452 THE FARMER'S AN*D 



must lie for six hours in pump water. It must then be 

 salted with saltpetre, of the bulk of an egg, mixed with 

 two pounds of common salt. White wine vinegar is to 

 be sprinkled upon it, and it must lie for three days, turn- 

 ing it once a day. The brine is then washed away with 

 claret. The seasoning must consist of cloves, mace, nut- 

 meg, white and red pepper ; a quarter of an ounce of 

 each, beaten together with savory, thyme, sage, and the 

 rind of lemon, shredded together, and then well-rubbed into 

 the cuts, slashes, and insides. It must be afterward bound 

 with tape, the claret poured over it, the skins laid upon it, 

 and baked in a long pot. 



TO PRESERVE BUTTER. 



Butter may be preserved without salt, by incorporating 

 it with honey, in the proportion of an ounce to a pound of 

 butter. This has an agreeable taste, will keep for years, 

 and might be useful on long voyages ; but as the propor- 

 tioo of honey is considerable, it may not agree with some 

 constitutions. 



TO PRESERVE EGGS 



However compact and close the shell of an egg may 

 appear, it is nevertheless perforated with a multitude of 

 small pores, too minute to be seen by the unassisted eye. 

 The effect of these, however, is evident, by the daily de- 

 crease of the moisture of the egg, through evaporation, 

 and the air taking its place, which operates in effecting its 

 alteration. From the time of its being laid, when the 

 egg is quite full, a fluid is constantly perspiring through 

 the perforations of the shell, which occasions its decay ; 

 and this proceeds more rapidly in warm than in cold 

 weather. Although an egg quite fresh is proverbially 

 "full," yet in all stale egi;s there is some vacancy, which 

 is in proportion to the loss they have sustained through 



