ne at 3, and the wing at 3,
5. To draw off the merry-thought, pass the knife through the line 6
beneath it towards the neck, and it will easily be detached. In other
respects serve it in the same way as a fowl, the breast and thigh
being most valued.

[Illustration]

GROUSE.

The first unrivalled bird of game, due on the 12th of August, breaking
up the senate of the kingdom, and accessible only to the few whom
wealth or privilege give the _entree_ into the preserved regions, has,
when even thrown into the market by the mercenary scions of the great,
a considerable value; and perhaps it is only in the North that it is
properly cooked and appreciated. A moor bird requires a particular
sagacity in carving, which is a secret to the uninitiated. You may
carve it like a common fowl; but the epicure alone knows that it is in
the back that the true flavour of the heath is found, and in the North
the back is recognized as the chief delicacy, and must be carefully
proportioned among the guests.

PARTRIDGE.

The partridge is always well received in dinner society; and if the
party be large and the supply of game small, the partridges must be
jointed like a fowl, to make the most of them, but in a small party it
is only necessary to fix the knife in the back, and separate the bird
at once into back and breast, dividing it then according to the number
of guests, always remembering that the back of a well-fed partridge is
by no means a despicable morsel.

WOODSTOCK OR SNIPE.

The great peculiarity in carving the woodcock or snipe is, that the
bird is not drawn like other birds, but roasted as it is plucked,
suspended by the head, with a toast beneath, on which the _trail_, as
it is called, or internal part, is allowed to drop; and when the birds
are roasted, which should be rapidly done in twenty minutes, the trail
should be spread over each toast and the bird served up on it. It is
then only necessary to carve each bird through the breast and back,
with its due proportion of the trail and toast. The best part,
however, if carved, is the thigh.

PIGEONS.

As the pigeon is too small a bird to disjoint, it is the fairest
division to cut it through the middle of the breast and back in two
equal parts. Another mode is to insert the knife at 1, and cut on each
side to 2 and 3, and forcing them asunder, to divide each portion into
two; but this is not needed except in a large party.

[Illustration]

SMALL BIRDS.