STONE STAIRS AND HALLS. In order to clean these properly, boil a pound of pipe-maker's clay with a quart of water, a quart of small beer, and a bit of stone blue. Wash the stairs or the floor with this mixture, and when dry, rub it with flannel and a brush.

STOPPLES. When a glass stopple is set fast, in a bottle or decanter, rub a drop or two of olive oil round it, close to the mouth of the decanter, and place it near the fire. The oil will soon insinuate itself downwards, and the stopple may then be loosened by the hand, or by striking it lightly with a piece of soft wood. Sometimes the rubbing of the neck of the bottle with a small key, and striking the head of the stopper, will be sufficient to loosen it, without the application of any oil.

STORING. The storing of fruits, vegetables, and roots, has been performed in various ways, which are well known already; but lately some better modes have been suggested for this purpose. For apples and pears, after they have been carefully gathered from the trees, and laid in heaps covered with clean cloths or mats for sweating, which is effected in three or four days, they remaining for that length of time afterwards, they are to be wiped separately with clean cloths; when some glazed earthen jars are to be provided with tops and covers, and likewise a quantity of pure pit-sand, which is quite free from any mixture. This is to be thoroughly dried upon a flue. Then put a layer of this sand an inch thick on the bottoms of the jars; above this layer of fruit, a quarter of an inch free of each other; covering the whole with sand to the depth of an inch; then a second course of fruit is to be laid in, and again covered with an inch of the sand, proceeding in the same way until the whole be finished and completed. An inch and a half in depth of sand may be laid over the last or uppermost layer of fruit; when the jars are to be closed and placed in some dry situation, as cool as possible, but entirely out of the way of frost. The usual time at which each kind of such fruits should be ready for the table being known, the jars containing such fruit may, it is said, be examined, by turning out the sand and fruit together cautiously into a sieve. The ripe fruit may then be laid upon the shelves of the fruit-room for use, and the unripe be carefully replaced in the jars as before, but with fresh dry sand. Some kinds of apples managed in this way, will, it is said, keep a great while, as till July; and pears until April, and in some sorts till June. It is not improbable but that many other sorts of fruit might be stored and preserved in somewhat the same way. Vegetables of the cauliflower kind have been stored and kept well through a great part of the winter, by putting them, when in full head, on a dry day, into pits about eighteen inches in depth, and much the same breadth, in a perfectly dry soil, with the stalks and leaves to them, the latter being carefully doubled over and lapped round the heads, instead of hanging them up in sheds or other places, as is the usual practice in preserving them. In performing the work, it is begun at one end of the pits, laying the heads in with the root-stalks uppermost, so as that the former may incline downwards, the roots of the one layer covering the tops or heads of the other, until the whole is completed. The pits are then to be closely covered up with the earth into a sort of ridge, and beaten quite smooth with the back of the spade, in order that the rain-water may be fully thrown off. Fine cauliflowers have been thus stored and kept for the occasional supply of the table until the middle of the following January. For storing and preserving different kinds of roots for common summer use, until the coming in or return of the natural crops, the following method has likewise been proposed. As the ice in ice-houses has commonly subsided some feet, as four, five, or more, by the beginning of the spring, it is proposed to deposit in the rooms or vacancies so left empty, the roots that are to be preserved. As soon as any openings in the places have been well stuffed with straw, and the surfaces of the ice covered with the sort of material, case-boxes, dry ware, casks, baskets, or any other such vessels, are to be placed upon it, which are then to be filled with the roots, such as turnips, carrots, beets, celery, potatoes in particular, and some others. In cases where there are not ice-houses, vegetation may be greatly retarded, and the roots preserved by storing them in deep vaulted cellars, caves, coal-pits, mines, or in any place seated deep in the earth. Potatoes have also been well stored and preserved, it is said, by earthing them in small parcels, as about two bolls each, heaped up, and covered in the usual way with straw and earth; which are turned over into other pits in the early spring, first rubbing off all the sprouts or shoots, and having the roots well watered in small quantities as they are put into the other pits, the whole earthy covering being also well watered and beaten together at the time with the back part of the spade. This covering is to be made to the thickness of about two feet. The same practice or process is to be repeated every time the potatoes are turned over, which should be about once in three weeks, as the state of the weather may be. And where the pits or heaps are not in the shade, it is sometimes proper, when the season is very hot, to cover them with mats supported on sticks, so as to permit a free current of air between the mats and the heaps. In this way it is stated that these roots have been preserved quite plump and entire in the taste until the end of September, or till the succeeding crop becomes perfectly ripe, so as to be used without loss, as that must always be the case where the roots are largely employed before they are in a state of mature growth. It is asserted, too, that in this manner potatoes are even capable of recovering in plumpness and taste, where they have been suffered, by improper exposure to air or heat, to become deficient in these qualities.

STOVE BLACKING, for backs of grates, hearths, and the fronts of stoves, is made in the following manner. Boil a quarter of a pound of the best black lead, with a pint of small beer, and a bit of soap the size of a walnut. When that is melted, dip in a painter's brush, and wet the grate, having first cleared off all the soot and dust. Then take a hard brush, and rub it till it is quite bright. A mixture of black lead and whites of eggs well beaten together, will answer the same purpose.

STRAMONIUM. This celebrated plant, commonly called the Thorn Apple, often grows on dunghills, and flowers in the month of July. Having lately been discovered as possessing very powerful medical properties, and as affording the most effectual remedy for the asthma, it is now frequently transplanted into gardens, though its odour is extremely offensive. A kind of herb tobacco is made of the dried leaves, mixed with a little rosemary to prevent nausea, and a pipeful is smoked in the evening before going to bed. The practice should be continued for some time, or as often as asthma returns, and it will afford very sensible relief. The plant may easily be raised from seed; but an elegant preparation of the stramonium, or the asthmatic tobacco, may be had of several medicine vendors in the kingdom.

STRAWBERRIES. Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the experience of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry plants, when the fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the sun, the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning fruit kept from damage, by resting on the ground, particularly in wet weather, and much labour in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long straw are sufficient for 1800 feet of plants. On the management of strawberries in June and July, the future prosperity of them greatly depends; and if each plant has not been kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they will be in a state of confusion, and you will find three different sorts of plants. 1. Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and woody. 2. Young plants, not strong enough to flower. 3. Flowering plants, which ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them. Before the time of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up every old plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted to flower you may depend upon it they will never produce any after, being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave two or three, set a stick to them, and observe them next year. If the young plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some of them away, and do not leave them nearer than a foot of the scarlet, alpines, and wood, and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the larger sorts; and in the first rainy weather in July or August, take them all up, and make a fresh plantation with them, and they will be very strong plants for flowering next year. Old beds, even if the plants be kept single at their proper distance, examine, and pull all the old plants which have not flowered. When the fruit is nearly all gathered examine them again, and cut off the runners; but if you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of the two first, and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a trowel, or three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to transplant. If you have omitted in July do not fail in August, that the runners may make good roots to be transplanted in September, for, if later, the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost afterwards will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of which is, their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year.

STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY FOOL. Bruise a pint of scarlet strawberries, and a pint of raspberries, pass them through a sieve, and sweeten them with half a pound of fine sugar pounded, add a spoonful of orange-flower water, then boil it over the fire, for two or three minutes; take it off, and set on a pint and a half of cream, boil it and stir it till it is cold; when the pulp is cold, put them together, and stir them till they are well mixed; put the fool into glasses, or basins, as you think proper.

STRAWBERRY JAM. Dissolve four pounds of lump sugar in a quart of currant juice, then boil and scum it quite clean. Mash four quarts of raspberries, and mix with it. Let it boil quick, over a clear fire, for nearly an hour, or till the sugar and raspberries are quite mixed. This may be known by putting a little on a plate; if the juice drains from the fruit, it must be boiled longer. When done enough, put it into pots, and the next day put brandy papers over them. Tie them down with another paper, and set the jars in a dry place.

STRAWBERRIES PRESERVED. To keep whole strawberries, take equal weights of the fruit and double refined sugar. Lay the strawberries in a large dish, and sprinkle over them half the sugar in fine powder. Shake the dish gently, that the sugar may touch the under side of the fruit. Next day make a thin syrup with the remainder of the sugar, and instead of water, allow to every pound of strawberries a pint of red currant juice. Simmer the fruit in this, until sufficiently jellied. Choose the largest scarlet strawberries, before they are dead ripe. They will eat well in thin cream, served up in glasses.

STRAWBERRIES IN WINE. Put a quantity of the finest strawberries into a gooseberry bottle, and strew in three spoonfuls of fine sugar. Fill up the bottle with madeira, or fine sherry.

STRENGTHENING DRAUGHT. For weakly persons, any of the following preparations will be highly beneficial. Put two calves' feet in two pints of water, and the same quantity of new milk; bake them in a jar closely covered, three hours and a half. When cold remove the fat, and take a large teacupful of the mucilage, morning and evening. It may be flavoured by baking in it lemon peel, cinnamon, or mace: sugar is to be added afterwards.—Or simmer six sheeps' trotters, with two blades of mace, a bit of cinnamon, lemon peel, a few hartshorn shavings, and a little isinglass, in two quarts of water till reduced to one. When cold, remove the fat, and take nearly half a pint twice a day, warming it with a little new milk.—Another way. Boil an ounce of isinglass shavings, forty peppercorns, and a bit of brown crust of bread, in a quart of water, till reduced to a pint, and strain it. This makes a pleasant jelly to keep in case of sickness, and a large spoonful may be taken in wine and water, in milk, tea, soup, or any other way.—Or boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass shavings with a pint of new milk, till reduced one half. Add a little sugar, and for a change a bitter almond. Take this at bed-time, but not too warm. Dutch flummery, jellies, or blamange, if not too rich, are also very strengthening.

STRENGTHENING JELLY. Put an ounce of isinglass shavings, with a few Jamaica peppercorns, and a toast of bread. Boil it to a pint, and strain it off. A large spoonful of the jelly may be taken in wine and water, milk, tea, or any other agreeable liquor. Or boil a quarter of an ounce of isinglass shavings in a pint of new milk, till it is reduced to half a pint, adding a bitter almond, or a little sugar, by way of change.

STRONG GRAVY. Take a stewpan that will hold four quarts, lay at the bottom of it a slice or two of undressed ham or bacon, about a quarter of an inch thick, and two pounds of beef or veal. Add a carrot, a large onion with four cloves stuck in it, one head of celery, a bundle of parsley, lemon thyme, and savoury; a few leaves of sweet basil, a bay leaf, a shalot, a piece of lemon peel, and a dozen corns of allspice. Pour on half a pint of water, cover it close, and let it simmer gently on a slow fire for half an hour, in which time it will be almost dry. Watch it very carefully, and let it take a nice brown colour. Turn the meat and herbs, to brown on all sides; then put in a pint of water to a pound of meat, and let it boil for two hours. It will now be formed into a rich strong gravy, easily converted into cullis, or thickened gravy.

STUCCO. A stucco for walls, &c. may be formed of the grout or putty, made of good stone-lime, or the lime of cockle-shells, which is better, properly tempered and sufficiently beat, mixed with sharp grit-sand, in a proportion which depends on the strength of the lime: drift-sand is best for this purpose, and it will derive advantage from being dried on an iron plate or kiln, so as not to burn; for thus the mortar would be discoloured. When this is properly compounded, it should be put up in small parcels against walls, or otherwise, to mellow, as the workmen term it; reduced again to a soft putty, or paste, and spread thin on the walls without any undercoat, and well trowelled. A succeeding coat should be laid on, before the first is quite dry, which will prevent joints of brick-work appearing through it. Much depends upon the workmen giving it sufficient labour, and trowelling it down. If this stucco, when dry, is laid over with boiling linseed oil, it will last a long time, and not be liable, when once hardened, to the accidents to which common stucco is liable. Liardet's, or, as it is commonly called, Adams oil-cement, or stucco, is prepared in the following manner: for the first coat, take twenty-one pounds of fine whiting, or oyster-shells, or any other sea-shells calcined, or plaster of Paris, or any calcareous material calcined and pounded, or any absorbent material whatever, proper for the purpose; add white or red lead at pleasure, deducting from the other absorbent materials in proportion to the white or red lead added; to which put four quarts, beer measure, of oil; and mix them together with a grinding-mill, or any levigating machine: and afterwards mix and beat up the same well with twenty-eight quarts, beer measure, of any sand or gravel, or of both, mixed and sifted, or of marble or stone pounded, or of brick-dust, or of any kind of metallic or mineral powders, or of any solid material whatever, fit for the purpose. For the second coat, take sixteen pounds and a half of super-fine whiting, or oyster-shells, or any sea-shells calcined, &c. as for the first coat; add sixteen pounds and a half of white or red lead, to which put six quarts and a half of oil, wine measure, and mix them together as before: afterwards mix and beat up the same well with thirty quarts, wine measure, of fine sand or gravel sifted, or stone or marble pounded, or pyrites, or any kind of metallic or mineral powder, &c. This composition requires a greater proportion of sand, gravel, or other solids, according to the nature of the work, or the uses to which it is to be applied. If it be required to have the composition coloured, add to the above ingredients such a proportion of painter's colours, as will be necessary to give the tint or colour required. In making the composition, the best linseed or hempseed, or other oils proper for the purpose, are to be used, boiled or raw, with drying ingredients, as the nature of the work, the season, or the climate requires; and in some cases, bees' wax may be substituted in place of oil: all the absorbent and solid materials must be kiln-dried. If the composition is to be of any other colour than white, the lead may be omitted, by taking the full proportion of the other absorbents; and also white or red lead may be substituted alone, instead of any other absorbent material. The first coat of this composition is to be laid on with a trowel, and floated to an even surface with a rule or darby, (i. e. a handle-float.) The second coat, after it is laid on with a trowel, when the other is nearly dry, should be worked down and smoothed with floats edged with horn, or any hard smooth substance that does not stain. It may be proper, previously to laying on the composition, to moisten the surface on which it is to be laid by a brush with the same sort of oil and ingredients which pass through the levigating machine, reduced to a more liquid state, in order to make the composition adhere the better. This composition admits of being modelled or cast in moulds, in the same manner as plasterers or statuaries model or cast their stucco work. It also admits of being painted upon, and adorned with landscape, or ornamental, or figure-painting, as well as plain painting.—To make an excellent stucco, which will adhere to wood work, take a bushel of the best stone lime, a pound of yellow ochre, and a quarter of a pound of brown umber, all in fine powder. Mix them to a proper thickness, with a sufficient quantity of hot water, but not boiling, and lay it on with a new white-washer's brush. If the wall be quite smooth, one or two coats will do; but each must be dry before the next is put on. The month of March is the best season for doing this.

STUCCO WASHES. The most beautiful white-wash is made of clean good lime mixed with skim milk instead of water. For Blue wash, put four pounds of blue vitriol into an iron or brass pot, with a pound of the best whiting, and a gallon of water. Let it boil an hour, stirring it all the time. Then pour it into an earthen pan, and set it by for a day or two till the colour is settled. Pour off the water, and mix the colour with the white-washer's size. Wash the walls over three or four times, according as it may be necessary. To make Yellow wash, dissolve in soft water over the fire equal quantities of umber, bright ochre, and blue black. Add as much white-wash as is necessary for the work, and stir it all together. If either cast predominates, put in more of the others, till the proper tint is obtained.

STUFFINGS. Forcemeat or stuffing is generally considered as a necessary accompaniment to most of the made dishes, and when composed with good taste, it gives to them additional spirit and relish. It is often employed in making of patties, for stuffing of veal, game, and poultry. The ingredients should be so proportioned, that no one flavour predominates; and instead of using the same stuffing for veal, hare, and other things, it is easy to make a suitable variety. The poignancy of forcemeat should be regulated by the savouriness of the viands, to which it is intended to give an additional zest. Some dishes require a very delicately flavoured stuffing, while for others it should be full and high seasoned. The consistence of forcemeats is attended with some difficulty; they are almost always either too heavy or too light. They should be mixed perfectly smooth, and the ingredients thoroughly incorporated. Forcemeat balls must not be larger than a small nutmeg. If for brown sauce, flour and fry them: if for white sauce, put them into boiling water, and boil them for three minutes: the latter are by far the most delicate. Parboiled sweetbreads and tongues are the principal ingredients for stuffing or forcemeat. Besides these, yolks of hard eggs, flour, bread crumbs, boiled onion, mashed potatoe, mutton, beef, veal suet, marrow, calf's udder or brains, veal minced and pounded, and potted meats. Also of garden herbs and roots, parsley, thyme, spinach, marjoram, savoury, tarragon, sage, chervil, basil, burnet, bay leaf, truffles, morels, mushrooms, leeks, shalot, onions, and garlic. Of fish, shrimps, prawns, crabs, oysters, lobsters, and anchovies. Of spices, pepper, mace, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, and cloves. These, with bacon and ham, form the principal ingredients for various kinds of stuffing. The liquids in general consist of meat gravy, lemon juice, syrup of lemons, essence of anchovy, mushroom ketchup, vegetable essences, and the essence of spices.

STUFFING FOR GOOSE. Chop very fine one or two onions, and a little green sage. Add a large teacupful of bread crumbs, a very little pepper and salt, half the liver parboiled, and the yolks of two eggs. Incorporate the whole well together, put it into the goose, but leave a little room for the stuffing to swell.

STUFFING FOR HARE. Two ounces of beef suet chopped fine, three ounces of fine bread crumbs, a little parsley, marjoram, lemon thyme, or winter savory; a dram of grated lemon peel, half a dram of nutmeg, of shalot, and the same of pepper and salt. Mix these with an egg, so as to make them cohesive; but if the stuffing be not of a sufficient consistence, it will be good for nothing. If the liver be quite sound, it may be parboiled, minced very fine, and added to the above. Put the stuffing into the hare, and sow it up.

STUFFING FOR PIG. Rub some of the crumb of a stale loaf through a cullender, mince fine a handful of sage, and a large onion. Mix these together with an egg, some pepper and salt, and a piece of butter. Fill the belly of the pig with the stuffing, and sow it up. Lay the pig to the fire, and baste it with salad oil, without leaving it for a moment.

STUFFING FOR PIKE. Take equal parts of fat bacon, beef suet, and fresh butter; some parsley, thyme, and savoury; a small onion, and a few leaves of scented marjoram shred fine; an anchovy or two, a little salt and nutmeg, and some pepper. Oysters will be an improvement, with or without anchovies; add some crumbs, and an egg to bind.

STUFFING FOR POULTRY. Mince a quarter of a pound of beef suet, (marrow is better,) the same weight of bread crumbs, two drams of parsley leaves, nearly as much of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and the same of grated lemon peel. Add an onion or shalot, chopped as fine as possible, a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt. Pound all together thoroughly, with the yolk and white of two eggs. This is about the quantity for a turkey poult; a very large turkey will take nearly twice as much. To the above may be added an ounce of dressed ham.

STUFFING FOR VEAL. Take an equal quantity of grated bread and beef suet, shred very fine. Add parsley and sweet herbs chopped small, a minced anchovy, some nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a little grated lemon peel. Mix these well together with raw egg or milk. This stuffing will do for roast turkey or hare.

STURGEON. Fresh sturgeon should be cut in slices, rubbed over with egg, and sprinkled with grated bread, parsley, salt and pepper. Then fold the slices in white paper, and broil them gently. For sauce, send up butter, anchovy, and soy.—Another way. Clean the sturgeon, and prepare as much liquor as will cover it, thus: take a pint of vinegar, about two quarts of water, a stick of horseradish cut in slips, some lemon peel, two or three bay leaves, and a small handful of salt, boil it in this pickle, till you think it is enough, and serve it with the following sauce: melt a pound of butter, with an anchovy bruised, a blade or two of mace, the body of a crab, or lobster bruised, a little ketchup, a small glass of white wine, half a pint of white shrimps, boil all together, till it is of a proper thickness, squeeze in some lemon, and scraped horseradish; pour a little sauce over your fish, the rest send in boats.

STURTIUMS. Gather them young and dry, and put them into a jar of old vinegar, which has been taken from green pickles and onions. The vinegar must be boiled afresh, or boil some fresh vinegar with salt and spice, and when cold, put in the sturtiums.

SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM. As milk or cream is difficult to procure in some situations, particularly during a long voyage, a very good substitute may be found in beating up a fresh egg, and gradually pouring on boiling water to prevent its curdling. The taste of this composition in tea will scarcely be distinguished from the richest cream, and eggs may easily be preserved for a considerable length of time.

SUBSTITUTE FOR GRAVY. Mix a gill of water, a gill of table beer, a spoonful of ketchup, an onion sliced thin, a clove or two, three or four peppercorns, and a little salt, all together. Melt a piece of butter, the size of an egg in a small saucepan, and when hot dredge in some flour, stirring it till the froth subsides, by which time it will be browned. Add to it the mixture already prepared, give it a boil, and flavour it with a very small quantity of the essence of anchovy.

SUCCORY. Wild white succory is only good to eat in salads. The green is used to put into cooling broths, and to make decoctions in medicine. Common white succory is eaten in salads, and used for ragouts. First pick and wash it, then scald it half an hour in water, put it afterwards into fresh water, in order to press it well with the hands. Stew it with some broth, a little butter, and some cullis, if any at hand. If not, brown a little flour to thicken the sauce. When done enough, take off the fat, season it nicely, and add a little shalot. Serve it under a shoulder, a leg, or neck of mutton, roasted.

SUCKERS. The season for taking up or transplanting suckers of trees and shrubs, is almost any time, in open weather, from October till March, being careful to dig them up from the mother-plant with as much and many root-fibres as possible, and trimming them ready for planting, by shortening the long straggling fibres, and cutting off any thick-nobbed part of the old root that may adhere to the bottom, leaving only the fibres arising from the young wood; though it is probable some will appear with hardly any fibres; but as the bottom part, having been under ground, and contiguous to the root of the main plant, is naturally disposed to send forth fibres for rooting; preparatory to planting them out, the stems of the shrub and tree-suckers should likewise be trimmed occasionally, by cutting off all lower laterals; and any having long, slender, and weak tops, or such as are intended to assume a more dwarfish or bushy growth, may be shortened at top in proportion, to form about half a foot to one or two feet in length, according to their nature or strength; and others that are more strong, or that are designed to run up with taller stems, may have their tops left entire, or shortened but little: when thus taken up and trimmed, they should be planted out in rows in the nursery; the weak suckers separately in close rows; and also the shortened and stronger plants, each separately in wider rows; so that the rows may be from one to two feet asunder, in proportion to the size and strength of the suckers: and after being thus planted out, they should have the common nursery-culture of cleaning from weeds in summer, and digging the ground between the rows in winter, &c. and in from one to two or three years they will be of a proper size for planting out where they are to remain: and some kinds of trees, large shrubs, &c. produce suckers strong enough in one season to be fit for planting where they are to remain; as well as some sorts of roses, and numerous other flowering shrubs; also some plants of the strong shooting gooseberries, currants, raspberries, and others of similar kinds. It may generally be observed of such trees and shrubs as are naturally disposed to send up many suckers, that by whatsoever method they are propagated, whether by seeds, suckers, layers, cuttings, &c. they commonly still continue their natural tendency in this respect. When it is, therefore, required to have any sorts to produce as few suckers as possible, not to over-run the ground, or disfigure the plants, it is proper, both at the time of separating the suckers, or planting them off from the main plants, and at the time of their final removal from the nursery, to observe if at the bottom part they shew any tendency to emit suckers, by the appearance of prominent buds, which, if the case, should all be rubbed off as close as possible: as, however, many sorts of trees and shrubs are liable to throw out considerably more than may be wanted, they should always be cleared away annually at least, and in such as are not wanted for increase, it is proper to eradicate them constantly, as they are produced in the spring and summer seasons. Also numerous herbaceous and succulent plants are productive of bottom offset suckers from the roots, by which they may be increased. In slipping and planting these sorts of offset suckers, the smaller ones should be planted in nursery beds, pots, &c. according to the nature of growth and temperature of the different sorts, to have the advantage of one summer's advanced growth; and the larger ones be set at once, where they are to remain, in beds, borders, pots, &c. according to the different sorts or descriptions of them. The suckers of many of the finer kinds of flower-plants, as in the auricula and others, may be separated or taken off from the parent plants any time between the month of February and that of August, as they may become of a proper size, or be wanted for increase; but if they be not wanted for this use, they should never be suffered to remain. They can often be slipped off by the fingers, or a sharp piece of wood, without removing much earth, or the plants from the pots; but when they are large, and cannot be thus separated with a sufficient number of fibres to their bottom parts, they may be taken out of the pots, and be removed by the knife without danger, which is perhaps the best way, as affording most fibres. The suckers of such old flower-plants, when they are wanted to blow strong, should always be taken off without disturbing the plants in the pots, especially when they are few. The suckers, in all cases of this sort, should constantly be planted as soon as possible after they are slipped, in proper small upright pots, giving a slight watering at the time, with suitable temporary shade. They should be placed in proper situations out of the droppings of trees. They thus soon become rooted. The suckers of such flower-plants must, however, never be removed after the latter of the above periods, as they have then done shooting, and are become inactive, and as the winter immediately succeeds, seldom do well, especially without great care and trouble.

SUCKING PIG. When the pig has been killed and well cleaned, cut off the feet at the first joint, and put them with the heart, liver, and lights, to boil for gravy. Before the pig is spitted, chop a little sage very fine, mix it with a handful of bread crumb, a little pepper and salt, and sow it up in the belly. Lay it down to a brisk fire, rub it with butter tied up in a piece of thin rag, during the whole time of roasting. Take off the head while at the fire, take out the brains and chop them, mix them with the gravy that comes from the pig, and add a little melted butter. Before the spit is drawn, cut the pig down the back and belly, and lay it in the dish. Put a little of the sauce over it, take the bottom jaws and ears to garnish with, and send brown gravy sauce to table, mixed with the bread and sage that comes out of the pig. Currant sauce is frequently eaten with it. A moderate sized pig will require about an hour and a half roasting.

SUET. The proper way of treating suet, is to choose the firmest part as soon as it comes in, and pick it free from skin and veins. Set it in a nice saucepan at some distance from the fire, that it may melt without frying, or it will taste. When melted, pour it into a pan of cold water. When it comes to a hard cake, wipe it very dry, fold it in fine paper, and then in a linen bag. Keep it in a dry cool place. Suet prepared in this way, will keep a twelvemonth. When used, scrape it fine, and it will make a good crust, either with or without butter.

SUET DUMPLINS. Take a pound of suet, or the outward fat of loins or necks of mutton, and shred it very fine. Mix it well with a pound and a quarter of flour, two eggs, a sufficient quantity of milk to make it, and a little salt. Drop the batter into boiling water, or boil the dumplins in a cloth.

SUET DUMPLINS WITH CURRANTS. Take a pint of milk, four eggs, a pound of suet shred fine, and a pound of currants well cleaned, two tea-spoonfuls of salt, and three of beaten ginger; first take half the milk and mix it like a thick batter, then put in the eggs, the salt, and ginger, then the rest of the milk by degrees, with the suet and currants, and flour enough to make it like a light paste. Make them up about the bigness of a large turkey's egg, flat them a little, and put them into boiling water; move them softly that they do not stick together, keep the water boiling, and a little more than half an hour will do them.

SUET DUMPLINS WITH EGGS. Mix up a pint of milk, two eggs, three quarters of a pound of beef suet chopped fine, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger, and flour enough to make it into a moderately stiff paste. Make the paste into dumplins, roll them in a little flour, and put them into boiling water. Move them gently for a little while to prevent their sticking together. If the dumplins are small, three quarters of an hour will boil them; if large, the time must be proportioned to their size. They will boil equally well in cloths, which is often preferred for keeping the outside drier.

SUET PUDDING. Shred a pound of suet; mix with it a pound and a quarter of flour, two eggs beaten separately, some salt, and as little milk as will make it. Boil the pudding four hours. It eats well the next day, cut in slices and broiled. The outward fat of a loin or neck of mutton finely shred, makes a more delicate pudding than suet.

SUET PUDDING WITH EGGS. To a pound of beef suet chopped very fine, add six large spoonfuls of flour, a tea-spoonful of grated ginger, and a tea-spoonful of salt. Gradually mix with these ingredients a quart of milk, and four eggs well beaten. Boil it three hours in a buttered basin, or two hours and a half in a cloth well floured.

SUFFOCATION. Immediately on discovering a person in this unfortunate situation, whatever be the cause, the windows and doors ought to be opened; the body undressed, covered with blankets, removed to the open air, and supported in a leaning posture on a chair. The patient's face should be sprinkled with vinegar, the pit of the stomach with water, and the legs plunged into a cold bath; at the same time rubbing the skin with flannel, or a soft brush. Clysters of vinegar and water will also be useful, and an attempt should be made to promote sickness, by tickling the throat with a feather dipped in oil. When the patient is able to swallow, the most proper drink is vinegar and water, or infusions of mint and balm.

SUFFOLK CHEESE. The curd is broken up in the whey, which is poured off as soon as the former has subsided. The remainder, with the curd, is put into a coarse strainer, left to cool, and is then pressed as tightly as possible. After this it is put into the vat, and set in a press to discharge the remaining whey. The curd is then taken out, broken again as finely as possible, salted, and returned to the press.

SUFFOLK DUMPLINS. Make a very light dough with yeast, as for bread; add a little salt, and use milk instead of water. Let it rise an hour before the fire. Round the dough into balls, the size of a middling apple; throw them into boiling water, and let them boil twenty minutes. To ascertain when they are done enough, stick a clean fork into one; and if it come out clear, they are ready to take up. Do not cut, but tear them apart on the top with two forks, for they become heavy by their own steam. They should be eaten immediately, with gravy or cold butter, or with meat.

SUGARS. These being an article of considerable expense in all families, the purchase demands particular attention. The cheapest does not go so far as the more refined, and there is a difference even in the degree of sweetness. Of white sugar that should be preferred which is close, heavy, and shining. The best sort of brown sugar has a bright gravelly appearance, and it is often to be bought pure as imported. East India sugars are finer for the price, but not so strong, consequently unfit for wines and sweetmeats, but do well for common purposes, if good of their kind. To prepare white sugar pounded, rolling it with a bottle and sifting it, wastes less than pounding it in a mortar.

SUGAR CAKES. Make into a paste a pound of flour, twelve ounces of fine sugar sifted, the yolks of two eggs, a little nutmeg, and orange-flower water. Roll it out thin, cut out the cakes with a tin or glass, sift sugar over them, and bake them in a quick oven.

SUGAR PASTE. To a pound of flour put two ounces of loaf sugar rolled and sifted, and rub in half a pound of butter. Mix it up with one egg well beaten, and cold water sufficient to make it into a paste. Mould it with the hand till it is quite smooth, and roll it out for use.

SUGAR VINEGAR. To every gallon of water, add two pounds of the coarsest sugar; then boil and skim it thoroughly, and add one quart of cold water for every gallon of hot. When cool, put in a toast spread with yeast. Stir it nine days, then barrel it off, and set it in the sun, with a piece of slate on the bung hole. Make the vinegar in March, and it will be ready in six months. When sufficiently sour it may be bottled, or may be used from the cask with a wooden spigot and faucet.

SUN FLOWER. The valuable properties of the sun flower are too much neglected, and might be rendered of general advantage. The leaves furnish abundance of agreeable fodder for cattle, the flower is enriched with honey for the bees, the dry stalks burn well, affording a considerable quantity of alkali from the ashes, and the seed is highly valuable in feeding pigs and poultry. The cultivation of this plant cannot be too much recommended, and requires but little management.

SUPPER DISH. To make a pretty supper dish, wash a tea-cupful of rice in milk, and boil it tender. Strain off the milk, lay the rice in small heaps on a dish, strew over them some finely-powdered sugar and cinnamon, and put warm wine and a little butter into the dish.

SUPPERS. Hot suppers are not much in use where people dine late, nor indeed in ordinary cases. When required, the top and bottom of the table may be furnished with game, fowls, rabbit; boiled fish, such as soles, mackarel, oysters, stewed or scalloped; French beans, cauliflower, or Jerusalem artichokes, in white sauce; brocoli with eggs, stewed spinach with eggs, sweetbreads, small birds, mushrooms, scalloped potatoes; cutlets, roast onions, salmagundi, buttered eggs on toast, cold neat's tongue, ham, collared things, sliced hunter's beef, buttered rusks with anchovies, grated hung beef with butter, with or without rusks; grated cheese round, and butter dressed in the middle of a plate; radishes the same, custards in glasses with sippets, oysters cold or pickled; potted meats, fish, birds, cheese; good plain cake sliced, pies of birds or fruit; lobsters, prawns, cray fish, any sweet things, and fruits. A sandwich set with any of the above articles, placed on the table at a little distance from each other, will look well. The lighter the things, the better they appear, and glass intermixed has the best effect. Jellies, different coloured things, and flowers, add to the beauty of the table. An elegant supper may be served at a small expense, by those who know how to make trifles that are in the house form the greatest part of the entertainment.

SUSAN PUDDING. Boil some Windsor beans, just as they begin to be black-eyed, till they are quite tender. Then peel them, and beat up half a pound of them very smooth in a marble mortar. Add four spoonfuls of thick cream, sugar to taste, half a pound of clarified butter, and eight eggs, leaving out half the whites. Beat up the eggs well with a little salt, and white wine sufficient to give it an agreeable flavour. Line a dish with puff paste, add a pretty good layer of candied citron cut in long pieces, pour in the other ingredients, and bake it in a moderate oven three quarters of an hour.

SWEEPING OF CHIMNIES. The common practice of employing poor children to sweep narrow chimnies, is most inhuman and unwise: many lives are lost by this means, and much injury is done to the building. The children being obliged to work themselves up by pressing with their feet and knees on one side, and their back on the other, often force out the bricks which divide the chimnies, and thereby encrease the danger, in case a foul chimney should take fire, as the flames frequently communicate by those apertures to other apartments, which were not suspected to be in any danger. To avoid these consequences, a rope twice the length of the chimney should be provided, to the middle of which a bunch of furze or broom is to be tied, sufficient to fill the cavity of the chimney. Put one end of the rope down the chimney, with a stone fastened to it, and draw the brush after it, which will clear the sides of the chimney, and bring down the soot. If necessary, a person at top may draw the brush up again to the top of the chimney, keeping hold of the rope, and thus clean the chimney thoroughly without difficulty or danger.

SWEET HERBS. It is of some importance to know when the various seasons commence for procuring sweet and savoury herbs, fit for culinary purposes. All vegetables are in the highest state of perfection, and fullest of juice and flavour, just before they begin to flower. The first and last crop have neither the fine flavour nor the perfume of those which are gathered in the height of the season; that is, when the greater part of the crop of each species is ripe. Let them be gathered on a dry day, and they will have a better colour after being preserved. Cleanse them well from dust and dirt, cut off the roots, separate the bunches into smaller ones, and dry them by the heat of a stove, or in a Dutch oven before the fire. Take them in small quantities, that the process may be speedily finished, and thus their flavour will be preserved. Drying them in the sun exhausts some of their best qualities. In the application of artificial heat, the only caution requisite is to avoid burning; and of this, a sufficient test is afforded by the preservation of the colour. The common custom is, when they are perfectly dried, to put them in bags, and lay them in a dry place. But the best way to preserve the flavour of aromatic plants, is to pick off the leaves as soon as they are dried; then to pound and pass them through a hair sieve, and keep them in well-stopped bottles.—Basil is in the best state for drying, from the middle of August, and three weeks afterwards. Knotted marjoram, from the beginning of July to the end of the month. Winter savoury, the latter end of July, and throughout August. Thyme, lemon thyme, and orange thyme, during June and July. Mint, the latter end of June, and throughout July. Sage, August and September. Tarragon, June, July, and August. Chervil, May, June, and July. Burnet, June, July, and August. Parsley, May, June, and July. Fennel, the same. Elder flowers, and orange flowers, May, June, and July. Herbs carefully dried, are a very agreeable substitute; but when fresh ones can be had, their flavour and fragrance are much finer, and therefore to be preferred.

SWEET LAMB PIE. Make a good puff paste; then cut a loin of lamb into chops, and season with salt and nutmeg; lay a paste over the bottom of your dish; put in your chops, with a handful of currants washed and picked very clean; lay on your lid, and bake it. When it comes from the oven, take off the lid nicely, and pour over a caudle made of white wine, the yolks of eggs, a little nutmeg, and sugar pounded: lay the lid on again, and send it to table as hot as you can.

SWEET MACARONI. To make a very nice dish of macaroni, boil two ounces of it in a pint of milk, with a bit of cinnamon and lemon peel, till the pipes are swelled to their utmost size without breaking. Lay them on a custard dish, pour a custard over them, and serve them up cold.

SWEET PATTIES. Chop the meat of a boiled calf's foot, the liquor of which is intended for jelly; two apples, one ounce of orange and lemon peel candied, and some fresh peel and juice. Mix with them half a nutmeg grated, the yolk of an egg, a spoonful of brandy, and four ounces of currants washed and dried. Fill some small pattipans lined with paste, and bake them.—To make patties resembling mince pies, chop the kidney and fat of cold veal, apple, orange and lemon peel candied; adding some fresh currants, a little wine, two or three cloves, a little brandy and sugar.

SWEET POT. Take three handfuls of orange flowers, three of clove gilliflowers, three of damask roses, one of knotted marjoram, one of lemon thyme, six bay leaves, a handful of rosemary, one of myrtle, one of lavender, half one of mint, the rind of a lemon, and a quarter of an ounce of cloves. Chop all together, and put them in layers, with pounded bay-salt between, up to the top of the jar. If all the ingredients cannot be got at once, put them in when obtained, always throwing in salt with every fresh article. This will be found a quick and easy way of making a sweet-scented pot.

SWEET SAUCE. Put some currant jelly into a stewpan, and when melted, pour it into a sauce boat. This is a more salubrious relish for venison or hare, than either spice or salt, and is an agreeable accompaniment to roast or hashed meats.

SWEETBREADS FRICASSEE. Cut the sweetbreads in pretty thick slices, boil them till about half done, with a little more water than just to cover them. Add a little salt, white pepper, and mace. Then some butter, the yolks of four eggs beaten with a little white wine, and some verjuice. Keep this over the fire, shaking it well, till the sauce is properly thickened. Serve it up with the juice of a Seville orange squeezed over it. If it is to be a brown fricassee, fry the sweetbreads first in butter till the outside is browned. Then pour away the butter, put water to the sweetbreads, and boil and finish them as before. An onion or a clove of garlic may be added to the water; or if broth be used instead of water, it will make the fricassee more savoury.

SWEETBREADS FRIED. Cut them into long slices, rub them over with egg, season with pepper, salt, and grated bread, and fry them in butter. Serve them up with melted butter and ketchup, garnished with crisped parsley, and thin slices of toasted bacon.

SWEETBREADS RAGOUT. Cut them about the size of a walnut, wash and dry them, then fry them of a fine brown. Pour on them a good gravy, seasoned with salt, pepper, allspice, and either mushrooms or mushroom ketchup, adding truffles and morels, if approved. Strain, and thicken with butter and a little flour.

SWEETBREADS ROASTED. Parboil two large ones; when cold, lard them with bacon, and roast them in a Dutch oven. For sauce, plain butter and mushroom ketchup.

SWEETMEATS. Preserves or sweetmeats should be carefully kept from the air, and set in a very dry place. If they have only a small proportion of sugar, a warm situation would not injure them; but if they have not been sufficiently boiled, the heat will make them ferment, and the damp will cause them to grow mouldy. They should be inspected two or three times in the first two months that they may be gently boiled again, if not likely to keep. It is necessary to observe, that the boiling of sugar more or less, constitutes the chief art of the confectioner; and those who are not practically acquainted with the subject, and only preserve fruit in a plain way for family use, are not aware that in two or three minutes, a syrup over the fire will pass from one gradation to another, called by the confectioners, degrees of boiling, of which there are six, and those sub-divided. Without entering, however, into the minutiae of the business, it is only necessary to make the observation in order to guard against under boiling, which prevents sweetmeats from keeping; and quick and long boiling, which reduces them to candy. Attention, without much practice, will enable a person to do any of the following sorts of sweetmeats and preserves, which are quite sufficient for a private family. The higher articles of preserved fruits may be bought at less expense than made. Jellies of fruit are made with an equal quantity of sugar, that is, a pound to a pint, and require no very long boiling. A pan should be kept for the purpose of preserving, of double block tin, with a bow handle for safety, opposite the straight one: and if when done with, it be carefully cleaned and set by in a dry place, it will last for several years. Pans of copper or brass are extremely improper, as the tinning wears out by the scraping of the ladle. Sieves and spoons should likewise be kept on purpose for sweetmeats. Sweetmeats keep best in drawers that are not connected with a wall. If there be the least damp, cover them only with paper dipped in brandy, and laid on quite close; and to prevent the mouldiness occasioned by insects, cover them with fresh paper in the spring. When any sweetmeats are to be dried in the sun, or in a stove, it will be best in private families, where there is not a regular stove for the purpose, to place them in the sun on flag stones, which reflect the heat, and to cover them with a garden glass to keep off the insects. If put into an oven, take care that it be not too warm, and watch to see them done properly and slowly. When green fruits are to be preserved, take pippins, apricots, pears, plums, or peaches, and put them into a block tin preserving pan, with vine leaves under and over them, and cover them with spring water. Put on the tin cover to exclude the air, and set the pan on the side of the fire. When the fruit begins to simmer, remove the pan from the fire, pour off the water, and if not green, put fresh leaves when cold, and repeat the same. Take them out carefully with a slice, peel and do them as directed for the different kinds of preserves. When fruit is plentiful, and sweetmeats are wanted for tarts, divide two pounds of apricots just ripe, and take out and break the stones. Put the kernels without their skins to the fruit; add three pounds of greengages, and two pounds and a half of lump sugar. The sugar should be broken in large pieces, and just dipped in water, and added to the fruit over a slow fire. Simmer it till reduced to a clear jam, but observe that it does not boil, and skim it well. If the sugar be clarified, it will make the jam the better. Put it into small pots, which art the best for preserving sweetmeats.

SWEETMEAT PIES. Sweetmeats made with syrups are made into pies the same as raw fruit, and the same crusts may be used for them. Tarts made of any kind of jam are commonly made with a crust round the bottom of the dish, the sweetmeat then put in, and only little ornaments of crust cut with a jagging iron, and laid over the top. Sugar paste may be used if preferred. Little tartlets are made in the same way, only baked in tins and turned out.

SWOONS. In a swooning fit, the patient should immediately be exposed to the open air, and the face and neck sprinkled with cold water. Pungent odours, or volatile spirits, should be held to the nostrils, and the feet rubbed with hot flannels, or put into warm water.

SYLLABUB. Put a pint of cider and a bottle of strong beer into a large punch bowl, grate in a nutmeg, and sweeten it. Put in as much new milk from the cow as will make a strong froth, and let it stand an hour. Clean and wash some currants, and make them plump before the fire: then strew them over the syllabub, and it will be fit for use. A good imitation of this may be made by those who do not keep cows, by pouring new milk out of a tea-pot into the cider and beer, or wine.—A fine syllabub from the cow. Make your syllabub either of wine or cyder, (if cyder, put a spoonful of brandy in) sweeten it, and grate in some nutmeg; then milk into the liquor till you have a fine light curd; pour over it half a pint, or a pint of good cream, according to the quantity of syllabub you make: you may send it in the basin it was made in, or put it into custard-cups, and tea-spoons with it on a salver.—To make very fine syllabubs. Take a quart and half a pint of cream, a pint of Rhenish, and half a pint of sack; grate the rind of three lemons into the cream; with near a pound of double-refined sugar; squeeze the juice of three lemons into the wine, and put it to the cream; then beat all together with a whisk half an hour, take it up together with a spoon, and fill the glasses. It is best at three or four days old, and will keep good nine or ten days. These are called the everlasting syllabubs.

SYMPATHETIC INK. Write on paper with a solution of nitrate of bismuth, and smear the writing over with a feather, moistened with an infusion of galls. The letters which were before invisible, will now appear of a brown colour. Or write with a solution of muriate of antimony, and smear the writing over with a feather dipped in a solution of galls. The writing before invisible, will now turn yellow. Or write with a transparent infusion of gall nuts, and smear it over with a solution of metallic salt; and on a slight exposure to the air, the writing will turn quite black. If written with a solution of sulphate of iron, and rubbed over with a solution of prussiate of potass, it will appear of a beautiful blue colour.

SYRUP OF CREAM. Scald a pint of perfectly fresh cream, add to it a pound and a quarter of powdered lump sugar. Keep it in a cool place for two or three hours, then put it into small phials, holding one or two ounces each, and cork it close. It will keep good thus for several weeks, and will be found very useful in voyages.

SYRUP OF DIACODIUM. Steep two pounds and a quarter of poppy heads in a gallon of water, and let it infuse twenty-four hours. Boil the infusion till reduced to three pints, and add to it a pound and a half of sugar.

SYRUP OF MULBERRIES. Put the mulberries into a jar, and the jar into a kettle of water over the fire, till the juice runs from them. Then squeeze the fruit, and add to the juice twice its weight in sugar. Set it over a slow fire, skim it clean, and keep it simmering till the sugar is all dissolved.



T.

TABLE BEER. If the quantity to be brewed is taken as a barrel, or six and thirty gallons, two bushels and a half of malt will be sufficient. The dimensions of the vessels may be supposed to correspond with those used in a moderate family, and the copper holding about thirty gallons. A quantity of boiling water being poured into the mash tub, is suffered to remain there till the steam is nearly all evaporated. The malt previously ground, is then thrown into the water, and thoroughly stirred and mixed with it. This agitation of the malt and water, commonly called mashing, is kept up for a quarter of an hour, by which the malt is more effectually brought into contact with the water, and a greater proportion of its soluble matter extracted. After this the mash tub is covered over in order to retain as much heat as possible, and the whole is suffered to remain undisturbed for an hour and a half or two hours. At the end of that time, the water thus impregnated with the malt, in which state it is commonly called sweet wort, is slowly drawn off into another vessel. The quantity of water used in the first mashing is about twenty-five gallons; of which, not above fifteen are afterwards obtained, the rest being absorbed by the malt, with the exception of a small quantity carried off by evaporation. This first wort being drawn off from the malt, a fresh portion of hot water is thrown into the mash tub, and the process of mashing is repeated for ten minutes. The tub being again covered, the whole is suffered to remain for about an hour, when a second wort is drawn off. The quantity of water used in this second mashing is about fifteen gallons; and the malt having already retained as much water as is sufficient to saturate it, the whole amount of the fifteen gallons is afterwards recovered from the mash tub. About twelve gallons of hot water is now added to the malt, and the mixture being mashed for a few minutes, is suffered to remain another hour, in order to form a third wort. In the meantime a part of the two first worts is poured into the copper, with a pound and a half or two pounds of hops, and boiled for an hour, or an hour and a half; after which it is strained through a sieve into another vessel. The third wort is now drawn off from the mash tub, and being mixed with the remaining part of the first and second wort, it is boiled for an hour or more, with the hops used in the former instance. The three worts are then distributed into shallow vessels or coolers, and suffered to remain there till the liquor is reduced to a lukewarm state. It is then collected into the tun tub, and fermented with about a quart of yeast, which converts it into beer. But as table beer is sometimes brewed in considerable quantities for the use of large families, and in a still more economical manner, an estimate will be given, in order to show the saving that is made in private brewing. The following is a preparation for ten barrels.

L s. d. Malt, one quarter 2 10 0 Hops, eight pounds 0 10 0 Colouring, ditto 0 4 0 Spanish liquorice, 8oz. 0 0 8 Treacle, ten pounds 0 3 4 ————- 3 8 0 ————- Ten barrels bought at the brewery at 16s. 8 0 0 Ten barrels brewed at home 3 8 0 ————- Clear gain 4 12 0 ————-

Liquorice root and other flavouring substances may be added: what are here inserted are only the general requisites.—Another way of making a cheap and wholesome table beer, is to dissolve four pounds of coarse sugar in ten gallons of water. Then put in three ounces of hops, boil the whole for three quarters of an hour, and let it work as usual. It should be kept a week or ten days before it is tapped, and it will improve daily afterwards, if not kept too long. Or for a still smaller quantity, put a pound of treacle to eight quarts of boiling water: add two bay leaves, and a quarter of an ounce of powdered ginger. Boil the whole for fifteen minutes, then let it cool, and work it with yeast.

TAINTED MEAT. When the weather is so hot that meat will scarcely keep from day to day, wrapping it in a thin cloth dipped in vinegar, and not wrung very dry, will help to keep it from being tainted. Or rubbing the meat with black pepper will preserve it, and let it be hung up as usual. It is much better however, that meat should not be kept so long as to risk its being tainted.

TAN GLOVES. To dye gloves to look like York tan or Limerick, put some saffron into a pint of water boiling hot, and let it infuse all night. Next morning wet the leather over with a brush, but take care that the tops of the gloves be sewn close, to prevent the colour from getting in.

TANSEY. To make a tansey, beat up seven eggs, yolks and whites separately. Add a pint of cream, nearly the same of spinach juice, and a little tansey juice, gained by pounding it in a stone mortar; a quarter of a pound of Naples biscuit, a glass of white wine, and a little sugar and nutmeg. Set all in a saucepan, just to thicken, over the fire; then put it into a dish, lined with paste to turn out, and bake it.—Another. Beat ten eggs very well with a little salt, half a pound of loaf sugar pounded, half a pint of spinach juice, and a spoonful of the juice of tansey; mix them well together, and strain it to a quart of cream; grate in half a pound of Naples biscuits, and a nutmeg; add a quarter of a pound of Jordan almonds blanched and beat fine, with a little rose water, and mix all well together; put it into a stewpan, with a piece of butter the bigness of a golden pippin. Set it over a slow charcoal fire; keep it stirring till it is hardened; then butter a dish very well, that will just hold it: put in the tansey, bake it in a moderate oven, taking care that it is not scorched. When it comes home, turn it upon a pie plate, cut Seville oranges in small quarters, and lay round it, and on the tansey, citron, and orange peel cut thin, with double refined sugar laid in little heaps between. If you have not Naples biscuits, grate seven ounces of the finest stale bread you have.—A boiled tansey. Cut the crumb of a stale penny loaf thin, pour over as much hot cream as will wet it, and cover it over till cold; then beat and strain six eggs to it, a little lemon peel shred fine, a little grated nutmeg, and salt; green it as you did the baked tansey, and sweeten it to your taste; stir all very well together, butter a bason, that will hold it, butter also a cloth to lay over the top, tie it tight, and boil it an hour and quarter; turn it into a dish, and garnish with Seville orange; stick candied orange cut thin on the top.

TANSEY PUDDING. Grate four ounces of bread, blanch two ounces of sweet almonds, and beat them fine in a marble mortar, with orange-flower water. Mix these, and four ounces of fine powdered sugar with the bread. Add five eggs, a little salt, a pint of cream, a grated nutmeg, half a pint of spinach juice expressed from the leaves, beaten in a marble mortar, and strained through a cloth, and two or three spoonfuls of tansey juice beaten out and strained in the same manner. Stir the whole together, and put it into a saucepan with a small piece of butter. Set it over the fire till it thickens, stirring it all the time, but do not let it boil. When done, cool it in a basin, then pour it into a dish well buttered, and bake it half an hour. Turn it out of the dish before it is sent to table, sift some fine sugar over it, and lay a Seville orange round it cut in pieces, and squeeze the juice upon it.

TAPIOCA JELLY. Choose the largest sort, pour on cold water to wash in two or three times, and then soak it in fresh water five or six times. Simmer it in the same until it become quite clear, with a bit of lemon peel. Then add lemon juice, wine, and sugar.

TAPIOCA PUDDING. Wash six spoonfuls of the large kind of tapioca, and stew it gently in a quart of milk till it is pretty thick. Let it stand uncovered to cool. Add two eggs well beaten with some salt, and sugar to the taste. Bake it with a crust round the edge of a dish, in a moderate oven, for an hour.

TAR WATER. Pour a gallon of cold water on a quart of tar, and stir and mix them thoroughly with a ladle or flat stick, for the space of three or four minutes; after which the vessel must stand forty-eight hours, that the tar may have time to subside; when the clear water is to be poured off, and kept for use, no more being made from the same tar, which may still serve for common purposes. The general rule for taking it is, about half a pint night and morning, on an empty stomach, which quantity may be varied according to the case and age of the patient; provided it be always taken on an empty stomach, and about two hours before or after a meal. Tar water cures indigestion, and gives a good appetite. It is an excellent medicine in an asthma; it imparts a kindly warmth, and quick circulation to the juices, without heating, and is therefore useful, not only as a pectoral and balsamic, but also as a powerful and a safe deobstruent in cachectic and hysteric cases. As it is both healing and diuretic, it is very good for the gravel. It is believed to be of great use in a dropsy, having been known to cure a very bad anasarca in a person whose thirst, though very extraordinary, was in a short time removed by the drinking of tar water. It is also believed to be the best and safest medicine, either for preventing the gout, or for so strengthening nature against the fit, as to drive it from the vitals. It may likewise be safely used in inflammatory cases; and, in fact, hath been found an admirable febrifuge, at once the safest cooler and cordial. The salts and more active spirits of tar are got by infusion in cold water; but the resinous part is not to be dissolved thereby. Hence the prejudice which some, perhaps, may entertain against tar water, the use of which might inflame the blood by its sulphur and resin, as a medicine, appears not to be well grounded. It is observed by chemists, that all sorts of balsamic wood afford an acid spirit, which is the volatile oily salt of the vegetable. Herein is chiefly contained their medicinal virtues; and it appears that the acid spirit in tar water possesses the virtues, in an eminent degree, of that of guaiacum, and other medicinal woods. It is certain tar water warms, and therefore some may perhaps still think it cannot cool. The more effectually to remove this prejudice, let it be farther considered, that, as on one hand, opposite causes do sometimes produce the same effect; for instance, heat by rarefaction, and cold by condensation, do both increase the air's elasticity; so, on the other hand, the same cause shall sometimes produce opposite effects. Heat, for instance, in one degree thins, in another coagulates, the blood. It is not therefore strange, that tar water should warm one habit and cool another; have one good effect on a cold constitution, and another good effect on an inflamed one; nor, if this be so, that it should cure opposite disorders. A medicine of so great virtue in so many different disorders, and especially in that grand enemy the fever, must needs be a benefit to mankind in general. There are nevertheless three sorts of people to whom it may be peculiarly recommended; seafaring persons, ladies, and men of studious and sedentary lives. If it be asked, what precise quantity, or degree of strength is required in tar water? It is answered, that the palate, the stomach, the particular case and constitution of the patient, the very season of the year, will dispose and require him to drink more or less in quantity, stronger or weaker in degree. Precisely to measure its strength by a scrupulous exactness, is by no means necessary. It is to be observed, that tar water should not be made in unglazed earthen vessels, these being apt to communicate a nauseous sweetness to the water. Tar water is also recommended in the plague, and for the distemper among horned cattle; with what success must be left to experience.

TARRAGON VINEGAR. Fill a wide-mouthed bottle with tarragon leaves, gathered on a dry day, just before the plant begins to flower. Dry the leaves a little before the fire, steep them a fortnight in the best vinegar, and strain it fine through a flannel jelly bag. Pour it into half-pint bottles, cork them up carefully, and keep them in a dry place. This forms an agreeable addition to soups and salad sauce, and to mix with mustard.

TARTAR WINE. Add to a quantity of mare's milk a sixth part of water, and pour the mixture into a wooden vessel. Use as a ferment an eighth part of sour cow's milk; but at any future preparation, a small portion of old koumiss will answer better. Cover the vessel with a thick cloth, and set it in a place of moderate warmth, leaving it at rest for twenty four hours. At the end of this time the milk will become sour, and a thick substance will be gathered on its surface. Now with a churn-staff, beat it till the thick substance just mentioned, be intimately blended with the subjacent fluid. In this situation leave it at rest for twenty four hours more. Afterwards pour it into a higher and narrower vessel, resembling a churn, where the agitation must be repeated as before, till the liquor appear to be perfectly combined. In this state it is called koumiss, the taste of which ought to be a pleasant mixture of sweet and sour. Agitation must be employed every time before it is used. This wine, prepared by the Tartars, is cooling and antiseptic. Sometimes aromatic herbs, as angelica, are infused in the liquor during fermentation.

TARTS. Sweetmeats made with syrups are formed into pies and tarts the same as raw fruits, and the same crusts may be used for them. Tarts made of any kind of jam are usually formed with a crust round the bottom of the dish, the sweetmeat is then put in, and little ornaments of crust placed over the top, made with a jagging iron. Sugar paste is suitable for these. Little tartlets are made in the same way, only baked in tins and turned out.——Take apples, or pears, cut them in small quarters, and set them over the fire, with a piece of lemon peel, and some cinnamon; let them simmer in as much water as will cover them, till tender; and if you bake them in tin pattipans, butter them first, and lay over a thin paste; lay in some sugar, then the fruit, with three or four tea-spoonfuls of the liquor they were simmered in; put in a little more sugar, and lid them over. If your tarts are made of apricots, green almonds, nectarines, or green plums, they must be scalded before you use them, and observe to put nothing to them but sugar, and as little water as possible; make use of the syrup they were scalded in, as you did for your apples, &c. Cherries, currants, raspberries, and all ripe fruits need not be scalded; and if you make your tarts in china, or glass patties, lay the sugar at bottom, then the fruit, with a little more sugar on the top; put no paste at the bottom, only lid them over, and bake them in a slack oven. You have receipts how to make crust for tarts; mince pies must be baked in tin patties, that you may slip them out into a dish, and a puff paste is the best for them. When you make sweetmeat tarts, or a crocant tart, lay in the sweetmeats, or preserved fruit either in glass or china patties that are small, for that purpose; lay a very thin crust on the top, and let them be baked no more than till your crust is nicely coloured, and that in a slow oven. If you would have a crocant tart for the middle of the table, or a side-dish, have a glass, or china dish, of what size you please, and lay in the preserved fruit of different sorts, (you must have a round cover just the size of the inside of your dish) roll out a sugar crust, the thickness of an half crown, and lay over the cover; mark it with marking irons made on purpose for that use, of what shapes you please; then put the crust, with the cover, into a very slack oven, not to discolour it, only to have it crisp. When you take it out of the oven, loosen it from the cover very gently, and when quite cold, take it carefully off, and lay over your sweetmeats, and it being hollow, you will see the fruit through it. If the tart is not eaten, only take off the lid, and your sweetmeats may be put into the pots again.

TEA. The habit of drinking tea frequently, and in large quantities, cannot fail to be injurious, as it greatly weakens and relaxes the tone of the stomach. This produces indigestion, nervous trembling and weakness, attended with a pale, wan complexion. When tea is taken only at intervals, and after solid food, it is salutary and refreshing; but when used as a substitute for plain nourishing diet, as is too commonly the case amongst the lower classes, it is highly pernicious, especially as large quantities of a spurious description are too frequently imposed upon the public. The policy which compels a very numerous class to purchase this foreign article, for procuring which immense sums are sent out of the country, while the produce of our own soil is comparatively withheld by an exorbitant system of taxation, cannot be too severely condemned, as alike injurious to health, to the interests of agriculture, and to the comfort and industry of the people. The duty on foreign tea has indeed been greatly encreased, but at the same time, so has the duty on malt and beer; no encouragement therefore is given to the home consumption, but the money which ought to be paid for the production of barley and malt is given to the foreigner, while by the enormous price of the article, a powerful stimulus is furnished for attempting an illicit importation, and for the pernicious adulteration of what is now esteemed almost a common necessary of life. It is desirable to lessen the injurious effects of tea as much as possible by mixing it with milk, which will render it softer and more nutritious. With the addition of sugar it may be made to form a wholesome breakfast for those who are strong and live freely, operating as a diluent for cleansing the bladder and kidnies, and the alimentary passages. Persons of weak nerves ought however to abstain from tea, as they would from drains and cordials, as it causes the same kind of irritation on the delicate fibres of the stomach, which ends in lowness, trembling, and vapours. Tea should never be drunk hot at any time, as it tends still more to produce that relaxation which ought to be carefully avoided. Green tea is less wholesome than black or bohea.

TEA CAKES. Rub four ounces of butter into eight ounces of flour, mix with it eight ounces of currants, and six of fine Lisbon sugar. Add two yolks and one white of eggs, and a spoonful of brandy. Roll the paste about the thickness of a biscuit, and cut it out with a wine glass into little cakes. The white of the other egg beaten up, may be washed over them, and then they may be dusted with fine sugar.

TEA-KETTLES. Hard water used for tea is apt to form an offensive crust inside the tea-kettle, which may be prevented by frequent cleaning, or putting a flat oyster shell at the bottom. This will attract the stony particles that are in the water, and the concretion will be formed upon it.

TEA-POTS. An infusion of tea is always more perfect in a metal tea-pot, than in one of stone or earthenware. If boiling water be poured into two tea-pots, one of bright silver or polished tin, and the other of black stoneware, and they be left in a room of moderate temperature, it will be found that the former will retain its heat nearly twice as long as the other. Tea-pots of polished metal are therefore to be preferred.

TEATS. Sore teats, in Neat Cattle, is an affection in those of the cow kind, to which some are much more subject than others; especially such as have newly or lately calved. When the teats of these animals are affected during the summer months, they often become ulcerated, and by the teazing of the flies, the cattle are rendered difficult to be milked; they also become a very great nuisance at the periods of milking, as the discharges from them are apt, without much attention, to pass between the fingers of the operator into the milk-pail, and spoil the milk. The affection is caused by inflammation, irritation, and too much distention of the parts by the milk. In order to the removal of it, the milk should be first frequently drawn, and the parts well washed with soft soap and warm water; after which, a substance composed of elder ointment and wax melted together, to which is then added a little alum and sugar of lead, in fine powder, may be used to the parts after milking at night and in the morning; or a weak solution of white vitriol and a little sugar of lead, in soft water may be made use of in the same way, in some cases, with more advantage. The addition of a little assafoetida, and such like substances, in powder, is, it is said, beneficial in the summer season in driving away the flies. Great care is to be taken to keep the teats as clean as possible during the time of cure.

TEETH AND GUMS. In order to preserve the teeth and gums, they require to be cleaned very carefully; for if the enamel of the teeth be worn off by an improper mode of cleaning, they will suffer more injury than by a total neglect. A common skewer of soft wood, bruised and bitten at the end, will make the best brush for this purpose. Once a week dip the skewer brush into a few grains of gunpowder, after they have been bruised, and it will remove every spot and blemish till the teeth appear beautifully white. The mouth should be well washed after the operation, to prevent any ill effects of the gunpowder. Teeth, if not regularly cleaned, are apt to contract a false kind of enamel which is injurious to the gums, leaving the fangs of the teeth bare, so that they are soon destroyed, by being exposed to the air, and for want of being protected by the gums. This tartarous enamel must therefore be scaled off, that the gums may grow up to their proper place. Raspberries or strawberries eaten plentifully have been found to dissolve these concretions, and contribute to the preservation of the teeth and gums. Tooth powders and tinctures also have their use. A very convenient powder may be made of charcoal pounded in a mortar, and sifted fine. Apply a little of it to the teeth twice a week, and it will not only render them beautifully white, but also make the breath sweet, and the gums firm and comfortable. The charcoal may be ground in water, and so preserved for use. A tincture for the gums may be made of three ounces of the tincture of bark, and half an ounce of sal ammoniac, mixed together. Dip the finger into a tea-spoonful of the tincture, and rub the gums and teeth with it, which are afterwards to be washed with warm water. This tincture not only cures the toothache, but preserves the teeth and gums, and causes them to adhere to each other.

TENANT AT SUFFERANCE. When a lease is expired, and the tenant keeps possession without any new contract, he is deemed a tenant at sufferance. But on the landlord's acceptance of any rent after the expiration of the lease, the tenant may hold the premises from year to year, till half a year's notice is given.

TENANT AT WILL. A tenant at will is one who holds an estate or tenement at the will of the landlord, and may at any time be ejected. Meanwhile he is at liberty to leave when he chooses, on giving proper notice, and cannot be compelled to occupy.

TENCH. These are a fine flavoured fresh-water fish, and should be killed and dressed as soon as caught. They abound very much in the dykes of Lincolnshire. When they are to be bought, examine whether the gills are red and hard to open, the eyes bright, and the body stiff. The tench has a slimy matter about it, the clearness and brightness of which indicate freshness. The season for this delicate fish is July, August, and September. When to be dressed, put them into cold water, boil them carefully, and serve with melted butter and soy. They are also very fine stewed, or fricasseed, as follows. To fricassee tench white. Having cleaned your tench very well, cut off their heads, slit them in two, and if large, cut each half in three pieces, if small, in two: melt some butter in a stewpan, and put in your tench; dust in some flour, and pour in some boiling water, and a few mushrooms, and season it with salt, pepper, a bundle of sweet herbs, and an onion stuck with cloves: when this boils, pour in a pint of white wine boiling hot; let it stew till sufficiently wasted; take out the fish, and strain the liquor, saving the mushrooms; bind your fricassee with the yolk of three or four eggs beaten up with a little verjuice, some parsley chopped fine, and a little nutmeg grated; stir it all the time it boils, scum it very clean, pour your sauce over the fish, and send it to table.—To fricassee tench brown. Prepare your tench as in the other receipt; put some butter and flour into a stewpan, and brown it; then put in the tench with the same seasoning you did your white fricassee; when you have tossed them up, moisten them with a little fish broth; boil a pint of white wine, and put to your fricassee, stew it till enough, and properly wasted; then take the fish up, and strain the liquor, bind it with a brown cullis, and serve it up. If asparagus or artichokes are in season, you may boil these, and add them to your fricassee.

TENCH BROTH. Clean the fish, and set them on the fire with three pints of water; add some parsley, a slice of onion, and a few peppercorns. Simmer till the fish is broken, the broth become good, and reduced one half. Add some salt, and strain it off. Tench broth is very nutricious, and light of digestion.

THICK MILK. Beat up an egg, and add to it a tea spoonful of flour. Mix it smooth with a tea-spoonful of cold milk, and put to it a pint of boiling milk. Stir it over a slow fire till it boils, then pour it out, and add a little sugar and nutmeg. The saucepan should have a little cold water put into it first, to prevent the milk from burning at the bottom, or marbles boiled in it will answer the same purpose.

THICKENED GRAVY. To a quart of gravy allow a table-spoonful of thickening, or from one to two table-spoonfuls of flour, according to the thickness required. Put a ladleful of the gravy into a basin with the thickening, stir it up quick, add the rest by degrees, till it is all well mixed. Then pour it back into a stewpan, and leave it by the side of the fire to simmer for half an hour longer, that the thickening may be thoroughly incorporated with the gravy. Let it neither be too pale nor too dark a colour. If not thick enough, let it stew longer, or add to it a little glaze or portable soup. If too thick, it may be diluted with a spoonful or too of warm broth or water.

THICKENED SOUP. Put into a small stewpan three table-spoonfuls of the fat taken off the soup, and mix it with four table-spoonfuls of flour. Pour in a ladleful of the soup, mix it with the rest by degrees, and boil it up till it is smooth. This may be rendered more savoury by adding a little ketchup. The soup should be strained through a tammis.

THICKENING. Clarified butter is best for this purpose, or put some fresh butter into a stewpan over a slow clear fire. When it is melted, add fine flour sufficient to make it the thickness of paste. Stir it well together with a wooden spoon for fifteen or twenty minutes, till it is quite smooth, and the colour of a guinea. This must be done very gradually and patiently, or it will be spoiled. Pour it into an earthen pan, and it will keep good a fortnight in summer, and longer in winter. Particular attention must be paid in making it; if it gets any burnt smell or taste, it will spoil every thing it is put into. When cold, it should be thick enough to cut out with a knife, like a solid paste. This is a very essential article in the kitchen, and the basis of consistency in most made dishes, soups, sauces, and ragouts. In making this thickening, the less butter and the more flour is used the better. They must be thoroughly worked together, and the broth or soup added by degrees. Unless well incorporated, the sauce will taste floury, and have a greasy disagreeable appearance. To prevent this, it must be finished and cleansed, after it is thickened, by adding a little broth or warm water, and setting it by the side of the fire to raise any fat that is not thoroughly incorporated with the gravy, that it may be carefully removed as it comes to the top. Some cooks merely thicken their soups and sauces with flour, or the farina of potatoe; and others use the fat skimmings off the top of broth, as a substitute for butter.

THORNS AND SPLINTERS. To run prickles or thorns, such as those of roses, thistles, and chesnuts, or little splinters of wood or bone, into the hands, feet, or legs, is a very common accident, and provided any such substance be immediately extracted, it is seldom attended with any bad consequences. But the more certain prevention is a compress of linen dipped in warm water, and applied to the part, or to bathe it a little while in warm water. If the thorn or splinter cannot be extracted directly, or if any part of it be left in, it causes an inflammation, and nothing but timely precaution will prevent its coming to an abscess. A plaster of shoemaker's wax spread upon leather, draws these wounds remarkably well. When it is known that any part of the splinter remains, an expert surgeon would open the place and take it out; but if it be unobserved, as will sometimes happen when the substance is very small, till the inflammation begins, and no advice can at once be procured, the steam of water should be applied to it first, and then a poultice of bread crumb and milk, with a few drops of peruvian balsam. It is quite necessary that the injured part should be kept in the easiest posture, and as still as possible. If this does not soon succeed, good advice must be procured without delay, as an accident of this kind neglected, or improperly treated, may be the occasion of losing a limb. In this and all other cases of inflammation, a forbearance from animal food and fermented liquors, is always advisable.

THRUSH. This disorder in children affects the mouth and throat, and sometimes the stomach. In the former case it will be sufficient to cleanse the mouth with a little sage tea, sweetened with the honey of roses, and mixed with a dram of borax. In the latter, great benefit may be derived from a decoction of carrots in water, or an ounce of linseed boiled in a pint of water till reduced to a consistence, and sweetened with two ounces of honey, a table-spoonful of which may be given occasionally. This complaint may generally be prevented by a due attention to cleanliness, daily washing and bathing the child in lukewarm water, washing its mouth after it has been applied to the breast, giving it pure air, and removing any obstruction in the bowels by the use of manna or tamarinds.

THYME. These plants may be easily raised from seed, by slipping the roots and branches, and by cuttings; but the seed method is seldom practised, except with the second sort, or garden thyme. The seed should be sown in the early spring on light, rich, dry ground, which should be properly dug over, and the surface be made moderately smooth with the spade. As the seed is small, it should not be sown too thick, or be covered too deep: the seed is best sown while the ground is fresh stirred, either broad-cast on the surface, raking it in lightly, or in flat shallow drills, earthed over thinly: the plants appear in two or three weeks. It is necessary to be careful to keep them well weeded, giving occasional light waterings in dry weather; and by June they will require thinning, especially if the plants are to grow stocky, and with bushy full heads; in which case they should be set out to six or eight inches distance; when those thinned out may be planted in another place, in rows six or eight inches asunder, giving water till fresh rooted, keeping the whole clean from weeds by occasional hoeing between them in dry days, which will also stir the surface of the earth, and much improve the growth of the plants: they will be in perfection for use in summer, or early in autumn. Some think the common thyme best cultivated for kitchen use in beds or borders, in rows at least half a foot apart, employing for the purpose either the young seedling plants, which are fit to set out, or the root slips of old plants, each of which soon increase into plants of bushy growths proper for being cropped for the above use. It may also often be well cultivated as an edging to herbary and other compartments; in both of which methods the plants multiply exceedingly fast by offsets, and are abiding, furnishing the means of great future increase. Some should, however, always be annually raised from seed in the above manner, as such plants possess a stronger aromatic quality than those from old ones. When it is intended to increase any particular varieties, and continue them the same with certainty, it can only be effected by slips and cuttings. In respect to the offsets and slips, all the sorts multiply by offsets of the root and slips of the branches: the rooted slips are the most expeditious method, as the old plants increase into many offset stems rising from the root, each furnished with fibres; and by taking up the old plants in the spring, &c. and slipping or dividing them into separate parts, not too small, with roots to each, and planting them in beds of good earth, in rows half a foot asunder, giving water directly, and repeating it occasionally in dry weather till they have taken root, and begin to shoot at top; they soon grow freely, and form good bushy plants in two or three months. The strong slips of the branches without roots, succeed when planted any time in the early spring season in a shady border, in rows four or five inches distant, giving due waterings; and become good plants by autumn, when they may be planted out where they are to remain. The cuttings of the young branches grow readily, the same as the slips, when planted at the same season in a shady place, and well watered. The common thyme is in universal use as a pot-herb for various culinary purposes; it may also be employed in assemblage with other small plants, to embellish the fronts of flower-borders, shrubbery clumps, small and sloping banks, &c. placing the plants detached or singly, to form little bushy tufts, and in which the variegated sorts, and the silver thyme and lemon thyme particularly, form a very agreeable variety. The lemon thyme is also in much estimation for its peculiar odoriferous smell. Some of each of these sorts may also be potted, in order to be moved occasionally to any particular places as may be required, and under occasional shelter in severe winters, to preserve the plants more effectually in a lively state; likewise some of the mastick thyme. Spanish and Portugal thymes are also sometimes potted for the same purpose, and to place under the protection of a garden frame or greenhouse in winter, to continue them in a more fresh and lively growth; and sometimes some of the smaller thymes are sown or planted for edgings to particular beds or borders for variety, such as the lemon thyme, silver-leaved and variegated sorts; also occasionally the common thyme; and all kept low, close and regular, by clipping them at the sides and tops annually in the summer season. All the several sorts and varieties possess an aromatic quality, which principally resides in the leaves, whence it is imparted and affords a line agreeable fragrance. But the first three kinds are much the most noted and valued in kitchen gardens, and more especially the common thyme, which is so very useful as a culinary herb.

TIN COVERS. Properly to clean tin covers and pewter pots, get the finest whiting, which is only sold in large cakes, the small being mixed with sand. Powder and mix a little of it with a drop of sweet oil, rub the pots and covers well with it, and wipe them clean. Then dust over some dry whiting in a muslin bag, and rub the articles bright with dry leather. The last is to prevent rust, which must be carefully guarded against by wiping thoroughly dry, and setting them by the fire when they come from table. If covers are once hung up without wiping, the steam will be sure to rust the inside.

TINCTURE OF ALLSPICE. Bruise three ounces of allspice, and steep it in a quart of brandy. Shake it up occasionally and after a fortnight pour off the clear liquor. It makes a most grateful addition in all cases where allspice is used, in gravies, or to flavour and preserve potted meats.

TINCTURE OF BARK. To make the compound tincture, take two ounces of Peruvian bark powdered, half an ounce of Seville orange peel, and half an ounce of bruised cinnamon. Infuse the whole in a pint and a half of brandy, let it stand five or six days in a close vessel, and then strain off the tincture. Take one or two tea-spoonfuls twice a day in any suitable liquor, sharpened with a few drops of the spirits of vitriol. This tincture is highly beneficial in intermitting fevers, and in slow, nervous, or putrid fevers, especially towards their decline.

TINCTURE OF CINNAMON. This exhilirating cordial is made by pouring a bottle of the best brandy on three ounces of bruised cinnamon. A tea-spoonful of it, and a lump of sugar, in a glass of good sherry or madeira, with the yolk of an egg beaten up in it, was formerly considered as the balsam of life. Two tea-spoonfuls of it in a wine glass of water, are at present a very pleasant remedy in nervous languors, and in relaxations of the bowels. In the latter case, five drops of laudanum may be added to each dose.