he is the best carver who fills the plates of the greatest numbers of guests in the least portion of time, provided it be done with ease and elegance. In a mere family circle, where all cannot and ought not to be choosers, it is far better to fill the plates and send them round, rather than ask each individual what particular part they would prefer; and if in a larger company a similar plan were introduced, it would be attended with many advantages. A dexterous carver, would help half a dozen people in less time than is often wasted in making civil faces to a single guest. He will also cut fair, and observe an equitable distribution of the dainties he is serving out. It would save much time, if poultry, especially large turkeys and geese, were sent to table ready cut up. When a lady presides, the carving knife should be light, of a middling size, and of a fine edge. Strength is less required than address, in the manner of using, it; and to facilitate this, the butcher should be ordered to divide the joints of the bones, especially of the neck, breast, and loin of mutton, lamb, and veal; which may then be easily cut into thin slices attached to the adjoining bones. If the whole of the meat belonging to each bone should be too thick, a small slice may be taken off between every two bones. The more fleshy joints, as fillet of veal, leg or saddle of mutton and beef, are to be helped in thin slices, neatly cut and smooth; observing to let the knife pass down to the bone in the mutton and beef joints. The dish should not be too far off the carver, as it gives an awkward appearance, and makes the task more difficult. In helping fish, take care not to break the flakes; which in cod and very fresh salmon are large, and contribute much to the beauty of its appearance. A fish knife, not being sharp, divides it best on this account. Help a part of the roe, milt or liver, to each person. The heads of carp, part of those of cod and salmon, sounds of cod, and fins of turbot, are likewise esteemed niceties, and are to be attended to accordingly. In cutting up any wild fowl, duck, goose, or turkey, for a large party, if you cut the slices down from pinion to pinion, without making wings, there will be more prime pieces. But that the reader may derive the full advantage of these remarks, we shall descend to particulars, and illustrate the subject with a variety of interesting Plates, which will show at the same time the manner in which game and poultry should be trussed and dished.——COD'S HEAD. Fish in general requires very little carving, the fleshy parts being those principally esteemed. A cod's head and shoulders, when in season, and properly boiled, is a very genteel and handsome dish. When cut, it should be done with a fish trowel, and the parts about the backbone on the shoulders are the firmest and the best. Take off a piece quite down to the bone, in the direction a, b, c, d, putting in the spoon at a, c, and with each slice of fish give a piece of the sound, which lies underneath the backbone and lines it, the meat of which is thin, and a little darker coloured than the body of the fish itself. This may be got by passing a knife or spoon underneath, in the direction of d, f. About the head are many delicate parts, and a great deal of the jelly kind. The jelly part lies about the jaw, bones, and the firm parts within the head. Some are fond of the palate, and others the tongue, which likewise may be got by putting a spoon into the mouth.——EDGE BONE OF BEEF. Cut off a slice an inch thick all the length from a to b, in the figure opposite, and then help. The soft fat which resembles marrow, lies at the back of the bone, below c; the firm fat must be cut in horizontal slices at the edge of the meat d. It is proper to ask which is preferred, as tastes differ. The skewer that keeps the meat properly together when boiling is here shewn at a. This should be drawn out before it is served up; or, if it is necessary to leave the skewer in, put a silver one.——SIRLOIN OF BEEF may be begun either at the end, or by cutting into the middle. It is usual to enquire whether the outside or the inside is preferred. For the outside, the slice should be cut down to the bones; and the same with every following helping. Slice the inside likewise, and give with each piece some of the soft fat. The inside done as follows eats excellently. Have ready some shalot vinegar boiling hot: mince the meat large, and a good deal of the fat; sprinkle it with salt, and pour the shalot vinegar and the gravy on it. Help with a spoon, as quickly as possible, on hot plates.——ROUND OR BUTTOCK OF BEEF is cut in the same way as fillet of veal, in the next article. It should be kept even all over. When helping the fat, observe not to hack it, but cut it smooth. A deep slice should be cut off the beef before you begin to help, as directed above for the edge-bone.——FILLET OF VEAL. In an ox, this part is round of beef. Ask whether the brown outside be liked, otherwise help the next slice. The bone is taken out, and the meat tied close, before dressing, which makes the fillet very solid. It should be cut thin, and very smooth. A stuffing is put into the flap, which completely covers it; you must cut deep into this, and help a thin slice, as likewise of fat. From carelessness in not covering the latter with paper, it is sometimes dried up, to the great disappointment of the carver.——BREAST OF VEAL. One part, called the brisket, is thick and gristly; put the knife about four inches from the edge of this, and cut through it, which will separate the ribs from the brisket.——CALF'S HEAD has a great deal of meat upon it, if properly managed. Cut slices from a to b, letting the knife go close to the bone. In the fleshy part, at the neck end c, there lies the throat sweetbread, which you should help a slice of from c to d with the other part. Many like the eye, which must be cut out with the point of a knife, and divided in two. If the jaw-bone be taken off, there will be found some fine lean. Under the head is the palate, which is reckoned a nicety; the lady of the house should be acquainted with all things that are thought so, that she may distribute them among her guests.——SHOULDER OF MUTTON. This is a very good joint, and by many preferred to the leg; it being very full of gravy, if properly roasted, and produces many nice bits. The figure represents it as laid in the dish with its back uppermost. When it is first cut, it should be in the hollow part of it, in the direction of a, b, and the knife should be passed deep to the bone. The prime part of the fat lies on the outer edge, and is to be cut out in thin slices in the direction e. If many are at table, and the hollow part cut in the line a, b, is eaten, some very good and delicate slices may be cut out on each side the ridge of the blade-bone, in the direction c, d. The line between these two dotted lines, is that in the direction of which the edge or ridge of the blade-bone lies, and cannot be cut across.——LEG OF MUTTON. A leg of wether mutton, which is the best flavoured, may be known by a round lump of fat at the edge of the broadest part, as at a. The best part is in the midway, at b, between the knuckle and further end. Begin to help there, by cutting thin deep slices to c. If the outside is not fat enough, help some from the side of the broad end in slices from e to f. This part is most juicy; but many prefer the knuckle, which in fine mutton will be very tender though dry. There are very fine slices on the back of the leg: turn it up, and cut the broad end, not in the direction you did the other side, but longways. To cut out the cramp bone, take hold of the shank with your left hand, and cut down to the thigh bone at d; then pass the knife under the cramp bone in the direction, d, g.——FORE QUARTER OF LAMB. Separate the shoulder from the scoven, which is the breast and ribs, by passing the knife under in the direction of a, b, c, d; keeping it towards you horizontally, to prevent cutting the meat too much off the bones. If grass lamb, the shoulder being large, put it into another dish. Squeeze the juice of half a Seville orange or lemon on the other part, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Then separate the gristly part from the ribs in the line e, c; and help either from that or from the ribs, as may be chosen.——HAUNCH OF VENISON. Cut down to the bone in the line a, b, c, to let out the gravy. Then turn the broad end of the haunch toward you, put in the knife at b, and cut as deep as you can to the end of the haunch d; then help in thin slices, observing to give some fat to each person. There is more fat, which is a favourite part, on the left side of c and d than on the other: and those who help must take care to proportion it, as likewise the gravy, according to the number of the company.—HAUNCH OF MUTTON is the leg and part of the loin, cut so as to resemble a haunch of venison, and is to be helped at table in the same manner.——SADDLE OF MUTTON. Cut long thin slices from the tail to the end, beginning close to the back bone. If a large joint, the slice may be divided. Cut some fat from the sides.——HAM may be cut three ways. The common method is, to begin in the middle, by long slices from a to b, from the centre through the thick fat. This brings to the prime at first, which is likewise accomplished by cutting a small round hole on the top of the ham, as at c, and with a sharp knife enlarging that by cutting successive thin circles: this preserves the gravy, and keeps the meat moist. The last and most saving way is, to begin at the hock end, which many are most fond of, and proceed onwards. Ham that is used for pies, &c. should be cut from the under side, first taking off a thick slice.——SUCKING PIG. The cook usually divides the body before it is sent to table, and garnishes the dish with the jaws and ears. The first thing is, to separate a shoulder from the carcase on one side, and then the leg, according to the direction given by the dotted line a, b, c. The ribs are then to be divided into about two helpings, and an ear or jaw presented with them, and plenty of sauce. The joints may either be divided into two each, or pieces may be cut from them. The ribs are reckoned the finest part, but some people prefer the neck end, between the shoulders.——GOOSE. Cut off the apron in the circular line a, b, c, and pour into the body a glass of port wine, and a large tea-spoonful of mustard, first mixed at the sideboard. Turn the neck end of the goose towards you, and cut the whole breast in long slices from one wing to another; but only remove them as you help each person, unless the company is so large as to require the legs likewise. This way gives more prime bits than by making wings. Take off the leg, by putting the fork into the small end of the bone, pressing it to the body; and having passed the knife at d, turn the leg back, and if a young bird, it will easily separate. To take off the wing, put your fork into the small end of the pinion, and press it close to the body; then put in the knife at d, and divide the joint, taking it down in the direction d, e. Nothing but practice will enable people to hit the joint dexterously. When the leg and wing of one side are done, go on to the other; but it is not often necessary to cut up the whole goose, unless the company be very large. There are two side bones by the wing, which may be cut off; as likewise the back and lower side bones: but the best pieces are the breast and the thighs, after being divided from the drum-sticks.——HARE. The best way of cutting it up is, to put the point of the knife under the shoulder at a, and so cut all the way down to the rump, on one side of the back-bone, in the line a, b. Do the same on the other side, so that the whole hare will be divided into three parts. Cut the back into four, which with the legs is the part most esteemed. The shoulder must be cut off in a circular line, as c, d, a. Lay the pieces neatly on the dish as you cut them; and then help the company, giving some pudding and gravy to every person. This way can only be practised when the hare is young. If old, do not divide it down, which will require a strong arm: but put the knife between the leg and back, and give it a little turn inwards at the joint; which you must endeavour to hit, and not to break by force. When both legs are taken off, there is a fine collop on each side the back; then divide the back into as many pieces as you please, and take of the shoulders, which are by many preferred, and are called the sportman's pieces. When every one is helped, cut off the head; put your knife between the upper and lower jaw, and divide them, which will enable you to lay the upper one flat on your plate; then put the point of the knife into the centre, and cut the head into two. The ears and brains may be helped then to those who like them.——Carve RABBITS as directed the latter way for hare; cutting the back into two pieces, which with the legs are the prime.——A FOWL. The legs of a boiled fowl are bent inwards, and tucked into the belly; but before it is served, the skewers are to be removed. Lay the fowl on your plate; and place the joints, as cut off, on the dish. Take the wing off in the direction of a to b, in the annexed engraving, only dividing the joint with your knife; and then with your fork lift up the pinion, and draw the wing towards the legs, and the muscles will separate in a more complete form than if cut. Slip the knife between the leg and body, and cut to the bone; then with the fork turn the leg back, and the joint will give way if the bird is not old. When the four quarters are thus removed, take off the merrythought from a, and the neck bones; these last by putting in the knife at c, and pressing it under the long broad part of the bone in the line c, b. Then lift it up, and break it off from the part that sticks to the breast. The next thing is, to divide the breast from the carcase, by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast, quite down to the tail. Then lay the back upwards, put your knife into the bone half-way from the neck to the rump, and on raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from you, and very neatly take off the two sidebones, and the whole will be done. As each part is taken off, it should be turned neatly on the dish, and care should be taken that what is left goes properly from table. The breast and wings are looked upon as the best parts, but the legs are most juicy in young fowls. After all, more advantage will be gained by observing those who carve well, and a little practice, than by any written directions whatever.——A PHEASANT. The bird in the annexed engraving is as trussed for the spit, with its head under one of its wings. When the skewers are taken out, and the bird served, the following is the way to carve it. Fix a fork in the centre of the breast; slice it down in the line a, b; take off the leg on one side in the dotted line b, d; then cut off the wing on the same side in the line c, d. Separate the leg and wing on the other side, and then cut off the slices of breast you divided before. Be careful how you take off the wings; for if you should cut too near the neck, as at g, you will hit on the neck-bone, from which the wing must be separated. Cut off the merrythought in the line f, g, by passing the knife under it towards the neck. Cut the other parts as in a fowl. The breast, wings, and merrythought, are the most esteemed; but the leg has a higher flavour.——PARTRIDGE. The partridge is here represented as just taken from the spit; but before it is served up, the skewers must be withdrawn. It is cut up in the same manner as a fowl. The wings must be taken off in the line a, b, and the merrythought in the line c, d. The prime parts of a partridge are the wings, breast, and merrythought; but the bird being small, the two latter are not often divided. The wing is considered as the best, and the tip of it reckoned the most delicate morsel of the whole.——PIGEONS. Cut them in half, either from top to bottom or across. The lower part is generally thought the best; but the fairest way is to cut from the neck to a, rather than from c to b, by a, which is the most fashionable. The figure represents the back of the pigeon; and the direction of the knife is in the line c, b, by a, if done the last way.

CASKS. New casks are apt to give beer a bad taste, if not well scalded and seasoned before they are used. Boil therefore two pecks of bran or malt dust in a copper of water, pour it hot into the cask, stop it close, and let it stand two days. Then wash it clean, and dry it fit for use. Old casks are apt to grow musty, if allowed to stand by neglected; they should therefore be closely stopped as soon as emptied. When tainted, put in some lime, fill up with water, and let them stand a day or two. If this be not sufficient, the head must be taken out, the inside well scoured, and the head replaced.

CATERPILLARS. These noxious insects, sustained by leaves and fruit, have been known in all ages and nations for their depredations on the vegetable world. In August and September they destroy cabbages and turnips in great abundance, and commit their ravages in fields and gardens whenever the easterly winds prevail. Various means have been devised for their destruction, and any of the following which may happen to be the most convenient, may be employed with very good effect. Mix and heat three quarts of water and one quart of vinegar, put in a full pound of soot, and stir it with a whisk till the whole is incorporated. Sprinkle the plants with this preparation, every morning and evening, by dipping in a brush and shedding it over them; and in a few days all the cankers will disappear. Or sow with hemp all the borders where cabbages are planted, so as to enclose them, and not one of these vermin will approach. When gooseberry or currant bushes are attacked, a very simple expedient will suffice. Put pieces of woollen rags in every bush, the caterpillars will take refuge in them during the night, and in the morning quantities of them may thus be taken and destroyed. If this do not succeed, dissolve an ounce of alum in a quart of tobacco liquor; and as soon as the leaves of the plants or bushes appear in the least corroded, sprinkle on the mixture with a brush. If any eggs be deposited, they never come forward after this application; and if changed into worms they will sicken and die, and fall off. Nothing is more effectual than to dust the leaves of plants with sulphur put into a piece of muslin, or thrown upon them with a dredging box: this not only destroys the insects, but materially promotes the health of the plants. When caterpillars attack fruit trees, they may be destroyed by a strong decoction of equal quantities of rue, wormwood, and tobacco, sprinkled on the leaves and branches while the fruit is ripening. Or take a chafing-dish of burning charcoal, place it under the branches of the bush or tree, and throw on it a little brimstone. The vapour of the sulphur, and the suffocating fume arising from the charcoal, will not only destroy all the insects, but prevent the plants from being infested with them any more that season. Black cankers, which commit great devastation among turnips, are best destroyed by turning a quantity of ducks into the field infested by them. Every fourth year these cankers become flies, when they deposit their eggs on the ground, and thus produce maggots. The flies on their first appearance settle on the trees, especially the oak, elm, and maple: in this state they should be shaken down on packsheets, and destroyed. If this were done before they begin to deposit their eggs on the ground, the ravages of the canker would in a great measure be prevented.

CAUDLE. Make a fine smooth gruel of half grits, strain it after being well boiled, and stir it at times till quite cold. When to be used, add sugar, wine, lemon peel and nutmeg. A spoonful of brandy may be added, and a little lemon juice if approved. Another way is to boil up half a pint of fine gruel, with a bit of butter the size of a large nutmeg, a spoonful of brandy, the same of white wine, one of capillaire, a bit of lemon peel and nutmeg.—Another. Beat up the yolk of an egg with sugar, mix it with a large spoonful of cold water, a glass of wine, and nutmeg. Mix it by degrees with a pint of fine gruel, not thick, but while it is boiling hot. This caudle is very agreeable and nourishing. Some add a glass of beer and sugar, or a tea-spoonful of brandy.—A caudle for the sick and lying-in is made as follows. Set three quarts of water on the fire, mix smooth as much oatmeal as will thicken the whole, with a pint of cold water; and when the water boils pour in the thickening, and add twenty peppercorns in fine powder. Boil it up to a tolerable thickness; then add sugar, half a pint of good table beer, and a glass of gin, all heated up together.

CAULIFLOWERS. Choose those that are close and white, cut off the green leaves, and see that there be no caterpillars about the stalk. Soak them an hour in cold water, then boil them in milk and water, and take care to skim the saucepan, that not the least foulness may fall on the flower. The vegetable should be served very white, and not boiled too much.—Cauliflower dressed in white sauce should be half boiled, and cut into handsome pieces. Then lay them in a stewpan with a little broth, a bit of mace, a little salt, and a dust of white pepper. Simmer them together half an hour; then add a little cream, butter, and flour. Simmer a few minutes longer, and serve them up.—To dress a cauliflower with parmesan, boil the vegetable, drain it on a sieve, and cut the stalk so that the flower will stand upright about two inches above the dish. Put it into a stewpan with a little white sauce, and in a few minutes it will be done enough. Then dish it with the sauce round, put parmesan grated over it, and brown it with a salamander.

CAULIFLOWERS RAGOUT. Pick and wash the cauliflowers very clean, stew them in brown gravy till they are tender, and season with pepper and salt. Put them in a dish, pour gravy on them, boil some sprigs of cauliflower white, and lay round.

CAYENNE. Those who are fond of this spice had better make it themselves of English capsicums or chillies, for there is no other way of being sure that it is genuine. Pepper of a much finer flavour may be obtained in this way, without half the heat of the foreign article, which is frequently adulterated and coloured with red lead. Capsicums and chillies are ripe and in good condition, during the months of September and October. The flavour of the chillies is superior to that of the capsicums, and will be good in proportion as they are dried as soon as possible, taken care that they be not burnt. Take away the stalks, put the pods into a cullender, and set them twelve hours before the fire to dry. Then put them into a mortar, with one fourth their weight of salt; pound and rub them till they are as fine as possible, and put the powder into a well-stopped bottle. A hundred large chillies will produce about two ounces of cayenne. When foreign cayenne is pounded, it is mixed with a considerable portion of salt, to prevent its injuring the eyes: but English chillies may be pounded in a deep mortar without any danger, and afterwards passed through a fine sieve.

CELERY SAUCE. Cut small half a dozen heads of clean white celery, with two sliced onions. Put them into a stewpan, with a small piece of butter, and sweat them over a slow fire till quite tender. Add two spoonfuls of flour, half a pint of broth, salt and pepper, and a little cream or milk. Boil it a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a fine hair sieve with the back of a spoon. When celery is not in season, a quarter of a dram of celery seed, or a little of the essence, will impregnate half a pint of sauce with all the flavour of the vegetable. This sauce is intended for boiled turkey, veal, or fowls.

CELERY SOUP. Split half a dozen heads of celery into slips about two inches long, wash them well, drain them on a hair sieve, and put them into a soup pot, with three quarts of clear gravy. Stew it very gently by the side of the fire, about an hour, till the celery is tender. If any scum arise, take it off, and season with a little salt. When celery cannot be procured, half a dram of the seed, pounded fine, will give a flavour to the soup, if put in a quarter of an hour before it is done. A little of the essence of the celery will answer the same purpose.

CELLARS. Beer and ale that have been well brewed, are often injured or spoiled in the keeping, for want of paying proper attention to the state of the cellar. It is necessary however to exclude as much as possible all external air from these depositaries, as the state of the surrounding atmosphere has a most material influence upon the liquor, even after it has been made a considerable time. If the cellar is liable to damps in the winter, it will tend to chill the liquor, and make it turn flat; or if exposed to the heat of summer, it will be sure to turn sour. The great object therefore is to have a cellar that is both cool and dry. Dorchester beer, generally in high esteem, owes much of its fineness to this circumstance. The soil in that county being very chalky, of a close texture and free from damps, the cellars are always cool and dry, and the liquors are found to keep in the best possible manner. The Nottingham ale derives much of its celebrity also from the peculiar construction of the cellars, which are generally excavated out of a rock of sand-stone to a considerable depth, of a circular or conical form, with benches formed all round in the same way, and on these the barrels are placed in regular succession.

CERATE. Half a pound of white wax, half a pound of calumine stone finely powdered, and a pint and a half of olive oil, will make an excellent cerate. Let the calumine be rubbed smooth with some of the oil, and added to the rest of the oil and wax, which should be previously melted together. Stir them together till they are quite cold.

CHARDOONS. To dress chardoons, cut them into pieces of six inches long, and tie them in a bunch. Boil them tender, then flour and fry them with a piece of butter, and when brown serve them up. Or tie them in bundles, and serve them on toast as boiled asparagus, with butter poured over. Another way is to boil them, and then heat them up in fricassee sauce. Or boil in salt and water, dry them, dip them into butter, fry, and serve them up with melted butter. Or having boiled, stew, and toss them up with white or brown gravy. Add a little cayenne, ketchup, and salt, and thicken with a bit of butter and flour.

CHARLOTTE. Rub a baking-dish thick with butter, and line the bottom and sides with very thin slices of white bread. Put in layers of apples thinly sliced, strewing sugar between, and bits of butter, till the dish is full. In the mean time, soak in warm milk as many thin slices of bread as will cover the whole; over which lay a plate, and a weight to keep the bread close on the apples. To a middling sized dish use half a pound of butter in the whole, and bake slowly for three hours.

CHEAP SOUP. Much nutricious food might be provided for the poor and necessitous, at a very trifling expence, by only adopting a plan of frugality, and gathering up the fragments, that nothing be lost. Save the liquor in which every piece of meat, ham, or tongue has been boiled, however salt; for it is easy to use only a part of it, and to add a little fresh water. Then, by the addition of more vegetables, the bones of meat used in the family, the pieces of meat that come from table on the plates, and rice, Scotch barley, or oatmeal, there will be some gallons of useful soup saved. The bits of meat should only be warmed in the soup, and remain whole; the bones and sinewy parts should be boiled till they yield their nourishment. If the fragments are ready to put into the boiler as soon as the meat is served, it will save lighting the fire, and a second cooking. Take turnips, carrots, leeks, potatoes, leaves of lettuce, or any sort of vegetable that is at hand; cut them small, and throw in with the thick part of peas, after they have been pulped for soup, and grits, or coarse oatmeal, which have been used for gruel. Should the soup be poor of meat, the long boiling of the bones, and different vegetables, will afford better nourishment than the laborious poor can generally obtain; especially as they are rarely tolerable cooks, and have not fuel to do justice to what they buy. In almost every family there is some superfluity; and if it be prepared with cleanliness and care, the benefit will be very great to the receiver, and the satisfaction no less to the giver. The cook or servant should never be allowed to wash away as useless, the peas or grits of which soup or gruel have been made, broken potatoes, the green heads of celery, the necks and feet of fowls, and particularly the shanks of mutton; all of which are capable of adding flavour and richness to the soup. The bones, heads, and fins of fish, containing a portion of isinglass, may also be very usefully applied, by stewing them in the water in which the fish is boiled, and adding it to the soup, with the gravy that is left in the dish. If strained, it considerably improves the meat soup, particularly for the sick; and when such are to be supplied, the milder parts of the spare bones and meat should be used, with very little of the liquor of the salt meats. If a soup be wanted for the weakly and infirm, put two cow heels and a breast of mutton into a large pan, with four ounces of rice, one onion, twenty corns of Jamaica pepper, and twenty black, a turnip, and carrot, and four gallons of water. Cover it with white paper, and bake it six hours.

CHEESE. This well-known article of domestic consumption, is prepared from curdled milk, cleared from the whey. It differs very much in quality and flavour, according to the pasture in which the cows feed, and the manner in which the article itself is made. The same land rarely produces very fine butter, and remarkably fine cheese; yet with proper management, it may give one pretty good, where the other excels in quality. Cheese made on the same land, from new milk, skimmed or mixed milk, will differ greatly, not only in richness, but also in taste. Valuable cheese may be made from a tolerable pasture, by taking the whole of two meals of milk, and proportioning the thickness of the vat to the quantity, rather than having a wide and flat one, as the former will produce the mellowest cheese. The addition of a pound of fresh-made butter of a good quality, will cause the cheese made on poor land to be of a very different quality from that usually produced by it. A few cheeses thus made, when the weather is not extremely hot, and when the cows are in full feed, are well adapted to the use of the parlour. Cheese for common family use may very well be produced by two meals of skim, and one of new milk; or on good land, by the skim milk only. The principal ingredient in making cheese is the rennet, maw, or inner part of a calf's stomach, which is cleaned, salted, and hung up in paper bags to dry. The night before it is used, it is washed and soaked in a little water. When the milk is ready, being put into a large tub, warm a part of it to the degree of new milk; but if made too hot, the cheese will be tough. Pour in as much rennet as will curdle the milk, and then cover it over. Let it stand till completely turned; then strike the curd down several times with the skimming dish, and let it separate, still keeping it covered. There are two modes of breaking the curd, and there will be a difference in the taste of the cheese, according as either is observed. One is to gather it with the hands very gently towards the side of the tub, letting the whey pass through the fingers till it is cleared; and lading it off as it collects. The other is, to get the whey from it by early breaking the curd. The last method deprives it of many of its oily particles, and is therefore less proper. In pursuing the process, put the vat on a ladder over the tub, and fill it with curd by means of the skimmer. Press the curd close with the hand, add more as it sinks, and finally leave it two inches above the edge. Before the vat is filled, the cheesecloth must be laid at the bottom; and when full, drawn smooth over on all sides. In salting the cheese, two modes may be adopted; either by mixing it in the curd while in the tub, after the whey is out, or by putting it in the vat, and crumbling the curd all to pieces with it, after the first squeezing with the hand has dried it. These different methods prevail in the different parts of the country. Put a board under and over the vat, and place it in the press: in two hours turn it out, and put in a fresh cheesecloth. Press it again for eight or nine hours, salt it all over, and turn it again in the vat. Let it stand in the press fourteen or sixteen hours, observing to put the cheeses last made undermost. Before putting them the last time into the vat, pare the edges if they do not look smooth. The vat should have holes at the sides, and at the bottom, to let all the whey pass through. Put on clean boards, and change and scald them. When cheese is made, care must be taken to preserve it sound and good. For this purpose wash it occasionally in warm whey, wipe it once a month, and keep it on a rack. If wanted to ripen soon, a damp cellar will bring it forward. When a whole cheese is cut, the inside of the larger quantity should be spread with butter, and the outside wiped, to preserve it. To keep those in daily use moist, let a clean cloth be wrung out from cold water, and wrapt round them when carried from the table. Dry cheese may be used to advantage to grate for serving with macaroni or eating without; and any thing tending to prevent waste, is of some consequence in a system of domestic economy. To preserve cheeses from decay, lay them in an airy situation, and cover them with dried leaves of the yellow star of Bethlehem. The tender branches of the common birch, will prevent the ravages of mites. If cheese get hard, and lose its flavour, pour some sweet wine over four ounces of pearlash, till the liquor ceases to ferment. Filter the solution, dip into it some clean linen cloths, cover the cheese with them, and put in a cool dry place. Turn the cheese every day, repeat the application for some weeks, and the cheese will recover its former flavour and goodness.

CHEESECAKES. Strain the whey from the curd of two quarts of milk; when rather dry, crumble it through a coarse sieve. With six ounces of fresh butter, mix one ounce of blanched almonds pounded, a little orange-flower water, half a glass of raisin wine, a grated biscuit, four ounces of currants, some nutmeg and cinnamon in fine powder. Beat them up together with three eggs, and half a pint of cream, till quite light: then fill the pattipans three parts full.—To make a plainer sort of cheesecakes, turn three quarts of milk to curd; break it and drain off the whey. When quite dry, break it in a pan, with two ounces of butter, till perfectly smooth. Add a pint and a half of thin cream or good milk, a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and three ounces of currants.—Another way is to mix the curd of three quarts of milk, a pound of currants, twelve ounces of Lisbon sugar, a quarter of an ounce of cinnamon, the same of nutmeg, the peel of one lemon chopped as fine as possible, the yolks of eight and the whites of six eggs, a pint of scalded cream and a glass of brandy. Put a light thin puff paste in the pattipans, and three parts fill them.

CHEESE PUFFS. Strain some cheese curd from the whey, and beat half a pint of it fine in a mortar, with a spoonful and a half of flour, three eggs, but only one white. Add a spoonful of orange-flower water, a quarter of a nutmeg, and sugar to make it pretty sweet. Lay a little of this paste, in small round cakes, on a tin plate. If the oven be hot, a quarter of an hour will bake them. Serve the puffs with pudding sauce.

CHERRY BRANDY. Stone ten pounds of black cherries, bruise the stones in a mortar, and put them to a gallon of the best brandy. Let it stand a month close covered, pour it clear from the sediment, and bottle it. Morella cherries managed in this way will make a fine rich cordial.

CHERRY JAM. To twelve pounds of ripe fruit, Kentish or duke cherries, weigh one pound of sugar. Break the stones of part, and blanch them; then put them to the fruit and sugar, and boil all gently till the jam comes clear from the pan. Pour it into china plates to come up dry to the table, and keep it in boxes with white paper between.

CHERRY PIE. This should have a mixture of other fruit; currants or raspberries, or both. Currant pie is also best with raspberries.

CHERRY WINE. Mash some ripe cherries, and press them through a hair sieve. Allow three pounds of lump sugar to two quarts of juice, stir them together till the sugar is dissolved, and fill a small barrel with the liquor. Add a little brandy, close down the bung when it has done hissing, let it stand six months and bottle it off.

CHERRIES IN BRANDY. Weigh some fine morellas, cut off half the stalk, prick them with a new needle, and drop them into a jar or wide-mouth bottle. Pound three quarters of the weight of sugar or white candy, and strew over; fill the bottle up with brandy, and tie a bladder over.

CHERVIL SAUCE. The flavour of this fine herb, so long a favourite with the French cook, is a strong concentration of the combined taste of parsley and fennel, but more aromatic and agreeable than either, and makes an excellent sauce for boiled poultry or fish. Wash the chervil, and pick it very clean; put a tea-spoonful of salt into half a pint of boiling water, boil the chervil about ten minutes, drain it on a sieve, and mince it very fine. Put it into a sauce boat, mix with it by degrees some good melted butter, and send it up in the boat.

CHESHIRE CHEESE. In preparing this article, the evening's milk is not touched till the next morning, when the cream is taken off and warmed in a pan, heated with boiling water; one third part of the milk is heated in a similar manner. The cows being milked early in the morning, the new milk, and that of the preceding night thus prepared, are poured into a large tub along with the cream. A piece of rennet kept in lukewarm water since the preceding evening, is put into the tub in order to curdle the milk, and the curd is coloured by an infusion of marigolds or carrots being rubbed into it. It is then stirred together, covered up warm, and allowed to stand about half an hour till it is coagulated; when it is first turned over with a bowl to separate the whey from the curds, and broken soon after into small pieces. When it has stood some time, the whey is taken out, and a weight laid at the bottom of the tub to press out the remainder. As soon as it becomes more solid, it is cut into slices, and turned over several times to extract all the whey, and again pressed with weights. Being taken out of the tub, it is broken very small, salted, and put into a cheese vat. It is then strongly pressed and weighted, and wooden skewers are placed round the cheese, which are frequently drawn out. It is then shifted out of the vat with a cloth placed at the bottom; and being turned it is put into the vat again. The upper part is next broken by the hand down to the middle, salted, pressed, weighted, and skewered as before, till all the whey is extracted. The cheese is then reversed into another vat, likewise warmed with a cloth under it, and a tin hoop put round the upper part of the cheese. These operations take up the greater part of the forenoon; the pressing of the cheese requires about eight hours more, as it must be twice turned in the vat, round which thin wire skewers are passed, and shifted occasionally. The next morning it ought to be turned and pressed again; and on the following day the outside is salted, and a cloth binder tied round it. The outsides are sometimes rubbed with butter, in order to give them a coat; and being turned and cleaned every day, they are left to dry two or three weeks.

CHICKENS. Fowls are chiefly considered as an article of luxury, and are generally sold at a high price; yet the rearing of them is seldom productive of much pecuniary advantage. They are liable to innumerable accidents in their early stages, which require incessant watchfulness and care; and if the grain on which they feed is to be purchased, the labour and expence are scarcely requited by the price they bear in the market. The Irish peasantry are in the habit of rearing a great number of fowls, by substituting the offal of potatoes instead of grain; but the flesh is neither so firm nor so good as that of chickens raised in England. It is much to be desired therefore, that encouragement could be given to the cottagers of this country for rearing a larger quantity of poultry, by means less expensive than the present, in order that the market might be supplied on better terms with an article of food so fine and delicate, and in such general respect. Various artificial means have been used for brooding chickens, in order to increase their number, and to bring them forward at an earlier season, but none of them have been found to answer, though in Egypt immense quantities are raised every year by the heat of ovens, bringing the eggs to a state of maturity. A well-fed hen is supposed to lay about two hundred eggs in a year; but as she does not sit more than once or twice in that time, it is but a small quantity of chickens that can be hatched in the usual way, and it would be highly desirable if some other expedient could be devised.—The most expeditious way of fattening chickens is to mix a quantity of rice flour sufficient for present use, with milk and a little coarse sugar, and stir it over the fire till it comes to a thick paste. Feed the chickens with it while it is warm by putting as much into their coops as they can eat; and if a little beer be given them to drink, it will fatten them very soon. A mixture of oatmeal and treacle made into crumbs is also good food for chickens; and they are so fond of it, that they will grow and fatten much faster than in the common way. Poultry in general should be fed in coops, and kept very clean. Their common food is barley meal mixed with water: this should not be put in troughs, but laid upon a board, which should be washed clean every time fresh food is put upon it. The common complaint of fowls, called the pip, is chiefly occasioned by foul and heated water being given them. No water should be allowed, more than is mixed up with their food; but they should often be provided with some clean gravel in their coop.—The method of fattening poultry for the London market, is liable to great objection. They are put into a dark place, and crammed with a paste made of barley meal, mutton suet, treacle or coarse sugar, mixed with milk, which makes them ripe in about a fortnight; but if kept longer, the fever that is induced by this continual state of repletion, renders them red and unsaleable, and frequently kills them. Air and exercise are as indispensable to the health of poultry as to other animals; and without it, the fat will be all accumulated in the cellular membrane, instead of being dispersed throughout the system. A barn-door fowl is preferable to any other, only that it cannot be fatted in so short a time.

CHICKEN BROTH. Having boiled a chicken for panada, take off the skin and the rump, and put it into the water it was boiled in. Add one blade of mace, a slice of onion, and ten corns of white pepper. Simmer it till the broth be of a pleasant flavour, adding a little water if necessary. Beat a quarter of an ounce of sweet almonds with a tea-spoonful of water till it is quite fine, boil it in the broth, and strain it. When cold, remove the fat.

CHICKEN CURRIE. Cut up the chicken raw, slice onions, and fry both in butter with great care, of a fine light brown; or if chickens that have been dressed are used, fry only the onions. Having cut the joints into two or three pieces each, lay them in a stewpan, with veal or mutton gravy, and a clove or two of garlic. Simmer till the chicken is quite tender. Half an hour before serving it up, rub smooth a spoonful or two of currie powder, a spoonful of flour, and an ounce of butter; and add this to the stew, with four large spoonfuls of cream, and a little salt. Squeeze in a small lemon, when the dish is going to table.—A more easy way to make currie is to cut up a chicken or young rabbit; if chicken, take off the skin. Roll each piece in a mixture of a large spoonful of flour, and half an ounce of currie powder. Slice two or three onions, and fry them in butter, of a light brown; then add the meat, and fry all together till the meat begin to brown. Put all into a stewpan, cover it with boiling water, and simmer very gently two or three hours. If too thick, add more water half an hour before serving. If the meat has been dressed before, a little broth will be better than water, but the currie is richer when made of fresh meat. Slices of underdone veal, turkey, or rabbit, will make excellent currie. A dish of rice boiled dry should be served with it.

CHICKEN PANADA. Boil a chicken in a quart of water, till about three parts ready. Take off the skin, cut off the white meat when cold, and pound it to a paste in a marble mortar, with a little of the liquor it was boiled in. Season it with a little salt, a grate of nutmeg, and the least bit of lemon peel. Boil it gently for a few minutes till it be tolerably thick, but so it may be drank. The flesh of a chicken thus reduced to a small compass, will be found very nourishing.

CHICKEN PIE. Cut up two young fowls, season them with white pepper, salt, a little mace, nutmeg, and cayenne, all finely powdered. Put alternately in layers the chicken, slices of ham, or fresh gammon of bacon, forcemeat balls, and eggs boiled hard. If baked in a dish, add a little water, but none if in a raised crust. Prepare some veal gravy from the knuckle or scrag, with some shank-bones of mutton, seasoned with herbs, onions, mace, and white pepper, to be poured into the pie when it returns from the oven. If it is to be eaten hot, truffles, morels, and mushrooms may be added; but not if it is to be eaten cold. If baked in a raised crust, the gravy must be nicely strained, and then put in cold as jelly. To make the jelly clear, give it a boil with the whites of two eggs, after taking away the meat, and then run it through a fine lawn sieve.—Rabbits, if young and fleshy, will make as good a pie. Their legs should be cut short, and their breast-bones must not go in, but will help to make the gravy.

CHICKEN SAUCE. An anchovy or two boned and chopped, some parsley and onion chopped, and mixed together, with pepper, oil, vinegar, mustard, walnut or mushroom ketchup, will make a good sauce for cold chicken, veal, or partridge.

CHILI VINEGAR. Slice fifty English chilies, fresh and of a good colour, and infuse them in a pint of the best vinegar. In a fortnight, this will give a much finer flavour than can be obtained from foreign cayenne, and impart an agreeable relish to fish sauce.

CHIMNEY PIECES. To blacken the fronts of stone chimney-pieces, mix oil varnish with lamp black that has been sifted, and a little spirit of turpentine to thin it to the consistence of paint. Wash the stone very clean with soap and water, and sponge it with clear water. When perfectly dry, brush it over twice with this colour, leaving it to dry between the times, and it will look extremely well.

CHINA. Broken china may be repaired with cement, made of equal parts of glue, the white of an egg, and white-lead mixed together. The juice of garlic, bruised in a stone mortar, is also a fine cement for broken glass or china; and if carefully applied, will leave no mark behind it. Isinglass glue, mixed with a little finely sifted chalk, will answer the same purpose, if the articles be not required to endure heat or moisture.

CHINA CHILO. Mince a pint-basonful of undressed neck or leg of mutton, with some of the fat. Put into a stewpan closely covered, two onions, a lettuce, a pint of green peas, a tea-spoonful of salt, the same quantity of pepper, four spoonfuls of water, and two or three ounces of clarified butter. Simmer them together two hours, add a little cayenne if approved, and serve in the middle of a dish of boiled dry rice.

CHINE OF BACON. One that has been salted and dried requires to be soaked several hours in cold water, and scraped clean. Then take a handful of beech, half as much parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and a little sage, finely chopped together. Make some holes in the chine with the point of a knife, fill them with the herbs, skewer the meat up in a cloth, and boil it slowly about three hours. A dried pig's face is cooked in the same manner, adding a little salt, pepper, and bread crumbs to the stuffing.

CHOCOLATE. Those who use much of this article, will find the following mode of preparing it both useful and economical. Cut a cake of chocolate into very small pieces, and put a pint of water into the pot; when it boils, put in the chocolate. Mill it off the fire till quite melted, then on a gentle fire till it boil; pour it into a bason, and it will keep in a cool place eight or ten days or more. When wanted, put a spoonful or two into some milk; boil it with sugar, and mill it well. If not made too thick, this will form a very good breakfast or supper.

CHOCOLATE CREAM. Scrape into one quart of thick cream, an ounce of the best chocolate, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Boil and mill it: when quite smooth, take it off the fire, and leave it to be cold. Then add the whites of nine eggs; whisk it, and take up the froth on sieves, as other creams are done. Serve up the froth in glasses, to rise above some of the cream.

CHOLIC. Young children are often afflicted with griping pains in the bowels; and if attended with costiveness, it will be necessary to give them very small doses of manna and rhubarb every half hour, till they produce the desired effect. When the stools are green, a few drams of magnesia, with one or two of rhubarb, according to the age of the patient, may be given with advantage; but the greatest benefit will be derived from clysters made of milk, oil and sugar, or a solution of white soap and water. A poultice of bread, milk and oil, may likewise be applied to the lower part of the belly, and frequently renewed with a little warm milk to give it a proper consistence. The cholic in adults arises from a variety of causes, not easily distinguished except by professional persons; and therefore it is absolutely necessary to abstain from all violent remedies, or it may be attended with fatal consequences. Nothing can be applied with safety but emollient clysters and fomentations, and to drink copiously of camomile tea, or any other diluting liquor, till the spasms be relieved, and the nature of the disease more clearly understood. Persons who are subject to the bilious cholic in particular, should abstain from acrid, watery and oily food, especially butter, fat meat, and hot liquors: and pursue a calm and temperate course of life.

CHOPPED HANDS. Wash in common water, and then in rose water, a quarter of a pound of hog's lard not salted; mix with it the yolks of two new laid eggs, and a large spoonful of honey. Add as much fine oatmeal, or almond paste, as will work it into a paste; and by frequently rubbing it on the hands, it will keep them smooth, and prevent their being chopped.

CHOPPED LIPS. Put into a new tin saucepan, a quarter of an ounce of benjamin, storax, and spermaceti, two pennyworth of alkanet root, a large juicy apple chopped, a bunch of black grapes bruised, a quarter of a pound of unsalted butter, and two ounces of bees wax. Simmer them together till all be dissolved, and strain it through a linen. When cold melt it again, and pour it into small pots or boxes, or make it into cakes on the bottoms of tea-cups.

CHUMP OF VEAL. To dress it a-la-daube, cut off the chump end of the loin, take out the edge bone, stuff the hollow with good forcemeat, tie it up tight, and lay it in a stewpan with the bone that was taken out, a little faggot of herbs, an anchovy, two blades of mace, a few white peppercorns, and a pint of good veal broth. Cover the veal with slices of fat bacon, and lay a sheet of white paper over it. Cover the pan close, simmer it two hours, then take out the bacon, and glaze the veal. Serve it on mushrooms, with sorrel sauce, or any other that may be preferred.

CHURNING. In order to prepare for this important operation, the milk when drawn from the cow, and carefully strained through a cloth or hair sieve, should be put into flat wooden trays about three inches deep, and perfectly clean and cool. The trays are then to be placed on shelves, till the cream be completely separated; when it is to be nicely taken off with a skimming dish, without lifting or stirring the milk. The cream is then deposited in a separate vessel, till a proper quantity is collected for churning. In hot weather, the milk should stand only twenty-four hours, and be skimmed early in the morning before the dairy becomes warm, or in the evening after sun-set. In winter the milk may remain unskimmed for six and thirty or even eight and forty hours. The cream should be preserved in a deep pan during the summer, and placed in the coolest part of the dairy, or in a cellar where free air is admitted. The cream which rises first to the surface is richer in quality, and larger in quantity, than what rises afterwards. Thick milk produces a smaller proportion of cream than that which is thinner, though the former is of a richer quality: if therefore the thick milk be diluted with water, it will afford more cream, but its quality will be inferior. Milk carried about in pails, and partly cooled before it be strained and poured into the trays, never throws up such good and plentiful cream, as if it had been put into proper vessels immediately after it came from the cow. Those who have not an opportunity of churning every other day, should shift the cream daily into clean pans, in order to keep it cool; but the churning should take place regularly twice a week in hot weather, and in the morning before sun-rise, taking care to fix the churn in a free circulation of air. In the winter time, the churn must not be set so near the fire as to heat the wood, as by this means the butter will acquire a strong rancid flavour. Cleanliness being of the utmost importance, the common plunge-churn is preferable to any other; but if a barrel-churn be requisite in a large dairy, it must be kept thoroughly clean with salt and water. If a plunge-churn be used, it may be set in a tub of cold water during the time of churning, which will harden the butter in a considerable degree. The motion of the churn should be regular, and performed by one person, or the butter will in winter go back; and if the agitation be violent and irregular, the butter will ferment in summer, and acquire a disagreeable flavour. The operation of churning may be much facilitated by adding a table-spoonful or two of distilled vinegar to a gallon of cream, but not till after the latter has undergone considerable agitation. In many parts of England, butter is artificially coloured in winter, though it adds nothing to its goodness. The juice of carrots is expressed through a sieve, and mixed with the cream when it enters the churn, to give it the appearance of May butter. Very little salt is used in the best Epping butter; but a certain proportion of acid, either natural or artificial, must be used in the cream, in order to secure a successful churning. Some keep a small quantity of the old cream for that purpose; some use a little rennet, and others a few tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice. It has been ascertained however, by a variety of experiments, that it is more profitable to churn the cream, than to churn the whole milk, as is practised in some parts of the country. Cream butter is also the richest of the two, though it will not keep sweet so long.

CIDER. Particular caution is requisite in bottling this useful beverage, in order to its being well preserved. To secure the bottles from bursting, the liquor must be thoroughly fine before it be racked off. If one bottle break, it will be necessary to open the remainder, and cork them up again. Weak cider is more apt to burst the bottles, than that of a better quality. Good corks, soaked in hot water, will be more safe and pliant; and by laying the bottles so that the liquor may always keep the corks wet and swelled, will tend much to its preservation. For this purpose the ground is preferable to a frame, and a layer of sawdust better than the bare floor; but the most proper situation would be a stream of running water. In order to ripen bottled liquors, they are sometimes exposed to moderate warmth, or the rays of the sun, which in a few days will bring them to maturity.

CIDER CUP. To make a cooling drink, mix together a quart of cider, a glass of white wine, one of brandy, one of capillaire, the juice of a lemon, a bit of the peel pared thin, a sprig of borage or balm, a piece of toasted bread, and nutmeg grated on the top.

CINNAMON CAKES. Whisk together in a pan six eggs, and two table-spoonfuls of rose water. Add a pound of fine sugar sifted, a desert-spoonful of pounded cinnamon, and flour sufficient to make it into a paste. Roll it out, cut it into cakes, and bake them on writing paper.

CITRON PUDDING. Boil some Windsor beans quite soft, take off the skins, and beat a quarter of a pound of them into a paste. Then add as much butter, four eggs well beaten, with some sugar and brandy. Put a puff-paste in the dish, lay some slices of citron on it, pour in the pudding, garnish with bits of citron round the edge of the dish, and bake it in a moderate oven.

CLARIFIED BROTH. Put broth or gravy into a clean stewpan, break the white and shell of an egg, beat them together and add them to the broth. Stir it with a whisk; and when it has boiled a few minutes, strain it through a tammis or a napkin.

CLARIFIED BUTTER. To make clarified butter for potted things, put some butter into a sauceboat, and set it over the fire in a stewpan that has a little water in it. When the butter is dissolved, the milky parts will sink to the bottom, and care must be taken not to pour them over things to be potted.

CLARIFIED DRIPPING. Mutton fat taken from the meat before it is roasted, or any kind of dripping, may be sliced and boiled a few minutes; and when it is cold, it will come off in a cake. This will make good crust for any sort of meat pie, and may be made finer by boiling it three or four times.

CLARIFIED SUGAR. Break in large lumps as much loaf sugar as is required, and dissolve it in a bowl, allowing a pound of sugar to half a pint of water. Set it over the fire, and add the white of an egg well whipt. Let it boil up; and when ready to run over, pour in a little cold water to give it a check. But when it rises the second time, take it off the fire, and set it by in a pan a quarter of an hour. The foulness will sink to the bottom, and leave a black scum on the top, which must be taken off gently with a skimmer. Then pour the syrup very quickly from the sediment, and set it by for sweetmeats.

CLARIFIED SYRUP. Break two pounds of double-refined sugar, and put it into a stewpan that is well tinned, with a pint of cold spring water. When the sugar is dissolved, set it over a moderate fire. Beat up half the white of an egg, put it to the sugar before it gets warm, and stir it well together. As soon as it boils take off the scum, and keep it boiling till it is perfectly clear. Run it through a clean napkin, put it into a close stopped bottle, and it will keep for months, as an elegant article on the sideboard for sweetening.

CLARY WINE. Boil fifteen gallons of water, with forty-five pounds of sugar, and skim it clean. When cool put a little to a quarter of a pint of yeast, and so by degrees add a little more. In the course of an hour put the smaller to the larger quantity, pour the liquor on clary flowers, picked in the dry: the quantity for the above is twelve quarts. If there be not a sufficient quantity ready to put in at once, more may be added by degrees, keeping an account of each quart. When the liquor ceases to hiss, and the flowers are all in, stop it up for four months. Rack it off, empty the barrel of the dregs, and add a gallon of the best brandy. Return the liquor to the cask, close it up for six or eight weeks, and then bottle it off.

CLEANLINESS. Nothing is more conducive to health than cleanliness, and the want of it is a fault which admits of no excuse. It is so agreeable to our nature, that we cannot help approving it in others, even if we do not practise it ourselves. It is an ornament to the highest as well as to the lowest station, and cannot be dispensed with in either: it ought to be cultivated everywhere, especially in populous towns and cities. Frequent washing not only improves the appearance, but promotes perspiration, by removing every impediment on the skin, while at the same time it braces the body, and enlivens the spirits. Washing the feet and legs in lukewarm water, after being exposed to cold and wet, would prevent the ill effects which proceed from these causes, and greatly contribute to health. Diseases of the skin, a very numerous class, are chiefly owing to the want of cleanliness, as well as the various kinds of vermin which infest the human body; and all these might be prevented by a due regard to our own persons. One common cause of putrid and malignant fevers is the want of cleanliness. They usually begin among the inhabitants of close and dirty houses, who breathe unwholesome air, take little exercise, and wear dirty clothes. There the infection is generally hatched, and spreads its desolation far and wide. If dirty people cannot be removed as a common nuisance, they ought at least to be avoided as infectious, and all who regard their own health should keep at a distance from their habitations. Infectious diseases are often communicated by tainted air: every thing therefore which gives a noxious exhalation, or tends to spread infection, should be carefully avoided. In great towns no filth of any kind should be suffered to remain in the streets, and great pains should be taken to keep every dwelling clean both within and without. No dunghills or filth of any kind should be allowed to remain near them. When an infection breaks out, cleanliness is the most likely means to prevent its spreading to other places, or its returning again afterwards. It will lodge a long time in dirty clothes, and be liable to break out again; and therefore the bedding and clothing of the sick ought to be carefully washed, and fumigated with brimstone. Infectious diseases are not only prevented, but even cured by cleanliness; while the slightest disorders, where it is neglected, are often changed into the most malignant. Yet it has so happened, that the same mistaken care which prevents the least admission of fresh air to the sick, has introduced the idea also of keeping them dirty; than which nothing can be more injurious to the afflicted, or more repugnant to common sense. In a room too, where cleanliness is neglected, a person in perfect health has a greater chance to become sick, than a sick person has to get well. It is also of great consequence, that cleanliness should be strictly regarded by those especially who are employed in preparing food; such as butchers, bakers, brewers, dairy maids, and cooks; as negligence in any of these may prove injurious to the public health. Good housekeepers will keep a careful eye on these things, and every person of reflection will see the necessity of cultivating general cleanliness as of great importance to the wellbeing of society.

CLEAR BROTH. To make a broth that will keep long, put the mouse round of beef into a deep pan, with a knuckle bone of veal, and a few shanks of mutton. Cover it close with a dish or coarse crust, and bake with as much water as will cover it, till the beef is done enough for eating. When cold, cover it close, and keep it in a cool place. When to be used, give it any flavour most approved.

CLEAR GRAVY. Slice some beef thin, broil a part of it over a very clear quick fire, just enough to give a colour to the gravy, but not to dress it. Put that and the raw beef into a very nicely tinned stewpan, with two onions, a clove or two, whole black pepper, berries of allspice, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Cover it with hot water, give it one boil, and skim it well two or three times. Then cover it, and simmer till it be quite strong.

CLOTHING. Those who regard their health should be careful to adapt their clothing to the state of the climate, and the season of the year. Whatever be the influence of custom, there is no reason why our clothing should be such as would suit an inhabitant of the torrid or the frigid zones, but of the state of the air around us, and of the country in which we live. Apparel may be warm enough for one season of the year, which is by no means sufficient for another; we ought therefore neither to put off our winter garments too soon, nor wear our summer ones too long. Every change of this sort requires to be made cautiously, and by degrees. In general, all clothes should be light and easy, and in no instance ought health and comfort to be sacrificed to pride and vanity. In the early part of life it is not necessary to wear many clothes: but in the decline of life, when many diseases proceed from a defect of perspiration, plenty of warm clothing is required. Attention should also be paid to the constitution, in this as well as in other cases. Some persons can endure either cold or heat better than others, and may therefore be less mindful of their clothing: the great object is to wear just so many garments as is sufficient to keep the body warm, and no more. Shoes in particular should be easy to the foot, and all tight bandages on every part of the body carefully avoided.

CLOUTED CREAM. String four blades of mace on a thread, put them to a gill of new milk, and six spoonfuls of rose water. Simmer a few minutes, then by degrees strain the liquor to the yolks of two eggs well beaten. Stir the whole into a quart of rich cream, and set it over the fire; keep it stirring till hot, but not boiling; pour it into a deep dish, and let it stand twenty-four hours. Serve it in a cream dish, to eat with fruits. Some prefer it without any flavour but that of cream; in which case use a quart of new milk and the cream, or do it as the Devonshire scalded cream. When done enough, a round mark will appear on the surface of the cream, the size of the bottom of the pan, which is called the ring; and when that is seen, remove the pan from the fire.

CLYSTER. A common clyster is made of plain gruel strained, and a table-spoonful of oil or salt. A pint is sufficient for a grown person.

COCK CHAFFERS. This species of the beetle, sometimes called the May bug, is a formidable enemy to the husbandman, and has been found to swarm in such numbers, as to devour every kind of vegetable production. The insect is first generated in the earth, from the eggs deposited by the fly in its perfect state. In about three months, the insects contained in these eggs break the shell, and crawl forth in the shape of a grub or maggot, which feeds upon the roots of vegetables, and continues in this state of secret annoyance for more than three years, gradually growing to the size of an acorn. It is the thick white maggot with a red head, so frequently found in turning up the soil. At the end of the fourth year, they emerge from the earth, and may be seen in great numbers in the mild evenings of May. The willow seems to be their favourite food; on this they hang in clusters, and seldom quit it till they have completely devoured its foliage. The most effectual way to destroy them, is to beat them off with poles, and then to collect and burn them. The smoke of burning heath, fern, or other weeds, will prevent their incursions in gardens, or expel them if they have entered.

COCK ROACHES. These insects, consisting of various species, penetrate into chests and drawers, and do considerable injury to linen, books, and other articles. They seldom appear till night, when they infest beds, and bite very severely, leaving an unpleasant smell. The best remedy is to fill an earthen dish with small beer, sweetened with coarse sugar, and set in the place infested. Lay a board against the pan, to form a kind of ladder, and the insects will ascend and fall into the liquor.

COCKLE KETCHUP. Open the cockles, scald them in their own liquor, and add a little water, if there be not enough; but it is better to have a sufficient quantity of cockles, than to dilute it with water. Strain the liquor through a cloth, and season it with savoury spices. If for brown sauce, add port, anchovies, and garlic: a bit of burnt sugar will heighten the colouring. If for white sauce, omit these, and put in a glass of sherry, some lemon juice and peel, mace, nutmeg, and white pepper.

COD FISH. In season from the beginning of December till the end of April. To be quite good, the fish should be thick at the neck, the flesh white and firm, the gills very red, and the eyes bright and fresh. When flabby, they are not good. The cod is generally boiled whole; but a large head and shoulders contain all that is relishing, the thinner parts being overdone and tasteless before the thick are ready. But the whole fish may often be purchased more reasonably; and the lower half, if sprinkled and hung up, will be in high perfection one or two days. Or it may be made salter, and served with egg sauce, potatoes, and parsnips. Small cod is usually very cheap. If boiled fresh, it is watery; but eats well if salted and hung up for a day, to give it firmness. Then it should be stuffed and boiled, or it is equally good broiled.

COD'S HEAD. The head and shoulders of the cod will eat much finer by having a little salt rubbed down the bone, and along the thick part, even if eaten the same day. Tie it up, put it on the fire in cold water sufficient to cover it, and throw a handful of salt into it. Great care must be taken to serve it up without the smallest speck of black, or scum. Garnish with plenty of double parsley, lemon, horse radish, and the milt, roe and liver, and fried smelts, if approved. If with smelts, no water must be suffered to hang about the fish, or the beauty and flavour of the smelts will be lost. Serve with plenty of oyster or shrimp sauce, anchovy and butter.

COD PIE. Take a piece of the middle of a small cod, and salt it well one night. Wash it the next day, season with pepper and salt, mixed with a very little nutmeg. Lay the meat in a dish, with the addition of a little good broth of any kind, and some bits of butter on it. Cover the dish with a crust, and bake it. When done, make a sauce of a spoonful of broth, a quarter of a pint of cream, a little flour and butter, and a dust of grated lemon and nutmeg. Give it one boil, and pour it into the pie. Oysters may be added, but parsley will do instead. Mackarel may be done in the same way, but must not be salted till they are used.

COD SOUNDS BOILED. Soak them in warm water half an hour, then scrape and clean them. If to be dressed white, boil them in milk and water. When tender, serve them up in a napkin, with egg sauce. The salt must not be much soaked out, unless for fricassee.

COD SOUNDS BROILED. Scald them in hot water, rub well with salt, pull off the dirty skin, and simmer them till tender. Then take them out, flour, and broil them. While this is doing, season a little brown gravy with pepper, salt, a tea-spoonful of soy, and a little mustard. Give it a boil with a little flour and butter, and pour it over the sounds.

COD SOUNDS RAGOUT. Having scalded, cleaned, and rubbed them well with salt, stew them in white gravy seasoned. Before they are served, add a little cream, butter and flour, gently boiling up. A bit of lemon peel, nutmeg, and the least pounded mace, will give it a good flavour.

COD SOUNDS LIKE CHICKENS. Carefully wash three large sounds, boil them in milk and water, but not too tender. When cold, put a forcemeat of chopped oysters, crumbs of bread, a bit of butter, nutmeg, pepper, salt, and the yolks of two eggs. Spread it thin over the sounds, roll up each in the form of a chicken, and skewer it. Then lard them as chickens, dust a little flour over, and roast them slowly in a tin oven. When done enough, pour over them a fine oyster sauce, and place them on the table as a side or corner dish.

CODLINS. This fruit may be kept for several months, if gathered of a middling size at midsummer, and treated in the following manner. Put them into an earthen pan, pour boiling water over them, and cover the pan with cabbage leaves. Keep them by the fire till ready to peel, but do not peel them; then pour off the water, and leave them cold. Place the codlins in a stone jar with a smallish mouth, and pour on the water that scalded them. Cover the pot with bladder wetted and tied very close, and then over it coarse paper tied again. The fruit is best kept in small jars, such as will be used at once when opened.

CODLIN CREAM. Pare and core twenty good codlins; beat them in a mortar with a pint of cream, and strain it into a dish. Put to it sugar, bread crumbs, and a glass of wine; and stir it well.

CODLIN TART. Scald the fruit, and take off the skin. Put a little of the liquor on the bottom of a dish, lay in the apples whole, and strew them over with Lisbon or fine sugar. When cold, put a paste round the edges, and over the fruit. Moisten the crust with the white of an egg, and strew some fine sugar over it; or cut the lid in quarters, without touching the paste on the edge of the dish. Remove the lid when cold, pour in a good custard, and sift it over with sugar. Another way is to line the bottom of a shallow dish with paste, lay in the scalded fruit, sweeten it, and lay little twists of paste over in bars.

COFFEE. Put two ounces of fresh-ground coffee, of the best quality, into a coffee pot, and pour eight coffee cups of boiling water on it. Let it boil six minutes, and return it; then put in two or three chips of isinglass, and pour on it one large spoonful of boiling water. Boil it five minutes more, and set the pot by the fire for ten minutes to keep it hot: the coffee will then be of a beautiful clearness. Fine cream should always be served with coffee, and either pounded sugar-candy, or fine Lisbon sugar. If for foreigners, or those who like it very strong, make only eight dishes from three ounces. If not fresh roasted, lay it before the fire until perfectly hot and dry; or put the smallest bit of fresh butter into a preserving pan, and when hot, throw the coffee into it, and toss it about until it be freshened, but let it be quite cold before it is ground.—But as coffee possesses a raw and astringent quality, which often disagrees with weak stomachs, and by being drank too warm is as frequently rendered unwholesome, the following is recommended as an improved method of preparing it. To an ounce of coffee, add a tea-spoonful of the best flour of mustard, to correct its acidity, and improve its fragrance; and in order to render it truly fine and wholesome, it should be made the evening before it is wanted. Let an ounce of fresh-ground coffee be put into a clean coffee pot well tinned, pour upon it a full pint of boiling water, set it on the fire, and after it has well boiled, let it stand by to settle. Next morning pour off the clear liquor, add to it a pint of new milk, warm it over the fire, and sweeten it to taste. Coffee made in this way, will be found particularly suitable to persons of a weak and delicate habit.—A substitute for foreign coffee may be prepared from the acorns of the oak, by shelling and dividing the kernels, drying and roasting them gradually in a close vessel, and keeping them constantly stirring. Grind it like other coffee, and either use it alone, or mix with it a small quantity of foreign coffee. The seeds of the flower de luce, or common waterflag, being roasted in the same manner as coffee, very much resembles it in colour and flavour. Coffee made of these seeds is extremely wholesome, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of boiling water.

COFFEE CAKES. Melt some fresh butter in a pint of thin cream, and work up with it four pounds of dried flour. Add a pound of sugar, a pint of yeast, and half an ounce of carraways. Stir them all together, set it before the fire to rise, roll the paste out thin, cut it into small cakes, and bake them on buttered paper.

COFFEE CREAM. Boil a calf's foot in water till reduced to a pint of jelly, clear of sediment and fat. Make a tea-cupful of strong fresh coffee, clear it perfectly bright with isinglass, and pour it to the jelly. Add a pint of very good cream, sweeten it with fine Lisbon sugar, boil it up once, and pour it into the dish. This article is much admired, but the jelly must not be stiff, and the coffee must be fresh.

COFFEE MILK. Boil a dessert-spoonful of ground coffee, in nearly a pint of milk, a quarter of an hour. Then put in a shaving or two of isinglass to clear it; let it boil a few minutes, and set it on the side of the fire to grow fine. This makes a very fine breakfast; it should be sweetened with real Lisbon sugar of a good quality.

COLD CAUDLE. Boil a quart of spring water; when cold, add the yolk of an egg, the juice of a small lemon, six spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to taste, and syrup of lemons one ounce.

COLD FISH. Soles, cod, whitings, or smelts may be cut into bits, and put into scallop shells, with cold oyster, lobster, or shrimp sauce. Having added some bread crumbs, they may be put into a Dutch oven, and browned like scalloped oysters.

COLD MEAT. If it be a little underdone, the best way to warm it up is to sprinkle over a little salt, and put it into a Dutch oven at some distance before a gentle fire, that it may warm gradually. Watch it carefully, and keep turning it till it is quite hot and brown, and serve it up with gravy. This is preferable to hashing, as it will retain more of its original flavour. Roast beef or mutton, of course, are best for this purpose.

COLD SALLAD. Boil an egg quite hard, put the yolk into a sallad dish, mash it with a spoonful of water, then add a little of the best sallad oil or melted butter, a tea-spoonful of ready-made mustard, and some vinegar. Cut the sallad small and mix it together, adding celery, radishes, or other sallad herbs with it. Onions may be served in a saucer, rather than mixed in the bowl. An anchovy may be washed, cut small, and mixed with it; also a bit of beet root, and the white of an egg. Celery may be prepared in the same way.

COLDS. For a bad cold take a large tea-cupful of linseed, two pennyworth of stick liquorice, and a quarter of a pound of sun raisins. Put them into two quarts of water, and let it simmer over a slow fire till reduced one half. Then add a quarter of a pound of sugar-candy pounded, a table-spoonful of rum, and the same of lemon juice or vinegar. The rum and lemon juice are better added when the mixture is taken, or they are apt to grow flat. Take half a pint just warm at bed time.

COLLARED BEEF. Choose the thin end of the flank of fine mellow beef, but not too fat: lay it into a dish with salt and saltpetre, turn and rub it every day for a week, and keep it cool. Then take out every bone and gristle, remove the skin of the inside part, and cover it thick with the following seasoning cut small; a large handful of parsley, the same of sage, some thyme, marjoram and pennyroyal, pepper, salt, and allspice. Roll the meat up as tight as possible, and bind it round with a cloth and tape; then boil it gently for seven or eight hours. Put the beef under a good weight while hot, without undoing it: the shape will then be oval. Part of a breast of veal rolled in with the beef, looks and eats very well.

COLLARED EEL. Bone a large eel, but do not skin it. Mix up pepper, salt, mace, allspice, and a clove or two, in the finest powder, and rub over the whole inside: roll it tight, and bind it with a coarse tape. Boil it in salt and water till done enough, then add vinegar, and when cold keep the collar in pickle. Serve it either whole or in slices. Chopped parsley, sage, a little thyme, knotted marjoram, and savoury, mixed with the spices, greatly improve the taste.

COLLARED MACKAREL. Do them the same as eels, omitting the herbs.

COLLARED MUTTON. Take out the bones and gristle of a breast of mutton, lay the meat flat, and rub it over with egg. Mix some grated bread, pounded cloves and mace, pepper, salt, and lemon peel, and strew over it. Two or three anchovies, washed and boned, may be added. Roll the meat up hard, bind it with tape and boil it; or if skewered, it may either be roasted or baked.

COLLARED PORK. Bone a breast of pork, and season it with thyme, parsley and sage. Roll it hard, tie it up in a cloth, and boil it. Press it well, take it out of the cloth when cold, and keep it in the liquor it was boiled in.

COLLARED PORK'S HEAD. Clean it well, take out the brains, rub it with a handful of salt, and two ounces of saltpetre. Let it lie a fortnight in brine, then wash it, and boil it till the bones will easily come out. Lay it in a dish, take off the skin carefully, take out the bones, and peel the tongue. Mix a handful of sage, a little thyme, and four shalots chopped fine. Put the meat to it, and chop it into pieces about an inch square. Put a thin cloth into an earthen pot, lay in the meat, cover the cloth over, and press it down. Set the pot in the liquor again, boil it nearly an hour longer, then take it out, place a weight on the cover within side, and let it remain all night. Take it out, strip off the cloth, and eat the collar with mustard and vinegar.

COLLARED SALMON. Split such part of the fish as may be sufficient to make a handsome roll, wash and wipe it; and having mixed salt, white pepper, pounded mace, and Jamaica pepper, in quantity to season it very high, rub it inside and out well. Then roll it tight and bandage it, put as much water and one third vinegar as will cover it, adding bay leaves, salt, and both sorts of pepper. Cover it close, and simmer till it is done enough. Drain and boil the liquor, put it on when cold, and serve with fennel. It is an elegant dish, and extremely good.

COLLARED VEAL. Bone the breast and beat it, rub it with egg, and strew over it a seasoning of pounded mace, nutmeg, pepper and salt, minced parsley, sweet marjoram, lemon peel, crumbs of bread, and an anchovy. Roll it up tight in a cloth, and boil it two hours and a half in salt and water. Hang it up, or press it: make a pickle for it of the liquor it was boiled in, and half the quantity of vinegar.

COLLEGE PUDDINGS. Grate the crumb of a two-penny loaf, shred eight ounces of suet, and mix with eight ounces of currants, one of citron mixed fine, one of orange, a handful of sugar, half a nutmeg, three eggs beaten, yolk and white separately. Mix and make into the size and shape of a goose-egg. Put half a pound of butter into a fryingpan; and when melted and quite hot, stew them gently in it over a stove; turn them two or three times, till they are of a fine light brown. Mix a glass of brandy with the batter, and serve with pudding sauce.

COLOURING FOR JELLIES. For a beautiful Red, take fifteen grains of cochineal in the finest powder, and a dram and a half of cream of tartar. Boil them in half a pint of water very slowly for half an hour, adding a bit of alum the size of a pea; or use beet root sliced, and some liquor poured over. For White, use cream; or almonds finely powdered, with a spoonful of water. For Yellow, yolks of eggs, or a little saffron steeped in the liquor and squeezed. For Green, spinach or beet leaves bruised and pressed, and the juice boiled to take off the rawness. Any of these will do to stain jellies, ices, or cakes.

COLOURING FOR SOUPS. Put four ounces of lump sugar, a gill of water, and half an ounce of fine butter into a small tosser, and set it over a gentle fire. Stir it with a wooden spoon, till of a light brown. Then add half a pint of water; let it boil and skim it well. When cold, bottle and cork it close. Add to either soup or gravy as much of this as will give it a proper colour.

COMMON CAKE. Mix three quarters of a pound of flour with half a pound of butter, four ounces of sugar, four eggs, half an ounce of carraways, and a glass of raisin wine. Beat it well, and bake it in a quick oven.—A better sort of common cake may be made of half a pound of butter, rubbed into two pounds of dried flour; then add three spoonfuls of yeast that is not bitter, and work it to a paste. Let it rise an hour and a half; then mix in the yolks and whites of four eggs beaten separately, a pound of Lisbon sugar, about a pint of milk to make it of a proper thickness, a glass of sweet wine, the rind of a lemon, and a tea-spoonful of powdered ginger. A pound of currants, or some carraways may be added, and let the whole be well beaten together.

COMMON PLANTS. The virtues of a great number of ordinary plants and weeds being but little understood, they are generally deemed useless; but they have properties nevertheless which might be rendered useful, if carefully and judiciously applied. The young shoots and leaves of chick-weed, for example, may be boiled and eaten like spinach, are equally wholesome, and can scarcely be distinguished from it. The juice expressed from the stem and leaves of goose-grass, taken to the amount of four ounces, night and morning for several weeks, is very efficacious in scorbutic complaints, and other cutaneous eruptions. The smell of garlic is an infallible remedy against the vapours, faintings, and other hysteric affections. The common poppy is an antidote to the stings of venomous insects, and a remedy for inflammation of the eyes: it also cures the pleurisy, and spitting of blood. Sage taken in any form tends to cleanse and enrich the blood: it makes a good cordial, and is highly useful in cases of nervous debility. It is often given in fevers with a view to promote perspiration, and with the addition of a little lemon juice it makes a grateful and cooling beverage.