The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary Part 56

SPANISH FLUMMERY. Scald a quart of cream, with a little cinnamon or mace. Mix this gradually into half a pound of rice flour, and then stir it over a gentle fire till it acquires the thickness of jelly. Sweeten it to the taste, and pour it into cups or shapes. Turn it out when cold, and serve it up. Cream, wine, or preserves eat well with it, or it may be eaten alone as preferred. Oatmeal may be used instead of rice.

SPANISH FRITTERS. Cut the crumb of a French roll into square lengths, of the thickness of one's finger, nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an egg. When well soaked, fry the fritters of a nice brown; and serve with b.u.t.ter, wine, and sweet sauce.

SPANISH PUFFS. Boil a stick of cinnamon, a piece of lemon peel, and a little sugar, in three quarters of a pint of water for ten minutes. Let it cool, then add three eggs well beaten, and shake in three large spoonfuls of flour. Beat these well together, add three more eggs, and simmer the whole over the fire, till it thickens almost to a paste. Drop this with a tea-spoon into boiling lard, and fry these little puffs of a delicate light brown.

SPANISH SAUCE. Put some gravy into a saucepan with a gla.s.s of white wine, and the same of good broth. Add a bunch of parsley and chives, two cloves of garlic, half a bay leaf, a pinch of coriander seed, two cloves, a sliced onion, a carrot, half a parsnip, and two spoonfuls of salad oil. Stew these for two hours over a very slow fire. Skim off the fat, pa.s.s the sauce through a tammis, season it with pepper and salt, and use it with any thing as approved.

SPARERIB. Baste it with a very little b.u.t.ter and flour; and when done, sprinkle it with dried sage crumbled. Serve it with potatoes and apple sauce.

SPARROW. A mischievous destructive bird in corn-fields, and which should mostly be destroyed. It is observed, that were all the farmers in a neighbourhood to agree to their destruction, by offering rewards for their heads, their numbers might be lessened; and that were the practice general, surely the whole race might be extirpated. It is supposed that six-pence a dozen the first year, nine-pence the second, and a s.h.i.+lling the third year, would nearly reach their complete extirpation. To enforce which it should be considered how soon twelve sparrows destroy twelve penny-worth of wheat. In Kent, they use a species of trap, which is very effectual in taking them. It consists of a small wicker basket, resembling a fruit-sieve of the London markets, with a cover of the same material fitted to it, and formed on the principle of the fish-pot, and the vermin trap, into which the entrance is easy, but the return difficult. These traps, which are an ordinary article of sale in the markets of the district, are const.i.tuted of brown unpeeled oziers. The diameter about two feet; the depth nine inches; the cover is somewhat dis.h.i.+ng, with a tunnel or inverted cone, in the centre, reaching to within an inch of the bottom of the basket; the aperture or entrance, formed by the points of the twigs, of which the tunnel is constructed, being about an inch and a half in diameter. And the usual bait is wheat scattered in the basket. The number caught at once, is frequently more than theory would suggest; the contentions of a few that have entered, seldom failing to bring others to the combat. These mischievous birds, however, soon grow too cunning to be taken in any sort of trap to any extent, which has a chance of extirpating and destroying the race; consequently some more effectual and certain plan, such as that suggested above, or some other, which is better and more fully adapted to the purpose, must be had recourse to in order to completely exterminate them, and prevent the injury they do annually to the farmer, in the destruction of his wheat and other crops. Though these are only small birds, they destroy vast quant.i.ties of grain, much more than has indeed been commonly supposed. It is stated to have been calculated to have amounted to a hundred sacks of wheat besides the oats and barley, in the course of only one season, in a towns.h.i.+p of no very great extent in the north-western part of the kingdom. Where rewards or sums of money are paid for the taking or destroying them, no advantages are gained, except where there are sufficiently ample and proper regulations entered into and enforced, the whole district, parish, or towns.h.i.+p, becomes partakers in the business. No languid or half measures will do any thing useful, or to the purpose, in this sort of undertaking. It is not improbable, but that these destructive birds might be greatly extirpated and thinned down in their numbers, by the use of some tasteless infusion of a strongly poisonous nature, either to the ears of the grain at the time of harvest, or to the naked grain in the winter season, when they are extremely eager for food, as they are constantly found to remain hovering about houses or other buildings, where the effects of such trials might easily be ascertained. If such a method should succeed, the whole race might readily, and with great facility and certainty, be exterminated.

SPASMS. An involuntary and painful contraction of the muscles may arise from various causes, and require different modes of treatment. But if no medical a.s.sistance be at hand, the application of volatile liniments to the part affected, a clyster with a little laudanum in it, or the warm bath, may be tried with advantage.

SPERMACETI OINTMENT. This is made of a quarter of a pint of fine salad oil, a quarter of a pound of white wax, and half an ounce of spermaceti, melted over a gentle fire, and kept stirring till the ointment is cold.

SPICES. As it regards health, spices are generally improper; but black pepper, ginger, and cayenne, may be esteemed the best. Nutmegs, cloves, mace, cinnamon, and allspice, are generally productive of indigestion and headach, in persons of a weakly habit.

SPIDERS. These industrious insects are generally loathed and destroyed, though they are extremely useful in reducing the quant.i.ty of flies, and serve as a very accurate barometer for the weather. When they are totally inactive, it is a certain sign that rain will shortly follow; but if they continue to spin during a shower, it indicates that the rain will soon be over, and that calm and fine weather will succeed. If the weather be about to change, and become wet or windy, the spider will make the supporters of his web very short; but if the threads be extended to an unusual length, the weather will continue serene for ten or twelve days, or more, according to the length of the threads which support the web. The red spider however is very injurious and destructive to different sorts of plants and fruit-trees, especially in forcing houses. It is found particularly so to those of the forced French bean, melon; peach, vine, cherry, currant, and some other kinds.

The generation and production of this insect are greatly caused and promoted by the dry warm heat that is constantly kept up in the houses which contain these sorts of plants and trees, and there are many other circ.u.mstances which combine in bringing it forth. It is an insect which has no wings, and the female is oviparous. Several different methods have been attempted in order to the removal and destruction of it.

Constant daily watering, or was.h.i.+ng the trees, are said to have the power of subduing it, but in the execution of the work, care is always to be taken that every part of the leaves be wetted, otherwise the insects shelter and save themselves in the dry parts, and are preserved from the effects of the water. Moisture conveyed in some way or other is certainly found to be the most destructive, of any thing yet discovered, of these pernicious insects, as well as many others that infest hot-houses. Throwing weak lime-water in a plentiful manner on the under sides of the leaves, where these insects are commonly found, will, for the most part, soon destroy them. The following directions have been given for the destruction of this sort of spider, when it becomes injurious to melon plants; and the same may probably be found useful for those of the forced French bean, and some other similar kinds. In cases of dry weather, and with a dry heat, melon plants are very subject to be infested with the red spider; and the appearances of it may constantly be long noticed before the insects can be seen with the naked eye, by the leaves beginning to curl and crack in their middle parts. Whenever they are discovered to be in this state or condition, and there is fine warm sunny weather, the watering of them all over the leaves, both on the under and upper sides, is advised; a watering-pot, with a rose finely perforated with holes, or a garden-engine, which disperses the water in a fine dew-like manner, being employed for the purpose. The work should be performed about six o'clock in the morning, and the plants be shaded with mats about eight, if the sun s.h.i.+ne with much power, shutting the frames down closely until about eleven; and then admitting a small quant.i.ty of fresh air, letting the mats remain until about three in the afternoon, when they should be wholly taken away. The shade which is thus afforded by the mats prevents the leaves of the plants from being scorched or otherwise injured by the action of the heat of the sun while they are in a wet cooled down state. Where a southerly breeze prevails, watering them again about three in the afternoon is recommended, shutting them up close as before, to keep the heat in, which causes a strong exhalation of the moisture, and is greatly destructive of the spiders. In all these waterings, the water is to be thrown as much and as finely as possible on the under sides of the leaves, where the insects mostly lodge; the vines or stems of the plants being gently turned in that intention, taking great care not to injure them, by which means the water is capable of being easily thrown over the whole of the under sides of the leaves, it being done in a gentle manner, in the modes already suggested, so as not to wash up the mouldy matters unto the plants: the lights and sides of the frames which contain the plants, should also, at the same time, have water plentifully thrown on and against them. When these waterings are finished, the vines or stems of the plants are to be carefully laid down again in their former positions. And if the day be sunny, the mats may be let remain, as already directed, until the leaves of the plants become perfectly dry, air being admitted according to the heat that may be present at the time. It is likewise further advised as a precautionary measure, that, before the frames and lights, which are to contain plants of this sort, are employed, they should be well washed, both inside and out, first with clean water, and then with a mixture of soap-suds and urine; a brush or woollen rag being made use of in the operation; as by this method the ova or eggs of the spiders or other insects that may have been deposited and lodged in or on them, in the preceding season, may be cleared away and destroyed. The exhalations of the water which has been thrown upon the plants, and the frames or boxes that contain them, may also be useful in killing these insects, in other cases by keeping them in a close state. These was.h.i.+ngs should never, however, be performed in cold frosty seasons; and the water made use of in such cases should always be of the rain or soft kind.

SPINACH. This vegetable requires to be carefully washed and picked. When that is done, throw it into a saucepan that will just hold it, sprinkle it with a little salt, and cover it close. Set the pan on the fire, and shake it well. When sufficiently done, beat up the spinach with some b.u.t.ter, but it must be sent to table pretty dry. It would look well, if pressed into a tin mould in the form of a large leaf, which is sold at the tin shops. A spoonful of cream is an improvement.

SPINACH CREAM. Beat the yolks of eight eggs with a whisk or a wooden spoon, sweeten it well, and add a stick of cinnamon, a pint of rich cream, and three quarters of a pint of new milk. Stir it well, and then add a quarter of a pint of spinach juice. Set it over a gentle stove, and stir it constantly one way, till it is as thick as a hasty pudding.

Put into a custard dish some Naples biscuits, or preserved orange, in long slices, and pour the mixture over them. It is to be eaten cold, and is a dish either for supper, or for a second course.

SPINACH AND EGGS. The spinach must be well washed, then throw a small handful of salt into a saucepan of boiling water, before the spinach is put in, and press it down as it boils. When it becomes tender, press it well in a sieve or cullender. Break the eggs into cups, and put them into a stewpan of boiling water. When done, take them out with a slice, and lay them on the spinach. Send them to table with melted b.u.t.ter.

SPINACH PUDDING. Scald and chop some spinach very fine, four ounces of biscuit soaked in cream, the yolks of eight eggs beat up, a quarter of a pound of melted b.u.t.ter, a little salt and nutmeg, and sugar to your taste; beat up all together, and set it over the fire till it is stiff, but do not let it boil; cool it, and bake it in puff-paste; or you may b.u.t.ter a bason, and boil it.--Another. Boil a pint of cream, with some lemon-peel, a blade of mace, half a nutmeg cut in pieces; strain it off, and stir it till it is cold, then boil a good handful of young spinach tender; chop it very fine; beat up eight eggs, leave out four whites, add some fine sugar pounded, and a gla.s.s of sack; mix all well together, put it into the dish, with a puff-paste at the bottom, and lay on the top candied orange and lemon cut in thin slices. Half an hour, or a little better, will bake it.

SPINACH SOUP. Shred two handfuls of spinach, a turnip, two onions, a head of celery, two carrots, and a little parsley and thyme. Put all into a stewpot, with a bit of b.u.t.ter the size of a walnut, and a pint of good broth, or the liquor in which meat has been boiled. Stew till the vegetables are quite tender, and work them with a spoon through a coa.r.s.e cloth or sieve. To the vegetable pulp and liquor, add a quart of fresh water, salt and pepper, and boil all together. Have ready some suet dumplins the size of a walnut, and put them into a tureen, before the soup is poured over. The suet must be quite fresh, and not shred too fine.

SPIRITS. Good pure spirits ought to be perfectly clear, pleasant, and strong, though not of a pungent odour, and somewhat of a vinous taste.

To try the purity of spirits, or whether they have been diluted with water, see whether the liquor will burn away without leaving any mixture behind, by dipping in a piece of writing paper, and lighting it at the candle. As pure spirit is much lighter than water, put a hollow ivory ball into it: the deeper the ball sinks, the lighter the liquor, and consequently the more spirituous.

SPIRITS OF CLARY. Distil a peck of clary flowers in a cold still, and then another peck of flowers, adding to them the distilled liquor. Put to this a bottle of sack or sweet wine, and another peck of flowers, and put all together into a gla.s.s still. Let it distil on white sugar candy, with the addition of a little ambergris.

SPIRITS OF LAVENDER. Take fourteen pounds of lavender flowers, ten gallons and a half of rectified spirits of wine, and one gallon of water. Draw off ten gallons by a gentle fire, or which is much better, by a sand-bath heat. To convert this into the red liquid known by the name of compound lavender spirits, take of the above lavender spirits two gallons, of Hungary water one gallon, cinnamon and nutmegs three ounces each, and of red saunders one ounce. Digest the whole for three days in a gentle heat, and then filtre it for use. Some add saffron, musk, and ambergris, of each half a scruple; but these are now generally omitted.

SPIRITS OF SAFFRON. Pick eight ounces of English saffron very clean, cut it fine, and steep it twenty-four hours in a gallon of the best white wine. Put it into an alembic with three gallons of water, draw it off gently so long as the saffron tastes, and sweeten it with white sugar candy. Dissolve the candy in some of the weaker extract, after the stronger part is drawn off, by setting it on the fire, and then mix the whole together.

SPITS. Roasting spits require to be kept bright and clean, and should be scoured with nothing but sand and water. If they are wiped clean, as soon as the meat is drawn from them, and while they are hot, a very little cleaning will be necessary. A very useful kind of spit is sold at the ironmongers, which sustains the meat without the necessity of pa.s.sing it through, which is much to be preferred.

SPITCHc.o.c.k EELS. Take one or two large eels, leave the skin on, cut them into pieces of three inches long, open them on the belly side, and clean them nicely. Wipe them dry, smear them over with egg, and strew on both sides chopped parsley, pepper and salt; a very little sage, and a bit of mace pounded fine and mixed with the seasoning. Rub the gridiron with a bit of suet, broil the fish of a fine colour, and serve with anchovy and b.u.t.ter sauce.

SPLINTERS. To run splinters, p.r.i.c.kles or thorns, such as those of roses, thistles, or chesnuts, into the hands, feet, or legs, is a very common accident; and provided any such substance is immediately extracted, it is seldom attended with any bad consequences. But the more certainly to prevent any ill effects, a compress of linen dipped in warm water, may be applied to the part, or it may be bathed a little while in warm water. If the thorn or splinter cannot be extracted directly, or if any part of it be left in, it causes an inflammation, and nothing but timely precaution will prevent its coming to an abscess. A plaster of shoemaker's wax spread upon leather, draws these wounds remarkably well.

When it is known that any part of it remains, an expert surgeon would open the place and take it out; but if it be un.o.bserved, as will sometimes happen, when the thorn or splinter is very small, till the inflammation begins, and no advice can be at once procured, the steam of water should be applied to it at first, and then a poultice of bread and milk, with a few drops of peruvian balsam. It is absolutely necessary that the injured part should be kept in the easiest posture, and as still as possible. If this does not soon succeed, good advice must be obtained without delay, as an accident of this kind neglected, or improperly treated, may be the occasion of losing a limb. In this and all cases of inflammation, a forbearance from animal food, and fermented liquors, is always advisable.

SPONGE CAKE. Weigh ten eggs, add their weight in very fine sugar, and of flour the weight of six eggs. Beat the yolks with the flour, and the whites alone, to a very stiff froth. Mix by degrees the whites and the flour with the other ingredients, beat them well half an hour, and bake the cake an hour in a quick oven.--Another, without b.u.t.ter. Dry a pound of flour, and a pound and a quarter of sugar. Grate a lemon, add a spoonful of brandy, and beat the whole together with the hand for an hour. Bake the cake in a b.u.t.tered pan, in a quick oven. Sweetmeats may be added if approved.

SPOONMEATS FOR INFANTS. It is something more than a human axiom, that milk is for babes; and as this forms the basis of nearly all the food from which their nourishment is derived, it is necessary to observe, that the best way of using it is without either skimming or boiling it.

The cream is the most nutritious balsamic part of milk, and to deprive it of this is to render it less nouris.h.i.+ng, and less easy of digestion, than in its pure state. In some particular cases skimmed milk may be preferable, but it may be adopted as a general rule, that new milk is the wholesomest and the best. If it stands any time before it is used, instead of taking off the cream, it should be mixed in with the milk.

Boiling the milk, if it be only a little, fixes it, and entirely alters its qualities. As a proof of this, it will not afterwards afford any cream, but merely a thin skin. In this state it is hard of digestion, and therefore apt to occasion obstructions. It is most proper for food in its natural state, or when only scalded.--One of the first and simplest preparations for infants is Bread Pap, made by pouring scalding water on thin slices of good white bread, and letting it stand uncovered till it cools. The water is then drained off, the bread bruised fine, and mixed with as much new milk as will make it of a tolerable consistence. It is then warm enough for use, without setting it upon the fire. Sugar is very commonly put into this pap, but it is much better without it. The palate of the child will not require sugar in any kind of food, till habit makes it familiar.--Egg Pap is another suitable article for young children. Set a quart of spring water on a clear brisk fire. Mix two spoonfuls of fresh fine flour with the yolks of two or three eggs well beaten, adding a little cold water. When the water is ready to boil, stir in the batter before it boils, till of a sufficient thickness. Then take it off the fire, add a little salt, pour it into a basin, and let it cool of itself till it become about as warm as milk from the cow. If eggs cannot be procured, a small piece of b.u.t.ter may be added with the salt, and stirred in gently till well mixed, to prevent its oiling. Eggs however are to be preferred. This food is extremely wholesome, affords real nourishment, opens all the pa.s.sages, breeds good blood and lively spirits, is pleasant to the palate, and grateful to the stomach. The frequent use of it purifies the blood and all the humours, prevents windy distempers and griping pain, both of the stomach and bowels. From all the ingredients bearing a resemblance to each other, no predominant quality prevails, so that it may justly claim the first place amongst all spoonmeats or paps, and as food for infants it is next to the milk of the breast. In some cases it is much better, on account of the various diseases to which suckling women are subject, and the improper food in which they too frequently indulge. No other ingredients should however be added to this kind of food, such as sugar, spices, or fruits, which tend only to vitiate the diet, and to render it less nutritious. This and other sorts of spoonmeat should be made rather thin than otherwise, and abounding with liquid, whether milk or water. All porridges and spoonmeats that are made thin, and quickly prepared, are sweeter, brisker on the palate, and easier of digestion, than those which are thick, and long in preparing. Food should never be given to children more than milk warm, and the proper way to cool it is by letting it stand uncovered to cool itself; for much stirring alters the composition, and takes off the sweetness. Covering it down too, keeps in the fumes that ought to go off, and by excluding the air, renders it less pure.--Flour Pap. To two thirds of new milk, after it has stood five or six hours from the time of milking, add one third of spring water, and set it on a quick clear fire. Make a batter of milk and fine flour, and just as the milk and water is ready to boil, pour in the batter, and stir it a few minutes. When it is ready to boil again, take it off, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. A good spoonful of flour is sufficient to thicken a pint of milk, or milk and water. This will make it about the thickness of common milk porridge, which is what will eat the sweetest, and be the easiest of digestion. This kind of food affords substantial nourishment, it neither binds nor loosens the body, but keeps it in proper order, nourishes the blood, and tends to produce a lively disposition. Pap prepared in this way is far more friendly to nature than in the common way of boiling, and may be constantly eaten with much better effect, and without ever tiring or cloying the stomach.--Oatmeal Pap. Mix a pint of milk and water, in the proportion of two thirds milk and one third water, with a good spoonful of oatmeal, but it is best not to be too thick. Set it in a saucepan upon a quick clear fire, and when it is near boiling take it off. Pour it from one basin into another, backwards and forwards seven or eight times, which will bring out the fine flour of the oatmeal, and incorporate it with the milk. Then return it into the saucepan, set it upon the fire, and when it is again ready to boil take it off, and let it stand in the saucepan a little to fine, for the husky part of the oatmeal will sink to the bottom. When settled, pour it off into a basin, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. This is an excellent pap, very congenial to a weak const.i.tution, affording good nourishment, and easy of digestion.--Water Gruel. Take a spoonful and a half of fresh ground oatmeal, mix with it gradually a quart of spring water, and set it on a clear fire. When ready to boil take it off, pour it from one basin into another, backwards and forwards five or six times, and set it on the fire again. Take it off again just before it boils, and let it stand a little time in the saucepan, that the coa.r.s.e husks of the oatmeal may sink to the bottom. Then pour it out, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. When water gruel is made with grots, it must boil gently for some time. The longer it boils the more it will jelly; but moderation must be observed in this respect, for if it be very long boiled and becomes very thick, it will be flat and heavy. A mistaken idea very generally prevails, that water gruel is not nouris.h.i.+ng; on the contrary, it is a light, cleansing, nouris.h.i.+ng food, good either in sickness or in health, both for old and young.--Milk Porridge. Make some water gruel, and when it has stood awhile to cool, add to it about one third part of new milk without boiling. It may be eaten with or without salt. Milk porridge is exceedingly cleansing and easy of digestion, and is agreeable to the weakest stomach. There is also another way of making it, which some prefer. Stir a pint of water gradually into three large spoonfuls of fresh oatmeal, let it stand till clear, and then pour off the water. Put a pint of fresh water to the oatmeal, stir it up well, and leave it till the next day. Strain off the liquor through a fine sieve, and set it in a saucepan over a clear brisk fire. Add about half the quant.i.ty of milk gradually while it is warming, and when it is just ready to boil take it off, pour it into a basin, add a little salt, and let it stand to cool. This as well as the former porridge is very light, and proper for weak stomachs.--Indian Arrow Root is another excellent preparation for children. Put a dessert-spoonful of the powdered root into a basin, and mix with it as much cold new milk as will make it into a paste. Pour upon this half a pint of milk scalding-hot, stirring it briskly to keep it smooth. Set it on the fire till it is ready to boil, then take it off, pour it into a basin, and let it cool. This may be made with water instead of milk, and some cold milk mixed with it afterwards; or if the stomach be very weak, it will be best without any milk at all. Great care must be taken to procure the genuine arrow root, which makes a very strengthening and excellent food for infants or invalids.--Sago Jelly. Soak a large spoonful of sago for an hour in cold water, then pour off the water, add a pint of fresh water to the sago, and stew it gently till it is reduced to about half the quant.i.ty. When done, pour it into a basin, and let it cool.--Sago with Milk. Prepare a large spoonful of sago by soaking it for an hour in cold water, but instead of adding water afterwards, put in a pint and a half of new milk. Boil it gently till reduced to about half the quant.i.ty, then pour it into a basin, and let it cool.--Tapioca Jelly. Wash two good spoonfuls of the large sort of tapioca in cold water, and then soak it in a pint and a half of water for four hours. Stew it gently in the same water till it is quite clear. Let it stand to cool after it is poured out of the saucepan, and use it either with or without the addition of a little new milk.--Pearl Barley Gruel. Put two ounces of pearl barley, after it has been well washed, into a quart of water. Simmer it gently till reduced to a pint, then strain it through a sieve, and let it cool.--Rice Gruel. Soak two large spoonfuls of rice in cold water for an hour. Pour off the water, and put a pint and a quarter of new milk to the rice. Stew it gently till the rice is sufficiently tender to pulp it through a sieve, and then mix the pulp into the milk that the rice was stewed in. Simmer it over the fire for ten minutes, and if it appear too thick, gradually add a little more milk, so as not to damp it from simmering. When done, pour it into a basin to cool.--Rice Milk. To four large spoonfuls of whole rice, washed very clean in cold water, add a quart of new milk, and stew them together very gently for three hours.

Let it stand in a basin to cool before it is used. Another way of making rice milk is boiling the rice first in water, then pouring off the water, and boiling the rice with milk. A better way perhaps is, after was.h.i.+ng the rice well, setting it over the fire for half an hour with a little water to break it. Add a little at a time some warm milk, till it is sufficiently done, and of a proper thickness. Let it simmer slowly, and season it with salt and sugar; but for children the sugar had better be omitted.--Ground Rice Milk. Mix a large spoonful of ground rice into a batter, with two or three spoonfuls of new milk. Set a pint of new milk on the fire, and when it is scalding hot, stir in the batter, and keep it on the fire till it thickens, but it must not boil. It should be carefully stirred to prevent its burning, and cooled by standing by in a basin.--Millet Milk. Wash three spoonfuls of millet seed in cold water, and put it into a quart of new milk. Simmer it gently till it becomes moderately thick, and cool it in a basin till wanted for use. All those preparations which require some time in doing, also require the precaution of being carefully stirred, to prevent their burning.--Drinks for young children, in addition to their diet, are best made of milk and water, whey, barley water, pearl barley water, apple water, and toast and water. For Milk and Water, put one third of new milk to two thirds of spring water. This is best drunk cold; but if it must be warmed, it should be by putting warm water to cold milk. It ought not to be made more than milk warm. For Whey, take a quart of new milk before it is cold, and put in as much rennet as will turn it to a clear whey. Let it stand till it is properly turned, and pour it off through a cheesecloth without pressing the curd, that the whey may be the purer. It may be drunk cold, or just warmed by setting it before the fire for a little while. If new milk cannot be had, other milk must be warmed to the degree of new milk.--Barley Water is made of a handful of common barley well washed, and simmered in three pints of water, till of a proper thickness for use; but the longer the barley boils, the thinner the liquor will become. Pearl Barley Water is made of an ounce of pearl barley, heated in half a pint of water over the fire in order to clean it. The water is then poured off, and a quart of fresh water added to the pearl barley. Simmer it half an hour, and if it appears too thick, add more water, but let it be kept warm, as any quant.i.ty of cold water would damp it too suddenly, and thus tend to spoil it. Both this and barley water may be used cold, or milk warm.--Apple Water. Slice into a jug two or three sound ripe apples, and pour on them a quart of scalding hot water. Let it stand to cool, and it will be fit for use. The apples should not be pared, as it takes off their spirit.--Toast and Water is made of a slice of white bread toasted quite dry, and of a dark brown colour. It is then put into a jug, and spring water poured upon it.

After an hour it is fit for use. As all these preparations, both of drinks and spoonmeats, become flat and good for little by long standing, it is better to make only such quant.i.ties of them at a time as will soon be used. When they are warmed up, no more should be done at once than is just sufficient for the occasion, as repeated warming injures the nutritious quality of every thing. When it can be avoided it is better not to set things on the fire to warm them up, but to place them before or on the side of the fire. Care however must be taken not to let them dry and scorch, as it makes them very strong and unwholesome. Some earthenware vessel should be used for this purpose, as less liable to produce an injurious effect. A very good method of warming things is by setting them in a basin over boiling water, or by placing them in it.

SPRAINS. These generally proceed from some external injury, attended with pain, swelling, and inflammation. A fomentation of vinegar, or camphorated spirits of wine, if applied immediately, will generally be sufficient: if not, a few drops of laudanum should be added. The fomentation should be frequently renewed, and the sprained part kept in a state of rest and relaxation.

SPRATS. When quite good and fresh, their gills are of a fine red, their eyes and whole body beautifully bright. After being scaled and cleaned, they should be fastened in rows by a skewer run through the heads; then broiled, and served up hot and hot.

SPRATS LIKE ANCHOVIES. Salt them well, and let the salt drain from them.

In twenty-four hours wipe them dry, but do not wash them. Mix four ounces of common salt, an ounce of bay salt, an ounce of saltpetre, a quarter of an ounce of sal-prunella, and half a tea-spoonful of cochineal, all in the finest powder. Sprinkle it amongst three quarts of the fish, and pack them in two stone jars. Keep them in a cool place, fastened down with a bladder. These artificial anchovies are pleasant on bread and b.u.t.ter, but the genuine should be used for sauce.

SPRING FRUIT PUDDING. Peel and wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, put them into the stewpan with a lemon, a little cinnamon, and sweeten the whole with moist sugar. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a marmalade. Pa.s.s it through a hair sieve, add the yolks of four eggs and one white, a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, half a nutmeg, and the peel of a lemon grated. Beat all well together, line the inside of a pie dish with good puff paste, put in the pudding, and bake it half an hour.

SPRING SOUP. Put a pint of peas into a saucepan with some chervil, purslain, lettuce, sorrel, parsley, three or four onions, and a piece of b.u.t.ter. Shake them over the fire a few minutes, add warm water in proportion to the vegetables, and stew them till they are well done.

Strain off the soup, and pulp the vegetables through a tammis or sieve.

Heat the pulp with three parts of the soup, mix six yolks of eggs with the remainder of it, and thicken it over the fire. When ready to serve, add this to the soup, and season the whole with salt.