64 MORE POT-POURRI 



lently given in Mrs. Boundell's ' Practical Cookery Book' 

 under the head of ' Pond Fish.' Sea fish in England is so 

 plentiful that I do not believe, in these days of quick 

 carriage, that fresh-water fish will ever be again a matter 

 of trade, though even this we cannot say for certain. The 

 fishmongers and fishermen are so absolutely determined 

 to ruin our fish supply by covering it with that injurious 

 chemical, boracic acid, very often before it leaves the 

 coast, that I for one would greatly prefer a freshly netted 

 pond fish. Boracic acid can be easily recognised, when 

 the fish is cooked, by the purple line that lies along the 

 spine in soles, whiting, haddock, plaice, etc. It is intro- 

 duced under the gill, and I fancy with experience /me 

 would soon recognise it even before the fish is cooked. 

 But the use of it is now so universal, alas ! that a young 

 cook can hardly be expected to know what fish looked 

 like without it. I cannot understand why people who 

 possess large places with rivers, lakes, ponds, game- 

 keepers, and in fact every facility for having fresh-water 

 fish, are yet content to do without so good a variety of 

 food. 



One reason is that the cooks do not know how to 

 cook it properly, and the mistresses of the house do not 

 take the trouble to teach them. The Izaak Walton 

 receipts are very inadequate, and depend almost entirely 

 for success on cooking the fish the very moment it is 

 taken out of the water. In France fish that cannot be 

 cooked immediately is always marinaded. (See ' Dainty 

 Dishes.') Mrs. Eoundell entirely does away with the 

 terrible superstition that has always haunted my imagina- 

 tion as a fact, that eels have to be skinned alive as lobsters 

 are boiled alive. She is silent on the subject of lobsters, 

 but with regard to eels she distinctly says : ' Kill them 

 first and skin them afterwards.' 



Endive. (French receipt.) Boil the leaves in lots of 



