478 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [December 14,1872. 
some excellent examples of ash.-closet and other drainage 
systems and a short discussion on sewage utilization. 
Despite our friendly criticisms, we recommend the book 
as worthy of a place in a library, and wish it a good 
circulation. 
Round the Table. Notes on Cookery and Plain Re¬ 
cipes, with a Selection of Bills of Fare for Every 
Month. By “ The G. C.” London: Horace Cox. 
1872. 
Howto Cook. The Principles and Practice of Scientific, 
Economic, Hygienic and ^Esthetic Gastronomy, with 
Model Recipes in Every Department of Cookery, 
Original and Selected. By T. L. Nichols, M.D. 
London: Longmans. 1872. 
The sufferings of Sancho Panza, when the import¬ 
ance of his health to the community of the island 
of Barataria caused his dietary to be placed under 
the dictation of a doctor of physic, have often been 
food for laughter. But the reading of a well-written 
book on cookery enables one to sympathize with the 
hungry squire when he saw one dish whisked away 
because it was too watery, another because it was 
too highly spiced, or heard his plea for a plate of 
roasted partridges cruelly met with the Hippocratian 
aphorism, “ Omnis saturatio mala, perdicis autem 
pessima.” And since, in a recent pharmaceutical 
oration, it was strongly insinuated that competent phar¬ 
macists were much more numerous than pharmacists 
with a competency, some apology may be thought 
necessary for the introduction of a subject in the study of 
which it is so very difficult to obtain assistance in the 
shape of “ object lessons.” For under such circum¬ 
stances Chispa’s problem is very apt to crop up— 
“ I’ve beard my grandmother say, that Heaven gives almonds 
To those who have no teeth. That’s nuts to crack. 
I’ve teeth to spare, but where shall I find almonds ?” 
But there has always been somewhat of a special oon- 
nection between the apothecary and the cook, even be¬ 
yond the evident one that a too free patronage of the 
latter frequently necessitates the services of the former. 
Much that is akin to practical pharmacy is found in 
the art of cookery as practised by a real chef tie cuisine, 
and the special qualities required by an expert in both 
callings are mainly identical. Though at the present day, 
cookery is too often a preliminary to requiring the aid 
of the physician, it was in ancient times looked upon as 
a branch of the healing art; and a revival of this 
opinion is noticeable in the increased attention that has 
lately been paid by medical and scientific men to ques¬ 
tions of diet. Besides this, medical men have not 
thought it beneath them to write upon cookery, and Sir 
Theodore Mayerne in the seventeenth century, Hunter 
and Hill in the eighteenth, and Kitchener in the nine¬ 
teenth, have given to the world cookery books that 
rank among the best of their respective eras. 
‘ Round the Table ’ is the production of a writer who 
not only knows his subject, but evidently loves it. One 
can easily believe the statement in his preface that the 
recipes are derived from experience. Although lacking 
the wit that renders Brillat Savarin’s ‘ Physiologie du 
Gout ’ so enjoyable, “ The G. C.” makes the reader feel 
himself in good company. Starting with a proper 
horror of “people who on four days out of the seven 
dine off a joint and potatoes,” he gives pleasant glimpses 
of that Utopia where the price of meat, milk and eggs 
has no power to interfere with the gastronomic enjoy¬ 
ments of its inhabitants. Indeed, in such company, 
one is surprised to meet with a “ Potage au Pauvre 
Homme;” and it is quite a relief to discover, from the 
position of the adjective in the title considered in con¬ 
nection with the nature of the ingredients in the potage, 
that probably poverty of the pocket is not alluded 
to. But although there may be many dishes re¬ 
ferred to in this book which would only be likely 
to make their appearance in an expensive establish¬ 
ment where professional cooks are employed, there 
is also a great deal of sound advice respecting those 
little points which are so essential to the comfort of 
the dining-room. Hints as to the number, selection 
and arrangement of the guests, the ordering of the ser¬ 
vants, the decoration of the table and the disposition c£ 
the dishes thereon, the temperature of the room, the 
management of lamps, and a hundred other subjects— 
all of them marked by good taste, and generally as ap¬ 
plicable to a small as a large establishment—meet the 
reader on almost every page. 
It is curious to note how old customs are sometimes' 
confirmed by modern opinion. The Romans said that 
the number of guests at a table should not be less 
than the Graces or more than the Muses. “Ten is- 
the very largest number of friends that should as¬ 
semble at dinner,” writes “ The G.C.” “Good wine,” 
said Sir Theodore Mayerne, at eighty-two years of 
age, “ is slow poison: I have drunk it all my life¬ 
time, and it has not killed me yet; but bad wine is sud¬ 
den death.” “In the matter of wine,” echoes our author, 
“ no mediocrity is tolerable; small beer or water is in¬ 
finitely preferable to bad wine.” According to Milton, 
the first hostess—Eve—was intent 
“ What choice to choose for delicacy best, 
What order, so contrived as not to mix 
Tastes, not well joined, inelegant, but bring 
Taste after taste upheld with kindliest change,—” 
although she was harassed by “no fear lest dinner 
cool.” And the following description of a cook, written- 
when Athens was more than a name, is just as true after 
the lapse of two millenniums :— 
“To roast some beef, to carve a joint with neatness. 
To boil up sauces, and to blow the fire, 
Is anybody’s task; he who does this 
Is but a seasoner and broth-maker; 
A cook is quite another thing. His mind 
Must comprehend all facts and circumstances : 
Where is the place and what the time of supper; 
Who are the guests and who the entertainer ; 
What fish he ought to buy and where to buy it.” 
In this work the importance of using absolutely clean, 
vessels is strongly enforced, and it is truly remarked 
that in a majority of fihe kitchens of the middle classes 
of this country the cooks would pronounce vessels 
“clean” which no amount of sand, soda and soap could 
make fit for use. 
‘ Round the Table ’ supplies many recipes that might 
be usefully extracted if space allowed, but we must con¬ 
tent ourselves with two which have the double ad van-- 
tage of answering a question sometimes put to the 
pharmacist, and giving a fair specimen of the style of the 
book. 
“ Restorative Broth. —Slice three onions, and dispose them 
in a saucepan so as to completely cover the bottom of it; 
over them place a layer of fat bacon in slices a quarter of 
an inch thick; over that put three carrots, also cut in slices, 
so as to form another layer; on this again put the following 
condiments judiciously proportioned—viz., salt, whole pepper, 
cloves, parsley, marjoram and thyme. Upon this pile up two 
calves’ feet, chopped in small pieces, and one pound of beef¬ 
steak, free from all fat and finely minced. Cover the saucepan 
and put it on the fire, there to remain for one hour. There should 
be no fire at the side, it should be fairly under the saucepan. 
The next step consists in filling up the saucepan with boiling 
water so as just to cover the contents; and then it is put by 
the side of the fire to simmer for one hour; after that the 
liquor should be poured off without disturbing the other con¬ 
tents of the saucepan. The steam, which arises during this 
operation gives out a most appetizing perfume, which will 
fill the hearts of those present with gladness. The liquor 
should now be strained through a napkin; the little fat 
which will float on it should be removed with the help of 
some clean blotting-paper; and the broth can be adminis¬ 
tered to the patient. A teaspoonful of sherry and a small 
quantity of sugar may be advantageously added to each cup¬ 
ful. This restorative when cold will be a firm jelly, and it 
can then be administered in a solid form.” 
