give as good an appearance, and render
the floor cloths less slippery.

FLOUNDERS. These are both sea and river fish: the Thames produces the
best. They are in season from January to March, and from July to
September. Their flesh should be thick and firm, and their eyes bright:
they very soon become flabby and bad. Before they are dressed, they
should be rubbed with salt inside and out, and lie two hours to acquire
firmness. Then dip them in eggs, cover with grated bread, and fry them.

FLOUR. Good wheat flour may be known by the quantity of glutinous matter
it contains, and which will appear when kneaded into dough. For this
purpose take four ounces of fine flour, mix it with water, and work it
together till it forms a thick paste. The paste is then to be well
washed and kneaded with the hands under the water, and the water to be
renewed till it ceases to become white by the operation. If the flour be
sound, the paste which remains will be glutinous and elastic, and
brittle after it has been baked.--Adulterated meal and flour are
generally whiter and heavier than the good, and may be detected in a way
similar to that already mentioned, under the article ADULTERATIONS. Or
pour boiling water on some slices of bread, and drop on it some spirits
of vitriol. Put them in the flour; and if it contain any quantity of
whiting, chalk, or lime, a fermentation will ensue. Vitriol alone,
dropped on adulterated bread or flour, will produce a similar
effect.--American flour requires nearly twice as much water to make it
into bread as is used for English flour, and therefore it is more
profitable. Fourteen pounds of American flour will make twenty-one
pounds and a half of bread, while the best sort of English flour
produces only eighteen pounds and a half.

FLOUR CAUDLE. Into five large spoonfuls of pure water, rub smooth one
dessert-spoonful of fine flour. Set over the fire five spoonfuls of new
milk, and put into it two pieces of sugar. The moment it boils, pour
into it the flour and water, and stir it over a slow fire twenty
minutes. It is a nourishing and gently astringent food, and excellent
for children who have weak bowels.

FLOWER GARDEN. The pleasures of the garden are ever various, ever new;
and in every month of the year some attention is demanded, either in
rearing the tender plant, in preparing the soil for its reception, or
protecting the parent root from the severity of the winter's blast.
Ranunculuses, anem