PRUNE PUDDING. Mix four spoonfuls of flour in a quart of milk; add six eggs, two tea-spoonfuls of powdered ginger, a little salt, and a pound of prunes. Tie it in a cloth, and boil it an hour.
PRUNE TART. Scald some prunes, take out the stones and break them. Put the kernels into a little cranberry juice, with the prunes and sugar; simmer them together, and when cold, make a tart of the sweetmeat.
PRUNING. In pruning wall fruit, care should be taken to cut off all fresh shoots that will not readily bind to the wall; for if any be twisted or bruised in the binding, they will in time decay, and the sap will issue from the place. Vines should not be cut too close to please the eye, as by that means they have sometimes been rendered barren of fruit. Two knots should generally be left on new shoots, which will produce two bunches of grapes, and which are to be cut off at the next pruning. New branches are to be left every year, and some of the old ones must be removed, which will increase the quant.i.ty of fruit.
PUDDINGS. The only puddings which can with propriety be recommended, as really wholesome diet, are those of the simplest kind, such as are seldom met with except in families in the middle ranks of life. The poor unfortunately cannot get them, and the rich prefer those of a more complex kind, of which the best that can be hoped is, that they will not do much harm. The princ.i.p.al ingredients of common puddings are so mild and salutary, that unless they are over-cooked, or too many of them mixed together, such puddings are generally wholesome. To make them of the best and most nutricious quality, the materials should all be fresh and good of their kind; such as, flour newly ground, new milk, fresh laid eggs, and fresh suet. Millet, sago, tapioca, whole rice, will all keep a considerable time, if put into a dry place. When rice, millet, or sago, are wanted to be used ground, they had better be ground at home for the sake of having them fresh, and the certainty of having them pure. Such a mill as is used for grinding coffee, will grind them extremely well. The whites of eggs should never be used in puddings for children, or persons of weak stomachs, or for those who are any way indisposed, on account of their being indigestible. Omitting them altogether would indeed be attended with no disadvantage. The yolk of an egg alone answers the same purpose, as when the white is used with it.
To prove this, let two cups of batter pudding be made, one with the yolk of an egg only, the other with the yolk and white together, and the result will be, that the pudding with the yolk only is quite as light, if not lighter, than the one with the whole egg. In other instances also, of several kinds of puddings, where the whites of eggs have been totally omitted, without at all encreasing the number of eggs, the result has been the same. There is a species of economy practised by good housewives, of making compositions on purpose to use up the whites of eggs which have been left out of any preparation made with eggs. But this is a false economy; for surely it is far better to reject as food what is known to be injurious, and to find other uses for it, than to make the human stomach the receptacle for offal. Economy would be much more judiciously exerted in retrenching superfluities, than exercised in this manner. Two or three good dishes of their kind, and well cooked, are infinitely preferable to a whole course of indigestible compositions. A soup might as well be made of cabbage stalks and pea sh.e.l.ls, as any preparation of food with whites of eggs, when there is no doubt of their being positively prejudicial. As cabbage stalks then go to the dunghill, and pea sh.e.l.ls to the pigs, so let whites of eggs go to the book-binder, or find some other destination. There are also various kinds of fruit that require to be used with great caution. Currants, raisins, prunes, French plums, figs, and all kinds of preserves, are prepared either by the heat of the sun, or by cookery to the full extent that they will bear, and beyond which any application of heat gives them a tendency to putridity. They are therefore certainly prejudicial to weak stomachs when used in puddings, and cannot be good for any; though strong stomachs may not perceive an immediate ill effect from them.
Eaten without any farther preparation, and especially with bread, these things may be used in moderation. For the reasons just given, spices are better not put into puddings, they are already in a sufficiently high state of preparation. The warm climates in which they grow, brings them to a state of far greater maturity than the general productions of our northern lat.i.tude. When they are used, it is better to add them ground, at the time of eating what is to be seasoned, or put in the last thing before serving up the dish. These are also better ground at home, both to have them fresh, and free from adulteration. Almonds used in puddings are liable to the same objection. The danger of using laurel leaves in cooking, cannot be too frequently repeated. Bay leaves, bitter almonds, and fruit kernels, if not equally dangerous, are pernicious enough to make it very advisable not to use them. Fresh fruits often become more unwholesome from being cooked in puddings and tarts, yet will in many cases agree then with stomachs that cannot take them raw; but unripe fruits are not good, either dressed or in any other state.--To prepare puddings in the best manner, they should boil briskly over a clear fire, with the pot lid partly if not entirely off, as the access of fresh air makes every thing dress sweeter. As b.u.t.ter is generally an expensive article, dripping, nicely prepared, may on many occasions be used as a subst.i.tute. It will answer the purpose of rubbing basins with, quite as well as b.u.t.ter, and never gives any unpleasant flavour to the pudding. It is also very proper to dredge a basin with flour, after it is rubbed with b.u.t.ter or dripping. Economy in eggs is both rational and useful, as puddings with a moderate number of eggs are more wholesome, than when used extravagantly or with profusion. Pudding cloths, and every utensil in making puddings, should be quite clean, or the food cannot be wholesome. The outside of a boiled pudding often tastes disagreeably, which arises from the cloth not being nicely washed, and kept in a dry place. It should be dipt in boiling water, squeezed dry, and floured, when to be used. A bread pudding should be loosely tied, and a batter pudding tight over. The water should boil quick when the pudding is put in, and it should be moved about for a minute, lest the ingredients should not mix. Batter pudding should be strained through a coa.r.s.e sieve, when all is mixed: in others, the eggs should be strained separately. Pans and basins in which puddings are to be boiled, should always be b.u.t.tered, or rubbed with clean dripping. A pan of cold water should be prepared, and the pudding dipped in as soon as it comes out of the pot, to prevent its adhering to the cloth. Good puddings may be made without eggs; but they must have as little milk as is sufficient to mix the batter, and must boil three or four hours. A few spoonfuls of fresh small beer, or one of yeast, will answer instead of eggs. Snow is also an excellent subst.i.tute for eggs, either in puddings or pancakes. Two large spoonfuls will supply the place of one egg, and the article it is used in will be equally good. This is a useful piece of information, especially as snow often falls when eggs are scarce and dear. Fresh small beer, or bottled malt liquors, will likewise serve instead of eggs. The yolks and whites beaten long and separately, make the article they are put into much lighter.
PUDDING CAKES. Put four yolks and two whites of eggs to a pint of milk; mix with it half a pint of bread crumbs grated fine, half a nutmeg, six ounces of currants washed and dried, a quarter of a pound of beef suet chopped small, a little salt, and flour sufficient to make it of a moderate thickness. Fry these cakes in lard, of about the usual size of a fritter.
PUDDING KETCHUP. Steep an ounce of thin-pared lemon peel, and half an ounce of mace, in half a pint of brandy, or a pint of sherry, for fourteen days. Then strain it, and add a quarter of a pint of capillaire. This will keep for years, and being mixed with melted b.u.t.ter, it is a delicious relish to puddings and sweet dishes.
PUDDING WITH MEAT. Make a batter with flour, milk, and eggs. Pour a little into the bottom of a pudding-dish; then put seasoned meat of any kind into it, and a little shred onion. Pour the remainder of the batter over, and bake it in a slow oven. A loin of mutton baked in batter, being first cleared of most of the fat, makes a good dish.
PUFFS. They should be made of light puff crust, rolled out and cut into shapes according to the fancy. Then bake them, and lay some sweetmeat in the middle. Or roll out the crust, cut it into pieces of any shape, lay sweetmeats over one half, and turn the other half of the crust over; press them together round the edge, and bake them.
PUFF CRUST. Take a pound and a half of flour, put it upon a pie board with a little salt, and mix in gradually just water sufficient to make it into a paste, taking care that it be neither too thin nor too stiff.
Mould it lightly together, and let it lie for two hours before it is finished. Roll out the paste, put a pound of b.u.t.ter into the middle of it, fold the two ends of the paste over it, and roll it out; then fold it together, and roll it out again. Repeat this six times in the winter, and five in the summer. It should be rolled rather less than half an inch in thickness, dusting a little flour lightly over and under it, to prevent its sticking to the rolling-pin. When finished, roll it out for use as occasion requires. This makes a very nice and delicate crust.--Another. To a pound and a half of flour, allow a pound of b.u.t.ter, and three quarters of an ounce of salt. Put the flour on a clean pie board, make a hole in the middle, and put in the salt with the b.u.t.ter cut into small pieces. Pour in the water carefully, as it is of great importance that the crust should not be made too thin; there should only be water enough just to make it hold well together, and to roll it out smooth. Work the b.u.t.ter and water up well together with the hand, and then by degrees mix in the flour. When the flour is all mixed in, mould the paste till it is quite smooth and free from lumps, and then let it lie two hours before it be used. This is a very nice crust for putting round the dish for baked puddings, tarts, or pies.
PUFF PASTE. Puffs may be made of any sort of fruit, but it should be prepared first with sugar. To make a rich paste, weigh an equal quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter with as much fine flour as is necessary. Mix a little of the former with the latter, and wet it with as little water as will make it into a stiff paste. Roll it out, and put all the b.u.t.ter over it in slices; turn in the ends, and roll it thin. Do this twice, and tough it no more than can be avoided. The b.u.t.ter may be added at two different times; and to those who are not accustomed to make paste, it may be better to do so. The oven must be rather quicker than for a short crust.--A less rich paste may be made of a pound of flour, and a quarter of a pound of b.u.t.ter, rubbed together. Mix it into a paste with a little water, and an egg well beaten; of the former as little as will suffice, or the paste will be tough. Roll it out, and fold it three or four times. Or rub extremely fine, six ounces of b.u.t.ter in one pound of dried flour, with a spoonful of white sugar. Work up the whole into a stiff paste, with as little hot water as possible.
PUITS D" AMOUR. Cut a fine rich puff paste rolled thin, with tin shapes made on purpose, one size less than another, in a pyramidal form, and lay them so. Then bake in a moderate form, that the paste may be done sufficiently, but very pale. Lay different coloured sweetmeats on the edges.
PULLED CHICKENS. Take off the skin, and pull the flesh off the bones of a cold fowl, in large pieces. Dredge it with flour, and fry it of a nice brown in b.u.t.ter. Drain the b.u.t.ter from it, simmer the flesh in a good well-seasoned gravy, thickened with a little b.u.t.ter and flour, adding the juice of half a lemon.--Another way. Cut off the legs, and the whole back, of an underdone chicken. Pull all the white part into little flakes free from skin, toss it up with a little cream thickened with a piece of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour, half a blade of powdered mace, some white pepper, salt, and the squeeze of a lemon. Cut off the neck end of the chicken, broil the back and sidesmen in one piece, and the two legs seasoned. Put the hash in the middle of the dish, with the back on it, and the two legs at the end.
PULLED TURKEY. Divide the meat of the breast by pulling instead of cutting. Then warm in a spoonful or two of white gravy, and a little cream, grated nutmeg, salt, and a little flour and b.u.t.ter, but do not let it boil. The leg should be seasoned, scored, and broiled, and put into the dish with the above round it. Cold chicken may be treated in the same manner.
PUNCH. In preparing this favourite liquor, it is impossible to take too much pains in the process of mixing, that all the different articles may be thoroughly incorporated together. Take then two large fresh lemons with rough skins, quite ripe, and some lumps of double-refined sugar.
Rub the sugar over the lemons, till it has absorbed all the yellow part of the rinds. Put these lumps into a bowl, and as much more as the juice of the lemons may be supposed to require: no certain weight or quant.i.ty can be mentioned, as the acidity of a lemon cannot be known till tried, and therefore this must be determined by the taste. Then squeeze the lemon juice upon the sugar, and with a bruiser press the sugar and the juice particularly well together, for a great deal of the richness and fine flavour of the punch depends on this rubbing and mixing being thoroughly performed. Having well incorporated the juice and the sugar, mix it up with boiling soft water, and let it stand a little to cool.
When this mixture, which is now called the sherbet, is made of a pleasant flavour, take equal quant.i.ties of rum and brandy and put into it, mixing the whole well together. The quant.i.ty of liquor must be according to taste: two good lemons are generally enough to make four quarts of punch, including a quart of liquor, with half a pound of sugar: but this depends much on taste, and on the strength of the spirit. As the pulp of the lemon is disagreeable to some persons, the sherbet may be strained before the liquor is put in. Some strain the lemon before they put it to the sugar, which is improper; as when the pulp and sugar are well mixed together, it adds much to the richness of the punch. When only rum is used, about half a pint of porter will soften the punch; and even when both rum and brandy are used, the porter gives a richness, and also a very pleasant flavour. A shorter way is to keep ready prepared a quarter of an ounce of citric or crystallized lemon acid, pounded with a few drops of the essence of lemon peel, gradually mixed with a pint of clarified syrup or capillaire. Brandy or rum flavoured with this mixture, will produce good punch in a minute.
PUNCH ROYAL. Take thirty Seville oranges and thirty lemons quite sound, pare them very thin, and put the parings into an earthen pan, with as much rum or brandy as will cover them. Take ten gallons of water, and twelve pounds of lump sugar, and boil them. When nearly cold, put in the whites of thirty eggs well beaten, stir it and boil it a quarter of an hour, then strain it through a hair sieve into an earthen pan, and let it stand till the next day. Then put it into a cask, strain the spirit from the parings, and add as much more as will make it up five gallons.
Put it into the cask with five quarts of Seville orange juice, and three quarts of lemon juice. Stir it all together with a cleft stick, and repeat the same once a day for three successive days; then stop it down close, and in six weeks it will be fit to drink.
PURPLE GLOVES. To dye white gloves of a beautiful purple, boil four ounces of logwood, and two ounces of roche alum, in three pints of soft water, till half wasted. Strain off the liquid, and let it stand to be cold. Mend the gloves neatly, brush them over with the dye, and when dry repeat it. Twice is sufficient, unless the colour is to be very dark.
When quite dry, rub off the loose dye with a coa.r.s.e cloth. Beat up the white of an egg, and with a sponge rub it over the leather. The dye will stain the hands, but wetting them with vinegar will take it off before they are washed.
Q.
QUAILS. These are dressed in the same manner as snipes and woodc.o.c.ks.
They should be roasted without drawing, served on toast, and eaten with b.u.t.ter only.
QUAKING PUDDING. Scald a quart of cream; when almost cold, put to it four eggs well beaten, a spoonful and a half of flour, with nutmeg and sugar. Tie it close in a b.u.t.tered cloth, boil it an hour, and turn it out carefully, without cracking it. Serve it with melted b.u.t.ter, a little wine, and sugar.
QUARTER OF LAMB. A fore-quarter may either be roasted whole, or in separate parts. If left to be cold, chopped parsley should be sprinkled over it. The neck and breast together are called a scoven.
QUEEN CAKES. Mix a pound of dried flour, a pound of sifted sugar, and a pound of currants, picked and cleaned. Wash a pound of b.u.t.ter in rose water, beat it well, and mix with it eight eggs, yolks and whites beaten separately. Put in the dry ingredients by degrees, beat the whole an hour, b.u.t.ter little tins, teacups or saucers, fill them half full of batter, and bake them. Sift over them a little fine sugar, just before they are put into the oven.--Another way. Beat eight ounces of b.u.t.ter, and mix it with two eggs, well beaten and strained. Mix eight ounces of dried flour, the same of lump sugar, and the grated rind of a lemon. Put the whole together, and beat it full half an hour with a silver spoon.
b.u.t.ter small pattipans, half fill them, and bake twenty minutes in a quick oven.
QUEEN ANNE"S BISCUITS. A pound of flour well dried, half a pound of fine sugar powdered and sifted, a pound of currants well washed and picked, and half a pound of b.u.t.ter. Rub the b.u.t.ter into the flour, then mix in the sugar and currants; add ten spoonfuls of cream, the yolks of three eggs, three spoonfuls of sack, and a little mace finely pounded. When the paste is well worked up, set it in a dish before the fire till it be thoroughly warm. Make it up into cakes, place them on a tin well b.u.t.tered, p.r.i.c.k them full of holes on the top, and bake them in a quick oven.
QUEEN ANNE"S KITCHEN. The economy of the royal kitchen a century ago, though not equal perhaps to the refinement of modern times, was sufficiently sumptuous; and what it wanted in delicacies, was abundantly compensated by a profusion of more substantial dishes of truly English fare. The following are only a few specimens of the stile of cooking approved by queen Anne, sufficient to show in what manner royalty was provided for in the days of our forefathers. Under the article of Roasting, a few particulars will occur. When a turkey, capon, or fowl was to be dressed, it was laid down to the fire, at a proper distance, till it became thoroughly hot. It was then basted all over with fresh b.u.t.ter, and afterwards dredged thinly with flour. The heat of the fire converted this into a thin crust, to keep in the gravy; and no more basting was allowed till the roasting was nearly done, when it was once more basted all over with b.u.t.ter. As the meat began to brown, it was sprinkled a little with large salt, and the outside finished with a fine brown. It was sometimes the custom to baste such meats with the yolks of fresh eggs beaten thin, which was continued during the time of roasting.
The following directions were given for roast Veal. Chop some parsley and thyme very small. Beat up the yolks of five or six eggs with some cream, add the chopped herbs, some grated bread, a few cloves, a little mace and nutmeg, some currants and sugar. Mix these well together, raise the skin of the breast of veal, put the stuffing under it, and skewer it down close. Lay the veal before the fire, and baste it with b.u.t.ter. When sufficiently roasted, squeeze on the juice of a lemon, and serve it up.
For roast Pig, chop up some sage, and sow it up in the belly of the pig.
Roast and baste it with b.u.t.ter, sprinkled with a little salt. When roasted fine and crisp, serve it upon a sauce made of chopped sage and currants, well boiled in vinegar and water, the gravy and brains of the pig, a little grated bread, some barberries and sugar, all well mixed together, and heated over the fire. Another way. Fill the belly of the pig with a pudding made of grated bread, a little minced beef suet, the yolks of two or three raw eggs, three or four spoonfuls of good cream, and a little salt. Sow it up in the belly of the pig, lay it down to roast, and baste it with yolks of eggs beat thin. A few minutes before it is taken up, squeeze on the juice of a lemon, and strew it over with bread crumbs, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Make a sauce with vinegar, b.u.t.ter, and the yolks of eggs boiled hard and minced. Boil the whole together, with the gravy of the pig, and then serve it up in this sauce. When a Hare is to be dressed, wash it well, and dry it in a cloth. Sow up a pudding in the belly, truss the hare as if it were running, and roast it. Make a sauce of claret wine, grated bread, sugar, ginger, barberries, and b.u.t.ter, boiled all together, and serve it up with the hare.--Boiled dishes were prepared in the following manner. If a capon, pullet, or chicken, boil it in good mutton broth. Put in some mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, a little sage, spinage, marigold leaves and flowers, white or green endive, borage, bugloss, parsley, and sorrel. Serve it up on sippets of white bread. If to be dressed with cauliflower, cut the vegetable into small heads, with about an inch and a half of stalk to them. Boil them in milk with a little mace, till they are very tender, and beat up the yolks of two eggs with a quarter of a pint of sack. Melt some b.u.t.ter very thick, with a little vinegar and sliced lemon. Pour this and the eggs to and fro till they are well mixed, then take the cauliflower out of the milk, and put it into the sauce. Having boiled the chicken tender, serve it upon sippets of white bread, finely carved, and pour the sauce over it. Pigeons are to be put into a skillet with some strong broth, or spring water. Boil and skim them, put in some mace, a bunch of sweet herbs, some white endive, marigold flowers, and salt. When finely boiled, serve them upon sippets of white bread, and garnish the dish with mace and white endive. Small birds, such as woodc.o.c.ks, snipes, blackbirds, thrushes, fieldfares, rails, quails, wheatears, larks, martins, and sparrows, are to be boiled in strong broth, or in salt and water. When boiled, take out the trails, and chop them and the livers small. Add some crumb of grated bread, a little of the liquor in which the birds were boiled, some mace, and stew them all together in some gravy. Beat up the yolks of two eggs, with a little white wine vinegar and grated nutmeg; and when ready to serve, stir these into the sauce with a small piece of b.u.t.ter. Dish up the birds upon sippets of white bread, and pour the sauce over them with some capers, lemon finely minced, and barberries, or pickled grapes, whole. Carrots and onions boiled together in broth, separately from the sauce, are sometimes added to it. When no onion is put in, rub the bottom of the dish with a clove or two of garlic. A Goose, before it is boiled, is to be salted for a day or two. Steep some oatmeal in warm milk, or some other liquor, and mix it with some shred beef suet, minced apples and onions, sweet herbs chopped, and a seasoning of cloves, mace, and pepper. Fill the belly of the goose with this stuffing, and tie it close at the neck and vent. Boil and serve it on slices of bread, dipped in any kind of broth, with cauliflowers, cabbage, turnips, and barberries. Pour melted b.u.t.ter over it. A Wild Duck, being first drawn and trussed, must be parboiled, and then half roasted. Having carved it, put the gravy into a pipkin with plenty of onion and parsley, sliced ginger, mace, some washed currants, barberries, and a quart of claret.
Boil all together, skim it clean, add some b.u.t.ter and sugar, and serve up the duck with the sauce poured over it. A Rabbit is to be boiled in salt and water. Chop some parsley and thyme together, a handful of each, and boil it in a little of the liquor in which the rabbit is boiling.
Then add to it three or four spoonfuls of verjuice, a piece of b.u.t.ter, and two or three eggs well beaten. Stir the whole together, thicken it over the fire, and serve up the rabbit with this sauce poured over it.--In the royal kitchen, a Florentine Pie was made of a leg of veal or mutton, cut into thin slices, and seasoned with sweet marjoram, thyme, savory, parsley, rosemary, an onion and a clove of garlic, all cut small. To these were added, nutmeg and pepper beaten fine, some grated manchet, a little salt, and the yolks of three or four raw eggs, to mix and make them adhere together. The meat is laid in a dish, with a crust under it, intermixed with some thin slices of streaked bacon. A few bay leaves and some oyster liquor are added, the dish covered with a crust, and baked. For a Veal Pie, cut a fillet into pieces, about the size of walnuts, and season them with cinnamon, ginger, sugar, and salt. Use a raised crust or dish, at pleasure, lay in the meat with roasted chesnuts peeled and quartered, dates sliced, and the marrow from two beef bones.
Put on the top crust, bake the pie; and when done, serve it up with the following sauce poured into it. Beat up the yolk of an egg with some white wine, cinnamon, ginger, and sugar. Heat it over the fire till it thickens a little, taking care not to let the egg curdle. Sauce for a loin of veal was made of all kinds of sweet herbs, with the yolks of two or three hard eggs minced very fine. They were then boiled up with some currants, a little grated bread, pounded cinnamon, sugar, and two whole cloves. The sauce was poured into the dish intended for the veal, with two or three slices of an orange. A Cod"s Head was directed to be dressed in the following manner. Cut the head large, and a good piece of the shoulder with it, and boil it in salt and water. Have prepared a quart of c.o.c.kles, with the sh.e.l.led meat of two or three crabs. Put these into a pipkin with nearly half a pint of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, two onions, a little mace, a little grated nutmeg, and some oyster liquor. Boil these till the liquor is wasted, then add three or four large spoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter. Drain the cod"s head well over a chafing-dish of coals, and serve it up with the above sauce, taking out the bunch of herbs, and adding more b.u.t.ter, if required. Serve up the liver and roe on the sides of the dish.
QUICK HEDGES. A great variety of different sorts of plants is employed in forming and constructing these hedges, as those of the hawthorn, the black-thorn, the crab-tree, the hazel, the willow, the beech, the elder, the poplar, the alder, and several other kinds, according to particular circ.u.mstances and situations. Whatever sort of plants may be employed for this purpose, the work should constantly be well performed in the first instance, and the hedges and plants be afterwards kept in due order and regularity by suitable pruning, cutting in, and other proper management. Excellent hawthorn hedges are raised by planting one row only at six inches asunder, rather than two rows nine inches or a foot apart. Those planted six inches apart do not require to be cut down to thicken them at the bottom, and will form a complete protection against hogs, and in other respects form a beautiful and effectual fence.
QUICKSILVER, when rubbed down and blended with unctuous matters, forms a sort of ointment, which is useful in the curing of different diseases of the skin, as well as in destroying lice and other vermin that infest animals of different kinds, which form the live stock of the farmer. It has also been found useful in its crude state in destroying insects on fruit trees. Take a small awl, and pierce sloping, through the rind, and into part of the wood of the branch, but not to the heart or pith of it; and pour in a small drop or two of the quicksilver, and stop it up with a small wooden plug made to fit the orifice, and the insects will drop off from that very branch the next day; and in a day or two more, from the other branches of the trees without any other puncture, and the tree will continue in full vigour and thrive well through the summer.
Honeysuckles and other shrubs may be cleared of insects, by sc.r.a.ping away the top of the ground with a trowel, and running an awl in the same sloping manner, into the main stem just above the roots; but with the same caution as above, not quite to the inner pith, and then applying the quicksilver. The insects will drop off the day after the experiment.
QUILLS. To harden and prepare them for use, dip them for a minute in some boiling water in which alum has been dissolved; or thrust them into hot ashes till they become soft, and afterwards press and sc.r.a.pe them with the back of a knife. When they are to be clarified, the barrels must be sc.r.a.ped and cut at the end, and then put into boiling water for a quarter of an hour, with a quant.i.ty of alum and salt. Afterwards they are dried in an oven, or in a pan of hot sand.
QUIN"S FISH SAUCE. Half a pint of walnut pickle, the same of mushroom pickle, six anchovies pounded, six anchovies whole, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne. Shake it up well, when it is to be used.