The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

by active 1823-1849 Mary Eaton · English · Gutenberg #29084 · 1,850,944 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

Author: active 1823-1849 Mary Eaton

Release date: June 9, 2009 [eBook #29084]

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29084

Credits: Produced by Julia Miller, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER'S COMPLETE AND UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY; INCLUDING A SYSTEM OF MODERN COOKERY, IN ALL ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES, ADAPTED TO THE USE OF PRIVATE FAMILIES ***

Produced by Julia Miller, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

The transcriber trusts that the reader will not take any of the advice
offered in this text.

[Illustration: _Mrs. Eaton._

BUNGAY.

_Published by J. & R. Childs._]

_THE_

_Cook and Housekeeper's_

Complete & Universal Dictionary

Including

_A system of Modern Cookery in all its various Branches,_ adapted to the
use of Private Families.

_Also a variety of Original & Valuable Information._

_RELATIVE TO_

_Baking
Brewing
Carving
Cleaning
Collaring
Curing
Economy of Bees
---- of a Dairy
Economy of Poultry
Family Medicine
Gardening
Home-made Wines
Pickling
Potting
Preserving
Rules of Health_

And every other Subject connected with
Domestic Economy.

BY MRS. MARY EATON.

BUNGAY.

_Printed & Published by J. & R. Childs_

1822.

THE

COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER'S

COMPLETE AND UNIVERSAL

DICTIONARY;

INCLUDING

A SYSTEM OF MODERN COOKERY,

IN ALL ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES,

ADAPTED TO THE USE OF

_PRIVATE FAMILIES_:

ALSO A VARIETY OF

ORIGINAL AND VALUABLE INFORMATION.

RELATIVE TO

BAKING,
BREWING,
CARVING,
CLEANING,
COLLARING,
CURING,
ECONOMY OF BEES,
---- OF A DAIRY,
ECONOMY OF POULTRY,
FAMILY MEDICINE,
GARDENING,
HOME-MADE WINES,
PICKLING,
POTTING,
PRESERVING,
RULES OF HEALTH,

AND EVERY OTHER SUBJECT CONNECTED WITH

DOMESTIC ECONOMY.

BY MRS. MARY EATON.

_EMBELLISHED WITH ENGRAVINGS._

BUNGAY:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. AND R. CHILDS.

1823.

INTRODUCTION.

NOTHING is more obvious, than that experience purchased by the sacrifice
of independence is bought at too dear a rate. Yet this is the only
consolation which remains to many females, while sitting on the ashes of
a ruined fortune, and piercing themselves with the recollection of the
numerous imprudencies into which they have been led, simply for the want
of better information. Not because there is any want of valuable
publications, for in the present age they abound; but rather because
they contain such a variety of superfluous articles, and are too
indiscriminate to become generally useful. A young female, just returned
from the hymeneal altar, is ready to exclaim on the first perusal, as
the philosopher did who visited the metropolis, 'How many things are
here which I do not want!' The volume when purchased is often found to
contain what is only or chiefly adapted to those who live in "king's
houses," or "who fare sumptuously every day."

Indeed, it has been the failing of most works of this nature, that they
have either been too contracted, or too diffuse; detailed what was
unnecessary, or treated superficially what was in fact of most
consequence to the great bulk of mankind. If it be objected to the
present work, that it exhibits nothing new; that the experiments are
founded upon the simplest rules of nature; that most of the things have
been rehearsed in various forms; it is not necessary to deny or to
conceal the fact, every other consideration having been subordinated to
one leading object, and that is GENERAL UTILITY. It is but justice
however to add, that many of the articles are perfectly ORIGINAL, having
been extracted from a variety of unpublished manuscripts, obligingly and
expressly furnished in aid of the present undertaking. A great number of
outlandish articles are intentionally omitted, as well as a farrago of
French trifles and French nonsense, in order to render the work truly
worthy of the patronage of the genuine English housekeeper.

It may also fairly be presumed, that the superior advantages of the
present work will immediately be recognized, not only as comprehending
at once the whole theory of Domestic Management, but in a form never
before attempted, and which of all others is best adapted to facilitate
the acquisition of useful knowledge. The alphabetical arrangement
presented in the following sheets, pointing out at once the article
necessary to be consulted, prevents the drudgery of going through
several pages in order to find it, and supplies by its convenience and
universal adaptation, the desideratum so long needed in this species of
composition.

_Importance of Domestic Habits and Acquirements._

Though domestic occupations do not stand so high in the general esteem
as they formerly did, there are none of greater importance in social
life, and none when neglected that produce a larger portion of human
misery. There was a time when ladies knew nothing beyond their own
family concerns; but in the present day there are many who know nothing
about them. If a young person has been sent to a fashionable
boarding-school, it is ten to one, when she returns home, whether she
can mend her own stockings, or boil a piece of meat, or do any thing
more than preside over the flippant ceremonies of the tea-table. Each
extreme ought to be avoided, and care taken to unite in the female
character, the cultivation of talents and habits of usefulness. In every
department those are entitled to the greatest praise, who best acquit
themselves of the duties which their station requires, and this it is
that gives true dignity to character. Happily indeed there are still
great numbers in every situation, whose example combines in a high
degree the ornamental with the useful. Instances may be found of ladies
in the higher walks of life, who condescend to examine the accounts of
their servants and housekeepers; and by overseeing and wisely directing
the expenditure of that part of their husband's income which falls under
their own inspection, avoid the inconveniences of embarrassed
circumstances. How much more necessary then is domestic knowledge in
those whose limited fortunes press on their attention considerations of
the strictest economy. There ought to be a material difference in the
degree of care which a person of a large and independent estate bestows
on money concerns, and that of one in inferior circumstances: yet both
may very commendably employ some portion of their time and thoughts on
this subject. The custom of the times tends in some measure to abolish
the distinctions in rank, the education given to young people being
nearly the same in all. But though the leisure of the higher sort may
very well be devoted to different accomplishments, the pursuits of those
in a middle sphere, if less ornamental, would better secure their own
happiness, and that of others connected with them. We sometimes bring up
children in a manner calculated rather to fit them for the station we
wish, than that which it is likely they will actually possess; and it is
in all cases worth the while of parents to consider whether the
expectation or hope of raising their offspring above their own situation
be well founded. There is no opportunity of attaining a knowledge of
family management at school, certainly; and during vacations, all
subjects that might interfere with amusement are avoided. The
consequence is, when a girl in the higher ranks returns home after
completing her education, her introduction to the gay world, and a
continued course of pleasures, persuade her at once that she was born to
be the ornament of fashionable circles, rather than descend to the
management of family concerns, though by that means she might in various
ways increase the comfort and satisfaction of her parents. On the other
hand, persons of an inferior sphere, and especially in the lower order
of middling life, are almost always anxious to give their children such
advantages of education as they themselves did not possess. Whether
their indulgence be productive of the happiness so kindly aimed at, must
be judged by the effects, which are not very favourable if what has been
taught has not produced humility in herself, and increased gratitude and
respect to her parents. Were a young woman brought to relish home
society, and the calm delights of an easy and agreeable occupation,
before she entered into the delusive scenes of pleasure, presented by
the theatre and other dissipations, it is probable she would soon make a
comparison much in favour of the former, especially if restraint did
not give to the latter an additional relish.

If our observations were extended to the marriage state, we should find
a life of employment to be the source of unnumbered pleasures. To attend
to the nursing, and at least the early instruction of children, and rear
a healthy progeny in the ways of piety and usefulness; to preside over
the family, and regulate the income allotted to its maintenance; to make
home the agreeable retreat of a husband, fatigued by intercourse with a
bustling world; to be his enlightened companion, and the chosen friend
of his heart; these, these are woman's duties, and her highest honour.
And when it is thus evident that high intellectual attainments may find
room for their exercise in the multifarious occupations of the daughter,
the wife, the mother, the mistress of the house; no one can reasonably
urge that the female mind is contracted by domestic employ. It is
however a great comfort that the duties of life are within the reach of
humbler abilities, and that she whose chief aim it is to fulfil them,
will very rarely fail to acquit herself well.

_Domestic Expenditure._

The mistress of a family should always remember, that the welfare and
good management of the house depend on the eye of the superior; and
consequently that nothing is too trifling for her notice, whereby waste
may be avoided. If a lady has never been accustomed while single to
think of family management, let her not on that account fear that she
cannot attain it. She may consult others who are experienced, and
acquaint herself with the necessary quantities of the several articles
of family expenditure, in proportion to the number it consists of,
together with the value of the articles it may be necessary to procure.
A minute account of the annual income, and the times of payment, should
be taken in writing; likewise an estimate of the supposed amount of each
item of expense. Those who are early accustomed to calculations of this
kind, will acquire so accurate a knowledge of what their establishment
demands, as will suggest the happy medium between prodigality and
parsimony, without in the least subjecting themselves to the charge of
meanness.

Few branches of female education are so useful as great readiness at
figures, though nothing is more commonly neglected. Accounts should be
regularly kept, and not the smallest item be omitted to be entered. If
balanced every week, or month at longest, the income and outgoings will
easily be ascertained, and their proportions to each other be duly
observed. Some people fix on stated sums to be appropriated to each
different article, and keep the money separate for that purpose; as
house, clothes, pocket, education of children, &c. Whichever way
accounts be entered, a certain mode should be adopted, and strictly
adhered to. Many women are unfortunately ignorant of the state of their
husband's income; and others are only made acquainted with it when some
speculative project, or profitable transaction, leads them to make a
false estimate of what can be afforded. It too often happens also that
both parties, far from consulting each other, squander money in ways
that they would even wish to forget: whereas marriage should be a state
of mutual and perfect confidence, with a similarity of pursuits, which
would secure that happiness it was intended to bestow.

There are so many valuable women who excel as wives, that it is fair to
infer there would be few extravagant ones, if they were consulted by
their husbands on subjects that concern the mutual interest of both
parties. Many families have been reduced to poverty by the want of
openness in the man, on the subject of his affairs; and though on these
occasions the women are generally blamed, it has afterwards appeared
that they never were allowed to make particular enquiries, nor suffered
to reason upon what sometimes appeared to them imprudent. Many families
have fully as much been indebted to the propriety of female management,
for the degree of prosperity they have enjoyed, as to the knowledge and
activity of the husband and the father.

Ready money should be paid for all such things as come not into weekly
bills, and even for them some sort of check is necessary. The best
places for purchasing goods should also be attended to. On some articles
a discount of five per cent is allowed in London and other large cities,
and those who thus pay are usually best served. Under an idea of buying
cheap, many go to new shops; but it is safest to deal with people of
established credit, who do not dispose of goods by underselling. To make
tradesmen wait for their money is very injurious, besides that a higher
price must be paid: and in long bills, articles never bought are often
charged. If goods are purchased at ready-money price, and regularly
entered, the exact state of the expenditure will be known with ease; for
it is delay of payment that occasions so much confusion. A common-place
book should always be at hand, in which to enter such hints of useful
knowledge, and other observations, as are given by sensible experienced
people. Want of attention to what is advised, or supposing things to be
too minute to be worth regarding, are the causes why so much ignorance
prevails on necessary subjects, among those who are not backward in
frivolous ones.

It is very necessary for the mistress of a family to be informed of the
price and quality of all articles in common use, and of the best times
and places for purchasing them. She should also be acquainted with the
comparative prices of provisions, in order that she may be able to
substitute those that are most reasonable, when they will answer as
well, for others of the same kind, but which are more costly. A false
notion of economy leads many to purchase as bargains, what is not
wanted, and sometimes never is used. Were this error avoided, more money
would remain of course for other purposes. It is not unusual among lower
dealers to put off a larger quantity of goods, by assurances that they
are advancing in price; and many who supply fancy articles are so
successful in persuasion, that purchasers not unfrequently go beyond
their original intention, and suffer inconvenience by it. Some things
are certainly better for keeping, and should be laid in accordingly; but
this applies only to articles in constant consumption. Unvarying rules
cannot be given, for people ought to form their conduct on their
circumstances. Some ladies charge their account with giving out to a
superintending servant such quantities of household articles, as by
observation and calculation they know to be sufficient, reserving for
their own key the large stock of things usually laid in for extensive
families in the country. Should there be more visitors than usual, they
can easily account for an increased consumption, and vice versa. Such a
degree of judgment will be respectable even in the eye of domestics, if
not interested in the ignorance of their employers; and if they are,
their services will not compensate the want of honesty.

A bill of parcels and receipt should be required, even if the money be
paid at the time of purchase; and to avoid mistakes, let the goods be
compared with these when brought home. Though it is very disagreeable to
suspect any one's honesty, and perhaps mistakes are often unintentional;
yet it is proper to weigh meat and grocery articles when brought in, and
compare them with the charge. The butcher should be ordered to send the
weight with the meat, and the checks regularly filed and examined. A
ticket should be exchanged for every loaf of bread, which when returned
will shew the number to be paid for, as tallies may be altered, unless
one is kept by each party. Those who are served with brewer's beer, or
any other articles not paid for weekly or on delivery, should keep a
book for entering the dates: which will not only serve to prevent
overcharges, but will show the whole year's consumption at one view.
`Poole's complete Housekeeper's Account book,' is very well adapted to
this purpose.

An inventory of furniture, linen, and china, should be kept, and the
things examined by it twice a year, or oftener if there be a change of
servants; into each of whose care the articles are to be entrusted, with
a list, the same as is done with plate. Tickets of parchment with the
family name, numbered, and specifying what bed it belongs to, should be
sewed on each feather bed, bolster, pillow, and blanket. Knives, forks,
and house cloths are often deficient: these accidents might be obviated,
if an article at the head of every list required the former to be
produced whole or broken, and the marked part of the linen, though all
the others should be worn out. Glass is another article that requires
care, though a tolerable price is given for broken flint-glass. Trifle
dishes, butter stands, &c. may be had at a lower price than cut glass,
made in moulds, of which there is a great variety that look extremely
well, if not placed near the more beautiful articles.

_Choice and Treatment of Servants._

The regularity and good management of a family will very much depend on
the character of the servants who are employed in it, and frequently one
of base and dishonest principles will corrupt and ruin all the rest. No
orders, however wise or prudent, will be duly carried into effect,
unless those who are to execute them are to be depended on. It behoves
every mistress therefore to be extremely careful whom she takes into her
service; to be very minute in investigating character, and equally
cautious and scrupulously just in giving recommendations of others. Were
this attended to, many bad people would be incapacitated for doing
mischief, by abusing the trust reposed in them. It may fairly be
asserted that the robbery, or waste, which is only a milder term for the
unfaithfulness of a servant, will be laid to the charge of that master
or mistress, who knowing or having well-founded suspicions of such
faults, is prevailed upon by false pity, or entreaty, to slide such
servant into another place. There are however some who are unfortunately
capricious, and often refuse to give a character because they are
displeased with the servant leaving; but this is an unpardonable
violation of the right of a servant, who having no inheritance, is
dependant on her fair name for employment. To refuse countenance to the
evil, and to encourage the good servant, are equally due to society at
large; and such as are honest, frugal, and attentive to their duties,
should be liberally rewarded, which would encourage merit, and stimulate
servants to acquit themselves with propriety. The contrary conduct is
often visited with a kind of retributive justice in the course of a few
years. The extravagant and idle in servitude are ill prepared for the
industry and sobriety on which their own future welfare so essentially
depends. Their faults, and the attendant punishment come home, when they
have children of their own; and sometimes much sooner. They will see
their own folly and wickedness perpetuated in their offspring, whom they
must not expect to be better than the example and instruction given by
themselves. Those who have been faithful and industrious in service,
will generally retain those habits in their own families, after they are
married; while those who have borne an opposite character are seldom
successful in the world, but more frequently reduced to beggary and
want.

It is in general a good maxim, to select servants not younger than
thirty. Before that age, however comfortable you may endeavour to make
them, their want of experience, and the hope of something still better,
prevent their being satisfied with their present state. After they have
had the benefit of experience, if they are tolerably comfortable, they
will endeavour to deserve the smiles of even a moderately kind master or
mistress, for fear they may change for the worse. Life may indeed be
very fairly divided into the seasons of hope and fear. In youth, we hope
every thing may be right: in age, we fear that every thing may be wrong.
At any rate it is desirable to engage a good and capable servant, for
one of this description eats no more than a bad one. Considering also
how much waste is occasioned by provisions being dressed in a slovenly
and unskilful manner, and how much a good cook, to whom the conduct of
the kitchen is confided, can save by careful management, it is clearly
expedient to give better wages for one of this description, than to
obtain a cheaper article which in the end will inevitably become more
expensive. It is likewise a point of prudence to invite the honesty and
industry of domestics, by setting them an example of liberality in this
way; nothing is more likely to convince them of the value that is
attached to talent and good behaviour, or to bind them to the interest
of those whom they are engaged to serve. The office of the cook
especially is attended with so many difficulties, so many disgusting and
disagreeable circumstances, and even dangers, in order to procure us one
of the greatest enjoyments of human life, that it is but justice to
reward her attention and services, by rendering her situation every way
as comfortable as we can. Those who think, that to protect and encourage
virtue is the best preventive to vice, should give their female servants
liberal wages. How else can they provide themselves the necessary
articles of clothing, and save a little to help themselves in a time of
a sickness, when out of place, or amidst the infirmities of age. The
want of liberality and of justice in this respect is a principal source
of the distress and of the degradation to which multitudes of females
are reduced, and who are driven at length to seek an asylum in Foundling
Hospitals and Female Penitentiaries.

Good wages however are not all that a faithful servant requires; kind
treatment is of far greater consequence. Human nature is the same in all
stations. If you can convince your servants that you have a generous and
considerate regard for their health and comfort, there is no reason to
imagine that they will be insensible to the good they receive. Be
careful therefore to impose no commands but what are reasonable, nor
reprove but with justice and temper; the best way to ensure which is,
not to lecture them till at least one day after the offence has been
committed. If they have any particular hardship to endure in service,
let them see that you are concerned for the necessity of imposing it.
Servants are more likely to be praised into good conduct, than scolded
out of bad behaviour. Always commend them when they do right; and to
cherish in them the desire of pleasing, it is proper to show them that
you are pleased. By such conduct ordinary servants will often be
converted into good ones, and there are few so hardened as not to feel
gratified when they are kindly and liberally treated. At the same time
avoid all approaches to familiarity, which to a proverb is accompanied
with contempt, and soon destroys the principle of obedience.

When servants are sick, you are to remember that you are their patron,
as well as their master or mistress; not only remit their labour, but
give them all the assistance of food and physic, and every comfort in
your power. Tender assiduity about an invalid is half a cure; it is a
balsam to the mind, which has the most powerful effect on the body; it
soothes the sharpest pains, and strengthens beyond the richest cordial.
The practice of some persons in sending home poor servants to a
miserable cottage, or to a workhouse, in time of illness, hoping for
their services if they should happen to recover, while they contribute
nothing towards it, is contrary to every principle of justice and
humanity. Particular attention ought to be paid to the health of the
cook, not only for her own sake, but also because healthiness and
cleanliness are essential to the duties of her office, and to the
wholesomeness of the dishes prepared by her hand. Besides the
deleterious vapours of the charcoal, which soon undermine the health of
the heartiest person, the cook has to endure the glare of a scorching
fire, and the smoke, so baneful to the complexion and the eyes; so that
she is continually surrounded with inevitable dangers, while her most
commendable achievements pass not only without reward, but frequently
without even thanks. The most consummate cook is seldom noticed by the
master, or heard of by the guests, who, while they eagerly devour his
dainties, and drink his wine, care very little who dressed the one or
sent the other. The same observations apply to the kitchen maid or
second cook, who have in large families the hardest place, and are
worse paid, verifying the old proverb, 'the more work the less wages.'
If there be any thing right, the cook has the praise, when any praise is
given: if any thing be wrong, the kitchen maid has the blame. For this
humble domestic is expected by the cook to take the entire management of
all roasts and boils, fish and vegetables, which together constitute the
principal part of an Englishman's dinner. The master or mistress who
wishes to enjoy the rare luxury of a table well served in the best
stile, should treat the cook as a friend; should watch over her health
with peculiar care, and be sure that her taste does not suffer, by her
stomach being deranged by bilious attacks. A small proportion of that
attention usually bestowed on a favourite horse, or even a dog, would
suffice to regulate her animal system. Cleanliness, and a proper
ventilation to carry off smoke and steam, should be particularly
attended to in the construction of a kitchen. The grand scene of action,
the fire-place, should be placed where it may receive plenty of light.
Too often the contrary practice has prevailed, and the poor cook is
continually basted with her own perspiration; but a good state of health
can never be preserved under such circumstances.

_Necessity of Order and Regularity._

No family can be properly managed, where the strictest order and
regularity is not observed. 'A house divided against itself cannot
stand;' and if the direction of its affairs be left to accident or
chance, it will be equally fatal to its comfort and prosperity. It is
the part of a prudent manager to see all that is doing, and to foresee
and direct all that should be done. The weakest capacity can perceive
what is wrong after it has occurred; but discernment and discretion are
necessary to anticipate and prevent confusion and disorder, by a
well-regulated system of prompt and vigorous management. If time be
wisely economised, and the useful affairs transacted before amusements
are allowed, and a regular plan of employment be daily laid down, a
great deal may be done without hurry or fatigue. The retrospect would
also be most pleasant at the end of the year, to be able to enumerate
all the valuable acquirements made, and the just and benevolent actions
performed, under the active and energetic management of the mistress of
a family. As highly conducive to this end, early and regular hours
should be kept in the evening, and an early hour especially for
breakfast in the morning. There will then be more time to execute the
orders that may be given, which in general should comprise the business
of the day; and servants, by doing their work with ease, will be more
equal to it, and fewer of them will be necessary. It is worthy of
notice, that the general expense will be reduced, and much time saved,
if every thing be kept in its proper place, applied to its proper use,
and mended, when the nature of the accident will allow, as soon as
broken or out of repair. A proper quantity of household articles should
always be ready, and more bought in before the others are consumed, to
prevent inconvenience, especially in the country. Much trouble and
irregularity would be prevented when there is company to dinner, if the
servants were required to prepare the table and sideboard in similar
order daily. As some preparation is necessary for accidental visitors,
care should be taken to have constantly in readiness a few articles
suited to such occasions, which if properly managed will be attended
with little expense, and much convenience.

_Bad habit of keeping Spare Rooms._

Though persons of large fortune may support an expensive establishment
without inconvenience, it ill becomes those in the middle rank to
imitate such an example. Nothing can be more ludicrous than the contrast
exhibited between two families of this description; the one living in
the dignified splendour, and with the liberal hospitality, that wealth
can command; the other in a stile of tinsel show, without the real
appropriate distinctions belonging to rank and fortune. They are lavish,
but not liberal, often sacrificing independence to support dissipation,
and betraying the dearest interests of society for the sake of personal
vanity, and gratifying what is significantly termed 'the pride of life.'

The great point for comfort and respectability is, that all the
household economy should be uniform, not displaying a parade of show in
one thing, and a total want of comfort in another. Besides the
contemptible appearance that this must have to every person of good
sense, it is often productive of fatal consequences. How common it is,
in large towns especially, that for the vanity of having a showy
drawing-room to receive company, the family are confined to a close back
room, where they have scarcely air or light, the want of which is
essentially injurious to health. To keep rooms for show belongs to the
higher classes, where the house is sufficiently commodious for the
family, and to admit of this also: but in private dwellings, to shut up
perhaps the only room that is fit to live in, is to be guilty of a kind
of self-destruction; and yet how frequently this consideration escapes
persons who are disposed to render their family every comfort, but they
have a grate, a carpet, and chairs too fine for every day's use. What a
reflection, when nursing a sick child, to think that it may be the
victim of a bright grate, and a fine carpet! Or, what is equally
afflicting, to see all the children perhaps rickety and diseased from
the same cause! Keeping a spare bed for ornament, rather than for use,
is often attended with similar consequences. A stranger or a friend is
allowed to occupy it once in so many months, and he does it at the peril
of his health, and even of his life.

Another bad effect of keeping spare rooms is the seeing more company,
and in a more expensive manner, than is compatible with the general
convenience of the family, introducing with it an expense in dress, and
a dissipation of time, from which it suffers in various ways. Not the
least of these is the neglect of parental instruction, which it is
attempted to supply by sending the children at an improper age to
school; the girls where they had better never go, and the boys where
they get but little good, and perhaps are all the worse for mending.
Social intercourse is not improved by parade, but quite the contrary;
real friends, and the pleasantest kind of acquaintance, those who like
to be social, are repulsed by it. The failure therefore is general,
involving the loss of nearly all that is valuable in society, by an
abortive attempt to become fashionable.

_Setting out a Table._

The direction of a Table is no inconsiderable part of a lady's concern,
as it involves judgment in expenditure, respectability of appearance,
the comfort of her husband, and those who partake of their hospitality.
It is true that the mode of covering a table, and providing for the
guests, is merely a matter of taste, materially different in a variety
of instances; yet nothing can be more ruinous of real comfort than the
too common custom of making a profusion and a parade, unsuited not only
to the circumstances of the host, but to the number of the guests; or
more fatal to true hospitality than the multiplicity of dishes which
luxury has made fashionable at the tables of the great, the wealthy, and
the ostentatious, who are often neither great, nor wealthy, nor wise.
Such excessive preparation, instead of being a compliment to the party
invited, is nothing better than an indirect offence, conveying a tacit
insinuation that it is absolutely necessary to provide such delicacies
to bribe the depravity of their palates, when we desire the pleasure of
their company, and that society must be purchased on dishonourable terms
before it can be enjoyed. When twice as much cooking is undertaken as
there are servants, or conveniences in the kitchen to do it properly,
dishes must be dressed long before the dinner hour, and stand by
spoiling; and why prepare for eight or ten more than is sufficient for
twenty or thirty visitors? 'Enough is as good as a feast;' and a prudent
provider, avoiding what is extravagant and superfluous, may entertain
her friends three times as often, and ten times as well.

Perhaps there are few incidents in which the respectability of a man is
more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may
accidentally bring home a visitor. And here, it is not the multiplicity
of articles, but the choice, the dressing, and the neat appearance of
the whole that is principally regarded. Every one is to live as he can
afford, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the
entertainments of the higher classes; but if two or three dishes are
well served, with the usual sauces, the table linen clean, the small
sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the
expectation of the husband and the friend will be gratified, because no
irregularity of domestic arrangement will disturb the social
intercourse. The same observation holds good on a larger scale. In all
situations of life the entertainment should be no less suited to the
station than to the fortune of the entertainer, and to the number and
rank of those invited.

The manner of Carving is not only a very necessary branch of
information, to enable a lady to do the honours of the table, but makes
a considerable difference in the consumption of a family; and though in
large parties she is so much assisted as to render this knowledge
apparently of less consequence, yet she must at times feel the
deficiency; and should not fail to acquaint herself with an attainment,
the advantage of which is evident every day. Some people haggle meat so
much, as not to be able to help half a dozen persons decently from a
large tongue, or a sirloin of beef; and the dish goes away with the
appearance of having been gnawed by dogs. Habit alone can make good
carvers; but some useful directions on this subject will be found in the
following pages, under the article Carving.

Half the trouble of waiting at table may be saved, by giving each guest
two plates, two knives and forks, two pieces of bread, a spoon, a wine
glass, and a tumbler; and by placing the wines and sauces in the centre
of the table, one visitor may help another. If the party is large, the
founders of the feast should sit about the middle of the table, instead
of at each end. They will then enjoy the pleasure of attending equally
to all their friends; and being in some degree relieved from the
occupation of carving, will have an opportunity of administering all
those little attentions which contribute so much to the comfort of their
guests. Dinner tables are seldom sufficiently lighted, or attended; an
active waiter will have enough to do to attend upon half a dozen
persons. There should be half as many candles as there are guests, and
their flame should not be more than eighteen inches above the table. The
modern candelabras answer no other purpose than that of giving an
appearance of pomp and magnificence, and seem intended to illuminate the
ceiling, rather than to shed light upon the plates.

_Quality of Provisions to be regarded._

The leading consideration about food ought always to be its
wholesomeness. Cookery may produce savoury and elegant looking dishes,
without their possessing any of the real qualities of food. It is at the
same time both a serious and a ludicrous reflection, that it should be
thought to do honour to our friends and to ourselves to set out a table
where indigestion with all its train of evils, such as fever,
rheumatism, gout, and the whole catalogue of human diseases, lie lurking
in almost every dish. Yet this is both done, and taken as a compliment.
The practice of flavouring custards, for example, with laurel leaves,
and adding fruit kernels to the poison of spirituous liquors, though far
too common, is attended with imminent danger: for let it be remembered,
that the flavour given by laurel essence is the most fatal kind of
poison. Children, and delicate grown-up persons, have often died
suddenly from this cause, even where the quantity of the deleterious
mixture was but small.

How infinitely preferable is a dinner of far less show, where nobody
need to be afraid of what they are eating; and such a one will always be
genteel and respectable. If a person can give his friend only a leg of
mutton, there is nothing of which to be ashamed, provided it is good and
well dressed. Nothing can be of greater importance to the mistress of a
family, than the preservation of its health; but there is no way of
securing this desirable object with any degree of certainty, except her
eye watches over every part of the culinary process. The subject of
cookery is too generally neglected by mistresses, as something beneath
their notice; or if engaged in, it is to contrive a variety of
mischievous compositions, both savoury and sweet, to recommend their own
ingenuity. Yet it is quite evident that every good housewife ought to be
well acquainted with this important branch of domestic management, and
to take upon herself at least its entire direction and controul. This is
a duty which her husband, children, and domestics, have a right to
expect at her hands; and which a solicitude for their health and comfort
will induce her to discharge with fidelity. If cookery has been worth
studying as a sensual gratification, it is much more so as the means of
securing the greatest of human blessings.

A house fitted up with clean good furniture, the kitchen provided with
clean wholesome-looking cooking utensils, good fires, in grates that
give no anxiety lest a good fire should spoil them, clean good
table-linen, the furniture of the table and sideboard good of the kind
without ostentation, and a well-dressed plain dinner, bespeak a sound
judgment and correct taste in a private family, that place it on a
footing of respectability with the first characters in the country. It
is only conforming to our sphere, not vainly attempting to be above it,
that can command true respect.

==================================================================
_Explanation of the Plate._

VENISON.
1. Haunch. |2. Neck. |3. Shoulder. |4. Breast.

PORK.
1. Sparerib. |4. Fore Loin.
2. Hand. |5. Hind Loin.
3. Belly or Spring. |6. Leg.

[Illustration]

THE

COOK AND HOUSEKEEPER'S

COMPLETE AND UNIVERSAL

DICTIONARY.

ACID, lemon: a good substitute for this expensive article, suitable for
soups, fish sauces, and many other purposes, may be made of a dram of
lump sugar pounded, and six drops of lemon essence, to three ounces of
crystal vinegar. The flavour of the lemon may also be communicated to
the vinegar, by an infusion of lemon peel.

ACIDS, to remove stains caused by acids. See STAINS.

ACCIDENTS BY FIRE. Much mischief frequently arises from the want of a
little presence of mind on such occasions, when it is well known that a
small quantity of water speedily and properly applied, would obviate
great danger. The moment an alarm of fire is given in a house, some
blankets should be wetted in a tub of water, and spread on the floor of
the room where the fire is, and the flames beaten out with a wet
blanket. Two or three pails of water thus applied, will be more
effectual than a larger quantity poured on in the usual way, and at a
later period. If a chimney be on fire, the readiest way is to cover the
whole front of the fire-place with a wet blanket, or thrust it into the
throat of the chimney, or make a complete inclosure with the
chimney-board. By whatever means the current of air can be stopped
below, the burning soot will be put out as rapidly as a candle is by an
extinguisher, and upon the same principle. A quantity of salt thrown
into water will increase its power in quenching the flames, and muddy
water is better for this purpose than clear water. Children, and
especially females, should be informed, that as flame tends upward, it
is extremely improper for them to stand upright, in case their clothes
take fire; and as the accident generally begins with the lower part of
the dress, the flames meeting additional fuel as they rise, become more
fatal, and the upper part of the body necessarily sustains the greatest
injury. If there be no assistance at hand in a case of this kind, the
sufferer should instantly throw herself down, and roll or lie upon her
clothes. A carpet, hearth rug, or green baize table cloth, quickly
wrapped round the head and body, will be an effectual preservative; but
where these are not at hand, the other method may easily be adopted. The
most obvious means of preventing the female dress from catching fire, is
that of wire fenders of sufficient height to hinder the coals and sparks
from flying into the room; and nurseries in particular should never be
without them. Destructive fires often happen from the thoughtlessness of
persons leaving a poker in the grate, which afterward falls out and
rolls on the floor or carpet. This evil may in a great measure be
prevented by having a small cross of iron welded on the poker,
immediately above the square part, about an inch and a half each way.
Then if the poker slip out of the fire, it will probably catch at the
edge of the fender; or if not, it cannot endanger the floor, as the hot
end of the poker will be kept from it by resting on the cross. In cases
of extreme danger, where the fire is raging in the lower part of the
house, a Fire Escape is of great importance. But where this article is
too expensive, or happens not to be provided, a strong rope should be
fastened to something in an upper apartment, having knots or resting
places for the hands and feet, that in case of alarm it may be thrown
out of the window; or if children and infirm persons were secured by a
noose at the end of it, they might be lowered down in safety. No family
occupying lofty houses in confined situations ought to be without some
contrivance of this sort, and which may be provided at a very trifling
expense. Horses are often so intimidated by fire, that they have
perished before they could be removed from the spot; but if a bridle or
a halter be put upon them, they might be led out of the stable as easily
as on common occasions. Or if the harness be thrown over a draught
horse, or the saddle placed on the back of a saddle horse, the same
object may be accomplished.

ADULTERATIONS in baker's bread may be detected, by mixing it with lemon
juice or strong vinegar: if the bread contains chalk, whiting, or any
other alkali, it will immediately produce a fermentation. If ashes,
alum, bones, or jalap be suspected, slice the crumb of a loaf very thin,
set it over the fire with water, and let it boil gently a long time.
Take it off, pour the water into a vessel, and let it stand till nearly
cold; then pour it gently out, and in the sediment will be seen the
ingredients which have been mixed. The alum will be dissolved in the
water, and may be extracted from it. If jalap has been used, it will
form a thick film on the top, and the heavy ingredients will sink to the
bottom. See BEER, FLOUR, SPIRITS, WINE.

AGUE. Persons afflicted with the ague ought in the first instance to
take an emetic, and a little opening medicine. During the shaking fits,
drink plenty of warm gruel, and afterwards take some powder of bark
steeped in red wine. Or mix thirty grains of snake root, forty of
wormwood, and half an ounce of jesuit's bark powdered, in half a pint of
port wine: put the whole into a bottle, and shake it well together. Take
one fourth part first in the morning, and another at bed time, when the
fit is over, and let the dose be often repeated, to prevent a return of
the complaint. If this should not succeed, mix a quarter of an ounce
each of finely powdered Peruvian bark, grains of paradise, and long
pepper, in a quarter of a pound of treacle. Take a third part of it as
soon as the cold fit begins, and wash it down with a glass of brandy. As
the cold fit goes off, and the fever approaches, take a second third
part, with the like quantity of brandy; and on the following morning
fasting, swallow the remainder, with the same quantity of brandy as
before. Three doses of this excellent electuary have cured hundreds of
persons, and seldom been known to fail. To children under nine years of
age, only half the above quantity must be given. Try also the following
experiment. When the cold fit is on, take an egg beaten up in a glass of
brandy, and go to bed directly. This very simple recipe has proved
successful in a number of instances, where more celebrated preparations
have failed.

AIR. Few persons are sufficiently aware, that an unwholesome air is the
common cause of disease. They generally pay some attention to what they
eat and drink, but seldom regard what goes into the lungs, though the
latter often proves more fatal than the former. Air vitiated by the
different processes of respiration, combustion, and putrefaction, or
which is suffered to stagnate, is highly injurious to health, and
productive of contagious disorders. Whatever greatly alters its degree
of heat or cold, also renders it unwholesome. If too hot, it produces
bilious and inflammatory affections: if too cold, it obstructs
perspiration, and occasions rheumatism, coughs, and colds, and other
diseases of the throat and breast. A damp air disposes the body to
agues, intermitting fevers, and dropsies, and should be studiously
avoided. Some careful housewives, for the sake of bright and polished
stoves, frequently expose the health of the family in an improper
manner; but fires should always be made, if in the height of summer,
when the weather is wet or cold, to render the air wholesome; and let
the fire-irons take care of themselves. No house can be wholesome,
unless the air has a free passage through it: dwellings ought therefore
to be daily ventilated, by opening the windows and admitting a current
of fresh air into every room. Instead of making up beds as soon as
people rise out of them, a practice much too common, they ought to be
turned down, and exposed to dry fresh air from the open windows. This
would expel any noxious vapours, and promote the health of the family.
Houses surrounded with high walls, trees, or plantations, are rendered
unwholesome. Wood, not only obstructs the free current of air, but sends
forth exhalations, which render it damp and unhealthy. Houses situated
on low ground, or near lakes and ponds of stagnant water, are the same:
the air is charged with putrid exhalations, which produce the most
malignant effects. Persons obliged to occupy such situations should
live well, and pay the strictest regard to cleanliness. The effluvia
arising from church-yards and other burying grounds is very infectious;
and parish churches, in which many corpses are interred, become tainted
with an atmosphere so corrupt, especially in the spring, when the ground
begins to grow warm, that it is one of the principal sources of putrid
fevers, which so often prevail at that season of the year. Such places
ought to be kept perfectly clean, and frequently ventilated, by opening
opposite doors and windows; and no human dwelling should be allowed in
the immediate vicinity of a burying ground.--The air of large towns and
cities is greatly contaminated, by being repeatedly respired; by the
vapours arising from dirty streets, the smoke of chimneys, and the
innumerable putrid substances occasioned by the crowd of inhabitants.
Persons of a delicate habit should avoid cities as they would the
plague; or if this be impracticable, they should go abroad as much as
possible, frequently admit fresh air into their rooms, and be careful to
keep them very clean. If they can sleep in the country, so much the
better, as breathing free air in the night will in some degree make up
for the want of it in the day time. Air which stagnates in mines, wells,
and cellars, is extremely noxious; it kills nearly as quick as
lightning, and ought therefore to be carefully avoided. Accidents
occasioned by foul air might often be prevented, by only letting down
into such places a lighted candle, and forbearing to enter when it is
perceived to go out. The foul air may be expelled by leaving the place
open a sufficient time, or pouring into it a quantity of boiling water.
Introducing fresh air into confined rooms and places, by means of
ventilators, is one of the most important of modern improvements.--Dyers,
gilders, plumbers, refiners of metals, and artisans employed over or
near a charcoal fire, are exposed to great danger from the vitiated
state of the air. To avert the injury to which their lungs are thus
exposed, it would be proper to place near them a flat open vessel filled
with lime water, and to renew it as often as a variegated film appears
on the surface. This powerfully attracts and absorbs the noxious
effluvia emitted by the burning charcoal.--But if fresh air be necessary
for those in health, much more so for the sick, who often lose their
lives for want of it. The notion that sick people require to be kept hot
is very common, but no less dangerous, for no medicine is so beneficial
to them as fresh air, in ordinary cases, especially if administered with
prudence. Doors and windows are not to be opened at random; but the air
should be admitted gradually, and chiefly by opening the windows of some
other apartment which communicates with the sick room. The air may
likewise be purified by wetting a cloth in water impregnated with quick
lime, then hanging it in the room till it becomes dry, and removing it
as often as it appears necessary. In chronic diseases, especially those
of the lungs, where there is no inflammation, a change of air is much to
be recommended. Independently of any other circumstance, it has often
proved highly beneficial; and such patients have breathed more freely,
even though removed to a damp and confined situation. In short, fresh
air contains the vitals of health, and must be sought for in every
situation, as the only medium of human existence.

ALABASTER. The proper way of cleaning elegant chimney pieces, or other
articles made of alabaster, is to reduce some pumice stone to a very
fine powder, and mix it up with verjuice. Let it stand two hours, then
dip into it a sponge, and rub the alabaster with it: wash it with fresh
water and a linen cloth, and dry it with clean linen rags.

ALAMODE BEEF. Choose a piece of thick flank of a fine heifer or ox. Cut
some fat bacon into long slices nearly an inch thick, but quite free
from yellow. Dip them into vinegar, and then into a seasoning ready
prepared, of salt, black pepper, allspice, and a clove, all in fine
powder, with parsley, chives, thyme, savoury, and knotted marjoram,
shred as small as possible, and well mixed. With a sharp knife make
holes deep enough to let in the larding; then rub the beef over with the
seasoning, and bind it up tight with a tape. Set it in a well tinned pot
over a fire, or rather a stove: three or four onions must be fried brown
and put to the beef, with two or three carrots, one turnip, a head or
two of celery, and a small quantity of water. Let it simmer gently ten
or twelve hours, or till extremely tender, turning the meat twice. Put
the gravy into a pan, remove the fat, keep the beef covered, then put
them together, and add a glass of port wine. Take off the tape, and
serve with vegetables; or strain them off, and cut them into dice for
garnish. Onions roasted, and then stewed with the gravy, are a great
improvement. A tea-cupful of vinegar should be stewed with the
beef.--Another way is to take about eleven pounds of the mouse-buttock,
or clod of beef, or a blade bone, or the sticking piece, and cut it into
pieces of three or four ounces each. Put two or three ounces of beef
drippings, and two large onions, into a large deep stewpan; as soon as
it is quite hot, flour the meat, put it into the stewpan, and keep
stirring it with a wooden spoon. When it has been on about ten minutes,
dredge it with flour, and keep doing so till you have stirred in as much
as will thicken it. Then cover it with about a gallon of boiling water,
adding it by degrees, and stirring it together. Skim it when it boils,
and then put in a dram of ground black pepper, and two drams of
allspice. Set the pan by the side of the fire, or at a distance over it,
and let it stew very slowly for about three hours. When the meat is
sufficiently tender, put it into a tureen, and send it to table with a
nice sallad.

ALE, allowing eight bushels of malt to the hogshead, should be brewed in
the beginning of March. Pour on at once the whole quantity of hot water,
not boiling, and let it infuse three hours close covered. Mash it in the
first half hour, and let it stand the remainder of the time. Run it on
the hops, half a pound to the bushel, previously infused in water, and
boil them with the wort two hours. Cool a pailful after it has boiled,
add to it two quarts of yeast, which will prepare it for putting to the
rest when ready, the same night or the next day. When tunned, and the
beer has done working, cover the bung-hole with paper. If the working
requires to be stopped, dry a pound and a half of hops before the fire,
put them into the bung-hole, and fasten it up. Ale should stand twelve
months in casks, and twelve in bottles, before it be drank; and if well
brewed, it will keep and be very fine for eight or ten years. It will
however be ready for use in three or four months; and if the vent-peg be
never removed, it will have strength and spirit to the very last. But if
bottled, great care must be taken to have the bottles perfectly sweet
and clean, and the corks of the best quality. If the ale requires to be
refined, put two ounces of isinglass shavings to soak in a quart of the
liquor, and beat it with a whisk every day till dissolved. Draw off a
third part of the cask, and mix the above with it: likewise a quarter of
an ounce of pearl ashes, one ounce of salt of tartar calcined, and one
ounce of burnt alum powdered. Stir it well, then return the liquor into
the cask, and stir it with a clean stick. Stop it up, and in a few days
it will be fine. See BEER, BREWING.

ALE POSSET. Beat up the yolks of ten eggs, and the whites of four; then
put them into a quart of cream, mixed with a pint of ale. Grate some
nutmeg into it, sweeten it with sugar, set it on the fire, and keep it
stirring. When it is thick, and before it boils, take it off, and pour
it into a china bason. This is called King William's Posset. A very good
one may however be made by warming a pint of milk, with a bit of white
bread in it, and then warming a pint of ale with a little sugar and
nutmeg. When the milk boils, pour it upon the ale; let it stand a few
minutes to clear, and it will make a fine cordial.

ALEGAR. Take some good sweet wort before it is hopped, put it into a
jar, and a little yeast when it becomes lukewarm, and cover it over. In
three or four days it will have done fermenting; set it in the sun, and
it will be fit for use in three or four months, or much sooner, if
fermented with sour yeast, and mixed with an equal quantity of sour ale.

ALLSPICE, used as an essence, is made of a dram of the oil of pimento,
apothecaries' measure, mixed by degrees with two ounces of strong
spirits of wine. The tincture, which has a finer flavour than the
essence, is made of three ounces of bruised allspice, steeped in a quart
of brandy. Shake it occasionally for a fortnight, and then pour off the
clear liquor. A few drops of either will be a grateful addition to a
pint of gravy, or mulled wine, or in any case where allspice is used.

ALMOND BISCUITS. Blanch a quarter of a pound of sweet almonds, and pound
them fine in a mortar, sprinkling them from time to time with a little
fine sugar. Then beat them a quarter of an hour with an ounce of flour,
the yolks of three eggs, and four ounces of fine sugar, adding
afterward the whites of four eggs whipped to a froth. Prepare some paper
moulds like boxes, about the length of two fingers square; butter them
within, and put in the biscuits, throwing over them equal quantities of
flour and powdered sugar. Bake them in a cool oven; and when of a good
colour, take them out of the papers. Bitter almond biscuits are made in
the same manner, except with this difference; that to every two ounces
of bitter almonds must be added an ounce of sweet almonds.

ALMOND CHEESECAKES. Blanch and pound four ounces of almonds, and a few
bitter ones, with a spoonful of water. Add four ounces of pounded sugar,
a spoonful of cream, and the whites of two eggs well beaten. Mix all as
quick as possible, put it into very small pattipans, and bake in a
tolerable warm oven, under twenty minutes. Or blanch and pound four
ounces of almonds, with a little orange-flower or rose-water; then stir
in the yolks of six and the whites of three eggs well beaten, five
ounces of butter warmed, the peel of a lemon grated, and a little of the
juice, sweetened with fine moist sugar. When well mixed, bake in a
delicate paste, in small pans. Another way is, to press the whey from as
much curd as will make two dozen small cheesecakes. Then put the curd on
the back of a sieve, and with half an ounce of butter rub it through
with the back of a spoon; put to it six yolks and three whites of eggs,
and a few bitter almonds pounded, with as much sugar as will sweeten the
curd. Mix with it the grated rind of a lemon, and a glass of brandy; put
a puff-paste into the pans, and ten minutes will bake them.

ALMOND CREAM. Beat in a mortar four ounces of sweet almonds, and a few
bitter ones, with a tea-spoonful of water to prevent oiling, both having
first been blanched. Put the paste to a quart of cream, and add the
juice of three lemons sweetened; beat it with a whisk to a froth, which
take off on the shallow part of a sieve, and fill the glasses with some
of the liquor and the froth.

ALMOND CUSTARD. Blanch and beat four ounces of almonds fine, with a
spoonful of water. Beat a pint of cream with two spoonfuls of
rose-water, put them to the yolks of four eggs, and as much sugar as
will make it tolerably sweet. Then add the almonds, stir it all over a
slow fire till of a proper thickness, without boiling, and pour it into
cups.

ALMOND JUMBLES. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of flour, with
half a pound of loaf sugar powdered, a quarter of a pound of almonds
beat fine with rose-water, the yolks of two eggs, and two spoonfuls of
cream. Make them all into a paste, roll it into any shape, and bake on
tins. Ice them with a mixture of fine sugar, rose-water, and the white
of an egg, beat up together, and lay the icing on with a feather, before
the jumbles are put into the oven.

ALMOND PUDDINGS. Beat half a pound of sweet and a few bitter almonds
with a spoonful of water; then mix four ounces of butter, four eggs, two
spoonfuls of cream, warm with the butter, one of brandy, a little nutmeg
and sugar to taste. Butter some cups, half fill them, and bake the
puddings. Serve with butter, wine, and sugar.--For baked almond
puddings, beat a quarter of a pound of sweet and a few bitter almonds
with a little wine, the yolks of six eggs, the peel of two lemons
grated, six ounces of butter, nearly a quart of cream, and the juice of
one lemon. When well mixed, bake it half an hour, with paste round the
dish, and serve it with pudding sauce. Small almond puddings are made of
eight ounces of almonds, and a few bitter ones, pounded with a spoonful
of water. Then mix four ounces of butter warmed, four yolks and two
whites of eggs, sugar to taste, two spoonfuls of cream, and one of
brandy. Mix it together well, and bake in little cups buttered.

ALMONDS BURNT. Add three quarters of a pound of loaf sugar to a pound of
almonds, picked and cleaned, and a few spoonfuls of water. Set them on
the fire, keep them stirring till the sugar is candied, and they are
done.

ALMONDS ICED. Make an iceing similar to that for twelfth-night cakes,
with fine sifted loaf sugar, orange-flower water, and whisked white of
eggs. Having blanched the almonds, roll them well in this iceing, and
dry them in a cool oven.

AMBER PUDDING. Put a pound of butter into a saucepan, with three
quarters of a pound of loaf sugar finely powdered. Melt the butter, and
mix well with it; then add the yolks of fifteen eggs well beaten, and as
much fresh candied orange as will add colour and flavour to it, being
first beaten to a fine paste. Line the dish with paste for turning out;
and when filled with the above, lay a crust over as you would a pie, and
bake it in a slow oven. This makes a fine pudding as good cold as hot.

AMERICAN CAKES, though but little known in this country, form an article
of some importance in domestic economy: they are cheap, easily made, and
very nutritious. Mix a quarter of a pound of butter with a pound of
flour; then, having dissolved and well stirred a quarter of a pound of
sugar in half a pint of milk, and made a solution of about half a
tea-spoonful of crystal of soda, salt of tartar, or any other purified
potash, in half a tea-cupful of cold water, pour them also among the
flour; work up the paste to a good consistence, roll it out, and form it
into cakes or biscuits. The lightness of these cakes depending much on
the expedition with which they are baked, they should be set in a brisk
oven.

AMERICAN SPRUCE. In the spring of the year, this valuable extract is
obtained from the young shoots and tops of the pine or fir trees; and in
autumn, from their cones. These are merely boiled in water, to the
consistence of honey or molasses. The bark and softer part of the tops
and young shoots, being easily dissolved, make the finest essence; while
the cones and bark of larger branches, undergoing only a partial
solution, form an inferior article, after being strained from the dregs.
Both sorts, when decanted clear off, are put up in casks or bottles, and
preserved for making spruce beer.

ANCHOVIES. These delicate fish are preserved in barrels with bay salt,
and no other of the finny tribe has so fine a flavour. Choose those
which look red and mellow, and the bones moist and oily. They should be
high-flavoured, and have a fine smell; but beware of their being mixed
with red paint, to improve their colour and appearance. When the liquor
dries, pour on them some beef brine, and keep the jar close tied down
with paper and leather. Sprats are sometimes sold for anchovies, but by
washing them the imposition may be detected. See SPRATS.

ANCHOVY ESSENCE. Chop two dozen of anchovies, without the bone, add some
of their own liquor strained, and sixteen large spoonfuls of water. Boil
them gently till dissolved, which will be in a few minutes; and when
cold, strain and bottle the liquor. The essence can generally be bought
cheaper than you can make it.

ANCHOVY PASTE. Pound them in a mortar, rub the pulp through a fine
sieve, pot it, cover it with clarified butter, and keep it in a cool
place. The paste may also be made by rubbing the essence with as much
flour as will make a paste; but this is only intended for immediate use,
and will not keep. This is sometimes made stiffer and hotter, by the
addition of a little flour of mustard, a pickled walnut, spice, or
cayenne.

ANCHOVY POWDER. Pound the fish in a mortar, rub them through a sieve,
make them into a paste with dried flour, roll it into thin cakes, and
dry them in a Dutch oven before a slow fire. To this may be added a
small portion of cayenne, grated lemon peel, and citric acid. Pounded to
a fine powder, and put into a well-stopped bottle, it will keep for
years. It is a very savoury relish, sprinkled on bread and butter for a
sandwich.

ANCHOVY SAUCE. Chop one or two anchovies without washing, put them into
a saucepan with flour and butter, and a spoonful of water. Stir it over
the fire till it boils once or twice. When the anchovies are good, they
will soon be dissolved, and distinguished both by their colour and
fragrance.

ANCHOVY TOAST. Bone and skin six or eight anchovies, pound them to a
mass with an ounce of fine butter till the colour is equal, and then
spread it on toast or rusks. Or, cut thin slices of bread, and fry them
in clarified butter. Wash three anchovies split, pound them in a mortar
with a little fresh butter, rub them through a hair sieve, and spread on
the toast when cold. Garnish with parsley or pickles.

ANGELICA TARTS. Take an equal quantity of apples and angelica, pare and
peel them, and cut them separately into small pieces. Boil the apples
gently in a little water, with fine sugar and lemon peel, till they
become a thin syrup: then boil the angelica about ten minutes. Put some
paste at the bottom of the pattipans, with alternate layers of apples
and angelica: pour in some of the syrup, put on the lid, and bake them
carefully.

ANGLING APPARATUS. Fishing rods should be oiled and dried in the sun, to
prevent their being worm eaten, and render them tough; and if the joints
get swelled and set fast, turn the part over the flame of a candle, and
it will soon be set at liberty. Silk or hemp lines dyed in a decoction
of oak bark, will render them more durable and capable of resisting the
wet; and after they have been used they should be well dried before they
are wound up, or they will be liable to rot. To make a cork float, take
a good new cork, and pass a small red-hot iron through the centre of it
lengthways; then round one end of it with a sharp knife, and reduce the
other to a point, resembling a small peg top. The quill which is to pass
through it may be secured at the bottom by putting in a little cotton
wool and sealing wax, and the upper end is to be fitted with a piece of
hazel like a plug, cemented like the other, with a piece of wire on the
top formed into an eye, and two small hoops cut from another quill to
regulate the line which passes through the float. To render it the more
visible, the cork may be coloured with red wax. For fly fishing, either
natural or artificial flies may be used, especially such as are found
under hollow stones by the river's side, on the trunk of an oak or ash,
on hawthorns, and on ant hills. In clear water the angler may use small
flies with slender wings, but in muddy water a large fly is better: in a
clear day the fly should be light coloured, and in dark water the fly
should be dark. The rod and line require to be long; the fly when
fastened to the hook should be allowed to float gently on the surface of
the water, keeping the line from touching it, and the angler should
stand as far as may be from the water's edge with the sun at his back,
having a watchful eye and a quick hand. Fish may be intoxicated and
taken in the following manner. Take an equal quantity of cocculus
indicus, coriander, fenugreek, and cummin seeds, and reduce them to a
powder. Make it into a paste with rice flour and water, roll it up into
pills as large as peas, and throw them into ponds or rivers which abound
with fish. After eating the paste, the fish will rise to the surface of
the water almost motionless, and may be taken out by the hand.

ANTIDOTE to opium or laudanum. The deleterious effects of opium, which
are so often experienced in the form of laudanum, may in great measure
be counteracted by taking a proper quantity of lemon juice immediately
afterwards. Four grains of opium, or a hundred drops of laudanum, are
often sufficient for a fatal dose; but if an ounce of pure lemon juice,
or twice that quantity of good vinegar be added to every grain of opium,
or every twenty-five drops of laudanum, it will relieve both the head
and the bowels; and the use of vegetable acids cannot be too strongly
recommended to those who are under the necessity of taking considerable
doses of opiates.

ANTS. Though it does not become us to be prodigal of life in any form,
nor wantonly to seek its extinction, yet where any species of animals
are found to be really noxious or annoying, the good of man requires
that they should be destroyed. Houses are sometimes so infested with
ants, that they are not to be endured. In this case, sprinkle the places
they frequent with a strong decoction of walnut-tree leaves; or take
half a pound of sulphur, and a quarter of a pound of potash, and
dissolve them together over the fire. Afterwards beat them to a powder,
add some water to it; and when sprinkled, the ants will either die or
leave the place. When they are found to traverse garden walls or
hot-houses, and to injure the fruit, several holes should be drilled in
the ground with an iron crow, close to the side of the wall, and as deep
as the soil will admit. The earth being stirred, the insects will begin
to move about: the sides of the holes are then to be made smooth, so
that the ants may fall in as soon as they approach, and they will be
unable to climb upwards. Water being then poured on them, great numbers
may easily be destroyed. The same end may be answered by strewing a
mixture of quick lime and soot along such places as are much frequented
by the ants; or by adding water to it, and pouring it at the roots of
trees infested by them. To prevent their descending from a tree which
they visit, it is only necessary to mark with a piece of common chalk a
circle round its trunk, an inch or two broad, and about two feet from
the ground. This experiment should be performed in dry weather, and the
ring must be renewed: as soon as the ants arrive at it, not one of them
will attempt to cross over.--Ant hills are very injurious in dry
pastures, not only by wasting the soil, but yielding a pernicious kind
of grass, and impeding the operation of the scythe. The turf of the ant
hill should be pared off, the core taken out and scattered at a
distance; and when the turf is laid down again, the place should be left
lower than the ground around it, that when the wet settles into it, the
ants may be prevented from returning to their haunt. The nests may more
effectually be destroyed by putting quick lime into them, and pouring on
some water; or by putting in some night soil, and closing it up.

APPLE TREES may be preserved from the innumerable insects with which
they are annoyed, by painting the stems and branches with a thick wash
of lime and water, as soon as the sap begins to rise. This will be
found, in the course of the ensuing summer to have removed all the moss
and insects, and given to the bark a fresh and green appearance. Other
fruit trees may be treated in the same manner, and they will soon become
more healthy and vigorous. Trees exposed to cattle, hares and rabbits,
may be preserved from these depredators, without the expense of fence or
rails, by any of the following experiments. Wash the stems of the trees
or plants to a proper height with tanner's liquor, or such as they use
for dressing hides. If this does not succeed, make a mixture of night
soil, lime and water, and brush it on the stems and branches, two or
three times in a year: this will effectually preserve the trees from
being barked. A mixture of fresh cow dung and urine has been found to
answer the same purpose, and also to destroy the canker, which is so
fatal to the growth of trees.

APPLES are best preserved from frost, by throwing over them a linen
cloth before the approach of hard weather: woollen will not answer the
purpose. In this manner they are kept in Germany and in America, during
the severest winters; and it is probable that potatoes might be
preserved in the same way. Apples may also be kept till the following
summer by putting them into a dry jar, with a few pebbles at the bottom
to imbibe the moisture which would otherwise destroy the fruit, and then
closing up the jar carefully with a lid, and a little fresh water round
the edge.

APPLES DRIED. Put them in a cool oven six or seven times; and when soft
enough to bear it, let them be gently flattened by degrees. If the oven
be too warm they will waste; and at first it should be very cool. The
biffin, the minshul crab, or any tart apples, are the best for drying.

APPLE DUMPLINGS. Pare and slice some apples, line a bason with a thin
paste, fill it with the fruit, and close the paste over. Tie a cloth
tight over, and boil the dumpling till the fruit is done. Currant and
damson puddings are prepared in the same way.

APPLE FOOL. Stew some apples in a stone jar on a stove, or in a saucepan
of water over the fire: if the former, a large spoonful of water should
be added to the fruit. When reduced to a pulp, peel and press them
through a cullendar; boil a sufficient quantity of new milk, and a
tea-cupful of raw cream, or an egg instead of the latter, and leave the
liquor to cool. Then mix it gradually with the pulp, and sweeten the
whole with fine moist sugar.

APPLE FRITTERS. Pare some apples, and cut them into thin slices; put a
spoonful of light batter into a frying-pan, then a layer of apples, and
another spoonful of batter. Fry them to a light brown, and serve with
grated sugar over them.

APPLE JELLY. Prepare twenty golden pippins, boil them quite tender in a
pint and a half of spring water, and strain the pulp through a
cullendar. To every pint add a pound of fine sugar, with grated orange
or lemon peel, and then boil the whole to a jelly. Or, having prepared
the apples by boiling and straining them through a coarse sieve, get
ready an ounce of isinglass boiled to a jelly in half a pint of water,
and mix it with the apple pulp. Add some sugar, a little lemon juice and
peel; boil all together, take out the peel, and put the jelly into a
dish, to serve at table.--When apple jelly is required for preserving
apricots, or any sort of sweetmeats, a different process is observed.
Apples are to be pared, quartered and cored, and put into a stewpan,
with as much water as will cover them. Boil them to a mash as quick as
possible, and add a quantity of water; then boil half an hour more, and
run it through a jelly bag. If in summer, codlins are best: in autumn,
golden rennets or winter pippins.--Red apples in jelly are a different
preparation. These must be pared and cored, and thrown into water; then
put them in a preserving pan, and let them coddle with as little water
as will only half cover them. Observe that they do not lie too close
when first put in; and when the under side is done, turn them. Mix some
pounded cochineal with the water, and boil with the fruit. When
sufficiently done, take them out on the dish they are to be served in,
the stalk downwards. Make a rich jelly of the water with loaf sugar,
boiling them with the thin rind and juice of a lemon. When cold, spread
the jelly over the apples; cut the lemon peel into narrow strips, and
put them across the eye of the apple. The colour should be kept fine
from the first, or the fruit will not afterwards gain it; and use as
little of the cochineal as will serve, lest the syrup taste bitter.

APPLE MARMALADE. Scald some apples till they come to a pulp; then take
an equal weight of sugar in large lumps, just dip them in water, and
boil the sugar till it can be well skimmed, and is reduced to a thick
syrup. Put it to the pulp, and simmer it on a quick fire a quarter of an
hour. Grate a little lemon peel before boiling, but if too much it will
be bitter.

APPLE PASTY. Make a hot crust of lard or dripping, roll it out warm,
cover it with apples pared and sliced, and a little lemon peel and moist
sugar. Wet the edges of the crust, close it up well, make a few holes in
the top, and bake it in a moderate oven. Gooseberries may be done in the
same way.

APPLE PIE. Pare and core the fruit, after being wiped clean; then boil
the cores and parings in a little water, till it tastes well. Strain the
liquor, add a little sugar, with a bit of bruised cinnamon, and simmer
again. Meantime place the apples in a dish, a paste being put round the
edge; when one layer is in, sprinkle half the sugar, and shred lemon
peel; squeeze in some of the juice, or a glass of cider, if the apples
have lost their spirit. Put in the rest of the apples, the sugar, and
the liquor which has been boiled. If the pie be eaten hot, put some
butter into it, quince marmalade, orange paste or cloves, to give it a
flavour.

APPLE POSTILLA. Bake codlins, or any other sour apples, but without
burning them; pulp them through a sieve into a bowl, and beat them for
four hours. Sweeten the fruit with honey, and beat it four hours more;
the longer it is beaten the better. Pour a thin layer of the mixture on
a cloth spread over a tray, and bake it in a slow oven, with bits of
wood placed under the tray. If not baked enough on one side, set it
again in the oven; and when quite done, turn it. Pour on it a fresh
layer of the mixture, and proceed with it in like manner, till the whole
is properly baked. Apple postilla is also made by peeling the apples and
taking out the cores after they are baked, sweetening with sugar, and
beating it up with a wooden spoon till it is all of a froth. Then put it
on two trays, and bake it for two hours in an oven moderately hot. After
this another layer of the beaten apples is added, and pounded loaf sugar
spread over. Sometimes a still finer sort is made, by beating yolks of
eggs to a froth, and then mixing it with the apple juice.

APPLE PUDDING. Butter a baking dish, put in the batter, and the apples
whole, without being cut or pared, and bake in a quick oven. If the
apples be pared, they will mix with the batter while in the oven, and
make the pudding soft. Serve it up with sugar and butter. For a superior
pudding, grate a pound of pared apples, work it up with six ounces of
butter, four eggs, grated lemon peel, a little sugar and brandy. Line
the dish with good paste, strew over it bits of candied peel, put in the
pudding, and bake it half an hour. A little lemon juice may be added, a
spoonful of bread crumbs, or two or three Naples biscuits. Another way
is, to pare and quarter four large apples, boil them tender, with the
rind of a lemon, in so little water that it may be exhausted in the
boiling. Beat the apples fine in a mortar, add the crumb of a small
roll, four ounces of melted butter, the yolks of five and the whites of
three eggs, the juice of half a lemon, and sugar to taste. Beat all
together, and lay it in a dish with paste to turn out, after baking.

APPLE PUFFS. Pare the fruit, and either stew them in a stone jar on a
hot hearth, or bake them. When cold, mix the pulp of the apple with
sugar and lemon peel shred fine, taking as little as possible of the
apple juice. Bake them in thin paste, in a quick oven: if small, a
quarter of an hour will be sufficient. Orange or quince marmalade is a
great improvement; cinnamon pounded, or orange flower-water, will make
an agreeable change.

APPLE SAUCE. Pare, core, and slice some apples; put them in a stone jar,
into a saucepan of water, or on a hot hearth. If the latter, put in a
spoonful or two of water, to prevent burning. When done, mash them up,
put in a piece of butter the size of a nutmeg, and a little brown sugar.
Serve it in a sauce tureen, for goose and roast pork.

APPLE TRIFLE. Scald some apples, pass them through a sieve, and make a
layer of the pulp at the bottom of a dish; mix the rind of half a lemon
grated, and sweeten with sugar. Or mix half a pint of milk, half a pint
of cream, and the yolk of an egg. Scald it over the fire, and stir it
all the time without boiling; lay it over the apple pulp with a spoon,
and put on it a whip prepared the day before.

APPLE WATER. Cut two large apples in slices, and pour a quart of boiling
water on them, or on roasted apples. Strain it well, and sweeten it
lightly. When cold, it is an agreeable drink in a fever.

APPLE WINE. To every gallon of apple juice, immediately as it comes from
the press, add two pounds of lump sugar; boil it as long as any scum
rises, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool. Add some yeast,
and stir it well; let it work in the tub for two or three weeks, or till
the head begins to flatten; then skim off the head, draw off the liquor
clear, and tun it. When made a year, rack it off, and fine it with
isinglass. To every eight gallons add half a pint of the best rectified
spirits of wine, or a pint of brandy.

APRICOTS DRIED. Pare thin and halve four pounds of apricots, put them in
a dish, and strew among them three pounds of fine loaf-sugar powdered.
When the sugar melts, set the fruit over a stove to do very gently; as
each piece becomes tender, take it out, and put it into a china bowl.
When all are done, and the boiling heat a little abated, pour the syrup
over them. In a day or two remove the syrup, leaving only a little in
each half. In a day or two more turn them, and so continue daily till
quite dry, in the sun or in a warm place. Keep the apricots in boxes,
with layers of fine paper.

APRICOTS PRESERVED. There are various ways of doing this: one is by
steeping them in brandy. Wipe, weigh, and pick the fruit, and have ready
a quarter of the weight of loaf sugar in fine powder. Put the fruit into
an ice-pot that shuts very close, throw the sugar over it, and then
cover the fruit with brandy. Between the top and cover of the pot, fit
in a piece of thick writing paper. Set the pot into a saucepan of water,
and heat it without boiling, till the brandy be as hot as you can bear
your finger in it. Put the fruit into a jar, and pour the brandy on it.
When cold, put a bladder over, and tie it down tight.--Apricots may also
be preserved in jelly. Pare the fruit very thin, and stone it; weigh an
equal quantity of sugar in fine powder, and strew over it. Next day boil
very gently till they are clear, remove them into a bowl, and pour in
the liquor. The following day, mix it with a quart of codlin liquor,
made by boiling and straining, and a pound of fine sugar. Let it boil
quickly till it comes to a jelly; put the fruit into it, give it one
boil, skim it well, and distribute into small pots.--A beautiful
preserve may also be made in the following manner. Having selected the
finest ripe apricots, pare them as thin as possible, and weigh them. Lay
them in halves on dishes, with the hollow part upwards. Prepare an equal
weight of loaf sugar finely pounded, and strew it over them; in the mean
time break the stones, and blanch the kernels. When the fruit has lain
twelve hours, put it into a preserving pan, with the sugar and juice,
and also the kernels. Let it simmer very gently till it becomes clear;
then take out the pieces of apricot singly as they are done, put them
into small pots, and pour the syrup and kernels over them. The scum must
be taken off as it rises, and the pots covered with brandy paper.--Green
apricots are preserved in a different way. Lay vine or apricot leaves at
the bottom of the pan, then fruit and leaves alternately till full, the
upper layer being thick with leaves. Then fill the pan with spring
water, and cover it down, that no steam may escape. Set the pan at a
distance from the fire, that in four or five hours the fruit may be
soft, but not cracked. Make a thin syrup of some of the water, and drain
the fruit. When both are cold, put the fruit into the pan, and the syrup
to it; keep the pan at a proper distance from the fire till the
apricots green, but on no account boil or crack them. Remove the fruit
very carefully into a pan with the syrup for two or three days, then
pour off as much of it as will be necessary, boil with more sugar to
make a rich syrup, and add a little sliced ginger to it. When cold, and
the thin syrup has all been drained from the fruit, pour the thick over
it. The former will serve to sweeten pies.

APRICOT CHEESE. Weigh an equal quantity of pared fruit and sugar, wet
the latter a very little, and let it boil quickly, or the colour will be
spoiled. Blanch the kernels and add them to it: twenty or thirty minutes
will boil it. Put it in small pots or cups half filled.

APRICOT JAM. When the fruit is nearly ripe, pare and cut some in halves;
break the stones, blanch the kernels, and put them to the fruit. Boil
the parings in a little water, and strain it: to a pound of fruit add
three quarters of a pound of fine sifted sugar, and a glass of the water
in which the parings were boiled. Stir it over a brisk fire till it
becomes rather stiff: when cold, put apple jelly over the jam, and tie
it down with brandy paper.

APRICOT PUDDING. Halve twelve large apricots, and scald them till they
are soft. Meanwhile pour on the grated crumbs of a penny loaf a pint of
boiling cream; when half cold, add four ounces of sugar, the yolks of
four beaten eggs, and a glass of white wine. Pound the apricots in a
mortar, with some or all of the kernels; then mix the fruit and other
ingredients together, put a paste round a dish, and bake the pudding in
half an hour.

AROMATIC VINEGAR. Mix with common vinegar a quantity of powdered chalk
or whiting, sufficient to destroy the acidity; and when the white
sediment is formed, pour off the insipid liquor. The powder is then to
be dried, and some oil of vitriol poured upon it, as long as white acid
fumes continue to ascend. This substance forms the essential ingredient,
the fumes of which are particularly useful in purifying rooms and places
where any contagion is suspected.

ARROW ROOT. This valuable article has often been counterfeited: the
American is the best, and may generally be known by its colour and
solidity. If genuine, the arrow root is very nourishing, especially for
weak bowels. Put into a saucepan half a pint of water, a glass of
sherry, or a spoonful of brandy, grated nutmeg, and fine sugar. Boil it
up once, then mix it by degrees into a dessert-spoonful of arrow root,
previously rubbed smooth with two spoonfuls of cold water. Return the
whole into the saucepan, stir and boil it three minutes.

ARSENIC. The fatal effects of mineral poisons are too often experienced,
and for want of timely assistance but seldom counteracted. Arsenic and
other baleful ingredients, if used for the destruction of vermin, should
never be kept with common articles, or laid in the way of children. But
if, unfortunately, this deadly poison should by some mistake be taken
inwardly, the most effectual remedy will be a table-spoonful of powdered
charcoal, mixed with honey, butter, or treacle, and swallowed
immediately. Two hours afterwards, take an emetic or an opening draught,
to cleanse away the whole from the stomach and bowels. The baneful
effects of verdigris, from the use of copper boilers and saucepans, may
be counteracted by the same means, if resorted to in time, and no remedy
is so likely to become effectual.

ARTICHOKES. Soak them in cold water, wash them well, and boil them
gently in plenty of water. If young, they will be ready in half an hour;
if otherwise, they will not be done in twice that time. The surest way
to know when they are boiled enough is to draw out a leaf, and see
whether they be tender; but they cannot be properly boiled without much
water, which tends also to preserve their colour. Trim and drain them on
a sieve, serve with melted butter, pepper and salt, and small cups.

ARTICHOKE BOTTOMS, if dried, must be well soaked, and stewed in weak
gravy. Or they may be boiled in milk, and served with cream sauce, or
added to ragouts, French pies, &c. If intended to keep in the winter,
the bottoms must be slowly dried, and put into paper bags.

ASPARAGUS. Having carefully scraped the stalks till they appear white,
and thrown them into cold water, tie them up in small bundles with tape,
and cut the stalks of an equal length. Put them into a stewpan of
boiling water a little salted, and take them up as soon as they begin to
be tender, or they will lose both their taste and colour. Meanwhile make
toasts well browned for the bottom of the dish, moisten them in the
asparagus liquor, place them regularly, and pour on some melted butter.
Then lay the asparagus on the toasts round the dish, with the heads
united at the centre, but pour no butter over them. Serve with melted
butter in a sauce tureen, and separate cups, that the company may season
with salt and pepper to their taste.--As this vegetable is one of the
greatest delicacies which the garden affords, no person should be
unacquainted with the means of producing it in constant succession.
Toward the end of July, the stalks of the asparagus are to be cut down,
and the beds forked up and raked smooth. If the weather be dry, they
should be watered with the drain of a dunghill, and left rather hollow
in the middle to retain the moisture. In about a fortnight the stalks
will begin to appear, and the watering should be continued once a week
if the weather be dry. Asparagus may thus be cut till near the end of
September, and then by making five or six hot-beds during the winter, a
regular succession may be provided for almost every month in the year.
To obviate the objection of cutting the same beds twice a year, two or
three others may be left uncut in the spring, and additional beds made
for the purpose. The seed is cheap, and in most places the dung may be
easily procured. There is no need to continue the old beds when they
begin to fail; it is better to make new ones, and to force the old roots
by applying some rotten dung on the tops of the beds, and to sow seed
every year for new plants.

ASSES' MILK, so beneficial in consumptive cases, should be milked into a
glass that is kept warm, by being placed in a bason of hot water. The
fixed air that it contains sometimes occasions pain in the stomach; at
first therefore a tea-spoonful of rum may be taken with it, but should
only be put in the moment it is to be swallowed. The genuine milk far
surpasses any imitation of it that can be made; but a substitute may be
found in the following composition. Boil a quart of water with a quart
of new milk, an ounce of white sugar-candy, half an ounce of
eringo-root, and half an ounce of conserve of roses, till the quantity
be half wasted. As this is an astringent, the doses must be proportioned
accordingly, and the mixture is wholesome only while it remains
sweet.--Another way. Mix two spoonfuls of boiling water, two of milk,
and an egg well beaten. Sweeten with white sugar-candy pounded: this may
be taken twice or thrice a day. Or, boil two ounces of hartshorn-shavings,
two ounces of pearl barley, two ounces of candied eringo-root, and one
dozen of snails that have been bruised, in two quarts of water till
reduced to one. Mix with an equal quantity of new milk, when taken,
twice a day.

ASTHMA. As this complaint generally attacks aged people, the best mode
of relief will be to attend carefully to diet and exercise, which should
be light and easy, and to avoid as much as possible an exposure to cold
and frosty air. The temperature of the apartment should be equalised to
moderate summer's heat by flues and stoves, and frequently ventilated. A
dish of the best coffee, newly ground and made very strong, and taken
frequently without milk or sugar, has been found highly beneficial. An
excellent diet drink may be made of toast and water, with the addition
of a little vinegar, or a few grains of nitre. Tar water is strongly
recommended, and also the smoking of the dried leaves of stramonium,
commonly called the thorn-apple.

ASTRINGENT BOLUS, proper to be taken in female complaints, arising from
excessive evacuations. Fifteen grains of powdered alum, and five grains
of gum kino, made into a bolus with a little syrup, and given every four
or five hours till the discharge abates.

ASTRINGENT MIXTURE, in case of dysentery, may be made of three ounces of
cinnamon water, mixed with as much common water, an ounce and a half of
spirituous cinnamon-water, and half an ounce of japonic confection. A
spoonful or two of this mixture may be taken every four hours, after the
necessary evacuations have been allowed, and where the dysentery has not
been of long standing, interposing every second or third day a dose of
rhubarb.

BACON, though intended to be a cheap article of housekeeping, is often,
through mismanagement, rendered one of the most expensive. Generally
twice as much is dressed as need be, and of course there is a deal of
waste. When sent to table as an accompaniment to boiled poultry or veal,
a pound and a half is plenty for a dozen people. Bacon will boil better,
and swell more freely, if the rind is taken off before it is dressed;
and when excessively salt, it should be soaked an hour or two in warm
water. If the bacon be dried, pare off the rusty and smoked part, trim
it neatly on the under side, and scrape the rind as clean as possible.
Or take it up when sufficiently boiled, scrape the under side, and cut
off the rind: grate a crust of bread over it, and place it a few minutes
before the fire to brown. Two pounds will require to be boiled gently
about an hour and a half, according to its thickness: the hock or gammon
being very thick, will take more. See DRIED BACON.

BAKING. This mode of preparing a dinner is undoubtedly one of the
cheapest and most convenient, especially for a small family; and the
oven is almost the only kitchen which the poor man possesses. Much
however depends on the care and ability of the baker: in the country
especially, where the baking of dinners is not always considered as a
regular article of business, it is rather a hazardous experiment to send
a valuable joint to the oven; and more is often wasted and spoiled by
the heedless conduct of the parish cook, than would have paid for the
boiling or roasting at home. But supposing the oven to be managed with
care and judgment, there are many joints which may be baked to great
advantage, and will be found but little inferior to roasting.
Particularly, legs and loins of pork, legs of mutton, fillets of veal,
and other joints, if the meat be fat and good, will be eaten with great
satisfaction, when they come from the oven. A sucking pig is also well
adapted to the purpose, and is equal to a roasted one, if properly
managed. When sent to the baker, it should have its ears and tail
covered with buttered paper fastened on, and a bit of butter tied up in
a piece of linen to baste the back with, otherwise it will be apt to
blister. A goose should be prepared the same as for roasting, placing it
on a stand, and taking care to turn it when it is half done. A duck the
same. If a buttock of beef is to be baked, it should be well washed,
after it has been in salt about a week, and put into a brown earthen pan
with a pint of water. Cover the pan tight over with two or three
thicknesses of writing paper, and give it four or five hours in a
moderate oven. Brown paper should never be used with baked dishes; the
pitch and tar which it contains will give the meat a smoky bad taste.
Previously to baking a ham, soak it in water an hour, take it out and
wipe it, and make a crust sufficient to cover it all over; and if done
in a moderate oven, it will cut fuller of gravy, and be of a finer
flavour, than a boiled one. Small cod-fish, haddock, and mackarel will
bake well, with a dust of flour and some bits of butter put on them.
Large eels should be stuffed. Herrings and sprats are to be baked in a
brown pan, with vinegar and a little spice, and tied over with paper.
These and various other articles may be baked so as to give full
satisfaction, if the oven be under judicious management.

BAKED CARP. Clean a large carp, put in a Portuguese stuffing, and sow
it up. Brush it all over with the yolk of an egg, throw on plenty of
crumbs, and drop on oiled butter to baste with. Place the carp in a deep
earthen dish, with a pint of stock, a few sliced onions, some bay
leaves, a bunch of herbs, such as basil, thyme, parsley, and both sorts
of marjoram; half a pint of port wine, and six anchovies. Cover over the
pan, and bake it an hour. Let it be done before it is wanted. Pour the
liquor from it, and keep the fish hot while you heat up the liquor with
a good piece of butter rolled in flour, a tea-spoonful of mustard, a
little cayenne, and a spoonful of soy. Serve it on the dish, garnished
with lemon and parsley, and horse-radish, and put the gravy into the
sauce tureen.

BAKED CUSTARD. Boil a pint of cream and half a pint of milk with a
little mace, cinnamon and lemon peel. When cold, mix the yolks of three
eggs, and sweeten the custard. Make the cups or paste nearly full, and
bake them ten minutes.

BAKED HERRINGS. Wash and drain, without wiping them; and when drawn,
they should not be opened. Season with allspice in fine powder, salt,
and a few whole cloves. Lay them in a pan with plenty of black pepper,
an onion, and a few bay leaves. Add half vinegar and half small beer,
enough to cover them. Put paper over the pan, and bake in a slow oven.
If it be wished to make them look red, throw a little saltpetre over
them the night before.

BAKED MILK. A very useful article may be made for weakly and consumptive
persons in the following manner. Put a gallon of milk into a jar, tie
white paper over it, and let it stand all night in the oven when baking
is over. Next morning it will be as thick as cream, and may be drank two
or three times a day.

BAKED PEARS. Those least fit to eat raw, are often the best for baking.
Do not pare them, but wipe and lay them on tin plates, and bake them in
a slow oven. When done enough to bear it, flatten them with a silver
spoon; and when done through, put them on a dish. They should be baked
three or four times, and very gently.

BAKED PIKE. Scale and open it as near the throat as possible, and then
put in the following stuffing. Grated bread, herbs, anchovies, oysters,
suet, salt, pepper, mace, half a pint of cream, four yolks of eggs; mix
all over the fire till it thickens, and then sow it up in the fish.
Little bits of butter should be scattered over it, before it is sent to
the oven. Serve it with gravy sauce, butter and anchovy. In carving a
pike, if the back and belly be slit up, and each slice drawn gently
downwards, fewer bones will be given at table.

BAKED SOUP. A cheap and plentiful dish for poor families, or to give
away, may be made of a pound of any kind of meat cut in slices, with two
onions, two carrots sliced, two ounces of rice, a pint of split peas, or
whole ones if previously soaked, seasoned with pepper and salt. Put the
whole into an earthen jug or pan, adding a gallon of water: cover it
very close, and bake it.

BALM WINE. Boil three pounds of lump sugar in a gallon of water; skim it
clean, put in a handful of balm, and boil it ten minutes. Strain it off,
cool it, put in some yeast, and let it stand two days. Add the rind and
juice of a lemon, and let it stand in the cask six months.

BALSAMIC VINEGAR. One of the best remedies for wounds or bruises is the
balsamic or anti-putrid vinegar, which is made in the following manner.
Take a handful of sage leaves and flowers, the same of lavender, hyssop,
thyme, and savory; two heads of garlic, and a handful of salt. These are
to be infused in some of the best white-wine vinegar; and after
standing a fortnight or three weeks, it will be fit for use.

BANBURY CAKES. Work a pound of butter into a pound of white-bread dough,
the same as for puff paste; roll it out very thin, and cut it into bits
of an even form, the size intended for the cakes. Moisten some powder
sugar with a little brandy, mix in some clean currants, put a little of
it on each bit of paste, close them up, and bake them on a tin. When
they are taken out, sift some fine sugar over them.

BARBERRIES, when preserved for tarts, must be picked clean from the
stalks, choosing such as are free from stones. To every pound of fruit,
weigh three quarters of a pound of lump sugar; put the fruit into a
stone jar, and either set it on a hot hearth, or in a saucepan of water,
and let them simmer very slowly till soft. Then put them and the sugar
into a preserving-pan, and boil them gently fifteen minutes.--To
preserve barberries in bunches, prepare some fleaks of white wool, three
inches long, and a quarter of an inch wide. Tie the stalks of the fruit
on the stick, from within an inch of one end to beyond the other, so as
to make them look handsome. Simmer them in some syrup two successive
days, covering them each time with it when cold. When they look clear,
they are simmered enough. The third day, they should be treated like
other candied fruit. See CANDIED.

BARBERRY DROPS. Cut off the black tops, and roast the fruit before the
fire, till it is soft enough to pulp with a silver spoon through a sieve
into a china bason. Then set the bason in a saucepan of water, the top
of which will just fit it, or on a hot hearth, and stir it till it grows
thick. When cold, put to every pint a pound and a half of double refined
sugar, pounded and sifted through a lawn sieve, which must be covered
with a fine linen, to prevent waste while sifting. Beat the sugar and
juice together three hours and a half if a large quantity, but two and a
half for less. Then drop it on sheets of white thick paper, the size of
drops sold in the shops. Some fruit is not so sour, and then less sugar
is necessary. To know when there is enough, mix till well incorporated,
and then drop. If it run, there is not enough sugar; and if there be too
much, it will be rough. A dry room will suffice to dry them. No metal
must touch the juice but the point of a knife, just to take the drop off
the end of the wooden spoon, and then as little as possible.

BARLEY BROTH. Wash three quarters of a pound of Scotch barley in a
little cold water, put it in a soup pot with a shin or leg of beef, or a
knuckle of veal of about ten pounds weight, sawn into four pieces. Cover
it with cold water, and set it on the fire; when it boils skim it very
clean, and put in two onions. Set it by the side of the fire to simmer
very gently about two hours; then skim off all the fat, put in two heads
of celery, and a large turnip cut into small squares. Season it with
salt, let it boil an hour and a half longer, and it is done. Take out
the meat carefully with a slice, cover it up and keep it warm by the
fire, and skim the broth well before it is put into the tureen. This
dish is much admired in Scotland, where it is regarded, not only as
highly nutricious, but as a necessary article of domestic economy: for
besides the excellent soup thus obtained, the meat also becomes an
agreeable dish, served up with sauce in the following manner. Reserve a
quart of the soup, put about an ounce of flour into a stewpan, pour the
liquor to it by degrees, stirring it well together till it boils. Add a
glass of port wine or mushroom ketchup, and let it gently boil up;
strain the sauce through a sieve over the meat, and add to it some
capers, minced gherkins, or walnuts. The flavour may be varied or
improved, by the addition of a little curry powder, ragout, or any other
store sauces.

BARLEY GRUEL. Wash four ounces of pearl barley, boil it in two quarts of
water and a stick of cinnamon, till reduced to a quart. Strain and
return it into the saucepan with some sugar, and three quarters of a
pint of port wine. It may be warmed up, and used as wanted.

BARLEY SUGAR. This well known article of confectionary is made in the
following manner. Put some common or clarified syrup into a saucepan
with a spout, such as for melting butter, if little is wanted to be
made, and boil it till it comes to what is called carimel, carefully
taking off whatever scum may arise; and having prepared a marble stone,
either with butter or sweet oil, just sufficiently to prevent sticking,
pour the syrup gently along the marble, in long sticks of whatever
thickness may be desired. While hot, twist it at each end; and let it
remain till cold, when it will be fit for immediate use. The rasped rind
of lemon, boiled up in the syrup, gives a very agreeable flavour to
barley sugar; and indeed the best is commonly so prepared.

BARLEY WATER. Wash a handful of common barley, then simmer it gently in
three pints of water, with a bit of lemon peel. Or boil an ounce of
pearl barley a few minutes to cleanse it, and then put on it a quart of
water. Simmer it an hour: when half done, put into it a piece of fresh
lemon peel, and one bit of sugar. If likely to be thick, add a quarter
of a pint of water, and a little lemon juice, if approved. This makes a
very pleasant drink for a sick person; but the former is less apt to
nauseate.

BASIL VINEGAR. Sweet basil is in full perfection about the middle of
August, when the fresh green leaves should be gathered, and put into a
wide-mouthed bottle. Cover the leaves with vinegar, and let them steep
for ten days. If it be wished to have the infusion very strong, strain
out the liquor, put in some fresh leaves, and let them steep for ten
days more. This is a very agreeable addition to sauces and soups, and to
the mixture usually made for salads.

BASILICON. Yellow basilicon is made of equal quantities of bees-wax,
white rosin, and frankincense. Melt them together over a slow fire, add
the same weight of fresh lard, and strain it off while it is warm. This
ointment is used for cleansing and healing wounds and ulcers.

BASKET SALT. This fine and delicate article is chiefly made from the
salt springs in Cheshire, and differs from the common brine salt,
usually called sea salt, not only in its whiteness and purity, but in
the fineness of its grain. Some families entertain prejudices against
basket salt, notwithstanding its superior delicacy, from an idea, which
does not appear warranted, that pernicious articles are used in its
preparation; it may therefore be proper to mention, that by dissolving
common salt, again evaporating into dryness, and then reducing it to
powder in a mortar, a salt nearly equal to basket salt may be obtained,
fine and of a good colour, and well adapted to the use of the table.

BATH BUNS. Rub half a pound of butter into a pound of fine flour, with
five eggs, and three spoonfuls of thick yeast. Set it before the fire to
rise; then add a quarter of a pound of powdered sugar, and an ounce of
carraway seeds. Mix them well in, roll it out in little cakes, strew on
carraway comfits, and bake on tins.

BATTER PUDDING. Rub by degrees three spoonfuls of fine flour extremely
smooth, into a pint of milk. Simmer till it thickens, stir it in two
ounces of butter, set it to cool, and then add the yolks of three eggs.
Flour a wet cloth, or butter a bason, and put the batter into it. Tie it
tight, and plunge it into boiling water, the bottom upwards. Boil it an
hour and a half, and serve with plain butter. If a little ginger,
nutmeg, and lemon peel be added, serve with sweet sauce.

BEAN BREAD. Blanch half a pound of almonds, and put them into water to
preserve their colour. Cut the almonds edgeways, wipe them dry, and
sprinkle over them half a pound of fine loaf sugar pounded and sifted.
Beat up the white of an egg with two spoonfuls of orange-flower water,
moisten the almonds with the froth, lay them lightly on wafer paper, and
bake them on tins.

BEAN PUDDING. Boil and blanch some old green-beans, beat them in a
mortar, with very little pepper and salt, some cream, and the yolk of an
egg. A little spinach-juice will give a finer colour, but it is as good
without. Boil it an hour, in a bason that will just hold it; pour
parsley and butter over, and serve it up with bacon.

BEE HIVES. Common bee hives made of straw are generally preferred,
because they are not likely to be overheated by the rays of the sun;
they will also keep out the cold better than wood, and are cheaper than
any other material. As cleanliness however is of great consequence in
the culture of these delicate and industrious insects, the bottom or
floor of the hive should be covered with gypsum or plaster of Paris, of
which they are very fond; and the outside of their habitation should be
overspread with a cement made of two-thirds of cow-dung, and one-third
of ashes. This coating will exclude noxious insects, which would
otherwise perforate and lodge in the straw; it will also secure the bees
from cold and wet, while it exhales an odour which to them is very
grateful. The inner part of the hive should be furnished with two thin
pieces of oak, or peeled branches of lime tree, placed across each other
at right angles, which will greatly facilitate the construction of the
combs, and support them when filled with honey. A good bee-hive ought to
be so planned as to be capable of enlargement or contraction, according
to the number of the swarm; to admit of being opened without disturbing
the bees, either for the purpose of cleaning it, of freeing it from
noxious insects, or for the admission of a stock of provision for the
winter. It should also admit of the produce being removed without injury
to the bees, and be internally clean, smooth, and free from flaws. A
hive of this description may easily be made of three or four open square
boxes, fastened to each other with buttons or wooden pegs, and the
joints closed with cement. The whole may be covered with a moveable
roof, projecting over the boxes to carry off the rain, and kept firm on
the top by a stone being laid upon it. If the swarm be not very
numerous, two or three boxes will be sufficient. They should be made of
wood an inch thick, that the bees and wax may be less affected by the
changes of the atmosphere. This hive is so easily constructed, that it
is only necessary to join four boards together in the simplest manner;
and a little cement will cover all defects. Within the upper part of the
boxes, two bars should be fixed across from one corner to another, to
support the combs. At the lower end of each box in front, there must be
an aperture, or door, about an inch and an half wide, and as high as is
necessary for the bees to pass without obstruction. The lowest is to be
left open as a passage for the bees, and the others are to be closed by
a piece of wood fitted to the aperture. A hive thus constructed may be
enlarged or diminished, according to the number of boxes; and a
communication with the internal part can readily be effected by removing
the cover.

BEE HOUSE. An apiary or bee house should front the south, in a situation
between the extremes of heat and cold. It should stand in a valley, that
the bees may with greater ease descend loaded on their return to the
hive; and near a dwelling-house, but at a distance from noise and
offensive smells; surrounded with a low wall, and in the vicinity of
shallow water. If there be no running stream at hand, they ought to be
supplied with water in troughs or pans, with small stones laid at the
bottom, that the bees may alight upon them and drink. They cannot
produce either combs, honey, or food for their maggots, without water;
but the neighbourhood of rivers or ponds with high banks ought to be
avoided, or the bees will be blown into the water with high winds, and
be drowned. Care should also be taken to place the hives in a
neighbourhood which abounds with such plants as will supply the bees
with food; such as the oak, the pine, the willow, fruit trees, furze,
broom, mustard, clover, heath, and thyme, particularly borage, which
produces an abundance of farina. The garden in which the bee house
stands, should be well furnished with scented plants and flowers, and
branchy shrubs, that it may be easy to hive the swarms which may settle
on them. See BEES, HIVING, &c.

BEEF. In every sort of provisions, the best of the kind goes the
farthest; it cuts out with most advantage, and affords most nourishment.
The best way to obtain a good article is to deal with shops of
established credit. You may perhaps pay a little more than by purchasing
of those who pretend to sell cheap, but you will be more than in
proportion better served. To prevent imposition more effectually,
however, it is necessary to form our own judgment of the quality and
value of the articles to be purchased. If the flesh of ox-beef is young,
it will show a fine smooth open grain, be of a good red, and feel
tender. The fat should look white rather than yellow, for when that is
of a deep colour, the meat is seldom good. Beef fed with oil cakes is
generally so, and the flesh is loose and flabby. The grain of cow-beef
is closer, and the fat whiter, than that of ox-beef; but the lean is not
so bright a red. The grain of bull-beef is closer still, the fat hard
and skinny, the lean of a deep red, and a stronger scent. Ox-beef is the
reverse; it is also the richest and the largest; but in small families,
and to some tastes, heifer-beef as better still, if finely fed. In old
meat there is a horny streak in the ribs of beef: the harder that is,
the older: and the flesh is not finely flavoured.

BEEF BOUILLI. A term given to boiled beef, which, according to the
French fashion, is simmered over a slow fire, for the purpose of
extracting a rich soup, while at the same time the meat makes its
appearance at table, in possession of a full portion of nutricious
succulence. This requires nothing more than to stew the meat very
slowly, instead of keeping the pot quickly boiling, and taking up the
beef as soon as it is done enough. Meat cooked in this manner, affords
much more nourishment than when dressed in the common way, and is easy
of digestion in proportion to its tenderness. The leg or shin, or the
middle of a brisket of beef, weighing seven or eight pounds, is best
adapted for this purpose. Put it into a soup pot or deep stewpan with
cold water enough to cover it, and a quart over. Set it on a quick fire
to get the scum up, which remove as it rises; then put in two carrots,
two turnips, two leeks, or two large onions, two heads of celery, two
or three cloves, and a faggot of parsley and sweet herbs. Set the pot by
the side of the fire to simmer very gently, till the meat is just tender
enough to eat: this will require four or five hours. When the beef is
done, take it up carefully with a slice, cover it up, and keep it warm
by the fire. Thicken a pint and a half of the beef liquor with three
table spoonfuls of flour, season it with pepper, a glass of port wine or
mushroom ketchup, or both, and pour it over the beef. Strain the soup
through a hair sieve into a clean stewpan, take off the fat, cut the
vegetables into small squares, and add them to the soup, the flavour of
which may be heightened, by adding a table-spoonful of ketchup.

BEEF BROTH. If intended for sick persons, it is better to add other
kinds of meat, which render it more nourishing and better flavoured.
Take then two pounds of lean beef, one pound of scrag of veal, one pound
of scrag of mutton, some sweet herbs, and ten pepper corns, and put the
whole into a nice tin saucepan, with five quarts of water. Simmer it to
three quarts, clear it from the fat when cold, and add an onion if
approved. If there be still any fat remaining, lay a piece of clean
blotting or writing paper on the broth when in the bason, and it will
take up every particle of the fat.

BEEF CAKES, chiefly intended for a side-dish of dressed meat. Pound some
beef that is under done, with a little fat bacon or ham. Season with
pepper, salt, a little shalot or garlick; mix them well, and make the
whole into small cakes three inches long, and half as wide and thick.
Fry them to a light brown, and serve them in good thick gravy.

BEEF CECILS. Mince some beef with crumbs of bread, a quantity of onions,
some anchovies, lemon peel, salt, nutmeg, chopped parsley, pepper, and
a bit of warmed butter. Mix these over the fire a few minutes: when cool
enough, make them into balls of the size and shape of a turkey's egg,
with an egg. Sprinkle them with fine crumbs, fry them of a yellow brown,
and serve with gravy, as for Beef Olives.

BEEF COLLOPS. Cut thin slices of beef from the rump, or any other tender
part, and divide them into pieces three inches long: beat them with the
blade of a knife, and flour them. Fry the collops quick in butter two
minutes; then lay them into a small stewpan, and cover them with a pint
of gravy. Add a bit of butter rubbed in flour, pepper and salt, a little
bit of shalot shred very fine, with half a walnut, four small pickled
cucumbers, and a tea-spoonful of capers cut small. Be careful that the
stew does not boil, and serve in a hot covered dish.

BEEF FRICASSEE. Cut some thin slices of cold roast beef, shred a handful
of parsley very small, cut an onion into quarters, and put them all
together into a stewpan, with a piece of butter, and some strong broth.
Season with salt and pepper, and simmer very gently for a quarter of an
hour. Mix into it the yolks of two eggs, a glass of port wine, and a
spoonful of vinegar: stir it quick, rub the dish with shalot, and turn
the fricassee into it.

BEEF GRAVY. Cover the bottom of a stewpan, clean and well-tinned, with a
slice of good ham or lean bacon, four or five pounds of gravy beef cut
in pieces, an onion, a carrot, two cloves, and a head of celery. Add a
pint of broth or water, cover it close, and simmer it till the liquor is
nearly all exhausted. Turn it about, and let it brown slightly and
equally all over, but do not suffer it to burn or stick to the pan, for
that would spoil the gravy. Then put in three quarts of boiling water;
and when it boils up, skim it carefully, and wipe off with a clean
cloth what sticks round the edge and inside of the stewpan, that the
gravy may be delicately clean and clear. Let it stew gently by the side
of the fire for about four hours, till reduced to two quarts of good
gravy. Take care to skim it well, strain it through silk or muslin, and
set it in a cold place.

BEEF HAMS. Cut the leg of beef like a ham; and for fourteen pounds
weight, mix a pound of salt, a pound of brown sugar, an ounce of
saltpetre, and an ounce of bay salt. Put it into the meat, turn and
baste it every day, and let it lie a month in the pickle. Then take it
out, roll it in bran, and smoke it. Afterwards hang it in a dry place,
and cut off pieces to boil, or broil it with poached eggs.

BEEF HASH. Cut some thin slices of beef that is underdone, with some of
the fat; put it into a small stewpan, with a little onion or shalot, a
little water, pepper and salt. Add some of the gravy, a spoonful of
vinegar, and of walnut ketchup: if shalot vinegar be used, there will be
no need of the onion nor the raw shalot. The hash is only to be simmered
till it is hot through, but not boiled: it is owing to the boiling of
hashes and stews that they get hard. When the hash is well warmed up,
pour it upon sippets of bread previously prepared, and laid in a warm
dish.

BEEF HEART. Wash it carefully, stuff it as a hare, and serve with rich
gravy and currant-jelly sauce. Hash it with the same, and add a little
port wine.

BEEF OLIVES. Take some cold beef that has not been done enough, and cut
slices half an inch thick, and four inches square. Lay on them a
forcemeat of crumbs of bread, shalot, a little suet or fat, pepper and
salt. Roll and fasten them with a small skewer, put them into a stewpan
with some gravy made of the beef bones, or the gravy of the meat, and a
spoonful or two of water, and stew them till tender. Beef olives may
also be made of fresh meat.

BEEF PALATES. Simmer them in water several hours, till they will peel.
Then cut the palates into slices, or leave them whole, and stew them in
a rich gravy till they become as tender as possible. Season with
cayenne, salt and ketchup: if the gravy was drawn clear, add also some
butter and flour. If the palates are to be dressed white, boil them in
milk, and stew them in a fricassee sauce; adding cream, butter, flour,
mushroom powder, and a little pounded mace.

BEEF PASTY. Bone a small rump or part of a sirloin of beef, after
hanging several days. Beat it well with a rolling pin; then rub ten
pounds of meat with four ounces of sugar, and pour over it a glass of
port, and the same of vinegar. Let it lie five days and nights; wash and
wipe the meat very dry, and season it high with pepper and salt, nutmeg
and Jamaica pepper. Lay it in a dish, and to ten pounds add nearly one
pound of butter, spreading it over the meat. Put a crust round the
edges, and cover with a thick one, or it will be overdone before the
meat is soaked: it must be baked in a slow oven. Set the bones in a pan
in the oven, with no more water than will cover them, and one glass of
port, a little pepper and salt, in order to provide a little rich gravy
to add to the pasty when drawn. It will be found that sugar gives more
shortness and a better flavour to meat than salt, too great a quantity
of which hardens; and sugar is quite as good a preservative.

BEEF PATTIES. Shred some dressed beef under done, with a little fat;
season with salt and pepper, and a little shalot or onion. Make a plain
paste, roll it thin, and cut it in shape like an apple puff. Fill it
with mince, pinch the edges, and fry them of a nice brown. The paste
should be made with a small quantity of butter, egg and milk.

BEEF PIE. Season some cuttings of beef with pepper and salt, put some
puff paste round the inside of the dish, and lay in the meat. Add some
small potatoes, if approved, fill up the dish with water, and cover it
with the paste.

BEEF PUDDING. Roll some fine steaks with fat between, and a very little
shred onion. Lay a paste of suet in a bason, put in the rolled steaks,
cover the bason with a paste, and pinch the edges to keep in the gravy.
Cover with a cloth tied close, and let the pudding boil slowly a
considerable time.--If for baking, make a batter of milk, two eggs and
flour, or, which is much better, potatoes boiled, and mashed through a
cullender. Lay a little of it at the bottom of the dish, then put in the
steaks prepared as above, and very well seasoned. Pour the remainder of
the batter over them, and bake it.

BEEF SANDERS. Mince some beef small, with onion, pepper and salt, and
add a little gravy. Put it into scallop shells or saucers, making them
three parts full, and fill them up with potatoes, mashed with a little
cream. Put a bit of butter on the top, and brown them in an oven, or
before the fire, or with a salamander. Mutton may be made into sanders
in the same way.

BEEF SCALLOPS. Mince some beef fine, with onion, pepper and salt, and
add a little gravy. Put the mince into scallop shells or saucers three
parts full, and fill them up with potatoes, mashed with a little cream.
Lay a bit of butter on the tops, and brown them in an oven, or before
the fire.

BEEF STEAKS. To have them fine, they should be cut from a rump that has
hung a few days. Broil them over a very clear or charcoal fire; put into
the dish a little minced shalot, a table-spoonful of ketchup. The steak
should be turned often, that the gravy may not be drawn out on either
side. This dish requires to be eaten so hot and fresh done, that it is
not in perfection if served with any thing else. Pepper and salt should
be added when taking it off the fire, and a bit of butter rubbed on at
the moment of serving. If accompanied with oyster sauce, strain off the
liquor from the oysters, and throw them into cold water to take off the
grit, while you simmer the liquor with a bit of mace and lemon peel.
Then put in the oysters, stew them a few minutes, add a little cream,
and some butter rubbed in a bit of flour. Let them boil up once, and
throw the sauce over the steaks at the moment of sending the dish to
table.

BEEF STEW. Cut into small pieces four or five pounds of beef, with some
hard fat. Put these into a stewpan, with three pints of water, a little
salt and pepper, a sprig of sweet herbs, and three cloves. Cover the pan
very close, and let it stew four hours over a slow fire. Throw in some
carrots and turnips, cut into square pieces; the white part of a leek,
with two heads of celery chopped fine; a crust of bread, and two
spoonfuls of vinegar. When done, put it into a deep dish, set it over
hot water, and cover it close. Skim the gravy, and put in a few pickled
mushrooms; thicken it with flour and butter, make it hot, and pour it
over the beef.

BEEF TEA. Cut a pound of fleshy beef into thin slices; simmer it with a
quart of water twenty minutes, after it has once boiled, and been
skimmed. Season it, if approved; but a little salt only is sufficient.

BEEF VINGRETTE. Cut a slice of under-done boiled beef three inches
thick, and a little fat. Stew it in half a pint of water, a glass of
white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, and a bay leaf. Season it
with three cloves pounded, and pepper, till the liquor is nearly wasted
away, turning it once. Serve it up cold. Strain off the gravy, and mix
it with a little vinegar for sauce.

BEER. During the present ruinous system of taxation, it is extremely
difficult, though highly desirable, to procure a cheap and wholesome
beverage, especially for the labouring part of the community, to whom it
is as needful as their daily food. Beer that is brewed and drunk at
home, is more pure and nutricious than what is generally purchased at an
alehouse; and those who cannot afford a better article, may perhaps find
it convenient to adopt the following method for obtaining some cheap
drink for small families.--To half a bushel of malt, add four pounds of
treacle, and three quarters of a pound of hops. This will make
twenty-five gallons of wholesome beer, which will be fit for use in a
fortnight; but it is not calculated for keeping, especially in warm
weather. Beer brewed in this way will not cost one halfpenny a pint. An
agreeable table beer may be made ready for drinking in three or four
days, consisting of treacle and water, fermented with a little yeast.
Boil six or seven gallons of water, pour it on the same quantity of cold
water in a cask, and a gallon of treacle. Stir them well together; and
when the fermentation is abated, close the bung-hole in the usual way. A
little of the outer rind of an orange peel infused into the beer, and
taken out as soon as it has imparted a sufficient degree of bitterness,
will give it an agreeable flavour, and assist in keeping the beer from
turning sour. A little gentian root boiled in the water, either with or
without the orange peel, will give a wholesome and pleasant bitter to
this beer. A small quantity, by way of experiment, may be made thus. To
eight quarts of boiling water, put one ounce of treacle, a quarter of
an ounce of ginger, and two bay leaves. Let the whole boil a quarter of
an hour; then cool and work it with yeast, the same as other beer.
Another way to make a cheap malt liquor is to take a bushel of malt,
with as much water and hops as if two bushels of malt were allowed in
the common way, and put seven pounds of the coarsest brown sugar into
the boiling wort. This makes a very pleasant liquor; is as strong, and
will keep as long without turning sour or flat, as if two bushels had
been employed. Twenty gallons of good beer may be made from a bushel of
malt, and three quarters of a pound of hops, if care be taken to extract
all their goodness. For this purpose boil twenty-four gallons of water,
and steep the malt in it for three hours: then tie up the hops in a hair
cloth, and boil malt, hops, and wort, all together for three quarters of
an hour, which will reduce it to about twenty gallons. Strain it off,
and set it to work when lukewarm. See BREWING.--As however it does not
suit some persons to brew, in any way whatever, it may be necessary to
add a few brief remarks on the distinguishing qualities of sound beer,
that persons may know what it is they purchase, and how far their health
may be affected by it. Wholesome beer then ought to be of a bright
colour, and perfectly transparent, neither too high nor too pale. It
should have a pleasant and mellow taste, sharp and agreeably bitter,
without being hard or sour. It should leave no pungent sensation on the
tongue; and if drank in any tolerable quantity, it must neither produce
speedy intoxication, nor any of the usual effects of sleep, nausea,
headache, or languor; nor should it be retained too long after drinking
it, or be too quickly discharged. If beer purchased at the alehouse be
suspected of having been adulterated with the infusion of vitriol, for
the purpose of adding to its strength, it may be detected by putting in
a few nut galls, which will immediately turn it black, if it have been
so adulterated; and the beer ought by all means to be rejected, as
highly injurious to the constitution, and may be fatal even to life
itself.

BEES. A hive of bees may be considered as a populous city, containing
thirty thousand inhabitants. This community is in itself a monarchy,
composed of a queen, of males which are the drones, and of working bees
called neuters. The combs being composed of pure wax, serve as a
magazine for their stores, and a nursery for their young. Between the
combs there is a space sufficient for two bees to march abreast, and
there are also transverse defiles by which they can more easily pass
from one comb to another.--The queen bee is distinguishable from the
rest by the form of her body. She is much longer, unwieldy, and of a
brighter colour, and seldom leaves the parent hive; but when she goes to
settle a new colony, all the bees attend her to the place of
destination. A hive of bees cannot subsist without a queen, as she
produces their numerous progeny; and hence their attachment to her is
unalterable. When a queen dies, the bees immediately cease working,
consume their honey, fly about at unusual times, and eventually pine
away, if not supplied with another sovereign. The death of the queen is
proclaimed by a clear and uninterrupted humming, which should be a
warning to the owner to provide the bees if possible with another queen,
whose presence will restore vigour and exertion; of such importance is a
sovereign to the existence and prosperity of this community. It is
computed that a pregnant queen bee contains about five thousand eggs,
and that she produces from ten to twelve thousand bees in the space of
two months.--Drones are smaller than the queen, but larger than the
working bees, and when on the wing they make a greater noise. Their
office is to impregnate the eggs of the queen after they are deposited
in the cells; but when this is effected, as they become useless to the
hive, they are destroyed by the working bees and thrown out; and having
no sting, they are without the power of resistance. After the season of
the encrease of the bees is past, and when they attend to the collection
of winter stores, every vestige of the drones is destroyed to make room
for the honey. When drones are observed in a hive late in autumn, it is
usually a sign that the stock is poor.--Working bees compose the most
numerous body of the state. They have the care of the hive, collect the
wax and honey, fabricate the wax into combs, feed the young, keep the
hive clean, expel all strangers, and employ themselves in promoting the
general prosperity. The working bee has two stomachs, one to contain the
honey, and another for the crude wax. Among the different kinds of
working bees, those are to be preferred which are small, smooth, and
shining, and of a gentle disposition.--Considering the rich productions
of these little insects, and the valuable purposes to which they may be
applied, it is truly astonishing that so important an object in rural
economy has been so little attended to by the inhabitants of this
country. In Egypt, the cultivation of bees forms a leading object, and
their productions constitute a part of its riches. About the end of
October, when sustenance cannot be provided for them at home, the
inhabitants of Lower Egypt embark their bees on the Nile, and convey
them to the distant regions of Upper Egypt, when the inundation is
withdrawn, and the flowers are beginning to bud. These insects are thus
conducted through the whole extent of that fertile country; and after
having gathered all the rich produce of the banks of the Nile, are
re-conducted home about the beginning of February. In France also,
floating bee-hives are very common. One barge contains from sixty to a
hundred hives, which are well defended from the inclemency of the
weather. Thus the owners float them gently down the stream, while they
gather the honey from the flowers along its banks, and a little
bee-house yields the proprietors a considerable income. At other times
they convey bees by land, to places where honey and wax may be
collected. The hives are fastened to each other by laths placed on a
thin packcloth, which is drawn up on each side and tied with packthread
several times round their tops. Forty or fifty hives are then laid in a
cart, and the owner takes them to distant places where the bees may feed
and work. But without this labour the industrious bee might be
cultivated to great advantage, and thousands of pounds weight of wax and
honey collected, which now are suffered to be wasted on the desert air,
or perish unheeded amidst the flowers of the field.--Those whose
attention may be directed to the subject by these remarks, and who
intend to erect an apiary, should purchase the stocks towards the close
of the year, when bees are cheapest; and such only as are full of combs,
and well furnished with bees. To ascertain the age of the hives it
should be remarked, that the combs of the last year are white, while
those of the former year acquire a darkish yellow. Where the combs are
black, the hive should be rejected as too old, and liable to the inroads
of vermin. In order to obtain the greatest possible advantage from the
cultivation of bees, it is necessary to supply them with every
convenience for the support of themselves and their young. And though it
may be too much trouble to transport them to distant places, in order
to provide them with the richest food, and to increase their abundant
stores; yet in some instances this plan might in part be adopted with
considerable success. It has been seen in Germany, as well as in other
parts of the continent, that forty large bee hives have been filled with
honey, to the amount of seventy pounds each, in one fortnight, by their
being placed near a large field of buck wheat in flower; and as this and
various other plants adapted to enrich the hive are to be found in many
parts of England, there is no reason why a similar advantage might not
be derived from such an experiment.--Besides providing for them the
richest food in summer, in order to facilitate their labours, it is
equally necessary to attend to their preservation in the winter. To
guard against the effects of cold, the bees should be examined during
the winter; and if instead of being clustered between the combs, they
are found in numbers at the bottom of the hive, they should be carried
to a warmer place, where they will soon recover. In very severe seasons,
lay on the bottom of an old cask the depth of half a foot of fine earth
pressed down hard; place the stool on this with the hive, and cut a hole
in the cask opposite to the entrance of the hive, in which fix a piece
of reed or hollow elder, and then cover the whole with dry earth. This
will preserve a communication with the external air, and at the same
time keep out the cold. The bees remaining in a torpid state during the
winter, they require but little food; but as every sunny day revives and
prompts them to exercise, a small supply is necessary on these
occasions. Many hives of bees which are supposed to have died of cold,
have in reality perished by famine, especially when a rainy summer
prevented them from collecting a sufficient store of provision. Hence
the hives should be carefully examined in autumn, and ought then to
weigh at least eighteen pounds each. When bees require to be fed, the
honey should be diluted with water, and put into an empty comb, split
reeds, or upon clear wood, which the bees will suck perfectly dry. But
it is a much better way to replenish the weak hives in September, with
such a portion of combs filled with honey taken from other hives as may
be deemed a sufficient supply. This is done by turning up the weak hive,
cutting out the empty combs, and placing full ones in their stead, so
secure as not to fall down when the hive is replaced. If this be too
troublesome, a plate of honey may be set under the hive, and straws laid
across the plate, covered with paper perforated with small holes,
through which the bees will suck the honey without difficulty.--These
valuable insects are liable to various disorders, both from the food
they eat, from foreign enemies, and from one another. If they have fed
greedily on the blossoms of the milk thistle or the elm, it will render
them incapable of working, and the hive will be stained with filth. The
best cure in this case is pounded pomegranate seed, moistened with sweet
wine; or raisins mixed with wine or mead, and the infusion of rosemary.
When they are infested with vermin, the hive must be cleansed, and
perfumed with a branch of pomegranate or the wild fig-tree, which will
effectually destroy them. Butterflies sometimes conceal themselves in
the hives, and annoy the bees; but these intruders may easily be
exterminated by placing lighted candles in deep tin pots between the
hives, as they will be attracted by the flame, and so perish. In order
to extirpate wasps and hornets preying upon the honey, it is only
necessary to expose shallow vessels near the hive with a little water,
to which those depredators eagerly repair to quench their thirst, and
thus easily drown themselves. To prevent bees of one society from
attacking or destroying those of another, which is frequently the case,
the following method may be tried. Let a board about an inch thick be
laid on the bee bench, and set the hive upon it with its mouth exactly
on the edge. The mouth of the hive should also be contracted to about an
inch in length, and a semicircular hole made in the board immediately
under the mouth of the hive. By this simple method, the bees which come
to make the attack will be foiled, and constrained to act with great
disadvantage. If this do not succeed, remove the hive to a distant part
of the garden, and to a more easterly or colder aspect, which will
frequently end the contest.--When bees are to be taken up for the
purpose of obtaining the wax and honey, great care should be taken not
to destroy the insects; and for this end the following method is
recommended. The upper box on the hive, which principally contains the
honey, is first to be taken off. The joint should be loosened, the
cement scraped off, and then a piece of iron wire to be drawn through
the comb so as to divide it. When the upper box is thus separated, its
cover is to be taken off and immediately placed on the second box, which
is now the highest. Having taken out the contents of the box which has
been separated, it is to be placed again on the stand, under the lower
box, and its door only is to be left open. If any bees remain in the box
when taken away, a little smoke will drive them out, and they will
quickly return to their own hive. In this manner a second or a third box
of honey may be removed in succession, when the lower part of the hive
appears to be full; but care must be taken not to deprive the bees
entirely of the stock which they have collected for the winter. In
taking up a common straw hive of bees, the best way is to remove it
into a darkened room, that it may appear to the bees as if it were late
in the evening. Then gently turning the hive bottom upwards, and
supporting it in that position, cover it with an empty hive a little
raised towards the window, to give the bees sufficient light to guide
their ascent. Keep the empty hive steadily supported on the edge of the
full hive, and strike the hand round the full hive to frighten the bees,
till they have nearly all ascended into the other. The new hive
containing the bees must be placed on the stand of the apiary, to
receive the absent bees as they return from the fields.

BEET ROOT. This cooling and wholesome vegetable is good boiled, and
sliced with a small quantity of onion, or stewed with whole onions in
the following manner. Boil the beet tender with the skin on, slice it
into a stewpan with a little broth and a spoonful of vinegar. Simmer it
till the gravy is tinged with the colour; then put it into a small dish,
and make a round of button onions, first boiled tender. Take off the
skin just before serving, and let them be quite hot and clear. Or roast
three large onions, and peel off the outer skins till they look clear;
and serve round them the stewed beet root. The root must not be broken
before it is dressed, or it will lose its colour, and look ill.--To
preserve beet-root for winter use, they should not be cleared from the
earth, but kept in layers of dry sand.

BEETLES. When these insects become troublesome in the house, put some
small lumps of quick lime into the chinks or holes of the wall from
whence they issue, or scatter it on the ground. Or at night, lay a
spoonful of treacle on a piece of wood, and float it in a pan of water:
beetles are so fond of syrup, that they will be drowned in attempting to
get at it. The common black beetle may also be extirpated by placing a
hedgehog in the room, during the summer nights; or by laying a bundle of
pea straw near their holes, and afterwards burning it when the beetles
have crept into it.

BENTON CAKES. Mix a paste of flour, a little bit of butter, and milk.
Roll it as thin as possible, and bake on a backstone over the fire, or
on a hot hearth. Another sort of Benton tea-cakes are made like
biscuits, by rubbing into a pound of flour six ounces of butter, and
three large spoonfuls of yeast. Work up the paste with a sufficient
quantity of new milk, make it into biscuits, and prick them with a clean
fork. Or melt six or seven ounces of butter, with a sufficient quantity
of new milk warmed to make seven pounds of flour into a stiff paste.
Roll it thin, and make it into biscuits.

BENTON SAUCE. Grate some horse-radish, or scrape it very fine. Add to it
a little made mustard, some pounded white sugar, and four large
spoonfuls of vinegar. Serve it up in a saucer: this is good with hot or
cold roast beef.

BILLS OF FARE, or list of various articles in season in different
months.

JANUARY.----_Poultry._ Game, pheasants, partridges, hares, rabbits,
woodcocks, snipes, turkeys, capons, pullets, fowls, chickens, tame
pigeons.--_Fish._ Carp, tench, perch, eels, lampreys, crayfish, cod,
soles, flounders, plaice, turbot, skate, thornback, sturgeon, smelts,
whitings, crabs, lobsters, prawns, oysters.--_Vegetables._ Cabbage,
savoys, coleworts, sprouts, brocoli, leeks, onions, beet, sorrel,
chervil, endive, spinach, celery, garlic, potatoes, parsnips, turnips,
shalots, lettuces, cresses, mustard, rape, salsify, herbs dry and
green.--_Fruit._ Apples, pears, nuts, walnuts, medlars, grapes.

FEBRUARY, MARCH.----Meat, fowls and game, as in January, with the
addition of ducklings and chickens.--_Fish._ As the last two months,
except that cod is not thought so good, from February to
July.--_Vegetables._ The same as the former months, with the addition of
kidney beans.--_Fruit._ Apples, pears, forced strawberries.

APRIL, MAY, JUNE.----_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, lamb, venison in
June.----_Poultry._ Pullets, fowls, chickens, ducklings, pigeons,
rabbits, leverets.--_Fish._ Carp, tench, soles, smelts, eels, trout,
turbot, lobsters, chub, salmon, herrings, crayfish, mackarel, crabs,
prawns, shrimps.--_Vegetables._ As before, and in May, early potatoes,
peas, radishes, kidney beans, carrots, turnips, early cabbages,
cauliflowers, asparagus, artichokes, all sorts of forced
sallads.--_Fruit._ In June, strawberries, cherries, melons, green
apricots, gooseberries and currants for tarts. In July, cherries,
strawberries, pears, melons, gooseberries, currants, apricots, grapes,
nectarines, peaches; but most of these are forced.

JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER.--Meat as before.--_Poultry._ Pullets, fowls,
chickens, rabbits, pigeons, green geese, leverets, turkey poults,
plovers, wheatears, and geese in September.--_Fish._ Cod, haddock,
flounders, plaice, skate, thornback, mullets, pike, carp, eels,
shellfish, except oysters; mackarel the first two months, but are not
good in August.--_Vegetables._ Beans, peas, French beans, and various
others.--_Fruit._ In July, strawberries, gooseberries, pineapples,
plums, cherries, apricots, raspberries, melons, currants, damsons. In
August and September, peaches, plums, filberts, figs, mulberries,
cherries, apples, pears, nectarines, grapes, pines, melons,
strawberries, medlars, quinces, morella cherries, damsons, and various
plums.

OCTOBER.--Meat as before, and doe-venison.----_Poultry._ Game,
pheasants, fowls, partridges, larks, hares, dotterels, wild ducks,
teal, snipes, widgeon, grouse.--_Fish._ Dories, smelts, pike, perch,
holibets, brills, carp, salmon trout, barbel, gudgeons, tench,
shellfish.--_Vegetables._ As in January, French beans, runners, windsor
beans.----_Fruit._ Peaches, pears, figs, bullace, grapes, apples,
medlars, damsons, filberts, nuts, walnuts, quinces, services.

NOVEMBER.--_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, pork, house lamb, doe venison,
poultry and game. Fish as the last month.--_Vegetables._ Carrots,
turnips, parsnips, potatoes, skirrets, onions, leeks, shalots, cabbage,
savoys, colewort, spinach, cardoons, cresses, endive, celery, lettuces,
salad, herbs.--_Fruit._ Pears, apples, nuts, walnuts, bullace, chesnuts,
medlars, grapes.

DECEMBER.--_Meat._ Beef, mutton, veal, house lamb, pork and
venison.--_Poultry._ Game, turkeys, geese, pullets, pigeons, capons,
fowls, chickens, rabbits, hares, snipes, woodcocks, larks, pheasants,
partridges, sea-fowls, guinea-fowls, wild ducks, teal, widgeon,
dotterels, dunbirds, grouse.--_Fish._ Turbot, cod, holibets, soles,
gurnets, sturgeon, carp, gudgeons, codlings, eels, dories,
shellfish.--_Vegetables._ As in the last month; asparagus
forced.--_Fruit._ As the last, except bullace.

BIRCH WINE. The season for obtaining the liquor from birch trees, is in
the latter end of February or the beginning of March, before the leaves
shoot out, and as the sap begins to rise. If the time be delayed, the
juice will grow too thick to be drawn out. It should be as thin and
clear as possible. The method of procuring the juice is by boring holes
in the trunk of the tree, and fixing in facets made of elder; but care
should be taken not to tap it in too many places at once, for fear of
injuring the tree. If the tree is large, it may be bored in five or six
places at once, and bottles are to be placed under the apertures to
receive the sap. When four or five gallons have been extracted from
different trees, cork the bottles very close, and wax them till the wine
is to be made, which should be as soon as possible after the sap has
been obtained. Boil the sap, and put four pounds of loaf sugar to every
gallon, also the rind of a lemon cut thin; then boil it again for nearly
an hour, skimming it well all the time. Into a cask that will contain
it, put a lighted brimstone match, stop it up till the match is burnt
out, and then pour the liquor into it as quickly as possible. When
nearly cold, work it with a toast spread with yeast, and let it stand
five or six days, stirring it two or three times a-day. Put the bung
lightly in till it has done working; then close it down, and let it
stand two or three months. The wine may then be bottled, and will be fit
for use in about a week. It makes a rich and salutary cordial, and its
virtues are much relied on in consumptive and scorbutic cases.

BISCUIT CAKE. One pound of flour, five eggs well beaten and strained,
eight ounces of sugar, a little rose or orange flower water. Beat the
whole thoroughly, and bake it one hour.

BISCUITS. To make hard biscuits, warm two ounces of butter in as much
skimmed milk as will make a pound of flour into a very stiff paste. Beat
it with a rolling pin, and work it very smooth. Roll it thin, and cut it
into round biscuits. Prick them full of holes with a fork, and about six
minutes will bake them.--For plain and very crisp biscuits, make a pound
of flour, the yolk of an egg, and some milk, into a very stiff paste.
Beat it well, and knead it quite smooth; roll the paste very thin, and
cut it into biscuits. Bake them in a slow oven till quite dry and
crisp.--To preserve biscuits for a long time sweet and good, no other
art is necessary than packing them up in casks well caulked, and
carefully lined with tin, so as to exclude the air. The biscuits should
be laid as close as possible; and when it is necessary to open the cask,
it must be speedily closed again with care. Sea bread may also be
preserved on a long voyage, by being put into a bag which has been
previously soaked in a quantity of liquid nitre, and dried. This has
been found to preserve the biscuits from the fatal effects of the wevil,
and other injurious insects, which are destructive to this necessary
article of human sustenance.

BITTERS. Bruise an ounce of gentian root, and two drams of cardamom
seeds together: add an ounce of lemon peel, and three drams of Seville
orange peel. Pour on the ingredients a pint and half of boiling water,
and let it stand an hour closely covered: then pour off the clear
liquor, and a glass of it taken two or three times a day will be found
an excellent bitter for the stomach.--Or slice an ounce of gentian root,
and add half a dram of snakes' root bruised, half a dram of saffron,
three quarters of a dram of cardamom seeds, and the same of cochineal
bruised together, and the peel of three Seville oranges. Steep the
ingredients in a pint of brandy fourteen days, shaking them together
frequently; then strain the tincture through a piece of muslin, and a
tea-spoonful in a glass of wine may be taken two or three times a day.

BLACK BUTTER. Boil a pound of moist sugar with three pounds of
gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and cherries, till reduced to half
the quantity. Put it into pots covered with brandy paper, and it will be
found a pleasant sweetmeat.

BLACK CAPS. Divide and core some fine large apples, put them in a
shallow pan, strew white sugar over, and bake them. Boil a glass of
wine, the same of water, and sweeten it for sauce. Or, take off a slice
from the stalk end of some apples, and core without paring them. Mix
with grated lemon, and a few cloves in fine powder, as much sugar as
will sweeten them. Stuff the holes as close as possible with this, and
turn the flat end down on a stewpan; set them on a very slow fire, with
some raisin wine and water. Cover them close, and now and then baste
them with the liquor: when done enough, black the tops with a
salamander.

BLACK INK. Infuse in a gallon of rain or soft water, a pound of blue
galls bruised, and keep it stirring for three weeks. Then add four
ounces of green copperas, four ounces of logwood chips, six ounces of
gum arabac, and a glass of brandy.--To make ink of a superior quality,
and fit for immediate use, prepare the following ingredients. Four
ounces of blue galls, two ounces of chipped logwood, two of sulphate of
iron, one ounce and a half of gum arabac, half an ounce of sulphate of
copper, and half an ounce of brown sugar. Boil the galls and logwood in
six pints of spring or distilled water, until nearly three pints of
water are evaporated, then strain it through a piece of flannel. Powder
the salts in a mortar, dissolve the gum in a little warm water, then mix
the whole together, and shake it frequently for two or three days;
during which time expose it to the air, and it will become blacker.
Decant the liquor into stone bottles well corked, and it will be fit for
use directly. Those who wish to avoid the trouble of such a process,
will find an excellent substitute in Walkden's Ink Powder ready
prepared, with directions how to use it. If a cup of sweet wort be added
to two papers of the powder, it will give it the brightness of japan
ink.

BLACK LEAD. The best preparation for cleaning cast-iron stoves is made
of black lead, mixed with a little common gin, or the dregs of port
wine, and laid on the stove with a piece of linen rag. Then with a clean
brush, not too hard, and dipped in some dried black lead powder, rub the
stove till it comes to a beautiful brightness. This will produce a much
finer black varnish on the cast-iron, than either boiling the black lead
with small beer and soap, or mixing it with white of egg, as is commonly
practised.

BLACK PAPER, for drawing patterns, may easily be made in the following
manner. Mix and smooth some lamp-black and sweet oil, with a piece of
flannel. Cover a sheet or two of large writing paper with this mixture,
then dab the paper dry with a rag of fine linen, and prepare it for
future use by putting the black side on another sheet of paper, and
fastening the corners together with a small pin. When wanted to draw,
lay the pattern on the back of the black paper, and go over it with the
point of a steel pencil. The black paper will then leave the impression
of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must now draw it with
ink. If you draw patterns on cloth or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in
a bit of stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water, mixed smooth in
a tea cup, in which it will be always ready for use.

BLACK PUDDINGS. The pig's blood must be stirred with a little salt till
it is cold. Put a full quart of it to a quart of whole grits, and let it
stand all night. Soak the crumb of a quartern loaf in rather more than
two quarts of new milk made hot. In the meantime prepare the guts by
washing, turning and scraping, with salt and water, and changing the
water several times. Chop fine a little winter savoury and thyme, a good
quantity of pennyroyal, pepper and salt, a few cloves, some allspice,
ginger and nutmeg. Mix these all together, with three pounds of beef
suet, and six eggs well beaten and strained. Have ready some hog's fat
cut into large bits; and as the skins are filling with the pudding, put
in the fat at intervals. Tie up in links only half filled, and boil in a
large kettle, pricking them as they swell, or they will burst. When
boiled, lay them between clean cloths till cold, and hang them up in the
kitchen. When to be used, scald them a few minutes in water; wipe, and
put them into a Dutch oven. If there be not skins enough, put the
stuffing into basins, and boil it covered with floured cloths. Slice and
fry it when used.--Another way is, to soak all night a quart of bruised
grits in as much boiling-hot milk as will swell them, and leave half a
pint of liquid. Chop a quantity of pennyroyal, savoury and thyme; add
salt and pepper, and allspice finely powdered. Mix the above with a
quart of the blood, prepared as before directed; clean the skins
thoroughly, half fill them with the stuffing, put in as much of the leaf
fat of the pig as will make it pretty rich, and boil as before directed.
A small quantity of leeks finely shred and well mixed, is a great
improvement.--A superior article may be made as follows: boil a quart of
half-grits in as much milk as will swell them to the utmost, drain them
and add a quart of blood, a pint of rich cream, a pound of suet, some
mace, nutmeg, allspice, and four cloves, all in fine powder. And two
pounds of hog's leaf cut into dice, two leeks, a handful of parsley, ten
leaves of sage, a large handful of pennyroyal, and a sprig of thyme and
knotted marjoram, all finely minced; eight eggs well beaten, half a
pound of bread crumbs scalded in a pint of milk, with pepper and salt.
Soak and clean the skins in several waters, last of all in rose-water,
and half fill them with the stuffing. Tie the skins in links, boil and
prick them with a clean fork, to prevent their breaking, and cover them
with a clean cloth till cold.

BLACKBERRY JAM. Put some red, but not ripe, blackberries into a jar, and
cover it up closely. Set the jar in a kettle or deep stewpan of water
over the fire, as a water bath; and when it has simmered five or six
hours, force the juice through a sieve. To every pint of juice, add two
pounds of powdered loaf-sugar, boiling and scumming it in the same
manner as for any other jam or jelly. This simple article is said to
afford effectual relief in cases of stone or gravel: a tea-spoonful to
be taken every night, and repeated in the morning, if necessary. A good
jam may also be made of ripe blackberries, in a similar manner; and
both, like other jams, should be kept in jars, closely tied over with
brandy paper.

BLACKBERRY WINE. Pick and clean a quantity of ripe blackberries; to
every quart of fruit, add a quart of cold water which has first been
boiled. Bruise them well, and let the whole stand twenty-four hours,
stirring it occasionally during that time. Express all the juice and run
it through a sieve or jelly bag, on a pound and a half of sugar to each
gallon of liquid. Stir it till thoroughly dissolved, put it in a well
seasoned barrel, add a little dissolved isinglass, and let it remain
open till the next day; then bung it up. This makes a pleasant wine,
which may be bottled off in about two months.

BLACKING for shoes is made of four ounces of ivory black, three ounces
of the coarsest sugar, a table-spoonful of sweet oil, and a pint of
small beer, gradually mixed together cold.

BLACKING BALLS. Portable shoe-blacking, in the form of cakes or balls,
is made in the following manner. Take four ounces of mutton suet, one
ounce of bees-wax, one of sweet oil, and a dram each of powdered
sugar-candy and gum-arabac. Melt them well together over a slow fire;
add a spoonful of turpentine, and lamp-black sufficient to give it a
good black colour. While hot enough to run, make the composition into a
ball, by pouring it into a tin mould; or let it stand till nearly cold,
and then it may be moulded into any form by the hand.

BLADE-BONE OF PORK. Cut it from the bacon-hog, with a small quantity of
meat upon it, and lay it on the gridiron. When nearly done pepper and
salt it. Add a piece of butter, and a tea-spoonful of mustard; and serve
it up quickly. This dish is much admired in Somersetshire. A blade-bone
of mutton may be dressed in the same way.

BLAMANGE. Boil two ounces of isinglass half an hour, in a pint and half
of water, and strain off the cream. Sweeten it, and add some peach
water, or a few bitter almonds; let it boil up once, and put it into
what forms you please. Be sure to let the blamange settle before you
turn it into the forms, or the blacks will remain at the bottom of them,
and be on the top of the blamange when taken out of the moulds. If not
to be very stiff, a little less isinglass will do.--For Yellow Blamange,
pour a pint of boiling water upon an ounce of isinglass, and the peel of
one lemon. When cold, sweeten with two ounces of fine sugar: add a
quarter of a pint of white wine, the yolks of four eggs, and the juice
of one lemon. Stir all together, and let it boil five minutes: strain
through a bag, and put into cups.

BLANKETS, if not in constant use, are liable to be moth-eaten. To
prevent this, they should be folded and laid under feather beds that are
in use, and occasionally shaken. When soiled, they should be washed, not
scoured: and well dried before they are laid by, or they will breed
moths.

BLEACHING OF STRAW. This is generally done by the fumes of sulphur, in a
place enclosed for that purpose: but to render the straw very white, and
encrease its flexibility in platting, it should be dipped in a solution
of oxygenated muriatic acid, saturated with potash. Oxygenated muriate
of lime will also answer the purpose. To repair straw bonnets, they must
be carefully ripped to pieces; the plat should be bleached with the
above solution, and made up afresh.

BLUE INK. Dissolve an ounce of finely powdered verdigris, and half an
ounce of cream of tartar, in three ounces of water. This will make a
fine blue writing ink, which has the singular property of giving to an
iron nail, immersed in it for twenty-four hours, a beautiful green
colour.

BOARDED FLOORS will preserve a beautiful appearance, if treated in the
following manner. After washing them very clean with soda and warm
water, and a brush, wash them with a large sponge and clean water,
observing that no spot be left untouched. Be careful to clean straight
up and down, not crossing from board to board: then dry with clean
cloths, rubbing hard up and down the same way. The floors should not be
often wetted, but very thoroughly when done; and once a week dry-rubbed
with hot sand, and a heavy brush, the right way of the boards. If oil or
grease have stained the floor, make a strong lye of pearl-ashes and soft
water, and add as much unslaked lime as it will take up. Stir it
together, and then let it settle a few minutes; bottle it, and stop it
close. When used, lower it with a little water, and scour the part with
it. If the liquor lie long on the boards, it will extract their colour;
it must therefore be done with care and expedition. Stone work may be
freed from stains in the same way.

BOCKINGS. Mix three ounces of buck-wheat flour with a tea-cupful of warm
milk, and a spoonful of yeast. Let it rise before the fire about an
hour; then mix four eggs well beaten, and as much milk as will make the
batter the usual thickness for pancakes, and fry them in the same
manner.

BOILING. Cleanliness here is of great consequence; and for this purpose
all culinary vessels should be made of iron, or of other metals well
tinned. The pernicious effects of copper or brass may be perceived by
rubbing the hand round the inside of a pot or kettle made of either of
those metals, and which has been scoured clean and fit for use; for
though it may not discolour the hand, yet it will cause an offensive
smell, and must in some degree affect every article which is put into
it. If copper or brass be used, they should be well cleaned, and nothing
suffered to remain in the vessels longer than is necessary for the
purposes of cooking. In small families however, block-tin saucepans and
boilers are much to be preferred, as lightest and safest. If proper care
be taken of them, and they are well dried after being cleaned, they are
also by far the cheapest; the purchase of a new tin saucepan being
little more than the expense of tinning a copper one. Care should be
taken to have the covers of boiling pots fit close, not only to prevent
an unnecessary evaporation of the water, but that the smoke may not
insinuate itself under the edge of the lid, and give the meat a bad
taste. A trivet or fish drainer placed in the boiler to lay the meat on,
and to raise it an inch and a half from the bottom, will prevent that
side of it which comes next the bottom from being done too much, and the
lower part of the meat will be as delicately done as any other. Instead
of a trivet, four skewers stuck into the meat transversely will answer
the purpose, or a soup plate whelmed the wrong side upwards. With good
management it will take less fire for boiling than for roasting, but it
should be kept to a regular pitch, so as to keep the pot gently boiling
all the time. If it boils too fast, it will harden the meat, by
extracting too much of the gravy; but if it be allowed to simmer only,
or to boil gently, it will become rich and tender. The scum must be
carefully taken off as soon as the water boils, or it will sink and
discolour the meat. The oftener it is scummed, and the cleaner the top
of the water is kept, the cleaner will be the meat; and if a little cold
water be occasionally thrown in, it will bring up the remainder of the
scum to the surface. Neither mixing milk with the water nor wrapping up
the meat in a cloth are necessary, if the scum be attentively removed;
and the meat will have a more delicate colour, and a finer flavour, if
boiled in clear water only. The general rule for boiling is to allow a
quarter of an hour to a pound of meat; but if it be boiled gently or
simmered only, which is by far the superior way, twenty minutes to the
pound will scarcely be found too much. At the same time care must be
taken to keep the pot constantly boiling, and not to suffer the meat to
remain in after it is done enough, or it will become sodden, and lose
its flavour. The quantity of water is regulated by the size of the meat;
sufficient to cover it, but not to drown it; and the less water, the
more savoury will the meat be, and the better the broth. It is usual to
put all kinds of fresh meat into hot water, and salt meat into cold
water; but if the meat has been salted only a short time it is better to
put it in when the water boils, or it will draw out too much of the
gravy. Lamb, veal, and pork require rather more boiling than other
meat, to make them wholesome. The hind quarters of most animals require
longer time to dress than the fore quarters, and all kinds of provision
require more time in frosty weather than in summer. Large joints of beef
and mutton are better a little underdone; they make the richer hash; but
meat that is fresh slain will remain tough and hard, in whatever way it
may be cooked. All meat should be washed clean before it is put into the
boiler, but salt meat especially. A ham of twenty pounds will take four
hours and a half in boiling, and others in proportion. A dried tongue,
after being soaked, will take four hours boiling: a tongue out of
pickle, from two hours and a half to three hours, or more if very large:
it must be judged by its feeling quite tender. Boiling is in general the
most economical mode of cooking, if care be taken to preserve the broth,
and apply it to useful purposes.

BOILED BACON. Soak it, and take off the rind before boiling. A pound of
bacon boiled without the skin will weigh an ounce heavier than a pound
boiled with it. Fat bacon should be put into hot water, and lean into
cold water, when it is to be dressed. Young bacon will boil in about
three quarters of an hour. Grate some toasted bread over it, and set it
near the fire to brown it a little, before it is sent to table.

BOILED BEEF. When the water boils put in the meat, whether beef or
mutton, and take off the scum as it rises. If the scum be suffered to
sink, it will stick to the meat, and spoil its colour. Turnips, greens,
potatoes, or carrots with the beef, and caper sauce with the mutton.

BOILED CUSTARD. Set a pint of cream over a slow fire, adding two ounces
of sugar, and the rind of a lemon. Take it off the fire as soon as it
begins to simmer; as the cream cools, add by degrees the yolks of eight
eggs well beaten, with a spoonful of orange water. Stir it carefully
over a slow fire till it almost boils, and strain it quickly through a
piece of thin muslin. Put it into cups, and serve it up cold.

BOILED DUCK. Choose a fine fat duck, salt it two days, and boil it
slowly in a cloth. Serve it with onion sauce, but melt the butter with
milk instead of water.

BOILED EELS. The small ones are best, provided they are bright, and of a
good colour. After they are skinned, boil them in a small quantity of
water, with a quantity of parsley, which with the liquor should be sent
to table with them. Serve chopped parsley and butter for sauce.

BOILED FOWL. For boiling, choose those that are not black-legged. Pick
them nicely, singe, wash, and truss them. Flour them, and put them into
boiling water: half an hour will be sufficient for one of middling size.
Serve with parsley and butter; oyster, lemon, liver, or celery sauce. If
for dinner, ham, tongue or bacon is usually served with them, and also
greens.--When cooked with rice, stew the fowl very slowly in some clear
mutton broth well skimmed, and seasoned with onion, mace, pepper and
salt. About half an hour before it is ready, put in a quarter of a pint
of rice well washed and soaked. Simmer it till it is quite tender,
strain it from the broth, and put the rice on a sieve before the fire.
Keep the fowl hot, lay it in the middle of the dish, and the rice round
it without the broth. The broth will be nice by itself, but the less
liquor the fowl is done with the better. Gravy, or parsley and butter,
for sauce.

BOILED HAM. Soak the ham in cold water the night before it is to be
dressed, scrape it clean, and put it into the boiler with cold water.
Skim the liquor while boiling; let it not boil fast, but simmer only,
and add a little cold water occasionally for this purpose. When the ham
is done, take it up, pull off the skin carefully, and grate a crust of
bread over it so as to cover it tolerably thick. Set it before the fire,
or put it into the oven till the bread is crisp; garnish it with
carrots, or any thing that is in season. A ham of twenty pounds will
require five hours boiling, and others in proportion.

BOILED LEG OF PORK. Salt it eight or ten days; and when it is to be
dressed, weigh it. Let it lie half an hour in cold water to make it
white: allow a quarter of an hour for every pound, and half an hour
over, from the time it boils up. Skim it as soon as it boils, and
frequently after. Allow plenty of water, and save some of it for
peas-soup. The leg should be small, and of a fine grain; and if boiled
in a floured cloth, it will improve the colour and appearance. Serve it
with peas-pudding and turnips.

BOILED SALMON. Clean it carefully, boil it gently, and take it out of
the water as soon as done. Let the water be warm, if the fish be split:
if underdone, it is very unwholesome. Serve with shrimp or anchovy
sauce.

BOILED TURBOT. The turbot kettle must be of a proper size, and in good
order. Set the fish in cold water sufficient to cover it completely,
throw a handful of salt and a glass of vinegar into it, and let it
gradually boil. Be very careful that no blacks fall into it; but skim it
well, and preserve the beautiful colour of the fish. Serve it garnished
with a complete fringe of curled parsley, lemon and horse-radish. The
sauce must be the finest lobster, anchovy and butter, and plain butter,
served plentifully in separate tureens.--If necessary, turbot will keep
two or three days, and be in as high perfection as at first, if lightly
rubbed over with salt, and carefully hung in a cold place.

BOILED TURKEY. A turkey will neither boil white nor eat tender, unless
it has been killed three or four days. Pick it clean, draw it at the
rump, cut off the legs, stick the end of the thighs into the body, and
tie them fast. Flour the turkey, put it into the water while cold, let
it boil gently half an hour or more, take off the scum, and cover the
kettle close. Make the stuffing of grated bread and lemon peel, four
ounces of shred suet, a few chopped oysters, two eggs, and a little
cream. Fill the craw with stuffing, and make the rest into balls, which
are to be boiled and laid round the dish. The stuffing may be made
without oysters; or force-meat or sausage may be used, mixed with crumbs
of bread and yolks of eggs. Celery sauce or white sauce is very proper.

BOILED VEAL. Dredge it with flour, tie it up in a cloth, and put it in
when the water boils. A knuckle requires more boiling in proportion to
its weight, than any other joint, to render the gristle soft and tender.
Parsley and butter, bacon and greens, are commonly eaten with it.

BOILERS. Copper boilers and saucepans are apt to become leaky, when they
have been joined or mended, or from bruises, which sometimes render them
unfit for use. In this case a cement of pounded quicklime, mixed with
ox's blood, applied fresh to the injured part, will be of great
advantage, and very durable. A valuable cement for such purposes may
also be made of equal parts of vinegar and milk mixed together so as to
produce a curd: the whey is then put to the whites of four or five eggs
after they have been well beaten, and the whole reduced to a thick paste
by the addition of some quicklime finely sifted. This composition
applied to cracks or fissures of any kind, and properly dried, will
resist the effects of fire and water.

BOLOGNA SAUSAGES. Cut into small pieces four pounds of lean beef, and
add to it a pound of diced suet, with the same quantity of diced bacon.
Season with allspice, pepper, bay salt, saltpetre, and a little powder
of bay leaves. Mix the whole together, tie the meat up in skins about
the thickness of the wrist, dry the sausages in the same manner as
tongues, and eat them without boiling.

BOLOGNA SOUP. Bind close with packthread, fifteen pounds of brisket of
beef, and put it into a pot with water sufficient to cover it. Then add
three large carrots, some good turnips, four onions, a bunch of sweet
herbs, and half a white cabbage sliced and fried in butter. The pot must
be well scummed before the herbs are put in. It must boil very slowly
for five or six hours; and when half boiled, prepare three or four
pounds of loin of mutton, with all the fat taken off, and put it into
the pot. Flavour the soup with whole pepper, and a head of celery; and
to make it of a good colour, draw the gravy from a pound of lean beef
over a slow fire, and add a ladleful to the soup, first carefully taking
off all the fat. Having cut and dried the crust of a French roll, lay it
in a stewpan with a little soup; and after stewing it over a slow fire,
place it with a slice in the soup tureen. The beef must be untied, and
served up with chopped parsley strewed over it; accompanied also with
gravy sauce, a few capers, and some chopped carrots, thickened with the
yolk of an egg. Add a little seasoning to the soup.

BOOTS. Persons who travel much, or are often exposed to the weather,
must be sensible of the importance of being provided with boots that
will resist the wet. The following is a composition for preserving
leather, the good effects of which are sufficiently ascertained. One
pint of drying oil, two ounces of yellow wax, two ounces of spirit of
turpentine, and half an ounce of Burgundy pitch, should be carefully
melted together over a slow fire. With this mixture, new shoes and boots
are to be rubbed in the sun, or at some distance from the fire, with a
sponge or brush. The operation is to be repeated as often as they become
dry, and until they are fully saturated. In this manner the leather
becomes impervious to the wet: the boots or shoes last much longer than
those of common leather, acquire such softness and pliability that they
never shrivel or grow hard, and in that state are the most effectual
preservation against wet and cold. It is necessary to observe, however,
that boots or shoes thus prepared ought not to be worn till they become
perfectly dry and flexible: otherwise the leather will be too soft, and
the boots unserviceable.

BOOT TOPS. Many of the compositions sold for the purpose of cleaning and
restoring the colour of boot tops, are not found to answer, and are
often injurious to the leather. A safe and easy preparation is made of a
quart of boiled milk, which, when cold, is to be mixed with an ounce of
the oil of vitriol, and an ounce of the spirit of salts, shaken well
together. An ounce of red lavender is then to be added, and the liquid
applied to the leather with a sponge. Or, mix a dram of oxymuriate of
potash with two ounces of distilled water; and when the salt is
dissolved, add two ounces of muriatic acid. Shake together in another
vial, three ounces of rectified spirits of wine, with half an ounce of
the essential oil of lemon, and unite the contents of the two vials,
keeping the liquid closely corked for use. It is to be applied with a
clean sponge, and dried gently; after which the tops may be polished
with a proper brush, so as to appear like new leather. This mixture will
readily take out grease, or any kind of spots, from leather or
parchment.

BOTTLES. The common practice of cleaning glass bottles with shot is
highly improper; for if through inattention any of it should remain,
when the bottles are again filled with wine or cider, the lead will be
dissolved, and the liquor impregnated with its pernicious qualities. A
few ounces of potash dissolved in water will answer the purpose much
better, and clean a great number of bottles. If any impurity adhere to
the sides, a few pieces of blotting paper put into the bottle, and
shaken with the water, will very soon remove it. Another way is to roll
up some pieces of blotting paper, steep them in soap and water, then put
them into bottles or decanters with a little warm water, and shake them
well for a few minutes: after this they will only require to be rinsed
and dried.

BOTTLING LIQUORS. Here the first thing to be attended to is, to see that
the bottles be perfectly clean and dry; if wet, they will spoil the
liquor, and make it turn mouldy. Then, though the bottles should be
clean and dry, yet if the corks be not new and sound, the liquor will be
damaged; for if the air can by any means penetrate, the liquor will grow
flat, and never rise. As soon as a cask of liquor begins to grow vapid,
and to lose its briskness, while it is on the tap, it should be drawn
off immediately into bottles; and in order to quicken it, put a piece of
loaf sugar into every bottle, about the size of a walnut. To forward the
ripening, wrap the bottles in hay, and set them in a warm place; straw
will not answer the purpose. When ale is to be bottled, it will be an
improvement to add a little rice, a few raisins, or a tea-spoonful of
moist sugar to each bottle. In the summer time, if table beer is bottled
as soon as it has done working, it will soon become brisk, and make a
very pleasant and refreshing drink.

BOTTLED CURRANTS. See that the bottles be perfectly clean and dry, and
let the fruit be gathered quite ripe, and when the weather is dry. The
currants should be cut from the large stalks, with the smallest bit of
stalk to each, and care taken not to wound the fruit, that none of the
moisture may escape. It would be best indeed to cut them under the
trees, and let them drop gently into the bottles. Stop up the bottles
with cork and rosin, and trench them in the garden with the neck
downwards: sticks should be placed opposite to where each sort of fruit
begins. Cherries and damsons may be kept in the same way.

BOTTLED GOOSEBERRIES. Pick some smooth gooseberries before they are
quite full grown, put them into gooseberry bottles lightly corked, and
set them up to their necks in a copper of cold water. Put a little hay
round the bottles to prevent their breaking, make a fire under them, and
let the heat increase gradually; let them simmer ten minutes, but not
boil. Take out the fire, and let them remain in the copper till cold.
Then take them out, dry the bottles, rosin down the corks close, and set
them in dry saw-dust with their necks downward.

BRAISING. To braise any kind of meat, put it into a stewpan, and cover
it with fat bacon. Then add six or eight onions, a bundle of herbs,
carrots, celery, any bones or trimmings of meat or fowls, and some
stock. The bacon must be covered with white paper, and the lid of the
pan must be kept close. Set it on a slow stove; and according to what
the meat is, it will require two or three hours. The meat is then to be
taken out, the gravy nicely skimmed, and set on to boil very quick till
it is thick. The meat is to be kept hot; and if larded, put into the
oven for a few minutes. Then put the jelly over it, which is called
glazing, and is used for ham, tongue, and various made-dishes. White
wine is added to some glazing. The glaze should be of beautiful clear
yellow brown, and it is best put on with a nice brush.

BRAISED CHICKENS. Bone them, and fill them with forcemeat. Lay the bones
and any other poultry trimmings into a stewpan, and the chickens on
them. Put to them a few onions, a handful of herbs, three blades of
mace, a pint of stock, and a glass or two of sherry. Cover the chickens
with slices of bacon, and then white paper; cover the whole close, and
put them on a slow stove for two hours. Then take them up, strain the
braise, and skim off the fat carefully: set it on to boil very quick to
a glaze, and lay it over the chicken with a brush. Before glazing, put
the chicken into an oven for a few minutes, to give it a colour. Serve
with a brown fricassee of mushrooms.

BRAISED MUTTON. Take off the chump end of a loin of mutton, cover it
with buttered paper, and then with paste, as for venison. Roast it two
hours, but let it not be browned. Have ready some French beans boiled,
and drained on a sieve; and while you are glazing the mutton, give the
beans one heat-up in gravy, and lay them on the dish with the meat over
them.

BRAISED VEAL. Lard the best end of a neck of veal with bacon rolled in
chopped parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put it into a tosser, and
cover it with water. Add the scrag end of the neck, a little lean bacon
or ham, an onion, two carrots, two heads of celery, and a glass of
Madeira. Stew it quickly for two hours, or till it is tender, but not
too much. Strain off the liquor: mix a little flour and butter in a
stewpan till brown, and lay the veal in this, the upperside to the
bottom of the pan. Let it be over the fire till it gets coloured: then
lay it into the dish, stir some of the liquor in and boil it up, skim
it nicely, and squeeze orange and lemon juice into it.

BRANDY CREAM. Boil two dozen of blanched almonds, and pounded bitter
almonds, in a little milk. When cold, add to it the yolks of five eggs
beating well in cream; sweeten, and put to it two glasses of good
brandy. After it is well mixed, pour to it a quart of thin cream; set it
over the fire, but not to boil. Stir it one way till it thickens, then
pour into cups or low glasses, and when cold it will be ready. A ratafia
drop may be added to each cup; and if intended to keep, the cream must
be previously scalded.

BRANDY PUDDING. Line a mould with jar-raisins stoned, or dried cherries,
then with thin slices of French roll; next to which put ratafias, or
macaroons; then the fruit, rolls and cakes in succession, till the mould
is full, sprinkling in at times two glasses of brandy. Beat four eggs,
add a pint of milk or cream lightly sweetened, half a nutmeg, and the
rind of half a lemon finely grated. Let the liquid sink into the solid
part; then flour a cloth, tie it tight over, and boil one hour; keep the
mould the right side up. Serve with pudding sauce.

BRASS. Culinary vessels made of this metal, are constantly in danger of
contracting verdigris. To prevent this, instead of wiping them dry in
the usual manner, let them be frequently immersed in water, and they
will be preserved safe and clean.

BRAWN. Young brawn is to be preferred, the horny part of which will feel
moderately tender, and the flavour will be better; the rind of old brawn
will be hard. For Mock Brawn, boil a pair of neat's feet very tender;
take the meat off, and have ready a belly-piece of salt pork, which has
been in pickle for a week. Boil this almost enough, take out the bones
if there be any, and roll the feet and the pork together. Bind it tight
together with a strong cloth and coarse tape, boil it quite tender, and
hang it up in the cloth till cold. Keep it afterwards in souse till it
is wanted.

BREAD. Two very important reasons urge the propriety and necessity of
using home-baked bread, in preference to baker's bread, wherever it can
be done with tolerable convenience; these are, its superior quality, and
its cheapness. A bushel of wheat, weighing sixty pounds, will make
sixty-five pounds of household bread, after the bran has been taken out;
and if the pollard be separated also, to make a finer article, a bushel
of ground wheat will then make fifty-eight pounds of fine white bread,
free from any foreign mixture, leaving from ten to fifteen pounds of
bran and pollard, which may be applied to useful purposes. The
calculation then will be easy, and the difference between purchasing and
making bread will be seen at once. A bushel of ground wheat weighing
sixty pounds will produce thirteen quartern loaves and a half of fine
bread, after the bran and pollard have been taken out; add to the price
of the wheat, nine-pence a bushel for grinding, three-pence for yeast,
four-pence for salt and the expence of baking; and from this deduct
six-pence at least for the value of the bran and pollard, and it gives
the price of the quartern loaves made and baked at home. In general it
will be found that there is a saving of one third of the expense, if the
business be properly conducted. Then the wholesome and nutricious
quality of the bread is incomparably superior; there is no addition of
alum, ground potatoes, whiting, or any other ingredient to give weight
or colour to the bread, as is too often the case with baker's bread; but
all is nutricious, sound, and good. But supposing their bread to be
equal in quality, there is still a considerable saving in the course of
a year, especially in a large family; and if household bread be made
instead of fine bread, every bushel of good heavy wheat will produce
nearly fifteen quartern loaves. Besides this, rye, and even a little
barley mixed with the wheat, will make very good bread, and render it
cheaper still. Rye will add a sweetness to the bread, and make it cut
firmer, so as to prevent the waste of crumbs, and is unquestionably an
article of good economy. The addition of potatoes is by no means to be
approved, though so often recommended; any of the grains already
mentioned have in them ten times the nutrition of potatoes, and in the
end will be found to be much cheaper. Making bread with skim milk,
instead of water, where it can be done, is highly advantageous, and will
produce a much better article than can be purchased at a baker's
shop.--On the subject of making bread, little need be said, as every
common maid-servant is or ought to be well acquainted with this
necessary part of household work, or she is good for nothing. To make
good bread however, the flour should be kept four or five weeks before
it is baked. Then put half a bushel of it into a kneading trough, mix
with it between four and five quarts of warm water or skim milk, and a
pint and a half of good yeast, and stir it well together with the hand
till it become tough. Let it rise before the fire, about an hour and a
half, or less if it rise fast; then, before it falls, add four quarts
more of warm water, and half a pound of salt. Work it well, and cover it
with a cloth. Put the fire into the oven; and by the time it is heated,
the dough will be ready. Make the loaves about five pounds each, sweep
out the oven very clean and quick, and put in the bread; shut it up
close, and two hours and a half will bake it. In summer the water should
be milk warm, in winter a little more, and in frosty weather as hot as
the hand will bear, but not scalding, or the whole will be spoiled.
Bread is better baked without tins, which gives to the crust an
unnatural degree of hardness.--Those who are under the necessity of
purchasing baker's bread, for want of other convenience, may detect the
adulteration of alum by macerating a small piece of the crumb of
new-baked bread in cold water, sufficient to dissolve it; and the taste
of the alum, if it has been used, will acquire a sweet astringency. Or a
heated knife may be thrust into a loaf before it has grown cold; and if
it be free from that ingredient, scarcely any alteration will be visible
on the blade; but, in the contrary case, its surface, after being
allowed to cool, will appear slightly covered with an aluminous
incrustation.

BREAD CAKE. To make a common bread cake, separate from the dough, when
making white bread, as much as is sufficient for a quartern loaf, and
knead well into it two ounces of butter, two of Lisbon sugar, and eight
of currants. Warm the butter in a tea-cupful of good milk. By adding
another ounce of butter or sugar, or an egg or two, the cake may be
improved, especially by putting in a tea-cupful of raw cream. It is best
to bake it in a pan, rather than as a loaf, the outside being less hard.

BREAD CHEESECAKES. Slice a penny white loaf as thin as possible, pour
over it a pint of boiling cream, and let it stand two hours. Beat up
eight eggs, half a pound of butter, and a grated nutmeg. Put in half a
pound of currants, well washed and dried, and a spoonful of brandy or
white wine. Bake them in pattipans, or raised crusts.

BREAD PUDDING. Grate some white bread, pour over some boiling milk, and
cover it close. When soaked an hour or two, beat it fine, and mix with
it two or three eggs well beaten. Put it into a bason that will just
hold it, tie a floured cloth over it, and put it into boiling water.
Send it up with melted butter poured over: it may be eaten with salt or
sugar. Prunes, or French plums, make a fine pudding instead of raisins,
either with suet or bread pudding.--Another and richer. Pour half a pint
of scalding milk, on half a pint of bread crumbs, and cover it up for an
hour. Beat up four eggs, and when strained, add to the bread, with a
tea-spoonful of flour, an ounce of butter, two ounces of sugar, half a
pound of currants, an ounce of almonds beaten with orange-flower water,
half an ounce of orange, of lemon, and of citron. Butter a bason that
will exactly hold it, flour the cloth, tie it tight over, and boil the
pudding an hour.

BREAD SAUCE. Boil a large onion quartered, with some black pepper and
milk, till the onion is quite a pap. Pour the milk on white stale-bread
grated, and cover it. In an hour put it into a saucepan, with a good
piece of butter mixed with a little flour: boil the whole up together,
and serve with it.

BREAD SOUP. Boil some pieces of bread crust in a quart of water, with a
small piece of butter. Beat it with a spoon, and keep it boiling till
the bread and water be well mixed: then season it with a little salt.

[Illustration: _PATENT BREWING MACHINE._

A _The Machine ready for use, with the Cover raised._

B _Moveable Fire place._

C _Cylindrical Boiler to be placed on_ B, _with its Cover_ D.

E _Extracting perforated Cylinder to be placed within_ C.

F _Centre for ditto._

G. G _Coolers, one to pack within the other._]

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING. Spread some butter on slices of bread, and lay
them in a dish, with currants between each layer. To make it rich, add
some sliced citron, orange, or lemon. Pour over an unboiled custard
of milk, two or three eggs, a few corns of pimento, and a very little
ratifia, two hours at least before it is to be baked, and lade it over
to soak the bread. A paste round the edge makes all puddings look
better, but it is not necessary.

BREAD AND RICE PUDDING. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice in some milk
till it is quite soft, put it into a bason, and let it stand till the
next day. Soak some sliced bread in cold milk, drain it off, mash it
fine, and mix it with the rice. Beat up two eggs with it, add a little
salt, and boil it an hour.

BREAKFAST CAKES. Take a pound and a half of flour, four ounces of
butter, a spoonful of yeast, and half a pint of warm milk. Rub the
butter into the flour, and mix the eggs, yeast, and milk together. Put
the liquid into the middle of the flour, and let it stand to rise for
two hours. Make it into cakes, let them stand to rise again, and wash
them over with skimmed milk before they are put into the oven.

BREAST OF LAMB. Cut off the chine-bone from the breast, and set it on to
stew with a pint of gravy. When the bones would draw out, put it on the
gridiron to grill; and then lay it in a dish on cucumbers nicely stewed.

BREAST OF MUTTON. Pare off the superfluous fat, and roast and serve the
meat with stewed cucumbers; or to eat cold, covered with chopped
parsley. Or half-boil, and then grill it before the fire: cover it with
bread crumbs and herbs, and serve with caper sauce. Or if boned, take
away a good deal of the fat, and cover it with bread, herbs, and
seasoning. Then roll and boil it; serve with chopped walnuts, or capers
and butter.

BREAST OF VEAL. Before roasting it, take off the two ends to fry and
stew, if the joint be large, or roast the whole together, and pour
butter over it. If any be left, cut it into regular pieces, put them
into a stewpan, and pour some broth over it. If no broth, a little water
will do: add a bunch of herbs, a blade or two of mace, some pepper, and
an anchovy. Stew till the meat be tender, thicken with flour and butter,
and add a little ketchup. Serve the sweetbread whole upon it, which may
either be stewed or parboiled, and then covered with crumbs, herbs,
pepper and salt, and browned in a Dutch oven. The whole breast may be
stewed in the same way, after cutting off the two ends. A boiled breast
of veal, smothered with onion sauce, is also an excellent dish, if not
old nor too fat.

BRENTFORD ROLLS. Mix with two pounds of flour, a little salt, two ounces
of sifted sugar, four ounces of butter, and two eggs beaten with two
spoonfuls of yeast, and about a pint of milk. Knead the dough well, and
set it to rise before the fire. Make twelve rolls, butter tin plates,
and set them before the fire to rise, till they become of a proper size,
and bake them half an hour.

BREWING. The practice of brewing malt liquor is but seldom adopted by
private families in large towns and cities, owing probably to a want of
conveniences for the purpose, and an aversion to the labour and trouble
which it might occasion. But if the disagreeable filthiness attending
the process in large public breweries were duly considered, together
with the generally pernicious quality of the beer offered to sale, as
well as the additional expense incurred by this mode of procuring it, no
one who regards economy, or the health and comfort of his family, would
be without home-brewed beer, so long as there were any means left of
obtaining it. Beer as strong of malt and hops, when all the foreign
ingredients are extracted, may be manufactured at home at less than one
third of what it could cost at a public brewery, besides the
satisfaction of drinking, what is known to be wholesome, and free from
any deleterious mixture. Twelve shillings for malt and hops will provide
a kilderkin of beer far superior to one that could be purchased under
license for a pound, while the yeast and the grains are sufficient to
repay all the labour and expense of brewing. On every account,
therefore, it is desirable that the practice of domestic brewing were
universally adopted. The health and comfort of the community would be
increased; and by a larger consumption of malt, the growth of barley
would be extended, and agriculture proportionably benefited. In order to
this however, the enormous duty upon malt requires to be diminished or
repealed. The farmer, unable to make three shillings a bushel of his
barley, is suffering severely under this grinding taxation, as well as
the consumer, who is compelled to pay a duty of four shillings and
six-pence for every bushel that is converted into malt.--The best
seasons of the year for brewing are March and October, the weather in
those months being generally free from the extremes of heat and cold,
which are alike injurious to the process of fermentation. If this is not
in all cases practicable, means should be used to cool the place where
the liquor is set for working in the summer, and of warming it in the
winter: otherwise the beer will be likely to turn sour or muddy. The
beer which is brewed in March should not be tapped till October, nor
that brewed in October till the following March; taking this precaution,
that families of an equal number all the year round, will drink at least
a third more in summer than in winter.--The most suitable water for
brewing is soft river water, which having had the rays of the sun and
the influence of the air upon it, will more easily penetrate and
extract the virtues of the malt. Hard water possesses an astringent
quality, which prevents the goodness of the malt from being freely
communicated to the liquor. If two parcels of beer be brewed in all
respects the same, except in the quality of the water, it will be found
that the beer brewed with soft river wa

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