on of them herself at least once a month. Their covers also must
be kept perfectly clean and well tinned, and the stew-pans not only on
the inside, but about a couple of inches on the outside: many mischiefs
arise from their getting out of repair; and if not kept nicely tinned,
all your good work will be in vain; the broths and soups will look green
and dirty, taste bitter and poisonous, and will be spoiled both for the
eye and palate, and your credit will be lost.

The health, and even life of the family, depends upon this, and the cook
may be sure her employers had rather pay the tinman's bill than the
doctor's; therefore, attention to this cannot fail to engage the regard
of the mistress, between whom and the cook it will be my utmost
endeavour to promote perfect harmony.

If a servant has the misfortune to scorch or blister the tinning of her
pan,[89-+] which will happen sometimes to the most careful cook, I
advise her, by all means, immediately to acquaint her employers, who
will thank her for candidly mentioning an accident; and censure her
deservedly if she conceal it.

Take care to be properly provided with sieves and tammy cloths, spoons
and ladles. Make it a rule without an exception, never to use them till
they are well cleaned and thoroughly dried, nor any stewpans, &c.
without first washing them out with boiling water, and rubbing them well
with a dry cloth and a little bran, to clean them from grease, sand,
&c., or any bad smell they may have got since they were last used: never
neglect this.

Though we do not suppose our cook to be such a naughty slut as to
wilfully neglect her broth-pots, &c., yet we may recommend her to wash
them immediately, and take care they are thoroughly dried at the fire,
before they are put by, and to keep them in a dry place, for damp will
rust and destroy them very soon: attend to this the first moment you can
spare after the dinner is sent up.

Never put by any soup, gravy, &c. in metal utensils; in which never keep
any thing longer than is absolutely necessary for the purposes of
cookery; the acid, vegetables, fat, &c. employed in making soups, &c.
are capable of dissolving such utensils; therefore stone or earthen
vessels should be used for this purpose.

Stew-pans, soup-pots, and preserving pans, with thick and round bottoms
(such as sauce-pans are made with), will wear twice as long, and are
cleaned with half the trouble, as those whose sides are soldered to the
bot