have little hard
work to do. A heavy, rich dinner taken in the evening is one of the
things that murder sleep, says Dr. Corning; yet many people will
say just the opposite, and find they sleep most readily on a full
stomach; obviously this rule varies with surrounding conditions.
Late suppers with exciting foods and stimulating drinks make really
restorative sleep next to impossible. Narcotics are to be avoided,
save as used in cases of disease by competent physicians. The proper
time, according to Dr. Corning, to treat sleeplessness is in the
day-time, and it must be treated by a wise and temperate method of
living rather than by medicines.

Dr. Rogers asserts that invalid children with little disposition to
sleep may be induced to do so by placing their cots due north and
south, with the child’s head to the north. There may be some truth in
this popular superstition that the magnetic current induces sleep;
but “due north” is not “magnetic north” by a long way.

Frank Buckland’s remedy for insomnia is “onions--simply common onions
raw, but Spanish onions stewed will do.” The oil contained in onions,
he thinks, has highly soporific powers, and in his own case they
never fail.

Great benefit is sometimes derived from the use of a hop pillow on
special occasions.

_Snoring._--This is caused by sleeping with an open mouth. It is
just possible that by a resolute and determined effort of will the
habit may be overcome; breathing by day through the nostrils only and
pursing up the mouth firmly will help much towards it. It is well
to urge upon all parents and nurses the absolute necessity of their
training all young children to sleep with mouth shut. Never allow an
infant to get the contrary habit. Watch it in early life, and close
its lips when it is falling off to sleep, which can easily be done
with thumb and finger, holding them together for a few seconds. The
habit thus acquired wards off consumption in after-life. Coughs and
colds contribute to the tendency to snore by stopping the nostrils
wholly or partially, thus rendering breathing through the mouth
imperative. In this case, clear your nose well at night, using snuff
if necessary, and keep your mouth closed.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Lady Barker: ‘The Bedroom and Boudoir.’ London, 1878. 2_s._ 6_d._




_THE DRESSING-ROOM._


=The Toilet.=--Beyond the advice to avoid all cheap scented soaps,
the following notes will be useful:--

_The Hands._--A little ammonia or borax in the water you wash your
hands with, and that water just lukewarm, will keep the skin clean
and soft. A little oatmeal mixed with the water will whiten the
hands. Many people use glycerine on their hands when they go to bed,
wearing gloves to keep the bedding clean; but glycerine does not
agree with every one. It makes some skins harsh and red. These people
should rub their hands with dry oatmeal and wear gloves in bed. The
best preparation for the hands at night is the white of egg with a
grain of alum dissolved in it. Quacks have a fancy name for it; but
all can make it and spread it over their hands, and the job is done.
They also make the Roman toilet paste. It is merely white of egg,
barley flour, and honey. They say it was used by the Romans in olden
time. Any way, it is a first-rate thing; but it is a sticky sort of
stuff to use, and does not do the work any better than oatmeal. The
roughest and hardest hands can be made soft and white in a month’s
time by doctoring them a little at bed time, and all the tools you
need are a nail brush, a bottle of ammonia, a box of powdered borax,
and a little fine white sand to rub the stains off, or a cut of
lemon, which will do even better. To soften hard water use Maignen’s
“anti-calcaire.” If a man works at any mechanical business, or any
which involves muscular exertion, the hands will always, do what he
may to them, show signs thereof. But some men’s hands show work much
more than others. In some the epidermis does not seem to get callous
and horny, nor the muscles thicken nor swell much, while in others
the least contact with tools makes the hand look as if the owner
had worked as a day-labourer all his life. It seems to me that the
thinner the skin, the more, as a rule, the hands show the effect of
work. The only palliative is working in gloves, but this is a great
nuisance. Sandballs or pumice soap will remove horniness. Now, as to
the care of the nails. The great beauty of the nails is being long,
the “quick” coming close to the extremity of the fingers, and the
“half-moon” near the root being as large as possible. The best chance
of cultivating these merits is, first, never to touch the quick with
a penknife and to press back with a towel, on drying the hands, the
skin which grows over the half-moon. This skin ought never to be cut,
as that only stimulates and increases its growth. In some, however,
it seems to show no tendency to do so. Nothing more than this can
be done by art towards obtaining delicate finger nails, which, of
course, are a great attraction in either sex; and, as they show
personal cleanliness and niceness, are a laudable object of ambition.

Removing a Tight Ring.--A novel method of effecting the removal of a
ring which has become constricted around a swollen finger, or in any
other similar situation, consists simply in enveloping the afflicted
member, after the manner of a circular bandage, in a length of flat
indiarubber braid, such as ladies make use of to keep their hats on
the top of their heads. This should be accurately applied--beginning,
not close to the ring, but at the tip of the finger, and leaving no
intervals between the successive turns, so as to exert its elastic
force gradually and gently upon the tissues underneath. When the
binding is complete, the hand should be held aloft in a vertical
position, and in a few minutes the swelling will be perceptibly
diminished. The braid is then taken off and immediately applied in
the same manner, when, after another 5 minutes, the finger, if again
rapidly uncovered, will be small enough for the ring to be removed
with ease. This plan need only be resorted to when wetting and
soaping the fingers have failed.

_The Hair._--Baldness comes chiefly of the artificial determination
of blood to the head, and to the heat and perspiration thence
arising. The result is a relaxed condition of the scalp and loss of
hair. If the skin of the head be kept in a healthy state the hair
will not fall off. To keep it healthy, the head-covering should be
light and porous, the head kept clean by washings with water, and the
hair cut short.

Ladies are often in trouble about their hair between the ages of
17-30. The hair may be unruly; it may come out; the scalp may be at
fault, or the fat-glands act improperly. The hair may be too dry,
and get brittle; this arises sometimes from the too free use of
spirit washes of various kinds, or from dyes. The remedy is plain.
The great complaint is that the hair gets thin. If there be any
debility present the hair will mostly thin out. In these cases it is
as well, for a time at any rate, to keep the hair rather shorter than
usual, and to take general tonics. If there be indigestion present
this must be remedied; if neuralgia, quinine should be taken. The
most troublesome instances of loss of hair follow in the wake of
violent attacks of neuralgia of the head, brought on by some mental
excitement or depression. In these cases very much may be done by the
use internally of remedies that give tone to the nervous system, such
as nux vomica, bark, quinine, and steel. After these have done good
service, local applications, especially ammonia, are serviceable.

It is a fashion with very many young ladies to wear their hair
in different styles, that necessitate frequent variations in its
length. This is productive of much harm. At one time nature has to
furnish a large, at other times a small crop, and lapses into a
state of indifferent weakness in consequence. The one great cause
of thinning of the hair is unquestionably general debility. In the
majority of such cases 1 teaspoonful tincture of gentian, with about
10 drops diluted hydrochloric acid, should be taken twice a day in
a wineglassful of water, and the scalp rubbed with some such as
the following lotion night and morning: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.;
tincture of nux vomica, 3 dr.; tincture of capsicum, 7 dr.; otto of
roses, 2 drops; and rosewater, 4 oz. It is almost identical with
the nux vomica lotion of Corbyn and Co., Bond Street, the very best
preparation of its kind.

The heated and crowded rooms at balls and parties are in some
cases very injurious to a good state of the hair. The gas acts
very hurtfully in those cases in which the hair and the scalp are
very dry. The only plan here is to use to the scalp such a simple
preventive as the glycerine lotion already recommended.

At no time is general thinning of the hair more marked or more
frequent than after confinements, or in mothers who are nursing when
in a somewhat debilitated condition. Here general tonics are needed.
The following lotion, of a stimulating character, may be employed
with great advantage at the same time: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.;
rum, 1 oz.; glycerine 2 dr.; tincture of lytta, 4 dr.; elder-flower
water, 4 oz.; or tincture of bark, 4 dr.; cherry-laurel water, 4
oz.; glycerine, 2 dr. It will be seen at once that the treatment of
almost all cases of general thinning of the hair is not merely local
but constitutional, and that we may pour and besmear tons of the
most nutritious liquids and pastes, pomades, and the like upon an
unfortunate head without doing much good. It is necessary that the
machinery itself be given the power to work healthily and happily,
and such power is given from the nutritive organs in the centre
of our bodies, and by the vital fluid that flows in our veins and
arteries.

As a remedy for dandriff, a French physician recommends that a
solution of chloral hydrate, containing 5 per cent., should be
applied to the scalp by means of a sponge every morning. The quantity
employed should be ½-1 oz. A slight burning sensation and reddening
of the scalp occurs, disappearing after 2 minutes. If the hair has
fallen off in consequence of the dandriff it will be renewed in about
a month.

A teaspoonful of ammonia, added to 1 qt. of water, is the best
possible agent for cleansing hair brushes.

_Shaving._--(_a_) Soreness from shaving may be cured by anointing the
part with glycerine every night before going to bed, and dusting it
with precipitated Fuller’s-earth after shaving.

(_b_) Before you begin, study the grain of your beard in the glass,
and do not shave against the grain. In some beards the grain runs
from one ear to the other, instead of both shaping to the chin. In
others the grain runs half way down the neck, and then half way up.
Next wash very thoroughly before you shave in warm water, which will
be lathering No. 1, rubbing the beard with the lump of soap and
fingers with good perseverance. Then commence lathering No. 2, using
the brush with really hot water, aiming to produce as thick a soapy
composition on the skin as possible to fill up the spaces between
the hairs. Dipping the fingers in a little oil softens the beard,
and prevents the lather drying so quick. You cannot lather too much.
Strop your razor on your own hand, and preserve it from damp by
wiping it only on chamois leather. Never lay a razor down open, and
put it away safely in its case. If you will take extra trouble in the
lathering you will get an easy shave. Hairdressers set razors better
than cutlers.

_Toothbrushes._--Tap the brush before using it, to see if you can
jerk out any loose bristles. Tap the brush after using it, to shake
out the water, and put it away fairly dry. Do not keep it closely
shut up in a brush tray or dressing-bag bottle. Loose bristles may
be found in a new brush in consequence of the wire having cut the
bristles in half while drawing them into the hole, the knot being too
full. Bristles may project beyond the level of the serge, the knot
being too slack; clip them off; do not withdraw them, and thereby
make the knot still more slack. Bristles will perish if brushes are
put away thoroughly wet, and left for days to get thoroughly dry;
after a time, even with the greatest care, this will happen. Brushes
will smell offensively if closely shut up when wet; they will also
become discoloured. Some people select a brush too soft for their
requirement, and make it harder by pressure, breaking down the
bristles, which they would not do if their brush was sufficiently
hard.

_Dressing-jackets and gowns._--Under the term “combing jacket,”
people often include, not only the loose garment thrown over the
shoulders while doing one’s hair, but the warm, becoming jacket
required by an invalid sitting up in bed. It is best to distinguish
between the two, and to call the latter a camisole. The combing
jacket should always be of some washing material. A three-quarters
length loose-fitting jacket, with long open sleeves, is best. White
muslins and percales in summer, and white flannels and serges in
winter, are the most suitable materials; but ordinary prints, if the
pattern be pretty, will answer every purpose of home wear. If meant
for invalid wear, they should be made as coquettishly as possible--of
pale-blue cashmere, with jabots of cream-coloured lace falling down
the front.

A very showy little dressing gown, in which one can see servants,
tradesmen, and even friends, is made as follows: Run up a crimson
quilted sateen walking skirt. As this is to form part of the
dressing gown, it must be cut up in front from hem to waist, and
fastened together in the ordinary way with buttons. Then choose some
pretty chintz or Pompadour material and make up a loose polonaise,
separating into two side curtains in front, and bunched up behind.
Fasten the band of your quilted petticoat securely to the waist of
your polonaise, and you are then able to put on the whole arrangement
as you would an ordinary dressing gown. If you make, in addition,
a muslin mob cap, trimmed with crimson ribbon, you will present a
marked contrast to the usual slovenliness of ordinary dressing gowns.

_Undressing._--A certain amount of organic matter gets into the
outer clothing, and, therefore, when these garments are taken off
they should always be hung up in a current of air. It is a common
practice to spread clothing upon the bed, to give additional warmth
during the night; but this practice is really very pernicious, as
the woollen clothes get charged with organic matter, that slowly
putrefies, and gives off not only a nasty fusty smell, but also
dangerous poisonous fumes. Clothes should always be hung upon pegs.


=Dress.=--_Requirements of clothing._--The object of clothing in cold
climates is to retain and economise the heat which is constantly
being produced within the body by vital processes, such as digestion,
respiration, muscular exercise, and brain work. In hot countries the
body must be covered as a protection against the rays of the sun. A
secondary object of clothing among women is adornment.

All clothing should be as light as is consistent with sufficient
warmth, and should be so fashioned as not to interfere with the
proper movements of the body. Easy clothes are much warmer than tight
ones, and, paradoxical though it seems, are cooler in warm weather.
Admitting of more perfect ventilation, they do not so readily become
moist with perspiration, and then cling unpleasantly to the wearer.
Some materials permit heat to pass too quickly through them, and do
not sufficiently impede evaporation. Of the various substances which
only admit of gradual radiation or escape of heat from the body,
wool of many different sorts is most generally suitable; and this is
produced in such abundance and at such a price that all can obtain
clothes made from it. In this we only copy the lower animals which,
being exposed to great alternations of temperature, have a loose open
fleece or hairy covering; so a loose, open-wove porous material makes
the warmest garment. Hence knitted underclothing and fleecy or thick
soft cloth for outer wear are cosiest, though it must be admitted
not in all cases the most durable. The warmth of the dress depends,
too, on the way it is manufactured. It is an established fact that
the weight of a material may be largely diminished without destroying
any of its heat-preserving powers, and this may even in some cases
be increased by manufacturing it very loosely, so as to contain a
quantity of air in its meshes, stationary air being a bad conductor
of heat. It is in this way that the silk and cotton-netted vests,
with meshes ½ in. in diameter, which have been lately introduced,
are so warm and sanitary, as, with the aid of the linen and other
garments worn over them, a stationary layer of warm air is kept
continually next the skin. In warm weather the clothing should be
loose, so as to admit freely of currents of air passing over the
surface of the body; in winter it should be moulded to the figure,
but without being tight. Colour, too, has an influence. If equally
thick, dark stuffs are warmest, because such absorb more of the sun’s
rays. Light coloured articles of dress reflect more of these rays,
and hence are cooler. Grey presents a medium tint which suits our
climate well.

Underclothing.--Underclothing should always be of wool, and every one
ought, in this climate, and even in India, at all seasons, to wear
woollen materials next the skin. This is even more imperative at the
two extremes of life; in the cases of infants and aged persons, whose
powers of reducing heat are less active than those of individuals in
the vigour of middle life or of youth, and who are therefore less
able to resist cold. In winter, either hand-knitted under-vests and
drawers, or machine made, in imitation of hand-knitted, are the
best. In summer these woollen under garments should on no account be
entirely laid aside, but when the warm season has fairly set in, here
scarcely ever till June is well advanced, thinner and lighter ones,
made of merino, should replace the thicker worn in winter and spring.
If any article of underclothing is to be thrown off in summer, it
should be the drawers, the under vest never during the day. Clothing
worn in the daytime should invariably be put off at night, to be
replaced by cotton or linen night dresses. Many wear under-flannels
night and day, but the good effects which result from wearing flannel
next the skin are thus much lessened. Flannel is worn by day when one
is actively occupied (and the perspiration is thereby increased) to
prevent becoming suddenly chilled. This is unnecessary, as a rule,
during sleep. Flannel night dresses are preferable for children
to linen or cotton. Children have less heat-producing powers,
and are apt to throw off the bed-clothes. For them a night dress,
made somewhat like a bathing costume, suits best, as it is then
impossible that, though the bed-clothes are tossed off, the child
can be entirely exposed. In old persons, and in those with strongly
developed rheumatic tendencies, flannel is also the best material for
night dresses; but in all these cases there must be special garments
for day and night, each to be reserved for its proper time and use.
At night the feet must be kept warm, warmed artificially if cold on
going to bed, since, unless they are warm, it is not possible to
sleep soundly--in many instances even to sleep at all.

Underclothing for use in the day should not extend farther down the
arms than half-way to the elbow, for healthy men, as this permits
much greater freedom of movement for the arms; in women and children
it should reach from wrists to toes and be cut with a high neck. It
should never be allowed to become too dirty before being changed,
since this renders it both unwholesome to the wearer and unpleasant
to those around him. It gets loaded with perspiration and particles
cast off from the skin, which, being animal products, tend readily
to decompose. A week is the limit to the time they should be worn
before being changed, and thus an endeavour should be made to have
a sufficient number of underclothes to allow of this necessary
frequency of change. There is no special virtue in coloured flannel.
One often hears red or blue flannel, especially when new, credited
with surprising qualities; but it has a doubtful advantage in that it
does not show dirt so soon as white or cream-coloured, is assuredly
not warmer, and brightly dyed wools are often the cause of eruptions
on the skin.

Intermediate clothing.--The material of which this is made, varies
in the two sexes. Whatever its component parts, it should not be
tight. Were the strict underclothing, that worn next the skin, made
warm enough, perhaps worn double, there would be less need for the
multiplicity of skirts and heavy petticoats still used by some. One
woollen under-garment is not so warm as two, even though the one
be as thick and as heavy, as the two are separated by a layer of
air, and so heat is less rapidly transmitted and lost. Something
of what is known as the Bloomer, or rather the modern combination
dress, might very well replace all but the gown proper. A very warm
material, and not heavy, is found in chamois leather. An under-dress
of this has really reason, besides elegance, on its side.

Much has already been said on the subject of stays and tight lacing,
but with little real effect. Many women complain that they cannot
walk uphill or upstairs without feeling short of breath. This is
largely due to the natural expansive movements of breathing being
limited to a minimum by stays. Their effect, bad in all cases, is
worst in growing girls, whose ribs are still yielding and elastic,
and thus more easily compressed. Parents are now becoming somewhat
more alive to the fact, that there must be for girls as well as
boys a due proportion of free out-door exercise associated with the
lessons at school. In too many girls the natural supports of the
spine, the muscles of the back and chest, have partly been left
undeveloped by want of exercise, partly been wasted and cramped by
the pressure and the artificial support of hard, unyielding, and
too often tightly laced stays. Hence it is that far more girls than
boys have twisted spines. Girls would be as straight as boys are
usually had they only fair treatment. The muscles of the back being
weak, the girl sits habitually to one side or the other, and what
was at first merely an awkward habit, becomes very soon a decided
curvature. If something must be worn to support the figure, a softer
and more pliant article than ordinary stays might easily be devised.
The corset recommended and used at the Girton Ladies’ College is
reported to be such. Though the stays may be loose and easy, or
absent altogether, dresses are often made or become too tight across
the chest. When unbuttoned or unhooked, often a considerable space
exists between the buttons and the button-holes, when the shoulders
are held only properly back. This should not be. Such dresses prevent
the lungs from expanding in the movements of respiration, interfere
with easy and full breathing, narrow the chest round the shoulders,
and favour if they do not directly lead to, consumption. Dresses for
grown up persons should be full across the chest, for growing girls
specially so; and when first made they ought to have enough cloth
laid in to admit of ready enlargement, for a dress often becomes too
small before it is worn out.

Here a few words are needed as to the place from which to hang the
clothing--whether it should be supported from the shoulders or the
hips (not waist). We heartily endorse Dr. Bernard Roth, when he says
that Dr. Richardson is quite wrong in recommending that ladies’
dresses should be made to hang from the shoulders, and not from the
hips. Many cases of spinal lateral curvature may be attributed to
hanging an excessive weight of clothing from the shoulders. Growing
girls and weakly women have sufficient difficulty as it is in holding
themselves erect while carrying the head, neck and trunk, and upper
extremities, without unnecessarily dragging down the shoulders by the
weight of the long and heavy skirts exacted by fashion. It is much
more sensible and scientific to attach the skirts to bands round the
pelvis, where only the solid hip bone is pressed upon. Another great
objection to suspending the skirts from the shoulders is that the
respiratory movements of the upper part of the chest are unavoidably
impeded by this arrangement.

For similar reasons braces are not so beneficial as Dr. Richardson
believes, even for men who are not over-strong, and who would stoop
less and find their chests freer by wearing braceless trousers fitted
with an elastic band round, but not above the hip bones. Who among us
would do heavy work or exercise in braces and no belt? Every labourer
and every athlete discards braces for a waistbelt when actively
engaged. At the same time the belt must not compress the inside--the
trousers should hang from the hip bones. There is an additional value
in the waistbelt, if it take the form of a woollen or silk sash, that
it protects the viscera from sudden chills, and this is deemed of
high importance in fever and cholera countries.

As to the question between trousers and knee-breeches, there can
be no doubt that knee-breeches are on the whole more seemly and
convenient than trousers. Certainly all callings which entail much
physical exertion would profit by the change. In particular, this
is true of labour in the open air. In this form of work especially,
where there is frequent and prolonged movement of joint and muscle,
the weight of surplus clothing soon occasions weariness, and the
surroundings are not the most cleanly. The labourer if knee-breeched
and gaitered would be disencumbered of as much heavy moleskin or
corduroy as would otherwise fall below the knee, a part of his
clothing would not then as now flap about the feet for no good
purpose but to be soiled by the mire of his work, or in wet and cold
weather to lead to illness by chilling or freezing on his legs.
Gaiters of some close and not too heavy material might be worn over
the stockings. They would be comparatively out of the way of dirt,
would maintain warmth, would brace the muscles by equal and moderate
pressure (a noteworthy consideration with men who are much on their
feet), and if wetted might be easily removed and replaced by another
pair. (_Lancet._)

Though in summer cotton socks are cool and pleasant, when one can
wear thin shoes, and there does not exist any necessity for walking
a long distance, woollen stockings are actually much more suitable
at all seasons. Woollen stockings woven of coarse yarn absorb the
perspiration and preserve the feet from blistering, and are cooler
than cotton ones on a long walk. Tight garters are frequently worn
below the knee by women. Garters in any position are bad, but if used
they should be worn above the knee, as the two tendons to be felt at
the back of the joint receive the pressure and act as a bridge to the
veins which pass beneath. The garters as usually worn are a frequent
cause of enlarged veins in the leg, and by interfering with the
blood supply of the foot also favour the development of chilblains.
Stocking suspenders bearing on the hips are far better.

Boots.--Boots and shoes must be easy, broad in the toes and sole
generally, while the waist should have some degree of elasticity and
not be absolutely rigid. High and narrow heels give an insecure hold
of the ground, and throw the weight, which ought to be distributed
over the sole, forward on the front part of the base of the toes.
This unnatural position, besides rendering the risk of sprained
ankles much greater, stretches the fibrous bands which bind the
various and complicated bones of the instep into a beautiful arch,
strong yet springy. The tough fibres yield, the foot flattens,
elasticity and grace of movement disappear to a large extent, and
aching pains are complained of. If we wish to walk elegantly,
comfortably, far, and with ease, straight broad soles and low heels
must be worn. Attention should constantly be paid to children’s
boots and shoes, so as to have them lengthened or renewed as soon
as they become short. The foot elongates considerably in walking,
so all boots should have a full ½ in. or more of spare length to
permit of this. Women’s boots and shoes are generally far too thin.
Besides being worn thicker, the addition of an inner sole of cork
covered with felt excludes damp from the ground or pavement, and
aids in keeping the feet warm. These soles should, however, be taken
out and dried at night or when the boots are laid aside. Lacing
boots are better than elastic side ones, though in some ways the
latter are more convenient. Patent leather boots are only suitable
for occasional wear; like galoshes, they do not allow the escape of
perspiration, hence are unhealthy, and if worn constantly engender
habitual cold feet.

Do not purchase boots the uppers of which are formed of leather
possessing an artificial grain. This is easy to detect; the rollers
from which the skins receive their impressions are of too even a
pattern, and the imitation is struck deeper than the real. Good
upper leathers should handle mellow; leather destitute of suppleness
and soft silkiness, or that leaves a decided line whenever pressed
into a crease, should, in all instances, be avoided. With regard to
the soles of boots, great precautions should be used to see that
they are of the thickness they seem to be. It has become a practice
with cutting manufacturers to use an outer sole of extremely light
substance, making up the deficiency by means of an extra inserted
welt. By this plan a box is formed between the inner and outer
sole, the hollowness of which is filled in with scraps of leather,
cardboard, or any foreign substance that is easily procurable and is
fitted for the purpose. When sole leather has been cut and affixed
as soles, the distinguishing marks that characterise good and bad
leather are hidden from sight, so that the means of detecting that
which should be avoided are few, and difficult to point out to a
tyro. Sole leather being placed to resist moisture, it should not
be too porous; in other words, it should be close in its grain, and
possessed of a full share of firmness. The firmness here spoken of is
something entirely distinct from brittleness. There can be solidity
without brittleness, and this should be easily distinguished.

A boot should have a good and sufficient stiffener inserted at the
heel to strengthen its back, and facilitate the getting of it on or
off. This should be carefully inserted, and be shaped away so as to
offer no resistance to the entrance of the foot. The top portion
should be firmly secured to the back that it is meant to strengthen;
so much so that there should be no possibility of its rucking down
upon the insertion of the foot. It should be observed whether there
is a superfluity of leather in the waist of the foot, that is, under
the arch of the foot. The existence of such useless leather is a sure
sign that the boot has been badly lasted, and that it has little
or no spring in it, and that it will consequently give little or
no support to the arch of the foot it covers. The buttonholes of a
boot upper, if it have any, should be well and carefully stitched,
and they will be found to wear much better if they are protected by
the insertion of a cord. This cord sustains the drag or strain that
the unprotected leather would otherwise have to bear. The channel is
that portion of a hand-sewn boot in which the thread that attaches
the outer sole to the welt lies hidden. Care should be taken by
the purchaser to see that this channel is well and sufficiently
closed over, otherwise it is easy to perceive that the sole has lost
more than half its resisting power to damp or wet, and that the
stitches will get soaked and speedily rot. The “seat” of a boot is
that portion just above its heel. Look at this carefully. If it is
likely to tread over by failing to resist the pressure it will be
called upon to bear, do not by any means be persuaded to become the
purchaser of boots with this defect. The reason why the front part of
the upper of a boot is cut in two portions is because that practice
conduces to economy. In selecting a pair of boots great care should
be taken to avoid those in which the join falls over the great-toe
joint.

Some time ago a correspondent of _The Field_ gave an excellent and
simple method of treating the soles of boots to make them last as
long as the “uppers.” The plan was to apply to them when new as
many coats of coachmaker’s varnish as the leather would soak up.
In varnishing the soles the following hints are of value, though,
however roughly the operation is performed, they will become
waterproof and durable:--(_a_) See that the soles are dry before
using the varnish; also scrape off the black polish from the face
of the heels; (_b_) thin the varnish according to circumstances;
1 tablespoonful turps to ½ pint varnish will usually be the right
proportions; (_c_) place the boots, soles upwards, in a dry place,
and give soles and heels 3 copious coats of varnish the first day, 2
the second day, and one coat each day after that until the leather
will absorb no more; (_d_) do not miss a day, or the soles will
harden and no more varnish will go into the leather; (_e_) 2 days
after the last coat the boots should be worn, so that the soles may
get shaped to the feet whilst moist. These directions may appear
elaborate, but they are really very simple; and however badly the
varnishing is done, the results will, to a certain extent, be good.

Ladies who have much walking are strongly advised to have kid
leggings made at a bootmaker’s to button on from the tops of their
boots to their knees; they can then go out in wet, damp, or extremely
cold weather with perfect impunity. For girls who walk to and fro to
attend school, or for those who are forced to go out in all weathers,
the plan is a good one and well worthy of trial. The leggings are no
weight, they are very warm, and will keep out damp and cold; whilst
they are small enough to be carried about in a pocket, and put on or
left off at a moment’s notice; so that they need only be worn when
extra protection is absolutely needed.

Squeaky boots may be cured by the injection of powdered French
chalk through a perforation in the inner sole; the free use of the
same substance between the soles when boots are being made will
effectually prevent any trouble of this nature.

Gloves.--In winter, at least, woollen gloves should be worn, as
best preserving the proper circulation of the blood in the hands,
and lessening the chance of chilblains. In the warm seasons silk or
cotton ones are preferable to kid.

Head-gear.--Were it possible to form a covering for men’s heads which
would admit both light and air in due proportions, a great problem
would be solved, and baldness would be reduced to a minimum. Since
hats are a necessity, they should be very light, pliant as far as
may be, well ventilated, and with a soft band which will compress
the arteries of the temple as little as possible. The hat, too,
should only be worn when it cannot be laid aside--not constantly, or
when in the house. Ventilation is best secured by having a slight
space between the band and the hat proper in front and behind, the
hat being close to the head at the sides, to avoid conveying the
impression of being over large. In addition, there should be a hole
in the crown for cold weather, and in the sides and crown in summer.
As to women’s bonnets, any advice would be a mere waste of words.

Veils, especially those ornamented with spots, &c., have a bad effect
on the eyes. Persistent mischief is done by the practice of binding
a veil tightly round the face in such a way that not only is the
sight obscured, but the eyes are mechanically irritated by the fabric
clouding them.... Veils of to-day are semi-transparent eye-bandages,
and must tend to disturb the vision, as well as to set up irritation
in the eye-lids. (_Lancet._)

Waterproofs.--It is highly important that the public should
clearly understand the manner in which waterproof garments may
prove injurious to health, and how any effect of this kind may be
prevented. A mackintosh is perspiration-proof as well as rain-proof,
and, consequently, when one is worn the perspiration, being unable to
escape, accumulates in the clothes, and they become damp. Upon its
removal, the evaporation of this fluid--in other words, the drying
process--commences, with its attendant loss of heat and well-known
risk of “chill.” The retention of this heat, which would otherwise
be gradually lost, makes the mackintosh invaluable during a long
drive on a cold winter’s day. The disadvantage of this garment is,
not that it inflicts any injury while it is on; but that our clothes
being damp, we may catch cold upon its removal, unless our dress be
changed at the same time; and when the dampness is very decided this
precaution should certainly be taken. Endeavour to avoid excessive
perspiration by walking slowly when you have a mackintosh on, and do
not wear it in hot weather except for driving. (Dr. P. Foster.)

_How to Buy Clothes._--Low-priced materials do not wear so well as
those for which a fair amount is paid; but it is not in the power of
every woman to purchase materials which are necessarily expensive.
The woman of small means will do well to confine her purchases to
some well-established shop, famed rather for the soundness of its
goods than for their apparent cheapness.

Ladies’ boots and shoes cannot be well made and of good materials
for a little money; 21_s._ to 25_s._ for boots, 16_s._ to 18_s._
for walking shoes, suited for town wear, is about the lowest price
for which a really good serviceable article can be obtained; but
each of these will wear out three so-called cheap ones, and will
look well to the last, after being twice soled. No boot or shoe will
last if the servant is allowed to scrape the dirt off with a knife,
put blacking on soft kid, or smear it over with some patent satin
polish or peerless gloss. See to the cleaning of your boots and
shoes yourself--that is, only have the dirt wiped off, and the kid
well rubbed dry by the servant, and put on the polish yourself if it
must be used. Evening shoes of a colour suitable for any dress can
scarcely be had good for anything under 10_s._ 6_d._ or 12_s._ 6_d._,
but they will wear out several cheaper pairs, and look well to the
last.

The greatest mistake is to be perpetually attempting to keep pace
with “fashion.” The best-dressed women are never “in the fashion,”
as it is represented in young ladies’ journals. For economical
dressing without dowdiness, the golden rule is to buy the best and
soundest materials possible for your means, to keep to such quiet
colours as will enable you to wear your dresses long without getting
tired of them or tiring your friends; to buy a mantle, for instance,
which is too good to need changing at the end of the year, but which
is handsome enough to wear two seasons, and to bear retrimming or
altering the third.

Many ladies now make their own dresses, and make them well; but where
this is not the case, it is cheaper in the long run to have a good
material well made than to have it spoiled in the cut and made by an
inferior workwoman. Many find it economical to have one good dress
every year from a first-class dressmaker: this lasts and makes up
again in many new forms, and serves as a model for making others less
expensively, either by themselves or by a workwoman. A clever-handed
woman can generally make up or trim her own hats and bonnets, and if
she carries out the same system of only buying what is really good,
and taking care of it, she will find it at the end of the year a
really small item in her expenditure. Much depends also on keeping up
the supply of underclothing by constant small additions, rather than
by allowing them to wear out altogether, when a renewal of the whole
stock will form a serious item. Gloves, again, are things which there
is no cheapness in buying at a low price; 2 or even 3 of them will
wear out before one pair bought at a good shop and at a fair price;
by this means they cost far more, and always spoil the whole dress.

Persons of moderate means should as a rule, dress in black, or dark
colours, as such are not conspicuous, and consequently do not tell
their date as lighter articles do. In selecting a hat or bonnet, be
sure to ascertain that the shape suits you, and that it fits your
head comfortably. Do not indulge in feathers, still less in flowers,
unless your means are such as to enable you to procure the best,
as nothing is more vulgar than cheap finery. For a windy day there
is nothing half so comfortable as a tightly-fitting toque, but it
must be neat and faultlessly made. A well-made toque is graceful,
becoming, and comfortable, and, with a neat veil of spotted net
closely adjusted over the face and fastened securely behind, will
enable the wearer to brave the most stormy elements without fear of
having her head-covering blown away or even misplaced. It is a great
improvement, if a dark-coloured toque be worn, to stick a bright
pin carelessly in front in a slanting direction, as though securing
the top of the veil. To a youthful face it is always becoming, as
it takes off the too sombre appearance and lightens up the general
effect.

Jackets should not be worn quite tight, unless the figure is
particularly good, and without this important “unless” Newmarkets
should not be worn at all. Better be content with well-made ulsters,
except in cases where the figure is slight and graceful, and the
purse is long enough to admit of 7 or 8 sovereigns being paid for
a tailor-made article. For travelling or walking there are few
costumes more comfortable, nor any which look better on young slight
figures, than dark green or brown cloth Newmarkets, with felt hats
to correspond, and white or light coloured satin scarfs, with gold
or pearl pins stuck neatly through. These coats cannot look well
if worn over a dress. The following plan is good and extremely
simple. Get your tailor, when measuring for your coat, to make you
a perfectly close-fitting garment of the same coloured satin--made
without ¼ in. of superfluous material--Princesse shaped, the long
straight skirt just reaching a shade below the garment to be worn
over it, and finished off at the tail with a tiny plaiting of
satin, which, appearing from beneath the Newmarket, detracts from
the manly appearance of this species of muffle. The advantages are
manifold; not having any _pouffes_ behind, the set of the coat is
not interfered with; being of a slippery nature the utmost care is
experienced in putting on and taking off the covering, and should
necessity or inclination call for a removal of the coat, a perfectly
neat and becoming garment is visible underneath.

The most economical dress for everyday wear is a dark navy-blue
serge, and for evening a good white silk. Morning dresses made with
double-breasted bodices are the most becoming, and the warmest; for
evening the square-cut bodice and tight elbow-sleeve are the most
_distingué_. Bodices gathered back and front (“shirred”) are very
pretty, and suit slight figures well, but should never be worn except
by such. Many ladies spoil the fit of their dresses in winter by
wearing under-vests. This is a bad habit, as, if the vest be left
off of an evening, a cold is sure to follow. It is an excellent plan
to tack a piece of soft warm flannel around the back and shoulders
of the bodice about midway from the neck, and properly shaped to the
lining; this imparts a comfortable warmth, and, as a similar piece
can be adjusted to the back of an evening bodice, the danger of cold
is obviated.

For wearing around the throat with morning dress plain collars have
rather a stiff appearance; tulle or lisse frillings toss immediately,
and are unsatisfactory as well as expensive. It is a good plan to
purchase a few yards of really good washing lace about 1½ in. deep; a
few minutes will quill or plait it; it can then be cut into suitable
lengths and tacked around the necks of dresses, being easily removed
and renovated when soiled. A piece of soft black Spanish lace, folded
loosely around the throat, close to the frilling but below it, looks
very well, especially if a natural or good artificial flower be worn
amongst the folds. Another effective arrangement can be adopted thus:
Buy 3 yd. scarf lace--a good kind, of course--trim the ends with
quillings to match, place it around your neck, leaving nearly all
the length in your right hand, the end lying upon the left shoulder,
being about ½ yd. long. Wind the longer piece twice round the
throat, in loose soft folds; and as you will still have 1½ yd. or
more to spare, festoon it gracefully in front with the aid of a few
concealed pins, and fasten a brooch or flower at the side.

Tan gloves are the best for wear. Long silk mittens are extremely
pretty in the evening, and shorter ones midway to the elbow, look
nice in the house with the half-long sleeves. To keep the feet warm,
wear a pair of soft woollen stockings, with silk ones drawn over.
This hint is invaluable to those who ride, as it is not unusual, on
hunting days, to experience a severe chill, if riding a tired horse
homeward at a slow pace after a hard day. One word about fur-lined
cloaks. They seem to be a sort of muffle, quite unsuited for walking,
and only fit to be worn as a wrap, in a vehicle, on a cold day.
Apparently made for warmth, they let in every breath of chill air,
unless held carefully across; and it is not easy thus to hold them,
if one has an umbrella or a parcel to carry, or a muff to hold in
the hands. Here is a valuable hint. Take the pattern of the sleeves
of your Mother Hubbard cloak, and the precise measurement of the
spot in which they are placed--copy them exactly, and insert them in
the fur-lined mantle, binding the inner edges neatly with ribbon to
prevent the fur, which is cut, from coming loose. Then remove the
hood, place a neat full frilling of cashmere and satin around the
neck, and a full bow, with long ends, at the back. Next put 5 rows
of gathers at the back of the waist, to which attach, on the inner
side, a band of ½ in. black elastic, with a strong hook and eye.
This, when fastened, draws the cloak close to the figure and gives it
a becoming shape. The band is preferable to a ribbon-string, as it is
more readily adjusted and can never get into a knot. In making the
gathers, small fragments of the fur may pull with the thread and show
on the outside; these should not be plucked at, but simply blackened
over with a little ink. To utilise the hood for going out at night,
or for variety to wear with the cloak by day, bind it nicely with
black ribbon, leaving long ends for strings to tie in front. The
materials required to effect this transformation are: ¾ yd. cashmere,
1 yd. black satin, 5 yd. ribbon for back and sleeve bows, and 3 yd.
binding ribbon.

An important consideration is how to dress so as to suit individual
peculiarities. Thus, a short stout figure should have perpendicular
trimmings to her dress, the eye being thus carried to lines marking
the height, not the breadth, of her person. A tall figure, on the
contrary, may have bands of trimming or tucks running across the
skirt; this reduces the apparent height. Stout people, be they tall
or short, should remember that they require almost no trimmings or
puffings. They look handsomely dressed in quite a plain garment, if
it be well cut and rich in texture. Thin people, on the contrary,
take any amount of trimming and puffing to give them a sufficiently
clothed appearance. The first study in every case is what is
becoming, not what is fashionable. The principal idea should be to
attract attention to the wearer, not to the dress.

It is safer to dress rather older than younger than your age, it
generally makes women past 30 look younger to dress thus; but much
depends on the colours used. It is easy to lay down rules of colour
for decided brunettes or decided blondes, but much more difficult
to fix rules for those who belong to neither class, and who compose
the majority. It used to be an old rule with portrait painters that
the colour of a woman’s eyes ought to be repeated in some part of
her head-dress. It is a much safer rule to repeat the colour of the
hair in the dress. This is why fur is so often more becoming than
anything else, it is often an exact colour of the hair. The only case
in which matching the hair would not be suitable, is when the hair
is unmistakably red. Then nothing but the quietest colours should
be worn, with a good deal of white at the neck. Very dark shades
of red and brown go best with it, but they must be chosen with the
greatest discrimination. It is a safe axiom to lay down that all very
bright colours should be kept away from the face; only the finest
complexions can stand them in close proximity to the skin. The idea
that pink is becoming to dark people is a mistake: only a very fair
blonde can bear it. Maize is also most becoming to a fair skin,
though it is also suitable, occasionally, to dark-haired people.
Half-tints are the safest wear in the long run, and dark-coloured
plushes, velvets, and satins, with their lovely reflection, are
becoming to all. A slight knowledge of what are called “complimentary
colours” in optics is useful, for it teaches the effect of certain
colours on the skin. Thus bright blue makes the skin look yellow;
mauve makes it look orange-tinted; bright yellow gives it an
ashen-blue look; bright vermilion-red makes the skin look green.
Thus it will be seen that half-tints will not be so mischievous in
their effects. Many elderly ladies have a preference for violet or
purple. Nothing could be more unfortunate. As people get on in life,
the skin assumes quite enough of a yellow tint, without adding to it
by wearing its complimentary colour--purple. Transparent materials,
such as lace or tulle, are the most becoming settings to old faces.
For younger people, harmony in colour is everything. Brown may have
points of yellow or paler brown; dark red, a carefully selected pink.
If grey is worn, a little pale blue may be worn in the bonnet. Then
gold ornaments look best with brown and red, silver ornaments with
grey and blue. In combining materials for a dress, it will be found
that too soft or too stiff materials are more difficult to drape
gracefully than one of each kind. Silk and cashmere make a very good
combination, and a cheap and effective imitation of these can be made
in merino and good alpaca. Short people should have outdoor mantle
and dress of the same colour, as a contrast in these takes away from
their height. But they may wear with great advantage a pelerine,
or long mantle, which comes to within 2 in. of the bottom of the
skirt; in that case the dress does not much matter. The fashion of
tight sleeves and cuffs is very unbecoming to the hands unless they
are small. The cuff ought to measure the same as the hand across
the knuckles; dressmakers generally only measure the wrist, which
is quite a mistake, as it is often out of proportion to the hand. A
frill at the wrist is always becoming to the hand, but not always
becoming at the throat. Short necked, plump-faced people do not look
well in frills round the throat. A piece of lace laid on flat is
better for them. Thin, long-necked people, on the contrary, ought
invariably to wear frills at neck and wrist. Belts are unbecoming
to all waists over 25 in. Tippets and fur collarettes should not be
worn by high-shouldered people. The great secret of dressing well
is to know what to avoid. To know where advantage can be taken of
a good point is well, but to know how to hide a bad one is better.
Frequently the best-dressed women we see are those whose own deft
fingers have put the finishing touches to their toilettes.

_Clothes for Foreign Boarding School._--(_a_) At Lausanne. Take
2 warm winter dresses (one for school, and one for church, &c.),
2 evening dresses, one light cashmere or beige dress, and 4 or 5
washing dresses. Two jackets (one for winter, and one for summer),
a cloak or ulster, and a mackintosh. Much the same underclothing
as one would take to an English school, with plenty of warm vests,
&c., as the winter in Lausanne is colder than in England. Take a
warm travelling rug, as sometimes in winter the “duvets” on the bed
are not sufficient covering, and the rug will be very acceptable.
July and August are the hottest months, but most people go to the
mountains then. Take with you all in the way of clothes that you
will require for the year, as dresses, hats, &c., are costly, and
there is scarcely any choice there. Pack the things in 2 small basket
trunks, rather than one large. Put such things as you will require
immediately into one, and taking that with you, send the other and
heavier one on by slow goods train. This will be found cheaper than
taking all the luggage with you, as only 56 lb. of luggage is allowed
free.

(_b_) In South Germany. For luggage, provide 2 leather-covered basket
trunks and a black travelling bag, with necessaries for the voyage.
If household linen has to be taken, pillow cases are best supplied at
the school, being larger and different in shape from English ones;
allow two large bath towels and a clothes bag, in addition to what is
required. For dress, 2 thick blanket serge costumes, in addition to
2 cashmere dresses, fur cloak, eiderdown skirt, 2 knitted skirts,
princess petticoats, high necked, in thick stuff, for winter wear,
Galatea or white for summer; 2 short jackets, one thick cloth; also
a shawl, as the passages are very cold, and a wrap is required for
leaving the schoolrooms, as these again are rather over heated; white
dress and pretty lace aprons and frills, for evening wear, when the
young ladies are required to sit in the _salons_. Painting requisites
had better be taken, for they are expensive; no school books, beyond
church service and dictionary; add a few simple articles as suitable
birthday presents for school friends, as the girls are expected to
give on these occasions to mistresses and boarders, and it is tax on
a girl’s pocket money. About 4 gingham housemaid dresses and 2 white
cambric ones will be required for summer wear. Boots and furs are in
comparison cheap in Germany. Seal fur caps are usual for winter wear.

_Bathing and Swimming Dresses._--There are 3 main points to consider
before deciding on the make of a bathing dress: (_a_) the place
at which it is to be worn, whether an English or a Continental
watering place; (_b_) whether the wearer swims or merely bathes;
(_c_) whether the wearer is a child, a girl, or a middle-aged woman.
The best materials for bathing dresses are summer serge, cashmere
serge, alpaca, wool bège, and twill flannel; give preference to the
first two, because they are soft, pliable, and light, do not cling
objectionably to the figure when wet, and may be obtained in almost
any colour. Alpaca is recommended for its lightness to swimmers
especially, but both this material and wool bège can only be had in
black and neutral tints; whilst twill flannel can be bought in all
colours, is very comfortable and warm, especially for children, and
has only one drawback--that its woolliness prevents it from being
allowed in most fresh-water swimming baths, and renders it, for this
reason, an unwise investment for one who wishes to frequent baths on
return to town.

The best way to make a swimming dress for use in England, to ensure
comfort and ease, is to have a loose bodice to the waist fastened
into a broad band, from which the drawers are suspended, the bodice
fastening down the centre, the drawers on the left side. The
combination style of garment, i.e., all one piece from the neck to
the knees, has one great objection, viz., that any mishap with the
buttons is very awkward when there is no skirt. This need never be
feared when the bodice and drawers are made separately and fastened
at the side, and the only way to avoid it in the combination style
is to make the dress open to the waist and then have it cut straight
across and down the side of the hips for 5-6 in., so that it can
be buttoned up on to the waist-band. A dress intended for swimming
only should be as simple as possible. It should not come over the
knees, and not be trimmed with a large collar or elaborate sleeves.
Deep white cotton fringe or Torchon lace will be found to give quite
sufficient finish. 3 yds. of 24 in. material will be found ample to
make a dress of this description for a girl about 20.

Where ladies bathe with gentlemen their dress must come below the
knees, must have a skirt from the waist, and must have sleeves of
some kind, and these, whether long or short, or however loose, are
always uncomfortable for swimming, as they cling and impede the
movements of the arm, whilst the whole dress is made heavier by these
additions. The only way to make such a dress more comfortable is in
the first place to avoid making the skirt too heavy or too deep, and
next to make the drawers longer than is really needed, and to fasten
them in at the knee, so that the legs may be moved comfortably.

Children’s bathing dresses are best made in the “combination” style,
of bège or some warm material, for the shivering cold feeling
some children get in the water when they are not able to swim is
one of the chief causes of their dislike and fear of sea bathing.
Bathing dresses for matrons may be made in almost any style, however
elaborate or heavy. A very comfortable dress for ordinary wear in
England may be made with drawers reaching either to the knee or
ankle, and gathered in by a band of turkey red or material with
which the dress is trimmed, running alternately in and out of
inch-deep slips made for the purpose; the upper part being simply a
long loose blouse made either with a yolk, sailor collar, gauging, or
any other design at the neck, and fastened at the waist with a broad
band, so as to leave the skirt loose to the knees. A dress made in
this way will take about 5 yd. of 24 in. material. Another kind of
bathing dress is made with combination bodice and drawers, with the
addition of a deep cape plaited into the neck and reaching to the
elbows, and a skirt from the waist. Colour and trimming are the chief
points in the finish of a bathing dress. Only those who really have
a good appearance should choose a brilliant colour like red, blue,
pink, or yellow, charming as these colours are in the water.

To avoid looking conspicuous, have some neutral tint or dark colour,
and bright trimming. Black is particularly becoming for bathing
costumes, as it shows up the whiteness of the skin, and it is
convenient besides, because it can be trimmed with any colour or
design.

Plain white canvas shoes laced with a colour to match the dress are
perhaps the best; but straw or cork soles, with an upper piece of
the same material as the dress, laced with broad strips of braid to
match the trimming, are also good. The upper part should be cut from
the pattern of a gentleman’s slipper, fitted, sewn on to the sole,
and pierced with 3 holes along each side. The braid is fastened each
side of the holes nearest the toe, laced across into the others,
and continued sandalwise up to the knee. It is useless to think of
keeping the head dry, so caps should always be made to allow for
wetting. One good plan is to take a plain straight piece of stuff
like the dress, about ½ yd. long and ¼ yd. wide; place it straight
round the head, and fasten or tie it underneath the hair at the back
so as to leave the rest in loose folds. A cap the same shape as a
brewer’s is very pretty, placed on the head, with the point twisted
once and fastened on the left side. When bathing, a Japanese parasol
will prevent getting sunburnt. (E. M. B.)

_Mourning._--The tendency of the day is towards shorter periods of
mourning and deepening the mourning, so that half-mourning for aunts,
cousins, &c., is almost abandoned, and only resorted to in longer
periods of mourning. Crape is absolutely inadmissible with velvet,
satin, lace, bright or glacé silks, embroidery, fringe, excepting
the special “crape fringe,” or, indeed, with anything but mourning
silk, paramatta, merino, cashmere, woollen barège or grenadine, or
barathea. A widow’s mourning is the deepest, and continued longest.
For the first 12 months the dress and mantle must be of paramatta,
the skirt of the dress covered with crape, put on in one piece
to within an inch of the waist; sleeves tight to the arm, bodice
entirely covered with crape, deep, tight-fitting lawn cuffs with
broad hems, and deep lawn collar. The mantle or jacket, of the same
material as the dress, is very heavily trimmed with crape. The
widow’s cap must be worn for a year, but not beyond the year. The
bonnet is entirely of crape; it has a widow’s cap tacked inside, and
is worn with a crape veil with a deep hem. When the crape on the
dress requires renewing, it must be put on precisely as at first
until the first 9 months have expired, after which, if preferred,
it may be put on in 2 deep tucks, with about 1 in. space between
them. Crape cloth is permissible, and well adapted for a rough or
walking dress for the country; it wears well, and is not very easily
distinguishable from crape at a distance. After the expiration of the
first year, “widow’s silk” may be substituted for paramatta; but it
must be heavily trimmed with crape. This is worn for 3 months, when
the crape may be very sensibly lightened, and for the next 3 months
jet passementerie and fringe may be used. At the end of the 6 months
(18 months in all) crape may be left off, and plain black worn for 6
months; and 2 years complete the period of mourning. For the first
year, while a widow wears her weeds, she can, of course, accept no
invitations; and it is in the worst possible taste for her to be seen
in any place of public resort. After the first year she can, if so
disposed, gradually resume her place in society. It is usual for the
pocket hankerchiefs to have broad black edges, and no jewellery of
any kind, with the exception of jet, can be worn.

The mourning of a parent for a child, or a child for a parent, is
the next degree and lasts for 12 months. For the first 3, paramatta,
merino, coburg, woollen grenadine, or some similar material heavily
trimmed with crape, usually in 2 deep tucks, is worn; for the next 3,
silk mourning, with less crape, the latter arranged more ornamentally
in plaits, folds, or bouillonnés, is admissible. The crape bonnet
may have jet upon it, and the veil may be of net, with a deep crape
hem. Linen collars and cuffs cannot be worn with crape. Crèpe lisse
frills are _de rigueur_. Sable or any other coloured fur must be left
off; plain, untrimmed sealskin is admissible, but it never looks
well in really deep mourning. After 6 months, crape may be left off,
and plain black, with jet ornaments and black gloves, worn for 2
months. For the next 2, black dresses, with gold or silver, pearl
or diamond ornaments, and grey gloves, sewn with black. After this,
half-mourning--such as black dresses with white flowers or lace;
white dresses, with black ribbons; or grey dresses, trimmed with
black.

There is a very prevalent notion that red is a sort of mourning,
and that red flowers or ribbons may be worn with black for slight
mourning; but it is not in good taste. Only jet ornaments are
permissible with crape; neither gold, silver, nor precious stones can
be worn with it, neither can lace be in any way intermingled with
it. This is a fact which seems to be very imperfectly comprehended.
Society must be relinquished for 2 months, and it is in far better
taste to avoid balls so long as crape is worn. For grandparents,
the mourning is now only 6 months, 2 in silk and slight crape, 2 in
black, and 2 in half-mourning.

For brothers and sisters the mourning, is now usually 3-4 months.
It is correct to wear crape tolerably deep for 2 months, and plain
black for 2. For an uncle or aunt 6 weeks is the orthodox time, and
crape is not required. Black is generally worn the whole time, for
the first month with jet, afterwards with gold, silver, pearls or
diamonds; no coloured stones. For a great uncle or aunt 5 weeks, 2
in black, 3 half-mourning. For a first cousin, a month, generally
the whole time in black. It is not usual to wear mourning at all
for a second cousin, but if done 3 weeks are sufficient. Relations
by marriage are mourned for precisely in the same degree as real
ones: thus a wife wears exactly the same mourning for her husband’s
relations as she would for her own. There are, however, exceptions.
For instance, a lady would mourn for her uncle by marriage for 6
weeks if his wife (her aunt) were alive; but if she were dead the
mourning for the uncle might be curtailed to a month. A few remarks
may be made on “complimentary mourning.” For instance, when a man
has married a second time, his second wife must wear slight mourning
for 3 months on the death of his first wife’s parents, and for 6
weeks on the death of her brothers or sisters, if any intimacy
has been kept up. This is not _de rigueur_ like real mourning for
absolute relatives, but it is good taste, and usual in society. So
also it is usual for a mother, whose married son or daughter loses a
parent-in-law, to wear black--of course without crape--for one month,
and half-mourning for another.

There are some additional points of etiquette connected with
mourning. Black-edged envelopes and paper must be used. The width
known as “extra broad” is the deepest that should ever be used, even
by widows, the “double broad” being too much. Even for widows the
simple “broad” is in better taste than either; “middle” is the proper
width in mourning for parent or child; “narrow” for brothers or
sisters; “Italian” for all other relatives. Visiting cards are only
edged with black when crape is worn, so black-edged cards are not
requisite for an uncle or aunt. The edges should be of the same width
as that adopted for the paper. Cards returning thanks for the kind
inquiries of those who have either called or sent to inquire, should
not be sent out till the mourners feel equal to again receiving
visitors; it is the accepted token of their being once more visible.
Letters of condolence should be written on paper with a slight black
edge, and offence should never be taken if they are left unanswered.
Many people consider it correct to wear black on a first visit to a
house of mourning, and though this is not absolutely necessary, it
is certainly in better taste to avoid brilliant colours on such an
occasion. (_The Queen_).

_Travelling Dress._--(_a_) The fewer dresses to take for positive
travelling, the better. A black silk, fashionably made, is almost
indispensable. This should be accompanied by one or two stylish
muslin fichus and lace collarettes to wear on any dress occasion,
as it is tiresome not to be able to put in an appearance for lack
of suitable attire. It is a good plan to have this silk made with a
bodice separate from the skirt; and a white washing silk polonaise
will be found very useful. For travelling nothing is so suitable as
a light serge, and dark blue is the best colour. This should be made
with a plain skirt and polonaise, and have a jacket also to wear
when required; the plainer the better. Also take an alpaca costume,
or one of a light woollen stuff, and 2 dark blue linen ones; these
are cool if the weather prove hot. But to ensure real comfort in
travelling, the point is not the quantity of dress nor the kinds,
but to have them in working and wearable condition. They should be
arranged to loop up when required, and to fit well, &c. Thick kid
gloves, and gloves with gauntlets, are necessary; and a waterproof
petticoat, and one or two others. Always carry a waterproof dress
in your wraps; perhaps a good ulster would best replace it; there
never was so comfortable a garment for travelling. Plenty of rugs,
shawls, and, above all, a fur boa are desirable. Bonnets are not
necessary, and a felt hat is the best, with a good supply of veils, a
gauze one particularly. Thick boots are essential, and for climbing,
the new Hygeia boots of Marshall’s are real comforts. All the
dresses taken should be nearly if not quite new; travelling soon
reduces a half-worn dress to shabbiness. Paper collars and cuffs
are invaluable; they are as cheap as getting them washed, save an
infinity of trouble, and are sold in compact boxes taking little
room. If it is possible, pack in portable luggage; it will be found
a great comfort, for thereby many wearisome waiting hours are saved
at foreign railway stations. A Gladstone bag, or one of the portable
portmanteaus, holds almost all you require, with a travelling bag and
wraps.

(_b_) For a rough travelling dress select a dark blue bège or thin
serge, made with a short full plain skirt, and a rather long coat,
shaped, but not tight fitting, so that, if required, a bodice could
be worn underneath. For out-of-the-way travelling have the skirt
put into a very deep band, to fit tightly over the hips, and the
full gathers put into that; it will be found lighter, more becoming,
and better for the appearance of both skirt and jacket. The band
is of the same material. The bodice is made like a skirt, full and
tolerably loose, with straight neckband and coat sleeves, over which
are turned black lace, first tacked inside, turned over, and lightly
tacked down. Have a scarf of the dark blue material, 2½ yds. long,
and a little over ½ yd. wide, and use this to pass round the hips and
loop behind over the skirt band when you stop for any length of time
and have to take off your coat. This scarf gives at once a smart look
to the otherwise plain skirt. It is also useful in passing round the
neck in cold day or night travelling, and when not used rolls up into
a small compass, and goes in the wraps. The dark blue coat and scarf
look well over a stout holland plaited skirt (which is useful with
a plaited bodice and band for hot days). A soft hat with prominent
brim, and dark blue veil, should accompany the costume. Also have a
thin tweed of some dark grey colour, either made in the same way,
or with a plaited skirt, up to the hips, and a Norfolk jacket, with
band or a coat or a polonaise. Always have pieces of black lace to
tack into your travelling dress at throat and wrist, and take a white
piece, for wearing at any smart place. If the band of the dress is
high round the throat, no collar or lisse is necessary, only tack
the lace inside, turn it over, and tack it again lightly to keep it
down in place; the same at the wrists. Never take white petticoats
for rough travelling; a striped coloured one is best. Take black lace
neck scarf and gauze veils.

_Lawn Tennis Dress._--Short costumes made with bibs, Marguerite
sleeves (viz., slashed at the elbow and shoulders), and the tunic _à
la Laveuse_, appear to be a good style of dress for lawn tennis. A
white serge made thus, with red trimmings, is very effective; or a
light fawn tone, trimmed with bands of forget-me-nots, embroidered
on a darker shade; or a rough holland dress with no tunic, but made
with a yoke, bands, and large pockets, like an artist’s blouse,
embroidered in outline.

_Dress for the Moors._--A thick homespun or tweed costume is the most
serviceable for the moors. A leather petticoat is a comfort in bad
weather. Doré has introduced a good costume for ladies who go in for
sport, viz., gaiters and knickerbockers, buttoned at the knee, of
the same stuff as the skirt, which is kilt plaited, and is capable
of being made long or short. A long scarf can be easily arranged as
a tunic, or be wrapped about the shoulders, and a jacket, waistcoat,
and cap of the same stuff make it complete. An ulster with a cape and
hood attached is comfortable, so is a Norfolk blouse. In Scotland,
ladies wear in the daytime little else but these tailor-made suits.
In the matter of boots, black leather Balmoral walking boots are
best, with thick soles, and for bad weather, the gaiter boot, which
comes half-way up the leg. Phipps and Barker, of Cadogan-house,
Sloane Street, have brought out a water-tight Highland boot, to
button or lace. The latter give support, are a good fit, and durable,
keeping their shape well, and are light in weight--a great point
where there is much walking. Marshall and Burt of Oxford Street, have
besides a Balmoral boot with double or clump soles, some of porpoise
hide, which will stand hard walking, and are excellent hygienic
boots, preserving the foot in a natural position, with low heels and
projecting soles.

_Dress for Walking Tour._--Procure from Marshall and Burt, 192,
Oxford Street, a pair of Hygeia boots, which keep the feet warm and
dry, do not unduly press, and are not heavy. They are waterproof,
and should be well greased from time to time. Wear light woollen
stockings, well soaped, and a thin tweed dress, plain skirt, and
Norfolk blouse, with an outer jacket when required and an all-round
mackintosh; a felt hat, bound with corded ribbon, a rosette at the
side; loose gauntlet gloves. The mackintosh should be accompanied by
a tarpaulin cover for the hat. An umbrella stick is a comfort.

_Dress for Yacht._--(_a_) A black lace or canvas and silk dress is
sufficient. Liberty’s soft silks are invaluable, as they take up
little room, and pack well. Take a dark pretty dressing gown for your
bath in the morning, and avoid making an object of yourself then by
going attired in a waterproof, with your head tied up in a shawl, as
is the fashion of many ladies. (_b_) For a month’s cruise on a public
yacht a lady who has been a similar voyage advises dress as follows:
One light weight serge or cloth dress, one tweed ditto, a jacket that
can be worn with both, an ulster, and plenty of wraps, a rug, a high
short dress for dinner, a dress for excursions, one lace dress. A
useful and nearly essential item is a short dark silk tea gown, which
can be easily slipped on for dinner in rough weather; for instance,
a black Merveilleux satin, trimmed with black lace and red ribbons.
Other necessaries are pockets to nail against the cabin walls, plenty
of Florida water or eau de Cologne. A large supply of under-linen,
to enable you to be independent of the laundress during the hurried
washing in port, is a great advantage.

_Outfits for Abroad. Australia._--A necessary outfit for a voyage
to Australia is as follows, whether you go by the Cape or Canal,
bearing in mind the southern seas are cold, and that 10 days by the
Cape route sees you through the tropics. A regulation sized box is
only allowed in the cabin, together with a bonnet box; but luggage
marked “Wanted on the voyage” is brought up from the hold once a
week. Old underclothing is best to wear, for when soiled it is
dropped overboard, and saves washing. On arrival in a country where
labour is dear, and also as the trunks from the hold are packed and
unpacked in public, it is pleasanter to be rid of soiled linen. Take
7-8 weeks’ change of everything. The voyage is 6 weeks as a rule.
Friends will supply you with old underclothing, if you ask. Take 4
doz. paper cuffs and collars; you will need a clean one a day. Buy
a few dozen cheap pocket handkerchiefs to ensure having enough. No
washing whatever is done on board. At Ceylon, the natives come out
for clothes, but as steamers’ sailings are irregular, you may leave
your belongings behind. Frilling becomes limp, but have a few dozen
yards to freshen up a dress. Have warm flannels; a pair of mittens
are a boon, keeping your hands cosy while your fingers are free to
work. Tennis shoes are not elegant, but comfortable, and, when decks
are slippery with wet, they are invaluable. Avoid high heels, for the
ship’s rolling is apt to make walking unsafe. Have besides tennis
shoes a pair of bath slippers, house shoes, a pair of strong walking
shoes, and a pair of boots to land in. Remember a wave may sneak in
at an open port and invade a cabin, so have bags for boots hung high,
bags for brush, comb, scent, and all toilette requisites, and a few
pouches for ribbons, cuffs, handkerchiefs, to avoid opening your
box when you want any trifle; a hanging pincushion, and a few large
linen bags to slip things into when rough, for it is objectionable
to wake and find your clothes about the floor. The stewards act as
housemaids, come in to shut ports, clean out cabins, carry water,
so a lady should have things specially tidy. Have a hat capable of
keeping firmly on the head in wind, a shady one for the tropics,
though it really matters little, the decks being covered with awning,
and keep your hat for landing strapped up high above invading waves
in the cabin. A cabin’s furniture consists only of bunks, basin
stands, mirrors, a shelf for the water bottle, each berth a rack,
such as are in railway carriages, useful to hold books, workbox, &c.;
but do not in calm weather pile it too high, for when you run into
rolling seas of course the things slip out. You may be in a cabin
with three other ladies; space is very limited, trunks are thrust
below the bunks, and at most two pegs apiece allowed to hang dresses
on; but for the bags mentioned, take a few thin tacks and put them
up yourself. Only keep out the dress you wish to change and your
dressing gown, for, if you hang out more, the cabin, even if you have
the luck to have only one fellow-traveller in with you, gets stuffed
up, and you blush for its untidiness when you learn the captain
inspects every cabin at 11 A.M. daily.

Take a few pairs of old scissors, a few penny button hooks, and hang
one of each up by the mirror to have handy, and keep the others
stored in your cabin box for fear of losing or mislaying the two out
for use. Take plenty of pins and thread and needles, and an extra
pair or two of stay busks. To break one in mid ocean is a misfortune,
unless you have others get-at-able to remedy the evil.

Take some cotton and also some woollen stockings, and do not forget
a hot water bottle. The bed-room steward will readily get it filled,
and, if it is cold, the bottle will be a great comfort. Have an
ulster, a muffler, and a light shawl: the last to throw over your
head, mantilla fashion, when sitting on deck during the delightful
balmy evenings one enjoys on board. Have one warm dress, one cotton,
either one grenadine made with high bodice, or an old silk for
dinner. You hardly _dress_ for that meal, but change your gown to
a slightly smarter one, and a little addition of lace to any old
afternoon costume is sufficient: also take a few flowers to vary it.
On the tray of your cabin box keep another smarter dress to land in
and to wear on Sundays, for a little variety is grateful to all.
Let the warm dress and your dinner one, if you are economical, be
old, and keep your new toilettes for Australia. Dresses get stickily
salt on board, lose their freshness, and, as most folks wear their
second best when travelling by sea, as long as you are tidy, neat,
and clean, you need not trouble about a little shabbiness. One print,
even by the Red Sea route, is quite sufficient, unless you are a
very careless person, and cannot keep a cotton dress clean for two
weeks. Put a silk costume in at the top of “Wanted on voyage trunk”
to get out easily, for perhaps you may wish to be extra smart at a
ship concert; and have packed on the top of that box also a cotton,
for fear of soiling the other, your relays of underlinen, a few extra
books and music to relieve the monotony of the ones in your cabin. Do
not take more than what I have advised, or you will hamper up what
is your bedroom for the time, and make it a sore vexation to your
steward and uncomfortable for yourself. When you see the officers in
white flannel trousers, take out your cotton dress. When they put
on white hats and duck suits, lay away your thick dress and your
ulster and rug. When you see them back to navy-blue attire, put away
your cotton dress and take to your warm clothes. You can rely on
the official sense to guide you aright. Have a neat dressing gown,
as you may have to pass the saloon on your way to a bath. Do not
forget a supply of hairpins. You will find a thick dress, a print,
an evening dress all-sufficient, with underclothes and collars for
a week or two, hats, boots, &c. These will fill up your cabin box;
but keep room for a few books, although there is a library on board.
You can lend your stock, and vary the ship’s literature. Of course,
take a piece of work, but you will not do much after the first
week. When you know your fellow-passengers, you will help them all
day at doing nothing, for sea voyaging is idle and frivolous. Take
music if you play, and have a store in the “wanted” trunk, for your
fellow-passengers will get tired of your songs if you have but 3 or
4. If you paint, have your materials handy to illuminate a concert
programme, for you must try and be ready to assist amusements, unless
you wish to be killed with _ennui_. Take some tea (though on the
Orient line they supply it freely), and a teapot, and a few cups.
You can get hot water from your steward, and do not need a kettle.
Afternoon tea-parties on board are pleasant as on shore, and it is
well to have the means of entertaining. If you are to be at sea on
Christmas Day take some cards. Your neighbours will thank you when
they find a greeting on their breakfast plates. Take some mimic note
paper and envelopes for invitations to tea, &c., as all these little
odds and ends to amuse others are sure to help you to enjoy seafaring.

Fancy balls are a common form of fun on Australian steamers; and,
if you are taking a fancy dress out with you, put it in the “Wanted
box,” and, if not, exert your ingenuity. Take some games with you in
your cabin box--cards, chess, backgammon, dominoes. You can get them
all in mimic sets.

If you are going to Australia to live, look well on the map as to
your future colony, and, as you are near the equator, prepare for
heat. Western and South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales,
are all very warm, especially during 3 months in the year; but also
bear in mind in the bush servants are scarce, and do not have your
cotton dresses too elaborate, for fear you may have to wash them
yourself. There is winter too in Australia, and at first you think it
like our May at home, but after a year you will suffer from the least
cold keenly, so have some warm clothes, and over all the colonies it
is dusty, therefore do not forget a dust cloak. Victoria is not quite
so warm, nor Tasmania, as the northern colonies. The South Island of
New Zealand is like home, with a vastly improved climate, and clothes
for there identical with England. North Island is hotter, but never
so warm as Australia. If you are going to live in a town you will
need the same sort and amount of dress as in England. Clothes are not
much dearer. Frilling, gloves, and small items are, however, more
expensive, and bear in mind people in the antipodes are very smartly
dressed, so have a few well-made things in preference to many dowdy
ones. If you are to live on a station, or in the bush, as the country
is called, you will not need evening or garden-party dresses--only a
couple of cotton dresses, a grey summer bège, a warm dress of tweed,
a commoner one for the morning and a better one for afternoon wear, a
habit, ulster, dust cloak, garden hat, and gloves; a hat to drive to
the township in, and one thoroughly good costume, bonnet, and mantle,
all well-made of some handsome material for a marriage, a race
meeting, the show, or any such event as comes to relieve bush life’s
quiet routine.

India.--To have a reasonable outfit, and often renewed, is far better
economy, and is also much pleasanter, than taking very many things
at once, as in this way one does not so soon tire of one’s wardrobe;
and new things can be had out from home of a later fashion. For a
life to be spent in the plains of India, 2 doz. of each article of
underlinen would be an ample allowance; while for those who can go
to the cool climate of the hills 1½ doz. would be quite sufficient.
A good supply of dark-coloured finest cotton stockings (say 1½
doz.), and ½ doz. black spun silk stockings, should also be taken.
½ doz. fine flannel jerseys (flannel is by far the safest wear in
India) and 4 flannel petticoats would be a very fair quantity, and
1 doz. white petticoats, with one or two pretty-coloured warmer
ones for the cold weather, will always be found quite sufficient.
Much embroidery or lace on one’s clothes is a great mistake, as the
“dhobees” (washermen) beat them to pieces in no time. Also ½ doz.
high petticoat bodices, and ½ doz. embroidered low ones to wear with
thin dresses. Avoid having the petticoat skirt and bodice in one, as
very often in the hot weather one is glad to change the bodice when
it is quite unnecessary to change the skirt also; so little walking
is done in the hot weather that the skirt remains clean for some
time, and, as the “dhobees” beat one’s clothes most unmercifully
in washing them, it is a consideration not to have them undergo
this process oftener than is necessary. Collars, cuffs, ties, neck
ribbons, pocket handkerchiefs, should be taken _ad lib._, also one or
two pretty fichus, with materials to make others from them, as these
things are very expensive in India, and do not spoil by keeping if
put carefully away and looked at occasionally. It is much better to
have boots and shoes out as you require them. The best plan is to
have 2 pairs pretty walking boots and 3 or 4 of house shoes out at a
time. The Chinamen in Calcutta can copy boots and shoes remarkably
well, and even up-country “maachees” (shoemakers) can make them up
pretty well from a pattern; but the leather never lasts long, nor
do they keep in shape. In the hills it is absolutely necessary to
have good strong English walking boots, with very thick soles and
moderately high heels--not very high ones, as they are apt to make
one fall, and the sharp stones and rocky ground grind them down at
once. To have a number of dresses is a great mistake; a handsome,
well-made black silk is indispensable, and the most useful thing
a lady can have; this, with a pretty visiting dress and (say) 2
cashmeres, or some such material, is ample for the cold weather.
These, with the exception of the visiting dress, should be a walking
length. A warm coat is also necessary, as it is very cold for about
2½ months; a thick “burruk” coat, trimmed with fur, is not at all too
much, and very comfortable wear; also a lighter coat for the hills,
or when the mornings and evenings are chilly. A well-fitting ulster
is a necessity for the hills, and if waterproof so much the better,
but it should be made of a light material. Of course, some people
go out much more than others do; but a handsome dinner dress (a
black satin, with jet trimmings, &c., is very useful), one for small
parties, and 2 pretty ball dresses, will be ample for any one. Of
course to those who live in Calcutta or Simla more dresses would be
necessary, as there is so much more gaiety there; but in up-country
stations this is a very good allowance, and more than the quantity
named would only get old-fashioned and be very much in the way. Shoes
to match, and silk stockings also, should be taken. Some sort of
opera cloak is necessary; a black cashmere dolman, lined with thin
silk, is the nicest, and, if sent to Delhi to be embroidered in gold
or silver thread, or in coloured silk in what is called the “enamel”
or the “peacock” pattern (both very handsome), it would be lovely,
always look well, and last for years. This embroidery is not very
expensive. Silk gloves for India are the nicest things that were ever
invented, as they do not spot and spoil as kid, nor get hard in rainy
weather; it is best to have a good many pairs, as they wear out so
soon, and they are very dear out here. Bonnets are very seldom worn,
but some ladies like them for visiting and for going to church. Hats
are much pleasanter wear, and, as a rule, more becoming; 2 pretty
hats are ample, with a plainer one with no feathers (except perhaps
a wing or a hackle one) for dull rainy days, or for travelling. Hats
and bonnets can so easily come out by P. and O. parcel post that it
is much nicer to have a few, and have them yearly, when one gets the
latest fashions. A well-made habit should of course be taken; a good
native “dirzi” (tailor) could easily copy in cloth or any thinner
material for daily wear, as habits do not last long, and are such
expensive things to buy. For the hills, the fewer clothes one has
the better, as fish, insects, and the damp destroy them; and in the
rains nothing very good should be worn. A pretty cashmere dress is
by far the most useful. For hot weather in the plains, it is nice
to have a foulard silk or Cora silk dress for the rains, as muslins
and such things get very limp there and look untidy. Coloured prints
and muslins are very pretty and tempting, but they are not the best
wear for India, as, with the constant washing and the heat, they soon
lose their colours and get washed out, and look far from fresh and
nice; thin white materials (not piqués and such stuffs, which are
the hottest wear possible), prettily made, with coloured ribbon bows
down the front, &c., are the nicest. In the house, pretty morning
dresses made like tea gowns are by far the most comfortable wear;
it is a good plan to bring one pretty, nicely fitting one out, and
also to bring the materials and trimmings for ½ doz. others, as then
the native tailors can copy them beautifully at a small cost. These
dresses, worn with different coloured ribbons, always look nice for
the house, and are so much cooler than tight-fitting dresses. Pretty
self-coloured muslins, worn over batiste slips of the same colour,
are always nice for garden parties and visiting; and now hats are
so often made of the same material as the dress, it is easy to have
a variety of them, and they always look dressy, and are very light.
Cottons, tapes, needles, buttons of all sorts, elastic, ribbon,
wire, &c., should be taken in large quantities; but keep them under
lock and key, or they disappear most mysteriously. A good supply of
paper and envelopes also is necessary. Rooms in India are so bare
and colourless, that one wants many bright little things to make
them look home-like and cheerful. No one would regret bringing out
some pretty inexpensive chromo-lithographs in nice frames; they need
not all be framed (though all should be mounted), as the “mistris”
(carpenters) can make the Oxford frames very neatly and cheaply from
a pattern, and glasses can also be got out here in some places; these
always make the room look pretty, and hide the walls which, not being
papered, but only coloured plaster, are by no means the prettiest
part of an Indian drawing room. Also bring a good many yards of
coloured cretonne; black cretonne, with gold-coloured pattern on
it, is nice, and does not fade as some of those with light grounds
do; but it is well to include a few yards of different patterns of
cretonne, as it is pretty to have the chairs not all the same, and
makes the room look brighter. Over-mantels would be charming and
uncommon; brackets for the walls, and pretty china wall baskets, also
wall mirrors, would be found great additions to the look of a room,
and would always be eagerly bought up if one was leaving a station,
as it is almost impossible to get such things, except perhaps in
Calcutta, where they are fearfully dear. By all means take glass and
crockery out; it is twice or three times as expensive in Calcutta
as at home; and if one trusts to station auctions, one is sure to
get imperfect and shabby sets of things, and very often has to pay
heavily for them. Electro-plate must, of course, be taken, also
knives; and any pretty little ornament one can find for the table is
nice, and makes it look bright. A few pudding moulds and any small
things of this kind are very useful, and not always to be picked up
up-country. Window curtains should certainly be taken, especially
écru-coloured ones, but if white are preferred, it is a good plan
to have several pieces of pretty pale-coloured cheap tarlatans to
line them with; this always looks nice. Curtain cords should also be
taken; some dozens of pretty brass-headed nails would be found very
useful; also some yards of different coloured Utrecht velvets to
cover small tables, and fringe to edge them with; by going to Maple’s
or some such shop during the selling-off time remnants of these
things can be got at a very moderate price. A few pretty-coloured
tablecloths should certainly be included. For those who care for
fancy work, all the materials must be taken, as it is not always easy
or possible to get them in India, and even when one can they are
very expensive. Table linen, &c., must be taken, of course; at the
various jails in India, and also in Dinapore, the natives make very
fair towels, bath sheets, tablecloths, &c., but they are not nearly
as nice as English ones, nor do they last as long. As for having
boxes out by steamer, there seems to be quite a risk in doing so
now-a-days; it may be found that on arrival the tin has been neatly
cut open, everything taken out, and the boxes filled up with straw
and bricks, to make them weigh heavily. It is always most difficult
to get any compensation from the ship’s company, and is never done
without endless correspondence and delay. It is safer to have things
out by P. and O. parcel post, but they allow only small boxes, so but
few things can come at a time; these parcels are under the charge of
Government from the time they leave till the time they are delivered,
so they are perfectly safe.

New Zealand.--In a lonely country district much toilette would not be
required. In or near any of the principal towns there is a good deal
of gaiety--small and large dances--constant tennis parties for about
7 months in the year, small dinners, luncheons, &c. Any clothes taken
should be well made and fashionable, as very many of the ladies there
now get their things from England every 6 weeks or so, from the best
dressmakers in London. If a lady intends riding, a well cut habit
should be taken. Very heavy furs, such as a sealskin jacket, are
hardly required in the north island, down south it might be useful.
More summer clothes than winter ones are wanted, as the summer season
lasts long, although rarely if ever so hot as in London sometimes.
It will be well to remember that life in New Zealand, except in one
or two remote places, is simply English life, with a bright blue
sky and pleasant climate. New Zealand is as large as Great Britain,
so of course the climate varies with the situation, warmer in the
north island, cooler in the south, although the extremes of heat and
cold are not nearly so great as from North of Scotland to the South
of England. Of course the outfit for the voyage depends much on the
proposed route, whether across America, or by the Suez line, or by
direct steam, New Zealand line (easiest and most comfortable of all),
or by sailing vessel, a route avoided now by all except those ordered
a long sea voyage for their health. In almost any case there is both
hot and cold weather. Old underlinen that you can throw away is
best, as the sea air ruins good linen. A little change for dinner is
needed, but elaborate dressing on the voyage is quite out of taste.

North America.--The outfit a young man requires depends upon the
occupation he intends taking up. If he looks forward to employment in
a town, he should take a supply of good clothing, such as a gentleman
would wear at home, adding 2 or 3 quite cool suits for summer wear.
All gentlemen’s clothing, from hats to boots, from coats to vests, is
inferior and very costly. Really superior cloth materials are not to
be got at any price, nor are flannel shirts that will wash well. If
the young man is going to a stock ranche, one good suit for winter,
and another for summer, to wear on an occasional visit to town, are
sufficient: he will never use them on the ranche, and stockmen’s
clothing here is reasonable in price, and made to stand such wear and
tear as no one in England has any idea of, even with school-boys.
A close fitting, very warm jacket, or extremely thick warm kind of
jersey to go on, either of them, under stockman’s jacket, would be
invaluable. The rapid fall of temperature, in a few hours, from
70°-80° down to below freezing, accompanied by piercing wind, causes
the cold to be felt intensely. The country has greatly changed
during the past few years. In organised counties, carrying concealed
firearms is prohibited by law. Many do carry them, but they are
always liable to have them seized, and to be fined $25 in addition.
Some stockmen on the ranges carry six-shooters and Winchester
rifles, which are much better for their need than any English rifle.
Ammunition for most of the English rifles is not to be obtained. The
American six-shooter is much cheaper, and more suitable than the
English. For steady men, careful not to get mixed up with gamblers
and the rowdy element, Texas is as safe as England. Those who do
associate with such classes hold their lives at risk.

West Indies.--(_a_) The best time for going out to the West Indies
is November, after the rains; our winter is their cool season; the
hot weather begins towards the end of April. For the voyage take for
the first half of the time a serge dress, warm hat, cloaks, wraps,
indiarubber-soled shoes. No one dresses for dinner on board the
mail packets. The cabins are small. A bag with many pockets to hold
all the odds and ends, is a comfort. An overland trunk to go under
the berth, a tin bonnet box, and a travelling bag for the cabin,
and tin-lined or tin cases for the hold. For the latter half of the
voyage, you want a large shady hat and dark cotton dresses, glauntlet
gloves, and gauze veils. It is very hot in Kingston; you would wear
the same as in summer here, not linen collars or cuffs, lace, which
washes easily is best; flannel underclothing, large boots, shoes,
and gloves, and a good-sized parasol. People who travel in the
island find a solar topee a comfort. A riding habit of thin cloth
is necessary, and a low hat, no one wears a high one. A large loose
skirt to wear over your dress on the hills is a comfort when you go
out to dinner, which you must do on horseback; a low black dress
is desirable. There are several parties in the course of the year,
lawn-tennis parties, &c.

(_b_) Any old underlinen answers for the voyage, as one generally
throws it overboard, as no washing can be done. Take to wear in
Kingston nothing but prints and muslins, and a grey cashmere would be
very useful. For large dinners have a couple of pretty satin dresses
made, with lace sleeves; and for small dinners some cream muslins,
trimmed with lace. As there are a good many balls, 3 dresses would
be necessary. One bonnet would be sufficient, but you would want
several hats (as light as possible). A white cashmere for tennis is
always serviceable, and a habit of light material (in dark green or
blue) indispensable. Stockings should be all thin and cool, and all
underclothes made of linen or the finest calico. Gloves are easily
spotted, so only take out gants de Suede and silk ones. The heat of
Kingston during the day is very great, but the evenings are cool and
enjoyable; society good (nearly all military and naval) and several
old Jamaica families.

_Fancy Dress._--The following selection of fancy dresses comprises
most of the picturesque national costumes of Europe and the East,
adapted for wear at Fancy Dress Balls, &c. There is a striking and
distinctive character about the majority of these which places them
far above the ordinary type of fancy dress, and it is a great pity
they are not more generally adopted.

No. 1. Saxon Bride and Bridegroom of Transylvania.

No. 2. An Austrian woman.

Nos. 3 and 4. Dutch Ladies of the 17th century.

No. 5. Fisherwoman of the Zuider-zee. The petticoat or skirt is
made of coarse brown or dark blue frieze, and over it is worn an
apron, sometimes red, sometimes green, with a bib of silk or linen,
embroidered or interwoven with a large flower pattern, and pinned to
the front of a sleeveless jacket, made of the same material as the
petticoat, and fastened at the back with hooks and eyes. The skirt
is of striped calico, visible in our illustration round the neck
and from the shoulders to the elbows, from where to the wrist it is
covered with a sort of over-sleeve of frieze. A close-fitting cap
of coloured satin or linen encases the hair, as loose tresses are
not allowed to float in the wind. This cap is ornamented over the
forehead with a piece of gold or silver tinsel cloth.

No. 6. A Bulgarian woman.

No. 7. An Italian girl. The Italian woman chooses white for the
principal colour of her dress, knowing from long experience that
this is the most suitable colour for lessening the effects of the
sun. For the same reason, she has been taught from early youth how
to compose fanciful and becoming headdresses from linen scarves. An
apron striped in many colours, and a bright border to her skirt,
serve the purpose of producing the gay contrast she likes. Her sister
in the East, where the climate is less genial and the temperature
moves within extremes, needs heavier materials for her costume, and
of darker shades, to bring it into accordance with the surroundings.
To break the sombre tints, she employs embroidered stripes and
squares on her silk bodices and linen under-skirts, as well as on
her apron and over-skirt, both made of heavy woollen materials. A
bright-coloured ribbon, a flower, or an adroitly draped scarf form
her headdress. The effect south and east is the same--picturesqueness
and absence of conventionality, more or less the two chief
attractions of all national costumes.

[Illustration: 1. 2. 3. 4.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND, W.C._]

[Illustration: 5. 6. 7. 8.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND, W.C._]

No. 8. A Jewish Lady, of Tetuawn. The dress is a fanciful combination
of velvet, gold braid, and embroidery, with the gauze-like muslin of
the Orient, rich in colours, and adorned with a gorgeous silk sash
round the waist.

No. 9. Peasant maiden, of Donaueschingen, Black Forest. The
bodice is made of black silk, festooned across the chest by blue
or violet lace. The little cap, sitting close to the head, has a
crescent-shaped opening at the back, through which the long tresses
of hair escape. Two long ends of black ribbon fastened together
complete the headdress. Short full snow-white chemise sleeves leave
the arm bare in summer time. The petticoat is black and the stockings
red.

No. 10. A Servian peasant woman.

No. 11. A Bulgarian peasant woman. The unmarried girls ornament
their hair with wreaths of flowers, and on festive occasions wear
rows of gold coins round their necks. As protection against the
sun, the younger women wear on the head a white embroidered scarf,
picturesquely draped. Married women deck themselves with tawdry bead
jewellery, and wear a belt with large copper gilt buckles round their
waist.

No. 12. A Peasant maiden of the Steinlach Valley. On the head is set
a flat black cap, decked with floating ribbons. The dress consists of
a stuff petticoat and scarlet bodice, the petticoat being made out
of light or dark blue cloth, generally bordered with green bands,
relieved by gold edging. The bodice is embroidered with gold down the
back, and open in front over a handkerchief covering the bosom. The
bodice is kept in place by cords, ribbons, or silver chains laced
backwards and forwards. A white apron (the matrons wear black), made
of fine linen, embroidered at the bottom, completes the dress. A
garnet necklace encircles the throat. The full petticoat reaches a
little below the knee, showing the feet in buckled shoes. On Sundays
a girdle of silk or velvet embellished with metal bosses is worn
round the waist.

No. 13. Wallachian girl. The costume consists of a long linen
chemise, elaborately embroidered on the shoulders and sleeves with
black, red, or blue wools, lace ruffles hanging from the wrists.
Round the waist the chemise is held together by a bright coloured
scarf, to which a front and a back apron, of a striped woollen
material, are attached, leaving the chemise visible at both sides.
The ordinary headdress is a white or red handkerchief thrown over the
hair and tied in a knot under the chin; but on Sundays a smart little
cap, embroidered with gold or silver tinsel, covers, fez-like, the
beautiful hair, which is carefully parted in the middle and adorned
with bunches of flowers, gold-headed hairpins, and strings of coin
jewellery. A necklace of coins is an essential feature.

No. 14. Chinaman. Flowered silk robe; blue jacket; red hat.

No. 15. Dame Trot. Short quilted skirt; tunic and bodice red, with
laced stomacher; tall black hat.

No. 16. Little Grannies. Grey cashmere dresses; white caps.

No. 17. Russian Peasant. White dress trimmed with red embroidered
bands and Russian lace; long white embroidered apron; beads round
neck; gold embroidered Kroshnick headdress of black velvet.

No. 18. Tyrolean peasant. Full black knee breeches; grey silk
stockings; red blouse, with bretelles embroidered in yellow and gold;
small bouquet at the waist; white Surah shirt, with wide sleeves;
black silk necktie; black felt hat, with black and flame-coloured
feathers.

No. 19. Normandy peasant. Short red skirt, striped with black; white
mousseline de laine tunic, spotted with blue; low pointed bodice,
laced with silver; muslin fichu, trimmed with lace; sleeves to match
fichu; white muslin headdress, trimmed with lace.

No. 20. Polish costume. Pink satin dress, trimmed with white fur; the
plastron is crossed with white brandebourgs, which are continued the
entire length; white silk stockings; pink satin shoes.

[Illustration: 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

_W. J. WELCH. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

[Illustration: 14. 15. 16. 17.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

[Illustration: 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

No. 21. Normandy youth. Dark-blue satin knee breeches; silk stockings
of the same colour, with red garters; white lawn skirt, with full
sleeves; blue silk necktie; red satin coat opening over the skirt,
and ornamented with small red brandebourgs; silk cap and cravat.

No. 22. Neapolitan girl. Pink silk skirt, with a claret velvet hem;
white silk apron, striped with many colours; claret velvet bodice,
with pink revers opening over a waistcoat to match, crossed with gold
bands; long sleeves; claret revers, with gold braid; coral necklace;
headdress to match the apron, and fastened with gold pins; tambourine
in the right hand.

No. 23. Fop, reign of Henry VI. Long robe of blue cloth, with long
hanging sleeves, festooned in shape of leaves; double band and pouch
of yellow cloth; large hat of fur, trimmed with a fan of yellow
cloth; grey worsted stockings. (Wingfield.)

No. 24. Lady, reign of Henry VI. Particoloured costume of pink and
white Italian satin sheeting, trimmed with deep border of ermine on
skirt; headdress of same material, with long flowing veil of Indian
muslin. (Wingfield.)

No. 25. Page, reign of Charles II. Vest of myrtle-green velvet;
blouse bodice, and sleeves in cambric; fringes of gold ribbon loops;
skirt in amber silk; lace cravat bow; embroidered satin shoulder
sash; green hat with amber plumes.

No. 26. Page, reign of Henry IV. Doublet of black satin trimmed with
gold galloon; trunks of figured cherry-coloured silk; black velvet
cloak with gold embroidery; black silk tights; velvet cap with
turreted brim, and brooch of paste diamonds.

No. 27. Judge. Loose gown in black reps or Ottoman silk; cambric
band, and wig. Alpaca may be substituted, if preferred, for the gown;
high black cap.

No. 28. Friesland girl. The bust is encased in two bodices, one
of cloth with sleeves of gaily coloured silk, and over it another
tightly laced with a red or yellow silk ribbon of interminable
length. The lacing tag, made of gold or silver, is worn as an
ornament on the left side of the bust by girls, and on the right side
by married women. A bright coloured silk wrapper covers the upper
part of the body, and ends round the throat in a narrow black braid
on which is a small red strip, placed on the left by girls and on
the right by married women. For outdoor toilet a short jacket with
sleeves, and wide open in front, is worn over the two bodices. This
jacket is of printed calico for ordinary wear, but embroidered with
gold and silver for festive occasions. The most peculiar feature
of the costume is the headdress, made of striped calico or fine
linen, and supported in its helmet-like shape by starch alone. Two
petticoats are worn, one of crimson cloth, with a broad border of
black velvet, reaches to the ankles, just showing the broad-toed
velvet slippers; the other, of black woollen material, encircles
the waist, in numberless plaits, and leaves the velvet border of
the first one free. A silk apron completes the Sunday attire. A
chatelaine is usually added.

No. 29. Dutch girl, from the Island of Mark.

No. 30. Turkish girl.

No. 31. A woman of Albania.

No. 32. A woman of North Holland.

No. 33. Jane Seymour coif.

No. 34. Charity girl. Black stuff gown; white linen cap; apron; red
badge on left side of bodice.

No. 35. Moorish girl. Black velvet bodice and skirt, trimmed with
white galloon; apron in muslin, enriched with gold thread and
variegated silks; girdle of geranium-red cord with tassels; red satin
under sleeves; rows of large beads fall on the muslin chemisette; cap
and veil in toile Colbert, embroidered and also edged by a fringe of
gold beads.

No. 36. Lady of Tangiers.

No. 37. Servian youth. Green woollen trousers, with bands and golden
spangles; blue velvet jacket, trimmed with golden embroidery and
grelots; vest in red and blue striped material bound by embroidery;
red cashmere scarf, with revolvers passed through; red fez.

[Illustration: 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

[Illustration: 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

_W. J. WELCH, PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

[Illustration: 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND. W.C._]

No. 38. Tellemarken, Norway.

No. 39. Mecklenburg.

Nos. 40, 41. Brittany.

No. 42. Welsh. Among the different costumes of Wales, there are
few more picturesque and elegant than that of Gwent and Morganwg,
which ancient district includes the present counties of Monmouth and
Glamorgan; and, although now rarely seen, it is by no means extinct.
The hat is beaver, which, although so called, was formerly made of
the skin of the hare. The brim is sufficiently wide to cast a shade
over the eyes and brow, which artists well know is so peculiarly
becoming to the face; and from the hat being set on the head to
incline downward (higher behind than before), this artistic effect
is still more striking. The genuine Welsh cap has a border either of
muslin, with narrow edging of lace, or for special dress, the whole
border of good thread lace; and without a personal trial few could
believe how the combination of such a hat and cap beautifies plain
women, and still further improves the beautiful. The handkerchief
is worn with the point behind to the waist, which is of natural and
moderate length. The handkerchiefs are, for general use, blue and
white, or pink and white, cross-barred, with a border, are worn
double, and tightly pinned across the chest; for special occasions
they are often scarlet and yellow, or blue and white. The gown has
sleeves to the elbow, and for elderly persons often turns the elbow.
The bodice is tight and low, and fastens in front, being pinned
across under the handkerchief, the gown being open before. The skirt
(if skirt it can be called) does not extend farther than an inch or
two beyond the hips; it is very full behind, and has loops along the
edge through which a tape is run, which draws it together, and is
tied to another loop which is fixed at the back, in the centre of
the waist in the inside. This part of the gown is not much longer
than the petticoat, so that when it is drawn up only an inch of the
petticoat is seen below, and sometimes it is even with the petticoat.
The apron is of black and white or blue and white check--the Welsh
national checks being totally different from the Scotch plaids, the
only similarity consisting in both having cross bars. The strings
of the apron are often passed through a loop which is attached
underneath the point of the handkerchief, crossed behind and tied
before, not being too wide to allow the coloured petticoat to be seen
at the sides. The petticoat is moderately full, and short enough to
show the ankles. The shoes, black leather with strong soles, used to
be invariably set off with large buckles, which nearly covered the
front of the instep; the shoes being high and fastened by the tongue
of the buckle, but those worn without buckles had small leather ears
on each side, with a hole in each, which tied over the instep. In
cold weather, or when required, long sleeves of the same material
as the gown, or coloured printed calico, or of knitted black wool,
are added, or long-armed black mittens; and a cloak with a hood is
thrown on. In the present instance the gown is orange and black, the
petticoat violet and black. The present costume admits of many other
varieties of ancient national Welsh patterns, both in colour and
design, still made in the same district.

No. 43. Mecklenburg.

No. 44. Norway, Sætersdal. The men wear striped trousers, reaching
almost to the throat, and showing a white shirt under the arms. A
sort of very short jacket covers the shoulders, and closes across
the upper part of the chest. To the uninitiated, it appears quite a
riddle how they put this peculiar garment on. The jacket worn by the
women is of equally curious cut. It opens horizontally across the
bust to show a linen bodice, which again appears as a large stand-up
collar on the throat. The hair is gathered into a net decorated
with ribbons, which entirely hides it, and falls to the shoulders.
With their short petticoats and jackets, braided with galloons and
studded with silver buttons, a bright-coloured wrapper fastened to
one shoulder, and draped round the waist, a Sætersdal girl presents a
picturesque appearance.

[Illustration: 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

_W. J. WELCH. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND. PHOTO GRAVEUR._]

[Illustration: 45. 46. 47. 48. 49.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND._]

No. 45. French Lady, Reign of Henry I.

No. 46. Lady, Reign of James I.

No. 47. Italian Gentleman, XVI. Century.

No. 48. Maidservant, Reign of Henry VI. Costume in two shades of grey
merino; large apron, handkerchief, and headdress with long flowing
veil in fine white nainsook. (Wingfield.)

No. 49. Gentleman, Reign of Henry VI. Shirt of printed velvet, with
tabbard of white Italian satin sheeting, bordered with black fur;
worsted tights; hat of printed velvet, with long drapery of soft
silk; bag pouch. (Wingfield.)

No. 50. Lady, from Saloniki, Macedonia.

No. 51. Girl from Ploaré, Brittany. The petticoat or skirt is
generally of white flannel, bordered with a scarlet band above the
hem, made very full and short to show the buckles on the shoes. The
body or jacket consists of scarlet, blue, violet, or red cloth, cut
tight to the shape, open in front, the sleeves long, turned up at
the wrist with a deep cuff, and encircled with a sort of arm-band
above the elbows. The facings of the bodice, cuffs, and arm-hands are
trimmed with a braiding composed of black velvet ribbons embroidered
with coloured worsteds. The apron is either a deep mulberry or orange
colour, and fastened with an ornamental sash tied in a bow at the
side, with a separate pocket for the knitting ball. The chemise,
fastened in front with a brooch made of coloured bugles and glass
beads, terminates in a kind of plaited ruff, and a small ebony
crucifix is suspended by a velvet band from the neck. The headdresses
vary in shape. The women of Bignan wear close fitting caps of white
linen, and cover them with a sort of conical flap-cap, made of a
coarse starched cloth, like brown holland, which serves the purpose
of a bonnet.

No. 52. Flemish costume at the time of Rubens.

No. 53. Caucasian Girl. The costume consists of a caftan made of
bright coloured silk or satin, buttoned in front, and reaching
to the knees, with a belt, richly embroidered in gold and silver
round the waist. In winter an overcoat of heavier material, without
sleeves or collar, open in front and falling down to the ankles, is
worn over the caftan. Very picturesque is the headdress or cap of
conical shape, gorgeously embroidered with gold and silver tinsel.
A long white veil descends from the point of the cap nearly down to
the heels. This veil is likewise worn without the cap, fastened to
a kind of diadem in the forehead. From underneath the cap or veil
issue long plaited tresses of black hair studded with coin jewellery.
Elegant bottines of morocco leather, tightly fitting to the leg, like
stockings, and dainty slippers, complete the outfit.

No. 54. Woman of Bethlehem. A dark blue dress contrasts well with
the scarlet tunic worn over it in graceful folds, and with the head
covering of spotless linen, which frames in the face, just leaving
room for the display of Oriental coin jewellery on the forehead and
round the neck.

No. 55. Lady of Eleusis, Greece. A maize-coloured silk veil,
picturesquely draped, covers head and shoulders, just to show two
strings of gold coins on the lovely forehead of the oval face. A
long white robe, girded round the waist with an embroidered belt
or sash, envelopes the figure like the ancient chiton. The waist
is covered with chains of coin jewellery, and an apron of violet
silk, striped in two tints, is attached to the belt. But the great
_pièce de résistance_ of this becoming costume is a gorgeously
ornamented jacket, likewise of white material, with semi-tight
sleeves, embroidered, as our illustration indicates, in fanciful
patterns, with dark red or black silk interspersed with gold and
silver threads. Similar costumes to that of the women of Eleusis,
and only slightly differing in cut and colours, are worn in all
the northern provinces of the kingdom. In Athens a bright red
scarf girds the waist, and silk of the same colour is used for the
embroideries on jacket and petticoat. In Bœotia a green veil is worn,
and the ornamental stitchery executed in a variety of colours, red
prevailing.

[Illustration: 50. 51. 52. 53. 54.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. 25 WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND. W.C._]

[Illustration: 55. 56. 57. 58. 59.

_W. J. WELCH. PHOTO GRAVEUR. WELLINGTON S^T. STRAND. W.C._]

No. 56. Spanish Girl. The short petticoat is generally of bright
yellow, rose coloured, or green silk, trimmed either with bands
of black velvet or with a deep flounce of black blonde. The
tight-fitting jacket is made of black velvet, trimmed with gold or
silver lace, and buttons to match. The material for the apron and for
the neckerchief consists of muslin with a border of white blonde. The
hair forms a plaited chignon on the back of the head, and is adorned
with the high Spanish comb and with hair pins, with tops of gold or
silver filigree.

No. 57. Spanish Toreador. Royal blue plush or velvet jacket and
trousers, richly embroidered in silver and ornamented with silver
fringe. Red silk sash. Red cloak and pink stockings. Blue plush cap.
Heavy silver epaulettes and embroidered shirt.

No. 58. Modern Greek. In the picturesque national costume worn in
modern Greece hardly any trace can be found of the ancient dress.
The richly embroidered cloth jacket, worn over skirt and bodice of
ordinary cut, cannot be compared with the ancient chitonion, although
it serves the same purpose. For fancy balls this costume is most
becoming, if the proper combination of colours, quite optional, even
in Greece, is selected.

No. 59. French Farmer’s Wife, time of Henri III. The close-fitting
pointed bodice, of a red material, is laced in front over a band of
green silk; the square habit shirt is of fine linen, terminate in
a lace-edged lawn ruff corresponding in colour with the long white
sleeves; and the ample apron covers the front of a dark-coloured
petticoat. The tablier headdress, worn over the hair combed back, is
made of a double piece of black satin, stiffened by a stout lining.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Bernard Roth: ‘Dress: its Sanitary Aspects, a paper read before the
Brighton Social Union; with additions and 8 full-page illustrations.’
London. 1880. 2_s._

T. Frederick Pearse: ‘Modern Dress and Clothing in its relation to
Health and Disease.’ London. 1882. 2_s._

Henry Carr: ‘Poisons in Domestic Fabrics.’ London. 1880. 6_d._

Ardern Holt: ‘Fancy Dresses described; or what to wear at Fancy
Balls.’ London. 1882. 5_s._




_THE NURSERY._


_The Room._--The English nursery should have, wherever possible,
a southern aspect, for the sake of catching the sun’s rays to the
fullest extent. The prospect from the windows should be cheerful,
and there should not be large trees in the immediate vicinity. The
sanitary conditions necessary for the house demand extra attention
in the nursery, as the young inmates are more prone to suffer from
evil influences, and have not the change of air and scene which their
elders enjoy. Hence a change of room is very beneficial during the
day, and the day room should not be the sleeping room if it can be
avoided. A few hours daily in the morning room or drawing room with
the parents are productive of both material and moral good. Plenty
of houseroom is an excellent rule, too often forgotten in taking
seaside lodgings, in the expectation that the children will be out
all day, which the state of the weather turns into disappointment.
The nursery should be at the top of the house, but not, of course,
just under the roof, as such a position is the coldest in winter and
hottest in summer. The temperature of both day and night nurseries
should be kept as nearly as possible at 60° F., and thermometers
should be placed in the rooms for guidance. The height of the room
should not exceed 10 ft., or it will be more difficult to keep at an
equable temperature. A well ventilated room measuring 15 ft. square
and 9 ft. high should suffice for sleeping a nurse and infant and 2
young children. No double-bedded nursery should be less than 15 ft.
square. Children between 7 and 10 years may sleep out of the nursery,
and above that age the sexes should be separated. A bedroom 14 ft.
long and 8 ft. wide will admit a bedstead 4 ft. wide between the wall
and door. The fireplace, never absent, should be in the opposite wall
beyond the foot of the bedstead. The door should be hung so that
when opened it does not admit an indraught of cold air upon the bed.
The windows, never quite closed at the top in summer, should have
shutters, linen or jute (not woollen) curtains for winter use, and
green roller blinds for summer use. The walls are best painted or
washed with distemper; if papered, bold patterns and bright colours
(especially green) must be avoided, and a coat of varnish should
be applied. The ceiling should be tinted sufficiently to destroy
glare from the sun or gas. The floor should be stained all over, and
varnished under the beds and carpets; the latter, best being Dutch or
Kidderminster, should not cover the whole floor, especially under the
beds. All furniture and fittings should be free from sharp edges and
corners.

_Clothing._--This is exceedingly important in very young children
from their being especially sensitive to cold. They feel changes
from warm to cold, and from cold to warm, much more severely than
older persons do. The cold of winter and the east winds of spring
are very apt to bring on colds and coughs which may end in serious
disease; on the other hand, very great heat is equally bad for them,
diarrhœa and convulsions always increase as the weather gets hotter.
It is a very serious mistake to think that children have great power
of resisting cold, and that they are strengthened and hardened by
exposure to it; no error is attended with more fatal results. A
child’s clothing should keep it warm at all seasons; the extra winter
clothing should be put on early in the autumn and continued until
late in the spring. The most trying and dangerous time is when the
wind is high, particularly when it blows from the north and east.
Flannel is the best material for inner garments, which should be made
to cover the upper part of the chest and neck, so as not to leave
these most delicate parts exposed to cold blasts. Neglect of this
leads to bronchitis and croup, and sows the seeds of consumption.
With any tendency to diarrhœa, a flannel binder should be worn round
the bowels. The clothes should fit loosely and easily, and put no
restraint upon free movement of limbs and body; and allow room for
constant and rapid growth. Use a needle and thread or a button
instead of pins. Unusual skin irritation may arise from damp under
clothing, especially when soda has been used in washing the linen,
and only imperfectly removed in rinsing.

The summer outfit for a young baby would include a binder, small
cambric shirt, long flannel petticoat, which, being double over the
chest and back, is a great protection from the cold, and keeps the
legs very warm; a white washing petticoat and robe, not heavily
trimmed, and of fine light material; this is quite sufficient. In
winter add a knitted woollen spencer, or, what is prettier, a high
long-sleeved merino vest, with a fine white cambric guimpe over,
prettily tucked and trimmed, with very narrow lace at neck and
sleeves. A short-coated baby requires a merino vest, high in winter,
low in summer, cambric shirt, small stays, either quilted or made
of jean, on to which the flannel petticoat is sewn, white washing
petticoat and frock. In the winter there should be in addition a warm
white woollen knitted petticoat and bodice in one, not skimpy, but
long and full, and knitted with fine soft wool, not the common heavy
sorts. The little stays should also be lined with flannel in the
winter, and a high white guimpe worn over the vest, unless the white
frocks happen to have been made high. Flannel or merino frocks can
of course be substituted for washing ones; but, as long as the child
dribbles, the latter are much more suitable, as, even when old, they
always look well, and to keep a little child sweet, plenty of clean
things are essential.

Until a baby can walk, the petticoats and frocks should come over the
feet and woollen or silk boots be worn. If a child suffers from the
cold, have the little shirt made of silk longcloth, which is warmer
than anything of the same weight. Silk boots are warmer than wool,
and easily knitted. High merino combinations would be excellent,
but they are costly, and apt to be worn soiled. Head flannels are
preferable to caps in almost all cases, though some contend that
babies who wear caps for the first 2 months are much less liable
to colds in the eyes. The greatest safeguard against catching cold
out of doors is a large white silk handkerchief, to be worn all the
year round, folded crosswise, and put on like an old woman’s shawl,
crossed in front and tied behind; if, after the pelisse or jacket is
on, you pull this up all round the neck, the child will rarely take
cold. Full-skirted pelisses are preferable to jackets for children
under 3. When a child is sitting up in a perambulator, a pelisse will
pull down all over the feet, whereas a jacket only comes as far as
the knees. Nothing equals a merino pelisse lined with flannel, full,
and for a small baby long enough to come over the feet about 2 in.;
the cape should also be lined with very thin wadding, and have a silk
lining.

Cashmere or silk hoods, lined with flannel when cold, are better than
fur or woollen. In winter, gaiters and flannel knickerbockers must
be added, or, for a child that cannot walk, woollen gaiters that end
in a bag, to tie up over the diapers. Fur jackets are unhealthy,
producing undue heat, thereby weakening the child, and being very
uncomfortable and heavy for running in. Unless there is any tendency
to weakness in the ankles, strap shoes are best, both indoors and
out; where the ankles are weak, very tight boots are better. The time
of changing the knitted boots to regular leather shoes, with socks,
entirely depends upon whether the child is forward or not. Fat, heavy
children should never be put to their feet early, therefore they may
wear their first boots longer than light active ones; probably 7-8
months is quite early enough for the change for any child; but in
this matter, as in many others, mothers disagree.

When out of doors, infants up to 10 months old should wear the hoods
already described, and warm woollen overdresses made to fasten at the
back, as babies’ arms are very easily dislocated, and in garments
which fasten down the front, they have to be forced dangerously back
into the sleeves. In cold weather young infants should have veils
over their faces and mouths. The best things for this purpose are
old-fashioned Brussels lace veils, doubled; woollen veils are apt
to irritate. Children over 10 months should wear jackets out of
doors. Capes are very injurious; they hang entirely from the neck
and shoulders, and are apt to open, leaving the chest exposed, and
admitting cold air to it and the armpits. Woollen jackets are as a
rule preferable to fur unless the latter is very light; for winter
wear they should be made long enough to nearly reach the ankle, and
should fasten with hooks and eyes down to the very bottom. Children
able to walk should have woollen gaiters over their legs when they go
out in winter. Choose head gear always of the lightest kind: warm and
close fitting in winter; cool and shady in summer.

_Washing._--Never put a child to bed dirty. The whole body should
be washed every day. Young babies and infants should be bathed and
well washed every morning in warm (96°-98° F.) water, and thoroughly
well dried afterwards. As they grow older, the water need not be so
warm, but it should not be quite cold during the cold weather. In
summer cold water is best. Have a large tub and plenty of water.
Beware of a chill from draughts while washing and drying the child.
Young infants are best washed after their first meal, older children
before breakfast. A clean skin is all important; if not washed away,
the perspiration dries and remains on the skin, chokes up the pores
and sets up an irritation which frequently ends in some positive skin
disease. Dry the skin quickly and thoroughly, rub it briskly, and do
not leave off until it is perfectly dry; a half dried skin is sure to
be made rough and sore very soon by the wind, and the daily morning
wash should be a stimulant and tonic to the whole system, helping to
make it vigorous and healthy. Sponges are generally used for washing
children, and as long as they are not used for any other purpose,
there is no objection; but remember that a sponge is very liable to
convey infectious diseases and impurities. Some medical men recommend
a piece of fine flannel, instead of a sponge. Use the purest soap.
Very young infants should have no soap applied near their eyes, as
it is liable to produce severe inflammation in them, not to speak of
pain from the irritation of soap. It is particularly necessary to
attend to the cleanliness and dryness of the napkins; the discharges
from the bowels and bladder of a baby are very irritating, and if
a wet and dirty napkin is allowed to remain applied to the skin
it soon makes it sore, the skin gets inflamed and peels off, and
these sores take a long time and much care to heal. The tender skin
is soothed and protected by the use of violet powder after being
washed. Some toilet powders are, in a degree, antiseptic. French
chalk, white fuller’s earth, Taylor’s Cimolia, and sanitary rose
powder (containing borax) are among the best. Iron or wire guards are
indispensable to nursery fireplaces. It is well to wash and dress a
baby near a fire; but never allow the child’s eyes to be exposed to
the glare of the fire or its head to be heated.

_Air and Exercise._--Children should never be kept indoors simply
because the weather is cold; if they are properly dressed, the cold
will do them no harm, unless they are already out of health. Even
drizzling rain is not to be feared, and the children may be taken out
in frosty weather, or slight sleet, and even when the snow is thick
on the ground, provided their boots are waterproof, falls not to be
feared, and garments all changed on returning home. Fogs and high
winds, especially east winds, are to be avoided. Let the little ones
be out in the air as much as possible. In winter they should go out
in the morning from 10.30-12.30, and in the afternoon from 1.45-3
o’clock. In summer they should be out from 8.30-10.45 in the morning
and from 4.30-7 o’clock in the afternoon; their meals must be managed
so as to leave these hours free. In winter they should have dinner
¼ hour after returning from their morning airing, and should sleep
in the afternoon from 3.30-5 o’clock, when they should have another
meal. In summer they should have a very light meal on returning from
their morning walk, and be put to sleep at about 11.30, dine at 3
o’clock, and have supper at 7.15. Of course young infants require to
be fed more often than this, and cannot be kept out continuously for
so long; but they can be taken in for a few minutes, fed, and then
brought out again.

Perambulators are a doubtful blessing. A very young child ought to
be carried in the arms for the first 6 months; it is so much warmer
for one thing. The nurse’s arm, changed at short intervals, should
project beyond the baby’s head at the back to protect it from passers
by. After 6 months, perambulators may do very well, provided the
child is carefully put in, which is very rarely the case. If seated
facing forwards, a cold will be the natural result, without taking
such care as is beyond the ordinary nursemaid. Every watchfulness
must be used to prevent young children getting chills; never let them
sit on the grass, nor on a seat which is exposed to the wind in the
intervals of play. When they return home warm do not remove their
overclothes in a cold room: nothing is more certain to produce ill
effects.

Once or twice a day an infant should be set free from all hampering
binders, &c.; and laid down on a soft rug on the floor to kick and
sprawl to its heart’s content. This is the finest exercise, much
better than all the jumping and romping, which only makes a baby
giddy and over-excited. Do not be in too big a hurry to teach a child
to walk; lay it on its back and let it kick about as much as it likes
while it is very young. A little later it may crawl and creep about
in perfect safety, but when a child is made to stand before its legs
are strong enough to bear it, they are very likely to give way and
become bent--the body is too heavy for the weak bones of the legs,
and they become deformed.

As the child advances in age and strength, means of a healthy
exercise should be provided in the nursery. Beyond the infantile
stage of life, the movements of the child become more and more
“purposive.” They are performed for definite purposes, and to effect
ends which are clearly mapped out in the child’s mind. Hence,
as these movements are of more decided character than those of
infancy, “games”--which merely represent play with a purpose--are
naturally indulged in. The young child does not “play” aimlessly and
listlessly, as is too often supposed. If a child is provided with a
ball, nothing delights it more than some defined amusement with that
toy. It will aim at effecting some particular plan--as, for example,
knocking down an object, or catching the ball in its rebound.
Possibly the ball is the best plaything for the child just emerged
from its infantile state. Freedom of movement is encouraged in such
an exercise, and there is, besides, little danger of fatigue or undue
prolongation of this exercise. The child should never be set down to
regular exercises, or to any stereotyped course of mild gymnastics,
until it has reached its seventh or eighth year. Nursery gymnastics
and the use of swinging bars, the trapeze, and allied apparatus will
only tend to injure the child if they are used before the age of 7-8.
The movements these exercises excite and demand are too severe for
young children, whilst, on the contrary, they are well adapted for
boys and girls of 8-12 years of age. The same caution applies to the
use of “dumb-bells,” which are well adapted for boys and girls of
10-11 and onwards, but are injurious to younger children.

_Sleep._--Children require much more sleep than adults. They require
to be kept very warm when sleeping; the natural warmth of the body is
less during sleep than at other times. The hours of sleeping should
be made quite regular: this is easy to manage if you begin with a
baby at once; they soon acquire regular habits, and in the matter of
sleep and feeding, this regularity of habit cannot be begun too soon:
a bad habit is difficult to break. For the first few weeks a baby
should sleep almost constantly, only awaking at regular intervals to
be fed. After the first 2 months it lies awake longer, and is fed
less often--it should then be put to sleep for at least 2 hours in
the forenoon, from 10-12 or thereabouts, and again in the afternoon
for at least an hour. But too much sleep during the day at and after
this time spoils the rest at night, which is the most important time
for rest. For the first month a child is better to sleep with its
mother, after this it may be put into a crib, but never cover its
face with a handkerchief, and never have curtains to the crib--they
cause the child to breathe its own air over again and always do much
harm. Place the crib where no draught can reach it, and let the
bedclothes be warm but light. Uneasy sleep is a sign of ill health.
An hour’s sleep before dinner should be allowed to children of 4-5
years, after this it may be discontinued. Put them to bed at night
between 6-7 o’clock, and they will generally sleep 12-14 hours. Never
wake a child suddenly, the change should be gradual. When a child
awakes in the morning it should not be permitted to lie long in bed;
take it up and dress it, and so you may get it into the regular,
healthy, and most valuable habit of early rising. After the child is
up let the mattress be well shaken, and have the sheets and blankets
thrown over the back of a chair or off the bed, and exposed to the
air for an hour or two, that they be thoroughly dried and ventilated.
Open the window freely.

_Feeding._--Every mother should make it her duty, as it is her
privilege, to nurse her baby at the breast. The only exceptions to
this rule are those cases in which, because of special delicacy or
disease, they are forbidden by the doctor to do so. Whenever, from
any cause, the child cannot be brought up on the breast, the only
food which should be given to it for the first 7-8 months is the
milk of the cow or goat. Milk contains all ingredients necessary
for the growth and nourishment of the child; and nothing can take
its place. A child’s stomach has not for many months the power to
digest foods which contain much starch, such as cornflour, arrowroot,
sago, and others; these foods irritate the stomach and bowels, while
the child is being starved for want of the only food it can digest.
Milk may be given either from the breast of the mother, or from the
bottle. If from the latter, care must be taken not to give the food
when either too hot or too cold. Dollond, of 1, Ludgate Hill, has
introduced a good thermometer for this purpose, on which thick black
lines indicate the right temperature. Breast milk is infinitely to be
preferred. Let the child have as much breast milk as possible, and
only make up the deficiencies with the bottle. The child should be
put to the breast early, within the first 12 hours. The first milk is
different to what comes afterwards, and helps by gently acting on the
bowels to prepare the passages to properly digest the fully formed
milk. Instead of doing this nurses are far too apt to administer
a dose of castor oil, which is quite unnecessary and wrong. If
the milk has not yet come sucking will help it; and if the child
cries with hunger, a little weak milk and water may be given with a
spoon. The child should be put to the breast _regularly_ at stated
intervals--every 2 hours during the day, and less often at night.

The nursing mother should take sufficient good food, but should not
drink all sorts of foods at all hours, under the idea that she will
thus make more milk. She is more likely to upset her digestion, and
injure the quality of her milk. The secret of good nursing lies in
keeping in the best health possible: take plenty of fresh air and
rest, and sufficient plain, unstimulating food. Any violent nervous
excitement, such as anger, fright, anxiety or grief is sure to affect
the child. If the mother’s health remains good, she may continue to
nurse her child for about 9 months. If the child is thriving well,
and has cut several teeth, and especially if the mother’s health
begins to suffer, nursing must be at once given up. Nursing beyond a
year does harm to both.

Weaning should take place, then, at or about the tenth month. It must
be done earlier (_a_) If the mother’s health is suffering, or if
she is attacked by any acute disease; (_b_) if she becomes pregnant
again while nursing the child; (_c_) if the child is not sufficiently
nourished upon the breast milk, yet refuses to take other food. This
happens when the milk is too thin and watery, although it may be in
sufficient quantity. Carefully watch the condition of the child, and
do not rely too much on dates or teething; wean a child gradually,
choosing a time when the child is in good health. Begin by lessening
the number of times it is allowed to take the breast; thus giving it
time to get used to and to relish other food. Reduce by degrees to
one breast meal a day; and after about a week, this too must be given
up.

Great mortality is found among infants brought up on the bottle,
due to the wrong sort of food being put into the bottle. As to the
bottle itself, the old-fashioned kind with a cork on one side is
the best, because they are simplest, most easily kept clean and
sweet, and when they are used, the child must be held in the proper
upright position. However near perfection a bottle may be, it is
liable to become a source of disease. Rubber parts absorb milk, or
in a crack in the material a small quantity may adhere, and undergo
fermentation, and the best-directed efforts to keep the tubing clean
may not prevent this happening. In the glass part this does not occur
readily, as it can be thoroughly cleansed, and there is no risk of
absorption. If 2 bottles are used, one can be in operation while the
other one is being cleaned. The manner most likely to prevent bad
consequences is to thoroughly wash out the bottle after it has been
used in tepid water, and then again wash it with water and soda, then
thoroughly dry bottle and tubing, and put them in the open air, as on
a window-sill, where they can have both sun and air. Of course, the
stopper should be out of the bottle. Another method is to allow the
bottle to remain in lime-water till next it requires to be used. In
cleaning out tubes a brush attached to a strong wire is needed.

Cow’s milk is the best substitute for a child’s natural food. But
in order to make cow’s milk as like the mother’s milk as possible,
you must dilute it with water and add some sugar. At first the
proportions should be at least equal parts of milk and water, with a
small quantity of sugar; if the milk be very poor, a dessert spoonful
of cream may be added to each meal with benefit. As cow’s milk soon
turns acid, a tablespoonful of lime-water in each bottle is often
useful in making it agree better with the child. This is particularly
advisable in warm weather. Boil all milk intended for the child’s use
as soon as it comes into the house. Where there is any doubt about
the purity of the water, boil it too. After the first 6 weeks, the
proportions should be ⅔ to ⅓ water; and after the fourth month the
milk may be given plain. For at least the first 7 months the child
should have no other nourishment whatever. Smell the bottle before
you put a fresh meal into it, and if there is the least sourness
about either bottle or nipple, wash it until it smells fresh and
sweet. Feed at regular hours--every 2 hours during the day, and twice
during the night, for the first 6 weeks: after this every 3 hours
is often enough, but then the quantity of each meal must be larger.
Never give a child a bottle merely to keep it quiet; you damage both
stomach and character. The food should be as near the heat of the
body as possible, i.e. at or about 98° F. Cold milk delays digestion,
and does injury. If the child is allowed to lie on the back, it gets
the milk too fast, and indigestion follows. If good cow’s milk cannot
be got, Swiss condensed milk is useful, but it must not be given too
strong; ½ teaspoonful to a teacup of water is plenty to begin with.
For the first 4 months it is an excellent substitute for ordinary
milk, and most children thrive on it; but do not continue its use
too long. If the child is thriving and has cut several of its front
teeth, at the age of 7-8 months, not earlier, farinaceous food may be
given once or twice a day. Still, foods which contain much starch are
to be avoided, such as arrowroot, sago, corn-flour. The best to begin
with is oatmeal gruel, well-boiled and strained, or, as a change,
milk thickened with a rusk or well-baked flour; Chapman’s entire
wheat flour is excellent, and to be preferred to ordinary wheat
flour, as it contains the phosphates of the wheat, and a peculiar
ferment which changes starch into sugar.

Cow’s milk and Robinson’s patent barley (prepared by Keen, Robinson,
and Bellville) is recommended for use by Dr. Pye Chavasse in his
work entitled ‘Advice to a Mother,’ as the best artificial food for
infants, stating that “children apparently dying of starvation,
soon after taking it, quickly pick up flesh, their bodies fill out,
they sleep, they loose all pain,” &c. To a good tablespoonful of
the patent barley, mixed with a wineglassful of cold water, add
one-and-a-half gills of boiling water, stir this over the fire
while boiling for six minutes, and then feed the infant. The same
proportion of milk may be used instead of water when the baby is
weaned. Alternately with Robinson’s patent barley, Robinson’s patent
groats may be used with good results.

Some of the more expensive artificial foods are prepared in such a
way that the starch is rendered soluble and easily digested, effected
mainly by the addition of malt and the employment of heat. But if
oatmeal and plain wheaten flour agree with your children use them.
These farinaceous meals should be given once, or, at most, twice
a day, remembering that the greater part of a child’s nourishment
should still be milk.

In those rare cases where milk cannot be taken by a child, often
barley-water, mixed in equal quantities with the milk, will make
it agree, by lessening and softening the curd; sometimes the whey
of the milk, separated from the curd by rennet, and made richer by
adding 1 part cream, which contains no curd, to 4 of the whey, makes
a digestible food. Sometimes it is necessary to feed for a day or two
on rice water, with the boiled rice pounded and mixed in it; but such
cases are serious, and demand medical advice.

When a child has cut most of its front teeth--that is to say, towards
the end of the first year, it may be given once a day a meal of a
meat broth with barley in it, or of gravy and bread crumbs. The broth
should be made by cutting up the meat finely and letting it stand
for 2-3 hours in cold water and then boiling it. At about the same
time, or a little later, a lightly-boiled (much better raw) egg may
be used instead of the broth, once or twice a week; or a well-boiled
mealy potato, carefully mashed and mixed with good meat gravy. No
solid meat food should be given to a child under 2 years of age, nor
until it has cut all its teeth, for the simple reason that until
its back teeth are ready for use, it is unable to masticate such
food so as to prepare it to be digested in the stomach. After this
a little meat well-cooked may be given to a child occasionally; but
it should not form part of its every-day food. It is a great mistake
to give weakly and delicate children much animal food; for the first
3 years, the less they have the better. The best food is not that
which contains most nourishment, but which is best adapted to the
digestive organs. Whenever animal food is given, it should be minced
very fine, or bruised in a mortar, to make up for non-mastication.
Bread-and-butter, oatmeal porridge, milk, rice, and light puddings
should form the staple diet. Avoid stimulants, tea, cakes, and
pastry. The plainer and simpler the food, the stronger and healthier
will be the child. Compel children to eat slowly; and only allow them
to eat at meal times.

_Teething._--The number of first or milk teeth which a child gets is
20; they come in regular order, and at definite intervals; 8 front
teeth, 4 above and 4 below, called “incisors”; eye teeth, 2 above
and 2 below, called “canines”; and 8 back teeth, 2 above and 2 below
on each side, called “molars.” The order in which they ought to come
is:--the two lower middle incisors at about the seventh month, seldom
earlier; followed in a few weeks by the 2 upper middle incisors;
almost immediately afterwards, the other 2 upper incisors, one on
each side of the middle ones; a week or two later, the two other
incisors in the lower jaw come through, so that all the incisors
generally appear before any of the other teeth, and, being smaller
than the others, are generally cut without much trouble; by the end
of the tenth or eleventh month, after an interval of about 2 months,
the first 4 molars appear, and occupy 2 months, more or less, in
making their way through the gums; after another interval of 2-3
months, the eye teeth begin, and are fully cut by the end of the
eighteenth or twentieth month; this is followed by another period
of rest, after which the 4 back molars come, and soon after the end
of the second year the first dentition is complete. Teething is a
natural process; but the period in which it is going on is a time
of change from one mode of living to another, so that when a child
is teething, it requires more than ordinary care. Its bowels must
be kept in good order, rather too loose than too confined; give it
abundance of fresh air, and avoid changes of diet just when the teeth
are coming through; cooling drinks of milk and water, or barley
water, are useful to allay the thirst, and cool the hot mouth;
warm baths at night relieve feverishness which is often present;
if the gums are swollen and inflamed, a touch of the lance will be
productive of great relief. While the teeth are “breeding” in the
gums, the irritation may be reduced by gently rubbing them, or by
giving the child a crust or indiarubber pad to bite; but shortly
before they break through the gum the mouth is so tender that the
child will allow nothing to go near it, and it is just at this time
that lancing is of most service.

_Illness._--Infantile disorders within the range of domestic
medicine are chiefly diarrhœa and constipation. The former, in
a suckled child, will probably be due to the condition of the
mother, who should carefully regulate her own bowels, taking a
simple aperient, like castor oil or rhubarb if necessary. Diarrhœa,
with bottle feeding, may arise from sour food: boil the milk, mix
it with barley water instead of water, make it weaker, and add 2
tablespoonfuls lime-water or a few grains soda bicarbonate to every
½ pint food. See that cold to feet or body is not the cause. For
constipation, generally occurring in bottle-fed infants, reduce the
food, omit lime-water, and change one meal a day from milk to thin
oatmeal gruel. Avoid medicines, except perhaps 30 gr. manna in 1
tablespoonful distilled water, or 1 tablespoonful fluid magnesia in
the food of one meal for a day or two, or castor oil if a severe
case. Gentle injection of a little warm water is an excellent thing
in stubborn cases. Vaccination is a paramount duty hardly requiring
mention. Especially beware of chills during convalescence. Exposure
to cold after scarlet fever brings dropsy and kidney diseases, and
consumption and bronchitis follow whooping-cough and measles.

Medicines kept should be under lock and key, for obvious reasons. The
following may be found useful:--Ipecacuanha wine and powder, say of
the former 2 oz. and of the latter 1 dr.; grey powder, 1 dr.; castor
oil 6 oz.; antimonial wine, 1 oz.; sulphate of zinc, 1 dr.; fluid
magnesia, 6 oz.; lime-water, by the gallon, if the infant is brought
up by bottle; laudanum or solution of morphia, 1 oz.; Bow’s liniment,
or camphor liniment; spongio-piline, for application of fomentation
or as a poultice. Lint, oiled silk, and gutta-percha tissue, with 6
oz. carbolic lotion, strength 1 to 40. These are mostly for use by
the medical attendant; amateur doctors should restrict themselves to
giving a dose of castor oil or fluid magnesia.

_Moral Training._--Why do women intrust their young children to the
care of low-minded ignorant girls, when least able to take care
of themselves, yet exercise so much caution to prevent familiar
intercourse with servants and inferiors in later youth? With proper
treatment, plenty of well-bred and well-educated girls could be found
to take nursemaids’ places, to the great advantage of both children
and nurse. Obviously, no girl who is not fit to be a companion, an
intimate companion, of the mother, is fit to be the guardian and
guide of that mother’s children. The nursemaid should be a girl or
woman of culture, and not be expected to do anything menial. Early
training of children is of great importance. Be with them as gentle,
loving, and patient as you can be, but at the same time be firm.
Never deceive a child, and never let it weary you into granting a
request you have once refused as injudicious. Teach it from the
first to bear and to forbear, to obey at once, and to be courteous;
the little wretch who snatches anything he fancies, and howls like
a monkey if crossed is a pitiable little object, the victim to his
parents’ folly, who were too selfish to give themselves the trouble
and vexation of training him.

Never allow children to be rude and unceremonious to each other
because they are brothers and sisters. Be extra careful of your
language and manners before children. Never lose your temper with
them, never frighten them, and above all things do not strike a
child on the head; there is a certain portion of the body especially
intended by nature for receiving castigation. Never flatter nor pet a
child, nor allow self-admiration to grow upon it. Reduce children’s
parties to sensible hours--3-7 for the little ones, and not later
than 9 for the older ones--and provide more sensible amusements and
less empty show and finery. Dancing, magic-lanterns, shadows, and
scores of simple games will occur to every one. Avoid all toys which
are painted or gaudily coloured.

One word about foreign nurses. They are often engaged with the
object of early commencing the acquirement of a foreign language,
generally French. But it must not be forgotten that the class of girl
obtainable as a nurse is not likely to be capable of teaching the
refined language or accent. These nurses may be engaged through the
International Institution, 69 Berners Street, London, W.




_THE SICKROOM._


=The Room.=--The rules which apply to dwelling rooms generally have
a double importance in the case of the sickroom. The sanitation,
ventilation, warming, and lighting, all demand extra care and
attention. A southern aspect is preferable to any other; the
room should be cheerful, spacious, and lofty, and subject to the
invaluable effect of sunshine. It would be desirable for all houses,
even of moderate size, to have some one corner suitable for a
sickroom. If space admits of such a room being entirely isolated
from the rest of the house, so much the better; but much may be done
by securing two rooms opening into each other, with hot and cold
water supply within easy reach, and a closet properly placed. When
necessary, the room should be kept clean by dusting with a damp
cloth, rubbing the floors in the same way.

Ordinarily, the chimney is the best ventilator, especially when the
fire is burning, which increases the upward draught. Never stuff up
chimneys: and except in very warm weather, always keep a fire in
the sickroom. It is not always easy to maintain at the same time
proper warmth and ventilation. But as a person is not liable to take
cold when well covered up in bed, a little of the window may almost
always be kept open, without fear of its doing harm, especially if a
piece of fine gauze be gummed or tacked across the opening so as to
break the force of the entering air. In ordinary sickness the best
temperature is 62°-70° F. It should not be allowed to vary much,
and as feeling is often deceptive, it is always advisable to keep a
thermometer in the room.

For the removal of slops, the ordinary paraphernalia of the housemaid
should be completely excluded from the sickroom, as both noisy and
disgusting. All vessels when used, instead of being put under the
bed, must be immediately removed and emptied outside, and brought
back carefully rinsed, and, when necessary, deodorised with a little
Condy’s fluid. Allow no confusion of medicine bottles, soiled
glasses, spoons, and such matters about the room: those in immediate
use should be kept arranged ready to hand; all others should be
removed.

Even with the greatest care fires will burn down low, and it is
necessary to have some means of restoration at hand. Few people know
how valuable wine corks are for this purpose; they should always be
saved, and a few kept in a corner of the coal basket. Orange and
lemon peel likewise, when well dried, make capital fire revivers;
and rather than that the fire in a sickroom should be allowed to go
out, use a lump of white sugar or a sprinkling of brown, which will
create in a moment a bright flame and revive the dying embers. Employ
a pointed hard wooden stick instead of a poker; it makes so much less
noise. Let a basket take the place of the coal-scuttle, and let its
contents consist of fair-sized lumps, about as big as a French roll;
a housemaid’s glove should be at hand to put these on with. This is
the provision for the day. For the night small paper bags, such as
fruiterers use, should be filled with about 1 lb. of small coal. This
does not burn so fast or make so much flame as the lumps, whilst the
feeding of the fire by these means divests the process of noise.

As little furniture as possible should encumber the room. No
foot-stools, boxes, or baskets should be in the way, to be tripped
over; no knick-knacks crowded on tables or mantelpieces to harbour
dust, take up room, or tumble down with a crash. Various forms
of sickroom furniture, adapted for confirmed invalids and serious
surgical cases, are made by Alfred Carter, 97 Holborn Viaduct, and by
Robinson and Sons, Ilkley, Yorkshire, whose catalogues will be worth
getting.

Of carpets, the less the better; but if any are used, mere strips or
rugs are best, as they are easily taken up and shaken, or cleaned.
Curtains should be got rid of, especially if of woollen or stuff;
cotton and linen should be used for any sofa or chair coverings.

Windows should be made to open easily from both top and bottom,
whilst some contrivance is necessary to prevent any rattling noise
from either window-frames or outer blinds. Venetian blinds, imperfect
at the best, are quite unsuitable for a sickroom, being always noisy,
and sure to admit alternate rays of light. Nothing wakes many people
so quickly as light--a mere crevice unprotected is often enough. In
the evening, be sure that the light of the lamp or candle does not
fall in the patient’s eyes; there is nothing more distressing. Gas
in a sick room is not healthy; a Queen’s reading-lamp, with a green
shade, is pleasant for a stationary light, and a candle for moving
about.

Real quiet is of paramount importance. Even “noiseless” crockery can
now be obtained. The principle adopted is that of noiseless tyres to
wheels, made of rubber, such tyres being fitted to the bottoms of the
jugs, basins, &c.

One thing that would give great pleasure to many a bedridden sufferer
is a looking-glass--sometimes two may, from the position of the bed,
be necessary--fixed so as to reflect all the passers-by, or to show
a patch of bright flower garden, bringing some of the outside life
into the sickroom. Ferns growing beneath a bell glass, where they
need no care or attention after they are once planted, may also be
introduced. Plants in pots and cut flowers will occur to every one;
it only remains to observe that growing plants, for their own sake as
well as for the patient, should be moved out of the room at night,
and that cut flowers from the side of a fever patient must be burnt
in the room when they are dead, and not carried into any other part
of the house.


=The Nurse.=--The _Lancet_ insists that there is no more excuse for
a nurse making a “guy” of herself than for her being decked out in
vulgar finery, with her hair got up after an elaborate style which
it would take her half the day to arrange. Print dresses of pretty
pattern, or grey alpacas, according to season, with a light white
cap, linen cuffs and collars, scrupulously white and clean, and a
coloured neck ribbon, would be infinitely preferable to the black
costumes of the sisterhoods. The heavy woollen dresses worn by some
sisterhoods are not all that is desirable in a sanitary point of
view. They do not “show dirt,” it is true; but it would be better
if they did; and in their folds it is not impossible that germs of
disease may be carried about. It may be laid down as a rule that
nothing in a nurse’s dress that rustles, creaks, flaps, or catches
can be in place. It is evident that this rule forbids silk dresses,
stiff stays, trailing robes, and ornaments that are likely to throw
things down. High heels are, of course, quite out of the question,
as is any fashion which interferes with easy movement on the part of
the nurse. Quietness, softness, usefulness are the points to be aimed
at in the costume of a nurse; and if brightness can be given by a
ribbon, the brightness may well be superadded. A nurse should wear no
rings, and her nails should be kept cut very close. The sleeves of
her dress should admit of being turned or rolled up above the elbow.

Never think any change in the patient’s manner or appearance too
trifling to tell the doctor of it. Unimportant as you may deem it,
it may be the very symptom he is watching for. Tell the doctor
everything fully and truly, and above all, obey him implicitly. Never
act against his orders, or tamper with them in any way. If you think
any change in treatment judicious, ask his opinion first before
trying it, but do not do things unknown to him. In this watchfulness
and strict obedience lie the chief difference between professional
and amateur nursing, and also too often the great advantage gained
by employing the former over the latter. The several symptoms should
be written down by the nurse from time to time on a slip of paper,
always at hand, for the doctor.

Always save whatever has been vomited by a patient for the doctor to
see, and be able to give information as to when the vomiting took
place, whether directly after food or liquid had been taken, or not;
notice whether there was much straining or retching before actual
vomiting occurred, also if it was preceded by pain, and the situation
of the pain. Remove the vomit from the room immediately.

In the case of coughing, observe whether it comes on in paroxysms, or
is incessant; whether it is dry and hard, or moist and accompanied
with expectoration; whether it is worse at any particular time, and
is attended with pain. If there is expectoration, this should be kept
for the doctor’s inspection. If blood is brought up, note whether it
is coughed up, vomited, or brought up from the back of the throat or
mouth; remark whether the expectoration adheres to the side of the
spitting-cup, or flows easily.

The number of times the bowels are moved in the 24 hours must be
noted, and whether the motion is attended with pain, griping, or
straining; also the colour of the motion, and, if the patient
passes worms, whether they are round or flat, tape, or small and
thread-like. Note in what quantities urine is passed; also how often,
whether with any discomfort or pain either before or after, its
colour and consistence, and if there be any deposit, its colour also.

Do not forget to give messages of inquiry, as sick people think
much of such kindnesses. Do not read letters out without reading
them to yourself first; you may come upon some passage about the
patient that you do not care to repeat, and your hesitation will
make him anxious and uncomfortable. In convalescence books are often
a difficulty, and require most careful choosing. Something not
exciting, but thoroughly amusing, is generally the best thing--the
lightest novel you can find. In any case, be careful not to read too
long at a time; the strain of listening and attending is very tiring.
In extreme weakness, when there is nothing to be done, say something
from time to time to take off the sense of loneliness, but do not ask
unnecessary questions or touch your patient--it is very tiring; and
never at any time lean against the bed and shake it, and do not put
anything heavy over the patient’s feet; the weight tires, and a hot
bottle warms much more effectually.

Remember that the process of settling for the night takes a long
time, and be sure to begin early. Some people sleep better in the
first part of the night, and you should notice the hour at which the
patient gets sleepy, and arrange accordingly; if kept awake long past
that hour, a restless night will be the consequence. It is never wise
to wake the patient, even to give medicine, except by the doctor’s
orders. You should have a small tray arranged with all the things you
are likely to want in the night, except medicines. By means of the
judiciously-placed screen, anything that has to be brought in can be
quietly handed over the top without a sound. Door-hinges and handles
should be carefully eased and oiled.

Real quietude means the absence of all excitement, and it must be
remembered that anything out of the common will tend to excite the
mind of a sufferer. Do not, therefore, walk on tip toe, for this, in
addition to its unusual elaboration of the gait, invariably causes a
certain amount of creaking. Speak in low tones, but do not whisper.
A whisper will often awake a sleeper who would not be disturbed by
an ordinary conversation; and never say “hush!” Let your clothes
and foot covering be of as noiseless and unobtrusive a character as
possible, and instead of gliding and tottering about like a rickety
ghost, do not hesitate to walk. If you have occasion to say anything
in the room, say it so that the patient can hear it if he wishes, and
do not let him be aware of your conspiring privately with the others,
especially at the door. The door has much to answer for. If it be
visible from the bed, people open it cautiously, put their heads in
and slowly withdraw again. If, as is more frequently the case, it is
screened by the bed curtains, mysterious openings and shuttings are
heard, unattended with any apparent ingress or egress, and _sotto
voce_ colloquies going on outside. When you enter, do so honestly
and at once. Do not spend 5 minutes in turning the handle, thereby
producing a series of irritating little clicks, finally terminating
in a big snap, with which the door flies open. If the latch be at
all rusty, a handle that is slowly wound back in this way will often
stick, and either require to be rattled back in position, or, if left
as it is, may start back suddenly, after a time, of its own accord,
with a report like a pistol shot.

A bracket or table on the landing or in an adjoining room, where
one can keep a basin, water, and a cloth for washing cups, &c., can
nearly always be managed; and even if one has to carry everything up
and down stairs, the comfort to the patient of systematic, dainty
cleanliness more than repays the trouble. Some nurses seem to think
it enough to place anything used outside the sickroom door, trusting
to a chance maid seeing it and carrying it off. But this proceeding
often worries the patient most exceedingly. He or she lies there and
fidgets over the chance of that stray cup being whisked over by a
passing skirt, with an ominous clatter and smash; and though this
probably does not happen, the expectation of it keeps the mind on
tenter-hooks, and prevents needful rest.

Let visitors sit between the door and the patient, getting the
benefit of the air and not between him and the fire, thus getting
in the direct current of foul air rushing towards the fireplace;
they should be well in sight of the patient, and never admitted at
meal times. While talking to the patient it is better to sit by the
side of the bed and as near the pillow as possible, so that you
may converse easily, while your face and body are turned in the
same direction as his. By this means you can make all necessary
observation of his features without enforcing the arrest of his eyes
on your own, which is so embarrassing and disagreeable to one lying
in bed, and is almost unavoidable when facing him. Keep him in as
comfortable a position as possible, by all means, but do not be too
demonstrative in smoothing the pillows and little offices of that
sort. Fidgety attentions will worry and do more harm than downright
neglect.


=The Bed.=--The best kind of bed for the sick is a small iron
bedstead, about 3½ ft. wide and not too high, with firm, level,
spring mattress, and light warm covering, avoiding large heavy linen
counterpanes, which, though oppressively weighty, give but little
heat. It should be placed in such a position as will be most out of
draughts, and at the same time convenient for the nurse in performing
personal services for the patient. It must never have either side
against a wall, nor be between the door and the fire. It is a point
of some importance, especially in cases of long illness, to arrange
the position of the bed so that the sick person can see the fire or
look out of window. A second bed, or hammock, or stretcher on wheels,
is often very useful for shifting the patient on to while airing and
making the other bed.

Good bed-making is imperative in sickness, and nothing is a better
test of a nurse’s capacity than the way she keeps her patient’s
bed. Some nurses are eternally fidgeting till they work the unhappy
invalid into a frenzy. Others, again, in their dread of disturbing
him, let the patient toss everything to the wildest confusion,
trusting to one grand and general clearing up to set matters
right. A good nurse keeps things straight almost unconsciously,
taking advantage of any chance the patient gives to smooth out the
crumpled sheet, or tossed bed-clothes, with a strong even pull, or
to replace a heated, crushed pillow with a fresh cool one (though
careful that, if cool, it is not chilly). Remember when smoothing
a sickbed never to jerk or twitch the clothes, and be always sure
your attempts do not endanger anything that may be lying on the
bed, and whose downfall would most certainly disturb and flurry the
invalid. A wide bed in a measure is a substitute for having 2 beds,
as considerable relief may be obtained by using alternate sides of
the bed; moreover, you can cool one side when the patient is on the
opposite side, by turning back the clothes so as to let the air
reach the lower sheet. Bed linen should always, if possible, be
exposed to the open air, in the sun and wind, before using, as this
freshens it most effectually, whilst a drop or two of good lavender
or rose water sprinkled on sheet and pillow-case add greatly to the
pleasantness. The best way of making a bed so as to give the least
possible disturbance to the sick person, and prevent bed sores, is
laid down in these rules:--(1) Keep the sheet below the patient
perfectly smooth; (2) wash the parts where the bone is prominent
daily with soap and warm water, dry them well, rub them over with a
little spirits of wine or whisky to harden the skin; (3) change the
patient’s position frequently; (4) never let him lie on a blanket; a
freshly-made bed, a good sponge over with vinegar and water, would
often, after a restless, sleepless night, have the good effect of
making the patient fall into a sound sleep. It is best to make a
good lather with the soap, and not to use much water. Zinc-powder
and boracic acid powder are often used to powder the back after the
washing.

A very common torment of invalids is the weight of the bed clothes.
They are heavy, but not warm. For the rich, blankets and eiderdown
quilts are easily obtained; but for the poor, paper is far better
than many more costly coverlids. It is by no means necessary to spend
money on a paper blanket, though these are excellent; a few sheets
of brown paper, or even newspapers, pasted together to the size of
the bed, add greatly to the warmth and practically nothing to the
weight. If it is not the beat possible covering, it is very good, and
absolutely costless.

It is often necessary to change the sheets without disturbing the
patient. This can be done either from side to side or from head
to foot. The former method consists in loosely rolling up the
soiled sheet sideways, from the side of the bed where there is most
unoccupied space, until the roll can be pressed against the patient’s
side. The clean sheet, previously loosely rolled up from side to
side, is then unrolled over the uncovered part of the bed, until the
clean roll lies by the side of the soiled one. The patient is now
lifted over on to the clean sheet, the soiled sheet is taken away,
and the spreading of the clean sheet is completed. The second plan is
to roll up a clean sheet loosely from end to end. Beginning at the
head of the bed, the soiled sheet is rolled down from underneath the
bolster, and the clean sheet unrolled after it, and arranged in its
place. The shoulders of the patient should then be raised a little,
and the soiled sheet rolled down from under them, while the clean
sheet is unrolled to follow it. The hips, and lastly the legs and
feet, are to be gently raised one after another in a similar manner,
the soiled sheet taken away at the foot of the bed, and the unrolling
of the clean sheet completed.

With paralysed and other helpless patients, frequent washing or
sponging is more necessary, and the draw-sheet becomes useful. This
consists of a small sheet folded lengthwise 2 or 3 times, so that
when placed beneath the patient it may reach from the middle of the
back to the knees. One end of the folded sheet should be the part
first used, the rest being loosely rolled up to within a few inches
of the patient’s side. As the sheet becomes soiled, the unused
portion is unrolled sufficiently for the soiled part to be drawn
from under the sick person, and a clean part substituted. The soiled
portion is rolled up as it is withdrawn, and secured by a safety-pin.
A piece of waterproof sheeting or a strip of thin oil-cloth passed
beneath the draw-sheet still further protects the bed.

Bedding and pillows should not be too soft, otherwise the patient
is continually sinking into hollows, and becoming hot and restless
in consequence. When a patient needs to be propped up, the greatest
mistakes are made. Pillows are jammed and wedged in at the patient’s
back till he is completely built in. A cheap and simple pillow which
doctors strongly recommend as a support in such cases is made of
chaff, or chopped straw, and stuffed hard. It is covered with any
cheap material, and is shaped like a writing desk--that is to say,
it is made to slope. It should be a little longer than an ordinary
pillow, and should be 8-12 in. deep behind and 3-4 in. in front.
Ordinary pillows (1 or 2) placed upon this as a basement make a
capital back-rest for persons suffering, say, from bronchitis. Such
a rest has many advantages: it does not give way, hence the patient
no longer finds himself from time to time in a deep hole; it allows
the arms and shoulders free movement; it is also cooler, and permits
more frequent change of posture. In propping a patient up it should
always be remembered that the back needs support as well as the head
and shoulders.

A very great comfort to sick people, especially to those who have to
be left much alone, is to be furnished with some simple arrangement
by which they can raise themselves into the sitting posture and so
maintain themselves with slight effort. This can be attained by
fixing a length of strong webbing to the foot of the bed, and placing
knots upon it at intervals, so as to enable it to be more readily
and firmly grasped. A netted bed-rest, 3 yd. in length, is a very
simple and useful contrivance; its main use is the same as that of
the knotted webbing, but by allowing it to pass round the back of
the invalid, and spreading it out, it makes an exceedingly pleasant
bed-rest, fashioned on the principle of the hammock. A swing bed-rest
has several advantages. It is very cool, and allows a free play of
air on all sides of the patient, which is a very important advantage.
It permits, moreover, considerable movement, and does away with the
fatiguing restraint of keeping the body in one position. If the
ventilation through the network be too great, or the weather be cold,
a pillow can be placed against the patient’s back, within the rest.
Instead of the rest being netted, it may be made of strong towelling,
which will bear rougher usage. Its strength and serviceability will
be increased by stitching here and there bands of webbing; and at
each of its narrower ends strong broad tapes must be fastened, by
which it can be secured to the foot of the bed. Such netted bed-rests
can be had (5_s._ 6_d._ each) at the Depot for Ladies’ Work, 16, King
Street, Manchester.

Bedridden patients, and those who are paralysed or otherwise reduced
to a condition of great weakness, often complain that they are
continually slipping down in the bed. Often a box or footstool is
slipped in at the foot of the bed, that the patient’s feet may be
pressed firmly against it to prevent slipping. But this cannot be
long continued where the legs are weak, for the muscles become
exhausted, the knees give way, and then the slipping goes on just
as badly as ever. This can be prevented, if a little round pillow,
3-4 in. only in diameter, be fixed so that the patient, though lying
down, as it were sits upon it. Such a pillow, to answer its purpose,
must be tied in its position very securely, and this may be done by a
piece of webbing attached to each end, and tied either to the head or
sides of the bedstead.

Following is a way to make pillows with paper stuffing. Use any sort
of paper, and tear all into small square or oblong pieces. Then roll
each piece between the finger and thumb into a tiny spiral, exactly
as if beginning to make round spills. It is very little trouble to
do. It is a most suitable occupation for blindman’s holiday, or for
people with weak eyesight; and the pillows, as may be supposed, are
far more elastic than if made of the same paper, flat. Of course, it
is most suitable for an under pillow, if one has a choice; but so
long as there are so many unfortunate invalids without any pillows at
all, the plan is worthy of remembrance.

A table to stand on the bed is very convenient for trays, &c. It can
be bought ready made, and is not at all expensive, or a very little
ingenuity is needed to make one. About 2 ft. long, hollowed out on
one side, and 1 ft. broad, is a good size. The legs may be 6-7 in.
high.

The bed can be refreshed and aired by raising and lowering the
clothes so as to produce a fanning motion. To turn a pillow without
fatiguing the patient, put the hollowed palm of one hand at the back
of his head while with the other you quickly reverse the pillow and
replace it. To lay a bed with a waterproof sheet for temporary use,
first make the bed with a blanket beneath the under sheet, and then
spread the waterproof, a blanket and another sheet, without tucking
in. When done with, it is only necessary to draw out the waterproof
with its blanket and sheet, leaving the patient on a fresh sheet.
No amount of care will keep crumbs out of a sickbed; they catch in
every fold and frill and pass up the sleeves, and demand a search
after every meal in which bread figures. To avoid rucks in the under
sheets, stretch it tight on the mattress and fasten it down with
safety pins.


=Sickroom accessories.=--These are of a varied character, and will be
described under separate headings.

_Poultices._ Linseed.--The great art of poultice-making consists
in applying it to the patient sufficiently hot, and, therefore, it
is advisable to warm all the materials before beginning. Put the
linseed (crushed or meal) before the fire or in the oven for 20
minutes to heat. Use by preference a tin bowl, and scald it with
boiling water; then pour in as much boiling water as will be needed
for the poultice, sprinkle in the hot linseed with one hand, and
stir vigorously with a knife to the required thickness. To judge of
this requires some practice. A poultice should be somewhat moister,
if applied to an open wound, than if it is intended to relieve some
internal pain; but in no case ought it to be sufficiently moist to
stick in patches to the skin of the patient. The next step is to take
a square of rag or paper ½ in. larger all round than the poultice is
intended to be; spread the linseed on this about ½ in. thick, leaving
the edges clear; fold the rag over on each side, and apply at once,
covering with a pad of cotton wool and a layer of indiarubber or oil
silk to keep the heat in. It is a good plan to oil the face of the
poultice with a feather, as this effectually keeps it from sticking
to the skin, even if it is not well mixed, and it is better than to
put the poultice into a muslin. If, however, the muslin is preferred,
on no account should a bag be made, for the poultice cools while it
is being put in. A large piece of old linen, folded over at the back,
like a parcel, keeps the linseed in, and makes at the same time a
pad to cover it. Failing linseed meal, you can use either oatmeal
or bran; if oatmeal, then boil it with the water like porridge. A
poultice should be larger than appears absolutely necessary. It is
intended to allay pain and inflammation, and as the pain probably
extends beyond the inflamed part, a large poultice should be made
to cover the inflamed part. Dr. Atkinson says that meal deprived
of its oil is far better than that from which the oil has not been
extracted. The latter does not retain its heat as long, and, unless
covered by some fabric, is not so easily removed as the poultice made
from the former. The exhausted meal takes up more water, and retains
its heat longer. In making a poultice, the meal should be thoroughly
stirred with a spoon while boiling water is gradually added, and when
of proper (rather soft) consistence, should be spread on linen. The
ability to bear the heat on the back of the hand is a good test of
the degree to be used. The poultice should be applied directly to
the skin, without intervening fabric, and be covered on the outside
with good oiled-silk. A teaspoonful of laudanum may be sprinkled on
the surface to increase its anodyne effects, or in place of water
may be used a boiling infusion of camomile or poppy-heads. When the
skin is inflamed, 3 grs. sulphate zinc or alum may be added to each
oz. of water. A solution of 1-40 of carbolic acid may be used instead
of simple water in the case of sloughing wounds. Once in 4 hours is
a good rule to follow in changing poultices on the chest, the front
and back being covered by separate poultices, and only one should be
removed at a time. A fresh one should be ready when the change is
made. Frequent changes are most grateful in cases of abdominal pain.

To relieve spasm, as in colic--intestinal, biliary, or renal; to
relieve inflammation of the pleura (lining membrane of the chest),
the lungs, the liver, or other organs, it is essential to apply the
poultice as hot as possible, while protecting the skin from being
scalded. In order to do this, a flannel bag should be prepared, a
convenient size being 12 in. by 8; this should be closed at 3 edges
and open at the fourth; one side of it should be 1-1½ in. longer than
the other, and it is convenient also to have 4 tapes attached at the
points which form the corners when the bag is closed, in order to
keep the poultice in position. Besides this, another strip of flannel
should be prepared of the same breadth as the length of the bag,
and long enough to wrap round it once or oftener. Crushed linseed,
bowl, and spoon should be got together, and the spoon and bowl
thoroughly heated by means of boiling water; the poultice should then
be made with perfectly boiling water, and rather soft. As soon as
it is ready, it should be poured into the bag, previously warmed by
holding it before the fire; the flap which is formed by the longest
side of the bag should now be turned down and fastened in its place
by a few long stitches with a needle and thread; it should then be
quickly wrapped in the strip of flannel (also previously warmed),
and fastened _in situ_, if necessary, by means of the tapes. It may
be covered outside with a sheet of cotton wool. In this way the
poultice may be applied boiling hot to the skin without burning; the
2 layers of flannel which are at first dry allow the heat to pass
very gradually indeed to the skin; as the moisture of the poultice
soaks through them they become better conductors, and the heat passes
more quickly, but the increase is so gradual as not to cause any
painful sensations whatever, but only one of soothing and comfort.
The poultice also naturally keeps much longer hot, and the necessity
for changing it arises much less frequently. The difference between
the effect of a poultice made in the ordinary way and in the manner
just described is sometimes exceedingly striking. It is, perhaps,
less marked in cases of inflammation than in those of spasm.

Bread.--In a small and perfectly clean saucepan have a teacupful of
boiling water. Add breadcrumbs, or the crumb of a stale loaf: 1½-2
oz. will be sufficient for this quantity of water, and let it soak
over the fire for about 5 minutes. Then turn it into a piece of rag,
and spread it of suitable size and evenly. This plan ensures its
being hot.

Mustard.--If a mustard poultice is wanted it can be made in the same
way as linseed, save by adding a certain proportion of dry mustard
to the linseed. Some persons prefer to boil a little mustard in the
water that is to be used. Dr. Tyson, of Philadelphia, recommends the
addition of molasses to mustard in making plasters. This furnishes a
mild persistent counter-irritant which can be worn for hours. Leaves
of so-called “mustard paper” may be made as follows: The mustard must
be deprived of all fatty matters; the adhesive agent must contain
neither alcohol, resin, nor fatty matter; nor must it be of the
nature of a plaster. Submit the mustard farina to strong pressure,
and wash with sulphide of carbon or petroleum essence. Spread on
paper an adhesive liquid formed of a solution of 4-5 parts caoutchouc
in 100 parts mixed carbon sulphide and petroleum essence. Sprinkle
over the freshly coated paper by means of a sieve, the prepared
mustard. Pass between two rollers, and afterwards gently warm to
promote volatilisation of the liquid solvents used. Cut to pattern as
required.

_Court Plaster._--This is generally bought. To make it, soak
isinglass in a little warm water for 74 hours, then evaporate nearly
all the water by gentle heat, dissolve the residue in a little proof
spirits of wine, and strain the whole through a piece of open linen.
The strained mass should be a stiff jelly when cool. Now stretch a
piece of silk or sarcenet on a wooden frame, and fix it tight with
tacks or pack-thread. Melt the jelly and apply it to the silk thinly
and evenly, with a badger-hair brush. A second coating must be
applied when the first has dried. When both are dry, apply over the
whole surface 2 or 3 coatings of the balsam of Peru. Plaster thus
made is very pliable and never breaks.

To make it without silk, mix enough collodion with castor oil to
render it elastic when dry, the oil having profusely been rubbed
with some zinc oxide. Into this mixture dip glass plates, and, after
drying, redip and redry 2 or 3 times, or until a film of suitable
thickness is obtained. Upon this paint the usual solution of
isinglass to give it adhesiveness, and, after again drying, separate
it from the glass.

_Applying cold to the Head._--Take one fold of cotton or linen rag,
soak it in cold water, the colder the better, squeeze dry and apply
it as rapidly as possible. Do not take a large piece of cloth folded
several times, and keep squeezing it in your hand till it is quite
hot and then put on. One fold of cloth, the thinner the better,
dipped often in the cold water and rapidly applied gives great relief
in headaches, for example. If you can procure ice put a piece in the
water. Ice is sometimes ordered to be kept constantly on the head; to
keep it from melting, wrap it up in flannel, or put it in sawdust,
and in a cool place. To break ice, use a large needle. Ice-bags can
be bought for 3_s._-4_s._, or it may be put in a bladder and applied
to the part, or a bag may be made of guttapercha and chloroform. By
putting a little chloroform along the edges and folding them over,
you can make a very useful bag for ice; the ice should be broken in
small pieces before being put in the bag, and be removed as soon as
it melts.

_Fomentations._--A very good, perhaps the best, plan is to put a
piece of flannel, folded 4 or 5 times thick to the required size,
into a potato-steamer over boiling water. In this way it soon becomes
hot, and little or no wringing is necessary. Where a potato-steamer
is not to be had, however, the following plan should be adopted.
Take a strong towel or cloth, or a piece of ticking, and pin or
tack a deep hem in each end. Into these run two short, strong
sticks--anything will serve: a couple of iron spoons, and even a
small poker, such as is called a “curate,” though this last is rather
long for choice. Lay the towel, or “wringer,” as it is technically
called, over a large basin, so that the sticks hang outside; place
the folded flannel in the middle, and pour boiling water over. The
flannel can easily be wrung dry by one pair of hands, and if it is
not made by the bed side, it can be carried there without fear of
cooling in the wringer. Sometimes opium or turpentine is to be added.
The quantity of either to be used will be prescribed by the doctor,
and it should be sprinkled on the side of the flannel that is to go
next the skin, immediately before applying it to the patient. The
flannel should be covered with wool and oil-silk, just as a poultice
is covered. Fomentations are, in many cases, as efficacious as
poultices, and they possess, besides, the advantage of being easier
to make, and of costing practically nothing, since the flannels
can be used repeatedly. For the very poor, the cost of linseed for
poultices is often a serious item. There is no danger of scalding if
the flannel is squeezed so dry that it cannot drip nor wet the palm
of the hand.

Another plan is described as follows: Take your flannel folded to
a required thickness and size, dampened quite perceptibly with
water, but not enough to drip, and place it between the folds of a
large newspaper, having the edges of the paper lap well over the
cloth, so as to give no vent to the steam. Thus prepared, lay it on
the stove or register, and in a moment steam is generated from the
under surface, and has permeated the whole cloth, heating it to the
required temperature.

_Blisters._--Blisters and leeches should only be used under medical
direction. Before the application of either, the part should be well
washed with soap and warm water. Then, in the case of the blister,
it has only to be slightly warmed before the fire and left on until
“it rises,” and a good-sized vesicle has formed (which will usually
be in about 8-10 hours), when the water must be let out by snipping
the skin with the point of a sharp scissors--a perfectly painless
operation--and the blistered surface dressed with spermaceti ointment
spread on soft lint.

_Leeches._--Leeches can generally be induced to bite by putting a
few drops of milk or blood on the spots they are intended to take.
They will usually fall off of themselves when filled, but if they
remain on too long they must not be pulled off, but a little salt
shaken on them, which will soon make them let go. Another simple
and easy way of detaching leeches is to drop a few drops of camphor
julep (mist. camph.) on the part, when they will soon relinquish
their hold. The bleeding from their bites will also generally stop
without interference. If it should continue to an undesirable degree,
the nurse may nearly always stop it by making gentle pressure over
the bite with her finger, or applying a little powdered alum or the
muriated tincture of iron (tinctura ferri perchloridi). Never leave a
patient for the night until all bleeding has completely ceased. The
bleeding may be increased, when desired, by fomenting with warm water.

_Enemas._--A nurse is often required to administer an enema or
injection--which in many conditions of disease is a most valuable
method of treatment. Be careful not to disturb or uncover the patient
until quite certain that you have arranged ready to hand everything
that will be required. Almost any variety of injection apparatus
answers the purpose sufficiently well, but in using the rubber ones
care must be taken to squeeze out all air from the bulb before
commencing, else the air will be forced in by the first compression.
The most convenient position for the patient is lying on the left
side. Then the nozzle of the instrument, having been well greased
and warmed, should be passed slowly and carefully into the bowel,
the point being directed slightly backwards. On no account whatever
must the least force be used. If there is any difficulty or pain in
introducing the tube to the required distance, the nurse must wait
for a minute or two, when, in all probability, the opposing muscle
having become relaxed, it will pass in easily and without pain. The
injection should then be given very slowly and quietly, and without
any jerking or irregularity of motion, especially if it be desired
that it should be long retained; it must be stopped immediately
if the patient calls out that he can bear no more. Enemata are
generally either nutrient or purgative; but occasionally other
medicines are given in this way. The nutrient are of extreme value,
as it sometimes happens that, when nourishment can be taken in no
other way, sufficient may be supplied by this means to tide over the
period of danger. A good nutritive enema may be made as follows:
The yolks of 2 fresh eggs well battered in about ½ pint strong beef
tea, or in 2 tablespoonfuls (half a canister) of Brand’s extract of
beef, dissolved in warm milk. About ½ wineglassful port wine, or 1
tablespoonful brandy may be added in cases of extreme exhaustion.
It should be given at about blood heat--100° F. An active purgative
enema may be made with: 4 tablespoonfuls castor oil, 1 teaspoonful
oil of turpentine, and about 1 pint well-strained gruel, or soap and
water. An enema of plain soap and water often answers very well.

_Clinical Thermometer._--In trifling ailments its use is for
reference; in serious attacks it may give immediate warning that the
physician is required; and even while the doctor is in attendance
he often wishes observations regarding the temperature to be
taken several times a day, in his absence, for his guidance and
information. Following are a few illustrations of the uses to which
the clinical thermometer may be put by any intelligent person. The
natural temperature of the human body is 98·4°F. and the little arrow
on the thermometer indicates this normal degree of heat, so that when
the index rests at the arrow, the natural temperature is proved to be
present. It is the variations above or below the arrow that mark the
presence of disease.

The agony of colic is well known, but it is generally of little
danger in the absence of inflammation. In peritonitis (inflammation
of the bowels), the temperature runs quickly up to over 101° F.; in
colic it scarcely rises more than a degree, if even thus far, above
the natural temperature. A severe pain in the side causes pleurisy
to be suspected. If the temperature is normal, there is no pleurisy,
and the pain is probably neuralgic. Diarrhœa may continue for a few
days, and the patient feels so out of sorts that typhoid fever seems
to have set in; but all the specific forms, such as typhoid, typhus,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, or measles, are accompanied by such an
increase of body heat as will probably send up the record to 101°
F., or possibly 3-4° higher. A child with persistent vomiting, sore
throat, and high temperature will probably in a day or so show the
rash of scarlet fever. In any case, when a temperature remains above
100-101° F. for more than 1-2 days, without obvious cause, the doctor
should be consulted. If the child has disordered stomach or sustained
a chill, the thermometer will record fever; but, after a purgative
in the one case and a tepid or hot bath in the other, the increased
heat will be found to be gone, and with it any alarm which may have
been felt. In the course of an inflammation or fever, the friends
can be informed by the medical man what degree of heat he expects,
and should this be exceeded the doctor should be informed of the
fact. Indeed the clinical thermometer is invaluable, especially to
families at a distance from their medical adviser. It can be obtained
from any instrument maker for 7_s._ 6_d._-12_s._ 6_d._, or more. Its
application is a very easy matter. The bulb containing the mercury
should be placed in the mouth or arm-pit; care should be had in the
last case that clothes do not intervene between the instrument and
the arm, and that it is so placed in the arm-pit as to be completely
surrounded by skin. The patient must then press the arm gently to the
side so as to retain the instrument, and in 5 minutes the thermometer
will show the body’s temperature.

Dollond, 1 Ludgate Hill, London, E.C., sells an improved Lens
Clinical Thermometer. The importance of the “lens” front cannot be
over estimated, for with such a thermometer there is no difficulty in
reading off the temperature even in the dull light of a sickroom, for
the thin thread of mercury is magnified quite twenty times its size.
This thermometer is made with a contraction in the tube near the
bulb, which prevents the mercury returning, until shaken down. The
price of this thermometer is 7_s._ 6_d._

W. H. Harling, 47 Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C., is the maker of an
excellent clinical thermometer with lens front, which registers the
temperature in the space of a single minute. It is furnished with a
metal case having a bayonet fastening, and costs only 8_s._ 6_d._ The
same maker supplies also ordinary clinical thermometers, in cases, at
prices ranging from 3_s._ 6_d._ upwards. Other sickroom requisites
are noticed on p. 1007.

When used to take the temperature of patients suffering from
infectious disease, the thermometer should be disinfected by being
washed in “Sanitas” or carbolic acid solution after each time of
using. In taking the temperature under the tongue, the index should
be “set” as directed, and the bulb should be placed as far back under
the tongue as convenient and agreeable; the mouth should then be kept
shut, and the patient should breathe through the nose: 3 minutes are
sufficient for taking the tongue-temperature. In the arm-pit the
thermometer should be left for 5 minutes and the fore-arm should be
made to lie across the chest, so that the thermometer may thus be
made to rest in a sheltered position.

Temperatures should be taken in ordinary cases at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M.;
2 o’clock is a convenient hour for a third observation. Variations
in temperature occur in healthy persons, but such change does not
usually amount to more than 2° or 3° F. What is to be regarded as
deserving of attention under the ordinary circumstances of life
is a fall below 97°, or a rise above 99·5°. In fevers, as a rule,
the temperature does not rise above 106°; but in fever a heat of
108°, continuing even for a very short time, would be regarded as
a most dangerous symptom. A very high or very low temperature must
be looked upon as dangerous; should it be excessive either way, the
case will probably prove fatal. A very sudden change is suspicious,
and very frequently dangerous. In children, however, the presence
of indigestible food in the intestinal canal may suffice to cause
a rapid rise in the temperature. After the temperature has been
stationary for some time, or has commenced to fall, a fresh rise
may herald the advent of some complication, or the approach of a
new disease. An unexpected fall may denote hæmorrhage, exhausting
diarrhœa, or the perforation of the peritoneum or pleura (lining
membranes of the abdomen and chest). A considerable rise during the
course of a disease which is not generally regarded as febrile--viz.,
in tetanus, epilepsy, and cholera--usually precedes death.

_Making a Medical Coil._--Procure a well-seasoned walnut board about
21½ in. long, 3 in. wide, and ⅜ in. thick. From this cut one length
12 in. long for the base board _a_, and 3 pieces 3 in. square (like
_b_) for the coil heads; when cut, a fillet 8 in. long must be nailed
or screwed on the two sides of the base board (as shown in _a_);
these fillets should be ¼ in. square section. Corresponding square
nicks must be cut of two of the square heads (as shown at _x_ in
_c_). All the woodwork when thus squared and finished should be
soaked for ¼ hour in melted paraffin wax, and then rubbed dry while
still warm.

Obtain a thin brass tube (known in the trade as “triblet tubing”)
about ½ in. diameter, 4½ in. long; turn up a short plug and button to
fit one end of this tube and serve as a handle (see _d_). This may be
fastened to the tube by driving in 3 fine brass brads, and filing off
the heads flush with the tube.

[Illustration: 109. Home-made Medical Coil]

Cut up about 100 lengths of straight iron wire (best soft annealed)
No. 22 gauge, say, about 4½ in. in length; fill the brass tube with
them as tight as you can fit them; cut them all to the same length
(they must protrude a little beyond the tube). Now draw out about 2
in. of the iron bundle and wrap it tightly round with twine, leaving
about ½ in. free. Draw more out, and continue wrapping until you have
wrapped to within ½ in. at each end of the bundle. Tie the string,
and withdraw the bundle from the brass tube. Melt a little solder in
a ladle, dip the ends of the iron bundle into soldering fluid (zinc
dissolved in hydrochloric acid), and then at once into the melted
solder. Allow the bundle to cool; file off the superfluous solder,
so that the bundle will just enter freely into the tube. It should
appear like _e_ when the string has been removed.

The next operation is to make a good stout paper tube, also about 4½
in. in length, into which the brass tube _d_ can slide easily. To
make this, put a few turns soaped writing paper round the tube No.
1, then roll and glue seven turns of good stout brown paper, 4½ in.
in length, round this writing paper, or else it will be difficult
to draw out the tube. This paper tube _f_ must be allowed to dry
thoroughly while still on the brass tube _d_. When quite dry, it must
be slipped off, the writing paper lining drawn out, and then it must
be soaked for a few minutes in melted paraffin wax.

The iron bundle should also be allowed to stand in melted paraffin
wax for some time, and then stood up to drain in a warm place. This
will prevent rusting. When quite cold, all superfluous paraffin
having been removed, a strip of brown paper, ½ in. wide, is rolled
round one extremity of the iron bundle, until it is of such a
diameter as to fit tightly into the paper tube _f_. This paper strip
must be cut off at this point and glued tightly round the end of the
iron bundle. The brass tube _d_ is then slipped over the iron bundle
until it just reaches the little paper collar just made. The brass
tube and bundle together are pushed, button end first, into the paper
tube _f_; and when the paper collar round the iron bundle is just
about to enter the paper tube, it is to be well served with hot glue
and forced into the tube. The whole must now be allowed to dry and
set thoroughly.

Taking one of the 3 in. heads (the one which has not any nicks in
the sides), bore a centre hole with a brace and centre bit, just
large enough for the paper tube _f_, with its iron core, to fit
tightly (see _b_). Putting a little thin good hot glue round the
free extremity (the end opposite to that at which the brass enters),
push it into the hole in the square head, until it projects about ⅛
in. on the other side. This must be allowed to dry thoroughly before
proceeding to the next operation.

Now proceed to wind the primary coil. To this end, take about ½ lb.
No. 24 silk-covered copper wire, and wind it round the tube, as shown
at _g_, from end to end, in continuous layers, taking care to put
a sheet of paraffined paper between each layer, and also to baste
each layer with melted paraffin wax before winding on another. About
4 layers will thus be got on, and an even number of layers must be
aimed at, so as to get the 2 ends of the wire at the same extremity,
and able to fasten them under the binding screw _y_. To effect this,
before screwing down the said screws, the ends of the copper wire
are stripped of their covering and wound once round the screw of the
binder. Free ends of wire, at least 6 in. in length, must be left for
attachments, &c. This is shown at _h_.

This primary coil, with its iron core, sliding brass tube regulator,
&c. may now be fastened to the base board by means of 2 screws from
underneath, as shown at _i_, at 4 in. from one end, and therefore
8 in. from the other. One of the free ends of the primary wire is
brought to one of the binding screws _v_, while the other connects to
the clapper _z_. A short piece of wire connects the platinum screw
pillar _w_, to the other binding screw, which is not visible, as it
is behind the platinum pillar. At this point it will be well to try
the working of the primary coil. For this purpose, couple up the 2
binding screws on the base board with a good bichromate cell. Connect
the two binding screws _u_ in _i_, with the 2 brass handles intended
for use. Screw up the platinum screw _w_ till the clapper _z_ begins
to vibrate. Now hold the handles in your hand. As long as the brass
tube _j_ is entirely over the iron core, little or no sensation is
perceptible. If an assistant pulls out the tube, little by little,
the current will be found to increase in strength until the regulator
tube is quite out.

The secondary coil now demands attention. A paper tube, precisely
similar to _b_, but of such a size as to slide easily over the
primary coil _i_ is prepared, and paraffined. This must be cut
exactly the length of the coil _k_, leaving the knob _j_ projecting.
The 2 square pieces of board in which the nicks were cut (_c_) must
then have central holes cut in them to take this paper tube, and
then glued, one at each end of the said tube, as shown. Two small
binding screws are then to be inserted in the centre of the upper
edge of each square. A bung is now placed in each end of the tube,
and a ¼ in. iron rod pushed through both, to serve as an axle. This
is then mounted on 2 standards, as shown at _n_; and beginning by
attaching one end of the uncovered wire to the binding screw _m_,
about ½ lb. No. 36 silk-covered copper wire is now carefully coiled
on, being most diligent in avoiding kinks, breaks, or flaws of every
description. Each layer must be paraffined and separated from its
neighbour by paraffined paper. When the quantum of wire has been
laid on, the finishing end is connected to the binding screw in _n_.
The last coil should be covered with paraffined paper, and finally
covered with a jacket of good silk velvet. The secondary coil is
then complete, and may be slid in its place over the primary coil
_o_. When it is quite over the primary, the secondary current will
be at its strongest, if the metal tube regulator is drawn out; it
will be weaker as the metal tube regulator is more and more inserted;
or may be even more delicately regulated by sliding the secondary
coil itself more or less over the primary. The secondary coil, while
the primary is being excited with a freshly made pint bichromate,
will give a ½ in. spark when the regulator is out and the secondary
coil right over the primary. This will pass easily through a dozen
persons. (S. R. Bottone.)

There are various other sickroom appliances demanded in special
cases which do not require description here. Most may be had of such
well-known firms as Salmon, Ody & Co., 292 Strand, and Savory and
Moore, 143 New Bond Street.


=Feeding patients.=--A nurse should bear in mind these two leading
facts; that while in sickness there is usually a greatly increased
tissue-waste, and consequently an increased necessity for nutriment,
there is almost always a decreased appetite, or no appetite at
all--often such a repugnance to food that, if left to himself, the
patient would prefer taking none at all. Hence, although the medical
attendant may decide what is the most suitable form of nourishment,
on her devolves the more difficult task of inducing the sick person
to take it. With this view, she must exercise all her ingenuity
to tempt and encourage him, by bringing everything in the neatest
possible form. On no pretext whatever should there be any cooking in
the sickroom; nor should she take her own meals there; nor should
any food be left standing near the patient. On the contrary, though
his nutriment must be brought to him frequently--more frequently, of
course, the less he can take each time--and punctually, it should
only be in such quantity as he is likely to consume; and immediately
that is done, everything in connection with food should be removed
from sight and smell until the next time.

The nurse must devote much of her attention to the subject of diet,
observing carefully the patient’s appetite, and attending carefully
to the quantity of food and the effect of it. The sense of taste of
many people is very acute when they are ill, and you must take care
that the spoon in the arrowroot, which looks perfectly clean, does
not taste to the patient of the soup for which it was used last.
Eatables should not be kept in a sickroom: if you are obliged to
have anything within reach, put it under a cover; a tumbler turned
over does very well for biscuits or jelly, and for larger things
a bell glass is useful; tin boxes, the next best thing, generally
make a noise when they are opened. The water given to a sick person
should not only be boiled and allowed to cool, but ought always to be
filtered. It should frequently be changed, as it quickly absorbs the
impurities with which the air of a sickroom is charged, and becomes
injurious, if not dangerous to drink. In cases of faintness, where
stimulants are not ordered, the patient should be made to sip some
liquid slowly; the mere effort of sipping accelerates the action of
the heart.

When solid foods cannot be taken, the best kinds are those which
contain the most nourishing properties in the smallest and most
easily digested form. Prominent among these is well-made beef tea:
not the greasy watery broth which so often goes by that name,
but nearly pure beef juice which has been slowly extracted, with
the addition of little or no water, from fresh lean beef. A good
substitute may be found in Bovril, which has the great advantage
in an emergency of being immediately procurable at a chemist’s or
grocer’s. Home made beef tea takes a long time to prepare properly,
and even then it is deficient in staminal properties, whereas Bovril
contains the entire nutritious constituents of pure beef, of which
it takes 40 lb. to make 1 lb. of Bovril extract. Of equal value is
milk; which, especially when combined with bread and butter, is
very nourishing, and forms a most valuable article of sick diet. If
it seems to disagree, or curdle on the stomach, it can generally
be prevented doing so by the addition of about ⅓-¼ its bulk of
lime-water. These may be varied by mutton broth, chicken or rabbit
jelly, eggs in any form--plain, in custard, or in pudding with
arrowroot and sago--and real turtle soup; which latter is, however,
so terribly expensive as to be outside the reach of most people.
Jellies made with gelatine, which contains scarcely any nutriment,
are almost useless; and tea should be given only as an indulgence
when specially wished for, and then it should be very weak, and with
plenty of milk. All food given to the sick should be very fresh, of
the best quality, and most carefully cooked.

_Boiled Flour Gruel._--Where the illness has been long and tedious,
and the strength reduced, the following will be found very useful:
To prepare the flour, put into a basin as much as it will hold,
pressed tightly down. Then tie a cloth over it, and allow it to boil
hard for 6 hours. Then take off the cloth, and let the flour stand
in the basin till next day, when remove the crust which will have
formed, and put the remainder away in a covered jar. For use, mix 4
tablespoonfuls flour smoothly into a paste, then pour on it ½ pint
boiling milk or water, and boil for 10 minutes, constantly stirring
to avoid lumps. Brandy, sherry, lemon juice or cream may be added,
according to taste. Gruel may also be made from baked flour, but it
is not so easy of digestion.

_Rice Gruel._--1 oz. each rice, sago, and pearl barley boiled in 3
pints water, which, in 2 hours, generally reduces it to 1 qt. Strain
and flavour to taste. This forms a good nourishing diet, especially
with the addition of a little isinglass.

_Onion Posset or Gruel._--This has been found very efficacious for
colds, and is made with Robinson’s groats with the addition only of
an onion, which should have been previously boiled for 6 hours. The
yolk of an egg well beaten is an improvement.

_Chicken Broth._--The younger and fatter the birds are for this the
better. It is made by immersing the legs, neck, and trunk of a fowl
into just as much water as will cover them, and boiling gently for
an hour. The white meat makes a delicious entrée if cut up finely
and treated as a veal mince. Potato flour is useful for thickening
in cases where boiled flour is not handy; but home-made things are
always the best, as the ingredients are known.

_Oyster Fritters._--Remove the beards, and put each oyster into a
tablespoon, and fill with a batter made as follows: 1 oz. rice flour
mixed with 2 tablespoonfuls water, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, and 2 salad
oil, the yolk of an egg, and a little salt and pepper. Allow the
batter to stand, and just before using, beat the white of an egg to a
stiff froth, and mix with it. Fry the oysters covered with the batter
in boiling fat, turn them, place them on blotting paper to drain;
serve on a hot dish, and garnish with slices of lemon, and thin rolls
of brown bread and butter alternately.

_Potato Chops._--Mash nicely with a little milk, butter, pepper, and
salt, any potatoes left from the day before, spread evenly over a
boned loin chop previously sprinkled with finely chopped fried mint.
Fry to a golden brown in boiling fat, then place it on blotting
paper to remove the superfluous grease. Garnish with fresh mint and
watercress.

_Jellies and Creams._--The following recipes were published by Mary
Hooper, in the _Queen_:--

When jellies and creams are ordered for sick people in families
where there is not a good cook, they are usually obtained from the
confectioner; but this is not at all in the interest of the invalid,
and efforts should be made to provide his diet from the home kitchen.
An idea prevails that it is very troublesome to make jelly. It is
not at all necessary to clear the jelly through a bag for invalids,
nor indeed for ordinary domestic use. By a little care in the use
of citric acid, which is perfectly wholesome, a jelly nearly as
bright as that which has been cleared with eggs may be produced.
In some cases, jelly without wine is required for invalids, when
coffee, cocoa, or Seville orange jelly will probably be useful. It is
difficult to make these jellies palatable without making them sweet,
and they will only keep a short time. If the doctor does not object,
or where it is desirable to give stimulants in a disguised form, a
very small quantity of absolute alcohol may be used, and it will
obviate the last-named disadvantages.

Milk jellies, or creams, whenever they can be taken, are an excellent
form of diet, and are very easily prepared by the following recipes.
For those who require a quickly-made cream, “Nelson’s Blanc mange”
will be found very useful; it merely requires to be dissolved in
milk or water, and in a very short time is ready for use. This blanc
mange is made of very rich milk, and tastes equal to that prepared
at home with cream. The unflavoured blanc mange should, as a rule,
be selected for invalids, as any home-made flavour can be added to
it. These flavourings--lemon, Seville orange, almond and vanilla--are
very easily prepared by infusing any of the three first-named in gin,
the latter in brandy. As these are more digestible than any which can
be bought, it is well worth while to take a little trouble in the
matter. It is sometimes necessary to tempt the appetite of an invalid
by a pretty looking dish, which is also nice and nourishing. Such a
dish can be easily made by the recipe for Alexandra Cream.

Simple Jelly.--Soak 1 oz. gelatine in ½ pint cold water for 1 hour or
more. It is an advantage to soak gelatine overnight when convenient,
because it is then more easily dissolved. Boil 6 oz. lump sugar in
1 pint water, skimming it until clear; then throw in the soaked
gelatine, let it boil slowly for 5 minutes, removing all scum as it
rises. Dissolve in a basin ¼ oz. citric acid, in lump, in ½ gill
boiling water, pour the jelly on to this, when more scum will rise,
which should be carefully taken off. Now add 1 gill wine and a little
lemon flavouring, and, when nearly cold, put the jelly into a mould.
Lemon juice can be used instead of the citric acid, but the jelly
will not then be so bright.

Cocoa Jelly.--Mix 1 dessertspoonful cocoa in ½ pint water, stir
over the fire until it boils, sweeten it with ¼ lb. lump sugar, or
according to the taste of the patient. Stir into it, whilst boiling,
½ oz. gelatine, soaked in ½ pint cold water for some hours, flavour
with vanilla, and stir occasionally until the jelly begins to set.

Coffee Jelly.--Soak ½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint cold water, dissolve it
in ½ pint very strong coffee, sweetened to taste. Extract of coffee
can be used to flavour this jelly, and answers well.

Porter Jelly.--Procure a cow-heel (which should be thoroughly
cleaned) and 2 calves’ feet; wash them in cold water, and put them
into a pan with 5 pints water, and let them boil until the meat
leaves the bones; strain the liquor through a hair sieve, and let it
stand for one night in a cool place. Next morning put the stock into
a pan with 1 lb. loaf sugar, ½ pint porter, the juice of 4 lemons
with their rinds cut very thin, and the well-beaten whites of 8 eggs.
Let all boil together till it rises to the top of the pan; then
throw in a teacupful of cold water; then let it boil slowly about 20
minutes, at the expiration of which time add 1 wineglassful brandy.
Boil 5 minutes longer, then lift the pan from the fire, and let it
remain at the side of the fire, to keep hot. In about ½ hour the scum
will collect in a lump, leaving the liquor quite clear. Run it into
moulds.

Port Wine Jelly.--Take ½ pint port wine, 2 oz. isinglass, and ½ lb.
white sugar candy. Let the ingredients be put together in a jar and
stand for 6 hours; then put the jar into a saucepan of water, and as
soon as it boils take it off the fire and strain through muslin; when
cold it is fit for use.

Restorative Jelly.--Put into the jar in which the jelly is to be kept
2 oz. isinglass, 2 oz. white sugar candy, ½ oz. gum arabic, and ½ oz.
nutmeg grated. Pour over them 1½ pint tent or port wine. Let it stand
12 hours, then set the jar in a saucepan of water, and let it simmer
till all the ingredients are dissolved, stirring it occasionally. The
jelly must not be strained. A piece the size of a nutmeg to be taken
twice a day. If nutmeg is not liked, any other spice will do as well
to flavour it.

Blanc Mange.--It is better, if possible, to soak the gelatine for
this cream all night, because it will then dissolve in warm liquid,
whereas if it is only lightly soaked, the milk must be boiling. Warm
3 gills milk or cream, and dissolve in it ½ oz. gelatine, previously
soaked in ½ gill water. Sweeten to taste, and flavour with extract of
vanilla. When nearly cold, stir into the blanc mange the whites of 2
or 3 eggs beaten to a strong froth. This blanc mange will be found
light and nourishing in cases of great weakness.

Rice Cream.--(_a_) Boil 2 oz. fine rice in water for 5 minutes,
strain it, and boil until tender in 1 qt. new milk. Rub the rice
through a sieve to a pulp, and add to it any milk not absorbed in
the boiling; ½ oz. gelatine to 1 pint rice and milk. The gelatine
can be soaked and dissolved either in milk or water. Stir over the
fire until mixed, sweeten and flavour to taste. Stir the cream
occasionally until cold, then lightly mix in the whites of 2 eggs
beaten to a strong froth; when on the point of setting put it into a
mould.

(_b_) Make 1 pint milk or cream into custard with the yolk of an
egg and 2 oz. sugar; then dissolve in it ½ oz. gelatine previously
soaked. Mix with it 1 oz. rice which has been baked or boiled in milk
until perfectly tender, flavour with vanilla, and add 1 teaspoonful
brandy if liked. Rinse a mould with cold water, put the cream into
it, and let it stand until firm enough to turn out.

Semolina Cream.--Soak 1 oz. semolina in 1 gill cold milk for an
hour, boil it until soft in ½ pint milk. Dissolve ½ oz. gelatine,
previously soaked in ½ gill water, in ½ pint boiling milk, sweeten
it with 2 oz. lump sugar, flavour to taste, and when the cream is
beginning to set, put it into a mould.

Alexandra Cream.--Make ½ pint rice cream (_a_) or blanc mange as
directed in the foregoing recipes. Dissolve ½ pint Nelson’s port wine
jelly (sherry can be used if preferred, but the colour is not so
tempting), either adding water or claret, according to the directions
given with the jelly. When both the cream and the jelly are on the
point of setting, put first a layer of the latter into a mould, then
of the former, and so on until all is used. (Mary Hooper.)

_Beef Tea._--(_a_) Cut 1 lb. beefsteak into dice, rejecting all skin
and fat. Put into a stewpan a bit of fresh butter the size of a bean,
throw in the meat, and sprinkle over a small pinch of salt. Cover
the stewpan closely, and set it on the range at a low heat to draw
out the juices, which will take 20 minutes. Take care there is no
approach to frying, as that would dry up the extract and destroy the
character of the tea. About every 5 minutes during the process drain
away the gravy as it comes; if the meat is fine and fresh there will
be at least ⅓ pint, and when all is drawn set it aside, either to use
as extract of beef or to be added to the tea when finished. Now put
to the meat 1 pint water, and let it boil gently for ½ hour. Pour the
tea off, but do not strain it, as such nourishment as it contains
lies in the thick portion. Of course if a patient is unable to take
any solid this rule will not apply, and the tea must then be strained
either through a linen or flannel bag. Having drained off the tea
whilst still boiling hot, put into it the juices at first extracted,
and having taken off every particle of fat it will be ready to serve.

(_b_) Cut the meat into small pieces, cover with water, and simmer an
hour. If it is allowed, 2 or 3 peppercorns and a minced shallot--it
is milder than onion--will be a nice addition to the tea.

(_c_) Cut the meat into very small pieces, and put it in a jar having
a closely fitting lid, with cold water. The jar can be placed in the
oven for 1-2 hours, according to the heat, or in a saucepan of water
to boil for 1½ hour.

In all cases where it can be taken, beef tea should be slightly
thickened, and especially when bread is refused. Boiled flour is best
for this purpose; genuine arrowroot may also be used. The yolk of an
egg beaten up in the broth-cup, and the tea poured boiling on to it,
is excellent.

The meat from which beef tea has been prepared will make good stock,
or be excellent if properly treated for the dinner of the family,
who, be it remembered, have the chief of the nourishment in the fibre.

It is important in the preparation of beef tea to preserve the fine
flavour of the meat, and to use such scrupulously clean vessels that
no foreign taste can be imparted to it. The shin of beef should not
be chosen for this purpose, for it gives more gelatine than juice.
The best part is beefsteak or the neck; the first will yield the most
gravy, and does not cost above 2_d._ per lb. more than the coarser
portion of the ox.

The idea that beef tea should be boiled a long time in order to
extract all the goodness of the meat is a mistaken one, for the
gelatinous matter thus gained is of comparatively little value,
whilst the delicate aroma of the tea is lost by long boiling.

_Gruel._--Made as it should be, gruel is rarely disliked, and is more
nourishing, and in many cases to be preferred to arrowroot--a thing
most difficult to procure genuine, and very expensive. Made thin,
as is customary, it is a comfort in sickness, is soothing to the
stomach, and gives warmth to the body; made thick as a porridge it is
the most nourishing of cereal foods. Robinson’s Embden groats, and
Robinson’s patent groats, prepared by Keen, Robinson, and Bellville,
are the only kinds of which gruel can be properly made. They are
entirely free from the acrid flavour which is so disagreeable
in inferior preparations of oatmeal, make a most nourishing and
digestible gruel, with the advantage of being easily and rapidly
served up--if made from the patent groats, the Embden takes
longer--ten minutes only being required in the process of cooking.
Robinson’s Embden groats were introduced about the year 1764 by Mr.
Martin Robinson as an improvement upon the “whole gritts” then in
use. In 1823 letters patent were taken out for a greater improvement
known as Robinson’s Patent groats, now in use in all parts of the
world. Take of the patent groats one tablespoonful, mix into a smooth
paste of the consistence of cream with a wineglassful of cold water,
pour this into a stewpan containing nearly a pint of boiling water or
milk, stir the gruel on the fire while it boils for ten minutes; pour
into a basin, add a pinch of salt and a little butter, or if more
agreeable some sugar, and a small quantity of spirits if allowed. If
made with water, milk or cream can be added afterwards.

A delicious substitute for gruel is made as follows: 1 oz. each
rice, sago, and pearl barley; put 3 pints water, and boil gently
for 3 hours, when the liquor should be reduced to 1 qt. Strain it
in exactly the same manner as groat gruel, and flavour with wine,
brandy, or anything else that may be suitable. If made a little
thicker, say with 1½ oz. each ingredient to 3 pints water, a jelly
will be produced, which may be eaten cold with sugar, fruit, syrups,
or preserve.

_Arrowroot._--(_a_) To make plain water arrowroot, with an Etna,
put on ½ pint water to boil in the saucepan; mix, in a cup, 1
dessertspoonful arrowroot with a little water; pour the mixture into
the boiling water, and cook it for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time.

(_b_) Milk arrowroot is prepared exactly in the same manner. Some
persons affirm that arrowroot should never be boiled, or it will
lose its astringent qualities. In some particular cases, when strong
astringents are needed, it should not be boiled, and should only have
boiling water or milk poured upon it; but when the digestion is weak,
it is better for the patient to take arrowroot cooked. Sifted sugar
may be added according to taste; and in water arrowroot a little wine
or brandy is generally given.

_Pastry and Bread._--Any fat that is greatly heated decomposes, and
gives rise to certain fatty acids that are sure to disagree with
delicate persons. That is the reason why pastry and fried food are
unfitted for invalids. Very plain pastry, made light with baking
powder, is sometimes admissible; but a small egg or milk loaf with
the inside taken out, and baked crisp and hot, is a much better
substitute. Sponge cake is best of all cakes, because it is made
without any butter. Bread should not be new, but may be baked crisp
in the oven. Crust is often more digestible than crumb. A change in
bread is easy to arrange; if it is only a change of shape, it is
better than monotony. A French roll, loaves of baking powder bread,
brown and white pulled bread, crisp biscuits, are easy to get in most
places.

_Puddings._--(_a_) Boil ½ pint milk with cinnamon, lemon, and bay
leaves; add 2 oz. sugar, 1 oz. flour, a little salt, and 3 eggs;
beat all together, and steam this custard in a plain mould or basin,
previously spread inside with butter; when done firm and quite cold
cut into square pieces and dip in frying batter; drop separately in
boiling fat, and fry a light brown colour, and dish them up on a
napkin. (_b_) 6 oz. finely-grated bread, 6 oz. currants, 6 oz. sugar,
6 eggs, 6 apples, some lemon peel and nutmeg; let it boil 3 hours.
(_c_) Weight of 2 eggs in butter, which beat to a cream, same weight
of flour, same of pounded white sugar, the grated rind and juice of
2 lemons; bake ½ hour in a small flat pie-dish, with a rim of paste
round the edge, serve with sifted sugar on the top, and send up very
hot. (_d_) ½ lb. best beef suet, ½ lb. grated breadcrumbs, ½ lb.
beaten white sugar, 3 eggs, well beaten and strained; the grated rind
and juice of a large lemon, stick a mould with raisins, pour in the
mixture, boil 2 hours.

_Treacle Posset._--Heat ½ pint milk in the saucepan, and when in the
act of boiling, pour in 1 gill (¼ pint) treacle. The milk instantly
curdles. It must be taken off the spirit lamp and allowed to stand
for 10 minutes, and then strained through a piece of muslin to
separate the curds. This must be drunk hot. White wine, whey, and
lemon whey, are prepared in a similar manner, only substituting a
glass of sherry in one case, and a glass of lemon juice in the other,
for the treacle. All wheys must be strained before they are taken.

_Restorative Soup._--Take 1 lb. newly-killed beef or fowl, mince it
very fine, add 8 fl. oz. soft or distilled water, 4-6 drops pure
hydrochloric acid, 30-60 gr. common salt, and stir well together.
After 3 hours the whole is to be thrown on a common hair sieve, and
the fluid allowed to pass through with slight pressure. On the flesh
residue in the sieve pour slowly 2 oz. distilled water, and let it
run through while squeezing the meat; there will be 10 oz. extract of
meat, of which a wineglassful may be taken at pleasure. It must not
be warmed to a greater extent than putting a bottle filled partially
with it to stand in hot water. If the flavour be disagreeable, 1
wineglassful claret may be added to 1 teacupful.

_Milk Toast._--Take 2 slices bread and toast well--that is, crisp.
Take new milk or cream, also a bit of butter (varying according to
toast required), and melt in a saucepan together. Then dip in the
slices of toast, let them soak for a moment or two, lift on to a deep
plate, and pour the remains of milk and butter on top. Serve very
hot; add salt as required.

_Hot Milk._--Milk that is heated to much above 100° F. loses, for a
time, a degree of its sweetness and density; but no one fatigued by
over-exertion of body or mind who has ever experienced the reviving
influence of a tumbler of this beverage as hot as it can be sipped,
will willingly forego a resort to it because of its having been
rendered somewhat less acceptable to the palate. The promptness
with which its cordial influence is felt is indeed surprising. Some
portions seem to be digested and appropriated almost immediately; and
many who fancy that they need alcoholic stimulants when exhausted
by labour of brain or body will find in this simple draught an
equivalent that will be as abundantly satisfying and more enduring in
its effects.

_Caudles._--The basis of all caudles is flour gruel, made either
with water or milk, that made with milk being the most nutritious,
while both are equally digestible. In cool weather a quantity of
gruel may be made and kept in a cool place, and portions of it
heated and used as required. When gruel enters largely into the
diet, its acceptability to the patient will be augmented by varying
the flavouring or spice used in its preparation. If, therefore, a
quantity is made plain, it can be sweetened and variously flavoured
as it is heated for immediate use.

Cold Wine Caudle (a nutritious, digestible, and slightly stimulating
food, useful in all sickness where starch and wine are not
objectionable).--Make a good gruel by mixing smoothly 1 tablespoonful
flour with ½ pint cold milk or water, and stirring it into ½ pint
boiling milk or water; add a level teaspoonful of salt, and let the
gruel boil for 5 minutes, stirring it to prevent burning. To ½ pint
cold gruel add 1 egg beaten to a froth, 1 glass of good wine, and
sugar and nutmeg to suit the palate of the patient.

Hot Wine Caudle (preferably to cold caudle generally, and useful
in the same physical condition indicated in the preceding recipe).
Heat ½ pint gruel; beat the yolk of a raw egg to a cream with 2
tablespoonfuls pulverised sugar; beat the white of the egg to a stiff
froth; when the gruel is boiling hot, quickly beat a glass of good
sherry or Madeira wine into the egg yolk and sugar, stir the hot
gruel into it, and then add the beaten white of the egg. Work very
quickly, and serve the caudle hot.

Cream Caudle (an equally valuable food with the two preceding
caudles, useful under similar physical conditions). To 1 pint gruel
add 1 glass good wine, 1 gill sweet cream, 1 tablespoonful noyeau or
any good cordial, and sugar to suit the patient’s taste. Use hot or
cold, but preferably hot.

_Digestive Foods._--Where the digestion is weak, as is generally
the case in sickness, much benefit may be derived from partially
digested foods. Maltose is a sugar which does not readily undergo
acetous fermentation, and therefore will not give rise to acidity
and dyspepsia. This is a great matter, as cane sugar added to stewed
fruit and milk puddings readily undergoes acetous fermentation in
many stomachs. The lævulose sugar of fruit, like maltose, readily
undergoes alcoholic but not acetous fermentation. Maltose being less
powerfully sweet than cane sugar, a greater quantity is necessary to
sweeten the pudding. If the raw starch, semolina, sago, or tapioca
be first put in the dish by itself, and placed in the oven for an
hour (taking care not to have it burnt by the oven being too hot),
not only are the starch cells cracked, but a certain conversion of
the starch into dextrine takes place. If to this be then added an
equal quantity of ground malt and some hot milk poured on, and the
dish be allowed to stand a few minutes before being put into the oven
again, the diastase of the malt acts upon the farina and converts
it into dextrine and maltose. Dextrine and maltose being soluble,
the pudding is very thin. Such a pudding is admirably adapted for
invalids and dyspeptics, as requiring scarcely any digestion in the
body. For those with whom ordinary milk puddings produce acidity,
such a pudding is specially suitable. Ground malt may be added to
fresh milk, and forms an admirable food in cases of acute disease.
Baked flour perhaps goes better with meat broths, to which it gives
a high food value. (Well-baked flour requires but a touch of saliva
to render it soluble, and, added to meat broths and gravy soups,
renders them very nutritive.) Malt, being sweet, goes better with
milk, or apple-water, or tamarind-water, or lemonade, and gives us
a food which being all but independent of the digestive act, can
be most usefully employed in the sickroom. Beef-tea (which alone
is scarcely a food) and milk-and-seltzerwater pall upon the palate
of the sick person, who craves variety just as do healthy persons.
The adoption of ground malt as a food will solve for us one or two
knotty questions connected with feeding people when the digestive
power is feeble. Drinks like lemonade, made with malt instead of
cane sugar, would not only not go sour in the mouth and stomach, but
would contain some phosphates and soluble albuminoids, and so form
admirable beverages in feverish states. The many malt extracts now in
the market are well adapted for such end. (_Lancet._)

An excellent peptonising apparatus, for the predigestion of foods for
the sickroom, is sold by Savory and Moore.

_Drinks._--Orange-whey.--The juice of 1 orange to 1 pint of sweet
milk. Heat slowly until curds form, strain and cool.

Egg-Lemonade.--White of 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful pulverised sugar,
juice of 1 lemon, 1 goblet water. Beat together.

Sago-Milk.--3 tablespoons sago soaked in a cup of cold water one
hour; add 3 cups boiling milk; sweeten and flavour to taste. Simmer
slowly ½ hour. Eat warm.

Baked Milk.--Put ½ gal. milk in a jar, and tie it down with
writing-paper. Let it stand in a moderate oven 8-10 hours. It will be
like cream, and is very nutritious.

Punch without Liquor.--Take the juice of 6 oranges and 6 lemons,
adding sugar to suit the taste. Put to this a quantity of pounded ice
and some sliced pine-apple, pouring over it 2 qt. water. This is an
agreeable summer beverage for anybody, sick or well.

Rice Water.--Wash 2 oz. best rice and boil it fast for ½ hour in 1
qt. water. Any flavouring may be added, or a small piece of stick
cinnamon or shred lemon peel may be boiled with the rice, and sugar
used according to circumstances. Lemonade made with rice water when
cold is very nice and refreshing.

Gum Arabic Water.--Put into an earthenware jar 1 oz. finest picked
gum with 2 oz. sugar candy and 1 pint water; set it in a saucepan of
water, and stir occasionally until dissolved. This is very useful
as a night drink for hectic cough, and will allay the tickling in
the throat. It should be kept as hot as possible. The little French
porcelain veilleuse is best adapted for this purpose.

Lemon Juice.--Few people know the value of lemon juice. A free use of
lemon juice and sugar will always relieve a cough. Most people feel
poorly in the spring, but if they would eat a lemon before breakfast
every day for a week--with or without sugar, as they like--they would
find it better than any medicine. Lemon juice, used according to this
recipe, would sometimes cure consumption:--Put 1 doz. lemons into
cold water and slowly bring to a boil; boil slowly until the lemons
are soft, then squeeze until all the juice is extracted; add sugar
to taste, and drink. In this way use 1 doz. lemons a day. If they
cause pain, lessen the quantity and use only 5 or 6 a day until you
are better, and then begin again with 1 doz. a day. After using 5 or
6 doz., the patient will begin to gain flesh and enjoy food. Hold
on to the lemons, and still use them very freely for several weeks
more. Another use for lemons is for a refreshing drink in summer,
or in sickness at any time. Prepare as directed above and add water
and sugar. But in order to have this keep well, after boiling the
lemons, squeeze and strain carefully; then to every ½ pint juice add
1 lb. loaf or crushed sugar, boil and stir a few minutes more until
the sugar is dissolved, skim carefully and bottle. You will get more
juice from the lemons by boiling them, and the preparation keeps
better.--_Lancet._

Linseed Tea.--Take 3 tablespoonfuls linseed, about 1 pint water,
and boil for 10 minutes. Strain off the water, put in a jug with 2
lemons, cut in thin slices; put also some brown sugar. A wineglassful
of wine is an improvement. This has been found most nourishing for
invalids.

Barley Water.--Barley water is an important article in the invalid’s
dietary. Dr. Pye Chavasse, in his work entitled ‘Advice to a Mother,’
strongly recommends Robinson’s patent barley, prepared by Keen,
Robinson, and Bellville, of London. Take of the patent barley one
ounce mixed with a wineglass of cold water, pour this into a stewpan
containing nearly one quart of boiling water, stir this over the
fire while boiling for five minutes, then flavour with a small bit
of lemon peel or cinnamon and sweeten according to taste. Equal
quantities of milk and barley water make a very nourishing drink,
especially useful in feverish cases. Barley water should not be mixed
with milk or syrup before required for use, as in a warm atmosphere
it undergoes changes, and sometimes slightly ferments.

Almond Milk (an exceedingly nutritious beverage, useful in most
conditions of illness).--Pour 1 qt. boiling water upon ¼ lb. shelled
almonds, and when the skins soften rub them off the kernels with a
clean towel; pound the almonds thus blanched in a mortar, putting
in 3 or 4 at a time, and adding 4 or 5 drops milk, as the almonds
are being pounded, to prevent oiling--about 1 tablespoonful milk
will be required for the ¼ lb. almonds; when the almonds are finely
pounded, mix them with 1 pint milk, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, a level
teaspoonful salt, and the yellow rind of a lemon, and place the milk
over the fire to boil; meantime, beat 3 eggs smoothly, and strain the
almond milk into them, stirring the mixture as the milk is strained
in; return it to the saucepan, and place it in another pan of hot
water, over the fire, stirring it constantly until it begins to
thicken; then remove it at once from the fire, strain it, and use it.

Barley Milk (a demulcent, refreshing, and nutritious beverage, useful
in fevers and gastric inflammation).--Wash 4 oz. pearl barley in cold
water until the water is clear; put it over the fire in a double
kettle with 1 qt. milk and a level teaspoonful of salt, and boil it
until the milk is reduced one half; then strain off the milk and
sweeten to suit the taste of the patient. The barley may be used as
food by adding to it a glass of wine and a little sugar.

Irish Moss Water (a bland, nutritious drink, excellent in feverish
conditions and in colds).--Wash ½ oz. moss in plenty of cold water;
then soak it for 10 minutes in 1 pint cold water; then add 2 pints
cold water, 1 tablespoonful sugar, and 1 in. stick cinnamon to it,
and boil it until it is about as thick as cream; strain it, add more
sugar if it is desired, and use while warm. The yellow rind of a
lemon may replace the cinnamon as flavouring.

Icelandic Moss Chocolate (a very nutritious drink, suitable for use
when abundant nourishment is required).--Wash 1 oz. moss thoroughly
in cold water; then put it over the fire to boil in 1 pint water.
Grate 1 oz. chocolate fine, mix it with ½ cupful cold milk, stir it
into 1 pint boiling milk, and boil it for 5 minutes; then add it to
the boiling moss, strain them together, sweeten them to suit the
taste of the patient, and use the beverage warm.

Imitation Kumys (Koumiss).--(_a_) Fill into a strong champagne
bottle, good, fresh, unboiled cow’s milk to such a height that
after the addition of 1 oz. granulated or powdered sugar, and after
corking, there would still be left at least 1 in. of empty space
below the cork. Before corking, add a piece of fresh compressed
yeast, about the size of 2 peas, then cork and tie the cork firmly
down. In place of compressed yeast, 1 teaspoonful good beer yeast may
be taken. The contents of the bottle are well shaken, repeatedly,
then the bottles are placed in the cellar, where they are turned up
and down a few times during the day. From and after the fifth day the
mixture is ready and may be drunk to about the twentieth day. It is
best to prepare about 6 bottles full at a time, refilling each after
it has been emptied and cleaned, so that the treatment, after being
begun, may not be interrupted. On opening the bottles, the contents
are very apt to foam over, hence the bottle should be opened while
being held over a plate. It should never be opened where there may be
any furniture or dresses about, which might be soiled by spattering.
A good milk-wine or kumys should have a homogeneous appearance of the
consistence of thin cream, should be effervescent when poured out,
of an acidulous, agreeably vinous odour and taste, and should not be
full of lumps, or taste like butter-milk. On first using kumys it
produces loose bowels, but this effect soon passes off.

(_b_) 200 parts condensed milk, 2000 parts water, 2 parts lactic
acid, 1 part citric acid, and 30 parts brandy are mixed and
carbonated. Cork well and let it stand for 2 days in a warm room till
it froths.


=Administering Physic.=--Never allow a bottle of lotion for external
use to stand beside a bottle of medicine to be taken internally. Keep
them entirely separate, and _keep all medicines in a place where
children cannot by any possibility reach them_. One further piece of
advice, which is unfortunately but seldom attended to, is deserving
of attention, namely, after an illness has terminated either in
recovery or death, _empty out all the medicine bottles_, and on no
account retain any of them for future use. Spoons differ very much
in size, and it is not wise to trust to them in measuring medicines.
It is best to get a medicine glass or spoon, either of which can be
got at a chemist’s for a few pence. In giving sick people medicine
there are 3 points which ought carefully to be remembered--namely,
regularity, punctuality, and exactitude. Those intrusted with the
administration of medicine to sick persons should _always_ read the
label of the bottle before administering the medicine. By doing so
they will probably save themselves a lifelong reproach. An inhaler
for taking medicated vapours in bronchial and catarrhal affections
may be extemporised out of a pickle bottle fitted with a perforated
cork and a bit of tube. A special apparatus (Dr. Felton’s) is sold at
7_s._ 6_d._ by Savory and Moore.

To mask the taste of cod-liver oil:--(_a_) Use Allan and Hanbury’s
“perfected” oil. (_b_) Put a little salt in the mouth before taking
the oil. (_c_) Add 30 drops sulphuric ether to the dose and take it
quite cold. (_d_) Add a little iodoform and essence of anise; say 96
grm. oil, 20 c. grm. iodoform, 4 drops essence.

Quinine may be enclosed in gelatine capsules when otherwise refused.
If in powder it is best mixed with a little milk.

Keep a separate measure and separate glass for administering such
drugs as castor-oil, cod-liver oil, asafœtida, valerian, &c.

Pills should be placed well towards the gullet and washed down with
a drink. Or they may be hidden in jam, or wrapped in rice paper, and
then washed down. Powders may be mixed in jam, treacle, honey, milk,
or water.

To remove the taste of nauseous medicines from the mouth chew a small
piece of bread and spit it out.

The best times for administering medicines, according to the
frequency with which they are ordered, are as follows:--

“Daily.”--At 9 A.M. or at bedtime.

“Night and morning.”--9 A.M. and bedtime.

“Twice-a-day.”--10 A.M. and 6 P.M.

“Three times a day.”--10 A.M., 2 P.M., 6 P.M.

“Every 4 hours.”--10 A.M., 2 P.M., 6 P.M., 10 P.M., 2 A.M., 6 A.M.

Never wake a patient to administer medicine or food unless ordered to
do so.

To apportion doses according to age, reckon 21 years and upwards as
adults requiring full dose; then 17 will take ¾, 14 will take ½, 7
will take ⅓, 4 will take ¼, 3 will take ⅙, and 2 years or under will
take ⅛ of the full dose.

Medicines are classified according to their general properties, the
following being the chief:--

  _Anæsthetics_--produce insensibility to pain.
  _Anodynes_--procure relief from pain.
  _Antiseptics_--prevent putrefaction.
  _Antispasmodics_--check spasms and cramps.
  _Caustics_--destroy animal tissues by a kind of burning.
  _Collyrium_--an eyewash.
  _Diaphoretics_--induce perspiration.
  _Diuretics_--increase the flow of urine.
  _Emetics_--cause sickness (vomiting).
  _Expectorants_--favour spitting.
  _Liniments_--for rubbing in.
  _Narcotics_--induce sleep.
  _Purgatives_--cause very loose bowels.
  _Refrigerants_--cooling.
  _Sedatives_--calm the nerves.
  _Soporifics_--induce sleep.
  _Styptics_--arrest bleeding.
  _Tonics_--increase the appetite and give a stimulus to the system.

The principal domestic remedies, with their doses (m. means minims,
gr. grains, table. tablespoonful, tea. teaspoonful, dr. drams, oz.
ounces, dess. dessertspoonful) and properties, are as follows:--

Aloes (compound decoction): 1-3 tablespoonfuls; pleasant purgative,
useful in habitual constipation, and will often relieve headache.

Alum: 10-20 gr. in whooping cough and internal bleeding; 1 tea. (in
treacle) as an emetic; 15 gr. in 10 oz. water as a collyrium; 60 gr.
in 10 oz. water for gargles and injections; astringent (coddling the
mouth) and styptic.

Ammonio-citrate of iron: 5-10 gr. in water; tonic.

Antimonial wine: 5-15 m. 3 times a day in bronchitis and fever,
diaphoretic; 1 table. (for adults), emetic.

Aromatic chalk: 20 gr. in water checks diarrhœa.

Belladonna liniment (compound): externally applied on rag covered
with waterproof for 12 hours as local remedy for rheumatism and
lumbago; anodyne.

Bicarbonate of potash: 15-20 gr.; antacid; taken with lemon juice or
citric acid as a cooling drink.

Bicarbonate of soda: 10-20 gr.; antacid; checks heartburn and stops
diarrhœa.

Blue pill: 3-5 gr.; alterative; cures bilious attacks.

Borax: 1 in 24 parts water as a gargle for sore throat.

Calomel: 1-3 gr.; powerful purgative and alterative; taken for
biliousness.

Camphor liniment (compound): stimulant liniment.

Carbonate magnesia: 5-30 gr. in milk; antacid, gentle aperient;
useful for children.

Castor oil: ½ tea. (infants), 2 table. (adults), on milk, wine, or
orange juice, or blended with glycerine or egg-yolk; most reliable
aperient.

Chlorate potash: 10-20 gr., stimulant; 1 dr. with 4 dr. honey and 8
oz. water, gargle for sore throat; lozenges, overcomes effect of high
altitudes on the respiratory system.

Chloric ether: 20-30 m. in water, cordial and antispasmodic; relieves
cramp, violent cough, spasms, &c.

Chloroform: not to be inhaled or taken except in a doctor’s presence;
sedative; applied to rheumatism, stings, and toothache as an anodyne.

Citrate of iron and quinine: 3-5 gr. in water; tonic and binding.

Citrate of magnesia (granular effervescent): 1 dess. in tumbler cold
water; cooling aperient.

Cream of tartar: 20-60 gr., diuretic and cooling; ½ oz. in 1 qt. of
water, fever drink.

Dover’s power: unfit for children; 5 gr. in wineglassful water,
diaphoretic, checks diarrhœa and cures fresh colds; 3 gr. after meals
prevents chest-ache.

Epsom salts: 1-4 dr. in water; purgative.

Essence of camphor: 30 m. in wineglassful water; exhilarating.

Essence of ginger: ½ tea. in wineglassful water; cordial stimulant,
useful in chest-ache.

Essence of peppermint: 10-15 m. on sugar; exhilarating, warming and
antispasmodic.

Extract of bark: 10-30 m. in wineglassful water; valuable tonic in
neuralgia and fever.

Friar’s balsam: ½-1 dr. with sugar and egg-yolk, stimulating
expectorant; applied on cuts.

Glycerine: may replace sugar for sweetening drinks and medicines;
much used for softening the skin.

Goulard’s extract: 5 m. in wineglassful water as an eyewash; 1 in 40
of water, astringent, applied to bruises and sprains as a wash.

Gregory’s powder: 1 tea. in wineglassful water, cooling mild aperient.

Grey powder: 3-5 gr. (adult); aperient, acting on the liver.

Ipecacuanha powder: 15 gr. emetic.

Ditto wine: 10-20 m., expectorant for coughs; 1 table. (adults),
repeated at 10 minutes intervals, emetic.

Jalapine: 2-6 gr., aperient for children.

Laudanum: 10-20 m., anodyne and soporific; with equal quantity
opodeldoc, applied as an anodyne.

Lime-water: antacid; checks infantile diarrhœa; mixed with sweet oil
affords great relief when applied to burns.

Liquorice powder (compound): 1 tea., mild aperient, best for piles.

Milk of sulphur: 1 tea. rubbed up with milk, gentle aperient and
cooling, useful in rheumatism and piles.

Morphia bimeconate: 5 m. increasing every 3 hours; most valuable
sedative and soporific; applied as an anodyne after the part has been
reddened by compound camphor liniment.

Muriate (chloride) of ammonia: 10 gr. in wineglassful water, good
expectorant in bronchitis; 1 oz. with 1 oz. alcohol and 10 oz. water;
stimulant lotion for sprains.

Nitrate of silver: 2-4 gr. in 1 oz. water, lotion for sore nipples;
20 gr. in 1 oz. water, throat wash in diphtheria.

Nitre (saltpetre): 5 gr. in saline draught, cooling and diuretic for
fever; ¼ oz. in ½ pint barley water, gargle for inflamed sore throat.

Nitric acid (dilute): 10 m. with 5 m. tincture of chiretta, 15 m.
tincture of orange and 10 m. syrup in 1 wineglassful water, excellent
between meal-times for convalescents.

Opodeldoc (soap liniment): excellent applied to bruises, stops
swelling and discoloration.

Paregoric: 30-60 m., checks coughing.

Prepared chalk: 15-30 gr. repeated, with cinnamon and tincture of
catechu, antacid and astringent for diarrhœa and cholera; made into a
cream with water, cooling shield for burns.

Rhubarb: 1-5 gr., tonic to bowels; 10-20 gr., aperient followed by
astringent.

Sal volatile: 30-60 m. in wineglassful camphor julep; antacid,
antispasmodic, and exhilarating.

Santonine: 2-3 gr. on 3 alternate nights, followed by castor oil in
the morning, expels threadworms from children.

Spirit of minderus: 15-20 m. in gruel at bedtime, excellent
diaphoretic and cure for coryza (cold in the head); 20 m. in
wineglassful water, eyewash; 1 table. in tumbler water, cooling
lotion.

Spirit of nitre: 20-30 drops in wineglassful water, or 1 tea. in hot
gruel at bedtime, diuretic and diaphoretic, for colds.

Sulphate of copper: 10-15 gr. in wineglassful water, rapid emetic in
poisoning.

Sulphate of potash: 10-20 gr. with 10 gr. rhubarb and 15 gr. sugar in
peppermint-water, mild aperient.

Sulphate of quinine: 1-5 gr. 2 or 3 times a day, tonic, useful in
neuralgia, dyspepsia, weakness and fever.

Sulphate of zinc: 20 gr. in wineglassful water, emetic; 1 gr. in 1
oz. water, eyewash, astringent.

Sulphuric ether: ½-1 tea. in camphor julep, exhilarant.

Syrup of senna: 1 tea. (adults), mild aperient.

Tincture of arnica: with 4 times its bulk in hot water for fomenting
bruises.

Tincture of chiretta: 10-30 m., tonic, useful in dyspepsia.

Tincture of colchicum: 10-20 m. at night after a light meal,
diaphoretic, valuable in gout, rheumatism, and dropsy.

Tincture of henbane: 15-60 m., narcotic and anodyne.

Tincture of lavender (compound): 1 tea. with ½ tea. sal volatile in
water, stimulant, antispasmodic, and exhilarant.

Tincture of quinine: 1-2 tea. in wineglassful water 2 or 3 times a
day, tonic.

Tincture of rhubarb: 2-4 tea., cordial and purgative.

Tincture of squills: 1 tea. with wineglassful water, expectorant;
take 1 dess. at short intervals to check coughing.

Tincture of steel: 5-15 m. in wineglassful water, tonic, astringent,
and diuretic, good in weakness and dyspepsia.

Tincture of valerian: 1 tea. in camphor water, antispasmodic and
stimulant, valuable in nervous headache.

_Common Complaints._--Without making the least pretence to give
such information as will enable the sick man to dispense with the
services of the physician or surgeon, whose aid should be promptly
sought, there are many matters which by careful study may enable
the threatened attack to be warded off, and there are a variety of
ailments and troubles which are not generally deemed of sufficient
importance to be worth troubling a doctor about. It is these subjects
which claim treatment here, and with which the following paragraphs
will deal, leaving all special and serious diseases in hands which
have been trained to the work.


=Accidents and Emergencies.=--The first piece of advice to every
one is to attend a series of lectures given every winter by the
St. John’s Ambulance Association at very numerous centres all over
the kingdom. This will convey an amount of knowledge and practical
experience such as can never be attained by reading alone. Even
Volunteers, who have gone through a course for the Army Hospital
Corps, will do well to supplement it for every-day life with a course
of St. John’s Ambulance lectures.

When you have not witnessed the occurrence of an accident, make some
inquiry of the bystanders or patient as to its cause before taking
any other steps, as this will often indicate what kind of injury is
to be looked for. Never proceed to lift or remove a patient with
broken limbs or bleeding wounds till the necessary bandaging and
staunching have been done: let traffic be interrupted, if need be,
rather than risk converting a simple hurt into a fatal one.

The ordinary accidents and emergencies of every-day life will now be
dealt with in alphabetic order.

_Bites and Stings._--These may be divided into two classes--those of
insects and those of poisonous or rabid animals.

Of Insects.--First remove the sting (of a bee or wasp) by pressing a
small key on the spot, whereby the sting is forced into the hollow
barrel; then apply any of the following lotions:--(_a_) Rub the bite
of mosquitoes with a solution of borax in ammonia. (_b_) When bitten
by midges, the best applications are oil of camphor and laudanum,
equal parts, applied on lint; or (_c_) 6 oz. Goulard water, ½ oz.
laudanum, applied on lint. (_d_) ½ dr. extract of belladonna; ½ oz.
glycerine; 3½ oz. water; to be well mixed, and made into a lotion.
The parts to be washed with a small quantity--about a teaspoonful or
two at a time. (_e_) Goulard water mixed with a little Eau de Cologne
makes an excellent wash for the skin in case of gnat bites. (_f_)
Keep an onion always at hand, and instantly when bitten squeeze or
cut it, so that the juice should flow into the puncture, rubbing it
gently over the place; its effects are equally efficacious in the
sting of a wasp or bee, always provided the sting does not remain in
the wound. (_g_) Ipecacuanha powder is very effective in allaying the
pain caused by the sting of scorpion, hornet, and wasp, also mosquito
and midge bites. For scorpion stings, &c., make a paste of the powder
with a little water, and apply it to the wound in a patch about the
size and thickness of a shilling. (_h_) In bee sting, first remove
the sting as quickly as possible with a forceps or by scratching
with a finger, but never with the thumb and forefinger, because this
squeezes more of the poison into the wound. Next squeeze the wound
until a drop of blood comes out, and rub the place as large as a
florin with an aqueous or dilute alcoholic solution of salicylic
acid. The effect is still better by injecting the salicylic acid into
the wound with the hypodermic syringe. After this the spot is painted
with collodion, to keep out the air. (_i_) Gnat bites, stings of
wasps, bees, &c., may be cured by applying a tincture of minderus,
laudanum, and Goulard water in equal parts. (_j_) Sweet oil, or
camphorated spirit of wine, is a good thing to apply to bite of the
mosquito. (_k_) One raw egg well beaten, ½ pint vinegar, ½ oz. spirit
of turpentine, ¼ oz. spirit wine, ¼ oz. camphor; these ingredients
to be well beaten together, then put in a bottle and shaken for 10
minutes, after which to be corked down tightly to exclude the air.
In ½ hour it is fit for use. To be well rubbed in 2, 3, or 4 times
a day. (_l_) The leaves of the common dock, bruised and well rubbed
on the part affected, alleviate the pain. (_m_) For bee stings:
after pulling out the stings, break some lettuce leaves close to
the stalk, and apply the milk afterward. (_n_) Anything “strong,”
in a popular sense, will generally suffice to decompose and destroy
an organic poison if instantly applied. This is why the juice of an
onion answers the purpose. Anything equally pungent would do as well.
(_Lancet._)

Poisonous bites.--There is great similarity in the immediate
treatment desirable in the bite of snakes and mad dogs, the object
being to prevent, as far as possible, the absorption of the poison
by the blood. In the same category come any poisonous wound, as from
arrows, &c. (_a_) Buckland recommends the following outlines:--(1)
Suck the wound, if possible, most vigorously, taking care that there
be _no sores on the lips or in the mouth_. In all cases before
sucking fill the mouth with oil or salt and water if possible. (2)
Apply, if you can, a cupping glass, or cut off the tip of a cow-horn,
cut the bottom level, apply it over the wound, and exhaust the air
by the mouth; when exhausted fill up the hole by means of a bit of
wax or other material placed into the mouth before the operation of
sucking is commenced. This is the mode adopted by the Kaffirs. (3)
Wash the parts with hartshorn (ammonia). (4) Tie a ligature tightly
above the wounded part. (5) Give doses of hartshorn and water as
strong and as frequently repeated as the patient can bear them. (6)
Send for the doctor as quickly as you can.

(_b_) Favourable results have followed using chloride of lime, a
filtered solution of which was injected into the same place where
the fatal virus (snakes’) had previously been introduced. In 17
trials made in succession, the poisoned animal survived without the
slightest disturbance of its healthy condition.

(_c_) First tie a ligature above the part bitten. Then slightly
cauterise with a lucifer match. Next swallow tumbler of raw brandy,
to be repeated whenever the feeling of sinking comes on, till the
liquor (which goes down like water) is tasted, and begins to affect
the head. Meanwhile the patient is to be walked about by two men by
force if he cannot do so alone or wants to lie down, which would be
fatal. (Sir R. Burton.)

(_d_) Permanganate of potash may be added to the list of antidotes,
as it is said to counteract very effectively the poison of serpents,
when an equal quantity of filtered (1 per cent.) solution of
permanganate of potash is injected 1-2 minutes after the poison.

(_e_) Probably a vapour bath immediately after being bitten by a
venomous reptile or rabid dog will be found to prove one of the best
remedies, the intense perspiration induced carrying off the poison.
Excessive exercise following a poisonous bite generally effects a
cure for this reason.

_Bleeding._--Bleeding may result from a wound or from the bursting of
a blood vessel, and may occur outwardly or inwardly. Bleeding from
a wound may be arterial (coming from the arteries which carry the
blood from the heart to the body and limbs), venous (coming from the
veins which take the blood back to the heart), or capillary (coming
from the capillaries which convey the blood to the extremities and
surface of the body). In arterial bleeding, the blood is bright
scarlet, and escapes in jerks, as if from a pump; this is highly
dangerous. In venous bleeding, the blood is dark coloured, and flows
away in an uninterrupted stream. In capillary bleeding, the blood
leaks or oozes out. In some wounds all three kinds of bleeding will
occur simultaneously. The foremost method of arresting external
bleeding is by pressure, either on the wound itself or on the blood
vessels feeding it, and in the case of a limb, it should be elevated
above the body to retard the flow of blood towards the part. As the
pressure is to be made on the vessels leading to the wound, it is
obvious that in arterial bleeding the pressure must be between the
heart and the wound, while in venous bleeding it must be beyond the
wound.

[Illustration: 110. Head bleeding. 111. Arm bleeding.]

The simplest and readiest way to apply pressure is by the fingers.
But first of all some knowledge of anatomy and physiology is
necessary to guide the operator where to press. Bleeding from the
head and upper neck requires pressure to be exerted on the large
artery which passes up beside the windpipe and just above the
collar-bone, as in Fig. 110. The artery supplying the arm and hand
runs down the inside of the upper arm almost in line with the coat
seam, and should be pressed, as shown in Fig. 111. The artery feeding
the leg and foot can be felt in the crease of the groin, just where
the flesh of the thigh seems to meet the flesh of the abdomen, and
this is the best spot to select in the case of a male patient; but in
the case of a female, unless the injury were very high up the thigh,
it would be more judicious perhaps to apply increased pressure around
the leg about half-way between the hip and the knee. Pressure with
the hands will not suffice to restrain severe bleeding for any length
of time, and recourse must be had to a ligature.

The simplest and most available form of ligature is a
pocket-handkerchief or neck-wrap, or any other article of attire long
and strong enough to bind the limb. Fold the article necktie fashion,
then place a smooth stone or anything serving as a firm pad on the
artery, tie the handkerchief loosely, insert any available stick in
the loop, and proceed to twist it as if wringing a towel until tight
enough to stop the flow of blood, as in Fig. 111.

In the case of bleeding from an external wound or sore on the body,
employ direct pressure over the bleeding point. If the bleeding is
from the interior of the nose or other cavity, apply cold water
or ice over the bleeding part or near it, and keep the patient
perfectly quiet on the back, or let the patient stand erect with head
well thrown back. Injection of hot water into the nostrils is very
effective. When the bleeding is from a diseased surface or ulcer,
and direct pressure does not stay it, a compress should be soaked
in a strong solution of alum, or in steel-drops, and again applied
over the point which is bleeding. Should the wound from which the
blood is coming be large and gaping, you may stuff firmly into it a
compress of some soft material large enough to fill the cavity; but
this should always be avoided if possible, as it prevents the natural
junction of the sides of the wound, and is very likely to introduce
the germs of poison. In any case of bleeding the patient may become
weak or may faint, but unless the blood is flowing actively, this
is not necessarily a serious sign, and the quiet condition of the
circulation during the faint often assists nature in staying the
bleeding, by allowing the blood to clot, and so block up any wound
in a blood-vessel. Unless the faint is prolonged, or the patient is
losing much blood, it is better not to hasten to relieve the faint
condition.

When blood is being coughed or vomited up in considerable quantities,
ice or iced water or milk should be given, and the patient be
allowed to breathe cool fresh air freely. If the blood is coming
from the lungs, inhaling steam of turpentine and hot water mixed (2
tablespoonfuls turpentine to 1 qt. hot water) will often reduce the
evil; apply cold wet cloths to the chest.

_Broken bones._--Never move a patient with a broken bone till it
has been suitably bandaged. Broken bones (fractured) are of three
kinds--(_a_) simple fracture, when the bone is simply broken in one
place; (_b_) compound fracture, when there is a wound in the flesh
communicating with the broken ends of the bone; (_c_) comminuted
fracture, when the bone is broken into pieces. The occurrence of
a fracture may almost always be learned from the history of the
accident, the patient having generally felt or heard the bone snap;
other indications are deformity of the limb, such as shortening or
bending, and on taking hold of the limb, you will find there is
increased movability, and will hear and feel a peculiar grating
caused by the broken ends of the bone rubbing against each other,
called “crepitus”; also pain and loss of power in the limbs.

It is not imperatively necessary to do anything to a broken limb
before the arrival of a doctor, except to keep it perfectly at rest,
unless the patient must be moved; then, to prevent further mischief,
the broken ends of the bone _must_ be put in position and kept there.
The first step is to pull the limb till the sinews and muscles
stretch sufficiently to let the two ends of the bone meet each other.
When this has been done, splints and bandages must be applied to keep
the ends from shifting again.

The treatment of a broken bone then consists of (1) carefully
removing or cutting away, if more convenient, any of the clothes
which are compressing or hurting the injured parts; (2) very gently
replacing the bones in their natural position and shape, as nearly as
possible, and putting the part in a position which gives most ease to
the patient; (3) applying some temporary splint or appliance, which
will keep the broken bones from moving about and tearing the flesh,
for which purpose you may use pieces of wood, stick, tin, pasteboard,
wire, straw, or firmly folded cloth, taking care to pad the splints
with some soft material, and not to apply them too tightly, while the
splints may be tied by loops of rope, string, pockethandkerchiefs,
pieces of cloth, or any kind of cord; (4) conveying the patient home
or to a hospital, meanwhile examining the loops to see that they do
not become too tight by rapid swelling of the part.

To get at a broken limb or rib, the clothing must be removed, and it
is essential that this be done without injury to the patient. The
simplest plan is to rip up the seams of such garments as are in the
way. Boots must be cut off.

In a fracture of a leg bone, after setting the broken limb and
putting it in splints, it should be bound to the sound leg at the
knee and ankle, with rolled up coat for the sides and a piece of thin
board or other substance for the front of the thigh. A broken arm,
when in splints, requires the support of a sling, which may be made
of a handkerchief fastened round the neck.

Bandaging can hardly be learned from a book--some practice is
essential. Bandages are made of unbleached calico, flannel, linen,
&c., and are used as supports to the different parts of the body, as
means of applying pressure, for fixing splints, dressing, &c., and
for allaying muscular action. The chief kinds are the roller and the
triangular bandages.

Roller bandages commonly have the following dimensions: Finger, 1
yd. by ¾ in.; arm, 3-6 yd. by 2½ in.; leg, 6-8 yd. by 3 in.; chest,
8-12 yd. by 4-5 in.; head, 4-6 yd. by 2½ in. To roll one of these
bandages, first fold one end 2 or 3 times, as tightly as you can,
making it into a small roll; take hold of this by the fingers of
both hands, both thumbs being placed on the top of it, the rest of
the bandage being held by another person, who keeps it moderately
strained; by alternate movement of the thumbs make the roll revolve
on its own axis, the fingers at the same time holding it in position
between the hands; fasten the end by a stitch or pin, to prevent
unrolling.

[Illustration: 112. 113. Simple Spiral Bandage. 114. Reversed Spiral
Bandage.]

Roller bandages are applied in 3 different ways: (1) simple spiral,
(2) reverse or recurrent, (3) crucial or figure-of-8. When first
applying the bandage, leave the end a little long, so that when the
first turn is made, by laying this end under, and bandaging over
it again, it is prevented from slipping. The application of the
simple spiral is shown in Figs. 112, 113, each turn overlapping the
preceding one to the extent of about ⅔rds the width of the bandage.
This simple spiral is generally replaced by the reverse spiral, Fig.
114, which differs from it in that the bandage is turned back upon
itself each time it is carried round the limb; it is not easily
learnt, and requires practice before it can be done well; the thumb
or forefinger of the hand not holding the bandage should be laid
upon the limb at the point where the turn of the bandage is to be
commenced, the other hand turning the bandage back upon itself. The
crucial or figure-of-8 form is generally used at the joints, and
always when going over the ankle-joint in bandaging from the foot up
the leg. Carry the bandage over the upper part of the joint, then
down, under, and across the lower part, and then up over the upper
part again. Remember always to bandage from within outwards; commence
from below and work upwards; let the pressure be evenly and uniformly
applied, but not too lightly; avoid all wrinkles in your bandage;
reverse or turn a bandage over always on the fleshy side, and not
over a bone; fasten it with a few stitches.

[Illustration: _d_ Triangular Bandage on Foot.]

The triangular bandage may well be represented in every-day life by
an ordinary large pockethandkerchief folded from corner to corner.
Its application is almost endless and simplicity itself. A few
examples of the manner in which it may be used are shown in Figs.
115, _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_; it is fastened merely by tying the ends in a
double knot.

[Illustration: 115. _a b c_ Application of Triangular Bandage.]

Broken ribs are of common occurrence, and give rise to great pain,
because every time the injured person breathes, the ribs, rising
and falling, allow the broken ends to grate against each other. A
temporary method of relieving this pain and keeping the broken ends
in apposition, is to roll a wide flannel or calico bandage tightly
round the chest 3 or 4 times.

_Burns and Scalds._--(_a_) In all but very slight cases of burns
and scalds, the patient should be seen by a doctor at once, as the
constitutional symptoms consequent upon these accidents require
skilled attention. With regard to the immediate local applications.
The clothes having been most gently and cautiously removed (being cut
in all places where they adhere to the burnt and scalded skin) and
any blisters having been simply pricked, the surface should at once
be covered with some unirritating substance which excludes the air
and keeps up a good heat. For this purpose many things are advocated,
such as flour, starch, a mixture of collodion and castor oil, and
“carron oil” (equal parts lime-water and linseed oil). A smooth,
thick layer of cotton wool should be laid over this, or failing that
a blanket, but do not let the blanket touch any raw place without the
intervention of a piece of fine linen rag soaked in oil, or it would
stick, causing great pain when removed.

(_b_) Linen dipped in a solution of carbonate of soda or potash
relieves the pain sooner than anything. The best form is a saturated
solution of bicarbonated soda in either plain water or camphorated
water; if applied speedily it is most effectual in immediately
relieving the acute burning pain; and when the burn is only
superficial, or not severe, removing all pain in the course of a
very short time, and preventing the usual consequences--a painful
blistering of the skin, separation of the epidermis, and perhaps more
or less of suppuration. For this purpose, all that is necessary is to
cut a piece of lint, or old soft rag, or even thick blotting-paper,
of a size sufficient to cover the burned or scalded parts, and to
keep it constantly well wetted with the soda lotion so as to prevent
its drying. By this means, it usually happens that all pain ceases
in ¼-½ hour. Where the main part of a limb, such as the hand and
fore-arm or the foot and leg have been burned, it is best to plunge
the part at once into a vessel filled with the soda lotion, and keep
it there until the pain subsides.

(_c_) The matter given off from burnt surfaces soon emits a very
offensive odour. Therefore it is wise to mix an antiseptic substance
with the remedies--e.g. carbolic acid or thymol, which not only
prevent the bad odour from the suppuration, but also tend to
alleviate the suffering. It would be well to always keep ready mixed
an ointment for burns containing 1 per cent. thymol.

(_d_) The free use of soft soap upon a fresh burn will remove the
fire from the flesh in very little time. If the burn be severe, after
relief from the pain, use linseed oil, and then sift upon it wheat
flour. When this is dried hard, repeat the oil and flour until a
complete covering is obtained. Let this dry until it falls off, and a
new skin will be formed without a scar.

(_e_) Take ice well crushed or scraped, as dry as possible, into the
finest division; then mix it with fresh lard until a broken paste is
formed. The mass is put into a thin cambric bag, laid upon the burn
or scald, and replaced as required. So long as the ice and lard are
melting there is no pain from the burn; return of pain calls for the
repetition of the remedy.

(_f_) Whether the skin is broken or not, apply soft cotton or linen
rags, dipped in a solution of Epsom salts, 1 oz. to the pint of cold
water, and lightly bound over the burnt part or parts, the bandages
to be kept constantly moist with the solution, and never removed till
a cure is effected, which will be in 2-3 hours to 2-3 days, according
to the severity and extent of the burning. While this application in
all cases gives instant relief from pain, it is especially useful in
removing the tendency to collapse and nervous dread.

(_g_) Cover the place over at once with the preparation of chalk,
called common kitchen whiting, mixed, either with sweet oil or
water--oil is preferable--into a thick paste. Plaster it gently on
with a brush or a feather about ⅛ in., or more, thick; taking care,
if possible, not to break the blister, or blisters. Then cover the
part affected with a piece of flannel, to keep the moisture in, and
damp the layer of whiting from time to time with oil or water. If
kitchen whiting cannot be procured, use flour instead; and if neither
can be had, then cover the scalds or burns with bits of rag dipped
in sweet oil, and lay plenty of cotton wool outside them. Change the
dressings only often enough to keep the places clean, and then wash
them off with a weak solution of carbolic acid.

(_h_) A method in use in the public hospitals of the city of New
York, known as “glue burn mixture” is composed as follows 7½ troy
oz. white glue, 16 fl. oz. water, 1 fl. oz. glycerine, 2 fl. dr.
carbolic acid. Soak the glue in the water until it is soft; then heat
on a water-bath until melted; add the glycerine and carbolic acid,
and continue heating until, in the intervals of stirring, a glossy,
strong skin begins to form over the surface. When wanted for use,
heat on a water-bath, and apply with a flat brush over the burned
part. Pour the melted mass into small delf extract jars, cover with
paraffin-paper and tin-foil before the lid is put on, and afterwards
protect by paper pasted around the edge of the lid. In this manner,
the mass may be preserved indefinitely.

(_i_) Saturate a soft piece of fabric with alcohol, lay it over the
burn, then cover it with cotton or finely picked oakum: it will
allay the pain. Subsequently disturb the dressing as little as
possible; wet the dressing occasionally with alcohol. In burns from
strong nitric acid, copious application of cold water, and even of
such powerful bases as ammonia, potash, and lime in water, have no
perceptible effect, except perhaps to increase the violence of the
inflammation. But the effect of a dilute solution of sulphurous acid
is astounding. In a very few minutes the blister will be reduced;
the oxidising process of the acid will be completely arrested, the
painful irritation removed, and in a short space of time the wound
will heal. (A. Irving.)

In bad burns with lime, soap lye, or any caustic alkali, wash
abundantly with water (do not rub), and then with weak vinegar or
water containing a little sulphuric acid; finally apply oil as in
ordinary burns.

(_j_) To recover a person in a state of insensibility from the
effect of smoke, dash cold water in the face, or cold and hot water
alternately. Should this fail, turn him on his face, with the
arms folded under his forehead. Apply pressure along the back and
ribs, and turn the body gradually on the side; then again slowly
on the face, repeating the pressure on the back. Persevere with
these alternate rolling movements about 16 times in a minute, until
respiration is restored, A warm bath will now complete the recovery.

(_k_) In scalding by boiling water or steam, cold water should be
plentifully poured over the person and cloths, and the patient then
be carried carefully to a warm room, laid on the floor or carpet,
or on a table, but not put into bed (as there it becomes difficult
to attend further to the injuries), to await the doctor. If the
patient complains of thirst, a warm, stimulating drink (such as tea)
should be given, as after severe burning the temperature of the
body is sure to fall. Children sometimes receive serious scalds of
the mouth and throat by swallowing hot fluid or steam from a spout.
Medical assistance should be obtained without delay, as an immediate
operation may be required to prevent death from suffocation. Until
the arrival of the doctor the patient should inhale warm vapour, to
relieve the fits of choking; the best way to make a person inhale
vapour is to construct a kind of tent of blankets around the patient,
and allow the steam from a kettle, to puff into it.

[Illustration: 116. Supporting patient.]

_Carrying injured persons._ (_a_) By Bearers.--If no conveyance can
be procured or improvised, you can transport an injured person a
short distance by human bearers. If only one is available, and if the
patient can stand up, let him place one arm round the neck of the
bearer, bringing his hand on and in front of the opposite shoulder
of the bearer. The bearer then places his arm behind the back of the
patient and grasps his opposite hip, at the same time catching firmly
hold of the hand of the patient placed on his shoulder with his other
hand. Then by putting his hip behind the near hip of the patient much
support is given, and, if necessary, the bearer can in this way lift
him off the ground, and, as it were, carry him along. This is an
admirable way of helping an invalid to walk up stairs. If the patient
cannot stand, the only way in which one person can remove him is by
getting him on his back; this is not practicable in a case of broken
thigh (Fig. 116).

[Illustration: 117. 118. 119. Methods of carrying a helpless patient.]

When 2 bearers are available, the patient may be carried several
different ways:--(1) In a sitting position, by the bearers joining
two of their hands underneath his thighs, close to the buttocks,
while their other two hands are placed round his loins and clasped
together. The patient, if able, can help to support himself by
clasping the bearers round their necks. (2) By 2 of the bearers’
hands forming a seat and the other 2 arms a back support (Fig. 117).
(3) By 3 of their hands forming a seat, while a back support is made
by the remaining arm (Fig. 118). (4) A seat may be made with all
4 hands, and especially if the patient is able to sit up and help
support himself by placing his arm over the shoulders of the bearers,
he may be carried a long distance by this method. Fig. 119 shows
another plan, and Fig. 120 indicates how the hands should grasp each
other.

[Illustration: 120. Forming a seat.]

(_b_) By Stretcher.--To place an injured person on a stretcher and
convey him properly requires 3 bearers, unless the distance be very
great; 2 carry the stretcher, and a third attends to the patient,
and changes place with one of the bearers if necessary. To lay a
patient on it, put the foot of the stretcher at his head in a line
with his body; 2 bearers then place themselves one at either side,
join hands underneath the back and hips of the patient, raise him up,
lift him backwards over the stretcher, and lower him on to it. The
third bearer takes charge of the injured portion (limb or head),
and steadies it with a hand on either side. The two bearers now take
their places at the head and foot of the stretcher, lift it up, and
carry it off; while the third walks at the side of it, as a safeguard
to the patient. Observe the following rules in carrying a stretcher:
(1) Carry it with the hands, or suspended by straps over the bearers’
shoulders, never place it on the shoulders, because the patient might
fall off, or even die, without the bearer observing it. (2) Do not
keep step, i.e. do not put the same foot forward, then the motion of
the stretcher remains even. The pace must be short (about 20 in.) and
without a spring; the knees must be rather bent, and the hips moved
as little as possible. Jolting, hurrying, crossing ditches, &c.,
are to be avoided. Choose bearers of the same height, arrange the
shoulder-straps so that the head may be carried a little higher than
the feet.

_Convulsions._--Till medical aid can be procured, put the child into
a warm bath, in which you can bear your elbow. Sponge him well over,
and put a sponge of cold water on his head.

_Cuts and Wounds._--Wounds may be “incised” (made by a clean-cutting
instrument), “punctured” (when the depth exceeds the breadth, as in
stabs), “lacerated” (torn, and the lips of the wound irregular), and
“contused” (effected by bruising). The chief points to be attended
to are:--(_a_) Arrest the bleeding. (_b_) Remove all foreign bodies
as soon as possible. (_c_) Bring the wounded parts in apposition,
and keep them so, best done by means of strips of adhesive plaister,
first applied to one side of the wound, and then secured to the
other; these strips should not be too broad, and space must be
left between the strips to allow any matter to escape; wounds too
extensive to be kept together by plaister, must be stitched by a
surgeon. For punctured and severely lacerated or contused wounds a
surgeon should be sent for.

For washing a wound, to every pint of water add either 5 gr.
corrosive sublimate or 2½ teaspoonfuls carbolic acid. If the acid
is used, add 2 tablespoonfuls glycerine, to prevent its irritating
the wound. If there is neither of these articles in the house, add
4 tablespoonfuls borax to the water. Wash the wound, close it, and
apply a compress of a folded square of cotton or linen. Wet it in the
solution used for washing the wound, and bandage down quickly and
firmly. If the bleeding is profuse, a sponge dipped in very hot water
and wrung out in cloth should be applied as quickly as possible. If
this is not available, use ice, or cloths wrung out in ice water.

Wounds heal in two ways.--(_a_) Rapidly, by primary union without
suppuration, and leaving only a very fine scar; this only when
the sides of wound can be accurately brought together, are not
displaced by bleeding or exudation of matter, and when the wound is
left quiet, protected from outward injury, and kept perfectly free
from impurity. (_b_) Slowly, with suppuration, and the formation of
granulations, and leaving a large red scar, as when so much skin
has been destroyed that the edges of the wound cannot be brought
together, or so lacerated and bruised that life is destroyed in them,
or separated by blood or exudation of matter, or if the injured parts
have been disturbed, or the wound has not been properly cleaned
and disinfected. Want of cleanliness leads to putrefaction and the
formation of matter, which separates the sides of the wound.

_Drowning, Choking, and Suffocation._--The fatal termination to be
avoided in all these cases is suspension of breathing, hence they may
be classed under one head.

Drowning.--This is perhaps the most common, and embraces in great
measure the remedies adapted to the other forms of suffocation. The
first step is to send immediately for medical assistance, blankets,
and dry clothing; but proceed to treat the patient _instantly_ on
the spot, in the open air, with the face downward, whether on shore
or afloat; exposing the face, neck, and chest to the wind, except in
severe weather, and removing all tight clothing from the neck and
chest, especially the braces.

The points to be aimed at are--_immediately_ the restoration of
breathing; and, after breathing is restored, promotion of warmth
and circulation. Efforts to restore breathing must be commenced
immediately and energetically, and persevered in for 1-2 hours, or
until a doctor has pronounced life extinct. Efforts to promote warmth
and circulation, beyond removing wet clothes and drying the skin,
must not be made until the first appearance of natural breathing;
for if circulation of the blood be induced before breathing has
recommenced, the restoration to life will be endangered.

To restore breathing, place the patient on the floor or ground with
the face downwards, and one of the arms under the forehead, in which
position fluids can more readily escape at the mouth, and the tongue
will loll out, leaving the entrance to the windpipe free. The tongue
may be easily kept extended by simply passing a small rubber band
round it and the chin. The mouth and nose must be thoroughly wiped
and cleaned from obstructions.

If breathing has quite or almost failed, means must be used to
restore it; if not, proceed at once to promote warmth. There are
several ways of inciting suspended respiration. The best, as
requiring only one person, is Silvester’s method, as follows: Place
the apparently dead person flat on his back, raising his head and
shoulders slightly by means of a folded article of dress. Standing
behind him, grasp his arms just above the elbow, and draw them gently
and steadily upwards over the head, keeping them in that position
for 2 seconds; by this means the chest expands and air is drawn into
the lungs (Fig. 121). Then carry the arms back again in the same way
and press them gently and firmly against the sides of the chest for
2 seconds; by this means the air is pressed out of the lungs again
(Fig. 122). These movements are repeated carefully and perseveringly,
about 15 times in a minute, till natural respiration begins. The
first evidence of this is a sudden flush of colour in the face.

[Illustration: 121. Inspiration (Silvester). 122. Expiration
(Silvester).]

When 2 persons are present, Francis’s plan may be adopted, thus: The
body of the patient is laid on the back, with clothes loosened, and
the mouth and nose wiped; 2 bystanders pass their right hands under
the body at the level of the waist, and grasp each other’s hands,
then raise the body until the tips of the fingers and the toes of the
patient alone touch the ground; count 15 rapidly; then lower the body
flat to the ground, and press the elbows to the side hard; count 15
again; then raise the body again for the same length of time, and so
on, alternately raising and lowering. The head, arms, and legs are to
be allowed to dangle down quite freely when the body is raised.

When 3 or more persons can assist, Marshall Hall’s method is
available. To excite breathing, turn the patient quite on the side,
supporting the head, and induce inspiration and expiration by
alternately rolling the body over on its face, and back again, at 15
seconds intervals, as shown in Figs. 123 and 124.

[Illustration: 123. Inspiration (Marshall Hall). 124. Expiration
(Marshall Hall).]

As soon as a natural effort to breathe is produced, endeavour to
restore circulation and warmth. Wrap the body in dry blankets and
commence rubbing the limbs upwards firmly and energetically under
the blanket or over warm clothing, which can generally be got from
bystanders. Then put the patient into a warm bed, and cover over with
hot flannels, applying bottles or bladders of hot water, or heated
bricks, to the pit of the stomach, the armpits, between the thighs,
and to the soles of the feet. When the patient is able to swallow,
give him warm fluids by spoonfuls--coffee, tea, brandy and water,
wine--but not in too great quantities. Warm baths should never be
used but when ordered by the doctor.

Choking.--When a person gets a fish-bone or other substance in the
throat, at once insert a finger into the mouth and press upon the
root of the tongue, so as to induce vomiting. If this fails, let
the patient swallow a piece of soft bread. If the substance can be
felt by the finger, insert 2 fingers into the mouth and bring it
away, using the safeguard of putting some hard substance between the
teeth. A medical man should at once be sent for. Repeatedly sucking
lemons will help to dissolve the bone. A marble or similar article in
a child’s throat may be dislodged by turning him heels upwards and
shaking.

Suffocation.--Remove the patient immediately to the fresh air; dash
cold water in the face and on the chest; keep up the warmth of the
body, and apply mustard plaisters over the heart and round the
ankles. If these means fail, without loss of time try artificial
respiration, as already described.

Before entering a suffocating atmosphere to rescue persons, tie a
towel soaked in vinegar and water over the mouth. Admit fresh air to
the room if possible.

_Fits, Fainting, and Unconsciousness._--These bear a strong outward
resemblance to each other while due to very different causes. The
latter are principally: (_a_) injuries to the brain, with or without
fractures of the skull; (_b_) diseases of the brain (including
fits), apoplexy, epilepsy, &c.; (_c_) poisoning by narcotics and by
retention of urine (in kidney disease); (_d_) fainting (paralysis of
the heart through fright, exhaustion, loss of blood, &c.).

In such cases gather a history of the occurrence, and note the
position of the body and its surroundings; also whether the breath
smells of spirits, which shows there has been drinking, but remember
that other and more serious conditions (paralysis, injury to the
brain, &c.) may co-exist with intoxication. Lay the body on the
back, with the head low if the face is pale, as in faintness after
great loss of blood. If the face is red, the head must be raised.
If sickness sets in, incline the head at once, so that the vomited
matters may not be drawn into the lungs. Undo all clothing round the
neck. Allow free circulation of air round the patient. Remove the
patient as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital or doctor on a
stretcher.

In epileptic fits, recognised by convulsive spasms of the limbs
and body, contorted and congested face, foaming at the mouth, and
bitten tongue, act on the rules just mentioned, and do all in your
power to prevent the patient injuring himself, without attempting
to restrain his movements. Lay something soft under his head, put
something between the teeth, watch till the fit is over, and then
remove him. In cases of fainting at once lay the patient flat, with
the head brought to the same level as the body, to enable the blood
more easily to circulate through the brain, for it is want of power
in the heart to propel the blood to the brain that has caused the
insensibility. If bleeding is going on, it must at once be arrested.
As stimulants, eau de Cologne, sal volatile, ammonia, &c., may be
used, but the important thing to remember is the position of head
and body. Stimulation is apt to start afresh the bleeding arrested
by fainting. In cases of snoring, with face flushed (apoplexy), undo
clothing round the neck, keep the head raised, dash cold water on the
top of the head, and apply hot-water bottles to the feet; send for
doctor; do not give brandy.

_Frostbite._--In serious frostbite or cases of exposure to intense
cold, endeavours to restore life should be made with the greatest
care. If you bring the patient suddenly into a warm room, death will
follow certainly. Carry him carefully into a closed but cold room,
and undress him with care for fear of breaking the stiffened limbs.
If snow is to be had, cover and vigorously rub the whole body with
it. If not, cover and rub with cold wet cloths or cold sand, or put
him into a cold bath. Alternately with this try artificial means
to restore breathing (as in drowning). When the patient begins to
breathe naturally, and the limbs become less stiff, he should be
carried into a moderately warm room and covered lightly with cold
coverings and sheets. After this, he may be rubbed by degrees with
warm cloths, and the warmth of the room gradually increased. Then
try by means of smelling-salts, ammonia, or ether, and slightly
stimulating drinks, such as light cold wine, cold coffee or soup,
to recall consciousness. Should any part of the body remain without
sensation, blue, swollen, or blistered, there is great danger of
mortification setting in.

For after consequences, which recur most frequently in cold weather,
apply balsam of copaiba, spread thickly on a piece of linen or
muslin, the affected parts being covered with the application, which
is allowed to remain over the night. By day, some of the balsam is
to be spread over the affected parts. After one or two applications
the pains cease and the redness disappears; whilst a few additional
applications seem to give to the parts a power of resistance to
frostbite.

Dr. Lapatin advises that fingers and toes which have been slightly
frost-bitten, and which subsequently suffer from burning, itching,
and pricking sensations, should be painted, at first once, and
afterwards twice a day, with a mixture of dilute nitric acid, and
peppermint water in equal proportions. After this application has
been made for 3-4 days, the skin becomes darkened and the epidermis
is shed, healthy skin appearing under it. The cure is effected in
10-14 days.

The members of the Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition found most
benefit from a mixture of iodine and collodion.

_Lightning Stroke._--Apply cold to the head, and, if necessary,
warmth to the extremities; rub the limbs well, and give stimulants as
soon as the patient can swallow.

_Poisons._--In all cases of poisoning, at once note the position
and surroundings of the patient, and whether bottles likely to
have contained poison are at hand. Send for the nearest doctor,
and proceed immediately to get the poison out of the stomach by
encouraging vomiting. Vomiting is often one of the first and most
important signs of poisoning, and then only requires fostering by
large draughts of warm water. If vomiting is not present, at once
administer an emetic, such as sulphate of zinc in 20-30 gr. doses,
2 tablespoonfuls ipecacuanha wine mixed with warm water. In the
absence of these, resort to mustard and water, a teaspoonful or two
in warm water frequently repeated, or common salt and water may
be used; vomiting may also be excited by tickling the back of the
throat, and by freely drinking hot greasy water. A stomach pump must
only be used by a surgeon; but a safe substitute, if the patient is
conscious, is a piece of rubber tubing, about 3 yd. long and ½ in.
diameter. Let the patient swallow about 2 ft. of this, then hold
the free end of the tube above his head (Fig. 125) and pour down
through a funnel 1-2 pints warm water, which will go direct into the
stomach. By lowering the free end (Fig. 126) the stomach empties
itself readily. By frequent repetition the cavity of the stomach is
completely washed out.

[Illustration: 125. 126. Stomach-tube.]

Try to ascertain what the poison is, and proceed to administer
antidotes. Most poisons may be grouped under two classes--narcotic
and irritant; the former being mainly organic (vegetable) substances,
and the latter chiefly minerals. In narcotic poisoning, vomiting
must be induced or the stomach emptied in some other way, and means
must be taken to prevent sleep ensuing, by walking the patient
about, slapping with wet towels, dashing cold water in the face,
&c.; give strong black coffee to drink (or with an enema); put icy
cold compresses on the head, and mustard plaisters on the stomach
and calves of the legs. In irritant poisoning, the poison itself is
pretty sure to cause vomiting, which then need not be encouraged. To
protect the stomach and gullet from the corrosive action of irritant
poisons, bland and oily fluids, such as salad oil, egg-white, milk,
flour and water, should be freely administered.

The following summary of poisons and antidotes will be found useful:--


NARCOTIC POISONS.

       _Poison._                              _Antidote._

  Aconite, monkshood               emetics; warmth; rub the skin.
  Alcohol, alcoholic drinks        emetics; cold douche; keep awake.

  Belladonna, deadly nightshade    emetics; strong coffee; hot and cold
                                     douches alternately; artificial
                                     respiration.
  Chloral hydrate                  emetics; strong coffee enema; hot
                                     blankets, and water bottle to feet;
                                     artificial respiration; keep awake.
  Chloroform                       fresh air and artificial respiration;
                                     hot and cold douche.
  Cyanide of potassium, prussic    emetics; stimulants; cold and hot
    acid, laurel water, essential    douche; artificial respiration.
    oil of almonds, benzol.
  Ether                            as chloroform.
  Fool’s parsley                   brandy; strong tea; warm
                                     applications to extremities.
  Foxglove                         emetics; stimulants; prolonged
                                     recumbence.
  Hemlock                          emetics; strong tea; warmth and
                                     rubbing; artificial respiration.
  Henbane                          a large spoonful of animal charcoal,
                                     emetics 10 minutes later, then
                                     brandy or coffee; keep awake.
  Laburnum pods or seeds           5-6 gr. zinc sulphate as an emetic.
  Meadow saffron                   brandy; strong tea; warm mucilaginous
                                     drinks.
  Mushrooms                        emetics; stimulants; warmth and
                                     rubbing.
  Opium, chlorodyne, Godfrey’s     emetics; hot coffee; cold douche;
    cordial, poppies,                keep awake; artificial respiration.
    soothing syrups.
  Poison ivy {on the body}         apply a weak solution of sugar of
  Poison dogwood {on the body}       lead.
  Spurge laurel, mezereum          brandy and warm mucilaginous drinks.
  Strychnine, vermin-killers       emetics; chloroform in an inhaler.
  Yew berries                      emetics; brandy; warmth to extremities
                                     recumbent position.


IRRITANT POISONS.

  Acid--carbolic, creosote.        emetics; lime-water; salad oil;
                                     coffee.
  Acid--oxalic, potassium oxalate, water containing chalk or whiting,
    salt of sorrel, salt of lemon.   but not ammonia, potash, or soda.
  Acids--acetic, hydrochloric,     abundance of water containing chalk,
    nitric, sulphuric;               magnesia, sal-volatile, washing
    spirit of salt.                  soda, or whiting; egg-white, milk,
                                     thick gruel.
  Alkalies--ammonia, potash,       water containing lemon-juice or
    soda.                            vinegar; salad oil, milk, egg-white,
                                     gruel.
  Antimony, tartar emetic          emetic if needed; plenty of strong
                                     coffee; egg-white, milk.
  Arsenic, emerald green,          emetics; magnesia; warmth and friction;
    fly paper                        strong coffee; best antidote is moist
                                     peroxide of iron, which can be made
                                     by dissolving ½ oz. iron sulphate and
                                     ½ oz. potash carbonate (or ¾ oz. soda
                                     carbonate) separately in warm water
                                     and mixing, adding ¼ oz. magnesia--
                                     calcined if handy--dilute with ½ pint
                                     hot water, and drink very hot.
  Bichromate of potash             emetics; magnesia, chalk, or whiting.
  Blistering fluid                 emetics; egg-white, barley water,
                                     gruel; not oil.
  Bluestone                        emetic if needed; milk, eggs, barley
                                     water, gruel.
  Caustic, nitrate of silver       abundance of salt in water or milk,
                                     egg-white, barley water.
  Chloride of mercury,             emetic if needed; raw egg beaten up
                                     in milk,
  corrosive sublimate              gruel, arrowroot; strong coffee.
  Iodine                           emetics; plenty of gruel, arrowroot
                                     or starch.
  Phosphorus, matches, rat poison  emetics; 10 drops oil of turpentine,
                                     every ¼ hour in gruel or milk with
                                     a little magnesia; egg-white,
                                     barley water.
  Pyrogallol                       emetics.
  Sugar of lead, paint             emetics, zinc sulphate best; ½ oz.
                                     Epsom salts in water; egg-white,
                                     milk, barley water.
  Turpentine, furniture polish     emetics; milk, egg-white, barley water.
  White precipitate                emetics; coffee; egg-white beaten up
                                     in water, barley water, arrowroot.

_Sprains._--A sprain is a sudden forcible stretching of the tendons
or ligaments, or both combined, of a joint, and is always accompanied
by most acute pain, and generally followed by rapid swelling. It
is always tedious and troublesome, and hence often leads to more
serious results; in all but very slight cases, a surgeon should be
seen. Meantime give the injured part perfect rest, keep it in an
elevated position, and apply cold water continuously, or immerse in
water as hot as can be possibly borne, and after keeping it there for
¼ hour, frequently apply hot bran (or oatmeal and vinegar) poultices.
As an embrocation, put ¼ lb. camphor in ½ lb. methylated spirits of
wine; when dissolved, add 1 oz. oil of origanum, and rub the place
night and morning, or use Elliman’s embrocation. In many cases of
supposed severe sprain, some of the bones forming the injured joint
are broken, therefore it is wise to treat these cases by the rules
for broken bones before removing the patient.

_Sunstroke._--In cases of simple exhaustion, ordinary treatment is
all that is needed. Removal to a cooler locality, the cold douche
(but not too much prolonged), or the administration of stimulants,
may be beneficial. Tight or oppressive clothing should be removed,
and the patient treated as in syncope from other causes. Rest and
freedom from exposure to over-exertion, fatigue, or great heat,
should be enjoined. In that form of sunstroke where the person is
struck down suddenly by a hot sun, the patient should be removed into
the shade, and the douche of cold water being allowed to fall in a
stream on the head and body from a pump (or, as in India from the
mussuck, or other similar contrivance), should be freely resorted
to, the object being twofold--to reduce the temperature of the
over-heated centres, and to rouse them into action. Mustard-plaisters
and purgative enemata may be useful. If recovery be imperfect, and
followed by any indication of injury to the nerve-centres, or by
the supervention of meningitis, other treatment may be necessary
according to the indications. Much exposure to the sun should be
carefully guarded against; and, unless recovery be complete and
rapid, the sufferer should be removed to a cooler climate, the most
perfect rest and tranquillity of mind and body enjoined, and the
greatest care be observed in regard to extreme moderation in the use
of stimulants. (Dr. Fayrer.) For prevention, wear light head-gear
with good protection to the nape of the neck; let the lining be
double, one of green and the other of yellow material, and have
ventilation holes at the sides and top.


=Common Complaints=:--

_Brain worries._--To the broad question, Are people suffering from
overwork? Dr. Samuel Wilks, Physician to Guy’s Hospital, would
have no hesitation in saying “No.” His remarks on the subject are
worth repeating. He proceeds:--“On the contrary, if both sexes be
taken, I should say the opposite is nearer the truth, and that
more persons are suffering from idleness than from excessive work.
Medically speaking, I see half a dozen persons suffering from want of
occupation to one who is crippled by his labours. I have, therefore,
very little sympathy with the prevalent notion that nervous and other
diseases are due to overwork. As regards the community generally,
or at least those of its number who come before the medical man on
account of their ailments, my belief is that the explanation they
offer arises from a delusion; and amongst girls, so far from any
studies or other work being injurious, I could instance numerous
cases of restoration to health on the discovery of an occupation.
Very often, when a business man complains of being overdone, it may
be found that his meals are very irregular and hurried, that he takes
no exercise, is rather partial to brandy and soda, and thinks it
not improper to half poison himself with nicotine every night and
morning. The lady in the same way eats no breakfast, takes a glass
of sherry at 11 o’clock, and drinks tea all the afternoon; when
night arrives she has become ready to engage in any performance to
which she may have been invited. When the man of business presents
himself, with his nerves really overstrained, he is found to be a
man of delicate or actually insane temperament. The rule, however,
is that when a patient comes before me with his nerves unstrung,
hypochondriacal, and goes through the whole machinery of his body
to inform me of its working, previously committing all the facts
to paper lest an important one should be forgotten, that man is
getting rusty from having no occupation.... We forget sometimes what
a formidable machine is the animal body, with its force-producing
nervous system. The brain is an engine of many horse power; its
energy must be accounted for in some way; if not used for good
purposes, it will be for bad, and ‘mischief will be found for idle
hands to do.’ It is fortunate that, with many girls, the frivolities
of life keep them idly busy, and so, having a safety valve, they are
harmless to others and themselves; but let a girl occupy herself
neither with what is useful nor with amusement, she falls into bad
health, she becomes a prey to her own internal fires or forces,
and every function of her body is deranged, as well as her moral
nature perverted. Cases of this kind appear to me of the commonest
order, and at the same time very difficult of cure, because the
mother’s aid can rarely be gained to assist the doctor; but, on the
other hand, her sympathies too often only foster her daughter’s
morbid proclivities by insisting on her delicacy and the necessity
of various artificial methods for her restoration, as well as her
resistance to the doctor’s advice for a more natural life, since
she is sure it cannot be undertaken. Her daughter is too delicate
for any of the occupations or modes of exercise proposed. What she
requires is medical attendance, and to be alcoholised and physicked.
It is remarkable, however, what a young lady can do under the power
of a stimulus--as, for example, a gentleman lately expressed his
surprise to me how his daughter, who could not walk many yards for
a long time, owing to a pain in her back, was soon able to walk
many miles a day when she procured the support of her lover’s arm.
It is from considerations of this kind that, when the superfluity
of women, amounting to half a million, doomed to be unmated, ask
for employment, I cannot deny it to them. The human body is made
for work, physical and mental. The amount it can do is of course
proportionate to the power of the machine; but, unlike all other
machines, its strength is only maintained by use, as assuredly it
rusts and decays by disuse. Just as the muscles are better prepared
for work by previous training, so the nervous system, whether it
be the brain or spinal cord, becomes more energised by use. If
healthy and vigorous persons be taken, there appears no absolute
necessity for rest at all in the popular sense of the term. The
rest required is gained during sleep, during meals, and necessary
healthful exercise. It is only during sleep that the brain is
actually inactive, although even then not absolutely, for at meals
cheerful conversation keeps the mind employed, and even in our walks
the attention is fixed on objects around. In times so occupied there
are many persons whose minds are never idle, and who yet live to a
good old age. Practically they have no rest, for when one object of
study is complete, they commence to pursue another. It is by the
happy faculty of diverting the powers into different channels that
this is accomplished. Instances might easily be quoted of statesmen,
judges, and members of our own profession who know no absolute rest,
and who would smile at the suspicion of hard work injuring any man.
I make it a custom to ask young men what their second occupation
is--what pursuit have they besides their bread-earning employment.
Those are happiest who possess some object of interest, but I am
sorry to say there are few who find delight in any branch of science.
The purely scientific man finds his best recreation in literature
or art, but even in intellectual work so many different faculties
are employed that a pleasant diversion is found in simply changing
the kind of labour. For example, a judge after sitting all day, and
giving his closest attention to the details of the cases before
him, may yet find relief in his evenings by solving problems in
mathematics. The subject of overwork, then, is one of the greatest
importance to study, and has to be discussed daily by all of us. My
own opinion has already been expressed, that the evils attending it
on the community at large are vastly over-estimated; and, judging
from my own experience, the persons with unstrung nerves who apply
to the doctor are, not the Prime Minister, the bishops, judges,
and hard-working professional men, but merchants and stock-brokers
retired from business, Government clerks who work from 10 to 4, women
whose domestic duties and bad servants are driving them to the grave,
young ladies whose visits to the village school or Sunday performance
on the organ is undermining their health, and so on. In short, and
this is the object of my remarks, I see more ailments arise from
want of occupation than from overwork, and, taking the various kinds
of nervous and dyspeptic ailments which we are constantly treating, I
find at least six due to idleness to one from overwork.”

For a long time it has been well known to the medical profession
that in various critical states of the human system absolute
silence, or the nearest possible approach to it, is not the least
important condition to be secured. Accordingly muffled knockers,
streets covered with straw or spent tan, and attendants moving about
with noiseless step, are universally recognised as the signs and
the requirements of severe disease. But the truth that noise is a
contributor to the wear and tear of modern city life has scarcely
yet been realised by the faculty, not to speak of the outside
public. Consequently, while a zealous war is being urged against
other anti-sanitary agencies, no general attempts for the abolition
of superfluous noise have yet been made. We cannot, perhaps, give
anything approaching to a scientific explanation why sound in excess
should have an injurious effect upon our nervous system. We feel that
noise is distressing, exhaustive. The strongest man after days spent
amidst noise and clatter, longs for relief, though he may not know
from what. It may even be suggested that the comparative silence of
the sea-side, the country, or the mountains, is the main charm of
our summer and autumn holidays, and contributes much more than does
ozone to restore a healthy tone to the brains of our wearied men of
business. Indeed, if we consider, we shall find that this is the most
unnatural feature of modern life. In our cities and commercial towns
the ear is never at rest, and is continually conveying to the brain
impressions rarely pleasant, still more rarely useful or instructive,
but always perturbing, always savouring of unrest. In addition to the
indistinct but never-ceasing sea of sound made up of the rolling of
vehicles, the hum of voices, and the clatter of feet, there are the
more positively annoying and distracting elements, such as German
bands, organ grinders, church bells, railway whistles, and the like.
In simpler and more primitive times, and to some extent even yet
in the country, the normal condition of things is silence, and the
auditory nerves are only occasionally excited. It is scarcely to
be expected that such a change can be undergone without unpleasant
consequences.

The question has been raised, why should some noises interfere with
brain work by day and disturb our rest at night so much more than
other? A strange explanation has been proposed. We are told that
sound made incidentally and unintentionally--such as the rolling of
wheels, the clatter of machinery (except very close at hand), the
sound of footsteps, and, in short, all noises not made for the sake
of noise--distress us little. We may become as completely habituated
to them as to the sound of the wind, the rustling of trees, or the
murmur of a river. On the other hand, all sounds into which human or
animal will enters as a necessary element are in the highest degree
distressing. Thus it is, to any ordinary man, impossible to become
habituated to the screaming of a child, the barking and yelping of
dogs, the strains of a piano, a harmonium, or a fiddle on the other
side of a thin party-wall, or the clangour of bells. These noises,
the more frequently we hear them, seem to grow more irritating and
thought-dispelling.

But while admitting a very wide distinction between these two classes
of sounds, we must pause before ascribing these differences to the
intervention or non-intervention of will. We shall find certain very
obvious distinctions between the two kinds of sound. The promiscuous
din of movement, voice, and traffic, even in the busiest city, has
in it nothing sharp or accentuated; it forms a continuous whole,
in which each individual variation is averaged and toned down. The
distressing sounds, on the other hand, are often shrill, abrupt,
distinctly accentuated and discrete rather than continuous. Take, for
instance, the ringing of bells: it is monotonous in the extreme, but
it recurs at regular intervals. Hence its action upon the brain is
intensified, just as in the march of troops over a suspension bridge,
each step increases the vibration. The pain to the listener is the
greater because he knows that the shock will come, and awaits it.
Very similar is the case with another gratuitous noise, the barking
of dogs. Each bark, be it acute or grave, is in the highest degree
abrupt, sharply marked, or _staccato_, as we believe a musician would
term it. Though the intervals are less regularly marked than in the
case of church bells, we still have a prolonged series of distinct
shocks communicated to the brain. All the other more distressing
kinds of noise possess the characters or shrillness, loudness, and of
recurrent beats or blasts.

As an instance of an undesigned, unintentional noise being
distressing to those within ear-shot, we may mention the dripping of
water. A single drop, whether penetrating through a defective roof,
falling from the arch of a cavern, or issuing from a leaky pipe, and
repeated at regular intervals, is as annoying as the tolling of a
bell, the barking of a dog, or the short, sharp screams of a fretful
infant. The only difference is that the noise is not heard as far. We
may hence dismiss the “will” theory, and refer the effects of noises
of this class to regularity, accentuation, and sharpness.

It is particularly unfortunate that the multiplication of sound
should accompany, almost hand in hand, that increase of nervous
irritability and that tendency to cerebral disease which rank among
the saddest features of modern life. A people worn out with overwork,
worry, and competitive examinations might at least be spared all
unnecessary noise. Many persons cannot or will not understand how
necessary silence is to the thinker. A friend of the writer’s,
engaged in investigating certain very abstruse questions in physics,
is often compelled to throw aside his work when an organ grinder
enters the street, and suffers with acute pain in the head if he
attempts to go on with his researches.

We should therefore propose, as measures of sanitary reform, the
absolute prohibition of street music, which is more rampant in London
than in any other capital in Europe. The present law, which throws
upon the sufferer the burden of moving in the matter, is a mere
mockery. Another necessary point is the abolition of church bells. In
these days of innumerable clocks and watches every one can tell when
it is the time for divine service without an entire neighbourhood
being disturbed for some 20 minutes at a time. Nonconformist places
of worship collect their congregations without this nuisance.
Further, all dogs convicted of persistent barking should be
disestablished. And lastly, harmoniums, American organs, and wind
instruments in general should be prohibited, except in detached
houses. (_Journal of Science._)

_Chapped Hands._--(_a_) Some persons are sadly troubled with their
hands cracking. It sometimes comes from a persons health; but there
is one great thing to keep in mind--that is, every time you wash or
wet your hands, be sure and dry them well. Always, after wiping them,
hold them to the fire till quite dry. This is very important. As an
outward application, spermaceti ointment, with a small quantity of
lead acetate and some camphor well mixed is a good thing. Rub some
well in at night on going to bed, and do not use strong soap.

(_b_) A mixture of 1-2 dr. hydrochloric acid to 4 oz. water for
use in case of chapped hands, and even when the skin is cracked
and bleeding, relieves the complaint at once, and if persevered in
effects a cure.

(_c_) Into a 3 oz. glass-stoppered bottle pour ½ oz. pure glycerine;
fill up with distilled water and shake. A few drops in the palm
rubbed and distributed over the hands when nearly dry, after washing,
will in a short time render the skin like satin. It is well to scald
the bottle before filling, to check the development of vegetable
organisms (“ropiness”). Do not increase this quantity of glycerine,
or it will make your hands sticky.

(_d_) One part (say 1 oz.) pure glycerine, 1 of Eau-de-Cologne, 2
of water; mix them in a bottle and use a few drops well rubbed in
after every washing of the hands, and as frequently in the day as can
conveniently be done.

(_e_) Mix equal quantities pure glycerine and pure water together,
and add as much common salt as the liquid will dissolve. Rub this
frequently on the cracked portions of the hands, giving an extra
quantity just before going to bed.

(_f_) Salicylic acid and borax, each 1½ dr., glycerine up to 2 oz.

(_g_) Equal quantities carbolic acid and glycerine.

_Chilblains._--(_a_) Chilblains are likely to be caused by sudden
change from cold to heat or _vice versâ_. This will explain why the
hands and feet, nose and ears, are mostly the parts affected, because
they are the parts most prominently exposed to such changes. Invalids
and scrofulous persons are more likely to suffer than the robust and
healthy. As prevention is better than cure, care should be taken to
protect the parts by substances which are non-conductors of heat.
Woollen socks, stout boots, and warm gloves are safe preventives,
and especially taking care not to warm the parts affected by cold by
any other means than friction, and in case of persons predisposed
to chilblains, the frequent ablution of the extremities in tepid
water and the use of good yellow soap is advisable, bathing the
feet and hands in tepid water slightly salted, every night, is a
good antiphlogistic. Should these means fail, where the skin is
not broken, use a liniment of 1 oz. camphorated spirits of wine
mixed with ½ oz. Goulard’s extract; but the best remedy is a lotion
composed of 1 dr. iodine in 3 oz. rectified spirits of wine, to be
applied with a brush not more than once a day. Should the chilblain
be broken or ulcerated a different treatment must be adopted--warm
poultices ought to be applied, and discontinued after about 3 days;
the sores must then be touched with the tincture of iodine once
a day, and then dressed with basilicon ointment; when they begin
to granulate freely, a simple dressing of the above ointment is
sufficient to complete a cure. Care ought always to be taken not to
let chilblains break through the skin, as they are very liable to
mortify.

(_b_) Copper sulphate in solution is about the best thing to allay
the itching before they break. Also is used with very good effect
an embrocation composed of 1 dr. tincture of capsicum and 7 dr.
soap liniment. After they have broken, the best application will
be carbolic acid and linseed oil--1 part of the former to 5 of the
latter, to be applied with a feather (the pure acid should be used
for this). This is the most useful application for any open sore.

(_c_) 1 dr. sugar of lead, 2 dr. white vitriol, then add 4 oz. water;
shake well before using. Rub well on the affected parts with the hand
before a good fire; the best time is in the evening. Do not use this
on those that are broken. This scarcely ever fails to cure the most
inveterate chilblains by once or twice using.

(_d_) Quite effective for unbroken chilblains, but it might be
poisonous to broken ones, so be very careful:--A small quantity of
yellow soap is dissolved in very little water, then methylated spirit
is added to just thin it a little, then add, while hot, tincture of
iodine drop by drop, stirring it the while; when it begins to change
colour there is enough; let get cold, and apply night and morning,
letting it dry on. It is only good while the spirit is in it.

(_e_) Take some precipitated chalk, and mix it in a mortar (or with
a knife in a plate, but the first way is best) with some salad oil
to something thicker than cream--about the thickness of Devonshire
cream. At night apply it thoroughly over all the fingers, rubbing it
in, and smearing it thickly on them, putting a pair of gloves on.
Persevere every night.

(_f_) 6 gr. copper sulphate, ½ oz. Eau-de-Cologne, ½ oz. distilled
water. To be applied twice a day with camel-hair brush. A capital
remedy to arrest inflammation in chilblains.

(_g_) 2 oz. black bryony root, 10 oz. spirit of wine, 2 oz. water.
Macerate 7 days and filter. Apply night and morning with a camel-hair
pencil.

_Cold Feet._--(_a_) There are two remedies--the hot bottle and
lamb’s-wool socks, either or both of which may be used. When
we consider that during the day, whilst we are active, we wear
stockings and shoes, does it not seem strange that at night, when the
temperature of the air is lower, and when we are inactive, that our
feet should have less covering than during the day? The reasonable
plan is to have a special pair of socks for night use, putting them
on when going to bed, and change them when getting up; the result
will be better and more serene sleep, consequently we shall be more
able to undergo our daily exertions. A good walk for ½ hour before
retiring warms the feet, and sends a nice glow all through the body,
and disposes to sleep. (_b_) Wear horse-hair soles winter and summer,
as a remedy for cold and damp feet.

_Coughs and Colds._--The _British Medical Journal_ remarks that there
are several well-known processes by which a cold may be caught. As a
disease, there is nothing so common; and yet it is only very recently
that anything like an approach to a knowledge of its pathology
has been attained. There is now, however, a large accumulation of
evidence which points very strongly in the direction that “taking
cold” is actually “being cold.” Colds are most frequently caught
from a wetting. The clothes we wear are good non-conductors of heat,
and so prevent the loss of body-heat which would occur without them.
But let them become moist or saturated with water, and then they
become heat-conductors of a much more active character, and a rapid
and excessive loss of body-heat follows. Nothing is more certain,
however, than that prolonged exposure in wet clothes is commonly
followed by no evil results; that is, so long as there is also active
exercise. The loss of heat is then met by increased production of
heat, and no harm results. But let the urchin who has been drenched
on his way to school sit in his wet clothes during school-hours, and
a cold follows. No matter how inured to exposure the person may be
who, when drenched, remains quiet and inert in his wet clothes, he
takes a cold. Here there is an increased loss without a corresponding
production of heat, and the temperature of the body is lowered, or
the person “catches cold.”

The effect of exercise in producing heat is well known. Unless the
surrounding air be of a low temperature and the clothes light, the
skin soon glows with the warm blood circulating in it, and then comes
perspiration with its cooling action. Here there is a direct loss
of heat induced to meet the increased production of heat. Exercise,
then, in wet clothes, produces more or less a new balance, and
obviates the evil consequences which would otherwise result.

The loss of heat is more certainly induced if the skin be previously
glowing and the circulation through the skin, the cooling area, be
active. Thus, a person leaves a ballroom with his cutaneous vessels
(pores of the skin) dilated, and a rapid loss of body-heat follows,
unless there be a thick great-coat or a brisk walk; if the clothes
become moistened by rain, or be saturated with perspiration, the
radiation of heat is still more marked. Such is the causation of the
cold commonly caught after leaving a heated ballroom. It is probable
that exhaustion is not without its effect in lowering the tonicity
of the vessels, and so those of the skin do not readily contract and
arrest the loss of heat.

A damp bed gives a cold, because the moist bedclothes are much
better conductors of heat than are the same clothes when dry. The
temperature of the body is lowered, and a cold results. Long exposure
in bathing leads to similar consequences. The second feeling of cold
in bathing tells that the body is becoming chilled, and that the
production of heat is insufficient to meet the loss. A run on the
river-bank, or a brisk walk after dressing, commonly restores the
lost balance.

The plan of permitting the wet clothes to dry on the wearer is
very objectionable. The abstraction of heat from the body by the
evaporation of moisture in the clothes produces a marked depression
of the body-temperature, and a severe cold. This is most strikingly
seen in the effects of a wetting in the Tropics. The smart shower
or downpour is quickly followed by a hot sun and a breeze, and the
loss of heat under these circumstances is considerable. The person
is “chilled to the bone,” and the effects are felt for a long time
afterwards.

Alcohol has been abandoned in Arctic regions. It dilates the
cutaneous vessels and increases the loss of body-heat. The drunken
man perishes of cold when the abstainer survives.

When the exposure follows a long continued warmth, the cutaneous
vessels do not contract, but become dilated or paralysed, and then
a large bulk of warm blood courses through the cooling surface, and
a great loss of body-heat is entailed. Not only so, but the current
of chilled blood passes inwards to the right heart and the lungs.
Inflammations of the lungs are common along with severe colds; and
this is possibly the explanation. Such inflammation is specially
liable to occur if at the same time cold air be inspired. The cold
respired air and the currents of chilled blood together, produce
those vaso-motor disturbances in the lungs which, in their graver
aspects, are known as pneumonia.

The practical considerations which are the outcome of this review
of the pathology of cold are these. Never wear wet clothes after
active muscular exertion has ceased, but change them at once; meet
the loss of the body-heat by warm fluids and dry clothes; avoid
long-sustained loss of heat which is not met by increased production
of heat; increase the tonicity of the vessels of the skin by cold
baths, &c., so educating them to contract readily on exposure--by a
partial adoption, indeed, of the “hardening” plan; avoid too warm
and debilitating rooms and temperatures; take especial care against
too great a loss of heat when the skin is glowing; and prevent the
inspiration of cold air by the mouth by some protecting agent, as a
respirator. We can readily understand how a respirator should be an
effective protection against winter bronchitis in those so disposed.
Of course, no one should, even in summer, dispense with the use of
flannel next the skin, or some substitute, such as merino. It is as
important at that period of the year, as in winter.

Dr. Graham gives the following advice: “When you come out of a cold
atmosphere you should not at first go into a room that has a fire in
it, or if you cannot avoid that, you should keep for a considerable
time at as great a distance as possible, and, above all, refrain from
taking warm or strong liquors when you are cold. This rule is founded
on the same principle as the treatment of any part of the body when
frost-bitten. If it were brought to a fire it would soon mortify,
whereas, if rubbed with snow, no bad consequences follow from it.
Hence, if the following rule were strictly observed--when the whole
body, or any part of it, is chilled, bring it to its natural feeling
and warmth by degrees--the frequent colds we experience in winter
would in a great measure be prevented.”

To neglect the conditions upon which strength of constitution and
purity of blood depend, and then strive to avoid in a sedulously
careful manner the evil influence of colds upon the body, is like
neglecting the substance for the shadow of health; or more properly,
it is like one who starves his body, and then strives to keep quiet
in order that his strength shall not be exhausted. Let food be
taken, and the exhaustion from exercise will not ensue; let all the
conditions of health be observed, and then the natural changes of the
weather will fall harmlessly on the healthy functions of the body.

Occasionally a cold may be arrested, in the first stage, by taking
at the very outset, a hot bath on retiring to rest, with 10 gr.
Dover’s powder at bedtime, followed by a hot drink, such as a basin
of hot gruel or a tumbler of hot toddy, with a dose of castor-oil
in the early morning about 6 o’clock. It is well to remain indoors
for the day. Should, however, these means fail, or the ailment have
progressed too far before the remedy is applied, and the patient
complains of soreness of chest, with cough and feverishness, then he
should keep bed for 3 days. Mustard and linseed poultices are to be
applied to the chest, warm diluent drinks are to be given, such as
gruel, with honey and vinegar in it, to promote gentle perspiration,
and to relieve the severity of the cough. Ipecacuanha wine, 10-15
drop doses in water every 4 hours, will be found useful in promoting
expectoration. Laxative medicine will probably be necessary, and the
diet should be light.

The Continental remedy, lime-flower tea or tisane de tilleul is made
in a teapot in the same way that tea is made, substituting lime
blossoms for tea leaves, and using about 4 times the quantity to make
it. It is taken hot, and used for colds, coughs, &c., much in the
same way that gruel, wheys, and possets are taken in England.

Dr. Ferrier, of King’s College, communicates a remedy for cold in
the head, which has been found effectual. It is a white powder used
as snuff, and composed as follows:--2 gr. hydrochlorate morphia, 2
dr. acacia powder, 6 dr. bismuth trisnitrate. The whole makes up a
quantity of powder, ¼-½ of which may be safely taken in 24 hours.
Dr. Ferrier has twice cured himself of very severe colds by this
means, once by the use of bismuth trisnitrate alone, which is a very
powerful remedy for catarrh of the mucous membrane, and is the most
important ingredient in the above mixture. Others have used the snuff
with perfect success. Instead of increasing the tendency to sneeze,
it almost immediately begins to diminish it. (_Lancet._)

Prof. Strambio, in a note to an Italian medical journal, says that,
notwithstanding the failure of all remedies hitherto recommended
for the immediate cure of a cold, he wishes to communicate to the
profession the great success he has found attending a new one in
his own person, and to ask them to test its efficiency. He found
prolonged mastication and swallowing of a dried leaf or two of the
_Eucalyptus Globulus_ (Blue gum) almost immediately liberated him
from all the effects of a severe cold.

In the treatment of persistent cold in the head, or nasal catarrh,
when there is much discharge from the nasal passages, we are
advised to use a spray-producer with the following solution:--1 gr.
carbolic acid, 2 dr. glycerine, 2 oz. water. After the passages are
clean, a small quantity of vaseline is melted in the bowl of the
spray-producer, and 2-5 drops pinus canadensis mixture are added.
This mixture consists of:--15 gr. pinus canadensis, ½ oz. glycerine,
½ gr. carbolic acid, 1½ oz. water. This is to be applied by the spray
to every part.

Dr. Sheppard says, in respect to the use of hot water as a remedial
agent in the treatment of inflammation of the mucous membranes:--“I
have used hot water as a gargle for the past 6-8 years. In throat and
tonsil inflammation, and in coryza (cold in the head), if properly
used in the commencement of the attack, it constitutes one of our
most effective remedies, being frequently promptly curative. To be of
service, it should be used in considerable quantity (½-1 pint at a
time), and just as hot as the throat will tolerate.”

Coughing is greatly under the control of the will, and children ought
to be taught to try to restrain the inclination to cough; very often,
by this very effort, the desire to cough will vanish. If it cannot be
avoided, they should be taught _how_ to cough. It is not in the least
necessary to give way to coughing on every occasion, even though
there be really something to expectorate, until the mucus or other
irritating matter be within easy reach, and then one good, effective,
deliberate cough will do as much, or probably more, for the relief
of the individual, than perhaps a dozen repeated, noisy, resultless
fits of coughing. The noise which accompanies the act can be greatly
modified at the will of the individual. There are some people who
make not the slightest effort to lessen this annoyance. In many cases
the mouth may be closed, and in all the hand may be held before the
mouth during the act, whereby considerable modification of the noise
may be attained.

Avoid making use of any nostrum vaunted as a cure for all sorts of
coughs and colds: all contain opium in some form, and may prove
prejudicial to the complaint which initiates the cough. At the same
time, a distressing cough calls for amelioration. There never can
be harm in causing the patient to inhale steam from a sponge or
basin of boiling water; or infusion of hops may be inhaled. Lozenges
of various kinds are often useful, e.g. fruit, gum, glycerine,
liquorice, marsh-mallow, tamarind, ipecacuanha, &c. Linseed-tea is
a bland, soothing demulcent, useful in sore throat, and in allaying
tickling cough.

The common mullein, _Verbascum thapsus_, has long been used in
Ireland as a domestic remedy for consumptive cough, and Dr. Quinlan
finds that when boiled in milk the patient takes the decoction
readily, and experiences a physiological want when it is omitted.
Its power of checking phthisical looseness of the bowels and the
relief afforded to coughing are very marked, so that patients take
hardly any other cough mixture. In early stages it appears to have
a distinct power of increasing weight, but in advanced cases Dr.
Quinlan remarks that he is not aware of anything that will do this
except koumiss. (_Brit. Med. Jour._)

Dr. Square recommends a solution of 1 part ethyl bromide in 200 of
water as a remedy for whooping-cough. This is of similar strength to
the chloroform water of the British Pharmacopœia, and its dose is the
same, namely, ½-2 oz.

A German journal mentions a case of whooping-cough treated with
turpentine by Ringk, of Berlin, with astonishing results. The patient
was a little girl 3½ years of age, and a fatal issue seemed imminent.
The doctor prescribed ol. terebinth., 10 grams; syr. altheæ, 80
grams; a teaspoonful every 3 hours. The next day the child was
sitting up in bed, with a great slice of bread and butter in her
hand, which she was eating and evidently enjoying. The cough had
totally disappeared, and no evil results followed.

Following are a few simple recipes for expectorants, useful for
winter coughs. The first is particularly suitable for young
children:--(_a_) 1 fl. dr. syrup of squills, ½ fl. dr. gum acacia,
powdered, 8 gr. ammonium chloride, enough peppermint water to make
2 fl. oz. Dose for a child, 1 teaspoonful every 2 hours. (_b_) For
older children and adults, 2 parts syrup of ipecac., 4 syrup of
squills, 1 paregoric. Dose, ½-1 teaspoonful, repeated as often as
necessary. (_c_) 1 oz. syrup of ipecac., 1 oz. syrup of tolu, ½
oz. paregoric, 1 oz. syrup wild cherry. (_d_) For hoarseness, Dr.
Eichelberger gives the following, which he says is very good:--2
dr. tinct. chloride of iron, 4 dr. glycerine, 4 dr. water. Dose, ½
teaspoonful.

Sore throat is a constant accompaniment of some very serious
disorders, such as scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, diphtheria,
&c., but is most frequently the result of exposure to cold and damp,
when the body is heated. It may be confined to the parts situated at
the back of the mouth, i.e. the tonsils, palate, and pharynx, or it
may extend a little further into the windpipe. The affection is an
inflammation of the mucous membrane of the parts enumerated. Many
cases speedily recover without any active treatment, provided the
invalid will have patience for a few days, confine himself to the
house, better to one apartment, and still better to bed, for a couple
of days; avoid all conversation; apply a warm poultice to the throat,
or a moist compress round the throat night and day. This last is made
by wringing a piece of lint, or a pockethandkerchief, out of water
sufficiently so that it does not drip, and it is of small moment
whether the water be cold or warm; it is now applied to the throat,
and covered with a piece of macintosh, and then a woollen comforter
is put over all. Ice may be sucked continuously, if agreeable to the
patient. If it be not, then a gargle of warm milk and water should be
employed every hour. A smart aperient dose of Epsom salts or castor
oil should be taken in the morning before breakfast, 1 tablespoonful
salts in a tumblerful of hot water. If, under this treatment, the
throat do not improve in 2 days, it has ceased to be a minor ailment,
and the physician must be sent for.

A very painful form of sore throat is that called quinsy. It is
inflammation of the tonsils, two glands situated at the back of
the mouth. This inflammation is principally observed in changeable
climates; and seems to attack, by preference, young adults. Children
rarely suffer from quinsy. Persons who have once been the subjects
of this ailment are very liable to a recurrence of the disorder. The
most common exciting cause is exposure to wet and cold, with a chilly
east wind.

Those who are liable to this form of sore throat, and know from
the premonitory symptoms what is impending, ought at once to adopt
preventive measures. These consist in using strong astringent
gargles; in the administration of single drop doses of tincture of
aconite, every hour, for half a day, and a brisk saline purgative
in the morning, such as a dose of Rochelle salts. For gargle, one
of the best is the old-fashioned homely mixture, consisting of 3
tablespoonfuls red wine (port or claret), 1 of vinegar, ½ teaspoonful
powdered alum, and a little sugar, in a tumbler of cold water. This
to be used every hour. If, however, the affection has gone too far
for this abortive treatment, then the patient must be confined to
bed; hot poultices must be kept constantly applied to the throat;
steam from hot water should be inhaled often; a gargle of hot milk
and water should be used hourly; and ice, if grateful, may be
constantly sucked. A sal prunelle ball may be allowed slowly to
dissolve in the mouth. The diet should be in semi-solid form, e.g.
arrowroot made with milk, soup thickened with rice-flour, or better
still, beef-jelly, if the patient can be persuaded to swallow at all.
If the abscess do not speedily rupture, and more particularly if both
tonsils be simultaneously affected, then it may be necessary to call
in the aid of the surgeon to lance it. The necessity for this will be
evident by continued and increasing distress of the sufferer, great
difficulty in breathing, and extreme restlessness and feverishness.
In a first attack, too great delay ought not to be allowed to take
place before getting professional assistance.

Every one has a cure for sore throat, but simple remedies appear to
be most effectual. Salt and water is used by many as a gargle, but a
little alum and honey dissolved in sage tea is better. An application
of cloths wrung out of hot water and applied to the neck, changing
as often as they begin to cool, has the most potency for removing
inflammation. It should be kept up for a number of hours; during the
evening is the usually most convenient time for applying this remedy.

For loss of voice in singers and speakers, Dr. Corson recommends the
patient to put a small piece of borax (2-3 gr.) into the mouth and
let it dissolve slowly. An abundant secretion of saliva follows.
Speakers and singers about to make an unusual effort should the night
before take a glass of sugared water containing 2 dr. potassium
nitrate (saltpetre) in order to induce free perspiration. In similar
circumstances this gargle may also be used:--6 oz. barley water,
1-2 dr. alum, ½ oz. honey. Mix, and use as a gargle. Or an infusion
of jaborandi, made by putting 2 scr. of the leaves in a small cup
of boiling water, drunk in the morning before getting up. The free
sweating is said very quickly to restore the strength of the voice.

_Constipation._--Short of mechanically obstructive disease, there
are many states in which constipation is the most marked feature. On
the nature of these, apart from the mere symptom, the possibility
of permanent relief by treatment must of course largely depend. We
may procure comfort with a pill, but often we cannot retain it with
many. Habit cannot be reformed or expelled by purges. Accordingly,
when we proceed against the fault of habit, now under notice, we must
take account of the constitution and circumstances in which it is
formed. By so doing we do much to ensure the desired relief, though
it may be that even then we fail somewhat of complete success. A
bowel long deficient in activity, dilated irregularly, with torpid
though thickened walls, does not soon, if ever, renew its original
tone and contractility. The difficulty is a pathological one, and
arises from structural as well as functional perversion. The natural
efforts to obtain relief are hindered and enfeebled by the effects
of some cause which may still be operative. If we would undo the
past or prevent further mischief, we must seek and treat that cause.
Aperients of different kinds, however potent at the time, are but
temporary palliatives of discomfort so long as no pains are taken
to trace the trouble to its origin. Whether it be a sedentary
habit of life, an excess of food overloading and overworking the
viscus, purgation draining and depleting it, gout, diabetes, struma,
chlorosis, altering either the structure of the intestinal wall or
the consistence of its contents, it must be sought for as a chief
guide to the means of cure. It is not likely that constipation will
ever form the chosen hobby of a specialist. A far too general view
of medicine and its adjuvant sciences is necessary for successful
treatment to encourage such appropriation. We are not, however,
outside the sphere of nostrums. There is in our time, if anything too
much reliance on physic-taking for constipation. More might be done
by appropriate dieting and by inculcating active habits of life than
is customary. It may be noted, with regard to diet in particular,
that a free use of simple fluids, as water, or mild mineral waters,
is of distinct advantage in assisting both digestion and evacuation.
There are also many aperient vegetable foods which, with the same
end in view, we should like to see in daily use at the table. Almost
any kind of wholesome fruit and green vegetable might thus be made
serviceable. When, again, we come to medicines, we must remember that
the disorder which we have to combat is a complex one. We cannot in
this case, more than in any other morbid state, put a finger on one
tissue as alone or invariably at fault. Thus in the costiveness of
anæmia we have atony of the intestinal muscle combined with defective
secretion, and both but part of a general tissue starvation; in the
gouty disorder of elderly people the same conditions appear, though
due to a very different dyscrasia; and so on. We may say, therefore,
speaking generally, that no single drug can be relied on to meet the
intestinal difficulty. An agent which aids secretion either of bowel
or liver will not alone suffice. The long-inactive muscular coat
likewise requires assistance. A free purge may have its value now
and then, but when the object to be attained is the correction of
a habit, a milder remedy used regularly is much more effective. To
meet these various necessities, perhaps no combination is superior to
the time-honoured union of belladonna with the compound rhubarb pill
and nux vomica, or the most recent mixture of the fluid extract of
cascara with the last-named drug. An agreeable change of remedy is
afforded by many aperient mineral waters. The effect of these latter,
however, is unfortunately apt to pass off after a time, probably
from their causing a too copious intestinal secretion. The action of
saline or other enemata is not quite similar. More strictly local,
and exerted rather on the fæces than the bowel, it gives relief
without so much exhausting the latter by secretion or peristalsis;
while the very rest which the colon thus easily obtains is itself
a help to the recovery of normal nutrition and muscular tone. The
chief points which we would therefore bear in mind, whatever the
remedies used in combating the habit of costiveness, are the need for
recognition of its primary cause, and the fact that its proximate
condition is an atonic bowel. (_Lancet._)

Dr. Mortimer Granville gives 3 prescriptions for habitual
constipation. It is indispensable to regard persistent inactivity
of the bowels, when not demonstrably due to other causes, as the
result of, either defect of peristaltic action; deficient glandular
secretion; or interruption of the _habit_ of periodic evacuation.

When there is a lax and torpid condition of the muscular coat of the
alimentary canal, we get food retained in the stomach or intestines
until it ferments, or sometimes “decomposes,” with the result of
distension, pain mechanically induced, and either eructations
or incarcerated flatus. In a considerable number of cases this
last-mentioned trouble is so great, and at the same time so masked,
as to give rise to the impression that grave disease exists; whereas
every anomalous symptom has quickly disappeared as soon as the
muscular tone has been restored, and the contents of the bowels have
commenced to pass naturally on their course. The essential fault
is partial, in some instances almost complete, loss of the reflex
contractility of the muscular coat, so that the presence of ingesta
at any part of the canal does not excite the intestine to contract
and propel it onwards. It is worse than useless to employ ordinary
aperients in such a condition as this; they only irritate without
strengthening the nerves, on the healthy activity of which everything
depends. When, therefore, there is the form of “constipation” which
requires treatment, use a prescription something like the following;
and it is, in the majority of instances, successful:--

  Sodæ valerianatis gr. xxxvi.; tincturæ nucis vomicæ ♏ lx.; tincturæ
  capsici ♏ xlviii.; syrupi aurantii ℥iss.; aquâ ad ℥vj. Misce, fiat
  mistura, cujus sumatur cochleare magnum ex aquâ ter die, semihorâ
  ante cibum.

The second form of constipation, in which there is a deficiency of
glandular secretions generally throughout the intestine, manifested
by a peculiarly dry and earthy character of the dejecta when the
bowels _do_ act, may be treated by a mixture such as this:--

  Aluminis ʒiij.; tincturæ quassiæ ℥j.; infusi quassiæ ℥vij. Misce,
  fiat mistura, cujus sumantur cochlearia duo magna ter quotidie,
  post cibum.

The third form, which depends chiefly on interruption of the natural
habit of periodic discharge, often results from repeated failure to
move the bowels, in consequence of one or other of the two preceding
forms of this trouble. This may generally be relieved by directing
a perfectly regular attempt to go to stool, and by the use of the
following draught, taken the first thing after _rising_ from bed--not
on awakening--in the morning, as nearly as possible at the same hour.
It will be observed that it is not an aperient in the ordinary sense
of the term. It is, as a rule, neither necessary nor desirable to
continue it for longer than a fortnight. In most instances, it will
be found to re-establish the normal habit in a week or less.

  Ammoniæ carbonatis ʒj., tincturæ valerianæ ℥j.; aquæ camphoræ ℥v.
  Misce, fiat mistura; capiat partem sextam in modo dicto. (_Brit.
  Med. Journ._)

The value of castor oil as a family aperient is undoubted.
Referring to its use, Dr. Soper enlarges on the great advantages
of a combination of castor oil and glycerine in equal proportions
to act as a purgative. Glycerine has great therapeutic value,
especially in its solvent properties, and this combination renders
it especially valuable. In regard to castor oil, a great mistake is
often made in the largeness of dose administered; in this mixture,
only ½ teaspoonful is required combined with an equal bulk of
glycerine. In all cases of chronic constipation, piles, &c., it has
proved most useful. Also ½ teaspoonful doses in the early stages of
bronchitis seem to promote exudation from the tubes, and is certainly
expectorant. The great difficulty is the obstinacy with which the
mixture becomes a mixture, as it can only be made by placing the
bottle in hot water and violently agitating. By adding the oil to the
glycerine gradually, and mixing the two in a mortar, the taste of the
oil completely disappears. The following is recommended as a pleasant
form for children:--1 dr. castor oil, 1 dr. glycerine, 20 drops
tincture orange peel; 5 drops tincture senega; cinnamon water to make
up ½ oz. mixture.

_Consumption._--It is highly probable that adult mortality from
phthisis might be considerably reduced, if members of phthisical
families, and persons of phthisical habit and tendency, could be
induced to pursue an intelligent course of life. In wisely-chosen
food, suitable exercise, well-adapted clothing, and pure air, are
four distinct and potent details of every-day life, well within
control, which may be turned to efficient account in the prevention
of phthisis. Precautions, if they are to be effectual, must not be
put off until signs of lung mischief become manifest. Then the evil
can only be mitigated, not avoided. If consumption be apprehended,
the daily diet should be rich both in nitrogenous flesh-forming and
fatty constituents. The especial nutritive value of milk in such a
case is universally recognised. Next to well-arranged daily food,
exercise in the open air is of the greatest importance. On this point
the late Dr. Parkes laid down the rule that “the best climates for
phthisis are perhaps not necessarily the equable ones, but those
which permit the greatest number of hours to be passed out of the
house.” By well-adapted clothing, many of the chills, catarrhs, and
pulmonary congestions which often lead up to consumption, might
be prevented. The rules in this respect are well established. The
feet should always be dry and warm; the covered parts of the body,
excepting the head, should be clothed in suitable woollen fabrics;
the underclothing should be kept of the same thickness all the year
round, and variations of apparel to suit the changes of season be
made only in the outer garments; and no constrictions or compressions
should be allowed to hamper the respiratory play of the chest and
abdomen, or to impede the circulation of blood through the lungs and
heart. With regard to the respiration of pure air, it may be said
generally that it is within doors that the breathing of vitiated air
is most likely to become dangerous, and is such a powerful excitant
of consumption. (_Brit. Med. Journ._)

No person, particularly if young, should be allowed to sleep in the
same bed, or even in the same room, with a consumptive. No person
should be allowed to remain for too long a time in too close or too
constant attendance on a consumptive. Ventilation as perfect as
possible should be secured. The expectoration of phthisical patients
should be carefully disinfected. Those phthisical patients who are
in the habit of mixing freely with other persons should wear one of
those antiseptic respirators which are now to be obtained for a few
pence.

_Corns._--(_a_) Salicylic plaster has recently been put upon the
market as a cure for corns, bunions, and thickened skins generally.
The price is reasonable enough, but some may prefer to make it
for themselves. Dissolve 2 dr. each of salicylic acid and common
yellow resin in 6 dr. sulphuric ether, and paint the solution over
belladonna or opium plaster spread on swan’s-down. The mixture dries
almost instantaneously, and the plaster is then ready for cutting up
into suitable sizes for corns. Considering that the whole does not
cost more than 3-4_s._ per yd., and that several thousand plasters
may be made out of that quantity, it is cheap.

(_b_) Some corns are so painful that neither paint nor plaster can be
endured, something of the nature of a shield alone giving relief. For
such cases as these, the following wrinkle may be appreciated: Take
a corn-shield, enlarge the diameter of the hole to a small extent by
means of a knife or scissors, and apply in the usual way. Then place
in the hollow thus formed over the corn, a small quantity of any of
the following solutions: Salicylic acid and extract cannabis indica
dissolved in ether; or ½ dr. extract cannabis indica dissolved in
2 dr. liquor potassæ; or a saturated solution of iodine, or iodide
of potash, in strong alcohol. The shield does the double service
of taking the pressure of the boot off the corn, and at the same
time preventing the liquid being rubbed off by the sock; while all
these solutions penetrate the skin with more rapidity than the usual
collodion preparation, and are consequently much more effective in
their operation. The saturated solution of iodine often succeeds
in removing corns and indurated epidermis when other remedies have
failed, and the well-known solvent action of liquor potassæ is a
sufficient credential to induce for it at least a trial.

(_c_) Many corns may be removed by a persevering application of the
ordinary shield, which, relieving the pressure of the boot, enables
nature to throw off the old skin. Acetic acid, too, is an excellent
remedy for corroding the indurated epidermis; but it is necessary to
protect the surrounding parts by means of a paper shield.

(_d_) Mix 16 fl. oz. collodion with 2 oz. (avoir.) salicylic acid,
and, when this is dissolved, add 1 oz. (avoir.) zinc chloride. Keep
it tightly stoppered and away from lights or fire.

(_e_) Three dr. euphorbium, 6 dr. powdered cantharides, 4 dr. Venice
turpentine, 4 oz. alcohol. Macerate the euphorbium and cantharides
with the alcohol for 48 hours, strain, and add the Venice turpentine;
spread on French tissue-paper with a soft brush--size of each sheet
about 18 by 24 in. This article is in much repute for the cure of
corns and bunions, and the relief of gout.

(_f_) Dissolve 1 part salicylic acid in 40 of collodion: apply
several times a week. The corn dissolves with little trouble.

(_g_) For hard corns apply at night a mixture of 1 part carbolic
acid, and 10 of distilled water, glycerine, and soap liniment.
Envelop with guttapercha tissue, and the corn may generally be
removed the next morning.

(_h_) Gezou’s remedy for corns and warts is prepared as follows:--30
gr. salicylic acid, 10 gr. ext. cannabis indica, ½ oz. collodion.

(_i_) Fasten a piece of lemon on the corn, and renew night and
morning. Simple but very effective.

_Diarrhœa and Dysentery._--Beyond everything stands a strict
regulation of the diet. When the intestinal canal is in a diseased
state almost any substance introduced into the stomach acts
mischievously, and it is not infrequently necessary to suspend all
food until the intestine is in a condition to bear it. Every solid
article is then mischievous, but even fluids, by reason of their
temperature, may act as prejudicially. In most cases taking a few
spoonfuls of warm soup, or drinking a mouthful of cold water will
immediately be followed by severe colics, and soon afterwards by
evacuations. Only allow lukewarm soups or other drinks, and only
by a spoonful at a time. Of course these stringent rules apply to
very obstinate diarrhœa, and especially dysentery, for there are
many cases of temporary diarrhœa in which the patients continue to
eat fruits and the like, and still soon get well. Such cases must,
however, not be taken into account, and it is always most prudent at
the commencement of diarrhœa to cut off the supply of food as far
as possible, and at all events to prohibit all articles likely to
augment the affection.

Opium is the most valuable medicine in diarrhœa, for it keeps the
sphincter in a state of permanent contraction, a contraction which
is often propagated to the large intestine, and the small intestine
is unable to propel its contents far enough to induce the irritation
which causes their expulsion. When, by reason of this contraction,
these contents are retained, their amount may become considerably
diminished by the absorption of the fluid. Frequently, however, there
is no spot of the canal which is not so diseased as to prevent such
absorption taking place, and then the diarrhœa will continue in spite
of the opium and of the contraction of the sphincter. It appears,
moreover, that opium, besides its action on the muscular portion of
the canal, exerts, by contact, a soothing effect upon the mucous
membrane. In consequence of the diminution of the irritation of this
membrane, its secretion is probably lessened, as are possibly those
of the liver and pancreas. However this may be, opium acts very
favourably in profuse secretion from the intestinal mucous membrane.
From ½-3 gr. may be given in the 24 hours, the best preparation being
the _ext. opii aquosum_.

If opium or morphia do not suffice, it must be aided by astringent
remedies, by far the best of which, and the most easily supported, is
zinc sulphate. One would have supposed that tannin in its separate
state would have proved more useful than zinc, but this is not the
case, and it is much less easily borne. It acts much better and
more energetically when employed as a household remedy (e.g. as a
decoction of sloe or wild pear tree) than in its separated form,
and is then of great service in practice among the poor. Alum is of
no use whatever in diarrhœa. Lead approaches zinc in efficacy, but
still it is less certain than it. The dose should not be greater than
¼ gr., and this may be repeated every 2-3 hours, and at most every
hour. If these means do not suffice, we must have recourse to enemata
of salep or starch (with which may be combined 1 gr. opium or ½ gr.
zinc) not throwing up more than 2 oz. at a time. If the clyster does
not cause pain in the rectum, and the disease continues obstinate,
the dose of zinc may be increased to 2 gr. Tannin may be added to the
enema, but the zinc is far more serviceable. In the most obstinate
cases we must have recourse to cauterisation; but this is only the
case when there is a diseased condition of the lower part of the
rectum. Very obstinate cases of blenorrhœa confined to the anus maybe
completely cured by the application of silver nitrate, in substance
as high as it can be passed. The injection of a strong solution does
not usually attain the same end. (Prof. Skoda.)

A case of chronic diarrhœa, which had lasted for nearly 40 years, was
cured by the administration of a saturated solution of salt in cider
vinegar, 1 dr. being taken 3 or 4 times a day; it always produces
good results.

For cholera, a ready remedy is Dr. Rubini’s tincture of camphor,
taken on sugar, not in water. Or 1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper in ½
wine glass brandy.

To stop violent diarrhœa, take 2 drops each brandy and laudanum in 1
teaspoonful water every 3 minutes; go up to 60 doses if necessary.

Dr. Christopher Elliott speaks strongly in favour of the use of
camomile tea in infantile diarrhœa. The dose for infants under 1 year
is ½-1 dr., and double that quantity for older children, given 2 or
3 times a day, or oftener. The _rationale_ of the action is the
power the drug possesses of subduing reflex excitability. This power
belongs especially to the volatile oil contained in the flowers.

_Dislocations._--These are distinguished from broken bones by
stiffness at the joint, intense pain and swelling. They demand
surgical skill and must not be touched by any one but a doctor.

_Ear complaints._--Do not wear anything over the ears which presses
upon them. Growths may occur in the ear from the custom of wearing
ear-rings, and especially when of base metal, although gold ones
sometimes give rise to the same. Such may require removal by the
surgeon’s knife. Inflammation may be set up in the lobe after
piercing it for wearing ear-rings, should a portion of gristle happen
to be transfixed by the needle, and all the more likely should
that be a dirty or rusty one. The best thing to do is to bathe it
frequently with hot water. The silly habit of pulling children’s ears
is very liable to cause disease and injury. Never “pick” the ears
with any sharp implement. For removing excess of wax, syringe gently
with warm water, softening it first, if necessary, by dropping a
little glycerine and water or soda dissolved in water, into the ear
for a night or two. Any foreign body (including insects) accidentally
getting into the outer ear can generally be removed by dropping a
little warm water or salad oil into the ear, and then inclining the
head. The popular dread of their getting into the brain is utterly
unfounded: the drum head of the ear is an effectual stop. Dr. Jacobi
remarks that closing the mouths of infants and children and simply
blowing into the nose is often a very valuable method of relieving
earache, the cause of the trouble probably being a catarrhal
affection of the Eustachian tube. Perhaps even better is the method
of inflating the ear by blowing into it gently, while the mouth and
nose are held closed, and syringing the ear with warm water. Much
harm has been done by putting oil, chloroform, laudanum, the heart
of roasted onion, and similarly improper things into the ears of
children.

_Eye complaints._--In every case skilled advice should at once
be sought. The following remarks relate only to what should be
done in urgent cases ere professional assistance can be obtained.
In inflammation, simple bathing with water (either cold or tepid
as the sensations may direct) is the safest remedy, and no other
application should be had recourse to, till sanctioned by the doctor.
The practice of applying poultices, common bread and water, bread
and milk, tea-leaves, porridge, &c., to an inflamed or injured eye
is totally wrong, often endangering the sight. Keeping wet cloths
applied to the eye, and bandaging up an inflamed eye, may also be
productive of much mischief, and should never be employed without
orders.

A particle of foreign matter entering the eye will often produce
such a flood of tears that it is soon washed out, especially if the
eye be kept closed and not rubbed for a few minutes; but sometimes
the irritating substance finds its way under the upper eyelid,
and remains fixed there by the pressure of the lid. In some cases
plunging the face into cold water and opening the eyes under the
water will suffice to remove it, but generally the eyelid requires
to be turned inside out, and the offending body picked off with a
feather; or the upper eyelid drawn forwards off the eye by means of
the eyelashes, and the lower eyelid pushed up under it: when the
eyelids are released, the eyelashes of the lower lid will brush over
the inner surface of the upper lid, and almost certainly remove any
substance that may lodge there. To evert the lid, lay a bodkin or
pencil along it, and turn it up by taking hold of the eyelashes about
the middle, the patient meanwhile looking down. Should such simple
means fail, the eye may be tied up with a pad of cotton wool over
it, so as to prevent the eyelid moving till professional advice be
secured.

Serious damage is frequently occasioned by lime or other caustic
substance getting into the eye. Wash the eye as quickly as possible
thoroughly with cold water or vinegar very much diluted with water
(say 1 teaspoonful vinegar in 2 oz. warm water), a stream being
allowed to course across the opened eye, while any particle of
caustic substance that remains should be carefully removed. A drop
of castor oil or olive oil applied every half-hour to the inside of
the eye will greatly allay irritation. Never bandage or poultice. In
all cases of injury the less done at home the better. A light pad
of cotton wool applied over the closed lids and kept in position by
a handkerchief or a pledget of cotton wool soaked in _cold_ water
reapplied _cold_ at least every 5 minutes, may be employed till the
doctor comes.

Dr. Louis Fitzpatrick says he has never seen a single instance in
which a stye continued to develop after the following treatment
had been resorted to: The lids should be held apart by the thumb
and index finger of the left hand, or a lid retractor, if such be
at hand, while tincture of iodine is painted over the inflamed
papilla with a fine camel’s-hair pencil. The lids should not be
allowed to come in contact until the part touched is dry. A few such
applications in the 24 hours are sufficient. (_Lancet._)

_Hair complaints._--Ladies should undo their hair at night, unplait
the hair, and wear it loosely in a net. In this way the nourishment
of the hair is duly provided for. Night-caps should always be
light. When forced to remain in bed for long periods, through
illness, have the hair oiled and combed with a coarse comb daily; if
circumstances permit, the head may be washed twice a week with soap
and water, warm, lukewarm, or cold, as taste or health directs. In
long-continued illness, it is often advisable to cut the hair, so as
to reduce its length by about a third, not merely from considerations
connected with the cleanliness of the hair, but also that stronger
aftergrowth may be encouraged. Few realise the injurious effects of
curling-irons and hair-dyes.

Ordinary baldness may be constitutional or local. The former is a
matter for the medical man. For persistent daily loss of hair, the
following remedy is recommended by Pincus:--15 gr. soda bicarbonate
dissolved in 1 oz. water; a little to be well rubbed into the scalp
daily, and persisted in. Sir Erasmus Wilson says that a lotion
composed of 1 oz. each spirits of hartshorn, chloroform, and sweet
almond oil, added to 5 oz. spirits of rosemary, and well rubbed into
the roots of the hair after brushing, is effective; it may be used
half-strength, diluted with eau-de-cologne. Other lotions are:--(_a_)
2 dr. tincture of Spanish flies, ½ oz. tincture of nux vomica, 1
dr. tincture of capsicum, 1½ oz. castor oil, 2 oz. eau-de-cologne;
apply night and morning with a sponge to the roots of the hair after
brushing. (_b_) 2 oz. spirit minderus, ½ dr. ammonia carbonate, ½
oz. glycerine, ½ oz. castor oil, 5 oz. bay rum; apply as in (_a_).
These will be found serviceable in the treatment of commencing
general baldness, where the whole scalp is parting with its hair.
Singeing the hair is not of the slightest use for hair stimulation,
and the frequent use of the “curling-tongs” cannot but be detrimental
to the health of the head-covering. When the hair demands a tonic
application, the following--which any chemist will compound--may
be tried:--1 oz. tincture of red cinchona bark, 2 dr. tincture of
nux vomica, ½ dr. tincture of cantharides, add eau-de-cologne and
coconut oil to make up 4 oz.; apply to the roots of the hair with a
soft sponge night and morning. Where means are being taken to restore
the health in cases of sudden or premature greyness of hair, Dr.
Leonard recommends the following application:--2 oz. coconut oil, 3
dr. tincture of nux vomica, 1 oz. bay rum, 20 drops oil of bergamot.
Washing with egg yolk is highly commended in such cases.

The common trouble known as dandriff (dandruff) frequently occurs
in strumous (scrofulous) individuals who are anæmic (poor-blooded)
and have a sluggish circulation, marked by cold hands and feet.
Adolescence is its peculiar time of appearance, and chlorotic
(greenish skinned) young girls are apt to be annoyed by it. It is
an attendant upon chronic debilitating diseases, as rheumatism,
syphilis, phthisis, and the like, and comes on after profound
disturbances of the constitution, such as fevers and parturition.
Dyspepsia and constipation are very common exciting causes or
aggravants of the disease. Improper care of the scalp, the use of the
fine-toothed comb, and of pomades, hair “tonics,” and hair-dyes will
give rises to disorder.

A good deal in the way of prevention, according to Dr. Jackson, can
be accomplished by proper care of the scalp and general health. The
brush should have its bristles well set into the back, placed in
little clumps at regular distances and rather far apart, and those
in each clump should be of unequal length and arranged so that the
longest ones are in the centre of the group. It is well to have two
brushes, one stiff enough to warm the scalp when used with vigour,
and one quite soft. The comb should be made with large teeth set wide
apart; held up to the light the teeth should show no roughness or
inequality of surface. The fine-toothed comb should be banished from
the toilet table, as it is an active agent in producing inflammatory
conditions of the scalp. In the morning the hair should be thoroughly
opened up in all directions with the comb, and it and the scalp
brushed vigorously with the stiff brush. Then the soft brush should
be used in parting the hair, in polishing it, and in subsequent
brushings during the day.

Do not wash the head too much. The so-commonly practised daily
sousing of the head in water is hurtful to the hair and scalp,
especially if they are not carefully and properly dried afterwards,
and a little oil or a vaseline rubbed into the scalp. It is not the
daily sousing which is objectionable, but the insufficient aftercare.
Water renders the hair dry, and the daily sousing only washes the
head superficially. A good shampoo every week or ten days for those
persons exposed to a good deal of dust, and every 2-3 weeks for
other people, is sufficient for cleanliness. For the shampoo, soap
and water, borax and water, or the yolk of an egg beaten up in lime
water, are all simple and good, but it must not be forgotten to wash
out these materials with plenty of clean water, and to thoroughly dry
the hair and scalp.

Patent hair “tonics,” pomades, washes, and dyes are to be avoided.
None of these dressings is needed by the healthy scalp, and proper
care will preserve the hair in better condition than they will.
The nearer the body can be kept to the standard of perfect health
by means of bathing, exercise, and good diet, the less likely is
dandruff to develop. When, therefore, the disease has appeared, first
inquiries should be concerning the general health, and first efforts
addressed to remedying anything found to be wrong.

If the case presents itself with a decided accumulation of scales, or
if crusts are present, saturate with sweet almond oil, before going
to bed, and place over the head a flannel cloth soaked in the oil,
and outside of all an oiled silk cap. Next morning shampoo thoroughly
with soap and water, using by preference the tincture of green soap,
and wash out the soap with plenty of water. The scalp is then to
be dried by vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel, and the hair by
pulling it through a soft towel. If the crusts by this method are
not completely removed, the oil should be kept on during the day,
the head again soaked at night, and washed with the soap and water
in the morning. If the scalp should appear very hyperæmic after
the crusts are removed, anoint the head with red vaseline or some
simple ointment, as rose ointment, until lessened. When the crusts
are removed and the hyperæemia overcome, have an ointment composed
of 1 dr. sulphur loti to 1 oz. vaseline, applied every morning to
the scalp. If the scales form rapidly, apply every night, and the
sulphur ointment every morning, and wash the head every second or
third day. As soon as scaling is lessened stop the use of the oil,
but continue the ointment, at first using it every second morning,
then gradually reducing its application to once a week. Throughout
this plan of treatment the head should be shampooed about once a week
with a tincture of green soap, borax and water, or the yolks of 3
eggs beaten up in 1 pint lime water, to which ½ oz. alcohol is added.
Another excellent ointment for these cases is composed as follows:--

   ℞ Hydrarg. ammon.             gr. xx.
     Hydrarg. chlor. mitis.      gr. xi.
     Petrolati                   1 oz.

This applied once or twice a day has yielded admirable results in a
number of cases of simple dandruff. Its consistence, being that of
a salad dressing, renders it an elegant pomade for private practice.
Its use should be combined with the occasional shampoo as directed
above.

The persistent and systematic use of either of the two plans of
treatment, together with a proper oversight over the general health,
should cure every case of dandruff. But be prepared for occasional
relapses.

_Headaches._--Headaches vary much in degree and in kind. Their causes
may be grouped under 3 types--(1) when the blood-supply of brain and
body is at fault; (2) when some distant organ (such as stomach or
liver), with which the brain is in sympathy, is out of order; and (3)
when there is some affection of the nervous system, and especially of
the brain: or “circulation,” “digestive,” and “nervous” headaches.
Circulation headaches arise from the condition known technically as
_anæmia_ (bloodlessness) of the brain, in which the mental powers are
weakened, and much brain-work will result in headache. Chief among
its causes are a feeble heart and excessive drain on the system,
especially among women, the evil frequently lying in the excessive
use of purgative medicines. Hyperæmia (excessive blood supply) may
also give rise to headache in those who use the brain to such an
extent as to cause excessive waste, to repair which an increased flow
of blood to the head takes place, and may be so great as to overwhelm
the nerve-centres. This is often aggravated by an irregular mode of
life and too much stimulants. Interference with the blood return to
the heart may be due to causes within the chest, such as chronic
bronchitis or heart obstruction, to swellings in the glands of the
neck pressing on veins which convey the blood back to the heart, and
improper dress, such as tight stays, or tight collars and cravats.

In the bilious or dyspeptic headache, also known as the “sick
headache,” the brain sympathises with the stomach or liver in its
affliction, and thus is due to those errors of diet which lead to
indigestion or dyspepsia, e.g., unwholesome food, late suppers, hasty
and inefficient mastication, and continuous drinking and wine-bibbing.

The nervous system itself seems to be chiefly at fault in organic,
nervous, and neuralgic headaches. The organic headache often precedes
insanity. The nervous headache, more commonly known from the nausea
and vomiting which occur during an attack, as “sick headache,” is
due to various exciting causes, such as brooding over unpleasant
thoughts, bodily fatigue, dietetic errors, too little exercise,
overstraining of vision, loud noises of a disagreeable character,
unpleasant smells, and even disturbances of the weather; it is often
inherited. The attack may sometimes be warded off by the application
of atropine; the tendency to attack has been got rid of by the use
of a proper pair of spectacles. The neuralgic headache is a form of
tic douloureux, has its seat in one or other of the nerves of the
head, and may be excited by decayed teeth, exposure to cold, and
similar causes. It rarely occurs, even in those conditions, unless
the nervous system is lowered in tone. Many people have decayed
teeth without suffering the slightest ache so long as they keep
their health at par. Too much work, bodily or mental, or exposure to
conditions which act injuriously on the health, result in a neuralgic
headache.

Any irregularity in the mode of life, such as errors in diet and
drink, must be particularly shunned by those who are liable to any
form of headache. Where alcohol is found to do good, it should be
taken only in small quantities and with the meals. All worry and
excitement must be avoided. Sleep in sufficiency, as well as moderate
exercise, is essential. When headaches continue to burden the frame
and to make life miserable, change of air or scene, prolonged absence
from business, pleasant society, music, and other enjoyments may help
to get rid of them. Sometimes all that is wanted may be cod-liver
oil, or some other nutrient and tonic medicine. During the paroxysms
of sick headache, complete rest on sofa or bed in a darkened room is
found by many to be the only thing which gives relief; while others
believe they are assisted to endure by drinking cups of strong tea
or coffee. Those who suffer from this tendency, and disorders of
vision, should consult an oculist regarding the condition of their
eyes. (Dr. Maxwell Rose.)

_Indigestion._--Indigestion may be due to the food or condition of
the stomach. The food may be defective in quality. There may be
excess or deficiency of the normal ingredients, saccharine, starchy,
albuminous, or fatty, or some of the natural indigestible materials
which form a part of all food. The food may be introduced in an
indigestible form on account of defects in the cooking of it, or
imperfect mastication, or from its having undergone putrefaction or
fermentation, which arrests the functions of the stomach. Imperfect
mastication of food is a very common cause of indigestion. Eating
too much is probably the most common of all causes of indigestion.
The secretion of the gastric juice in the stomach seems to be
proportioned to the amount of material required for the nourishment
of the system. Food taken in excess of this amount acts as a foreign
substance undergoing fermentation and putrefaction, and occasioning
much disturbance in the system. Much may be done for the cure of
indigestion by eating very abstemiously of suitable food, thoroughly
masticated, taking exercise in the open air, breathing pure air, and
observing the laws of health generally. The amount of food should be
reduced until the quantity is reached which the stomach can digest
without evincing any symptoms of indigestion.

Hot water of a temperature varying from 110° F. to 150° F., has been
found highly serviceable in relieving painful conditions induced by
improper feeding. This beverage, diluting the ordinary fluids and
secretions of the digestive system, effects the work of the liver
and kidneys, and produces the happiest results. Dr. Cutter, of New
York, has summarised the methods of using hot water. He tells us that
the water must be really hot, and not merely lukewarm. If lukewarm,
it will only excite vomiting; whereas, when really hot, it appears
to soothe the irritable lining membrane of the stomach and bowels.
The quantity of hot water to be taken at a draught, according to
Dr. Salisbury, varies from ½ pint to 1 pint or more at a drinking.
The test of benefit being derived from the use of hot water is said
to be that derived from the kidney-secretion, which should be pure,
free from odour and deposit. Regarding the times at which hot water
should be taken, 1-2 hours before each meal, and ½ hour before
retiring to rest, are stated as the periods most suitable for its
administration; while the water must be sipped, and not taken so fast
as to cause distension of the stomach. Dr. Cutter says that ¼-½ hour
may be consumed in the draught of hot water. This form of hydropathic
treatment, according to the authorities just named, should be
practised in cases of digestive troubles for a period of 6 months
or thereabouts. Regarding the amount of liquid to be taken with a
meal, not more than 8 oz. has been prescribed as the regulation
quantity; a larger amount tends to dilute the gastric juice to too
great an extent. Various additions may be made to hot water by way of
rendering it palatable, although persons accustomed to drink it in
time learn to like it.

Dr. Milner Fothergill made some experiments with our ordinary native
fruits, to test the value of correcting the acid by means of alkali
to render the fruit more suitable for dyspeptics. The result was
that the amount of bicarbonate potash required for each lb. of fruit
was found to be about as much as would lie upon a shilling. With
all fairly ripe fruit this is just sufficient to neutralise the
acidity, and bring out the natural sweetness; indeed, the resultant
product was quite sweet enough for most adult palates. Such stewed
fruit can be eaten alone, or with milk puddings, cream, or Swiss
milk; gooseberries, currants, apples and plums are excellent when
so prepared. With dark fruits, as the black plum, the colour is
impaired by the alkali, and the fruit is less attractive to the eye
than is that of the ordinary stewed fruit, which is of a deep clear
crimson. A little cochineal will give the desired colour. Where there
is no natural sweetness, to neutralise the acid completely by an
alkali leaves nothing, simply a cold mass, to which the palate is
indifferent. Such is the case with rhubarb. Here it is well to use
half or all the amount of alkali with some sugar. The same is the
case with early gooseberries before they have any natural sweetness;
no sugar formed in them. Here the full quantity of alkali should
be used, and the remaining acidity be met by sugar. When ¾ lb. of
sugar is required to sweeten 1 lb. of fruit, only ¼ lb. of sugar is
necessary after the alkali has been added. The sour-sweet taste is
thus secured, which is toothsome. In these two instances the stewed
fruit is only rendered less objectionable to the stomach plagued with
acidity, not made quite inoffensive.

_Infectious Diseases._--All infectious (catching) diseases have
several features in common. They begin with a period of dormancy
(“latency” or “incubation,”) during which the poison is actively
developing. The duration of this period in smallpox is 12 days; in
typhus fever, 8-14 days; in typhoid fever, 14-21 days; in scarlet
fever, 3-6 days; measles about 4 days, at the termination of which
the sickness is said to begin, though its distinctive characters may
not appear for some days longer. These diseases (fevers) all commence
with a marked, and sometimes sudden, elevation of bodily temperature,
which, with variations, continues during the course of the illness.
Characteristic eruptions appear in scarlatina on the 2nd, smallpox
on the 3rd, measles on the 4th day, and so on; with them begins
the infection, and increases with the activity of the disease. The
following table, modified from that given by Domville in his ‘Manual
for Hospital Nurses,’ is exceedingly useful:--

  ----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+-------------------
            |Period of| Day of| Characters| Duration|
     Name.  |Dormancy.| Rash. |  of Rash. |   of    |   Observations.
            |         |       |           | Illness.|
  ----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+-------------------
  Chicken-  |21 days  |       |Small rose | 6-7 days|
    pox.    |         |       | pimples,  |         |
            |         |       | becoming  |         |
            |         |       | vesicles. |         |
  Erysipelas|3-7 days | 2nd or|Diffuse    |         |Most common in face
            |         |  3rd. | redness   |         | and head, and after
            |         |       | and       |         | surgical operations
            |         |       | swelling. |         | or injuries.
            |         |       |           |         |
  Measles   |  10-14  |4th day|Small red  |  6-10   |Accompanied with
            |  days.  |  of   | dots like |  days.  | running at eyes and
            |         | fever.| fleabites.|         | nose.
  Relapsing | Sudden  |       |Purpuric   |         |Caused by want of
    Fever.  |         |       | spots     |         | food. After 7-14
            |         |       |           |         | days from the
            |         |       |           |         | first attack, and
            |         |       |           |         | during convales-
            |         |       |           |         | cence, it is
            |         |       |           |         | liable to recur 2
            |         |       |           |         | or 3 times.
  Scarlet   | 4-6 days|2nd day|Bright     | 8-9 days|Very infectious.
    Fever.  |         |  of   | scarlet   |         | Often accompanied
            |         | fever.| diffused. |         | by sore-throat,
            |         |       |           |         | followed by
            |         |       |           |         | desquamation
            |         |       |           |         | (peeling off of
            |         |       |           |         | the skin).
  Smallpox  | 12 days |3rd day|Small red  |  14-21  |Discrete or
            |         |       | pimples,  |  days.  | confluent. Great
            |         |       | becoming  |         | pain in back and
            |         |       | then      |         | intense headache.
            |         |       | vesicles, |         | Secondary fever
            |         |       | pustules. |         | sets in about 11th
            |         |       |           |         | day of disease.
  Typhoid   | 10-14   |7th to |Rose-      |  22-30  |Seldom infectious.
    Fever.  |days or  | 14th. | coloured  |  days.  | Usually caused by
            |suddenly |       | spots, few|         | bad drainage.
            |         |       | in number.|         | Accompanied
            |         |       |           |         | by diarrhœa and
            |         |       |           |         | sometimes bloody
            |         |       |           |         | stools.
  Typhus    | 1-12    |4th to |Mulberry   |  14-21  |Very infectious.
    Fever.  | days.   | 7th.  | colour    |  days.  | Usually caused by
            |         |       | general   |         | over-crowding and
            |         |       | over      |         | destitution.
            |         |       | abdomen.  |         |
  ----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+------------------

In scarlet fever, infection is due to the particles which peel
off from the skin, the patient should be anointed once a day with
carbolic oil, made with 1 part carbolic acid to 50 of olive oil. The
efflorescence (peeling off) occurs first on the skin of neck and
arms, sometimes as early as the fourth day. The anointing should
include the head, the oil being freely applied to the roots of the
hair, and continued for 6 weeks, a warm bath being given weekly
during that time. After 6 weeks, the patient may mix with the other
members of the family; but children should not return to school for 2
weeks longer.

In measles, the same rules are to be observed, with the addition that
the discharges from mouth and nostrils should be received on rags and
destroyed by burning.

In typhoid fever, the poison is chiefly contained in discharges
from the bowels. These may infect the air of the sickroom, the bed,
body-linen, w.c., and drains, and, by soaking into wells, they poison
the drinking-water--a common and dangerous way by which this fever
spreads. The discharges should be disinfected immediately on their
escape from the body as will be directed.

Typhus fever is very infectious, and is apt to attack those who are
much exposed to it for the first time; therefore engage a nurse who
has been previously attacked. The poison is thrown off by the skin
and lungs and readily affects clothing, furniture, and everything in
contact with the air of the room.

Efficient protection from smallpox is proper vaccination, known by
a large mark or scar. Re-vaccination after the fourteenth year is
advisable. Smallpox affects at a greater distance than any other, the
poison escaping chiefly by the skin and mucous membrane.

Diphtheria poisons by the breath and expectoration; and to avoid
contact with these is absolutely necessary. The expectoration should
be received into a vessel containing Condy’s fluid, or on rags that
may be at once burnt. Gargle the throat frequently with a solution of
the same, of the strength of 1 small teaspoonful to 1 qt. water.

Whooping-cough is a disease which is most fatal to children under 2
years of age. The poison comes chiefly from the mucous secretions of
the lungs and air passages, and is readily imparted to the clothes of
those who nurse the patient; the secretions are infectious from the
beginning.

Asiatic cholera rarely visits this country. As in typhoid fever, it
spreads by means of the bowel discharges, and the same precautions
are needed.

In any infectious disease, where the home has no accommodation for
fully carrying out the precautions, the patient should be removed at
once to a fever hospital. No time should be lost in obtaining medical
advice.

One other source of danger may be mentioned here, and that is
the poisonous vapours arising from broken gas mains, which will
cause illness and even death from the carbonic oxide present. As a
precaution against ground air contaminated with illuminating gas
entering houses, open all cellar windows, as well as those on the
ground floor of threatened houses, so as to prevent directly sucking
in the ground air or render it harmless by dilution. The smell of gas
should serve as a warning.

The following advice is addressed to those who have to visit or
attend upon infectious cases. Always have the window open before
entering the patient’s room or ward. Never stand between the patient
and the fire, but always between him and the open window. If possible
change your coat before entering the room. Do not go in for any
unnecessary physical examination. Stay as short a time as possible in
the room. Never, while in the room, swallow any saliva. After leaving
the sickroom, wash the hands with water containing an antiseptic.
Rinse out the mouth with diluted “toilet sanitas” or Condy’s fluid;
also gargle the throat with it, and bathe the eyes, mouth, and
nostrils. Expectorate and blow the nose immediately on leaving the
sickroom. Keep up the general health by good food, exercise, and
temperance. Filter all the air you breathe while in the sickroom or
ward through an antiseptic medium, such as a McKenzie inhaler over
the nose and mouth; carefully soak the sponge in a strong solution of
carbolic acid before entering the sickroom; all the air breathed must
necessarily come through this sponge, and the expired air is emitted,
by a valve action, at another place.

Nurses should keep themselves and their patients as clean as
possible, remembering that the more the infection accumulates, the
more dangerous does it become. Special care should be taken, in
changing sheets and clothing, not to shake or disturb them more than
is absolutely necessary to remove them; as these acts disseminate the
particles of skin which are removed with them, and which convey the
germs of disease, they should be removed carefully, folded together,
and immediately disinfected.

Whatever the nature of a malady, so soon as it is pronounced to be
infectious the same precautions should in all cases be taken. Let
it at once be decided who is to nurse the patient, and make all
arrangements by which nurse and patient may be isolated from the rest
of the household. If possible, 2 rooms communicating should be given
up to them, and over the outer doors of these rooms sheets should be
hung, which must be kept constantly saturated with disinfectants,
either Condy’s fluid or carbolic acid in water. No servant in
communication with the rest of the household must enter the sickroom;
if she does so, she should be isolated like the nurse, and any
message that may require to be given must be spoken through the
sheet. The best plan is to have a regular nurse from one of the many
excellent institutions which provide them; they make the patient more
comfortable, take entire charge of the arrangement of the sickroom,
and know exactly what is required to be done in an emergency, and
for disinfection. At the very commencement all curtains should be
taken down, and at once sent out of the house to be disinfected by
properly qualified persons; the same course should be pursued with
the carpets (woollen articles hold infection beyond any others), and
then the floors can be kept sprinkled with disinfectants, besides
having a broom steeped in them passed over every morning. Linen used
in the sickroom should always be put into water with either carbolic
or Condy, before leaving the room; but, even with this precaution,
it is far better to send it to be disinfected than to allow it to go
to a laundry. The windows should be open, top and bottom, but more
especially at the top, during the entire day, and if possible at
night also; a thorough draught through the room is most desirable,
if the patient can be kept out of the direct line of it. As much
as possible, all cups, basins, jugs, and glasses should be kept
upstairs; but those that must occasionally be sent down should be
carefully washed in Condy and water, and at once placed outside
the door, and again passed through disinfectant on their arrival
downstairs. The clothes that may have been worn for the day or two
before the disease absolutely declared itself should be sent for
disinfection, but those which have only been in casual contact may be
disinfected at home. A small room should be chosen for the purpose,
and the dresses, petticoats, shawls, or other articles hung up, so
as to be fully exposed. The doors, windows, and all other apertures
must be kept closed, and the disinfection may be effected either by
chlorine, which is formed by pouring hydrochloric acid on chlorate of
potash, or else by burning sulphur. In either case the quantity must
be sufficient to render the atmosphere of the room unbearable to a
human being, or otherwise the disease germs will not be destroyed.
The bedding and blankets must be sent for proper disinfection at
the close of the illness. Nothing should be kept in the room except
for use. Clothes in a wardrobe under such circumstances have been
known to spread infection 10 years after. Handkerchiefs should be
replaced by rags, burnt when used. Letters from the patient should
be backed, or written on postcards dipped in carbolic; they are
capable of spreading disease otherwise. A thing in which people are
often lamentably careless is in allowing books that have been used by
the patient to be afterwards used by others. It cannot be too often
impressed on the minds of those who have to do with illness, that
every book, paper or magazine used by an infectious patient must be
burnt without leaving the sickroom. Infection is very often spread by
allowing books from a circulating library to be returned to it after
use by a person suffering from an infectious disorder.

Infection ceases in the individual as soon as the skin has thoroughly
peeled--a process which takes a longer or shorter time in different
individuals. The danger after this lies in the clothes, furniture,
and rooms, and if these are at once thoroughly disinfected all danger
is absolutely at an end. It is impossible to reprobate too strongly
the conduct of those who wish and endeavour to shirk the expense and
trouble of proper disinfection. It would be well if in such cases
doctors would always avail themselves of their power to report the
existence of a case of infectious disease to the sanitary officer
of the district, when official pressure would at once be brought to
bear, and all that is necessary be effected under compulsion.

The cured patient on the day of leaving home should go into a fresh
room to dress, and put on things either new or disinfected, not
returning to the sickroom. Brushes and sponges, as coming most in
contact with hair and skin, are best destroyed. While a patient is in
the infectious stage it is best that no letters should be written;
but if, as is sometimes the case, some communication in writing must
be made, danger is obviated by holding the paper and envelope in the
fumes of chlorine.

A few words would not be amiss respecting those in the house who do
not enter the sickroom. However great the precautions taken, the
air of a house in which there is a case of infectious disease can
never be absolutely safe, and it is far better to err on the side of
caution than the reverse. Visitors should not be allowed to enter the
house, and it is far better and more honest for the servants to state
clearly at the door what disease is in the house. Special attention
should be paid to the health of each member of the household. Any
slight disorder is liable to predispose to infection.

There is a great variety of good disinfectants, and as many different
ways of using them. A good plan, both effective and economical, is
as follows:--Freely use moistened chloride of lime all through the
house, and even in the sickroom, if the fumes are not found to be
irritating; secondly, place in various parts of the room 5 or 6
soup-plates, or other flat vessels, containing Condy’s fluid; or
hang about in the room as many perforated boxes filled with solid
iodine; thirdly, keep the windows opened freely but the doors as
seldom as possible; guard it both inside and outside with a large
sheet, hung up to at least the height of the door, and at about 1 ft.
distant from it, and kept constantly well moistened with a solution
of carbolic acid (strength, about 1 of the acid to 40 of water); and,
most important of all, receive as soon as possible all discharges,
excreta, soiled linen, and all such matters, in vessels containing
a strong solution of Condy’s fluid, chloralum, or carbolic acid.
Many infectious diseases have (in addition to their common property
of infecting the air through the effete products of respiration
from the lungs and skin) some special channel of transmission. In
cholera, typhoid (enteric) fever, and, in a less degree, typhus and
relapsing fevers, it is principally by the excreta from the bowels
and kidneys. These should be received at the very moment of their
issue from the body into vessels fully charged with disinfectants. In
diphtheria, it is by the throat. In erysipelas, hospital gangrene,
and puerperal fever, by discharges peculiar to each. In smallpox, by
pustular exudation from the skin. In scarlet fever, measles, &c., by
desquamation (peeling off of the skin), rendered harmless by slightly
moistening the surface of the body once or twice a day with ordinary
olive oil or camphorated oil, or a weak solution of glycerine and
carbolic acid. Never mix disinfectants; for instance, Condy’s fluid
and carbolic acid act in precisely opposite ways, and might decompose
each other.

The nurse must not neglect proper precautions for her own safety. She
should use disinfectants freely about her own person, be sure that
she has a sufficient quantity of undisturbed rest and regular meals,
and avoid coming into unnecessary close contact with the patient.
She should at once give up the occupation if she feel her general
health at all injured. She must also be careful not to undertake a
non-infectious case after being in attendance upon an infectious one
for a considerable time; and until she has put herself through a
complete process of disinfection, and done the same with all clothes
worn at the time which she has not discarded altogether. Nothing must
induce her to go near a confinement for several (at least 3) months.

Disinfection.--The most useful agents for the destruction of
spore-containing infectious materials are:--

(1) Fire: Complete destruction by burning.

(2) Steam under pressure: 230°F. for 10 minutes.

(3) Boiling in water for 1 hour. This temperature does not destroy
the spores of _Bacillus subtilis_ in the time mentioned, but is
effective for the destruction of the spores of the anthrax bacillus,
and of all known pathogenic organisms.

(4) Chloride of lime: a solution of 4 in 100 containing at least 25
per cent. of available chlorine.

(5) Mercuric chloride: a solution of 1 in 500 containing at least 3
per cent. of available chlorine.

For the destruction of infectious material which owes its infecting
power to the presence of micro-organisms not containing spores:--

(1) Fire: Complete destruction by burning.

(2) Boiling water ½ an hour.

(3) Dry heat: 230°F. for 2 hours.

(4) Chloride of lime: 1 to 4 in 100 solution, containing at least 25
per cent. available chlorine.

(5) Solution of chlorinated soda: 5 to 20 in 100 solution, containing
at least 3 per cent. available chlorine.

(6) Mercuric chloride: a solution of 1 in 1000 to 1 in 4000.

(7) Sulphur dioxide: exposure for 12 hours to an atmosphere
containing at least 4 volumes per cent. of this gas, preferably in
presence of moisture. This will require the combustion of 3-4 lb.
sulphur for every 1000 cub. ft. of air space.

(8) Carbolic acid: 2 to 5 in 100 solution.

(9) Sulphate of copper: 2 to 5 in 100 solution.

(10) Chloride of zinc: 4 to 10 in 100 solution.

Following are recommendations with reference to the practical
application of these agents:--


For Excreta.

(_a_) In the sickroom:

For spore containing material:

(1) Chloride of lime in solution, 4 in 100.

(2) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500; addition of an equal
quantity of potassium permanganate as a deodorant, and to give colour
to the solution, is to be recommended.

In the absence of spores:

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 5 in 100.

(4) Sulphate of copper in solution, 5 in 100.

(5) Chloride of zinc in solution, 10 in 100.

(_b_) In privy vaults:

Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500. A concentrated solution
containing 4 oz. mercuric chloride and 1 lb. cupric sulphate to 1
gal. water is recommended as a standard solution; 8 oz. this solution
to 1 gal. water will give a diluted solution for the disinfection of
excreta, containing about 1 in 500 of mercuric chloride and 1 in 125
of cupric sulphate.

(_c_) For the disinfection and deodorisation of the surface of masses
of organic material in privy vaults, &c.:

Chloride of lime in powder, diluted with plaster of Paris, or with
clean, well-dried sand, in the proportion of 1 part to 9.


For Clothing, Bedding, &c.

(_a_) Soiled underclothing, bed linen, &c.:

(1) Destruction by fire, if of little value.

(2) Boiling at least ½ hour.

(3) Immersion in a solution of mercuric chloride of the strength of 1
in 2000 for 4 hours. The blue solution containing sulphate of copper,
diluted by adding 2 oz. concentrated solution to 1 gal. water, may be
used for this purpose.

(4) Immersion in a 2 per cent. solution of carbolic acid for 4 hours.

(_b_) Outer garments of wool or silk, and similar articles, which
would be injured by immersion in boiling water or in a disinfecting
solution:

(1) Exposure to dry heat at a temperature of 230° F. for 2 hours.

(2) Fumigation with sulphurous acid gas for at least 12 hours,
the clothing being freely exposed, and the gas present in the
disinfection chamber in the proportion of 4 volumes per cent.

(_c_) Mattresses and blankets soiled by the discharges of the sick:

(1) Destruction by fire.

(2) Exposure to superheated steam--25 lb. pressure--for 1 hour.
Mattresses to have the cover removed or freely opened.

(3) Immersion in boiling water for 1 hour.

(4) Immersion in blue solution (mercuric chloride and sulphate of
copper) 2 fl. oz. to 1 gal. of water.

Fire.--Materials used in wiping away discharges may be burned in the
open fireplace of the sickroom. In general, this method is to be
recommended for all substances which have been exposed to infection,
which cannot be treated with boiling water, and, could it be carried
out in all cases, would make disinfection a very simple matter. If
there is no fire in the room, such substances may be wrapped in a
sheet soaked with solution, carbolic acid, and in this condition
conveyed to a fire elsewhere.

Boiling Water.--Boiling in water for ½ hour will destroy the vitality
of all known disease germs. This is therefore the best means for all
articles which can be thus treated, such as body-clothing of the
patient, bed-clothes, towels, &c. All utensils used in the room in
feeding the patient should likewise be treated with boiling water
before being removed from the room. Food itself, not consumed by the
patient, should not be used by others, as it is liable to become
infected in the sickroom. If there are no facilities for treating
articles with boiling water in the sickroom, they may with safety be
removed to another part of the house for this treatment if they are
carefully enveloped in a towel or sheet, as the case may require,
which has been thoroughly soaked with carbolic acid solution. Thus
enveloped, they should be put in the water, and boiled for the
required time.

Chloride of Lime.--To be effective as a disinfectant this must be of
the best quality, and in purchasing it, only that should be accepted
which is enclosed in glass bottles, as, when packed in paper or
wooden boxes, it is liable to have so deteriorated as to be worthless
for disinfecting purposes. Dissolved in water, in the proportion of
4 oz. to 1 gal., it forms a standard solution recommended to be used
in the disinfection of discharges in contagious diseases, especially
in typhoid fever and cholera; 1 pint should be well mixed with each
discharge; after 10 minutes, disinfection is completed, and the
contents of the vessel may be then safely thrown into the water
closet. The expectorated matter of those sick with consumption should
be discharged into a cup half filled with this or carbolic acid
solution.

Solution of Chlorinated Soda.--To be effective, this solution must
contain at least 3 per cent. of available chlorine, and care should
be exercised to obtain such a quality. This is sometimes spoken of
as Labarraque’s solution; but, as this latter is too weak to act as
a disinfectant, the name is liable to mislead. A standard solution
is made by adding 5 parts water to 1 of the solution of chlorinated
soda. The cost of this solution is about 5_d._ a gallon. When thus
diluted it may be used for all the purposes for which chloride of
lime was recommended, and is of a somewhat more agreeable odour,
though more expensive. It should be used to cleanse portions of the
body soiled with discharges of those sick with infectious diseases,
or the hands of attendants similarly soiled.

Bichloride of Mercury (corrosive sublimate) is recommended to be
used only in the disinfection of privy vaults which contain so
much material, believed to be infected with the germs of typhoid
fever or cholera, that the disinfection by chloride of lime would
be impracticable. In using this, it should be dissolved in the
proportion of 1 oz. bichloride of mercury to 1 gal. water; this
quantity will disinfect 4 gal. infected excremental matter.


For Clothing after Recovery or Death.

The clothing of the patient should be treated in the manner already
described as necessary during the sickness. Whatever can be boiled
in water should be thus disinfected; articles which cannot be
boiled should, if circumstances will permit, be burned; all other
articles should be left in the room to be subjected to the fumigation
hereafter to be described, and until thus treated, the room and its
contents should be closed with lock and key, to prevent any one from
entering. If it is desired to burn any articles, and facilities for
it do not exist in the house, the authorities should be notified, and
an officer will call and remove the articles for destruction.

Permanganate of potash (commonly known as Condy’s fluid), Burnett’s
fluid, and chloride of lime, can all be mixed with water, and used
for clothing if care is taken. Carbolic soap is excellent for
scrubbing. Sulphate of zinc and common salt, dissolved together in
water in the proportion of 4 oz. sulphate and 2 oz. salt to 1 gal.
will do for clothing, bed-linen, &c.

Armfield & Son, 15 Lower Belgrave Street, London, W., and Victoria
Bridge Road, S.W., disinfect and clean articles after fever, &c., by
means of special apparatus.


For Furniture and Articles of Wood, Leather, and Porcelain.

Washing several times repeated with:

(1) Solution of mercuric chloride 1 in 1000. The blue solution, 4 oz.
to 1 gal. water may be used.

(2) Solution of chloride of lime, 1 per cent.

(3) Solution of carbolic acid, 2 per cent.

For articles of metal use No. 3.


For the Person.

The hands and general surface of the body of attendants of the sick,
and of convalescents at the time of their discharge from hospital:--

(1) Solution of chlorinated soda diluted with 9 parts of water (1 in
10).

(2) Carbolic acid, 2 per cent. solution.

(3) Mercuric chloride, 1 in 1000; recommended only for the hands, or
for washing away infectious material from a limited area, not as a
bath for the entire surface of the body.


For Body of the Patient after Recovery.

When the patient has recovered, he should be first sponged over with
the solution of chlorinated soda, diluted in the proportion of 1
part to 20 of water; and, indeed, during the course of the illness
occasional sponging of the body with this very dilute solution
under the direction of the attending physician, will be of value in
preventing the escape from the surface of the body of infectious
material. When, after recovery, the body has been thus sponged, not
omitting the head and hair, a thorough washing of the body with soap
and warm water should follow, and the patient dressed in clothes
which have not been exposed to infection. This should take place in
another room than the one occupied during the illness.


For the Dead.

Envelope the body in a sheet thoroughly saturated with

(1) Chloride of lime in solution, 4 per cent.

(2) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500.

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 5 per cent.

The body should be thoroughly sponged with either (1) or (3), and
then wrapped completely in a sheet saturated with one of these
solutions, and enclosed in a coffin, which is to be closed, and
the interment must take place within 24 hours, and be strictly
private. If the interment is to take place at a distance requiring
transportation by any other means than a hearse, the coffin must be
of metal, or metal-lined, and hermetically sealed.

When danger is to be apprehended from this source, the body should
be, when coffined, surrounded with sawdust, in which these solutions
have been placed. Carbolic sanitas powders also present effective
means whereby disinfection of the dead body may be performed when
coffined; and nitrous acid fumes form the best disinfectant for
mortuaries or apartments in which the dead have lain for some time.


Room and Contents.

The room, having been vacated by the patient, should first be
fumigated by burning sulphur. This fumigation should be done under
the supervision of the physician or some other intelligent person.
Nothing should be removed from the room until this is completed,
unless it has been disinfected in the manner already described.
Everything to be fumigated should be so opened and exposed that the
sulphur fumes can come in contact with all portions thereof. All
cracks of doors and windows, fire-places, or other channels by which
the gas may escape should be tightly closed, using cotton wadding
when necessary. For a room 10 ft. in all its dimensions--that is,
one containing 1000 cub. ft. of air space--2 lb. broken sulphur
and 1 lb. flowers of sulphur should be provided, and an increased
amount for larger rooms, in the same proportion. This quantity is
important, as less will not so efficiently accomplish the desired
disinfection. The sulphur should be put in an iron pot, and this
placed on bricks in a large washtub half filled with water, or in a
large coal-scuttle containing wet ashes. This precaution is necessary
to prevent setting fire to the floor, which would occur if the pot
were placed directly on the floor or carpet. The vessel containing
the sulphur should not be one with soldered joints, as the intense
heat would melt the solder. A pot capable of holding 1 gal. is about
the right capacity for 3 lb. sulphur. The pot should be placed in the
centre of the room; if the room is a large one, containing several
thousand cub. ft. of air space, several pots should be provided,
distributed at different points. Everything being in readiness,
sufficient alcohol to moisten the sulphur should be poured on it, a
lighted match applied, and when it is seen that the sulphur is well
ignited, the room should be left and the door shut, and all cracks
outside, including the key-hole, closed by paper, cotton, or other
material. At the end of 10 hours the fumigation is completed. Great
care should be exercised in emptying the room of the sulphur fumes,
as these cannot be safely breathed, and are excessively irritating to
the eyes and throat. If possible, a window should be opened from the
outside, and through this the fumes permitted to escape; if this is
impracticable, all the windows and doors of adjoining rooms should be
opened, and then the door of the fumigated room, and through these
outlets the fumes allowed to find an exit. Thorough airing will
remove the slight odour which remains.

The fumigation being completed, all woodwork, as of floors, windows,
and door, and the walls and other surfaces, should be washed over
with solution of chlorinated soda, particular attention being paid to
cracks, crevices, and out of the way places, in which dirt ordinarily
finds a lodgment and from which it is with difficulty removed.
A subsequent washing with hot water and soap will complete the
cleansing process, and the room may be considered again habitable.

(_a_) While occupied, wash all surfaces with:--

(1) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 1000. The blue solution
containing sulphate of copper may be used.

(2) Chloride of lime in solution, 1 per cent.

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 2 per cent.

(_b_) When vacated:--

Fumigate with sulphur dioxide as described in the next paragraph.

A pleasant disinfectant for rooms is 20 parts camphor, 50 each
hypochlorite of lime, alcohol, and water, 1 each eucalyptus and clove
oils. The ingredients must be mixed slowly in a spacious vessel kept
cool. A few drops on a plate will suffice to disinfect a chamber
pleasantly.

Carbolic acid, when combined with water and boiled, evaporates with
the steam in a constant ratio, and the steam contains the same
relative quantity of the acid as the water from which it evaporates.
Pour 20-40 drops of a mixture of equal parts turpentine and carbolic
acid into a kettle of water, which keep simmering over a slow fire,
so that the air of the sick room will be constantly impregnated with
the odour. An excellent vaporiser for disinfecting purposes is made
by Savory and Moore.

To purify the air in a sickroom, place in the bed a small basket or
other porous article, containing wood charcoal, for the purpose of
absorbing the foul air which, if diffused throughout the surrounding
atmosphere, would be constantly returned to the lungs.

In a sickroom in which infants are sleeping, put a box or basket
containing a piece of quicklime and some wood charcoal, for the
purpose of fixing the carbonic acid exhaled from the lungs, and of
absorbing all the foul air generated in the system, and given off by
exhalation from the skin or otherwise.

Cellars, yards, stables, gutters, privies, cesspools, water-closets,
drains, sewers, &c., should be frequently and liberally treated with
copperas (sulphate of iron) solution. The copperas solution is easily
prepared by hanging a basket containing about 60 lb. copperas in a
barrel of water, or say 1½ lb. per gal. It stains linen.

Another good solution is made thus. Dissolve ½ dr. nitrate of lead in
1 pint boiling water; dissolve 2 dr. common salt in a pail of cold
water. Pour the two solutions together, and allow the sediment to
subside. Areas, dustbins, heaps of refuse, w.c.’s, or close rooms are
all alike benefited by this mixture, which has the advantage of being
without smell. Cloths dipped in the solution and hung up in a room
will sweeten a fetid atmosphere immediately. It is cheap, nitrate of
lead being procurable at about 6_d._ a lb.

_Rheumatism._--This common ailment is essentially due to damp or
being chilled. One of the easiest and most satisfactory means of
treatment is to apply a flannel bandage, pretty tightly, round the
chest, in order to restrain the movements of the chest wall. Soothing
liniments may also be laid on the side, such as belladonna and
chloroform liniments, mixed in equal proportions, or the liniment of
turpentine, or cajeput oil mixed with olive oil. Some of the popular
domestic remedies for lumbago (rheumatism in the back), are not to
be despised, such as ironing with a hot smoothing iron (with the
interposition of a double layer of flannel between the skin and the
iron), the efficacy of which is heightened by wrapping the flannel
round the hot iron, and moistening the flannel with vinegar. The
iron, thus guarded, is left in contact with the skin for ¼ minute, at
various points. Another good remedy is the application of turpentine,
effected by taking a doubled piece of flannel, say 12-14 in. long
by 8-10 in. wide, and dipping it into boiling water. It is then
wrung firmly, and turpentine is sprinkled liberally over it. This is
applied to the loins, and kept on for 20-30 minutes. When removed,
cotton-wool is applied to the skin. At the outset a strong effective
purge ought to be taken.

A good hot bath (104° F.) is very beneficial, and it may be
advantageous to make it alkaline, by adding about 6 oz. carbonate
of soda (washing soda) to the bath before entering it; this will
be specially efficacious in stiffness of the joints or muscles. Of
the many drugs which have the effect of inducing free perspiration,
solution of acetate of ammonia may most safely be used in
tablespoonful (adults) doses freely diluted with water. The bowels
may be opened by a mild aperient, preferably saline, taken largely
diluted in hot water, and early in the morning. The action of the
kidneys ought to be kept up by diuretics, the simplest being water,
say a tumblerful drunk slowly in the morning, while dressing, or it
may be rendered more energetic by the addition of 1 teaspoonful cream
of tartar.

Diet ought to be restricted to light forms of solid food, e.g.,
fish, soups, chicken, puddings, vegetables, fruit, milk. Beer and
wines should be avoided; ærated waters may be taken freely; smoking
is prejudicial. Finally, persons who suffer from rheumatism ought
always to wear flannel next the skin, and encourage perspiration.
Most alkalies are useful in relieving rheumatism. Potash, or soda
bicarbonate may be freely used in doses of ½ teaspoonful, in ½
tumbler of ærated water, twice daily, for 3-4 weeks at a time.

_Sea-sickness._--Many people, as soon as sea-sickness commences,
have recourse to oranges, lemons, &c. Oranges are very much to be
avoided, on account of their bilious tendency, and even the juice of
a lemon should only be allowed in cases of extreme nausea. Champagne,
too, is a very common remedy, and, without doubt, in many cases does
good; but this appears to be chiefly due to its exhilarating effects,
as, if it be discontinued, the result is bad, and a great amount of
prostration follows. Creosote is an old, but still good, remedy,
and, in cases accompanied by great prostration, is very useful; but
if given in the early stages of sea-sickness, it is often followed
by very bad results, and even increases the nausea. Bicarbonate of
soda is useful in slight cases, as it relieves nausea, and checks
the frequent eructations which often follow attacks of sea-sickness;
but in severe cases it is absolutely useless, and, in fact, it very
often prolongs the retching. A very good remedy in the earlier stages
of sea-sickness is a teaspoonful of Worcester sauce; it relieves the
symptoms, and renders the patient easier. Its action is probably
of a stimulant nature. Hydrocyanic acid is of very little service,
and most acid mixtures are to be avoided, except that perhaps for
drinking purposes, when it is best to acidulate the water with a
small quantity of hydrochloric acid. Of all drugs the most effectual
is sodium bromide. When sodium bromide is given in doses of 10 gr., 3
times a day, the attacks entirely subside, the appetite improves, and
the patient is able to walk about with comfort. In sea-sickness it is
very desirable that the patient should take sufficient food, so that
at all times the stomach may be comfortably full, for by this means
over-straining during fits of retching is prevented, and the amount
of nausea is diminished. The practice of taking small pieces of dry
biscuit is not of much use, as although the biscuit is retained by
the stomach, yet the amount taken is never sufficient to comfortably
fill the stomach. Soups, milk-puddings, and sweets are to be avoided,
as they increase the desire to be sick, and are followed by sickening
eructations. Fat bacon is easily borne, and does much good, if only
the patient can conquer his aversion to it. When taken in moderate
quantity it acts as a charm, and is followed by very good results. Of
all food, curry is the most useful in sea-sickness, and is retained
by the stomach when all other food has been rejected. Next to curry
come small sandwiches of cold beef, as they look nice on the plate,
and are usually retained by the stomach. Brandy should be used very
sparingly, as, in many cases, it induces sea-sickness; and its chief
use is confined to those cases where the prostration is very great,
and even then champagne is more effectual. (Dr. Kendall, _Brit. Med.
Jour._)

_Skin complaints._--Many of these are of a character to demand the
early attention of the doctor, but there are others which can readily
be combated by home treatment.

Pimple (Acne).--These are a frequent trouble in young people and
may be very disfiguring. They arise from inefficient action in the
fat (sebaceous) glands of the skin. Generally they can be dislodged
by squeezing with the thumb nails. To promote healthy action of the
glands and prevent formation of the pimples, Dr. Liveing recommends
the following plan.

(_a_) Steam the face every night by holding it over a basin of hot
water for a few minutes. (_b_) Rub the skin for 5-10 minutes with
soap (preferably terebene) and flannel, or with a soft nailbrush;
then sponge off the soap with warm water. (_c_) When the face has
been dried, a lotion should be thoroughly applied, composed as
follows: ½ oz. precipitated sulphur, 2 dr. glycerine, 1 oz. spirits
of wine, with 3 oz. each rose-water and lime-water. This is allowed
to dry on the skin and to remain on all night. In the morning the
face is cleansed with warm oatmeal and water or weak gruel. If, for
any reason, an ointment seems preferable to a lotion, a combination
of precipitated sulphur and vaseline is very useful. The treatment
must be modified or suspended for 2 or 3 nights if the skin becomes
sensitive and somewhat tender. If this plan be unsuccessful, try
application of potash soap in the form of a lotion. The lotion is
composed of 1 oz. each soft soap and rectified spirits of wine, and
7 oz. rose (or distilled) water. This should be rubbed in vigorously
with a piece of flannel for a short time, taking care not to make the
skin sore. According to Dr. Liveing, the worst cases of acne will
yield to the soft soap treatment if practised with necessary caution.

Something is often required to be done during the daytime to pacify
the heat and throbbing, which are part of the usual history of acne.
An excellent lotion is made by combining oxide of zinc, calamine,
prepared chalk, lead lotion, and lime-water, to which may be added a
small quantity of glycerine. Let the bottle containing this be gently
waved about so as to diffuse the materials, which are only held in
suspension; then pour a little into a saucer, and with a sponge
(reserved for the purpose) sprinkle the face from time to time. Wipe
off, when necessary, with a bit of fine muslin the powder which
remains on the skin after the evaporation of the fluid, and the face
may be washed occasionally with a little starch gruel. The cases are
not a few in which it is better not to use any kind of soap as part
of the evening ceremonial. After the face has been steamed, put on a
medicated jelly composed of zinc oxide, gelatine, and glycerine. It
must be liquefied by putting the vessel that holds it into hot water,
and then applied with a brush. Some sensitive skins are intolerant
of sulphur in any guise. When this is so, try combinations of lead,
chalk and zinc, blended as a quasi-ointment with the finest vaseline.
Dr. McCall Anderson’s formula of bismuth oleate with vaseline and
white wax has been aptly described as “one of the most healing of
salves.” Sometimes nothing agrees better than the old-fashioned
but capital substance called Kirkland’s “neutral cerate,” which is
composed essentially of lead plaster and olive oil.

Nettlerash.--A form of nettlerash seen in little children, showing
itself as slightly raised red blotches, worst in the night, is
referred to “teething,” and that is thought sufficient reason for
neglecting it. The best treatment is strict attention to cleanliness
and diet. The child should get a tepid bath night and morning. Take
care that no part of the dress irritates the skin, flannel not
being allowed to touch it; and let the patient enjoy fresh air and
sunshine. If itching continues, instead of a simple tepid or warm
bath at night, an alkaline bath should be given in this bath: in 8-10
gal. water as warm as the hand; dissolve 1-2 oz. soda bicarbonate.
Bathe the child for a few minutes, do not be too exact in drying,
and put to bed immediately. Nettlerash in adults requires medical
treatment.

Eczema.--Of this skin disease there are many forms, all arising more
or less from a disordered state of the blood, and demanding medical
advice. As a general rule, the patient should avoid soap in washing,
using oatmeal instead. Starchy food, such as potatoes, are deemed
unsuitable, while plenty of green vegetables and fruit should be
taken. Clean linen is essential, and the patient’s towel should not
be used by any one but himself.

Itching.--This troublesome affection may be cured by the use of the
following:--(_a_) 500 grm. milk of almonds; ¼ grm. each corrosive
sublimate and ammonium chloride. (_b_) 60 grm. glycerine of starch; 5
grm. bismuth subnitrate; 5 grm. zinc oxide. (_c_) 1 litre infusion of
mallow; 50 grm. cherry-laurel water (filtered); 10 grm. borax. (_d_)
Vaseline often gives relief.

Ringworm.--Whenever the disease is observed, efficient measures
should be taken to cure it, instead of wasting time with feeble
popular remedies, such as ink, permitting the affection to spread
and become established. The hair should be cut for ½ in. round each
patch of ringworm. Get a small camel-hair brush, and a solution of
the following composition: 30 gr. iodine; 2 drm. colourless oil of
tar. Apply the solution carefully with the brush to the diseased part
only. Repeat the application in a week. Strong carbolic ointment may
be applied _around_ the patch. It is a most obstinate disease, and
requires the exercise of great patience. Children suffering from
ringworm should not be much confined in the house, and it is a good
rule to give them cod-liver oil, or steel wine, or both.

_Sweating_ (excessive).--_(a)_ In the Michigan _Medical News_, Dr.
Currie recommends in sweats, from whatever cause, 1 pint alcohol, 1
drm. sulphate quinine. Wet a small sponge with it, and bathe the body
and limbs, a small surface at a time, care being taken not to expose
the body to a draught of air in doing it.

(_b_) For sweating of the feet, Dr. Meierhof, in the _Maryland
Medical Journal_, directs the patient to immerse his feet morning and
night for about 10 minutes, in warm water at 115°-120° F. in which
a teaspoonful (1 dr.) powdered commercial soda (impure carbonate of
soda) is dissolved. The feet are then thoroughly dried, after which
they are painted all over with a coating of compound tincture of
benzoin, which acts as an antiseptic astringent and by its mechanical
presence on the skin. This treatment is continued for about 10 days,
after which it is practised once daily, or every other day, as the
necessities of the case may require.

(_c_) M. Vieusse, principal medical officer at the Military
Hospital at Oran, states that excessive sweating of the feet,
under whatever form it appears (whether as mere super-secretion
accompanied by severe pain, or with fœtidity), can be quickly cured
by carefully-conducted frictions with bismuth subnitrate; and even
in the few cases where this suppresses the abundant sweating only
temporarily, it still removes the severe pain and the noxious odour
which often accompany the secretion. He had never found any ill
consequence follow the suppression of the sweating.

(_d_) Napthol has been recommended as an effective remedy against
excessive sweating of the palms of the hands, foot-soles, and
arm-pits. These places should be moistened once or twice daily, with
a mixture of 5 pt. naphthol, 10 pt. glycerine, 100 pt. of alcohol,
and afterwards dusted, either with pure starch or with a mixture of
2 pt. naphthol, 100 pt. starch. In the case of sweating feet, small
pellets of antiseptic cotton are dipped in the powder and placed
between the toes.

_Tooth Troubles._--To preserve the teeth, rinse the mouth after
every meal. If the gums are naturally irritable and tender, a few
drops of tincture of myrrh in water should be used to rinse out the
mouth, twice or thrice daily. The first tooth brush should be used
as soon as there are teeth to use it upon. An ideal tooth powder
should be alkaline, since acids dissolve the tooth substance; finely
pulverised, that it may not mechanically abrade; antiseptic, to
prevent decomposition of food lodged between the teeth, and perhaps
to destroy the microbes which are always found choking the tubules
of carious dentine; it should contain nothing irritating to the
gums; and, lastly, it should be pleasant to the taste, or it will
not be used. Fluid dentifrices do not, as a rule, clean the teeth
effectually, unless they contain some ingredient which acts upon the
enamel itself; and those preparations which are eulogised as making
teeth white or preventing deposit of tartar, should be avoided.
Charcoal was at one time a very popular form of dentifrice, and is
even now largely used, but from the amount of silica it contains it
will rapidly wear away teeth that are not of exceptional hardness;
and moreover, the gums in some instances become tattooed in a curious
manner from absorption of minute particles. Pumice-powder, again, is
too gritty; and camphorated chalk is said to make the gums spongy.
Precipitated chalk forms the best basis for a tooth powder, to the
base of which may be added pulv. saponis and ol. eucalypt., 1 dr. of
each; and if there is no objection to the taste, ½ dr. carbolic acid.
(_Lancet._)

The tooth brush, which should be used night and morning, should be
small, and have its not too stiff bristles arranged in separate
bundles (in order that they may pass readily between the teeth and
into the natural depression). The outer and inner surfaces of both
front and back teeth should be brushed. The direction of the brushing
should be from the gums; that is, downwards for the upper teeth, and
upwards for the lower. This mode of cleaning the teeth is the best
preventive against decay, which causes toothache, and also against
the accumulation of tartar, which makes the breath foul, and in
course of time causes the teeth to loosen and fall out.

Toothache.--(_a_) The following is a formula recommended by Prof.
Babaieff in the _British Medical Journal_:--Melt 2 parts white wax
or spermaceti, and when melted, add 1 part carbolic acid crystals,
and 2 parts chloral hydrate crystals; stir well till dissolved. While
still liquid, immerse thin layers of carbolised absorbent cotton
wool, and allow them to dry. When required for use, a small piece
may be snipped off, and slightly warmed, when it can be inserted in
the hollow tooth, where it will solidify. The ease produced by this
simple method is really very great.

(_b_) The following remedy is given by a dentist of great
reputation:--First wash the mouth well with warm water, then use the
following tincture: 10 gr. tannin, ½ dr. mastic, 10 drops carbolic
acid, dissolve in ½ oz. sulphuric ether.

(_c_) Dr. Dyce Duckworth says toothache may be relieved by holding in
the mouth a solution of bicarbonate of soda, say ½ dr. in 1 oz. water.

(_d_) A correspondent of the _Electrician_ gives the following as an
instant remedy for toothache:--With a small piece of zinc and a bit
of silver (any silver coin will do), the zinc placed on one side of
the afflicted gum, and the silver on the other, by bringing the edges
together, the small current of electricity generated, immediately and
painlessly stops the toothache.

(_e_) Equal parts carbolic acid and collodion applied on a pledger of
wadding and thrust into the hollow tooth. Apt to cauterise the mouth
somewhat. The saliva must not be swallowed.

(_f_) Anæsthetic in dentistry: 6 dr. pulv. camphor, 1 oz. æther.
sulphur. Apply this to the gum surrounding the tooth to be removed,
until the gum turns white, when the tooth can be extracted with
scarcely any pain.

_Warts._--(_a_) Apply a little nitric acid (aqua fortis) very
carefully. Take a small stick--a lucifer match--dip it into the
acid, and so apply a tiny drop to the top of the wart. It soon
becomes yellow, and in a few days the top can be picked off. Repeated
applications in the same way are necessary.

(_b_) Light a match or taper and apply the flame for a second, till
you feel a sting, to the top of each wart, for 3 days in succession,
when a watery blister will form round each wart, which you must
burst, and throw all the warts away, which will be found to be quite
loose, causing no pain; they will never return again, and no trace of
them will be left after a short time.

(_c_) Prof. Unna recommends the continuous application of mercurial
ointment containing 5 per cent. arsenic or a plaster containing in
each 8 sq. in. 154 gr. arsenic and 77 gr. mercury.

(_d_) A plaster of black soap, applied each night for a fortnight,
according to Vidal, will soften a wart so that it may be scraped off.

(_e_) Cellier’s treatment is to transfix the principal wart with the
point of a pin, the head of which is then to be held in the flame of
a candle until the wart is destroyed; it will drop off in a few days.
The remaining warts will then usually disappear.

(_f_) A touch of castor oil (the best) once a day. It is a slow
process, but, nevertheless, a sure remedy, and painless. Choose night
time just before going to bed, to rub in well a little castor-oil,
and then take a cloth or towel and rub any that remains off. Continue
it for a month or two, for it needs persevering in. In some cases
there will be no alteration for 2 months; but sooner or later they
all die away. Some die away and others can be taken off, as if they
had lost their roots.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Spencer Thomson: ‘A Dictionary of Domestic Medicine and Household
Surgery: with a chapter on the Management of the Sickroom, by Dr.
Steele.’ London. 1883. 10_s._ 6_d._

John Gardner: ‘Household Medicine and Sickroom Guide: a familiar
description of diseases, remedies, methods of treatment, diet, &c.,
expressly adapted for family use.’ London. 1882. 12_s._ 6_d._

Charles J. Cullingworth: ‘A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical.’
London. 1883. 3_s._ 6_d._

E. Symes Thompson: ‘Colds and Coughs; their causes and consequences.’
London, 1877. 1_s._

J. Milner Fothergill: ‘Food for the Invalid, the Convalescent, the
Dyspeptic, and the Gouty.’ London. 1880. 3_s._ 6_d._

Prosser James: ‘Sore Throat; its nature, varieties, and treatment.’
London. 1879. 6_s._ 6_d._

Edward John Waring: ‘Remarks on the Uses of some of the Bazaar
Medicines and Common Medical Plants of India, with a full index
of diseases, indicating their treatment by these and other agents
procurable throughout India, to which are added directions for
treatment in cases of drowning, snake-bites, &c.’ London, 1875. 5_s._

Gordon Holmes: ‘A Treatise on Vocal Physiology and Hygiene, with
especial reference to the Cultivation and Preservation of the Voice.’
London, 1881. 6_s._ 6_d._

W. H. Corfield: ‘Health.’ London, 1880. 6_s._

J. L. Milton: ‘The Hygiene of the Skin.’ London, 1877. 1_s._

James W. Allan: ‘Notes on Fever Nursing.’ London, 1879. 2_s._ 6_d._

John Beadnell Gill: ‘Indigestion; what it is, what it leads to, and a
new method of treating it.’ London, 1881. 4_s._ 6_d._

Erasmus Wilson: ‘Healthy Skin; a Popular Treatise on the Skin and
Hair, their Preservation and Management.’ London, 1876. 2_s._ 6_d._

Henry Thompson: ‘Cremation; the Treatment of the Body after Death.’
London, 1884. 1_s._

Florence Nightingale: ‘Notes on Nursing: what it is, and what it is
not.’ London, 1884. 2_s._

Henry C. Burdett: ‘Hints in Sickness: Where to go and what to do.’
London, 1883. 1_s._ 6_d._

William Henry Day: ‘Headaches: Their Nature, Causes, and Treatment.’
London, 1880. 6_s._ 6_d._

Mary Hooper: ‘Cookery for Invalids, Persons of Delicate Digestion,
and Children.’ London, 1883. 2_s._ 6_d._

E. Bibby: ‘Invalids Abroad; Hints on Travelling, Nursing, and
Cooking.’ London, 1879. 2_s._ 6_d._

Henry C. Angell: ‘The Sight, and how to preserve it.’ London, 1878.
1_s._ 6_d._

T. Wharton Jones: ‘Defects of Sight and Hearing; Their Nature,
Causes, Prevention, and General Management.’ London, 1877. 1_s._

Charles J. Cullingworth: ‘The Nurse’s Companion; a Manual of General
and Monthly Nursing.’ London. 2_s._ 6_d._

William Murrell: ‘What to do in Cases of Poisoning.’ London, 1884.
3_s._ 6_d._

Lionel S. Beale: ‘On Slight Ailments, including the Principles of
Treating Disease.’ London, 1887. 5_s._

M. Charteris: ‘Health Resorts at Home and Abroad; with a Section on
Sea Voyages.’ London, 1885. 4_s._ 6_d._

E. J. Domville: ‘Manual for Hospital Nurses.’ London. 2_s._ 6_d._




_THE BATHROOM._


BATHING IN GENERAL.

Bathing is of several kinds. There is the morning tub and the sea dip
which are taken to brace up the system; then there is the hot bath,
more for sanitary and cleansing purposes; and finally come hot-air
and vapour baths which are generally of a more or less medicinal
character. These will be considered in rotation.

_Cold Bathing._--All persons in health and of average strength may
use a cold bath daily, in summer at least. In winter, mornings of
extreme frost try the strongest constitution, and few are likely
to benefit by a plunge on these occasions. For the most part,
individuals of moderate powers and free from disease may carry the
cleanly practice of summer through the winter months. A word on the
bath itself. Those who take it should begin in summer, not winter,
and so become gradually accustomed to its lowest temperature. No one
should linger over it; 3-4 minutes are ample. After immersion, the
body should be quickly and well dried and rubbed before dressing.
Light gymnastic, dumb-bell, or club exercise, may occupy the next
few minutes, the clothes being partly on if the weather be cold, and
breakfast, or a cup of warm tea or coffee, should shortly follow, to
prevent chilling.

There are those whom a cold bath injures, instead of invigorating.
The readiest test of benefit is the glow of free surface-circulation,
or at least the absence of any decided sense of chill after
immersion. Some do not experience this. Among these are the subjects
of heart weakness, arising from whatever cause; it may be consequent
on organic disease of the heart, on old gout or rheumatism, or on
overwork and underfeeding, in which case it is a part of a general
debility. Again, there is in some a tendency to engorgement of one or
other deep-seated organ with blood, a kidney, the liver, &c. This is
commonly the result of a previous inflammatory attack, or of visceral
disease at the time existing. Surface-cold aggravates the congestive
tendency. Obviously, therefore, such persons, if they bathe, ought
to use tepid water; and, in renal disorders, this method is often
advantageous. In slight cases, cold is not injurious if the ablutions
be expeditiously gone through, and restricted to periods of summer
weather. The aged should avoid cold baths, and commonly do. Infants,
if ordinary despatch is used in bathing and in dressing, have no
reason to fear them. Their powers of reaction are excellent.

Cold baths chill down the feeble circulation of the badly nourished,
and provoke a physical torpor which is obstructive to the processes
of nutrition. They drive the blood from the surface of the body in
upon vascular organs, whose circulation is already sluggish from
general weakness. They thus produce discomforts which aggravate
existing languor, and enhance the feeling that food and drink ought
not to and therefore cannot be taken. A bath described as one “from
which the chill has been taken” is too cold for subjects under
medical advice who are in need of extra feeding.

In any case it is unwise to bathe out of doors when copious
perspiration has continued for some hour or more, unless the weather
be excessive or the sweating has been induced by loading with clothes
rather than by exertion. When much perspiration has been produced by
muscular exercise, it is unsafe to bathe, because the body is so
fatigued or exhausted that the reaction--that is, the return of the
momentarily displaced blood to the surface--cannot be ensured, and
the effect may be to congest the internal organs and notably the
nerve centres. From congestion of the nervous centres comes cramp, so
often fatal in bathing.

If the weather be “chilly,” or there be a cold wind so that the body
may be rapidly cooled at the surface while undressing, it is not safe
to bathe. Under such conditions the further chill of immersion in
cold water will take place at the precise moment when the reaction
consequent upon the chill of exposure by undressing ought to occur,
and this second chill will not only delay or altogether prevent the
reaction, but convert the bath from a mere stimulant to a depressant,
ending in the abstraction of a large amount of animal heat and
congestion of the internal organs and nerve centres. The actual
temperature of the water does not affect the question so much as its
relative temperature as compared with that of the surrounding air.
Practically, there ought to be a good deal of difference between
the two, the water being much lower than the air and the body
being--without great or long persisting perspiration--much warmer
than the water, of course, but not so much warmer than the atmosphere
as to be chilled by undressing. In short, the aim must be to avoid
two chills; first, from the air, and second, from the water, and to
make sure that the body is in such a condition as to secure a quick
reaction on emerging from the water, without relying too much on
the possible effect of friction by rubbing. It will be obvious that
both weather and wind must be carefully considered before bathing is
commenced, and that the state of the organism as regards fatigue and
the force of the circulation should also be considered, not merely as
regards the general habit, but the special condition when a bath is
to be taken. These precautions are eminently needful in the case of
the young or weakly.

Sea bathing is regarded, naturally, as more bracing in its character
than river bathing. The saltness of the water and the sharp air of
the sea together tend to invigorate us. As a rule, the bather can
remain longer, without injurious effect, in salt than in fresh water.
The sudden shock which results from a plunge into river or sea may
be attended by bad effects in the case of persons who are subject to
fits of any kind or to disturbance of the heart’s action. Another
highly important question in bathing has reference to the care of
the ears. Wherever any tendency to ear-ache or inflammation of the
ear exists, bathing must be cautiously indulged in. A dive has been
known to be followed by rupture of the “drum” of the ear, owing
to the sudden pressure to which this membrane has been subjected
in passing from the air under the water. Again, persons who have
suffered from discharges from the ears--common after scarlet fever,
for example--and in whom the drum of the ear may be perforated or
irritable, abscess of the brain may follow injury produced by the
sudden dive or by plunging the head beneath the water. Placing
cotton wool in the ears is a necessary precaution for any who have
tender ears, and a safe practice for all. Further, do not dive too
much and avoid swimming on the back, for from the position of the
ears the water gets into them a great deal more than even in diving.
When getting out, besides giving a good rub down with a rough towel,
always carefully wipe the ear and the glands behind the ear dry.

No child under 2 years of age ought, under any circumstances, to
be bathed in the open sea, and no one, child or adult, can enter
the sea without danger while under the influence of emotional
excitement. Under 2 years of age, a child’s body is too weak to
gain any benefit from the shock of immersion in the open sea. Its
nervous and circulating forces are too feeble for the development
of that vigorous reaction, without which sea-bathing is either
useless or hurtful. In the absence of strength for such reaction a
sea-bath tends to chill an infant’s body, and predispose to internal
congestion. At any age the shock of immersion in the sea brings
risk of danger, and even of death, when the emotions are powerfully
excited, and especially when the mind and body are dominated by that
most depressing of human emotions--fear. Infants are not always
bathed in the sea merely with the intention of making them strong.
There is an old seaside tradition that babies diligently bathed
become fearless in the water when they grow up. This notion is also
false. Than that infants gain courage by being plunged in the sea,
it is more probable that many a nervous child has acquired a dread
of bathing which no after-experience could remove, because it was
compelled in fear and trembling to plunge under water. If a child
be sufficiently robust to develop a good reaction, if it be over 2
years of age, and, above all, if it be not afraid, it may be bathed
in the sea with advantage. If any of these conditions be wanting,
sea-bathing for children is likely to be positively injurious.
(_Brit. Med. Jour._)

Attacks of cramp, to which even expert swimmers are liable, may
arise from many causes. Where special nervous diseases do not exist,
the so-called “cramp spasms” are, as likely as not, due to some
irregularity in digestion, or to some imprudence in bathing at wrong
times and seasons. Bathing after a full meal may induce so-called
“cramps,” and it is to be feared that many a fatal case of drowning,
attributed to some hidden nervous cause, has had a far simpler origin
in digestive disturbances reacting on the nervous system, and through
this system propagated to the muscles.

The ordinary rules--drawn up by the Royal Humane Society--which
should be observed by all bathers, whether in fresh or salt water,
and whether swimmers or not, are simple and readily borne in mind.

1. Never bathe within 2 hours after a meal.

2. Never bathe when exhausted or in ill-health. The practice of
plunging into the water after exercise is to be thoroughly condemned.

3. Never bathe when the body is cooling after perspiration.

4. A morning bathe may be taken by those who are strong and healthy
before breakfast on an empty stomach.

5. The young, or those who are delicate, should bathe 2-3 hours after
a meal, and in the forenoon, if possible.

6. The signs which forbid open-air bathing altogether are chilliness
and shivering after entering the water, numbness of hands and feet,
and deficient circulation generally.

7. When the body is warm, bathing may be indulged in, provided
undressing is quickly accomplished, and the body is not chilled
before entering the water.

8. On leaving the water, dry and dress _quickly_. Standing about
undressed, after leaving the water, is, under any circumstances,
injurious.

9. Rather cut short, than prolong, the bathe. Swimmers possess
the power of remaining in the water for a considerable time, in
consequence of their active movements. But even in their case injury
is often wrought by unduly extending the exercise. The slightest
feeling of chilliness should be taken as a sign to leave the water at
once.

It is a recognised fact that a sudden head douche of cold water
is apt to cause giddiness in many persons from its effect on the
brain-circulation, which forms in itself a peculiar part of the
blood-system. Cases of persistent headache, often accompanied by
giddiness and faintness, have followed sea and river bathing; these
effects having disappeared when the practice of plunging the head
below water was discontinued. Persons thus affected cannot do better
than omit the head from the bath, and, in shower baths, stoop forward
or lean backward and sidewise, so that the water shall fall on back,
chest, and shoulders, but not on the head.

_Hot Baths._--Concerning the bathroom, Edis remarks that whenever a
bath is provided, it is generally left open, and forms a receptacle
for dirt and dust, which is not always cleaned out when the bath is
filled. He suggests that the bath be slightly lowered into the floor,
and fitted with a hinged top, about seat-high from the floor, so as
to keep the bath clear of dirt, and when not in use make it answer
as a table or seat. A bathroom is often fitted up with cupboards for
linen, and if the hot-water cistern be placed in the room on the
floor level, or sufficiently high for use, or a coil of hot-water
pipes be carried through, the linen cupboard with lattice shelves
might easily be fitted over it, with closed doors of course, by which
the linen would always be kept properly aired; and if the room be
lined with tiles, there would be no fear of damp or moisture from
steam condensing on the walls. The bath should be formed in a recess,
with tile lining all round and overhead, and the recess might then
be fitted with cupboards over, and drawers and useful shelves at
one end, so as to provide storage-room for a large amount of spare
clothing and linen, which it is often so difficult to find room for.
A curtain drawn across the bath keeps it clean, and hides it from
view when not immediately required.

_Hot-air and Vapour Baths_, _Turkish Baths_, _&c._--The _Lancet_
expresses a strong objection to that form of bath which involves the
patient being in an erect or sitting posture, where the bath is used
to produce perspiration; it is always possible that some amount of
faintness or giddiness may be experienced by the bather even when
the blanket or tent-shaped envelope is so effectively applied as
to prevent the fumes rising to the mouth and being inspired. It is
always far better, and ought to be a rule, that the patient should be
in the recumbent position. With a properly constructed cradle-head,
the bed-clothes can be raised and the lamp placed safely in the bed
itself, the clothes being well tucked in round the neck and under the
chin, so that nothing may reach the mouth. In this way the patient
may enjoy the full benefit of a fairly high temperature without the
least fear of faintness. There are, nevertheless, certain precautions
which ought to be observed, and which are too commonly overlooked.
(_a_) A thermometer with a long stem ought to be so placed that the
bulb may be inside the clothes and the indicator-column visible
outside. Such a thermometer might with advantage be supplied with
the bath. It is always desirable to know the temperature of the
atmosphere to which the patient is subjected. (_b_) The moment
perspiration is induced there arises the question--How far ought it
to be carried? If the purpose of the bath be to eliminate fluid or
any product of tissue-waste from the body, there may be a need for
the maintenance of the cutaneous perspiration for some time: but
otherwise it is not, generally speaking, well to let the patient
remain in the heat for more than 10 minutes; otherwise, the result
can only be to saturate the bed-clothes with moisture, which will
begin to cool as soon as the lamp is removed, and after the lapse
of 20-30 minutes must place the patient in the perilous position of
lying, perhaps sleeping, in a damp bed. A hot-air bath for ordinary
purposes is better given in the morning than at night; or, if that
be impossible, the patient should be removed to a dry bed with hot
blankets. The body-heat can never be safely trusted to keep the
clothes, which have been saturated with moisture by a bath, warm
after the lamp is withdrawn. It is quite a different matter when
the perspiration has been raised by the heat of the body itself.
As a rule, the patient should be removed and wiped dry in about 20
minutes after the withdrawal of the lamp--that is, in ½ hour from
the commencement of the bath. If the perspiration be acid, it is
desirable to sponge the surface with hot water, in which about 1
dessertspoonful soda carbonate has been dissolved--say, in 1 qt.
water. (_c_) If the case be one of rheumatism or gout, it must be
recognised that by determining to the skin we are likely to get
increased stiffness and surface irritation after each bath until the
excrementitious material has been thoroughly eliminated. Overlooking
this fact, patients, and sometimes practitioners, fail to persevere
long enough with the baths, because, as it seems, each bath makes
matters worse.

A simple form of hot-air or steam-bath for home use may be made as
follows:--To the back of an ordinary wooden or cane-bottom chair fix
an upright piece of wood, and to this at the height at which the
neck of the sitter on the chair will be fix a hoop of cane or other
material sufficiently wide to keep the cloth to hang from the hoop
free from the shoulders of the sitter. Place beneath the chair a gas
or oil lamp or two, if one does not give sufficient heat. If, now, a
cloth be fixed round the ring sufficiently ample to reach the ground
and close all round the sitter, a tent will be formed from the top of
which the head of the sitter will project. Let the cloth overlap the
ring freely, so as to permit of being pulled close to the sitter’s
neck. Whilst taking this hot-air bath, the feet must be kept in a
basin of warm water. If there is danger of a headache, a cold wet
cloth on the head will prevent it. If a vapour bath is preferred,
place a pan of water over the lamp, so that the water may boil.

[Illustration: 127. Ellis’s Bath.]

Ellis & Co., of 47 Farringdon Road, London, have introduced a Cabinet
Turkish Bath, which dispenses with chair, lamp, sheets, and covers.
It is exceedingly simple, and consists of a neat cabinet (Fig. 127)
made of well-seasoned wood, taking up a floor space of only 2 ft. 5
in. by 2 ft. 8 in., and large enough to admit the person comfortably.
It is mounted upon castors, so that it may easily be moved from place
to place on the same floor; and it is light enough to be carried if
required. It is fitted with a foot-warmer, and with an adjustable
seat, so that it can be used by children and by adults of different
sizes. A book-rest is arranged conveniently, so that the time may be
pleasantly occupied, and small doors are provided through which the
hands may be passed in order to turn over the leaves of a book, or to
wipe the face, or to remove a cigar from the mouth, &c. The bath is
heated by gas, or by a special lamp in which spirit is burned. It may
be managed with the greatest ease without the aid of an attendant,
being, in fact, quite as simple as an ordinary sponge or sitz bath.
It is only necessary to fill the foot-warmer with hot water, covering
it with a piece of flannel, to light the lamp, and step into the bath
with a towel round the neck to prevent the heat escaping too readily.
Ample ventilation is allowed, so that the body is not exposed to
the action of vitiated air, since this is constantly being renewed
from outside. The bath constitutes, in fact, a small ventilated hot
chamber, the time spent in which may vary from 10 minutes to ½ hour,
according to pleasure. The prices of this bath range from 5_l._
10_s._, as made in best pine, to 9_l._, in black walnut.


MANAGEMENT OF HOT-WATER SYSTEM.

Before entering into the details of the management of a hot-water
system destined to supply baths, &c., it will be desirable to
acquaint the reader with the general plan and principle of an
apparatus, and to explain the cause of circulation, &c., as this will
convey some idea of the subject to be treated, for although many
possess an apparatus fitted in their residences, yet much practical
information cannot be gained from it, as a major portion of the work
is hidden from view.

[Illustration: 128. Hot-water System (Cylinder Form).]

Figs. 128 and 129 show two distinct forms of apparatus, both of which
are at present in general use, and both of which even now nearly
equally share the public favour, although No. 1 is the more modern
and has been proved to be practically superior to No. 2, and is now
nearly exclusively adopted by most firms who profess this work.

No. 1 is known as the cylinder system, and consists of a cylinder (a
square tank is sometimes used where the pressure of water is light,
tanks costing much less than cylinders of the same capacity) which is
placed at the nearest position to, but above the level of the boiler.
Two pipes connect the boiler with the cylinder, the upper pipe a
is termed the “flow,” and is carried from the upper surface of the
boiler to about 9 in. up the nearest side of the cylinder as shown,
and the lower pipe _b_, known as the “return,” is carried from a
lower position in the cylinder, under the “flow,” to within about 3
in. from the bottom of the boiler, either through the top, as shown,
or entering at the back or side.

From the highest point in the cylinder is carried a pipe c, called
the “rising main,” by the nearest or most convenient route to above
the level of the cold-water cistern, and terminates either by being
carried through the roof (as shown) or by being turned over the top
of the cistern referred to (as shown in dotted lines). This pipe,
when the apparatus is in use, is charged with water to a little above
the level of the cold water in the cistern, and the pipe is open at
the top end to admit of the free escape of steam, and on that account
is sometimes called the expansion pipe; from this pipe is, or should
be carried _all_ the draw-off services to the various points at which
they are required. In event of this rising main being carried to a
considerable distance or height, it should be “returned” from any
convenient point below the cold cistern (as shown in dotted lines at
_d_); this will cause the water to circulate in this upper service
and avoid the annoyance and waste caused by drawing sometimes a
large quantity of cold water (which lies stagnant in single pipes)
before the hot water is obtained. When this “return” is effected, the
service is known as the “secondary flow and return.”

[Illustration: 129. Hot-water System (Old Form).]

Another good use to which the return can be put is in event of any
draw-off services being unusually long, as that shown at _m_ to the
dressing-room in the illustration, the return can be connected as
shown in dotted lines, and will bring about the same good results as
explained in “returning” the rising main.

The supply of cold water to the apparatus is either brought by a
direct and distinct service from the cistern, or is branched from the
nearest existing cold service, but in the latter case the existing
service must be of good size, for reasons that will be explained
later on. The cold supply should be provided with a stop tap _f_,
which is found most convenient if placed near the cylinder, as
it can then be used by workmen or others without their having to
traverse the house, but this tap should have a loose key or handle,
which should be kept by some responsible person to prevent its being
interfered with by any one ignorant of its use. There should be also
a tap provided at a convenient point, say _g_, to empty the cylinder
when the boiler requires to be cleaned or any repairs effected, and
this tap should have a loose key for the reasons before stated.

The chief advantage of this system is safety, the cook or user being
unable to empty the cylinder, consequently should the water supply
fail, the fire can be lighted in the usual way without risk, as in
ordinary use it would take several days to boil away or evaporate the
contents of the cylinder and boiler.

Another advantage gained by this system is that the cylinder being
in such a warm situation, much less heat is lost by radiation, and
by its being nearer to the boiler the circulation is effected more
rapidly; and there are several other minor advantages to be gained
by it, which, however, are not of sufficient importance to warrant
detail here. The cold supply pipe _h_ leads from the cistern _i_ to
the cylinder _k_; _l_ is the boiler; _m_ are draw-off service pipes
with taps _n_ in the various apartments where needed.

Fig. 129 is commonly known as the “high” or the “old” system. This
consists of a square or rectangular tank _a_, which performs the
function of a reservoir for the hot water in the same way as a
cylinder, but instead of being situated near the boiler _b_, it is
fixed somewhere above the highest draw-off service, but of course
below the cold cistern _c_; it is commonly found in the roof or attic
in proximity to the cistern, but these are cold and bad situations
for it; it is more often found in the bathroom, enclosed in a casing
or cupboard, which is thereby made an efficient airing closet, and
serves somewhat to prevent loss of heat referred to before (and
hereafter), and the presence of the tank in the bathroom, although
occupying considerable space, is a source of warmth, no mean
advantage in winter.

The tank _a_ is connected with the boiler _b_ by “flow” and “return”
pipes _d e_, the same as the cylinder, but they are necessarily
much longer; the draw-off services _f_ are, or should be, _all_
connected to the “flow” pipe _d_ as shown, as the water in this pipe
is the first to become heated as the water circulates or “flows”
from the boiler to the tank; and an expansion pipe _g_ (not called a
rising main in this instance) is carried from the highest point in
the tank _a_ to above the level of the cold supply _c_, as in the
cylinder system. There is no need to return this expansion pipe,
but an unusually long draw-off service can and should be returned
for the reasons before explained, and the method is to connect and
carry the draw-off service from the flow pipe in the usual way and
return it into the return pipe at a lower point, somewhat after the
manner shown at _h_. Obviously the run or course of all pipes has to
be adapted to circumstances, but it can be taken as an invariable
rule that in correctly executed work “flow” pipes never descend and
“return” pipes never ascend, but this will be more fully explained
later on. In speaking of circulating pipes, the “flow” is recognised
as running from boiler to tank (or cylinder), and the “return” from
tank to boiler.

The cold-water supply _i_ is carried and connected to the tank _a_
in the same manner as to a cylinder, and provided with a stop tap
_k_ to save the necessity of plugging the pipe where it leaves the
cold-water cistern.

The chief advantage of this system is obtaining hot water a little
quicker (but in less quantity) from the time the fire is lighted,
than in the cylinder system, as it can be drawn almost immediately
it leaves the boiler; but as good results in this respect can be
attained with the cylinder if the directions subsequently given
are attended to; another advantage in this system is that it can
be erected at less expense than the other, and the tank costs but
little more than half the price of a cylinder. These advantages are
more than counterbalanced by the disadvantages, viz. the easy means
of exhausting the apparatus of water if the supply fails, the longer
period occupied in obtaining a body of hot water, and the necessarily
cold or cool situations of the tank and pipes, so causing loss of
heat by radiation, &c.

A few lines may be here devoted to explaining the cause of
circulation, which the generality of householders are totally
unacquainted with. For the reader to fully understand the subject,
he must first know that water is composed of extremely minute
particles (molecules), quite invisible to the eye, which have the
property of gliding over, under, around, to and from each other,
as circumstances dictate, in we may say a perfectly free manner,
almost entirely without friction or resistance. When the apparatus
is charged and the fire lighted, the particles nearest the fire
become heated and expanded, and are, bulk for bulk, rendered lighter
than their fellows, and consequently rise to the top of the boiler;
finding an outlet there they rise up into this, and continue to
rise until they reach the highest limit, which in No. 2 system is
the top of the tank, and in No. 1 system, the top of the cylinder,
unless the rising main is “returned,” in which case it will be where
this “return” commences. Immediately the expanded particles leave
the heated surface of the boiler, other cold particles descend into
their place and are heated and expand to follow their predecessors,
and so it continues as long as there is heat applied to the boiler.
The circulation is really a continuous stream of expanded (heated)
particles of water ascending the flow pipe, and a corresponding
stream of cold or cooler particles descending the return pipe, a
natural and very simple means of automatically transporting the hot
water from the heating chamber (boiler) to the reservoir (tank) and
automatically providing a supply of cold water to be heated in its
turn.

The specific gravity of water at the boiling point, compared with
water at the freezing point, is as 21 to 20, i.e. 20 gal. of very
cold water will balance 21 gal. of very hot water.

The following are the few general rules to be observed for the
efficient, economic, and safe working of either description of
apparatus.

Commencing at the boiler, it is very necessary that the flue under
this be quite cleared of cinders and ash once daily, and the length
of the flue should be ascertained, as they differ considerably, and
many instances occur where these flues are scrupulously cleaned
but only in half or three-fourths their length, and very quickly
the accumulation at the end of the flue becomes hard and solid,
and an inexperienced person would then consider it to be the wall
which forms the boundary at the back of these flues; this stoppage
of course effectually prevents the water heating as it should do.
Another cause of the water failing to heat quickly is omitting
to have the interior of the boiler cleared of the incrustation
or deposit (commonly known as fur) that accumulates more or less
according to circumstances that will be fully described later
on; when this inner coating attains a moderate thickness it very
naturally retards the heat in passing from the fire to the water,
especially as it is a poor conductor. There is, however, a more
important reason why this incrustation should be removed regularly,
and that is, when the boiler is coated to a certain thickness (which
coating is more or less porous according to the district) it prevents
the water coming in contact with the iron, and the boiler plate,
however thick, is soon destroyed the same as if it contained no water
at all, or to use a more familiar illustration, the same as a kettle
would be “burnt” if left on the fire without having any water in it;
this is a serious result from the costly nature of the repair.

The general form of incrustation is caused by the lime or chalk
(bicarbonate of lime generally) held in solution, being separated
from the water and precipitated; this precipitation commences at a
moderately low temperature and gradually increases as the temperature
rises, and the whole (excepting a very small quantity) is deposited
when the water boils. The incrustation varies very much in quantity
according to the district, as before stated; it is generally what
is known as hard water that has the greatest percentage of this
depositable matter; in some favoured districts the water is so soft
that no appreciable deposit occurs, whilst in others it is not safe
to leave the boiler longer than a month without cleansing to keep it
in good order. There is also a variation according to whether the
water boils much or otherwise, therefore the only reliable plan is to
have a good workman in after a certain period, and he can then decide
whether the amount of incrustation is too great or whether it might
be permitted to go longer, and how long.

With London water, boilers that are in ordinary daily use should be
cleaned out every 6 months to keep them in really good order, but to
avoid the trouble of remembering dates, &c., many good firms keep a
register for this work.

The most important places in the boiler that need cleaning are the
parts immediately where the fire plays, especially the angles, where
the boiler plates are welded or joined--and careless workmen are apt
to neglect these parts--as the deposit is very hard and stone-like at
these places.

It may be said without exaggeration that three-fourths of the
fractures that occur to wrought-iron boilers are due to excessive
incrustation, i.e. want of regular cleaning or removal of deposit.

Incrustation does not occur (but to an extremely small extent) in
boilers used for heating purposes only, as in this instance the
same water is heated over and over again, and water only contains a
certain quantity of lime in solution, which is all deposited when it
first boils.

It might be mentioned that in some places the deposit is organic
matter, and is found in the boiler much resembling a layer of mud; in
such instances the water should be filtered for obvious reasons.

The tank, cylinder and pipes, and in fact the whole apparatus
(excepting the boiler) will be rendered more efficient by being
covered with some non-conducting material to prevent loss of heat
by radiation. Radiation is an important feature occasionally, as
very many instances are known of apparatus being a complete failure,
solely by reason of the tank or pipes (or both) being in very cold
situations (cold draughty roofs, stone passages, &c., &c.); and a
moment’s reflection shows that loss of heat is really loss of fuel
attended with certain inconveniences well known to many who are
suffering with this trouble. The common non-conducting material
used is felt in its various forms. Hair felt is the best, as will
be readily understood, and can be obtained at many ironmongers and
may be applied by any one; for pipes it should be cut and put on
in strips, wound round spirally, and tied. Another method is to
encase the tank and pipes and pack the casing with a non-conducting
material, such as cow hair, slag wool, sawdust, &c., but it is _most
necessary_ that the casing be packed, otherwise the heated pipes
will render the casing a flue which will draw in cold air and very
materially assist in cooling the water, especially if the casing has
open or badly fitted ends, in which case failure of the apparatus can
be confidently anticipated.

In addition to the heat-saving properties, this covering also
possesses the advantages of keeping the different places cool (an
advantage for certain seasons only, excepting the kitchen) and saves
the pipes from attack of frost, and under ordinary circumstances,
if a small fire is left at night with the boiler flue _closed_,
moderately warm water can be had for bathing _before the fire is
lighted in the morning_; these two latter advantages are perhaps the
greatest.

In reference to this subject, it is a great convenience if the range
(if the boiler is in a range) is provided with a means of opening
the fire, as, with an open fire a small quantity of fuel can be
placed on it the last thing at night and it will burn in safety
for a considerable time, and really _hot_ water can by this means
be obtained at an early hour in the morning if the apparatus is
“insulated” as explained above.

If the felt is placed round the pipes and tank without casing it
should be one or two layers thick, say about ½ in., so that the hand
can scarcely perceive any heat when the apparatus is in full action;
a single layer of felt will answer, but not so perfectly.

Boiler explosions are at all times most serious disasters, for not
only is the damage very great, but if any living thing is moderately
near at the time the result is almost certain to be fatal, and it is
a much-regretted fact that three-fourths or nearly all the terrible
accidents of this kind could have been avoided with ordinary care;
the reason that this form of accident is so serious is that before
the explosion takes place, the steam has to attain sufficient power
to burst the boiler, which is from ¼ to ½ inch thick of wrought iron,
compared to which the human body is a frail object, and suffers
accordingly.

The causes of explosions at present known are, firstly, stoppage
in both the circulating pipes, caused by frost or by the terrible
practice of putting stop taps in these pipes, which prevents escape
of steam generated in the boiler, and steam _must_ and _will_ escape
if it bursts the boiler to effect its release.

Secondly, failure of water supply. This is sometimes caused by a
hidden or unnoticed leakage, or in country residences where the water
is pumped this failure is not an uncommon thing (but only rarely
results in an accident). If the want of water is unnoticed for a
time, the boiler will empty itself by evaporation and afterwards
become red hot; should the water then run in, steam will be generated
so rapidly that the pipe outlets will not be sufficient for its free
escape, and the boiler bursts; all this happens in much less time
than is occupied in explaining it, in fact so quick that there is
no time for escape if any one is unfortunately near; this, however,
under ordinary circumstances cannot occur with the No. 1 system.

There is another though rare cause of accident (which, however,
once came under the writer’s notice) that may occur with either
system, and that is the ends of the circulating pipes nearest the
boiler becoming stopped by incrustation; this incrustation, as has
been before explained, takes place in the greater proportion of
boilers, and also to a less extent in the pipes, especially near the
boiler, and in course of time the pipes will both become completely
stopped, but the reason that accidents from this cause are rare
is that abundant notice is given by the steam making a variety of
unpleasant noises and sometimes violent shaking, in forcing its way
through the partly closed pipes, but this noise must not always be
confounded with the sounds produced when pipes are imperfectly run or
“trapped” and contain air, but whenever noises are heard a practical
man should be consulted at the earliest convenience, and if a tap
is opened and no water should flow, after it has been open say one
minute, the fire should be immediately extinguished and kept so until
the reason of failure of water is discovered and remedied. No alarm
need be experienced at the rumbling noise to be heard when the water
is boiling, but this water has no need and should not be permitted
to boil; when the noise is heard, 4 or 5 gal. should be drawn off,
this will be replaced in the tank or cylinder by the same quantity
of cold water, and the temperature will be reduced; the damper which
regulates the boiler flue should be out only when the water is cool
and requires rapid heating; even then it must not be pulled out so
far that the flame, &c., roars as it passes under the boiler, as the
boiler will not experience the full benefit of the heat.

It has been suggested by some authorities that to prevent the water
in pipes becoming frozen (this may be considered the most likely
cause of explosion) a tap or taps should be left a little open at
night so that the water is kept in motion; this, however, cannot
be relied upon in a really severe frost, and it is also a waste
of water, which is a consideration where the supply is by manual
power, &c. Another method suggested is to empty the whole apparatus
every frosty night; this is a very good plan to save damage to pipes
as well as prevent accidents, but there is the doubt that but few
would care to practise this on account of the trouble, and there is
a serious risk if it is forgotten to turn the water on until after
the fire is lighted. Tolerable reliance can be put on felting or
casing the pipes, but the most efficient remedy is to see that the
boiler is fitted with a safety valve, which, as the name betokens,
is a source of safety and most probably of comfort also; if it is
not convenient to attach a safety valve direct into the boiler, it
should be connected by a short length of pipe, which however is a
weakness, as the pipe may eventually be stopped by incrustation, and
on that account it should be of good size and should be cleared,
if necessary, every time the boiler is opened for cleaning. Safety
valves should always be fixed in sight so that they can be tested
whenever desired. The working principle of a spring safety valve
(which has general preference just now) is, firstly, a brass
sealing which closes the opening leading to the boiler and is held
in position by a spring and central pin, and the whole works in a
strong brass case which is perforated with several good-sized holes;
when the valve is fixed, the workman can and does set the spring
(generally by a screw-down cap at top) so that it withstands about
3 or 4 lb. more pressure than the boiler is subjected to by the
pressure of water; when by any reason an undue pressure is exerted
inside the boiler it causes the seating to rise, and the steam and
some water escape into the brass case and through the holes above
referred to, and the boiler is relieved. The noise occasioned by this
escape is _very_ plainly heard, and notice is thus drawn, but the
fire need not be extinguished.

It would be a desirable feature if every boiler fixed (except open
ones) was provided with a valve, as it is purchasing freedom from
risk at a low price (a few shillings only).

There is a common cause of complaint and annoyance in having at
some taps to draw off a quantity of cold water that lies stagnant
in the service pipe before the hot water can be obtained from the
circulation; this is caused by the draw-off service being a long and
single pipe, and can be only remedied by “returning” it something
after the manner shown in the illustrations, and so cause the water
to circulate along it; this trouble is not only a source of annoyance
but a practical loss also, as for every quantity of hot water drawn a
certain quantity is left in the service to get cold, and this happens
every time the tap is used, excepting such taps as are in constant
use, and the water only remains stationary 2 or 3 minutes, but this
in domestic purposes only applies to the scullery service at certain
hours in the day.

It may have come to many people’s notice that when some lever-handle
taps are shut a noise and jarring in the pipe ensues; this is caused
by the sudden stoppage of the flow of water when the pressure is
considerable; when the vertical pressure is say 50 or 60 ft. (height
of cistern above the tap) and the tap is opened, the water rushes out
and gains a strong momentum; by turning the handle or lever of the
tap the stoppage is so sudden that a shock is sustained almost the
same as an object falling from a height being suddenly stopped by
coming in contact with the ground; this concussion and noise is not
only unpleasant but does harm, which is quickly noticeable with light
lead pipe, which is either stretched or has protuberances formed upon
it, and a continuance of the shocks or really blows will then cause
it to split; it will be therefore commonly found that screw-down taps
are used with lead pipe where any pressure exists, and the screw-down
tap would meet with more favour but for an objectionable feature,
which is the number of times it has to be screwed or unscrewed to
shut and open it; but there are now made screw-down taps that open
or shut with one turn, and these no doubt will come into more general
use if found practically good and when the patent expires.

Retarded circulations arise from a variety of causes, amongst which
may be mentioned incapacity of the boiler for the work, caused by
the boiler not having sufficient heating surface; this is shown by
the whole apparatus becoming fully charged with hot water late in
the day after several hours firing; the only remedy is to reduce
the work the boiler has to do or change the boiler itself. Another
cause is by pipes being dipped or trapped. The flow pipe having
an inclination or dip downwards, which causes the circulation to
become air-locked, this causes noises in the pipes and shakings
as the steam is passing or trying to expel the air; this air is
eventually expelled, but occurs again when the apparatus is emptied
and recharged in boiler cleaning, repairing, &c.; to remedy this the
pipes must be traced up and the defect so discovered. Another cause
is by incrustation in the pipes; this can be noticed by its gradual
growth, also incrustation in boiler, but if boiler is kept clear as
referred to earlier in the chapter, the pipes will keep in very fair
order. The only remedy for furred pipes is to take them out and by
heating and striking to dislodge the deposit; this costs as much
almost as renewing the service; with care in regular cleaning it will
not occur. Obstructions either stationary or floating are sometimes
found in the pipes and retard circulation; these are generally caused
by the workmen failing to look through the tubes before fixing them,
or the obstruction may be in the form of sediment in rural districts,
&c.; the only efficient remedy that can be suggested is to engage
the services of an experienced hot-water fitter in any of the cases
mentioned, as it lies beyond the power of the householder to remedy
them.

[Illustration: 130. Flow Pipe.]

There are a number of errors commonly found in apparatus that has
been fitted up by those somewhat wanting in experience, such as
connecting draw-offs from the return pipe in No. 2 system; result is
that the whole of the water in the tank having to be heated before
any hot water finds its way down the return pipe, it is naturally a
considerable time after the fire is lighted before hot water can be
obtained from the tap; connecting draw-offs direct from the tank,
result nearly as bad as connecting from the return; dipping or
trapping the flow pipe, causing circulation to become air-locked as
before mentioned; connecting the cold supply to the tank or cylinder
without forming a syphon (inverted) in the pipe, so permitting hot
water to find its way up into the cold-water cistern: result, loss
of heat and water lukewarm which should be cold; placing tank and
pipes in very cold situations, causing serious loss of heat, as
before explained. Another common error, or piece of bad work, is
connecting or screwing the flow pipe through the top of the boiler
so that it projects through the inner surface, as Fig. 130. Now when
the apparatus is finished it is, of course, before being charged
with water, full of air; when the water flows in, it expels the air
as it fills, but it cannot expel the stratum of air existing between
the lower edge of the flow pipe and the top of the boiler; this is
not noticeable when the water is cold, but when heat is applied and
steam is generated, the steam naturally wants to expand into this
space, but at the same time the air has no desire to be evicted, so
a struggle ensues, and the steam is eventually the victor; but the
struggle is fierce, and can be heard and felt in every part of a
building of moderate size. The trouble does not end here, for when
the position is gained, the steam has to pass away, when it has
gained sufficient strength to force its way back through the water
and up the flow pipe, and this is an unpleasant experience. Exactly
the same result is obtained if the rising main is screwed too far
through the top of cylinder or the expansion too far through the top
of tank--an air or steam chamber is formed in either case; these
pipes should be quite flush with or above the inner surface of the
receptacles they are screwed into. There is no more annoying or
alarm-producing error than this.

Still another error is in running the circulating pipes up a casing
containing other pipes without felting the former, or even without
separating them; the result of placing a hot pipe against a cold one
for several feet is obvious, and if a hot pipe is placed against
a soil (w.c.) pipe, the result is offensive; these errors are
commonly found. There are numberless minor errors to be met with;
to enumerate all would occupy much space and be of no real use to
the reader. Errors are not uncommon things in this work, and some of
them are of so extraordinary a nature as scarcely to be creditable.
An objectionable feature in an old apparatus is the small supply or
feed cistern fixed at the side of the tank, but this is now almost
totally in disuse, for it has at last dawned upon some one that it is
quite unnecessary; this feed cistern must have a ball valve or cock,
and, this is where the mischief lies, no reliance can be placed on
a ball valve or cock of any description; they are commonly a source
of never-ending trouble. We give this description, as there are some
people who still persist in the use of this secondary cistern.

Discoloured water is sometimes caused by the rust that is naturally
created in new work, and lasts but a short time, as the pipes get
covered internally with a very thin coating of lime, which then
prevents the water coming in contact with the metal of the pipe.

Water is discoloured to a greater or less extent if it is permitted
to boil very hard, as this agitates any loose sediment that is lying
in the tank, and the boiling is much like churning the water.

The water in the tank or cylinder should not be permitted to boil,
as it creates an unpleasant noise, and is a certain strain upon the
work, and answers no good purpose; it can be stopped by drawing a
quantity of water off, so causing cold to flow in, but the remedy
is to keep the boiler flue closed by the damper; if this does not
prevent the overheating of the water, there is the possibility that
the flue is out of order, or “leaks.” This can be tested by closing
all the dampers when fire is in working order, which in the ordinary
way would cause all the smoke to be discharged into the room; if this
is not the cause, there must be an improper exit for the smoke and
heat, and a loss is of course being sustained.

Coils and hot-water pipes for heating a small conservatory or chamber
are sometimes connected with the circulating service, or direct by a
distinct service from the boiler, but there are no especial rules to
be observed in using these, as there are only stop-cocks to be turned
on or off as the requirements demand.

It may now be useful to give a few hints to those having a new
apparatus fitted.

There is a rather old saying to the effect that the “best is the
cheapest”: this especially applies to hot-water work. It would be
waste of time and space to enumerate the evils of cheap work of
this description, as the list would be a very long one. The best
plan is to apply to a good firm (not necessarily a large one) who
makes somewhat a specialty of this branch (generally boiler or stove
manufacturers, or good plumbers and builders). They will provide an
estimate of cost with _detailed_ specification free of charge if the
distance is not great. The object of a _detailed_ specification is,
as probably the reader guesses, to know exactly what size, strength,
quality, &c., of boiler, cylinder, or tank; pipes, iron and lead;
cocks, &c., &c., that are to be used; and before finally deciding,
the purchaser should insist upon the efficiency of the apparatus
being _guaranteed_. Boilers are of many various shapes and sizes,
but the best form has been proved to be that with a good flue or
heating surface underneath, so as to present as much bottom or under
surface as possible to the flame and heat; the best surface is easily
determined by any one, by applying the heat to the top of a kettle,
and afterwards applying it at the bottom, and noting the difference
in results; there are many other perhaps better forms of boilers made
for heating purposes; but it must be remembered that the boiler for
hot-water supply must not be of complicated form inside, but must
be quite clear, offering every facility for removing the incrusted
deposit. Fig. 131 shows the common form of boiler used in kitchen
ranges; the size must be governed by the capacity of the range
itself, but it should have as great a width and length as possible,
to increase the bottom surface; and the flue should be as large as
the size of fire will possibly permit. A most important point is to
see that the boiler has a large manhole _easily accessible_.

[Illustration: 131. Common Boiler. 132. Improved Boiler.]

Experience has proved that the best material from which these boilers
should be constructed is wrought iron or copper; the wrought iron
should be of 5/16 in. or ⅜ in. substance, and copper can be of a
little less substance except the front where the external wear and
tear takes place (chiefly by the poker). The principal of these
remarks apply to independent boilers also, which, however, are
generally set in brickwork and are of larger capacity and strength in
proportion. Fig. 132 represents a more powerful form of boiler for
domestic purposes, and is found a very rapid heating and efficient
shape, in instances where a large number of draw-offs are in use,
or a coil or heating pipes are in connection. Care should be taken
to avoid boilers with narrow water-ways where the heat is applied;
there are occasionally made boilers with 2 projecting horns or cheeks
which occupy the place of the fire-bricks in the range firebox;
these narrow parts, which are subjected to almost the most intense
heat, will fur up solid and crack in 6 months with London water.
The advantages of a copper boiler are quicker heating, greater
durability, and greater expansion and contraction, which prevents the
incrustation adhering to the surface so firmly as it does inside an
iron boiler; and although a copper boiler is of greater first cost,
yet when worn out it is of almost sufficient value to purchase a new
iron one.

These boilers are recognised by several names, viz. “high pressure,”
“Bath,” and “circulating,” &c., boilers. The first term is generally
known.

Cast-iron high-pressure boilers have now gone almost entirely into
disuse on account of the unsatisfactory results experienced.

Safety valves have been generally treated of in an earlier part of
this chapter, but it might be impressed upon the reader that the
valve should be as near as possible or directly in the boiler; they
are sometimes put in the circulating pipes or in the cylinder or
tank, but this is away from the seat of danger; it would be a rarity
to hear of a cylinder or tank exploding.

The reason that cylinders are used when the No. 1 system is adopted,
and tanks with No. 2 system, is that the cylindrical shape is better
adapted to bear the greater pressure; otherwise a tank would answer
as well to all intents and purposes; to show the pressure-resisting
strength, a tank of ⅛ in. plate is tested and warranted to bear 5
lb. pressure to the square inch. This is equal to the cistern being
10 ft. above the tank, whereas a ⅛ in. plate cylinder is tested and
warranted to bear 25 lb. pressure to the square inch, equal to 50 ft.
In speaking of pressure by feet this alludes to the _vertical_ height
between the cylinder or tank and the cold cistern; it does not matter
what size pipe connects them. A cylinder or tank can generally be
depended upon to bear a little greater pressure than they are tested
to. There are 3 or 4 strengths made to meet the various requirements,
and the makers’ lists show what pressure they are tested to in lb.,
and every lb. can be calculated as equal to 2 ft. of vertical pipe.

The general sizes of tanks and cylinders for domestic purposes vary
from 30 to 60 gal. according to requirements; the disadvantage of too
large a tank is the time taken in heating its contents and completing
the circulation, and in some instances the space it occupies; tanks
of 100 gal. capacity are sometimes fixed in residences where there
are only 4 or 5 taps (hot water). This is much too large for any but
large mansions or for business purposes; for say 5 taps, including
bath, a 50 gal. tank or cylinder will be found large enough and will
admit of 3 baths in succession about 1 hour after lighting the fire.

The pipes or tubes commonly used are iron steam tube, galvanised
iron steam tube, iron gas tube, or barrel, and lead pipe; the two
latter, though commonly found, should be avoided as being totally
unsuitable for this work. Gas barrel is sometimes used on cheap work
and in small speculative property, and answers well, when no real
work is put upon it; but no respectable firm would undertake to use
it, as satisfactory results cannot be relied upon except under very
favourable circumstances.

Steam tube, commonly known as “red steam” tube on account of its
colour externally, is much like gas barrel, but especially strong
for engineering purposes, and the utmost reliance can be put in
it. Galvanised steam is the same quality tube, but galvanised to
prevent rust; this is much liked, and is absolutely necessary in some
districts where unprotected iron rusts at an alarming rate; but care
should be exercised to see that it is galvanised _inside_ as well as
out; preference, however, is on the side of the “red steam” as it is
considered that the tube is deteriorated in strength by the process
of galvanising.

Galvanised iron boilers are sometimes used, but the same remarks
apply as are given respecting galvanised pipes.

The best size of tube for ordinary domestic purposes is 1¼ in.
internal diameter for the circulation and 1 in. for the major portion
of the draw-off services; ¾ in. may be used for minor purposes, as
lavatory draw-off, &c. There are, however, many apparatuses being
fitted at the present moment with 1 in. circulation and ¾ and ½ in.
draw-offs, and even ¾ in. circulations are to be met with; but the
advantage of a good-sized pipe is the freer flow of water when taps
are opened, and most important its less liability of being stopped
or rendered unfit for use by incrustation; 1¼ in. tube has fully 30
per cent. more inner surface than 1 in., so that it would take a
third longer time to get a ¼ in. coating of deposit in a 1¼ in. tube
than it would in a 1 in., and when this thickness has accumulated,
the 1 in. tube requires renewing, whereas the 1¼ in. is fit for
still further service, so that it can be calculated that 1¼ in.
tube will last about double as long as 1 in. so far as incrustation
is concerned, and this incrustation, as the reader now knows, is
an important element requiring every consideration in almost all
districts.

When _circulating_ pipes have to be carried round angles, bends
(which are nearly a segment of a circle) should be used invariably,
and not elbows, unless absolutely necessary in rare instances. A
bend permits the water to circulate round the angle much more freely
than an elbow, as the turn in the latter is abrupt, and tends to
check the circulation; this only applies to the circulating pipes;
it should also be seen that connecting-pieces known as “connectors”
are inserted at intervals where they will be of practical use, as
they permit of a piece of pipe being removed without disconnecting
the whole service, as is so often necessary for a small repair or
inspection. A connector is a piece of the tube with the socket so
arranged that it performs the function of a union.

When an apparatus is being fitted up, it must be borne in mind that
the most perfect arrangement would be to place the tank immediately
over the boiler, and carry the pipes in a vertical line between them;
this can rarely, in fact, never be done, so it should be arranged and
carried in a manner as near this as possible; every angle and every
piece of horizontal pipe is objectionable, but regard must be had
for positions where the pipes or casings would be unsightly. Where
pipes _must_ be run laterally, they should if possible be given a
rise towards the cylinder or tank if only 1 in. in 5 ft., but more if
possible; these remarks only apply to circulating pipes.

The “flow” pipe should always proceed from the top of the boiler,
never from the sides or back (although this is often done), as it
will be understood that the heated water, wanting to rise, much
objects to starting along a horizontal pipe however short, and
another reason is that an air chamber will be formed in the top of
the boiler, and cause much annoyance already alluded to.

In No. 1 system the cylinder and circulating pipes cannot well be
placed in a cold position, but with No. 2 system ingenuity must be
exercised to carry the pipes and place the tank in as warm positions
as possible near to chimneys and not on outside walls, &c., if
possible; it is time well invested to cover the pipes and tank with a
non-conducting covering in any case for the reasons already stated.
Pipes should on no account be let into the wall and cemented over,
as, with the best work, investigation may at some time be needed, and
this would necessitate serious damage to the decoration of the wall
in question. On no account sanction the idea of carrying circulating
pipes outside the building, however well or carefully they are to be
cased or covered. These remarks apply also to the cold-supply pipe to
prevent failure in supply by frost. It is also necessary to see that
neither circulating pipe comes in contact with a cold-water pipe or a
soil (w.c.) pipe.

It will be noticed in the illustrations that before the cold supply
enters the tank or cylinder, it descends below its entrance level a
short distance, about 12 in., and rises up to the tank or cylinder;
this dip in the pipe is called a “syphon,” and prevents the hot water
rising up this pipe, as it must be understood that hot water _will
not_ circulate downwards.

The cold supply is usually of lead pipe ¾ in. internal diameter, but
lead pipe is quite unsuited for soft or pure water (distilled). The
same applies to lead cisterns, as this water attacks (oxidises) lead
vigorously, and lead pipe is not looked upon with favour for many
reasons. Iron is now often used for the whole apparatus, including
cistern, tank, &c. (excepting where copper is used for boiler or
cylinder). There is a marked advantage if the cold-supply pipe is 1
in. instead of ¾ in., for this reason, if two or three ¾ in. (usual
size) taps are opened at once, as commonly occurs, the flow of water
must be reduced at each of them if only a ¾ in. supply exists.

The advantages of draw-off services being “returned” have already
been explained, and cocks or taps have been treated upon. There are
numberless good cocks in the market, but of course the best are
subject to wear and tear; those with lever handles, known as plug
cocks, have to have the plugs reground in occasionally, and with the
screw-down cocks the sealing, generally of prepared indiarubber, has
to be renewed periodically; but money is well invested in really good
quality taps.

If after the apparatus is fitted and finished there are any leaks
noticeable, the purchaser should insist upon these being remedied
before the workmen finally leave; there is a common saying amongst
workmen that small leaks or “weeps” pick themselves up, i.e.
the aperture rusts up; very small leaks will pick themselves up
sometimes, but no reliance can be placed in this unworkmanlike way
of finishing, and it is commonly necessary to have the men in the
house a second time to remedy one or more obdurate “weeps,” which are
really defective joints.

Baths and lavatories are of very numerous variety; but a good feature
with a bath is to have the hot-water inlet near the bottom, so that
when the taps are opened this inlet quickly becomes below the water
level, and this prevents the steam rising as the water is discharged,
rendering the room unbearable if small; but this inlet _must not_ be
in any way connected with the waste outlet as it often is, as when
the water runs in it will bring back a portion of the last bather’s
soapsuds. A good feature in a lavatory basin is a flushing rim: the
rim of the basin is hollow and provided with a fine slit or aperture
which extends all round its lower edge. When the tap is turned, the
water is discharged into this rim, and from there flows into the
basin, through this aperture around the whole of its circumference;
this is of especial use to wash away sediment from the sides of the
basin after use.

Both baths and lavatories should have large supplies (hot and cold)
and large wastes, to fill and empty rapidly.

No. 2 system can, when desired, be converted into No. 1 system at a
moderate expense (about one-third the cost of a new apparatus); and
a range can be fitted with a high-pressure boiler in such a manner
that it can be used for low-pressure purposes first, and when the
high-pressure apparatus is fitted up it can be connected and started
to work upon the latter principle in 2 or 3 hours.

If two ranges are in proximity they can both be provided with
high-pressure boilers and the two services united, flow to flow and
return to return, and work the one tank or cylinder and apparatus,
either assisting each other or working independently. This is
oftentimes a very great convenience; the union of the services should
be as near the boilers as possible; no stop taps are needed (avoid
these whenever possible).

Twin boilers can sometimes be fitted to a range, and each used for a
different purpose, viz. one for hot-water supply, and one for steam
cooking, &c.

[Illustration: 133. Self-filling Apparatus.]

Fig. 133 represents the common form of self-supply or self-filling
apparatus as attached to low-pressure boilers in kitchen ranges. By
the term “low pressure” is meant open top or closed boilers that
are not usually filled quite full, and the draw-off is below the
water-level within them. _A_ represents the small supply cistern,
which is supplied from the general cold supply of the house; the
quantity and level of the water in this small cistern is regulated
by a ball valve _D_, as shown; this cistern is connected with the
boiler _B_ by a supply pipe _C_, usually of lead and ¾ inch internal
diameter, and provided with a “syphon” as shown, and for the purpose
described in cold supply to tanks, &c.; this supply proceeds from the
bottom of the supply cistern _A_ to the bottom or near the bottom
of the boiler _B_. There is a very common error in arranging the
apparatus so that the boiler fills up to about 4 in. from the top;
this is not high enough, it should fill up to within about 1½ in.,
this is ample room for expansion and boiling; if a 4 in. space is
left it means 4 in. for the flame and heat to act upon without having
water to protect it, and consequently it becomes destroyed. This does
not always produce a leakage, but it permits the smoke and soot to
enter and discolour the water. There is another still more common
form of error in this description of apparatus, and that is, failing
to draw from the upper part of the boiler where the hottest water is,
and where it first becomes hot; it will be understood from Fig. 133
that when the tap (if placed near the bottom of the boiler as usual)
is opened, a portion of the contents of the boiler flows out and a
supply of cold immediately flows in, to make good the loss. Now the
hot water being lightest, remains at the top of the boiler, so it can
readily be seen that it cannot be drawn, for it will not descend,
and the inflow of cold is right opposite the tap, therefore when the
tap is opened a small quantity of hot water is drawn, and then there
sets in a flow of cold water from the cistern, across the bottom of
the boiler, and out at the tap almost without disturbing the hot
water in the upper part of the boiler. There are two remedies; one
is to have the tap inserted in the upper part of the boiler (by the
manufacturer) when purchasing it; another is with existing ranges
to screw an elbow on to the end of the tap _inside_ the boiler, and
into this elbow to screw a short length of pipe to stand up to about
4 in. below the water-level, as in Fig. 134; this elbow and pipe can
be fitted by any one, as no jointing is required, and to fit it the
tap does not require to be moved in any way. The reason that it is
necessary to keep the end of the pipe so much below the water-level
is, that the ball valve by which the cold water is supplied is
smaller than the tap from which the water is taken, or, in other
words, the inlet is smaller than the outlet, and the level of the
water sinks or becomes lower in the boiler and cistern as you draw.

[Illustration: 134. Draw-off Tap.]

It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the reader that good work
executed by a good firm, although the expense is increased, is a
source of comfort and many advantages, and is “the cheapest in the
end.”

Preventing Frost in Pipes.--The common practice is to leave a tap
slightly open, so as to maintain a constant current through the
pipe. This plan is wasteful, and is not always successful. Perhaps
the safest course is to empty the pipes and cisterns, and only to
allow water to flow in from the main as it is wanted for consumption.
To do this an outside stop-cock is required on the service pipe,
and a drawing-off cock at the lowest point in the course of the
pipe inside the building. It also requires more intelligence and
attention than domestic servants usually display. Another way is to
empty the pipes only. For this, a valve of special make is screwed
to the end of the house main service pipe in the cistern, and a
piece of wire is connected with it to any convenient place. When
frost is expected, the spring must be unhooked, when the valve falls
into its seat, and air being admitted through the small pipe which
rises above the surface of the water, the pipes can be emptied
by turning on the taps in the usual manner, and the water in the
cistern is thus saved. To prevent the effects of forgetfulness on
the part of servants, electricity has been employed. Again, a means
of emptying the pipes as soon as the water is turned off at the
main, so as to leave none to freeze, is to perforate the supply
pipe by a mere pin-hole aperture just behind the ball-cock of the
lowest cistern on the premises, so as to allow the water contained
in the pipe to drain into the cistern when the supply ceases. It
is obvious that the puncture must be in the most dependent part of
the pipes, otherwise the water would not entirely escape, and that
other punctures will be required if the lowest one does not drain
the pipes of other cisterns. This plan can only be adopted where
the supply is intermittent. Where the supply is constant, a small
warming apparatus may be placed at the lowest level the pipe reaches,
so as to circulate a current of warmed water throughout the whole
length of the pipe. This might be either separate from it, as a
cylinder through which the pipe might pass, or simply an enlargement
of the pipe itself, on which the gas flame could play. Considering
the enormous injury done annually by frost bursting the pipes in
houses, the small outlay that would be required would soon be repaid
in security from such disasters; for if the warming apparatus were
placed over a gas flame used for ordinary illumination, a very
small additional consumption of gas would keep the vessel warm when
the light was no longer required. If gas were not available, the
water-pipe might be arranged to pass through a vessel connected with
the kitchen boiler, and so obtain the required heat. But failing
these, the pipes might still be supplied at night after turning off
the water, even where the supply is constant. Thus the chance of its
freezing would be reduced to a minimum.

To thaw a frozen pipe, the simplest and safest way is to pour hot
water upon it, or apply cloths dipped in hot water to those points
where the pipe is most exposed. The freezing will generally be found
to have taken place near a window, or near the eaves of the roof, or
at a bend. If pipes are frozen and a thaw is expected, care should
be taken to close all stop-cocks as a precaution against flooding.
To prevent kitchen boilers exploding, it is necessary to see that
they always contain water, and that there is no stoppage in the pipes
connected with them.

  F. Dye.

See also p. 1009.




_THE LAUNDRY._


DOMESTIC WASHING.

The great cost of having household and personal linen washed at a
laundry drives many housewives to have their washing done at home.
The methods of cleansing clothes &c., have been already described in
another chapter; it remains to say a few words about the apparatus.

[Illustration: 135. Washing Copper.]

Certainly the most common form of washing apparatus is the familiar
“copper,” a large metallic pot set in brickwork, as shown in Fig.
135. The point to be aimed at in setting this pot is that the flame
shall pass as nearly as possible all round it. Care must be taken to
cut off all communication with the fire except at the outlet shown,
and to erect a brick-on-edge stop _a_. The flues _b_ should be not
less than 3 in. wide, and 3 courses deep; _c_ is the fire-place, _d_
the ashpit, and _e_ the chimney.

The boiling, scrubbing, and emptying incidental to this plan of
washing should be sufficient to condemn it everywhere; it entails
much labour, is wasteful of fuel and water, and most destructive to
the articles, which are only partially washed after all.

[Illustration: 136. 137. Greenall’s Steam Washing Apparatus.]

A most useful improvement on this crude system is the little steam
washer introduced by J. Greenall, 120 Portland Street, Manchester, of
which two forms are shown in Figs. 136 and 137, heated respectively
by gas and stove. It entirely abolishes all rubbing and brushing of
the clothes, thus saving a great amount of work and wear and tear.
The set copper or boiler is dispensed with, and not half the usual
quantity of soap is required. It will wash a fortnight’s washing
for a family of 8 persons in 2 hours, and can be easily worked by
a child. It improves the colour of the linen, keeps it as white as
snow, and does not injure, or wear in the least, the most delicate
fabric. The cost of gas used is very trifling, being only ½_d._
per hour (16 cub. ft.). Being made of copper throughout (with the
inside parts coated with block tin) it cannot rust and ironmould
the linen; is very strong and durable, cannot get out of order, and
there is no offensive smell from the gas. It may also be heated by
coal or charcoal stove, oil lamp, or in the case of specially large
machines, by steam pipe from boiler if desired. The clothes only
need steeping in water for a few hours, or overnight; then wring
them out, soap well, put them in the cylinder, and when the water
in the machine boils, turn slowly for 10 minutes, then turn them
out and rinse thoroughly, blue, and wring out, and they are ready
for drying,--without any rubbing, brushing, peggying, or boiling
in the ordinary boiler. The water (3 in. deep in machine and 1 in.
in cylinder) is made to boil, and is kept boiling by gas-burner or
coal-stove on which the machine rests; thus steam is continually
rising and passing through the articles which have been placed in
the cylinder; the dirt is carried off by the expansion of the cold
water with which they were saturated, and, as the cylinder revolves,
the clothes are always changing position, and the dirt is washed out
and got rid off. The clothes are washed in steam, and will be found
cleaner, whiter, and purer than when washed by any other process. It
is made in various sizes and at corresponding prices.

[Illustration: 138. Hand Laundry.]

[Illustration: 139. “Vowel A 1.”]

_Bradford’s Domestic Laundry Fittings._--When for economy and
convenience it is desirable to do “washing” at home, the first
consideration is a suitable copper for providing hot water for
washing, and for boiling the clothes in after they are washed. A
copper boiler seated in brickwork is generally adopted, but where
there is no room for seating such a copper, a galvanised iron or
copper pan, self contained in an iron frame and fitted with furnace,
is recommended. This can be easily connected by means of an iron
flue-pipe to an existing flue. After having provided for hot water,
the most important appliance in the laundry is the washing machine,
of which several kinds have been made, but the most popular and the
one that has stood the longest test is Bradford’s “Vowel” machine,
of which, we are told, the sale is increasing every year. It is made
in sizes to suit the various requirements of households. It may be
desirable that we should here state the principle of this machine.
It is an octagonal box, with internal fixed ribs and a midfeather
collecting and delivery board. The machine is turned slowly, so that
the clothes turn from the different ribs and angles, rubbing one
article against the other, and at each revolution collecting them
by the fixed midfeather boards and raising them to a point, when
they slip from the board on to the first rib, where the rubbing is
again taken up. There being no movable internal machinery, it is
obvious there can be no injury to the finest articles washed; in
fact, lace articles, muslin curtains, and delicate fabrics are washed
in this machine without any injury whatever. For a small household
of, say, six or eight persons, and where space is somewhat limited,
the “Vowel A 1” combined washing, wringing, and mangling machine
(Fig. 139) is recommended, and for a larger household of, say, 12
to 16 persons, a “Vowel E” combined washing, wringing, and mangling
machine (Fig. 140). Where, however, in addition to the wash-house
there is a convenient room that may be used for the laundry, separate
machines will be found most desirable, as follows: for the small
household, Bradford’s “Vowel Y” combined washer and wringer (Fig.
141), the washing compartment of which is equal to that of the “Vowel
A 1,” and will wash at one time a quantity of clothes equivalent to
about 8 shirts, 3 or 4 large sheets, or a large double blanket or
counterpane--and a rinsing and blueing trough, fitted with “Acorn
C” or “CC” rubber wringer. The best blue is Keen’s Oxford blue,
which is used in many of the largest laundries, and always gives
satisfaction. The blueing trough is furnished with two compartments,
one for first rinse or “sudding” water, and a second for blueing, a
movable board being provided, which can be placed on either side to
catch the things as they fall from the wringing rollers. This trough
and wringer can be subsequently used for wringing starched goods. In
addition to the above a mangle will be needed, and the “Reciprocal”
is the most popular (Fig. 142). The No. 79 with 21″ rollers, or
No. 80 with 24″ rollers, is a very suitable size for working in
conjunction with the washer and wringer before named.

[Illustration: 140. “Vowel E.” 141. “Vowel Y” Combined.]

[Illustration: 142. Reciprocal Mangle, With Patent Spring and Bar.
143. “Vowel A.” 144. Rinsing and Blueing Trough.]

[Illustration: 145. Lever and Weight Mangle.]

For a large family requiring separate machines, the “Vowel A,”
with “Acorn” rubber wringer, is advised (Fig. 143). The washing
compartment of this machine is equal to that of the “Vowel E”
combined machine, the capacity of which is 12 to 15 shirts, 3 pairs
of sheets, 2 large counterpanes or double blankets, or other articles
in proportion. The rinsing and blueing trough (Fig. 144) is also
required, together with a larger sized mangle--No. 81 “Reciprocal,”
or No. 1 or No. 2 lever and weight machine (Fig. 145). In the larger
sizes of these two-roller mangles the lever and weight machine is
preferable--the advantage is that the pressure is self-regulating.

[Illustration: 146. Pagoda Stove.]

Amongst other articles for the laundry is the ironing stove, and
Messrs. Bradford and Co. have recently introduced a novelty in
this respect, viz. the “Pagoda.” This stove is made in many sizes,
but the No. 12 is large enough for family purposes (Fig. 146). It
requires very little fuel, but every part of it is heated, and in
addition to heating about 12 flat-irons it throws off a regular heat
in the laundry for drying or airing. It is well known that for the
maintenance of good colour in the linen it is always desirable as far
as possible to dry out of doors, but in this uncertain climate of
ours fine weather is not to be depended upon, and for convenience in
drying in wet weather a frame or rack fitted with rails is provided.
This rack is raised to the ceiling or lowered for filling, by means
of lines and pulleys. It should not be fixed immediately over the
stove, but sufficiently aside that, when lowered, articles hung on
the rails will not touch the stove.

This racking is also useful for airing linen after it is mangled or
ironed.

For all other laundry sundries, such as flat-irons and stands,
goffering tongs, clothes baskets, &c., &c., we recommend our readers
to do as we have done, viz. pay a visit to Messrs. Bradford’s
Show-rooms, 140 to 143, High Holborn, where they will find
everything, from a hot-water boiler to a linen press.

[Illustration: 147. Premier Box Mangle. (The most perfect Box Mangle
ever made.) 148. Bradford’s Patent “Radial” Drying Closet.]

Having described the appliances adapted for small and medium sized
families, we now come to larger establishments, such as mansions,
schools, hotels, &c. For such establishments similar machines will
be required, but of larger sizes, and instead of the two-roller
mangle a “Premier” box mangle (Fig. 147) is recommended; and for
drying, a “Radial” or “Draw-out” drying closet (Figs. 148, 149). The
“reversible” stove in these closets is so constructed that it serves
for heating flat-irons as well as for drying or airing the clothes.
Messrs. Bradford have also recently introduced a new ironing machine
(“The Little Marvel”), the price of which is 10_l._ 10_s._ (Fig.
150). This machine consists of a concave heated plate, under which
is fixed gas heating apparatus, or a furnace for fuel. The roller,
obtaining the requisite pressure by means of weights fixed upon the
ends of levers, works in this heated plate, and draws the articles to
be ironed over its surface, producing a finish much superior to that
obtainable by hand, and in considerably less time. The machine can be
worked by a girl.

[Illustration: 149. Bradford’s Improved “Draw-out” Drying Closet.
150. Bradford’s “Little Marvel” Ironing Machine.]


STEAM LAUNDRIES.

In connection with steam laundry machinery for use in large
institutions, hotels, and public steam laundries, we cannot do better
than describe one of the many successful laundries that Messrs.
Bradford have fitted up during the last 25 years, and which contains
every appliance and a system likely to be conducive to good and
successful work.

We cannot, however, pass on without briefly referring to the first
important steam laundry started by Mr. Bradford at Upper Norwood in
1865, and which is still working with the most gratifying results.
Ever since, and especially during the last few years, the development
of this branch of industry has been simply remarkable, adding not
only to the convenience of the public but also to the means of
employment of girls, women, boys, and men in very large numbers.

Reverting to Mr. Bradford’s original laundry, we find that although
some of his latest novelties are worked there, many of the appliances
which were put in the laundry when it first started are still
working--a sufficient evidence of their substantial character.

At the entrance to a steam laundry should be a covered way, for the
vans to stand under when loading and unloading, and the vanmen should
deposit the linen in the hall when they bring it from customers,
keeping each load separate. Space is also here provided for the
storage of empty baskets. On one side of the hall at the laundry in
question is a door, leading to the

_Receiving and Sorting_ room, where a female clerk checks the
customers’ books as the goods are counted by an assistant. Books
are provided by the laundry in which are printed detailed lists of
ladies’, gentlemen’s, children’s, and servants’ washing, blank spaces
being left for the customers to insert number of articles sent, and
for any special instructions.

In several partitioned compartments young women examine the
linen--each family’s being kept distinct--to see whether it is marked
with the customer’s name, and to all articles not so distinguished a
private coloured cotton mark is attached.

Leading from the Receiving Room is a long passage, on one side of
which is a number of clothes bins, each marked with the name of the
class of linen it contains. On the opposite side of this passage is a
small private wash-house, intended for special work.

[Illustration: 151.]

_The General Wash-house_ (Fig. 151) is furnished with 4 Bradford’s
“Vowel” washing machines--2 large size for house linen and large
quantities of work, 2 smaller size for finery, handkerchiefs, and
small quantities of goods. These machines are similar in principle to
those referred to in the paragraphs relating to domestic machines,
but wash at one time any quantity of linen up to, say, 150 men’s
shirts. Each machine is fitted with cold water and steam boiling
apparatus. The water is first let into the machine, and then heated
by steam to whatever temperature is required, and the requisite
quantities of dissolved soap and soda are then added. Specially
constructed boilers are provided, one for dissolving soap and the
other for dissolving soda; and the proportions of soda and soap put
into the machine are suited to the class of goods being washed. The
consumption of soap in these machines is very small, owing to the
moderate quantity of water used for washing; in fact it is one of the
essential points that only sufficient water be employed to thoroughly
saturate the clothes.

[Illustration: 152. Steam Power Washing Machine.]

The time occupied for washing a batch of linen varies from 10 to
20 minutes, some things of course requiring longer than others. As
before mentioned, there are two machines of each size. After washing
in the first machine, the linen is passed between the indiarubber
rollers--which wring out the dirty suds--and then placed in the
second machine in clean hot water and soap for the second or clearing
operation; the time occupied for this clearing is about 10 minutes.
During the time the clearing is going on, steam is let steadily into
the washing compartment, and in many cases the clothes are during
this second operation boiled in the machine, after which cold water
is let in to cool them down, so that they may be easily lifted out
by hand. The suds that have been used for this seconding operation
can be employed, with a little additional soap and soda, for the
first washing of another batch of goods. It will be seen that the
time occupied for actual washing is very short, so that in addition
to the washing machine having no internal mechanism to operate
deleteriously upon the clothes, the time occupied is so short that
the wear upon the linen is reduced to a minimum, and the advantage
of the “seconding” process is obvious to anybody as being important
for thoroughly clearing the linen from discoloured water and soap
suds. Although, as already stated, steam is attached to the washing
machine, so that clothes can when desired be boiled in the machine,
yet many articles require separate boiling, such as body-linen, and
for this purpose tanks are provided.

_Boiling Tanks_ are fitted with special arrangements for steam
boiling and hold a large quantity of clothes and water, the latter
being very essential for the maintenance of good colour in the linen.
The linen is constantly floated and turned over by pressure of steam
rising through the water, keeping it in perpetual agitation.

The original system for boiling in these tanks was to drop the
clothes into the water, pushing them down with a copper-stick, and,
after boiling, to lift them out on to a drainer by means of the
copper-stick; but Messrs. Bradford have recently introduced a new
arrangement, consisting of a cage which when filled is let down into
the water, and remains there until the whole batch of clothes is
boiled--occupying about 10 minutes. This cage is then raised by means
of pulleys and chains, which are attached to a travelling arrangement
overhead, so that it may be run up to the rinsing tank and the
clothes tipped into the cold rinsing water. The boiling tanks in this
system are 3 or 4 in number, placed in a line with the rinsing tank
at the side, so that the travelling cage may run from either one or
the other to the rinsing compartment.

[Illustration: 153. Bradford’s New Patent Rinsing and Wringing
Apparatus.]

_Rinsing Apparatus_ (Fig. 153) consists of a large tank with 2
compartments, the first being twice as large as the second, and
having an apparatus fixed in the bottom for letting the water in
under pressure, which forces the scum that separates from the clothes
as they are being rinsed, and carries it to one end, whence it is
removed by the overflow. This operation proceeds constantly while the
clothes are being washed, so that the water is ever fresh and clear,
and in a continued state of agitation, sufficient to thoroughly
rinse the linen without fear of injury. From this compartment the
clothes are passed between rubber rollers, or lifted upon a drainer,
and then put into the second or blueing compartment, from which they
are passed between indiarubber wringing rollers.

[Illustration: 154. Hydro-Extractor.]

A hydro-extractor (Fig. 154) will extract more water than can be
done by any other means. The clothes are placed in a wire basket
which revolves at a high speed, being driven by gearing worked by a
strap, or by direct action of a steam engine attached to the machine.
Hand-power hydro-extractors are also recommended for hand laundries
where a large quantity of work has to be done.

[Illustration: 155. Drying Closet.]

_Drying Closet._--After leaving the hydro-extractor, the clothes are
taken to the drying closet (Fig. 155), which consists of a number of
horses running upon wheels in and out of a chamber, which is heated
by means of a steam coil underneath the horses; and by a special
arrangement, fresh air is constantly let into the underside of this
heating coil, and, rising amongst the clothes, extracts all the
moisture, which is effectually carried off by means of a ventilating
apparatus. Of course when weather will permit, drying is done out of
doors, for which a spacious open drying ground is provided.

_Starching._--Such goods as require starching are taken to the
starching machine, collars and cuffs to one kind of machine-which is
specially fitted for rubbing the starch into the linen--and dresses,
petticoats, aprons, &c., to the trough, in which is a specially
prepared starch, and which has a wringing machine with rubber
starching rollers.

[Illustration: 155A. Ironing, &c., Room.]

[Illustration: 155B. Bradford’s Patent “Crescent” Ironing Machine.]

_Mangling, Calendering, and Ironing._--The first machine in the
finishing and ironing department (Fig. 155A) is a “Premier” box
mangle, which is used for mangling all plain household linen, and
next to this is a “Crescent” ironing machine (Fig. 155B), which iron
in a superior manner table linen, pillow cases, pocket handkerchiefs,
and plain body-linen. The ironing surface of this machine is concave
and made in sections, under which a roller revolves. The chief
advantage of the “sections” in the ironing surface is that during
the process of ironing the moisture from the articles is carried off
through the apertures between the sections, thereby retaining a good
colour in the linen and drying it quickly. The roller besides having
a forward has also a lateral motion, worked by a very ingenious but
simple contrivance in the driving gear, and by this lateral action
the polish upon the surface of the articles is produced.

The advantage of this machine in ironing body-linen is that when the
skirt or plain part of the garment has been “taken in” as far as the
gathers, the roller can be instantly lowered by pressing the foot
upon a treadle close behind the operator, and the article withdrawn,
so that the gathered portion may be finished by hand. The ease with
which the pressure can be regulated is a very excellent feature of
the machine. A special arrangement is provided with this machine for
finishing lace and muslin curtains.

[Illustration: 155C. Bradford’s New Patent “Invert Crescent” Ironing
Machine.]

Messrs. Bradford have recently introduced the “Invert Crescent”
ironing machine (Fig. 155C), the ironing surface of which is a
concave plate of bright polished iron, made in sections similar
to the “Crescent” above described, the ventilation being equally
efficient in both machines, and is, indeed, an important patented
feature in these ironers. This machine is specially adapted for plain
ironing, such as table linen, bed linen, and other straightforward
work. The roller is heated by steam, which also adds to the
efficiency of the machine, as it keeps the flannel upon the roller
constantly dry, thereby reducing the wear and tear of ironing flannel.

Special facilities are afforded for raising or lowering the roller.

The Endless Band Calender (Fig. 155D) is in constant use ironing
body-linen, pocket handkerchiefs, and other small and plain articles.

[Illustration: 155D. Endless Band Calender.]

[Illustration: 155E. Collar Ironer.]

The _Collar Ironing Machine_ (Fig. 155E) is worked by a girl (as
in fact are all the previously mentioned ironing machines); it is
capable of ironing 90 to 100 dozen collars and cuffs per diem. It
is fitted with 2 rollers or cylinders--the bottom one (the feeder)
being of large diameter, and the top one, made of polished metal,
much smaller--and heated by gas mixed with air to produce perfect
combustion. The collars, taken straight from the starching machine,
are stretched upon a board, which is by an automatic arrangement
continually sliding backwards and forwards between the 2 rollers, the
pressure being regulated by means of a spiral spring. A very high
finish is imparted to the surface of the collars. This machine is
also made as a combined collar, cuff, and shirt-front ironer.

The “Pagoda” _Iron Heating Stove_ is placed on one side of the
ironing room; and on either side of it is fixed a “Radial” drying or
airing horse. The stove heats at one time 54 irons. The advantage
of the radial horse on each side of the stove is that the heat is
utilised for airing and stiffening the ironed articles, a large
quantity of which can be hung upon the radial arms.

In some steam laundries gas irons are now employed; where these are
used exclusively, it is necessary to provide a steam-heated airing
closet for airing and stiffening the finished work before it is taken
to the packing room.

The packing department (Fig. 155F) has on all sides convenient
latticed wooden racks or compartments, ranged in various sizes for
different sized washings, the name, address, and mark in coloured ink
(representing the coloured cotton mark on the goods) of each customer
being placed over each rack. Body-linen, shirts, collars, and finery
are all sorted in the racks, but house linen, which is of course much
heavier, is sorted on separate shelves, dresses and other starched
work being hung upon rails overhead, in close proximity to the racks
to which they belong.

[Illustration: 155F.]

In the centre of the room is a hot table or closet with open shelves,
in which is a steam coil. This is used for airing the house linen and
other things before they are sorted away. There is also round the
room and underneath the racking a steam coil for warming the room.
The linen is conveyed from room to room as required, by means of
clothes wagons and barrows running upon rubber tyred wheels.

On emerging from the packing room we found ourselves in the entrance
hall, immediately opposite the door leading to the sorting room,
showing that we had made a tour of the laundry, from one department
to the other, without going over any part of the ground twice. The
different doors we then noticed had each a name upon its outside,
as “sorting,” “receiving,” and “marking” room, next “general
wash-house,” next “ironing room,” and, upon the door through which we
had just passed, “packing and delivery room.”

The offices, private and general, are placed at the back of this
entrance hall, and command a view of the reception and dispatch of
all work and of the entrance or departure of visitors or workpeople.
A general sight is also obtained from here over the working
departments (with the exception of the private wash-house).

The building generally is lofty and well ventilated; and we were
pleased to note that the proprietors, in addition to having well
considered the arrangement of workrooms, have provided a spacious
dining and recreation room, fitted with cookery range and every
convenience for the use of the workpeople. This is on the first
floor, over the entrance hall.

_Public Institution Laundries._--Most of the large public
institutions, such as hospitals, workhouses, infirmaries, and asylums
throughout the country, are fitted with Bradford’s “Vowel” washing
machines, and for hospital purposes the washing compartments are made
of metal, and can be used for special cases where desirable.

One of the first important washing plants constructed by Messrs.
Bradford was fixed in the London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, London,
in 1867, and it is still working in this institution.

Architects and others interested in steam laundry apparatus will do
well to consult Messrs. Bradford & Co. when arranging their plans.




_THE SCHOOLROOM._


_The Room._--Provided that the room fulfil all the ordinary
conditions of sanitation, the foremost question then for decision is
the lighting of the room. As remarked by Dr. Power, the amount of
light, both day and artificial, supplied in schools is a matter of
great importance, for the feebler the light the closer is the object
instinctively brought to the observer to be recognised, and amongst
the various suggestions of a practical nature that have been made
is one by Hoffmann, of Wiesbaden, that in every schoolroom a set of
Snellen’s test types should be suspended, and as soon as they are no
longer legible by the healthy at a normal distance the school should
close. In school buildings the windows should, if possible, look to
the south or east, a much greater amount of light entering with equal
window space from those directions, especially in the earlier hours
of the day, than from the north, whilst type of a given size is read
at a much greater distance with south than with north light. Cohn
and Javal alike think that it is almost impossible to get too much
light in a schoolroom, the latter maintaining that there should be
sufficient light in the darkest part of the room to read easily and
well even on dark days. The size of the window must manifestly exert
a great influence upon the amount of light admitted, and Cohn has
laid down the rule that there should be at least 1 sq. ft. of window
pane for every 5 sq. ft. of flooring, and in some recent Parisian
models there is actually 1 ft. of window to each foot of flooring.
The height of the window from the floor is of importance, since a
room is always dark with high windows, owing to the obliquity of the
entering rays and the loss by reflection; the sill of the window
should not be lower than 1 ft. from the ground. The light should
enter from the left hand, since it enables the letter that has just
been formed in writing to be distinctly seen; whereas, if the light
enter from the right, the last written letters are in the dark. The
total area being the same, 3 windows are better than 2, for since the
illumination obtained from a given light diminishes as the square of
the distance, more light will be obtained in the remoter parts of the
room with 3 than with 2 lights.

_Desks and Benches._--The form of the desks and school furniture
is a point that has been almost entirely neglected in England. The
slope of the table is of importance. If a book be placed vertically
in front of us, we can see well, and no inclination of the head is
required. If it be placed at such an inclination as to form an angle
of 45° with the horizon, we can still, by turning the eyes down,
read well without inclining the head; but if the book is placed
horizontally, the head is naturally bent downwards to relieve the
exertion of turning the eyes strongly downwards, and this tends to
congest the vessels of the head. Hence the desk should be inclined,
and not flat; but an angle of 45° would be too much, the books, &c.,
would slide off. A rise of 2 in. for each 12 in. of table breadth is
sufficient. Fahrner considers that the first movement of the child in
leaving the normal position consists in inclining his head forward
and to the left, and that this apparently unimportant movement is the
root of the whole evil; for it in the first place causes the centre
of gravity of the head to fall in front of the vertebral column. The
muscles of the neck are consequently called into play; they soon,
however, become fatigued, and transfer the work to the muscles of the
back, and thus at the expiration of a few minutes the head sinks upon
the left arm, and the eyes are brought into very close proximity
with the paper. All physicians are now agreed that the desk should be
a little higher than the elbows when hanging naturally, and that the
size of the child should be taken into consideration.

The distance between the edge of the desk and the front edge of his
seat must be 0, or they must even somewhat overlap each other; the
difference in height between the bench and the desk must be as great
as the distance of the elbow from the bench when the arm is hanging
freely down 1 or 2¼ in.; every school bench must have a proper
back, which must not be the back of the desk behind. There is much
difference of opinion amongst high authorities as to the best form
of back, some preferring a high back, others a T-back of moderate
height, and others again a low back. The high back supports the
lower part of the dorsal region of the spine, and thus relieves the
lumbar (or loins) region of part of the superincumbent weight. The
moderately high T-back supports the sacrum or the lower lumbar
vertebræ, fixes the pelvis, and renders the sitting position one of
rest. The low back fits into the curvature of the loins, and fulfils
the purposes of both the other forms partially. It is the form which
is generally regarded as being the best. It is on the whole best that
each seat should have its own back, since with continuous backs,
overcrowding, which should be religiously avoided, may occur. The
back should be curved to suit the form of the body, and be firmly and
solidly constructed.

[Illustration: 156. Varrentrapp’s School Desk.]

The bench on which the scholar sits should be hollowed out
continuously with the back, and be either flat or a little raised
in front. Its breadth should be, in accordance with the size of the
child, 9-13¼ in. The height of the bench should be such that the knee
is bent at right angles to the well-supported and resting thigh, and
that the soles of the feet may be planted flat on the ground or on a
foot-board. The table-top must be broad enough to support books and
papers, and to allow them to be pushed forward so far that they do
not interfere with writing: 12½-15½ in. are the right dimensions. The
desk-top must, moreover, form an inclined plane; nothing conduces so
much to stooping as a flat desk. The limit is that the ink should
not flow back in the pen; but this is much too great, since books
and papers would slide off unless prevented by a raised edge at the
bottom of the desk, and such edges are objectionable, since they hurt
the arm in writing. An inclination of 2 in. in 12 is about right.
For reading, the desk inclination may be as steep as possible, but
this is not easy to manage in school desks. The height of the desk
is from a medical point of view secondarily determined as soon as
the height of the bench and the difference between the bench and the
desk is determined. If the feet are to rest on the ground, the height
of the desk will have to be different, according to the size of the
child, which may be inconvenient to the teacher. The difficulty may
be overcome by having a movable latticework for the feet to rest on.
The desk lastly should be sufficiently broad (19½-23½ in.) for each
child. Arrangements require to be made to allow of standing as well
as sitting. A typical form (Varrentrapp’s) of school desk and seat is
shown in Fig. 156. The dotted lines of the seat give the position and
dimensions suitable for older scholars. The distances _a b_ (14 in.)
and _c b_ (2¾ in.) remain the same for all children; the difference
_b d_ is slightly increased with the age.

_Type of Books._--Much attention has lately been directed to various
points in printing, shown to exert an influence on the vision.
First, in regard to the letters themselves. No one can compare the
Gothic with the modern Roman letters without being struck with the
superior legibility of the Roman type. The flourishes of some of the
letters, the close similarity to one another of others, as of the “h”
and “k,” the “f” and “s,” the “u” and the “n,” all render a closer
examination of the print requisite in the one case than in the other.
Javal, to whom we are indebted for much interesting observation on
this subject, says that the increased number of myopes (shortsighted
persons) noticed in Elsass since the annexation consequent on the war
of 1870 is due to the introduction of German type and writing into
that province. Weber considers that the absence of fine upstrokes
in the Roman form of type is a distinct advantage, and, further,
that the arched, instead of the pointed, shape of the letters in the
Roman type renders them more easy to read, and therefore require less
earnest fixation. Weber maintains that a child 8 years of age who has
read and worked with Latin or Roman type for 3 months is in advance
of a child who has read the Gothic type for 2 years. The size of the
short letters, such as “m” or “n,” should not be less than 1·5 mm.
and the interspaces between two words should be somewhat greater, 2
mm. or 2·5 mm. It is considered that letters smaller than this are
injurious. The leader of the _Times_ has a height of short letters of
this size, and that is a very legible print to the ordinary eye at a
distance of 12-15 in., while much smaller type can be seen.

Other conditions deserve attention, and amongst them may be mentioned
quality of paper, character of type, excellence of impression. Now
and again the fount of type of one of our daily newspapers gets
worn out, and every one is aware of the unpleasant effects that are
produced by impressions of letters which are partly imperfect--when,
for example, _c_ cannot be distinguished from _o_ or from _e_, when
_t_ and _l_ become confused, and the rounds of _a_, _b_, _d_, _g_,
and _p_ become filled with ink. Such imperfections are greatly
increased by roughnesses and inequalities of the paper, and it is
only requisite to read a page or two of one of the cheap editions
of a popular author and then a page or two of an edition de luxe to
appreciate the influence of paper and printing. The introduction
of pictures is of decided advantage, since they both excite the
attention and relieve the eye.

Brudenell Carter advises, in the case of every child whose vision
is subnormal, to ascertain the cause and nature of the defect, and
to regulate not only the studies, but also, as far as possible, the
future career, in accordance with it. He would urge that the vision
of every new pupil should be tested, and that the tasks required
should be controlled in accordance with its capabilities; that all
lesson books for very young children be printed in large type, and
that the children be compelled to keep such books at a distance (the
type in which we often see texts of Scripture printed to be hung
up in railway waiting-rooms would be a good size for the purpose);
that many of the school-books now in use should be abandoned, and
that new editions should be prepared, in type of at least twice the
size, and twice the legibility (the latter depending much upon the
shape and design of the letters) of that now in use. It would be
useful, especially in cases where there is hereditary tendency to
shortsightedness, to teach by means of long slips or wall texts with
a picture at the head, sold by most stationers. The child should be
placed with his back to the light, and at a distance of 4-6 ft. from
the slip, the separate letters of which, as well as the details of
the picture, may be indicated by the teacher with a light wand.

_Writing._--Writing has a powerful influence in inducing
shortsightedness. Cohn has made the sensible suggestion that
stenography (shorthand) should be introduced into schools a little
above the lowest classes. The size of the type or symbols is, it is
acknowledged, smaller than that of ordinary writing, but not smaller
than the Greek. The acquirement of the art is easy, and the saving of
time is very great.

The question of the advisability of using slates for instruction
in writing has been considered, and developed some difference of
opinion. With the same amount of light and an equal degree of
sharpness of vision, letters of the same size written with ink and
with slate pencil are seen, the former at a distance of 4 ft., the
latter at only 3 ft., even when the unpleasant reflex from the
slate is avoided. Weber thinks that many of the difficulties and
troubles occasioned by writing are the same, whether slate-pencil,
lead-pencil, or pen and ink be used; but still thinks it desirable
that after the first half-year pen and ink should be preferred. Cohn
agrees with Horner, but suggests the employment of white artificial
tablets, made by Emanuel Thieben, of Pilsen, which can be written
upon with lead-pencil, and which he has found to be so far superior
to slate that writing which can be read at 6 yd. on the white slab
can only be read at 5 yd. on slate.

Writing is done with the least strain when the copy-book is tilted
towards the left; when the child is compelled to write with the
book parallel to the edge of the desk, he brings the base line
perpendicular to the down-strokes by turning his head towards the
right and twisting his spine. This contortion brings the eyes nearer
to the page, and the left eye nearer to it than the right. In a
discussion on this subject at the meeting of the Ophthalmic Society,
at Heidelberg, Laqueur and Manz favoured the slanting system of
writing with an oblique position of the book, on the ground that it
throws the work more on the flexor muscles of the forearm, which are
naturally stronger than the extensors, and Berlin dwelt upon the fact
that this system admits of greater rapidity of execution.

_Mental Training._--The object of the teacher is to teach to think.
The pupil thinks enough, but he thinks loosely, incoherently,
indefinitely, and vaguely. He expends power enough on his mental
work, but it is poorly applied. The teacher points out to him these
indefinite or incoherent results, and demands logical statements of
him. Here is the positive advantage the teacher is to the pupil. The
prevailing habit of slovenly reading is largely due to the slovenly
way in which children are taught to read at school. Be very careful
about this; teach scholars to read with precision and understanding,
thinking of every word, getting the sense of each sentence, and
grasping the full meaning of any piece that may be before them.

There can be no greater mistake than to imagine that all children
develop at the same rate during the corresponding years of their
existence. In a group or class of children, each of whom is 11 years
old, there will be many shades of difference of development. It
follows, therefore, that the drawing of a hard and fast line as to
acquisitions appropriate to any special year of a child’s life is a
mistake both from an educational and from a medical point of view.

To urge a child to great mental exertion while it is passing through
a period of bodily growth is to put an undue strain upon its powers.
A dull child will be rendered more dull and hopeless because it
cannot perform its task, and the urging to exertion may produce
nothing but a sullen resistance to authority. An eager, docile child
will respond to the impulse, and will exert itself beyond its powers;
and then an exhaustion will follow which may permanently injure both
bodily and mental health. It would, however, be unwise to conclude
that, because a child is unable to make great mental exertion while
growing, it is not to be required to make any exertion at all.

If an adult can apply himself to the acquisition of knowledge in one
direction for only 1 hour (and how much longer can an audience listen
to a lecture?), the child can evidently do very much less. At the
ages of 5 to 7 he can attend to one subject--a single lesson--for
15 minutes; a child from 7 to 10 years of age, about 20 minutes;
from 10 to 12 years, about 25 minutes; from 12 to 18 years, about 30
minutes. (Chadwick.) Hence great care is demanded to avoid engaging
the brains of pupils in work for more than very short periods, and
to provide intervals during which there may be rest of the centres
specially taxed. Much may be done by changing the kind of work
frequently. No growing child should be kept longer than ½-¾ hour
at even the same description of work. Again, the great centres of
relation should not be overtaxed. Vision, hearing, the speech
centre, and the centre specially concerned with written language,
whether in writing or reading, should not be wearied. Brain weariness
is the first indication of exhaustion. The faculty of “attention”
is perhaps one of the most easily vulnerable of all the parts or
properties of brain-function. It is the faculty which most readily
becomes permanently enfeebled, and, when weakened, entails most
trouble in adult life. In children it is difficult to catch and fix
the attention. No effort should be spared to secure this fixity of
thought; but in order to avoid weakening the power of “thinking” as
distinguished from “thought-drifting,” the teacher should not strive,
or desire, to hold the attention by any effort on his part longer
than it is voluntarily given by the child--the slightest indication
of exhaustion should at once be met by a change of task. If these
hints, general as they are, can be reduced to practice, there is
little fear of “overwork” or harm from brain activity. Desultory
and insufficient work is more to be feared by far than “overwork,”
because the brain, like every other part of the organism, grows as it
feeds, and it can only feed as it works. (_Lancet._)

Children, especially at the age of 10-17, should not be over-taxed,
and girls in particular should not be pressed to work at periods
when they are naturally languid and exhausted. The work to be done
should be mainly done in school; night-work and night-lessons should
be short. Nor should children be made to do much work in the morning
before breakfast, nor immediately after food. The books given to
young children ought to be light to hold in the hand; the paper
should be clean, white, and smooth. The letters should be large in
proportion to the youth of the child, well formed, and well printed.
The spaces between the lines and the interspaces of the words should
be relatively wide. The lines should not be too long. The light
should be abundant, and should enter from the left. In writing he
should sit upright and square to the desk. The desk itself should be
inclined, and there should be a due proportion between the height
of the desk and the bench or stool on which the child is sitting.
Reading small print by a dim light is to be discountenanced, and
reading should not be permitted in bed. The work given to girls to
learn sewing should not be too fine, and no black work should be
given, especially at night.

How vastly would the world benefit if the hours wasted on Bible
history, dead languages, and higher mathematics (except for special
objects, of course), were given to modern languages and useful (as
distinguished from pure) science. How many “educated” men know a word
of French or German, or a score of the physical facts which govern
our existence, or anything about the structure of their own bodies,
or of the names, properties, and uses of our native plants?

The work performed by girls, especially when young, is not beneath
the attention of the surgeon. There cannot be a doubt that every girl
should be taught the use of the needle and thread; but it is by no
means necessary that the work which is put into their hands should be
of a nature to make a severe strain upon their eyes. That such strain
applied to the eyes in this particular way is injurious is well known
from the effects of lace-making in Belgium and France, which is
admitted on all hands to seriously impair the vision of many workers
annually. In moderately fine calico there are about 72 threads to
the inch; and if two of these are taken up at every stitch, the work
is done to 1/36 in., which is even so very small. But finer kinds
of cambric run to 150 or more to the inch, and must be very trying
to the eye. Weber observes:--“Who need trouble himself about a girl
learning to knit a stocking requiring 35,000 or even 60,000 loops,
when the whole article can be finished by machine work in an hour
or two?” But, as Cohn remarks, if the girl is, instead of knitting
stockings, occupied with Greek characters or conic sections, she is
not much better off. On the whole, it appears that no child should
be given work to do which requires to be held closer to the eye than
1 ft., and with this all due care should be taken in regard to light
and other particulars.

The special culture of the senses is too much neglected in modern
busy life. Probably at no previous period of human history has
the nervous system generally, and more particularly, have the
sense-organs been so severely taxed as they are now, but never
have they been less carefully cultivated. This is, in part, if not
wholly the cause of the progressive degeneracy of the faculties of
special-sense which is evidenced by the increasing frequency of
the recourse to spectacles, ear-trumpets, and the like apparatus,
designed to aid the sense-organs. The mere use of faculties will
not develop strength--it is more likely to exhaust energy. Special
training is required, and this essential element of education
is wholly neglected in our schools, with the result we daily
witness--namely, early weakness or defect in the organs by which the
consciousness is brought into relation with the outer world. It is
not necessary to adduce proofs, or to argue at length or in detail.
The truth of the proposition laid down is self-evident. On the one
hand we see the neglect of training, and on the other the increasing
defect of sense-power. The matter is well worthy of the attention
of the professional educators of youth. Muscular exercise wisely
regulated and apportioned to the bodily strength is felt to be a part
of education. Sense-culture, by appropriate exercises in seeing,
hearing, touching, smelling, would, if commenced sufficiently early
in life, not merely prevent weakness of sight, deafness, loss of the
sense of feeling, and impairment of the sense of smell, long before
old age; but by its reflected influence on the nutrition of the brain
and upper portion of the spinal cord, would do much to reduce the
growing tendency to paralytic diseases, which are very decidedly on
the increase. (_Lancet._)

_Physical Comfort and Training._--Attention should be directed more
than at present to the physical side of school life in its relations
to the ordinary bodily wants and processes. Many children suffer much
from a fear or dislike of asking for temporary leave of absence from
their classes. They suffer pain, and often cause serious illness,
by this somewhat natural aversion to “asking out.” Foolish teachers
have sharply reproved pupils because they appeared to demand absence
from the class-room too frequently. The teacher evidently imagined
there was some attempt at malingering; whereas the pupil was really
in pain, suffering from an irritable digestive system, which demanded
rest. Such pupils should not be sent to school, it is true; but
if they are allowed to take their place in a class, they should
not be treated as if their demands were dictated by foolishness or
frivolity. The wise teacher is one who, seeing a pupil evidently
suffering, will investigate the cause of the discomfort, and set the
child’s mind and body at rest. Education under physical suffering is,
at its best, the merest farce. You need not be prudish; nor fear any
rebuke from common sense, when you think that children have bodies
which, as well as minds, are placed temporarily under the teacher’s
care. (Wakeham.)

There is a risk at the present day that the claims of intellectual
education, which are being so strongly put forward, may have the
effect of postponing, or causing to be neglected, the care and
cultivation of the bodily powers. In some respects we have rushed
from a state in which too little care was given to mental development
into one where intellectual work predominates. Children must have
several hours’ play daily in the open air; this is much better than
calisthenics or gymnastics for the generality of children; and girls
should be allowed to play as vigorously as boys do.

One exercise which will give permanent strength, which will build up
healthy bodies for girls and ultimately for women, is the swimming
bath, which brings into play all the muscles of the body; another
is the gymnastic class, where, in suitable dresses and under the
direction of competent instructors, exercises fitted for the strength
of girls are set for them to do; and a third is the playground, where
such games as fives, rackets, and lawn tennis give amusement and
ample exercise. The benefits arising from trained muscular activity
are not confined to development of the muscles of the arms and legs,
but all the functions of nutrition of the body are helped to become
effective by means of exercise. Much of the weakness and suffering of
women would be spared if early physical training had been allowed to
them.

_Punishments._--Such brutal punishments as boxing the ears, pulling
the ears, knocking heads together, rapping knuckles with rulers,
&c., belong to a past ignorant age. For corporal punishment nature
has provided a muscular cushion on which the cane may be applied
without fear of serious consequences. “Impositions” mean ruin to the
handwriting, and being closeted in the foul air of the class-rooms
during hours that ought to be spent in getting fresh air. Double
tasks are a still worse form of the same evil. The plan of “keeping
in” boys for breaches of school discipline is objectionable, and it
is infinitely better to require some loss of recreation time in more
healthy ways. In large public schools, where the drill-sergeant is an
institution, there will probably be found no more efficacious mode of
dealing with forgetfulness and petty turbulences than by calling in
the aid of this functionary, who exercises a wholesome influence over
the boys, and inflicts punishments without impairing their physical
condition in any way, while at the same time lending “tone” to their
bodily exercises.

_Foreign Schools._--The only good to be gained by sending children
to foreign schools is acquiring facility in speaking foreign
languages, with more chance of good accent than can be usually
gained at home. Against this there are many things to set off; and
even this advantage itself is often rendered nugatory by one or two
circumstances. In a school where there are many English children
there is very often as much English spoken as French or German--there
are schools in which an idle child might speak English all day long,
and in which the well-paying “Anglais” is not brought too sharply to
task for faults of omission. Again, the acquisition of good accent is
a matter of ear, and no amount of hearing others speak well will make
a child who has no imitative power reproduce an accent with purity.
Scotch or Irish children in English schools do not always lose their
distinctive accent, nor do Lancashire and Yorkshire tongues always
lose their special characteristics. The advantages of foreign schools
are thus shown to be less than they at first seem to be.

But there are also positive disadvantages; and one of the most
evident and most disastrous in its results, as far as the health is
concerned, is that, in matters of food and of arrangements conducive
to health, the ways of foreigners are not our ways. English children,
brought up to the age of 15 or 16 upon English meat and bread, with
plenty of both, cannot accommodate themselves to the diet which
suffices for Frenchmen or Germans; and English children in foreign
schools not unfrequently know what it is to be hungry from sheer
inability to obtain a sufficiently nutritive meal. Many instances
have occurred in which long and troublesome illnesses have been
distinctly traceable to living in schools abroad, and others in which
a life has been cut short through the same agency.

A few words must be said as to the comparative uncertainty regarding
the kind of agencies which may be brought to bear in the moral
training of a girl, and the little power which a parent has of
ascertaining the real nature of these in a foreign, especially a
French school. Nor again, is it to be forgotten that, for those
parents who are desirous that their children should receive religious
training, and should not lose their hold of home habits in that
important matter, there are innumerable anxieties in store in sending
children abroad.

For those who desire to give their children the advantages of foreign
education, there are only two really good courses open. One of these
is to establish the home abroad for a certain time. In that case the
children are under home influence as to training, are under home care
as to food, cleanliness, and personal habits, and do not form a set
of associations distinct from those of other members of the family.
If the family life is considered important, and if it is desired that
the children should early acquire a knowledge of foreign languages,
this is the most advisable plan. In case this is not possible, it
would be advisable to postpone the foreign residence until girls have
reached maturer years--till they have sense to look after themselves,
and until their characters are somewhat formed. There would be then
the additional advantage that home ties would be strong enough to
resist the weakening influence of living apart from the rest of
the family, the foundations of a good English education (too often
entirely neglected in the cases of those reared in foreign schools)
might have been securely laid; and, what is perhaps not the least
recommendation, the children themselves would have their minds more
advanced, and would be more intelligent and ready recipients of the
instruction given to them. (_Queen._)


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

John H. Howard: ‘Gymnasts and Gymnastics.’ London, 1873.

C. Löfving: ‘Home Gymnastics, for the preservation and restoration
of health in children and young and old people of both sexes, with a
short method of acquiring the art of Swimming.’ London, 1883. 1_s._

Archibald Maclaren: ‘A System of Physical Education, theoretical and
practical.’ Oxford, 1869. 7_s._ 6_d._




_THE PLAYGROUND._

_Aim of Exercise._--The aim of exercise is not solely to _work_
the organism which is thrown into activity, though that is a very
important part of the object in view, because as the living body
works it feeds, and as it feeds it is replenished; but there is
another purpose, and that is to call into action and stimulate the
_faculty of recuperation_. Those who believe in the existence of
a special system, or series, of trophic nerves, will not object
to this designation of the recuperative function as a separate
“faculty,” and those who believe nutrition to be effected in and by
the ordinary innervation will recognise the sense in which we employ
the terms in italics. It is through defect or deficiency in the
vigour of this faculty that unaccustomed feats of strength, whether
of mind or muscle, are exhausting. The task is performed, but the
underlying faculty of restorative energy, or power of recuperative
nutrition, located in the particular part exceptionally exercised,
is not in a condition to respond to the unusual call made upon it.
When a man goes into training, or, which is practically the same
thing, when he habituates himself to the performance of a special
class of work, he so develops this recuperative power or function
that the repair or replenishing necessary to restore the integrity,
and replace the strength of the tissue “used up” in the exercise,
is instantly performed. The difference between being accustomed to
exercise and able to work “without feeling it,” and being barely able
to accomplish a special task, and having it “taken out” of one by
the exploit, whether mental or physical, is the difference between
possessing the power of rapid repair by nutrition, and not having
that power in working order--so that some time must elapse before
recovery takes place, and during the interval there will be “fatigue”
and more or less exhaustion. The practical value of a recognition of
this commonplace fact in physiology will be found in the guidance it
affords as to the best and most direct way of developing the power or
faculty of recuperation by exercise. Many persons make the mistake of
doing too much. Exercise with a view to recuperation should never so
much exceed the capacity of the recuperative faculty as to prostrate
the nervous energy. The work done ought not to produce any great
sense of fatigue. If “exhaustion” be experienced, the exercise has
been excessive in amount. The best plan to pursue is to begin with
a very moderate amount of work, continued during a brief period,
and to make the length of the interval between the cessation of the
exercise and the recovery of a feeling of “freshness” the guide as
to the increase of exercise. We do not mean that false sense of
revival which is sometimes derived from the recourse to stimulants,
but genuine recovery after a brief period of rest and the use of
plain nutritious food. If this very simple rule were carried into
practice by those who desire “to grow strong,” there would be less
disappointment, and a generally better result, than often attends the
endeavour to profit by exercise unintelligently employed. (_Lancet._)

_Training._--There are few subjects on which it is more difficult to
lay down exact laws than that of training, and yet, notwithstanding
this, there is no lack of books by writers who profess to be
thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the course an athlete must
go through in order to be at his best. Nearly every writer agrees as
to the end to be obtained by training. As to how this end is to be
obtained, however, these doctors sadly disagree. For instance, one
author says, very properly, that the harder a man works physically
the more food he requires. “Amator,” on the other hand, lays down
this law, “the less food, the more work.” In books a regular dietary
is laid down for the man in training, in which some kinds of food are
recommended and others condemned. These vary so much, that were the
unfortunate athlete to avoid everything that he is warned against,
he would be more likely to die of starvation than to win a race.
It is quite impossible to lay down exact rules for everybody. No
two men are of the same physique or temperament, and no one but an
experienced trainer who has his eye continually on his man, can tell
him what to eat and drink, or what exercise to take. A book of the
kind cannot be perfect; but the best we have yet come across is that
published at the _Sportsman_ office. We can recommend it to those who
cannot secure a really good trainer. Such men are rare; but a month
or two under the care of a man who really understands his business
will do more for a beginner than all the books ever published.
Experienced trainers like Bob Rogers, Nat. Perry, or Jack White,
can tell at a glance whether a man wants hard or light exercise, or
whether he ought to put on flesh, or the contrary. These are subjects
that books are powerless upon, and with which no athlete can be
familiar till he has had considerable experience. (_Field._)

_Regulation of Exercise._--Dr. Cathcart gives the following rules
for the regulation of physical exercise. (1) It should be conducted
in an abundance of fresh air, and in costumes allowing free play
to the lungs, and of a material which will absorb the moisture,
and which, therefore, should be afterwards changed--flannel. (2)
There should always be a pleasant variety in the exercise, and an
active mental stimulus, to give interest at the same time. (3) The
exercises should, as far as possible, involve all parts of the body
and both sides equally. (4) When severe in character, the exercises
should be begun gradually and pursued systematically, leaving off
at first as soon as fatigue is felt; and when any real delicacy of
constitution exists, the exercise should be regulated under medical
advice. (5) For young people the times of physical and mental work
should alternate, and for the former the best part of the day should
be selected. (6) Active exertion should be neither immediately before
nor immediately after a full meal.

A fact of paramount importance is to bear in mind that exercise
demands an _abundance of fresh air_, without which it is injurious.
The same man who when naked is capable of inspiring (taking in)
196 cub. in. of air at a breath, can only inspire 130 cub. in.
when dressed. Dr. Parkes points out that during exercise, whether
directly involving the use of the shoulders or not, the lungs should
have the freest possible play; therefore there should be no tightly
contracting garments round the chest which would interfere with
its expansion, and thus tend to neutralise the very benefit it is
destined to bestow; and it follows further from this, that where
exercise has to be taken in such ill-designed garments, the amount
of work done must be in proportion diminished. Hence the miscalled
“constitutional” walk is about the worst form of exercise (next to
dancing), and deserving of actual condemnation, except in the case
of people whose age precludes their enjoying any outdoor game; it
is very apt to become monotonous, can never be really enlivening,
often is reduced to a crawl, is liable to be interrupted by meeting
friends (when chills are easily caught), and always entails wearing
the least suitable garments. Running, on the other hand, when dressed
in athletic costume, is one of the best forms of exercise and an
essential accompaniment of our most popular outdoor games. Among
the means which nature has bestowed on animals in general for the
preservation and enjoyment of life, running is the most important.
Since, then, it is pointed out to us by nature, it must be in a high
degree innocent.

Negroes and Indians in a state of nature run daily in pursuit of
game for food with a facility at which we are astonished, but they
are not more liable to consumption on this account than those beasts
that are so famed for swiftness. The body of no animal seems better
adapted to running than man’s. The nobler parts, which might be
injured by an immoderate reflux of blood, are uppermost, and the
laws of gravitation assist in propelling the runner forward. He has
little to do but to strengthen his limbs by practice and concentrate
his mind on the effort, and there is nothing severe in this, as
experience has shown. Indeed, running may be made very beneficial
to the lungs, and perhaps there is nothing better calculated to
strengthen these organs, in those who are shortwinded, than gradual,
careful training in running. It should only be practised in cool
weather. The clothing should be light, the head bare, and the neck
uncovered. As soon as the exercise is finished, warm clothing should
be put on and gentle exercise continued for some time. It is not
necessary to have a race-course. The teacher of a school may take
his pupils into the fields and find suitable ground for them. Care
must be taken not to overdo, and thus, perhaps for life, weaken or
injure the heart. The race, at first, should be short and frequently
repeated, rather than long, and full speed should not be attempted
for some time. Running is well adapted to young and middle-aged
persons, but not to those who are fat. Sedentary persons may find
great benefit in it after the day’s work. If they live in cities, a
quiet spot may be selected, and short trials adapted to the strength
entered into. Invalids may do the same thing, only they must be more
careful than the robust never to over-exert themselves. Girls may
run as well as boys, from 10 to 12 years of age. After puberty, the
change in the formation of the bones of the pelvis in girls renders
running less easy and graceful. The modern style of dress for girls
after puberty is also entirely unsuited to running.


=Games.=--It would be impossible here to enter into a description of
all our outdoor games, nor is it necessary to do so. The following
remarks embody information which cannot readily be found elsewhere,
and which is therefore more useful than would be a repetition of the
already well-known rules of the chief games.

[Illustration: 157. Badminton Court. 158. Badminton Net.]

_Badminton._--A level bit of turf is the most pleasant ground, though
any level surface will do. The dimensions may be varied according
to the number playing on each side, and to whether a shuttlecock or
a ball is used, the latter not requiring so small a ground as the
former. The sizes recommended vary from 40 ft. long by 20 ft. broad,
to 30 ft. long by 15 ft. broad. The ground is divided into courts, as
in Fig. 157, which represents the full-size.

The boundaries should be clearly defined by a white line; chalk
or whiting and water, laid on with a straight-edge and brush,
makes the best line. At the spots marked “pole,” which are just
half-way from the boundaries taken lengthways, and 2½ ft. within
the boundary measured across, poles should be erected, about 7
ft. high, to hang the net to. This, of course, is for the outdoor
game; indoors, the net may be suspended from nails, or hung to any
convenient projection. The net should be tightly stretched across
from pole to pole, at a height of 5 ft. from the ground. The depth
of the net varies from 9 in. to 3 ft., but the best is a medium
depth, 12-15 in. The poles should be supported with guy ropes. When
the net and poles are fixed, they present the appearance shown in
Fig 158. If shuttlecocks are used, the ordinary toy ones do very
well for indoors; but for outdoors a loaded shuttlecock is not so
much disturbed by the wind, and can be made to fly farther. Common
battledores will answer indoors; for outdoor games small racquet
bats are preferred, about 2 ft. long, with a widish face, and rather
more elliptical in the handle than the full-sized bat. Balls for the
outdoor game should be made of hollow indiarubber, about the size of
a tennis ball.

The outdoor game by 4 persons, played with a ball, is with slight
modifications the same as lawn tennis. The courts being marked out,
the players take their stand one in each court, and toss for first
“service.” The player winning the toss has choice of courts, and
places himself in the right-hand court of his side and serves first.
Serving is done by holding the ball in the left hand, the bat in
the right, and then, when in the act of dropping the ball from the
hand, but without allowing it to touch the ground, driving it with
the bat diagonally clean over the net into the opposite right-hand
court. When serving, the player may stand in any part of his court
he pleases, but he must have both feet within the boundary line.
The “servee” (i.e. the player served), who stands in the opposite
right-hand court, has to “take the service,” i.e. he has to hit
the ball back clean over the net, either before it touches the
ground or on its first bound. If he succeeds in doing either, his
adversaries have to return the ball again, clean over the net, and so
on alternately forwards and backwards until one side fails to comply
with the necessary conditions, when that round is over, and certain
scores accrue, as will be explained. After the first service in each
round, no distinction is made between right and left courts, nor as
to the player who may take the ball. On the first return the ball may
be sent into either court of the opposite side, and taken by either
player of that side, and so on in all subsequent returns of that
round.

If the ball touches the boundary line, it is out of the court. If
the conditions are complied with, it is a “good” service, and if the
servee fails to return the ball clean over the net, the server’s
side scores one point, called an “ace.” If the conditions are not
complied with, and the servee takes or attempts to take the serve,
it counts as a good service. But if the server does not comply with
the conditions, and the servee does not attempt to take the serve,
the server’s “hand is out.” There is, however, one exception to this,
viz. if the ball falls on the neutral ground short of the court, in
which case it is a “let”--that is, the server is let or allowed to
have another serve. Two consecutive lets put the server’s hand out.
Some players consider it a let if the ball is served into the wrong
court. This is perhaps the best rule for beginners, but for more
experienced performers serving into the wrong court should put the
server’s hand out. The server’s hand is also out if after the first
return either he or his partner fails to return the ball again clean
over the net by hitting it once only, or returns it so that it does
not fall into one of the opposite courts. If, however, the opponents
attempt to return the ball, notwithstanding that it falls out of the
court, the return is “good,” and it counts just the same as though
the ball had fallen within the court.

When the server’s hand is out, the opponents commence serving from
their right-hand court. This rule only applies to the first service
in every game, and for this reason: It is a considerable advantage to
serve first, as skilful players serve in such a manner as to render
it difficult for the opponent to take the service. Also the side
serving cannot lose an ace until their hand is out, and the opponents
have the serve. If, as before remarked, the servee’s side fail to
take a good service, or to return the ball clean over the net at any
subsequent stroke by hitting it once only, they lose an ace. The
original server then serves again, but this time from the left-hand
court, and so on alternately, and his side scores an ace each time
the opponents fail to return a good service clean over the net, and
so that it falls into one of the opposite courts. After the first
service in each game, the side which serves has “two hands in,” i.e.
as soon as the server’s hand is out, his partner serves as before. He
commences to serve from the right or left hand court as the case may
be, following the rule of changing courts after every service. Thus,
A served last from the right court; A’s hand is now out; B (A’s
partner) now serves from the left court into the opposite left court,
and so on alternately until B’s hand is out, when both hands being
out, the right of serving goes to the opponents, who commence serving
from the right-hand court of their side; the player who originally
stood in that court serving first to the player who originally stood
in the diagonally opposite court. Once in the game the players
may change courts for the purpose of taking serves; thus A (right
court) serves to C (opposite right court). A’s hand is put out,
and presently A’s side are hand in again. When this happens A must
commence the round of his side by serving from his right court to C
in the opposite right court, but once in the game C and D (partners)
may change courts to take the service, when A would serve to D
instead of to C. The game proceeds thus until one side gains 15 aces,
when the game is won by that side. If the game arrives at 13-all it
may be “set” to 5-all, or at 14-all it may be set to 3-all. After a
set, the game continues until one side scores 5 or 3, as the case may
be. After a game, the sides change courts. A match or rubber is the
best of 3 games.

_Cricket._ Forming a Ground.--The field should be as near level
as possible; a fall of 1 in. to the yd. is not an insurmountable
objection; 240 yd. each way is a nice size. In the centre of this
there must be at least 42 yd. square of drained or naturally dry
land, laid nearly level, and, if possible, of poor, tough, and
wiry grass and sod. This piece should be highest in the centre,
and with a fall of ½ in. in the yd. all round, that the ground may
dry quicker after rain. With a dry subsoil, you can at once make
a cricket ground, without the expense of any drainage. If an open
loose subsoil, sand, gravel, peat, and wet, it must be made dry;
in subsoils of this kind one deep and large drain will frequently
effectually cure a large field. Until the subsoil is dry you cannot
put soil and sod on it that will be good and safe to play cricket
upon. As to clay subsoil, there is no other way to dry this kind of
ground except by drainage. Drains must be near together, and deep
enough to take away the water sufficiently low down to prevent the
earth from sucking it up to the surface: 3 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. deep,
and 4-5 yd. apart, 3 in. tiles, and a fall of not less than ½ in.
to the yd., will make this subsoil dry enough to put on a cricket
surface. These drains should be filled with broken stone, coarse
gravel, or rough cinders to within 12-18 in. of the surface of the
ground. The tiles of main drain should be larger than the 3 in. pipes
of which branch drains are made, and larger in proportion to the
number of branches it has to receive. The opposite ends of branch
drains to the main drain should be connected by an air drain, one
end of which should be open to the air; for in dry weather, when
drains are making no water, a draught of air through and under the
ground may cause the seams in the ground to open and crack, and so
prepare it for more effectual and quick drainage when wet weather
comes. The first thing to be done is to take up the sod: 1½ in. is
about the thickness. Wheel them to one side of the piece you intend
to take up, and stack them 5 or 6 cartloads together; this presses
them, and causes the old rough coarse grass to rot off. When the sods
are off is the best time to drain. If chalk is handy, it is the best
possible foundation. Not more than 1½-2 in. of mould is required
between the turf and the chalk; or dig out some 6-7 in. of the soil,
and replace with cinder-ashes procured from a furnace, if chalk
cannot be obtained. Pass the ashes through a coarse riddle, and put
the rough at the bottom, the fine at the top, ramming it well down;
return the sod, and make firm by rolling with the heaviest roller at
command--daily rolling for an hour or two; mow when necessary, and
that by a machine.

Renovating a Ground.--Before applying any stimulant to encourage
growth, first of all get the bare patches filled up with plants of
the finest kinds of grass. For 70 yd. by 40, 1 bush. fine lawn grass
mixture, obtained from some trustworthy seed establishment, should
be sown at once and covered with finely sifted soil of a gritty
character, such as road scrapings; when dry enough, run a light
roller over it, and repeat the rolling frequently. As soon as the
young seedling grasses appear, a dressing of soot and lime should be
given to keep slugs in check, and also to act as a stimulant. When
the young grass gets any way long, it should be cut with a scythe;
the mowing machine should not be used until it has become well
established, and sheep be kept off during periods of drought. After
many years’ wear and tear it would be advisable to relay the ground
with fresh turf, for when once it begins to get patchy and worn,
any other remedial measures are seldom entirely satisfactory. Guano
sown during showery weather, about 2 lb. mixed with wood ashes, and
sprinkled evenly over the surface, will impart verdure to the grass
and otherwise help it, for where it is kept closely mown, the soil
soon gets exhausted.

Playing on Coconut Matting.--The matting must be well stretched and
pegged down lightly; spikes will be found to damage the matting and
trip up the wearer. The thing to see to is that the ground (whatever
it be) below the matting is quite smooth, as, if there are any
inequalities in it, the ball will bump off the matting just as it
would off an ordinary pitch. In India they remove what grass there
is, so as to have a perfectly smooth surface; this is watered and
rolled and kept hard, and on it the mat is pegged down. The result is
a very good and fast pitch.

_Football._ Association.--The following memoranda have been drawn up
by the committee of the Football Association for guidance.

(1) Calling attention to two points in Law 2 of the game--First, that
the kick-off must be in the direction of the opposite goal line, and,
therefore, all back kicking is illegal; and, secondly, that the other
side shall not approach within 10 yd. of the ball until it is kicked
off.

(2) Law 4 enacts that “a goal shall be won when the ball has passed
between the goal posts.” A goal, therefore, cannot be scored until
the whole ball has passed over the goal line. The ball is also in
play until the whole ball has passed over the touch line.

(3) Law 6 commences thus:--“When a player kicks the ball, or it is
thrown out of touch, any one of the same side who at such moment of
kicking or throwing is nearer to the opponents’ goal line is out of
play.” This is plain enough. All players of the same side as the
player kicking the ball are off-side if they are in front of but not
if they are behind the ball. If players would always remember that
when they are behind the ball, at the moment of kicking or throwing,
they cannot be off-side, but when they are in front of the ball they
are always liable to be off-side, it would simplify the reading of
this Rule very much.

Briefly then, (1) A player is always off-side if he is in front of
the ball at the time of kicking unless there are 3 or more of his
opponents nearer the goal line than himself. (2) A player is never
off-side if there are 3 or more of his opponents nearer their goal
line than himself at the moment the ball was last played. (3) A
player cannot be off-side if the ball was last played (i.e. touched,
kicked, or thrown) by one of his opponents or by one of his own side
who at the time of kicking is nearer his opponents’ goal than himself.

Law 6 further enacts that a player being off-side shall not in any
way whatever interfere with any other player.

(4) By Law 8 a goal-keeper “is allowed to use his hands in defence
of his goal.” The committee do not consider a goal-keeper to be in
defence of his own goal when he is in his opponents’ half of the
ground.

(5) Rule 11, which reads as follows, should be strictly carried out
by the umpires and referees in all matches. “No player shall wear any
nails, excepting such as have their heads driven in flush with the
leather, or iron plates, or gutta-percha on the soles or heels of his
boots or on his shin guards. Any player discovered infringing this
Rule shall be prohibited from taking further part in the game.”

The attention of referees is particularly called to the following new
Challenge Cup Rule, which should be rigidly enforced in all matches
in the competition. “If bars or studs on the soles of the boots are
used they shall not project more than ½ in., and shall have all
their fastenings driven in flush with the leather, and in no case
shall they be conical or pointed. Any infringement of this Rule shall
lead to the disqualification of the player, and the referee shall
prohibit him from taking any part in the game.” It is not necessary
for a referee to have an appeal made to him before putting this Rule
in force.

(6) Rule 13, “In the event of an appeal for any supposed infringement
of the Rules, the ball shall be in play until a decision has been
given.” Umpires should remember how very important it is for the
proper working of this Rule that their decisions should be given as
quickly as possible, and if a claim is made and one umpire allows
it, the referee, if he agrees with him, should instantly sound his
whistle, without waiting to ascertain the opinion of the other
umpire, it being understood that the umpires should allow an appeal
by holding up a stick, and the referee by sounding a whistle.

(7) A ball touching an umpire or referee is not dead.

(8) It is the duty of the referee to see that all free kicks,
kicks off from goal, and corner kicks are properly taken, and it
is not necessary for him to wait for an appeal in the event of any
infringement of the Rules referring to those points. In the case,
though, of a throw-in from touch, where a penalty is attached, an
appeal is necessary before he can give a decision.

(9) Umpires should bear in mind that it is entirely against the
spirit of the Rules to give any advice to or make any claim on behalf
of either side, and should be careful to ascertain that a claim is
made by one of the players and not by a spectator. Also that they are
bound to give a decision one way or the other when appealed to. In
cases where an umpire is so placed as to be doubtful about a claim,
he should decide in favour of the side appealed against.

Rugby.--The referee must not interfere except on an appeal to the
umpires otherwise than in the following cases, and then only on a
claim by the opposite side:--

(_a_) At “kick off,” when it shall be his duty to see that the
players on the side which has the “kick off” are not in front of the
ball when it is kicked off.

(_b_) At “kick out,” when it shall be his duty to see that the
kicker’s side are behind the ball when kicked out.

(_c_) In the case of a “fair catch,” when it shall be his duty to see
that the kicker’s side are behind the ball when it is kicked. In the
event of players (in his opinion) breaking the law on any of these
points, he shall, on a claim by the opposite side, order a scrummage
to be formed in the case of “kick off” in the centre of the ground,
and in case of “kick out” at a spot 23 yd. from the kicker’s goal
line, and equidistant from both the touch lines, and in the case of a
“fair catch” at the spot where the “fair catch” was made.

(_d_) In the case of a try at goal, if any of the defending side
charge before the ball touches the ground, he may, provided the
kicker has not taken his kick, on a claim by the opposite side,
disallow the charge.

When a player is down in a scrummage, and the referee considers it
dangerous for the game to proceed, it shall be his duty to order the
game to stop until he thinks the danger is over.

The ball is dead whenever it touches an umpire or referee, and a
scrummage shall be formed forthwith at the spot where the touching
occurs.

In the case of an appeal to an umpire play shall not cease pending a
decision.

A player who is off-side may, nevertheless, run until an opponent
actually has the ball, but must stop directly he has it.

[Illustration: 159. Hockey Field.]

_Hockey._--Fig. 159 shows the ground properly marked out. The lines
must be marked with white, as in lawn tennis, and not cut, as it
has been proved that the ball mis-bounds as it is dribbled past the
striking circle if the line has been cut in the turf.

The cricket ball must be painted white with ordinary oil paint.

A player is off-side unless there are 3 of his opponents nearer their
own goal line, and when off-side he must not prevent his opponent
in any way whatever from playing the ball. If, where a player is
off-side, the ball is hit by one of his own side, he is still
off-side, unless the players have moved sufficiently to place 3 of
his opponents between him and their goal line.

The ball must be played from right to left, but a player, by twisting
his stick so as to present the playing side of it to the ball, may
poke or hit the ball in any direction, except that when hitting
behind him it must pass to his left-hand side. If the ball passes
between his legs, and the right foot is on the ground, it is a fair
stroke.

_Lacrosse._--The following notes are taken from a couple of letters
which appeared in the _Field_ some time since.

Where the checking is patient and sure, the man who holds the ball,
instead of passing it on, merely delays the game for just so long
as he detains the ball; his chance of scoring is nil. When the ball
is thus held it is usually done by a player who is being kept by
a defence player some 30 yd. or more from the goal. Carrying his
crosse on the far side of him, he is endeavouring, by running in wide
circles and suddenly doubling back, &c., to get on the inside of the
checker, or to induce another opponent to molest him, and so leave
another of his side uncovered. This manœuvre in good matches is pure
waste of time. The checker simply moves with his man, keeping his eye
steadily on his body, and no more regarding the ball than if it were
not there. As the checker is inside the attacker, he is moving in
smaller circles, and so finds it very easy to keep between the latter
and the goal, whilst nothing is more remote than the possibility of
a second checker, who is looking after another home man, leaving
that man so long as the holder of the ball is taken care of. In the
end the ball is merely lobbed on the goal, as it might have been in
first instance, when a far greater chance would have existed of the
defenders being out of position. In lacrosse, all movements should be
as rapid and as unexpected as possible. Given the defenders all in
position, scoring becomes exceedingly difficult, and the defence show
their knowledge of this fact by their extreme reluctance to leave
their posts to follow roving opponents. The evil worked by the man
who holds the ball is in the fact that he gives the opposing defence
ample opportunity for quietly arranging themselves in position, and
when the ball does come it finds them prepared and cool, instead of
flustered by the rapidity of its arrival.

One cause of this phase of weak play is the want of confidence in
homes of their throwing power. In Canada, a home devotes himself
assiduously to the art of throwing the ball at express speed at goal
the instant it touches his crosse. If he be only 30 yd. from goal
he is able to put in a shot which will take some stopping. We are
not saying that, as they throw now, English homes should throw 25-30
yd., but that they should practise assiduously until they make their
shots dangerous at that distance. Any one desirous of perfecting his
throwing at goal can do so by the simple aid of a wall. Upon the wall
mark out a goal, and then, standing 25 yd. away, commence peppering,
the ball always being thrown as soon as possible after it is received
upon the crosse. Nothing could be more simple or satisfactory, as
the ball is always returned to the thrower by the rebound. It is
better to have 2 men throwing at once, as one can toss the ball
to the other, and so more nearly approach the conditions met with
in the field; whilst, of course, the instant the practice can be
obtained against a goal-keeper, the wall should be discarded. In thus
practising the thrower should be careful to make the ball pitch some
6 ft. in front of the goal. A ground shot, which touches only once,
and that a few feet only in front of the goal keeper, is the most
deadly.

The attack player’s task is far harder, since his object is not
attained unless he directs the ball at a space only 6 ft. square, and
that in such a manner as to elude the vigilance of a person stationed
there for the special purpose of guarding it. Of the defence men
pure and simple, i.e. the 3 men out from goal, point, cover-point,
and third man, it is only demanded that they shall throw the ball as
hard as they can to the other end of the field, so soon as they come
into possession of it. The more directly they can throw towards their
opponents’ goal the better undoubtedly; but, as a matter of fact, the
whole breadth of the field is open to them; and, if they throw wide,
they are not throwing a chance away, as is a man shooting at goal
and missing it, although they undoubtedly give the homes a lot of
unnecessary work.

Yet, simple as this feat of getting rid of the ball to some kind
of advantage is, it is astonishing how extremely difficult some
contrive to make it for themselves. A powerful defence man, capable
of throwing the ball 120 yd. with ease, shall have the missile upon
his crosse, with nothing to do but to cast it from him into the air,
and yet unable to do so because a small but nimble antagonist watches
every movement, and meets it with a counter one. The reason for all
this trouble is that defence men learn to throw in one way only,
and that way generally a very bad one. The long throw, which is the
easiest to check, is the one made low down past the side, with the
face turned nearly full towards the direction in which the ball is
thrown; and yet this is the throw which the majority of players who
do not throw overhand are adopting. When this throw is employed, it
is impossible to keep the bend, from whence the ball invariably quits
the crosse, out of range of the crosse of the checking opponent, who
can either actually arrest the ball itself before it has travelled
a yard through the air, or, what is both easier and safer, he can
always interfere with the throwing crosse sufficiently to spoil the
throw. The low underhand throw is bad, for two reasons. First, it
is more easily checked than any other; and, secondly, the greatest
distance for the power expended is not attained, whilst the ball
travels with a large amount of spin upon it, which renders it
extremely difficult of capture by those for whom it is intended at
the other end of the field of play. In this throw the ball, whilst
upon the crosse, is made to descend from a height, to a lower one,
from whence it again rises, to quit the crosse. Hence the spin put
upon the ball, and the loss of power sustained.

Players do not seem to grasp the fact that, to make the ball travel
smoothly, i.e. without spin, and with the least expenditure of force,
the crosse must travel, as it were, on even keel. Between the points
at which the throw is commenced and finished, the crosse must not
describe the least curve, but move in a perfectly straight line. When
this is done the ball can be transmitted to a considerable distance
at the expenditure of a surprisingly small amount of power. But it is
impossible of accomplishment if the thrower place himself so as to
almost face the direction in which the ball is thrown, as then the
crosse, in order to attain directness, must be brought close past the
body of the thrower, with the bend describing a segment of a circle,
and nearly, if not actually, as is often the case, striking the
ground at its lowest point. All this would be avoided if the thrower
were to turn away from the object aimed at, so as to almost turn his
back upon it, and throw, more round than past himself, over the left
shoulder. It is a good plan to commence by throwing the ball straight
backwards over the head, and then by degrees bring the crosse lower
towards the left shoulder, with succceding throws. The first gain is
that the ball travels evenly, and the second that, owing to the high
point at which the ball leaves the crosse, it is very difficult to
check it. It may be taken as a standard rule that the closer one
is checked the more perpendicularly should the throw be made, so
as to keep the bend as high out of reach as possible. But there is
another very important advantage gained in assuming this recommended
attitude. It is that the thrower is enabled to change his throw
instantly from the underhand one over the left shoulder, backwards,
to the overhand throw from the left shoulder, whilst facing the
direction thrown to. If a player be facing his opponent’s goal, and
about to make the underhand forward scoop, and he is checked on
his throwing side, his only tactic is to suspend the operation of
throwing, turn round so as to bring his crosse out of the checker’s
reach, and run and dodge until he succeeds in getting the latter on
the wrong side of him. If the checker is good, as in good matches
he would be, he will take care always to keep on the throwing
side, and the trouble he thereby causes may be imagined. Now, if
the thrower would only learn the left shoulder shot as well as the
underhand throw over the left shoulder, and would condescend to take
a wrinkle and stand as above directed, he would find matters greatly
simplified. Standing almost with his back towards the foe, with his
left leg well to the rear, all he has to do on being checked on the
throwing side is to lower the crosse (keeping it nearly horizontal),
turn the left hand under with the knuckles up, in preparation for the
shoulder shot, and bring the left leg a yard or so further round to
the right. All this can be done in one movement, and in an instant,
and the ball is propelled on the side of the player opposite to that
intended. The cause of all the trouble introductorily alluded to is
this want of ability to throw from corresponding sides. There are
plenty of men who throw from the right shoulder overhand and pass
the left side underhand, and vice versâ, but there is no assistance
derivable from these accomplishments, since the check which
frustrates a right-hand shoulder throw is equally successful in the
case of an underhand throw past the left.

The crowning fault of all English players is, that they trust so much
more to their legs than to dexterity with the “stick.” The beauty of
the game lies in the ability with which the crosse is handled.

_Lawn Bowls._--The players arrange themselves in sides, usually of 4
each, and each player is provided with 2 bowls. These bowls, instead
of being the large lignum-vitæ bowls of 6-8 in. in diameter, are but
little bigger than a tennis ball, easily held in the hand, and are
enamelled with ornamental colours and various designs, looking bright
and pretty on the green turf. A white ball is first thrown to one
end of the lawn, and the aim of the players, who stand at the other
end, is so to send their bowls that they may lie as near as possible
to the white ball. The side whose bowls are nearest the white ball
reckon one point for each bowl so placed--7, 14, 21, or 31 make game,
according to mutual arrangement beforehand. It requires a little
practice to send the bowls straight. The game also has the advantage
of not taking up much room, and may be played in some quiet corner
of the garden, provided the ground be level, and the grass short and
well mown.

_Lawn Skittles._--This game may be played in the shade, even under
the branches of a tree; it does not occupy much space, and any number
of players, if divided into two equal sides, may be pressed into
the service. The apparatus consists of a pole firmly fixed in the
ground, and to which is attached a rope, from whose end a heavy ball
is suspended. Two square slabs of stone are let into the ground at
opposite sides, and at certain distances from the pole. On one of
these stands the player, and on the other are ranged 9 pyramids,
resembling large ninepins. The player takes the ball in his hand,
and, swinging it round the pole, aims at knocking down the ninepins.
He is allowed 6 chances, and then another player takes his turn. This
sounds easy enough, but is far more difficult than would be imagined,
as it requires a good player to swing the ball round the pole before
letting it fly at the men or ninepins. Before commencing, the number
which is to be considered game is agreed upon.

_Lawn Tennis._--Grass Courts.--The following ways of making
lawn-tennis grounds suggest themselves: (_a_) The adaptation of an
existing field or lawn; (_b_) laying down turf to form a lawn; (_c_)
making a lawn by sowing grass seeds.

(_a_) Having determined upon the particular portion of the field,
the first work to be done will be to roll it as soon after rain as
may be, with a heavy smooth agricultural roller. This will generally
level the lawn sufficiently, at least as a first process. This done
2 or 3 times will show if there are any serious uprisings or tumps,
or, on the other hand, hollows or depressions. If the latter, let
the turf be lifted from such sunken parts, which should be filled up
with some good garden soil. This should be rolled down to a smaller
extent by a somewhat heavy garden roller, and when pretty firm the
farm implement may be applied, as it will perhaps smooth down the
hillocks to a level with the mended-up depressions; if not, it may be
that the turf should be lifted beneath these slight hillocks, some of
the earth removed, and the turf pressed into place. In operations of
this kind, wherever the turf has been cut, it is well to sift some
fine mould over the parts before the rolling is performed--at least
for the first time the roller is used. The rolling will soon show
if there be any hard-rooted tussocky kind of grass or other plants
interfering; if so they should be removed, and the same finely-sifted
earth restored, and a very small quantity of fine grass seeds sown on
the bare spots before the roller be used.

(_b_) In laying down turves, care has to be taken to make the base as
level and solid as possible; this is done by filling up and paring
down, while the turves are being got ready from some nice even and
fine grass, cut of uniform size and thickness, laid and stamped down
with the utmost care, and when laid, fine rich mould should be sifted
over the whole, especially over the joints. This, if dry weather
supervenes, should be watered. At first light rollers should be used,
to be succeeded by heavier ones. If well done, it is the quickest and
most efficacious way of planting a lawn.

(_c_) Lawns may be well made by preparing the soil, then levelling,
and sowing with grass seeds, which should be well rolled down. If
only a temporary lawn is required, the best grass to sow will be _Poa
annua_ (annual meadow grass). This should be sown somewhat thickly;
it comes up quickly, bears clipping well, and, if not allowed to
flower, it will become almost a permanent grass. If the lawn, as
is mostly the case, is to be permanent, less of the _Poa_ should
be used; but its quantity should be made up with the following
proportions: _Poa annua_ (annual meadow), 1 lb.; _Poa pratensis_
(smooth meadow), 1 lb.; _Festuca duriuscula_ (hard fescue), 2 lb.;
_Lolium perenne Devoniensis_, (Devon ever), 4 lb. With this mixture
the _Poa annua_ will soon be lost, unless the grasses be seeded,
which would not be good for the lawn; but the other three species,
which grow well together, will soon form a good lawn. Lawns to be
kept even and smooth want to be frequently mown and rolled; but, if
the soil be poor, the constant mowing and removal of the grass will
damage the turf. Injury of this kind may be prevented by a dressing
of superphosphate in autumn, and of soot soon after the breaking up
of frost.

Marking Grass Courts.--The following plan might be very useful to
those who do not wish to disfigure a lawn with whiting, and do not
object to some expense. The webbing ought to be 1½ in. wide, and
if strained tight should be rather bare of the true measurements.
Purchase 75 yd. webbing at 1¾_d._ a yard, being sufficient to go
round a court 78 ft. by 30 ft. and allow for splicing and corners
as follows (the webbing is that used in the manufacture of chairs):
Take 5 rings nearly 3 in. in diameter; curtain rings would answer the
purpose. Sew the first ring to the end of the webbing with saddlers’
needle and twine, lapping the webbing once through the ring. At 78
ft. farther cut the webbing and sew it to one side of a second ring;
on the other side of the same ring again sew on the webbing, and
you have turned the first corner of the court. The next corners, at
distances of 30 ft., 78 ft., and 30 ft. are treated in the same way,
except that the 2 ends should not be joined. Then, for convenience of
painting, wind the webbing perpendicularly over a door or a gate; or
a sort of tambour frame, made of 4 poles tied together to the shape
of an Oxford picture frame, answers the purpose. Paint the webbing
with 2 coats of white paint on one side, and one coat on the other.
It will take a boy 2 long days, and consume about 3 kettles of paint.
Make 4 hoops, about 3 in. high, and 1½ in. wide, of iron wire, nearly
as thick as croquet hoop wire. Peg the webbing down by the corner
rings with these hoops, putting as heavy a strain as possible on each
piece before pegging. The 2 end rings will be pegged by the fourth
hoop. Webbing so treated does not trip the players, only requires the
above 4 hoops or pegs, is too heavy to be moved by wind, does not
twist and kink like tape, and is practically indestructible. A light
drum or winch, 16 in. diameter, 6 in. flange, and 5 in. wide, much
facilitates carriage of the webbing to and from the courts, and keeps
it stored in small compass. (D. W.)

Waterproof Net.--The nets dressed with gutta-percha by the Manchester
Cotton Twine Spinning Company, Corporation Street, Manchester, are
impervious to wet, are not affected by the sun, and may be left out
in all weathers without injury.

Asphalte Courts.--(_a_) The probable cost ought not to exceed 10_l._
if laid down by own workpeople, and less if tar has not to be
purchased. It is pleasanter to play on than real asphalte, having
more elasticity, and the colour is excellent for seeing the balls,
which are not blackened or worn out quickly, as is the case on cinder
courts. Mix thoroughly well sand and gas tar, in the proportions of
1 cub. yd. sand to 24 gal. tar (the more it is mixed the better).
About 8⅓ cub. yd. sand and 200 gal. tar will make a court. This
quantity is to be made into a heap 3 days before laying down. Keep
turning the heap every day, and, immediately before putting down,
add 5 or 6 shovelfuls of dry lime to each cub. yd., and 24 gal. tar.
For foundation, 6 in. of small broken stone or brick rubbish, on
which put some fine gravel, or, better still, coal cinders, to give a
smooth surface; bring this to a level with straight-edge and spirit
level, and press down with a heavy roller. The mixture of sand and
tar should be laid on 1 in. thick, and should be rolled well with a
roller having round edges, sprinkling fine sand on it all the time
to prevent the roller sticking to it. The court should have a slight
fall of 4 in. from centre to ends, and the ground should be well
drained underneath and around the court, which should be laid down
with a large margin, to give plenty of room at the ends and sides.
The best time for making the court would be late in the spring, after
all chance of frost has disappeared, the ground having previously
been prepared by drainage, &c.

(_b_) A mixture of coal tar and cinders makes a rough and dirty
court, and is very liable to work uneven from the nature of the
material. It is necessary to lay these courts on a dry foundation, or
they would be lifted by frost, and the cost is from 20_l._ to 30_l._
Covered balls cannot be used on them, and shoes are soon cut to
pieces. A way might be found to put a finer surface on these courts,
but they can never be made very durable.

(_c_) Real asphalte runs into a very high figure.

Cinder Courts.--(_a_) Plain cinder courts may be laid at very
trifling cost, wherever steam power is used, and engine ashes can be
had gratis, and only cost the carriage. Cinders, however, if not laid
on a dry foundation, after they have been beaten down to a smooth
surface, will puddle up with frost.

(_b_) Pare the turf off, and level the ground; give a sprinkling of
agricultural salt, to kill the grass roots; put in a drain or two of
2 in. pipes, if the subsoil is clayey or retentive. Get 25 cartloads
of factory or other cinders; wheel on (as they are) as many as will
make a strip all across about 9 ft. in width and 2½ in. in thickness;
rake off the very large ones as a foundation for next strip. Roll all
thoroughly well; then put on the 9 ft. strip a layer or covering of
finely riddled cinders, and again well roll, and so on throughout.
Keep the roll going every day for a week, and then you may play every
day in the year except during snow or rain. Use uncovered balls in
wet weather; they bounce sharper, and wash clean. (Geo. H. Wade.)

(_c_) Foundations are first prepared of broken stones as for cement,
into which a few field drain pipes are laid, upon this a covering of
3 in. of coarse cinders; and over this a finishing coat of riddled
ashes mixed with a tenacious clay laid on with plenty of water, and
worked up with a trowel in the same manner as cement. The ashes used
may be furnace ashes from a colliery engine, of a red colour, the
reddest being selected. The result is a fine smooth surface of an
agreeable colour (an important consideration), and easily kept in
order by a small roller. No ordinary shower affects it, and it can be
placed on very soon after heavy and continuous rain. The surface is
sufficiently yielding to be agreeable to the feet, and prevent the
balls from playing too lively.

(_d_) Take 50 chaldrons fine cinders, 2 barrels tar, 1 chaldron
white builder’s sand, and 2 cwt. agricultural salt. Having prepared
a piece of ground by removing the grass roots, and making it quite
level, sprinkle the salt to kill any remaining roots of grass, then
spread the cinders 6 in. deep quite smooth; boil the tar, and pour
all over the surface with a watering pot; then sieve the sand over it
to prevent the roller from sticking. Then roll with a heavy garden
roller with 2 men constantly for 2 days. Occasionally roll for a
month after it is finished, and before it gets firmly set. There
should be no rain during the operation. Around the ashes put small
red gravel, the same depth as the cinders, for a pathway. The court
slopes on one side enough for the rain water to run off; all along
the outer edge of the lower path place a drain pipe 6 in. under the
surface for the water to escape. After the hardest rain, in one hour
the court will be quite playable. (A. H.)

Concrete Courts.--(_a_) First lay out the level with pegs, rather
over 6 in. high, and fill up the floor with broken brick and stone
rubbish to within about 1½ in. of the peg tops. Have a quantity of
river gravel first passed through an ordinary gravel screen, putting
the large aside for the roads. The gravel that passes through the
first screen is again passed through a fine wire lime screen to
separate the sand. The medium gravel thus separated is mixed with 1
part Portland cement to 4 of gravel, and laid over the broken bricks,
bedded well among it, and coming nearly up to the top of the pegs.
This covering is worked as level as possible, and allowed about an
hour to stiffen, after which a fine surface is laid on of 1 part
cement mixed with 2 of the sharp sand and grit that has been screened
from the gravel. This surface is dressed over and finished about an
hour after it is laid on.

(_b_) Take 50 loads broken rubbish (brick or stone), 5½ tons Portland
cement, 11 tons screened gravel, 5½ tons sharp sand. The expense
will depend on the prices at which the rubbish and gravel can be
procured, but the cement will cost 11_l._; and if the rubbish is
put at 3_s._ per load, the gravel at 5_s._ per ton, and the sand at
4_s._, the cost of material will be 22_l._ 7_s._; allowing 5_l._ for
labour, in laying and levelling the court, the whole expense will
amount to about 27_l._ Such a court will be as good and as durable,
for light work, as one costing 100_l._ A court with a good surface
could be made considerably cheaper by using less cement and less
solid foundation; but with a concrete court it is necessary to secure
such dryness and solidity below as will prevent the risk of the floor
being lifted and cracked by frost. (P. S. W.)

(_c_) One authority quotes the price per yard at 2_s._ 9_d._, for a
floor of concrete, 4 in. thick, faced with 2 in. of best cement.

(_d_) A proportion of 1 (by weight) of cement to 2 of clean sharp
sand and 4 of clean gravel, broken stone, &c., makes excellent
concrete. These proportions are 6 to 1.

_Quoits._--Rules of the Game.--(1) The quoits shall be not more than
5¼ lb. in weight, nor more than 8½ in. diameter outside, and 5½ in.
in the inside, nor more than 1½ in. in height, and made of malleable
iron. Quoits faced, or partially faced, with steel shall not in any
case be allowed.

(2) The pins shall be placed in tempered clay ends, confined by a
wooden frame, and shall not project more than 3 in. Pins to be not
less than 3 ft. long, and the exposed point ½ in. in diameter.

(3) The pins shall be placed at such distances apart as may be agreed
upon, and in the centre of the clay. The pins to be readjusted and
the clay made up only at the discretion of the umpire.

(4) No quoit shall count that is a greater distance than 18 in. from
the pin.

(5) When a match is played, one umpire shall be chosen by each side,
and their decision shall be final. Should, however, an umpire have
occasion to appoint another in his place, the last-named in all cases
shall be the umpire for the time being. No person except the umpires
shall interfere, but each captain may instruct his men if requested.

(6) A player in delivering his quoit shall stand with his foot
opposite the pin, but not more than 2 ft. therefrom, and must deliver
his quoit before the second step is completed. Should he not do so,
the quoit pitched shall be called a “no quoit,” and treated the same
as a “no quoit,” as per Rule 11.

(7) The 2 quoits nearest the pin shall count one each, if belonging
to the same side. If not, then only the nearest quoit counts one. The
quoit touching the top of the pin to count before a side-toucher.

(8) When the inside of a quoit, taken perpendicularly from the pin
upwards, shall surround the top of the pin, it shall be called a
ringer, and count 2. If a player has 2 quoits in this position, they
shall count 2 each, unless his opponent has one dividing them, then
the last ringer only shall count.

(9) No quoit shall count as a ringer when a quoit under it covers, in
a perpendicular direction, any part of the top of the pin.

(10) If a quoit when pitched shall hit the frame surrounding the clay
in alighting, or shall alight outside the frame, it shall be called
a “no quoit,” and shall not count or hinder any other quoit from
counting, and shall at once be removed.

(11) No clay shall be removed in measuring the distance of a quoit
from the pin, neither shall any quoit be removed to facilitate the
measurements.

(12) When 2 quoits belonging to opposite parties shall rest at equal
distances from the pin, the leading player shall retain his lead.

(13) Any player claiming a point or points after pitching one quoit
shall not be at liberty to go back and play his second quoit.

(14) A player in any match must have been a member of the club he
plays with for at least one calendar month previous to that time.

Making a Ground.--(_a_) Procure a large treacle or oil cask, cut the
ends off (leaving them about 5 in. deep inside); take care that there
are 2 iron hoops on each end; fix an iron pin (¾ in.) firmly in the
centre of each, to stand about 7 in. above the edges of the tub, then
fill it with stiff clay, raising it from the sides towards the top of
the iron pin, leaving so much bare as shall be sufficient for a mark;
have a waller’s trowel to smooth the surface when required. These can
be placed in any convenient position for quoiting into, and may be
removed when not required. Have a frame made of lightwood or iron,
cone-shaped, and covered with waterproof canvas, to cover the tubs
when not in use.

(_b_) If the land lies high and dry, and the soil is clay, which
during hot weather becomes very hard, dig 2 pits the size required,
and about 2 ft. deep. Asphalte the bottom and fill in with the clay.

_Racquets._--Making a Racquet Court.--A court should be about 65 ft.
by 30 ft. front wall 30 ft. high; back wall 12 ft. high; floor made
of asphalte, and walls plastered very smoothly. The expense varies
according to size, and cost of labour and materials. It must be
lighted by skylights. The area of a double court should be 80 ft. by
40 ft.; front wall 30 ft. high, back wall 12 ft.; side walls sloping
towards back wall, with a very slight decline of floor down towards
the back wall.

[Illustration: 160. Sail Skating.]

_Sail Skating._--When the ports of the Baltic are closed by ice
during winter, the pilots and sailors of Arnager Isle, at Copenhagen,
occupy their leisure hours with the exercise of skating by sail.
This sport requires much skill and quite a long apprenticeship; but,
after a person has become dexterous at it, it offers a very peculiar
charm, and, when a swift wind causes him to glide over the surface
of the ice, he feels himself lifted, as it were, and experiences a
sensation analogous to that of flight. Fig. 160_a_ shows a diagram
of the apparatus, as employed by the Danish skaters. The sail, which
is formed of a light but strong fabric (such as Chinese pongee silk)
is stretched over a bamboo frame whose dimensions are given in the
cut. The centre crosspiece, which must be placed at the level of the
shoulders, is fastened to the skater’s body by bands that cross the
breast and afterwards pass around the waist, so that they may be
tied together in front. Large crosspieces of wood, attached to the
lower corners of the system, are held in the skater’s hands, so that
he may trim the sail in one direction or another. When the skater
wishes to be carried along by the wind, he must stand very erect,
without stiffening his body too much, and bend backward in proportion
as the wind blows fresher. Confidence is acquired by practice. Fig.
_b_ gives the position of the skater going with the wind and under
full sail. When the wind is too violent, the topsail may be readily
lowered (Fig. _c_), so as to thus moderate the impulsion derived from
the moving air. By inclining the sail in one direction or the other,
the skater may tack to the larboard or starboard (Figs. _d_ and _f_).
Finally, when it is desired to move against the wind, by skating in
the usual way, the body is bent forward in such a way that the sail
lies horizontally, and no longer offers a purchase to the aerial
current (Fig. _e_). The skater can thus return to his starting point,
and from thence be driven forward again by the wind.

This exercise is a very agreeable one, and not very dangerous; and
the falls that a person gets in beginning are not to be dreaded,
because they almost always occur backward. The degree of speed
that can be attained by a practised skater is considerable. When
the skater has done with his apparatus, he detaches it from his
shoulders, winds the sails around the bamboo sticks, which may be
separated from them, and thus has an object that is no more trouble
to carry than an umbrella would be. When the winters are severe, it
is not unusual to meet upon the ice numerous groups of skaters by
sail who are endeavouring to excel each other in speed. Young people
are often seen, too, setting out on an expedition over the frozen sea
between Denmark and Sweden, and traversing the entire Sound. These
latter use the sail when the wind is favourable, but fold up the
apparatus when the contrary is the case, and make use of their skates
in the ordinary way. Danish hunters, likewise, often have recourse to
skating by sail in order to rapidly reach points where wild ducks and
geese have been observed.

_Skating._--The art of skating is far too intricate to admit of being
dealt with in a chapter, but the following notes on skates will
interest all skaters.

To a man who simply makes skating an excuse for an outing and a
jollification, the Acme is the best skate, because it is easily
carried, easily put on and off, and with it he is enabled to do
the little skating he is capable of as well as if he had the most
expensive and elaborate pair.

To the enthusiast who looks on figure skating as a science to be
studied, it is essential that he should have what he conceives to be
the best skates that can be made.

Assuming, then, that the skater will not object to carrying a bag
large enough to hold a pair of boots and skates, we think that the
“Mount Charles” is the best, as it is the simplest, lightest, and
neatest. It consists of a skate blade attached by means of plates
screwed to the sole of the boot. The front plate is under the ball of
the foot, and the heel plate at the heel, and if a very thick-soled
boot be used, the absence of support between the two points of
attachment, is not practically felt. But a heavy boot is not only
unsightly, but fatiguing. If a thinner-soled boot be used, the heat
of the foot softens the leather of the sole, which, bending, no
longer supports the instep, and fatigue and cramp ensue. Gillett and
Co., of Sheffield, hit on a plan which obviates the necessity of a
thick and heavy boot, by making the sole of wood instead of leather.
A Mount Charles skate with Dowler blades, fitted to wooden-soled
boots or clogs, is perhaps the most comfortable, effective, and neat
skate produced.

Next in merit to the Mount Charles come the “Barney and Berry.” These
also are skeleton skates, being fastened to the boot, either with a
T plate for the heel and movable clamps for the toe (the clamps
worked by a key), or having movable clamps at both heel and toe. The
mechanical arrangement of the Barney and Berry is a great advance on
the Acme; but, as the toe clamps catch the sides of the welt, and
do not lap over it as in the old club skate with toe clamps, it is
necessary to screw the toe clamps somewhat tightly, and this has a
tendency to curl up the soles of the boots, especially if the sole be
rather thin, or when it gets soft from the heat of the foot or from
skating on wet ice.

Skaters, as a rule, use the boots they skate in simply as skating
boots, and never attempt to walk any distance in them; a rigid sole
of wood would therefore be no disadvantage. If a piece of oak board
the length of the boot be shaped so as to touch the footstock of
the Barney and Berry all along the iron plate, which extends from
the instep to the toe, and the board be attached to a thin pair
of well-fitting laced-up boots, all the discomforts of the clamps
pinching the sole will be obviated, and the heavy thick boot may of
course be dispensed with. There is no doubt that a rigid-soled boot
is a distinct advantage, whether the Mount Charles or the Barney and
Berry skate be used.

It sometimes happens that the skater has to change his boots
some little distance from the ice and walk down in his skates--a
proceeding that in nowise improves them; and under these
circumstances the Barney and Berry has a decided advantage over the
Mount Charles, as the skater can put on his boots and walk down in
them to the ice, and then adjust his skates.

It is unnecessary to go into the merits of the “Dowler” blade, as its
advantages over the straight-sided blade were duly chronicled in _The
Field_ of Oct. 11, 1879. Since that time the new form of skate blade
has been gradually growing in favour. There was some difficulty at
first in getting these blades properly made; but Hill and Son, of the
Haymarket, and Walter Thornhill and Co., of New Bond Street, turn out
Dowler blades in a way that leaves nothing to be desired.

There are, of course, numerous skates other than the Mount Charles
and the Barney and Berry, most of which display considerable
mechanical ingenuity; but, if we were asked to point out the skate we
considered “the best,” we should, without hesitation select either
the Mount Charles or the Barney and Berry. (_Field._)

_Swimming._--This can never be learned from books; it should form a
part of every boy’s school training as much as reading or writing. A
few hints to non-swimmers will be acceptable, and may prove highly
valuable if kept in mind.

The human body weighs 1 lb. in the water, and a chair will carry 2
persons--that is, it will keep the head above water, which is all
that is necessary when it is a question of life or death. One finger
placed upon a stool or chair or a small box or board will easily keep
the head above water, while the two feet and the other hand may be
used as paddles to propel toward the shore.

It is not necessary to know how to swim to be able to keep from
drowning. A little experience of the buoyant power of water, and
faith in it, is all that is required. A small boy who cannot swim a
stroke may propel himself back and forth across a deep, wide pond by
means of a board, that would not sustain 5 lb. weight. Children and
all others should have practice in the sustaining power of water. In
many cases the knowledge that what will sustain a lb. weight is all
that is necessary to keep one’s head above water will serve better in
emergencies than the greatest expertness as a swimmer.

A person unfamiliar with the buoyant power will naturally try to
climb on top of the floating object on which he tries to save
himself. If it is large enough, that is all right. But it is
generally not large enough to keep all entirely above water. This
often happens when pleasure boats capsize. All immediately want to
get out of the water on top of the overturned or half-filled boat,
and all are drowned except those whom the craft will wholly bear up.

If they simply trust the water to sustain 99 per cent. of the weight
of their bodies, and the disabled boat the other 1 per cent., they
all might be saved under most circumstances. An overturned or
half-filled wooden boat will sustain more than it will carry. It
would keep the heads above the water of as many people as could get
their hands on the gunwale. These are simple facts easily learned,
and may every day save life.

_Velocipeding._--The following are a few hints on the prevention and
cure of accidents to tricycles.

A very common accident in tricycles fitted with plain bearings, is
“firing.” The cause is generally want of oil. Friction, which oil
greatly reduces, makes the bearing heat. The heat increases, and,
after running heavily for some little time, the metal expands, so
that a dead-lock is the result, and the part refuses to move. The
best remedy is to get some boiling water and cloths, which, being
soaked, and laid round the outside, will in a short time unfix the
most obstinate bearing. A good oiling should be given. In a new front
steerer, unless the balance gear and driving axle be well oiled
there is a tendency to “fire,” as the fitting is very close. It is
better to over-do the lubrication than otherwise in a new machine,
owing to this same close fitting.

Another accident tricycles are liable to, especially in light ones,
is a bent axle. The cause is either the jar occasioned by riding over
a large stone or brick, a thick dress being violently “wound up” in
the chain, or the fact that the rider is too heavy for the machine.
The fact of the axle being bent is painfully evident in a bad case
from the “wobbling” of the wheel nearest the seat of the damage. A
slight bend may be detected by tilting the machine, and spinning one
wheel with the hand, watching the stationary one. If this oscillates
slightly, there is a bend. If the axle is bent, it can only be
rectified by a skilled mechanic. If an axle bends again it is most
politic to have a new axle fitted, as, for an axle to break at full
speed, is the most dangerous of accidents.

A bent steering rod is a very common occurrence. It often happens
that the adjusting screw at the end of the fork arm works tight, and,
as the screw is only meant to work as a pivot, the tight joint often
“jams,” and, unless slackened, the rod either bends, or, worse still,
breaks. Another cause of the same accident is the steering head
working tightly--deficient lubrication again. A blow on the rod or a
flaw in the steel may cause a like result. A bent steering rod may be
pulled straight without much trouble, a broken one is a more serious
matter. A good plan is to tie the head of an umbrella or walking
stick, if of a suitable shape, to the spanner fitted on the head or
the arm of the steering head, and steer in the Bath-chair fashion.

The screw connected with the steering rod has a trick of working
loose, and, if the lock-nut drops off, the screw may become so loose
as to follow. A hairpin twisted in the hole and round, forms a very
good temporary connection.

A broken crank is a very tiresome and awkward accident. The cause
is either a flaw in the metal or the crank being of insufficient
strength. A smart snap is generally the only warning given, and
the crank “yields” all round as though made of putty. A crank does
not, as a rule, break clean through unless in very faulty iron.
It begins to open and “gape,” and finally breaks. The rider can
do nothing except tie up the fracture (if not occurring at one of
the crank axles) in splints with string, and then inquire for the
nearest station, or trundle the machine to the nearest smith, and
let him weld it together, in the case of the crank being solid.
It often happens that country smiths are only used to rough work.
It must, therefore, be impressed upon them most strenuously, that
rule-of-thumb will not do. The following method of mending a solid
crank has been given by a skilful repairer:--

The broken crank axle, when taken out, should be laid upon a board or
piece of stout paper; then, ends being joined at the fracture, the
smith should carefully mark round with a pencil the exact size, and,
referring to his plan, he will see and mark the amount he may allow
to weld, so that the thickness may be the same, and also the throw,
and that the two projections fitting into the bearings are straight
and level with each other.

Hollow cranks are mended by putting a piece of iron inside, riveting
and brazing.

For a broken axle, the best remedy is to get the machine along as
well as possible on one driving wheel and the steerer, getting it
either carted or carried to the nearest station, from which, if no
qualified repairer is near at hand, it can be sent to the maker to be
fitted with a new one. It may be comforting to know that, unless in a
very light machine, broken axles occur in the proportion of one in a
thousand.

Very unpleasant and very common among lady riders is the accident
called “being wound up” in the driving chain. Insufficient dress
guard is one reason; a full skirt and a gusty day are others. Such
misfortunes are to be prevented by fitting a piece of tanned cord
netting at the side from the framework to the tilt rod stay, if it is
on the same side as the chain, which most of them are. This netting
is laced on with fine waterproof twine, both of which can be obtained
of Unite, in Edgware Road. The cost altogether of a yard of netting
is 2_d._, and whipcord 2_d._ more. The netting is impervious to wet,
can hardly be seen when riding, and is easily attached, making no
noise or rattle. Wire netting rattles dreadfully, and is not nearly
as good, whilst 20 times more expensive.

Most bad accidents are due to recklessness. An opinion is common
amongst people that to ride a tricycle is the simplest thing in the
world, and that, as the machine will stand alone and is tolerably
safe when going slowly, no care is requisite in descending hills. It
is easy to distinguish between an old rider and a novice in going
down a steep hill. The experienced rider, knowing the danger, goes
with feet on the pedals and machine well in hand, both braking and
back-pedalling until the bottom of the hill is well in view, when she
indulges in a “fly,” still keeping under control, although going fast.

The novice, not knowing how dangerous it is to lose control, comes
down erratically--in many cases quite unable to stop--and if she does
manage to, by means of a strong brake, strains the machine, and does
damage that way. Most of the notoriously dangerous hills in England
have danger boards erected by the National Cyclists’ Union--in the
form of small painted iron plates on a post, bearing the following:
“Notice to Cyclists.--This hill is dangerous.” Accidents may be
avoided by “braking” and back-pedalling down the steepest part until
well in sight of the bottom of the hill. If the hand brake of a front
steerer get oily it fails to check the machine properly. The remedy
for this is to dust powdered resin over the drum, which dries up
the oil, but makes the brake almost too powerful; therefore, after
applying resin, it should be used with caution. If a machine from any
cause--such as the brake refusing to act, or being out of order--runs
away down-hill, the only thing is to try to keep clear of ruts, and
avoid swerving by keeping a firm hand on the steering and a cool
head. If presence of mind is once lost, a bad accident is a foregone
conclusion. On the other hand, a cool rider may manage to guide her
machine safely to the bottom.

A common consequence of a run-away is a “buckled wheel.” This looks a
most alarming accident, but can be rectified in a few minutes if the
wheel is well built. The wheel assumes the form of an erratic 8, the
spokes are bulging, loose, and twisted.

To set matters right, the rider should place her knee on the bow of
the hub, and, putting one foot on the rim at the bottom, with the
two hands take hold of the rim furthest from her inwards. Pulling
at these simultaneously, and pressing with the knee the rim with a
snap will resume its round form, and a little adjustment with the
spoke-tightener of such spokes as are loose completes the operation.

Loose tyres can hardly be called an accident in themselves, but
as causes of such they demand attention. If they become loose, a
gas jet should be held under the rim until the cement begins to
bubble and ooze out between the rim and the rubber. The tyre should
be pressed into place and tied firmly with string, and left like
that for 12 hours to set. If no cement remains in the rim, some of
Rockhill’s, or, if nothing better can be obtained, Prout’s elastic
glue, should be melted in an iron spoon and run into the felloes.
Singer’s tyre heater is a good one to use where gas is to be had; but
if in the country, where it is not available, recourse must be had
to a blacksmith, who should be persuaded to heat relays of red-hot
irons, which are held under the rim, as in the case of gas. If a
tyre comes loose suddenly, it may be firmly fastened by tying it to
the iron felloe with thin string at every 2 in. Each tie should be
quite distinct from the others, and the string drawn so tightly as
to sink into the indiarubber tyre. A machine will run many scores of
miles before any of these strings is cut, and then they can be easily
replaced. (F. J. Erskine, _Field_.)


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

‘Revised Laws of Lawn Tennis.’ London. 6_d._

M. S. F. and S. F. Monier-Williams: ‘Combined Figure Skating.’
London, 1882. 5_s._

H. E. Vandervell and T. Maxwell-Witham: ‘A System of Figure Skating,
being the theory and practice of the art as developed in England,
with a glance at its origin and history.’ London, 1869. 6_s._

‘Rules of the Game of Hockey.’ London. 6_d._

E. D. Brickwood: ‘Boatracing, or the arts of Rowing and Training.’
London. 5_s._

E. D. Brickwood: ‘The Rowing Almanack and Oarsman’s Companion.’
London. Yearly. 1_s._

W. Wilson: ‘The Swimming Instructor: a treatise on the arts of
Swimming and Diving.’ London. 2_s._ 6_d._

C. Box: ‘The English Game of Cricket: comprising a digest of its
origin, character, history, and progress, together with an exposition
of its laws and language.’ London. 21_s._

H. F. Wilkinson: ‘Modern Athletics.’ London. 1_s._ 6_d._




_THE WORKROOM._


It is impossible within reasonable limits to give a comprehensive
treatise on all the various forms of useful and ornamental
needlework. Moreover, so many changes take place in fashions that
no book can keep pace with them, and the best information is to be
found in the newspapers specially devoted to women’s wants, notably
the _Queen_. To this journal readers are referred for the many
developments of fancy needlework, and to it is due the credit of the
following brief notes on some of the most widely useful methods of
effecting darns, patches, and repairs.


=Patching.=--When a large hole or thin place makes its appearance,
it must be mended by a patch, matching exactly in texture and
pattern. The fresh piece should, if possible, be slightly worn, to
prevent a too great strain on the old, causing the tear to start
afresh. Hence the importance of storing up odds and ends. A careful
housewife has always a good stock in her piece-bags, one of which she
reserves for white, the other for coloured scraps. In repair, and
with a plain material, patching is comparatively an easy matter; but
stripes, checks, and brocades call for some ingenuity in arranging
the design so well that no break is perceived. When the fabric is
cut on the bias, the renovating piece must correspond, though as
a rule patches are either square or rectangular in form. Squaring
corners constitutes the chief difficulty of patching. To manage these
perfectly, they need mitreing or nicking as the case may be, and both
piece and hole have to be sewn even to a thread. Garments, specially
children’s, occasionally require mending at the elbows and under the
arms. To prevent an unsightly repair, it is necessary to rip up the
seams, and, having sewn the patch in neatly on either side of them,
to join the sleeves or armholes again. In articles too shabby to be
worth very careful doing up, the added piece may be slip-stitched on,
provided it follows and never breaks the seam. Judgment is likewise
requisite in the choice of cotton and needles, both as to colour and
size. If too coarse, they draw up the threads, and the cotton if
too fine breaks away from the stuff altogether. The easiest way of
patching is to fix the fresh piece on the right side before removing
the old. There are three different methods of doing this, viz.
counter-hemming, slip-stitching, and sewing and felling. These are by
some considered best for new materials.

_Counter-hemmed Patch._--This could be utilised for almost any
repairing, except that it takes such wide turnings. For its
execution, cut out a piece of material considerably larger than the
hole or worn part, and turn it down all round about ¼ in. Place it
smoothly over the decayed fabric, taking care not to strain too much,
or the stuff underneath will set in rucks. Tack and hem down neatly
on each side, letting the stitches be extremely close at the corners.
Turn the work on the wrong side, cut out the worn part, and make a
hem on the patch itself.

_Slip-stitched Patch._--Proceed as before, but, instead of hemming,
slip-stitch neatly on the right side. The result will be a very tidy
patch, specially suitable for cashmere, silk, merino, and other fine
materials that do not wash. Slip-stitching also answers remarkably
well in home contrivances, such as recovering ball shoes when faded,
and thus utilising scraps of silk, &c., to harmonise with the
toilette.

_Sewn and Felled Patch_ (Fig. 161).--Crease the material on the right
side at about 2 in. beyond the thin place. Cut a suitable patch
straight to a thread, allowing ¼ in. turning all round for the wrong
side. Tack or pin it upon the fabric, and sew regularly; flatten the
seam, and turn the work. Lastly, remove the worn place, and finish
off the patch by a narrow hem on the under surface. If necessary,
make a tiny slit at each corner to keep the fresh piece square. More
experienced menders prefer to cut away the threadbare portion first,
and then let in the patch. This is decidedly the best way, though it
makes the management of the corners more tiresome; however, a little
practice soon overcomes the difficulty.

[Illustration: 161. Sewn and Felled Patch. 162. Sewn Patch.]

_The Sewn Patch_ (Fig. 162).--Remove the worn part entirely, and
nick the corners of the hole for the turnings. Cut out the patch ¼
in. wider all round. Crease the edges of both hole and patch, and
tack them together on the wrong side. Mitre the corners of the piece
to make the repair set well. Sew the four sides neatly and closely,
taking the stitches only one or two threads into the stuff, and
fasten off securely. Fell down the turnings, or only overcast them if
mending a woollen, silken, or extremely stout fabric, such as coutil,
&c. When completed, flatten the seams by the thumb-nail or thimble
or, if necessary, press with a hot iron.

[Illustration: 163. Run Patch.]

_The Run Patch_ (Fig. 163).--Prepare the hole exactly as for the sewn
patch, and crease down a turning as a guide to the stitches. Cut out
a fresh piece to fit, allowing ¼ in. on each side. Fix it in place,
and run carefully on the wrong side, taking care not to pucker in the
least, and letting the stitches be closer together at the corners.
Make the seam neat by felling which will set without mitreing the
corners.

_The Darned Patch_ is frequently employed, when short of scraps, for
mending or strengthening play-room knickerbockers, carpets, or any
rough fabrics. The small bit, or even a piece of another material,
matching as nearly as possible in colour, may be placed under the
hole, then secured, and almost concealed, by rows of neat darning.

_The Seamless Patch_ is very similar to the preceding, but the
darning, instead of covering the weak part, merely surrounds the
edge. The repair often appears in sheets, towels, &c., wherever, from
scarcity or frailty of stuff, a seam is undesirable. Cut a piece of
the same material a little wider than the hole itself; tack it upon
the wrong side of the fabric, letting the edges of piece and hole
overlap. When both have been pared, secure the patch to the stuff on
the right side by darning backwards and forwards about 6 stitches in
height. Leave regular loops, and see that the needle takes in both
upper and under surfaces. The darning crosses at the corners, thereby
giving them additional strength. With the exception of the corners,
neither rows nor stitches should be as close together as in ordinary
mending.

_The Buttonhole Patch_ surpasses the seamless patch in neatness and
flatness, and is reserved for the best linen in cases of accidental
burns, stains, &c., where the damage cannot well be rectified by
darning. The patch is very valuable in stockings, and has recently
suggested an excellent plan for seaming petticoat bodices without the
slightest ridge, thus facilitating the perfect fit of the fashionable
corsages. To make it, cut out the worn part and prepare a piece,
identical in material, and of the exact dimensions of the hole; work
separately the edges of patch and hole in close buttonhole stitch,
with embroidery or flourishing thread. Secure the piece to the fabric
by 2 or 4 pins at the corners, and sew it on by passing the needle
from the loop of each stitch over the opposite one.

_The Flannel Patch._--There are three ways of mending flannel.
In the first fix the piece exactly like the seamless patch, then
herringbone all round on the right and wrong side, letting the upper
row of stitches exactly cover the under one. For the second process,
commence as for the run patch, but, instead of felling, herringbone
the turnings. In the third and lightest method, crease the 4 sides;
manage the corners as already described; set in the patch so that
the former exactly correspond with those of the material; then
herringbone the edges of the renewed part and hole together. Flannel
patches are equally well adapted to the repairing of old quilts.

[Illustration: 164. Flannel Strengthening Patch.]

_Flannel Strengthening Patch_ (Fig. 164).--This repair, as shown by
the illustration, is in frequent requisition for thin places round
the armholes, &c. Cut out a piece of fresh flannel the desired shape,
tack it upon the material, and herringbone all round. The stuff,
being so apt to stretch, needs the hand to be held rather loosely in
working.


=Joining.=--In the alteration as well as the mending of garments,
joining is in constant requisition; hence a neat and imperceptible
mode is invaluable for all kinds of needlework. To this department
belong herringboning, matting seams, net mending, laced and fine
drawing, besides various ways of joining fur, canvas, carpets, and
velvets.

The well-known herringboning is a most useful method of uniting two
hemmed or stitched edges of flannel, list, or woven underclothing.
It also replaces drawn-work insertion, in antimacassars composed of
linen or embroidered strips, as well as in coloured handkerchief
borders, where it unites squares, &c., of lawn or cambric. The lacey
stitch adds to the ornament of the handkerchief, besides suggesting a
pretty way of using up scraps. When not utilised for the join itself,
herringbone stitches are often made on the right side of the material
to conceal the seam. These are sometimes caught down with stitches in
a contrasting tint, and at others worked over a braid.

_Fur Joining._--When a piece of fur has to be divided into narrower
bands, say about 4 in. in width, no scissors must be used. To
separate it, lay the fur lightly on the table, hair downwards, and
with a ruler and red chalk pencil mark out the divisions boldly
on the skin. Take a sharp-pointed penknife, or, still better, a
chisel, and, holding it quite perpendicularly, cut by the red chalk
lines, resting the penknife against the ruler, in case of slips.
Bear slightly when cutting, just enough to let the knife pierce
quite through the pelt without touching the hairs. If this operation
be successfully performed the skin will separate into bands with
smooth, even edges, and the fur remain untouched. Before joining,
two things have to be considered--the right way of the fur, and its
various shadings. Some specimens, such as the skunk, chinchilla, and
squirrel, graduate very much in tint; therefore a little contrivance
is required for the ends to match as nearly as possible, and not to
place a dark hue close to a light one. If this, however, cannot be
avoided, let it be done regularly, in order that the colour shades
off at equal distances and the fur has no patched-up appearance. With
regard to the right way of the fur, the joining offers no difficulty
in straight bands, but calls for some management in corners, &c.,
especially when the pieces in hand, being already worn, have slits
or shabby spots that need replacing. Now the fur is quite ready for
joining. Take a fine needle and smooth cotton or silk, bring the two
edges of the pelt together, and unite them by a flat sewing, pushing
back meanwhile any stray hairs. Do not pull the cotton too tightly,
for fear of spoiling the skin.

_Transferring._--In applying old or new woolwork to satin, cloth,
or velvet, cut about ¼ in. beyond the design, turn under the edge
and tack firmly on the foundation. Conceal the join by a silk cord,
chenille, or rows of gold thread. Appliqué work suggests many good
ways of utilising ancient needlework, that has lasted intact long
after the ground is threadbare. The embroidery is cut out with sharp
scissors, and lightly tacked to a fresh foundation; then secured
with a kind of running, taken invisibly--a buttonhole, cord on net,
herringbone, or any stitch employed in appliqué. Washing fabrics
obviously require the firmest sewing. By such means, the well-known
Swiss muslin embroidery is transposed, and antiquated collars,
handkerchiefs, &c., are adapted to the reigning styles.

_Canvas Joining._--Strips of Berlin woolwork frequently run too short
for the purpose intended, and need joining to additional bands. To
accomplish this neatly, overlap the edges for about 1 in., letting
every bar lie exactly in a line with the one underneath. Tack them in
place, and cover with cross-stitch in the groundwork colour, drawing
the wool rather tightly at the join, to keep the double thickness as
flat as the rest of the work. In the same way squares for Berlin wool
carpets are united. Borders with a running or broken pattern are more
easily connected, as the scroll, spray, &c., merely require matching;
but with equidistant medallions or geometrical figures the necessary
space has often to be made up by letting in strips of canvas. The
same process can be applied to tapestry repairing, which now comes
more within the sphere of ladies’ work, thanks to the introduction of
the faded tints, so much admired. Time-worn or worm-eaten spots are
cut away, and a piece of new canvas basted outside the hole. Then,
with wool matching precisely each tint, the decayed part is copied in
again, perhaps with the alteration of a stitch here or there, to make
it meet unbrokenly the original work; if well done the replenishing
cannot be detected. In woven tapestries the woof threads, after a
lapse of years, give way, and countless slits make their appearance
between the ribs. These may be effectually mended by drawing together
the breaks, with crewels of the same colour, fastening off on the
wrong side by passing the needle in and out 2 or 3 tapestry threads.
If extremely worn a good strengthening is a backing of stout crash.

_Carpet Joining._--Felts and all light fabrics are simply seamed
by flat sewing; but in Brussels, Wilton, and thick piles the joins
to lie smooth are connected by passing the needle in and out first
one edge and then the other. Should the seam set full, dashing on
a little water will rectify it. If in case of accidental burns,
&c., the carpet has to be mended on the floor, the only available
plan consists in placing on the patch, and securing both surfaces
by darning. Repairing carpets when up gives the opportunity of
strengthening patches, hems, &c., by felling stout webbing on the
wrong side. When stair carpets require binding, the webbing matches
the predominant colour in the pattern.

_Matting Seams._--These are made in the following manner: Bring the
two edges together, take a straight stitch over both, pass the needle
slantwise under one edge, and through the adjacent one. Thus the
right side presents a row of slight sewing, the wrong a series of
sloping stitches taking in one selvedge only.

_Velvet Joining._--Faults or cuts, &c., in velvet and plush are
concealed by very careful seaming on the wrong side. The needle
enters half the thickness of the material (Fig. 165), leaving no
stitches visible on the upper surface, and the sewing is drawn till
the edges just meet and no more. Care must be taken to work in all
stray filaments that no fluffiness disturbs the smoothness of the
pile. When finished make the seam still firmer by rows of darning, 4
or 5 stitches in height, and running parallel to the sewing; leave
no loops, but pass a horizontal stitch from one darning line to the
other (Fig. 166). The preceding is also adapted to satin repairing,
though on account of the close shiny surface this cannot be quite as
satisfactorily made. Complete the mending by passing the wrong side
of the fabric over a cool iron, the steam of which raises the pile.

[Illustration: 165. 166. Velvet Joining. 167. Laced Joining.]

_Laced Joining_ (Fig. 167) consists in the uniting of torn edges of a
slit accidentally made by a thorn, knife, or scissors. In every home
it is constantly needed for the temporary repair of those well-known
three-cornered rents caused by mischievous nails, knobs, spikes,
&c. Laced joining is also the only way of stopping cracks in old
silk dresses, umbrellas, and parasols; for the latter being neatly
strengthened and concealed by a narrow galloon run on both right
and wrong sides. To execute the seam, trim the torn edges, and draw
them together, holding the work between the thumb and fourth finger
of the left hand. Imitate a kind of lacing thus: point the needle
from the chest, and pass it under the right edge; turn the needle in
the contrary direction, and slip it beneath the left edge, and so
on. Be sure to take in enough of the fabric to bear the stitches,
which are to be as close as necessary for the material. Judgment is
indispensable also for the placing of the stitches; a knife-cut in
a delicate material has a sharply defined edge, and can be drawn
together straight to a thread, but in a jagged or worn part the
stitches enter more or less deeply into the worn part, according to
the state of the piece.

_Fine-drawing._--This is almost exclusively used by tailors in their
beautiful repairs, and is suitable for all kinds of cloth and thick
woollen textures. The method of working is as follows: Having, if
possible, turned the article wrong side outwards, place the rent
horizontally across the second and third fingers of the left hand.
Thread the needle with very fine sewing silk, and slip it between
the cloth nearly ¼ in. from one edge. Bring the needle out and take
a tiny stitch on the top of the cloth, slip it through the fabric
back to the edge again, then insert into the opposite side, repeat
the small stitch, and return in the same manner. Continue thus to
the end. If skilfully done the seam can scarcely be unripped, and
completely defies detection, provided all the cloth be the right way
of the grain. Fine-drawing comes in excellently for connecting stars,
&c., in cloth patchwork. For more ordinary purposes an invisible,
though not equally strong join, is by a flat sewing taken midway
through the thickness of the stuff. In either case the repair needs
careful pressing.


=Darning.=--The plain, or ordinary darn, was for a long time the only
one employed in repairing any material, whether linen or woollen;
the materials, soft darning cotton, merino, Angola worsted or Berlin
wool, and filoselle, rather finer than the fabric to be mended.

In using filoselle for darning or for embroidery, it is necessary to
feel for the right way of the thread, or the filoselle will become
rough and work against the grain. Before threading your needle,
draw the filoselle through your finger and thumb, and you will soon
learn to know the difference between the smooth and the rough way.
A great help in feeling anything is to shut the eyes. When you buy
new stockings and socks, do not wear them until you have sewed them
over heel and toe. There is an open bar in heels and toes that soon
breaks, unless secured by sewing over. To do this, stretch the heel
or toe very tightly over your left hand; this opens these little
bars, and enables you to see holes top and bottom, when you can sew
them over. You must not do it like herringboning, but straight, and
from left to right. This plan prevents many a darn.

_The Plain Darn_ is not limited to the repairing of house linen or
garments; it is also applied to carpets, curtains, tapestry hangings,
and even chair cushions and covers, which all need a close inspection
after a periodical cleaning. For all these we mostly have recourse
to the darn called _point de reprise_--the great distinction between
this and the _point de toile_ being that, instead of precisely taking
up one and leaving down one, it consists in taking up and leaving
down an irregular number of stitches, according to the value and
strength of the material. The _point de reprise_ is also used in
lace-making, embroidery, wool and guipure work; besides, on account
of its quick execution, it is generally chosen for the mending of
stockings. Materials: A darning or egg-eyed needle, and either
cotton, silk, merino, Angola, or linen thread. Method of working:
When a hole has to be mended it may be prepared in two ways, either
by drawing together all the broken threads as nearly as possible into
their original position, and securing them with a needle and fine
cotton, or by cutting off all irregularities, and carefully paring
the edges; the latter method is undoubtedly the neater. Hold the
part to be mended well stretched over the first and second fingers
of the left hand, and for the foundation proceed as follows: Point
the needle from the chest, and make an ascending row of regular
perpendicular stitches, leaving a rather long loop to allow for
stretching or shrinking in washing. For the descending row turn the
needle towards the chest, and return in the same manner, taking up
the thread left down in the preceding row, thus inverting the order
of stitches; continue to do this till the hole is well covered by
a series of long threads parallel to each other. Crossing: Place
the work so that the threads run horizontally, and darn as before,
commencing the same distance from the sides, as from the upper and
lower edge, or else a hole will soon make its unwelcome appearance
close to the new darn. A little judgment is necessary in deciding the
closeness of the stitches, as it is evident that a worn-out material
will not bear such close and heavy mending as a comparatively new
one. The best mode of covering a plain darn is that which gives it
the form of a cross; to this there are a few exceptions, such as the
diagonal darn and the double square darn shown in Fig. 169.

[Illustration: 168. Plain Darn. 169. Double Square Darn.]

_Double Square Darn._--When a fabric wears gradually from actual
age, the hole is more generally confined to one spot, but in these
accidental slits the damage extends over a considerable portion of
the material, while the latter is still sound, hence the necessity
of specially shaped darns, in which the crossing to avoid clumsiness
merely covers the part suddenly torn. The double square darn is
principally used for sheets, tablecloths, &c., which have been blown
about by the wind while drying, and caught by an unlucky thorn or
nail. Materials: A fine darning needle and linen thread. Method of
working: With the needle bring the torn edges together, and secure
them on a piece of toile cirée, then conceal the slit with rows of
darning, which measure exactly double its width and its length;
reverse the work, and repeat the process, so that the tear forms two
sides of a square of crossed darning.

[Illustration: 170. Diagonal Darn.]

_Diagonal Darn._--This is an irregular-shaped darn, often had
recourse to by experienced housekeepers in the repair of those
unfortunate slits, constantly discovered in kitchen or nursery
tablecloths, or in linen pillow-cases, sheets, &c., when they have
seen their best days. As the tear is made on the bias, the mending
threads must of course run in a corresponding direction; this imparts
to the work the peculiar shape of a double pyramid or egg-boiler,
with a square in the centre, inclosing the slit, putting us in
mind of the star pattern familiar in knitted quilts. Materials:
Flourishing thread, and a fine darning needle. Method of working:
Commence at the extremity of the slit at the distance of its own
length above it, and terminate the first row of darning at an equal
length below it; proceed by letting each row decrease one stitch on
the upper side, and increase one stitch on the lower side in harmony
with the tear. Turn the work, and cross in exactly the same manner.

_Mottled Darn._--To mend a material woven in two shades, form the
fresh warp by a series of foundation stitches matching exactly the
texture and tint of the ground; then cross the former threads by
others of the same colour as the woof. This method will produce a
speckled darn.

_Strengthening Darn._--When upon inspection an article is found
to be wearing thin, strengthen the weak parts by a few rows of
darning, worked rather far apart, so as not to put too much strain
on the material. Both cotton and needle must be very fine, for fear
of breaking the threads. For strengthening stockings there is a
new and pretty way of doing so on the right side, which imitates a
spotted pattern, and leaves no loops. It consists in crossing the
webs with horizontal rows of stitches, passing the needle over and
under one web alternately. This style is very appropriate for heels
and toes, but in the case of frail spots here and there an invisible
strengthening may be effected by passing the needle upwards and
downwards between the webs.

_Reprise Perdue or Imperceptible Darn_ is nothing more than a skilful
execution of the linen stitch, with the exception that it is worked
with the ravellings of the material itself, and that no loops are
left, the thread being cut as each row is completed. In the days when
linen held pre-eminence in fabrics, the _reprise perdue_ was a name
which belonged exclusively to this particular darn; but, as each new
material was introduced, the need of a repair in its exact imitation
was naturally felt and met; hence the term has now extended itself to
any darn which reproduces the worn fabric so exactly that the most
practised eye can scarcely detect any difference. The imperceptible
darn is specially used to conceal an accidental tear or burn in
costly textures, such as Indian muslins, cashmeres, and fine cambric,
and in spots where the defects would be likely to attract much
notice, as the front or sides of boots and slippers made of satin or
prunella, &c. Above all, however, is this style of darn valuable to
manufacturers, for hiding either the faults or the accidental damages
done to their goods. Materials: A long fine darning or straw needle,
and ravellings of the fabric. There are one or two materials, such as
cloth and baize, which do not ravel out. For the repair of the former
it is best to use very fine silk, and for the latter ravellings of
mohair braid of the same colour. When the exact shade of the material
cannot be matched by the mending thread, the darn should be well
stretched on a board in front of the light, and completed by a few
touches of paint carefully applied with a camel’s-hair pencil. Method
of working: Draw the broken threads as nearly as possible to their
original position, and cut off the frayed parts so as to have the
edges perfectly even. When practicable, turn the stuff on the wrong
side, and mount the hole on a piece of stiff paper--not newspaper,
as the printing will dazzle the eyes. A piece of toile cirée would
here be specially valuable, as its green colour affords great relief
to the strained sight. The work being now ready, execute the darn in
the pattern of the material, letting the rows, instead of forming a
decided line, be rather irregular, and lose themselves in the fabric.

[Illustration: 171. Rep Darn.]

_The Rep Darn_, as its name implies, is employed in the repairing
of rep, as well as poplin, Brussels carpeting, and, in fact, any
ribbed material. This darn generally consists merely in replacing
the surface by covering each rib with a perpendicular row of sewing
stitches, slanting one thread downwards. If by chance the warp
threads be also much worn, they will require strengthening by one
or two threads passed across vertically, and secured to the back
by a few run stitches. Materials: Worsted, wool, or twist to match
precisely the colours of the fabric, and a darning needle.

_Lace Patch or Darn._--This circular patch is a light and pretty
way of mending a hole caused by the accidental fall of a spark or
cigar-ash on tablecloths, napkins, &c. It may be executed in any of
the open stitches so much used in guipure work, though the feston
stitch, being the one generally adopted, is illustrated in Fig.
172. The same stitch can also be applied to lessening the width of
stretched-out buttonholes, making an openwork gusset between the
fore-finger and thumb of a kid glove, widening the sides of fingers,
or filling in a hole that has split near the welt, to which is then
added an elastic loop.

[Illustration: 172. Lace Patch. 173. Lace Patch.]

_Detail of Lace Patch._--Materials: Embroidery cotton or flourishing
thread, which, being soft and flat, fills up the little interstices
after washing, and renders the patch almost invisible even in damask;
in this case, therefore, twisted cotton or silk should never be
employed. Egg-eyed needle.--Shape the circle carefully, then overcast
the edge of the hole by buttonhole stitches placed rather far apart,
and taken in more or less deeply, according to the texture of the
stuff. Fill in the space by working rows of feston or buttonhole
stitches round and round, keeping the thread all the time under the
needle, and gradually decreasing in circumference till the centre is
reached, when draw the thread closely, and secure it safely on the
wrong side. Before attempting this patch on the article itself, it
is well to practise it upon a piece of coarse material, in order to
acquire dexterity in the work, and thus avoid either puckering or
tightening. For a triangular patch such as the one used in gloves,
lay the foundation on the widest side, letting the stitches be more
or less apart, according to the size of the silk or the openness of
the work. Form the patch by rows of buttonhole stitches, going from
left to right and from right to left, without breaking off the silk,
putting the needle in the centre of every loop, and slipping a stitch
at each row, until at the angle there is but one left.

[Illustration: 174. Swiss Darn.]

_Swiss or German Darn._--More appropriately called web stitch, as
it imitates exactly the web itself, and is, therefore, the true
stitch for mending all hosiery and knitted articles. By the web is
understood the texture of threads woven in a loom, forming a tissue
of threads interwoven with each other, those extending in length
being called the warp, and those stretched across, the weft or woof.
The origin of this stitch is comparatively of recent date, for it
can only have been known since the introduction of stocking knitting
in the reign of Elizabeth. The method comprehends the plain web, the
rib, Jacob’s ladder, and grafting. Materials: A sewing needle, rather
finer than the loop through which it has to pass, smooth darning, or,
still better, embroidery cotton, wool or silk matching to a shade, a
wooden or indiarubber ball, and a piece of stiff brown paper or toile
cirée. Method of working: Cut the hole even, ravel out the edges of
the horizontal sides, leaving at each a row of open loops, clear and
distinct as if prepared for picking up dropped stitches in knitting.
(Fig. 174).--Foundation. Secure the thread on the wrong side by 3 or
4 perpendicular stitches of common darning. Turn the work, stretching
it over the first and second fingers of the left hand; keep it in
place by the third finger and thumb. Cover the gap by a succession of
vertical threads, commencing, one or two webs from the edge. Bring
the needle out at the top between two webs, pass the thread alongside
the hole, and insert the needle at the lower part, in the centre of
the right-hand web, and draw it through the centre of the left-hand
web. Carry the thread upward to the same point from which it started,
that is, by putting the needle in the same hole, and take up a
complete web. The result will be an elongated V, with the angle
uppermost. Form a second V in the same manner, and there will then
remain half a web only from the hole. Pick up, on the needle, this
half web and the first loop, and pass the thread upwards to form the
point of the V, by meeting the thread on the last bar; that is, put
the needle in the hole from which the previous thread has emerged,
and again take up two loops. Continue thus till the gap is covered,
letting the needle point always towards the left, and passing it back
one loop to the right at each stitch. This fresh ground will then
represent a series of long narrow vandykes. Finish by fastening the
thread on the wrong side, in the same manner as at the beginning.

[Illustration: 175. Crossing.]

_Crossing._--Conceal the foundation by working backwards and forwards
rows parallel to each loop in identical imitation of the web. For
the first line attach the thread to the work, and bring the needle
out between two webs, precisely as for the first process. Take up
the two bars on either side of the thread, entering where the woven
stitch is indented, and emerging where it comes out; then insert
the needle above, and one bar to the right, picking up again two
bars or stitches (Fig. 175). Next enter one bar below, and to the
right raise two bars, and so on to the end of the row; each web thus
forms a V shape. Special care is needed for the 1st row, as on it
depends the arrangement of the webs. This line completed, bring the
needle out one bar perpendicularly downwards, in readiness for the
second, and work from left to right instead of from right to left,
putting the needle above every accompanying purl of the wrong side,
or the stitches will be disconnected. The beauty of the work consists
entirely in its evenness and flatness, hence the utility of the toile
cirée or wooden ball, as it keeps the work well stretched. When a
ball is used, the stocking is strained over it and held in place by
the left hand, the thumb meanwhile resting on the top of the ball.

[Illustration: 176. Web Stitch. 177. Foundation of Single Web.]

_Single Web._--Having now thoroughly explained the ordinary or
double web stitch we will just mention the single one, a lighter and
consequently less durable mode of repairing, often employed in silk
and Lisle thread stockings. Its execution is very similar to that
of the former stitch. For the foundation, bring the needle out in
the centre of a web, pass the thread across, along the side of the
hole, insert the needle again in the centre of a web and the first
loop. Then continue to take up alternately two loops on the upper and
lower edge, letting the last loop of one stitch be the first of the
next. The foundation will then have the appearance of a succession
of elongated U’s in contrast with the series of V’s formed by
the double web stitch (Fig. 176). The crossing follows the same
rule as the foundation (Fig. 177). Another single web, more rapid,
but not so neat, is executed as follows: Make the whole perfectly
even, and holding the stocking lengthwise towards you, fill up the
gap with common darning, taking up the edge web on either side, not
placing the rows too closely. Now for the imitation of the web,
turn the work so that the darning lines are horizontal, commencing
at the lower part of the hole, and ascend to the top by twisting the
thread under each bar, to resemble a kind of cord stitch. Descend by
stitches in the reverse direction, and thus complete an exact web.

_The Rib_ is a variety of Swiss darning scarcely known, and
will doubtless be highly appreciated by mothers in particular.
This stitch, though apparently showing the wrong and right side
alternately, is really completely executed on the right side alone.
Method of working: Lay the foundation, as for a simple web; then
cover by an equal number of pearl and plain stitches. The change
from plain to pearl is executed thus: instead of putting the needle
straight under two threads, pass it beneath the second bar of the
raised web, and over the first bar of the adjoining one; point the
needle downwards and bring it out one bar to the right, cross over
two bars and slant it upwards one thread to the left, so that it
emerges from the identical hole the first stitch entered. Continue
to slip the needle over two bars, sloping it alternately upwards and
downwards, till the hollowed web or purl stitches are completed. Then
reverse the work by crossing over the last bar, and passing under the
first bar of the raised web or garter stitches, in readiness for the
next plain one. The wider the rib, the more easy its imitation.

_Jacob’s Ladder_, or _Dropped Stitch_.--This frequently occurs in
stockings, as well as in silk or cotton gloves, knitted petticoats,
&c., and so rapidly forms a long ladder of open bars that we can here
almost literally apply the maxim, “A stitch in time saves nine.” No
better remedy seems to be devised by careless workers than passing
the needle under and over the bars, which, being wider than the space
left for them, cannot be properly stretched, and the result is an
unsightly and puckered darn, especially when the mischief extends to
two or three adjacent rows. The following mode is undoubtedly the
right one: Take up a dropped or slipped stitch, as in knitting, by
inserting a fine crochet hook into the first loop below, and draw
through it the first rung or bar of the ladder. Then continue to
pass each succeeding row into the loop left on the crochet needle
till all are raised, when the last remaining loop is fastened firmly
and neatly by a needle threaded with cotton, silk, or wool. A chain
stitch is thus formed, very similar to the web.

[Illustration: 178. Grafting.]

_Grafting._--To graft means to join one thing so that it receives
support from another. In the mending of stockings, &c., the term
signifies joining two pieces together, or strengthening a thin
part. The joining consists of seaming, patching, and refooting. In
stockings, vests, sleeves, &c., where the worn part can be taken
off all round, a fresh piece is put in by means of a seam perfectly
invisible, provided the cotton or silk match precisely in colour and
quality. Cut off the decayed portion, and prepare the edges of the
piece to be united. Rest the work on the first and second fingers
of the left hand, keeping it flat by the pressure of the thumb; or
hold it as for sewing, in which case graft rather loosely to avoid
any ridge. Take up on the needle two loops parallel to each other
(Fig. 178), pass the thread through these, drawing two webs together.
Repeat on the opposite side, and continue thus to the end of the row;
the needle at each time enters a loop already picked up and a fresh
one. Fasten off as for web stitch.

[Illustration: 179. Detail of Patch. 180. Patch set in.]

_Patching_ is a neat and expeditious method of filling up large
holes, specially valuable for weak sight, or in repairing silk and
thread stockings; or, in short, any fine material with loops so small
as to render the raising up of each stitch a very tedious task. It is
very similar to the linen buttonhole patch. Method of working: Cut
out the unsound part straight to a thread, and prepare a patch of
the same material to fit the gap exactly. Border with rather close
buttonhole stitch the perpendicular edges of both hole and patch
(Fig. 179). Attach lightly the 4 corners, graft the upper and lower
edge, and sew the buttonholed by drawing together the opposite loops
of each stitch (Fig. 180).

_Refooting._--This process comprises herringboning, and the three
different stocking, seams--grafting, buttonholing, and stitching.
When the foot of a stocking is apparently past mending, separate
it from the sound part of the leg, and rip up the 4 seams, thus
detaching the sole from the upper part with the heel. Pin or tack
each part on brown paper, outline the shape in chalk, then cut out,
allowing nearly ¼ in. for turnings. Unpick the leg seam of any old
stockings, spread them flat, and upon them place the paper pattern,
the lines of which are followed precisely in the cutting out. The
two pieces being ready, unite by buttonholing the side seams of the
foot, and the centre seam of the leg. Method of working: Leave ¼
in. turnings, and buttonhole each folded edge. Then holding the
work as for sewing, join the rows, either by a buttonhole stitch
taken in each of the opposite loops, or by neat sewing. In most
cases, however, a single buttonholed or sewn seam may suffice.
When completed flatten the seam, and secure each turning by tiny
herringbone stitches, carefully avoiding puckering. If preferred, a
tiny ribbon sewn over the seam, can replace the turnings, though it
will not be equally lasting. The toes and the two parts of the heel
are united by stitching on the right side. Ravel out the edge loops,
and lay the pieces opposite each other as for sewing, with the loops
of the back in exact correspondence with the front ones. Insert the
needle in the first loop, and bring it out in the next one, pass
it back to the hole it first entered and bring it out again; thus
each stitch occupies two bars. The joining of the sole and heel is
accomplished on the wrong side. The ravelled-out loops of the sole
are stitched on the ⅛ in. turning of the heel, which is fastened
down on the latter itself by an almost imperceptible herringbone.
This stitched seam is also occasionally used in stockings reheeled
by knitting. The new foot is lastly grafted to the leg. It is almost
useless to make any remarks on the most advantageous way of cutting
out the pieces, as this depends so much on the size and condition of
old legs at command. Nevertheless it may be advisable to suggest that
if the width is insufficient to manage the instep and heel in one
single piece, the latter can be slit up at the clocks, thus making
two heel parts, to be connected with the front by the buttonhole
seam, scarcely visible on the right side, especially when hidden
by an embroidered spray. Such refooting may be considered rather
long and complicated, but is most important for the elaborate and
expensive hose now worn.


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Misses S. F. A. Caulfield and B. C. Saward: ‘The Dictionary of
Needlework; an Encyclopædia of artistic, plain, and fancy needlework;
with over 800 illustrations.’ London, 1882. 21_s._

Beeton’s ‘Book of Needlework; including tatting, crochet, knitting,
netting, embroidery, point lace, guipure d’art, Berlin work,
monograms, initials, names, crewel work, pillow lace, and lace
stitches.’ London. Latest edition. 7_s._ 6_d._




_THE LIBRARY._


The library in a house is a haven to which the unlucky wight, kept
indoors by a steady rain overhead and a slushy mire underfoot, may,
or ought to be able to, seek retreat and pass many hours of quiet and
thorough enjoyment, instead of wandering aimlessly about the house,
and looking out of the windows with an idiotic expression on his face
at the dim and misty landscape. But how can it be a peaceful, restful
refuge, when the would-be reader finds a vast number of volumes,
treating of all manner of subjects, intermixed in a most marvellous
fashion; flighty romantists, witty memoir writers, heavy theologians,
enigmatic scientists, and deep-thinking philosophers elbowing each
other and almost crushing the unlucky poets out of sight? Dismay
seizes the daring explorer of the wonders of a country-house library;
the book he wants is not to be found, and what is more he does not
know where to look for it, great names stare at him from all sides,
and seem to sneer at him for being so foolish as not to read them;
but then he wants a particular book, and in despair, rather than face
the long row of books which seem to jeer at his unsuccessful attempt
to get what he is in search of, he composes himself down to read
_Punch_, or stare out at the drip, drip, dripping rain.

Let us see if this can be avoided. Of course it can; the way to
change the whole aspect of affairs is so to arrange the books on
their shelves that the veriest stranger, after he has been in the
library a couple of minutes, should know where to look for what he
wants, and put his hand on the book if it be in the collection.

The twelve essential rules for the management of the library are:

1. Arrange your books on their shelves into classes, according to the
subjects they treat of.

2. Put everything in its proper place.

3. Always keep directories, peerages, gazetteers, atlases, county
maps, and lexicons in convenient and easily got at places. It will
often save much time and trouble to keep them in book slides on the
table, or in a separate bookcase.

4. Write your name and address in a large bold handwriting on the
fly-leaf of every volume.

5. If you have your books specially bound, let the same style and
colour of binding be used for one class of books.

6. Never allow animals in a library. They are apt to do serious
mischief to MSS. and books, while chasing some imaginary rat. Newton
had the results of many years of hard brain work completely destroyed
through the pranks of his favourite little dog.

7. Keep servants out of the library, except at stated intervals, and,
when admitted, let them be under your personal supervision. Everybody
will remember that the first part of Carlyle’s ‘History of the French
Revolution,’ while yet in MS., was used by a servant to light a fire.

8. Avoid _dampness_ or _excessive heat_; books require _warm dry
air_, in order to preserve their bindings. Thus it will be seen that
the more the books are read the better it will be for the books.

9. On no account let the library be turned into a refreshment room
for a juvenile party.

10. Never allow MS. notes, letters, &c., to litter the tables and the
room. MS. notes should be kept in folding pads, or in drawers, and
letters carefully filed and put away.

11. No book should be left open and placed face downwards, in order
to mark the place where the reader has left off; no other practice so
speedily spoils books as this.

12. _Always have a good index or catalogue of the contents of your
library._

The last is as important a rule as any. A library without a
catalogue is, as Thomas Carlyle expresses it, “A Polyphemus without
an eye in his head.” Isaac D’Israeli, who has left us such a vast
treasure-house of book lore, says that the man who possesses a fine
library cannot be “more animated than a leaden Mercury who does not
aspire to make some small addition to his library, were it only by a
critical catalogue. He must be as indolent as that animal called the
sloth, who perishes on the tree he climbs, after he has eaten all its
leaves.”

The task of cataloguing must not dismay the amateur; the task is a
most useful one, and can easily be managed. The best catalogue would
be this:

Let it be divided into three primary divisions: The body, containing
the titles, authors’ names, date, and place of publication, and the
size and description may be added if considered necessary; index of
authors’ names, with the number of the pages of the catalogue on
which their works will be found, and an index of subjects.

The body should be divided into thirteen divisions, which are: 1,
Theology; 2, history and biography; 3, science and philosophy; 4,
art; 5, bibliography; 6, antiquities; 7, political and commercial;
8, poetry; 9, travels; 10, MSS.; 11, novels; 12, miscellaneous;
13, periodical literature. These may be subdivided, if necessary.
The subdivisions are: History into (1) national, (2) local, (3)
biography, and (4) genealogy; science into (1) medicine, surgery, and
chemistry, (2) natural history, (3) geology, and (4) mechanics; art
into (1) painting, sculpture, &c., (2) music; antiquities into (1)
chronicles, ballads, and other ancient literature, (2) history of
antiquities; political into (1) standard works, (2) pamphlets, &c.;
travels into (1) ancient, (2) modern; miscellaneous into (1) law, (2)
drama, (3) educational, (4) miscellaneous.

The books in the body should be entered under the authors’ names,
alphabetically arranged, under each division, the full titles,
description, &c., following. A very good plan is to tack to each
entry in the catalogue _finding symbols_, as “Bookcase A, shelf 3,”
which denotes where the book is to be found.

Now as to the actual mode of taking the census of the books to be
catalogued. A large number of sheets of paper, about the size of
ordinary writing paper, must be procured, each sheet being divided
into three columns. The centre column (the largest of the three) is
reserved for the full description of the book as it is to stand in
the body of the catalogue; the column on the left is reserved for
the exact account of the subject treated of by the book; that on the
right for the author’s name, as in the following example:

  --------------------+-------------------------+--------------------
     Subject Index.   |     Travels.            |   Author’s Index.
  --------------------+-------------------------+--------------------
  Columbus, Life and  | Irving, Washington.     | Irving, Washington.
  Voyages.            |                         |
                      | The Life and Voyages of |
  Page*               | Christopher Columbus.   | Page*
                      | 3  vols. Crown 8vo. One |
                      | vignette. London, 1850. |
  --------------------+-------------------------+--------------------

   * Of course, the number of the page which should follow these
     entries cannot be filled in until the body of the catalogue is
     properly written out, when, as each entry is made in the
     catalogue, the number of the page in which the entry is made is
     placed both in the left and right columns.

The slips, when duly filled up, should be set aside in packets
under their respective divisions. As soon as every book has been
noted down, there remains nothing more to be done but to transcribe
alphabetically the various slips on sheets of foolscap, and the task
is completed.

Any works which are published anonymously should be entered in the
third primary division under the heading “Anonymous,” and have the
abbreviation “Anon.” added in the body or first primary division.
Supplements may be from time to time prepared, carefully pursuing
the same method as observed in forming the original catalogue. The
supplement is then attached to the catalogue, the first page having a
piece of parchment gummed on, with about an inch protruding from the
cover; on this the words “Supplement of 188-” should be written.

The ancient learned Greeks and Romans had their book-shelves, or
rather rows of niches, in which the parchment rolls were placed,
made of cedar wood, encrusted with precious metals. Although this
would, perhaps, be impracticable in our days, still the bookcases
should be solid and massive, yet elegant. In some libraries the
bookcases run right round the room, but no higher than 3 ft. to 4
ft., the tops forming a resting-place for various curiosities. This
method, of course, leaves the upper part of the wall clear, whereon
to hang pictures, trophies of arms, armorial shields, or other mural
decorations. Other libraries have cupboards, or rather bookcases,
with wooden panelled doors of 2 ft. to 2 ft. 6 in. high, the regular
bookcases being placed on the top of these. This is a very good
plan, for the lower part of the bookcase may serve as a convenient
resting-place for magazines, pamphlets, newspapers, and drawings.

One great point to be observed is to have the books protected by good
glass; it gives a better appearance to the whole room when the glass
is really good, and, above all, the books are safe from the injurious
effect of dust or damp.

Magazines and periodicals are generally bound, and, therefore,
may be placed on the shelves. A number of pamphlets relating to a
certain subject may be cheaply, neatly and easily bound at home. Each
pamphlet should be taken and opened at the middle; then, with the aid
of a needle and some strong twine, it should be sewn in such a manner
as to leave two loops, occupying about two-thirds of the length, on
the outside at the back. When each pamphlet has been treated in a
like way, taking especial care that each loop is of equal size, two
strips of coarse canvas must be cut, long enough to wrap entirely
round the whole set of pamphlets. Two pieces of pasteboard, of the
exact size you wish the volume to be, must be procured; then, having
previously passed the canvas strips under the loops of twine, you
carefully paste or glue the canvas, and place them on the boards.
Two pieces of clean paper, well gummed, are placed inside the cover
over the canvas strips. A piece of canvas, or, better still, leather,
of about double the thickness of the back of your volume, and the
exact height of the pasteboard cover, is glued on to the back, a good
piece overlapping on each side of the cover. Now nothing remains to
be done but to glue a piece of parchment behind, writing on it the
description of the contents. The whole is placed under a substantial
weight, and in a couple of days you have a neat volume instead of a
collection of stray sheets of printed paper.

Dabblers in literature, and the searchers after general knowledge,
frequently cut out from papers and periodicals articles and
paragraphs which interest them. These accumulate and soon encumber
the writing-table, library-table, and the mantelpiece, and ultimately
find their way into the fire or the waste-paper basket. This may
be obviated and a more orderly appearance be given to the room,
by collecting these newspaper scraps in a box or drawer, and at
convenient intervals pasting them, in alphabetical order, into a
large book formed of cheap paper. The cartridge paper should be
folded twice; thus each sheet gives eight pages, and the printed
scraps pasted in in two rows or three columns, leaving a good margin,
whereon the subject treated of in the newspaper scraps should be
legibly written, the date and name of the paper whence the scrap has
been cut being written at the end of each cutting.

The foregoing notes are due to the late E. C. Rye, Librarian of the
Royal Geographical Society.

Books placed in a library should be thoroughly dusted two or three
times a year, not only to keep them in all their freshness, but
also to prevent any development of insects and to disclose signs
of dampness. The interior of a book also asks that care, which
unfortunately is neglected very often. After having taken a book from
the shelves, it should not be opened before ascertaining that the top
edge is not covered with dust. If it is a book that has had the edge
cut, it should be dusted with a soft duster, or the dust simply blown
off. If it is a book which has uncut edges it should be brushed with
rather a hard brush. By this method in opening the volume, one need
not be afraid that the dust will enter between the leaves and soil
them.

A library has generally three kinds of enemies to be guarded against,
viz. insects, damp, and rats or mice. Every one knows how to guard
against damp and rats or mice. Several means are adopted to keep
insects at a distance. The first consists in the proper choice of
woods: these are cedar, cypress, mahogany, sandal, or very dry and
sound oak. All these are compact or of very strong aroma, and are
such as insects do not like to pierce. Another source of safety is
the use of astringent or poisonous chemicals in the binding of books.

The insects that make ravages in books multiply very rapidly; and
very few libraries are free from them. The microscopic eggs, that are
left by the female, give birth to a small grub, which pierces the
leather boards and book for its nourishment, and to get to the air.
These are familiarly called bookworms, but by the scientific world
they are known as _Hypothenemus eruditus_ which eats the leather, and
_Anobium striatum_ which bores through the paper. The larvæ of the
_Dermestes_ also attack wood as well as books.

Alum, as employed in the paste used by binders, is not an absolute
preventive, although it contributes greatly to the preservation of
the leather. Resin as used by shoe-makers is preferable, and in
effect works in the same way; but oil of turpentine has a greater
effect. Anything of strong odour, like aniseed or bergamot, mixed
perfectly but in small quantities, preserves the paste during an
unlimited time.




_THE FARMYARD._


This chapter will embrace the ordinary domestic animals, birds, &c.,
usually kept at a country-house.


=Horse.=--_Choosing and Buying._--The weak points of a horse can be
better discovered while standing than while moving. If sound, he
will stand firmly and squarely in his limbs without moving any of
them, the feet flat upon the ground, with legs plump and naturally
poised; if a foot is lifted from the ground, or the weight taken
from it, disease may be suspected, or at least tenderness, which is
a precursor of disease. If the horse stands with his feet spread
apart, or straddles with his hind legs, there is a weakness in the
loins, and the kidneys are disordered. Heavy pulling bends the knees.
Bluish, milky cast eyes in horses indicate moon blindness. A bad
tempered horse keeps his ears thrown back. A kicking horse is apt to
have scarred legs. A stumbling horse has blemished knees. When the
skin is rough and harsh, and does not move easily to the touch, the
horse is a heavy eater, and digestion is bad. Never buy a horse whose
breathing organs are at all impaired. Place your ear at the side of
the heart, and if a wheezing sound is heard it is an indication of
trouble. (_Rural Record._)

Examine the eyes in the stable, then in the light; if they are in
any degree defective, reject. Examine the teeth to determine the
age. Examine the poll or crown of the head, and the withers, or top
of the shoulders, as the former is the seat of poll evil, and the
latter that of fistula. Examine the front feet; and if the frog has
fallen, or settled down between the heels of the shoes, and the heels
are contracted, reject him, as, if not already lame, he is liable
to become so at any moment. Observe the knees and ankles, and, if
cocked, you may be sure that it is the result of the displacement
of the internal organs of the foot, a consequence of neglect of the
form of the foot, and injudicious shoeing. Examine for interfering,
from the ankle to the knees, and if it proves that he cuts the knee,
or the leg between the knee and the ankle, or the latter badly,
reject. “Speedy cuts” of the knee and leg are most serious in their
effects. Many trotting horses, which would be of great value were it
not for this single defect, are by it rendered valueless. Carefully
examine the hoofs for cracks, as jockeys have acquired great skill
in concealing cracks in the hoofs. If cracks are observable in any
degree, reject. Also both look and feel for ringbones, which are
callosities on the bones of the pastern near the foot; if apparent,
reject. Examine the hind feet for the same defects of the foot and
ankle named in connection with the front feet. Then proceed to the
hock, which is the seat of curb, and both bone and blood spavins. The
former is a bony enlargement of the posterior and lower portion of
the hock-joint; the second a bony excrescence on the lower, inner,
and rather anterior portion of the hock; and the last is a soft
enlargement of the synovial membrane on the inner and upper portion
of the hock. Either is sufficient reason for rejecting. See that the
horse stands with the front feet well under him, and observe both the
heels of the feet and shoes to see if he “forges” or overreaches;
and in case he does, and the toes of the front feet are low, the
heels high, and the heels of the front shoes a good thickness, and
the toes of the hind feet are of no proper length, reject him; for
if he still overreaches with his feet in the condition described,
he is incurable. If he props out both front feet, or points them
alternately, reject. In testing the driving qualities, take the reins
while on the ground, invite the owner to get in the vehicle first,
then drive yourself. Avoid the display or the use of the whip; and
if he has not sufficient spirit to exhibit his best speed without
it, reject. Should he drive satisfactorily without, it will then be
proper to test his amiability and the extent of his training in the
use of the whip. Thoroughly test his walking qualities first, as that
gait is more important in the horse of all work than great trotting
speed. The value of a horse, safe for all purposes without blinds, is
greatly enhanced thereby. Purchase of the breeder, if practicable.

The _Field_ has often warned its readers against describing any horse
they might have for sale as a “perfect” hunter, or “good” hunter.
Describing a horse as a good hunter is giving a very comprehensive
warranty of performance, and to a certain extent of soundness as
well. No horse can be called a hunter unless he can jump, and his
jumping powers may depend a great deal upon the man who rides
him. If he jumps at all, he may either take the bit in his teeth
and “commit” his rider to a fence 40 yd. off; or he may require a
resolute man and a cutting whip to get him over anything like a
ditch. No horse to whom either of these peculiarities attaches could
be called a “good,” much less a “perfect,” hunter. It has never been
expressly decided whether, under these assumed conditions, there
would be a breach of warranty if the horse were so described, but the
probabilities are against the seller. A horse that is in the very
slightest degree touched in the wind is unsound, yet for practical
purposes a whistler or a grunter is ten times more useful as a hunter
than a horse with bad navicular, or a sprained sinew. But, so far
as the law goes, the lame horse might be sold as a good hunter,
while the whistler could not. Upon this ground, if a court were to
decide that a horse described as a good or perfect hunter must be
sound in wind and eyes, there would be every reason to expect that
the same tribunal would hold that he must be sound on his feet and
legs, or at any rate fit for immediate use. In the case of harness
horses, however, it has been held that a warranty of soundness is not
involved in one of quietness. Warranties of soundness are going out
of fashion. But as the pedigree, or antecedents, of a horse often
have a material influence on the price paid for him, a statement
concerning one or both is often made by the seller as an integral
part of the contract. Such assertions are just as much a warranty as
if they referred to his quietness, age, or soundness, and, should
they prove false, render the seller liable to an action for breach
of warranty. It would be wise of the seller to say nothing, unless
he himself received a written description with the horse, which
statement he could show and explain to the person purchasing from
him, when, should the contents be untrue, he will not be liable. When
a horse is sent for sale to a commission stable, the commission agent
is justified in repeating to a buyer the description given to him
(the agent) by the owner of the horse, and the seller will be bound
by that description. Of course the agent has no right to exceed his
instructions and give a warranty on his own account. Should he do so,
the seller will not be bound. But a warranty by an ordinary servant,
or by a person directed by another to sell a horse, and put, for that
purpose, in a position which to a stranger might seem to imply an
authority to warrant, would bind the seller.

_Keeping._--Horse keeping must always be costly. Grooms’ wages,
rent of stabling, hay, oats, straw, beans, carrots, bran, linseed,
taxes, coals and candles, gas or oil, shoeing, stable implements,
and veterinary attendance cost money in every establishment. When
the whole cost is taken into account it will be found that in the
case of full-sized horses the expense of each varies, according to
circumstances, from about 30_s._ to 36_s._ or more a week, even when
there is no waste. The prime cost of horses, carriages, and harness
will depend to a great extent upon the purpose for which they are
required. It is well to be circumspect in buying a second-hand
vehicle, as getting up worthless carriages for sale is a regular
trade. With harness and saddlery the best goods are everywhere the
best economy.

The first item is the stable. If one is attached to the house, no
extra cost will be incurred. The average charge for renting will be
about 5_s._ per horse per week, inclusive of rates and taxes, but
exclusive of fire, lights, or straw. If stabling be rented by the
year, the weekly average will be less, as also in places where there
is not much demand, and where it is rather of makeshift.

The groom should be a thorough stableman, conversant with the proper
mode of dressing horses, methodical in habit, and honest. From 25_s._
to 30_s._ per week should secure the services of a good man, and
for this sum he would find himself in everything. If accommodation
allows, he might sleep on the premises, but should he sleep and live
in the house his wages will be much less. He should know how to clip,
singe, foment, put on a bandage properly, and give a horse a ball;
but it is well to allow no drugs or physic to be given without the
directions of a veterinary surgeon. If the man is a hard worker, he
will look after 3 saddle horses and clean his master’s breeches and
boots, single-handed; but this is rather trying him, and is more than
the majority of grooms would undertake; in most instances it would be
necessary to have a second hand--a lad at about 14_s._ a week would
do--to “muck out” the stables, help dress the horses, and do rough
work. Similarly, 2 hunters, a harness horse, and vehicle, will be
heavy work for one man.

Many persons have their horses foraged by contract, supplies being
sent in at fixed periods. In London some contractors do it for about
1_s._ or 1_s._ 2_d._ a hand, i.e. a horse not exceeding 16 hands will
be foraged for about 16_s._ per week, while a pony not exceeding 12
hands would only cost 12_s._ When living in the country, purchase
of neighbouring farmers. Let all forage be of the best quality--it
is cheapest in the end. Oats and hay must be old--that is to say,
oats and hay harvested in 1884 should not be used in the stables
till the July or August following at the earliest. Some people give
the last cut oats after Christmas; but it should never be done. A
horse requires feeding often; though 3 times a day is sufficient,
4 times is better. Horses should drink before they eat, because
water does not remain in the stomach, but passes through it into
a large intestine called the cæcum. If a horse be fed first, the
water passing through the stomach would be likely to carry with it
particles of food, and thus bring about colic. Whatever a groom may
say, let a horse drink just as much as he likes. If he be watered 4
times a day he will never take too much to be good for him. It will
be cheaper to buy enough forage to last the season or more, than
to be perpetually getting in small quantities. If a hunter--taking
him as the typical horse, because he requires the best keep--be fed
4 times a day, he will have a quartern of oats at each feed, or a
peck a day (4 quarterns = 1 peck), or 1 bush. of oats will last 4
days, and in 1 week he will eat 1¾ bush. With each feed a couple or
three double handfuls of chaff should be given, as this will cause
the food to be more thoroughly masticated. Hay is given in the rack
morning and evening, about 6-8 lb. each time; though where horses
are not limited as to oats they will not require so much. A truss of
hay weighs 56 lb., so the weekly allowance to each horse may be set
down at about 1½ truss. Some good judges recommend that hay should
be in the rack between feeding times. Beans are more nutritive than
oats, but are heating, and should not be given to a 4-year-old at
all. A 5-year-old should not have them unless he works hard, and then
not more than 1 lb. per diem; aged horses may have about 2 lb. per
day divided into 3 feeds; but during a frost, or when only used for
gentle work, such as hacking in the London season, beans should be
dispensed with. Bran is chiefly used for mashes, and it is advisable
to follow the time-honoured plan of giving one every Saturday night.
Linseed gruel is, by some horses, preferred to that made from
oatmeal; but the latter is refreshing and soothing if the horse will
take it. A few carrots given every now and then will tend to keep the
blood cool. Study the appetite of each horse.

For bedding there is nothing better than wheat straw. Oat straw is
permissible, and cheaper. Barley straw must on no account be used.
The quantity of straw required per week will vary with the care with
which the groom separates the clean from the soiled in the morning,
the wish of the owner as to the look of his stable, and the size of
the box or stall. Speaking roughly, a careful groom can manage in an
ordinary sized loose box with about 50-60 lb. per week, and with this
allowance a horse can be well bedded and kept clean; this, of course,
after the bed has been originally formed with about 2 trusses.

As to cost. Oats vary from 3_s._ to 4_s._ per bush.; best upland hay
may be set down at 5_l._ a ton (40 trusses of 56 lb. in a ton); straw
at 3_l._ 10_s._ a ton; and beans at a trifle more than 1_d._ a lb.
Thus the cost of keeping a horse for a week will be:--

                                         _s. d._

  2 bush. oats, at 3_s._ 6_d._            7  0
  1½ trusses hay, at 2_s._ 6_d._          3  9
  14 lb. beans                            1  6
  60 lb. straw (say)                      2  0
                                         -----
                                         14  3

Something must be allowed for bran, linseed, and carrots; these may
be set down at about 2_s._ per week.

Groom’s wages must be added. Suppose he receives 25_s._ per week,
and only has one horse to look after, that one horse will cost the
owner 39_s._ 3_d._ at the lowest estimate; if there be 2 horses, they
will each stand at 26_s._ 9_d._, and so on. Shoeing may be set down
roughly at 3_l._ per annum; the tax for a groom is 15_s._ per year;
the veterinary surgeon may have to be called in occasionally; while
coals and lights must not be left out of sight. From a money point
of view, therefore, keeping horses in a private stable is, generally
speaking, no cheaper than sending them to livery at 30_s._ per week;
but the advantage is that they are generally better done at home.
(_Field._)

Horses need well-ventilated stables, free from draught and damp. The
floor should be smooth and nearly level. It should be well drained
and light, for sudden change from darkness to light is trying to the
eyes, and a damp, offensive odour is injurious. Then, again, the
bedding and litter should be carefully separated from that which is
foul. They should be well shaken up and dried, and the stall should
be thoroughly cleansed; and when the stable is empty, let in plenty
of fresh air. A horse’s stall should be large enough to allow him
to lie down comfortably in any position. A tired horse will be glad
to lie down with his legs stretched out if he has room; but if you
cannot give him a loose box, then a light halter block should be
used, and care taken to arrange the halter so that it may travel
freely to allow the head to come easily to the litter, for rest and
sleep are as necessary as food and water. If a horse comes to the
stable wet, he should be rubbed dry before the blanket is put on.
If he is standing about in the cold, it should be put on. The legs
should be rubbed, and the hoofs always examined for stones. When
dressed and made comfortable, leave a bucket of chilled water in the
box, which should be filled up with cold the last thing at night when
closing the stables.

_Cleaning._--One of the most important things in the management of
farm horses is their cleaning, and yet nothing is more neglected.
The horse should never be cleaned or harnessed while it is eating
breakfast. Let horses eat their food in peace, for many, from
sanguine temperament or greed, bolt their oats when handled during
the time of feeding. Harness can be quickly enough put on after the
feed is eaten, and time should then be taken to comb the mane and
tail, and use a wisp of straw on the body and legs. When the horses
come in at dinner-time, they should at once be _unharnessed_. The
feed is then to be given, and before the harness is again put on, the
horse should be thoroughly rubbed down with a wisp of straw or hay.
If the horses are very warm on coming in, they should be rubbed down
immediately after the removal of the harness.

The cleaning or grooming, which should be done at night, consists
first in currying the horse with a currycomb to free him of the dirt
adhering to the hair, and which being now dry, is easily removed. A
wisping of straw removes the roughest of the dirt loosened by the
currycomb. The legs ought to be thoroughly wisped, not only to make
them clean, but to dry up any moisture that may have been left in
the evening; and at this time the feet should be picked clean by
the foot-picker--i.e. an iron instrument made for the purpose--of
any dirt adhering between the shoe and the foot. The brush is then
to be used to remove the remaining and finer portions of dust from
the hair, which is cleared from the brush by a few rasps along the
currycomb. This wisping and brushing, if done with some force and
dexterity, with a combing of the tail and mane, should render the
horse pretty clean. The skin of the farm horse should at all times be
_clean_ if not _sleek_, and a slap of the hand upon the horse will
show if there is loose dust in the hair. The currycomb should not be
used below the knees, as it is apt to cause injury. For cleaning the
legs and feet, nothing is better than the water brush.

At morning stables, after the carriage horse is “mucked out,” the
next step is to quarter him over and pick and wash his feet out.
The first quartering may be done with an old water brush, and means
roughly removing from the horse with water alone anything imparted
to his side by manure. By the time the horse has done feeding the
quartering will have nearly dried. If the animal is for morning
exercise the above is sufficient. The dressing proper can be done
when he comes home. If he is for hunting or hacking that day a good
stableman will set to work at him as soon as the horse has finished
his feed. If he is a grey, and has become stained with manure in the
night, the groom should well rub in, with his hands only, plenty of
common brown soap (not soft soap), and use plenty of tepid water in
doing it. Then take a clean water brush, and let his shoulder go at
his work until the stain is out. This is easily seen, because if the
man finds no discoloration in the water in the bucket when he has
sponged (with a perfectly clean sponge) all the soap off, no particle
of stain will remain. If the water used in stable work is hard, a
little soda dissolved in it will cause the soap to lather well. The
horse should be tied up short while being washed, and after the
sponging the wet places should be thoroughly dried with a rubber,
which should be cleanliness itself. Worn-out table linen makes the
best stable rubbers, the older the better. When the washed parts are
quite dry, the horse should be well dressed with a clean horse-brush;
one with any old dirt or grease in it will make fresh stains. After
dressing with the horse brush, his coat should be again well rubbed
the right way with another dry rubber fresh from the towel-horse
and the saddle-room fire. Lazy stablemen are in the habit of using
powdered charcoal to remove stains from grey horses. The practice is
idle and dirty. In the case of clipped horses, stable stains can be
removed in a very short time, and not much more is requisite with
that of a well-done horse with his summer coat on. When the coat is
shifting, a little more labour is requisite.

_Driving._--Strict adherence to the rule of the road will not
necessarily protect a driver from being liable for the result of
a collision between another vehicle and his own. Sometimes he may
be held to be negligent because he remained on the near side, and
did not pull out of the way, even into the opposite gutter, if
necessary. It is not possible to say what acts constitute negligent
driving; the nearest rule that can be given is that drivers should
act as reasonable men in the management of their vehicles. If
they do anything that a reasonable man would not do, or omit to
do anything that he would, then they are guilty of negligence;
but acts that would amount to negligence in one case would not
necessarily be so in another. Negligence on the part of a driver
is not excused merely because the victim was also guilty of some
degree of negligence, provided of course that it did not contribute
to the _immediate_ cause of the accident. If, however, the proximate
cause of an accident be a driver’s unskilfulness, the injured driver
may not recover, although the _primary_ cause of the accident was
the wrong-doing of some one else. If a man leave a horse and cart
standing in the street without any one to look after them, and the
horse, either by itself, or on being struck by a passer-by, backs
into the window of a shop, and damages goods, the owner of the cart,
having chosen to leave it in the street, must take the risk of any
mischief. In cases where there is negligence on both sides, the rule
to be deduced is, that a person injured by the negligent driving
of another, cannot recover damages if but for own negligence, the
accident would not have happened at all. Sometimes it may happen that
a person who is driven into, or over, must bring his action, not
against the driver of the vehicle inflicting the injury, but against
a third party; as, for instance, if one carriage be so improperly
driven as to compel a second carriage to take such a line as to make
it collide with a third, the driver of the first carriage would be
liable to the owner of the third. Lastly, in a pure accident, in
which no one has been guilty of negligence, the injured party has no
right of action at all. It is not because a man’s horse runs away,
or becomes unmanageable, that the owner is to be responsible for any
harm that may be sustained by a member of the public; a mutilated
person is always entitled to sympathy, but not invariably to damages.
(_Field._)

_Hiring._--Horses, carriages, or both, may be hired under 3
conditions: (_a_) Where the hired property remains on the owner’s
premises; (_b_) Where, during the period of hire, it is transferred
to the premises of the hirer; (_c_) Where it is hired from the owner
for a particular journey, and returned to him as soon as this is
performed. Under either of the 2 first conditions, the hiring may be
for a period exceeding a year, or for any shorter time. All contracts
not to be performed within one year from the time of making must be
in writing and signed. An agreement made on the 1st of May, 1887, to
hire horses for one year from that day, will terminate on 1st of May,
1888, and therefore be completed within the year, and so not require
writing; but if the agreement (made on the 1st) be for a year’s hire,
to commence on the 20th of May, the contract will not be completely
performed until the 20th of May, or 20 days after the expiration of
the year, consequently writing will be needed.

The chief inducement to hire instead of buying carriages and horses
is, that by payment of an inclusive charge, the trouble and annoyance
inseparable from keeping a private stable are avoided. The owner of a
carriage let out to hire undertakes, in return for the sum paid, to
do certain repairs, varying according to circumstances.

Most coachmakers now bind themselves to execute only such repairs as
may be rendered necessary by fair wear and tear; accidents, however
arising, being expressly exempted. The result is that, in the event
of a “smash,” the hirer has to pay the owner for the damage; and,
if the former or his servant is in fault, the loss falls on him;
while, if the other vehicle be in the wrong, the hirer has to get his
damages from its proprietor--the owner of the hired carriage being
indemnified either way. If the carriage is bought out-and-out during
the period for which it was originally hired, the seller is not bound
to repair gratis after he has sold it.

Under ordinary circumstances the hirer of a horse is not responsible
for any damage that may happen to it, so long as he has not been
guilty either of negligence or of using the horse for a purpose
other than that for which it was hired. But if he has broken the
agreement made at the time of hiring, then he is liable for the loss
resulting from his conduct. Where a horse is hired to take the hirer
to a certain place, the usual and customary route should be taken,
for should the hirer deviate unnecessarily from the most convenient
road, he will be liable. In hiring horses for a special journey, care
should be taken by the hirer to point out when he does and when he
does not mean to go from place to place by the most direct or usual
route. So long as he provides for a deviation he is answerable only
for negligence or improper driving; but if he deviate materially,
such deviation will amount to improper driving, although his
coachmanship may be without reproach.

If a person hire a horse or carriage for a stated period, but return
it before the expiration of the time, the owner must keep it on his
premises till the time for hire has determined, if he wishes to
recover the charge from the hirer. He cannot earn his money twice
over; so, if he sells in the meantime, the hirer will not be liable
for the price of the hiring.

The liability of a person sitting in a carriage to make good
any damage occasioned to the property of others by the driver’s
negligence, depends upon the relationship subsisting between the
driver and the person driven. This relationship differs according to
the ownership of the equipage, or its component parts. The owner of
horses and a carriage, driven by a servant in his exclusive employ,
has cast upon him the most extended liability for his servant’s
negligence; while, on the other hand, the occupant of a hack fly is
discharged from any thought of the horses or the driver. If horses
and a carriage are jobbed in the manner already described, they are
the hirer’s own, so far as the general public are concerned; and if
driven by his own coachman, he will be as liable for the latter’s
negligence as though he purchased them outright. Provided the hirer
of horses use ordinary care in the selection of his coachman--not a
job one--he will not be answerable to the owner of the horses for
the casual negligence of the servant so engaged. If the driver be a
servant of the jobmaster, he does not cease to be so by reason of
the owner of the carriage preferring to be driven by that particular
servant where there is a choice amongst more, any more than a hack
postboy ceases to be the servant of an innkeeper, where a traveller
has a particular preference for one over the rest, on account of his
sobriety and carefulness. Even wearing the hirer’s livery does not
affect the question.

No satisfactory line can be drawn, at which, as a matter of law, the
general owner of a carriage, or rather the general employer of the
driver, ceased to be responsible, and the temporary hirer became
so. Each case of this class must depend upon its own circumstances;
and the jury taking these circumstances into consideration, must
decide whether, at the time of an accident, the driver is acting as
the servant of the hirer, or as the servant of the owner. Generally
it may be taken that when the hirer of horses also has the owner’s
servant to drive, the servant still continues in the jobmaster’s
employ, the ownership of the carriage being immaterial. The horses
and man may be reckoned as one, as constituting the motive and
guiding power.

A hirer of horses may by his own conduct render himself a
co-trespasser with the driver, or even constitute the driver his
own servant for the purpose of becoming liable for the result of
an accident. If the hirer of a whole equipage direct the owner’s
servant to drive at an increased pace in a crowded thoroughfare, or
in some other way assume the control of the horses, he will draw on
to his own shoulders that responsibility which would under ordinary
circumstances rest with the jobmaster. Still more will this be the
case if he drives himself. (_Field._)

_Care of Carriages._--(_a_) The coach-room should be large, dry, and
well ventilated; the walls and ceiling lined and finished in oil or
varnish; the windows large, but curtained with blue curtains, so as
to admit a moderate amount of light; the floors and ceilings should
be kept free from dust or dirt; if the floor is wet when sweeping,
the carriage should not be put in until it is dry.

(_b_) If the stable is of brick or stone, the walls should be lined
with a close board partition at least 3 in. from the wall, with
openings at the top and bottom to allow a circulation of air between
the wall and partition. Never allow a carriage to stand near a brick
or stone wall, or any other that is damp, as the dampness affects the
paint and trimmings.

(_c_) Ammonia destroys varnish and affects colours. Care should be
taken, therefore, to locate the carriage-room in such a manner that
it will not be exposed to the fumes of the stable or manure heap.

(_d_) A carriage should never be allowed to stand in the
carriage-room without being protected from dust by a cotton or linen
cover; but this cover should not be put on when the carriage is wet
or dusty. Dust if allowed to remain on eats into varnish: the cover
should be so arranged as not to touch the carriage.

(_e_) Carriages should be washed frequently, even when not in use.
They should also be dusted every 2 or 3 days, and be exposed to
the air in a shady place. In washing, use cold water and a sponge.
Soften the mud by squeezing the water from the sponge on the panel
or other part, and do not pass the sponge over the paint until the
mud is soaked off. After sponging, dry with a “shammy,” but do not
use the sponge and “shammy” in the same pail of water. Be careful to
dry thoroughly, and protect the trimming from injury by water. Do not
allow any part of the carriage that is washed to dry before wiping
with the “shammy,” as it will stain the paint. Hot or even warm water
or soap should not be used. Never allow mud to dry on a carriage, as
it will produce spots or stains. Always wash in a shady place.

(_f_) Enamelled leather while new does not need much washing; it
should be well dusted, and may be wiped with a moist “shammy”; if
it becomes dimmed, make a suds of soft water and Castile or crown
soap. Apply it with a sponge and dry with a “shammy” moistened in
clean water; if the leather shows spots, rub them with cotton waste
and linseed oil; if the leather becomes hard, wash it clean and oil
with neatsfoot oil; when the oil has permeated the leather, wash the
surface oil off with crown soap suds. Dash and other smooth leather
should be treated in the same manner as the paint.

(_g_) The trimmings require a great deal of attention. All roll-up
curtains, aprons, &c., should be unrolled and stretched out smooth.
The joints should be “struck” so as to slack the leather, but
not enough to allow the top to fall. Cloths, cushions, and other
removable portions must be well beaten and brushed, and all immovable
parts be well brushed; this, while preventing injury from dust, is
also a protection from moths. Moroccos can be cleaned by rubbing them
with a moist “shammy.”

(_h_) Mountings should be kept clean by repeated rubbing; all acids
or powders injure the paint, leather or cloth, and it is impossible
to clean metals with them without coming in contact with the
trimmings. If the metal is tarnished, use a small piece of “shammy,”
that has been prepared by having rottenstone, or other fine polishing
powder, rubbed into it and afterwards whipped and brushed to remove
all surplus powder, then rub with a dry rag. To clean lamps mix
whiting with spirits of wine; apply to the reflector and other inside
plating; when dry rub off with a rag, clean the glass with water and
polish with paper.

(_i_) Oil the axles frequently, but use but little oil at one time.
Support the axle by a jack, having a leather padded top; take off
the nuts, and if much soiled, remove the grease with spirits of
turpentine; remove the wheel and clean the axle arm and hub box
thoroughly, then apply a few drops of castor oil, replace the
washers, wheel, and nuts, seeing that each has a thin coating of oil.
The fifth wheel and king bolt should also be oiled enough to prevent
the metal surfaces from grinding.

(_j_) A carriage should be inspected carefully to see that there are
no moths in the trimming, carpet, &c.; if discovered they can be
expelled by beating and brushing; moth preventatives are valueless
as against the moth grub, but they will prevent the fly depositing
its eggs. Musk and other strong perfumes will keep the flies from
depositing their eggs in the trimmings.

(_k_) If repairs are needed, it is best to send to the carriage shop;
but the paint will become worn off of step pads and tires, which can
be restored by a little black japan, which should be laid on thin.

(_l_) Carriages should be revarnished as often as once a year; but if
the paint cracks badly, varnishing increases the deformity, and there
is but one way to correct it--to burn off the paint and repaint from
the wood. Repairing is as much of an art as building, therefore do
not send a carriage for repairs to any but skilful mechanics.

(_m_) If a carriage is not in regular use it should be run out of
the coach-house once or twice a week, and thoroughly ventilated, by
removing cushions, carpets, &c., and opening the doors and windows.
After being well aired, it should be thoroughly dusted, and washed
before it is returned to the house.

(_n_) The person having charge of the carriage should examine it
closely each day after it has been used, to see that there are no
loose or broken nuts, bolts, tires, &c. If proper attention is given
to this matter the carriage will always be ready for use.


=Cow.=--_Choosing._--Form, general appearance, and the “touch” of the
skin, are points to be attended to; with regard to these, an idea may
be obtained from the following description of a good dairy cow:--Head
small, long, and narrow towards the muzzle; horns small, clear, bent,
and placed at considerable distance from each other; eyes not large,
but brisk and lively; neck slender and long, tapering towards the
head, with a little loose skin below; shoulders and fore-quarters
light and thin; hind-quarters large and broad; back straight, and
joints slack and open; carcass deep in the rib; tail small and long,
reaching to the heels; legs small and short, with firm joints; udder
square, but a little oblong, stretching forward, thin-skinned and
capacious, but not low hung; teats or paps small, pointing outwards,
and at a considerable distance from each other; milk-veins capacious
and prominent; skin loose, thin, and soft like a glove; hair short,
soft, and woolly; general figure, when in flesh, handsome and
well-proportioned. The extent of the upturned hairs on the escutcheon
indicate the properties of the 2 hind-quarters of the cow’s udder as
to the quantity of yield of milk, but not as to the 2 fore-quarters.
These latter should be separately investigated; judges generally look
at the size of these and examine the size of “milk vein” which runs
along the belly.

_Breeds._--The Yorkshire yields very large quantities of milk when
fed liberally; the Ayrshire is held in high estimation for cheese
making; and the Alderney (Jersey) for butter and cream. The Suffolk
is well fitted for districts where the pastures are poor; the yield
of milk is good, and it is comparatively rich in butter. Weight for
weight, shorthorns are about 50 per cent. heavier than Ayrshires, and
require ⅓ more food. At the same time, it is found that Ayrshires
yield quite as much milk as shorthorns. The only difference claimed
in favour of the shorthorn is, that it maintains more flesh than the
Ayrshire, keeps its money value together better, and can be finished
for the butcher with greater ease and more satisfactory results. The
small Scotch race is found to be, when used for the production of
milk for sale, of greater value than the ordinary dairy shorthorn,
producing an equal amount of milk at much less cost, while a far
smaller amount of capital is required in the formation of the herd.
As a butter maker, the Holstein is nowhere with the Jersey; nor yet
as a converter of ordinary farm produce into milk, because no value
set upon the Dutch superiority in skim milk can bring them up to the
Jersey standard for butter, when the difference in consumption is
taken into account. The Jersey milk contains 26 per cent. more solids
of all kinds than the Dutch; whilst of butter-fat the Jersey milk
contains 80 per cent. more.

_Keeping._--Amateur cowkeepers are advised not to think of breeding
at all. Buy a cow, newly calved; do not let her be served; feed her
very highly all through her time, and when the milk ceases to pay
for the keep, sell her at once to the butcher and get another. This
is the town dairymen’s system, and they would not so universally
follow this plan if it were not the safest. Above all, sentiment must
be shunned. The amateur must keep a close watch over each week’s
expenditure and income, and sell the cow, however favourite a one,
directly these approximate. Then the trouble of settling a newcomer
will have to be faced over again. On the whole, it may be doubted
if one amateur in a hundred will ever succeed in making a cow pay,
even where there is a garden and small paddock, by reason of the
costliness of good dairy servants. (_Field._)

The great art of feeding is in selecting the foods most suitable
for the purpose in view, without entailing waste, or an undue
strain on the digestive system. Every cow should have no less than
650 cub. ft. of breathing space; the cold air should be admitted
near the floor line, with ample ridge ventilation, for the escape
of the vitiated air; the building itself should be kept clean and
free from fermenting or decaying animal odours or vegetable matter
(underground drainage, however skilfully executed, is an utter
abomination in a cowshed); all the inside walls should be limewashed
at least twice a year, and the beds, floors, and passages well washed
and scrubbed once a week. Whatever tends to increase the health and
comfort of the animal economises food, as well as increases its
effective results; every source of irritation, whether in the field
or the stall, entails an undue waste of food, whilst for the time
it reduces the flow and deteriorates the quality of the milk. The
quality of the drinking water has a great influence on the yield of
milk. Soft water is preferable to hard; hence the water from running
streams or ponds is preferable to well water, which is generally at a
low temperature. The action of the atmosphere on ponds or reservoirs
has a softening influence on the water, a favourable condition for
milk cows; impure or tainted water should be excluded. Unlike the
food, a portion of the water taken in by the cows passes direct to
the third stomach, and enters at once into the circulation. The
influence of the food on the yield of milk is well known. Chemical
investigation proves that the milk solids are only slightly affected
by the food, the casein and sugar being nearly stationary, whilst the
quantity of butter fat varies considerably; the greatest variation is
in that of the watery constituents.

Decorticated cotton cake exclusively used as an auxiliary in
conjunction with large quantities of roots and hay is not an
economical food for dairy cows, owing to the large percentage of
flesh formers it contains, whilst practically cotton cake, though
admirably adapted for rearing and fattening purposes, when given
to milking cows in quantities of 4-6 lb. a day produces a leathery
cream, and certainly not a superfine quality of butter. A mixture of
pea and palm-nut meals will produce a rich milk, though not of the
finest quality. A mixture of rice and linseed meals will produce a
large yield of butter of a somewhat oily character. If quality is, as
it should be, the chief desideratum, nothing can equal the home-grown
cereals--beans, peas, wheat, barley, and oats; under ordinary
circumstances these will produce a quality of milk, cream, and butter
that cannot be surpassed.

The cowhouse must be kept as near as possible at a uniform
temperature of 60° F.; the cows may be turned into the fold-yard
daily for ½ hour, about noon. Large quantities of cold water taken
into the system are positively injurious, lowering the temperature
of the body, which is maintained in a normal state at the expense
of the food. For cows in full milk, cooked food is much preferable
to raw, entailing less labour on the organs of digestion and
assimilation. The mixture of chop, meal, roots, and grain may either
be boiled in the ordinary cast-iron boiler or steamed. To obtain
the most effective results, the food should be given to the animals
in a sloppy state, and at a temperature of 55° to 60° F. Regularity
of feeding and milking must be strictly observed. The morning meal
should be given before milking commences, and the dung removed
from the beds and grip. As milkers, females are preferable, the
hands being soft and pliable compared with the horny hand of man.
The quantity of food necessary to supply the wants of individual
animals is governed by its weight. A cow in full profit consumes
daily 3 per cent. of her live weight. During April, a cow in full
milk should have, in addition to boiled or steamed roots and hay
or straw chaff, 2 lb. bean or pea meal, 2 lb. wheat meal, 2 lb.
ground oats, and 2 lb. bran. If these cannot be grown on the farm or
purchased at moderate cost, 2 lb. linseed, barley, or Indian corn
meal may be substituted for the wheat meal. If the aim is quality,
it is essential that bean, pea, or oat meals be used. Care must
be exercised in regulating the quantity of food to meet the wants
of the different animals, and not, as is too often the practice,
of serving a uniform quantity to each. In every case the mangers
should be cleanly swept out before feeding. By far the best kind of
hay for milking cows is well-saved clover or mixed seeds cut just
before coming into flower. Dusty or highly heated hay injures the
health and deteriorates the quality of the produce. The chief part of
the hay and straw should be cut and mixed with the meal and boiled
roots. Only a small quantity of long hay should be given twice a
day in order to excite rumination. Raw roots are only admissible
when given as a mid-day meal. As in the case of the steam boiler a
quantity of fuel is wasted in raising the temperature of the water
from the freezing to the boiling point, so it is in the animal
system; the fat producers which, under favourable conditions, would
increase the quality of the milk, are expended in bringing a large
quantity of water to the heat of the body. Brewers’ grains are highly
charged with water, and consequently open to a similar objection.
Pastures, if saved during the spring months, will be ready for
stocking from the first to the middle of May. With the first bite
of spring grass the food must be changed; the boiled roots should
be gradually discontinued; the same quantity of meals cooked and
mixed with chopped hay as before, fed in a less soppy state, in
order to counteract the opening tendency of the young succulent
grasses. This régime may be continued to the middle of June, when
the quantity of meal may be reduced one half, or, if the pastures
are good, discontinued till the autumn. So long as the artificial
feeding is continued, cows must be fed in the stalls twice a day. By
the beginning or middle of September, the early cabbage should be
ready for use; this will increase the flow of milk at the expense
of the quality. To maintain the standard, the use of meals and chop
must again be continued, commencing with 2 lb. a day, with a gradual
increase, arriving at the standard allowance by the 1st of November,
which will be maintained throughout the winter and following months.

The estimated cost of keeping a dairy cow in full profit during the
winter months, including labour of milking and attendance, is not
less than 1_s._ a day, charging the home-grown produce at market
price. Green hay is greatly to be preferred for milking cows, tending
to enhance the value of the produce. Grasses should not be allowed to
stand till over-ripe, causing the soluble matters to become converted
into indigestible woody fibre; and sufficient labour should be
employed; the hay should be constantly stirred from the time it is
cut until it is placed in the stack, unless meantime showery weather
should intervene; hay barns, too, are indispensable to the dairy
farmer. (Gilbert Murray.)

Turnips give a disagreeable flavour to butter, when used in feeding,
in autumn and winter. No mode which will prevent the taste of turnips
being imparted to the milk is better than the practice of giving the
turnips to the cow after she has been milked, instead of before.

When at pasture, cows are often tethered with chains or ropes of 12
ft. and upwards in length, having swivels to prevent twisting. At one
end there is a ring, through which the chain is passed to form a loop
that is passed over and tightened round the base of the horns, or
secured to a head stall. The lower half from the swivel is sometimes
made of rope, and at this end the tether is attached to an eye in a
pointed iron peg of 9 in. or so long and about 1¼ in. in diameter at
the head, which is flattened like the head of a nail. This peg is
driven into the ground. The cows are shifted according to the weather
and the grass they have eaten, averaging perhaps 6 times a day, the
swivel referred to usually preventing the chain from fouling; and
they are left out at night in warm weather only. The amount of grass
economised by the tethering system is considerable.


=Pig=.--To make it pay, any kind of stock must be well treated. This
is even true of the pig, and no animal pays better when well housed
and fed. Much depends upon the system adopted--whether sows are kept
for breeding, or whether the pigs are fattened. Some persons do best
with breeding sows, and cannot make any profit out of the fatting
process; others declare that fatting is very lucrative. In keeping
pigs for profit, several points are to be considered.

_Styes._--The styes must be practicable, dry, warm, and easily
cleaned, not facing the north, nor with a moist or damp earth bottom.
Farmers generally fill the bottoms 1 ft. deep with chalk; but
although this is better than nothing, it is a poor substitute for a
proper floor, which should be of concrete, with a nice dry raised
wooden bench at one end for sleeping. Wherever earth is found in a
stye, there will be mud very soon--and very filthy, unhealthy mud
too. The stye must be warm, and the straw clean--wheat barley straw
is not so healthy, and encourages vermin as well as dirt. If it is
true that a pig, put up to fatten, should be either sleeping or
eating, then the bed must be as sweet as the food, and even at 35_s._
a load in the country straw will be paid for; but in a bad stye twice
as much will be used as is necessary.

_Breed._--Choice small breeds are too small for the market; they have
not quick growth, and that is what is wanted in breeding for sale at
8-10 weeks; again, choice breeds, from men who exhibit, are sometimes
wanting in vitality, sometimes diseased, and never produce so many or
such vigorous litters as hardy breeds of another type. The best breed
to select is, perhaps, the larger or middle York, which has quickness
of growth, and makes a big strapping youngster in a few weeks. A
cross with a strain of the same type, but of entirely different
blood, is quite necessary for vigour, and to obtain large, strong,
and frequent litters.

_Breeding._--It is an old practice to advise that the pig should
never be used for breeding until at least 15 months old. There is
soundness in the advice, if a man desires to obtain the finest
animals for stock or exhibition: but not when the object is to
obtain as much money out of your stock as you can. Some make a
practice of obtaining first litters from yelts under a year old.
A September litter is divided into boars and sows; the former are
cut and fattened; the latter are well fed, and allowed to run out
to increase their vigour until the following September, when they
have a litter, having been put to the boar about the end of May.
They thus grow fast during the best months of the year, and approach
maturity just as they litter. The young do not show any symptoms of
deficiency in stamina, but grow well, and are sold off in 8-9 weeks
at 20_s._-22_s._ each, and the mother is soon prepared for mating to
the boar again, bringing the litter about the beginning of April.

A breeding sow costs very little when she is without pigs; but she is
naturally an expensive animal when she has a litter. It has been said
by many that a sow should be always in pig or with pigs, and this is
very near the truth. When her pigs are taken from her, she should be
dried and fed up for taking the boar as quickly as possible. Thus, as
she goes 16 weeks with young, she will, if they are taken from her at
8 weeks produce 2 litters a year, if she has no accident, and if she
is rightly managed, for she will at each time have just a fortnight
for taking the boar. Of course, the thing will not always be managed
so exact and so regular as could be wished; at the same time it is a
good guide, and if 2 litters can be managed in the year, so much the
better. Taking the pigs at 10_l._ at 8 weeks, this gives a return of
20_l._ and the value of the manure. Against this you may place 8_l._
as the cost of keeping the sow, where everything has to be bought,
but much less where there is plenty of house wash, milk, roots, and
refuse from gardens, &c.

In breeding little pigs for sale, there is not the same element of
chance that exists when pigs are fatted. The little ones vary but
a shilling or two if they have not done so well as usual, whereas
with a fat pig the process is longer, much more expensive, and may
not turn out so profitable after all. When a large quantity of skim
milk or refuse has to be consumed, fatting may be necessary, and,
valuing the food at much less than meal and corn would cost, it may
pay very well; but as there are plenty of men who buy young pigs for
the express purpose of fatting, and who have no milk, no refuse, and,
indeed, no stubble for them to clear up at all, but have to purchase
everything, there must be some return.

_Fatting._--When fatting will invariably pay for purchased food, is
when porkers come in just right for the London market, nice in size
and quality, and realise about 5_s._ 9_d._ per stone. A 16-stone pig
would at this rate realise 4_l._ 12_s._; and there is no reason in
the world why it should not be attained in 16-20 weeks, instead of
which it would, as a store, be worth at this age some 2_l._ Breed,
attention, and feeding will help to bring this about. The youngsters
must be continually pushing ahead; if they get a check, so much
profit goes, and so much time is lost. To this end, too, it is of no
use to go in for a small breed--the York or the York and Lincoln will
do very well.

_Feeding._--With regard to feeding there are many opinions; but
barley meal is perhaps better than anything, only it must be good,
and feeders should always grind their own. Mills are now generally
made, and by no means expensive. Boiled barley is, again, first-rate
food, and may be given with capital effect. Peas are useful for
finishing off little pigs, and they make the flesh of fat hogs firm
and sweet; but cannot be compared with barley when cheap, and do
not yield the same return. Maize is a good food when cheap; but
it is better boiled than raw or ground. Feeding upon potatoes,
although very cheap, is not the way to sell a second lot; a buyer of
potato-fed pork is not very often anxious for a second consignment.
(_Field._)


=Fowls.=--_House._--Where eggs alone are required, a few pullets may
be kept in a moderate-sized run, and, when they cease to be prolific,
may be changed for fresh birds, whose stamina has not been injured by
confinement over ground saturated with their own excretions; but for
rearing chickens satisfactorily, a good run is absolutely necessary.
No particular dwelling is essential; any unused cart-shed, coach or
tool house, stable, or similar building may be modified to suit the
requirements of the inmates. It is exceedingly desirable that the
perches should be of one uniform height; otherwise the contest for
the highest leads to quarrelling and fighting. Nor should the perches
be high, as in that case the confined space in a house renders it
necessary that the birds should fly down perpendicularly, to the
great injury of the feet, and frequent fracture of the keel of the
breast bone. The house must be kept clean, which is best accomplished
by movable boards under the perches, from which the droppings can
be removed daily. The house must be ventilated, and so constructed
that the fowls can be out at daybreak. The nest places, if intended
for hatching, should be on the ground; eggs, to hatch well, must be
placed in natural conditions, i.e. on the comparatively cold ground,
so that they are cooler below than above, and exposed to the moisture
arising from the soil.

_Breeds._--In selecting a breed, the first question is the principal
requirement of the household. If eggs are the main object, it
would be absurd to select Dorking or game. Nothing can exceed the
prolificacy of fowls of the Mediterranean type, which includes
Spanish, Andalusian, Leghorn, Minorca, Ancona, and other less known
varieties. Of these, as regards hardihood and size, Minorcas are
in the front rank, and can be strongly recommended as splendid
egg producers--not show birds with combs 4 in. high, such as some
breeders aim at producing, but the ordinary bird common in the
south-western counties of England. Leghorn is good, but smaller in
size of egg; Andalusian very good, but not so much in demand as
Minorca. All these birds are non-incubators, and their production
of eggs is consequently not interfered with by weeks of broodiness,
which renders Cochins, Brahmas, and other birds of the Asiatic type
so unprofitable where eggs alone are required; though nothing can
surpass the pullets as winter layers, as they produce eggs quite
irrespective of temperature. Hamburghs, particularly the black and
the spangled breeds, are admirable egg-producers, but the eggs are
small as compared with those of the Minorca. The recently introduced
Plymouth Rocks are very good layers, but they are sitters, and
therefore not as prolific as the Mediterranean type. The same may
be said of Houdans and some others. If eggs alone are required, the
choice lies between the Minorcas and the Hamburghs. The latter may
possibly excel in numbers; but, if weight and size of eggs be taken
into consideration, the Minorcas will certainly carry off the palm.
The birds of the Mediterranean type may be described as somewhat
leggy, of small or moderate size, with largely-developed single
combs, which are erect in the cocks and flaccid in the hens. They are
not remarkable for abundance of breast meat, plumpness of body when
killed, or any great tendency to fatten. The plumpest are the brown
Leghorns; but these have been produced by crossing the white Leghorns
with black and red game, and what they have gained as table fowl they
have lost in egg-producing properties.

If there be no free and extended range, such as a farmyard, or
grass run in orchard or paddock, the attempt to rear fowls for the
table should be altogether abandoned; the profitable raising of
chickens on ground saturated with the excrement of old birds is not
to be thought of. But given a good grass run, the question arises
as to the variety of fowls to be kept. If large household fowls
are desired, the pullets of which will lay well in the winter, the
Asiatic breeds may be selected, such as the Cochins, Brahmas, and
Plymouth Rock. As table fowl the last is certainly preferable of the
three, as, in consequence of its being bred from a cross with the
old American farmyard fowl, the Dominique, it has more flesh on the
breast, and, being free from the useless incumbrance of feathers on
the legs, it is a better forager and scratcher on its own account.
But as table fowl these breeds are far surpassed by a variety which
has long been most highly esteemed in the West of England, where it
is known as Indian Game. For plumpness and quantity of meat on the
breast, these birds are unequalled by any large breed. The fighting
Indian Game, known as Aseels, equal them in plumpness, but not in
size. In both these breeds there is an absence of offal and waste
parts that is remarkable. The bones are small, there is no large
comb or superfluous feather, and the size of the pectoral muscles,
which constitute the flesh on the breast, is very great. As market
fowls, the fact that their legs are not white may in some cases be an
objection, as there is in the minds of some cooks a stupid prejudice
against any but white shanks.

The Dorking is of great excellence, but has its drawbacks. Dorkings
are harder to rear than many other varieties; the chickens are
delicate; and the deformity of the extra toe is most objectionable,
leading to extra deaths among the chickens, which are trampled in
the mire by the splay-footed hens; and the plumpness on the breast
is not equal to that of the Game or Indian Game. Where fowls are
bred for home use, no better large birds can be raised than will
result from a cross between the Dorking and a large game, either the
ordinary English breed or the so-called Indian Game, which, out of
Cornwall and Devon, is frequently termed the Pheasant Malay. (W. B.
Tegetmeier.)

The French breeds good for table purposes are La Flèche, Crèvecœur,
and Houdan. The two latter have topknots, which are a disadvantage.
La Flèche is most prized, as it grows to an enormous size, and is a
prolific layer. They are usually prepared for market by penning them
separately, fattening them with freshly-ground barley and buckwheat
meal, mixed to about the consistency of gruel with milk; they will
then require no water. They are crammed for the last few days.
Another mode is to force the food down their throats, giving them as
much as they can take without overtaxing the digestive organs. The
usual time is about 3 weeks, but in France it is carried on sometimes
for 3-4 months.

_Formation of Eggs._--The chief egg-producing organ is the ovary,
which is situated under the backbone at the end of the ribs, and
protected by the pelvis. A young chicken has an ovary on both sides
of the vertebræ, but only the one on the left side developes.
The ova consists of different-sized granules, which, as the bird
grows, become larger in size. They are attached to the ovary by a
slight pedicle; when ready to enter the oviduct the ova breaks from
this membrane, and sometimes, when eggs are formed too rapidly,
this becomes ruptured, and a drop of blood will go down with the
yolk--eggs in which this occurs should not be kept for breeding
purposes. The oviduct is a funnel-mouthed canal into which the yolk
enters; at its upper end it is very thin, but thickens as it nears
the intestinal canal--the oviduct of a laying fowl is about 2 ft.
long, and is folded backwards and forwards in the body of the bird.
The yolk or ovum passes down the oviduct in a spiral manner, and
becomes covered with layers of albumen, which are secreted by the
oviduct. At one place the ovum is covered with a thicker stratum,
and here the albumen becomes twisted at either end of the yolk into
two cords which fasten the egg to the shell in such a manner, that
the yolk, with the germ uppermost, is always near the upper side
of the shell, though not touching it; if the egg is kept too long,
and in one position, the albumen glues the germ to the shell when
its vitality is destroyed. The ovum, covered with several layers of
albumen, and the 2 cords (chalazæ), then goes down the oviduct, and
becomes covered with 2 skins or membranes, which separate at the
larger end to let the air into the germ; finally the egg is covered
with its shell, which is formed with great resisting powers, its arch
is much like a tunnel arch, and between the particles, or bricks, air
passes into the egg. This shell, which is very strong at first, with
the heat of the hen’s body disintegrates, and the particles separate,
so that, when the chicken is ready to hatch, it is so brittle that
the slight pecks of the horny cap on the mandible of the chicken is
enough to break it to pieces. If the bird is fed on over-stimulating
food, eggs are often produced too quickly. When such is the case
monstrosities--such as two yolks in one shell, or two eggs one inside
another--are produced, and very often they are laid without a shell.

_Laying._--Several circumstances bear on the question of the supply
of winter eggs; the most important are--(_a_) the food of the fowls;
(_b_) their breed; (_c_) their age; and (_d_) their locality and
lodging.

(_a_) The Food of the Fowls.--It cannot be too strongly impressed
upon all poultry keepers that fowls do not create eggs: they only
form them out of the materials existing in their food. This food
also serves other purposes--namely, to keep up the warmth of the
body, and to support the vital actions. If only sufficient food is
given to supply these demands, it is evident that there can be none
left for the production of eggs. The obvious inference from this
is that it is necessary to feed your fowls very well if eggs are
wanted in winter; and as the supply of nitrogenous food in the form
of worms and insects is diminished, a little cooked refuse meat may
be advantageously added during the very hard weather. A proportion
of Indian corn, either whole or in the form of scalded meal, is a
good addition to the winter food. It contains a larger amount of
warmth-giving fat or oil than any other grain, and, by so keeping
up the temperature of the animal, sets free the other foods to be
employed in the secretion of the substances that compose the eggs.

(_b_) The Breed of the Fowls.--Small birds offer a much greater
amount of surface to the action of the cold in proportion to their
bulk than such as are larger. These latter especially, when thickly
clothed with fluffy feathers, as are the Cochins and Brahmas, are
hardly amenable to frost; hence, all other circumstances being equal,
they will be found the best layers in winter.

(_c_) The age of the hens is a matter of great importance. Early
hatched pullets that have passed completely through the moult and
acquired their adult feathers some weeks since, can be readily
induced to lay by good feeding; whereas old hens that moult later and
later each succeeding season only produce eggs at this season very
sparsely, if at all.

(_d_) Much depends on the locality and lodging. To produce eggs in
winter, the fowls must be in comfortable circumstances; they must
have dry and well sheltered runs; they should not be confined to a
small place, as they are apt to lose that high condition necessary to
robust health, and then the production of eggs immediately ceases.
Their roosting place should be well sheltered, and free from draughts
of cold air or the access of moisture. Some suggest the use of a
stove; but such an appliance is rather injurious than useful. The
fowls are exposed to the cold during the day, and this alternating
with the stuffy, close atmosphere produced by heating a fowl-house
must be injurious. (W. B. Tegetmeier.)

_Setting Eggs._--The favourite egg for setting appears to be as
nearly oval as possible. The best breeders reject every pointed or
irregular egg or a very large one. It is customary to pick out the
eggs very carefully in breeding fine stock. Generally 80 per cent.
are rejected as liable to produce inferior chickens. In the ordinary
practice little attention is paid to the shape of the egg; 13 eggs
are picked out “just as they come,” and put under the hen. Farmers
generally have as an argument that the hen that “steals her nest”
always brings out good chickens, even though the eggs are of all
shapes and sizes. But few farmers can tell how really good these
“stolen” chickens are. They appear to be vigorous when young, but
running about as they do with other hens, any comparison as to egg
production is mere guesswork. The ordinary farm poultry could be
greatly improved by a more careful selection of eggs for setting.
Eggs with soft shells, with a ring or crust on the shells, or with
an uneven or rough surface, should be rejected. Very large eggs
containing a double yolk are frequently set in hope of producing a
very large chicken, two chickens, or a curious monstrosity. Such eggs
very rarely hatch.

_Testing Eggs._--All eggs should be tested on the tenth day of
incubation. The best and easiest way is to cut a hole in a stiff
piece of cardboard, a little smaller than the egg, hold the egg
on its side close into the hole and put a strong light behind the
cardboard, when the state of the eggs will be quite distinct. If
the egg is fertile by the seventh day the body of the egg will be
quite dark and a sharply cut air space will be quite distinct at the
large end. If it is a sterile egg, the whole of the egg will have
much the appearance of melted wax and the air space will not be very
distinct. If the egg is sterile it is much better to take it away,
as it is still fresh enough to be used for cooking, some people even
using them for eating; they would at any rate be good for feeding
young chickens, whilst if they were left in the nest they would
decay, probably be broken, and dirty the whole nest. If the nests
are dirtied by a broken egg, the straw should all be taken away, and
fresh put in its place, and the eggs washed in warm water, care being
taken to prevent the eggs being shaken more than possible. If an
addled egg is left in the nest, the germ, having been killed either
by inherent weakness or by chilling, would decay, and sulphuretted
gas would be generated, which would burst the shell, if it were moved
about, and taint the atmosphere, and in that way hurt the chances of
the others hatching.

_Sitting._--The best method, if practicable, is to let the hen choose
her own nest, leaving the eggs that she lays in the nest, and when
she has laid her clutch of eggs she will sit and probably bring out a
chick from each egg. A hen in a state of nature would only sit at a
seasonable time of year; she would scoop out a shallow hole under the
shade of a bush so that the moisture rising from the ground should
not all evaporate. If a hen cannot sit in the place she has laid her
eggs in, the best method is to put her into a coop with the earth as
a floor, scooping it out slightly, then putting in a thin layer of
straw or leaves, and sitting the hen at night on a few dummy eggs
for the first 24-36 hours. When she has fed and returned quietly to
the nest by herself, she may be given the good eggs, and, unless
disturbed by animals or vermin, which latter can be kept away by
allowing the hen a heap of ashes about the nest to dust herself in,
she will bring out her brood at the proper time. A very good nest for
a sitting hen can be made from a flour barrel turned on its side with
½ barrow load of mould put in, or a half sieve basket nearly filled
with earth. Care must be taken that the hen has not to jump from any
height on to her eggs, or she is likely to break them. Reynolds’s
terra coop is a good one, as the wire flooring having mould put into
it allows the moisture to rise from the earth to the under side of
the egg. The sitting hen should not be disturbed by other fowls
coming to lay in the same nest.

_Incubators._--Taking into consideration the number of conditions
absolutely necessary, a home-made, roughly constructed incubator is
not likely to be successful. A machine which automatically regulates
the temperature of the eggs, irrespective of that of the external
atmosphere, is essential. Regulators are attached to all incubators
in use at the present time. Tomlinson’s works by the expansion
of air; Christy’s by the flexing of a compound metallic bar; and
Hearson’s by the volatilisation of fluid in a metallic capsule,
which, by its sudden expansion at any desired temperature, cuts off
the source of heat, and prevents the degree to which the machine is
regulated being ever exceeded. In addition to the exact regulation
of the temperature, an incubator, to be successful, must be so
arranged that the eggs are heated from above, and that there must
be a constant supply of fresh, moist air (not saturated with watery
vapour). The advantages of incubators from a practical point of view
as regards market and table poultry are due to their supplying hens
with full clutches of chickens. In France, chickens are hatched in
large numbers for sale to small proprietors, and reared by them under
ordinary fowls, or in larger numbers under turkey hens. In our own
country numbers of fancy poultry for the early shows are reared under
artificial foster-mothers heated by paraffin lamps; but the results
of endeavouring to rear chickens, except upon fresh runs where they
can obtain natural food, are not sufficiently encouraging to render
it likely that foster-mothers will supersede the employment of hens
in rearing fowls for the purposes of utility.

_Chickens._--Chickens require no food for 24 hours, as just before
they are hatched the yolk is absorbed, and they live upon this till
it is finished. When the chickens are all out and dry, the hen
would naturally come off and take them to where she could find them
suitable food, such as eggs of ants, gentles, and small germinating
seeds. The best food that can be given young chickens for the first
week is custard, made of equal proportions of egg and milk, beaten
up together, and just set by the fire. They should always be allowed
from the very first plenty of green food, lettuces running to seed,
dandelions, or onion tops chopped very fine. Rice boiled in milk, and
with a little freshly-ground meal, is very good. Dari, millet, and
canary seed are all good; grits and coarse oatmeal should only be
given quite freshly ground, as they soon become pungent and rancid,
and put the digestive organs out of order. Gentles, or flesh maggots,
can easily be got in the summer for the young chickens by hanging a
piece of meat or a dead fowl on a branch of a tree, or suspending
it in some way out of doors, cutting a few slashes in the skin, and
leaving it for a few days, when it will become thoroughly fly-blown;
then bury it a few inches under the earth in a place that the fowls
can get at; in a very short while the ova of the fly will hatch, and
the maggots come to the surface of the earth; the hens will soon
find them, and bring their chickens to them, and they will eat the
maggots greedily. Milk is very good for the young chickens, but great
care must be taken to prevent its turning sour. The chickens should
also have fine-crushed quartz or gravel, such as is swept down the
roadsides by heavy rain, to help their digestion. It is much better
to let the hen free with her chickens, but if she must be cooped, the
best method is to put a coop with an open front to it, and the back
against the wall of some building, and then tether the hen. A good
tether is made with a strip of leather, one end being turned down
about 1½ in., and a small slit being made through the 2 thicknesses
of the leather, put the leg of the hen between these, and then pull
the other end through the 2 holes, through the turned-down end first;
in this way it cannot be tightened or hurt the leg of the fowl; then
fasten a long piece of string to the end of the leather so that the
hen can have a good run, as in a state of nature the hen would move
to fresh ground day after day.

_Fatting for Table._--However young a cockerel may be, if he has
been running with hens, and if on killing he appears blue, there is
considerable risk of its eating hard, though only 7 months old. A
pullet which has only laid one or two of her first eggs is anything
but first-class, and after laying out, and getting once broody, is no
better than a hen 5 years old. A first-class table bird is a young,
“straight,” thick-breasted cockerel which has had nothing to do with
hens, or a pullet a month before laying her first eggs.

In France, fowls to be fattened do not exceed 6-7 mouths old;
pullets, put up before they have laid, are in good condition and
well fed, from their birth up to the day on which they are cooped.
Cramming is regarded as the most economical and effectual mode of
proceeding. The fowls to be fattened are placed in coops in which
each has its own compartment. The coop is a long narrow wooden
box, standing on short legs; the outer walls and partitions are
close boarded, and the bottom is made with rounded spars 1½ in. in
diameter, running lengthways of the coop; on these spars the fowls
perch. The top consists of a sliding door, by which the chickens are
taken out and replaced. The partitions are 8 in. apart, so that the
fowls cannot turn round. The length of each box is regulated by the
number of divisions required, the cocks and pullets, and the lean and
fat lots, not being mixed up indiscriminately, because their rations
differ, and the new-comers would disturb the old settlers by their
noise. The floor below the boxes is covered with ashes or dry earth,
which is removed every 2 days with a scraper. The food is chiefly
buckwheat meal, bolted quite fine. This is kneaded up with sweet
milk till it acquires the consistency of baker’s dough; it is then
cut up into rations each about the size of 2 eggs, which are made up
into rolls about the thickness of a woman’s finger, but varying with
the sizes of the fowls; these are subdivided by a sloping cut into
pellets about 2½ in. long. A board is used for mixing the flour with
the milk, which in winter should be lukewarm. This is poured into a
hole made in the heap of flour, and mixed up little by little with
a wooden spoon as long as it is taken up; the dough is then needed
by the hands till it no longer adheres to them. Oatmeal, or after
that barley-meal, is the best substitute for buckwheat-meal. Indian
corn-meal makes a short crumbly paste, and produces yellow oily fat.

In cramming, the attendant has the buckwheat pellets at hand with a
bowl of clear water; she takes the first fowl from its cage gently
and carefully, not by the wings or the legs, but with both hands
under the breast; she then seats herself with the fowl upon her
knees, putting its tail under her left arm, by which she supports
it; the left hand then opens its mouth (a little practice makes it
very easy), and the right hand takes up a pellet, dips it in the
water, shakes it on its way to the open mouth, puts it straight down
and carefully crams it with the forefinger well into the gullet;
when it is so far settled down that the fowl cannot eject it, she
presses it down with the thumb and forefinger into the crop, taking
care not to fracture the pellet. Other pellets follow the first,
till the feeding is finished in less time than one would imagine. It
sometimes happens in cramming that the windpipe is pressed together
with the gullet; this causes the fowl to cough, but it is not of any
serious consequence, and with a little care is easily avoided. The
fowl when fed is again held with both hands under its breast, and
replaced in its cage without fluttering; and so on with each fowl.
The chickens have 2 meals in 24 hours, 12 hours apart, provided with
the utmost punctuality. If they have to wait, they become uneasy;
if fed too soon, they suffer from indigestion, and in either case
lose weight. On the first day of cramming only a few pellets are
given; the allowance being gradually increased till it reaches 12-15
pellets. The crop may be filled, but before the next meal the last
must have passed out of the crop, which is easily ascertained by
gentle handling. If there be any food in it, digestion has not gone
on properly; the fowl must then miss a meal, have a little water or
milk given it, and a smaller allowance next time; if too much food be
forced upon the animal at first, it will get out of health and have
to be set at liberty.

The fattening process ought to be complete in 2-3 weeks, but for
extra fat poultry 25-26 days are required; with good management you
may go on for 30 days; after this the creature may become choked with
accumulated fat, waste away and die.

The fowls are killed instantaneously by piercing the brain with a
sharp knife thrust through the back of the roof of the mouth.

After plucking and trussing, the chicken is bandaged, until cold, to
mould its form; and if the weather is warm it is plunged for a short
time into very cold water. A fowl takes usually rather more than a
peck of buckwheat to fatten it. The fat of fowls so managed is of a
dull white colour, and their flesh is covered with a transparent,
delicate skin. Plucking should be done instantly the fowl is dead, as
the feathers then come off with the greatest ease, and the skin is
not liable to be torn. (W. B. Tegetmeier.)

_Packing Eggs._--Packing in newspaper is found to be the best for the
inside protection, and a wooden box better than anything for holding
the eggs. Baskets and hampers are of no use at all; they are sure
to get pressed in travelling, and cardboard boxes would be crushed
directly. A wooden box, not necessarily of thick wood, resists all
pressure, and the eggs are not likely to suffer from anything short
of an actual fall if properly packed. Newspaper is best, and the
_Times_ best of all for packing them, the paper itself being so much
stiffer than other newspapers. Tear the paper into pieces about 8-10
in. square; slightly crumple it in the hand in wrapping a piece round
each egg, so as to show a rough surface; on no account rub it or make
it soft, as it is the stiffness which gives support, and prevents the
eggs getting too close together; they must neither be very near each
other, nor to the sides or bottom of the box. Put a good layer of the
crumpled paper at the bottom, then the eggs one at a time, each in
its own crumpled wrapper; they must be so arranged as to fit closely
and firmly together, the paper giving enough pressure to keep them
firm; there must be no spaces; every corner must be filled with the
crumpled paper, of which there must also be a good covering before
closing the box.


=Ducks.=--With regard to the variety that should be kept, two
circumstances have to be considered. If large size, early maturity,
and white appearance for the market are required, the Aylesbury
will be found pre-eminent. If, on the other hand, small size with a
strongly pronounced suspicion of wild duck is required, then choose
a smaller variety, as the small black, called with equal inaccuracy
East Indian, Buenos Ayres, and Labrador, or, still better, the
tame-bred wild, or a cross between the two; but for family use
Aylesburies must be relied on.

The great error in the usual management of ducks is not bringing them
to rapid maturity. A duck should be so fed as to be large enough
to kill under 10 weeks old. If it is allowed to live longer, it
begins to moult, and consequently is not so good in flavour, and the
nourishment given to it goes to form feathers, and not to increase
its weight. It is obvious that if one duck can be made ready for the
market in 2 months, it must yield a larger profit than another that
is not fit for use till it is 4 or 6.

Ducks should be always shut up during the night, as they generally
lay at that time, and, if allowed to be at large, drop their eggs
in the water, where they sink and are lost. As early as possible in
the season they should be set under large hens. A good-sized Cochin,
Brahma, or Dorking will cover 12 or 13. The hens should not be set
in the crowded, vermin-infested nest places that are usually seen in
fowl-houses, but on the ground or in a circular basket or American
cheese box, nearly filled with moist earth, and covered with a very
little bruised straw, not hay; this earth should be kept moist during
the whole time of setting, so as to imitate the conditions of the
nest in a state of nature.

The young should be hatched on the twenty-eighth day, that is, the
same day of the week one month after they are placed under the hen.

When the young are hatched they should be left with the hen till
well nestled, well dried, and strong enough to stand. Many scores of
ducklings are lost by inexperienced persons through their impatience
to remove them from the nest. The little duckling is at first clad
with soft yellow down, which gradually disappears as the feathers
grow. After a few days, 3 or 4 broods are put together with one hen,
who is quite able to take care of them all. For market purposes the
treatment of the ducklings is as follows: They are not allowed to go
into any water, but are kept in hovels, or the rooms of cottages,
each lot of 30 or 40 separated by low boards; it is no uncommon
thing at Aylesbury to see 2000-3000 all in one establishment. They
are kept very clean and dry on barley straw. Their food consists
of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and mixed with boiled rice and
bullock’s liver cut up small. This is given to them several times
in the day for about a fortnight or more. When they are capable of
consuming more, they are fed on barley meal and tallow greaves mixed,
together with the water in which the greaves have previously been
boiled; some also use horseflesh to mix with their other food. This
constitutes all that is necessary to produce early ducklings for the
table.

They are killed at 10-12 weeks old, just before the adult feathers
come; as the energy up to that time has been spent in the growth of
flesh, but is then directed to the feathers, and a duck at 5-6 months
when plucked often does not weigh so much as one of 3 months. The
hens should be set in December and not later than March, for then the
demand for ducklings is greater than the supply.

As to the treatment of such as are intended for breeding and
exhibition. To produce birds of great frame and weight, the same
food is given during the earliest stage; but, after about 3 weeks,
they are allowed to go to the water, and their food is varied as
soon as possible, by giving them maize (or better, oats) and barley
alternately, when they can eat the same. They should be fed 3 times
a day, and always have a trough of water by them, or the grain be
thrown into the water; and it is an advantage to have some gravel
or sand at the bottom, so that when drinking they also get hold of
some grit, which helps digestion, and tends to keep the bill in
proper colour. Maize is apt to render the birds too fat, and increase
the tendency to accumulate internal abnormal fat, and to go “down
behind,” in which condition they are perfectly useless as stock birds.


=Geese.=--Geese can only be profitably kept where there is abundance
of grazing ground, as they derive the greater part of their
nourishment from grass. Under suitable conditions no birds can
be more profitable, but under other circumstances they cannot be
recommended.

Of the three varieties, namely, the pure white or Emden, the grey
or Toulouse, and the common saddle-back, the first name is to be
preferred, as the birds pluck much better and clearer than the grey,
and are much larger than the common parti-coloured breed.

The management of these birds in suitable localities is attended with
very little trouble. In the early part of the year the old geese
should be well fed with oats thrown into water, so as to stimulate
them to early laying in February, if possible. When she has laid from
eight to thirteen eggs, the goose remains on the nest, and her eggs
may then be given to her.

The nest should be on the ground, without any intervening boards;
and, if in a dry situation, should be watered, so as to keep the
mould moist. The hatching goose should be well fed with oats thrown
into a pan of water when she leaves the nest, and she should be
allowed to go on to the pond or river.

When hatched, the goslings require grass, meal slaked with water, or
porridge made with oatmeal. After a few days, oats, in water, may be
given, and with the food they find by grazing, the young will do well
until fattening time, when they should be fed on oats, in water. In
many parts the geese are partially plucked two or three times a year
for the sake of the feathers. Nothing can be more injurious than the
practice; the small sum obtained for the plumage is much less than
the deterioration in the value of the bird.

In rearing geese for the market, every endeavour should be made to
attain early maturity. Young birds should never cease growing from
the time they are hatched until they are ready to kill. If they are
so fed as to be kept without growing, not only is all the food they
eat during the time wasted, but they are deteriorating in quality and
in tenderness of flesh.


=Turkeys.=--Turkeys dislike all that is necessary for their
well-doing. They like to roam far and wide like peafowl, and will
roost, if allowed to, in the open air, whereas they should sleep
under cover, have an elevated roost, and a well-ventilated sleeping
room. A turkey hen sits on her eggs for 32 days; she is a very gentle
constant sitter, but a very careless mother, for she will, unless
carefully watched or cooped, lead her chicks out in the damp grass or
into a bed of stinging nettles, both of which proceedings are fatal
to the brood, for wet kills them, and so does nettles; but boiled
nettles are good for their health, and should be given chopped small
mixed with barley meal.

The young birds should be left to effect their exit, if possible,
unassisted, and allowed to remain for 12 hours afterwards under the
mother’s wings. After that time they must be continually attended to
and fed on curds, hard-boiled eggs, and crumbs, having a good boarded
coop. Meal and grits must be given after the lapse of about 10 days;
and when they are 5 weeks old, boiled potatoes, turnips, nettles, and
lettuces may be chopped and mixed with their food.

Norfolk turkeys are considered the best breed to keep. When turkeys
are put up to fatten, barley meal, bran, and potatoes well mashed and
mixed, are the best food for them. Half-a-crown’s worth of meal and
potatoes, with other garden produce, is about the cost of feeding
each bird for one month, when it is considered fat enough for the
table; but the birds will generally be in pretty good case when put
up, if they have been allowed the run of the fields and the woods,
for turkey chicks are only delicate in their first stages of growth.
Some poultry-keepers cram their birds, but such turkeys are never so
delicately flavoured as those fed in the natural way. (Helen Watney.)

Turkey hens are such admirable mothers, that they are largely
employed in France to hatch and rear ordinary chickens. When young
turkeys are hatched, they should be left undisturbed until they come
out from under the mother, about 20-30 hours, and fed at first with
equal parts of egg and milk beaten up together and set by heat.
Fresh-ground oatmeal and milk should be given, and lettuces running
to seed, full of bitter milky juice; this old and young will eat in
large quantity and thrive exceedingly on it. Turkeys are much larger
green vegetable eaters than fowls. In dry situations and seasons they
are not delicate if properly fed and cared for. (W. B. Tegetmeier.)


=Pigeons=.--First and foremost comes the selection of the birds. The
old-fashioned English so-called carrier is perfectly useless as a
messenger or homing pigeon. The only breeds of any real value are
Belgians. Of these, several somewhat distinct types exist, which are
known as Liege, Antwerp birds, &c. In these birds the homing faculty
has been developed by training for many generations, until at last
an acquired instinct of indomitable perseverance in seeking their
distant home has been developed, and this has become hereditary.
Hence the necessity of breeding from good birds, and those which have
been accustomed to fly long distances. To breed from birds without
pedigrees is useless. So high a value is placed on the performance
of the parents, that amateurs will spare no pains or expense in
getting good, well-trained birds. Good birds, however, can be bought
for moderate sums, when amateurs in Belgium are selling off the
superfluous birds after the racing season is over; 1_l._ 10_s._ to
2_l._ a pair will often procure birds that have done good work.

A flight of birds may be established in two modes. First, by
obtaining pairs of old birds, shutting them up as prisoners, breeding
from them, and turning out the young as soon as they can feed
themselves and fly. The second is by buying young birds as they leave
the nest, and letting them fly after they have been confined a few
days in their new home.

As old birds would not remain in a new locality, they have
necessarily to be confined as prisoners. For this purpose never
select a close room or loft. A dry shed, not exposed to the north
or east, if wired on the open side, is always filled with pure
air. Shelves or open lockers, in which the birds will build their
nests and rear their young, should be attached to the walls. A
long, straight inclosure, covered at the top and sides with wire
work, should communicate with the shed. In this the birds can take
exercise, flying from the perch or landing-place at one end to
that at the other. This open flight place should be, if possible,
some 10 yd. long, and, being open-wired above, the birds enjoy the
three great luxuries of fresh air, bright sunshine, and, above all,
exposure to the rain.

For food, wheat, small round maize, sound beans, dark peas, and tares
may all be given, and also millet, if it be accessible; some old
mortar rubbish mixed with salt should be provided for the pigeons
to pick at, this being most essential to their health; and, above
all, a supply of clean water to drink, placed in vessels in which
it cannot be defiled, is indispensable; also water for bathing,
which may be put in a milk pan or shallow trough in the open flight
place. Thus treated, the old birds do not suffer in health. (W. B.
Tegetmeier.)

Homing pigeons are protected from birds of prey in China by means
of a whistling machine made of about 10 small bamboo tubes, which
is secured to the bird’s tail in such a manner that the rush of air
across the tubes produces a shrill sound.


=Bees.=--The modern system of bee-keeping is entirely opposed to
the older method, in which honey was obtained by the destruction of
the bees, and almost equally to the more recent plan of removing
the surplus honey in large supers. By the present system the hives
and bees are under perfect control. The sizes of the former can be
increased or diminished at the will of the owner to any required
extent. The combs are in movable frames, which can be transferred
at will from one hive to another without the slightest difficulty.
The formation of new colonies can be accomplished as desired, or
prevented altogether, and the whole energy of the bees devoted to
honey gathering. The waste of honey in the secretion of wax can be
in great part obviated--a most important matter, as each lb. of wax
requires the consumption of 15-20 lb. of honey for its formation; and
the pure honey, uncontaminated with brood or pollen, can be stored
in small boxes, each containing 1-2 lb., capable of being conveyed
by rail without injury, and possessing a marketable value at least
3 times as great as that of ordinary run honey. But in order to
accomplish these desirable ends, bee-keeping must be followed with
some amount of intelligence and interest, and a certain amount of
capital must be invested in the pursuit. The knowledge of the modern
system of bee-keeping has been very greatly extended by the labour
of the British Bee-keepers’ Association, which has published an
admirable series of tracts, with a sixpenny handbook for cottagers,
has organised annual shows and expositions in many parts of the
kingdom, and has raised bee-keeping in England to its present
standard of excellence. Through its exertions a fixed size for frames
has been determined, so that in a well-arranged apiary any frame of
honey or brood comb can be transferred from one hive to any other
with the greatest facility. The honey harvest is now gathered in
great part in convenient sectional supers of a most marketable and
attractive character, obtained without the destruction of a single
bee; whereas it formerly consisted merely of run honey, acquired by
the suffocation of the bees and the crushing of the comb, when honey,
the fluid contents of the bodies of the larvæ, pollen, propolis, and
wax, were all mixed indiscriminately together--the market value of
this mess obtained by the destruction of the colony being less than
one-third of the value of pure honey in virgin comb, as is obtained
by the modern system.

Improved hives such as are now employed by all intelligent
bee-keepers are made, as before stated, on one uniform standard, and,
thanks to the energy of the association, may be procured of a number
of makers in various parts of the country. In the modern system the
old-fashioned bell-shaped straw skep is discarded, and bees are
kept in wooden hives, the best of which have double sides, with an
interval between, so as to equalise the temperature. The combs are in
frames, each of which is movable, so that the hive can be enlarged
or diminished at any time, movable partitions, termed dummy boards,
being used to shut off the empty space.

As an example of a practically useful modern hive may be taken
one made by Baldwin, of Bromley, Kent. A flat platform or floor
supported on 4 stout legs, and having a large oblique alighting
board projecting to the front, supports the body of the hive. This
has double sides, with air spaces, which may be filled with any
non-conducting material, as powdered cork. On the front is a grooved
penthouse, to prevent rain entering into the hive. The interior
contains 9 movable frames, each of which is fitted with a thin sheet
of pure wax foundation, which the beep utilise, to the great saving
of honey, labour, and time. There are 2 dummy boards, so as to adjust
the size of the interior to the number of frames in use. One section
frame is made broader than the rest, so as to contain 6 sectional
boxes, each fitted with a triangular piece of wax comb foundation.
These in the season are rapidly filled with honey in virgin comb, and
can when filled be removed and utilised separately. This frame is
filled with sections, each with a triangular piece of wax foundation.

In order to prevent the queen bees laying eggs in any of these
sections, a piece of perforated zinc is placed when required between
the section frame and the front of the hive. The perforations are
sufficiently small to prevent the queen passing through, but the
workers pass readily.

The section frame is of use when the quantity of honey collected
is comparatively small. In general the surplus stores, those that
are available by the bee-keeper, are stored above the frames in a
sectional super. This holds 21 sections, each perfectly distinct from
the others, and all are furnished with triangular slips of foundation
comb. As fast as these supers are filled they can be removed and
marketed. The costlessness of these supers is one of their most
remarkable qualities. Each is made of a slip of wood partially
divided and stamped, so as to form the four sides of the super when
folded, the ends being tongued so as to interlock when pressed
together. The demand for these sectional supers may be inferred from
the fact that they are made in thousands by means of machinery, and
are so cheaply produced that their cost varies from ⅓_d._ to less
than ½_d._ each.

Such time as the supers are not in use the frames are covered over
with warm quilting, which gives access to the frames and interior
of the hive at any time, as it is easily removed. Apertures are cut
through the quilts, so as to permit of feeding when requisite. The
top of the hive is covered by a deep capacious roof, which protects
the interior, sheltering the supers when being filled, or the feeding
bottle when in use, and keeping the quilts dry and snug during winter.

The demand for improved hives of the construction recommended is so
great that machinery is brought into play in their construction, and
the consequence is extreme cheapness. The hive described can be sold
at somewhat about 20_s._, and cheaper hives, of the same kind, not
quite so elaborately fitted, are made from 10_s._ to 15_s._, and can
be obtained of Baldwin, Bromley; Neighbour, London; Abbott, Southall;
Walton, Newark, and many other makers. (W. B. Tegetmeier.)


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Sir F. Fitz-Wygram, Bart.: ‘Horses and Stables.’ London, 1886. 5_s._

M. Horace Hayes: ‘Riding on the Flat and across Country: a Guide to
Practical Horsemanship.’ London. 10_s._ 6_d._

Mrs. Power O’Donoghue: ‘Ladies on Horseback: Learning, Park-riding,
and Hunting, with Hints upon Costumes, and numerous anecdotes.’
London. 1882. 5_s._

James Long: ‘The Book of the Pig: its Selection, Breeding, Feeding,
and Management.’ London, 1885. 15_s._

Modern Bee-keeping. London. 6_d._

T. W. Cowan: ‘British Bee-keeper’s Guide Book.’ London, 1885. 1_s._
6_d._

F. R. Cheshire: ‘Bees and Bee-keeping.’ London, 1886. 7_s._ 6_d._

L. Wright: ‘The Practical Poultry-keeper: a Complete and Standard
Guide to the Management of Poultry, whether for domestic use, the
markets, or exhibition.’ London. Latest Edition. 3_s._ 6_d._

J. Coleman: ‘The Sheep and Pigs of Great Britain; being a series
of articles on the various breeds of sheep and pigs of the United
Kingdom, their history, management, &c.’ London. 18_s._

I. E. B. C.: ‘The Farm.’ London. 5_s._

I. E. B. C.: ‘The Stable.’ London, 5_s._




_THE GARDEN._


GARDENERS’ CALENDAR.

_January._--Wheel out manure, trench and make ground for crops, mend
fences, clean the stems of fruit-trees, do rough pruning and felling,
and complete all arrears in winter work, as weather may permit.
Every effort should be made to lay up as much land in the rough as
possible; the more it is frozen through, the greater will be its
fertility. In hard frost, wheel out manure; in rain, clear up all
rubbish and let it smoulder in a heap, using the ashes as manure.
Make ready for sowing peas, beans, cabbages, lettuce, silver-skin
onions, radishes, carrots, and spinach in warm borders or frames.
Protect artichokes. Manure asparagus beds without digging. Sow beans
in rich deeply-dug ground in the open in the last week. Plant out
cabbages. Sow cauliflower in frames for putting out in March-April.
Plant crowns of horseradish 15 in. deep in dunged trenches. Sow peas
in wooden or old zinc troughs in frames, and put out in the last
week. Sow mustard and cress (separate) in pans or boxes in frames.
Cover seakale with pots or plenty of litter.

Lawns should be well rolled after wet weather, and kept clear of
rubbish. Walks should be re-gravelled and rolled, and the edgings
kept level and regular. In favourable weather all empty borders may
be manured and deeply dug, leaving them as rough as possible on the
surface, so that the soil may be acted on by frost. Rose-beds should
receive a heavy dressing of a mixture of pig-dung and horse-dung,
lightly forked in during dry open weather; and see that the plants
have the necessary protection. Planting may still be done when the
soil is dry, but November is the best time for planting roses.
Standard roses must be well secured to stakes. After severe frost,
carnations, pinks, wallflowers, alyssum, arabis, pansies, and other
spring flowering-plants should be examined; if heaved or loosened,
the soil when dry should be made firm round them. Hyacinths,
tulips, and kindred flowers will be benefited by a mulching of
old mushroom-dung or leaf-soil, and must be protected from heavy
rain. If slugs are troublesome, occasional dustings with soot and
dry wood-ashes will keep them in check; but hand-picking, resorted
to early on mild mornings, is the best remedy. Examine crocuses
frequently to see if they are discovered by mice. Keep conifers and
evergreen shrubs free from snow, to prevent them from being broken
or disfigured by its weight; and prune any deciduous trees and
shrubs that may require it. Choice trees, shrubs, and any herbaceous
plants that were set out in autumn or early winter should have their
roots protected from frost by a mulching of fern or litter. Keep
shrubberies free from fallen leaves and weeds; but digging amongst
shrubs cannot be too severely condemned, for many of the fibrous
feeders must be destroyed, and the plants injured in consequence.
About the middle or end of the month place stock bedding plants
(ageratums, alyssa, heliotropes, lobelias, verbenas) in moist heat,
when they will readily furnish cuttings, which can be propagated in a
hotbed of leaves and dung if no house is available. Calceolarias and
pelargoniums must be kept cool and dry by ventilation, and decayed
leaves should be picked off. Dahlia roots should have rotten portions
removed with a sharp knife. Sow lobelias early in heat, and prepare
to sow all subtropical plants. Get ready for potting pelargoniums.

_February._--All empty ground must be dug deep and thrown up rough
to admit the frost. On cropped ground, prick over lightly between
the plants. Sow several sorts of cabbage for filling up blanks;
also broccoli, in pans and on warm slopes. Sow early beans in warm
dry situations, and late ones on strong land. Sow frame plants
(capsicums, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes) in moderate heat, and
avoid over-watering while frosts endure. When capsicums are large
enough, prick out in good light soil, in greenhouse or a hot corner,
for pickling pods. Early carrots may be sown in frames or warmest
borders; and parsnips in very deep-dug ground. Cauliflower, sown in
mild heat, on richest soil, well watered, should be pricked out in
good mould when quite small, and finally transplanted at 2½-3 ft.
apart. Plant early potatoes in warm, sheltered, dry ground, in open
weather. Alternate 2 or 3 rows of potatoes with a row of early peas,
at the same time; they help each other. Sow long radishes for early
crops and round ones for stock, in old frames with plenty of manure.
Let celery for September use be sown in gentle heat, and pricked
out 3 in. apart on an old hotbed, watering well. Plant garlic and
shallots on dry, strong, deep land. Make new rhubarb plantations, and
cover old plants to induce early growth. Sow lettuce in frames and
warm borders; plant out when hardened. Make very small sowings of
mustard in frames at successive intervals. Sow parsley, and sow or
divide most other herbs. Round-seeded spinach and small white turnips
can be sown in warm borders.

Have the lawn rough-broomed or bush-harrowed to remove worm-casts,
then rolled, and turfed where needed. New grass may be sown, having
the land previously well-drained, deep-dug, and levelled, sow in
dry weather, rake and roll the seeds in, and repeat the rolling at
intervals. Finish planting shrubs and climbers, and do pruning to
these and summer-flowering roses in mild weather. Cleanse ferneries
from dead fronds and weeds, and replace the surface soil with a
dressing of peat and loam pressed well round the plants. Dig and
manure beds filled with herbaceous plants. Plant choice kinds of
ranunculus, and set out calceolarias and violas that have been
confined in cold frames during the winter, pinching off the tops
when they begin to grow. Pelargoniums may be boxed or potted off in
leaf-soil, loam, and a little sand, keeping them in mild heat till
well rooted. Take cuttings from plants put in heat last month, e.g.
heliotropes, lobelias, and verbenas. Seeds of subtropical plants may
be sown in heat, for putting out in large beds. Hardy annuals to
succeed those sown in autumn may now be sown in pots.

_March._--Hotbeds are now all-important for sowing capsicums, celery,
egg-plants, lettuce, melons, New Zealand spinach, tomatoes, and
vegetable marrow. Suckers of globe artichokes should be set out 2
ft. apart in rows 4 ft. asunder; whole sets of Jerusalem artichokes
may be planted in strong soil, and are especially useful for hiding
ugly fences. Weed and manure asparagus beds, and prepare for sowing
new beds. Earth up early beans, set out seedlings raised in frames,
and sow for main crop. Sow early beet. Several kinds of broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale, should be sown now, the more
delicate sorts in frames, and planted out in mild weather when
forward enough. A second sowing of capsicums may be wanted. Early
carrots may be sown at once, but main crops somewhat later in the
spring. Set out early-sown cauliflower, and sow later kinds. Renew
sowing and pricking out of celery. Divide and re-plant chives, and
lose no time in planting garlic and horseradish. Sow leeks for
planting out. Plant out and re-sow lettuce of several kinds. Onions
for salading and pickling may be sown in quantity. Do not forget
parsley. The main crop of parsnips must be sown in good time. The
later kinds of pea must now be sown for the main supply. Plant late
potatoes in quantity and follow with early kinds (to avoid May
frost). Make successive sowings of radishes out of doors. Sow or
plant seakale. Sow plenty of spinach and turnips. Try watercress in
pans standing in water.

Fork over the ground between spring-flowering plants and in
shrubberies when the weather is dry and favourable. Remove protection
from roses, and finish pruning. Start dahlias in a hotbed, and
divide and pot when they show shoots 1-2 in. long; treat cannas and
Salvia patens in a similar manner. Finish potting ageratums, coleus,
cupheas, heliotropes and pelargoniums. Box variegated alyssum,
lobelias and verbenas, or, when hardened, plant them in frames. Prick
off subtropical plants into pans, or place them singly in small pots,
when large enough to handle; remove into larger pots as they require
it. Plant gladiolus bulbs either in warm sheltered beds, or first in
pots in a cold frame. Canary creeper and sweet pea should be sown
in pots for early flowers; the latter also in the open. Harden all
annuals sown last month in pots, ready for planting out in April. Sow
asters and stocks in a frame in mild heat. Watering needs much care
this month, on account of drying winds and frosts.

_April._--Pay the utmost attention to weeding and hoeing, and keep
the soil opened to sunshine and rain. Again weed and dress asparagus
beds and sow or plant new ones. Sow a few beans towards the end of
the month. Make a sowing of beet early in the month and a heavier
one towards the end. Renew the sowing of broccoli at intervals, and
keep up a constant succession of cabbage. Sow cardoons on level,
heavily-dunged land, and main crops of carrots. Plant out cauliflower
in mild weather, and protect with old flower-pots in keen winds and
frost. Sow successive lots of celery in a warm open bed, and some
in pans under frames for pricking out. Sow egg-plants in heat and
pot when ready. Herbs such as chervil, chicory, clary, fennel, and
hyssop, should be sown now in a dry sunny spot. Sow a little kohlrabi
towards the close of the month; re-sow leeks. Keep up a succession
of lettuce, sowing in frames and planting out. Sow maize in boxes
in pits; harden off for transplanting at the end of May. Sow winter
onions, and parsley for roots. Keep sowing peas for succession.
Sow salsify and scorzonera early in the month in deep rich soil.
Renew sowing of seakale in any good deep soil. Sow spinach (prickly
seeded), and have a succession of turnips, freely hoeing and thinning
as they come on. Sow vegetable marrow in gentle heat.

Let lawns be regularly rolled and mowed, and weeds rooted out. On
thin places scratch up the surface with an iron rake, sow some seed,
dress with fine soil and wood-ashes, and finish by bush harrowing
and rolling. Mulch newly planted roses, shrubs, and trees, and well
water in dry weather. Set out golden lilies from their winter frames
among shrubs. Keep up potting and boxing cuttings. Plant hardy edging
flowers, and those for carpet-bedding. Divide and re-plant violets,
which, if massed in a border, can be taken up in October, put in a
frame, and will then continue flowering through the winter. Make two
sowings of hardy annuals, one early the other late in the month;
cover the seeds very lightly. Beware of slugs as soon as the plants
show up. Sow half-hardy annuals in the frame prepared for them, in
shallow drills, and shade with mats till the plants appear; apply
tepid water through a very fine rose, air when the weather permits,
and prick out in frames to harden gradually when large enough. Sow
perennials and give them the same care as the last-named group.

_May._--Every vegetable may be sown in this month, and it will often
happen that seeds sown out of doors now will afford better plants
than those sown previously in heat and gradually hardened. This said
hardening process demands the most constant wariness. Thin asparagus
seed-beds, scatter dry litter as a protection on the bearing beds,
and cut shoots for table in a regular manner. Beans will hardly
pay for sowing now; top the plants when in flower if black fly is
present. Sow dwarf and runner kidney beans for summer supply. Make
an early sowing of winter beet. Sow broccoli for succession and put
out as convenient. Plant out the most forward Brussels sprouts for
an early crop in a sunny spot; it is rather late for further sowing.
Cabbage may be continually sown and planted out. Sow capsicums in
the open in the second half of the month, and plant out from hotbeds
in warmest localities. Thin carrots, and sow a little seed to afford
a crop of miniature ones in late summer. Plant out cauliflower as
weather and ground admit, providing shelter on cold nights and
abundant water. In forward situations, celery may be planted out in
well-damped trenches and kept well watered. Sow and plant cucumbers
in large frames and out of doors, selecting the sorts. Sow dandelion
for next spring’s salads, and endive for autumn and winter use. Keep
on sowing and planting out lettuce, not neglecting water and shade.
Sow melons in frames, which need a high temperature; never shade
after first planting. Sow and plant out New Zealand spinach on poor
but sunny ground. Sow pickling onions in poor soil and allow to
grow as thickly as possible. Renew sowings of peas, if needed. Sow
Savoy cabbages for small hearts for early winter consumption. Plant
out tomatoes in warm weather, choosing sunny spots. Sow turnips for
succession. Plant out vegetable marrows and their allies (gourds,
pumpkins, &c.) in warm weather, and cultivate like common “ridge”
cucumbers, covering during cold nights.

Attend to lawn and footpaths, and plentifully water flowering shrubs
in dry weather. Apply liquid manure to roses, search for insects and
syringe often; disbud, and remove the weakest shoots and all suckers
from the stocks. Lift plants which have done flowering; divide and
replant them for autumn use. Propagate cuttings from them under
glass. Lift bulbs, and spread them in a warm place to mature, storing
as soon as the tops are dead. Dig and dress the borders ready for
summer bedding-plants, which must now be hardened. Use soft tepid
water only. Bed out the hardiest plants in good weather at the close
of the month, beginning with calceolarias, verbenas, &c. Plant
hollyhocks and pentstemons around shrubberies and in mixed borders,
securing them to stakes. Thin hardy annuals and perennials, and sow
again for the later season. Stake and tie out plants needing it.
Plant out tender annuals when forward enough.

_June._--Pay attention to weeding and watering, and remember with
reference to the latter that it is better to water less often and
copiously than frequently and in driblets. When the supply is short,
reserve it for newly planted stuff. Dress asparagus with salt and
liquid manure; cease cutting about mid-June. A few beans may still be
sown for late crop. Plant out broccoli, and sow a little seed for the
next April cutting. Sow plenty of cabbage and greens to put out as
the ground becomes empty. Plant out, water, and shade cauliflowers,
and sow for the autumn crop. Plant out celery, and give plenty of
water and shade. Sow pickling cucumbers (gherkins) in the open.
Repeat sowing and planting lettuce. Sow mushroom spawn in cucumber
frames or in heaps of horse-dung. Sow salad onions and thin out
keeping sorts. A few peas (earliest kinds) may still be sown. Sow
turnips abundantly in the last week, hastening the early growth, then
thinning well.

Keep shrubberies well hoed, remove or shorten sprawling branches, and
gather seed vessels. Trim box edging. Thin and tie shoots of climbing
shrubs. Mulch rose bushes, and never cease hunting for grubs. Hasten
the filling of borders with bedding plants, avoiding too fine a
surface to the soil. Plant strong-growing things deep, and press the
soil well about them, not omitting stakes and pegs when wind may do
damage. Let subtropical plants have good deep soil and shelter from
shrubberies. Plant chrysanthemums and dahlias in mixed borders and
around shrubberies. Keep the hoe going everywhere, and remove all
dead flower-stalks except such as are needed for seed. Propagate
cuttings of pansies and wallflowers; sow mignonette and sweet peas
for late returns; sow and prick out stocks, and do not cease planting
tender annuals, such as asters.

_July._--Watering is the most important item in this month, even
though occasionally showery. Avoid nuisance from rotting refuse by
digging it into trenches. Sow a few early dwarf beans. Broccoli for
succession may still be planted out, not forgetting the water; also
sow walcheren. Sow several kinds of cabbage in some quantity. Thin
out cardoons. Water and fork among cauliflower, and shade young heads
from too much sun. Plant out celery, and sow a little seed for a
supply for soups if liked. Water ridge and frame cucumbers with soft
sunned water abundantly at intervals of some days. Sow endive early
and late in the month, and plant out in frames or sheltered beds when
ready. Take up garlic, onions and shallots when fully ripe, and plant
out leeks in trenches as celery. Sow parsley. A few early peas may be
sown still. Lift potatoes as soon as mature, leaving the foliage to
finish withering afterwards; plant a few of a quick growing sort for
digging as “new” in the autumn. Sow black Spanish radishes for winter
crop. Make an early and plentiful sowing of turnips, and keep them
thinned and weeded. Plant out abundance of winter green-stuff, in
well-dug land, and water if needful.

Do not neglect the lawn; daisy-heads are best removed by a scythe.
Cut back expanding shrubs, and trim box-edging and hedges, using
the knife for large-leaved growths. Supply rose bushes with liquid
manure, and begin budding when the sap flows freely and the bark
commences to peel; take cuttings late in the month. Weed and fork
round bedding plants and regulate edging plants, leading out and
pegging down specimens required to fill a certain vacancy. Freely
administer liquid manure to strong subtropical plants in dry weather.
Lay carnations, cloves, and picotees, and prick out stocks and other
seedlings. Get a shady bed ready for cuttings of pinks, taken at the
third or fourth joint on bottom shoots from old plants. Take cuttings
of wallflowers and pansies, potting or planting out the former, and
transplanting the latter when rooted. Hoe round, trim, water, and
thoroughly syringe violets. Stake and thin out chrysanthemums, freely
dosing with liquid manure.

_August._--Autumn seed-sowing demands the greatest care, to ensure
the ground being previously sufficiently moist, and to avoid having
the plants too forward when frosts commence. Cut down artichokes
as soon as the heads are taken. Plant out broccoli where they will
have a low screen against the north wind. Sow Brussels sprouts
for spring planting out. Renew sowings and plantings of cabbages.
Sow cauliflower in shelter or frames for spring growth, and water
standing heads in driest weather. Earth-up celery when well grown.
Sow corn salad for spring use. Plant out endive in shelter, and sow
a little more. Sow hardy lettuce in a dry poor plot for winter and
spring supplies. Make a couple of sowings (early and late) of several
kinds of onion to stand the winter; take up and sun-dry the ripe
crop. Sow prickly spinach at both ends of the month. Cut tomatoes and
hang indoors in the sun to mature. Make a final sowing of turnips for
spring crop.

Continue industrious in weeding, cleaning, trimming, pegging, and
staking the flower beds, and begin to propagate cuttings. With the
latter, commence with those which straggle and weak-growing kinds of
plant first in order. Strike flowers of the heliotrope and verbena
class in pots, put in a cold frame, shaded and watered. Look after
dahlias, staking, thinning, and applying liquid manure. Propagate
pansies and phloxes, and stake chrysanthemums and gladioli. Bud,
thin, and well water roses.

_September._--Weeding now demands more energy than is often devoted
to it, and the remains of gathered crops must be cleared off. Keep on
planting all available ground with cabbage while plants last. Plant
out winter cauliflower, and re-sow a little under cover. Earth-up
celery. Plant out and blanche endive; ditto lettuce, and make
occasional fresh sowings where dry and open. Thin parsley by pulling
out whole plants as wanted; cut down the strongest plants to induce
fresh growth. Take up potatoes before wet weather sets in. Thin
spinach when well up.

Harden all rooted cuttings of flowers by thorough ventilation of the
frames. Keep up watering and vermin-hunting. Remove dead leaves and
blooms from pelargoniums, and pinch out the points of heliotropes,
verbenas, &c. Well weed and water the reserve of daisies,
forget-me-nots, &c. Stake all plants needing it. Select firm and
well-matured bulbs for flowering in beds, embracing crocus, hyacinth,
narcissus, ranunculus, snowdrop, tulip, &c. At the end of the month
sow hardy annuals for next spring flowers. Plant out seedling
perennials where they are to remain, so that they may get well rooted
before frosts come. Sever layers of carnations, clove-pinks, and
picotees when rooted, and pot them in cold frames, protected from
sun and rain. Plant out pinks that have been rooted under frames.
Continue budding roses, and loosen tiers which are injuring the bark.
Trim and secure all climbers. Prepare for planting pansies.

_October._--Keep every part of the garden freed from fallen leaves
and decaying rubbish, which should be dug into trenches as manure.
Let the hoe be kept going where it cannot injure roots or stems.
Dig all vacant ground and throw it up in the rough, so that the
frost may penetrate. When digging, manure if the land is cold and
heavy. Clear off asparagus beds and cover them with a good coat of
half-rotten stable dung. Take up beet. Finish up cabbage planting at
once. Earth-up and tie round cardoons. Take up carrots for storing;
weed and thin the young crop. Plant out cauliflower. Earth-up celery,
and prepare to cover it during frost. Blanche full-grown endive
as required. Plant garlic in warm dry ground. Keep on planting
lettuce. Take up parsnips for storing or as needed. Take up and store
potatoes. Plant potato-onions in dry warm ground. Take up rhubarb for
forcing and lay it by in a dry but cold place. Take up salsify for
store. Plant winter greens on the chance of a mild winter.

This is the time for planting trees and shrubs. In advance of the
frost, lift all flowers intended for keeping through the winter, not
neglecting a good supply of pelargoniums. Propagate sturdy cuttings
of calceolarias. Clean, dig, and manure all emptied flower-beds,
and plant them with bulbs and hardy annuals for the spring show of
flowers. Divide and transplant herbaceous plants.

_November._--Maintain the activity in cleaning, trenching, and
manuring; take in new ground where wanted; repair paths and fences;
and be prepared with means of protecting things from frost. Scatter
some litter among but not upon globe artichokes; lift and store
Jerusalem artichokes. Complete unfinished asparagus beds. Sow
beans in really warm dry land for the first crop. Cover remaining
cauliflowers, or cut and store them in a dry shed. If much wet
threatens, take up celery and store like cauliflower heads.
Plant garlic. Take up and store horseradish, and re-plant. Plant
potato-onions. Sow several sorts of early peas in a very warm, dry,
sunny spot. Plant potatoes where the soil is light. Lift seakale for
forcing in cellars or pits.

Lift all flowering plants which will suffer from frost. Finish
planting beds of bulbs and other spring flowers. Complete the
planting of trees and shrubs. Pay special attention to the watering,
protection and ventilation of bedding plants, taking care to exclude
frost and damp, and remove insects and decaying matter. Collect and
dig in falling leaves and other garden refuse. Mulch between standing
plants, especially around the stems, and secure a quantity of dry
bracken or similar material for general covering and protecting
purposes.

_December._--Continue the efforts of last month in making
preparations for the ensuing spring--clearing, digging, repairing,
&c. Earth-up beans and celery, and provide a little covering for the
latter. Give endive every protection. Put a hand frame over outdoor
parsley or have some in a frame. Earth-up peas, and hand pick them
free from drifted dead leaves. Prepare a warm border for early spring
work, making it as light and rich as possible.

Carry on trenching and leaf-gathering, and roll lawns and paths. The
draining of lawns and flower-beds can now be executed. Let spring
flowering plants have the same attention as in January, and bedding
plants the same as in November. Do not omit to help the branches of
delicate trees to withstand the effects of snow and wind by tying
them up with rope yarn (tarred twine).


SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Robert Thompson: ‘The Gardener’s Assistant; Practical and
Scientific.’ London. Latest edition. 35_s._

See also p. 1012.




_DOMESTIC MOTORS._


It is an acknowledged fact that when an establishment has developed
sufficiently to necessitate the employment of a considerable amount
of manual labour to meet its various requirements, it is more
economical and satisfactory in results to introduce mechanical labour
in one or more of its many forms; this especially applies to country
residences, where wood cutting, chaff and root cutting, pumping, &c.,
has to be done, and the machines of the dairy, laundry, &c., need
propelling, and the same engine can be also utilised for electric
lighting, as the light is only needed when the other machines are at
rest. The superiority of mechanical over manual labour is obvious and
the economy is now fully acknowledged. An engine has the advantage
of executing the work with perfect regularity, the last hour’s work
being executed as well and as rapidly as the first, and it works all
day, and every day and, if desired, all night; and the one motor, if
of sufficient power, is capable of being adapted to so many different
purposes, together or independently.

[Illustration: 181. Windmill.]

_Wind._--Wind engines or mills have the decided advantage of being
very economical, but are necessarily irregular in action and are only
suited for high or open situations. They are rarely of practical
use in towns, or where buildings, trees, &c., exist in any size or
number, but where the situation is favourable they are to be highly
commended for several purposes, pumping especially. They invariably
take the form of a strong vertical structure or framework, surmounted
with the mechanism to which the sails are attached, and from which
is carried a shaft to the base (somewhat similar to Miller’s wind
mills). Warner & Co., of Cripplegate, London, make a specialty of
these motors, adapted for numberless purposes, and in which high
powers are attainable. Fig. 181 shows an annular sailed wind engine,
as applied for pumping; it will be understood that the engine can be
stood immediately over the well, or it can be fixed in some more
convenient and suitable position and connected with the well by shaft
or by pipe.

The illustration will acquaint the reader with details more fully,
and it will be noticed that these engines are self-regulating, i.e.
means are provided to shift the position of the sail automatically
as the wind varies; in the larger sizes “striking” gear is fitted
for setting the blades of the sail out of the wind when needed. The
illustration represents a No. 2 Warner’s wind engine, with 10 ft.
sail, price 25_l._, including pump and timber supports; this size is
capable of raising 240 gal. of water per hour 50 ft. high, but the
sizes may be smaller or larger as the requirements demand; after the
first cost the expense is comparatively ended, as only lubrication is
needed.

_Water._--Water wheels also have the advantage of being economical,
and greater reliance can be placed on the regularity of water than in
wind power; but it is only for those that have rivers, streams, &c.,
at disposal. Those that are favourably situated cannot too highly
prize the power they possess, as very regular and very high powers
can be obtained _at will_ and at a moment’s notice, free of cost
(excepting first outlay), and requiring scarcely any attention.

[Illustration: 182. Water wheel.]

Water wheels are of three kinds, viz. overshot, breast, and
undershot; as the names signify, the water flows over, or to the
breast, or under the wheel, the difference in construction consisting
in the shape of the blades on the wheel’s circumference. The first
of the three is undoubtedly the most powerful, as not only is the
impulse of the flowing water imparted to the blades, but the blades
themselves are so constructed that they retain a portion of the water
for about a third of a revolution and thus very materially assist by
gravitation; the breast wheel is driven by the weight of the water
retained by the blades only, and the undershot wheel is driven by the
impulse of the water flowing beneath.

Warner & Co., of Cripplegate, London, make a specialty of these
machines. Fig. 182 shows an overshot wheel adapted for pumping pure
water from a well, and delivering it at any high elevation while
being worked by a stream of impure water.

There is practically no limit to the size and power of these wheels,
a 50 ft. wheel giving as high as 54 horse-power. The illustration
is a No. 1 Warner’s galvanised iron overshot wheel, price 25_l._,
including framework and double action pump, with air vessel complete,
capable of lifting ½ gal. of water per minute 60 ft. high through
400 ft. of delivery pipe. The power of these wheels is not only
increased as the diameter increases, but also by increasing the width
of the blades; for instance, a Warner’s wrought iron overshot or high
breast wheel of 20 ft. diameter with blades 3 ft. wide, develops 11
horse-power, and the same diameter with 6 ft. blades very naturally
gives double (22 horse-power), but with only about 30 per cent.
increased cost.

[Illustration: 183. Improved Turbine.]

_Turbines_ are a form of water motor which require a head of water,
i.e. the water for propelling them must be supplied by means of pipes
from a height; for a moderate power, with the majority of turbines,
it should be not less than 12 ft.; the higher the head of water the
greater the pressure, and the smaller the turbine requires to be for
a given amount of work or power (this applies to all water motors),
consequently the cost of the motor is less, the pipes smaller, and
there is decided economy in the quantity of water used as the height
increases. The pressure of water in pipes is 1 lb. to the square inch
for every 2 ft. 4 in. in height (not allowing for friction); thus it
will be seen that the surface in a turbine upon which the pressure of
water is exerted, requires to be double the area with a 20 ft. fall
than with a 40 ft. fall for given power. A Warner’s 5 horse-power
turbine for 16 ft. fall uses 220 ft. of water per minute with a wheel
of 13 in. diameter, giving 377 revolutions a minute, and costing
60_l._, whereas a 5 horse-power turbine for 30 ft. fall uses 118 ft.
of water with an 8 in. wheel giving 853 revolutions a minute and
costs 45_l._ Fig. 183 shows a Warner’s (Redtenbacher Jouval) improved
turbine fitted and connected to a driving shaft. This turbine is
made to work with as low a fall as 2 ft., giving 1 horse-power, but
the cost is necessarily high. It will be seen from the illustration
(which is in section), that the water is made to pass between fixed
oblique blades or palettes, and strikes on the oblique blades of the
wheel beneath, these latter blades being at an opposite angle to the
fixed blades above; thus a pressure, varying with the height of head
of water, is directly exerted on every square inch of the blades of
the wheel and great power is obtained.

[Illustration: 184. Blake’s Ram.]

_Hydraulic Rams_ are self-acting water motors, for the supply of
water to great heights and distances; they require a fall of water
of 12 in. upwards, and are made to supply either the water that
works them, or to supply well water while being worked by a stream
of impure water; one of the best makers and authorities upon these
motors is John Blake, of Oxford Street Works, Accrington, Lancashire.
Fig. 184 shows a Blake’s ram of ordinary construction, for raising a
portion of the water that works it; a No. 2 (smallest size), price
12_l._, will raise 300 gal. per day, to say 800 ft. high; a No. 16
will raise 100,000 gal. per day. Fig. 185 shows a ram raising water
to a reservoir for general purposes.

[Illustration: 185. Blake’s Ram in use. 186. Haag’s Motor.]

A hydraulic ram is undoubtedly the most economical means of raising a
supply of water, either for a single residence or for a small town,
as they work day and night without attention (or intermittently if
desired), and work as well submerged as above water; but they, of
course, depend entirely upon a fall of water being obtainable, and
this fall or supply must be constant.

[Illustration: 187. Thirlmere Motor.]

[Illustration: 188. Hydraulic Blower.]

_Hydraulic Engines_ are made in various forms, being commonly worked
in a similar manner to a steam engine, water under pressure acting
upon the piston in place of steam. Fig. 186 represents a “Haag’s”
patent water motor adapted for a chaff-cutting machine; Fig. 187
a series of “Thirlmere” water motors, showing the capacities;
Fig. 188 a Bailey’s patent hydraulic blower, for chamber or church
organs, smiths’ bellows, &c. All these motors are manufactured by
W. H. Bailey & Co., of Albion Works, Salford, Manchester, and being
small and inexpensive, they are very suitable and convenient for
working sewing machines, knife cleaners, washers and manglers, and
any domestic machine that entails considerable labour. The power of
these motors varies with the pressure of water, if connected with
the town’s main (by arrangement with the water company), a very high
pressure is generally obtained.

A “Haag’s” motor, No. 2 (smallest size), gives from ¼ to ½
horse-power, 220 revolutions (of the flywheel) a minute, and costs
10_l._ A “Thirlmere” motor, No. 00 (smallest size) gives from
1/70th to 1/30th of a horse-power, and costs 2_l._ 2_s._ A Bailey’s
blower No. 1 (smallest size), at 50 lb. pressure, gives a boy power
with a 10 in. stroke, and costs 6_l._ 6_s._, and is suitable for a
chamber organ; these latter are made to work either vertically or
horizontally.

[Illustration: 189. Ramsbottom Engine.]

Fig. 189 is a “Ramsbottom” 3 cylinder hydraulic engine (Jno.
Ramsbottom, Saynor Road, Hunslet, _Leeds_). This is considered one
of the most efficient hydraulic motors yet made, and it possesses an
advantage in having no dead points (see Flywheel of Steam Engine),
and its action is exceedingly steady and uniform. The illustration
will acquaint the reader with its constructive details, which are
simple and few in number.

No correct idea can be given as to the cost of working these motors,
for as before explained, it depends entirely upon the pressure of
water obtainable.

_Steam._--Steam engines are made in very many forms, and it would
be impossible for us to describe even a small proportion of those
made; for small purposes they are most generally made having engine
and boiler combined, but where moderately high powers are needed,
and space has to be considered, it is found more economical and
convenient to keep them separate; the supply of steam from boiler to
engine being conveyed by a pipe. It might be here mentioned that it
is necessary that all steam chambers and pipes be coated or covered
with some non-conducting material, to prevent loss of heat and
consequent condensation of steam, and it is found advantageous to
keep the steam at as high a temperature as possible, to increase its
efficiency; with most large engines the steam is superheated (i.e.
heated to higher than its ordinary temperature) as it passes from
boiler to engine.

It is not our intention, neither would it be possible in our limited
space, to give a practical treatise upon the steam engine, but it
will doubtless be interesting and instructive to many if a general
description of the chief features be given. They practically consist
of the “boiler,” to which is attached the “feed pump,” “water gauge,”
“steam gauge,” and “safety valve.” The “engine,” which consists of
the cylinder and piston, “governor,” “cranks,” “eccentrics,” and
flywheel.

Boilers take many forms, but in actual principle consist of two
sorts, both being cylindrical, one being clear inside, and the
other nearly filled with flue tubes, which very greatly increase
the heating surface. The first mentioned, which is generally used
for large works, and is known as a Cornish boiler, Fig. 190, has a
cylindrical outer shell, within which is a smaller cylinder, the
space between the two, which is closed at both ends, containing the
water as shown. This boiler is fixed in brick-work, and the furnace
is situated within the inner cylinder. To increase the power of these
boilers, large water tubes are carried across the inside of the inner
cylinder (opening into the water chamber at each end) where the flame
and heat pass after leaving the furnace.

[Illustration: 190. Cornish Boiler. 191. MULTITUBULAR BOILER.
(SECTION)]

_Multitubular Boilers_ are generally those that are attached to
or combined with the engine, where space is a primary object
(locomotive engines have multitubular boilers). Fig. 191 shows the
arrangement of this boiler in a vertical position with horizontal
tubes (shown without the engine); they are also very commonly made
with vertical tubes. All boilers are, or should be, provided with
ample accommodation for removing the incrustated deposit, which forms
with moderate rapidity, as the water is continually boiling, and as
evaporation in a steam boiler is very rapid, the supply of water is
constantly being renewed, and each successive charge of water brings
its proportion of lime to be deposited. (For fuller details upon
incrustation and causes, see Bathroom.)

_The Feed Pump_ is a small pump of ordinary shape and construction,
situated near and worked by the engine, its purpose being to supply
water to the boiler when needed. Mechanism is provided for throwing
it in and out of gear as the water gauge indicates; it will be
readily understood that no means can be provided for filling a steam
boiler by hand, that is to say, it must be done mechanically, as no
loose cover can be provided.

[Illustration: 192. WATER GAUGE. 193. STEAM GAUGE.]

_The Water Gauge_ (Fig. 192) consists of two suitably constructed
cocks, both being screwed into the boiler one above and one below the
correct or average water level, a strong glass tube extending between
them as shown; the water level is necessarily the same in the glass
tube as in the boiler and consequently the attendant can see at a
glance when water is needed; the object of having cocks at each end
of the tube is to prevent the escape of water and steam by closing
the cocks should the tube be broken.

_The Steam or Pressure Gauge_ (Fig. 193) is a circular brass case
with a dial in front, somewhat similar to a clock; within the case
is a small curved tube made so as to be somewhat elastic, this tube
is in direct communication with the steam in the boiler. A somewhat
peculiar action is relied upon, which is, that as the pressure of
steam is exerted within this curved tube, it tends to straighten it,
and this, by a simple arrangement of wheels, causes the pointer to
move round the dial, which is provided with figures round its edge
showing the pressure in pounds (to the square inch) that is exerted
in the boiler as the indicator points to them.

[Illustration: 194. SAFETY VALVE. (SECTION)]

The utility of the safety valve (Fig. 194) is obvious. They are
invariably made so that by means of a weight or other device they can
be regulated to blow off at whatever pressure the engineer dictates,
the pressure being indicated by the pressure gauge.

Fig. 195 represents a cylinder with piston inside; the cylinder
should be encased with wood or some non-conducting material, or be
provided with an outer iron casing or “jacket,” the space between
the casing and the cylinder being converted into a steam chamber.
Whatever method is adopted, the object is to keep the cylinder from
losing its heat and to prevent condensation. The “ports” are openings
through which the steam passes; by means of “slide valves” the steam
is alternately admitted and expelled from each of these, so that the
opening which serves to admit steam on the instroke serves as an exit
for the steam on the outstroke, and the slide valves are worked from
the main crank shaft by valve gear and eccentrics.

[Illustration: 195. Cylinder, with piston inside.]

_The Valve Gear_ is the arrangement of rods that connect the
eccentrics with the slide valves.

_The Piston_ consists of a circular disc of metal made to most
accurately fit the interior of the cylinder; to this is connected a
rod as shown, called the piston rod, which is in direct communication
with the crank. It will be seen that when the steam is admitted into
one end of the cylinder the pressure causes the piston to travel
towards the other end; when the piston reaches a certain point
(called the dead point) the slide valve shifts and the inflow of
steam is changed to the other end, and this causes the piston to
travel back again, and so it continues; an instroke and outstroke
give one revolution to the crank and flywheel.

[Illustration: 196. ECCENTRIC.]

_An Eccentric_ (Fig. 196) is an ingenious piece of mechanism that
answers exactly the opposite purpose of a crank, viz. to convert a
rotary motion into a backward and forward movement. An eccentric
is a circular iron disc, with the main crank shaft passing tightly
through it, but the shaft does not pass through the centre; hence the
term “eccentric.” This disc is encircled and revolves within an iron
strap, which is attached to the valve rod or gear. It will be readily
seen that as the disc revolves it gives a reciprocating movement to
the rod, causing the slide valve to which it is connected to open
and close the ports in the cylinder, and the object in attaching
the eccentrics to the crank shaft is that the piston rod and valve
rods may have an equal and corresponding action, which it will be
understood is absolutely necessary.

[Illustration: 197. CRANK. CRANK. 198. DISC CRANK.]

_The Crank_ (Fig. 197), which on small engines is generally attached
to one end of the crank shaft, is one of Watts’ most famous
inventions (but which, however, was pirated from him), and its object
is to convert the backward and forward movement of the piston rod
into a rotary motion at the shaft. Disc crank plates (Fig. 198) are
now getting into favour as having a steadier action, and it is to all
intents and purposes a crank, but of improved form.

_The Flywheel_ is a heavy cast-iron wheel attached to the crank shaft
on the opposite end to the crank itself; it serves more than one
useful purpose, viz. giving great steadiness to the motion, assisting
propulsion to some extent by its momentum and carrying the piston
over the dead points (a dead point is the position which the piston
is in when it has finished one stroke and about to return just at the
time it becomes quite still for an instant, and this is called the
dead point, and it happens at the end of each stroke).

_The Pulleys_ are of two kinds, fast and loose; they are light wheels
about one-sixth the diameter of the flywheel, at whose side they are
attached to the extreme end of the shaft. They have broad flat faces
or rims, and their object is to carry the strap or belting which
transmits the power from the engine to the work. The fast or driving
pulley is the one that is secured to the shaft and revolves with the
flywheel; the loose pulley is the one that is not secured to the
shaft, and rotates loosely upon it when occasion demands; a forked
arrangement transfers the belting from the fast to the loose pulley
when it is necessary to stop the machinery, or vice versâ.

[Illustration: 199. Governor.]

_The Governor_ (Fig. 199) is another ingenious and important
invention of Watts, and serves a most useful purpose; it will be
understood that if when an engine was working with the full strain
of the machinery upon it, the belting was to break, the engine would
immediately begin working at an alarming speed, most destructive to
itself (this does not apply to engines, such as locomotives, that
have constant attention); the governor, as the name implies, controls
this. By referring to the illustration, it will be seen that as the
speed of the engine increases, the faster the governor rotates (it
being connected with the crank shaft); this, by centrifugal action,
makes the two balls fly out, and this causes a valve in the steam
inlet to partially close and so check the supply of steam from boiler
to engine, thus very naturally reducing the speed.

_Lubricators_ (self-acting) are provided wherever necessary, and it
is important that a motor of any description be well lubricated at
its wearing parts or wherever friction takes place; this reduces the
wear and tear to a minimum, and very greatly adds to the motor’s
efficiency.

_Steam_ is produced by subjecting water to heat, and so causing it to
evaporate; steam is commonly understood to be (by those that have not
studied the subject) a white watery vapour, whereas it is exactly the
reverse, it is practically as dry and colourless as the atmosphere,
and possesses similar characteristics in its unlimited expansibility
and compressibility; it only assumes the white vapoury appearance
when it escapes in the air which is at a lower temperature than
itself, as it then condenses into its original form, water; if steam
was ejected into a compartment that was heated to say 220° the steam
would retain its own form and be quite colourless and invisible. The
expansive power of steam is put to good purpose in what is known
as the “cut-off” and also in compound engines; the cut-off is an
arrangement whereby the steam is cut off from the cylinder, when the
piston has been impelled ½ or ⅝ of a stroke, and the expansion of
the steam completes the stroke. In compound engines (which are large
and have 2 cylinders) the steam, after doing service in the first
cylinder, is conducted to a second of greater diameter, where by
expansion it exerts a lower pressure, but on 2 or 3 times the piston
area, so giving units of work equal to the first cylinder. Engines
are now made with 3 cylinders, thus fully utilising this economical
plan.

_Horse-power._--When steam engines first came into use they were
applied to work previously done by horses which worked the mills; it
was, therefore, convenient and desirable to say what number of horses
an engine would supersede, hence the term horse-power, which means a
capacity to produce a mechanical effect equivalent to raising 33,000
lb. one foot per minute. The indicated horse-power of an engine is
the pressure exerted by the steam on the piston without allowing for
friction, the indicated horse-power is therefore higher than the
power that will be realised; the nominal horse-power is that which
is obtained by measurement of the cylinder and piston area, and is
a commercial standard, but a deficient one, and most makers’ lists
now show engines which by improvements will give 1 and 2 actual
horse-power higher than the nominal.

The makers of steam engines might be named “legion,” but the two
following are firms of repute, making somewhat a specialty of small
motors. Fig. 200 shows a combined vertical engine and boiler complete
with feed pump and water tank base, and requiring no fixing (makers
Hindley & Co., 11 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.); the boiler
is multitubular (vertical tubes) and the sizes vary from 2 to 6
horse-power, costing from 62_l._, to 122_l._; if coal fuel is not
available, and it is desired to burn wood, peat or inferior fuel,
it is usual to have the boiler a size larger costing from 3_l._ to
10_l._ extra. It will be noticed that the water tank forming the
base, causes the feed water to become heated. The plan of heating
the feed water is now universally followed, as it will be understood
how disadvantageous it is to pump cold water into the boiler when
it is in full work. Feed pumps are now made to pump boiling water
if required. Fig. 201 shows a Hindley’s horizontal steam engine
complete with pump, but without boiler, made in sizes from 2 to 15
horse-power, costing from 24_l._ to 100_l._

[Illustration: 200. Hindley’s Vertical Engine. 201. Hindley’s Engine.
202. Tangyes’ Vertical Engine.]

Fig. 202 is a Tangyes’ (Tangyes, Limited, 35 Queen Victoria Street,
London) vertical steam engine and boiler complete, and mounted on a
wheeled bed for portability, the cost being 2 horse-power 63_l._, 3
horse-power 79_l._ Fig. 203 is a Tangyes’ vertical engine without
boiler, and on firm base, price, 2 horse-power 22_l._, 3 horse-power
29_l._, including feed pumps.

We have purposely omitted the use and description of condensers, as
they are only of real use with very large engines (except with marine
engines to which condensers are always fitted as the cold water for
condensing is at hand in unlimited quantities); a good use to which
the exhaust steam can be put is to heat the feed water; Fig. 204 is a
Tangyes’ feed-water heater; it will be seen that the heating medium
is the exhaust steam from the engine. These are made with brass
tubes, which on account of great expansion and contraction will not
permit the incrustation to adhere to their surface, and it falls in a
scaley and sandy mass to the bottom where a mudhole and handhole are
provided for periodical cleaning; the cost of these varies with the
size of the steam exhaust pipe, for a 2 in. pipe the price is 13_l._

If the exhaust pipe is carried any distance, it must be thoroughly
well insulated, or the steam will condense, and the water will
run back into the cylinder; this really occurs to a small extent
with the best management, consequently a “steam trap” is used, the
object of which is to discharge water resulting from condensation.
The management of a small steam motor is practically simple, but
moderately constant attention is needed; it must be seen that the
supply of water is kept up in the boiler, the water and pressure
gauges must be occasionally looked to, and the lubricators must be
replenished regularly. The want of skilled attention is felt when a
small accident or breakdown occurs, but this of course applies to all
motors.

[Illustration: 203. Tangyes’ Vertical Engine without Boiler. 204.
Tangyes’ Feed-water Heater. 205. Davey’s Safety Motor.]

_Davey’s Safety Motor_ (Fig. 205) is a revival of the atmospheric
engine of 1705 in general principle, but with various decided
improvements. The word “safety” is used advisedly, as there is no
pressure exerted by the steam higher than atmospheric pressure (15
lb. to the square inch), consequently it is as non-explosive as a
teakettle, and no steam gauge or safety valve is required and the
motor can be placed in charge of the most unskilled attendant. The
power is obtained by the condensation of steam producing a vacuum
and thereby making available the pressure of the atmosphere. This
motor has a cylinder and piston; as the piston is proceeding on the
outstroke the cylinder is charged with steam at low pressure; at
the proper moment a jet of cold water is admitted which instantly
condenses the steam, producing a vacuum, the pressure of the
atmosphere immediately asserts itself outside of the piston pressing
it back on the instroke, after which the action is repeated; so it
will be seen that the piston relies upon the momentum of the flywheel
for the outstroke and the pressure of the atmosphere (15 lb. to sq.
in.) for the instroke. This is an economical motor, the consumption
of fuel (gas coke) averaging 6 lb. per horse-power per hour, and the
makers claim that the cost of fuel and water (if the latter has to
be paid for) combined is less than the cost of gas for working a gas
engine for a given amount of work.

These motors are also made to work with a pressure of steam about 2
lb. above atmospheric pressure, and this can then be utilised for
steaming purposes, such as for cattle foods, &c.; this also applies
to any steam motor. The cost of these motors is for ¾ indicated
horse-power 45_l._, with a 2 ft. flywheel 160 revolutions a minute,
or a larger size, 4½ indicated horse-power, 100_l._, with a 4 ft.
flywheel.

_Gas._--Gas engines are now occupying considerable attention and
receiving general favour; the attention needed in working these
motors is comparatively nil, and they admit of such exact regulation
that there is practically no loss of power and fuel, for in reducing
speed or work the supply of fuel (gas) must first be reduced. A
noticeable feature is the extreme cleanliness, as there is no furnace
and stoking, no boiler safety-valve nor pressure gauge, &c.; and
it is a common thing to find these motors left for hours without
attention, as the supply of fuel is unvarying and self-acting
lubricators of good make only require attention about once a day.
A still further and important advantage possessed by these motors
is the almost instantaneous starting and stopping, making them
particularly well adapted for electric lighting apparatus in event
of a sudden darkness arising. The majority of these remarks, it will
be noticed, apply to many motors. All gas engines are practically
worked upon the same principle, but differing in detail; there is,
however, a practical difference in one respect, and that is, that
some consume the gas in its ordinary state as supplied from the gas
mains, whilst others consume it after the piston has first compressed
it; the latter is undoubtedly the most effective in results, as the
difference may be compared to igniting gunpowder in the barrel of a
gun in a loose state, or after it has been rammed close.

[Illustration: 206. Otto Gas Engine.]

These motors are in construction somewhat similar to steam engines,
having a cylinder and piston, crank, flywheel, governor, &c.; the
gas is utilised by leading it to a combustion chamber (one end of
the cylinder) and at a proper moment igniting it, the expansion (or
explosion) impelling the piston forward; the piston is brought back
by the momentum of the flywheel, and on its return journey passes
off the products of combustion; most gas engines are worked with one
ignition or impulse to every 2 or 3 strokes, or they can be regulated
to an impulse for every stroke for high speeds; the cylinders of
these motors usually have water jackets, as the temperature naturally
becomes very high, a small pump circulating the water which is
supplied from a small water tank at the side, or the engine may have
a water tank base, the same water being used over and over again.

A desirable feature in a gas engine is that it be “noiseless,” they
are now made that even the exhaust pipe is noiseless. Speaking of the
exhaust pipe, this should be carried into the open air, as if carried
into a flue or chamber, a leakage of gas up this pipe would be a
source of danger, and this pipe must be kept clear of woodwork some 6
or 10 in., according to size.

Large motors are provided with a self-starting apparatus, but small
motors require a turn or two given to the flywheel by hand at
starting.

The consumption of gas with these motors costs from 1_d._ to 2_d._
per horse-power per hour, varying with the size; a 1 horse-power
costs about 1¾_d._ The following are a few gas engines by reliable
makers. Fig. 206 shows an “Otto” vertical gas engine (Crossley
Bros., Limited, 24 Poultry, London), made in sizes from 5 man to 5
horse-power (nominal), giving from 1 to 9 indicated horse-power; a
medium size, 1½ nominal horse-power (3 indicated horse-power), costs
103_l._, with water vessel, 4 ft flywheel, 180 revolutions a minute.

[Illustration: 207. Horizontal Otto.]

[Illustration: 208. Stockport Gas Engine. 209. Bisschop Gas Engine.]

Fig. 207 shows an “Otto” horizontal, made in sizes from ½ to 16
nominal horse-power, giving 2 to 40 indicated horse-power (the larger
sizes have 2 flywheels); the cost of a 2 nominal horse-power (4
indicated horse-power) is 138_l._, with water vessel, 4 ft. 6 in.
flywheel, 160 revolutions a minute. The Otto is at present receiving
the greatest share of favour, and it certainly is a good one.

Fig. 208 shows a “Stockport” horizontal gas engine (J. E. Andrew &
Co., Limited, 80 Queen Victoria Street, London), made in sizes from
6 man to 8 nominal horse-power, giving from 1½ to 15½ indicated
horse-power; a medium size, 2 nominal horse-power (4 indicated
horse-power), costs 128_l._, with water tank complete.

Fig. 209 shows a “Bisschop” vertical gas engine (J. E. Andrew & Co.,
as above), made in sizes from 1 man to 4 man power, costing from
28_l._ to 40_l._ This small engine requires no water tank.

Fig. 210 is the “Hercules” vertical gas engine (Turner Bros., St.
Albans), sizes 1 man to 3 horse-power, costing from 18_l._ 15_s._ to
105_l._, with water tank complete. This is about the cheapest engine
in the market.

[Illustration: 210. Hercules Gas Engine. 211. Atkinson’s Gas Engine.]

Fig. 211 is an Atkinson’s differential compression gas engine
(British Gas Engine Co., 11 Queen Victoria Street, London), made
in sizes from ¾ to 8 nominal horse-power, costing from 62_l._, to
210_l._, with water tank complete. The chief feature and novelty in
this engine is its having a piston at each end of the cylinder, as
will be seen by the illustration. This engine is somewhat new, but
the principle is good, and it has, no doubt, a good future.

[Illustration: 212. Atkinson’s Horizontal Gas Engine.]

Fig. 212 is a 6 horse-power Atkinson’s horizontal gas engine. This
engine is made in sizes from 3½ to 16 nominal horse-power, costing
from 153_l._ upwards, with water tank complete.

A disadvantage which all gas engines very naturally have is the
inability to use them in rural districts, where no gas supply exists.

_Petroleum_ engines are now gaining favour, as they are equal to gas
engines in cleanliness and results, and need as little attention,
and they can be used anywhere, as a supply of fuel is so easily
attainable. The ordinary and common petroleum of commerce is the
fuel used, and the various makers contend that these motors are more
economical than gas engines, the cost of fuel varying from ¾_d._ to
1¼_d._ per horse-power per hour, according to size. The construction
of this motor is very similar to a gas engine, ignition and expansion
(explosion) of petroleum taking the place of gas.

[Illustration: 213. Spiel’s Petroleum Engine.]

Fig. 213 is a “Spiel’s” vertical petroleum engine (Shawlaw & Co.,
Suffolk Works, Birmingham), made in one size only, 3 man nominal
power (1 horse-power indicated), price 46_l._ 8_s._, with water tank.

“Spiel’s” horizontal petroleum engine, made in sizes from ½ to 8
nominal horse-power (1½ to 17 indicated horse-power), with 3 ft. 9
in. to 5 ft. 9 in. flywheels, and costing from 59_l._ to 246_l._,
with water tank complete. The extra cost of a centrifugal oil pump
attached is from 50_s._ to 70_s._

[Illustration: 214. Etéve Petroleum Engine.]

Fig. 214 is the “Etéve” horizontal petroleum engine (Priestmann
Bros., 52 Queen Victoria Street, London), made in sizes from ½ to 10
nominal horse-power (1¼ to 20 indicated horse-power), with from 3 ft.
4 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. flywheels, and costing from 60_l._ to 275_l._,
with water tank complete. This motor is also made mounted on a truck
for agricultural purposes.

A petroleum motor is especially suited for launches and small yachts,
on account of its cleanliness, and dispensing with the roomy and
dirty coal bunker, the store of oil being in tanks under the seats,
&c.; what is most important is that there is no smoke, and the engine
requires but a few minutes to start and attain full speed.

A high authority gave his opinion to the writer that the small motor
of the future will be undoubtedly the petroleum engine.

_Hot-air or Caloric Engine._--This motor is worked by the expansion
of atmospheric air when subjected to heat. Fig. 215 is a sectional
drawing of the “Rider” hot-air pumping engine (Hayward, Tyler & Co.,
39 Queen Victoria Street, London), and we cannot do better than copy
the makers’ description of its working parts. “The compression piston
C first compresses the cold air in the lower part of the compression
cylinder A, into about one-third its normal volume, when by the
advancing of the power piston D and the completion of the down stroke
of piston C, the air is transferred from the cylinder A through the
regenerator H and into the heater F, without appreciable change of
volume. The result is a further increase of pressure, and this impels
the power piston up to the end of its stroke. The pressure still
remaining in the power cylinder and reacting on the piston C, forces
the latter upwards till it reaches nearly the top of its stroke,
when, by the cooling of the charge of air, the pressure falls to
its minimum, the power piston descends, and the compression again
begins, the same air being used continuously. E is a water jacket
for cooling the air more effectually, K K are leather packings, L
is a check valve which remedies any leakage of air.” This engine
is made in three sizes, ¼, ½, and 1 horse-power, costing 40_l._ to
100_l._ including lift and force pump, as at Fig. 216, the higher
prices being fitted with driving pulley for power. These engines
are especially well adapted for pumping, a ¼ horse-power with 2 in.
pump delivering 500 gal. per hour 40 ft. high, the engine costing
42_l._ complete. There is no skill required in working them, the only
labour needed being to start and stop the engine, to replenish the
fire (coke fuel), and the necessary attention to lubricators. The
consumption of coke is 2½ lb., 4 lb. and 9 lb. per hour for the three
sizes respectively; this represents a cost of about one halfpenny
per 1000 gal. of water raised 30 ft. high; it will be understood that
all pumping engines can be fitted with gear for deep-well work when
necessary.

[Illustration: 215. Rider Hot-air Engine. 217. Horizontal Hot-air
Engine.]

[Illustration: 216. Engine with Lift and Force Pump. 218. Vertical
Hot-air Engine.]

Fig. 217 is “Bailey’s” horizontal hot-air engine (W. H. Bailey & Co.,
Albion Works, Salford, Manchester) with pulley for driving, made
in sizes from ¼ to 3½ horse-power, costing from 35_l._ to 150_l._
complete, but requiring a brick stove to be built in connection with
it.

Fig. 218 is a “Bailey’s” vertical hot-air driving engine, made in
sizes from ⅛ to ½ horse-power, costing from 80_l._ to 42_l._ This
engine, it will be noticed, has the stove or furnace complete. These
engines are also made with pump attached for domestic and other
water supply, similar to the “Rider.” Coke fuel is the best, but any
combustible can be used, such as wood, peat, cinders, or common coal.
The cost of working the “Bailey” engines is about the same as the
“Rider.”

_Electricity._--Electric motors are not of practical use except in
residences, &c., where an electrical installation (worked by an
engine) already exists or is going to be fitted; as, to attempt to
propel an electric motor by a battery would, though possible, be
very expensive, and the battery would have to be of enormous size
to obtain any power of importance,--to work a sewing machine, for
instance.

In buildings that are lighted by electricity or have an electric
apparatus of any description that is worked by an engine and dynamo,
an electric motor can be used with success and good results. This
form of motor has several advantages, foremost amongst which is
its portability and the absence of shaft and belting to transmit
the power, and the power can be transmitted long distances, the
connection between the dynamo (which is always near the engine) and
the motor being by two wires only; thus the power generated by the
engine can be carried throughout a building into the most obscure
nooks or attics if desired, or one engine of good size will provide
power for a neighbourhood, or in other words, the electric power for
motive purposes can be transmitted anywhere and everywhere, the same
as for lighting.

[Illustration: 219. Immisch’s Electric Motor.]

Fig. 219 is an Immisch electric motor (Mr. M. Immisch, Malden
Crescent, Kentish Town), made in sizes up to 30 and 40 horse-power.
The price of 1 horse-power is 24_l._ Fig. 219 shows the motor
as applied to domestic purposes, driving a knife-cleaner and
coffee-grinding machine: the same motor can of course be applied to
other purposes where rotary motion is applicable.

The Electrical Power Storage Company, Limited, 4 Great Winchester
Street, London, E.C., also make electric motors in various powers;
Fig. 220 is their smallest pattern, made in sizes from ⅓ to 7
horse-power (effective), costing from 10_l._ to 90_l._ The cost of
working with power transmitted from the engine (gas or steam, &c.)
by means of dynamo and electric motor can be computed as being but
little in excess of working direct from the engine itself, but with
the advantages already stated; this especially applies where the
engine and dynamo are already in existence, as before stated.

[Illustration: 220. Electric Motor.]

_Clockwork._--Motors with the mechanism propelled by a spring have
not yet been brought to any degree of perfection or efficiency. A
self-acting motor of this description was being manufactured and
attached to sewing machines by a company formed in London, but it is
to be regretted that for some reason the company has now ceased to
exist: their motor could be adapted to any make of sewing machine,
and their efforts were worthy of success, for they were applied to
the domestic machine, which, although a grand institution, entails
labour both trying and harmful.

See also p. 1012.




_HOUSEHOLD LAW._


The wants of modern society are so various, and the relations
consequently created are so far-reaching, that it is absolutely
impossible, within the space that can be spared to the subject in
this manual, to fully explain the position in law of a householder
or head of a family. The reader of the following remarks must never
forget that they attempt to state a few general rules merely, and
that there are few, if any, households which are not in some respects
under the sway of some special Act of Parliament or some special
agreement with somebody. The chapter will, it is hoped, keep its
reader, with these limitations, clear of _some_ litigation, and show
him _some_ of his rights; but it has been written on the principle
that silence is far better than a misleading statement.


=The House.= _Renting and Letting._--_Agreement._--In all cases have
a memorandum of agreement written in duplicate, stamped, and signed
by both parties, each keeping a copy. This should state clearly the
commencement of the tenancy and its duration (quarterly, yearly, or
for a term of years), the rental, the share of repairs to be borne
by the landlord and the share to be done by the tenant, and attached
to it should be a schedule detailing the dilapidations (if any) on
entering on the tenancy, and any fixtures, such as gaseliers, blinds,
&c., which may be intended to be included in the letting, and to
remain the property of the landlord. An agreement for a tenancy for
three years or less, which, of course, includes a yearly or monthly
tenancy, may be made verbally if the rent is two-thirds or more of
the full yearly value, which may be assumed to be the rateable value
as appearing in the parish books.

_Insanitary Houses._--The mere letting of a furnished house implies
a contract on the part of the landlord that the house is “fit for
human habitation.” What constitutes “fitness” is a matter of degree.
The presence of bugs, infection from measles, or defective drains,
has each in turn been held to justify the tenant in declaring his
tenancy at an end. But with regard to an unfurnished house the
law has been in the habit of taking a different view. In such a
case the old maxim of “caveat emptor” applies, and the tenant is
presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have taken
the house as he found it. More especially when there is a lease or
a written agreement, such a document is presumed to embody all the
covenants, on either side, which are required for the protection of
the interests of either landlord or tenant; and in such a case no
tacit or implied covenant of a conflicting nature can be inferred.
The house may be defective in sundry details, but the tenant is
presumed to have informed himself beforehand on these points, and
to have taken them into consideration when he agreed to the rent.
Therefore, every one who is about to take a house should have it
properly surveyed before committing himself by signing an agreement
even for a yearly tenancy, or should have inserted in the lease an
undertaking by the landlord that the drainage of the premises is in
perfect order, which possibly would be the better way, as defects in
drains are not found out at once. It is possible that the landlord
would object to putting a clause of this kind in. It is unusual, but
that is no reason why it should not be made usual and universal.

In the case of a house or lodgings in which there has been any
dangerous infectious disorder, any person letting the same without a
medical man’s certificate as to the satisfactory disinfection thereof
is liable to a penalty of 20_l._; and any person who lets or shows
a house or lodgings, and on being asked whether there has been there
any dangerous infectious disorder knowingly makes a false answer, is
liable to the same penalty or to a month’s hard labour.

_Repairs._--Apart from express agreement, there is no obligation on
the landlord to do any repairs whatever, but the tenant is liable
to make good any damage done to the premises by his own wilful or
negligent conduct, or by his having suffered the house to become
ruinous or in decay for want of necessary repairs. If the house
is accidentally burnt down, however, the tenant cannot be made to
rebuild unless he has agreed to repair and leave in repair, but he
will not be relieved from payment of rent.

_Possession._--The landlord must give possession at the time
mentioned for the commencement of the tenancy, and the tenant’s
failure to enter will make no difference as to rent, which commences
to accrue due at the time specified.

_Rent._--Rent accrues due throughout the whole of the specified term,
and is payable on the appointed days, even though the premises may
have been burnt down without any fault of the tenant, unless there
is provision in the lease for such an event. The tenant cannot be
required to pay rent, or a portion of it, before the appointed day,
and he has the whole of that day in which to make the payment, and
until it has expired no distress can be put in.

_Distress._--If the rent is not duly paid as above mentioned the
landlord may himself, or by an agent or bailiff, seize all the goods
on the premises, with certain exceptions stated below, and may hold
them until the rent is paid, or sell them as hereinafter mentioned.
The landlord will be liable to an action if goods are seized beyond
such a quantity as may be reasonably expected by him to satisfy the
rent and expenses, or if the seizure is proceeded with after such
a sum has been tendered to him; and if he distrains where no rent
is due, and sells the goods, he is liable for double their value.
A distress cannot be made between sunset and sunrise, nor can the
person distraining break into the house or get in through a chimney,
but he may enter through an open window or door, or through a door
which he can open from the outside by turning the handle or raising
the latch in the ordinary way, and once he has lawfully entered he
may break open inner doors. He may not distrain fixtures, gas or
water fittings let by the companies to the tenant, goods of strangers
which have been delivered to the tenant to be worked upon or taken
care of in the way of the tenant’s business, perishable commodities,
such as butcher’s meat, or things in actual use at the time of the
distress, or perhaps dogs; nor, if there be other things liable and
of sufficient value, may he seize the instruments of the trade or
profession carried on by any member of the household. Property of
the tenant removed fraudulently to avoid distress after sunrise of
the rent-day may be followed by the bailiff, and seized at any time
within 30 days after removal.

The tenant is entitled to 5 days of grace after seizure in which
to pay the rent and expenses, thereby dismissing the bailiff, and
recovering all his property. Failing this, the bailiff will call in
two appraisers to value the goods, putting a memorandum of the value
upon the inventory; the goods may then be sold for the best price
that can be got.

When the distraint is for an amount not exceeding 20_l._, the costs
are thus limited--levying distress, 3_s._; man in possession, 2_s._
6_d._ a day; advertisements, if any, 10_s._; appraisement, 6_d._ in
the £, and for the stamp, 1_s._, expenses of sale, 1_s._ in the £ on
the net proceeds. In case of excess charges, apply to a justice of
the peace. When the rent due is more than 20_l._ there are no defined
rules as to costs, which must, however, be reasonable in amount,
being usually one or two guineas for the levy, and 3_s._ 6_d._ a day
for the man in possession.

It will be seen that the goods of undertenants are liable to distress
for rent due by the middleman to the head landlord. Lodgers, however,
are specially favoured by Act of Parliament in such a case, but the
proceedings necessary to protect their goods are very troublesome.
The lodger must deliver to the bailiff a written and signed inventory
of his property, with a declaration that he is in lawful possession
of it, and that the tenant has no right or interest in any of it;
also stating what amount of rent is due from the lodger to the
tenant. If the lodger owes any rent he must pay it to the bailiff
or landlord instead of to the tenant. If the bailiff or landlord
still proceeds with the seizure, the lodger should at once apply to
a magistrate for an order for restoration of the property. If the
lodger is absent, and leaves no person authorised to act for him
during the seizure and succeeding 5 days, his goods are liable to be
seized and sold.

Lodgers are liable to distress by their own landlord like other
tenants; but in furnished lodgings with attendance, the distress must
be limited to the rent of the rooms, and not include the charges for
attendance or “extras,” or for food supplied.

_Rates and Taxes._--These are almost invariably, if not always,
payable in the first instance by the tenant, but he may always deduct
any property-tax which he has paid from the next payment of rent, and
he may also, unless he has agreed to the contrary, deduct any payment
for land-tax or sewers rate, or for tithe rent-charge. If payment is
not made on demand, the ratepayer must take or send the amount to the
collector. In case of non-payment, the ratepayer is liable without
notice to be summoned before the magistrates. If the rates are then
paid before the time appointed to hear the case, the expense is
trifling, but otherwise it is considerable. Magistrates have power to
authorise an immediate distraint on goods to the amount of rates and
costs; and if sufficient goods cannot be found on the premises of the
ratepayer, he is liable to imprisonment.

_Determination of Tenancy._--All tenancies may of course be put an
end to at any time by mutual consent, though the consent should be
declared in a deed if the tenancy was by deed. But without such
consent a tenancy for a fixed period must continue according and
subject to the special terms, if any, of the lease until the period
expire when the tenancy comes to an end, and the tenant must give up
possession, and may leave without any notice. Subject to any special
agreement, a tenancy from year to year can be determined by one party
only at the day of the year corresponding to that from which it was
agreed that the tenancy should run by giving to the other a half
year’s previous notice of his intention. If the tenancy runs from
one of the usual quarter-days, then the necessary and sufficient
notice is that which is given on or before the quarter-day next but
one preceding that from which the tenancy runs. A quarter’s notice
in a quarterly tenancy, a month’s notice in a monthly tenancy, and
a week’s notice in a weekly tenancy are undoubtedly sufficient, and
should be given so as to expire at the end of the current quarter,
month, or week respectively of the tenancy. In the metropolis there
seems to be a general custom as to weekly tenancies which renders a
week’s notice necessary, and County Court judges usually so hold.

_Fixtures._--A tenant may during his occupation remove fixtures
which he has put up at his own expense for ornament or domestic
convenience, in such a way that they have not become a permanent part
of the house. But if, on giving up possession of the house, he leaves
any behind by mistake, he cannot re-enter to recover them; and if
the incoming tenant once obtains possession, including the fixtures,
he is entitled to detain and use them, unless he has expressly
agreed to pay for them or deliver them up. Tenants may not pull down
buildings or permanent structures which they have erected on their
own responsibility, and must make good any damage done to the house
by the removal of such fixtures as they are entitled to remove.

_Dilapidations._--Under the ordinary covenants by the tenant to
keep and deliver up the premises in repair, it seems that the view
generally taken by surveyors of his liability--which will extend to
permanent erections made by the tenant himself--is as follows:--If
the parts can be repaired they may be so treated; but if the decay or
injury has gone so far as to render repairs insufficient to restore
the usefulness of the part, it must be made good. Thus, among the
items the tenant is called upon to make good is that of roofing;
such as to replace all loose and broken tiles, to strip and retile
where the laths are broken, or where the rafters, feet or purlins are
decayed; to restore all defective filleting and pointing. Defective
brickwork in walls, chimneys, shafts, parapets, and gables; portions
out of the perpendicular, or bulged, or cracked, have to be made
good, besides repointing where necessary, and refixing broken chimney
pots. Slated roofs also come under the same general clauses. Repairs
to woodwork include such items as the following: Making good all
loose or decayed timbers, whether injured by wet or dry-rot; to fix
timbers where not straight, through neglect or decay; to secure and
make good all loose, broken, or decayed weather boarding, frames,
skylights, wooden gutters, dormer boarding, and other external work;
also to make good broken or decayed wooden fences, door frames, &c.;
to secure and make good all loose, broken, or rotten floors; to fix
up and relay where not level, if by reason of neglect, and to rehang
where required all doors and shutters; replace broken lines, repair
sashes, nosings to stairs where defective, and treads. Questions are
continually arising regarding the liability of tenants to repair
joiners’ work, but it appears clear that the burden of repairs
falls upon the tenant. With respect to masons’ work, all defective
stonework of whatever description falls upon him. Thus, broken
cornices, lintels, and sills have to be made good by filling-in
pieces; also broken steps and landings, both inside and out. In case
of broken nosings, or of treads worn down as to become dangerous, the
piecing is to extend to cutting out the upper surface and filling
in the depth of nosing with a slab of sufficient thickness to form
a new nosing. Broken chimney pieces, slabs, and inner hearths are
to be made good or relaid; and loose and sunken pavings to be taken
up and relaid. All panes of glass having two cracks in them are to
be reinstated, besides making good all putty work. With respect to
painting, it is usual for the tenant to repaint all wood and ironwork
for their preservation, and where defaced, also on stone, stucco, or
other external work. Inside painting is exempted, except in cases of
misuse. To other trades the same rules apply; all broken fittings,
fixtures, and parts of buildings to be repaired or made good by the
tenant. The term “to make good” implies a renewal of the part, and
ought not to be confused with the general words “to repair.”

_Water._--Subject to anything in their special Act, a waterworks
company having pipes in the street where the house is situate may
be required by the occupier, with the consent in writing of the
owner, and upon payment or tender of the water rate in advance, to
make the needful communications, and are liable to forfeit 5_l._ for
non-compliance within seven days. Due care must be exercised by the
company to render the supply regular, but they are not responsible
for discontinuance caused by frost, drought, or other unavoidable
circumstance. The water must always be pure and wholesome, and in
this connection it may be mentioned that water is nearly always purer
as delivered by the company than as drawn from the householder’s
cistern, owing to gross neglect to keep the latter clean. The
company’s inspector may enter any day between 9 A.M. and 4 P.M. to
examine the fittings, and the householder is liable to heavy fines
for allowing water to be wasted or misused, or contaminated, besides
having his supply cut off till the evil is remedied, and incurring
all the cost incidental thereto. An incoming tenant should ascertain
by application at the offices of the company whether the previous
tenant is in arrears with his water rates, as it is said that in some
districts the newcomer may be compelled to pay the deficit before
getting a supply. This is certainly not the law in the metropolis,
at all events, where the incoming tenant is expressly declared to
be free from this liability, unless he has undertaken with his
predecessor to pay the arrears. The company are bound under heavy
penalties to keep a copy of their special act for inspection on
payment of a fee of 1_s._ per hour. This will show the charges they
are authorised to make, and the amount of the rate which is payable
in advance and usually based on the annual value, i.e. the _net_
annual value, or about the same as the net rateable value appearing
in the parochial rate-book.

_Gas._--Subject to anything in the special Act, the owner or occupier
of a house within twenty-five yards of a gas main, may, by notice
in writing, require the company to supply gas; they are bound by
penalties to comply within a reasonable time, provided the occupier
will agree to take gas for two years, and is ready to give security
for payment of his rates. The companies must supply gas of a certain
standard as regards purity and lighting power, but are not governed
as to pressure, hence the householder’s only means of preventing the
waste due to constantly changing pressure is to have a “regulator,”
as described in another section (p. 88). Gas is supplied at a price
per 1000 cubic feet used, the consumption being measured by a meter.
This meter may be supplied by the gas company and a rental charged
on it, the company keeping it in repair; or it may be supplied by
the householder at his own cost for purchase and maintenance; but
the householder must not alter the fixing or provide his own meter
without 24 hours’ notice to the company. The company, in either case,
have right of entry to examine the fittings at reasonable times.
The householder is liable to heavy penalties in respect of waste or
misuse of the gas or injury to the pipes, &c. Gas rates are usually
delivered quarterly and are payable at once, failing which the
company may proceed to recover and cut off supply, and may demand
security for the future before renewing supply, cost of which will
fall upon the householder. No incoming tenant is liable for rates
unpaid by his predecessor unless he has undertaken to pay them. The
company are bound under heavy penalties to keep a copy of their
special Act for inspection on payment of a fee of 1_s._ per hour.


=Servants.=--A general or indefinite hiring of domestic or menial
servants is said to be in law a hiring for a year, and the contract
therefore, unless the service is to begin on the same day or the day
following, ought, strictly to be in writing and signed; but it may
be made out by the letters of the parties, and does not require any
stamp. Wages, though reckoned by the year, are usually payable in
monthly instalments, but sometimes quarterly or yearly.

The service may, however, be freely terminated at any time by either
party giving to the other a month’s notice, or in lieu thereof paying
a month’s wages; and it has been ruled that payment of board wages
is _not_ necessary in the latter case. But the law is that where a
servant is guilty of conduct which is inconsistent with the true and
faithful discharge of his or her service, the master has a right
of instant dismissal. Immorality, drunkenness, gross impertinence,
disobedience, dishonesty of course, or incompetence to do the work
contracted to be done, are all facts which may justify the master.
Disobedience means a refusal to comply with a reasonable order within
the scope of the servant’s duties--a housemaid cannot be required to
groom a horse; nor is a servant bound to perform any service in which
he reasonably apprehends injury to himself, and which he has not
clearly agreed to perform. If your servant, when summarily dismissed,
refuses to leave the house, you may turn him or her out of doors, if
you feel yourself strong enough to do so; but, to avoid the risk of
an unseemly scuffle, your best plan is to send for the police.

_Wages._--As to the wages of a servant who has been summarily
dismissed upon legally sufficient ground, considerable
misapprehension seems to prevail. Strictly speaking she is not only
not entitled to a month’s wages in lieu of a month’s warning, but not
to anything at all for the intervening period from the last regular
pay day. Thus, if your cook, whose wages fell due and were paid on
the 5th of March, so misconducts herself on the 1st of April as to
justify her immediate discharge, she has no claim upon you for any
wages between the 5th of March and the 1st of April. But if there is
doubt as to your being able to prove the misconduct in court, it may
often be better to pay a month’s wages and the accruing wages than to
expose yourself to the risk of an action and the certainty of costs.
Of course if the wages due on the 5th of March had not been paid on
the 1st of April, your cook, badly as she might have since behaved,
would not lose her right to them. If, on the other hand, you have
discharged your servant for your own pleasure, so to speak, although
you are not bound to keep her in your house a moment longer than
suits you, she is entitled to the accruing wages up to the time when
she was discharged, and to a calendar month’s wages in addition, but
not to board wages for that period, as has been seen. In the absence
of any agreement, the master is not liable to pay a discharged
servant the expenses of her journey home.

_Breakages._--Servants have no right to break or damage their
master’s property, and if it is proved that damage has been caused
by any particular servant’s failure to use such care as it was
reasonable, under all the circumstances, to require _from him_, being
such as he is, he is liable in law to pay for the same. Formerly, no
deductions from the servant’s wages could be made on this account,
but recent reforms in legal procedure in effect permit them; but the
master when sued for the balance of the full wages must counterclaim
in respect of the damage, and had better consult a solicitor. The
best plan is to have an express agreement on the subject that
deductions may be made.

_Character._--A lady, when asked about the character of a servant in
whose favour she cannot say much, would do well in the first place to
ascertain that the request is made at the suggestion of the person
whose character is in question. If it is, and if the lady takes
care to speak only of what she knows, she will be safe enough; she
will be acting fairly by both the persons interested. Of course,
if she has only pleasant things to say, there is no difficulty
in answering such inquiries; but if she cannot give a favourable
answer, a stranger could not complain if she replied that she did
not feel at liberty to discuss a person’s character without that
person’s knowledge. Some people never give a character. This is most
unfair, and indeed cruel, in the case of a servant whose reputation
and competency are above reproach, for silence always implies that
there is something which one would rather not mention. Silence is
the appropriate refuge in the case of one who has given a reference
which he was not justified in using. It is easy to say, in such a
case, that the writer is afraid she cannot write such a testimonial
as would prove of service to the applicant; but in all other cases
it is always, practically as well as theoretically, safe to give
a character, if it is given fairly and honestly. A character when
given is a privileged communication; and, even if it be incorrect,
unless the servant who thinks herself aggrieved can show that it
was given with actual malice--as with knowledge of its falsity--she
cannot succeed in an action for defamation. To sustain such an action
and deprive the communication of its ordinary privilege, a strong
case of malicious and officious interference to the detriment of
the servant would require to be made out. But there is no privilege
attaching to information given to a neighbour of what is going on in
her household, if it was given in an idle, gossiping and malicious
spirit, rather than with the honest intention of giving important
information.

It is best always to interview the late mistress rather than apply
by letter, and a little shrewdness in studying the character of the
mistress is very desirable, for personal feeling takes the place of
impartial judgment in most, if not all, women.

_Illness._--A master is not bound to provide medical attendance and
medicine for even his menial servants; but if a servant falls ill,
and the master voluntarily calls in his own medical man, he will
not be allowed to deduct the charges for such attendance out of the
servant’s wages unless the servant specially agrees that he may do so.


=The Householder.= _Parochial matters._--Parochial business is
managed by a “vestry,” at which the parish clergyman has a right
to preside. Public notice of vestry meetings must be given 3 days
beforehand, and copies of the notice fixed to the principal doors
of churches and chapels, signed by rector, vicar, churchwarden, or
overseer. Every parishioner paying rates is entitled to votes. If
assessed at or above 50_l._, he may give one vote for every 25_l._,
but no individual can have more than 6 votes; no person can vote by
proxy. The chairman has a casting vote. Churchwardens are chosen,
in the first week after Easter, by joint consent of minister and
parishioners, or one by the minister and another by the parishioners.
Peers, members of Parliament, clergymen, dissenting ministers,
medical men, and attorneys, are exempt from serving as churchwarden.
Churchwardens are trustees of money given for the benefit of the
church, and must attend to repairs of the church and fences of the
churchyard. The pews in a parish church are the property of the
parish; distribution rests with the bishop or the churchwardens. The
churchwardens of a parish in which a dead body is cast ashore from
the sea, must have it interred in the parish burial ground.

The local management of this country is far too elaborate to be even
sketched here; for instance, the Public Health Act 1875 contains 343
sections, most of them of great length, and a variety of subsequent
amendments further complicate things, while the metropolis has its
own long series of enactments on the same part of the subject. The
whole matter is one which requires special study of countless Acts
of Parliament, based upon no theory in particular, and which will no
doubt shortly be thoroughly revised and reformed. The householder
desirous of information should have recourse to the officers of the
local authority or some member of that body, and if he cannot thus
get the satisfaction he wants he must recognise the inevitable result
of the activity of his own representatives and consult his solicitor.

_Juries._--All “good and lawful men” are eligible and liable to
be called on to serve on a coroner’s jury at an inquest held in
the neighbourhood, and non-attendance of a duly-summoned person is
punished with a fine which may amount to 5_l._

On juries at the assizes or sessions, or for the trial of causes
in Middlesex, any person who holds a freehold or copyhold of an
annual value of 10_l._, or a lease of 21 years or upwards at an
annual rent of 20_l._, or who pays rates of 20_l._ per annum (30_l._
in Middlesex) is eligible and liable to serve, provided his age
is between 21 and 60; when over 60, he remains liable till he has
notified his age to the authorities. Peers, members of Parliament,
judges, clergymen of every sect or faith, barristers, solicitors,
notaries, officers of legal courts, coroners, gaolers, physicians,
surgeons, dentists, apothecaries, chemists, officers of the army,
navy, militia, and yeomanry on full pay, officers of the post-office,
customs, inland revenue, or police, metropolitan police-court
officials, and officers of the Houses of Lords and Commons, are
exempted from serving; and members of the council of a municipal
borough cannot be called on to serve in the county where the borough
is situate, nor can burgesses of a borough having separate sessions
be summoned to the county sessions. The churchwardens and overseers
must make a list of the persons so liable to serve, and on the three
first Sundays in September fix a copy on the door of every place of
worship in the district, with a proper notification of the special
sessions for hearing objections, at which sessions the justices may
revise the list either by striking out the names of persons who are
exempt or not qualified, or under permanent physical disability,
or by adding other persons after due notice given to them. Jurors
who are esquires by law, bankers, or merchants, or who occupy a
farm rated at 300_l._, or other premises at 100_l._, or a private
dwelling-house rated at 50_l._ elsewhere than in a town of 20,000
inhabitants and upwards, are to be distinguished, and are qualified
and liable to serve on special juries, but they remain as liable
as before to be summoned for a common jury. A juror must attend
according to the tenor of his summons, which may be served either
by being shown to him or by being left at his usual place of abode
with some person there inhabiting, or by being sent by post to him;
and if, the summons having been so served six days previously, he
fails to attend, he is liable to such a fine as the court thinks fit
to impose. The liability to serve on a grand jury is unlimited, but
apart from this a juror cannot be summoned more than once a year for
the assizes and sessions unless the list is exhausted.

A juror may also be compelled under a five pounds penalty to serve
in the County Court of his district twice in the year, but is exempt
if he has served at the assizes or at the Royal Courts or Central
Criminal Court within six months previously. There is still a further
liability in various districts in respect of the local courts, such
as the Mayor’s Court, London, and the Salford Hundred Court; and the
sheriff requires the attendance of a jury in cases of assessment of
damages or compensation, or an inquiry as to the sanity of an alleged
lunatic, or as to claims made by virtue of the prerogative of the
Crown.

Aliens otherwise qualified, who have been domiciled in England or
Wales for ten years or upwards, but no others, are qualified and
liable to serve--since 1870, in which year was abolished the right of
an alien prisoner to have half the jury aliens.

_The Franchise._--Every man of full age who on the 31st July and for
the twelve months preceding is an inhabitant occupier, as owner or
tenant, whether in a county or a borough, of any dwelling-house, or
any part of a house separately occupied as a dwelling, the poor rates
in respect of which have been duly paid, is entitled to be placed
on the register of Parliamentary voters. There are various other
qualifications which confer the franchise, but full information and
assistance in obtaining registration are so readily given by the
political associations everywhere, that it seems unnecessary to state
them here. But the lodger franchise deserves some notice. For alike
in counties and boroughs any man who, being of full age, occupies
on the 31st July, and for the twelve months preceding, in the same
dwelling-house, separate lodgings, at a rent which would be not lower
than 4_s._ a week if the rooms were unfurnished, and who has resided
there for the twelve months, and who makes claim in the prescribed
form between the 1st and 25th of August, is entitled to be registered
as a voter.

_Fire Insurance._--The premiums payable in common insurances of
houses used for residence and the ordinary furniture therein are
so moderate that every householder ought to insure. China, glass,
watches, jewels, musical instruments, and pictures have to be paid
for at an average rate of from 4_s._ to 5_s._ per 100_l._, but
otherwise the rate for house and furniture may be taken to be from
1_s._ to 2_s._ 6_d._ per 100_l._ Circumstances alter cases, however,
and the rates of course vary with the risk in each instance, and
those given here are only mentioned as an index of their moderation.
It is essential that a full disclosure of the circumstances be made
to the office, for the contract of insurance is one requiring the
most complete candour and good faith on the part of the insured.
There should be a survey by the office, and every information
given to the inspector. Of course no office is bound to accept an
insurance, and while considering the proposal they will usually, on
payment of a deposit, effect a temporary insurance for two or three
weeks. A policy usually contains and is subject to many express
conditions which speak, more or less distinctly, for themselves in
each case, and need not be here discussed. But the contract contained
in the policy is one of indemnity against loss, and therefore a
person cannot validly insure property in which he has no interest at
all, nor can he in any case recover beyond the amount of the interest
which he has in the property insured. And as a policy cannot be
assigned without the consent of the assurers, a change of ownership
may render the policy useless _pro tanto_. It is obvious that where
the wife owns all or part of the furniture, the better plan is to
take out the policy in her husband’s and her names jointly, for
even if she owns it all, her husband while living with her has an
insurable interest in it. It is usually provided that the company
may reinstate the things destroyed or damaged, instead of paying for
the loss, while as regards insurances on buildings there is an Act
of Parliament which provides that any person interested may require
the insurance money to be laid out in repairs or rebuilding. It is
important to notice that a change in the state of the premises may
invalidate the policy, for the company contract to insure against the
risk described in the policy, and cannot be held liable in respect
of one which is materially different, or one which is greater. The
sanction of the company should therefore be asked for, and the
conditions usually contain express stipulations on the subject.
Lastly, it may be added that even if the fire has been caused by the
negligence of the insured person, the company are still liable on the
policy.

_Nuisance._--The law upon this point is to be referred to a principle
very simple in itself, though its limitations are sometimes difficult
to observe. The principle is that one must not use one’s own
property so as to injure one’s neighbour. So one must keep one’s
beasts, filth, stenches, &c., within the boundaries of one’s own
property; and if they transgress, the transgression imposes liability
for the damage caused thereby. But in questions of this nature the
law does not regard trifling and small inconveniences or allow
persons to stand on extreme rights, for things could not go on if
it did, and everything must be looked at from a reasonable point of
view. The noise resulting from the ordinary use of the dwelling-house
next door may penetrate the intervening wall, but it must be put
up with. On the other hand, the noise may be so great as to amount
to a nuisance, and the constant ringing of bells and other noises
have been stopped by the Court for this reason, and howling dogs or
crowing cocks may give the neighbours good grounds for complaint.
In the case of any premises, gutter, privy, drain, ashpit, or any
deposit which are or is in such a state as to be injurious to health,
or any animal which is so kept, information should be given to
the local sanitary authority, who have special powers given them.
Overcrowded houses, and factory or workshop chimneys sending out
black smoke so as to cause a nuisance, are within the same category.
As to these matters, the metropolis is not governed by the same
enactment as the rest of England, but it will always be a safe plan
to apply to the vestry or the local board of the district with a
proper description of the matter complained of, when the applicant
will at any rate receive attention in exchange for courtesy. It
will often be more convenient to make inquiry at the nearest police
station, and the police will put the inquirer in the right course.

Any person suffering from a dangerous infectious disease, who
wilfully makes use without proper precautions of any street or any
public conveyance, is liable to a penalty of 5_l._, and so is the
person in charge of him.

Keep out of law. If you are involved in it, remember that what costs
little is usually worth less; take good advice and act thereon.




INDEX.


  Abbotsford grate, 66

  Abernethy biscuits, 210

  Absinthe, 181

  Accidents, 780

  ---- with boilers, 838

  Accumulators, electric, 94

  Acetate of soda stove, 82

  Acetic acid poisoning, 793

  Acid stains, removing, 553

  Acne, 822

  Aconite poisoning, 792

  Addressing persons, 648

  Administering medicine, 776

  Aerated drinks, 171

  Agnew pudding, 387

  Agro dolce sauce, 460

  Aim of exercise, 870

  Air, cooling, 59

  ---- from hot-air furnaces, 76

  ---- of rooms, freshening, 56

  ---- pressure experiments, 673

  ---- pump ventilators, 58

  ----, purifying, 57

  ---- space necessary in rooms, 55

  ----, testing, 55, 518

  ----, warming fresh, 77

  Airing infants, 748

  ---- rooms, 55

  Ajo blanco, 509

  Alabaster, cleaning, 536

  Albanian dress, 735

  Albert pudding, 387

  Albo-carbon gas light, 92

  Alcohol in feeding, 601

  Alcoholic poisoning, 792

  Ale, see Beer.

  Alexandra cream, 771

  ---- ice pudding, 387

  Alkaline poisons, 793

  Alkermes cordial, 182

  Almond bread, 210

  ---- cakes, 210

  ---- flavour, 478

  ---- Génoise pastry, 387

  ---- hardbake, 437

  ---- jumbles, 388

  ---- milk, 775

  ---- pastry, 388

  ---- pudding, 388

  ---- rice pudding, 388

  ---- savarin, 388

  ---- Savoy cake, 210

  Almonds, 582

  Aloes, 777

  Alum, 778

  Amateur theatricals, 654

  Amazon bitters, 180

  Amber pudding, 388

  Ambrosia syrup, 176

  American biscuits, 210

  American dishes, 481

  ---- outfit, 727

  ---- stoves, 70

  Ammonia poisoning, 793

  Ammonio-citrate of iron, 778

  Amnastich, 504

  Anchovy butter, 271, 460

  ----, fried, 272

  ---- sandwiches, 272

  ---- toast, 272

  ---- with eggs and endive, 272

  ---- with olives, 272

  Angelica cordial, 182

  ---- ratafia, 182

  Angels’ food, 388

  Angels on horseback, 288

  Angostura bitters, 180

  Animal charcoal as a filter, 24

  ---- foods, 591

  Anise liqueur, 182

  Anise-seed cordial, 182

  Anisette cordial, 182

  Answering invitations, 650

  Antidotes to poisons, 792

  Anti-fat diet, 595

  Antimonial wine, 778

  Antimony poisoning, 793

  Ants, destroying, 557

  Appert’s translucent glass, 56

  Apple and currant soup, 247

  ---- ---- quince tart, 389

  ---- brandy, 182

  ---- bread, 210

  ---- cake, 389

  ---- Charlotte, 389

  ---- chips, 565

  ---- chutney, 132

  ---- compote, 389

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- cream cakes, 389

  ---- custard, 390

  ---- devil, 390

  ---- dumplings, 390

  ---- flavour, 478

  ---- fool, 390

  ---- ginger, 138, 391

  ---- jam, 139

  ---- jelly, 139

  ---- marmalade, 139

  ---- pudding, 391

  ---- rings, 391

  ---- roly-poly, 392

  ---- sauce, 460

  ---- snow, 392

  ---- soup, 247

  ---- syrup, 176

  ---- tart, 392

  ---- wine, 191

  Apples, 565, 566, 568, 569, 574, 576, 577, 579, 582

  ---- and tapioca, 389

  ----, baked, 389

  ----, keeping, 114, 115, 116

  ----, stewed, 392

  Apricot cake, 393

  ---- chartreuse, 393

  ---- cream, 393

  ---- flavour, 478

  ---- omelet, 393, 454

  ---- sauce, 460

  ---- toast, 393

  ---- wine, 191

  Apricots, 569, 572, 574

  ----, keeping, 121

  April gardening, 932

  ---- markets, 569

  Argand gas burners, 87

  Armchair, 98

  Arnotto for colouring cheese, 159

  Arnott’s stove, 70

  ---- ventilator for ranges, 226

  Aromatic bitters, 180

  ---- chalk, 778

  ---- wine-bitters, 182

  Arrowroot, 772

  ---- blancmange, 393

  ---- pudding, 394

  ---- shape, 394

  Arsenic poisoning, 793

  Artichoke salad, 383

  ---- soup, 247

  Artichokes, 568, 573, 576, 579, 582

  ---- and eggs, 450

  ----, boiled, 371

  ----, fried, 372

  ----, Jerusalem, 376

  ----, keeping, 117

  ----, stewed, 372

  ----, stuffed, 372

  Artificial feeding, 598

  Asbestos, incandescent, 77

  Ashpits, disinfecting, 50

  Asparagus, 484, 568, 569, 570, 572

  ----, boiled, 372

  ----, keeping, 117

  ---- salad, 383

  ---- soup, 247

  Aspect compass, 3

  ---- for dwellings, 2

  Asphalte tennis courts, 881

  Aspic jelly, 367

  Asuree, 511

  Atkins’s filters, 27

  Aubergines, 579

  August gardening, 934

  ---- markets, 574

  Aunt Eleanor’s tartlets, 394

  Australian outfit, 722

  Austrian dress, 728

  Autumn milk, 156


  Baba, 394

  Babies’ clothing, 746

  Bacalao, 510

  Backboard for electric bell, 106

  Back-to-back houses, 7

  Bacon, boiled, 331

  ----, broiled, 332

  ----, buying, 575

  ---- fat, 332

  ----, fried, 332

  ----, salting, 125

  ----, spiced, 125

  ---- with cabbage, 331

  ---- ---- potatoes, 331

  ---- ---- spinach, 332

  Bacon’s high-pressure heating system, 81

  Bacteria in water, 23

  Baden-Baden pudding, 394

  Badminton (drink), 191

  ---- (game), 872

  Bailey-Denton’s cistern filter, 33

  Bailey’s oven pyrometer, 207

  Bain marie, 242

  Bakers’ ovens, 207

  ---- pyrometer, 207

  Bakewell pudding, 394

  Baking bread, 207

  ---- fish, 268

  ---- ovens in ranges, 222

  Balcony pipes, 49

  Baldness, 707, 809

  Balm wine, 191

  Banana syrup, 176

  Banbury cake, 210

  Bandaging, 783

  Barbel, 580

  ----, broiled, 272

  ----, roast, 272

  Barberries, preserved, 139

  Barley gruel, 410

  ---- milk, 776

  ---- soup, 247

  ---- sugar, 437

  ---- water, 191, 775

  Barm, 207

  Barrel stand, 168

  Barreling wine, 190

  Barrels, cleaning, 169

  Barszcz soup, 261, 506

  Basement sinks, 50

  ---- walls, 96

  Basting, 241

  Bath buns, 211

  ---- cake, 211

  ---- chaps, 125

  Bath, water apertures in, 49

  Bathing, 828

  ---- dresses, 718

  ---- rules, 830

  Bathroom, 49, 828

  ----, situation, 49

  ---- waste, 49

  Batter-cream soup, 247

  ----, frying, 407

  ---- pudding, 395

  Battery for electric bell, 102

  Bean soup, 256

  Beans, 582

  ----, broad, boiled, 372

  ----, French, 375

  ----, haricot, 375

  ----, keeping, 114, 118

  Becaficos, 571

  Béchamel sauce, 460

  Bedclothes, 702

  Bedding, disinfecting, 818

  Bedfellows, 703

  Bed of sickroom, 758

  Bed rests, 760

  Bedroom, 699

  ----, aspect for, 3

  ---- carpets, 101

  ---- cupboard, 98

  ---- curtains, 98, 101

  ----, decorating, 101

  ---- fire economiser, 64

  ---- floors, 101

  ----, furnishing, 101

  ---- furniture, 98

  ----, servants’, 700

  ---- suite, 99

  ---- walls, 101

  ----, warming, 699

  ---- woodwork, 101

  Beds, 701

  ----, airing, 760

  ----, making, 702

  ----, position of, 760

  Bedsteads, 98, 101, 700

  Bed table, 760

  Bed ticks, cleaning, 549

  Beef, 309

  ---- à la financière, 309

  ---- à la macédoine, 309

  ---- à la mode, 309

  ---- à la Napolitaine, 309

  ----, boiled, 309

  ----, braised, 310

  ----, brasciolette, 310

  ----, bubble and squeak, 310

  ----, buying, 563, 565, 567

  ----, carving, 622

  ----, collared, 125

  ----, corned, 125

  ---- croquettes, 311

  ----, fillet, 311

  ----, frizzled, 311

  ----, Hamburgh, 127

  ---- hams, 125

  ---- hash, 311

  ----, hung, 311

  ----, Hungarian, 128

  ---- kidney, 311

  ----, minced collops, 311

  ----, mock brawn, 312

  ---- pot au feu, 313

  ----, potted, 125, 313

  ----, pressed, 313

  ----, roast, 314

  ----, salt, 314

  ----, salting, 125

  ----, scalloped, 314

  ----, spiced, 126, 314

  ---- tea, 258, 316, 771

  ---- tournedos, 316

  ---- vinaigrette, 316

  Beefsteak à la Bordelaise, 315

  ---- pie, 315

  ---- pudding, 315

  ----, stewed, 315

  Beer, 179

  ----, bottling, 179

  ----, brightening cloudy, 179

  ----, finings for, 180

  ----, restoring sour, 180

  ---- soup, 247, 489

  ----, summer, 179

  Bees, keeping, 928

  Beetroot, 565, 582

  ----, baked, 372

  ---- beer, 191

  ----, boiled, 372

  ----, preserving, 139

  ---- salad, 383

  ---- with cream sauce, 372

  Belgian dishes, 484

  Bell and telephone, 103

  Belladonna liniment, 778

  ---- poisoning, 792

  Bells, 102

  Bells, electric, 102

  Bell traps, 39, 45, 50

  Bell-wire pipes, 49, 102

  Bell wires, 102

  Belts, 711

  Benches, 862

  Benzol poisoning, 792

  Bernays’s manganese filter, 29

  Bethlehem dress, 742

  Bézique, Polish, 686

  Bhartas, 495

  Bicarbonate of potash, 778

  ---- ---- soda, 778

  Bichromate of potash poisoning, 793

  ---- pile, 93

  Bilberry wine, 192

  Billiard room, aspect for, 3

  Bills of fare, dinners, 635

  Bins for wine, 190

  Birch wine, 192

  Birds’-nests soup, 247

  Bischof’s spongy iron filter, 30

  Biscuit charlotte, 395

  ---- powder, 211

  Biscuits, 210

  ----, Abernethy, 210

  ----, American, 210

  ----, Brighton, 212

  ----, buttered, 212

  ----, Captain’s, 212

  ----, cracknel, 212

  ----, drop, 213

  ----, filbert, 213

  ----, lemon, 214

  ----, macaroons, 214

  ----, Naples, 214

  ----, Queen’s, 217

  ----, rout, 217

  ----, Savoy, 218

  ----, sweetmeat nuts, 219

  ----, tops and bottoms, 220

  ----, wine, 220

  ----, York, 220

  Bishop (drink), 192

  Bishop pudding, 395

  Bites, 780

  Bitter-almonds flavour, 478

  Bitters, 180

  Blackbeetles, destroying, 557

  Blackberries, 579

  Blackberry brandy, 182

  ---- cordial, 183

  ---- jam, 137, 139

  ---- jelly, 140

  ---- mould, 395

  ---- pudding, 395

  ---- syrup, 176

  ---- tart, 395

  ---- wine, 192

  Black butter, 461

  Blackcock, carving, 632

  Black currant cordial, 189

  ---- ---- jam, 137

  ---- ---- jelly, 140

  ---- currants, bottled, 140

  Blackened ceilings, 85

  Black Forest dress, 731

  Black Ghost, 682

  Black puddings, 511

  Blanched turkey, 366

  Blancmange, 395, 601, 770

  Blankets, 702

  Bleeding, 781

  Blind area walls, 5

  Blinds of nursery, 746

  Blistering fluid poisoning, 793

  Blisters, 763

  Bloater à la Sefton, 272

  ---- on toast, 272

  Bloaters, pickled, 487

  ----, potted, 126

  Block, 688

  Blowers, 80

  Blowing out candles, 83

  Blue gum for colds, 801

  Blue pill, 778

  Bluestone poisoning, 793

  Blue vinney cheese, 164

  Blueing machine, 855

  Boar’s head, 126, 332

  Bobbins for bells, 106

  Bobotie, 487

  Boiled potatoes, keeping, 113

  Boiler explosions, 838

  Boilers, 832

  ----, steam, 940

  Boiling, 241

  ---- fish, 268

  Boker’s bitters, 180

  Bola d’amor, 504

  Bolding’s gas regulator burner, 89

  Bolsters, 702

  Bombay ducks, 272

  ---- pudding, 395

  Bondon cheese, 166

  Bone, cleaning, 533

  ---- soup, 247

  Boned ham, 334

  ---- shoulder of mutton, 330

  Bones, broken, 783

  ---- for soup, keeping, 112

  Boning fowl, 349, 350

  ---- turkey, 367

  Bonne femme soup, 248, 267

  Books, care of, 903

  ----, cleaning, 541

  ---- on bedroom, 705

  ---- on dairy, 167

  ---- on dining room, 647

  ---- on drawing room, 698

  ---- on dressing room, 745

  ---- on dwelling, 111

  ---- on farmyard. 929

  ---- on garden, 935

  ---- on housewife’s room, 582

  ---- on kitchen, 517

  ---- on playground, 888

  ---- on schoolroom, 869

  ---- on sickroom, 826

  ---- on workroom, 902

  Boots, 711

  ----, buying, 712

  ----, preserving, 713

  Borax, 778

  Bordeaux cake, 211

  Bordelaise sauce, 461

  Borshch, 507

  Boston brown bread, 481

  ---- pudding, 396

  Bottles, cleaning, 170, 531

  ----, corking, 170

  ----, drying, 170

  ----, tying down, 170

  Bottling beer, 179

  ---- black currants, 140

  ---- cherries, 140

  ---- cider, 194

  ---- currants, 138

  ---- damsons, 142

  ---- fruit, 138

  ---- gooseberries 138, 142

  ---- plums, 138, 148

  ---- raspberries, 138

  ---- rhubarb, 138, 151

  ---- strawberries, 138

  ---- wine, 190

  Bottling-wax, 138

  Boudin of fish, 269

  Boudoir furniture, 98

  Bouillabaisse, 269, 505

  Bouilli, 242

  Bouillon, 242

  Bournes, 13

  Bowle, 489

  Box gutters, 18

  ---- mangle, 857

  Boyle’s air cooler, 59

  ---- ---- warmer, 77

  ---- ventilator, 58

  Bracciolette, 503

  Braces, 711

  Brain worries, 794

  Brains, 569

  Braising, 242

  Bramah closets, 47, 48

  Bran bread, 593

  Brandied peaches, 147

  ---- plums, 149

  ---- quinces, 150

  Brandy bitters, 180

  ---- butter, 461

  ---- flavour, 478

  ---- sauce, 461

  ---- shrub, 183

  ---- snaps, 211

  Brass, cleaning, 536

  Brawn, 126, 333

  ----, mock, 312

  Bread, 207, 592

  ----, almond, 210

  ----, baking, 207

  ----, Colchester, 212

  ----, curing sour dough, 208

  ----, diet, 213

  ----, fancy, 210

  ----, flour for, 208

  ---- for invalids, 772

  ----, gas ovens, 208

  ---- in tins, 209

  ----, Italian, 214

  ----, keeping, 113

  ----, kneading, 209

  ----, milk for, 208

  ---- mould, 492

  ---- ovens, 207

  ---- potatoes for, 208

  ----, short-, 218

  ----, steam ovens, 208

  ----, testing, 520

  ----, Vienna, 220

  ---- with barm, 207

  ---- ---- German yeast, 208

  ---- ---- seconds flour, 209

  Breadcrumbs, baked, 461

  ----, fried, 354, 461

  ----, plain, 461

  Bread-making in hot weather, 209

  Bread poultice, 762

  ---- puddings, 396

  ---- sauce, 461

  Breadstuffs, buying, 566

  Breakages, law of, 961

  Breakfast cake, 211

  ---- cloth, laying, 607

  Breakfasts, 641

  ----, wedding, 646

  Bream, 272

  ----, broiled, 273

  ----, buying, 565

  ----, roast, 273

  ----, soused, 273

  ----, stewed, 273

  Breast of mutton, 317

  ---- veal, 343

  Breathing in smoke, 110

  Bretzeln, 489

  Brewers’ yeast, 207

  Brewing, 179

  Brianees, 496

  Brick drains, evils of, 52

  ---- ----, objections to, 53

  ---- ----, signs of perishing, 53

  Brick-flue ranges, 221

  Bride cake, 211, 216

  Brie cheese, 166

  Brightening cloudy beer, 179

  Brighton biscuits, 212

  Brill, 273, 565, 566, 568, 570, 576, 580

  Brioche, 397

  Briquettes, 581

  British cheeses, 164

  Brittany dress, 739, 742

  Broad beans, 573

  ---- ----, boiled, 372

  Broccoli, 372, 565, 582

  ---- with white sauce, 373

  Brochan, 509

  Broiling fish, 268

  Broken bones, 783

  Bronze, cleaning, 537

  Broth, mutton, 259, 318

  ----, Scotch, 265

  ----, tea-kettle, 266

  Broths as food, 599

  Brown and Green’s kitchener, 228

  Brown bread, 593

  ---- ---- ice, 442

  ---- butter sauce, 462

  ---- pudding, 397

  ---- sauce, 462

  ---- sharp sauce, 473

  Browned crab, 277

  Brunoise soup, 248, 267

  Brushing the hair, 810

  Brussels carpet, 96

  ---- sprouts, 579, 582

  ---- ----, boiled, 373

  ---- ---- omelet, 454

  Bubble and squeak, 310

  Bucellas (drink), 193

  Buckskin gloves, cleaning, 532

  Buckwheat cakes, 481

  Bugs, destroying, 558

  Bulgarian dress, 728, 731

  Bullaces, 579

  Bullock’s heart, 310

  Bumaloes, 272

  Bunions, 806

  Buns, Bath, 211

  ----, Chelsea, 212

  ----, cinnamon, 212

  ----, hot cross, 213

  ----, saffron, 218

  Burdwan, 496

  Burglars, precautions, 108

  Burgundy cup, 193

  Burners, Argand, 87

  ----, gas, number needed, 85, 87

  ---- of gas fires, 78

  ----, regulating, 89

  Burning kitchen waste without causing smell, 49

  Burns, 785

  Bursting water-pipes, 846

  Butter, 156

  ----, churning, 157

  ----, English, inferior, 157

  ----, keeping, 113

  ----, making, English faults, 157

  ----, ----, Normandy, 158

  ----, potting, 159

  ----, putting up, 158

  ----, rancid, 159

  ---- room, 156

  ----, testing, 520

  ---- yield, 156

  Buttered biscuits, 212

  ---- jack (drink), 193

  ---- lobster, 283

  Buttermilk creams, 403

  Butters, 460

  Buttonhole patch, 892

  Buying clothes, 714

  ---- fish, 565, 566, 567, 569, 570, 571, 573, 575

  ---- fruit, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 572, 573, 576

  ---- game, 565, 566, 568, 569, 571, 573, 574, 575

  ---- meat, 563, 565, 567, 569, 570, 572, 575

  ---- poultry, 565, 566, 568, 569, 571, 573, 575

  ---- vegetables, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 572, 573, 574, 576


  Cabbage, 565, 570, 573

  ----, boiled, 373

  ----, cold slaugh, 374

  ----, hot slaugh, 374

  ----, keeping, 114

  ----, pickling, 132

  ----, red, 379

  ---- salad, 383, 484

  ---- soup, 264

  ----, stuffed, 374

  Cabinet pudding, 393

  Cacao cordial, 183

  Cakes, 210

  ----, almond, 210

  ----, almond Savoy, 210

  ----, Banbury, 210

  ----, Bath, 211

  ----, Bordeaux, 211

  ----, breakfast, 211

  ----, bride, 211, 216

  ----, cheese, 212

  ----, cinnamon, currant, and caraway, 212

  ----, curd cheese, 213

  ----, Derby, 213

  ----, farls, 215

  ----, fish, 269

  ----, ginger, 213

  ----, iced, 442

  ----, lemon cheese, 214

  ----, Lord Mayor’s, 214

  ----, lunch, 214

  ----, Madeira, 214

  ----, mothering, 219

  ----, oatmeal, 214

  ----, plum, 215

  ----, pound, 216

  ----, Prussian, 216

  ----, Queen’s, 217

  ----, rice pound, 217

  ----, rout, 217

  ----, Savoy, 218

  ----, school, 214

  ----, seed, 218

  ----, Shrewsbury, 218

  ----, Simnel, 219

  ----, sponge, 219

  ----, tea, 219

  ----, twelfth, 216, 220

  ----, Venice, 220

  ----, Yorkshire, 220

  ----, Yule, 220

  Calcium sulphide in luminous paint, 83

  Calecannon, 378

  Caledonian cream, 398

  Calendering machine, 858

  Calf’s brains, 337

  ---- ---- and tongue, 337

  ---- feet, 337

  ---- ---- fritters, 337

  ---- ---- jelly, 338

  ---- ---- pie, 338

  ---- ---- pudding, 338

  ---- head, 338

  ---- ----, boiled, 338

  Calf’s head, carving, 626

  ---- ---- fritters, 339

  ---- ----, hashed, 339

  ---- ---- pie, 339

  ---- ---- soup, 248

  ---- liver, 339

  ---- sweetbread, 343

  Californian Gamblers, 679

  Calisthenics, 867

  Calls, 102

  Calomel, 778

  Caloric engine, 951

  Calorigen stove, 78

  Cambridge pudding, 398

  Camembert cheese, 165

  Camphor liniment, 778

  Canadian dishes, 486

  Canary pudding, 398

  Candied chestnuts, 437

  ---- lemon peel, 144

  Candles, 83

  ----, blowing out, 83

  ----, silver torch, 83

  Candying syrups, 175

  Canvas-back duck, 565

  Canvas joining, 893

  Cape dishes, 487

  Caper sauce, 462

  Capercailzie, 565, 581

  ----, carving, 633

  Capillaire syrup, 176

  Capsicum flavour, 478

  Captain’s biscuits, 212

  Caramel custards, 398

  ---- pudding, 399

  Caraway cordial, 183

  Carbide of iron filter, 29

  Carbocalcis filters, 29

  Carbolic acid poisoning, 793

  Carbonate magnesia, 778

  Carcel lamp, 83

  Card sleights, 667

  Cardinal (drink), 193

  Cardoons, 579, 582

  ----, boiled, 374

  Carnival krapfen, 489

  Carp, 273, 580

  ---- au bleu, 273

  ----, broiled, 273

  ---- en matelote, 273

  ---- in brown sauce, 273

  ---- pie, 274

  ----, roast, 274

  ----, soused, 274

  ----, stewed, 274

  ---- with Polish sauce, 274

  Carpet joining, 894

  ---- lining, 96

  ---- made into oilcloth, 524

  ----, sweeping, 525

  Carpets, 96

  ----, bedroom, 101

  ----, cleaning, 524

  ----, sickroom, 756

  Carriage, care of, 913

  Carrot jam, 140

  ---- pudding, 399

  ---- salad, 383

  ---- soup, 248

  Carrots, 568, 569, 570, 573, 579, 582

  ---- à la Flamande, 374

  ---- à la maître d’hôtel, 374

  ---- à la Nivernaise, 374

  Carrying infants, 749

  ---- injured persons, 787

  Carving, 620

  ---- beef, 622

  ---- blackcock, 632

  ---- calf’s head, 626

  ---- capercailzie, 633

  ---- cod, 620

  Carving duck, 629

  ---- fish, 620

  ---- flounders, 621

  ---- fowl, 628

  ---- game, 630

  ---- goose, 630

  ---- grouse, 632

  ---- guinea fowl, 630

  ---- gurnet, 621

  ---- haddock, 621

  ---- ham, 627

  ---- hare, 631

  ---- herring, 621

  ---- John Dory, 621

  ---- lamb, 625

  ---- landrail, 631

  ---- loin of mutton, 625

  ---- mackerel, 621

  ---- meat, 622

  ---- mullet, 621

  ---- mutton, 624

  ---- odd dishes, 627

  ---- partridge, 632

  ---- pheasant, 632

  ---- pigeon, 630

  ---- plover, 631

  ---- pork, 627

  ---- poultry, 628

  ---- ptarmigan, 633

  ---- rabbit, 630

  ---- salmon, 621

  ---- sheep’s head, 627

  ---- shell-fish, 622

  ---- snipe, 631

  ---- sole, 622

  ---- sucking pig, 627

  ---- turbot, 622

  ---- turkey, 629

  ---- veal, 626

  ---- venison, 625

  ---- whiting, 622

  ---- wild fowl, 631

  ---- woodcock, 630

  Carving-knife, wielding, 627

  Cask stand, 168

  Casks, cleaning, 169

  Cast-iron cisterns, 19

  ---- drains, 54

  ---- ----, joining, 54

  Castle pudding, 399

  Castor oil, 778

  ---- ---- as an aperient, 805

  Catching complaints, 813

  Catsup, 134

  Caucasian dress, 742

  Caudles, 773

  Cauliflower, 372, 570, 573, 576, 579

  ----, dressed, 373

  ---- salad, 383

  ---- soup, 249

  Causes of fires, 108

  Caustic poisoning, 793

  Cavalier’s broil, 331

  Cavershed fish, 514

  Caviar and eggs, 450

  Cavies, 356

  Cavity walls, 5

  Cedrat cordial, 183

  ---- essence, 178

  Ceilings, 7, 99

  ---- blackened by gas, 85

  ----, dairy, 155

  ----, nursery, 746

  Celeriac, boiled, 374

  Celery, 565, 582

  ----, boiled, 374

  ---- cordial, 183

  ---- flavour, 478

  ---- on toast, 374

  ---- salad, 383

  ---- sauce, 462

  Celery soup, 249

  ----, stewed, 375

  Cellars, 168

  ----, curing damp in, 9

  ----, disinfecting after floods, 55

  ----, ventilating, 168

  Cement, fireproof, 232

  Cemented cisterns, 19

  Cerkestal, 511

  Cesspools, 38

  ---- and wells, 14

  Chablis cup, 193

  Chachki, 496

  Chaff beds, 701

  Chair rail, 99

  Chairs, drawing-room, 97

  Chalk as fuel, 82

  Chamberland filter, 32

  Chamois leather, cleaning, 534

  Champagne beer, 179

  ---- cider, 171

  ---- cup, 193

  ----, sham, 204

  Chancery, 689

  Changing sheets, 759

  Chapatis, 497

  Chapman’s entire wheat flour, 751

  Chapped hands, 797

  Char, 570

  ----, potted, 126

  Character of servant, 960

  Charcoal as a filter, 23

  ---- filters, 27

  Charity Girl dress, 735

  Charlotte Russe, 399

  Chartreuse, 183

  Chaudeau sauce, 462

  Chaudfroid sauce, 462

  Cheap fuel, 82

  ---- soups, 249

  Cheddar cheese, 164

  Cheese, 159

  ----, arnotto for colouring, 159

  ----, baked, 444

  ---- biscuits, 445, 481

  ----, blue vinney, 164

  ----, boiled, 445

  ----, Bondon, 166

  ---- boulettes, 445

  ----, Brie, 166

  ----, British, 164

  ---- cake, 212

  ----, Camembert, 165

  ---- canapés, 445

  ----, cheddar, 164

  ----, Cheshire, 164

  ----, colour for, 159

  ----, colouring, 163

  ----, Cottenham, 164

  ----, cracks in, 163

  ----, cream, 160

  ---- cream, 446

  ---- custard, 445

  ----, Daventry, 164

  ----, defects in, 163

  ----, Derbyshire, 165

  ---- dishes, 444

  ----, double Dorset, 164

  ----, dunlop, 165

  ----, Dutch, 166

  ----, eating, 634

  ----, foreign, 165

  ---- fritters, 446

  ----, Gloucester, 165

  ----, Gorgonzola, 166

  ----, Gruyère, 166

  ----, heaving, 163

  ----, holes in, 163

  ----, keeping, 113

  ----, Leicester, 165

  ----, macaroni, 414

  Cheese making in France, 163

  ----, marbling, 163

  ----, Marolles, 166

  ---- meringues, 446

  ----, milk for, 159

  ----, moulds in, 161

  ----, Neufchatel, 166

  ----, new-milk, 160

  ----, North Wilts, 165

  ---- omelets, 454

  ----, Parmesan, 166

  ----, peach, 421

  ----, Pont l’évêque, 166

  ----, Port du Salut, 167

  ----, potato, 446

  ----, potted, 446

  ---- pudding, 417

  ---- puffs, 447

  ---- ramakins, 447

  ----, rankness, 164

  ----, rennet for, 159

  ----, ripening, 161

  ----, roasted, 448

  ----, Roquefort, 167

  ----, rush cream, 160

  ----, sage, 160

  ---- sandwiches, 448

  ---- scallop, 448

  ----, Schabzieger, 167

  ---- soufflé, 448

  ---- soup, 261

  ----, stewed, 448

  ----, Stilton, 165

  ----, Stracchino, 166

  ---- straws, 448

  ----, surface, 163

  ----, sweating, 163

  ---- tartlets, 449

  ----, texture, 163

  ---- toast, 449

  ----, tomato, 449

  Chelsea buns, 212

  Chemical experiments, 674

  Chemicals for heating, 82

  Cherries, 572, 574

  ----, bottled, 140

  ----, dried, 140

  ----, keeping, 117

  ----, preserved, 141

  Cherry bitters, 181

  ---- bounce, 183

  ---- brandy, 184, 193

  ---- cordial, 184

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- jam, 137, 141

  ---- jelly, 399

  ---- pudding, 400

  ---- ratafia, 184

  ---- sauce, 462

  ---- soup, 250, 490

  ---- tart, 400

  ---- water ice, 442

  Cheshire cheese, 164

  Chestnut and truffle stuffing, 477

  ---- compote, 400

  ---- cream, 400

  ---- mould, 492

  ---- pudding, 400, 506

  ---- sauce, 462

  ---- soup, 250

  ---- stuffing, 367, 463

  Chestnuts, 579

  ----, candied, 437

  Chicken, see Fowl

  ---- broth, 769

  ---- carving, 628

  ---- country captain, 497

  ---- curry, 497

  ----, Malay, 500

  ---- soup 250

  Chicken-pox, 813

  Chickens, 923

  Chiffonade soup, 267

  Chilblains, 798

  Children’s diet, 596

  Chimney cowls, 59

  ----, smoky, 80

  ----, ventilating by, 57

  Chimneys affecting ventilation pipes, 43

  ----, place of, 43

  Chinaman dress, 731

  Chinks in floors, stopping, 56

  ---- ---- windows, stopping, 56

  Chintzes, cleaning, 549

  Chip goods, cleaning, 522

  Chloral hydrate poisoning, 792

  Chlorate of potash, 778

  Chloric ether, 778

  Chloride of mercury poisoning, 793

  Chlorodyne poisoning, 793

  Chloroform, 778, 792

  Chocolate blancmange, 400

  ---- creams, 438

  ---- ice cream, 442

  ---- icing, 442

  ---- pudding, 400

  ---- soup, 490

  ---- strudels, 401

  Choking, 790

  Choosing furniture, 97

  Chorizos, 510

  Chotodriec, 507

  Chow-Chow, 482

  Chowder, 270, 482

  Christmas dinners, 640

  ---- plum pudding, 423

  Chub, 274

  ----, baked, 274

  ----, broiled, 274

  ----, roast, 274

  Churning butter, 157

  Churns, 158

  Chutney, 132

  Cider, 194

  ---- brandy, 182

  ----, champagne, 171

  ---- cup, 194

  Cigar smoking, 606

  Cigarette smoking, 607

  Cinder tennis courts, 881

  Cinderella dance refreshments, 647

  Cinnamon brandy, 184

  ---- buns, 212

  ---- cordial, 184

  ----, currant, and caraway cake, 212

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- sauce, 463

  Circuit closer for electric bell, 103

  Circulation system for hot water, 80

  Cistern filters, 33

  ---- in roof, 43

  ---- pipes, trapping, 44

  ---- waste pipes, 19

  Cisterns for water, 18

  ---- ---- w.c.’s, 44

  ----, rain-water, 15, 16

  ----, water contaminated in, 39

  Citrate of iron and quinine, 778

  ---- ---- magnesia, 778

  Citron cordial, 184

  ---- pudding, 401

  Citronelle cordial, 184

  Citrons, preserved, 141

  Clairet cordial, 184

  Clam fritters, 482

  Claret cup, 194

  ---- jelly, 401

  Clarges Street pudding, 401

  Clarifying stock, 246

  Clarke’s nightlights, 83

  Clary wine, 195

  Clay as fuel, 82

  Cleaning, 521

  ---- alabaster, 536

  ---- bed ticks, 549

  ---- bone, 533

  ---- books, 541

  ---- bottles, 170, 531

  ---- brass, 536, 537

  ---- bronze, 537

  ---- carpets, 524

  ---- casks, 169

  ---- chamois leather, 534

  ---- chintzes, 549

  ---- chip goods, 522

  ---- coins, 538

  ---- coloured dresses, 549

  ---- copper, 537

  ---- copper electros, 538

  ---- copper vessels, 538

  ---- crape scarfs, 549

  ---- decanters, 532

  ---- feathers, 522

  ---- fenders, 523

  ---- firearms, 523

  ---- flannels, 549

  ---- floorcloth, 524

  ---- floors, 527

  ---- frames, 545

  ---- furniture, 528

  ---- furs, 528

  ---- gas chandeliers, 538

  ---- gilt mountings, 538

  ---- glass articles, 529

  ---- glass globes, 530

  ---- glass slides, 531

  ---- gloves, 532

  ---- gold, 538

  ---- hands, 533

  ---- iron, 538

  ---- ivory, 533

  ---- lace, 551

  ---- leather goods, 534

  ---- linen, 547

  ---- linoleum, 524

  ---- marble, 535

  ---- metal goods, 536

  ---- milk vessels, 154, 156, 158

  ---- mirrors, 529

  ---- morocco leather, 534

  ---- oilcloth, 524

  ---- paint, 540

  ---- paint brushes, 541

  ---- paper, 541

  ---- parchment, 542

  ---- photographic plates, 530

  ---- pictures, 542

  ---- plate, 539

  ---- plated goods, 539

  ---- plaster, 535

  ---- prints, 543

  ---- range flues, 224

  ---- rugs, 528

  ---- saddles, 534

  ---- saucepans, 237

  ---- scale pans, 537

  ---- sheepskins, 529

  ---- sickroom, 755

  ---- silk goods, 552

  ---- silver goods, 539

  ---- silver lace, 540

  ---- skins, 528

  ---- sponge, 545

  ---- steel, 538

  ---- stone, 535

  ---- straw goods, 522

  ---- stuffed specimens, 547

  ---- teapot, 547

  ---- textile goods, 547

  ---- tobacco pipes, 555

  ---- vellum, 542

  Cleaning violin, 555

  ---- violin bow, 556

  ---- wall-papers, 556

  ---- watches, 556

  ---- windows, 529

  ---- zinc vessels, 540

  Clear butter, 463

  ---- soup, 251

  ---- ---- with custard, 252

  ---- ---- ---- poached eggs, 252

  ---- ---- ---- quenelles, 252

  ---- stock, 245

  Clifton pudding, 401

  Clinical thermometer, 764

  Clockwork motors, 954

  Close-fire ranges, 222

  Close-fire stoves, 71

  Closets, disinfecting, 821

  ----, situation, 7

  Clothes, buying, 714

  ----, choosing, 714

  ---- for foreign schools, 717

  ---- of infectious patient, 815

  ---- stores, 100

  Clothing, disinfecting, 818

  ----, intermediate, 710

  ---- of children, 746

  ----, requirements of, 709

  Clotted cream, 403

  Cloudy beer, brightening, 179

  Clove brandy, 184

  ---- cordial, 184

  ---- pink ratafia, 184

  Clown and Fairies, 682

  Clustering gas lights, 86

  Coach house, 913

  Coalfish, 573

  Coals, buying, 581

  ---- for kitcheners, 226

  Cocido, 510

  Cock-a-leekie soup, 253

  Cockle stove, 71

  Cockle soup, 253

  Cockles, 271, 580

  Cocoa as a drink, 605

  ---- jelly, 770

  ---- ratafia, 184

  ----, testing, 521

  Coconut cakes, 514

  ---- candy, 438

  ---- ice, 442

  ---- matting, 97

  ---- pudding, 401, 497

  ---- soup, 253, 497

  Cod, 275, 503

  ---- au gratin, 275

  ----, baked, 275

  ---- balls, 486

  ----, boiled, 275

  ---- brandade, 276

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 567, 570, 576, 578, 580, 582

  ----, carving, 620

  ----, fried, 275

  ---- liver oil, taking, 777

  ----, mashed salt, 276

  ---- rock, 276

  ---- roe, 276

  ---- sauté, 277

  ---- sound, 277

  ---- steaks, 277

  ----, stewed, 277

  ----, twice laid, 277

  ---- with cream, 277

  Coffee, 480

  ---- as a drink, 605

  ---- cakes, 401

  ---- cream, 402

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- ice cream, 443

  ---- ---- pudding, 402

  Coffee jelly, 402, 770

  ---- making, 481

  ---- pots, 481

  ---- pudding, 402

  ---- ratafia, 184

  ---- roasting, 480

  ---- testing, 521

  Cognac bitters, 181

  Coil pipes for heating, 81

  Coils for bells, 106

  Coin sleights, 665

  Coins, cleaning, 538

  Coke, 581

  ---- for kitcheners, 226

  Colbert soup, 267

  Colchester bread, 212

  Cold, applying to the head, 762

  ---- baths, 828

  ---- climates, windows for, 60

  ---- drinks and indigestion, 603

  ---- feet, 798

  ---- meat sauce, 463

  ---- slaugh, 374

  ---- water for freshening air of rooms, 56

  ---- weather diet, 595

  ---- wine caudle, 773

  Colds, 799

  Collar ironer, 858

  Collared beef, 125

  ---- eels, 279

  College pudding, 402

  Collops of tinned meat, 307

  Colonial outfits, 722

  Coloured walls, 99

  Colouring cheese, 159

  ---- gravy, 469

  Coltsfoot wine, 195

  Combing the hair, 810

  Combustion, 61

  Common complaints, 794

  Concrete floors, 7

  ---- tennis courts, 882

  Condé soup, 256

  Condensed milk, 596

  Condy’s fluid for removing taint from meat, 113

  Confectionery, 437

  Conger-eel soup, 253

  Conger eels, 278

  ---- ----, broiled, 278

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 573

  Conservative pudding, 402

  Conservatory, aspect for, 3

  Constantine’s convoluted stove, 74

  ---- “treasure” range, 229

  Constipation, 803

  Construction of dwellings, 4

  Consumption, 805

  Conti soup, 257

  Convoluted stoves, 74

  Convulsions, 788

  Cookery, processes of, 240

  Cookies, 486

  Cooking by gas, 235

  ---- ---- oil, 237

  ---- ---- steam, 233

  ---- ranges, see Kitchen ranges.

  ---- smells, 243

  Cooling air of room, 59

  ---- milk, 113

  ---- milk-pans, 154, 155, 156, 158

  ---- wine, 191

  Copper, cleaning, 537

  ---- electros, cleaning, 538

  ---- stewpans, 238

  ---- vessels, cleaning, 538

  ----, washing, 848

  Corach, 463

  Cordials, 181

  Coriander cordial, 184

  ---- flavour, 479

  Corking, 170

  Corks, preserving, 171

  ---- selecting, 170

  Corn beer, 195

  ---- bread loaf, 486

  ---- flour, buying, 578

  ---- meal muffins, 486

  ---- salad, 570

  Corned beef, 125

  Cornices, 99

  Cornish pasties, 402

  Corns, 806

  Corpse, disinfecting, 820

  Correspondence, 649

  Corrosive sublimate poisoning, 793

  Cottage beer, 195

  ---- pie, 402

  ---- pudding, 402

  Cottager’s dance, 652

  Cottenham cheese, 164

  Coughs, 799

  Counter-hemmed patch, 890

  Country captain, 348, 497

  Court plaster, 762

  Cow-heel, 310

  Cow-house, 916

  Cowls for ventilating, 59

  Cows, 915

  ----, breeds, 915

  ----, choosing, 915

  ----, keeping, 915

  ----, tethering, 917

  Cowslip syrup, 195

  ---- wine, 195

  Crab-apple cheese, 403

  ---- jam, 141

  ---- jelly, 141

  Crab-apples, preserved, 141

  Crab backs, 514

  Crab, 277, 580

  ----, browned, 277

  ----, buying, 565, 570

  ----, devilled, 278

  ----, dressed, 277

  Cracknel biscuits, 212

  Cramp, 830

  Cranberries, preserved, 142

  Cranberry jelly, 403

  ---- tart, 403

  Crape scarfs, cleaning, 549

  Crayfish, 278, 573, 576

  ---- soup, 253

  Cream as food, 600

  ---- cake, apple, 389

  ---- caudle, 774

  ---- cheese, 160

  ----, clotted, 403

  ----, Devonshire, 155

  ---- jars, 156

  ---- mead, 196

  ---- ratafia, 184

  ----, ripening, 157

  ---- sauce, 463

  ----, scalded, 403

  ----, Swiss, 156

  ----, syrup, 176

  ---- toast, 486

  ---- waffles 487

  ----, whipped, 403

  ---- yields, 156

  Cream-of-tartar, 778

  Creams, 769

  Crécy soup, 248

  Crême de Brie cheese, 166

  ---- ---- macarons cordial, 185

  ---- ---- Naphe cordial, 185

  ---- des Barbades cordial, 185

  ---- d’orange cordial, 185

  Creosote poisoning, 793

  Cresses, 565

  Cretonnes, 98

  Cricket grounds, 874

  Crickets, destroying, 558

  Croccante, 503

  Crockery, noiseless, 756

  Cromartie burner, 91

  Croquettes of fish, 270

  Crossing darn, 899

  Croûte au pot, 254

  Cruisie lamp, 83

  Crullers, 486

  Crumpets, 212

  Crust soup, 254

  Crystal Palace pudding, 404

  Cucumber salad, 384

  ---- sauce, 482

  Cucumbers, 565, 568, 573

  ----, pickled, 133

  ----, preserved, 142

  Cuff ironer, 858

  Cupboards, 99

  ----, bedroom, 98

  Curaçao, 185

  ---- cordial, 185

  ---- jelly, 404

  Curd cheese cake, 213

  Curing foods, 123

  Curlew, 566, 568

  Curling tongs, 809

  Currant jelly, 404

  ---- ratafia, 185

  ---- syrup, 176

  ---- wine, 196

  Currants, 572, 574, 582

  ----, bottling, 138

  ----, keeping, 117

  Currie powders, 463

  Curried eggs, 452

  ---- fowl, 348

  ---- rabbits, 364

  ---- sardines, 296

  ---- veal, 339

  Curries, 498

  Curry, fish, 270

  ----, Persian, 502

  Curtains, 98

  ----, bedroom, 101

  ----, nursery, 746

  ----, sickroom, 756

  Cussy soup, 260

  Custard apples, 568

  ---- sauce, 465

  ---- soup, 254

  Custards, 404

  Cutlets, fish, 270

  Cut-outs for electric light, 95

  Cuts, 788

  Cyanide of potassium poisoning, 792

  Cycling, 886

  Cygnet, 347


  D Traps, 45, 46

  Dab, 278

  Dace, 278, 580

  ----, boiled, 278

  ----, stewed, 278

  Dachpappe roof, 6

  Dairy, 154

  ----, aspect for, 3

  ----, building, 154

  ----, butter, 156

  ----, ---- room, 156

  ----, ---- yield, 156

  ----, ceiling, 155

  ----, cheese, 159

  ----, churning, 157

  ----, churns, 158

  ----, cooling, 154, 158

  ----, cream jars, 156

  ----, cream yield, 156

  ----, directions for, 158

  ---- door, 155

  ---- farming as an industry, 158

  ---- floor, 154

  ----, literature, 167

  ----, milk pans, 154, 155, 156, 158

  ----, position, 154, 158

  ----, proportions, 154

  ----, quality of milk, 156

  ----, shelves, 154

  ----, skimming milk, 156

  ----, temperature, 154

  ---- utensils, washing, 154, 156, 158

  ----, ventilation, 154

  ---- walls, 154

  ---- windows, 155

  Dal-puri, 498

  Dame Trot dress, 731

  Damp cellar, curing, 9

  ---- course, 5

  Dampers of kitchen ranges, 224

  Dampness in dwellings, 4

  Dam-pukht, 498

  ---- of duck, 498

  Damson cheese, 404

  ---- wine, 196

  Damsons, 579

  ----, bottled, 142

  Dance refreshments, 647

  Dances, old-fashioned, 652

  Dancing floors, 651

  Dandelion tea, 196

  Dandelions, 375

  Dandriff, 707, 809

  Danish jelly, 405

  Darned patch, 891

  Darning, 895

  Dash wheel, 854

  Date pudding, 405

  Daventry cheese, 164

  Davey’s safety motor, 946

  Davis’s gas cooker, 236

  Dawes’s window fastener, 108

  Daylight, 82

  ---- reflectors, 83

  Dead, disinfecting, 820

  Deadly nightshade poisoning, 792

  Decanters, cleaning, 532

  December gardening, 935

  ---- markets, 581

  Decorating, 95

  ---- bedrooms, 101

  ---- ceilings, 99

  ---- kitchen walls, 96

  ---- walls, 99

  ---- windows, 100

  Decorticated meal, 594

  Decoudun ironer, 856

  Deep-well pump, 22

  Defects in cheese, 163

  ---- ---- sanitation, detecting, 40

  Defries safety lamp, 84

  Derby cake, 213

  Derbyshire cheese, 165

  Desks, 862

  Dessert, eating, 635

  Destroying vermin, 556

  Detecting defects in sanitation, 40

  ---- fire, 109

  Devil sauce, 465

  Devilled crab, 278

  ---- fowl, 349

  ---- kidneys, 321

  ---- mackerel, 286

  ---- oysters, 289

  ---- salmon, 295

  ---- sardines, 296

  ---- turkey, 367

  Devonshire cream, 155

  ---- junket, 155

  Dhall curry, 499

  Dhurries, 98

  Diagonal darn, 896

  Diarrhœa, 806

  Dicke milch, 490

  Diet bread, 213

  Dietetics, 583

  Digestibility of foods, 589

  Digestive foods, 774

  Dilapidations, law of, 957

  Dimity curtains, 98

  Dingy pudding, 490

  Dining room, 583

  ---- ----, aspect for, 3

  ---- ---- furniture, 98

  ---- ---- literature, 647

  Dinner, laying, 613

  ---- wines, 641

  Dinners, bills of fare, 635

  ----, Christmas, 640

  ----, etiquette of, 633

  ----, Lenten, 639

  ----, vegetarian, 639

  Diphtheria, 814

  Diplomatic pudding, 405

  Dipstone trap, 52

  Dip traps, 38

  Dircksian phantasmagoria, 676

  Direct-action closets 47, 48

  Disagreeable odours, removing from hands, 533

  Discharge of waste pipes, 44

  ---- pipes, 38

  Disconnecting chambers, 51

  ---- ---- for drains, 42

  ---- gullies, 18

  ---- traps, 51

  Disinfecting ashpits, 50

  ---- cellars after floods, 55

  Disinfection, 817

  Dislocations, 808

  Distress for rent, 956

  Dog bites, 781

  Dogs and burglars, 108

  Dolma Hindi, 511

  Dolmas, 512

  Domestic motors, 936

  ---- remedies, 717

  ---- safety lamps, 84

  ---- system of electric light, 93

  Dominoes, 690

  Doopiazeh curry, 500

  Door, dairy, 155

  Dorée cordial, 185

  Dorset, double, cheese, 164

  Dotterel, 580

  Double Dorset cheese, 164

  ---- filter cistern, 34

  ---- Gloucester cheese, 165

  ---- square darn, 896

  ---- windows, 60, 83

  Doubtful Visitor, 683

  Dough, curing sour, 208

  Dover’s powder, 778

  Down draughts from chimneys, 43

  Dow’s range, 230

  Draining walls, 5

  Drains, 51

  ---- admitting sewer gas, 39

  ----, bad joints in, 40

  ----, brick, 51

  ----, cast-iron, 54

  ----, course of, 52

  ----, dipstone trap for, 52

  ----, disconnecting, 42

  ----, dry laid, 52

  ----, faults in, 54

  ----, flap trap in, 54

  ----, foul air from, 52

  ----, house, 35

  ----, inspection by vestry, 54

  ----, ---- chambers in, 54

  ----, joints in, 52

  ----, main, 51

  ----, manholes in, 52

  ----, pipe, 52

  ----, rats in, 51, 53

  ----, removing grease from, 50

  ----, slope for, 38

  ----, stoneware, 52

  ----, stopped, 38, 50

  ----, testing, 40, 52

  ----, ventilation of, 38

  Draught, sluggish, 80

  ----, want of, in ranges, 225

  Draughts, avoiding, 55

  ----, excluding, 56

  Drawing room, 648

  ---- ----, aspect for, 3

  ---- ---- chairs, 97

  ---- ---- etiquette, 648

  ---- ---- tables, 97

  Draw-off pipes, 44

  Draw sheet, 759

  Dresdener torte, 490

  Dress, 709

  ----, fancy, 728

  ---- for the moors, 722

  ---- ---- walking tour, 722

  ---- ---- yacht, 722

  ----, lawn tennis, 722

  ----, taste in, 714

  ----, travelling, 721

  Dressed cauliflower, 373

  ---- crab, 277

  ---- sardines, 296

  ---- whiting, 306

  Dresses, coloured, cleaning, 549

  Dressing fish, 268

  Dressing-gowns, 708

  ---- -jackets, 708

  ---- -room, 706

  Dried cherries, 140

  ---- haddock, 280

  ---- turtle soup, 267

  Drinking in hot weather, 603

  ---- liqueurs, 635

  ---- -water, 519

  ---- - ---- cisterns, 45

  ---- - ---- taps, 45

  ---- - ----, test for, 24

  ---- wine, 635

  Drinks, 602

  ----, aerated, 171

  ---- for invalids, 774

  ---- summer, 205

  Dripping paste, 421

  ----, turned, 112

  Driving, 911

  Drop biscuits, 213

  Dropped stitch, 900

  Drops, 213

  Drowning, 788

  Drum principle in warming, 76

  Drunkard’s Dream, 682

  Dry laid drains, 52

  ---- ratafia, 185

  Drying bottles, 170

  ----flooded houses, 54

  ---- -room, 856

  Duck, carving, 629

  ----, dam-pukht, 498

  ----, roast, 347

  ----, stewed, 347

  Ducks, 347, 566, 569, 571, 573, 578, 580

  ----, keeping, 925

  Duckweed and non-potable water, 604

  Duel, 680

  Dunlop cheese, 165

  Duplex safety lamps, 84

  Dutch cheese, 166

  ---- dishes, 487

  Dutch dress, 728, 735

  ---- sauce, 466

  Dwellings, airing, 7

  ----, aspect, 2

  ----, back-to-back, 7

  ----, bathroom, 49

  ----, bells, 102

  ----, calls, 102

  ----, chemically heating, 82

  ----, construction, 3

  ----, dampness in, 4

  ----, decoration, 95

  ----, drains, 52

  ----, excluding snakes from, 8

  ----, floors, 7, 96

  ----, foundation, 4

  ----, furniture, 95

  ----, general arrangements, 7

  ----, heating by steam, 81, 82

  ----, heating by water at high pressure, 81

  ----, housemaid’s sink, 45

  ----, in earthquake countries, 10

  ----, lighting, 82

  ----, prospect, 2

  ----, pumps, 20

  ----, reducing echoes, 8

  ----, roof, 5

  ----, sanitation, 35

  ----, sinks, 50

  ----, site, 1

  ----, situation of closet, 7

  ----, soil, 1

  ----, supplementary literature, 111

  ----, thieves, 108

  ----, trees around, 2

  ----, ventilation, 55

  ----, warming, 60

  ----, water cisterns, 18, 43

  ----, water closets, 45

  ----, water pipes, 19, 44

  ----, waterproofing walls, 8

  ----, water purification, 24

  ----, water supply, 12

  Dysentery, 806

  Dyspepsia, 812


  Eagle Bottom Grate, 223

  Ear complaints, 808

  Earth closets, 48

  Earthenware cooking vessels, 239

  ---- cream jars condemned, 156

  Earthquake countries, building in, 10

  Earwigs, destroying, 558

  Eating cheese, 634

  ---- dessert, 635

  ---- entrées, 633

  ---- fish, 633

  ---- fruit, 635

  ---- game, 633

  ---- ices, 635

  ---- poultry, 633

  ---- salad, 635

  ---- savouries, 634

  ---- soup, 633

  ---- vegetables, 634

  Echoes, reducing, 8

  Eclat grate, 70

  Economising kitchen heat, 76

  Eczema, 823

  Eels, 278, 568, 571, 573, 578, 580

  ----, broiled, 278

  ----, collared, 279

  ----, fricassée, 279

  ----, fried, 279

  ----, galantine, 279

  ----, matelote, 279

  ----, patties, 487

  ----, pie, 279

  ----, roast, 279

  ----, stewed, 279

  Egg balls, 267

  ----, boiling, 241

  ---- bread, 452

  ---- dishes, 450

  ---- dumplings, 490

  ---- flip, 196

  ---- lemonade, 774

  ---- nogg, 454

  ---- pie, 482

  ---- purée, 457

  ---- rolls, 457

  ---- salad, 384

  ---- sauce, 466

  ---- snow, 458

  ---- ---- pudding, 405

  Egg-plant fruit, 375

  Eggs à la bonne femme, 450

  ---- à la maître d’hôtel, 450

  ---- à la Tartuffe, 450

  ---- and artichokes, 450

  ---- ---- caviar, 450

  ---- ---- mushrooms, 451

  ---- ---- olives, 451

  ---- ---- sorrel, 451

  ---- ---- tomatoes, 451

  ---- as food, 600

  ---- au gratin, 451

  ----, baked, 452

  ----, buttered, 452

  ----, choosing, 572

  ----, curried, 452

  ----, devilled, 453

  ---- en matelote, 453

  ----, forced, 453

  ----, formation of, 920

  ----, fried, 453

  ---- in cases, 454

  ----, keeping, 113, 118

  ----, laying, 921

  ----, omelets, 454

  ----, packing, 924

  ----, poached, 457

  ----, savoury, 458

  ----, scalloped, 458

  ----, Scotch, 458

  ----, scrambled, 458

  ----, setting, 921

  ----, stewed, 459

  ----, stuffed, 459

  ---- sur plat, 459

  ----, Swiss, 459

  ----, testing, 922

  Egyptian pudding, 405

  Eingemacht melonen, 120

  Elder chutney, 133

  ---- ketchup, 134

  Elderberry wine, 197

  Elder-flower wine, 197

  Electric bell, circuit closer, 103

  ---- ---- making, 106

  ---- ---- wire, 102

  ---- bells, 102

  ---- coil, 765

  ---- lighting, 93

  ---- ----, accumulators, 94

  ---- ----, arrangement, 93

  ---- ----, bichromate pile, 93

  ---- ----, cut-outs, 95

  ---- ----, globes, 95

  ---- ----, lamps, 94

  ---- ----, switches, 95

  ---- motors, 953

  Electro-magnet for bell, 106

  Elixir vitæ cordial, 185

  Ellis’s cabinet Turkish bath, 832

  Elva, 512

  Emerald green poisoning, 793

  Emergencies, 780

  Empress rice, 429

  Enamelled saucepans, 238

  Endive, 565, 570, 572, 582

  ---- salad, 384

  Enemas, 764

  Enemata, 764

  English butter inferior, 157

  ---- rarebit, 449

  Entrées, eating, 633

  Epicurean sauce, 467

  Epsom salts, 778

  Eruptions, febrile, 813

  Erysipelas, 813

  Escaping from fire, 109

  Essence bitters, 181

  ---- of bark, 778

  ---- ---- camphor, 778

  ---- ---- cedrat, 178

  ---- ---- ginger, 778

  ---- ---- lemons, 178

  ---- ---- orange, 178

  ---- ---- peppermint, 778

  ---- ---- raspberry, 179

  ---- ---- strawberry, 179

  Essences for aerated waters, 178

  Essential oil of almonds poisoning, 792

  Etena zarvatte, 512

  Ether poisoning, 792

  Etiquette of dining, 633

  ---- ---- drawing room, 648

  ---- ---- luncheons, 641

  ---- ---- teas, 642

  Etna cement, 233

  Eton pudding, 405

  Eureka gas cooker, 235

  ---- oil stove, 79

  Evening milk, 156

  Evils of brick drains, 52

  Excluding draughts, 56

  Excreta, disinfecting, 817

  Excuses, making, 651

  Executions by axe or guillotine, 683

  Exercise, aim of, 870

  ---- and feeding, 602

  ----, regulation of, 871

  Exercising infants, 748

  Expectorants for coughs, 802

  Explosions of lamps, 84

  Extinguishing fire, 109

  Extract Bishop cordial, 185

  ---- punch cordial, 186

  Eye complaints, 808


  Face paints, 654

  Fainting, 790

  Fairy butter, 467

  Falkland pudding, 405

  Fancy breads, 210

  ---- dresses, 728

  Farls, 215

  Farmyard, 907

  ----, books, 929

  Fat, keeping, 112

  ---- rascals, 405

  Fattening, 602

  Faubonne soup, 267

  Faults in drains, 54

  Feather beds, 701

  Feathers, 98

  ---- cleaning, 522

  February gardening, 931

  ---- markets, 565

  Feeding, 583

  ----, artificial, 598

  ---- bottles, 751

  ---- children, 750

  ---- patients, 768

  Feeding the weak, 597

  Feet, cold, 798

  Felt roof, 6

  Fenders, cleaning, 523

  Fennel sauce, 467

  Fermentation of fruit syrups, preventing, 175

  Fermenting wine, 190

  Ferments in cheese, 161

  Fevers, 813

  Fig pudding, 405

  Figs, 574

  ----, keeping, 118

  ----, preserved, 142

  Filbert biscuits, 213

  Filter, pail, 26

  Filtering cisterns, 33

  ---- tank for rain-water, 16

  ---- ventilators, 57

  ---- water, 16, 23

  Filters, animal charcoal, 21, 27

  ----, carbo-calcis, 29

  ----, care of, 24

  ----, charcoal, 27

  ----, construction of, 26

  ----, gravel and sand, 26

  ----, iron, 30

  ----, magnetic carbide, 29

  ----, manganese-charcoal, 29

  ----, neglect of, 24

  ----, objects of, 25

  ----, porous pottery, 32

  ----, silicated carbon, 28

  ----, spongy iron, 24, 30

  ----, wood charcoal, 23, 27

  Filtration, objects of, 25

  Fine drawing, 895

  ---- herbs sauce, 467

  Finger glasses, 635

  Finings for beer, 180

  Fire accidents, 111

  ----, causes of, 108

  ----, checking, 109

  ----, detection, 109

  ----, escaping from, 109

  ----, extinguishing, 109

  ---- for ventilation, 55

  ---- in sick room, 755

  ---- insurance, 962

  ---- lighting, 64

  ----, saving life at, 110

  ---- scenes, 659

  Firearms, cleaning, 523

  Fire-bricks, 232

  Fireproof cement, 232

  Fireproofing garments, 111

  Fish, 268

  ----, as food, 599

  ----, baking, 268

  ----, boiling, 268

  ----, broiling, 268

  ----, boudin, 269

  ----, bouillabaisse, 269

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 567, 569, 570 571, 573, 575, 578, 580, 582

  ---- cakes, 269

  ----, carving, 620

  ----, chowder, 270

  ---- croquettes, 270

  ---- curry, 270

  ---- cutlets, 270

  ----, dressing, 263

  ----, eating, 633

  ----, fried, 505

  ----, frying, 268

  ---- jelly, 270

  ----, keeping, 113

  ---- moolie, 270, 499

  ---- omelet, 270

  ---- patties, 271

  ----, pickled, 503

  ---- pilau, 500

  ---- pudding, 271

  ----, pulled, 271

  ---- quenelles, 271

  ---- roe sauce, 482

  ---- salad, 271, 384

  ---- sauce, 467

  ----, smoking, 124

  ---- stewed with egg and lemon sauce, 505

  ----, stewing, 269

  ---- stock, 246

  ---- toast, 271

  Fisherwoman of Zuider Zee dress, 723

  Fits, 790

  Fixtures, law of, 957

  Flag floors, 7

  Flamande sauce, 484

  Flannel patch, 892

  ---- strengthening patch, 892

  Flannels, cleaning, 549

  Flap-trap in drains, 54

  Flat flame gas burners, 87

  Flats, pipes from, 49

  Flavours, 478

  Fleas, destroying, 558

  Flemish costume, 742

  ---- soup, 254

  Fletcher’s gas cooker, 236

  Flickering gas, 85

  Flies, destroying, 558

  Floating bodies, experiments with, 673

  Flock-paper, 97

  Floods, precautions after, 54

  ----, wells contaminated by, 55

  Floor, bedroom, 101, 699

  ---- coverings, 96

  ----, dairy, 154

  ----, nursery, 746

  Floorcloth, 97

  ----, cleaning, 524

  ----, washing, 97

  Floors, 96

  ----, cleaning, 527

  ----, concrete, 7

  ----, dancing, 651

  ----, flag, 7

  ---- of dwellings, 7

  ----, stained, 96

  ----, stopping chinks in, 56

  ---- tile, 7

  ----, varnished wood, 7

  ----, varnishing, 96

  ----, wood, 7

  Flounder, 279

  ----, water souchet, 280

  Flounders, buying, 565, 566, 569, 570, 571, 573

  ----, carving, 621

  Flour, buying, 566

  ----, composition, 593

  ---- for bread, 208

  ---- gruel, 769

  ----, keeping, 114

  Flower garden, 930

  Flowers in bedroom, 700

  Flues, 79

  ----, cleaning, 224

  Flummery, 405, 427, 490

  Flushing w.c.’s, 48

  Fly, 514

  Fly-paper poisoning, 793

  Foam sauce, 472

  Folding serviettes, 617

  Fomentations, 763

  Food, flesh-forming, 587

  ----, function, 586

  ----, heat-producing, 587

  ----, quality needed, 583

  ----, quantity needed, 583

  Foods, animal, 591

  ----, curing, 123

  ----, digestibility, 589

  ----, grain, 592

  ----, infants’, 751

  ----, keeping fresh, 112

  ----, nutritive values, 588

  ----, sickroom, 768

  ----, smoking, 123

  ----, testing, 519

  ----, vegetable, 591

  Fool’s parsley poisoning, 792

  Football, 875

  Fop dress, 735

  Forced eggs, 453

  Forcemeat, 468

  ---- balls, 259

  ---- for turkey, 368

  Force-pump, 22

  Foreign cheeses, 165

  ---- dishes, 481

  ---- nursemaids, 754

  ---- outfits, 722

  ---- school clothes, 717

  ---- schools, 868

  Fou-fou soup, 514

  Foul air from drains, 52

  Foundation of dwellings, 4

  Four-fruit ratafia, 186

  Fowl, 347

  ----, boiled, 347

  ----, boning, 349, 350

  ----, braised drumsticks, 347

  ----, carving, 628

  ----, chaudfroid, 347

  ----, cold, 348

  ----, country captain, 348

  ----, curried, 348

  ---- cutlets, 348

  ----, devilled, 349

  ----, fillets, 349

  ----, fricassée, 349

  ----, galantine, 350

  ----, grilled legs, 351

  ----, old hen, 351

  ----, panada, 352

  ---- pilau, 501

  ----, poos-pass, 352

  ----, roast, 352

  ---- salad, 352

  ---- soufflé, 353

  ----, stewed, 353

  ----, stuffed, 511

  ----, timballe, 353

  ----, vol au vent, 353

  Fowls, breeds, 919

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 569, 570, 571, 573, 578, 580, 581

  ----, chickens, 923

  ----, fatting, 923

  ----, formation of egg, 920

  ----, house, 919

  ----, incubators, 922

  ----, laying, 921

  ----, packing eggs, 924

  ----, setting eggs, 921

  ----, sitting, 922

  ----, testing eggs, 922

  Foxglove poisoning, 792

  Frames, cleaning, 545

  France, cheese-making in, 163

  Franchise, 962

  Freezing-machines, 440

  ---- -powders, 440

  French bean salad, 384

  ---- beans, 375, 569, 573, 574

  ---- ----, keeping, 114, 118

  ---- cognac bitters, 181

  ---- Farmer’s wife dress, 745

  ---- lady of Henry I. dress, 742

  ---- pie, 406

  ---- plums, 582

  ---- rolls, 213

  ---- soup, 254

  Fresh air, 55

  ---- ----, warming, 77

  Freshening air of rooms, 56

  Friar’s balsam, 778

  Fricadel, 490

  Friesland dress, 735

  Frieze, 99

  Frijoles, 406

  Frizzled beef, 311

  Frostbite, 791

  Frost in pipes, 846

  Frothed milk soup, 491

  ---- wine soup, 491

  Frozen meat, cooking, 306

  ---- water pipes, 846

  Fruit, bottling, 138

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 572, 573, 576, 579, 582

  ---- compote, 406

  ---- creams, 406

  ----, eating, 635

  ---- for jam, 572

  ---- ---- wine, 190

  ---- in jelly, 406

  ----, keeping, 114, 115

  ---- macédoine, 406

  ---- pilau, 501

  ---- pudding, 407

  ---- store, 115

  ---- syrups, preventing fermentation, 175

  ---- tart, 407

  ---- trifle, 407

  Fruits, 591

  Frying, 242

  ---- basket, 239, 243

  ---- batter, 407

  ---- fish, 268

  ---- pans, 239

  Fuel, chalk, 82

  ----, cheap, 82

  ----, clay, 82

  ---- economisers, 63

  ----, economising, 82

  ---- for kitcheners, 226

  ---- ---- smoke-curing, 125

  ----, hints on, 82

  Function of food, 586

  Fur, cleaning, 528

  ----, joining, 893

  Furnace, hot-air, 75

  Furniture, 95

  ----, bedroom, 98, 101

  ----, boudoir, 98

  ----, chairs, 97

  ----, choosing, 97

  ----, cleaning, 528

  ----, dining-room, 98

  ----, disinfecting, 819

  ----, healthy, 97

  ----, landings, 98

  ----, morning room, 98

  ----, nursery, 101, 746

  ----, ottoman, 98

  ----, plush velvet, 93

  ---- polish poisoning, 793

  ----, second-hand, 97

  ----, sickroom, 755

  ----, sideboards, 98

  ----, sofas, 98

  ----, tables, 97

  ----, Utrecht velvet, 98


  Galoni, 503

  Galton grate, 67

  ---- ---- back, 65

  Galvanic coil, 765

  Galvanised iron cisterns, 19, 44

  ---- ---- water pipes, 19

  Game aspic, 344

  ---- boudin, 345

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 571, 573, 574, 575, 578, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 630

  ---- chaudfroid, 345

  ----, cooking, 344

  ---- croquettes, 345

  ---- croustades, 345

  ----, eating, 633

  ----, hanging, 344

  ----, keeping, 113

  ---- kromeskies, 345

  ---- pie, 346

  ---- salad, 384

  ---- sauce, 345

  ---- soup, 254

  ---- vol au vent, 346

  Games, indoor, 686

  ----, outdoor, 872

  Garden, 930

  ----, books, 935

  Gardeners’ calendar, 930

  Garibaldi cream, 408

  Garters, 711

  Gas as a ventilator, 87, 90

  ---- burners, argand, 87

  ---- ----, bad, 85, 87

  ---- ----, capacity of, 86, 87

  ---- ----, flat flame, 87

  ---- ----, kinds of, 85, 87

  ---- ----, number needed, 85, 87

  ---- burning, ventilator essential, 85

  ----, ceilings blackened by, 85

  ---- chandeliers, cleaning, 533

  ---- cooking, 235

  ---- engines, 947

  ---- fires, burners, 78

  ---- fittings, 85

  ---- flames, Howorth’s blade for, 89

  ---- ----, Spencer corona for, 90

  ---- ---- flickering, 85

  ----, flow of, 85

  ----, globe light, 90

  ---- globes, 86

  ---- governors, 88

  ----, heating by, 77

  ---- hot-air stove, 78

  ----, illuminating power of, 85

  ----, incandescent, 90, 91

  ----, law of, 958

  ---- leaks, finding, 92

  ---- lighting, 85

  ---- ---- methods, 90

  ---- lights, clustering, 86

  ---- making apparatus, 93

  ---- oven, 208

  ---- pendants, 86

  ---- pipes, 85

  ---- ----, siphon in, 85

  ---- ----, testing, 92

  ---- ----, water in, 85

  ----, regenerative, 90

  ----, regulating, 88

  ---- ---- burners, 89

  ----, sun burner, 90

  ----, turning out, 85

  ---- wall brackets, 86

  ----, warming by, 77

  Gascony butter, 468

  Gaspacho, 511

  Geese, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 571, 573, 575, 578, 580, 581

  ----, keeping, 926

  ----, smoked, 130

  Gem cooking range, 229

  Génoise pastry, 408

  Gentlemen of Henry VI. dress, 742

  German darn, 898

  ---- dishes, 489

  ---- stoves, 74

  ---- yeast, 208

  Germs in water, 23

  Geyser, 78

  Gherkin sauce, 468

  Gherkins, pickled, 133

  Ghezon, 513

  Ghost of China, 684

  Ghosts, 676

  Giblet soup, 254

  Gill stoves, 73

  Gilt mirrors, 93

  ---- mountings, cleaning, 538

  Gin sling, 198

  Ginger ale, 171

  ---- beer, 171, 197

  ---- ---- knot, 170

  ---- brandy, 186, 198

  ---- cake, 213

  ---- champagne, 172

  ---- cordial, 186

  ---- cream, 408

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- ice cream, 443

  ----, preserved, 142

  ---- pudding, 408

  ---- syrup, 176

  ---- wine, 198

  Gingerade, 171

  Gingerbread pudding, 408

  ----, Queen’s, 217

  ----, spice, 219

  ----, thick, 219

  Gipsy’s Promise, 680

  Glass articles, cleaning, 529

  ---- globes, cleaning, 530

  ---- ---- for gas, 86

  ---- lined water pipes, 20

  ---- louvres for ventilating, 56

  ----, removing grease from, 531

  ----, ---- paint from, 531

  ---- slides, cleaning, 531

  Glaze, turkey, 367

  Glazed stoneware sinks, 45

  ---- tiles in passage, 96

  Glazes, 468

  Glazing pressed beef, 313

  Globe light, 90

  Globes, electric, 95

  ---- for gas, 86

  Gloucester cheese, 165

  Gloves, 713

  ----, cleaning, 532

  Glow-wine cordial, 185

  Glycerine, 778

  Gnats, 559

  Gniocchi of semolina, 503

  ---- soup, 255

  Godfrey’s cordial poisoning, 793

  Godwit, 566

  Gold, cleaning, 538

  ---- cordial, 186

  Golden plover, buying, 565, 566, 568

  Goose, 353

  ----, carving, 630

  ---- liver patty, 353

  ---- pie, 354

  ----, roast, 353

  Gooseberries, 572, 574

  ----, bottled, 142

  ----, bottling, 138

  ----, keeping, 119

  Gooseberry cheese, 408

  ---- chutney, 133

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- cream, 409

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- fool, 409

  ---- jam, 137, 143

  ---- jelly, 143

  ---- pancakes, 409

  ---- pudding, 409

  ---- tart, 409

  ---- wine, 199

  Gorgonzola cheese, 166

  Goslings, 568, 569, 570, 571

  Goulard’s extract, 778

  Governor’s sauce, 468

  Grafting, 900

  Grain foods, 592

  Grape flavour, 479

  ---- jam, 142

  ---- jelly, 143

  ---- leaves, pickled, 133

  ---- syrup, 176

  Grapes, 565, 568, 569, 574, 579, 582

  ---- keeping, 116, 119

  ----, pickled, 133

  Grass matting, 97

  Grasse nuts, 506

  Grates, open, 61, 65

  ----, principles, 61

  ----, rules for, 62

  ----, underfed, 71

  ----, varieties, 61

  Gratings for rain-water pipes, 18

  Gravel filters, 26

  Gravies, 460

  Gravy, 468

  ----, colouring, 469

  ---- for turkey, 368

  ---- soup, 255

  ---- stock, 246

  Grayling, 280

  ----, stewed, 280

  Grease in drains, removing, 50

  ----, removing from glass, 531

  ---- stains from carpet, 526

  ---- ----, removing, 553

  ---- traps, 39, 51

  Greek dress, 742, 745

  Green butter, 469

  ---- corn soup, 255

  ---- gooseberry chutney, 133

  ---- pea salad, 385

  ---- ---- soup, 255

  ---- peas, keeping, 119

  Greenall’s steam washer, 848

  Greengage soufflé, 409

  ---- tart, 409

  ---- wine, 199

  Greengages, 574

  Greenhouse, stove for, 72, 73

  Greenroom Riot, 681

  Greens, 485

  Gregory’s powder, 778

  Grenoble ratafia, 186

  Grey mullet, 286

  ---- ----, boiled, 286

  ---- ----, broiled, 287

  ---- ---- in jelly, 287

  ---- ----, stewed, 287

  ---- powder, 778

  Grill sauce, 469

  Grilled kidneys, 322

  ---- legs of fowl, 351

  ---- mackerel, 286

  ---- salmon, 295

  ---- sardines, 297

  ---- trout, 302

  ---- turkey leg, 368

  ---- wild fowl, 371

  Grilling, 241

  ---- stoves, 233

  Grills, 233

  Grimston regenerative gas burner, 91

  Groat gruel, 410

  ---- pudding, 410, 491

  Groceries, buying, 574, 577

  Grooms, 909

  Groundnut cakes, 515

  Ground rice pudding, 410

  Ground water, 2

  Grouse, 354

  ----, American, 565

  ----, braised, 355

  ----, broiled, 355

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 574, 580

  ----, carving, 632

  ----, larded, 355

  ----, roast, 355

  ----, salmis, 354

  ---- soup, 255, 354

  Gruels, 410, 769, 772

  Grütze, 491

  Gruyère cheese, 166

  Guava jelly, 143

  Gudgeon, 280

  Guinea fowls, 566, 568, 569, 570, 573

  ---- ----, carving, 630

  ---- pigs, 356

  Gulasch, 491

  Gum arabic water, 775

  Gumbo filet, 482

  Gullies, trapped, for sinks, 50

  Gurnet, 280, 569, 570

  ----, baked, 280

  ----, carving, 621

  ---- with caper sauce, 280

  Gurney stove, 73

  Gurney’s gas ventilator, 87

  Gutters for rain-water, 17, 42

  Gymnastics, 867


  Haag’s Motor, 940

  Haddock, 280

  ----, boiled, 280

  ----, broiled, 280

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 567, 573, 578, 580

  ----, carving, 621

  ----, dried, 280

  ---- in jelly, 280

  Hæmorrhage, 78

  Hager’s test for water, 25

  Haggis, 319

  Hair, care of, 707

  ---- complaints, 809

  ---- dyes, 810

  ---- washes, 810

  Hake, 280

  ----, buying, 565, 573

  ----, roast, 280

  ----, stewed, 280

  Half-hogshead of ale, 179

  Halibut, 280

  ----, buying, 565, 569

  Hall curtains, 98

  Ham, beef, 125

  ----, boiled, 334

  ----, boned, 334

  ----, buying, 575

  ---- cake, 334

  ----, carving, 627

  ----, mutton, 128

  ---- omelet, 334

  ----, salted, 127

  ---- sandwiches, 334

  ---- steaks, 483

  ---- toast, 335

  ----, Westphalia loaves, 335

  Hamburgh beef, 127

  ---- bitters, 181

  Hand seen writing, 680

  Hand-shaking, 648

  Hands, cleaning, 533

  ----, washing, 706

  Hanging poultry and game, 344

  Hansen’s rennet extract, 160

  Hard sauce, 472

  ---- water, 519

  Harding’s ventilator, 57

  Hare, 356, 565, 566, 568, 578, 581

  ----, carving, 631

  ----, fillets, 356

  ----, jugged, 356

  ----, roast, 357

  ----, salmis, 358

  ----, shape, 358

  ---- soup, 255

  Hargreave’s gas regulator, 89

  Haricot bean omelets, 455

  ---- beans, 375

  ---- mutton, 320

  ---- soup, 256

  Harvest bugs, 559

  Harvey sauce, 469

  Hashed beef, 311

  ---- calf’s head, 339

  ---- mutton, 320

  ---- turbot, 304

  ---- veal, 340

  ---- venison, 370

  Hasty pudding, 410

  Haunch of venison, roast, 369

  Haunted hut, 682

  ---- man, 678

  Head, applying cold to, 762

  Headaches, 811

  Head-gear, 713

  Healthy furniture, 97

  Heat, causes of, 61

  ----, conserving in rooms, 60

  ----, economising kitchen, 76

  ---- lost by windows, 60

  Heating, see Warming

  Hemlock poisoning, 792

  Hen, old, 351

  Henbane poisoning, 792

  Heran’s gas regulator burner, 89

  Herb soup, 256

  Herring, 580

  ----, carving, 621

  ---- salad, 487

  ----, soup, 256

  Herrings, 281

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 569, 570, 573, 576

  ----, fried, 281

  ----, rolled, 281

  ----, salted, 127

  ----, smoking, 124

  Hickory nut flavour, 479

  High ground for dwellings, 1

  ---- pressure water heating, 81

  ---- teas, 645

  Hinks’s safety lamp, 84

  Hints on fuel, 82

  Hip jam, 144

  ---- marmalade, 144

  Hips in sugar, 144

  ---- in vinegar, 144

  ----, pickled, 144

  ----, preserved, 144

  Hiring horses, 912

  Hochepot soup, 260

  Hockey, 876

  Holed soil pipes, 38

  Hollands’ underfed grate, 71

  Home washing, 848

  Hominy, 410, 594

  Honey, keeping, 119

  Honigküchen, 491

  Hop beer, 199

  ---- cordial, 186

  Hopkinson’s window fastener, 108

  Horehound beer, 199

  Horse, 907

  ----, buying, 907

  ----, choosing, 907

  ----, cleaning, 910

  ----, driving, 911

  ----, hiring, 912

  ----, keeping, 908

  ----, stables, 910

  Horsehair mattress, 701

  Horse-power, 944

  Horseradish sauce, 469

  Hot-air baths, 831

  ---- - ---- engine, 951

  ---- - ---- furnace, 75

  ---- - ---- pipes, 76

  ---- baths, 830

  ---- cross buns, 213

  ---- milk, 773

  ---- plate ranges, 222

  ---- slaugh, 374

  ---- water circulation, 80

  ---- ---- cisterns, 832

  ---- ---- heating, 80

  ---- ---- in dyspepsia, 812

  ---- ---- pipes, 832

  ---- ---- ----, joining, 81

  ---- ---- system, 832

  ---- weather diet, 595

  ---- wine caudle, 774

  Hotchpotch, 256

  Houghton’s trap, 51

  House, determination of tenancy, 957

  ---- drains, 35

  ---- gutters, 17

  ----, insanitary, law of, 955

  ---- letting and renting, 955

  ----, possession, 956

  ----, rent, 956

  ---- repairs, law, 956

  Housekeeping, 563

  Household law, 955

  Housemaid’s sink, 45

  Housewife’s room, 518

  Howorth’s blade for gas flames, 89

  Huile de Venus cordial, 186

  Hulett’s gas regulator, 89

  Hullvah, 499

  Hung beef, 311

  Hungarian beef, 128

  Hunter’s soup, 256

  Hydraulic engines, 939

  ---- rams, 939

  Hydrochloric acid poisoning, 793

  Hydro-extractor, 854

  ---- - ---- for skimming milk, 156

  Hypnotics, 704


  Ice, cake, 442

  ----, choosing, 440

  ---- houses, 114

  ----, keeping, 114, 440

  ---- puddings, 387, 411

  ---- soufflé, 411

  Ices, 440

  ----, colouring, 441

  ----, eating, 635

  ----, flavouring, 441

  ----, freezing, 440

  ----, moulding, 441

  ----, serving, 644

  ----, syrup, 441

  Ill-drained house, 36

  Illness of infants, 753

  ---- ---- servants, 960

  Illuminating power of gas, 85

  Illusions and tricks, 664

  Imitation koumiss, 776

  Imperceptible darn, 897

  Imperial pop, 199

  ---- soup, 256

  ---- syrup, 177

  Impure air, testing, 55

  Incandescent asbestos stoves, 77

  ---- gas, 90, 91

  Incubators, 922

  Indian dhurries, 98

  ---- dishes, 495

  ---- matting, 97

  ---- outfit, 724

  ---- toffee, 499

  Indigestion, 812

  ---- and cold drinks, 603

  ---- caused by tea, 605

  Indoor games, 686

  Infants, airing, 748

  ----, carrying, 749

  ---- clothing, 746

  ---- diet, 596

  ---- disorders, 753

  ----, exercising, 748

  ----, feeding, 750

  ---- feeding-bottles, 751

  ---- foods, 751

  ----, moral training, 753

  ---- rooms, 746

  ---- sleep, 749

  ---- teething, 752

  ----, washing, 748

  ----, weaning, 750

  Infection, how conveyed, 814

  Infectious diseases, 813

  Ingle nook grate, 68

  Injections, 764

  Injured persons, carrying, 787

  Ink stains, removing, 554

  Insanitary house, law of, 955

  Insect bites, 780

  ---- powder, 557

  Insects, destroying, 556

  ---- eating corks, preventing, 171

  Inspection chambers in drains, 54

  ---- of drains by vestry, 54

  Insurance, 962

  Intermediate clothing, 710

  Invalids’ bed-making, 758

  ---- pulley, 760

  Invitations, answering, 650

  Iodine poisoning, 793

  Ipecacuanha powder, 778

  ---- wine, 778

  Irish moss water, 776

  ---- stew, 307, 321

  Iron cisterns, 19

  ----, cleaning, 538

  ---- filters, 30

  ---- flue ranges, 221

  ---- saucepans, 237

  ---- water pipes, 19

  Ironing, 548

  ---- machine, 856

  ---- stove, 859

  Irritant poisons, 793

  Isolating infectious cases, 815

  Italian bread, 214

  ---- dishes, 503

  ---- dress, 728, 742

  ---- soup, 257

  Itching, 824

  Ivory, cleaning, 533


  Jacob’s ladder, 900

  Jeffrey’s grate, 65

  Jalapine, 778

  Jal-frizi, 499

  Jam pudding, 411

  ---- roll, 412

  ---- sauce, 469

  ---- tartlets, 412

  Jamaica jelly, 411

  Jams, 137

  ----, apple, 139

  ----, blackberry, 137, 139

  ----, black currant, 137

  ----, carrot, 140

  ----, cherry, 137, 141

  ----, crab-apple, 141

  ----, gooseberry, 137, 143

  ----, grape, 143

  ----, hip, 144

  ----, keeping, 137

  ----, mulberry, 146

  ----, peach, 148

  ----, pineapple, 148

  ----, plum, 149

  ----, pumpkin, 150

  ----, raspberry, 137

  ----, red currant, 137

  ----, rhubarb, 151

  ----, quince, 150

  ----, strawberry, 137, 152

  Jane Seymour coil, 735

  January gardening, 930

  ---- markets, 563

  Jellies, 137, 769

  ----, apple, 139

  ----, blackberry, 140

  ----, black currant, 140

  ----, crab-apple, 141

  ----, gooseberry, 143

  ----, grape, 143

  ----, guava, 143

  ----, medlar, 145

  ----, mulberry, 146

  ----, orange, 146

  ----, pear, 148

  ----, pineapple, 148

  ----, prune, 149

  ----, quince, 150

  ----, raspberry, 151

  ----, red currant, 151

  ----, rhubarb, 151

  ----, rowan, 152

  ----, strawberry, 152

  Jelly baskets, 412

  ----, fish, 270

  ---- pie, 412

  Jennings and Hinde’s iron filters, 32

  Jennings’s closets, 48

  Jersey wonders, 412

  Jerusalem artichoke salad, 383

  ---- ---- soup, 261

  ---- artichokes, 376, 565

  Jewish dishes, 504

  ---- dress, 731

  John Dory, 281, 573, 576, 578

  ---- ----, carving, 621

  ---- ----, stuffed, 281

  ---- ---- with caper sauce, 281

  Johnny cake, 486

  Joining, 892

  ---- cast-iron drains, 54

  ---- hot-water pipes, 81

  Joints as food, 599

  Joints, bad, in drains, 40

  ---- in drains, 40, 52

  ---- in soil pipes, 49

  Jubilee dance, 653

  Judge dress, 735

  Juditha, 505

  Jugged hare, 356

  Julienne soup, 257

  July gardening, 93

  ---- markets, 572

  Jumbles, 388, 412

  June gardening, 933

  ---- markets, 570

  Juniper ratafia, 186

  Junket, 155

  Juries, 961


  Kabaps, 512

  Kabrac dolmassi, 512

  Kamptulicon, 97

  Kedgeree, 429, 500

  Keeping apples, 114, 115, 116

  ---- apricots, 121

  ---- artichokes, 117

  ---- asparagus, 117

  ---- boiled potatoes, 113

  ---- bread, 113

  ---- butter, 113

  ---- cabbage, 114

  ---- cheese, 113

  ---- cherries, 117

  ---- currants, 117, 119

  ---- eggs, 113, 118

  ---- fat, 112

  ---- figs, 118

  ---- filberts, 118

  ---- fish, 113

  ---- flour, 114

  ---- foods fresh, 112

  ---- French beans, 114, 118

  ---- fruit, 114, 115

  ---- game, 113

  ---- gooseberries, 119

  ---- grapes, 116, 119

  ---- green peas, 119

  ---- honey, 119

  ---- ice, 114, 440

  ---- jams, 137

  ---- lemon juice, 120

  ---- lemons, 114, 120

  ---- macaroni, 114

  ---- meal, 114

  ---- meat, 112

  ---- melons, 120

  ---- milk, 113

  ---- mushrooms, 120

  ---- nectarines, 121

  ---- onions, 115

  ---- oranges, 114

  ---- peaches, 121

  ---- pears, 114, 115, 116

  ---- peas, 119

  ---- pineapples, 121

  ---- plums, 121

  ---- poultry, 113

  ---- roots, 113, 122

  ---- rowan berries, 122

  ---- sago, 114

  ---- semolina, 114

  ---- soup, 113

  ---- ---- bones, 112

  ---- spinach, 113

  ---- suet, 112

  ---- syrups, 175

  ---- tomatoes, 122

  ---- truffles, 122

  ---- vegetable marrows, 114, 122

  ---- vegetables, 113

  ---- walnuts, 123

  Keg filter, 34

  Kensington grate, 70

  Ketchup, 134

  ----, time for making, 573

  Khabob Hoossainee, 500

  Khabobs, 500

  Kid gloves, cleaning, 532

  Kidderminster carpets, 97

  Kidney, beef, 311

  ---- soup, 257

  ---- toast, 322

  Kidneys, 321

  ---- à la maître d’hôtel, 321

  ----, devilled, 321

  ----, fried, 321

  ----, grilled, 322

  ----, stewed, 322

  King Henry’s shoestrings, 413

  Kinnear’s gas regulator burner, 89

  Kippered salmon, 129

  Kippers, 128

  Kirschwasser cordial, 186

  Kitchen, aspect for, 3

  ----, basting, 241

  ---- boilers, 832

  ----, boiling, 241

  ----, braising, 242

  ----, cooking in ovens, 224

  ---- fire economiser, 64

  ---- fittings, 221

  ----, frying, 242

  ----, ---- -basket, 239

  ----, ---- -pans, 239

  ----, grilling, 241

  ---- heat, economising, 76

  ----, literature, 517

  ---- odours, 243

  ----, oven-roasting, 224

  ----, pans, 237

  ----, pots, 237

  ---- ranges, 221

  ---- ----, Arnott’s ventilator for, 226

  ---- ----, baking ovens, 222

  ---- ----, blowers, 222

  ---- ----, brick-flue, 221

  ---- ----, Brown and Green’s, 228

  ---- ----, cleaning flues, 224

  ---- ----, close-fire, 222

  ---- ----, dampers, 224

  ---- ----, Dow’s, 230

  ---- ----, Eagle, 227

  ---- ----, Eagle grill, 233

  ---- ----, Eureka, 235

  ---- ----, fire-bricks, 232

  ---- ----, fireproof cement, 232

  ---- ----, Fletcher’s, 236

  ---- ----, fuels for, 226

  ---- ----, gas, 235

  ---- ----, gem, 229

  ---- ----, grilling, 233

  ---- ----, hot-plate, 222

  ---- ----, iron-flue, 221

  ---- ----, Leamington, 222, 228

  ---- ----, management, 225

  ---- ----, Metropolitan, 236

  ---- ----, Mistress, 231

  ---- ----, Nonpareil, 236

  ---- ----, oil, 237

  ---- ----, open-fire, 222

  ---- ----, oven ventilators, 224

  ---- ----, Rippingille’s, 237

  ---- ----, setting, 221

  ---- ----, Sine qua non, 230

  ---- ----, steam, 233

  ---- ----, steam boiler, 234

  ---- ----, Thorncliffe, 228

  ---- ----, Treasure, 229

  ---- ----, want of draught in, 225

  ---- ----, water-pans, 224

  ---- ----, Wilson, 229

  ---- ----, Yorkshire, 231

  ----, roasting, 240

  ----, saucepans, 237

  ---- sink, 50

  ---- soups, 244

  ----, stewing, 242

  ---- walls, 96

  ---- waste, 49

  ----, water-bath, 242

  Kitcheners, 222

  Kneading bread, 209

  Knee-breeches, 711

  Knödeln, 491

  Knotting corks down, 170

  Köche, 491

  Koch’s gelatine-peptone test water, 25

  Koumiss, imitation, 776

  Kourabiedes, 512

  Krapfen, 489

  Kräplen, 492

  Krausen-beer, 179

  Kufté, 512

  Kümmel cordial, 186


  Laburnum poisoning, 792

  Lace, cleaning, 551

  ---- patch, 897

  Laced joining, 894

  Lacrosse, 877

  Ladies’ leggings, 713

  Lady Doran Strathspey dance, 653

  ---- of Henry VI. dress, 735

  ---- ---- James I. dress, 742

  ---- ---- Tangiers dress, 735

  Lamb, 567, 569, 570, 573

  ----, carving, 625

  ---- cutlets, 319

  ---- pie, 322

  ----, roast quarter, 326

  ----, saddle, 326

  Lambs’ tails, 322

  Lamperns, 281

  ----, stewed, 281

  Lamprey, 282

  ----, baked, 282

  Lamps, Carcel, 83

  ----, cruisie, 83

  ----, duplex safety, 84

  ----, electric, 94

  ----, explosions of, 84

  ----, mineral oil, 84

  ----, moderator, 83

  ----, oil, 83

  ---- ----, pressure, 83

  ---- ----, suction, 83

  ----, petroleum, 84

  ----, safety, for houses, 84

  ----, Silber, 83

  ---- spirit, 83

  Landings, 98

  Landrail, carving, 631

  Larded grouse, 355

  ---- pike, 292

  Larder, 112

  ----, aspect for, 3

  ----, shelves, 96

  Lark pie, 359

  Larks, 358, 565, 566, 581

  ----, baked, 360

  ----, broiled, 358

  ----, croustade, 358

  ---- in cases, 358

  ----, potted, 359

  ----, roast, 359

  ----, stewed, 359

  ----, stuffed, 360

  ----, vol au vent, 360

  Laudanum, 779

  Laundry, 848

  Laurel water poisoning, 792

  Laver, 376

  Law, domestic, 955

  ---- of breakages, 961

  ---- ---- character, 960

  ---- ---- determination of tenancy, 957

  ---- ---- dilapidations, 957

  ---- ---- distress, 956

  ---- ---- fixtures, 957

  ---- ---- franchise, 962

  ---- ---- gas, 958

  ---- ---- insanitary house, 955

  ---- ---- insurance, 962

  ---- ---- juries, 961

  ---- ---- nuisance, 962

  ---- ---- parochial matters, 960

  ---- ---- possession, 956

  ---- ---- rates and taxes, 957

  ---- ---- rent, 956

  ---- ---- renting and letting house, 955

  ---- ---- repairs, 956

  ---- ---- servants, 959

  ---- ---- the house, 955

  ---- ---- wages, 959

  ---- ---- water, 958

  Lawn, 930

  ---- bowls, 879

  ---- party refreshments, 647

  ---- skittles, 879

  ---- sleeve (drink), 199

  ---- tennis courts, 879

  ---- ---- dress, 722

  Laying eggs, 921

  ---- table, 607

  Lead dissolved by rain-water, 17

  ---- -encased block-tin pipes, 20

  ---- poisoning, 793

  Leaded joints for iron pipes, 54

  Leaden cisterns, 19, 44

  ---- pipes eaten by rats, 53

  ---- sinks, 45

  ---- soil pipes, 38

  ---- suction pipes, 21

  ---- water pipes, 19

  Leaks of gas, finding, 92

  Leamington range, 222, 228

  Leather, cleaning, 534

  Lebkuchen, 492

  Leche crema, 413

  Leclanché battery, 102

  Leeches, 763

  Leek soup, 257

  Leeks, 565, 582

  ---- with oil, 513

  Leg of mutton, 323

  ---- ---- ----, boiled, 323

  ---- ---- ----, braised, 323

  ---- ---- ----, roast, 323

  Legendary Saint’s Martyrdom, 683

  Leggings, 713

  Leicester cheese, 165

  Lemon and parsley sauce, 488

  ---- beer, 200

  ---- biscuits, 214

  ---- cheese cake, 214

  ---- cordial, 186

  ---- cream, 413

  ---- dumplings, 413

  ----, essence, 178

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- juice, 775

  ---- ----, keeping, 120

  ---- marmalade, 144

  ---- peel, candied, 144

  ----, prickled, 134

  ---- pudding, 413

  ---- sauce for fish, 483

  ---- shrub (drink), 200

  ---- soufflé, 413

  ---- sponge, 413

  ---- syrup, 177

  ---- toast, 413

  ---- water ice, 443

  ---- whey, 200

  Lemonade, 172, 199

  ----, still, 205

  ----, tonic, 173

  Lemons, 574

  ----, keeping, 114, 120

  Lenten dinners, 639

  Lentil pudding, 414

  ---- soup, 257

  Lentils, 376

  Leoni’s gas cooker, 236

  Letter-writing, 649

  Letting a house, 955

  Lettuce, 565, 570, 572

  ---- salad, 385

  ---- soup, 258

  Levantine dishes, 505

  Leveret, 573

  Library, 903

  ----, aspect for, 3

  Liebig’s beef tea, 258

  Life, saving, at fires, 110

  Lift and force pump, 22

  Lift pump, 20

  Light in sickroom, 756

  Lighting, 82

  ----, albo-carbon lamp, 92

  ----, candles, 83

  ----, candlestick, 83

  ----, curing steam on windows, 83

  ----, daylight, 82

  ----, ---- reflectors, 83

  ----, electric, 93

  ----, finding gas leaks, 92

  ---- fires, 64

  ----, gas, 85

  ----, ---- regulators, 88

  ----, globe light, 90

  ----, incandescent gas burners, 91

  ----, luminous paints, 83

  ----, matches, 93

  ----, nightlights, 83

  ----, oil lamps, 83

  ----, phosphorus, 93

  ----, regenerative gas burners, 91

  ----, silver torch, 83

  ----, sun burner, 90

  ----, testing gas pipes, 92

  ----, window area, 82

  Lightning stroke, 791

  Lime in eyes, 808

  Lime-juice cordial, 186

  Lime-water, 779

  Limes, preserved, 145

  Linen, cleaning, 547

  Ling, 282, 565, 573, 580

  Linoleum, 97

  Linseed poultice, 761

  ---- tea, 200, 775

  Liqueurs, 181

  ----, drinking, 635

  Liquodilla cordial, 186

  Liquorice powder, 779

  Little Grannie’s dress, 731

  Liver sauce, 470

  ---- soup, 258

  Lobster, 282

  ---- à la St. Malo, 282

  ---- à l’enfant prodigue, 282

  ---- au gratin, 282

  ----, boiled, 283

  ----, broiled, 283

  ----, buttered, 283

  ----, buying, 565, 567, 570, 571, 580

  ---- cream, 283

  ---- croquettes, 283

  ---- croustades, 283

  ---- curry, 284

  ---- cutlets, 284

  ---- kromeskies, 284

  ---- omelet, 284

  ----, roast, 283

  ---- salad, 284, 385

  ---- sandwiches, 284

  ---- sauce, 470

  ---- soufflé, 284

  ---- soup, 258

  ----, stewed, 285

  Loin of mutton, 323

  ---- ---- ----, braised, 323

  ---- ---- ----, carving, 625

  ---- ---- ----, stewed, 323

  ---- ---- veal, 337

  Lokma, 512

  London argand burner, 91

  Lord Mayor’s cake, 214

  Loss of voice, 803

  Lovage cordial, 186

  Lovelock’s mincing machine, 599

  Loving cup, 200

  Low ground for dwellings, 1

  Luminous paints, 83

  Lunch cake, 214

  Luncheons, 641

  ----, laying, 610


  Macalpine washer, 851

  Macaroni au gratin, 414

  ----, boiled, 414

  ---- cheese, 414

  ----, keeping, 114

  ---- omelet, 455

  ---- pie, 414

  ---- pudding, 414

  ---- soufflé, 414

  ---- soup, 258

  ---- timbale, 415

  ---- with tomato sauce, 415

  Macaroons, 214

  Macedonian dress, 742

  Mackerel, 285, 485, 566, 568, 569, 570, 573

  ----, baked, 285

  ----, boiled, 285

  ----, broiled, 285

  ----, carving, 621

  ----, devilled, 286

  ---- fillets, 286

  ---- fricassée, 286

  ----, grilled, 286

  ---- roes, 286

  ----, salted, 128

  ----, smoking, 124

  Made ground, 2

  Madeira cake, 214

  Magnetic carbide filter, 29

  Maidservant of Henry VI. dress, 742

  Maignen’s filters, 29

  Main drains, 51

  Maître d’hôtel butter, 470

  Maize meal, 594

  Making beds, 702

  ---- electric bell, 106

  Making up, 654

  Malagatani soup, 500

  Malay chicken, 500

  Malliorca d’Espagne cordial, 186

  Malt liquors as drinks, 606

  ----, weevil in, 180

  Malvern pudding, 145

  Manchester grate, 66

  ---- pudding, 416

  Mandarin delight cordial, 186

  Manganese-charcoal filter, 29

  Mango chutney, 132

  Mangold-wurzel beer, 200

  Manholes in drains, 52

  Maple syrup, 177

  Maraschino jelly, 416

  ---- liqueur, 187

  Marble, cleaning, 535

  March gardening, 931

  ---- markets, 567

  Margot pudding, 416

  Marien cakes, 492

  Marigold wine, 200

  Marketing, 563

  Marlborough pudding, 416

  ---- tart, 416

  Marmalade, apple, 139

  ----, hip, 144

  ----, lemon, 144

  ----, orange, 146

  ---- pudding, 416

  ----, quince, 150

  ----, rhubarb and orange, 152

  ---- sauce, 470

  Marolles cheese, 166

  Marsh-Greenall gas stove, 78

  Marzipan, 439, 492

  Mashed potatoes, 378

  ---- salt cod, 276

  Match poison, 793

  Matches, 93

  ----, paint defaced by, 93

  ----, substitute for, 93

  Matso cakes, 505

  ---- diet bread, 505

  Matting, 97

  ---- seams, 894

  Mawbery, 515

  May drink, 200

  ---- gardening, 932

  ---- markets, 569

  Mead, 196, 200

  Meadow saffron poisoning, 792

  Meal, keeping, 114

  Measles, 813

  Measures for medicines, 777

  Meat, 306

  ----, buying, 563, 565, 567, 569, 570, 572, 575, 578, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 622

  ----, frozen, cooking, 306

  ----, keeping, 112

  ---- salad, 385

  ----, tinned, cooking, 307

  ----, turned, 112

  Mecklenburg dress, 739

  Medical coil, making, 765

  Medicines, administering, 776

  ----, classes of, 777

  ----, domestic, 777

  ----, doses, 777

  ----, keeping safely, 776

  ----, measures, 777

  ----, nursery, 753

  ----, removing taste of, 777

  ----, times for taking, 777

  Medlar jelly, 145

  Medlars, 565

  Mellin’s extract, 752

  Melon flavour, 479

  Melons, 569, 574, 576, 577, 582

  ----, keeping, 120

  ----, preserved, 146

  Melted butter, 470

  Mental training, 865

  Mercury poisoning, 793

  Meringues, 417, 446

  Metal gas burners, 85, 87

  ---- goods, cleaning, 536

  Metallic roofing, 7

  Metamorphoses, 682

  Metropolitan gas kitchener, 236

  Mezereum poisoning, 793

  Micro-organisms in water, 23

  Mikado moth papers, 561

  Mildew stains, removing, 554

  Milk as food, 600

  ----, condensed, 596

  ---- coolers, 156

  ----, cooling, 113

  ---- for bread, 208

  ---- for cheese, 159

  ----, hot, 773

  ----, keeping, 113

  ---- lemonade, 201

  ---- of sulphur, 779

  ---- pans, 154, 155, 156

  ---- ----, cooling, 154, 155, 156, 581

  ---- ----, warming, 155

  ---- punch, 201

  ---- ---- syrup, 177

  ----, quality, 156

  ----, skimming, 156

  ---- soup, 258

  ----, sour, 113

  ----, temperature for churning, 158

  ----, ---- ---- setting, 158

  ----, testing, 520

  ----, thickened, 483

  ---- toast, 483, 773

  ---- vessels, cleaning, 154, 156, 158

  Mill, 692

  Milliner Bewitched, 680

  Milne’s gas regulator burner, 89

  Mince pies, 417

  Minced meats as food, 599

  ---- mutton, 324

  ---- veal, 340

  Mineral oil lamps, 84

  ---- ---- safety lamps, 84

  Minestra, 503

  Minestrone soup, 257

  Mint sauce, 470

  Mirrors, 98

  ----, cleaning, 529

  Miser and Money-lender, 679

  Miss Lunsdam’s Fancy dance, 653

  Mistress range, 231

  Mixed pickles, 135

  Mocha pudding, 418

  Mock brawn, 312

  ---- pea soup, 258

  ---- turtle soup, 259

  Moderator lamp, 83

  Molasses beer, 201

  Molucca balm cordial, 187

  Monastery wine soup, 492

  Monday marketing, 568

  Monkshood, 792

  Moolie, 270, 499

  Moonlight scenery, 657

  Moore’s ventilator, 56

  Moorish dress, 735

  Moral training of children, 753

  Morcillas, 511

  Morgiana dance in Iceland, 653

  Morning milk, 156

  ---- room furniture, 98

  Morocco leather, cleaning, 534

  Morphia bimeconate, 779

  Moselle cup, 201

  Mosquitoes, 559

  Mothering cakes, 219

  Moths, 559

  Motors, domestic, 936

  Mottled darn, 896

  Mould in cheese, 161

  Mourning, 719

  Mousseline pudding, 418

  Muffins, 214

  Mulberries, 579

  Mulberry jam, 146

  ---- jelly, 146

  ---- syrup, 177

  Mulled ale, 202

  Mullein for coughs, 801

  Mullet, boiled, 286

  ----, broiled, 287

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 573, 576, 578, 582

  ----, carving, 621

  ----, grey, 286

  ----, red, 287

  Mulligatawny soup, 259

  Muriate of ammonia, 779

  Musgrave’s stove, 72

  Mushroom ketchup, 134

  ---- poisoning, 793

  Mushrooms, 376, 569, 573, 576

  ---- and eggs, 451

  ----, keeping, 120

  ----, pickled, 135

  Mussel soup, 259

  Mussels, 288

  ----, buying, 565, 573, 580

  ----, stewed, 288

  Mustard, 470

  ---- paper, 762

  ---- poultice, 762

  Mutton, 317

  ----, baked, 317

  ----, breast, 317

  ---- broth, 259, 318

  ----, buying, 563, 565, 567, 575

  ----, carving, 624

  ---- casseroles, 318

  ----, cavalier’s broil, 331

  ---- chops, 318

  ---- croquettes, 318

  ---- cutlets, 318

  ---- ----, à la maître d’hôtel, 319

  ---- ----, savoury, 319

  ---- ----, stewed, 318

  ---- ---- with apples and gravy, 319

  ----, haggis, 319

  ---- hams, 128

  ----, haricot, 320

  ----, hashed, 320

  ----, Irish stew, 321

  ----, kidneys, 321

  ---- kromeskies, 322

  ----, leg, 323

  ----, loin, 323

  ----, minced, 324

  ----, neck, 324

  ---- pasty, 325

  ---- patties, 325

  ---- pudding, 326

  ----, roast saddle, 326

  ---- rissoles, 326

  ---- sausages, 326

  ---- scollops, 327

  ----, scrag, 325

  ----, shoulder, 330

  ----, squab pie, 331


  Nalym, 508

  Napkins, folding, 617

  Naples biscuits, 214

  Narcotic poisons, 792

  Nasturtiums, pickled, 135

  National Kitchener, 227

  Neapolitan dress, 735

  Neats’ tongues, smoked, 130

  Neck of mutton, 324

  ---- ---- ---- à la Duchesse, 324

  ---- ---- ----, boiled, 324

  ---- ---- ----, braised, 324

  ---- ---- ----, roast, 325

  ---- ---- ----, rolled, 325

  Nectar, 173, 202

  ---- cordial, 187

  ---- syrup, 177

  Nectarines, 569, 573, 574

  ----, keeping, 121

  Negus, 206

  Nelson’s rifle-back grate, 65

  Nesselrode pudding, 418

  Nestlé’s milk food, 752

  Nettle beer, 202

  ---- wine, 202

  Nettlerash, 823

  Nettles, 377

  Neufchatel cheese, 166

  Neun-loth pudding, 493

  Newcastle pudding, 418

  New-milk cheese, 160

  New Zealand outfit, 727

  Night-caps, 809

  Nightlights, 83

  Nightmare, 683

  Night nursery walls, 102

  Nightshade poisoning, 792

  Night-work diet, 596

  Nitrate of silver, 779

  ---- ---- ---- poisoning, 793

  Nitre, 779

  Nitric acid, 779

  ---- ---- poisoning, 793

  ---- ---- stains on hands, 533

  Nivernaise soup, 248

  Noiseless crockery, 756

  Nonpareil bitters, 181

  ---- gas cooker, 236

  Norfolk chine, 128

  ---- dumplings, 419

  Normandy, butter-making in, 158

  ---- dress, 731

  North American outfit, 727

  ---- Holland dress, 735

  ---- Wilts cheese, 165

  Northerly rooms, warming

  Norton tube wells, 14

  Norway dress, 739

  Nouilles soup, 260

  November gardening, 935

  ---- markets, 580

  Noyeau, 187

  ---- ratafia, 187

  Nuckodee choofta, 502

  Nudels, 493

  Nuisance, law of, 962

  Nurse, precautions for, in infectious cases, 816

  Nursemaids, 754

  Nursery, 746

  ----, aspect for, 3

  ----, furnishing, 101

  ---- medicines, 753

  ---- walls, 101

  ---- windows, 101

  Nurse’s dress, 756

  ---- duties, 756

  Nursing infectious cases, 814

  ---- mothers, 750

  Nut cordial, 189

  Nutmeg flavour, 479

  Nutritive values of foods, 588


  Oatmeal, 594

  ---- cakes, 214

  ---- drink, 202

  ---- pie, 419

  ---- pudding, 419

  October gardening, 935

  ---- markets, 578

  Odours of kitchen, 243

  ----, removing from hands, 53

  Oilcloth, 97

  ---- from carpet, 524

  Oil cooking, 237

  ---- lamps, 83

  ---- ----, mineral, 84

  ---- stoves, 79

  Okra, 483

  ---- soup, 260

  Old-fashioned dances, 652

  Old hen, 351

  Olive sauce, 471

  Olives, 377

  ---- and eggs, 451

  Omelet, fish, 270

  ---- soufflé, 456

  Omelets, 454

  ----, plain, 455

  ----, ---- sweet, 455

  ----, savoury, 456

  ----, sweet, 456

  Omnibus pudding, 419

  Onion gruel, 769

  ---- posset, 769

  ---- salad, 385

  ---- sauce, 471

  ---- soup, 260

  Onions, 377, 579, 582

  ----, keeping, 115

  ----, pickled, 135

  Open-fire ranges, 222

  ---- grates, 61, 65

  ---- stove, 62

  Opium poisoning, 793

  Opodeldoc, 779

  Optical delusions, 674

  Orange bitters, 181

  ---- brandy, 187

  ---- champagne, 173

  ---- chips, 146, 419

  ---- compote, 419

  ---- cordial, 187

  ---- cream, 419

  ---- elixir, 187

  ---- essence, 178

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- flower cakes, 506

  ---- ---- puffs, 506

  ---- ---- ratafia, 187

  ---- fool, 419

  ---- fritters, 419

  ---- gin, 188

  ---- jelly, 146, 419

  ---- marmalade, 146

  ---- mould, 420

  ---- pudding, 420

  ---- puffs, 420

  ---- salad, 420

  ---- sauce, 471

  ---- sponge, 420

  ---- syrups, 177

  ---- tart, 420

  ---- tartlets, 420

  ---- whey, 774

  ---- wine, 202

  Orangeade, sulphuric, 205

  Oranges, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 574, 582

  ---- keeping, 114

  ----, preserved, 147

  Orchard Street pudding, 420

  Organisms which ripen cheese, 161

  Organised matter in water, 23

  Orgeat cordial, 188

  ---- syrup, 177

  Orris flavour, 479

  Ortolans, 360, 566, 571, 573, 581

  ----, fried, 360

  ---- in cases, 360

  ----, roast, 360

  ----, stewed, 361

  Oswego pudding, 420

  Otranto Picture, 680

  Ottoman, 98

  ---- boxes, 100

  Oucha, 508

  Outdoor games, 872

  Outfits, Australian, 722

  ---- for abroad, 722

  ----, Indian, 724

  ----, New Zealand, 727

  ----, North America, 727

  ----, West Indian, 727

  Outlet for rain-water pipes, 18

  Ouzum yaprac dolmassi, 512

  Oven, gas, 208

  ---- pyrometer, 207

  ---- -roasting, 224

  ----, steam, 208

  ---- ventilators, 224

  Ovens, 207

  ----, cooking in, 224

  ---- in ranges, 222

  ----, roasting in, 240

  ----, water-pans for, 224

  Overflow pipes of cisterns, 44

  Oxalic acid poisoning, 793

  Ox brains, 312

  ---- cheek, 312

  ---- head, 312

  ---- tail soup, 260

  ---- tails, 313

  Oxford Grace cup, 202

  ---- mull, 202

  ---- punch, 202

  Oyster cream, 288

  ---- croustades, 288

  ---- cutlets, 288

  ---- fricassée, 289

  ---- fritters, 289, 769

  ---- kromeskies, 289

  ---- olives, 289

  ---- patties, 289

  ---- pie, 290

  ---- rissolettes, 290

  ---- salad, 386

  ---- sauce, 471

  ---- sausages, 290

  ---- soufflé, 290

  ---- soup, 260

  ---- toast, 291

  Oysters, 288, 488

  ----, angels on horseback, 288

  ----, broiled, 288

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 569, 570, 576, 580

  ---- devilled, 289

  ---- fried, 289

  ---- raw, 288

  ---- roasted, 290

  ----, salting, 128

  ---- scalloped, 290

  ---- skewered, 290

  ---- steamed, 291

  ---- stewed, 291


  Pachîsî, 693

  Packing eggs, 924

  ---- room (laundry), 859

  Page of Charles II. dress, 735

  ---- ---- Henry IV. dress, 735

  Pail filter, 26

  Paint brushes, cleaning, 541

  ----, cleaning, 540

  ---- defaced by matches, 93

  ----, luminous, 83

  ---- poisoning, 793

  ----, removing from glass, 531

  ---- stains removing, 555

  Painted walls, 99

  Painting ceilings, 99

  Palestine soup, 261

  Pan closets, 45

  Pan dowdy, 483

  Panada, chicken, 352

  Pancakes, 420

  ----, samp, 432

  ----, snow, 432

  Pans, kitchen, 237

  Pantomime, 684

  Pantry, 207

  ----, biscuits, 210

  ----, bread, 207

  ----, cakes, 210

  ----, fancy breads, 210

  ----, ovens, 207

  ----, shelves, 96

  Paper, cleaning, 541

  ---- hangings, 99, 101

  ---- -stuffed pillows, 760

  Paradise pudding, 421

  Parchment cleaning, 542

  Paregoric, 779

  Parfait amour cordial, 188

  Parkin, 215

  Parkinson’s gas regulator, 88

  ---- ---- ---- burner, 89

  Parlourmaid’s duties, 607

  Parmesan cheese, 166

  ---- ---- soup, 261

  Parochial matters, law of, 960

  Parsley and butter, 471

  ---- ---- lemon sauce, 488

  ----, fried, 471

  ---- sauce, 471

  Parsnip pudding, 493

  ---- wine, 203

  Parsnips, 377, 565, 563, 582

  Parson’s grate, 69

  Parting cup, 203

  Partridge, carving, 632

  ---- pie, 361

  ---- pudding, 362

  ----, roast, 362

  ---- salad, 362

  Partridges, 361, 565, 566, 575, 580, 581

  ---- aux choux, 361

  ----, boiled, 361

  ----, braised, 361

  ----, broiled, 361

  Passage walls, 96

  Passover pudding, 505

  Paste, dripping, 421

  ---- for patties, 421

  ----, puff, 421

  Pastry, 387

  ---- for invalids, 772

  Pasty, mutton, 325

  Patching, 890, 901

  Patient, disinfecting, 819

  ----, feeding, 768

  ----, temperature, 764

  ----, visitors, 758

  Patties, fish, 271

  Patty paste, 421

  Paysanne soup, 267

  Pea salad, 385

  ---- soup, 261

  ---- ----, mock, 258

  Peach brandy, 188

  ---- cheese, 421

  ---- compote, 422

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- cream, 422

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- jam, 148

  ---- toast, 422

  Peaches, 569, 573, 574, 576, 579

  ----, brandied, 147

  ----, keeping, 121

  Pear flavour, 479

  ---- jelly, 148

  ---- soup, 261

  ---- syrup, 177

  Pears, 565, 568, 569, 574, 576, 579, 582

  ----, keeping, 114, 115, 116

  ----, preserved, 148

  ----, stewed, 422

  Peas, 377, 568, 569, 570, 572, 573

  ----, green, keeping, 119

  Peebles’s gas regulator, 89

  ---- ---- ---- burner, 89

  Pepper flavour, 479

  ---- pot, 472, 515

  ---- punch, 173, 515

  ----, testing, 521

  Peppermint brandy, 188

  ---- cordial, 188

  ---- liqueur, 188

  ---- test for drains, 41

  Pepper’s ghost, 676

  Perambulators, 749

  Perch, 291, 580

  Perforated panes for ventilation, 56

  Peripatetic pudding, 422

  Persian curry, 502

  Person, disinfecting, 819

  Peruvian bitters, 181

  Petroleum engines, 950

  ---- lamps, 84

  ---- safety lamps, 84

  Phantasmagoria, 676

  Pheasant, 362, 565, 566, 578, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 632

  ----, roast, 362

  ---- with truffles, 362

  Phosphorus for safety light, 93

  ---- poisoning, 793

  Photographic plates, cleaning, 530

  Physic, taking, 776

  Physical comfort in schools, 867

  ---- experiments, 671

  ---- training, 867

  Piccalilli, 135

  Pickled bloaters, 487

  ---- fish, 503

  ---- pork, 128

  ---- salmon, 129

  ---- sprats, 131

  Pickles, mixed, 135

  ----, season for making, 573

  ----, testing, 521

  Pickling, 132

  ---- cabbage, 132

  ---- chutney, 132

  ---- cucumbers, 133

  ---- gherkins, 133

  ---- grape leaves, 133

  ---- grapes, 133

  ---- hips, 144

  ---- lemon, 134

  ---- limes, 145

  ---- mushrooms, 135

  ---- nasturtiums, 135

  ---- onions, 135

  ---- samphire, 135

  ---- tomato, 136

  ---- vinegar, 136

  ---- walnuts, 137

  Picture frames, cleaning, 545

  Pictures, cleaning, 542

  Piedmont tartlets, 422

  Pigeon and beefsteak pie, 363

  ----, carving, 630

  Pigeons, 570, 581

  ----, keeping, 927

  Pigs, 917

  ----, breed, 917

  ----, breeding, 918

  ----, fatting, 918

  ----, feeding, 919

  ---- feet, 335

  ---- liver, 335

  ---- styes, 917

  ----, sucking-, 337

  Pike, 291, 580

  ---- baked with sour cream, 291

  ----, boiled, 291

  ----, broiled, 292

  ----, carbonade, 292

  ----, fried, 292

  ---- larded, 292

  ----, roast, 292

  ---- sauce, 292

  ---- soup, 488

  ----, soused, 292

  ----, stewed, 292

  ----, stewed, with butter sauce, 488

  Pikelets, 422

  Pilau, 500, 513

  ----, fish, 500

  ----, fowl, 501

  ----, fruit, 501

  Pilchards, 291, 576

  Pilemaignes, 508

  Pilgrim and Saint, 684

  Pillows, 98, 702

  Pills, taking, 777

  Pimples, 822

  Pinaree, 516

  Pine drink, 516

  Pineapple cream, 423

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- fritters, 423

  ---- ice cream, 443

  ---- jam, 148

  ---- jelly, 148, 423

  ---- preserve, 148

  ---- syrup, 177

  ---- toast, 423

  Pineapples, 569, 574, 576, 582

  ----, keeping, 121

  Pinnated grouse, 565

  Pipe drains, 52

  ---- ----, faults of, 53

  ---- ----, joining, 53

  ---- ----, kinds of, 53

  ---- smoking, 606

  Pipes, coil, for heating, 81

  ----, discharge, 38

  ---- for conveying water, 19

  ---- ---- rain-water, 17

  ----, frozen, 847

  ----, gas, 85

  ---- ----, testing, 92

  ----, hot-water, joining, 81

  ----, soil, 38

  ----, ventilation of, 38

  Piquante sauce, 473

  Pishpash, 502

  Pistachio nuts, 582

  Pitch of roof, 5

  Plaice, 291, 565, 566, 569, 570, 573, 580

  Plain darn, 895

  Plaster, cleaning, 535

  Plate glass against burglars, 108

  Plate powders, 539

  Plated goods, cleaning, 539

  Playground, 870

  Plays, arranging, 662

  ----, fitting the parts, 662

  ----, list of, 659

  ----, rehearsing, 663

  ----, selecting, 659

  Playthings, 749

  Plinsen, 493

  Ploaré dress, 742

  Plover, 363, 565, 566, 568, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 631

  ----, fillets, 363

  ---- on toast, 363

  ----, roast, 363

  Plover’s eggs, 570, 581

  Plum brandy, 188

  ---- cake, 215

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- jam, 149

  ---- pudding, 423

  ---- ---- sauce, 472

  ---- purée, 424

  ---- sauce, 462

  ---- soup, 261

  ---- tart, 424

  Plums, 576, 579

  ----, bottled, 148

  ----, bottling, 138

  ---- in brandy, 149

  ---- ---- syrup, 149

  ---- ---- vinegar, 149

  ----, keeping, 121

  ----, preserved, 149

  Plush velvet furniture, 98

  Poached eggs, 457

  Poison dogwood, 793

  ---- ivy, 793

  Poisonous bites, 781

  Poisons, 791

  Poivrade sauce, 473

  Poker, 694

  Polish bézique, 686

  ---- dishes, 506

  ---- dress, 731

  ---- sauce, 472

  ---- soup, 261

  Pomeranian soup, 262

  Pont l’évêque cheese, 166

  Poor knights, 424

  ---- man’s soup, 262

  Poos-pass, 352

  Popcorn candy, 439

  Poppy poisoning, 793

  Porcelain cooking vessels, 239

  Pork and beans, 483

  ---- ---- kidney pudding, 335

  ----, buying, 565, 567, 575, 578, 580

  ----, carving, 627

  ---- chops, 336

  ---- croquettes, 336

  ----, pickled, 128

  ---- pie, 336

  ----, roast, 336

  ---- sausages, 336

  Porker’s head, salting, 129

  Porous pottery filters, 32

  Porridge, 215, 594

  Port du Salut cheese, 167

  Port wine jelly, 770

  Porter jelly, 424, 770

  Pot au feu, 262

  ---- ---- ----, beef, 313

  ---- pourri, 652

  Potage, 242

  Potash poisoning, 793

  Potassium bichromate stains on hands, 533

  ---- oxalate poisoning, 793

  Potato balls, 378

  ---- cakes, 378

  ---- cheese, 446

  ---- chops, 769

  ---- omelets, 455

  ---- pie, 424

  ---- pudding, 425

  ---- rissoles, 378

  ---- salad, 386

  ---- soup, 262

  Potatoes, 565, 568, 570, 572, 573, 576, 578

  ---- à la Russe, 378

  ---- au gratin, 378

  ----, calecannon, 378

  ---- for bread, 208

  ----, fried, 378

  ----, keeping boiled, 113

  ----, mashed, 378

  ----, stewed, 378

  ---- with cream, 377

  Pots, kitchen, 237

  Potted beef, 125, 313

  ---- bloaters, 126

  ---- char, 126

  ---- cheese, 446

  ---- larks, 359

  ---- shrimps, 130

  ---- sprats, 131

  ---- trout, 132

  Pottery filters, 32

  Potting butter, 159

  Pouf berek, 513

  Poultices, 761

  Poultry, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 571, 573, 575, 578, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 628

  ----, cooking, 344

  ----, eating, 633

  ----, hanging, 344

  ----, keeping, 113

  ---- lice, 561

  ---- soup, 250, 263

  Pound cake, 216

  Powders, taking, 777

  Prassas, 513

  Prawns, 292, 573

  ----, aspic, 292

  Precautions after floods, 54

  Prepared chalk, 779

  Preserving barberries, 139

  ---- beetroot, 139

  ---- crab-apples, 141

  ---- cranberries, 142

  ---- cherries, 141

  ---- citrons, 141

  ---- cucumbers, 142

  ---- figs, 142

  ---- ginger, 142

  ---- hips, 144

  ---- jams and jellies, 137

  ---- limes, 145

  ---- melons, 146

  ---- oranges, 147

  ---- pears, 148

  ---- plums, 149

  ---- quinces, 150

  ---- strawberries, 152

  ---- walnuts, 153

  President’s pudding, 425

  Pressed beef, 313

  Primrose pudding, 425

  ---- vinegar, 136

  ---- wine, 203

  Prince’s pudding, 425

  Printing of school-books, 863

  Prints, cleaning, 543

  Processes of cookery, 240

  Prospect for dwelling, 2

  Provençal ratafia, 188

  Prune cake, 425

  ---- flavour, 479

  ---- jelly, 149

  ---- mould, 425

  ---- preserve, 150

  ---- sauce, 472

  Prunes, stewed, 425

  Prussian cake, 216

  Prussic acid poisoning, 792

  Ptarmigan, 581

  ----, carving, 633

  Pudding sauce, 473

  Puddings, 387

  ---- for invalids, 773

  Puff paste, 421, 503

  Pulled fish, 271

  Pumpkin, 378

  ---- jam, 150

  ---- pie, 483

  ---- soup, 263

  Pumps, 20

  ----, deep-well, 22

  ----, dimensions for, 21

  ----, fixing suction pipe, 21

  ----, lift and force, 22

  ----, simple lift, 20

  ----, suction pipe, 20

  ----, working capacity, 20

  ----, working figures, 23

  Punch, 203

  ---- jelly, 426

  ----, pepper, 173

  ---- without liquor, 775

  Punishments, 868

  Purification of water, 16, 23

  Purifying air, 57

  Purimacos cement, 233

  Purity of drinking-water, test for, 24

  Purses, 503

  Putting electric bell together, 107

  ---- out candle, 83

  ---- ---- gas, 85

  ---- ---- lamp, 84

  ---- up butter, 158

  Pyrogallol poisoning, 793

  Pyrometer, bakers’, 207


  Quadrille mazurka dance, 653

  Quails, 363, 571, 573, 581

  ---- in cases, 363

  ----, roast, 363

  Quality of food needed, 583

  Quantity of food needed, 583

  Quay pudding, 397

  Queen Adelaide’s pudding, 426

  ---- Mab’s pudding, 426

  Queen’s biscuits, 217

  ---- cake, 217

  ---- drops, 217

  ---- gingerbread, 217

  Quenelle soup, 263

  Quenelles, fish, 271

  Quiet in sickroom, 756

  Quin sauce, 473

  Quince and apple tart, 389

  ---- cakes, 426

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- jam, 150

  ---- jelly, 150

  ---- marmalade, 150

  ---- ratafia, 188

  Quinces, brandied, 150

  ----, preserved, 150

  Quinine, taking, 777

  Quinsy, 802

  Quoits, 882

  Quoormah, 502


  Rabbit, carving, 630

  ---- pie, 365

  ---- with onion sauce, 365

  Rabbits, 363, 565, 566, 571, 573, 578, 581

  ----, baked, 364

  ----, boiled, 364

  ----, curried, 364

  ----, cutlets, 364

  ----, fricassée, 364

  ----, stewed, 365

  Racking off wine, 190

  Racquet court, 883

  Radishes, 582

  Rahat lukum, 440

  Railroad liqueur, 188

  Railway pudding, 426

  Rain machine, 656

  Rainfall, 13

  Rain-water, 13

  ----, catching, 15

  ---- cisterns, 15, 16

  ----, disposal of, 42

  ---- dissolves lead, 17

  ---- gutters, 42

  ---- pipes, 17

  ---- ----, outlet, 18

  ---- ----, smell from, 42

  ----, precautions in storing, 17

  ---- separator, 16

  Raised pie in china mould, 426

  ---- waffles, 487

  Raisin flavour, 480

  ---- pudding, 427

  ---- wine, 203

  Raisins, 565, 582

  Ramakins, 447

  Rancid butter, 159

  Ranges, cooking, 221

  Rarebits, 449

  Raspberries, 572, 574

  ----, bottling, 138

  Raspberry and currant tartlets, 427

  ---- brandy, 188

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- custard, 427

  ---- essence, 179

  ---- flavour, 480

  ---- jam, 137

  ---- jelly, 151

  ---- sauce, 473

  ---- syrup, 177

  ---- vinegar, 137

  Rates and taxes, 957

  Rat poison, antidotes, 793

  Rats, 561

  ---- eating through leaden pipes, 53

  ---- in drains, 51, 53

  ---- not stopped by siphon traps, 53

  Ravigote sauce, 473

  Ravioli, 427

  Raw oysters, 288

  Red cabbage, 379

  ---- colouring for soda-water syrups, 176

  ---- currant cordial, 189

  ---- ---- jam, 137

  ---- ---- jelly, 151

  ---- herrings, 127

  ---- mullet, 287

  ---- ----, baked, 287

  ---- ----, broiled, 287

  ---- ----, stewed, 287

  ---- ----, stuffed, 287

  ---- ratafia, 189

  Reed birds, 571

  Reflectors, 83

  Refooting, 901

  Refreshments, miscellaneous, 646

  Refuse foundations, 2

  Regenerative gas burners, 90

  Regulation of exercise, 871

  Removing ring from finger, 706

  ---- stoppers, 562

  Rennet extract, 160

  ---- for cheese-making, 159

  Renovating, 521

  Rent of house, 956

  Renting a house, 955

  Rep darn, 897

  Repairs to house, law of, 956

  Reprise perdue darn, 897

  Restorative jelly, 770

  ---- soup, 773

  Restoring sour beer, 180

  Returned Mariner, 679

  Reverberations in rooms, reducing, 8

  Rhenish cup, 203

  Rheumatism, 821

  Rhubarb, 566, 572, 779

  ---- and orange marmalade, 152

  ----, bottled, 151

  ----, bottling, 138

  ---- cream, 427

  ---- flummery, 427

  ---- fool, 427

  ---- fritters, 428

  ---- jam, 151

  ---- jelly, 151, 428

  ---- mould, 428

  ---- pudding, 428

  ----, stewed, 428

  ---- wine, 204

  ---- with figs, 428

  Rib darn, 900

  Rice and carrot soup, 264

  ---- ---- pea soup, 264

  ---- ---- sorrel soup, 264

  ---- ---- tomato soup, 264

  ----, boiled, 428, 502

  ----, buying, 577

  ---- cream, 771

  ---- croquettes, 428

  ----, empress, 429

  ---- fritters, 429

  ---- gruel, 769

  ----, kedgeree, 429

  ---- mange, 429

  ---- meringue, 429

  ----, moulded, with mushrooms, 429

  ---- omelets, 456

  ---- pie, 430

  ---- pound cake, 217

  ---- pudding, 388, 430

  ----, savoury, 430

  ---- shape, 430

  ---- soufflé, 430

  ---- soup, 263

  ---- sweet dish, 430

  ---- waffles, 486

  ---- water, 775

  Richelieu pudding, 430

  Richmond maids of honour, 431

  Ricotta, 504

  Ring, removing from finger, 706

  Ringworm, 824

  Rinsing machine, 854

  Ripening cheese, 161

  ---- cream, 157

  Rippingille’s oil cooker, 237

  Risotto, 431, 504

  Roach, 293

  ----, broiled, 293

  ----, stewed, 293

  Roasting, 240

  ---- -ovens, 240

  Robert sauce, 473

  Roberts’s rain-water separator, 16

  ---- terra-cotta stoves, 73

  Robinson’s groats, 752

  Rolled herrings, 281

  ---- neck of mutton, 325

  ---- veal, 342

  Rolls, French, 213

  Roman pudding, 431

  ---- punch, 189

  Roof, dachpappe, 6

  ----, dwelling, 5

  ----, felt, 6

  ---- gutters, 17, 42

  ----, metallic, 7

  ----, pitch of, 5

  ----, shingles, 6

  ----, slate, 6

  ----, thatch, 5

  ----, tiles, 7

  ---- ventilators, 59

  ----, Willesden paper, 6

  Rook pie, 365

  Rooms, conserving heat in, 60

  ----, cooling, 59

  ----, disinfecting, 820

  ---- for children, 746

  ----, scenting, 652

  ----, situations for, 3

  ----, warming northerly, 77

  Roots, keeping, 113, 122

  Roquefort cheese, 167

  Rose cordial, 189

  ---- flavour, 480

  ---- syrup, 178

  Rotary washing machine, 852

  Rout biscuits, 217

  ---- cake, 217

  Rowan berries, keeping, 122

  ---- jelly, 152

  ---- syrup, 178

  Royale soup, 252

  Rugs, cleaning, 528

  Rules for grates, 62

  Rum butter, 473

  ---- omelets, 456

  ---- shrub, 189

  Rumford-Teale grate, 69

  Run patch, 891

  Rush cream cheese, 160

  Rusks, 217

  ----, sweet, 219

  Russian dishes, 507

  ---- dress, 731

  ---- jelly, 431

  ---- salad, 386

  Rustless iron water-pipes, 20


  Saccharine aerated drinks, 171

  Saddle of lamb, 326

  ---- ---- mutton, 326

  Saddles, cleaning, 534

  Sætersdal dress, 739

  Safe tray for w.c.’s, 46

  Safety lamps, domestic, 84

  ---- light (phosphorus), 93

  ---- valves for electric light, 95

  Saffron buns, 218

  Sage cheese, 160

  Sago, buying, 578

  ---- gruel, 410

  ----, keeping, 114

  ---- milk, 774

  ---- pudding, 431

  ---- soup, 264

  ---- wine soup, 493

  Sail skating, 883

  St. Honoré pudding, 431

  St. John’s bread flavour, 480

  Salad dressings, 379, 382

  ----, eating, 635

  ----, fish, 271

  Salads, 382

  Sally lunns, 218

  Salmagundy, 516

  Salmon, 293

  ---- à la Montpelier, 293

  ---- au bleu, 293

  ---- ---- gratin, 293

  ----, boiled, 293

  ----, broiled, 293

  ---- boudin, 294

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 571, 573, 576

  ---- cakes, 294

  ----, carving, 621

  ---- chaudfroid, 294

  ---- croquettes, 294

  ---- cutlets, 295

  ----, devilled, 295

  ----, grilled, 295

  ----, kippered, 129

  ---- kromeskies, 295

  ---- mayonnaise, 295

  ----, pickled, 129

  ---- pie, 295

  ---- salad, 296

  ----, salting, 129

  ----, scalloped, 296

  ---- trout, 568, 570, 573

  Salsenaugen, 494

  Salsify, 582

  ----, boiled, 379

  ----, fried, 379

  ----, scolloped, 379

  Salt, 594

  ---- beef, 314

  ---- cod, mashed, 276

  ---- fish, 296

  ---- of lemon poisoning, 793

  ---- ---- sorrel poisoning, 793

  Salted sprats, 131

  ---- tongues, 131

  Salting bacon, 125

  ---- bath chaps, 125

  ---- beef, 125

  ---- hams, 127

  ---- herrings, 127

  ---- oysters, 128

  ---- porker’s head, 129

  ---- salmon, 129

  ---- sardines, 129

  Saltpetre, 779

  Salts for heating, 82

  Sal volatile, 779

  Samp, 410

  ---- pancakes, 432

  ---- pudding, 432

  Samphire, pickled, 135

  Sand filters, 26

  ---- torte, 494

  Sanitary Engineering Co.’s ventilator, 58

  Sanitation, detecting faults in, 40

  ---- of dwellings, 35

  Santonine, 779

  Sardine eggs, 297

  ---- salad, 297, 387

  ---- sandwiches, 297

  ---- sauce, 488

  ---- toast, 297

  Sardines, 296, 576

  ---- à la maître d’hôtel, 297

  ----, curried, 296

  ----, devilled, 296

  ----, dressed, 296

  ----, grilled, 297

  ----, salting, 129

  Sarsaparilla beer, 204

  ---- mead, 189

  ---- syrup, 178

  Sasatijs, 487

  Sassafras flavour, 480

  Saucepans, 237

  ----, cleaning, 238

  ----, enamelled, 238

  ----, tin, 238

  Sauces, 460

  ---- for game, 345

  ---- ---- pike, 292

  ----, truffle, 380

  ----, white, 379

  Sauerbraten, 494

  Sausage rolls, 308

  Sausages as food, 599

  ----, making, 129

  ----, mutton, 326

  ----, pork, 336

  Saving life at fires, 110

  Savory and Moore’s food, 752

  Savouries, eating, 634

  Savoury cutlets, 319

  ---- eggs, 458

  ---- omelets, 456

  ---- rice, 430

  ---- ---- omelets, 456

  Savoy biscuits, 218

  ---- cabbage soup, 264

  ---- cake, 218

  Savoyard soup, 264

  Savoys, 565, 582

  Sawyer’s filters, 27

  Saxon dress, 728

  Scalded cream, 403

  Scalds, 785

  Scale pans, cleaning, 537

  Scalloped beef, 314

  ---- oysters, 290

  ---- salmon, 296

  Scallops, 297

  ----, baked, 297

  ----, fried, 298

  ----, stewed, 298

  Scenting rooms, 652

  Schabzieger cheese, 167

  Schmarn batter, 494

  Schmarollen, 494

  School benches, 862

  ---- books, 863

  ---- cake, 214

  ---- clothes, 717

  ---- desks, 862

  ---- hours, 865

  ---- punishments, 868

  ---- work, 865

  Schoolroom, 862

  ----, literature, 869

  Schools, foreign, 868

  Scones, 218

  ----, soda, 219

  Scorzonera, 379

  ----, fried, 379

  ---- with cheese, 379

  Scotch broth, 265

  ---- eggs, 458

  ---- kale, 565, 582

  ---- rarebit, 449

  Scottish dishes, 509

  Scrag of mutton à la russe, 325

  Scrambled eggs, 458

  Scrap soup, 264

  Scullery walls, 96

  Sea bathing, 829

  ---- bream, 565, 578

  Seakale, 379, 566, 569, 582

  Seamless patch, 892

  Sea-sickness, 822

  Seaside lodgings, 746

  Seasons, 563

  Second-hand furniture, 97

  Seconds flour, 209

  Seed cake, 218

  Selecting a play, 659

  Self-filling boilers, 845

  Semolina cream, 771

  ----, keeping, 114

  ---- soup, 265

  Separators for rain-water, 16

  September gardening, 934

  ---- markets, 575

  Servants’ bedrooms, 700

  ----, illness of, 960

  ----, laws of, 959

  ---- sitting-room, 96

  Servian dress, 731, 735

  Service pipes, 20

  Serviettes, folding, 617

  Setting eggs, 921

  Sévigné soup, 250

  Sewage microbes in water, 24

  Sewer gas entering by the drains, 39

  ---- ---- reaching cisterns, 44

  Sewn and felled patch, 890

  ---- patch, 891

  Shad, 298, 568

  Shaking hands, 648

  Shallot omelet, 456

  Sham champagne, 204

  Sharp sauce, 473

  Shaving, 708

  Shchi, 508

  Sheep’s brains, 327

  ---- heads, 327

  ---- ----, carving, 627

  ---- ----, singeing, 328

  ---- ---- soup, 265

  ---- heart, 328

  ---- liver, 328

  ---- ---- à la Française, 329

  ---- ---- pudding, 329

  ---- pluck, 329

  ---- tongue, 329

  ---- trotters, 329

  Sheepskins, cleaning, 529

  Sheets, 702

  Shellfish, carving, 622

  Shelves, dairy, 154

  ---- for storing fruit, 116

  ---- in pantries, 96

  Sherbet syrup, 178

  Sherry cobbler, 204

  ---- ---- syrup, 178

  Shikaree pie, 346

  Shingle roof, 6

  Shoes, 711

  Shortbread, 218

  Shortcake, strawberry, 434

  Shoulder of mutton, 330, 485

  ---- ---- ----, boned, 330

  Shrewsbury cake, 218

  Shrimp sauce, 474

  ---- soup, 265

  Shrimps, buying, 565, 573

  ----, potted, 130

  ----, preserved, 130

  Shrub cordial, 189

  Shutters, 108

  ---- of nursery, 746

  Siberian pilemaignes, 508

  ---- whist, 696

  Sickbed, 758

  Sick headache, 811

  Sickroom, 755

  ---- accessories, 761

  ----, aspect for, 3

  ----, books, 826

  ---- foods, 768

  ---- thermometer, 764

  ---- visitors, 758

  Sideboards, 98

  Sight, defective, 809

  Silber lamp, 83

  Silicated carbon filters, 28

  Silk goods, cleaning, 552

  Silver goods, cleaning, 539

  ---- lace, cleaning, 540

  ---- nitrate stains on hand, 533

  ---- torch, 83

  Simnel cake, 219

  Sine qua non range, 230

  Singeing sheep’s head, 328

  ---- the hair, 809

  Singing hinny, 432

  Single Gloucester cheese, 165

  ---- web darn, 899

  Sink traps, 45

  ---- waste pipes, 45

  Sinks, 45, 50

  ----, bell traps in, 50

  ----, connecting to drains, 39

  ---- trapped gullies for, 50

  Siphon in gas pipes, 85

  ---- traps, 46

  ---- ---- useless against rats, 53

  Sir Watkin Wynn’s pudding, 432

  Site for dwelling, 1

  Sitting fowls, 922

  Sitting-rooms, aspect for, 3

  ---- ----, servants’, 96

  Situations for rooms, 3

  Skate, 298, 565, 578, 580, 582

  Skating, 885

  Skewered oysters, 290

  Skimming milk, 156

  Skin complaints, 822

  Skink soup, 509

  Skins, cleaning, 528

  Slap-dashing walls, 9

  Slate cisterns, 19

  ---- roof, 6

  Slates bedded in cement, 7

  Sleep, 703

  ----, controlling, 703

  ---- for children, 749

  ----, length of, 703

  Sleeplessness, 703

  Sleight of hand tricks, 664

  Sligowitz liqueur, 188

  Slip and dip, 516

  Slip-stitched patch, 890

  Sloe gin, 189

  Sloke, 376

  Slops in sickroom, 755

  Slow combustion grate, 66

  ---- ---- stoves, 72

  Slugs, 561

  Smallpox, 813

  Smell of burning kitchen waste, to avoid, 49

  ---- conveyed by bell-wire pipes, 49

  ---- from cooking, 243

  ---- from rain-water pipes, 42

  Smelts, 298, 565, 566, 568, 570, 578, 580, 582

  ----, fried, 298

  Smith’s gas regulator, 89

  Smoke, breathing in, 110

  ---- test for drains, 41

  Smoked geese, 130

  ---- neats’ tongues, 130

  Smoker’s drink, 204

  Smoking and health, 666

  ---- apparatus, 123

  ---- chimney (for bacon), 124

  ---- fish, 124

  ---- foods, 123

  ----, fuel for, 125

  ---- herrings, 124

  ---- mackerel, 124

  ---- -room, aspect for, 3

  ---- sprats, 124

  Smoky chimney, 80

  Snails, 561

  Snake bites, 781

  Snakes, 562

  ----, excluding from dwellings, 8

  Snipe, 365, 565, 566, 568, 580, 581

  ----, bisque, 365

  ----, carving, 631

  ----, fried, 366

  ---- on toast, 366

  ---- pie, 366

  ----, roast, 366

  Snoring, 705

  Snowballs, 432

  Snow cake, 432

  ---- mould, 432

  ---- pancakes, 432

  Snowdon pudding, 432

  Soap dissolver, 851

  Socks, 711

  Soda acetate stove, 82

  ---- poisoning, 793

  ---- scones, 219

  ---- water syrups, red colouring for, 176

  Sofas, 98

  Soft soap to remove grease from drains, 50

  ---- water, 519

  Soil for dwelling, 1

  ---- pipes, 38, 48

  ---- ----, joints in, 49

  ---- ----, ventilation of, 38, 49

  Sole à la maître d’hôtel, 298

  ---- ---- Normande, 298

  ----, aspic, 298

  ---- au gratin, 299

  ---- au vin blanc, 299

  ----, broiled, 299

  ----, carving, 622

  ----, consommé, 299

  ---- en matelote, 299

  ----, fillets, 299

  ----, fricassée, 299

  ----, fried, 300

  ---- in brown sauce, 300

  ---- in cases, 300

  ---- in jelly, 298

  ---- roulettes, 300

  ---- salad, 300

  ---- savalada, 300

  ----, stewed, 301

  ----, water souchet, 301

  ---- with ravigote sauce, 301

  Soles, 298, 565, 566, 568, 570, 573, 578, 580, 582

  Soothing syrup poisoning, 793

  Sore throat, 802

  Sorrel, 380, 568, 569, 572, 582

  ---- and eggs, 451

  ---- drink, 516

  ---- sauce, 489

  ---- soup, 265

  Soubise sauce, 474

  Soufflé, 433

  Soup-herbs flavour, 480

  Soups, 244

  ----, apple, 247

  ----, apple and currant, 247

  ----, artichoke, 247

  ----, asparagus, 247

  ----, barley, 247

  ----, barszcz, 261

  ----, batter-cream, 247

  ----, bean, 256

  ----, beef-tea, 258

  ----, beer, 247

  ----, birds’-nests, 247

  ----, bonne femme, 248, 267

  ----, bone, 247

  ----, bones, keeping, 112

  ----, brunoise, 248, 267

  ----, cabbage, 264

  ---- calf’s head, 248

  ----, carrot, 248

  ----, cauliflower, 249

  ----, celery, 249

  ----, cheap, 249

  ----, cheese, 261

  ----, cherry, 250

  ----, chestnut, 250

  ----, chicken, 250

  ----, chiffonade, 267

  ----, clarifying stock, 246

  ----, clear, 251

  ----, clear stock, 245

  ----, clear, with custard, 252

  ----, clear, with poached eggs, 252

  ----, clear, with quenelles, 252

  ----, cock-a-leekie, 253

  ----, cockle, 253

  ----, coconut, 253

  ----, colbert, 267

  ----, common stock, 244

  ----, Condé, 256

  ----, conger-eel, 253

  ----, conti, 257

  ----, crayfish, 253

  ----, Crécy, 248

  ----, croûte au pot, 254

  ----, cussy, 260

  ----, custard, 254

  ----, dried turtle, 267

  ----, eating, 633

  ----, faubonne, 267

  ----, fish stock, 246

  ----, Flemish, 254

  ----, French, 254

  ----, fried, 254

  ----, game, 254

  ----, giblet, 254

  ----, gniocchi, 255

  ----, gravy, 255

  ----, ---- stock, 246

  ----, green corn, 255

  ----, ---- pea, 255

  ----, grouse, 255, 354

  ----, hare, 255

  ----, haricot, 256

  ----, herb, 256

  ----, herring, 256

  ----, hochepot, 260

  ----, hotchpotch, 256

  ----, hunter’s, 256

  ----, imperial, 256

  ----, Italian, 257

  ----, Jerusalem artichoke, 261

  ----, julienne, 257

  ----, keeping, 113

  ----, kidney, 257

  ----, leek, 257

  ----, lentil, 257

  ----, lettuce, 258

  ----, Liebig’s beef tea, 258

  ----, liver, 258

  ----, lobster, 258

  ----, macaroni, 258

  ----, milk, 258

  ----, minestrone, 257

  ----, mock pea, 258

  ----, ---- turtle, 259

  ----, mulligatawny, 259

  ----, mussel, 259

  ----, mutton broth, 259

  ----, nivernaise, 248

  ----, Nouilles, 260

  ----, okra, 260

  ----, onion, 260

  ----, oxtail, 260

  ----, oyster, 260

  ----, Palestine, 261

  ----, Parmesan cheese, 261

  ----, paysanne, 267

  ----, pea, 261

  ----, ----, mock, 258

  ----, pear, 261

  ----, plum, 261

  ----, Polish, 261

  ----, Pomeranian, 262

  ----, poor man’s, 262

  ----, potato, 262

  ----, pot au feu, 262

  ----, poultry, 250, 263

  ----, pumpkin, 263

  ----, quenelle, 263

  ----, rice, 263

  ----, ---- and carrot, 264

  ----, ---- ---- pea, 264

  ----, ---- ---- sorrel, 264

  ----, ---- ---- tomato, 264

  ---- royale, 252

  ----, sago, 264

  ----, Savoyard, 264

  ----, Savoy cabbage, 264

  ----, Scotch broth, 265

  ----, scrap, 264

  ----, semolina, 265

  ----, Sévigné, 250

  ----, sheep’s head, 265

  ----, shrimp, 265

  ----, sorrel, 265

  ----, spinach, 265

  ----, spring, 265

  ----, strawberry, 266

  ----, sweetbread, 266

  ----, tapioca, 266

  ----, tea-kettle broth, 266

  ----, tomato, 266

  ----, turnip, 266

  ----, turtle, 266

  ----, ----, mock, 259

  ----, veal stock, 246

  ----, vegetable, 267

  ----, ---- -marrow, 267

  ----, ---- stock, 246

  ----, vermicelli, 267

  ----, Victoria, 267

  ----, white, 267

  ----, ---- stock, 246

  Sour beer, restoring, 180

  ---- dough, curing, 208

  ---- milk, 113

  Sous, 516

  Soused bream, 273

  ---- carp, 274

  ---- pike, 292

  ---- sprats, 302

  ---- trout, 302

  Sowens, 509

  Spacha, 516

  Spanish bitters, 181

  ---- dance, 653

  ---- dishes, 509

  ---- dress, 745

  Spatzen, 494

  Spectre Dog, 682

  ---- Workman, 681

  Spectre’s Kiss, 684

  Spencer corona, 90

  Spencer’s magnetic carbide filter, 29

  Spice gingerbread, 219

  ---- nuts, 219

  Spiced bacon, 125

  ---- beef, 126, 314

  Spinach, 380, 565, 569, 570, 579, 582

  ---- greening, 474

  ----, keeping, 113

  ----, mashed, 380

  ---- omelet, 456

  ---- soup, 265

  Spirit lamps, 83

  ---- of minderus, 779

  ---- of nitre, 779

  ---- of salt poisoning, 793

  Spirit-rapping séance, 681

  Spirits as food, 602

  Sponge cake, 219

  ---- ---- pudding, 433

  Sponge, cleaning, 545

  Sponge pudding, 433

  Spongy iron as a filter, 24, 30

  Sprains, 793

  Sprat pie, 301

  ---- toast, 302

  Sprats, 301, 580

  ----, baked, 301

  ----, fried, 301

  ----, patties, 301

  ----, pickled, 131

  ----, potted, 131

  ----, rissoles, 302

  ----, salted, 131

  ----, smoking, 124

  ----, soused, 302

  Spring bed, 702

  Spring soup, 265

  Springs, 13, 14

  ----, seasonal variation, 14

  Sprouts, 565

  Spruce beer, 204

  Spurge laurel poisoning, 793

  Squab pie, 331

  Square eights dance, 653

  Stables, 910

  Stack-pipes, 42

  Stage illusions, 656

  Stained floors, 96

  Stains, removing, 553

  Staircase curtains, 98

  Stanford’s pipe drains, 53

  Starching, 548

  Stays, 710

  Steam baths, 831

  ---- boiler, 234

  ---- cooking, 233

  ---- heating, 81, 82

  ---- laundries, 849

  ---- oven, 208

  ---- power, 940

  ---- washing, 848

  ---- on windows, curing, 83

  Steamed oysters, 291

  Steatite gas burners, 85, 87

  Steel, cleaning, 538

  Steinlach dress, 731

  Stewing, 242

  ---- fish, 269

  Stewpans, copper, 238

  Stews as food, 599

  Sticklerspersgrod, 494

  Still lemonade, 205

  Stilton cheese, 165

  Stings, 780

  Stock, 244

  ----, clarifying, 246

  ----, clear, 245

  ----, fish, 246

  ----, gravy, 246

  ----, veal, 246

  ----, vegetable, 246

  ----, white, 246

  Stockings, 711

  Stölle, 495

  Stomach bitters, 181

  ---- pump, 791

  Stone cisterns, 19

  ----, cleaning, 535

  Stoneware drains, 52

  Stopped drains, 38, 50

  Stoppers, removing, 562

  Stopping chinks in floors, 56

  ---- ---- in windows, 56

  Storing ice, 114

  Stott’s gas regulator, 88

  Stouffate, 509

  Stoughton bitters, 181

  Stoves, American, 70

  ----, close-fire, 71

  ----, convoluted, 74

  ----, German, 74

  ----, gill, 73

  ----, hot-air, 75

  ----, oil, 79

  ----, open, 62

  ----, slow combustion, 72

  ----, underfed, 71

  Sracchino cheese, 166

  Strange Christmas-box, 679

  Straw goods, cleaning, 522

  ---- palliasse, 701

  Strawberries, 568, 569, 570, 572, 574

  ----, bottling, 138

  ----, preserved, 152

  Strawberry chartreuse, 433

  ---- cordial, 189

  ---- cream, 433

  ---- essence, 179

  ---- flavour, 480

  ---- ice cream, 443

  ---- jam, 137, 152

  ---- jelly, 152

  ---- short-cake, 434

  ---- soup, 266

  ---- syrup, 178

  ---- tartlets, 434

  Strengthening darn, 897

  Stretchers, 787

  Strode’s gas regulator, 89

  Strudels, 495

  Strychnine poisoning, 793

  Stuffed artichokes, 372

  ---- cabbage, 374

  ---- John Dory, 281

  ---- red mullet, 287

  ---- specimens, cleaning, 547

  Stuffing, chestnut, 367

  ----, truffle and chestnut, 366

  Stuffings, 460

  Sturgeon, 582

  Styes in eyes, 809

  Styles and titles, 648

  Suburek, 513

  Sucking pig, 337

  ---- ----, carving, 627

  Suction lamps, 83

  ---- pipe of pumps, 20

  Suet keeping, 112

  ---- pudding, 343, 434

  Suffocation, 790

  Sugar, buying, 577

  ---- of lead poisoning, 793

  Sugg’s gas regulating burner, 89

  Sulphate of copper, 779

  ---- ---- potash, 779

  ---- ---- quinine, 779

  ---- ---- zinc, 779

  Sulphuric acid poisoning, 793

  ---- ether, 779

  ---- orangeade, 205

  Sultanas, 582

  Summer beer, 179

  ---- drinks, 205

  ---- milk, 156

  Sun burner, 90

  Sunlight, 82

  Sunstroke, 794

  Suppers, 646

  Swan, 581

  Sweating, excessive, 824

  Swedish dance, 653

  Sweeping carpet, 525

  Sweet dishes, 387

  ---- omelets, 456

  ---- potatoes, 568

  ---- rice omelets, 456

  ---- rusks, 219

  ---- sauce, 474

  Sweetbread, 343, 569

  ---- soup, 266

  ----, stewed, 344

  Sweetmeat nuts, 219

  Swill-tubs condemned, 49

  Swimming, 886

  ---- dresses, 718

  Swiss cream, 156

  ---- darn, 898

  ---- eggs, 459

  ---- omelets, 457

  ---- pastry, 434

  ---- pudding, 434

  ---- roll, 435

  Switches for electric light, 95

  Swizzle, 516

  Syllabubs, 205

  Syrian curtains, 98

  Syrup for ices, 441

  ---- of senna, 779

  Syrups, candying, 175

  ---- for aerated drinks, 173

  ----, fruit, preventing fermentation of, 175

  ----, preparing, 174

  ----, preserving, 175

  ----, soda-water, red colouring for, 176


  Tables, drawing-room, 97

  Tainted dripping, 112

  ---- meat, 112

  Tamarind fish, 302, 503

  Tanks, rain-water, 15, 16

  Tansy pudding, 435

  Tapestry carpets, 97

  Tapioca and apples, 389

  ----, buying, 578

  ---- cream, 435

  ---- pudding, 435

  ---- snow, 435

  ---- soufflé, 435

  ---- soup, 266

  Taps for drinking-water, 45

  Tar, removing from hands, 533

  ---- stains, removing, 555

  Tarragon vinegar, 137

  Tartar emetic poisoning, 793

  Tartare sauce, 474

  Tauf, 513

  Tauk dolmas, 513

  Taxes, 957

  Tea as a drink, 604

  ----, beef, 316

  ---- cake, 219

  ----, testing, 520

  ----, veal, 344

  Teaching, 865

  Tea-kettle broth, 266

  Teal, 568, 580, 581

  Teapot, cleaning, 547

  Tears of the widow of Malabar cordial, 189

  Teas, 642

  ----, high, 645

  Teething, 752

  Telephone, 103

  Tellemarken dress, 739

  Temperature for setting milk, 158

  ---- of dairy, 154

  ---- of patient, 764

  ---- of sickroom, 755

  Temptations of St. Anthony, 682

  Tenancy, determination of, 957

  Tench, 302, 580

  ----, broiled, 302

  ----, roast, 302

  ----, stewed, 382

  Tent cordial, 189

  Test for drinking-water, 24

  Testing air, 55, 518

  ---- bread, 520

  ---- butter, 520

  ---- cocoa, 521

  ---- coffee, 521

  ---- drainage system, 40

  ---- drains, 52

  ---- eggs, 922

  ---- foods, 519

  ---- gas pipes, 92

  ---- milk, 520

  ---- pepper, 521

  ---- pickles, 521

  ---- tea, 520

  ---- water, 519

  Textile goods, cleaning, 547

  Thames Bank Iron Co.’s stove, 71

  Thatched roof, 5

  Thawing pipes, 847

  Theatricals, amateur, 654

  Thermometer, clinical, 764

  Thick gingerbread, 219

  Thieves, precautions, 108

  Thirst, 603

  Thomas and Taylor’s churn, 158

  Thorncliffe range, 228

  Thunder, artificial, 656

  Tile floors, 7

  ---- roof, 7

  Tiles, glazed, 96

  Tin saucepans, 238

  Tincture of arnica, 779

  ---- of chiretta, 779

  ---- of colchicum, 779

  ---- of henbane, 779

  ---- of lavender, 779

  ---- of quinine, 779

  ---- of rhubarb, 779

  ---- of squills, 780

  ---- of steel, 780

  ---- of valerian, 780

  Tinned meat collops, 307

  ---- ----, cooking, 307

  ---- ---- in batter, 307

  ---- ----, Irish stew, 307

  ---- ----, mince, 307

  ---- ---- patties, 307

  ---- ---- pie, 307

  ---- ---- pudding, 308

  ---- ---- sausage rolls, 308

  ---- ---- shape, 308

  ---- ---- stew, 308

  ---- ----, Vienna steak, 308

  ---- ---- vinaigrette, 308

  Tipsy puddings, 435

  Titles and styles, 648

  Toast and water, 206

  ----, fish, 271

  Tobacco pipes, cleaning, 555

  ---- smoking, 606

  Toffee, 439, 499

  Toilet, 706

  ---- table, 98

  Tolu ratafia, 190

  Tomato cheese, 449

  ---- chutney, 133

  ---- omelets, 457

  ---- pickle, 136

  ---- preserve, 153

  ---- salad, 387

  ---- sauce, 475, 504

  ---- soup, 266

  Tomatoes, 576, 579, 582

  ---- and eggs, 451

  ---- and meat pudding, 380

  ----, baked, 380, 484

  ----, forced, 380

  ----, keeping, 122

  ---- stewed, 484

  ----, stuffed, 380

  Tongue, 316

  ----, salted, 131

  ----, sheep’s, 329

  Tonic lemonade, 173

  Toothache, 825

  Toothbrushes, 708, 825

  Tooth powders, 824

  Tooth troubles, 824

  Tops and bottoms, 220

  Tortoise stove, 72

  Tourist outfit, 721

  Training, 870

  Transferring, 893

  Trapped drains, 52

  ---- gullies for sinks, 50

  Trapping cistern pipes, 44

  ---- w.c. waste pipe, 46

  Traps of w.c.’s, 46

  Travelling dress, 721

  Treacle pie, 436

  ---- posset, 773

  ---- pudding, 436

  Treasure range, 229

  Trees around dwellings, 2

  Trial by fire, 683

  Tricks and illusions, 664

  Trifle, 436

  Tripe, 337

  Triumph dance, 652

  Trousers, 711

  Trout, 352, 489, 568, 569, 570, 571, 573

  ----, baked, 302

  ----, broiled, 302

  ----, grilled, 302

  ---- jelly, 302

  ----, potted, 132

  ----, soused, 302

  ----, stewed, 303

  ---- with remoulade sauce, 303

  Truffle and chestnut stuffing, 366, 477

  ---- sauce, 380, 477

  Truffles, 380, 579

  ----, keeping, 122

  Tuginar, 514

  Turbines, 938

  Turbot, 303, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 573, 576, 578, 582

  ---- à la Normande, 303

  ---- au gratin, 304

  ----, boiled, 304

  ----, carving, 622

  Turbot, fried, 304

  ----, hashed, 304

  ---- sauté, 304

  ---- with tomato sauce, 304

  ---- with white sauce, 304

  ---- with wine sauce, 304

  Turkey, 366, 565, 566, 570, 571, 573, 578, 580, 581

  ----, blanched, 366

  ----, boiled, 366

  ----, boning, 367

  ----, braised, 366

  ----, carving, 629

  ----, devilled, 367

  ----, forcemeat, 368

  ----, galantine, 367

  ---- gravy, 368

  ----, grilled leg, 368

  ---- patty, 368

  ----, roast, 368

  ----, stuffed, 511

  ----, using up, 368

  ---- with mushrooms, 368

  ---- with oysters, 368

  Turkeys, keeping, 926

  Turkish baths, 831

  ---- dishes, 511

  ---- dress, 735

  Turned meat, 112

  Turning out gas, 85

  Turnip soup, 266

  ---- tops, 381

  Turnips, 565, 568, 569, 570, 582

  ----, boiled, 381

  ----, mashed, 381

  Turpentine poisoning, 793

  Turtle soup, 266

  ---- ----, mock, 259

  Tutti frutti, 436

  Twelfth cake, 216, 220

  Twice laid cod, 277

  Tying down bottles, 170

  Type for school-books, 863

  Tyrolean dress, 731


  Umido, 503

  Unconsciousness, 790

  Underclothing, 709

  Underfed grate, 71

  ---- smoke-consuming kitchener, 228

  ---- subjects, diet for, 597

  Underground water supply, 14

  Undressing, 708

  Utrecht velvet chairs, 98


  Valve closets, 47

  Vanilla cream, 436

  ---- flavour, 480

  ---- ice cream, 444

  ---- sauce, 477

  ---- soufflé, 436

  ---- syrup, 178

  Vapour baths, 831

  Varnished walls, 99

  ---- wood floors, 7

  Varnishing floors, 96

  Veal, 337

  ---- and ham pie, 341

  ----, braised loin, 337

  ----, buying, 563, 565, 567, 569, 571, 573

  ---- cake, 484

  ----, carving, 626

  ---- croquettes, 339

  ----, curried, 339

  ---- cutlets, 339

  ---- fritters, 340

  ----, hashed, 340

  ---- kidney, 485

  ----, minced, 340

  ---- patties, 340

  ---- pie, 341

  ---- quenelles, 341

  ----, roast, 342

  ----, rolled, 342

  ---- scallops, 342

  ---- shape, 342

  ----, stewed breast, 343

  ---- stock, 246

  ---- suet pudding, 343

  ----, sweetbread, 343

  ---- tea, 344

  ----, vol au vent, 344

  Vegetable carbon as a filter, 23

  ---- curry, 496

  ---- foods, 591

  ---- garden, 930

  ---- marrow, 381, 573, 574

  ---- ---- flowers, stuffed, 506

  ---- ---- preserve, 153

  ---- ---- soup, 267

  ---- marrows, keeping, 114, 122

  ---- ----, stuffed, 381, 512

  ---- soup, 267

  ---- stock, 246

  Vegetables, 371

  ----, buying, 565, 566, 568, 569, 570, 572, 573, 574, 576, 578, 582

  ----, eating, 634

  ----, keeping, 113

  Vegetarian dinners, 639

  Veils, 713

  Vellum, cleaning, 542

  Velocipeding, 886

  Velvet joining, 894

  Venice cake, 220

  Venison, 369

  ----, buying, 563, 571, 573, 575, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 62

  ---- collops, 369

  ----, hashed, 370

  ---- pasty, 370

  ----, roast haunch, 369

  ---- stew, 370

  Venomous bites, 781

  Ventilating by gas, 87, 90

  ---- by the chimney, 57

  ---- cellar, 168

  ---- cowls, 59

  ---- sickroom, 755

  ---- soil pipes, 49

  ---- walls, 5

  Ventilation, 55

  ---- by fires, 55

  ---- by glass louvres, 56

  ---- by perforated panes, 56

  ---- by windows, 55

  ---- of dairy, 154

  ---- of drains, 38

  ---- of w.c.’s, 46

  ---- pipes, 43

  ---- through side walls, 57

  ---- without draught, 55

  Ventilators, filtering, 57

  ---- for kitchen range, 226

  ---- in ovens, 224

  ---- necessary for gas, 85

  Venus pudding, 436

  Vermicelli soup, 267

  Vermin, destroying, 556

  ---- killers, poisoning by, 793

  Vermouth liqueur, 190

  Vestry, inspection of drains by, 54

  Victoria pudding, 436

  ---- soup, 267

  Vienna bread, 220

  ---- steak, 308

  Vinaigrette, 308

  ----, beef, 316

  Vinegar, 136

  ----, making, 136

  ---- plant, 136

  ----, primrose, 136

  ----, raspberry, 137

  ----, tarragon, 137

  Vint, 696

  Violet ratafia, 190

  Violin, cleaning, 555

  ---- bow, cleaning, 556

  Visitors to patient, 758

  Voice, loss of, 803

  Vote, 962


  Waffles, 437, 486

  Wages, law of, 959

  Waiting at table, 607

  Wakefulness, 703

  Walking dress, 722

  Wallachian dress, 731

  Wall-papers, 99, 101

  ---- - ----, cleaning, 556

  Walls absorbing water, 4

  ----, basement, 96

  ----, bedroom, 101, 699

  ----, coloured, 99

  ----, dairy, 154

  ----, decorating, 99

  ----, draining, 5

  ----, kitchen, 96

  ----, night nursery, 102

  ----, nursery, 101, 746

  ----, painted, 99

  ----, passage, 96

  ----, scullery, 96

  ----, varnished, 99

  ----, ventilating, 5

  ----, ---- through, 57

  ----, waterproofing, 8

  Walnut ketchup, 134

  ---- pickle, 137

  ---- ratafia, 190

  Walnuts, 573, 579

  ----, keeping, 123

  ----, preserved, 153

  Want of draught in ranges, 225

  Wardrobe, 98

  Warming, 60

  ----, American stoves, 70

  ---- bedroom, 699

  ----, blower, 80

  ---- by chemicals, 82

  ---- by gas, 77

  ---- by high-pressure water, 81

  ---- hot air, 60

  ---- by hot water, 80

  ---- by oil stoves, 79

  ---- by steam, 81, 82

  ----, causes of heat, 61

  ----, close-fire stoves, 71

  ----, combustion, 61

  ----, convoluted stoves, 74

  ----, drum principle, 76

  ---- economisers, 63

  ----, economising kitchen heat, 76

  ----, effects of heat, 60

  ----, flues, 79

  ---- fresh air, 77

  ----, gas hot-air stove, 78

  ----, German stoves, 74

  ----, gill stoves, 73

  ----, hot-air furnace, 75

  ----, lighting fires, 64

  ---- milk pans, 155

  ----, modern open grates, 65

  ---- northerly rooms, 77

  ---- open grates, 61

  ---- open stove, 62

  ----, Pridgin Teale on, 62

  ----, principles, 60

  ----, ---- of grates, 61

  ----, radiant heat, 60

  ----, rules for grates, 62

  ----, slow-combustion stoves, 72

  ----, sluggish draught, 80

  ----, smoky chimney, 80

  ----, underfed grate, 71

  ----, varieties of grate, 61

  Warts, 825

  Washing by steam, 848

  ---- casks, 169

  ---- -copper, 848

  ---- dairy utensils, 154, 156, 158

  ---- floorcloth, 97

  ---- hair, 810

  ---- hands, 706

  ---- infants, 748

  ---- -machines, 851

  Washleather gloves, cleaning, 532

  Wash-out closets, 48

  Washstand, 98, 101

  Wasps, 561

  Wassail bowl, 206

  Waste of water, 12

  ---- pipes of cisterns, 19, 44

  ---- ---- for sink, 45

  Watches, cleaning, 556

  Water absorbed by walls, 4

  ----, amount required, 12

  ---- as a drink, 603

  ---- at high pressure, heating by, 81

  ----, bacteria in, 23

  ---- bath, 242

  ---- cisterns, 18

  ---- ---- in roof, 39

  ---- closets, 45

  ---- ----, flushing, 48

  ---- ---- in bedroom, 49

  ---- ----, position of, 47, 48

  ---- ----, qualifications, 47

  ---- ----, safe tray, 46

  ---- ----, seats, 48

  ---- ---- supply of water, 44

  ---- ----, trapping waste pipe, 40

  ---- ----, traps, 46

  ---- ----, ventilation of, 46

  ---- ----, water contaminated by, 40

  ---- ----, water-waste preventers for, 50

  ---- contaminated in the cisterns, 39

  ---- ---- from w.c., 40

  ----, drinking, 519

  ---- essential in diet, 601

  ---- gruel, 410

  ----, hard, 519

  ---- heating, 78

  ---- in gas pipes, 85

  ----, law of, 958

  ---- pans for ovens, 224

  ---- pipes, 19

  ---- power, 937

  ----, purification, 16, 23

  ---- service pipes, 20

  ----, soft, 519

  ----, sources of, 13

  ----, storing in cisterns, 19

  ---- supply, 12

  ---- ---- to w.c.’s, 44

  ----, surface soakage, 14

  ----, test for purity, 24

  ----, testing, 519

  ----, underground supply, 14

  ----, waste of, 12

  ---- ---- preventers, 50

  ----, when potable, 604

  Watercress and potable water, 604

  ---- butter, 477

  ---- salad, 387

  Water lentil and non-potable water, 604

  Waterproofing walls, 8

  Waterproofs, 714

  Wax for bottling, 138

  Weak subjects, diet for, 597

  Weaning infants, 750

  Weather influence on diet, 595

  Wedding breakfasts, 646

  Weevil in malt, 180

  Weight as a guide to health, 602

  Well-drained house, 37

  Wells, 14

  ---- contaminated by floods, 55

  ----, dangers of, 14

  ----, demand on, 15

  ----, sinking, 15

  Welsh dress, 739

  ---- rarebit, 449

  West Indian dishes, 514

  ---- ---- outfit, 727

  Westphalia loaves, 335

  Wet cloths for freshening air of rooms, 56

  Wharncliffe grate, 67

  Wheatears, 571, 572, 573

  Whelks, buying, 565

  Whipped cream, 403, 477

  Whist, Siberian, 696

  White bread, 593

  ---- cabbage salad, 484

  ---- precipitate poisoning, 793

  ---- sauce, 379, 477

  ---- salmon, 573

  ---- sharp sauce, 474

  ---- soup, 267

  ---- stock, 246

  ---- wine negus, 206

  Whitebait, 304, 567, 569, 570, 573

  ----, fried, 304

  Whiting, 305, 565, 566, 569, 570, 571, 573, 578, 580, 582

  ---- à la Venetienne, 305

  ---- au gratin, 305

  ---- aux fines herbes, 305

  ----, baked, 305

  ----, carving, 622

  ----, dressed, 306

  ----, fillets, 306

  ----, fried, 306

  ---- in jelly, 306

  ---- puddings, 306

  Whole meal, 593

  Whooping cough, 802

  Whortleberry cakes, 484

  Widgeon, 568, 580, 581

  Wigs, 437

  Wild cherry bitters, 181

  ---- duck, 565, 566, 573, 580, 581

  ---- ---- sauce, 478

  Wildfowl, 371

  ----, carving, 631

  ----, grilled, 371

  ----, roast, 371

  ----, salmis, 371

  Willesden paper roof, 6

  Will-o’-the-Wisp, 681

  Wilson range, 229

  Wind as a motive power, 936

  ---- machine, 657

  Window fastenings, 108

  Windows, area of, 82

  ----, burglar-proof, 108

  ----, cleaning, 529

  ----, curing steam on, 83

  ----, dairy, 155

  ----, decorating, 100

  ----, double, 60, 83

  ---- for cold climates, 60

  ---- for ventilation, 55

  ----, heat lost by, 60

  ----, nursery, 101

  ----, perforated panes for ventilating, 56

  ----, sickroom, 756

  ----, stopping chinks in, 56

  Wine as food, 602

  ----, barreling, 190

  ---- bins, 190

  ---- biscuits, 220

  ---- bottling, 190

  ----, cooling, 191

  ----, dinner, 641

  ----, drinking, 635

  ----, fermenting, 190

  ----, fruit for, 190

  ----, home-made, 190

  ---- jelly, 437

  ---- making, 190

  ----, racking off, 190

  ---- roll, 437

  ---- sauce, 478

  Winkles, buying, 565

  Winter cream, 437

  Wiring bobbins for bell, 107

  Wizard’s incantation, 681

  Wonderful jugglers, 680

  Wood charcoal as a filter, 23

  Woodcock, 565, 566, 568, 580, 581

  ----, carving, 630

  ---- on toast, 371

  ----, roast, 371

  Wooden cisterns, 19

  ---- floors, 7

  ---- slate roof, 6

  Worcester sauce, 478

  Workroom, 890

  Wormwood liqueur, 190

  Wounds, 788

  Wright’s gas cooker, 235

  Writing, 864

  ---- letters, 649

  Wrought-iron cisterns, 19


  Yachting dress, 722

  Yeast, brewers’, 207

  ----, German, 208

  ----, making, 208

  Yeasts in cheese, 161

  Yewberry poisoning, 793

  York biscuits, 220

  Yorkshire cake, 220

  ---- pudding, 437

  ---- range, 231

  Yule cake, 220


  Zinc-lined cisterns, 19

  ---- vessels, cleaning, 540

  Zrazy, 507

  Zuchillo, 504

  ---- sauce, 476

  Zweibach, 495

  Zwetschen brandy, 188


_For Index to Supplement_, see p. 1010.




SUPPLEMENT.


THE DWELLING: Water Closets. Continued from p. 48.

Messrs. Reid & Co., 69, St. Mary Axe, London, are well known as
makers of Pearson’s “Twin Basin” Water Closets. These closets hardly
need recommendation, they have stood the test of many years’ use in
Hospitals, Schools, Railway Stations, Mansions, Warehouses, &c., with
the best results. The “Portable” Water Closets made by this firm are
indispensable for invalids’ apartments, and are also of great service
where there is no proper system of drainage.


VENTILATION. Continued from p. 60.

Automatic ventilation connected with the “Acme” system of heating
(The Acme Ventilating and Heating Co., 35, Tarleton Street,
Liverpool) and the Company’s patented system of graduated extraction
flues, can be arranged in the following manner. A foul air chamber is
formed of wood-work, and if desired lined with zinc, and fixed under
the roof, into which channels of suitable dimensions are led from
the perforated ceiling ornaments in the different apartments. The
channels enter near the floor, so that impure air issuing and coming
in contact with the highly heated surfaces of the hot water coil in
the chamber, the foul air immediately rises to the roof, and is being
constantly carried away through louvres into the open air. These
louvres can be made to close in frosty or stormy weather, or when
the apparatus is not in use. This coil (for ventilation purposes),
together with that which heats the water for the bath and lavatories,
can be connected to a separate furnace, so that either one or both
can be in operation in the summer if required.

Another arrangement of ventilation (where hot water coils are not in
use) is as follows: powerful rings of gas burners--each ring being
placed inside a sheet-iron tube--are fixed in flue near the roof,
or in the apex of roof in churches, &c. Into this the foul air is
drawn by a powerful induced current, created by the novel manner in
which the heat in the tubes is arranged, the foul air being finally
carried away in a similar manner to that described in the foregoing
paragraph. For dwelling houses the said rings of gas jets may be
governed by a small master light which cannot be blown out, and which
may be regulated by two small cords attached to a lever leading from
landing, or other convenient position. The one small master light
is constantly kept burning when others are turned off. Such master
light costs but 2_d._ per annum at the most for gas; no matches are
necessary, and there is perfect safety from fire. This is a most
efficient and satisfactory means of ventilation, and far preferable
to any of the revolving cowls, air pumps, and other unsightly and
perishable systems.

The “Acme” patent system of mechanical ventilation, connected with
hot water heating, is unequalled for public institutions, asylums,
prisons, police courts, infirmaries, or other public buildings where
many people are assembled; or where--as in hospitals--from the nature
of the complaints, the air requires to be changed very often, and
that without draughts.

By placing coils of pipe in the wards to be warmed, and passing fresh
air, also previously heated, through them in such a manner that
no draught whatever is caused, or by placing all the pipes in the
basement, into and through which the fresh air is drawn by an “Acme”
patent ventilating machine. Such warmed air is thence passed through
properly regulated channels into the different rooms, each channel
being provided with a valve worked from any convenient or central
position, so as to regulate the supply of fresh air as circumstances
may require.

Ventilating and heating as carried out by the “Acme” system,
co-operate in establishing the most permanent and satisfactory
results.

Blackman Ventilating Co. See page 2 of Advertisements.

[Illustration: 221. Sugg’s Continuous Up-Draught Ventilator.]

_Sugg’s Continuous Up-Draught Ventilator._--This new ventilator
is submitted to the consideration of architects as embodying a
novel system. It has been the custom hitherto to guard against
down-draughts by fixing talc flapper arrangements at the lower ends
of ventilating shafts (in the case of the lower floors of buildings),
and to adopt either a sliding door or revolving shutter worked by
cords from the floor to ventilators fixed at the roof ridge. It is
clear that, with these arrangements, the outer cold air has free
access through the cowl to the ventilating shaft, and, in fact, right
down to the back-draught preventers, or shutters, at the lower end
of the shaft. With this continuous up-draught ventilator the valve
is in the cowl, and is opened by the up draught. Thus the whole of
the shaft, right from the room to the cowl, is filled always by
the warm air of the room, and is never allowed to become cold and
damp by the ingress of the outer air. The valve impedes the outward
passage of the foul air as little as (or less than) the old-fashioned
talc flappers. It is noiseless, cannot get out of order, and its
combination with the cowl renders the entire apparatus the cheapest
and most effective extracting cowl and down-draught preventer in the
market.

The reliance placed upon the strength of the up-draught to open the
valve is based:--First--On the extraordinary aspirating power of
this form of cowl. Most ventilators only expose one side at a time
to the wind’s action, but this one allows its entire area (more than
equal to the area of the tube) to be acted upon at the same moment.
Secondly--Upon the fact that beneath the valve is a column of warmed
air. The loss in ascending energy caused by cold flues may be put
down, as an average, at 40 per cent., but the adoption of this new
“exit valve” system conserves the power of the current to almost its
fullest extent. With the continuous up-draught ventilator the great
ventilating agents--the aspiration of the wind and the movements of
air at different tensions--are utilised in a very great degree, and
experiments prove the justification in claiming for it results never
before attained.

Some of its advantages are as follows:--(1) It is noiseless in its
action and is weatherproof. No water can by any means get down the
ventilating tube. (2) It extracts powerfully when the least current
of air impinges upon it. The whole surface of the ventilator comes
into action immediately, and a continuous up-draught is produced at
all times. (3) It is fitted with a new patent automatic float valve,
which is exceedingly simple in action, and cannot get out of order.
It opens with an up-current and shuts when this current ceases. Thus,
down-draught is impossible. Not only those down-draughts caused by
wind movements, but also those induced by the specific gravity of the
cold air in the ventilating tubes, hitherto incurable, are completely
prevented. (4) It is well and strongly made, is complete in itself,
cannot get out of order, and will last for years. It is made in sizes
from 2 to 18 in., and is made in zinc, galvanized iron or polished
copper. It is also made in special ornamental forms for large
buildings, prices of which will be given on receiving size of air
shaft and pitch of roof. (5) It is specially adapted for use with sun
burners, gas fires, &c. The heat of horizontal tubes, particularly
when lined with asbestos according to Sugg’s plan, contributes to its
extracting energy, while the valve effectually prevents any of those
down-draughts so often associated with this mode of ventilation. (6)
This system of ventilation and lighting works without attention.
It can be put in operation at a moment’s notice. By its use can
be guaranteed not only the most effective lighting, but also a
controllable and absolutely reliable induction and eduction of air
from any building. It is shown in Fig. 221, and is made by William
Sugg & Co., Ld., Grand Hotel Buildings, Charing Cross, London, under
Sugg and Simmance’s patents.


WARMING: by Open Fire. Continued from p. 69.

“The Eagle Convertible Open and Close Fire-grate,” Fig. 37 (makers,
Eagle Range and Foundry Co., 176, Regent Street, London), is one
of the latest improvements, and is to be commended as possessing
all the details advocated by Dr. Teale and others, viz. the grated
bottom and economiser, to which in this case is attached an ashes
pan for convenience and cleanliness, and the fire-brick sides and
back, the latter projecting to deflect the heat, &c.; the front bars
are somewhat flat in section, and incline up outwards at an angle
of about 20 degrees, which effectually prevents cinders and fuel
falling from the fire, and having the further advantage of making
the front of the fire visible to any one standing near. The chief
novelty of this grate is its possessing 3 pairs of doors, which when
open fold back out of sight behind the tiled side panels, and can be
closed, to partly or wholly cover any portion of the fireplace. Fig.
37 shows the stove with the two upper pairs of doors closed. When
first lighting the fire, or when the fire has become very low, and is
heavily fed, with the doors closed thus, a rapid draught is carried
through the fire, which burns very rapidly, and is established in a
few minutes, after which the upper doors are opened. By closing the
two lower doors only, it can be left quite safe at night, and as
there is no means of the air passing through the fire, the combustion
is very slow, in fact it only smoulders, yet keeps up a warmth in the
apartment, and it can be relied upon that it will not be out in the
morning; this is of especial convenience in invalids’ rooms. This
stove is, in the majority of cases, a sure cure for smoky chimneys,
and has several other advantages that would occupy too much space
here.

“The Parson’s Grate,” Fig. 38 (Barnards, Bishop and Barnards, Queen
Victoria Street, London), is a very well-known and good form of
slow-combustion grate, and has the advantage of being changed to a
fast-combustion grate at will, by means of a sliding blower, when
first igniting the fire or at any time that it is desired to make it
burn briskly; the bottom, back and sides of the fire-basket are of
solid fire-brick, and it will be seen from the illustration that the
blower can be drawn down to any point and so regulate the draught and
speed of combustion to a nicety; this is of especial convenience when
the chimney has a tendency to smoke.


WARMING: by Gas. Continued from p. 79.

_Sugg’s Gas Fires._--During a greater part of the year in this
country, the variations in the temperature are so great and sudden,
that those persons who have weak throats, or are subject to
bronchitis--especially children who have a tendency to croup--find
the cold, air of the early mornings a source of great discomfort
and even danger. Although by the use of coal fires, with constant
attention, the temperature of a bedroom or sick room can be
maintained as required during the day, yet at night it is next to
impossible to do so. The fire, if properly made up, gets too hot
in the first part of the night, and goes out in the early morning,
so that the room gets cold. If it has to be made up, the noise of
putting on coals, or poking the fire, is most disturbing in all
cases, and positively unbearable to a sick person. The object of the
gas fire is to obviate these inconveniences, and to maintain an equal
temperature throughout the entire day and night if required. The
construction of this stove differs from every other stove hitherto
introduced. The burners act independently, each being regulated by
its own governor, and each is provided with a separate tap. The
arrangement of the fire by which the flames from the burners play
freely into a space left between the solid bottom of the grate and
the asbestos lumps, permits of the perfect combustion of the gas, and
the attainment of the highest point of incandescence. The consumption
of London gas is 7 cub. ft. per hour for each burner. The quantity
of gas being regulated to its proper rate by the governors (the
taps always being turned full on), it necessarily follows that the
admixture of gas and air is always in the right proportion to develop
the greatest radiant heat. This gas fire is always ready, and can
easily be lighted without explosion by the most timid person, and
in a few minutes it will be glowing. After the room is warmed to
the required degree, one or more of the burners can be turned off,
and the consumption reduced by 7 ft. for each burner so turned off,
without affecting these left on, which still continue to develop
their full heating power.

This latter is a great advantage, because in ordinary stoves, where
the burners are all controlled by one tap, the reduction of gas at
once produces more or less imperfect mixture of gas and air, with an
imperfect combustion, accompanied with a disagreeable odour, and a
very imperfect development of heat. From this cause, together with
ungoverned burners, the consumer is frequently disappointed in the
working of gas fires, and lays the blame on the principle of heating
by gas, when the discomfort and waste of gas arise solely from the
imperfect construction of the stove he is using. The cost of gas for
Sugg’s Patent Charing Cross Bedroom Stove at full power is less than
1_d._ per hour. But as on a very cold night, a bedroom 20 ft. by 15
ft. by 10 ft. high, after being once warmed to 60° F., can be kept at
a temperature of 58°-60° F. through the night by two of these burners
left burning, the cost per hour for maintaining this temperature
will be actually less than ½_d._ It will be readily seen that to
keep a room warm by gas, at the price above mentioned, is cheaper
than by using coal; and that if the readiness, saving in trouble,
and the absence of all noise and dirt are taken into consideration,
the advantages of gas over coal are simply incalculable. This stove
is constructed with a chamber around the sides and back, which keeps
up a circulation of warm air in the room; and if desired a fresh air
flue may be connected to this chamber, thus supplying the room with
warm fresh air. The asbestos material is carefully made at Sugg’s own
factory; it is very durable, and gives out a good heat. The stove,
when fixed in front of an ordinary chimney, is provided with a flue
pipe, which is made to go up through the register to carry off the
products of combustion. In most cases of smoky chimneys, where it is
found impossible to use a coal fire, a small wind guard can be fitted
to the chimney, which will prevent down-draught, and make the use of
the gas fire successful. The fire is very bright and cheerful, and
having been carefully tried for upwards of 3 years in all kinds of
weather, its successful working can be guaranteed. Directions for
measuring grates, to enable a “Charing Cross” gas fire to be sent
complete, and ready for fixing by an intelligent gasfitter, in any
part of the kingdom, are furnished by the makers, William Sugg &
Co., Limited, Grand Hotel Buildings, Charing Cross, London, whose
illustrated catalogues show innumerable patterns of stove, adapted
for halls, bedrooms, libraries, nurseries, &c., at various prices.

_Cadogan Gas Fires._--A specially prepared indestructible fire
clay lump is fitted into the grate and covered with small pieces
of asbestos fuel, which should be carefully packed, so as to allow
the gas flames a free action without any loss. The fire clay lump
has apertures through which the gas flames pass from a swing bar,
fitted in front of and underneath the grate, the gas supply being
connected up with the bar either at the back or front of the hearth.
The bar has an air-chamber fitted to it, so that the gas is consumed
on the atmospheric principle, being, for heating purposes, the most
economical, and one preventing the formation of soot, thus keeping
the fire always clear and the grate clean.

A regulating valve can be fitted in a convenient position, either
in front or at side of hearth, so that the gas may be controlled as
easily as an ordinary gas burner.

To burn the gas economically, the flames should not be allowed to
show much above the top of the fuel.

These fires are eminently suitable for all modern grates, but they
can be fitted into most grates of old-fashioned pattern. Messrs.
Strode & Co., 48, Osnaburgh Street, London, N.W., will advise as to
their applicability on receipt of templet of grate, which can be
made by cutting a piece of paper to the size of bottom of grate, and
pencilling the openings.


WARMING: by Hot-water. Continued from p. 82.

S. Deards’s coil adapted to open grates ensures healthy heating and
perfect ventilation. The coil pipes are so adapted as to form the
bars of an ordinary grate, and yet so arranged as to contain water,
which, as soon as the fire is lighted, will put into circulation the
water contained therein, and the coil grate being attached to other
similar pipes, so arranged in any convenient position around the
walls of the room or any adjacent room, hall, landing, or passage,
will at once transmit that heat to those rooms, &c., without extra
cost or expense of fuel. It is apparent and well known to all
practical persons that the heat given out from the sides and back of
an ordinary fire grate is actually lost in the brickwork surrounding
it, yet by the application of S. Deards’s coil grates, that
otherwise lost heat is retained and made use of, and it is by this
heat that the other rooms are warmed for nothing.

The heating of schoolrooms by means of hot-water is often objected
to by scientific men, doctors, and architects, as by doing away with
the open cheerful fire, and the chimney shaft, the cheerfulness of
the room is destroyed; and the “lungs of the schoolroom” being the
ventilation by the chimney shaft is also absolutely lost. But by the
adoption of the above-named coil grate the cheerful open fire is
retained, the chimney still acts as the ventilator to carry off all
foul air, and the furthermost parts of the schoolroom are as equally
warmed by the circulation of hot-water as in the immediate vicinity
of the fire.

[Illustration: 222. The Princess Louise Coil Grate.]

The Princess Louise coil grate was awarded the First Prize at the
Smoke Abatement Exhibition, in 1882, for giving the greatest amount
of heat per lb. of coal consumed. It is now improved so as to burn
18 to 20 hours without attention; hence it is possible to heat a
greenhouse or conservatory from one’s own fireside, and in fact to
obtain all the hot-water for the baths, &c., of a household for no
extra expense. It is shown in front view in Fig. 222, and can be
seen in action at S. Deards’s show rooms, 11, North Buildings, Eldon
Street, Liverpool Street, London, and at Harlow, Essex.

The “Acme” small bore pipe apparatus (The Acme Ventilating and
Heating Co., 35, Tarleton Street, Liverpool) is one of the most
economical, rapid, and perfect systems of heating. This system
consists of strong wrought-iron tubes of best quality procurable, of
1-5/16 in. external diameter and ⅞ in. bore, the ends of which are
provided with right and left hand threaded screws. They are connected
together right and left hand, which, when screwed up, brings the
coned end of one tube into the flattened end of the other, thus
making a perfectly sound hydraulic joint--in fact, such joint is
actually stronger than the tube itself, the threaded screws are not
intended to make any joint excepting by the power applied in forcing
the conical end to the opposite flat end of tube, which generally
makes an indentation of about 1/16 in.: this forms the joint, the
cone making its own seat, and when once fitted, water has no access
to the screw in the socket, which, therefore, cannot rust, and may be
unscrewed at any time without trouble. This joint is not affected by
expansion and contraction, which is a constant source of annoyance
and expense where the ordinary form of joint is used, as with the
large cast-iron hot water pipes used in the low pressure systems. The
“Acme” system offers the further advantage of readily allowing any
tube to be disconnected and removed without disturbing the rest.

A large portion of the said tubes form the boiler or furnace,
which, being fixed at the lowest level, forms one of the most rapid
and economical furnaces known. Smaller furnaces, with wrought or
cast-iron casings, with coils of pipes built in fire-bricks, are used
for small buildings, halls, corridors, or offices.

An ordinary fire-grate may be utilised by a few feet of piping being
coiled and placed in same, forming the fire-bars and back of grate,
which constitutes a boiler in itself, and is connected with other
piping connecting with adjacent apartments. As many as three or four
bedrooms, or a suite of offices, may be comfortably heated from the
one fire.

The apparatus consists of an endless circuit of strong wrought-iron
tubes (all of the same diameter), filled with water. It is thoroughly
tested under a hydraulic pressure of about 3000 lb. per sq. in.,
so as to ensure that the joints, and all parts of the apparatus,
are perfectly safe and sound. The fire being lighted, the water
circulation commences, as the water in the furnace-coil becomes
heated, it ascends to the top of the apparatus, whilst the cold
water, being heavier, descends, to supply the place of the ascending
heated water, and thus a continuous circulation of hot water is kept
up, which rapidly increases in velocity, through the pipes, as the
heat in the furnace becomes greater. The tubes are kept absolutely
full without the possibility of a higher pressure than that at which
the expansion valve is set, and this setting corresponds with the
temperature the pipes are intended to give off. As will be seen,
a very large margin of safety is provided for in every case, much
beyond the maximum pressure by heat that can possibly be obtained.
Formation of steam is impossible, as is also the stoppage of the
circulation through air locking.

The superior quality and small diameter of the tubes, and the ready
manner in which they can be bent, makes it the most complete system
extant. The “Acme” apparatus is equally well adapted to old or new
buildings, as it may be introduced without disturbance of existing
arrangements, and does not necessarily require the construction of
trenches or channels, an inconvenience in other systems which often
prevents their adoption. The preliminary expenses in introducing the
“Acme” system are very trifling, and as the circulation does not
depend upon the tubes being laid at an incline, the apparatus is not
unsightly or in the way.

All the difficulties arising from condensation, air stoppage, and
the consequent necessity for attention to valves and air-cocks (as
in other systems) are avoided--so simple, indeed, is the apparatus
that it may safely be left to the care of any ordinary house-servant.
Fixed close to the expansion (or safety) tube is another tube for
supplying the apparatus with water. Beyond the necessity of attending
to the furnace, it is only requisite to see that the tube is supplied
with a proper quantity of water about once a week (when in constant
operation), this, in an ordinary sized apparatus, is about ½ pint.
If this arrangement is not convenient, a small cistern of sufficient
capacity to hold the expanded water can be fixed, inside of which
is placed an expansion and in-take valve. The expansion tube and
the water supply pipe are so arranged that when the water is level
with the top of the filling pipe it is only up to the bottom of
the expansion tube, leaving the whole of the tube empty. It is,
therefore, impossible to fill the tube by pouring water into it,
the expansion tube being always empty when the apparatus is cold.
Before the fire is lit, the apparatus is filled with water, and the
two screw-plugs seal them; as the water rises in the tube, when the
furnace becomes heated, it compresses the air that is left in it, and
so automatically regulates the pressure that no undue strain is put
upon the apparatus.

Instances are known where Acme apparatus have been in use for over 20
years without entailing the least expense for repairs. When erected,
they are tested by hydraulic means to a pressure of 150 atmospheres,
and the valve is regulated to blow off at six atmospheres--it is
manifest that, with proper care, leaks or accidents are of very rare
occurrence. The material throughout being of best wrought iron,
breakage is impossible, even with the roughest usage; hence the
cost of maintenance, often such a heavy item incidental to other
systems, is avoided. With the “Acme” system repairs are practically
nil; further there is no trouble and no sulphurous smells. Where
trouble and expense have been experienced with small pipes, they have
invariably been the result of bad workmanship, or of neglect by the
attendant of the simple instructions given.

The heating surfaces can be regulated to the utmost nicety, and may
be raised to very high temperatures without the formation of steam.
The system is, therefore, specially applicable for drying-closets and
stoves for manufacturing purposes, where great heat is required, and
where systems of hot-air flues are not expedient on account of danger
from fire or damage by noxious vapours. Any degree of temperature up
to 500° F. may be obtained.

In the “Acme” system the ordinary boiler is replaced by a series of
specially constructed tubes, bent in tiers one over the other. The
fire and heat are induced to travel over the whole surface of the
tubes. The temperature of the tubes steadily increases throughout
their entire length; hence great economy of fuel is secured. It is
manifest that the temperature of the smoke, as it passes into the
flue, need only be slightly in excess of the temperature of the
return pipes, say about 190° F., whereas in the ordinary boiler,
where perfectly free circulation is possible, and the temperature
of the water is practically the same throughout, the heat of the
flow-pipes governs that of the chimney. As the practical result, it
may be said that about 90 per cent. of the calorific power of the
fuel consumed is actually taken up and distributed by the heating
surfaces of the “Acme” apparatus. This, as against 40 to 70 per
cent. in the case of hot water, and steam boilers, or of cast-iron
hot water apparatus (low pressure large bore-pipes), is a source
of economy. Another notable source of economy is the remarkably
small amount of fuel necessary to the effective working of the
“Acme” system. The comparison between the two stands as 8 to 1, in
consequence of the difference in the weight of the materials used in
each system to obtain like results.

Buildings warmed by the “Acme” system are more thoroughly under
control than where large pipes are used; the tubes being so small,
contain but little water, consequently are more quickly heated,
causing much greater rapidity of circulation. The temperature can
be easily raised or lowered--automatically if desired--and the heat
maintained for any length of time at pleasure. This is an obvious
advantage in warming conservatories, as the temperature can be
quickly raised when frost suddenly sets in, or lowered without
opening the windows when a thaw commences. The heat of the house
may be maintained at the requisite temperature without attention
during the night, it simply being necessary to make the fire-place
large enough to contain sufficient quantity of fuel, as the damper
regulates the combustion. Where a moist heat is desired, such can
readily be obtained at any given point by placing trays of water
upon the pipes, or on a coil of pipes, thus giving the moisture so
essential to the health of plants.

It has been supposed that the sediment from the water would soon
choke the tubes, but as they are hermetically sealed there is no
evaporation, and the same water being heated over and over again
there is no deposit, and the remote possibility of incrustation
is entirely overcome by using a small quantity of the patent
anti-corrosion and non-freezing liquid.

There are no red lead or luting or perishable rubber joints used in
connecting the pipes, but a perfectly solid metallic contact is made.

In applying the “Acme” apparatus to dwellings the warming pipes can
be placed in any desired position along the skirting, under windows,
coiled and covered by ornamental coil cases of various sizes and
patterns, or pipes sunk beneath the floor in a channel. In the best
rooms the pipes may be covered by iron gratings, of any design, to
suit the other decorations of the building, while in servants’ rooms
they may be placed in front of the skirting boards on suitable iron
stands or brackets.

Fresh air is admitted into each compartment by an opening in the
external wall through an iron box fitted with a valve to regulate the
supply, and warmed by a surrounding coil of pipe. This can be placed
beneath the windows, or when that is not convenient, in any other
desired position, and if desired, may be covered with an ornamental
iron coil case.

Warm water for bath and bedrooms may be drawn as required by having a
cistern attached to the apparatus.


LIGHTING: Gas. Continued from p. 93.

An exceptionally good governor is that introduced by Joseph Shaw,
of Albert Brass Works, Lockwood, Huddersfield, and 41, Hart Street,
New Oxford Street, London, W.C. This is illustrated in Fig. 223. A
searching trial of this governor was made a few months since, by
Thos. Newbigging, Esq., M. Inst. C.E., who reports on it as follows:--

“I have tested the ‘Shaw’ gas governor which you forwarded out of
stock, in the various circumstances under which gas is ordinarily
consumed, and I pronounce it to be a satisfactory and trustworthy
instrument in every respect.

“The pressure of gas in the mains is usually in excess of the average
requirements of consumers, owing to circumstances over which the gas
authorities have no control.

“The lower the pressure at which gas is consumed, the smaller the
consumption and the better the light, provided the pipes and the
pressure are sufficient to admit of the required volume of gas
passing to the burners.

“Regulation by means of a stop tap at the meter, or near to the
burner, is impossible owing to the varying pressures during the hours
of consumption, and hence the need of a regulator or governor which
will adapt itself automatically to the changing conditions.

“Shaw’s governor performs that function with certainty and constancy.

“With a series of ordinary burners, regulated by the ‘Shaw’ governor
the consumption of gas per hour was 28 cubic feet, and each one gave
an illuminating power equal to 15·25 standard sperm candles; whereas
with the same burners, consuming the same gas, but ungoverned,
the consumption was 33·8 cubic feet per hour, and each gave an
illuminating power of 13·7 standard candles.

“The governed burners were then extinguished one by one, and the
consumption and illuminating power remained constant.

“The saving in gas by the application of the ‘Shaw’ governor was
therefore 17·16 per cent., whilst the illuminating power of the gas
was increased 11·31 per cent.

“These results need no comment, as they speak for themselves.

[Illustration: 223. Shaw Governor.]

“The governor may be said to be practically indestructible under
ordinary good usage, and the ease with which the working parts can be
reached for cleaning when required, without detaching the instrument
from its position, is an important recommendation, and adds to its
value.”

Subjoined is a copy of the gas account of the Salford Union
Workhouse:--

                              £ _s.  d._
  March quarter, 1889        127  8  11
    ”     ”      1890         75  2   1
                             ----------
                             £52  6  10

This saving in three months was effected by the use of Shaw’s
governors, which cost 33_l._, and will continue to produce a similar
economy indefinitely.

PRICE LIST, INCLUDING LOCK AND KEY.

                                             Brass Union
                                             Connections,
                                               per pair.

                                 £ _s. d._     £ _s. d._
  No. 1.--For ½ inch  ce pipe    1  15  0      0   2  0
   ”  2.-- ”  ¾   ”     ”        2  15  0      0   3  0
   ”  3.-- ”  1   ”     ”        3  15  0      0   4  0
   ”  4.-- ”  1¼  ”     ”        5   0  0      0   7  6
   ”  5.-- ”  1½  ”     ”        6   0  0      0   9  0
   ”  7.-- ”  2   ”     ”        8   0  0      0  17  0
   ”  8.-- ”  2½  ”     ”       11   0  0  }  These sizes
   ”  9.-- ”  3   ”     ”       13  10  0  }  are cast
   ” 10.-- ”  4   ”     ”       17  10  0  }  with flanges.

[Illustration: 224. Shaw’s Reflector.]

Another economizer of light is the Shaw self-cleaning reflector,
made by the same firm. It consumes its own smoke, is easily fixed to
present gas fittings, and is simple, efficient, durable, and cheap.
It is shown in Fig. 224 in its plainest, simplest form. Many other
more elaborate designs are made in ornamental wrought ironwork and
enamelled ware.

[Illustration: 225. Müller’s “Alpha” Gas-maker.]

Fig. 225 illustrates the most convenient and useful plant adapted to
the home manufacture of illuminating gas, known as the “Alpha.” It
is constructed by the patentee, H. L. Müller, of Mary Ann St., St.
Paul’s Square, Birmingham, and has recently had some improvements
added. The process of gas making by this plant consists simply in
combining atmospheric air with a light hydro-carbon in a state of
vapour. There are many available forms of such light hydro-carbon
derived from mineral oils, shales, and coal tar. When air is charged
with such vapours it forms a mixture that can be ignited and burned.
But the most successful results cannot be attained without certain
important conditions are fulfilled, which are carefully provided
for in Müller’s apparatus. In many respects the illuminating agent
thus produced is superior to coal gas. Its cost is certainly no
greater, and in some instances considerably less; the supply can
be placed under control, instead of being liable to interruption
through strikes and other causes; the light is bright and pleasant;
and the vapour being pure is much less unwholesome to breathe, less
unpleasant to smell, and less injurious to furniture, pictures, &c.
The object of Müller and Adkin’s recent improvements is to completely
control the flame, preventing any sudden increase above the normal,
when fresh supplies of hydro-carbon are furnished to the apparatus.
This is accomplished by a self-acting feed-box, which enables the
reservoir to be replenished whilst the apparatus is in use, without
in any way interfering with the lights which are burning. The system
is being largely adopted in mansions and rural districts, where coal
gas is not obtainable or is very dear, and can successfully compete
with coal gas, even in localities where it is cheap. An additional
advantage it possesses is that it furnishes a most convenient motive
power for pumping, chaff-cutting, and the numerous other operations
conducted in a country house.

_Sugg’s Specialities._--In all matters relating to the use of coal
gas in the house, whether for lighting, warming, or cooking purposes,
the name of Sugg stands pre-eminent. To attempt to illustrate or
describe all the appliances introduced by him, and sold by William
Sugg & Co., Limited, Grand Hotel Buildings, Charing Cross, London,
would require the space of a good-sized volume; even then it would
not do justice to the inventor, because it could not include new
things which are continually being perfected under his direction.
This is especially the case with regard to gas burners, globes, and
governors, of which hundreds of forms and designs can be seen at
the show-rooms, all possessing some special quality of usefulness
or ornament. Instead, therefore, of selecting a few examples for
illustration, which would very inadequately represent the subject,
it will be more just to recommend every user of gas to procure
Sugg’s catalogue, and observe for himself those articles which best
furnish his needs, not forgetting that the advice to be obtained from
the maker is the result of a unique experience and long study, and
therefore well worth taking to heart.


LIGHTING: Electric. Continued from p. 95.

During the past few years the manufacture of incandescent lamps
has been developing rapidly, numerous improvements having been
introduced, and by the use of high class of photometrical instruments
in the examining rooms, the exact light-giving power of each lamp in
standard candles is registered, the ordinary sizes being 5, 8, 12,
16, 25, 30, and 50, those of higher power being only suitable for
halls, ball-rooms, &c. The manufacture in this country is, owing to
patent monopolies, confined to two types, the Edison-Swan and the
Woodhouse and Rawson, the difference between which is chiefly in the
shape of the carbon. In the former, the carbon has a loop in it; in
the latter, it is like a plain horse-shoe. In both cases the price is
3_s._ 6_d._ each for all sizes up to and including 30 candle power,
but the Woodhouse and Rawson lamps consume less current for an equal
amount of light, while the length of life is phenomenal, in one
instance being close on 11,000 hours.

It is a very good plan to use the Trotter dioptric shades, in which
the light is subdivided by numerous prisms, without any appreciable
loss.

Formerly switches, to turn the lamps on and off, were a great
source of trouble, being as a rule cheap and nasty. They are now,
however, made of superior quality, being thoroughly mounted on
either porcelain or slate, with ornamental covers harmonising with
the wall of the room, fitted with spring arrangements preventing any
sparking from taking place when turning the switch off, the brake
being practically instantaneous. Those called the “W. & R. Diamond,”
can be safely recommended as fulfilling all the requirements of the
Fire Insurance Office rules. Various sizes are of course made, from
a small switch to turn on one light to others to turn on say all the
lights in a room, and large main switches which are used below in the
engine-room for turning on as many as 500 lights. One great advantage
is that the switch can if necessary be fixed outside the door of the
room, so that the light can be turned on before entering.

Small switches are also made somewhat similar in design to a gas
tap, for fixing just above the lamp and shade, and these are very
convenient as supplementary switches to the main switch outside the
door of the room; they cannot, however, be used for more than one
light at a time.

Small independent cut-outs should be used in connection with
each individual lamp or group of lamps, in order to add as much
as possible to the security of the house. In addition to this, a
magnetic cut-out should be fixed in the main circuit, by means of
which the whole of the light would be automatically switched off,
in the event of any dangerous excess of current passing through the
wires. The cut-outs are as a rule so cheap and effective, that there
is no real excuse for neglecting to use them, and under the rules
of the Phœnix Fire Office, which are those chiefly worked to by the
installation contractors, they have to be fixed in every circuit.

In confirmation of the above, we cannot do better than quote the
following extract from the rules of the Phœnix Fire Office:--

“Any firm, by arranging to place inferior quality of work in your
premises, can easily underprice firms that are more conscientious;
and experience proves that inferior work is nearly certain to result
in a fire breaking out sooner or later.”


THIEVES AND FIRE. Continued from p. 110.

Shut all doors and windows immediately; every effort must be made
to exclude air. By this means fire may be confined to a single room
for a sufficient period to enable all the inmates to be aroused and
escape; but if the doors and windows are thrown open, the draught
will instantly cause the flames to increase. Moments are precious
at the commencement of a fire, and not a second should be lost in
tackling it. In a room a table-cloth can be so used as to smother a
large sheet of flame, and a cushion, coat, or anything similar may
be successfully used to beat it out. The great point is presence of
mind--calmness in danger--action guided by reason and thought. In
large houses buckets of water should be placed on each landing, a
little salt or ammonia being mixed with the water. Always endeavour
to attack the seat of a fire; if you cannot extinguish a fire, be
sure to shut the door when making good your retreat. Make your way
through smoke on hands and knees, keeping your face down as much
as possible. A wet silk handkerchief tied over the eyes and nose
will make breathing possible even in the midst of much smoke, and a
blanket wetted and wrapped around the body will enable a person to
pass through a sheet of flames in comparative safety.

For a chimney on fire.--Burn a handful of sulphur in the grate.

Burns.--In a serious burn, the clothes must be removed as soon as
possible. If not already thoroughly wet, the injured part should be
drenched with water, and the clothes cut away. Everything must be
sacrificed to getting them off without pulling, as the slightest
dragging will lacerate the skin. If patches of the clothing adhere
and will not drop off they must be allowed to remain. Dip cloths in
a thick paste of common baking soda and water, and lay them over
the burnt surface, bandaging lightly to exclude the air. As soon
as a dry spot appears on this dressing, wet it with the soda and
water by squeezing some on it. There will be no smarting while it is
saturated and the air excluded. If the feet are cold, heat should be
applied. If the pulse is weak, give a little stimulant, and send for
a doctor. Pain is a good sign in severe burns; it shows that there
is still vitality. For slight burns, any oil is good (salad oil for
preference); apply plentifully, and bandage to keep the cold out.


THE DAIRY. Continued from p. 167.

Bradford’s (Bradford & Co., 140, 141, 142, and 143, High Holborn,
London; Salford, Manchester, and Liverpool) revolving-disc milk-pan
stands are simple, substantial, portable, and utilise space, as they
can be placed in line or in square--the revolving discs or tables
allow of skimming each pan without moving from one position--being
portable, they can be placed in the most desirable position for
ventilation, and for thorough cleansing of the milkhouse walls, which
fixed shelves do not admit of. Made to hold six pans. Larger sizes to
order. Price (in iron) 2_l._ 2_s._; (in wood) 3_l._ 3_s._

The most satisfactory milk cooler is the capillary pattern, which is
made in all sizes by Laurence, Bradford & Co.

Bradford’s “post-diaphragm” churn, and the same maker’s “Charlemont
diaphragm” churn, have gained many first prizes, and are to be
recommended.

The “Arch-Albany” butter worker, with helical roller, is also made by
Bradford’s in all sizes to suit large or small dairies. It gained a
silver medal at the R.A.S. Show at Plymouth, 1890.

The following additional books of reference deserve notice:--

J. Long: ‘British Dairy Farming.’ London. 1885.

H. M. Upton: ‘Profitable Dairy Farming.’ London. 1888. 2_s._

C. R. Valentine: ‘Butter-making.’ London. 1889. 1_s._

J. P. Sheldon: ‘The Farm and the Dairy.’ London. 1889. 2_s._ 6_d._

J. Long: ‘The Dairy Farm.’ London. 1889.


THE PANTRY: Ovens and Bakings. Continued from p. 208.

There are several different systems of baking bread in the market,
mostly with steam ovens, which are generally acknowledged to be
superior to the ordinary bakers’ bread. It, however, will be found,
by the examination of a loaf made and baked by the aid of gas, that
this system is a great improvement over the best hitherto introduced.
Moreover, the method is so simple that success is brought within
reach of all who use a well-constructed gas kitchener.

In the preparation of bread by the usually adopted methods, the dough
is allowed to rise in a warm place, and after being cut into loaves,
is at once placed in an oven and heated up to its highest point,
viz., 500°-600° F. In the case of bread made by the new method, the
dough, which is leavened as usual with brewers’ or German dried
yeast, is allowed to stand in a warm place and rise in the ordinary
way. But after it is cut into loaves, it is treated in a manner
diametrically opposite to that described above, for it is at once put
into a cold gas oven, and the gas jets are lighted only sufficiently
to produce a gradually increasing heat, not greater than 80° F. at
the end of one hour, during which the loaves are left in the oven to
rise.

The scientific explanation of the operation which is going on during
this period is this. The yeast plant which grows and ramifies all
through the bread has full time to do its work and make it light
and open, and the plant is not killed until it has fully done its
work. A smaller quantity of yeast will do the work of a larger
quantity usually required because the comparatively low and regular
temperature of the gas stove is favourable to its proper development
throughout the bread. When the loaves have well-risen, the heat of
the oven is gradually increased by turning on the gas. The yeast
plant dies after about 90° F. is reached. The cooking then goes
on, the heat steadily increasing until it reaches in about ¾ hour
a temperature of 480°-500° F. The bread is by this time thoroughly
cooked and beautifully browned, with a nice equal thickness of crust.
During all this process no steam accumulates in the oven, which is
Sugg’s “Westminster” (see p. 1004), as the luminous flames supply a
sharp dry heat and the ventilation is thorough. After the loaves are
done they are taken out of the tins, and after the gas is turned out
they are restored to the oven for 10 minutes to dry. They are then
ready for use, and can be eaten as soon as they are cold. They will
be found to be easily digestible even by invalids or persons of weak
digestion.

The process has been seen and approved of by Dr. Charles, lecturer at
St. Thomas’s Hospital, who moreover stated at his lectures on Food
and Digestion, recently delivered at Westminster Town Hall, that it
was a process which would produce good and thoroughly digestible
bread. It is only by the use of gas that such a process of gradually
heating the oven can be carried out, but the simple method here
described enables every housekeeper, by the aid of gas, to produce
bread and pastry which will be light and thoroughly digestible. The
cost of gas to bake eight 1¼ lb. loaves is under ¾_d._

For some time past, the baking of bread by this process has been
carried on in the window of Sugg’s show-room, Grand Hotel Buildings,
Charing Cross. The dough is prepared by young girls at the Works in
Regency Street, and then baked in a “Westminster” oven, fitted with
a glass door, so that the bread is visible during the whole time of
baking. The loaves weigh 1¼ lb. each when put into the oven, and only
slightly less when taken out perfectly cooked.


THE KITCHEN: Ranges. Continued from p. 235.

Even in the best appointed kitchen the problem will often arise, how
to obtain on the instant a small quantity of fresh boiling water.
Many inventions have been devised to meet this constantly recurring
want, such as quick-boiling kettles with ingeniously constructed
bottoms, and powerful gas burners arranged to concentrate a large
amount of flame upon the ingenious kettle-bottoms. But usually it
is found in practice, that, no matter with what waste of gas, it is
several minutes before even so small a quantity of water as is needed
to make a cup of tea can be raised from cold to boiling. Hence it
happens that tea and other things are frequently spoiled from being
made either with water which has not boiled at all, or with water
which boiled long before it was wanted. Many will therefore be glad
to hear of a little instrument sold by Ewart and Son, of Euston Road,
which they call the “Kitchen Geyser.” The water does not remain in
the geyser, but merely flows through it and _is boiled as it flows_.
At first lighting, a few seconds are lost in warming the copper of
which the geyser is made. And so a single minute (not longer) has to
be allowed before the stream of water actually reaches boiling point.
It then flows at the rate of a pint per minute, so that it takes in
all just two minutes to produce the first pint of boiling water.
After this, however, the metal is kept hot by the minute flame which
is left burning when the water is stopped. A second pint of boiling
water can thus be had in a _single minute_ whenever afterwards
required, until the gas is finally turned off. The saving of time,
fuel, and temper effected by this little instrument will be found to
make it quite indispensable where it has once been tried.

[Illustration: 226. Sugg’s “Westminster” Gas Kitchener.]

Sugg’s “Westminster” gas kitcheners (Fig. 226) possess the following
advantages:--(1) Thoroughly ventilated cooking chamber, lined with
enamelled iron, suitable for roasting joints and poultry, and baking
bread and light pastry. (2) The luminous flames used in this chamber
give off no offensive odour. The products of combustion are as
harmless as those from an ordinary gas burner. (3) The flavour of
meat, game, &c., is preserved, as they are roasted by radiant heat in
a well-ventilated chamber as perfectly as they would be before a good
bright fire. (4) The juices of the meat are retained in the joint,
making it more nourishing than when roasted in any other way. (5) The
waste of meat by cooking is much less than that incurred by roasting
in coal kitcheners and imperfectly ventilated ovens. The saving in
weight of meat thus secured will more than pay for the gas. (6) For
baking bread and pastry it is unrivalled. Many persons are unable to
eat bread and pastry baked in coal and other imperfectly ventilated
ovens because it is indigestible. The bread baked in this kitchener
is equal to the best Parisian bread, light and easily digestible, and
can be eaten on the same day as baked without danger of indigestion.
Pastry, when properly made, and baked in this kitchener, is wholesome
and very digestible. (7) The hot plate is fitted with three
burners--one of which is both a grilling and boiling burner. Toast,
chops, steaks, or any kind of grilled food can be prepared in a very
perfect manner by this grilling burner. (8) Properly made toast and
grilled meat is so important to invalids and persons of delicate
appetite, and even for more robust constitutions, that the advantages
of a kitchener on which can be prepared successfully such kinds of
food, cannot be over-estimated. (9) The “Westminster” kitchener is
simple and easy to use. It is substantially made and durable. Every
part being marked, it can be taken to pieces and put together easily.
Any part being broken can be replaced with greatest facility. The
outside of the oven under the boiling burners is now also enamelled,
greatly adding to its durability, appearance, and cleanliness.

The “Eagle range” (Eagle Range and Foundry Co., 176, Regent Street,
London), Fig. 70, is made in all sizes from 2 ft. to 10 ft., either
portable or for fixing (to meet all requirements), with 1 to 4 ovens,
with or without hot closets (for keeping joints, &c., hot for serving
or cutting), or with grill attached for business houses. This range
has the following advantages, viz. an adjustable bottom grating to
the fire-box, by means of which the fire can be brought up close
to the hot plate for oven work, &c., or the bottom grating can be
lowered to give a large surface for roasting in front; a convertible
closed or open fire (the conversion needing 2 movements only); a
reversing damper fitted to one (or both) of the ovens, by means of
which the flame can be directed to give an excess heat at the bottom
or at the top of the oven as desired; iron flues, requiring no brick
setting, automatic cinder sifter, &c.

These and all ranges that have iron coving plates at sides and back
above the hot plate, can be covered with glazed tiles (either plain
white or pattern), which is of great convenience in dark kitchens,
and to be recommended for cleanliness and good appearance. It will
be well understood that any of the ranges mentioned can be fitted
with any description of boiler required, but the power of the boilers
differs considerably in the different makes. The above-mentioned firm
make a speciality of hot water supply.


THE KITCHEN: Pots and Pans. Continued from p. 240.

_Stanley’s Heat Conductors._--Flesh is known to be a very bad
conductor of heat; therefore the perfect cooking of the inside of
joints by the ordinary culinary methods involves the excessive
cooking of the outside, with corresponding loss of the nutritious
juices of the meat.

The object of this invention is to provide means by which the
interior parts may be cooking simultaneously with the outer parts.
This is effected by plated conductors which conduct the exterior
surrounding heat to the interior parts. The advantage in this cannot
be over-estimated, as the quicker the heat can be conveyed to the
middle of the joint, so much more can its gravy and nutriment be
preserved, thereby rendering the food much more palatable and
wholesome, besides saving time, fuel, and food to a great extent.

The scientific principle of these conductors depends upon the fact
that a piece of metal, such as copper, which is a good conductor of
heat, will conduct heat nearly equally throughout its mass, whatever
part is heated. Thus, if a properly constructed conductor so exposed
to a source of heat, as that of an open fire, or in an oven, or in
boiling water, the other part which is placed within the joint of
meat to be cooked, will become heated nearly equally to the exposed
part, so that, in cooking, these conductors, when placed in a joint
of meat, cook the interior as quickly as the exterior parts. The only
other important scientific condition observed is that the exposed
part or collector of the conductor has to be a dark colour, so as to
absorb and not reflect the surrounding heat. In all cases the copper
is thickly plated to render it quite unobjectionable when in contact
with the flesh.

[Illustration: 228. Heat-Conducting Cake or Bread Tin. 229. Heat
Conductors for Joints. Stanley’s Heat Conductors.]

Fig. 229 represents the simple forms of conductors. The form A is for
roasting or baking, for which purpose one or two, or even three or
more if the joint is very large, are inserted into the thickest parts
of any joint, the heads standing out an inch or so.

For roasting before a brisk fire, or baking in an oven, thick joints
of over 6 lb., 10 minutes per lb. is amply sufficient time, instead
of the usual time (15 minutes per lb.) The meat will be thoroughly
cooked in this time, and the gravy and nourishment maintained. The
joint will weigh, after cooking, 10 per cent. more than it would if
cooked in the ordinary manner without conductors. This fact has been
proved by the highest authorities.

Fig. 228 shows a heat-conducting cake or bread baking tin. They can
be had of H. T. Tallack, 28, Hatton Garden, E.C.


THE SICKROOM: Accessories. Continued from p. 765.

W. H. Harling’s (47, Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C.) Portable
Electric Combination Bell is a unique invention combining a table
call bell, invalids’ bell set, burglar alarm and fire alarm, and for
usefulness, compactness, and finish, far surpasses anything of the
sort hitherto introduced. The distinct advantage of the portable
combination bell will at once be seen when it is stated that the
whole apparatus, including battery, and all other parts complete,
occupies no greater space than 3½ in., and as the battery contains
no fluid, the bell can be safely packed in portmanteau or travelling
bag. It is both useful and ornamental, and will be found a great
convenience on any dining table. For use in hotels and restaurants it
may combine a bell with menu and wine list holder. As an invalids’
bell set, the bell may be placed outside the room, so as not to annoy
the patient, and the contact press remaining inside, the attendant
may be summoned by slightly pressing it with the fingers. As a
burglar alarm and thief detector, on fixing the contact press to door
or window, box or portmanteau lids, drawers, cabinets, &c., these on
being opened will immediately start the alarm, which will continue
to ring until the press is re-set. This feature of the bell is
invaluable to tourists and travellers, and affords ample protection
against surprise or robbery. As a fire alarm it can be adjusted to
ring at any degree above the normal temperature, and will at once
give the alarm should a fire break out in any room in which it is
placed. The price complete is 21s.

Harling’s Patent Double Contact Press, for attachment to Electric
Bell Fittings, can be fixed in a few seconds to any ordinary push,
and be used as an Invalid’s Press enabling the patient to call
attention without rising from bed or chair; or be applied to door,
window, box-lid, cabinet, &c., for the detection of Thieves and
Burglars. Its price, with 15 ft. double silk cord, is 3_s._ 9_d._


THE SICKROOM: Common Complaints. Continued from p. 809.

_Defective Sight._--The human eye is generally compared physically
with a photographic camera, in which a convex lens throws the image
of objects in front of it upon a screen at the position at which
the photograph is taken. The front of the eye possesses a lens of
similar qualities, and the back of the eye forms a screen upon which
a fine net-work of nerves (_retina_) is spread out, which conveys by
its sensitiveness to light, shade, and colour, the image of objects
to the brain. Defective sight in most instances is caused by the
imperfect form of the lens of the eye, or the want of its perfect
adjustment to distance from the retina, thus failing to throw a
distinct image upon it.

The most common defects of the eye are termed _Myopia_ or
_near-sightedness_, in which the image of objects is thrown in front
of the retina, and _Presbyopia_, literally _old-sightedness_ or
_far-sightedness_, in which the image is thrown behind the retina.
The former is a structural defect of the eye, the latter more
generally proceeds from want of elasticity in the lens, making it
incapable of giving adjustment to the eye for near objects. Another
very common defect of the eye is want of roundness of the front of
the eye, or _Astigmatism_, in which the images are distorted in
various ways. This defect is generally easily discovered by vertical
objects appearing to be curved or leaning one way or the other. Very
commonly sight is defective from difference of structure in the
two eyes. These defects are very common to children, and interfere
seriously with their learning, and often produce squint, as an effort
of nature to avoid the painful confusion of images that are produced.
When discovered it is well to consult a skilled optician as early as
possible, who will, if necessary, recommend an oculist if the case
requires one. All the defects mentioned above are remediable by use
of spectacles if the constitution of the individual is healthy.

_Spectacles._--To preserve the sight where it is found to be
defective, it is not only necessary that the lenses should be exactly
adapted to the defects of each eye taken separately, but that the
distance of the centres of spectacle eyes should be exactly the
same as that of the wearer’s eyes, and that they should be held at
the right height to centre the eyes. Further, that they should fit
the nose and face so as to keep them in a level position. Of course
for this result the spectacles must be made to measurement by the
skilled optician to fit the face. The optical defects are discovered
for perfect correction for myopia and presbyopia by means of an
instrument termed an _optometer_, which every professional optician
possesses. There can scarcely be a greater mistake than picking up a
pair of spectacles of a friend, or of an ordinary shopkeeper, who has
no skill or appliances to properly test the sight. This is very often
done, and spectacles are taken in use which appear to improve the
sight slightly, but which ultimately increase optical defects.

_Folding Glasses_ are often used in place of spectacles for elegance
of appearance. No oculist recommends them, as from their weak
structure it is impossible for them to be kept to correct form in
wear. Mr. Stanley, whose advertisement appears in these pages, has
invented a form of hand-glass, which is quite as light and elegant as
the folding glass, which has the merit of keeping in a rigid form as
certainly as ordinary spectacles. These for the best results have to
be made to measure with all the care of a good pair of spectacles.

_Protectors._--These protect weak eyes from excess of light, which
is often very irritating, and from dust, which is injurious where
there is any soreness. There are a great number of forms. Blue or
smoky-grey is generally found to be most pleasant. In all cases
these protectors should be well ventilated by wire gauze round the
glass. They take many forms, to the fancy of the wearer. Their use
should never be neglected by persons with weak eyes in sunny or
dusty weather. The cheapest form have rubber bands attached to them
so as to go round the head; these cannot be recommended, the rubber
becomes permanently soft from the heat of the head. Steel frames are
recommended.


DOMESTIC MOTORS. Continued from p. 954.

_Rider’s Household Pumping Engine._--Since our last edition was
published a great improvement in these engines has been introduced
by the makers. It consists in forming the furnace or fire-box in two
parts, in such a manner that it can be swung apart, as shown in Fig.
218. The fire-pot or heater, which, being exposed to the fire, is
naturally the most vulnerable part, can be replaced in a couple of
hours, and the whole closed up ready for use as in Fig. 217. This
improvement is the subject of a patent by J. C. R. Okes, 39, Queen
Victoria Street.

The “Rider” Hot Air Engine has been before the public for many years,
and is a thoroughly reliable machine, increasing in favour. It has
been adopted by the Government for barrack water supply; by the
Sultan of Turkey for his palaces, and is largely used in Australia,
India, and other countries, besides in our own, where hundreds are in
constant use.


THE BATHROOM. Continued from p. 847.

A well-made geyser is a great comfort. In that named the “Lightning”
Geyser, made by Messrs. Ewart and Son, of Euston Road, London, not
only is hot water obtained instantly at any time, but by reducing
the quantity the temperature can be raised to boiling in a single
minute. The taps are so arranged that whenever the flow of water
ceases from any cause, the gas is instantly reduced, so that the
geyser cannot be burnt, and the gas cannot be wasted. The advantages
over the circulating system are that the installation is less costly,
that a fire in the kitchen is not needed in order to have a hot bath,
that boiling water for hot drinks can be had in a single minute, and
hot water for bathing instantly at any hour of the night as well as
during the day.

Messrs. Reid’s (69, St. Mary Axe, London) combined baths and fittings
deserve special mention. By recent improvements these baths are
practically self fixing; there is no cutting away of woodwork, the
bath having only to be placed in position and the supply and waste
pipes connected to the unions sent with same. These baths can be
supplied for fixing with the usual casing, or decorated in any style
to stand entirely without enclosure of any kind. Particulars of some
of the above firm’s manufactures may be found on p. 989.

Now that the Great Eastern Railway Co. are delivering Lowestoft
Sea Water in kegs at any address in London at the rate of 6_d._
per 3 gal. it becomes possible to have a genuine salt water bath
at a reasonable cost. Even greater facilities than these will be
obtained should the proposed aqueduct from Brighton ever become an
accomplished fact. Sugg’s “Sabrina” Bath has been designed to enable
the salt water to be heated to any temperature. The bottom of the
bath consists of circulating tubes sufficiently large to be cleaned
out from time to time by means of a wire brush, and thus prevent
them from becoming choked by a deposit of salt. The bath should be
connected to a flue or a ventilating tube carried through to the
outside of bath-room. A burner consisting of a number of luminous
flames fixed on a swivel joint swings into its place under the bath.
When the salt water has been poured into the bath, the burner is
lighted, and the water in the tubes becoming hot rises to the top
and is continually displaced by the colder water in the tubes. The
circulation thus set up continues freely until the water is heated to
the required temperature. Before getting into the bath, care should
be taken to see that the temperature of the water is suitable, and
the burners turned out. Salt water treated in this way may be used
several times.

[Illustration: 230. Boiling Stream Therma.]

The “Boiling Stream Therma” is an improvement on the Therma patented
by Vernon Harcourt in 1882; and by its means a constant supply of
water, heated by gas to any degree up to boiling point, may be
obtained economically and in the shortest possible time. It can be
fixed in a bath-room, kitchen, housemaid’s closet, or any part of a
house where hot water may be required at any moment of the day or
night. It entirely supersedes the expensive and troublesome hot-water
apparatus usually laid on through pipes from the kitchen boiler; and
also obviates the necessity of lighting the kitchen fire expressly to
prepare hot water. It will furnish 30 gals. of hot water at 105° F.
in 15 minutes. It is made by Sugg, Charing Cross.

Sugg’s “Sultan” is a modification of one of Ellis’s bath chambers,
fitted with luminous gas flames, governed by a proper regulator,
so that no excessive consumption beyond what is required can be
produced by any sudden increase of pressure during the time a bath
is being taken. The regulating tap enables the bather to reduce the
temperature to any degree; the governor maintains the consumption,
and consequently the temperature, at the point fixed upon, and
ensures that no greater temperature than 200° F. can be produced,
even though the regulating tap is turned full on. The foot-warmer is
arranged to be heated by gas instead of being filled with hot water,
so that a bath can be taken in the early morning, when there is
generally no hot water ready. By placing a small vessel of water over
the burner, a sufficient quantity of steam can be produced to make
a very effective Russian vapour bath. No disagreeable odour comes
from this bath, and there are no hurtful products other than carbonic
acid in too small a quantity to be injurious. It can, therefore, be
used in any bath-room or even in a bedroom without the slightest
interference with comfort or health.




INDEX TO SUPPLEMENT.


  Acme Heating, 996

  ---- ventilating, 991


  Baking Bread, 1003

  Baths, 1008

  Boiling stream therma, 1009

  Bradford’s churns, 1002

  Bread baking, 1003

  Burns, 1002


  Cadogan Gas Fires, 995

  Churns, 1002


  Dairy, 1002

  Deards’s coils, 995


  Eagle Range, 993

  Electric lighting, 1001

  Ewart’s geyser, 1004, 1008


  Fires, 1002


  Gas Fires, 994

  ---- governors, 998

  ---- maker, 1000

  Geyser, 1004


  Harling’s Sickroom Bell, 1006


  Kitchen Ranges, 1004


  Lightning Geyser, 1008


  Motors, 1003


  Pantry, 1003

  Parson’s grate, 993


  Reflectors, 1000

  Reid’s baths, 1008

  ---- water closets, 991

  Rider’s pumping engine, 1008

  Roasting, 1005


  Shaw’s Governors, 998

  ---- reflectors, 1000

  Sickroom bell, 1006

  Sight, defective, 1007

  Spectacles, 1007

  Stanley’s heat conductors, 1005

  Strode’s gas fires, 995

  Sugg’s gas fires, 994

  ---- specialities, 1001

  ---- ventilators, 992

  Sultan Bath, 1009


  Ventilation, 991


  Water Closets, 991

  Westminster kitchener, 1004


LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET
AND CHARING CROSS.


FOOTNOTES:

[1] W. K. Burton, ‘Sanitary Inspection of Houses.’

[2] Cantor Lectures on Food.

[3] Look it out in the dictionary.




  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

  Some Illustrations have been moved up or down a paragraph. A few were
  printed sideways and have been rotated to be horizontal.

  There are several references to ‘advertisements’ at the front of the
  book. These are missing in this edition of the book.

  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
  the text and consultation of external sources.

  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained: for example,
  breadcrumbs, bread crumbs; carcase, carcass; macaroni, maccaroni;
  cornflour, corn-flour, corn flour; imbedded; intrusted; smoulder.

  Pg 28: missing number ‘13’ added to the Illustration caption.
  Pg 80: ‘below the evel’ replaced by ‘below the level’.
  Pg 81: ‘When the hea tis’ replaced by ‘When the heat is’.
  Pg 115: missing label ‘(_b_)’ inserted before the heading ‘Storing
          Foods without Change’.
  Pg 124: ‘smoking goes no’ replaced by ‘smoking goes on’.
  Pg 124: ‘valve iu it’ replaced by ‘valve in it’.
  Pg 126: ‘family receipe:’ replaced by ‘family recipe:’.
  Pg 135: ‘will no spoil’ replaced by ‘will not spoil’.
  Pg 150: ‘the garted rind’ replaced by ‘the grated rind’.
  Pg 159: ‘lbs. of fresh butter’ replaced by ‘lb. of fresh butter’.
  Pg 201: ‘than take 3’ replaced by ‘then take 3’.
  Pg 207: ‘it looks spongey’ replaced by ‘it looks spongy’.
  Pg 216: for space and readability the italic styling of the currencies
          in the table heading has been removed (eg 10s.6d. instead
          of 10_s._6_d._)
  Pg 217: the paragraph beginning ‘(_c_) Take shape ...’ seems to be in
          the wrong place. The right place is unclear so it has not been
          moved or changed.
  Pg 238: ‘chance may befal’ replaced by ‘chance may befall’.
  Pg 238: ‘slides sloping iu’ replaced by ‘sides sloping in’.
  Pg 265: ‘Add enough soap’ replaced by ‘Add enough soup’.
  Pg 272: ‘oil, vingar’ replaced by ‘oil, vinegar’.
  Pg 279: ‘some large ells’ replaced by ‘some large eels’.
  Pg 294: ‘an earthern strainer’ replaced by ‘an earthen strainer’.
  Pg 297: ‘then scape away’ replaced by ‘then scrape away’.
  Pg 306: ‘importance is raised here’ replaced by ‘importance raised
          here’.
  Pg 310: ‘slices fat bacon’ replaced by ‘slices of fat bacon’.
  Pg 315: three instances of ‘gridion’ replaced by ‘gridiron’.
  Pg 319: ‘with any purree’ replaced by ‘with any purée’.
  Pg 319: ‘in the cleanisng’ replaced by ‘in the cleansing’.
  Pg 326: ‘vension fashion’ replaced by ‘venison fashion’.
  Pg 327: ‘lay then in cold’ replaced by ‘lay them in cold’.
  Pg 328: ‘red current jelly’ replaced by ‘red currant jelly’.
  Pg 332: ‘if nearly cut’ replaced by ‘if neatly cut’.
  Pg 332: ‘pair off all’ replaced by ‘pare off all’.
  Pg 345: ‘game _pourée_’ replaced by ‘game _purée_’.
  Pg 351: ‘a litle grated lemon’ replaced by ‘a little grated lemon’.
  Pg 351: ‘with 3 teaspoonsfuls’ replaced by ‘with 3 teaspoonfuls’.
  Pg 357: ‘Joint the hair’ replaced by ‘Joint the hare’.
  Pg 358: ‘red current jelly’ replaced by ‘red currant jelly’.
  Pg 359: ‘they then got more thoroughly basted then when’ replaced
  by ‘they then get more thoroughly basted than when’.
  Pg 368: ‘powered sweet herbs’ replaced by ‘powdered sweet herbs’.
  Pg 369: ‘buying vension’ replaced by ‘buying venison’.
  Pg 376: ‘it is a yulp’ replaced by ‘it is a pulp’.
  Pg 400: ‘begins to thickens’ replaced by ‘begins to thicken’.
  Pg 402: ‘4 oz. spong cake’ replaced by ‘4 oz. sponge cake’.
  Pg 402: ‘The weight when baked ...’ These two sentences have been
          muddled by the printer and do not make sense as printed. No
          change has been made.
  Pg 418: ‘noyeau or curacoa’ replaced by ‘noyeau or curaçao’.
  Pg 424: ‘all these togther’ replaced by ‘all these together’.
  Pg 431: ‘soaked in little’ replaced by ‘soaked in a little’.
  Pg 448: ‘slices or Gruyère’ replaced by ‘slices of Gruyère’.
  Pg 453: ‘be cut a littlo’ replaced by ‘be cut a little’.
  Pg 460: ‘and a spoonfull’ replaced by ‘and a spoonful’.
  Pg 464: ‘cardomom seeds’ replaced by ‘cardamom seeds’.
  Pg 480: ‘alcohol or 20’ replaced by ‘alcohol for 20’.
  Pg 494: ‘and and a good’ replaced by ‘and a good’.
  Pg 507: ‘any superflous fat’ replaced by ‘any superfluous fat’.
  Pg 562: ‘grisons, weasles, genets’ replaced by ‘grisons, weasels,
          genets’.
  Pg 564: ‘course or tough’ replaced by ‘coarse or tough’.
  Pg 572: ‘Johannisberg’ replaced by ‘Johannesberg’.
  Pg 602: ‘If therebe not’ replaced by ‘If there be not’.
  Pg 630: ‘upon his aquaintance’ replaced by ‘upon his acquaintance’.
  Pg 640: ‘Pinapple toast’ replaced by ‘Pineapple toast’.
  Pg 641: ‘Pinapple jelly’ replaced by ‘Pineapple jelly’.
  Pg 675: ‘the allusion was’ replaced by ‘the illusion was’.
  Pg 686: ‘In pantomine and’ replaced by ‘In pantomime and’.
  Pg 698: the total ‘380’ which perhaps should be ‘470’ has been left
          unchanged.
  Pg 704: ‘and not dose’ replaced by ‘and not doze’.
  Pg 704: ‘sleep in a state’ replaced by ‘sleep is a state’.
  Pg 707: ‘nox vomica’ replaced by ‘nux vomica’.
  Pg 713: ‘and gives soles’ replaced by ‘and give soles’.
  Pg 719: ‘may be subsituted’ replaced by ‘may be substituted’.
  Pg 723: ‘salings are irregular’ replaced by ‘sailings are irregular’.
  Pg 723: ‘specially tiny’ replaced by ‘specially tidy’.
  Pg 727: ‘young man require’ replaced by ‘young man requires’.
  Pg 745: ‘the same pnrpose’ replaced by ‘the same purpose’.
  Pg 747: ‘knitted wollen’ replaced by ‘knitted woollen’.
  Pg 778: ‘as in eyewash’ replaced by ‘as an eyewash’.
  Pg 784: ‘with a few stiches’ replaced by ‘with a few stitches’.
  Pg 800: ‘or the aliment’ replaced by ‘or the ailment’.
  Pg 810: ‘as scalding is’ replaced by ‘as scaling is’.
  Pg 824: ‘Valesine often gives’ replaced by ‘Vaseline often gives’.
  Pg 824: ‘In the Michigan’ replaced by ‘_(a)_ In the Michigan’.
  Pg 838: ‘to effects its’ replaced by ‘to effect its’.
  Pg 883: ‘not count of’ replaced by ‘not count or’.
  Pg 888: ‘If the band brake’ replaced by ‘If the hand brake’.
  Pg 898: ‘dropped stiches in’ replaced by ‘dropped stitches in’.
  Pg 902: ‘Boook of Needlework’ replaced by ‘Book of Needlework’.
  Pg 916: ‘caseine and sugar’ replaced by ‘casein and sugar’.
  Pg 935: ‘See also p. 1012.’ This page does not exist in this edition.
  Pg 954: ‘See also p. 1012.’ This page does not exist in this edition.
  Pg 962: the heading style for ‘Nuisance’ changed from SmallCap to
          italic.
  Pg 1006: there is no Illustration numbered ‘227’.





End of Project Gutenberg's Spons' Household Manual, by E. Spon and F. N. Spon