r, and allowed to remain even
eighteen months in bottles, will be as sweet as when first milked from
the cow.

1650. Keeping Meat.

Meat may be kept several days in the height of summer, sweet and good,
by lightly covering it with bran, and hanging it in some high or windy
room, or in a passage where there is a current of air.

1651. Hams, Tongues, &c., Glazing for.

Boil a shin of beef twelve hours in eight or ten quarts of water; draw
the gravy from a knuckle of veal in the same manner; put the same
herbs and spices as if for soup, and add the whole to the shin of
beef. It must be boiled till reduced to a quart. It will keep good for
a year; and when wanted for use, warm a little, and spread over the
ham, tongue, &c., with a feather.

1652. Curing of Hams and Bacon.

The most simple method is to use one ounce and a half of common soda
and the same quantity of saltpetre, to fourteen pounds of ham or
bacon, using the usual quantity of salt. The soda prevents that
hardness in the lean of the bacon which is so often found, and keeps
it quite mellow all through, besides being a preventive of rust.

1653. Preserving Mackerel.

Mackerel are at certain times exceedingly plentiful, especially to
those who live near the coast. They may be preserved so as to make an
excellent and well-flavoured dish, weeks or months after the season is
past, by the following means. Having chosen some fine fish, cleanse
them perfectly, and either boil them or lightly fry them in oil. The
fish should be divided, and the bones, heads, and skins removed; they
should then be well rubbed over with the following seasoning:--For
every dozen good-sized fish use three tablespoonfuls of salt (heaped),
one ounce and a half of common black pepper, six or eight cloves, and
a little mace, finely powdered, and as much nutmeg, grated, as the
operator chooses to afford,--not, however, exceeding one nutmeg. Let
the whole surface be well covered with the seasoning; then lay the
fish in layers packed into a stone jar (not a glazed one); cover the
whole with good vinegar, and if they be intended to be long kept, pour
salad oil or melted fat over the top. _Caution._--The glazing on
earthen jars is made from lead or arsenic, from which vinegar draws
forth poison.

1654. Preserving Potatoes.

The preservation of potatoes by dipping them in boiling water is a
valuable and useful