THE EMIGRANT'S HAND-BOOK. 471 



Pork. When good, the rind is smooth, and cool to the 

 touch ; when changing, from being too long killed, it be- 

 comes flaccid and clammy. Enlarged glands, called 

 kernels, in the fat, are marks of an ill-fed or diseased 



Pig- 



Bacon should have a thin rind, and the fat should be 



firm and tinged red by the curing ; the flesh should be of 

 a clear red, without intermixture of yellow, and it should 

 firmly adhere to the bone. To judge of the state of a ham, 

 plunge a knife into it to the bone ; on drawing it back, if 

 particles of meat adhere to it, or if the smell is disagree- 

 able, the curing has not been effectual, and the ham is not 

 good ; it should, in such a state, be immediately cooked. 

 In buying a ham, a short thick one is to be preferred to 

 one long and thin. Of English hams, Yorkshire, West- 

 moreland, and Hampshire are most esteemed : of foreign, 

 the Westphalia. 



Venison. When good, the fat is clear, bright, and of 

 considerable thickness. To know when it is necessary to 

 cook it, a knife must be plunged into the haunch ; and 

 from the smell, the cook must determine on dressing or 

 keeping it. 



In choosing poultry, the age of the bird is the chief 

 point to be attended to. 



An old turkey has rough and reddish legs ; a young 

 one smooth and black. Fresh killed, the eyes are full 

 and clear, and the feet moist. When it has been kept 

 too long, the parts about the vent begin to wear a greenish 

 discolored appearance. 



Common domestic fowls, when young, have the legs and 

 combs smooth ; when old, they are rough, and on the 

 breast long hairs are found instead of feathers. Fowls 

 and chickens should be plump on the breast, fat on the 

 back, and white-legged. 



Geese. The bills and feet are red when old ; yellow 



