House linen, ill-managed, is an expensive article.

449. In pickling, it is essential that the articles in preparation should be free from water or damp, otherwise they will soon become mouldy.

450. To get rid of the mealy substance in dried figs, keep them in a cool and rather moist cellar for twentyfour hours before using them.

451. Few persons, observes M. Soyer, know how to chop onions properly. In the first place, all the dry skin must be removed; then a thin slice off the top and bottom, or they will be bitter; then cut them into thin slices, dividing the onion, and cut crossways to form dice. If a slight flavour is required and the onion is strong when chopped, put the pieces in the corner of a napkin or cloth, wash them in water, squeeze them dry, then put them back on the board and chop fine.

452. In roasting meat, the less the spit is made to pass through the prime part of the joint the better. Thus, in a shoulder of mutton, the spit is made to enter close to the shank-bone, and passed along the bladebone of the joint.

453. Coke is the best fuel for broiling, for it does not emit any smoke, and gives a clear and moderate heat; a mixture of coke and charcoal is useful.

454. The best way of eating mackerel, is to broil it in buttered paper upon the gridiron; and, when properly done, to put fresh butter in the inside, with chopped parsley, pepper, and salt, which melts and adds a good flavour to the fish.

455. In order that coffee may be perfectly good, and very high flavoured, not more than half a pound of the grain should be roasted at once.

456. Grapes keep much better when hanging than when laid upon a table, and it is advisable to seal the cut end with a drop of sealing-wax: they should be inspected from time to time, and the mouldy or spoiled berries should be cut away.

457. To clean gloves that are not very dirty, lay them out flat, then rub into them a mixture of finely-powdered fuller's earth and alum; sweep it off with a brush, sprinkle them with dry bran and whiting; lastly, dust them well.

New candles and soap are always wasteful.

Tongues lose their flavour when hung to dry.

It is better to put one clean sheet on beds very often than a pair more seldom.

458. Dr. Kitchener's advice to purchasers of meat is worth remembering: "When you order meat, poultry, or fish, tell the tradesman when you intend to dress it."

459. Meat from which broth has been made is useful for potting, and is quite as good as that which has been boiled until it is dry.

460. In beef the ribs are less liable to become tainted than any other joint. The best meat for keeping is mutton, and the leg keeps best.

461. Meat employed for broth, soup, or gravy, should be fresh, for if in the slightest degree tainted or nasty it communicates a disagreeable taste; fresh meat gives a more savoury broth than meat that has been kept two or three days.

462. Honey is frequently adulterated with treacle, starch, and wheat flour: the first may be detected by the colour and odour, and others by the honey not forming a nearly clear solution with cold water.

463. When a whole cheese is cut, and the consumption small, it becomes dry and loses its flavour: to prevent this, cut a sufficient quantity for a few days' consumption from the cheese, and place the remainder in a cool place, rather damp than dry, spreading a thin film of butter over the cut surface, and covering it with a cloth to keep off the dirt.

464. Fruit-spots, and similar stains, may frequently be removed from cloth, by holding the part over a common brimstone match, lighted, or by water acidulated with a little salt of lemons, oxalic or muriatic acid; but care must be taken not to apply this liquid to colours that it will injure.

465. Fish may be preserved in a dry state, and perfectly fresh, by means of sugar alone: fresh fish may be thus kept for some days, so as to be as good when boiled as if just caught: they are much better in this way than when salted.

466. Wherever we find personal cleanliness, neatness, and domestic comfort, we may expect a degree of selfrespect, a delicacy of feeling, and an obedience to the laws of morality.

In small families there is no need of a grease-tub.

U

All family linen should be set to rights after it comes from the wash.

Clear-starching to be well done requires very careful previous washing.

467. To ascertain the age of a hare, examine the first joint of the fore-foot: you will find a small knob if it is a leveret, which disappears as the hare grows older : then examine the ears; if they tear easily, the animal is young. When newly killed, the body is stiff; as it grows stale, it becomes flaccid.'

468. If vegetable pickles are wanted of a bright green colour, it may readily be effected by soaking them when ready prepared, for a few minutes, first in turmeric, and then in a diluted solution of the colouring matter of indigo, dissolved in water. This method of staining the pickle is perfectly harmless.

469. Never be in a hurry to get a dinner dressed. French cooks, who excel us in the culinary art, begin in the morning early, and thus have everything done and ready at the proper time.

470. Causing anything to boil violently in any culinary process, is ill-judged; for it not only does not expedite, in the smallest degree, the process of cooking, but it occasions an extravagant waste of fuel. It is not by the bubbling up, or violent boiling, as it is called, of the water, that culinary operations are expedited.

471. Marking-ink may be removed from white articles by ammonia-water, solution of chloride of lime, liquid chlorine, or iodine.

472. To make a Devonshire junket, put warm milk into a bowl; turn it with a little rennet, then add some scalded cream, sugar, and cinnamon, on the top, without breaking the curd.

473. Potatoes, when boiled, should not be overdone; for in such a case they are deprived of their nutritious qualities.

474. Asparagus is only wholesome when in an intermediate state between root and plant: when older than this it is remarkably acrid.

475. Tea-economists should be aware that as much carbonate of soda as will lie on a four-penny piece, put into the tea-pot with two spoonfuls of tea, and the usual quantity of water, will make it as strong as three teaspoonfuls without it.

Soda dissolved in cold water cleans hair-brushes.

Fine plain muslin articles ought to be ironed on a clean, soft woollen cloth.

Linen of all descriptions should be marked with permanent ink.

476. In drying and preserving herbs, pick off the leaves from the stalks, and rub them over a hair sieve, so as to extract the dust which generally adheres to them, particularly those which are purchased with the roots on; put them in wide-mouthed bottles (taking care that they are quite dry), and, if well stopped, the aroma of the herb will be preserved.

477. On the approach of frost, do not omit to cover all the exposed parts of water-pipes with hay or straw bands, or any substance that will prevent the water from freezing.

478. No metal spoons should be employed in beating or stirring the ingredients of cakes; wooden spoons should be used.

479. To dry parsley, gather it when dry and free from dust; place it in a pan before the heat of the fire, till it becomes crisp; rub it, and pass it through a sieve, and preserve the powder in dry bottles, for use, leaving them uncorked in a warm place for a week or ten days.

480. A very small quantity of gum-dragon will make a pint of very stiff, full-bodied jelly, when dissolved in water; this preparation strengthens the consistence of savoury jellies, (when added to them over boiling water, and mixed together in a liquid state,) and is a great improvement to meat-pies.

481. The great art of composing a rich soup consists in so proportioning the several flavouring ingredients that no particular taste predominates.

482. When broth, soups, or gravy, are preserved from day to day, in hot weather, they should be warmed up every day, and put into fresh-scalded pans; this renders them less liable to spoil.

483. In making bread, when the new flour is of indifferent quality, from twenty to thirty grains of the carbonate of magnesia to a pound of the flour will considerably improve the quality of the loaf.

484. Bottles of wine or beer should be laid on their sides, as they offer less obstruction to the least feeble efforts of fermentation than if they stood in the high column which an upright posture would produce: pressure resists chemical changes.

A piece of burnt cake in a trap is a good lure for mice.

A shoe ought never to be a tight fit when first drawn on.

All large fish, with the skin whole, must be placed on the fire in cold water.

485. The earthy mould should never be washed from potatoes, or any other sort of roots, till they are to be dressed.

486. Cheeses should be kept in a room where there is a good circulation of air; and they should be turned frequently. The room should be kept very clean, by sweeping, to prevent the access of insects.

487. Excellent fish-soups may be made of the skull of cod, skate, or flounders, boiled in no more water than will cover them, and the liquor thickened with oatmeal. 488. Let the sides or walls of your meat-safes be occasionally scoured with soap, or soap and slacked quicklime. All places where provisions are kept should be so constructed, that a brisk current of cool air can be made to pass through them at will.

489. Strong scented vegetables should be kept apart from those that are inodorous; leeks or celery will quickly spoil a whole basketful of cauliflowers, salads, or the finer vegetables.

490. Meat kept immersed in pickle rather gains weight; but in the common way of salting, when the meat is not immersed in pickle, there is a loss of about one pound, or one and a half, in sixteen.

491. Fruit-jellies should not be kept in glazed earthenware pots, because they act or dissolve a portion of the glaze.

492. By bruising and boiling the refuse bones of the kitchen, and skimming the broth when cold, good fat may be obtained fit for culinary purposes when fresh, and always excellent for making soap and candles.

493. When potatoes are taken from the winter store, they should be put into cold water for ten or twelve hours. This immersion prepares them by a gradual transition from a low temperature to that of boiling

water.

494. If you purchase bread from a baker, by all means buy the best when you make it yourself, various additions may be made of a wholesome kind that will render it cheaper. Thus, mashed potatoes, ground bran, potato farina, and several other articles, may be added at pleasure.

There is nothing so dear as bad wine in the long run.

Very rich roasted meat, if covered with paper, does not require basting.