HOME STUDIES. 



AC ATE R, n. An old English word. A provider, ca- 

 terer, or purchaser of provisions. An acater, to understand 

 his or her business, should know which meats and vegetable? 

 best consort with certain seasons ; how to choose young 

 chickens, by trying the flesh under the wing, seeing if the 

 breast-bone yields to the touch, if the scales on the leg be 

 smooth, and the spurs scarcely budded, and the claws tender 

 and short ; how to select healthy meats, by rejecting such as 

 show a yellow, diseased appearance in the fatty portions, or 

 a spotted, unequal surface, as if indifferently bled, or coarse, 

 loose fibre, indicating poor feed. A good acater should make 

 himself familiar with the most reliable brands for flour ; the 

 choicest varieties of apples for dessert, and also for culinary 

 preparations ; the difference between dry, unadulterated 

 sugar, and that which is the refuse of the sugar-factory, 

 between acid and fermenting molasses, and rich, wholesome 

 sirup. In short, a good acater and caterer should have good 

 sense, nice observation, be something of a chemist, and a 

 little of a Yankee. 



ACCOMPANIMENT, n. That which* accompanies. 

 (Worcester.) This word seems to be principally devoted 

 to the musical and culinary arts. One axiom with the house- 

 keeper is never to have insipid meats accompanied with 

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