QUINCE PUDDING. Scald six large quinces very tender, pare off the thin rind, and scrape them to a pulp. Add powdered sugar enough to make them very sweet, and a little pounded ginger and cinnamon. Beat up the yolks of four eggs with some salt, and stir in a pint of cream. Mix these with the quince, and bake it in a dish, with a puff crust round the edge. In a moderate oven, three quarters of an hour will be sufficient. Sift powdered sugar over the pudding before it is sent to table.

QUINCE WINE. Gather the quinces in a dry day, when they are tolerably ripe; rub off the down with a linen cloth, and lay them in hay or straw for ten days to perspire. Cut them in quarters, take out the cores, and bruise them well in a mashing tub with a wooden pestle. Squeeze out the liquid part by degrees, by pressing them in a hair bag in a cider press. Strain the liquor through a fine sieve, then warm it gently over a fire, and skim it, but do not suffer it to boil. Now sprinkle into it some loaf sugar reduced to powder, and boil a dozen or fourteen quinces thinly sliced, in a gallon of water mixed with a quart of white wine. Add two pounds of fine sugar, strain off the liquor, and mingle it with the natural juice of the quinces. Put this into a cask, but do not fill it, and mix them well together. Let it stand to settle, put in two or three whites of eggs, and draw it off. If it be not sweet enough, add more sugar, and a quart of the best malmsey. To make it still better, boil a quarter of a pound of stone raisins, and half an ounce of cinnamon bark, in a quart of the liquor, till a third part is reduced. Then strain it, and put it into the cask when the wine is fermenting.

QUINCES PRESERVED. Wipe clean a quantity of golden pippins, not pared but sliced, and put them into two quarts of boiling water. Boil them very quick, and closely covered, till the water is reduced to a thick jelly, and then scald the quinces, either whole or cut in halves. To every pint of pippin jelly add a pound of the finest sugar, boil and skim it clear. Put those quinces that are to be done whole into the syrup at once, and let it boil very fast; and those that are to be in halves by themselves. Skim it carefully, and when the fruit is clear, put some of the syrup into a glass, to try whether it jellies, before taking it off the fire. A pound of quinces is to be allowed to a pound of sugar, and a pound of jelly already boiled with the sugar.

QUINSEY. For a quinsey, or inflammation of the throat, make a volatile liniment, by shaking together an ounce of Florence oil, and half an ounce of the spirit of hartshorn; or an equal quantity of each, if the patient be able to bear it. Moisten a piece of flannel with the liniment, and apply it to the throat every four or five hours. After bleeding, it will seldom fail to lessen or carry off the complaint.



R.

RABBITS. Wild ones have the finest flavour, and are by far the best. Tame rabbits are scarcely eatable, unless kept delicately clean. The doe brings forth every month, and must be allowed to go with the buck as soon as she has kindled. The sweetest hay, oats, beans, sow-thistle, parsley, carrot tops, cabbage leaves, and bran, should be given to the rabbits, fresh and fresh. If not carefully attended, their own stench will destroy them, and be very unwholesome to those who live near them. Constant care is requisite to prevent this inconvenience.—When rabbits are to be dressed, they may have gravy and stuffing like hare; or they may be larded, and roasted without stuffing. For the manner of trussing a rabbit, either for roasting or boiling, see the Plate. If boiled, it should be smothered with onion sauce, the butter to be melted with milk instead of water. If fried in joints, it must be dressed with dried or fried parsley, and liver sauce made for it, the same as for roasting. Chop up the liver with parsley, and put it into melted butter, with pepper and salt. If fricasseed, the same as for chickens. Young rabbits are good in a pie, with forcemeat as for chicken pie.—When rabbits are to be purchased for cooking, the following things must be observed. If the claws are blunt and rugged, the ears dry and tough, and the haunch thick, it is old. But if the claws are smooth and sharp, the ears easily tear, and the cleft in the lip is not much spread, it is young. If fresh and newly killed, the body will be stiff, and in hares the flesh is pale. They keep a good while by proper care, and are best when rather beginning to turn, if the inside is preserved from being musty. To distinguish a real leveret from a hare, a knob or small bone will be discovered near the foot on its fore leg.——Tame rabbits may be bred with much success and ornamental effect in a small artificial warren, in a lawn in the garden, made in the following manner. Pare off the turf of a circle about forty feet diameter, and lay it on the outside; then dig a ditch within this circle, the outside perpendicular, the inner sloping, and throw earth sufficient into the middle to form a little hill, two or three feet higher than the level of the lawn; the rest must be carried away. Then lay down the turf on the hill, and beat it well to settle. The ditch at bottom should be about three feet wide, and three and a half deep, with two or three drains at the bottom, covered with an iron grate, or a stone with holes, to carry off the hasty rains, in order to keep the rabbits dry. In the outside bank should be six alcoves, the sides and top supported, either by boards or brick-work, to give the rabbits their dry food in; by their different situations some will always be dry; six boxes or old tea-chests, let into the bank will do very well. If the ground be very light, the outside circle should have a wall built round it, or some stakes driven into the ground, and boards or hurdles nailed to them, within a foot of the bottom, to prevent the bank from falling in. The entrance must either be by a board to turn occasionally across the ditch, or by a ladder. The turf being settled, and the grass beginning to grow, turn in the rabbits, and they will immediately go to work to make themselves burrows in the sides, and in the hill. By way of inducing them rather to build in the sides, to keep the turf the neater, make a score of holes about a foot deep, and they will finish them to their own mind; and if there be a brick wall round it, it should be built on pillars, with an arch from each, to leave a vacancy for a burrow. Lucern, parsley and carrots are very proper food for them; and they should also be fed upon some of the best upland pasture hay. Rabbits are subject to several diseases, as the rot, which is caused by giving them too large a quantity of green food, or the giving it fresh gathered, with the dew or rain hanging in fresh drops upon it, as it is over-moisture that always causes the disease; the green food should therefore always be given dry, and a sufficient quantity of hay, or other dry food, intermixed with it, to counteract the bad effects of it. And a sort of madness often seizes them: this may be known by their tumbling about; their heels upwards, and hopping in an odd manner into the boxes. This distemper is supposed to be owing to the rankness of their feeding; and the general cure is the keeping them low and giving them the prickly herb called tare-thistle to eat as much as possible. They are also subject to a sort of scabby eruption, which is seldom removed. These should, however, be directly separated from the rest of the stock.

RABBIT LIKE HARE. Choose a full-grown young rabbit, and hang it up three or four days. Then skin it, and without washing, lay it in a seasoning of black pepper and allspice, in very fine powder. Add a glass of port wine, and the same quantity of vinegar. Baste it occasionally for forty hours, then stuff and roast it as hare, and with the same sauce. Do not wash off the liquor that it was soaked in.

RADISHES. These are raised from seed by different sowings from the end of October till April, or the following month. They should have a light fine mould, and the more early sowings be made on borders, under warm walls, or other similar places, and in frames covered by glasses. The common spindle-rooted, short-topped sorts are mostly made use of in these early sowings, the seed being sown broadcast over the beds after they have been prepared by digging over and raking the surface even, being covered in with a slight raking. Some sow carrots with the early crops of radishes. It is usual to protect the early sown crops in the borders, during frosty nights and bad weather, by mats or dry wheat straw, which should be carefully removed every mild day. By this means they are brought more forward, as well as form better roots. When mats are used, and supported by pegs or hoops, they are readily applied and removed. A second more general sowing should be made in January or February. When the crops have got their rough leaf; they should be thinned out, where they are too thick, to the distance of two inches, as there will be constantly more thinning by the daily drawing of the young radishes. When the weather is dry in March, or the following month, the crops should be occasionally well watered, which not only forwards the growth of the crops, but increases the size of the roots, and renders them more mild and crisp in eating. And the sowings should be continued at the distance of a fortnight, till the latter end of March, when they should be performed every ten days, until the end of April or beginning of the following month. In sowing these later crops, it is the practice of some gardeners to sow coss-lettuces and spinach with them, in order to have the two crops coming forward at the same time; but the practice is not to be much recommended, where there is sufficient room. But in sowing the main general crops in the open quarters, the market-gardeners generally put them in on the same ground where they plant out their main crops of cauliflowers and cabbages, mixing spinach with the radish-seed as above, sowing the seeds first, and raking them in, then planting the cauliflowers or cabbages; the radishes and spinach come in for use before the other plants begin to spread much, and as soon as those crops are all cleared off for use, hoe the ground all over to kill weeds and loosen the soil, drawing earth about the stems of the cauliflowers and cabbages. The turnip radish should not be sown till the beginning of March, the plants being allowed a greater distance than for the common spindle-rooted sort. The seeds of this sort are apt to degenerate, unless they are set at a distance from that kind. The white and black Spanish radishes are usually sown about the middle of July, or a little earlier, and are fit for the table by the end of August, or the beginning of September, continuing good till frost spoils them. These should be thinned to a greater distance than the common sort, as their roots grow as large as turnips, and should not be left nearer than six inches. To have these roots in winter, they should be drawn before hard frost comes on, and laid in dry sand, as practised for carrots, carefully guarding them from wet and frost; as in this way they may be kept till the spring. In regard to the culture of the general crops, they require very little, except occasional thinning, where they are too thick, when the plants are come into the rough leaf, either by hoeing or drawing them out by hand: though for large quantities, small hoeing is the most expeditious mode of thinning, as well as most beneficial to the crop by loosening the ground; in either method thinning the plants to about two or three inches distance, clearing out the weakest, and leaving the strongest to form the crop. In order to save the seed, about the beginning of May some ground should be prepared by digging and levelling; then drawing some of the straightest and best coloured radishes, plant them in rows three feet distant, and two feet asunder in the rows; observing, if the season be dry, to water them until they have taken root: after which they will only require to have the weeds hoed down between them, until they are advanced so high as to overspread the ground. When the seed begins to ripen, it should be carefully guarded against the birds. When it is ripe, the pods will turn brown: then it must be cut, and spread in the sun to dry; after which it must be thrashed, and laid up for use where no mice can come at it. In order to have the roots early, as in January or the following month, the method of raising them in hot-beds is sometimes practised. They should have eighteen inches depth of dung to bring them up, and six or seven inches depth of light rich mould. The seed should be sown moderately thick, covering it in half an inch thick, and putting on the lights: the plants usually come up in a week or less; and when they appear, the lights should be lifted or taken off occasionally, according to the weather; and in a fortnight thin the plants to the distance of an inch and half or two inches, when in six weeks they will be fit to draw. Where there are no frames to spare, the beds may be covered with mats over hoops, and the sides secured by boards and straw-bands. And when in want of dung, if the beds be covered with frames, and the lights put on at night and in bad weather, the plants may be raised for use a fortnight sooner than in the open borders.—To raise them in constant succession, steep the seed in rain water for twenty-four hours, tie it up in a linen bag, and hang it in the sun all day. The seed beginning to shoot, is then to be sown in fresh earth well exposed to the sun, and covered with a tub. In three days the radishes will be produced fit for salad, and much more delicate than those grown in the common way. In the winter the seeds should be steeped in warm water, and the bag put in a place sufficiently hot to make them sprout. Then fill a tub with rich mould, sow the seeds in it, and cover them over closely with another tub, taking care to sprinkle them now and then with warm water. The two tubs closely joined should be set in a warm place, and in about a fortnight some fine salad will be produced. Radishes may be raised in this manner all the year round, and by the quickness of their growth they will be rendered fine and delicate.

RAGOUT OF EGGS. Boil eight eggs hard, then shell and cut them into quarters. Have ready a pint of good gravy, well seasoned, and thickened over the fire with two ounces of butter rolled in flour. When quite smooth and hot, pour it over the eggs, and serve them up. By using cream instead of gravy, this will make a fricassee.

RAGOUT OF MORELS. Cut them in long slices, then wash and drain them well. Put them into a stewpan with a piece of butter, some chopped parsley, a bunch of herbs, and some gravy. Simmer them over a gentle fire, and when nearly done, add a little pepper, salt, and flour. Set them over the fire, till the sauce is properly thickened. Stewed with a little water and a blade of mace, and thickened with cream, and yolks of eggs, they make a white ragout. Serve them with sippets of bread toasted.

RAGOUT OF TRUFFLES. Peel the truffles, cut them in slices, wash and drain them well. Put them into a saucepan with a little gravy, and stew them gently over a slow fire. When they are nearly done enough, thicken them with a little butter and flour. Stewed in a little water, and thickened with cream and yolk of egg, they make a nice white ragout. Truffles, mushrooms, and morels, are all of them very indigestible, and therefore not to be recommended to general use.

RAISED CRUST. For meat pies or fowls, boil some water with a little fine lard, and an equal quantity of fresh dripping or butter, but not much of either. While hot, mix this with as much fine flour as is necessary, making the paste as stiff as possible, to be smooth. Good kneading will be required for this purpose, and beating it with a rolling-pin. When quite smooth, put a part of it into a cloth, or under a pan, to soak till nearly cold. Those who are not expert in raising a crust, may roll the paste of a proper thickness, and cut out the top and bottom of the pie, then a long piece for the sides. Cement the bottom to the sides with egg, bringing the former rather farther out, and pinching both together. Put egg between the edges of the paste, to make it adhere at the sides. Fill the pie, put on the cover, and pinch it and the side crust together. The same mode of uniting the paste is to be observed, if the sides are pressed into a tin form, in which the paste must be baked, after it is filled and covered; but in the latter case, the tin should be buttered, and carefully taken off when done enough; and as the form usually makes the sides of a lighter colour than is proper, the paste should be put into the oven again for a quarter of an hour. The crust should be egged over at first with a feather.—Another. Put four ounces of butter into a saucepan with water; and when it boils, pour it into a quantity of flour. Knead and beat it quite smooth, cover it with small bits of butter, and work it in. If for custard, put a paper within to keep out the sides till half done. Mix up an egg with a little warm milk, adding sugar, a little peach water, lemon peel, or nutmeg, and fill up the paste.—Another way. To four pounds of flour, allow a pound of butter, and an ounce of salt. Heap the flour on a pie board, and make a hole in the middle of it, and put in the butter and salt. Pour in water nearly boiling, but with caution, that the crust be not too flimsey. Work the butter with the hand till it is melted in the water, then mix in the flour, mould it for a few minutes as quick as possible, that it may be free from lumps, and the stiffer it is the better. Let it be three hours before it is used.

RAISIN WINE. To every gallon of spring water, allow eight pounds of fresh Smyrnas, and put them together in a large tub. Stir it thoroughly every day for a month, then press the raisins in a horse-hair bag as dry as possible, and put the liquor into a cask. When it has done hissing, pour in a bottle of the best brandy, stop it close for twelve months, and then rack it off free from the dregs. Filter the dregs through a bag of flannel of three or four folds, add what is clear to the general quantity, and pour on a quart or two of brandy, according to the size of the vessel. Stop it up, and at the end of three years it may either be bottled, or drank from the cask. If raisin wine be made rich of the fruit, and well kept, the flavour will be much improved.—To make raisin wine with cider, put two hundred-weight of Malagas into a cask, and pour upon them a hogshead of good sound cider that is not rough; stir it well two or three days, stop it up, and let it stand six months. Then rack it into a cask that it will fill, and add a gallon of the best brandy. If raisin wine be much used, it would answer well to keep a cask always for it, and bottle off one year's wine just in time to make the next, which, allowing the six months of infusion, would make the wine to be eighteen months old. In cider counties this way is found to be economical; and if the wine is not thought strong enough, the addition of another stone or two of raisins would be sufficient, and the wine would still be very cheap. When the raisins are pressed through a horse-hair bag, they will either produce a good spirit by distillation, if sent to a chemist, or they will make excellent vinegar.—Raisin wine without cider. On four hundred-weight of Malagas pour a hogshead of spring water, stir it well every day for a fortnight, then squeeze the raisins in a horse-hair bag in a press, and tun the liquor. When it ceases to hiss, stop it close. In six months rack it off into another cask, or into a tub; and after clearing out the sediment, return it into the cask without washing it. Add a gallon of the best brandy, stop it close, and bottle it off in six months. The pressed fruit may be reserved for making vinegar.

RAMAKINS. Scrape a quarter of a pound of Cheshire cheese, and the same of Gloucester cheese, and add them to a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Beat all in a mortar, with the yolks of four eggs, and the inside of a small French roll boiled soft in cream. Mix the paste with the whites of the eggs previously beaten, put it into small paper pans made rather long than square, and bake in a Dutch oven to a fine brown. They should be eaten quite hot. Some like the addition of a glass of white wine. The batter for ramakins is equally good over macaroni, when boiled tender; or on stewed brocoli, celery, or cauliflower, a little of the gravy they have been stewed in being put in the dish with them, but not enough to make the vegetable swim.

RASPBERRY BRANDY. Pick some fine dry fruit, put them into a stone jar, and the jar into a kettle of water, or on a hot hearth, till the juice will run. After straining it, add to every pint of juice, half a pound of sugar; give it one boil, and skim it. When cold, put equal quantities of juice and brandy; shake it well, and bottle it. Some persons prefer it stronger of the brandy.

RASPBERRY CAKES. Pick out some fine ripe raspberries, weigh and boil them. When mashed, and the liquor is wasted, add sugar equal to the first weight of the fruit. Take it off the fire, mix it well, until perfectly dissolved, and then put it on china plates to dry in the sun. As soon as the top part dries, cut the paste into small cakes with the cover of a canister; then turn them on fresh plates, and put them into boxes when dry, with layers of white paper.

RASPBERRY CREAM. Mash the fruit gently, and let them drain; sprinkle some sugar over, and that will produce more juice. Then put the juice to some cream, and sweeten it. After this it may be lowered with milk; but if the milk be put in before the cream, it will curdle it. When fresh fruit cannot be obtained, it is best made of raspberry jelly, instead of jam.—Another way. Boil an ounce of isinglass shavings in three pints of cream and new milk mixed, for fifteen minutes, or till the shavings be melted. Strain it through a hair sieve into a bason; when cool, add about half a pint of raspberry juice or syrup, to the milk and cream. Stir it till it is well incorporated; sweeten, and add a glass of brandy. Whisk it about till three parts cold, and then put it into a mould till it is quite cold. In summer, use the fresh juice; in winter, syrup of raspberries.

RASPBERRY JAM. Weigh equal quantities of fruit and sugar; put the former into a preserving-pan, boil and break it, stir it constantly, and let it boil very quickly. When most of the juice is wasted, add the sugar, and simmer it half an hour. By this mode of management the jam is greatly superior in colour and flavour, to that which is made by putting the sugar in at first.—Another way. Put the fruit in a jar, and the jar in a kettle of water on a hot hearth, and let it remain till the juice will run from it. Then take away a quarter of a pint from every pound of fruit, boil and bruise it half an hour. Put in the weight of the fruit in sugar, add the same quantity of currant juice, and boil it to a strong jelly. The raspberry juice will serve to put into brandy, or may be boiled with its weight in sugar, for making the jelly for raspberry ice or cream.

RASPBERRY TARTS. Roll out some thin puff paste, and lay it in a pattipan. Put in the raspberries, strew some fine sugar over them, cover with a thin lid, and bake the tart. Mix a pint of cream with the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, and a little sugar. Cut open the tart, pour in the mixture, and return it to the oven for five or six minutes.—Another. Line the dish with puff paste, put in sugar and fruit, lay bars across, and bake them. Currant tarts are done in the same way.

RASPBERRY VINEGAR. Put a pound of fine fruit into a china bowl, and pour upon it a quart of the best white wine vinegar. Next day strain the liquor on a pound of fresh raspberries, and the following day do the same; but do not squeeze the fruit, only drain the liquor as dry as possible from it. The last time pass it through a canvas, previously moistened with vinegar, to prevent waste. Put it into a stone jar, with a pound of sugar to every pint of juice, broken into large lumps. Stir it when melted, then put the jar into a saucepan of water, or on a hot hearth; let it simmer, and skim it clean. When cold, bottle it up. This is one of the most useful preparations that can be kept in a house, not only as affording the most refreshing beverage, but being of singular efficacy in complaints of the chest. A large spoonful or two in this case is to be taken in a tumbler of water. No glazed or metal vessel of any kind should be used in this preparation. The fruit, with an equal quantity of sugar, makes excellent Raspberry Cakes, without boiling.

RASPBERRY WINE. To every quart of well-picked raspberries put a quart of water; bruise, and let them stand two days. Strain off the liquor; and to every gallon add three pounds of lump sugar. When dissolved, put the liquor in a barrel; and when fine, which will be in about two months, bottle it off. To each bottle put a spoonful of brandy, or a glass of wine.

RATIFIA. Blanch two ounces of peach and apricot kernels, bruise and put them into a bottle, and fill it nearly up with brandy. Dissolve half a pound of white sugar-candy in a cup of cold water, and add it to the brandy after it has stood a month on the kernels, and they are strained off. Then filter through paper, and bottle it up for use. The leaves of peaches and nectarines, when the trees are cut in the spring, being distilled, are an excellent substitute for ratifia in puddings.

RATIFIA CAKES. Blanch and beat fine in a mortar, four ounces of bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet almonds. Prepare a pound and a half of loaf sugar, pounded and sifted; beat up the whites of four eggs to a froth, and add the sugar to it a little at a time, till it becomes of the stiffness of dough. Stir and beat it well together, and put in the almonds. Drop the paste on paper or tins, and bake it in a slow oven. Try one of the cakes, and if it rises out of shape, the oven is too hot. The cakes must not be handled in making, but a spoon or a knife must be used.

RATIFIA CREAM. Boil three or four laurel, peach, or nectarine leaves, in a full pint of cream, and strain it. When cold, add the yolks of three eggs beaten and strained, sugar, and a large spoonful of brandy stirred quick into it. Scald and stir it all the time, till it thickens. Or mix half a quarter of a pint of ratifia, the same quantity of mountain wine, the juice of two or three lemons, a pint of rich cream, and agreeably sweetened with sugar. Beat it with a whisk, and put it into glasses. The cream will keep eight or ten days.—Another. Blanch a quarter of an ounce of bitter almonds, and beat them with a tea-spoonful of water in a marble mortar. Rub with the paste two ounces of loaf sugar, simmer it ten minutes with a tea-cupful of cream, and then strain and ice it.

RATIFIA DROPS. Blanch and beat in a mortar four ounces of bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet almonds, with a small part of a pound of fine sugar sifted. Add the remainder of the sugar, and the whites of two eggs, and make the whole into a paste. Divide the mass into little balls the size of a nutmeg, put them on wafer paper, and bake them gently on tin plates.

RATS. The first step taken by rat-catchers, in order to clear a house, &c. of those vermin, is to allure them all together, to one proper place, before they attempt to destroy them; for there is such an instinctive caution in these animals, accompanied with a surprising sagacity in discovering any cause of danger, that if any of them be hurt, or pursued, in an unusual manner, the rest take the alarm, and become so shy and wary, that they elude all the devices and stratagems of their pursuers for some time after. The place where the rats are to be assembled, should be some closet, or small room, into which all the openings, but one or two, may be secured; and this place should be, as near as may be, in the middle of the house, or buildings. It is the practice, therefore, to attempt to bring them all together in some such place before any attempt be made to take them; and even then to avoid any violence, hurt, or fright to them, before the whole be in the power of the operator. In respect to the means used to allure them to one place, they are various; one of those most easily and efficaciously practised is the trailing some piece of their most favourite food, which should be of the kind that has the strongest scent, such as toasted cheese, or broiled red-herring, from the holes or entrances to their accesses in every part of the house, or contiguous buildings, whence it is intended to allure them. At the extremities, and in different parts of the course of this trailed tract, small quantities of meal, or any other kind of their food, should be laid, to bring the greater number into the tracks, and to encourage them to pursue it to the centre place, where they are intended to be taken; at that place, where time admits of it, a more plentiful repast is laid for them, and the trailing repeated for two or three nights. But besides this trailing, and way-baiting, some of the most expert of the rat-catchers have a shorter, and, perhaps, more effectual method of bringing them together, which is, the calling them, by making such a kind of whistling noise as resembles their own call, and by this means, with the assistance of the way-baits, they call them out of their holes, and lead them to the repast prepared for them at the place designed for taking them. But this is much more difficult to be practised than the art of trailing; for the learning the exact notes, or cries, of any kind of beasts or birds, so as to deceive them, is a peculiar talent, not easily attained to in other cases. And in practising either of these methods, great caution must be used by the operator to suppress, and prevent, the scent of his feet and body from being perceived; which is done by overpowering that scent by others of a stronger nature. In order to this the feet are to be covered with cloths rubbed over with assafoetida, or other strong smelling substances; and even oil of rhodium is sometimes used for this purpose, but sparingly, on account of its dearness, though it has a very alluring, as well as disguising effect. If this caution of avoiding the scent of the operator's feet, near the track, and in the place where the rats are proposed to be collected, be not properly observed, it will very much obstruct the success of the attempt to take them; for they are very shy of coming where the scent of human feet lies very fresh, and intimates, to their sagacious instinct, the presence of human creatures, whom they naturally dread. To the above-mentioned means of alluring by trailing, way-baiting, and calling, is added another of very material efficacy, which is the use of the oil of rhodium, which, like the marum syriacum in the case of cats, has a very extraordinary fascinating power on these animals. The oil is extremely dear, and therefore very sparingly used. It is exhaled in a small quantity in the place, and at the entrance of it, where the rats are intended to be taken, particularly at the time when they are to be last brought together in order to their destruction; and it is used also, by smearing it on the surface of some of the implements used in taking them, by the method before described, and the effect it has in taking off their caution and dread, by the delight they appear to have in it, is very extraordinary. It is usual, likewise, for the operator to disguise his figure as well as scent, which is done by putting on a sort of gown or cloak, of one colour, that hides the natural form, and makes him appear like a post, or such inanimate thing; which habit must likewise be scented as above, to overpower the smell of his person; and besides this he is to avoid all motion, till he has secured his point of having all the rats in his power. When the rats are thus enticed and collected, where time is afforded, and the whole in any house or outbuildings are intended to be cleared away, they are suffered to regale on what they most like, which is ready prepared for them; and then to go away quietly for two or three nights; by which means those which are not allured the first night are brought afterwards, either by their fellows, or the effects of the trailing, &c. and will not fail to come duly again, if they are not disturbed or molested. But many of the rat-catchers make shorter work, and content themselves with what can be brought together in one night or two; but this is never effectual, unless where the building is small and entire, and the rats but few in number. With respect to the means of taking them when they are brought together, they are various. Some entice them into a very large bag, the mouth of which is sufficiently capacious to cover nearly the whole floor of the place where they are collected; which is done by smearing some vessel, placed in the middle of the bag, with oil of rhodium, and laying in the bag baits of proper food. This bag, which before laid flat on the ground, with the mouth spread open, is to be suddenly closed when the rats are all in it. Others drive or frighten them, by slight noises or motions, into a bag of a long form, the mouth of which, after all the rats are come in, is drawn up to the opening of the place by which they entered, all other ways of retreat being secured. Others, again, intoxicate or poison them, by mixing with the repast prepared for them the cocculus indicus, or the nux vomica. A receipt for this purpose has appeared, which directs four ounces of cocculus indicus, with twelve ounces of oatmeal, and two ounces of treacle or honey, to be made up into a moist paste with strong beer; but if the nux vomica be used, a much less proportion will serve than is here given of the cocculus. Any similar composition of these drugs, with that kind of food the rats are most fond of, and which has a strong flavour, to hide that of the drugs, will equally well answer the end. If, indeed, the cocculus indicus be well powdered, and infused in strong beer for some time, at least half the quantity here directed will serve as well as the quantity before mentioned. When the rats appear to be thoroughly intoxicated with the cocculus, or sick with the nux vomica, they may be taken with the hand, and put into a bag or cage, the door of the place being first drawn to, lest those which have strength and sense remaining should escape. By these methods, when well conducted, a very considerable part of the rats in a farm, or other house, and the contiguous buildings, may be taken and destroyed. But various other methods have been practised.—The following compositions are advised for destroying these mischievous creatures, and which are stated to have been attended with great success. First, to a quart of oatmeal, add six drops of oil of rhodium, one grain of musk, and two or three of the nuts of nux vomica finely powdered; make them into pellets, and put them into the rat-holes. This, it is said, was at first greedily eaten, and did great execution; but the wise animals, after a time, ceased to eat it. Secondly; this consisted of three parts of oatmeal and one of stave's-acre, mixed well into a paste with honey. Pieces of this paste were laid in their holes, and again did great execution. Thirdly; this is a method of destroying them by laying a large box down on its front side, with the lid supported open by a string over a pulley; and by trailing toasted cheese and a red-herring from their holes to this box, and placing oatmeal and other food in it, which they are for a few nights to be permitted to eat unmolested; and finally to watch them by moon-light, the inside of the box being painted white; and, when many of them are seen, to let down the lid; by which contrivance sixty of them are stated to have been taken at one time.—But though the usual ways of destroying rats are by traps and poison, it is advised never to use arsenic, or corrosive sublimate, for that purpose, except under particular circumstances, as they are deadly poisons: nux vomica will generally answer the end as well, without the danger. It is a very good plan, to prevent accidents, to enclose the traps in cases, having holes in the ends of them large enough to admit rats, but small enough to exclude dogs, cats, &c. As a bait for rat-traps, the following composition may be made use of with advantage. Take a pound of good flour, three ounces of treacle, and six drops of the oil of carraways: put them all in a dish, and rub them well together till they are properly mixed: then add a pound of crumb of bread. The traps baited with this mixture should be set as near their haunts as possible; but, for two or three days, so as not to fall or strike on the rats going in, but letting them have free liberty to go in and out at pleasure, as this makes them fearless. Some of the bait should also be laid at the rat-holes, and a little of it scattered quite up to the traps, and so on to the bridge of each trap, where a handful may be placed. It may also be proper to scent the traps with the following mixture, for the purpose of enticing the rats into them. Take twenty drops of the oil of rhodium, six or seven grains of musk, and half an ounce of oil of aniseed; put them in a small phial, and shake it well before using; then dip a piece of twisted paper or rag in the mixture, and rub each end of the trap with it, if a box trap, and put two or three drops on the bridge, leaving the paper or rag in the trap. Of whatever kind the trap is, it should be scented; but once in a twelvemonth will be sufficient. Then throw some chaff mixed with a little wheat about the bottom of the trap, in order to deceive the rats; for they are very sagacious, and will not enter a suspicious place. This will be necessary to be done only at the first time of setting the traps; for, after some rats have been caught and have watered and dunged in them, rats will enter boldly when they find others have been there before them: do not, therefore, wash or clean out the trap, as some people do before they set it again, but let the dung and urine remain in it. Keep the places where the traps are set as private as possible; and when they are set for catching, mix no bread with the bait, as the rats will, in that case, be apt to carry it away. And it is useful, when the holes are found quiet, and that no rats use them, to stop them up with the following composition. Take a pint of common tar, half an ounce of pearl-ashes, an ounce of oil of vitriol, and a good handful of common salt, mix them all well together in an old pan or pot. Take some pieces of paper, and lay some of the above mixture very thick on them; then stop the holes well up with them, and build up the mouth of the holes with brick or stone, and mortar; if this be properly done, rats will no more approach these while either smell or taste remains in the composition. But with a view to destroy rats in places where traps cannot be set, it is recommended to take a quart of the above bait, then to rasp into it three nuts of nux vomica, and add a quarter of a pound of crumb of bread, if there was none before; mix them all well together, and lay it into the mouth of their holes, and in different places where they frequent; but first give them of the bait without nux vomica, for three or four succeeding nights; and when they find it agrees with them, they will eat that mixed with the nut with greediness. However, as it is frequently found that rats are very troublesome in sewers and drains, in such cases arsenic may be used with success in the following manner. Take some dead rats, and having put some white arsenic, finely powdered, into an old pepper-box, shake a quantity of it on the foreparts of the dead rats, and put them down the holes, or avenues, by the sides of the sewers at which they come in; this puts a stop to the live ones coming any further; for when they perceive the arsenic, they will retire immediately; whereas, if they were put down without the arsenic, the live ones would eat them. It is by means of arsenic, notwithstanding the above observations, that the most certain method of destroying these troublesome vermin, (provided they can be made to eat it,) takes place; which has been found to answer best when it is prepared by being finely levigated, and mixed up with very strong old cheese and oatmeal. But after all, it is probable that this highly destructive animal, and great pest to the farmer, might be most readily exterminated by parishes uniting for the purpose, and raising certain sums of money to be applied in this way, under the direction of a proper person who is fully acquainted with the business.—In many grain and other districts in the kingdom these animals prevail very much, especially the grey kind, particularly in all those where there are no regular raised staddles or stands for the grain stacks to rest upon, which is the case in a great number. The mischief, injury, and destruction of grain which is produced in this way, is scarcely to be calculated; and they are besides very mischievous, troublesome, and inconvenient in several others; so that they should be every where extirpated as much as possible. And in corn tracts, stands or staddles should every where be provided in order to prevent mischief being done by them.

RAZOR STRAPS. Nothing makes a better razor strap than crocus martis with a little sweet oil, rubbed well on doe skin with a glass bottle; and to keep it in perfect order, it should not be left too long dry.

RED CABBAGE. Slice a red cabbage crossways, put it in an earthen dish, and throw on it a handful of salt. Cover it over till the next day, drain it in a cullender, and put it into a jar. Boil some good vinegar, with cloves and allspice; pour it hot on the cabbage till the jar is full, and when cold tie it down close.

RED HERRINGS. Choose those that are large and moist, cut them open, and pour over them some boiling small beer. Let them soak half an hour, then drain and dry them; make them just hot through before the fire, and rub them over with cold butter. Serve with egg sauce, or buttered eggs; mashed potatoes should also be sent up with them.

RED INK. Infuse a quarter of a pound of Brazil wood, rasped, in two pints of vinegar, for three days. Then boil the liquid and the wood over a gentle fire, for an hour, and strain it off quite hot. Put it again over the fire, and dissolve in it, first, half an ounce of gum arabic, and afterwards, half an ounce of alum, and the same quantity of white sugar. When the alum is dissolved, remove it from the fire, and preserve it for use.

RED MULLET. This sort of fish are in season in August; and to be good, they should be quite firm. Sea mullets are preferred to the river ones, and the red to the grey. This fish is sometimes called the sea woodcock. To dress mullets, clean them, but leave the inside. Fold them in oiled paper, and bake them gently in a small dish. Make a sauce of the liquor that comes from the fish, with a piece of butter, a little flour, a little essence of anchovy, and a glass of sherry. Give it a boil, serve in a boat, and the fish in the paper cases.

REGIMEN. It may be difficult accurately to ascertain the predominant qualities of particular constitutions, or of the food that is best adapted in particular instances; yet it is certain, that health is dependent on regimen and diet, more than on any other cause. There are things so decidedly injurious, and so well known to be so, as to require no admonition; the instincts of nature will teach us to refrain; and generally speaking, the best rule for our practice is to observe by experience, what it is that hurts or does us good, and what our stomachs are best able to digest. We must at the same time keep our judgment unbiassed, and not suffer it to become a pander to the appetite; or the stomach and the health will be betrayed to the mere indulgence of sensuality. The gratification of our taste in the abundant supplies of nature, converted by art to the purposes of wholesome food, is perfectly compatible with the necessary maintenance of health; it is only the indiscriminate or inordinate indulgence of our appetites, regardless of the consequences, that is the proper object of censure. Many of the diseases to which we are subject might be traced to this source; yet we are generally so little aware of it, that we impute them to the state of the weather, to infection, or any other imaginary cause, rather than the true one. The weather has very little serious effect upon a person in health, unless exposed to it in some unusual manner that suddenly checks perspiration, or some of the ordinary evacuations. Infection, though of formidable import, is almost divested of its power over those whose temperance in food and diet keeps the blood and juices pure. The closest attendance upon an infected person has often been found perfectly consistent with personal safety under such circumstances. Even diseases, said to be hereditary, may with great probability be assigned to errors in domestic life, of which the children partake, and fall into the same disorders as their parents, and remote progenitors. But even if this be not exactly so, an originally indifferent constitution may certainly be much amended by proper management. Amongst a variety of causes producing ill health, there can be no doubt but bad air, want of cleanliness, want of exercise, excessive fatigue, and mental uneasiness, must have an unfavourable influence; yet none of these have so immediate an effect as the food we eat, which if not wholesome and nutricious, tends directly to contaminate the system. We derive the renewal of our blood and juices, which are constantly exhausting, from the substances converted into food. As our food therefore is proper or improper, too much or too little, so will our blood and juices be good or bad, overcharged or deficient, and our state of health accordingly good or diseased. It is not only necessary however, that our aliment should be plain and wholesome; it is requisite also that it should contain active principles; such as salts, oils, and spirits, which have the property of stimulating the solids, quickening the circulation, and make the fluids thinner; thus rendering them more suited to undergo the necessary secretions of the body. The art of preserving health, and of prolonging life, consists therefore in the use of a moderate quantity of such diet as shall neither encrease the salts and oils so as to produce disease, nor to diminish them so as to suffer the solids to become relaxed. Eating too little is hurtful, as well as eating too much. Neither excess nor hunger, nor any thing else that passes the bounds of nature, can be good for man. Temperance and moderation in eating and drinking, are nature's great preservatives. 'The throat has destroyed more than the sword.' Some people are apt to think, the more plentifully they eat and drink, the better they thrive, and the stronger they grow. But this is not the case: a little, well digested, will render the body more vigorous than when it is glutted with superfluity, most of which is turned to excrementitious, not alimentary, fluid, and must soon be evacuated, or sickness will follow. It is said of the highly celebrated Dr. Boerhaaeve, that having long promised to a friend the secret of preserving health and long life, his friend became impatient to obtain the secret, when he perceived that the physician was dying. To his repeated solicitations, the doctor as frequently replied, 'Do not eat too much—do not eat too much;' and left this advice as his last legacy to his valued friend. By loading the stomach, digestion is impeded; for the natural juice of the stomach, which is the great medium of digestion, has not then room to exert itself. The stomach therefore nauseates its contents, and is troubled with eructations; the spirits are oppressed, obstructions ensue, and disease is the consequence. Besides, when thus overfilled, the stomach presses on the diaphragm, prevents the proper play of the lungs, and occasions difficulty and uneasiness in breathing. Hence arise various bad symptoms and effects, throughout the whole of the animal economy; prostrating the strength, impairing the senses, hastening old age, and shortening life. Though these unhappy consequences may not be immediately perceived, yet they are the certain attendants of intemperance; and it has been generally observed in great eaters, that though from custom, a state of youth, and a strong constitution, they suffer no present inconvenience, but have digested their food, and sustained the surfeit; yet if they have not been unexpectedly cut off, they have found the symptoms of old age come on early in life, attended with pains and innumerable disorders. If health is to be regarded, we must ever make it a rule not to eat to satiety or fulness, but desist while the stomach feels quite easy. Thus we shall be refreshed, light, and cheerful; not dull, heavy, or indisposed. Should we ever be tempted to eat too much at one time, we should eat the less at another: abstinence is the best remedy for repletion. If our dinner has been larger than usual, let our supper be less, or rather, quite omitted. With regard to the times of eating, they must to a certain degree be conformed to family convenience, but ought to be quite independent of the caprice of fashion, instead of being as they are, governed by it. This, and a want of punctuality to the dinner hour, are the cause of more real harm to the constitution than thoughtless people of fashion, and their more thoughtless imitators, are apt to imagine. When a dinner is dressed, nothing can prevent its being injured by standing. It may be kept hot, and this imposes on those who think no farther upon the subject; but the very means made use of for this purpose, only help to spoil it the more. If things boiled are kept in the water after they are done enough, they become sodden, vapid, and heavy. The invention of hot closets for keeping other things hot, dry away the juices, and make them strong and rancid. From such dinners, indigestions will ensue, frequent head-aches, nervousness, and many other uneasy sensations, which finally bring on maladies of a more serious nature. The great points to be guarded against, respecting the times of eating, are either eating too soon after a former meal, or fasting too long. The stomach should always have time to empty itself, before it is filled again. Some stomachs digest their contents sooner than others, and if long empty it may destroy the appetite, and greatly disturb both the head and animal spirits; because from the great profusion of nerves spread over the stomach, there is an immediate sympathy between that and the head. Hence the head is sure to be affected by whatever disorders the stomach, whether from any particular aliment that disagrees with it, or being over filled, or too long empty. Hence also, too frequently, arise apoplexy, or paralytic affections, especially in aged people. Such as feel a gnawing in the stomach, as it is called, should not wait till the stated time of the next meal, but take a small quantity of food, light, and easy of digestion, that the stomach may have something to work on. Children, with craving appetites, do and may eat often, allowing only a proper interval to empty the stomach. Young persons in health, who use much exercise, may eat three times a day. But such as are in years, such as are weak, as do no work, or lead a sedentary life, eating twice in the day is quite sufficient: or if in the present habits of society it is found to be difficult to arrange for two meals only, let them take three very moderate ones. Weak and aged persons may eat often, but then it should be very little at a time. The diseases to which we are liable often require substances of more active principles than what are found in common aliment, and hence the need of medicine, in order to, produce sudden alterations. But where such alterations are not immediately necessary, the same effect may be produced with much greater safety, by a proper attention to diet only. Abstinence is in short, one of the best remedies to which we can resort; and if employed in time, will entirely cure many disorders, and check the violence of such as cannot be entirely carried off by it. In all cases where there is any inflammation, and in stomach complaints, it is particularly necessary, and may be safely continued till the symptoms of disease disappear. Where the digestion is habitually weak, a day of abstinence once a week will always be beneficial. The quality of our food is a subject of greater difficulty than the quantity. Moderation is an invariably safe guide in the latter case; but though always favourable to prevent ill effects from any error in quality, it will not always be effectual. To a person in good health, with a strong stomach, and whose constant beverage is water, or some weak liquor, the niceties in food and cooking are less material, than to persons with naturally weak stomachs, or to those in sickness, or for children. But all persons who would to a certainty preserve their health and faculties, and live out the natural term of life, should use plain food, as all high seasonings and compound mixtures, have an injurious effect, sooner or later, on the strongest constitutions. If a few instances can be shewn to the contrary, these, like other anomalies in nature, cannot constitute an exception to a well established fact. A prevailing error in the diet of this country is a too great use of animal food. The disease called the sea scurvy, often occurs from this cause, in every large town in England; and it is probable that the frequency and fatality of putrid and scarlet fevers may justly be attributed to it also. The prejudices of this country are very strong in favour of animal food, but the evidence of facts is equally strong against its absolute necessity. Instances of this are seen in the natives of Hindostan, who live upon rice, and who by way of opprobrium call the inhabitants of this country 'flesh eaters;' in the poor of Ireland, who live upon potatoes, and in the poor of Scotland, who live upon oatmeal. After all, the medium is in all probability the best; neither animal nor vegetable diet exclusively, but a reasonable proportion of both. Persons of indifferent health should be particularly cautious in their diet, and those labouring under any particular malady should carefully conform to the regimen prescribed for them by their medical advisers.—Our beverage is another very important article, in reference to health. It is essential to moisten and convey more solid food into the stomach, and from thence to the respective parts of the system. Also to allay thirst, to dilute the blood, that it may circulate through the minutest vessels, and to dissolve and carry off by watery secretions the superfluous salts taken in with the food. No liquid is so effectual for this purpose as pure water; with the exception only of a few cases. No other liquid circulates so well, or mixes so immediately with our fluids. Other liquids are impregnated with particles which act strongly upon the solids or fluids, or both; but water being simple, operates only by diluting, moistening, and cooling, which are the great uses of drink pointed out to us by nature. Hence it is evident that water in general is the best and most wholesome drink; but as some constitutions require something to warm and stimulate the stomach, fermented liquors may be proper, if taken in moderation. It is necessary however, that beer, ale, cider, and wine, be taken in a sound state and of proper age, or they will be highly detrimental. Spirituous liquors, taken too freely, or in a raw state, are attended with direful effects, and are the destruction of thousands. From the degree of heat they have undergone in distillation, they acquire a corrosive and burning quality, which makes them dangerous to the constitution. They contract the fibres and smaller vessels, especially where they are tenderest, as in the brain, and thus destroy the intellectual faculties. They injure the coat of the stomach, and so expose the nerves and relax the fibres, till the whole stomach becomes at last soft and flabby. Hence ensues loss of appetite, indigestion, and diseases that generally terminate in premature death. Light wines of a moderate strength, and matured by age, are more wholesome than strong, rich, and heavy wines, and pass off the stomach with less difficulty. Red port is strong and astringent, but white port and Spanish wines are stimulating and attenuating. French wines are lighter, and not so strong as the Portuguese and Spanish wines, which renders them wholesomer for thin and dry constitutions. Rhenish and Moselle wines are the most wholesome of any, where acidity is not hurtful. Home made wines are prejudicial to all constitutions, being very windy and heady. The notion that liquors of any kind assist digestion, is quite erroneous, as wine and all other strong liquors are as hard to digest as strong solid food. Those who drink only water or small beer at their meals, are able to eat and digest almost double the quantity of what they could, if they drank strong liquors. When the stomach is uneasy from too much food, or such as is indigestible, strong liquors produce a deceitful glow in the stomach, which induces a belief of their having the beneficial effect of assisting digestion. The fallacy of this conclusion is sufficiently apparent from the state in which cherries are found, after they have been steeped in brandy: instead of becoming more tender, they are rendered as tough as leather. Similar effects are produced on food in the stomach, as well as out of it. Strong liquors are plainly improper at meals, as by their heat and activity they hurry the food undigested into the habit, and so lay the foundation for various distempers, such as the gout, rheumatism, apoplexy, and palsy.

RENNET. This article, so necessary in making of cheese, is prepared as follows. Take out the stomach of a calf as soon as killed, and scour it inside and out with salt, after it is cleared of the curd always found in it. Let it drain a few hours, then sow it up with two good handfuls of salt in it, or stretch it on a stick well salted, and hang it up to dry.—Another way. Clean the maw as above, and let it drain a day. Then put into two quarts of fresh spring-water a handful of hawthorn tops, a handful of sweet briar, a handful of rose leaves, a stick of cinnamon, forty cloves, four blades of mace, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and two large spoonfuls of salt. Let them boil gently till the liquor is reduced to three pints, and strain it off; when only milk warm, pour it on the maw. Slice a lemon into it, let it stand two days, strain it again, and bottle it for use. It will keep good at least for twelve months, and has a very fine flavour. Sweet aromatic herbs may also be added. The liquor must be pretty salt, but not made into brine: a little of it will turn the milk. Salt the maw again for a week or two, and dry it stretched on cross sticks, and it will be nearly as strong as before. The rennet when dried must be kept in a cool place.

RESENTMENT. This is a dangerous passion, and often fatal to health. Anger disorders the whole frame, hurries on the circulation of the blood, occasions fevers and other acute disorders, and sometimes ends in sudden death. Resentment also preys upon the mind, and occasions the most obstinate disorders, which gradually waste the constitution. Those who value health therefore, will guard against indulging this malignant propensity, and endeavour to preserve a happy degree of tranquillity.

RHEUMATISM. In this complaint the diet should be nourishing, with a little generous wine; costiveness must be carefully avoided. The painful part should be kept warm with flannel, should be frequently rubbed, occasionally electrified, and supplied with the volatile liniment. Blisters, cataplasms of mustard or horseradish, may be applied with advantage. If these be not effectual, take a pint of the spirits of turpentine, and add half an ounce of camphor. Let it stand till the camphor is dissolved, then rub it on the part affected night and morning, and it will seldom fail to afford effectual relief. This mixture is also very proper for sprains and bruises, and should be kept for family use. But several of our own domestic plants as above may be used with advantage in the rheumatism. One of the best is the white mustard. A table-spoonful of the seed of this plant may be taken twice or thrice a day, in a glass of water or small wine. The water trefoil is likewise of great use in this complaint. It may be infused in wine or ale, or drunk in the form of tea. The ground-ivy, camomile, and several other bitters, are also beneficial, and may be used in the same manner. No benefit, however, is to be expected from these, unless they be taken for a considerable time. Cold bathing, especially in salt water, often cures the rheumatism. It is also advisable to take exercise, and wear flannel next the skin. Issues are likewise very proper, especially in chronic cases. If the pain affects the shoulders, an issue may be made in the arm; but if it affects the loins, it should be put into the leg or thigh. Such as are subject to frequent attacks of the rheumatism ought to make choice of a dry, warm situation, to avoid the night air, wet clothes, and wet feet, as much as possible. Their clothing should be warm, and they should wear flannel next their skin, and make frequent use of the flesh brush. One of the best articles of dress, not only for the prevention of rheumatism, but for powerful co-operation in its cure, is fleecy hosiery. In low marshy situations, the introduction of that manufacture has prevented more rheumatisms, colds, and agues, than all the medicines ever used there. Such of the inhabitants of marshy counties as are in easy circumstances, could not, perhaps, direct their charity and humanity to a better object than to the supplying their poor neighbours with so cheap and simple a preservative.

RHUBARB. By proper attention in the growth and preparation of this root, it may be obtained here nearly in equal goodness to the foreign. The plants are all increased by seeds, which should be sown in autumn soon after they are ripe, where the plants are designed to remain, as their roots being large and fleshy when they are removed, they do not recover it soon; nor do the roots of such removed plants ever grow so large and fair as those which remain where they were sown. When the plants appear in the spring, the ground should be well hoed over, to cut up the weeds; and where they are too close, some should be cut up, leaving them at the first hoeing six or eight inches asunder; but at the second they may be separated to a foot and a half distance, and more. When any weeds appear, the ground should be scuffled over with a Dutch hoe in dry weather; but after the plants cover the ground with their broad leaves, they keep down the weeds without any farther trouble. The ground should be cleaned in autumn when the leaves decay, and in the spring, before the plants begin to put up their new leaves, be dug well between them. In the second year, many of the strongest plants will produce flowers and seeds, and in the third year most of them. It is advised, that the seeds be carefully gathered when ripe, and not permitted to scatter, lest they grow and injure the old plants. The roots continue many years without decaying, and the old roots of the true rhubarb are much preferable to the young ones. The roots may be generally taken up after four years, but if they remain longer it is so much the better. These plants delight in a rich soil, which is not too dry nor over moist: and where there is depth in such land for their roots to run down, they attain a great size, both in the leaves and roots.

RHUBARB PIE. Peel the stalks of the plant, cut them about an inch long, put them into a dish with moist sugar, a little water and lemon peel. Put on the crust, and bake it in a moderate oven.

RHUBARB PUDDING. Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon, a bit of cinnamon, two cloves, and as much moist sugar as will sweeten it. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a marmalade. Pass it through a hair sieve, then add the peel of a lemon, half a nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of good butter, the yolks of four eggs, and one white, and mix all well together. Line a pie dish with good puff paste, put in the mixture, and bake it half an hour. This will make a good spring pudding.

RHUBARB SAUCE. To make a mock gooseberry-sauce for mackarel, reduce three dozen sticks of rhubarb to a marmalade, and sweeten it with moist sugar. Pass it through a hair sieve, and serve it up in a boat.—Mock gooseberry-fool is made of rhubarb marmalade, prepared as for a pudding. Add a pint of good thick cream, serve it up in glasses, or in a deep dish. If wanted in a shape, dissolve two ounces of isinglass in a little water, strain it through a tammis, and when nearly cold put it to the cream. Pour it into a jelly mould, and when set, turn it out into a dish, and serve it up plain.

RHUBARB SHERBET. Boil six or eight sticks of clean rhubarb in a quart of water, ten minutes. Strain the liquor through a tammis into a jug, with the peel of a lemon cut very thin, and two table-spoonfuls of clarified sugar. Let it stand five or six hours, and it will be fit to drink.

RHUBARB SOUP. There are various ways of dressing garden rhubarb, which serves as an excellent substitute for spring fruit. Peel and well wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, blanch it in water three or four minutes, drain it on a sieve, and put it into a stewpan with two sliced onions, a carrot, an ounce of lean ham, and a good bit of butter. Let it stew gently over a slow fire till tender, then put in two quarts of rich soup, to which add two or three ounces of bread crumbs, and boil it about fifteen minutes. Skim off all the fat, season with salt and cayenne, pass it through a tammis, and serve it up with fried bread.

RHUBARB TART. Cut the stalks in lengths of four or five inches, and take off the thin skin. Lay them in a dish, pour on a thin syrup of sugar and water, cover them with another dish, and let it simmer very slowly for an hour on a hot hearth; or put the rhubarb into a block-tin saucepan, and simmer it over the fire. When cold, make it into a tart; the baking of the crust will be sufficient, if the rhubarb be quite tender.

RIBS OF BEEF. The following is an excellent way of dressing this rich and valuable joint. Hang up three ribs three or four days, take out the bones from the whole length, sprinkle it with salt, roll the meat tight, and roast it. If done with spices, and baked as hunter's beef, it is excellent, and nothing can look nicer.

RICE BROTH. Put a quarter of a pound of whole rice into a gallon of water. Let it simmer till it is quite soft, then put in a knuckle of veal, or the scrag end of a leg of mutton, with two or three pounds of gravy beef. Stew this very gently for two hours, then put in turnips, carrots, celery, leeks, or any other vegetables. Continue to stew slowly, and when the whole is sufficiently done, season it with salt, and serve it up.

RICE CAKE. Mix ten ounces of ground rice, three ounces of flour, and eight ounces of pounded sugar. Sift the composition by degrees into eight yolks and six whites of eggs, and the peel of a lemon shred so fine that it is quite mashed. Mix the whole well in a tin stewpan with a whisk, over a very slow fire. Put it immediately into the oven in the same, and bake it forty minutes.—Another. Beat twelve yolks and six whites of eggs, with the peels of two lemons grated. Mix one pound of rice flour, eight ounces of fine flour, and a pound of sugar pounded and sifted. Beat it well with the eggs by degrees, for an hour, with a wooden spoon. Butter a pan well, and put it in at the oven mouth. A gentle oven will bake it in an hour and a half.

RICE CAUDLE. When the water boils, pour into it some grated rice, with a little cold water. When of a proper consistence, add sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon, and a spoonful of brandy, and boil all smooth.—Another way. Soak in water some fine rice for an hour, strain it, and put two spoonfuls of the rice into a pint and a quarter of milk. Simmer till it will pulp through a sieve, then put the pulp and milk into the saucepan, with a bruised clove, and a bit of lump sugar. Simmer all together ten minutes; if too thick, add a spoonful or two of milk, and serve with thin toast.

RICE CHEESECAKES. Boil four ounces of ground rice in milk, with a blade of cinnamon: put it into a pot, and let it stand till the next day. Mash it fine with half a pound of butter; add to it four eggs, half a pint of cream, a grated nutmeg, a glass of brandy, and a little sugar. Or the butter may be stirred and melted in the rice while it is hot, and left in the pot till the next day.

RICE CUSTARD. Boil three pints of new milk with a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and sugar. Mix the yolks of two eggs well beaten, with a large spoonful of rice flour, smothered in a cup of cold milk. Take a basin of the boiling milk, mix it with the cold that has the rice in it, and add it to the remainder of the boiling milk, stirring it one way till it begins to thicken. Pour it into a pan, stir it till it is cool, and add a spoonful of brandy or orange water. This is a good imitation of cream custard, and considerably cheaper.

RICE EDGING. After soaking and picking some fine Carolina rice, boil it in salt and water, until sufficiently tender, but not to mash. Drain, and put it round the inner edge of the dish, to the height of two inches. Smooth it with the back of a spoon, wash it over with the yolk of an egg, and put it into the oven for three or four minutes. This forms an agreeable edging for currie or fricassee, with the meat served in the middle.

RICE FLUMMERY. Boil with a pint of new milk, a bit of lemon peel and cinnamon. Mix with a little cold milk as much rice flour as will make the whole of a good consistence, add a little sugar, and a spoonful of peach water, or a bitter almond beaten. Boil it, but do not let it burn; pour it into a shape or pint basin, taking out the spice. When cold, turn the flummery into a dish, and serve with cream, milk, or custard round. Or put a tea-cupful of cream into half a pint of new milk, a glass of white wine, half a lemon squeezed, and sugar.

RICE MILK. Boil half a pound of rice in a quart of water, with a bit of cinnamon, till the water is wasted. Add three pints of milk, an egg beaten up with a spoonful of flour, and stir it till it boils. Then pour it out, sweeten it, and put in currants and nutmeg.

RICE PANCAKES. Boil half a pound of rice to a jelly in a small quantity of water; when cold, mix it with a pint of cream, eight eggs, a little salt and nutmeg. Stir in eight ounces of butter just warmed, and add flour sufficient to thicken the batter. Fry in as little lard or dripping as possible.

RICE PASTE. To make a rice paste for sweets, boil a quarter of a pound of ground rice in the smallest quantity of water. Strain from it all the moisture possible, beat it in a mortar with half an ounce of butter, and one egg well beaten. It will make an excellent paste for tarts, and other sweet dishes.—To make a rich paste for relishing things, clean some rice, and put it into a saucepan. Add a little milk and water, or milk only, and an onion, and simmer it over the fire till it swells. Put some seasoned chops into a dish, and cover it with the rice. The addition of an egg will make the rice bind the better. Rabbits fricasseed, and covered with rice paste, are very good.

RICE PUDDING. If for family use, swell the rice with a very little milk over the fire. Then add more milk, an egg, some sugar, allspice, and lemon peel; and bake it in a deep dish. Or put into a deep pan half a pound of rice washed and picked, two ounces of butter, four ounces of sugar, a little pounded allspice, and two quarts of milk. Less butter will do, or some suet: bake the pudding in a slow oven. Another. Boil a quarter of a pound of rice in a quart of milk, with a stick of cinnamon, till it is thick; stir it often, that it does not burn; pour it into a pan, stir in a quarter of a pound of butter, and grate half a nutmeg; add sugar to your taste, and a small tea-cup of rose-water; stir all together till cold; beat up eight eggs, (leave out half the whites) stir all well together, lay a thin puff paste at the bottom of the dish, and nip the edge; then pour in the pudding and bake it.—Another. To make a plain rice pudding, put half a pound of rice well picked, into three quarts of milk; add half a pound of sugar, a small nutmeg grated, and half a pound of butter; butter the dish with part, and break the rest into the milk and rice; stir all well together, pour it into a dish, and bake it.—Another. To make a boiled rice pudding, take a quarter of a pound of rice well picked and washed, tie it in a cloth, leaving room for it to swell; boil it for an hour; take it up and stir in a quarter of a pound of butter, some nutmeg and sugar; tie it up again very tight, and boil it an hour more. When you send it to table, pour butter and sugar over it.—Another. To make a ground rice pudding. To a pint of milk put four ounces of ground rice; boil it for some time, keeping it stirring, lest it should burn; pour it into a pan, and stir in a quarter of a pound of butter; then beat up six eggs, leaving out half the whites, a little lemon peel finely shred, a little nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of sugar, a gill of cream, a little rose-water, and as much salt as you can take up between your thumb and finger; mix all well together, make a puff paste, lay it round the rim of the dish, and bake it.—Lay citron or orange cut very thin, on the top, and strew a few currants on.—Another. To make rice pudding with fruit. Swell half a pound of rice with a very little milk over the fire, and then mix with it any kind of fruit; such as currants, scalded gooseberries, pared and quartered apples, raisins, or black currants. Put an egg into the pudding to bind it, boil it well, and serve it up with sugar.

RICE SAUCE. Steep a quarter of a pound of rice in a pint of milk, with an onion, a dozen pepper corns or allspice, and a little mace. When the rice is quite tender, take out the spice, and rub the rice through a sieve into a clean stewpan: if too thick, put a little milk or cream to it. This makes a very delicate white sauce; and at elegant tables, is frequently used instead of bread sauce.

RICE SOUFFLE. Blanch some Carolina rice, strain and boil it in milk, with lemon peel and a bit of cinnamon. Let it boil till the rice is dry; then cool it, and raise a rim three inches high round the dish, having egged the dish where it is put, to make it stick. Then egg the rice all over. Fill the dish half way up with a marmalade of apples; have ready the whites of four eggs beaten to a fine froth, and put them over the marmalade. Sift fine sugar over, and set it in the oven, which should be warm enough to give it a beautiful colour.

RICE SOUP. Boil a pound of rice with a little cinnamon, in two quarts of water. Take out the cinnamon, add a little sugar and nutmeg, and let it stand to cool. Then beat up the yolks of three eggs in a little white wine, and mix it with the rice. Set it on a slow fire, stir it well, and take it up as soon as it has boiled to a proper thickness.

RICH GIBLET SOUP. Take four pounds of gravy beef, two pounds of scrag of mutton, two pounds of scrag of veal; stew them well down together in a sufficient quantity of water for a strong broth, let it stand till it is quite cold, then skim the fat clean off. Take two pair of giblets well scalded and cleaned, put them into your broth, and let them simmer till they are stewed tender; then take out your giblets, and run the soup through a fine sieve to catch the small bones; then take an ounce of butter and put it into a stew-pan, mixing a proper quantity of flour, which make of a fine light brown. Take a small handful of chives, the same of parsley, a very little penny-royal, and a very little sweet marjoram; chop all these herbs together excessive small, put your soup over a slow fire, put in your giblets, butter and flour, and small herbs; then take a pint of Madeira wine, some cayenne pepper, and salt to your palate. Let them all simmer together, till the herbs are tender, and the soup is finished. Send it to the table with the giblets in it. Let the livers be stewed in a saucepan by themselves, and put in when you dish.

RICH GRAVY. Cut lean beef into small slices, according to the quantity wanted; slice some onions thin, and flour them both. Fry them of a light pale brown, but do not suffer them on any account to get black. Put them into a stewpan, pour boiling water on the browning in the fryingpan, boil it up, and pour it on the meat. Add a bunch of parsley, thyme, and savoury, a small piece of marjoram, the same of taragon, some mace, berries of allspice, whole black pepper, a clove or two, and a bit of ham, or gammon of bacon. Simmer till the juice of the meat is extracted, and skim it the moment it boils. If for a hare, or stewed fish, anchovy should be added.

RICH GRAVY SOUP. Take a pound of lean beef, two pounds of veal, and a pound of mutton cut in pieces; put them into a pot, with six quarts of water, a large faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, a little mace, and the upper crust of bread toasted brown. Put in an ox palate well cleaned and blanched whole; set it over a slow fire, and let it stew till half is wasted; strain it off, and put it into a clean saucepan. Take off the ox palate, shred small, some cock's combs blanched, an ounce of morels cut in pieces, four large heads of celery well washed, and cut small, with the heart of four or five savoys, about as big as a turkey's egg, put in whole; cover it close, and let it stew softly for an hour and a half. If it want any more seasoning, add it; cut some French bread toasts thin, and crisp them before the fire. When your soup is ready, lay your bread in the dish, and put in your soup.

RICH HOME-MADE WINE.—Take new cider from the press, mix it with as much honey as will support an egg, boil it gently fifteen minutes, but not in an iron, brass, or copper pot. Skim it well, and tun it when cool, but the cask must not be quite full. Bottle it in the following March, and it will be fit to drink in six weeks, but it will be less sweet if kept longer in the cask. This will make a rich and strong wine, suitable for culinary purposes, where milk or sweet wine is to be employed. Honey, besides its other valuable uses, is a fine ingredient to assist and render palatable, new or harsh cider.

RICH PLUM PUDDING. To make a small, but very rich plum pudding, shred fine three quarters of a pound of suet, and half a pound of stoned raisins, chopped a little. Add three spoonfuls of flour, as much moist sugar, a little salt and nutmeg, the yolks of three, and the whites of two eggs. Let it boil four hours in a basin or tin mould, well buttered. When the pudding is served up, pour over it some melted butter, with white wine and sugar.—For a larger pudding of the same description, shred three pounds of suet; add a pound and a half of raisins stoned and chopped, a pound and a half of currants, three pounds of good flour, sixteen eggs, and a quart of milk. Boil it in a cloth seven hours.

RICH RICE PUDDING. Boil half a pound of rice in water, till it is quite tender, adding a little salt. Drain it dry, mix it with four eggs, a quarter of a pint of cream, and two ounces of fresh butter melted in the cream. Add four ounces of beef suet or marrow, or veal suet taken from the fillet, finely shred; three quarters of a pound of currants, two spoonfuls of brandy, a spoonful of peach water or ratifia, nutmeg, and grated lemon peel. When well mixed, put a paste round the edge, fill the dish, and bake it in a moderate oven. Slices of candied orange, lemon, and citron, may be added.

RICKETS. This disease generally attacks children between the age of nine months and two years; and as it is always attended with evident signs of weakness and relaxation, the chief aim in the cure must be to brace and strengthen the solids, and to promote digestion and the due preparation of the fluids. These important ends will be best answered by wholesome nourishing diet, suited to the age and strength of the patient, open dry air, and sufficient exercise. The limbs should be rubbed frequently with a warm hand, and the child kept as cheerful as possible. Biscuit is generally reckoned the best bread; and pigeons, pullet, veal, rabbits, or mutton roasted or minced, are the most proper meat. If the child be too young for animal food, he may have rice, millet, or pearl barley, boiled with raisins, to which may be added a little wine and spice. His drink may be good claret, mixed with an equal quantity of water. Those who cannot afford claret, may give the child now and then a wine glass of mild ale, or good porter. The disease may often be cured by the nurse, but seldom by the physician. In children of a gross habit, gentle vomits and repeated purges of rhubarb may sometimes be of use, but they will seldom carry off the disease; that must depend chiefly upon such things as brace and strengthen the system; for which purpose, besides the regimen mentioned above, the cold bath, especially in the warm season, is highly recommended. It must, however, be used with prudence, as some ricketty children cannot bear it. The best time for using the cold bath is in the morning, and the child should be well rubbed with a dry cloth immediately after he comes out of it.

RING WORM. This eruption, which generally appears on the head, in a circular form, attended with painful itching, is sometimes removed by rubbing it with black ink, or mushroom ketchup. The following preparation is also recommended. Wash some roots of sorrel quite clean, bruise them in a mortar, and steep them in white wine vinegar for two or three days. Then rub the liquor on the ring worm three or four times a day, till it begin to disappear.

ROASTING. The first requisite for roasting is to have a clear brisk fire, proportioned to the joint that is to be roasted; without this every attempt must prove abortive. Next to see that the spit is properly cleaned before it enters the meat, and the less it passes through it the better. Neck and loins require to be carefully jointed before they are put on the spit, that the carver may separate them easily and neatly. The joint should be balanced evenly on the spit, that its motion may be regular, and the fire operate equally on every part; for this purpose cook-holds and balancing skewers are necessary. All roasting should be done open to the air, to ventilate the meat from its own fumes, and by the radiant heat of a glowing fire; otherwise it is in fact baked, and rendered less wholesome. Hence what are called Rumford roasters, and the machines invented by economical gratemakers, are utterly to be rejected. If they save any thing in fuel, which is doubtful, they are highly injurious to the flavour and best qualities of the meat. For the same reason, when a joint is dressed, it is better to keep it hot by the fire, than to put it under a cover, that the exhalations may freely escape. In making up the fire for roasting, it should be three or four inches longer at each end than the article on the spit, or the ends of the meat cannot be done nice and brown. Half an hour at least before the roasting begins, prepare the fire, by putting on a few coals so as to be sufficiently lighted by the time the fire is wanted. Put some of them between the bars, and small coals or cinders wetted at the back of the fire; and never put down meat to a burnt up fire. In small families, not provided with a jack or spit, a bottle jack, sold by the ironmongers, is a valuable instrument for roasting; and where this cannot be had, a skewer and a string, or rather a quantity of coarse yarn loosely twisted, is as philosophical as any of them, and will answer the purpose as well. Do not put meat too near the fire at first. The larger the joint, the farther it must be kept from the fire: if once it gets scorched, the outside will become hard, and acquire a disagreeable taste. If the fire is prevented from penetrating into it, the meat will appear done, before it is little more than half ready, besides losing the pale brown colour which is the beauty of roast meat. From ten to fourteen inches is the usual distance at which it is put from the grate, when first laid down; and afterwards it should be brought nearer by degrees. If the joint is thicker at one end than the other, lay the spit slanting, with the thickest part nearest the fire. When the article is thin and tender, the fire should be small and brisk; but for a large joint the fire should be strong, and equally good in every part of the grate, or the meat cannot be equally roasted, nor possess that uniform colour which is the test of good cooking. Give the fire a good stirring before the meat is laid down, keep it clear at the bottom, and take care that there are no smoky coals in the front, to spoil the look and taste of the meat. If a jack be used, it should be carefully oiled and kept clean, and covered from the dust, or it will never go well. The dripping pan should be placed at such a distance from the fire as just to catch the drippings; if it be too near, the ashes will fall into it, and spoil the drippings. If too far from the fire to catch them, the drippings will not only be lost, but the meat will be blackened, and spoiled by the fetid smoke, which will arise when the fat falls on the live cinders. The meat must be well basted, to keep it moist. When it does not supply dripping enough for this purpose, add some that has been saved on former occasions, and nicely prepared, which answers as well or better than butter. Meat should not be sprinkled with salt till nearly done, as it tends to draw out the gravy. Basting with a little salt and water, when the meat is first laid down, is often done, but the practice is not good. Where the fat is very fine and delicate, it is best to cover it with writing paper to prevent its wasting; but in general it is as well to expose it to the action of the fire, and let it fall into the dripping pan. Half an hour before the meat is done, prepare some gravy if necessary; and just before it is taken up, put it nearer the fire to brown it. If it is to be frothed, baste and dredge it carefully with flour. The common fault is that of using too much flour; the meat should have a fine light varnish of froth, not the appearance of being covered with a paste; and those who are particular about the froth, use butter instead of dripping. When the roast is quite done, it is best to take it up directly, as every moment beyond doing it enough does it an injury. If it cannot be sent to table immediately, which is most desirable, it should be kept hot, but so as to suffer the fumes to escape. With respect to the time required for roasting, the general rule of a quarter of an hour to a pound of meat, is a pretty fair one, but it will not do for all kinds of joints. The use of a meat screen must also be considered, as it tends materially to assist the operation, by concentrating the heat, and excluding the cold drafts of air. Attention must be paid to the nature of the joint, whether thick or thin, the strength of the fire, the nearness of the meat to it, and the frequency with which it is basted. The more it is basted the less time it will take, as it keeps the meat soft and mellow on the outside, and the fire acts upon it with greater force. Much will depend on the time the meat has been kept, and on the temperature of the weather. The same weight will be twenty minutes or half an hour longer in cold weather, than it will be in warm weather; and when the meat is fresh slain, than when it has been kept till it is tender. If meat get frozen, it should be thawed by lying some time in cold water; and then be well dried in a clean cloth, before it is laid down to the fire. A sirloin of BEEF, weighing from twenty-five to thirty pounds, will generally take four hours; a part of it, from twelve to fifteen pounds, two hours and three quarters, or three hours. A piece of ribs of the same weight, much the same time, and a rump four hours. A sheet of paper should be tied over the thin part, or it will burn before the thick part is done enough. A leg of MUTTON, weighing eight or nine pounds, will require two hours and a quarter; a shoulder of seven pounds, an hour and three quarters; a chine of ten or eleven pounds, two hours and a half; a loin, rather more than an hour and a half; a neck, the same; a breast, an hour. A haunch of mutton should be dressed like venison, only in proportion as it may be less, it must not roast quite so long. A fillet of VEAL, from twelve to fourteen pounds weight, requires three hours and twenty minutes. This is usually stuffed, either in the place of the bone, when that is taken out, or under the flap. A loin takes two hours and a half, a shoulder two hours and twenty minutes, a neck nearly two hours, and a breast an hour and a half. These directions suppose the joints to be of a common size. If they are very thick, a little more time must be allowed. When veal is quite small, the time must be reduced accordingly. A quarter of LAMB, of a moderate size, will require two hours; a leg, an hour and forty minutes; a shoulder, an hour and twenty minutes; a loin, the same; a neck, an hour and ten minutes; a breast, three quarters of an hour; and ribs, an hour and a half. A leg of PORK, weighing seven pounds, will require nearly two hours; a loin of five pounds, an hour and twenty minutes. Both these should be scored across in narrow stripes, before they are laid down to the fire. A sparerib of eight or nine pounds, will take an hour and three quarters; a griskin of six or seven pounds, an hour and a quarter; a chine, if parted down the back-bone so as to have but one side, two hours; if not parted, it will take four hours.—The BASTINGS proper for roast meat, are fresh butter, clarified suet, salt and water, yolks of eggs, grated biscuit, and orange juice. For mutton and lamb, minced sweet herbs, butter and claret; and for roast pig, melted butter and cream. The DREDGINGS, are flour mixed with grated bread; sweet herbs dried and powdered, and mixed with grated bread; lemon peel dried and pounded, or orange peel mixed with flour; sugar finely powdered, and mixed with pounded cinnamon, and flour, or grated bread; fennel seeds, corianders, cinnamon, sugar finely powdered, and mixed with grated bread or flour; sugar, bread, and salt mixed. For young pigs, grated bread or flour mixed with pounded nutmeg, ginger, pepper, sugar, and yolks of eggs.