4IO 



Fly poison is to be procured from chemists; 

 but there seems httle advantage to be derived 

 from its use, as it attracts more flies into a 

 house than it destroys. All are not alike 

 tempted to taste of it. Quassia and sugar, with 

 a little water, set about a kitchen in saucers, 

 is a poison for flies, and not for human beings, 

 and may therefore be safely used. 



XIX. MICE AND RATS. 



Mice and rats are animals well known, and 

 against which our best defence is the cat. In 

 the absence of a good mouser traps are em- 

 ployed, of which various kinds are sold in the 

 shops. As neither mice nor rats can harbour 

 where there are no holes for them to take re- 

 fuge in, great care should be taken to stop up 



Tlic Country Gcntkivonian 



all such where they are discovered : to a 

 neglect of this may be attributed frequent 

 visits from the animals that might have been 

 avoided. Holes in brickwork should be 

 stopped with Parker's cement. As both mice 

 and rats will gnaw wood, they will often make 

 entrances for themselves into places where 

 provisions are kept : as soon as any of these 

 are discovered the caq^enter or bricklayer 

 should be sent for. We object to the em- 

 ployment of poisonous substances for destroy- 

 ing these vermin, on account of the fatal 

 accidents that have been known to result 

 from their incautious use. Rats frequently 

 come from the drains, but the use of proper 

 drain traps prevents this. 



HINTS ON CHOOSING PROVISIONS. 



IN the right royal " Book of Cookery " by 

 M. Gouffe, her Majesty's chef dc cuisine, 

 are some excellent hints to housewives on 

 choosing meat, fish, poultry, &c., from which 

 we select the following : — 



BUTCHER MEAT. 



Beef should be chosen of a bright red 

 ■colour, with light yellow fat, approaching the 

 hue of fresh butter. If the beef should be 

 hard and firm to the touch, with flaccid and 

 little fat, of a brown and dull colour, these are 

 sure indications of inferior quality. As com- 

 plement to what concerns beef, we represent 

 beef kidney of superior and inferior qualities. 

 Veal should be chosen of a light colour, with 

 very white and transparent fat. Avoid lean 

 veal of a reddish tint, and the kidney of which 

 is surrounded by red-looking fat. Prime 

 mutton is known by the same signs as good 

 beef — viz., a bright red colour, freedom from 

 grisde, and very white and transparent fat. 

 Inferior mutton is of a dull red colour, with 

 yellow and opaque fat. 



POULTRY. 



In the first place, poultry should be se- 

 lected very tender, particularly when not in 



season, from the ist of December to the ist 

 of May. Spring chickens begin in May, but 

 at any time they should be carefully examined 

 before buying. A tender chicken is known 

 by the size of its feet and neck : a young fowl 

 always has large feet and knee-joints. These 

 characteristics disappear with age. A tough 

 fowl has a thin neck and feet, and the flesh 

 of the thigh has a slight violet tinge. After 

 examining these external signs, the flesh of 

 the pinion and breast should be tried : if 

 tender in both these places, the fowl can be 

 used with confidence. 



Never use old fowls. 



I call particular attention to this principle, 

 which I consider a very important one. 

 Never use an old fowl in cookery. "Which- 

 ever way you dress it, it will never be good. 

 It is a great mistake to recommend, as in 

 many cookery books, the putting of an old 

 hen in the stock-pot. Instead of improving 

 the broth, it can do nothing but impart to it 

 the impleasant flavour of the hen-house. It 

 is also a mistake to expect to make a good 

 daube with an old goose or turkey : nothing 

 but a bad result will be obtained. It is well, 

 however, to distmguish between hard, but 



