DATE. 235 
last, amid great excitement, he was ready, with the gravy made, 
and a dish found big enough to hold him; and then with a 
solemn procession of the family he was served in state. Several 
of the neighbours came in to have a taste; but, sad to relate, 
a taste was enough! Of all the tough, stringy, fishy meats 
I ever tried, that Swan was the worst! Our efforts ended with 
hacking just a few slices from the breast ; but what the legs and 
wings were like was left unproved. The mistake was that this 
old Swan had long passed the Cygnet stage.” 
There is, or was, a Swan pit at Norwich, where Cygnets had 
their abode for table purposes, being specially fed with this 
view ; and it has been declared that a wild Swan, if killed when 
young, equals in appetizing flavour a wild duck. The Cygnet 
should be prepared and trussed like a goose, receiving a stuffing 
of which three pounds of minced rump steak are an essential 
ingredient; it is then wrapped in oiled paper, next in water- 
paste, and again oiled paper, and roasted like venison ; the 
package requires roasting for at least four hours before a large 
fire on the spit. It must be frequently basted with butter 
made liquid by melting. Or, it would be far preferable (says 
Dr. Thudicum) to bake the Cygnet in a good oven. The popular 
notion, derived from Chaucer’s Parliament of Fouls, has no 
foundation in fact, that “‘ The jealous Swan agens hire deth that 
syngeth.” In Germany giblet pie is a well-known dish, the 
giblets being stewed with pork chops, and pears, whilst flavoured 
with sugar, and cloves. The giblets of a Cygnet are esteemed 
an ambrosial morsel, and form a lordly dish. In England, on 
the Thames-side, a supper of two Cygnets is served annually 
for appreciative guests at the “ Coach and Horses Inn,” Barnes. 
DATE. 
Tue fruit of the Date Palm (Phenix dactylifera), or Tree of Life, 
is the most nourishing of all our imported tree products, by 
reason of its abundant, and luscious sweetness. The name 
Phoenix has been bestowed on the Date Palm, because a young 
shoot springs always from the withered stump of an old decayed 
Date tree, taking the place of the dead parent ; and the specific 
term ‘‘ dactylifera ” refers to the fancied resemblance between 
the fruit clusters and the human fingers. Children especially 
appreciate dates, and benefit by their plentiful sugar (about 
