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10. PRAWNS AND SHRIMPS, when fresh, are firm and crisp.

11. OYSTERS.-If fresh, the shell is firmly closed; when the shells of oysters are opened, they are dead, and unfit for food. The small-shelled oysters, the Pyfleet, Colchester, and Milford, are the finest in flavour. Larger kinds, called rock oysters, are generally considered only fit for stewing and sauces, though some persons prefer them.

12. BEEF. The grain of ox beef, when good, is loose, the meat red, and the fat inclining to yellow. Cow beef, on the contrary, has a closer grain, a whiter fat, but meat scarcely as red as that of ox beef. Inferior beef, which is meat obtained from ill-fed animals, or from those which had become too old for food, may be known by a hard skinny fat, a dark red lean, and, in old animals, a line of horny texture running through the meat of the ribs. When meat pressed by the finger rises up quickly, it may be considered as that of an animal which was in its prime; when the dent made by pressure returns slowly, or remains visible, the animal had probably past its prime, and the meat consequently must be of inferior quality.

13. VEAL should be delicately white, though it is often juicy and well flavoured when rather dark in colour. Butchers, it is said, bleed calves purposely before killing them, with a view to make the flesh white, but this also makes it dry and flavourless. On examining the loin, if the fat enveloping the kidney be white and firm-looking, the meat will probably be prime and recently killed. Veal will not keep so long as an older meat, especially in hot or damp weather; when going, the fat becomes soft, and moist, the meat flabby and spotted, and somewhat porous, like sponge. Large overgrown veal is inferior to small, delicate, yet fat veal. The fillet of a cow-calf is known by the udder attached to it, and by the softness of the skin; it is preferable to the veal of a bull-calf.

14. MUTTON.-The meat should be firm and close in grain, and red in colour, the fat white and firm. Mutton is in its prime when the sheep is about five years old, though it is often killed much younger. If too young, the flesh feels tender when pinched; if too old, on being pinched, it wrinkles up, and so remains. In young mutton, the fat readily separates; in old, it is held together by strings of kins. In sheep diseased of the rot, the flesh is very pale-coloured, the fat inclining to yellow, the meat appears loose from the bone, and, if squeezed, drops of water ooze out from the grains; after cooking, the meat drops clean away from the bones. Wether mutton is preferred to that of the ewe; it may be known by the lump of fat on the inside of the thigh.

15. LAMB.-This meat will not keep long after it is killed. The large vein in the neck is bluish in colour when the fore-quarter is fresh, green when becoming stale. In the hind quarter, if not recently killed, the fat of the kidney will have a slight smell, and the knuckle will have lost its firmness.

16. PORK. When good, the rind is thin, smooth, and cool to the touch; when changing, from being too long killed, it becomes flaccid and clammy. Enlarged glands, called kernels, in the fat, are marks of an ill-fed or diseased pig.

17. BACON should have a thin rind, and the fat should be firm and tinged red by the curing; the flesh should be of a clear red, without intermixture of yellow, and should firmly adhere to the bone. To judge the state of a ham, plunge a knife into it to the bone; on drawing it back, if particles of meat adhere to it, or if the smell is disagreeable, the curing has not been effectual, and the ham is not good; it should, in such a state, be immediately cooked. In buying a ham, a short thick one is to be preferred to one long and thin. Of English hams, Yorkshire, Westmoreland, and Hampshire, are most esteemed; of foreign, the Westphalia. 18. VENISON. When good, the fat

is clear, bright, and of considerable thickness. To know when it is necessary to cook it, a knife must be plunged into the haunch; and from the smell the cook must determine on dressing or keeping it.

19. TURKEY.-In choosing poultry, the age of the bird is the chief point to be attended to. An old turkey has rough and reddish legs; a young one smooth and black. Fresh killed, the eyes are full and clear, and the feet moist. When it has been kept too long, the parts about the vent begin to wear a greenish discoloured appearance. 20. COMMON DOMESTIC FOWLS, when young, have the legs and combs smooth; when old they are rough, and on the breast long hairs are found instead of feathers. Fowls and chickens should be plump on the breast, fat on the back, and white-legged.

21. GEESE. The bills and feet are red when old, yellow when young. Fresh killed, the feet are pliable, stiff when too long kept. Geese are called green while they are only two or three months old.

22. DUCKS.-Choose them with supple feet and hard plump breasts. Tame ducks have yellow feet, wild ones red.

23. PIGEONS are very indifferent food when they are too long kept. Suppleness of the feet show them to be young; the state of the flesh is flaccid when they are getting bad from keeping. Tame pigeons are larger than the wild.

24. HARES AND RABBITS, when old, have the haunches thick, the ears dry and tough, and the claws blunt and ragged. A young hare has claws smooth and sharp, ears that easily tear, and a narrow cleft in the lip. A leveret is distinguished from a hare by a knob or small bone near the foot.

25. PARTRIDGES, when young, have yellow legs and dark-coloured bills. Old partridges are very indifferent eating.

26. WOODCOCKS AND SNIPES, when old, have the feet thick and hard; when these are soft and tender, they are both young and fresh killed. When their

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bills become moist, and their throats muddy, they have been too long killed. (See FOOD IN SEASON, 48 to 59.)

27. TO CLEAN BLACK CLOTH CLOTHES.-Clean the garments well, then boil four ounces of logwood in a boiler or copper containing two or three gallons of water for half an hour; dip the clothes in warm water, and squeeze dry, then put them into the copper and boil for half an hour. Take them out, and add three drachms of sulphate of iron; boil for half an hour, then take them out, and hang them up for an hour or two; take them down, rinse them in three cold waters, dry well, and rub with a soft brush which has had a few drops of olive oil rubbed on its surface. If the clothes are threadbare about the elbows, cuffs, &c., raise the nap with a teazel or halfworn hatter's card, filled with flocks, and when sufficiently raised, lay the nap the right way with a hard brush. We have seen our old coats come out with a wonderful dash of respectability after this operation.

28. PREVENTION OF FIRES.The following simple suggestions are worthy of observation :-Add one ounce of alum to the last water used to rinse children's dresses, and they will be rendered uninflammable, or so slightly combustible that they would take fire very slowly, if at all, and would not flame. This is a simple precaution, which may be adopted in families of children. Bed curtains, and linen in general, may also be treated in the same way.

29. CAMPHOR BALLS TO PREVENT CHAPS.-Melt three drachms of spermaceti, four drachms of white wax, with one ounce of almond oil, and stir in three drachms of camphor (previously powdered by moistening it with a little spirits of wine); pour small quantities into small gallipots, so as to turn out in the form of cakes. Spermaceti, 2s. per pound; white wax, 2s. 2d. per pound; almond oil, 1s. 6d. per pound; camphor, 2s. 8d. per pound.

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31. MUTTON PIE.-The following is a capital family dish:-Cut mutton into pieces about two inches square, and half an inch thick; mix pepper, pounded allspice, and salt together, dip the pieces in this; sprinkle stale bread crumbs at the bottom of the dish; lay in the pieces, strewing the crumbs over each layer; put a piece of butter the size of a hen's egg at the top; add a wineglassful of water, and cover in, and bake in a moderate oven rather better than an hour. Take an onion, chop fine; a faggot of herbs; half an anchovy; and add to it a little beefstock, or gravy; simmer for a quarter of an hour; raise the crust at one end, and pour in the liquor-not the thick part. (See 135.)

32. MOTHS (to get rid of them).1. Procure shavings of cedar-wood, and enclose in muslin bags, which should be distributed freely among the clothes. -2. Procure shavings of camphor-wood, and enclose in bags.-3. Sprinkle pimento (allspice) berries among the clothes.-4. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of the musk plant.-5. To destroy the eggs when deposited in woollen cloth, &c., use a solution of acetate of potash in spirits of rosemary, fifteen grains to the pint.

33. PAINS IN THE HEAD AND FACE. A friend assures us that he was cured of a severe attack of tic doloreux by the following simple remedy-Take half a pint of rose water, add two teaspoonfuls of white vinegar, to form a lotion. Apply it to the part affected three or four times a day. It requires fresh linen and lotion each application; this will, in two or three days, gradually take the pain away.

The above receipt I feel desirous of being made known to the public, as I have before mentioned the relief I have experienced, and others, whose names I could give. The last remark is our friend's own. We doubt the cure of real tic doloreux by these means; but in many cases of nervous pains the above would be useful, and may easily be tried.

34. COLD CREAM.-No. 1. Oil of almonds, one pound; white wax, four ounces. Melt together gently in an earthen vessel, and when nearly cold stir in gradually twelve ounces of rosewater.-No. 2. White wax and spermaceti, of each half an ounce; oil of almonds, four ounces; orange flower water, two ounces. Mix as directed for No. 1. The wholesale price of almond oil is 1s. 6d. per pound; white wax, 2s. 2d. per pound; spermaceti, 2s. per pound; rose and orange flower waters, 6d. to 1s. per pint.

35. NIGHT LIGHTS.-Field's and Child's night lights are generally known and are easily obtainable. But under circumstances where they cannot be procured, the waste of candles may be thus applied. Make a fine cotton, and wax it with white wax. Then cut into the requisite lengths. Melt the grease and pour into pill boxes, previously either fixing the cotton in the centre, or dropping it in just before the grease sets. If a little white wax be melted with the grease, all the better. In this manner, the ends and drippings of candles may be used up. When set to burn, place in a saucer, with sufficient water to rise to the extent of the 16th of an inch around the base of the night-light.

derately heated oven. Lemon biscuits may be made the same way, by substituting essence of lemon instead of ginger.

37. THE HANDS.-Take a wineglassful of eau de Cologne, and another of lemon-juice: then scrape two cakes of brown Windsor soap to a powder, and mix well in a mould. When hard, it will be an excellent soap for whitening the hands.

38. TO WHITEN THE NAILS.-Diluted sulphuric acid, two drachms; tincture of myrrh, one drachm; spring water, four ounces; mix. First cleanse with white soap, and then dip the fingers into the mixture. A good hand is one of the chief points of beauty; and these applications are really effective.

39. RHUBARB TO PRESERVE.Peel one pound of the finest rhubarb, and cut it into pieces of two inches in length, and three-quarters of a pound of white sugar, and the rind and juice of one lemon-the rind to be cut into narrow strips. Put all into a preserving kettle, and simmer gently until the rhubarb is quite soft, take it out carefully with a silver spoon, and put it into jars: then boil the syrup a sufficient time to make it keep well, say one hour, and pour it over the fruit. When cold put a paper soaked in brandy over it, and tie the jars down with a bladder to exclude the air. This is a very good receipt, and should be taken advantage of in the spring.

40. HALF-PAY PUDDING. An officer's wife is the contributor of the following:-Four ounces of each of the following ingredients, viz., suet, flour, currants, raisins, and bread crumbs; two tablespoonfuls of treacle, half a pint of milk-all of which must be well mixed together, and boiled in a mould, for four hours. To be served up with wine or brandy sauce, if half-pay permit. From two to three hours we find sufficient; it is an excellent substitute for Christmas plum pudding, at the small expense of 6d. or 7d.

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41. DR. KITCHENER'S RULES FOR MARKETING.-The best rule for marketing is to pay ready money for every thing, and to deal with the most respectable tradesmen in your neighbourhood. If you leave it to their integrity to supply you with a good article, at the fair market price, you will be supplied with better provisions, and at as reasonable a rate as those bargain-hunters, who trot "around, around, around about" a market till they are trapped to buy some unchewable old poultry, tough tup-mutton, stringy cow-beef, or stale fish, at a very little less than the price of prime and proper food. With savings like these they toddle home in triumph, cackling all the way, like a goose that has got ancle-deep into good-luck. All the skill of the most accomplished cook will avail nothing unless she is furnished with prime provisions. The best way to procure these is to deal with shops of established character: you may appear to pay, perhaps, ten per cent. more than you would were you to deal with those who pretend to sell cheap, but you would be much more than in that proportion better served. Every trade has its tricks and deceptions; those who follow them can deceive you if they please, and they are too apt to do so, if you provoke the exercise of their over-reaching talent. Challenge them to a game at "Catch who can," by entirely relying on your own judgment, and you will soon find nothing but very long experience can make you equal to the combat of marketing to the utmost advantage. If you think a tradesman has imposed upon you, never use a second word, if the first will not do, nor drop the least hint of an imposition; the only method to induce him to make an abatement is the hope of future favours, pay the demand, and deal with the gentleman no more; but do not let him see that you are displeased, or as soon as you are out of sight your reputation will suffer as much as your pocket has. Before you

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of half a dozen

Sunday-Roast beef and pudding.
Monday-Fowl, what was left of pudding
fried, or warmed in the Dutch oven.
Tuesday-Calf's head, apple pie.
Wednesday-Leg of mutton.

Thursday-Do. broiled or hashed, or pan-
cakes.

Friday-Fish, pudding.

Saturday-Fish, or eggs and bacon.

It is an excellent plan to have certain things on certain days. When your butcher and poulterer knows what you will want, he has a better chance of doing his best for you; and never think of ordering beef for roasting except for Sunday. When you order meat, poultry, or fish, tell the tradesman when you intend to dress it: he will then have it in his power to serve you with provision that will do him credit, which the finest meat, &c., in the world will never do, unless it has been kept a proper time to be ripe and tender.-Cook's Oracle.

42. CLEANING SILKS, SATINS, COLOURED WOOLLEN DRESSES, &c.-Four ounces of soft soap, four ounces of honey, the white of an egg, and a wine - glassful of gin; mix well together, and the article to be scoured with a rather hard brush thoroughly, afterwards rinse it in cold water, leave to drain, and iron whilst quite damp.-A friend informs us that she believes this receipt has never been made public; she finds it an excellent one, having used it for a length of time, and recommended it to friends with perfect success.

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43. SPONGE CAKE.-A lady, or, as the newspapers say, a correspondent upon whom we can confidently rely," favours us with the following

simple receipt, which, she says, gives less trouble than any other, and has never been known to fail:-Take five eggs, and half a pound of loaf-sugar sifted; break the eggs upon the sugar, and beat all together with a steel fork for half an hour. Previously take the weight of two eggs and a-half in their shells, of flour. After you have beaten the eggs and sugar the time specified, grate in the rind of a lemon (the juice may be added at pleasure), stir in the flour, and immediately pour it into a tin lined with buttered paper, and let it be instantly put into rather a cool oven.

44. BED CLOTHES.-The perfection of dress, for day or night, where warmth is the purpose, is that which confines around the body sufficient of its own warmth, while it allows escape to the exhalations of the skin. Where the body is allowed to bathe protractedly in its own vapours we must expect an unhealthy effect upon the skin. Where there is too little ventilating escape, insensible perspiration is checked, and something analogous to fever supervenes; foul tongue, ill taste, and lack of morning appetite betray the evil.

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