RATIFIA DROPS. Blanch and beat in a mortar four ounces of bitter almonds, and two ounces of sweet almonds, with a small part of a pound of fine sugar sifted. Add the remainder of the sugar, and the whites of two eggs, and make the whole into a paste. Divide the ma.s.s into little b.a.l.l.s the size of a nutmeg, put them on wafer paper, and bake them gently on tin plates.
RATS. The first step taken by rat-catchers, in order to clear a house, &c. of those vermin, is to allure them all together, to one proper place, before they attempt to destroy them; for there is such an instinctive caution in these animals, accompanied with a surprising sagacity in discovering any cause of danger, that if any of them be hurt, or pursued, in an unusual manner, the rest take the alarm, and become so shy and wary, that they elude all the devices and stratagems of their pursuers for some time after. The place where the rats are to be a.s.sembled, should be some closet, or small room, into which all the openings, but one or two, may be secured; and this place should be, as near as may be, in the middle of the house, or buildings. It is the practice, therefore, to attempt to bring them all together in some such place before any attempt be made to take them; and even then to avoid any violence, hurt, or fright to them, before the whole be in the power of the operator. In respect to the means used to allure them to one place, they are various; one of those most easily and efficaciously practised is the trailing some piece of their most favourite food, which should be of the kind that has the strongest scent, such as toasted cheese, or broiled red-herring, from the holes or entrances to their accesses in every part of the house, or contiguous buildings, whence it is intended to allure them. At the extremities, and in different parts of the course of this trailed tract, small quant.i.ties of meal, or any other kind of their food, should be laid, to bring the greater number into the tracks, and to encourage them to pursue it to the centre place, where they are intended to be taken; at that place, where time admits of it, a more plentiful repast is laid for them, and the trailing repeated for two or three nights. But besides this trailing, and way-baiting, some of the most expert of the rat-catchers have a shorter, and, perhaps, more effectual method of bringing them together, which is, the calling them, by making such a kind of whistling noise as resembles their own call, and by this means, with the a.s.sistance of the way-baits, they call them out of their holes, and lead them to the repast prepared for them at the place designed for taking them. But this is much more difficult to be practised than the art of trailing; for the learning the exact notes, or cries, of any kind of beasts or birds, so as to deceive them, is a peculiar talent, not easily attained to in other cases. And in practising either of these methods, great caution must be used by the operator to suppress, and prevent, the scent of his feet and body from being perceived; which is done by overpowering that scent by others of a stronger nature. In order to this the feet are to be covered with cloths rubbed over with a.s.safoetida, or other strong smelling substances; and even oil of rhodium is sometimes used for this purpose, but sparingly, on account of its dearness, though it has a very alluring, as well as disguising effect. If this caution of avoiding the scent of the operator"s feet, near the track, and in the place where the rats are proposed to be collected, be not properly observed, it will very much obstruct the success of the attempt to take them; for they are very shy of coming where the scent of human feet lies very fresh, and intimates, to their sagacious instinct, the presence of human creatures, whom they naturally dread. To the above-mentioned means of alluring by trailing, way-baiting, and calling, is added another of very material efficacy, which is the use of the oil of rhodium, which, like the marum syriac.u.m in the case of cats, has a very extraordinary fascinating power on these animals. The oil is extremely dear, and therefore very sparingly used.
It is exhaled in a small quant.i.ty in the place, and at the entrance of it, where the rats are intended to be taken, particularly at the time when they are to be last brought together in order to their destruction; and it is used also, by smearing it on the surface of some of the implements used in taking them, by the method before described, and the effect it has in taking off their caution and dread, by the delight they appear to have in it, is very extraordinary. It is usual, likewise, for the operator to disguise his figure as well as scent, which is done by putting on a sort of gown or cloak, of one colour, that hides the natural form, and makes him appear like a post, or such inanimate thing; which habit must likewise be scented as above, to overpower the smell of his person; and besides this he is to avoid all motion, till he has secured his point of having all the rats in his power. When the rats are thus enticed and collected, where time is afforded, and the whole in any house or outbuildings are intended to be cleared away, they are suffered to regale on what they most like, which is ready prepared for them; and then to go away quietly for two or three nights; by which means those which are not allured the first night are brought afterwards, either by their fellows, or the effects of the trailing, &c. and will not fail to come duly again, if they are not disturbed or molested. But many of the rat-catchers make shorter work, and content themselves with what can be brought together in one night or two; but this is never effectual, unless where the building is small and entire, and the rats but few in number. With respect to the means of taking them when they are brought together, they are various. Some entice them into a very large bag, the mouth of which is sufficiently capacious to cover nearly the whole floor of the place where they are collected; which is done by smearing some vessel, placed in the middle of the bag, with oil of rhodium, and laying in the bag baits of proper food. This bag, which before laid flat on the ground, with the mouth spread open, is to be suddenly closed when the rats are all in it. Others drive or frighten them, by slight noises or motions, into a bag of a long form, the mouth of which, after all the rats are come in, is drawn up to the opening of the place by which they entered, all other ways of retreat being secured. Others, again, intoxicate or poison them, by mixing with the repast prepared for them the cocculus indicus, or the nux vomica. A receipt for this purpose has appeared, which directs four ounces of cocculus indicus, with twelve ounces of oatmeal, and two ounces of treacle or honey, to be made up into a moist paste with strong beer; but if the nux vomica be used, a much less proportion will serve than is here given of the cocculus. Any similar composition of these drugs, with that kind of food the rats are most fond of, and which has a strong flavour, to hide that of the drugs, will equally well answer the end. If, indeed, the cocculus indicus be well powdered, and infused in strong beer for some time, at least half the quant.i.ty here directed will serve as well as the quant.i.ty before mentioned. When the rats appear to be thoroughly intoxicated with the cocculus, or sick with the nux vomica, they may be taken with the hand, and put into a bag or cage, the door of the place being first drawn to, lest those which have strength and sense remaining should escape. By these methods, when well conducted, a very considerable part of the rats in a farm, or other house, and the contiguous buildings, may be taken and destroyed. But various other methods have been practised.--The following compositions are advised for destroying these mischievous creatures, and which are stated to have been attended with great success. First, to a quart of oatmeal, add six drops of oil of rhodium, one grain of musk, and two or three of the nuts of nux vomica finely powdered; make them into pellets, and put them into the rat-holes. This, it is said, was at first greedily eaten, and did great execution; but the wise animals, after a time, ceased to eat it. Secondly; this consisted of three parts of oatmeal and one of stave"s-acre, mixed well into a paste with honey. Pieces of this paste were laid in their holes, and again did great execution. Thirdly; this is a method of destroying them by laying a large box down on its front side, with the lid supported open by a string over a pulley; and by trailing toasted cheese and a red-herring from their holes to this box, and placing oatmeal and other food in it, which they are for a few nights to be permitted to eat unmolested; and finally to watch them by moon-light, the inside of the box being painted white; and, when many of them are seen, to let down the lid; by which contrivance sixty of them are stated to have been taken at one time.--But though the usual ways of destroying rats are by traps and poison, it is advised never to use a.r.s.enic, or corrosive sublimate, for that purpose, except under particular circ.u.mstances, as they are deadly poisons: nux vomica will generally answer the end as well, without the danger. It is a very good plan, to prevent accidents, to enclose the traps in cases, having holes in the ends of them large enough to admit rats, but small enough to exclude dogs, cats, &c. As a bait for rat-traps, the following composition may be made use of with advantage. Take a pound of good flour, three ounces of treacle, and six drops of the oil of carraways: put them all in a dish, and rub them well together till they are properly mixed: then add a pound of crumb of bread. The traps baited with this mixture should be set as near their haunts as possible; but, for two or three days, so as not to fall or strike on the rats going in, but letting them have free liberty to go in and out at pleasure, as this makes them fearless. Some of the bait should also be laid at the rat-holes, and a little of it scattered quite up to the traps, and so on to the bridge of each trap, where a handful may be placed. It may also be proper to scent the traps with the following mixture, for the purpose of enticing the rats into them. Take twenty drops of the oil of rhodium, six or seven grains of musk, and half an ounce of oil of aniseed; put them in a small phial, and shake it well before using; then dip a piece of twisted paper or rag in the mixture, and rub each end of the trap with it, if a box trap, and put two or three drops on the bridge, leaving the paper or rag in the trap.
Of whatever kind the trap is, it should be scented; but once in a twelvemonth will be sufficient. Then throw some chaff mixed with a little wheat about the bottom of the trap, in order to deceive the rats; for they are very sagacious, and will not enter a suspicious place. This will be necessary to be done only at the first time of setting the traps; for, after some rats have been caught and have watered and dunged in them, rats will enter boldly when they find others have been there before them: do not, therefore, wash or clean out the trap, as some people do before they set it again, but let the dung and urine remain in it. Keep the places where the traps are set as private as possible; and when they are set for catching, mix no bread with the bait, as the rats will, in that case, be apt to carry it away. And it is useful, when the holes are found quiet, and that no rats use them, to stop them up with the following composition. Take a pint of common tar, half an ounce of pearl-ashes, an ounce of oil of vitriol, and a good handful of common salt, mix them all well together in an old pan or pot.
Take some pieces of paper, and lay some of the above mixture very thick on them; then stop the holes well up with them, and build up the mouth of the holes with brick or stone, and mortar; if this be properly done, rats will no more approach these while either smell or taste remains in the composition. But with a view to destroy rats in places where traps cannot be set, it is recommended to take a quart of the above bait, then to rasp into it three nuts of nux vomica, and add a quarter of a pound of crumb of bread, if there was none before; mix them all well together, and lay it into the mouth of their holes, and in different places where they frequent; but first give them of the bait without nux vomica, for three or four succeeding nights; and when they find it agrees with them, they will eat that mixed with the nut with greediness. However, as it is frequently found that rats are very troublesome in sewers and drains, in such cases a.r.s.enic may be used with success in the following manner.
Take some dead rats, and having put some white a.r.s.enic, finely powdered, into an old pepper-box, shake a quant.i.ty of it on the foreparts of the dead rats, and put them down the holes, or avenues, by the sides of the sewers at which they come in; this puts a stop to the live ones coming any further; for when they perceive the a.r.s.enic, they will retire immediately; whereas, if they were put down without the a.r.s.enic, the live ones would eat them. It is by means of a.r.s.enic, notwithstanding the above observations, that the most certain method of destroying these troublesome vermin, (provided they can be made to eat it,) takes place; which has been found to answer best when it is prepared by being finely levigated, and mixed up with very strong old cheese and oatmeal. But after all, it is probable that this highly destructive animal, and great pest to the farmer, might be most readily exterminated by parishes uniting for the purpose, and raising certain sums of money to be applied in this way, under the direction of a proper person who is fully acquainted with the business.--In many grain and other districts in the kingdom these animals prevail very much, especially the grey kind, particularly in all those where there are no regular raised staddles or stands for the grain stacks to rest upon, which is the case in a great number. The mischief, injury, and destruction of grain which is produced in this way, is scarcely to be calculated; and they are besides very mischievous, troublesome, and inconvenient in several others; so that they should be every where extirpated as much as possible. And in corn tracts, stands or staddles should every where be provided in order to prevent mischief being done by them.
RAZOR STRAPS. Nothing makes a better razor strap than crocus martis with a little sweet oil, rubbed well on doe skin with a gla.s.s bottle; and to keep it in perfect order, it should not be left too long dry.
RED CABBAGE. Slice a red cabbage crossways, put it in an earthen dish, and throw on it a handful of salt. Cover it over till the next day, drain it in a cullender, and put it into a jar. Boil some good vinegar, with cloves and allspice; pour it hot on the cabbage till the jar is full, and when cold tie it down close.
RED HERRINGS. Choose those that are large and moist, cut them open, and pour over them some boiling small beer. Let them soak half an hour, then drain and dry them; make them just hot through before the fire, and rub them over with cold b.u.t.ter. Serve with egg sauce, or b.u.t.tered eggs; mashed potatoes should also be sent up with them.
RED INK. Infuse a quarter of a pound of Brazil wood, rasped, in two pints of vinegar, for three days. Then boil the liquid and the wood over a gentle fire, for an hour, and strain it off quite hot. Put it again over the fire, and dissolve in it, first, half an ounce of gum arabic, and afterwards, half an ounce of alum, and the same quant.i.ty of white sugar. When the alum is dissolved, remove it from the fire, and preserve it for use.
RED MULLET. This sort of fish are in season in August; and to be good, they should be quite firm. Sea mullets are preferred to the river ones, and the red to the grey. This fish is sometimes called the sea woodc.o.c.k.
To dress mullets, clean them, but leave the inside. Fold them in oiled paper, and bake them gently in a small dish. Make a sauce of the liquor that comes from the fish, with a piece of b.u.t.ter, a little flour, a little essence of anchovy, and a gla.s.s of sherry. Give it a boil, serve in a boat, and the fish in the paper cases.
REGIMEN. It may be difficult accurately to ascertain the predominant qualities of particular const.i.tutions, or of the food that is best adapted in particular instances; yet it is certain, that health is dependent on regimen and diet, more than on any other cause. There are things so decidedly injurious, and so well known to be so, as to require no admonition; the instincts of nature will teach us to refrain; and generally speaking, the best rule for our practice is to observe by experience, what it is that hurts or does us good, and what our stomachs are best able to digest. We must at the same time keep our judgment unbia.s.sed, and not suffer it to become a pander to the appet.i.te; or the stomach and the health will be betrayed to the mere indulgence of sensuality. The gratification of our taste in the abundant supplies of nature, converted by art to the purposes of wholesome food, is perfectly compatible with the necessary maintenance of health; it is only the indiscriminate or inordinate indulgence of our appet.i.tes, regardless of the consequences, that is the proper object of censure. Many of the diseases to which we are subject might be traced to this source; yet we are generally so little aware of it, that we impute them to the state of the weather, to infection, or any other imaginary cause, rather than the true one. The weather has very little serious effect upon a person in health, unless exposed to it in some unusual manner that suddenly checks perspiration, or some of the ordinary evacuations. Infection, though of formidable import, is almost divested of its power over those whose temperance in food and diet keeps the blood and juices pure. The closest attendance upon an infected person has often been found perfectly consistent with personal safety under such circ.u.mstances. Even diseases, said to be hereditary, may with great probability be a.s.signed to errors in domestic life, of which the children partake, and fall into the same disorders as their parents, and remote progenitors. But even if this be not exactly so, an originally indifferent const.i.tution may certainly be much amended by proper management. Amongst a variety of causes producing ill health, there can be no doubt but bad air, want of cleanliness, want of exercise, excessive fatigue, and mental uneasiness, must have an unfavourable influence; yet none of these have so immediate an effect as the food we eat, which if not wholesome and nutricious, tends directly to contaminate the system. We derive the renewal of our blood and juices, which are constantly exhausting, from the substances converted into food. As our food therefore is proper or improper, too much or too little, so will our blood and juices be good or bad, overcharged or deficient, and our state of health accordingly good or diseased. It is not only necessary however, that our aliment should be plain and wholesome; it is requisite also that it should contain active principles; such as salts, oils, and spirits, which have the property of stimulating the solids, quickening the circulation, and make the fluids thinner; thus rendering them more suited to undergo the necessary secretions of the body. The art of preserving health, and of prolonging life, consists therefore in the use of a moderate quant.i.ty of such diet as shall neither encrease the salts and oils so as to produce disease, nor to diminish them so as to suffer the solids to become relaxed.
Eating too little is hurtful, as well as eating too much. Neither excess nor hunger, nor any thing else that pa.s.ses the bounds of nature, can be good for man. Temperance and moderation in eating and drinking, are nature"s great preservatives. "The throat has destroyed more than the sword." Some people are apt to think, the more plentifully they eat and drink, the better they thrive, and the stronger they grow. But this is not the case: a little, well digested, will render the body more vigorous than when it is glutted with superfluity, most of which is turned to excrement.i.tious, not alimentary, fluid, and must soon be evacuated, or sickness will follow. It is said of the highly celebrated Dr. Boerhaave, that having long promised to a friend the secret of preserving health and long life, his friend became impatient to obtain the secret, when he perceived that the physician was dying. To his repeated solicitations, the doctor as frequently replied, "Do not eat too much--do not eat too much;" and left this advice as his last legacy to his valued friend. By loading the stomach, digestion is impeded; for the natural juice of the stomach, which is the great medium of digestion, has not then room to exert itself. The stomach therefore nauseates its contents, and is troubled with eructations; the spirits are oppressed, obstructions ensue, and disease is the consequence.
Besides, when thus overfilled, the stomach presses on the diaphragm, prevents the proper play of the lungs, and occasions difficulty and uneasiness in breathing. Hence arise various bad symptoms and effects, throughout the whole of the animal economy; prostrating the strength, impairing the senses, hastening old age, and shortening life. Though these unhappy consequences may not be immediately perceived, yet they are the certain attendants of intemperance; and it has been generally observed in great eaters, that though from custom, a state of youth, and a strong const.i.tution, they suffer no present inconvenience, but have digested their food, and sustained the surfeit; yet if they have not been unexpectedly cut off, they have found the symptoms of old age come on early in life, attended with pains and innumerable disorders. If health is to be regarded, we must ever make it a rule not to eat to satiety or fulness, but desist while the stomach feels quite easy. Thus we shall be refreshed, light, and cheerful; not dull, heavy, or indisposed. Should we ever be tempted to eat too much at one time, we should eat the less at another: abstinence is the best remedy for repletion. If our dinner has been larger than usual, let our supper be less, or rather, quite omitted. With regard to the times of eating, they must to a certain degree be conformed to family convenience, but ought to be quite independent of the caprice of fashion, instead of being as they are, governed by it. This, and a want of punctuality to the dinner hour, are the cause of more real harm to the const.i.tution than thoughtless people of fashion, and their more thoughtless imitators, are apt to imagine. When a dinner is dressed, nothing can prevent its being injured by standing. It may be kept hot, and this imposes on those who think no farther upon the subject; but the very means made use of for this purpose, only help to spoil it the more. If things boiled are kept in the water after they are done enough, they become sodden, vapid, and heavy. The invention of hot closets for keeping other things hot, dry away the juices, and make them strong and rancid. From such dinners, indigestions will ensue, frequent head-aches, nervousness, and many other uneasy sensations, which finally bring on maladies of a more serious nature. The great points to be guarded against, respecting the times of eating, are either eating too soon after a former meal, or fasting too long. The stomach should always have time to empty itself, before it is filled again. Some stomachs digest their contents sooner than others, and if long empty it may destroy the appet.i.te, and greatly disturb both the head and animal spirits; because from the great profusion of nerves spread over the stomach, there is an immediate sympathy between that and the head. Hence the head is sure to be affected by whatever disorders the stomach, whether from any particular aliment that disagrees with it, or being over filled, or too long empty.
Hence also, too frequently, arise apoplexy, or paralytic affections, especially in aged people. Such as feel a gnawing in the stomach, as it is called, should not wait till the stated time of the next meal, but take a small quant.i.ty of food, light, and easy of digestion, that the stomach may have something to work on. Children, with craving appet.i.tes, do and may eat often, allowing only a proper interval to empty the stomach. Young persons in health, who use much exercise, may eat three times a day. But such as are in years, such as are weak, as do no work, or lead a sedentary life, eating twice in the day is quite sufficient: or if in the present habits of society it is found to be difficult to arrange for two meals only, let them take three very moderate ones. Weak and aged persons may eat often, but then it should be very little at a time. The diseases to which we are liable often require substances of more active principles than what are found in common aliment, and hence the need of medicine, in order to, produce sudden alterations. But where such alterations are not immediately necessary, the same effect may be produced with much greater safety, by a proper attention to diet only.
Abstinence is in short, one of the best remedies to which we can resort; and if employed in time, will entirely cure many disorders, and check the violence of such as cannot be entirely carried off by it. In all cases where there is any inflammation, and in stomach complaints, it is particularly necessary, and may be safely continued till the symptoms of disease disappear. Where the digestion is habitually weak, a day of abstinence once a week will always be beneficial. The quality of our food is a subject of greater difficulty than the quant.i.ty. Moderation is an invariably safe guide in the latter case; but though always favourable to prevent ill effects from any error in quality, it will not always be effectual. To a person in good health, with a strong stomach, and whose constant beverage is water, or some weak liquor, the niceties in food and cooking are less material, than to persons with naturally weak stomachs, or to those in sickness, or for children. But all persons who would to a certainty preserve their health and faculties, and live out the natural term of life, should use plain food, as all high seasonings and compound mixtures, have an injurious effect, sooner or later, on the strongest const.i.tutions. If a few instances can be shewn to the contrary, these, like other anomalies in nature, cannot const.i.tute an exception to a well established fact. A prevailing error in the diet of this country is a too great use of animal food. The disease called the sea scurvy, often occurs from this cause, in every large town in England; and it is probable that the frequency and fatality of putrid and scarlet fevers may justly be attributed to it also. The prejudices of this country are very strong in favour of animal food, but the evidence of facts is equally strong against its absolute necessity. Instances of this are seen in the natives of Hindostan, who live upon rice, and who by way of opprobrium call the inhabitants of this country "flesh eaters;" in the poor of Ireland, who live upon potatoes, and in the poor of Scotland, who live upon oatmeal. After all, the medium is in all probability the best; neither animal nor vegetable diet exclusively, but a reasonable proportion of both. Persons of indifferent health should be particularly cautious in their diet, and those labouring under any particular malady should carefully conform to the regimen prescribed for them by their medical advisers.--Our beverage is another very important article, in reference to health. It is essential to moisten and convey more solid food into the stomach, and from thence to the respective parts of the system. Also to allay thirst, to dilute the blood, that it may circulate through the minutest vessels, and to dissolve and carry off by watery secretions the superfluous salts taken in with the food. No liquid is so effectual for this purpose as pure water; with the exception only of a few cases. No other liquid circulates so well, or mixes so immediately with our fluids. Other liquids are impregnated with particles which act strongly upon the solids or fluids, or both; but water being simple, operates only by diluting, moistening, and cooling, which are the great uses of drink pointed out to us by nature. Hence it is evident that water in general is the best and most wholesome drink; but as some const.i.tutions require something to warm and stimulate the stomach, fermented liquors may be proper, if taken in moderation. It is necessary however, that beer, ale, cider, and wine, be taken in a sound state and of proper age, or they will be highly detrimental. Spirituous liquors, taken too freely, or in a raw state, are attended with direful effects, and are the destruction of thousands. From the degree of heat they have undergone in distillation, they acquire a corrosive and burning quality, which makes them dangerous to the const.i.tution. They contract the fibres and smaller vessels, especially where they are tenderest, as in the brain, and thus destroy the intellectual faculties. They injure the coat of the stomach, and so expose the nerves and relax the fibres, till the whole stomach becomes at last soft and flabby. Hence ensues loss of appet.i.te, indigestion, and diseases that generally terminate in premature death.
Light wines of a moderate strength, and matured by age, are more wholesome than strong, rich, and heavy wines, and pa.s.s off the stomach with less difficulty. Red port is strong and astringent, but white port and Spanish wines are stimulating and attenuating. French wines are lighter, and not so strong as the Portuguese and Spanish wines, which renders them wholesomer for thin and dry const.i.tutions. Rhenish and Moselle wines are the most wholesome of any, where acidity is not hurtful. Home made wines are prejudicial to all const.i.tutions, being very windy and heady. The notion that liquors of any kind a.s.sist digestion, is quite erroneous, as wine and all other strong liquors are as hard to digest as strong solid food. Those who drink only water or small beer at their meals, are able to eat and digest almost double the quant.i.ty of what they could, if they drank strong liquors. When the stomach is uneasy from too much food, or such as is indigestible, strong liquors produce a deceitful glow in the stomach, which induces a belief of their having the beneficial effect of a.s.sisting digestion. The fallacy of this conclusion is sufficiently apparent from the state in which cherries are found, after they have been steeped in brandy: instead of becoming more tender, they are rendered as tough as leather.
Similar effects are produced on food in the stomach, as well as out of it. Strong liquors are plainly improper at meals, as by their heat and activity they hurry the food undigested into the habit, and so lay the foundation for various distempers, such as the gout, rheumatism, apoplexy, and palsy.
RENNET. This article, so necessary in making of cheese, is prepared as follows. Take out the stomach of a calf as soon as killed, and scour it inside and out with salt, after it is cleared of the curd always found in it. Let it drain a few hours, then sow it up with two good handfuls of salt in it, or stretch it on a stick well salted, and hang it up to dry.--Another way. Clean the maw as above, and let it drain a day. Then put into two quarts of fresh spring-water a handful of hawthorn tops, a handful of sweet briar, a handful of rose leaves, a stick of cinnamon, forty cloves, four blades of mace, a sprig of knotted marjoram, and two large spoonfuls of salt. Let them boil gently till the liquor is reduced to three pints, and strain it off; when only milk warm, pour it on the maw. Slice a lemon into it, let it stand two days, strain it again, and bottle it for use. It will keep good at least for twelve months, and has a very fine flavour. Sweet aromatic herbs may also be added. The liquor must be pretty salt, but not made into brine: a little of it will turn the milk. Salt the maw again for a week or two, and dry it stretched on cross sticks, and it will be nearly as strong as before. The rennet when dried must be kept in a cool place.
RESENTMENT. This is a dangerous pa.s.sion, and often fatal to health.
Anger disorders the whole frame, hurries on the circulation of the blood, occasions fevers and other acute disorders, and sometimes ends in sudden death. Resentment also preys upon the mind, and occasions the most obstinate disorders, which gradually waste the const.i.tution. Those who value health therefore, will guard against indulging this malignant propensity, and endeavour to preserve a happy degree of tranquillity.
RHEUMATISM. In this complaint the diet should be nourishing, with a little generous wine; costiveness must be carefully avoided. The painful part should be kept warm with flannel, should be frequently rubbed, occasionally electrified, and supplied with the volatile liniment.
Blisters, cataplasms of mustard or horseradish, may be applied with advantage. If these be not effectual, take a pint of the spirits of turpentine, and add half an ounce of camphor. Let it stand till the camphor is dissolved, then rub it on the part affected night and morning, and it will seldom fail to afford effectual relief. This mixture is also very proper for sprains and bruises, and should be kept for family use. But several of our own domestic plants as above may be used with advantage in the rheumatism. One of the best is the white _mustard_. A table-spoonful of the seed of this plant may be taken twice or thrice a day, in a gla.s.s of water or small wine. The water trefoil is likewise of great use in this complaint. It may be infused in wine or ale, or drunk in the form of tea. The ground-ivy, camomile, and several other bitters, are also beneficial, and may be used in the same manner.
No benefit, however, is to be expected from these, unless they be taken for a considerable time. Cold bathing, especially in salt water, often cures the rheumatism. It is also advisable to take exercise, and wear flannel next the skin. Issues are likewise very proper, especially in chronic cases. If the pain affects the shoulders, an issue may be made in the arm; but if it affects the loins, it should be put into the leg or thigh. Such as are subject to frequent attacks of the rheumatism ought to make choice of a dry, warm situation, to avoid the night air, wet clothes, and wet feet, as much as possible. Their clothing should be warm, and they should wear flannel next their skin, and make frequent use of the flesh brush. One of the best articles of dress, not only for the prevention of rheumatism, but for powerful co-operation in its cure, is fleecy hosiery. In low marshy situations, the introduction of that manufacture has prevented more rheumatisms, colds, and agues, than all the medicines ever used there. Such of the inhabitants of marshy counties as are in easy circ.u.mstances, could not, perhaps, direct their charity and humanity to a better object than to the supplying their poor neighbours with so cheap and simple a preservative.
RHUBARB. By proper attention in the growth and preparation of this root, it may be obtained here nearly in equal goodness to the foreign. The plants are all increased by seeds, which should be sown in autumn soon after they are ripe, where the plants are designed to remain, as their roots being large and fleshy when they are removed, they do not recover it soon; nor do the roots of such removed plants ever grow so large and fair as those which remain where they were sown. When the plants appear in the spring, the ground should be well hoed over, to cut up the weeds; and where they are too close, some should be cut up, leaving them at the first hoeing six or eight inches asunder; but at the second they may be separated to a foot and a half distance, and more. When any weeds appear, the ground should be scuffled over with a Dutch hoe in dry weather; but after the plants cover the ground with their broad leaves, they keep down the weeds without any farther trouble. The ground should be cleaned in autumn when the leaves decay, and in the spring, before the plants begin to put up their new leaves, be dug well between them.
In the second year, many of the strongest plants will produce flowers and seeds, and in the third year most of them. It is advised, that the seeds be carefully gathered when ripe, and not permitted to scatter, lest they grow and injure the old plants. The roots continue many years without decaying, and the old roots of the true rhubarb are much preferable to the young ones. The roots may be generally taken up after four years, but if they remain longer it is so much the better. These plants delight in a rich soil, which is not too dry nor over moist: and where there is depth in such land for their roots to run down, they attain a great size, both in the leaves and roots.
RHUBARB PIE. Peel the stalks of the plant, cut them about an inch long, put them into a dish with moist sugar, a little water and lemon peel.
Put on the crust, and bake it in a moderate oven.
RHUBARB PUDDING. Put four dozen clean sticks of rhubarb into a stewpan, with the peel of a lemon, a bit of cinnamon, two cloves, and as much moist sugar as will sweeten it. Set it over the fire, and reduce it to a marmalade. Pa.s.s it through a hair sieve, then add the peel of a lemon, half a nutmeg grated, a quarter of a pound of good b.u.t.ter, the yolks of four eggs, and one white, and mix all well together. Line a pie dish with good puff paste, put in the mixture, and bake it half an hour. This will make a good spring pudding.
RHUBARB SAUCE. To make a mock gooseberry-sauce for mackarel, reduce three dozen sticks of rhubarb to a marmalade, and sweeten it with moist sugar. Pa.s.s it through a hair sieve, and serve it up in a boat.--Mock gooseberry-fool is made of rhubarb marmalade, prepared as for a pudding.
Add a pint of good thick cream, serve it up in gla.s.ses, or in a deep dish. If wanted in a shape, dissolve two ounces of isingla.s.s in a little water, strain it through a tammis, and when nearly cold put it to the cream. Pour it into a jelly mould, and when set, turn it out into a dish, and serve it up plain.
RHUBARB SHERBET. Boil six or eight sticks of clean rhubarb in a quart of water, ten minutes. Strain the liquor through a tammis into a jug, with the peel of a lemon cut very thin, and two table-spoonfuls of clarified sugar. Let it stand five or six hours, and it will be fit to drink.
RHUBARB SOUP. There are various ways of dressing garden rhubarb, which serves as an excellent subst.i.tute for spring fruit. Peel and well wash four dozen sticks of rhubarb, blanch it in water three or four minutes, drain it on a sieve, and put it into a stewpan with two sliced onions, a carrot, an ounce of lean ham, and a good bit of b.u.t.ter. Let it stew gently over a slow fire till tender, then put in two quarts of rich soup, to which add two or three ounces of bread crumbs, and boil it about fifteen minutes. Skim off all the fat, season with salt and cayenne, pa.s.s it through a tammis, and serve it up with fried bread.
RHUBARB TART. Cut the stalks in lengths of four or five inches, and take off the thin skin. Lay them in a dish, pour on a thin syrup of sugar and water, cover them with another dish, and let it simmer very slowly for an hour on a hot hearth; or put the rhubarb into a block-tin saucepan, and simmer it over the fire. When cold, make it into a tart; the baking of the crust will be sufficient, if the rhubarb be quite tender.
RIBS OF BEEF. The following is an excellent way of dressing this rich and valuable joint. Hang up three ribs three or four days, take out the bones from the whole length, sprinkle it with salt, roll the meat tight, and roast it. If done with spices, and baked as hunter"s beef, it is excellent, and nothing can look nicer.
RICE BROTH. Put a quarter of a pound of whole rice into a gallon of water. Let it simmer till it is quite soft, then put in a knuckle of veal, or the scrag end of a leg of mutton, with two or three pounds of gravy beef. Stew this very gently for two hours, then put in turnips, carrots, celery, leeks, or any other vegetables. Continue to stew slowly, and when the whole is sufficiently done, season it with salt, and serve it up.
RICE CAKE. Mix ten ounces of ground rice, three ounces of flour, and eight ounces of pounded sugar. Sift the composition by degrees into eight yolks and six whites of eggs, and the peel of a lemon shred so fine that it is quite mashed. Mix the whole well in a tin stewpan with a whisk, over a very slow fire. Put it immediately into the oven in the same, and bake it forty minutes.--Another. Beat twelve yolks and six whites of eggs, with the peels of two lemons grated. Mix one pound of rice flour, eight ounces of fine flour, and a pound of sugar pounded and sifted. Beat it well with the eggs by degrees, for an hour, with a wooden spoon. b.u.t.ter a pan well, and put it in at the oven mouth. A gentle oven will bake it in an hour and a half.
RICE CAUDLE. When the water boils, pour into it some grated rice, with a little cold water. When of a proper consistence, add sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon, and a spoonful of brandy, and boil all smooth.--Another way.
Soak in water some fine rice for an hour, strain it, and put two spoonfuls of the rice into a pint and a quarter of milk. Simmer till it will pulp through a sieve, then put the pulp and milk into the saucepan, with a bruised clove, and a bit of lump sugar. Simmer all together ten minutes; if too thick, add a spoonful or two of milk, and serve with thin toast.
RICE CHEESECAKES. Boil four ounces of ground rice in milk, with a blade of cinnamon: put it into a pot, and let it stand till the next day. Mash it fine with half a pound of b.u.t.ter; add to it four eggs, half a pint of cream, a grated nutmeg, a gla.s.s of brandy, and a little sugar. Or the b.u.t.ter may be stirred and melted in the rice while it is hot, and left in the pot till the next day.
RICE CUSTARD. Boil three pints of new milk with a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and sugar. Mix the yolks of two eggs well beaten, with a large spoonful of rice flour, smothered in a cup of cold milk. Take a basin of the boiling milk, mix it with the cold that has the rice in it, and add it to the remainder of the boiling milk, stirring it one way till it begins to thicken. Pour it into a pan, stir it till it is cool, and add a spoonful of brandy or orange water. This is a good imitation of cream custard, and considerably cheaper.
RICE EDGING. After soaking and picking some fine Carolina rice, boil it in salt and water, until sufficiently tender, but not to mash. Drain, and put it round the inner edge of the dish, to the height of two inches. Smooth it with the back of a spoon, wash it over with the yolk of an egg, and put it into the oven for three or four minutes. This forms an agreeable edging for currie or frica.s.see, with the meat served in the middle.
RICE FLUMMERY. Boil with a pint of new milk, a bit of lemon peel and cinnamon. Mix with a little cold milk as much rice flour as will make the whole of a good consistence, add a little sugar, and a spoonful of peach water, or a bitter almond beaten. Boil it, but do not let it burn; pour it into a shape or pint basin, taking out the spice. When cold, turn the flummery into a dish, and serve with cream, milk, or custard round. Or put a tea-cupful of cream into half a pint of new milk, a gla.s.s of white wine, half a lemon squeezed, and sugar.
RICE MILK. Boil half a pound of rice in a quart of water, with a bit of cinnamon, till the water is wasted. Add three pints of milk, an egg beaten up with a spoonful of flour, and stir it till it boils. Then pour it out, sweeten it, and put in currants and nutmeg.
RICE PANCAKES. Boil half a pound of rice to a jelly in a small quant.i.ty of water; when cold, mix it with a pint of cream, eight eggs, a little salt and nutmeg. Stir in eight ounces of b.u.t.ter just warmed, and add flour sufficient to thicken the batter. Fry in as little lard or dripping as possible.
RICE PASTE. To make a rice paste for sweets, boil a quarter of a pound of ground rice in the smallest quant.i.ty of water. Strain from it all the moisture possible, beat it in a mortar with half an ounce of b.u.t.ter, and one egg well beaten. It will make an excellent paste for tarts, and other sweet dishes.--To make a rich paste for relishing things, clean some rice, and put it into a saucepan. Add a little milk and water, or milk only, and an onion, and simmer it over the fire till it swells. Put some seasoned chops into a dish, and cover it with the rice. The addition of an egg will make the rice bind the better. Rabbits frica.s.seed, and covered with rice paste, are very good.