The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

FISH GRAVY. Skin two or three eels, or some flounders; gut and wash them very clean, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a saucepan. Cover them with water, and add a little crust of toasted bread, two blades of mace, some whole pepper, sweet herbs, a piece of lemon peel, an anchovy or two, and a tea-spoonful of horse-radish. Cover the saucepan close, and let it simmer; then add a little butter and flour, and boil with the above.

FISH PIE. To make a fine fish pie, boil two pounds of small eels. Cut the fins quite close, pick off the flesh, and return the bones into the liquor, with a little mace, pepper, salt, and a slice of onion. Then boil it till it is quite rich, and strain it. Make forcemeat of the flesh, with an anchovy, a little parsley, lemon peel, salt, pepper, and crumbs, and four ounces of butter warmed. Lay it at the bottom of the dish: then take the flesh of soles, small cod, or dressed turbot, and rub it with salt and pepper. Lay this on the forcemeat, pour on the gravy, and bake it. If cod or soles are used, the skin and fins must be taken off.

FISH SAUCE. Put into a very nice tin saucepan a pint of port wine, a gill of mountain, half a pint of fine walnut ketchup, twelve anchovies with the liquor that belongs to them, a gill of walnut pickle, the rind and juice of a large lemon, four or five shalots, a flavour of cayenne, three ounces of scraped horse-radish, three blades of mace, and two tea-spoonfuls of made mustard. Boil it all gently, till the rawness goes off, and put it into small bottles for use. Cork them very close and seal the top. – Or chop two dozen of anchovies not washed, and ten shalots, and scrape three spoonfuls of horseradish. Then add ten blades of mace, twelve cloves, two sliced lemons, half a pint of anchovy liquor, a quart of hock or Rhenish wine, and a pint of water. Boil it down to a quart, and strain it off. When cold, add three large spoonfuls of walnut ketchup, and put the sauce into small bottles well corked. – To make fish sauce without butter, simmer very gently a quarter of a pint of vinegar, and half a pint of soft water, with an onion. Add four cloves, and two blades of mace, slightly bruised, and half a tea-spoonful of black pepper. When the onion is quite tender, chop it small with two anchovies, and set the whole on the fire to boil for a few minutes, with a spoonful of ketchup. Prepare in the mean time the yolks of three fresh eggs, well beaten and strained, and mix the liquor with them by degrees. When all are well mixed, set the saucepan over a gentle fire, keeping a bason in one hand, to toss the sauce to and fro in, and shake the saucepan over the fire, that the eggs may not curdle. Do not let it boil, only make the sauce hot enough to give it the thickness of melted butter. – Fish sauce à la Craster, is made in the following manner. Thicken a quarter of a pound of butter with flour, and brown it. Add a pound of the best anchovies cut small, six blades of pounded mace, ten cloves, forty corns of black pepper and allspice, a few small onions, a faggot of sweet herbs, consisting of savoury, thyme, basil, and knotted marjoram, also a little parsley, and sliced horse-radish. On these pour half a pint of the best sherry, and a pint and a half of strong gravy. Simmer all gently for twenty minutes, then strain it through a sieve, and bottle it for use. The way of using it is, to boil some of it in the butter while melting.

FLANNELS. In order to make flannels keep their colour and not shrink, put them into a pail, and pour on boiling water. Let them lie till cold, before they are washed.

FLAT BEER. Much loss is frequently sustained from beer growing flat, during the time of drawing. To prevent this, suspend a pint or more of ground malt in it, tied up in a large bag, and keep the bung well closed. The beer will not then become vapid, but rather improve the whole time it is in use.

FLAT CAKES. Mix two pounds of flour, one pound of sugar, and one ounce of carraways, with four or five eggs, and a few spoonfuls of water. Make all into a stiff paste, roll it out thin, cut it into any shape, and bake on tins lightly floured. While baking, boil to a thin syrup a pound of sugar in a pint of water. When both are hot, dip each cake into the syrup, and place them on tins to dry in the oven for a short time. When the oven is a little cooler, return them into it, and let them remain there four or five hours. Cakes made in this way will keep good for a long time.

FLAT FISH. Flounders, plaice, soles, and other kinds of flat fish, are good boiled. Cut off the fins, draw and clean them well, dry them with a cloth, and boil them in salt and water. When the fins draw out easily, they are done enough. Serve them with shrimp, cockle, or mustard sauce, and garnish with red cabbage.

FLATULENCY. Wind in the stomach, accompanied with pain, is frequently occasioned by eating flatulent vegetables, or fat meat, with large draughts of beverage immediately afterwards, which turn rancid on the stomach; and of course, these ought to be avoided. Hot tea, turbid beer, and feculent liquors will have the same effect. A phlegmatic constitution, or costiveness, will render the complaint more frequent and painful. Gentle laxatives and a careful diet are the best remedy; but hot aromatics and spirituous liquors should be avoided.

FLEAS. Want of cleanliness remarkably contributes to the production of these offensive insects. The females of this tribe deposit their eggs in damp and filthy places, within the crevices of boards, and on rubbish, when they emerge in the form of fleas in about a month. Cleanliness, and frequent sprinkling of the room with a simple decoction of wormwood, will soon exterminate the whole breed of these disagreeable vermin; and the best remedy to expel them from bed clothes is a bag filled with dry moss, the odour of which is to them extremely offensive. Fumigation with brimstone, or the fresh leaves of pennyroyal sewed in a bag, and laid in the bed, will also have the desired effect. Dogs and cats may be effectually secured from the persecutions of these vermin, by occasionally anointing their skin with sweet oil, or oil of turpentine; or by rubbing into their coats some Scotch snuff. But if they be at all mangy, or their skin broken, the latter would be very painful and improper.

FLIES. If a room be swarming with these noisome insects, the most ready way of expelling them is to fumigate the apartment with the dried leaves of the gourd. If the window be opened, the smoke will instantly drive them out: or if the room be close, it will suffocate them. But in the latter case, no person should remain within doors, as the fume is apt to occasion the headache. Another way is to dissolve two drams of the extract of quassia in half a pint of boiling water; and, adding a little sugar or syrup, pour the mixture upon plates. The flies are extremely partial to this enticing food, and it never fails to destroy them. Camphor placed near any kind of provision will protect it from the flies.

FLIP. To make a quart of flip, put the ale on the fire to warm, and beat up three or four eggs, with four ounces of moist sugar. Add a tea-spoonful of grated nutmeg or ginger, and a quartern of good old rum or brandy. When the ale is nearly boiling, put it into one pitcher, and the rum and eggs into another: turn it from one pitcher to another, till it is as smooth as cream.

FLOATING ISLAND. Mix three half pints of thin cream with a quarter of a pint of raisin wine, a little lemon juice, orange flower water, and sugar. Put it into a dish for the middle of the table, and lay on with a spoon the following froth ready prepared. Sweeten half a pound of raspberry or currant jelly, add to it the whites of four eggs beaten, and beat up the jelly to a froth, until it will take any form you please. It should be raised high, to represent a castle or a rock. – Another way. Scald a codlin before it be ripe, or any other sharp apple, and pulp it through a sieve. Beat the whites of two eggs with sugar, and a spoonful of orange flower water; mix in the pulp by degrees, and beat all together till it produces a large quantity of froth. Serve it on a raspberry cream, or colour the froth with beet root, raspberry, or currant jelly, and set it on a white cream, which has already been flavoured with lemon, sugar, and raisin wine. The froth may also be laid on a custard.

FLOOR CLOTHS. The best are such as are painted on a fine cloth, well covered with colour, and where the flowers do not rise much above the ground, as they wear out first. The durability of the cloth will depend much on these two particulars, but more especially on the time it has been painted, and the goodness of the colours. If they have not been allowed sufficient space for becoming thoroughly hardened, a very little use will injure them: and as they are very expensive articles, care is necessary in preserving them. It answers to keep them some time before they are used, either hung up in a dry airy place, or laid down in a spare room. When taken up for the winter, they should be rolled round a carpet roller, and care taken not to crack the paint by turning in the edges too suddenly. Old carpets answer quite well, painted and seasoned some months before they are laid down. If intended for passages, the width must be directed when they are sent to the manufactory, as they are cut before painting.

FLOOR CLOTHS CLEANED. Sweep them first, then wipe them with a flannel; and when the dust and spots are removed, rub with a wax flannel, and dry them with a plain one. Use but little wax, and rub only with the latter to give a little smoothness, or it will make the floor cloth slippery, and endanger falling. Washing now and then with milk, after the above sweeping and dry rubbing, will 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, anemones, tulips, and other bulbous roots, if not taken up, will be in great danger from the frost, and their shoots in the spring will either be impaired, or totally destroyed. – January. Cover the flower beds with wheat straw, to protect them from the cold; but where the shoots begin to appear, place behind them a reed edge, sloping three feet forward. A mat is to be let down from the top in severe weather, and taken up when it is mild. This will preserve them, without making them weak or sickly. The beds and boxes of seedling flowers should also be covered, and the fence removed when the weather is mild. Clean the auricula plants, pick off dead leaves, and scrape away the surface of the mould. Replenish them with some that is fine and fresh, set the pots up to the brim in the mould of a dry bed, and place behind them a reed edging. Cover carnation plants from wet, and defend them from mice and sparrows. – February. Make hotbeds for annual flowers, of the dung reserved for that purpose, and sow them upon a good thickness of mould, laid regularly over the dung. Transplant perennial flowers, and hardy shrubs, Canterbury bells, lilacs, and the like. Break up and new lay the gravel walks. Weed, rake, and clean the borders; and where the box of the edging is decayed, make it up with a fresh plantation. Sow auricula and polyanthus seeds in boxes, made of rough boards six inches deep, with holes at the bottom to run off the water. Fill the boxes with light mould, scatter the seeds thinly over the surface, sift some more mould over them about a quarter of an inch thick, and place them where they may enjoy the morning sun. Plant out carnations into pots for flowering. – March. Watch the beds of tender flowers, and throw mats over them, supported by hoops, in hard weather. Continue transplanting all the perennial fibrous rooted flowers, such as golden-rods, and sweet-williams. Dig up the earth with a shovel about those which were planted in autumn, and clean the ground between them. All the pots of flowering plants must now be dressed. Pick off dead leaves, remove the earth at the top, and put fresh instead; then give them a gentle watering, and set them in their places for flowering. Be careful that the roots are not wounded, and repeat the watering once in three days. The third week in March is the time to sow sweet peas, poppies, catchflies, and all the hardy annual plants. The last week is proper for transplanting evergreens, and a showery day should be chosen for the purpose. Hotbeds should now be made, to receive the seedlings of annual flowers raised in the former bed. – April. Tie up to sticks the stalks of tall flowers, cut the sticks about two feet long, thrust them eight inches into the ground, and hide them among the leaves. Clean and rake the ground between them. Take off the slips of auriculas, and plant them out carefully for an increase. Transplant perennial flowers and evergreens, as in the former months; take up the roots of colchichams, and other autumnal bulbous plants. Sow French honeysuckles, wallflowers, and other hardy plants, upon the natural ground, and the more tender sorts on hotbeds. Transplant those sown last month, into the second hotbed. Sow carnations and pinks on the natural ground, and on open borders. – May. When the leaves of sowbreads are decayed, take up the roots, and lay them by carefully till the time of planting. Take up the hyacinth roots which have done flowering, and lay them sideways in a bed of dry rich mould, leaving the stems and leaves to die away: this will greatly strengthen the roots. Roll the gravel walks carefully and frequently, and keep the grass clean mowed. Clean all the borders from weeds, take off the straggling branches from the large flowering plants, and train them up in a handsome shape. Plant out French and African marigolds from the hotbeds, with other autumnals, the last week of this month, choosing a cloudy warm day. Tie up the stalks of carnations, pot the tender annuals, such as balsams and amaranths, and set them in a hotbed frame, till summer is more advanced for planting them in the open ground. – June. Choose the evening of a mild showery day, and plant out into the open ground, the tender annuals hitherto kept in pots in the hotbed frame. They must be carefully loosened from the sides of the pot, and taken out with all the mould about them; a large hole must be opened for each, to set them upright in it; and when settled in the ground by gentle watering, they must be tied up to sticks. Let pinks, carnations, and sweet-williams, be laid this month for an increase. Let the layers be covered lightly, and gently watered every other day. Spring flowers being now over, and their leaves faded, the roots must be taken up, and laid by for planting again at a proper season. Snow-drops, winter-aconite, and such sorts, are to be thus managed. The hyacinth roots, laid flat in the ground, must now be taken up, and the dead leaves clipped off; and when cleared from the mould, they must be spread upon a mat in an airy room to dry, and laid by for future planting. Tulip roots also must now be taken up, as the leaves decay: anemones and ranunculuses are treated in the same manner. Cut in three or four places, the cups or poles of the carnations that are near blowing, that they may show regularly. At the same time inoculate some of the fine kind of roses. – July. Clip box edgings, cut and trim hedges, look over all the borders, clear them from weeds, and stir up the mould between the plants. Roll the gravel frequently, and mow the grass plats. Inoculate roses and jasmines that require this kind of propagation, and any of the other flowering shrubs. Gather the seeds of flowers intended to be propagated, and lay them upon a shelf in an airy room in the pods. When they are well hardened, tie them up in paper bags, but do not take them out of the pods till they are wanted. Lay pinks and sweet-williams in the earth as formerly, cut down the stalks of those plants which have done flowering, and which are not kept for seed. Tie up with sticks such as are coming into flower, as for the earlier kinds. Sow lupins, larkspurs, and similar sorts, on dry warm borders, to stand the winter, and flower early next year. – August. Dig up a mellow border, and draw lines at five inches distance, lengthways and across. In the centre of these squares, plant the seedling polyanthuses, one in each square. In the same manner plant out the seedling auriculas. Shade them till they have taken root, and water them once a day. See whether the layers of sweet-williams, carnations, and such like, have taken root; transplant such as are rooted, and give frequent gentle waterings to the others in order to promote it. Cut down the stalks of plants that have done flowering, saving the seed that may be wanted, as it ripens, and water the tender annuals every evening. Sow anemones and ranunculuses, tulip, and narcissus seed. Dig up a border for early tulip roots, and others for hyacinths, anemones, and ranunculuses. Sow annuals to stand through the winter, and shift auriculas into fresh pots. – September. During this month, preparation should be made for the next season. Tear up the annuals that have done flowering, and cut down such perennials as are past their beauty. Bring in other perennials from the nursery beds, and plant them with care at regular distances. Take up the box edgings where they have outgrown their proper size, and part and plant them afresh. Plant tulip and other flower roots, slip polyanthuses, and place them in rich shady borders. Sow the seeds of flower de luce and crown imperial, as also of auriculas and polyanthuses, according to the method before recommended. Part off the roots of flower de luce, piony, and others of a similar kind. In the last week transplant hardy flowering shrubs, and they will be strong the next summer. – October. Let all the bulbous roots for spring flowering be put into the ground; narcissus, maragon, tulips, and such ranunculuses and anemones as were not planted sooner. Transplant columbines, monkshood, and all kinds of fibrous rooted perennials. Place under shelter the auriculas and carnations that are in pots. Dig up a dry border, and if not dry enough, dig in some sand, and set in the pots up to the brim. Place the reed fence sloping behind them, and fasten a mat to its top, that may be let down in bad weather. Take off the dead leaves of the auriculas, before they are thus planted. Bring into the garden some fresh flowering shrubs, wherever they may be wanted, and at the end of the month prune some of the hardier kind. – November. Prepare a good heap of pasture ground, with the turf among it, to rot into mould for the borders. Transplant honeysuckles and spireas, with other hardy flowering shrubs. Rake over the beds of seedling flowers, and strew some peas straw over to keep out the frost. Cut down the stems of perennials which have done flowering, pull up annuals that are spent, and rake and clear the ground. Place hoops over the beds of ranunculuses and anemones, and lay mats or cloths in readiness to draw over them, in case of hard rains or frost. Clean up the borders in all parts of the garden, and take care to destroy not only the weeds, but all kinds of moss. Look over the seeds of those flowers which were gathered in summer, to see that they are dry and sweet; and prepare a border or two for the hardier kind, by digging and cleaning. – December. During frost or cold rain, draw the mats and cloths over the ranunculuses; give the anemones a little air in the middle of every tolerable day; and as soon as possible, uncover them all day, but draw on the mats at night. Throw up the earth where flowering shrubs are to be planted in the spring, and turn it once a fortnight. Dig up the borders that are to receive flower roots in the spring, and give them the advantage of a fallow, by throwing up the ground in a ridge. Scatter over it a very little rotten dung from a melon bed, and afterwards turn it twice during the winter. Examine the flowering shrubs, and prune them. Cut away all the dead wood, shorten luxuriant branches, and if any cross each other, take away one. Leave them so that the air may have a free passage between them. Sift a quarter of an inch of good fresh mould over the roots of perennial flowers, whose stalks have been cut down, and then rake over the borders. This will give the whole an air of culture and good management, which is always pleasing.

FLOWER POTS. As flowers and plants should enjoy a free circulation of air to make them grow well, sitting rooms are not very well adapted to the purpose, unless they could be frequently ventilated by opening the doors and windows. In every severe frost or damp weather, moderate fires should be made in the rooms where the plants are placed, and the shutters closed at night. Placing saucers under the pots, and pouring water continually into them, is highly improper: it should be poured on the mould, that it may filter through it, and thereby refresh the fibres of the plant. Many kinds of annuals, sown in March and the beginning of April, may be transplanted into pots about the end of May, and should be frequently watered till they have taken root. If transplanted in the summer season, the evening is the proper time, and care must be taken not to break the fibres of the root. When the plants are attacked by any kind of crawling insects, the evil may be prevented by keeping the saucers full of water, so as to form a river round the pot, and rubbing some oil round the side. Oil is fatal to most kinds of insects, and but few of them can endure it.

FLOWER SEEDS. When the seeds begin to ripen they should be supported with sticks, to prevent their being scattered by the wind; and in wet weather they should be removed to a dry place, and rubbed out when convenient. August is in general the proper time for gathering flower seeds, but many kinds will ripen much sooner. To ascertain whether the seed be fully ripe, put a little of it into water: if it be come to maturity, it will sink to the bottom, and if not it will swim upon the surface. To preserve them for vegetation, it is only necessary to wrap the seed up in cartridge paper, pasted down and varnished over with gum, or the white of an egg. Some kinds of seeds are best enclosed in sealing wax.

FLUMMERY. Steep in cold water, for a day and a night, three large handfuls of very fine white oatmeal. Pour it off clear, add as much more water, and let it stand the same time. Strain it through a fine hair sieve, and boil it till it is as thick as hasty pudding, stirring it well all the time. When first strained, put to it one large spoonful of white sugar, and two of orange flower water. Pour it into shallow dishes, and serve it up with wine, cider, and milk; or it will be very good with cream and sugar.

FOMENTATIONS. Boil two ounces each of camomile flowers, and the tops of wormwood, in two quarts of water. Pour off the liquor, put it on the fire again, dip in a piece of flannel, and apply it to the part as hot as the patient can bear it. When it grows cold, heat it up again, dip in another piece of flannel, apply it as the first, and continue changing them as often as they get cool, taking care not to let the air get to the part affected when the flannel is changed. – To relieve the toothache, pain in the face, or any other acute pain, the following anodyne fomentation may be applied. Take two ounces of white poppy heads, and half an ounce of elder flowers, and boil them in three pints of water, till it is reduced one third. Strain off the liquor, and foment the part affected.

FOOD. In the early ages of the world, mankind were chiefly supported by berries, roots, and such other vegetables as the earth produced of itself, according to the original grant of the great Proprietor of all things. In later ages, especially after the flood, this grant was enlarged; and man had recourse to animals, as well as to vegetables artificially raised for their support, while the art of preparing food has been brought to the highest degree of perfection. Vegetables are however, with a few exceptions, more difficult of digestion than animal food; but a due proportion of both, with the addition of acids, is the most conducive to health, as well as agreeable to the palate. Animal as well as vegetable food may be rendered unwholesome by being kept too long; and when offensive to the senses, they become alike injurious to health. Diseased animals, and such as die of themselves, ought never to be eaten. Such as are fed grossly, stalled cattle and pigs, without any exercise, do not afford food so nourishing or wholesome as others. Salt meat is not so easily digested as fresh provisions, and has a tendency to produce putrid diseases, especially the scurvy. If vegetables and milk were more used, there would be less scurvy, and fewer inflammatory fevers. Our food ought neither to be too moist, nor too dry. Liquid food relaxes and renders the body feeble: hence those who live much on tea, and other watery diet, generally become weak, and unable to digest solid food. They are also liable to hysterics, with a train of other nervous affections. But if the food be too dry, it disposes the body to inflammatory disorders, and is equally to be avoided. Families would do well to prepare their own diet and drink, as much as possible, in order to render it good and wholesome. Bread in particular is so necessary a part of daily food, that too much care cannot be taken to see that it be made of sound grain duly prepared, and kept from all unwholesome ingredients. Those who make bread for sale, seek rather to please the eye than to promote health. The best bread is that which is neither too coarse nor too fine, well fermented, and made of wheat flour, or wheat and rye mixed together. Good fermented liquors, neither too weak nor too strong, are to be preferred. If too weak, they require to be drunk soon, and then they produce wind and flatulencies in the stomach. If kept too long, they turn sour, and then become unwholesome. On the other hand, strong liquor, by hurting the digestion, tends to weaken and relax: it also keeps up a constant fever, which exhausts the spirits, inflames the blood, and disposes the body to numberless diseases. Beer, cider, and other family liquors, should be of such strength as to keep till they are ripe, and then they should be used. Persons of a weak and relaxed habit should avoid every thing hard of digestion: their diet requires to be light and nourishing, and they should take sufficient exercise in the open air. Those who abound with blood, should abstain from rich wines and highly nourishing food, and live chiefly on vegetables. Corpulent persons ought frequently to use radish, garlic, or such things as promote perspiration. Their drink should be tea, coffee, or the like; they ought also to take much exercise, and but little sleep. Those who are of a thin habit, should follow the opposite course. Such as are troubled with sour risings in the stomach, should live chiefly on animal food; and those who are afflicted with hot risings and heartburn, should have a diet of acid vegetables. Persons of low spirits, and subject to nervous disorders, should avoid all flatulent food, whatever is hard of digestion, or apt to turn sour on the stomach. Their diet should be light, cool, and of an opening nature; not only suited to the age and constitution, but also to the manner of life. A sedentary person should live more sparingly than one who labours hard without doors, and those who are afflicted with any particular disease ought to avoid such aliment as has a tendency to increase it. Those afflicted with the gravel ought to avoid every thing astringent; and the scorbutic of every description, salted or smoked provisions. In the first period of life, the food should be light, but nourishing, and frequently taken. For infants in particular, it ought to be adapted to their age, and the strength of their digestive powers. No food whatever that has been prepared for many hours should be given them, especially after being warmed up; for it creates flatulence, heartburn, and a variety of other disorders. Sudden changes from liquid to solid food should be avoided, as well as a multiplicity of different kinds; and all stimulating dishes and heating liquors, prepared for adults, should be carefully withheld from children. The common but indecent practice of introducing chewed victuals into their mouth, is equally disgusting and unwholesome. Solid food is most proper for the state of manhood, but it ought not to be too uniform. Nature has provided a great variety for the use of man, and given him an appetite suited to that variety: the constant use of one kind of food therefore is not good for the constitution, though any great or sudden change in diet ought as well to be avoided. The change should be gradual, as any sudden transition from a low to a rich and luxurious mode of living, may endanger health, and even life itself. The diet suited to the last period of life, when nature is on the decline, approaches nearly to that of the first: it should be light and nourishing, and more frequently taken than in vigorous age. Old people are generally afflicted with wind, giddiness, and headachs, which are frequently occasioned by fasting too long, and even many sudden deaths arise from the same cause. The stomach therefore should never be allowed in any case to be too long empty, but especially in the decline of life. Proper attention to diet is of the utmost importance, not only to the preservation of health, but in the cure of many diseases, which may be effected by diet only. Its effects indeed are not always so quick as those of medicine, but they are generally more lasting, and are obtained with greater ease and certainty. Temperance and exercise are the two best physicians in the world; and if they were duly regarded, there would be little occasion for any other.