2116. Belvidere Cake for Breakfast or Tea.

Take a quart of flour; four eggs; a piece of butter the size of an egg; a piece of lard the same size: mix the butter and lard well in the flour; beat the eggs light in a pint bowl, and fill it up with cold milk; then pour it gradually into the flour; add a teaspoonful of salt; work it for eight or ten minutes only: cut the dough with a knife to the size you wish it; roll them into cakes about the size of a breakfast plate, and bake in a quick oven.

2117. To Make Gingerbread Cake.

Take one pound and a half of treacle; one and a half ounces of ground ginger; half an ounce of caraway seeds; two ounces of allspice; four ounces of orange peel, shred fine; half a pound of sweet butter; six ounces of blanched almonds; one pound of honey; and one and a half ounces of carbonate of soda; with as much fine flour as makes a dough of moderate consistence.

Directions for making. Make a pit in five pounds of flour; then pour in the treacle, and all the other ingredients, creaming the butter; then mix them altogether into a dough; work it well; then put in three quarters of an ounce of tartaric acid, and put the dough into a buttered pan, and bake for two hours in a cool oven. To know when it is ready, plunge a fork into it, and if it comes out sticky, put the cake in the oven again; if not it is ready. This is a good and simple test, which may be resorted to in baking bread and all kinds of cakes.

2118. Pic-Nic Biscuits.

Take two ounces of fresh butter, and well work it with a pound of flour. Mix thoroughly with it half a saltspoonful of pure carbonate of soda, two ounces of sugar; mingle thoroughly with the flour, make up the paste with spoonfuls of milk; it will require scarcely a quarter of a pint. Knead smooth, roll a quarter of an inch thick, cut in rounds about the size of the top of a small wineglass; roll these out thin, prick them well, lay them on lightly floured tins, and bake in a gentle oven until crisp. When cold put into dry canisters. Thin cream used instead of milk, in the mixture will enrich the biscuits. To obtain variety caraway seeds or ginger can be added at pleasure.

[A DUEL IS FOLLY PLAYING AT MURDER.]

2119. Ginger Biscuits and Cakes.

Work into small crumbs three ounces of butter, two pounds of flour, and three ounces of powdered sugar and two of ginger, in fine powder; knead into a stiff paste, with new milk; roll thin, cut out with a cutter: bake in a slow oven until crisp through; keep of a pale colour. Additional sugar may be used when a sweeter biscuit is desired. For good ginger cakes, butter six ounces, sugar eight, for each pound of flour; wet the ingredients into a paste with eggs: a little lemon-peel grated will give an agreeable flavour.

2120. Sugar Biscuits.

Cut the butter into the flour. Add the sugar and caraway seeds. Pour in the brandy, and then the milk. Lastly, put in the soda. Stir all well with a knife, and mix it thoroughly, till it becomes a lump of dough. Flour your pasteboard, and lay the dough on it. Knead it very well. Divide it into eight or ten pieces, and knead each piece separately. Then put them all together, and knead them very well into one lump. Cut the dough in half, and lay it out into sheets, about half an inch thick. Beat the sheets of dough very hard on both sides with the rolling pin. Cut them out into round cakes with the edge of a tumbler. Butter tins and lay the cakes on them. Bake them of a very pale brown. If done too much they will lose their taste. Let the oven be hotter at the top than at the bottom. These cakes kept in a stone jar, closely covered from the air, will continue perfectly good for several months.

2121. Lemon Sponge.

For a quart mould—dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a pint and three quarters of water; strain it, and add three quarters of a pound of sifted loaf sugar, the juice of six lemons and the rind of one; boil the whole for a few minutes, strain it again, and let it stand till quite cold and just beginning to stiffen; then beat the whites of two eggs, and put them to it, and whisk till it is quite white; put it into a mould, which must be first wetted with cold water. Salad oil is much better than water for preparing the mould for turning out jelly, blancmange, &c., but great care must be taken not to pour the jelly into the mould till quite cool, or the oil will float on the top, and after it is turned out it must be carefully wiped over with a clean cloth. This plan only requires to be tried once to be invariably adopted.

2122. Almond Custards.

Blanch and pound fine, with half a gill of rose water, six ounces of sweet and half an ounce of bitter almonds; boil a pint of milk, with a few coriander seeds, a little cinnamon, and some lemon-peel; sweeten it with two ounces and a half of sugar, rub the almonds through a fine sieve, with a pint of cream; strain the milk to the yolks of eight eggs, and the whites of three well beaten; stir it over a fire till it is of a good thickness, take it off the fire, and stir it till nearly cold, to prevent its curdling.

2123. Arrowroot Blancmange.

A teacupful of arrowroot to a pint of milk; boil the milk with twelve sweet and six bitter almonds, blanched and beaten; sweeten with loaf sugar, and strain it; break the arrowroot with a little of the milk as smooth as possible; pour the boiling milk upon it by degrees, stir the while; put it back into the pan and boil a few minutes, still stirring: dip the shape in cold water before you put it in, and turn it out when cold.

2124. Red Currant Jelly.

With three parts of fine ripe red currants mix one of white currants; put them into a clean preserving-pan, and stir them gently over a clear fire until the juice flows from them freely; then turn them in a fine hair sieve, and let them drain well, but without pressure. Pass the juice through a folded muslin, or a jelly bag; weigh it, and then boil it fast for a quarter of an hour; add for each pound, eight ounces of sugar coarsely powdered, stir this to it off the fire until it is dissolved, give the jelly eight minutes more of quick boiling, and pour it out. It will be firm, and of excellent colour and flavour. Be sure to clean off the scum as it rises, both before and after the sugar is put in, or the preserve will not be clear. Juice of red currants, three pounds; juice of white currants, one pound: fifteen minutes. Sugar, two pounds: eight minutes. An excellent jelly may be made with equal parts of the juice of red and of white currants, and of raspberries, with the same proportion of sugar and degree of boiling as mentioned in the foregoing receipt.

[REVENGE IS THE ONLY DEBT WHICH IS WRONG TO PAY.]

2125. White Currant Jelly.

White currant jelly is made in the same way as red currant jelly, only double refined sugar should be used, and it should not be boiled above ten minutes. White currant jelly should be put through a lawn sieve.

2126. Another Receipt for White Currant Jelly.

After the fruit is stripped from the stalks, put it into the pan, and when it boils, run it quickly through a sieve: take a pound of sugar to each pint of juice, and let it boil twenty minutes.

2127. Black Currant Jelly.

To each pound of picked fruit allow one gill of water; set them on the fire in the preserving-pan to scald, but do not let them boil; bruise them well with a silver fork, or wooden beater; take them oft and squeeze them through a hair sieve, and to every pint of juice allow a pound of loaf or raw sugar; boil it ten minutes.

2128. Apricot Jelly.

Divide two dozen ripe apricots into halves, pound half of the kernels in a gill of water, and a teaspoonful of lemon juice; reduce the fruit to a pulp, and mix the kernels with it; put the whole into a stewpan with a pound of sugar, boil thoroughly, skim till clear, and put into small pots.

2129. Ox-heel Jelly.

Ox-heel Jelly is made in the same way as Calves' Feet Jelly (See par. 2132).

2130. Arrowroot Jelly.

A tablespoonful of arrow-root, and cold water to form a paste; add a pint of boiling water; stir briskly, boil for a few minutes. A little sherry and sugar may be added. For infants, a drop or two of the essence of caraway seed or cinnamon is preferable.

2131. An Excellent Jelly.

(For the Sick room.)—Take rice, sago, pearl-barley, hartshorn shavings, each one ounce; simmer with three pints of water to one, and strain it. When cold, it will be a jelly, which give, dissolved in wine, milk, or broth, in change with the other nourishment.

2132. Calves' Feet Jelly.

It is better to buy the feet of the butcher, than at the tripe-shop ready boiled, because the best portion of the jelly has been extracted. Slit them in two, and take every particle of fat from the claws; wash well in warm water, put them in a large stewpan, and cover with water; skim well, and let them boil gently for six or seven hours, until reduced to about two quarts, then strain and skim off any oily substance on the surface. It is best to boil the feet the day before making the jelly, as, when the liquor is cold, the oily part being at the top, and the other being firm, with pieces of blotting paper applied to it, you may remove every particle of the oily substance without wasting the liquor. Put the liquor in a stewpan to melt, with a pound of lump sugar, the peel of two lemons, and the juice of six, six whites and shells of eggs beat together, and a bottle of sherry or Madeira; whisk the whole together until it is on the boil, then put it by the side of the stove, and let it simmer a quarter of an hour; strain it through a jelly-bag: what is strained first must be poured into the bag again, until it is as bright and clear as distilled water; then put the jelly in moulds, to be cold and firm; if the weather is too warm, it requires some ice or some of Nelson's gelatine.

If required to be very stiff, half an ounce of isinglass may be added when the wine is put in. It may be flavoured by the juice of various fruits and spices, &c., and coloured with saffron, cochineal, the juice of beetroot, spinach juice, claret, &c. It is sometimes made with cherry brandy, red noyeau, curacao, or essence of punch.

2133. Orange Marmalade.

Select the largest Seville oranges, as they usually contain the greatest quantity of juice, and take those that have clear skins, as the skins form the largest part of the marmalade. Weigh the oranges, and weigh also an equal quantity of loaf sugar. Peel the oranges, dividing the peel of each into quarters, and put them into a preserving-pan; cover them well with water, and set them on the fire to boil. In the meantime prepare your oranges; divide them into gores, then scrape with a teaspoon all the pulp from the white skin; or, instead of peeling the oranges, cut a hole in the orange and scoop out the pulp: remove carefully all the pips, of which there are innumerable small ones in the Seville orange, which will escape observation unless they are very minutely examined. Have a large basin near you with some cold water in it, to throw the pips and peels into—a pint is sufficient for a dozen oranges.

Boil these in the water, and having strained off the glutinous matter which comes from them, add it to the other parts. When the peels have boiled till they are sufficiently tender to admit of a fork being stuck into them, scrape away all the pith from the inside of them; lay them in folds, and cut them into thin slices of about an inch long. Clarify the sugar; then throw the peels and pulp into it, stir it well, and let it boil for half an hour. Then remove it from the fire, and when it becomes cool, put it by in pots. Marmalade should be made at the end of March, or at the beginning of April, as Seville oranges are then in their best state.

2134. Apple Marmalade.

Peel and core two pounds of sub-acid apples—Wellingtons are excellent for the purpose—and put them in an enamelled saucepan with one pint of sweet cider, or half a pint of pure wine, and one pound of crushed sugar. Cook them by a gentle heat three hours, or longer, until the fruit is very soft, then squeeze it first through a cullender and then through a sieve. If not sufficiently sweet, add powdered sugar to taste, and put away in jars made air-tight by covering them with a piece of wet bladder.

2135. Plum, Green-gage, or Apricot Jam

After taking away the stones from the fruit, and cutting out any blemishes, put them over a slow fire, in a clean stewpan, with half a pint of water, and when scalded, rub them through a hair sieve. To every pound of pulp put one pound of sifted loaf sugar, put it into a preserving pan over a brisk fire, and when it boils skim it well, and throw in the kernels of the apricots and half an ounce of bitter almonds, blanched. Then boil it fast for a quarter of an hour longer, stirring it all the time. Store away in pots in the usual manner.

2136. Almond Flavour.

(ESSENCE OF PEACH KERNELS—QUINTESSENCE OF NOYEAU.)—Dissolve one ounce of essential oil of bitter almonds in one pint of spirit of wine. Use it as flavouring for cordials and pastry. In large quantities is exceedingly poisonous. A few drops only should be used to several pounds of syrups, pastry, &c. This and other flavourings may be bought in small bottles, ready for use, of grocers or oilmen.

2137. Syrup of Orange or Lemon Peel.

Of fresh outer rind of Seville orange or lemon-peel, three ounces, apothecaries' weight; boiling water, a pint and a half; infuse the peel for a night in a close vessel; then strain the liquor; let it stand to settle; and having poured it off clear from the sediment, dissolve in it two pounds of double refined loaf sugar, and make it into a syrup with a gentle heat.

[PRIDE COSTS MORE THAN HUNGER, THIRST, OR COLD.]

2138. Indian Syrup.

(A delicious summer drink.) Five pounds of lump sugar, two ounces of citric acid, a gallon of boiling water: when cold add half a drachm of essence of lemon and half a drachm of spirit of wine; stir it well and bottle it. About two tablespoonfuls to a glass of cold water.

2139. Apples in Syrup for Immediate Use.

Pare and core some hard round apples, throwing them into a basin of water as each is peeled. Clarify as much loaf sugar as will cover them; put the apples in water with the juice and rind of a lemon, and let them simmer till they are quite clear; great care must be taken not to break them. Place them on the dish they are to appear upon at table, and pour the syrup over.

2140. Pounding Almonds.

The almonds should be dried for a few days after being blanched. Set them in a warm place, strewn singly over a dish or tin. A little powdered lump sugar will assist the pounding. They may be first chopped small, and rolled with a rolling pin.—Almond Paste may be made in the same manner.

2141. Blanched Almonds.

Put the almonds into cold water, and heat them slowly to scalding; then take them out and peel them quickly, throwing them into cold water as they are done. Dry them in a cloth before serving.

2142. Freezing without Ice or Acids.

The use of ice in cooling depends upon the fact of its requiring a vast quantity of heat to convert it from a solid into a liquid state, or in other words, to melt it; and the heat so required is obtained from those objects with which it may be in contact. A pound of ice requires nearly as much heat to melt it as would be sufficient to make a pound of cold water boiling hot; hence its cooling power is extremely great. But ice does not begin to melt until the temperature is above the freezing point, and therefore it cannot be employed in freezing liquids, &c., but only in cooling them. If, however, any substance is mixed with ice which is capable of causing it to melt more rapidly, and at a lower temperature, a still more intense cooling effect is the result; such a substance is common salt, and the degree of cold produced by the mixture of one part of salt with two parts of snow or pounded ice is greater than thirty degrees below freezing.

In making ice-creams and dessert ices, the following articles are required:—Pewter ice-pots with tightly-fitting lids, furnished with handles; wooden ice-pails, to hold the rough ice and salt—the pails should be stoutly made, about the same depth as the ice pots, and nine or ten inches more in diameter, with a hole in the side, fitted with a good cork, in order that the water from the melted ice may be drawn off as required. In addition, a broad spatula, about four inches long, rounded at the end, and furnished with a long wooden handle, is necessary to scrape the frozen cream from the sides of the ice-pot, and for mixing the whole smoothly together. When making ices, place the mixture of cream and fruit to be frozen in the ice-pot, cover it with the lid, and put the pot in the ice-pail, which proceed to fill up with coarsely-pounded ice and salt, in the proportion of about one part of salt to three of ice; let the whole remain a few minutes (if covered by a blanket so much the better), then whirl the pot briskly by the handle for a few minutes, take off the lid, and with the spatula scrape the iced cream from the sides, mixing the whole smoothly; put on the lid, and whirl again, repeating all the operations every few minutes until the whole of the cream is well frozen.

Great care and considerable labour are required in stirring, so that the whole cream may be smoothly frozen, and not in hard lumps. When finished, if it is required to be kept any time, the melted ice and salt should be allowed to escape, by removing the cork, and the pail filled up with fresh materials. It is scarcely necessary to add, that if any of the melted ice and salt is allowed to mix with the cream, the latter is spoiled. From the difficulty of obtaining ice in places distant from large towns, and in hot countries, and from the impracticability of keeping it any length of time, or, in fact, of keeping small quantities more than a few hours its use is much limited, and many have been the attempts to obtain an efficient substitute. For this purpose various salts have been employed, which, when dissolved in water, or in acids, absorb a sufficient amount of heat to freeze substances with which they may be placed in contact. We shall not attempt, in this article, to describe all the various freezing mixtures that have been devised, but speak only of those which have been found practically useful.

Many of the freezing mixtures which are to be found described in books are incorrectly so named, for although they themselves are below the freezing point, yet they are not sufficiently powerful to freeze any quantity of water, or other substances, when placed in a vessel within them. In order to be efficient as a freezing mixture, as distinguished from a cooling one, the materials used ought to be capable of producing by themselves an amount of cold more than thirty degrees below the freezing point of water, and this the ordinary mixtures will not do. Much more efficient and really freezing mixtures may be made by using acids to dissolve the salts. The cheapest, and perhaps the best, of these for ordinary use, is one which is frequently employed in France, both for making dessert ices, and cooling wines, &c. It consists of coarsely powdered Glauber salt (sulphate of sodium), on which is poured about two-thirds its weight of spirit of salts (hydrochloric acid).

The mixture should be made in a wooden vessel, as that is preferable to one made of metal, which conducts the external heat to the materials with great rapidity; and when the substance to be cooled is placed in the mixture, the whole should be covered with a blanket, a piece of old woollen carpet doubled or some other non-conducting material, to prevent the access of the external warmth; the vessel used for icing wines should not be too large, that there may be no waste of the freezing mixture. This combination produces a degree of cold thirty degrees below freezing; and if the materials are bought of any of the wholesale druggists or dry salters, it is exceedingly economical. It is open, however, to the very great objection, that the spirit of salt is an exceedingly corrosive liquid, and of a pungent, disagreeable odour: this almost precludes its use for any purpose except that of icing wines.

[FAIR AND SOFTLY GO SURE AND FAR.]

2143. Further Directions.

Actual quanties—one pound of chloride of ammonium, or sal ammoniac, finely powdered, is to be intimately mixed with two pounds of nitrate of potasium or saltpetre, also in powder; this mixture we may call No. 1. No. 2 is formed by crushing three pounds of the best Scotch soda. In use, an equal bulk of both No. 1 and No. 2 is to be taken, stirred together, placed in the ice-pail, surrounding the ice-pot, and rather less cold water poured on than will dissolve the whole; if one quart of No. 1, and the same bulk of No. 2 are taken, it will require about one quart of water to dissolve them, and the temperature will fall, if the materials used are cool, to nearly thirty degrees below freezing. Those who fail, may trace their want of success to one or other of the following points:—the use of too small a quantity of the preparation,—the employment of a few ounces; whereas, in freezing ices, the ice-pot must be entirely surrounded with the freezing material: no one would attempt to freeze with four ounces of ice and salt. Again, too large a quantity of water may be used to dissolve the preparation, when all the excess of water has to be cooled down instead of the substance it is wished to freeze. All the materials used should be pure, and as cool as can be obtained. The ice-pail in which the mixture is made must be of some non-conducting material, as wood—which will prevent the access of warmth from the air; and the ice-pot, in which the liquor to be frozen is placed, should be of pewter, and surrounded nearly to its top by the freezing mixture. Bear in mind that the making of ice-cream, under any circumstances, is an operation requiring considerable dexterity and practice.

2144. To Make Dessert Ices, both Cream and Water.

2145. Strawberry Ice Cream.

Take one pint of strawberries, one pint of cream, nearly half a pound of powdered white sugar, the juice of a lemon; mash the fruit through a sieve, and take out the seeds: mix with the other articles, and freeze. A little new milk added makes the whole freeze more quickly.

2146. Raspberry Ice Cream.

The same as strawberry. These ices are often coloured by cochineal, but the addition is not advantageous to the flavour. Strawberry or raspberry jam may be used instead of the fresh fruit, or equal quantities of jam and fruit employed. Of course the quantity of sugar must be proportionately diminished.

2147. Strawberry Water Ice.

One large pottle of scarlet strawberries, the juice of a lemon, a pound of sugar, or one pint of strong syrup, half a pint of water. Mix,—first rubbing the fruit through a sieve,—and freeze.

2148. Raspberry Water Ice.

Raspberry Water Ice is made in precisely the same manner as Strawberry-water ice.

2149. Lemon-Water Ice.

Lemon juice and water, each half a pint; strong syrup, one pint: the rind of the lemons should be rasped off, before squeezing, with lump sugar, which is to be added to the juice; mix the whole; strain after standing an hour, and freeze. Beat up with a little sugar the whites of two or three eggs, and as the ice is beginning to set, work this in with the spatula, which will be found to much improve the consistence and taste.

2150. Orange-Water Ice.

Orange-Water Ice is made in the same way as Lemon-water ice.

2151. Nitrate of Ammonium as a Freezing Mixture.

Another substance, which is free from any corrosive action or unpleasant odour, is nitrate of ammonium, which, if simply dissolved in rather less than its own weight of water, reduces the temperature about twenty-five degrees below freezing. The objections to its use are that its frigorific power is not sufficiently great to freeze readily; and if it be required to form dessert ices, it is requisite to renew the process, at the expiration of a quarter of an hour, a second time, and, if the weather is very hot, and the water used is rather warm, even a third or fourth time. Again, nitrate of ammonium is a very expensive salt; even in France, where it is manufactured expressly for this purpose, it is sold at the rate of three francs a pound; and in England it cannot be obtained under a much higher price. One great recommendation, however, attends its use, namely, that it may be recovered again, and used any number of times, by simply boiling away the water in which it is dissolved, by a gentle fire, until a small portion, on being removed, crystallizes on cooling.

2152. Washing Soda as a Freezing Mixture.

If, however, nitrate of ammonium in coarse powder is put into the cooler, and there is then added twice its weight of freshly crushed washing soda, and an equal quantity of the coldest water that can be obtained, an intensely powerful frigorific mixture is the result, the cold often falling to forty degrees below freezing. This is by far the most efficacious freezing mixture that can be made without the use of ice or acids. But, unfortunately, it has an almost insuperable objection, that the nitrate of ammonium is decomposed by the soda, and cannot be recovered by evaporation; this raises the expense to so great a height, that the plan is practically useless.

[ALL IS NOT GOLD THAT GLITTERS.]

2153. Sal Ammoniac as a Freezing Mixture.

If the ordinary sal ammoniac of the shops is used, it will be found both difficult to powder, and expensive; in fact, it is so exceedingly tough, that the only way in which it can be easily divided, except in a drug mill, is by putting as large a quantity of the salt into water which is actually boiling as the latter will dissolve; as the solution cools, the salt crystalizes out in the solid form, and if stirred as it cools, it separates in a state of fine division. As this process is troublesome, and as the sal ammoniac is expensive, it is better to use the crude muriate of ammonium, which is the same substance as sal ammoniac, but before it has been purified by sublimation. This is not usually kept by druggists, but may be readily obtained of any of the artificial manure merchants, at a very moderate rate; and its purity may be readily tested by placing a portion of it on a red-hot iron, when it should fly off in a vapour, leaving scarcely any residue.

2154. Coldness of the Materials used.

It is hardly necessary to add, that in icing wines, or freezing, the effect is great in proportion to the coldness of the materials used; therefore, every article employed, viz., the water, tubs, mixtures, &c., should be as cool as possible.

2155. Blackbirds.

The cock bird is of a deep black, with a yellow bill. The female is dark brown. It is difficult to distinguish male from female birds when young; but the darkest generally are males. Their food consists of German paste, bread, meat, and bits of apple. The same treatment as given for the thrush (See par. 2456) applies to the blackbird.

2156. Food of Blackbirds.

The natural food of the blackbird is berries, worms, insects, shelled snails, cherries, and other similar fruit; and its artificial food, lean fresh meat, cut very small, and mixed with bread, or German paste.

2157. Thrushes.

A cock may be distinguished from a hen by a darker back, and the more glossy appearance of the feathers. The belly also is white. Their natural food is insects, worms, and snails. In a domesticated state they will eat raw meat, but snails and worms should be procured for them. Young birds are hatched about the middle of April, and should be kept very warm. They should be fed with raw meat, cut small, or bread mixed in milk with hemp seed well bruised; when they can feed themselves give them lean meat cut small, and mixed with bread or German paste, plenty of clean water, and keep them in a warm, dry, and sunny situation.

2158. Canaries.

To distinguish a cock bird from a hen, observe the bird when it is singing, and if it be a cock you will perceive the throat heaving with a pulse-like motion, a peculiarity which is scarcely perceptible in the hen. Feed young canaries with white and yolk of hard egg, mixed together with a little bread steeped in water. This should be pressed and placed in one vessel, while in another should be put some boiled rape seed, washed in fresh water. Change the food every day. When they are a month old, put them into separate cages. Cut the claws of cage-birds occasionally, when they become too long, but in doing so be careful not to draw blood.

2159. Treatment of Canaries.

Care must be taken to keep canaries very clean. For this purpose, the cage should be strewed every morning with clean sand, or rather, fine gravel, for small pebbles are absolutely essential to life and health in cage-birds: fresh water must be given every day, both for drinking and bathing; the latter being in a shallow vessel; and, during the moulting season, a small bit of iron should be put into the water for drinking. The food of a canary should consist principally of summer rape seed that is, of those small brown rape seeds which are obtained from plants sown in the spring, and which ripen during the summer; large and black rape seeds, on the contrary, are produced by such plants as are sown in autumn and reaped in spring. A little chickweed in spring, lettuce leaves in summer, and endive in autumn, with slices of sweet apple in winter, may be safely given; but bread and sugar ought to be generally avoided. Occasionally, also, a few poppy or canary seeds, and a small quantity of bruised hemp seed may be added, but the last very sparingly.

Cleanliness, simple food, and fresh but not cold air, are essential to the well-being of a canary. During the winter, the cage should never be hung in a room without a fire, but even then, when the air is mild, and the sun shines bright, the little prisoner will be refreshed by having the window open. The cage should never be less than eight inches in diameter, and a foot high, with perches at different heights.

2160. Bullfinches.

Old birds should be fed with German Paste, (See par. 2164), and occasionally rapeseed. The Germans sometimes give them a little poppy-seed, and a grain or two of rice, steeped in Canary wine, when teaching them to pipe, as a reward for the progress they make. Bird organs, or flageolets, are used to teach them. They breed three or four times a year. The young require to be kept very warm, and to be fed every two hours with rape seed, soaked for several hours in cold water, afterwards scalded and strained, bruised, mixed with bread, and moistened with milk. Not more than one, two, or three mouthfuls should be given at a time.

2161. Linnets.

Cock birds are browner on the back than the hens, and have some of the large feathers of the wings white up to the quills. Canary and hemp seed, with occasionally a little groundsel, water-cress, chickweed, &c., constitute their food.

2162. Skylarks.

The cock is recognised by the largeness of his eye, the length of his claws, the mode of erecting his crest, and by marks of white in the tail. It is also a larger bird than the hen. The cage should be of the following proportions:—Length, one foot five inches; width, nine inches; height, one foot three inches. There should be a circular projection in front to admit of a fresh turf being placed every two or three days, and the bottom of the cage should be plentifully and constantly sprinkled with river sand. All vessels containing food should be placed outside, and the top of the cage should be arched and padded, so that the bird may not injure itself by jumping about.

Their food, in a natural state, consists of seeds, insects, and also buds, green herbage, as clover, endive, lettuce, &c., and occasionally berries. When confined, they are usually fed with a paste made in the following manner:—Take a portion of bread, well-baked and stale, put it into fresh water, and leave it until quite soaked through, then squeeze out the water and pour boiled milk over it, adding two-thirds of the same quantity of barley meal well sifted, or, what is better, wheat meal. This should be made fresh every two days. Occasionally the yolk of a hard-boiled egg should be crumbled small and given to the birds, as well as a little hemp seed, meal, worms, and elder berries when they can be got. The cages of these birds should be kept very clean.

2163. Parrots.

Parrots may best be taught to talk by covering the cage at night, or rather in the evening, and then repeating to them slowly and distinctly, the words they are desired to learn. They should not be kept in places where they are liable to hear disagreeable noises, such as street cries, and the whistling and shouts of boys at play, for they will imitate them, and become too noisy to be tolerated. Parrots may be fed upon soaked bread, biscuit, mashed potatoes, and rape seed. They are fond of nuts. They should be kept very clean, and allowed a bath frequently. When parrots appear sickly in any way, it is best to keep them warm, change their food for a time, and give them lukewarm water to bathe in.

[SHORT RECKONINGS MAKE LONG FRIENDS.]

2164. German Paste.

Good German paste for cage birds may be made in the following manner: Boil four eggs until quite hard, then throw them into cold water; remove the whites and grate or pound the yolks until quite fine, and add a pound of white pea-meal and a tablespoonful of olive oil. Mix the whole up together, and press the dough through a tin cullender so as to form it into small grains like shot. Fry these over a gentle fire, gradually stirring them until of a light brown colour, when they are fit for use.

2165. Insects in Birdcages.

To keep away insects suspend a little bag of sulphur in the cage. This is said to be healthful for birds generally, as well as useful in keeping away insects by which they become infested.

2166. Squirrels.

In a domestic state these little animals are fed with hazel nuts, or indeed any kind of nuts; and occasionally bread and milk. They should be kept very clean.

2167. Rabbits.

Rabbits should be kept dry and warm. Their best food is celery, parsley, and carrots; but they will eat almost any kind of vegetable, especially the dandelion, milk-thistle, &c. In spring it is recommended to give them tares. A little bran, and any kind of grain occasionally is beneficial, as too much green food is very hurtful. Care should be taken not to over-feed them. When fed upon dry food a little skim milk is good for them. Tea leaves also, in small quantities, may be given to them.

2168. White Mice.

White Mice are fed upon bread soaked in milk, peas, oats, beans, &c., and any kind of nuts.

2169. Monkeys.

Monkeys feed upon bread, and fruit of any kind. Do not give them meat, but occasionally they may I have small bones to pick.

2170. Guinea Pigs.

Guinea Pigs very much resemble rabbits in their mode of living, and may be treated in much the same manner. They should be kept dry, warm, and very clean.

2171. To Fatten Poultry.

Poultry should be fattened in coops, and kept very clean. They should be furnished with gravel, but with no water, except that with which their only food, barley-meal, is mixed. Their thirst makes them eat more than they would, in order to extract the moisture from the food. This should not be put in troughs, but laid upon a board, which should be washed clean every time fresh food is put upon it.

2172. To Fatten Fowls in a Short Time.

Mix together ground rice well scalded with milk, and add some coarse sugar. Feed them with this in the daytime, but do not give them too much at once; let it be rather thick.

2173. Egg Shells for Poultry.

It is a bad thing to give fowls egg-shells. They supply nothing that is not equally well furnished by lime, and especially bricklayers' rubbish, old ceilings, &c. Never do anything that has a tendency to make them eat eggs. They are apt scholars. If they find worms in a natural way they are good food, but it is a bad plan to give them by the handful.

2174. Gold Fish.

Great care must be taken of gold fish, as they are very sensitive; and hence a loud noise, strong smell, violent or even slight shaking of the vessel, will sometimes destroy them. Small worms, which are common to the water, suffice for their food in general, but the Chinese, who bring gold fish to great perfection, throw small balls of paste into the water, of which they are very fond. They give them also lean pork, dried in the sun, and reduced to a very fine and delicate powder. Fresh river-water should be given them frequently, if possible. Gold-fish seldom deposit spawn when kept in glass-vessels. In order to procure a supply, they must be put into reservoirs of a considerable depth, in some part at least, well shaded at intervals with water-lilies, and constantly supplied with fresh water.

[FIRST BE JUST, THEN YOU MAY BE GENEROUS.]

2175. Dogs.

The best way to keep dogs healthy is to let them have plenty of exercise, and not to over-feed them. Let them at all times have a plentiful supply of clean water, and encourage them to take to swimming, as it assists their cleanliness. Naldire's soap is recommended as highly efficacious in ridding dogs of fleas. After using any soap rinse it well off with clean water. Properly treated, dogs should be fed only once a day. Meat boiled for dogs, and the liquor in which it is boiled thickened with barley meal, or oatmeal, forms capital food.

2176. Distemper in Dogs.

The distemper is liable to attack dogs from four months to four years old. It prevails most in spring and autumn. The disease is known by dulness of the eye, husky cough, shivering, loss of appetite and spirits, and fits. When fits occur, the dog will most likely die, unless a veterinary surgeon be called in. During the distemper, dogs should be allowed to run on the grass; their diet should be spare; and a little sulphur be placed in their water. Chemists who dispense cattle medicines can generally advise with sufficient safety upon the diseases of dugs, and it is best for unskilful persons to abstain from physicing them. In many diseases dogs will be benefited by warm baths.

2177. Hydrophobia in Dogs.

Hydrophobia is the most dreadful of all diseases. The first symptoms are attended by thirst, fever, and languor. The dog starts convulsively in his sleep, and when awake, though restless, is languid. When a dog is suspected, he should he firmly chained in a place where neither children nor dogs nor cats can get near him. Any one going to attend him should wear thick leather gloves, and proceed with great caution. When a dog snaps savagely at an imaginary object, it is almost a certain indication of madness; and when it exhibits a terror of fluids, it is confirmed hydrophobia. Some dogs exhibit a great dislike of musical sounds, and when this is the case they are too frequently made sport of. But it is a dangerous sport, as dogs have sometimes been driven mad by it.

2178. Mange in Dogs.

The mange is a contagious disease, which it is difficult to get rid of when once contracted. The best way is to apply to a veterinary chemist for an ointment, and to keep applying it for some time after the disease has disappeared, or it will break out again.

2179. Cats.

It is generally supposed that cats are more attached to places than to individuals, but this is an error. They obstinately cling to certain places, because it is there they expect to see the persons to whom they are attached. A cat will return to an empty house, and remain in it many weeks. But when at last she finds that the family does not return, she strays away, and if she chance then to find the family, she will abide with them. The same rules of feeding which apply to dogs apply also to cats. They should not be over-fed, nor too frequently. Cats are liable to the same diseases as dogs; though they do not become ill so frequently. A little brimstone in their milk occasionally is a good preventive. The veterinary chemist will also prescribe for the serious diseases of cats.

2180. Choice of Friends.

Dr. Blair has said:

"We should ever have it fixed in our memories, that by the character of those whom we choose for our friends our own character is likely to be formed, and will certainly be judged of by the world. We ought, therefore, to be slow and cautious in contracting intimacy; but when a virtuous friendship is once established, we must ever consider it as a sacred engagement."

2181. Words.

Soft words soften the soul—angry words are fuel to the flame of wrath, and make it blaze more freely. Kind words make other people good-natured—cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make wrathful. There is such a rush of all other kinds of words in our days, that it seems desirable to give kind words a chance among them. There are vain words, and idle words, and hasty words, and spiteful words, and silly words, and empty words, and profane words, and boisterous words, and warlike words. Kind words also produce their own image on men's souls, and a beautiful image it is. They smooth, and quiet, and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, and morose, and unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.

2182. Gossiping.

If you wish to cultivate a gossiping, meddling, censorious spirit in your children, be sure when they come home from church, a visit, or any other place where you do not accompany them, to ply them with questions concerning what everybody wore, how everybody looked, and what everybody said and did; and if you find anything in this to censure, always do it in their hearing. You may rest assured, if you pursue a course of this kind, they will not return to you unladen with intelligence; and rather than it should be uninteresting, they will by degrees learn to embellish, in such a manner as shall not fail to call forth remarks and expressions of wonder from you. You will, by this course, render the spirit of curiosity, which is so early visible in children, and which, if rightly directed, may be made the instrument of enriching and enlarging their minds, a vehicle of mischief which will serve only to narrow them.

2183. Rules of Conduct.

The following rules of conduct were drawn up by Mrs. Fry, who combined in her character and conduct all that is truly excellent in woman:

i. Never lose any time,—I do not think that time lost which is spent in amusement or recreation some part of each day; but always be in the habit of being employed.

ii. Never err the least in truth.

iii. Never say an ill thing of a person when thou canst say a good thing of him; not only speak charitably, but feel so.

iv. Never be irritable or unkind to anybody.

v. Never indulge thyself in luxuries that are not necessary.

vi. Do all things with consideration; and when thy path to act right is most difficult, feel confidence in that Power alone which is able to assist thee, and exert thy own powers as far as they go.

2184. The Female Temper.

No trait of character is more agreeable in a female than the possession of a sweet temper. Home can never be happy without it. It is like the flowers that spring up in our pathway, reviving and cheering us. Let a man go home at night, wearied and worn by the toils of the day, and how soothing is a word dictated by a good disposition! It is sunshine falling on his heart. He is happy, and the cares of life are forgotten. A sweet temper has a soothing influence over the minds of a whole family. Where it is found in the wife and mother, you observe a kindness and love predominating over the natural feelings of a bad heart. Smiles, kind words and looks, characterize the children, and peace and love have their dwelling there. Study, then, to acquire and maintain a sweet temper.

2185. Counsels for the Young.

i. Never be cast down by trifles. If a spider break his thread twenty times, he will mend it again as often.

ii. Make up your mind to do a thing, and you will do it.

iii. Fear not if a trouble comes upon you; keep up your spirits, though the day be a dark one. If the sun is going down, look up to the stars. If the earth is dark, keep your eye on heaven. With God's promises, a man or a child may be cheerful.

iv. Mind what you run after. Never be content with a bubble that will burst—firewood that will end in smoke and darkness. Get that which you can keep, and which is worth keeping.

v. Fight hard against a hasty temper. Anger will come, but resist it strongly. A fit of passion may give you cause to mourn all the days of your life.

vi. Never revenge an injury. If you have an enemy, act kindly to him, and make him your friend. You may not win him over at once, but try again. Let one kindness be followed by another, till you have compassed your end. By little and little, great things are completed; and repeated kindness will soften the heart of stone.

vii. Whatever you do, do it willingly. A boy that is whipped to school never learns his lessons well. A man who is compelled to work cares not how badly it is performed. He that pulls off his coat cheerfully, turns up his sleeves in earnest, and sings while he works, is the man of action.

2186. Advice to Young Ladies.

i. If you have blue eyes you need not languish: if black eyes, you need not stare.

ii. If you have pretty feet there is no occasion to wear short petticoats: if you are doubtful as to that point, there can be no harm in letting the petticoats be long.

iii. If you have good teeth, do not laugh in order to show them: if bad teeth do not laugh less than the occasion may warrant.

iv. If you have pretty hands and arms, you may play on the harp if you play well: if they are disposed to be clumsy, work tapestry.

v. If you have a bad voice, speak in a subdued tone: if you have the finest voice in the world, never speak in a high tone.

vi. If you dance well, dance but seldom; if ill, never dance at all.

vii. If you sing well, make no previous excuses: if indifferently, do not hesitate when you are asked, for few people are judges of singing, but every one is sensible of a desire to please.

viii. To preserve beauty, rise early.

ix. To preserve esteem, be gentle.

x. To obtain power, be condescending.

xi. To live happily, try to promote the happiness of others.

2187. Daughters.

Mothers who wish not only to discharge well their own duties in the domestic circle, but to train up their daughters for a later day to make happy and comfortable firesides for their families, should watch well, and guard well, the notions which they imbibe and with which they grow up. There will be many persons ready to fill their young heads with false and vain fancies, and there is so much always afloat in society opposed to duty and common sense, that if mothers do not watch well, their children may contract ideas very fatal to their future happiness and usefulness, and hold them till they grow into habits of thought or feeling. A wise mother will have her eyes open, and be ready for every emergency. A few words of common, downright practical sense, timely uttered by her, may be enough to counteract some foolish idea or belief put into her daughter's head by others, whilst if it be left unchecked, it may take such possession of the mind that it cannot be corrected at a later time.

One false notion rife in the present age is the idea that women, unless compelled to it by absolute poverty, are out of place when engaged in domestic affairs. Now mothers should have a care lest their daughters get hold of this conviction as regard themselves—there is danger of it; the fashion of the day engenders it, and even the care that an affectionate family take to keep a girl, during the time of her education, free from other occupations than those of her tasks, or her recreations, may lead her to infer that the matters with which she is never asked to concern herself are, in fact, no concern to her, and that any attention she may ever bestow on them is not a matter of simple duty, but of grace, or concession, or stooping, on her part. Let mothers bring up their daughters from the first with the idea that in this world it is required to give as well as to receive, to minister as well as to enjoy; that every person is bound to be useful in his own sphere, and that a woman's first sphere is the house, and its concerns and demands. Once really imbued with this belief, a young girl will usually be anxious to learn all that her mother is disposed to teach, and will be proud and happy to aid in any domestic occupations assigned to her. These need never be made so heavy as to interfere with the peculiar duties or enjoyments of her age. If a mother wishes to see her daughter become a good, happy, and rational woman, never let there be contempt for domestic occupations, or suffer them to be deemed secondary.

2188. A Wife's Power.

The power of a wife for good or evil is irresistible. Home must be the seat of happiness, or it must be for ever unknown. A good wife is to a man wisdom, and courage, and strength, and endurance. A bad wife is confusion, weakness, discomfiture, and despair. No condition is hopeless where the wife possesses firmness, decision, and economy. There is no outward prosperity which can counteract indolence, extravagance, and folly at home. No spirit can long endure bad domestic influence. Man is strong, but his heart is not adamant. He delights in enterprise and action; but to sustain him he needs a tranquil mind, and a whole heart. He needs his moral force in the conflicts of the world. To recover his equanimity and composure, home must be to him a place of repose, of peace, of cheerfulness, of comfort; and his soul renews its strength again, and goes forth with fresh vigour to encounter the labour and troubles of life. But if at home he find no rest, and is there met with bad temper, sullenness, or gloom, or is assailed by discontent or complaint, hope vanishes, and he sinks into despair.

2189. Husband and Wife.

Being hints to each other for the good of both, as actually delivered at our own table:

2190. Hints for Wives (1).

If your husband occasionally looks a little troubled when he comes home, do not say to him, with an alarmed countenance, "What ails you, my dear?" Don't bother him; he will tell you of his own accord, if need be. Be observant and quiet. Let him alone until he is inclined to talk; take up your book or your needlework pleasantly and cheerfully; and wait until he is inclined to be sociable. Don't let him ever find a shirt-button missing. A shirt-button being off a collar or wrist-band has frequently produced the first impatient word in married Life.

2191. Hints for Husbands (1).

If your wife complain that young ladies of the present day are very forward, don't accuse her of jealousy. A little concern on her part only proves her love for you, and you may enjoy your triumph without saying a word. Don't evince your weakness either, by complaining of every trifling neglect. What though her knitting and crochet seem to absorb too large a share of her attention; depend upon it, that as her eyes watch the intertwinings of the threads, and the manoeuvres of the needles, she is thinking of the events of byegone times, which entangled your two hearts in the network of love, whose meshes you can neither of you unravel or escape.

2192. Hints for Wives (2).

Never complain that your husband pores too much over the newspaper, to the exclusion of that pleasing converse which you formerly enjoyed with him. Don't hide the paper, but when the boy leaves it at the door, take it in pleasantly, and lay it down before him. Think what man would be without a newspaper, and how much good newspapers have done by exposing bad husbands and bad wives, by giving their errors to the eye of the public. When your husband is absent, instead of gossiping or looking into shop windows, sit down quietly, and look over that paper; run your eye over its home and foreign news; glance rapidly at the accidents and casualties; carefully scan the leading articles; and at tea-time, when your husband again takes up the paper, make some brief remarks on what you have read, and, depend upon it, he will put it down again. If he has not read the information, he will hear it all from your lips, and when you have read, he will ask questions in his turn, and, gradually, you will get into as cosy a chat as you ever enjoyed; and you will soon discover that, rightly used, the newspaper is the wife's real friend, for it keeps the husband at home, and supplies capital topics for every-day table-talk.

2193. Hints for Husbands (2).

You can hardly imagine how refreshing it is to occasionally call up the recollection of your courting days. How tediously the hours rolled away prior to the appointed time of meeting; how swiftly they seemed to fly when you had met; how fond was the first greeting; how tender the last embrace; how vivid your dreams of future happiness, when, returning to your home, you felt yourself secure in the confessed love of the object of your warm affections! Is your dream realised?—are you as happy as you expected? Consider whether, as a husband, you are as fervent and constant as you were when a lover. Remember that the wife's claims to your unremitting regard, great before marriage, are now exalted to a much higher degree. She has left the world for you—the home of her childhood, the fireside of her parents, their watchful care and sweet intercourse have all been yielded up for you. Look, then, most jealously upon all that may tend to attract you from home, and to weaken that union upon which your temporal happiness mainly depends; and believe that in the solemn relationship of husband is to be found one of the best guarantees for man's honour and happiness.

2194. Hints for Wives (3).

Perchance you think that your husband's disposition is much changed; that he is no longer the sweet-tempered, ardent lover he used to be. This may be a mistake. Consider his struggles with the world—his everlasting race with the busy competition of trade. What is it makes him so eager in the pursuit of gain—so energetic by day, so sleepless by night—but his love of home, wife, and children, and a dread that their respectability, according to the light in which he has conceived it, may be encroached upon by the strife of existence? This is the true secret of that silent care which preys upon the hearts of many men, and true it is, that when love is least apparent, it is nevertheless the active principle which animates the heart, though fears and disappointments make up a cloud which obscures the warmer element. As above the clouds there is glorious sunshine, while below are showers and gloom, so with the conduct of man—behind the gloom of anxiety is a bright fountain of high and noble feeling. Think of this in those moments when clouds seem to lower upon your domestic peace, and, by tempering your conduct accordingly, the gloom will soon pass away, and warmth and brightness take its place.

2195. Hints for Husbands (3).

Summer is the season of love and innocent enjoyment. What shall the husband do when summer returns to gladden the earth, and all who live upon it? Must he still pore over the calculations of the counting-house, or ceaselessly pursue the toils of the work-room—sparing no moment to taste the joys which Heaven measures out so liberally? No! Let him ask his wife once more to breathe with him the fresh air of heaven, and look upon the beauties of earth. The summers are few that they may dwell together; so let him not give them all to Mammon, but seek invigorating and health-renewing recreation abroad, which shall make the hearts of each glow with emotions of renewed love.

[TRUTH IS A ROCK LARGE ENOUGH FOR ALL TO STAND UPON.]

2196. Hints for Wives (4).

"It was!" "It was not!" "It was!" "It was not!" "Ah!" "Ha!"—Now who's the wiser or the better for this contention for the last word? Does obstinacy establish superiority or elicit truth? Decidedly not! Woman has always been described as clamouring for the last word, and men, generally, have agreed in attributing this trait to her, and in censuring her for it. This being so it remains for some one of the sex, by an exhibition of noble example, to aid in sweeping away the unpleasant imputation. The wife who will establish the rule of allowing her husband to have the last word, will achieve for herself and her sex a great moral victory! Is he right?—it were a great error to oppose him. Is he wrong?—he will soon discover it, and applaud the self-command which bore unvexed his pertinacity. And gradually there will spring up such a happy fusion of feelings and ideas, that there will be no "last word" to contend about, but a steady and unruffled flow of generous sentiment.

2197. Cider.

A beverage made from the juice of the apple, and for which sour and rough-tasted apples are generally preferred. The process of making cider varies in different localities, but in every case essentially consists of the collection of the fruit, and the expression and fermentation of the juice. The collection of the fruit should not be commenced before it has become sufficiently mature. The apples, after being gathered, are usually left for fourteen or fifteen days in a barn or loft to mellow, during which time the mucilage is decomposed, and alcohol and carbonic acid developed.

The expression of the juice is the next step in cider-making. The apples are ground to a pulp in a mill, consisting of two fluted cylinders of hard wood or cast iron working against each other. The pulp is afterwards put into coarse strong bags, and pressed with a heavy weight so as to squeeze out all the juice. This is then placed in large open tubs, and kept at a heat of about sixty degrees. After two or three days for weak cider, and eight or ten days for strong cider, or as soon as the sediment has subsided, the liquor is drawn off into clean casks. The casks are then stored in a cellar, shaded barn, or other cool place, where a low and regular temperature can be insured, and are left to mature and ripen until the following spring. The refuse pulp may be given to pigs and store cattle.

2198. Bottling Cider.

Preparatory to bottling cider, it should always be examined, to see whether it is clear and sparkling. If not so, it should be clarified, and left for a fortnight. The night previous to bottling, the bung should be taken out of the cask, and the filled bottles should not be corked down until the day after; as, if this is done at once, many of the bottles will burst by keeping. The best corks should be used. Champagne bottles are the best for cider. When the cider is wanted for immediate use, or for consumption during the cooler season of the year, a small piece of lump sugar may be put into each bottle before corking it. When intended for keeping, it should be stored in a cool cellar, when the quality will be greatly improved by age.

2199. Cider Champagne.

Cider, eighteen gallons; spirit, three pints; sugar, five pounds. Mix and let them rest for a fortnight, then fine with one pint of skimmed milk. Bottle in champagne bottles: when opened, it will be found to approach very nearly to genuine champagne.

2200. Properties of Cider.

Cider is a pleasant and refreshing beverage, and with persons in good health is not unwholesome when drunk in moderation. By persons suffering from indigestion, however, it should be carefully avoided; nor should it be drunk by persons when they are overheated, as it is apt to cause colic and other disagreeable symptoms. Persons who suffer from rheumatism, or have a tendency to it should not drink cider.

[KNOWLEDGE IS THE WING WHEREBY WE FLY TO HEAVEN.]

2201. Perry.

A beverage made from pears. The fruit used for this purpose should contain a large proportion of sugar, and be likewise astringent, or the liquor from it will be acetous when it ceases to be saccharine. In the making of perry, the pears are pressed and ground in precisely the same manner as apples are in the making of cider. The method of fermenting perry is nearly the same as that for cider; but the former does not afford the same indications as the latter by which the proper period of racking off may be known. The thick scum that collects on the surface of cider rarely appears in the juice of the pear, and during the time of the suspension of its fermentation, the excessive brightness of the former liquor is seldom seen in the latter; but when the fruit has been regularly ripe, its produce will generally become moderately clear and quiet in a few days after it is made, and it should then be drawn off from its grosser lees.

In the after management of perry the process is the same as that of cider; but it does not so well bear situations where it is much exposed to change of temperature. In bottle it almost always retains its good qualities, and in that situation it is always advisable to put it, if it remain sound and perfect at the conclusion of the first succeeding summer.

2202. Servants.

There are frequent complaints in these days, that servants are bad, and dependents and aiding hands generally are bad. It may be so. But if it is so, what is the inference? In the working of the machine of society, class moves pretty much with class; that is, one class moves pretty much with its equals in the community (equals so far as social station is concerned), and apart from other classes, as much those below as those above itself; but there is one grand exception to this general rule, and that is, in the case of domestic servants. The same holds, though in less degree, with assistants; and in less degree only; because in this last case, the difference of grade is slighter.

Domestic servants, and assistants in business and trade, come most closely and continually into contact with their employers; and they are about them from morning till night, and see them in every phase of character, in every style of humour, in every act of life. How powerful is the force of example! Rectitude is promoted, not only by precept but by example, and, so to speak, by contact it is increased more widely. Kindness is communicated in the same way. Virtue of every kind acts like an electric shock. Those who come under its influence imbibe its principles. The same with qualities and tempers that do no honour to our nature. If servants come to you bad, you may at least improve them; possibly almost change their nature. Here follows, then, a receipt to that effect:

Receipt for obtaining good servants.—Let them observe in your conduct to others just the qualities and virtues that you would desire they should possess and practise as respects you. Be uniformly kind and gentle. If you reprove, do so with reason and with good temper. Be respectable, and you will be respected by them. Be kind, and you will meet kindness from them. Consider their interests, and they will consider yours. A friend in a servant is no contemptible thing. Be to every servant a friend; and heartless, indeed, will be the servant who does not warm in love to you.

2203. Oyster Ketchup.

Take some fresh oysters; wash them in their own liquor, strain it, pound them in a marble mortar; to a pint of oysters add a pint of sherry; boil them up, and add an ounce of salt, two drachms of pounded mace, and one of cayenne; let it just boil up again, skim it, and rub it through a sieve; and when cold, bottle it, cork well, and seal it down.

2204. Walnut Ketchup.

Take two sieves of green walnut shells, put them into a tub, mix them up well with from two to three pounds of common salt, let them stand for six days, frequently beating and mashing them. By this time the shells become soft and pulpy, then by banking the mass up on one side of the tub, and at the same time raising the tub on that side, the liquor will drain clear off to the other; then take that liquor out: the mashing and banking-up may be repeated as often as liquor is found. The quantity obtained will be about six quarts. When done, let it be simmered in an iron boiler as long as any scum arises; then bruise a quarter of a pound of ginger, a quarter of a pound of allspice, two ounces of long pepper, and two ounces of cloves. Let it slowly boil for half an hour with the above ingredients; when bottled, let an equal quantity of the spice go into each bottle. Before corking, let the bottles be filled quite up: cork them tight, seal them over, and put them into a cool and dry place for one year before they are used.

2205. Essence of Mushrooms.

This delicate relish is made by sprinkling a little salt over either flap or button mushrooms: three hours after, mash them,—next day, strain off the liquor that will flow from them, put it into a stewpan, and boil it till it is reduced one half. It will not keep long, but is preferable to any of the ketchups containing spice, &c., to preserve them, which overpowers the flavour of the mushrooms. An artificial mushroom bed will supply these all the year round.

2206. Essence of Celery.

This is prepared by soaking for a fortnight half an ounce of the seeds of celery in a quarter of a pint of brandy. A few drops will flavour a pint of soup or broth equal to a head of celery.

2207. Tincture of Allspice

Bruised allspice, one ounce and a half; brandy, a pint. Steep for a fortnight, occasionally shaking, then pour off the clear liquor. This is excellent for many of the uses of allspice, such as making bishop, mulling wine, flavouring gravies, potted meats, &c.

2208. Horseradish Vinegar.

Pour a quart of best vinegar on three ounces of scraped horseradish, an ounce of minced shalot, and one drachm of cayenne; let it stand a week, and you will have an excellent relish for cold beef, salads, &c., costing but little. Horseradish is in the highest perfection about November.

2209. Mint Vinegar.

Put into a wide-mouthed bottle, fresh nice clean mint leaves enough to fill it loosely; then fill up the bottle with good vinegar; and after it has been corked close for two or three weeks, pour it off clear into another bottle, and keep well corked for use. Serve with lamb when mint cannot be obtained.

2210. Cress Vinegar.

Dry and pound half an ounce of cress seed (such as is sown in the garden with mustard), pour upon it a quart of the best vinegar, let it steep for ten days, shaking it up every day. This is very strongly flavoured with cress, and is useful for salads, and as a sauce for cold meats, &c. Celery vinegar may be made in the same manner.

2011. Cheap and Good Vinegar.

To eight gallons of clear rain water, add three quarts of molasses; turn the mixture into a clean, tight cask, shake it well two or three times, and add three spoonfuls of good yeast; place the cask in a warm place, and in ten or fifteen days add a sheet of common wrapping paper, smeared with molasses, and torn into narrow strips, and you will have good vinegar. The paper is necessary to form the "mother," or life of the vinegar.

[LITTLE BOATS MUST KEEP NEAR THE SHORE.]

2212. Cayenne Pepper.

Dr. Kitchiner says (in his excellent book, "The Cook's Oracle" [1]):

"We advise all who are fond of cayenne not to think it too much trouble to make it of English chilis,—there is no other way of being sure it is genuine,—and they will obtain a pepper of much finer flavour, without half the heat of the foreign. A hundred large chilis, costing only two shillings, will produce you about two ounces of cayenne,—so it is as cheap as the commonest cayenne. Four hundred chilis, when the stems were taken off, weighed half a pound; and when dried produced a quarter of a pound of cayenne pepper. The following is the way to make it:—Take away the stalks, and put the pods into a cullender; set them before the fire,—they will take full twelve hours to dry;—then put them into a mortar, with one-fourth their weight of salt, and pound them and rub them till they are as fine as possible, and put them into a well-stoppered bottle."

[Footnote 1: London: Houlston & Sons.]

2213. Peas Powder.

Pound in a marble mortar half an ounce each of dried mint and sage, a drachm of celery seed, and a quarter of a drachm of cayenne pepper; rub them together through a fine sieve, this gives a very savoury relish to pea soup and even to gruel. A drachm of allspice, or black pepper, may be pounded with the above as an addition, or instead of the cayenne.

2214. Horseradish Powder.

The time to make this is during November and December: slice the radish the thickness of a shilling, and lay it to dry very gradually in a Dutch oven (a strong heat soon evaporates its flavour); when dry enough, pound it and bottle it.

2215. Curry Powder (1).

(a genuine Indian receipt).—Turmeric, coriander, black pepper, four ounces each; fenugreek, three ounces; ginger, two ounces; cummin seed, ground rice, one ounce each; cayenne pepper, cardamums, half an ounce each.

2216. Another Curry Powder (2).

Coriander, twelve ounces; black pepper, six ounces; turmeric, four ounces and three-quarters; cummin seed, three ounces; cayenne, one ounce and a half; ground rice, one ounce; cardamums, half an ounce; cloves, quarter of an ounce.—It is best to have the above receipts prepared at a chemist's.

2217. Another Curry Powder (3).

Take two ounces of turmeric, six ounces of coriander seed, half an ounce of powdered ginger, two drachms of cinnamon, six drachms of cayenne pepper, four drachms of black pepper, one drachm of mace and cloves, powdered fine, two drachms of pimento, four drachms of nutmeg, and an ounce and a half of fennel seed; powder finely, mix, dry, and bottle for use.

2218. Another Curry Powder (4).

Take of coriander seed and turmeric, each six drachms; black pepper, four drachms; fennel seed and powdered ginger, each two drachms; cayenne pepper, half a drachm: powder finely, mix, dry, and bottle for use.

2219. True Indian Curry Powder (5).

Turmeric, four ounces; coriander seeds, eleven ounces; cayenne, half an ounce; black pepper, five ounces; pimento, two ounces; cloves, half an ounce; cinnamon, three ounces; ginger, two ounces; cummin seed, three ounces; shalots, one ounce. All these ingredients should be of a fine quality, and recently ground or powdered.

2220. Oyster Powder.

Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them, except in dividing the gristle which adheres to the shells. Put them into a mortar, and when you have got as many as you can conveniently pound at once, add salt in the proportion of about two drachms to a dozen oysters; pound them, and rub them through the back of a hair sieve, dry them thoroughly, and put them into the mortar again, with as much flour as will convert them into a paste; roll this paste out several times, and lastly, flour it, and roll it out the thickness of half a crown, and cut it into pieces about one inch square; lay them in a Dutch oven, where they will dry so gently as not to get burned; turn them every half hour, and when they begin to dry, crumble them. They will take about four hours to dry. Pound them, sift them, and put them into dry bottles; cork and seal them.

Three dozen of natives require seven ounces and a half of flour to make them into a paste weighing eleven ounces, which, when dried, is reduced to six and a half ounces. To make half a pint of sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan with three drachms of oyster powder, and six tablespoonfuls of milk; set it on a slow fire, stir it till it boils, and season it with salt. As a sauce, it is excellent for fish, fowls, or rump steaks. Sprinkled on bread and butter, it makes a good sandwich.

2221. Anchovy Butter.

Scrape the skin from a dozen fine anchovies, take the flesh from the bones, pound it smooth in a mortar; rub through a hair sieve, put the anchovies into the mortar with three-quarters of a pound of fresh butter, a small quantity of cayenne, and a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg and mace; beat together until thoroughly blended. If to serve cold, mould the butter in small shapes, and turn it out. For preservation, press the butter into jars, and keep cool.

2222. Lobster Butter.

Lobster Butter is made in the same manner as anchovy butter. A mixture of anchovy butter and lobster butter is considered excellent.

2223. Liver Sauce for Fish.

Boil the liver of the fish, and pound it in a mortar with a little flour, stir it into some broth, or some of the liquor the fish was boiled in, or melted butter, with some chopped parsley, a few grains of cayenne, and a little essence of anchovy, soy, or ketchup;—give the whole a boil up, and rub it through a sieve; a little lemon juice, or lemon cut in dice, may be added, if liked.

2224. Sauce for Fish.

Twenty-four anchovies, chopped; ten shalots; two ounces of horseradish, scraped; four blades of mace; one lemon, sliced; twelve cloves; one quarter of an ounce of black pepper, whole; one gill of the anchovy liquor; one quart of best vinegar; one quart of water. Let the whole simmer on the fire, in a covered saucepan, until reduced to one quart, strain, and bottle for use. If required for long keeping, add a quarter of an ounce of cayenne pepper.

2225. Apple Sauce.

Pare and core three good-sized baking apples, put them into a well-tinned pint saucepan, with two tablespoonfuls of cold water; cover the saucepan close, and set it on a trivet over a slow fire a couple of hours before dinner,—some apples will take a long time stewing, others will be ready in a quarter of an hour. When the apples are done enough pour off the water, let them stand a few minutes to get dry; then beat them up with a fork, with a bit of butter about as big as a nutmeg, and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar; some persons add lemon-peel, grated or minced fine,—or boil a small piece with the apples. Many persons are fond of apple sauce with cold pork.

2226. Grill Sauce.

To a quarter of a pint of gravy add half an ounce of butter and a dessertspoonful of flour, well rubbed together; the same of mushroom or walnut ketchup; a teaspoonful of lemon juice; half a teaspoonful of made mustard, and of minced capers; a small quantity of black pepper; a little lemon-peel grated very thin; a saltspoonful of essence of anchovies; a very small piece of minced shalot, and a little chili vinegar, or a few grains of cayenne; simmer together for a few minutes; pour a portion of it over the grill, and send up the remainder in a sauce-tureen.

2227. Tomato Sauce.

Twelve tomatoes, ripe and red; take off the stalk; cut in halves; put them in a stewpan with a capsicum, and two or three tablespoonfuls of beef gravy; set on a slow stove till properly melted; rub them through a sieve into a clean stewpan; add a little white pepper and salt, and let them simmer a few minutes.—French cooks add an onion or shalot, a clove or two, or a little tarragon vinegar.

[ONE STORY IS GOOD UNTIL ANOTHER IS TOLD.]

2228. Beef Gravy Sauce.

(Or Brown Sauce for ragout, Game, Poultry, Fish, &c.)—If you want gravy, put in a thick and well-tinned stewpan a thin slice of fat ham or bacon, or an ounce of butter, and a middling-sized onion; on this lay a pound of nice juicy gravy-beef (as the object in making gravy is to extract the nutritious qualities of the meat, it must be beaten so as to reduce the containing vessels, and scored to render the surface more susceptible to the action of the water); cover the stewpan. Set it on a slow fire; when the meat begins to brown, turn it about, and let it get slightly browned (but take care it is not at all burnt): then pour in a pint-and-a-half of boiling water, set the pan on the fire;—when it boils, carefully catch the scum, and then put in a crust of bread toasted brown (don't burn it), a sprig of winter savoury, or lemon thyme and parsley, a roll of thin-cut lemon peel, a dozen berries of allspice, and a dozen of black pepper; cover the stewpan close, let it stew very gently for about two hours, then strain it through a sieve into a basin.

If you wish to thicken it, set a clean stewpan over a slow fire, with about an ounce of butter in it; when it is melted, dredge into it (by degrees) as much flour as will dry it up, stirring them intimately; when thoroughly mixed, pour in a little of the gravy,—stir it well together, and add the remainder by degrees; set it over the fire, let it simmer gently for fifteen or twenty minutes longer, and skim off the fat, &c., as it rises; when it is about as thick as cream, squeeze it through a tamis or fine sieve, and you will have a fine rich brown sauce, at a very moderate expense, and without much trouble.

Observe—If you wish to make it still more relishing—for poultry, you may pound the liver with a piece of butter, rub it through a sieve, and stir it into the sauce when you put in the thickening.

2229. Chutney.

One pound of salt, one pound of mustard seed, one pound of stoned raisins, one pound of brown sugar, twelve ounces of garlic, six ounces of cayenne pepper, two quarts of unripe gooseberries, two quarts of best vinegar. The mustard seed gently dried and bruised; the sugar made into a syrup with a pint of the vinegar; the gooseberries dried and boiled in a quart of the vinegar; the garlic to be well bruised in a mortar. When cold, gradually mix the whole in a large mortar, and with the remaining vinegar thoroughly amalgamate them. To be tied down close. The longer it is kept the better it will become.

2230. Wow Wow Sauce.

Chop parsley leaves fine; take two or three pickled cucumbers, or walnuts, and divide into small squares, and set them by in readiness; put into a saucepan a piece of butter as big as an egg; when it is melted, stir into it a tablespoonful of fine flour, and half a pint of the broth of the beef; add a tablespoonful of vinegar, one of mushroom ketchup, or port wine, or both, and a tablespoonful of made mustard; simmer together till it is as thick as you wish, put in the parsley and pickles to get warm, and pour it over the beef, or send it up in a sauce-tureen. This is excellent for stewed or boiled beef.

2231. Sage-and-Onion, or Goose-Stuffing Sauce.

Chop very fine an ounce of onion and half an ounce of green sage leaves, put them into a stewpan with four spoonfuls of water, simmer gently for ten minutes, then put in a teaspoonful of pepper and salt, and one ounce of fine bread-crumbs; mix well together; then pour to it a quarter of a pint of broth, or gravy, or melted butter; stir well together, and simmer it a few minutes longer. This is an excellent relish for roast pork, poultry, geese or ducks, or green peas.

2232. Garnishes.

i. Parsley is the most universal garnish for all kinds of cold meat, poultry, fish, butter, cheese, and so forth. Horseradish is the garnish for roast beef, and for fish in general; for the latter, slices of lemon are sometimes laid alternately with the horseradish.

ii. Slices of lemon for boiled fowl, turkey, and fish, and for roast veal and calf's head.

iii. Carrot in slices for boiled beef, hot or cold.

iv. Barberries, fresh or preserved, for game.

v. Red beetroot sliced for cold meat, boiled beef, and salt fish.

vi. Fried smelts as garnish for turbot.

vii. Fried sausages or forcemeat balls are placed round turkey, capon, or fowl.

viii. Lobster coral and parsley round boiled fish.

ix. Fennel for mackerel and salmon, either fresh or pickled.

x. Currant jelly for game, also for custard or bread pudding.

xi. Seville orange or lemon in slices for wild ducks, widgeons, teal, and so forth.

xii. Mint, either with or without parsley, for roast lamb, either hot or cold.

xiii. Pickled gherkins, capers, or onions, for some kinds of boiled meat and stews.

[THE SEA IS THE HEAVING BOSOM OF THE WORLD.]

2233. Relish, for Chops, &c.

Pound fine an ounce of black pepper, and half an ounce of allspice, with an ounce of salt, and half an ounce of scraped horseradish, and the same of shalots, peeled and quartered; put these ingredients into a pint of mushroom ketchup, or walnut pickle, and let them steep for a fortnight, and then strain it.

Observe.—A teaspoonful or two of this is generally an acceptable addition, mixed with the gravy usually sent up for chops and steaks; or added to thick melted butter.

2234. Mock Crab.

Take any required quantity of good fat mellow cheese, pound it well in a mortar, incorporating made mustard, salad oil, vinegar, pepper (cayenne is the best), and salt sufficient to season and render it about the consistence of the cream of a crab. Add and mix well half a pint or more of pickled shrimps, and serve in a crab-shell, or on a dish, garnished with slices of lemon.

2235. Female Dress.

It is well known that a loose and easy dress contributes much to give the sex the fine proportions of body that are observable in the Grecian statues, and which serve as models to our present artists, nature being too much disfigured among us to afford any such. The Greeks knew nothing of those ligatures and bandages with which our bodies are compressed. Their women were ignorant of the use of stays, by which ours distort their shape instead of displaying it. This practice, carried to excess as it is in England, is in bad taste. To behold a woman cut in two in the middle, as if she were like a wasp, is as shocking to the eye as it is painful to the imagination. Such a deformity would be shocking in a naked figure; wherefore, then, should it be esteemed a beauty in one that is dressed? Everything that confines and lays nature under restraint is an instance of bad taste. This is as true in regard to the ornaments of the body as to the embellishments of the mind. Life, health, reason, and convenience ought to be taken first into consideration. Gracefulness cannot subsist without ease.

2236. How to take care of your Hat.

i. Should you get caught in a shower, always remember to brush your hat well while wet. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron it over with a smooth flat iron.

ii. If your hat is VERY wet, or stained with sea water, get a basin of clean cold water, and a good stiff brush; wash it well all over, but be careful to keep the nap straight; brush it as dry as you can, then put it on a peg to dry. When dry, brush the glaze out, and gently iron it over as above.

iii. Should you get a spot of grease on your hat, just drop one drop of benzine or sapine on the place, and then rub it briskly with a piece of cloth until out.

iv. Should you be travelling, always tie your hat up in a handkerchief before putting it into your case; this will save it from getting rubbed or damaged through the friction of the rail or steamboat.

v. Never put your hat flat on the brim, as it will spoil its shape; but always hung it up on a peg.

vi. Never put your hat, wet or dry, in front of the fire, as it will soften it, and throw it all out of shape.

vii. Before putting your hat down, be careful to see if the place is free from spots of grease, beer, sugar, &c., as these things often spoil a good hat more than a twelvemonths' wear, and are often very difficult to remove.

These simple rules will save a good hat for a very long time.

[MUSIC IS SOUL EMBODIED IN SOUND.]

2237. French Polishes.

i. Naphtha Polish.—Shell-lac, three pounds; wood naphtha, three quarts. Put the shell-lac in the naphtha and let it dissolve.

ii. Spirit Polish.—Shell-lac, two pounds; powdered mastic and sandarac, of each one ounce; copal varnish, half a pint; spirits of wine, one gallon. Digest in the cold till dissolved.

2238. French Polish for Boots and Shoes.

Mix together two pints of the best vinegar and one pint of soft water; stir into it a quarter of a pound of glue, broken up, half a pound of logwood chips, a quarter of an ounce of finely powdered indigo, a quarter of an ounce of the best soft soap, and a quarter of an ounce of isinglass. Put the mixture over the fire, and let it boil for ten minutes or more. Then strain the liquid, and bottle and cork it: when cold it is fit for use. Apply it with a clean sponge.

2239. To Polish Enamelled Leather.

Two pints of the best cream, one pint of linseed oil; make them each lukewarm, and then mix them well together. Having previously cleaned the shoe, &c., from dirt, rub it over with a sponge dipped in the mixture: then rub it with a soft dry cloth until a brilliant polish is produced.

2240. Boots and Shoes.

Boots and shoes should be cleaned frequently, whether they are worn or not, and should never be left in a damp place, nor be put too near to the fire to dry. In cleaning them, be careful to brush the dirt from the seams, and not to scrape it off with a knife, or you may cut the leather. Let the hard brush do its work thoroughly well, and the polish will be all the brighter.

2241. Blacking.

Blacking is generally made with ivory black, treacle, linseed, or sweet oil, and oil of vitriol. The proportions vary in the different directions, and a variable quantity of water is added, as paste or liquid blacking is required; the mode of making being otherwise precisely the same.

2242. Liquid Blacking.

Ivory black and treacle, of each, one pound; sweet oil and oil of vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Put the first three together until the oil is perfectly mixed or "killed;" then add the oil of vitriol, diluted with three times its weight of water, and after standing three hours add one quart of water or sour beer. The ivory black must be very finely ground for liquid blacking, otherwise it settles rapidly. The oil of vitriol is powerfully corrosive when undiluted, but uniting with the lime of the ivory black, it is partly neutralized, and does not injure the leather, whilst it much improves the quality of the blacking.

2243. Paste Blacking.

Ivory black, two pounds; treacle, one pound; olive oil and oil of vitriol, of each, a quarter of a pound. Mix as before, adding only sufficient water to form into a paste.

2244. Best Blacking for Boots and Shoes.

Ivory black, one ounce and a half; treacle, one ounce and a half; sperm oil, three drachms; strong oil of vitriol, three drachms; common vinegar, half a pint. Mix the ivory black, treacle, and vinegar together, then mix the sperm oil and oil of vitriol separately, and add them to the other mixture.

2245. Waterproofing for Boots and Shoes (1).

Linseed oil, one pint; oil of turpentine, or camphine, a quarter of a pint; yellow wax, a quarter of a pound; Burgundy pitch, a quarter of a pound. Melt together with a gentle heat, and when required for use, warm and well rub into the leather before a fire, or in the hot sun. The composition should be poured, when melted, into small gallipots, or tin boxes.

2246. To Render Shoes Waterproof (2).

Warm a little bees'-wax and mutton suet until it is liquid, and rub some of it slightly over the edges of the sole, where the stitches are.

[OUT OF DEBT, OUT OF DANGER.]

2247. Directions for putting on Gutta-Percha Soles.

Dry the old sole, and rough it well with a rasp, after which, put on a thin coat of warm solution of gutta percha with the finger, rub it well in; let it dry, then hold it to the fire, and whilst warm, put on a second coat of solution thicker than the first; let it dry. Then take the gutta percha sole, and put it in hot water until it is soft; take it out, wipe it, and hold the sole in one hand and the shoe in the other to the fire, and they will become sticky; immediately lay the sole on, beginning at the toe, and proceed gradually. In half an hour, take a knife and pare it. The solution should be warmed by putting as much as you want to use in a cup, and placing it in hot water, taking care that no water mixes with it.

2248. Boot Tops (1).

Clean boot tops with one ounce of white vitriol, and one ounce of oxalic acid dissolved in a quart of warm water. Apply with a clean sponge. Or, sour milk, one pint; gum arabic, half an ounce; juice of a lemon, white of an egg, and one ounce of vitriol, well mixed.

2249. Boot-top Liquid (2).

Oxalic acid and white vitriol, of each one ounce; water, one pint and a half. To be applied with a sponge to the leather, previously washed, and then wiped off again. This preparation is poisonous.

2250. Care of Gloves.

Nothing looks worse than shabby gloves; and, as they are expensive articles in dress, they require a little management. A good glove will outlast six cheap ones with care. Do not wear your best gloves at night, the heat of the gas, &c., gives a moisture to the hands, that spoils the gloves; do not wear them in very wet weather; as carrying umbrellas, and drops of rain, spoil them.

2251. To Clean Kid Gloves (1).

Make a strong lather with curd soap and warm water, in which steep a small piece of new flannel. Place the glove on a flat, clean, and unyielding surface—such as the bottom of a dish, and having thoroughly soaped the flannel (when squeezed from the lather), rub the kid till all dirt be removed, cleaning and re-soaping the flannel from time to time. Care must be taken to omit no part of the glove, by turning the fingers, &c. The glove must be dried in the sun, or before a moderate fire, and will present the appearance of old parchment. When quite dry, they must be gradually "pulled out," and will look new.

2252. To Clean French Kid Gloves (2).

Put the gloves on your hand and wash them, as if you were washing your hands, in some spirits of turpentine, until quite clean; then hang them up in a warm place, or where there is a current of air, and all smell of the turpentine will be removed.

2253. How to Wash Kid Gloves (3).

Have ready a little new milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth or towel folded three or four times. On the cloth, spread out the glove smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then rub off a good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove downwards towards the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue this process until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean; if coloured, till it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry; and old gloves will soon look nearly new. They will be soft, glossy, smooth, well-shaped, and elastic.

2254. Preserving the Colour of Dresses.

The colours of merinos, mousseline-de-laines, ginghams, chintzes, printed lawns, &c., may be preserved by using water that is only milk warm; making a lather with white soap, before you put in the dress, instead of rubbing it on the material; and stirring into a first and second tub of water a large tablespoonful of oxgall. The gall can be obtained from the butcher, and a bottle of it should always be kept in every house. No coloured articles should be allowed to remain long in the water. They must be washed fast, and then rinsed through two cold waters. In each, rinsing water stir a teaspoonful of vinegar, which will help to brighten the colours; and after rinsing, hang them out immediately. When ironing-dry (or still a little damp), bring them in; have irons ready heated, and iron them at once—as it injures the colours to allow them to remain damp too long—or sprinkle and roll them up in a cover for ironing next day. If they cannot be conveniently ironed immediately, let them hang till they are quite dry, and then damp and fold them on the, following day, a quarter of an hour before ironing.

It is better not to do coloured dresses on the day of the general wash, but to give them a morning by themselves. They should only be undertaken in clear bright weather. If allowed to freeze, the colours will be irreparably injured. We need scarcely say that no coloured articles should ever be boiled or scalded. If you get from a shop a slip for testing the durability of colours, give it a fair trial by washing it as above; afterwards pinning it to the edge of a towel, and hanging it to dry. Some colours (especially pinks and light greens), though they may stand perfectly well in washing, will change as soon as a warm iron is applied to them; the pink turning purplish, and the green bluish. No coloured article should be smoothed with a hot iron.

[A GAMBLER AND A SWINDLER ARE NEAR NEIGHBOURS.]

2255. To Renovate Silks (1).

Sponge faded silks with warm water and soap, then rub them with a dry cloth on a flat board; afterwards iron them on the inside with a smoothing iron. Old black silks may be improved by sponging with spirits; in this case, the ironing may be done on the right side, thin paper being spread over to prevent glazing.

2256. Black Silk Reviver (2).

Boil logwood in water for half an hour; then simmer the silk half an hour; take it out, and put into the dye a little blue vitriol, or green copperas; cool it, and simmer the silk for half an hour. Or, boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until it is reduced to one pint; squeeze the leaves, and bottle the liquor for use. When wanted, sponge the silk with this preparation.

2257. Restoring Colour to Silk (3).

When the colour has been taken from silk by acids, it may be restored by applying to the spot a little hart's-horn, or sal volatile.

2258. To Remove Water Stains from Black Crape.

When a drop of water falls on a black crape veil or collar, it leaves a conspicuous white mark. To obliterate this, spread the crape on a table (laying on it a large book or a paper-weight to keep it steady), and place underneath the stain a piece of old black silk. With a large camel's-hair brush dipped in common ink go over the stain, and then wipe off the ink with a small piece of old soft silk. It will dry at once, and the white mark will be seen no more.

2259. To Remove Stains from Mourning Dresses.

Boil a handful of fig-leaves in two quarts of water until reduced to a pint. Bombazines, crape, cloth, &c., need only be rubbed with a sponge dipped in this liquor, and the stains will be instantly removed.

2260. Wax.

Wax may be taken out of cloth by holding a red-hot iron within an inch or two of the marks, and afterwards rubbing them with a soft clean rag.

2261. Grease Spots from Silk.

Upon a deal table lay a piece of woollen cloth or baize, upon which lay smoothly the part stained, with the right side downwards. Having spread a piece of brown paper on the top, apply a flat iron just hot enough to scorch the paper. About five or eight seconds is usually sufficient. Then rub the stained part briskly with a piece of whity-brown paper.