cowhouse is of great importance. Cows kept at pasture will require from
one to two acres of land each to keep them during the summer months; but
if housed, the produce of one fourth part will be sufficient. Their
dung, which would otherwise be wasted on the ground by the action of the
sun and weather, is hereby easily preserved, and given to the soil where
it is most wanted, and in the best condition. The treading on the grass
and pasture, which diminishes its value, is prevented; the expence of
division-fences is avoided, and the time and trouble of driving them
about is all saved. They are also kept more cool, are less tormented by
flies than if pastured, acquire good coats and full flesh, though they
consume a much smaller quantity of food. They are in all respects more
profitably kept in the house, than out of doors; but they must be
regularly and gradually trained to it, or they will not thrive. Cows
should always be kept clean, laid dry, and have plenty of good water to
drink. They should never be suffered to drink at stagnant pools, or
where there are frogs, spawn, or filth of any kind; or from common
sewers or ponds that receive the drainings of stables, or such kind of
places; all which are exceedingly improper. One of the most effectual
means of rendering their milk sweet and wholesome, as well as increasing
its quantity, is to let them drink freely of water in which the most
fragrant kind of clover or lucern has been steeped: and if they are
curried in the same manner as horses, they will not only receive
pleasure from it, but give their milk more freely. In Holland, where the
greatest attention is paid to all kinds of domestic animals, the
haunches of dairy cows are washed morning and evening with warm water
previous to milking, and after calving are clothed with sacking. The
floors of their cowhouses are paved with brick, with a descent in the
middle, where a gutter carries off the drain, and the place is kept
perfectly clean with a broom and pails of water. The filthy state in
which cows are confined in the vicinity of London, and other large
cities, and the manner in which they are literally crammed, not with
wholesome food, but with such things as are calculated to produce an
abundance of milk, cannot be too severely reprobated as injurious to the
public health. It is also notorious, that vessels of hot and cold water
are always kept in these cowhouses for the accommodation of mercenary
retailers, who purchase a quantity of milk at a low price, and then mix
it with such a proportion of water as they think necessary to reduce it
to a proper standard; when it is hawked about at an exorbitant price.
The milk is not pure in its original state, and being afterwards
adulterated, it is scarcely fit for any purpose in a family. The first
object in the article of food, is wholesomeness; and grass growing
spontaneously on good meadow-land is in general deemed most proper for
cows intended to supply the dairy. The quantity of milk produced by
those which feed on sainfoin is however nearly double to that of any
other provender: it is also richer in quality, and will yield a larger
quantity of cream: of course the butter will be better coloured and
flavoured than any other. Turnips and carrots form an excellent article,
and cannot be too strongly recommended, especially as a winter food; but
they should be cleaned and cut; and parsnips, with the tops taken off
will produce abundance of milk, of a superior quality; and cows will eat
them freely though they are improper for horses. Of all vegetable
productions, perhaps the cabbage is the most exuberant for this purpose,
and ought by all means to be encouraged. The drum-headed cabbage, and
the hardy variety of a deep green colour with purple veins, and of the
same size with the drum-head, are particularly useful in the feeding of
cows, and afford an increase of milk far superior to that produced by
turnips. They are also excellent for the fattening of cattle, which they
will do six weeks sooner than any other vegetables, though the cabbage
plant is generally supposed to impart a disagreeable flavour to butter
and cheese made from the milk of cows fed upon it, yet this may easily
be prevented by putting a gallon of boiling water to six gallons of
milk, when it is standing in the trays; or by dissolving an ounce of
saltpetre in a quart of spring water, and mixing about a quarter of a
pint of it with ten or twelve gallons of milk as it comes from the cow.
By breaking off the loose leaves, and giving only the sound part to the
cows, this disagreeable quality may also be avoided, as other cattle
will eat the leaves without injury. When a cow has been milked for
several years, and begins to grow old, the most advantageous way is to
make her dry. To effect this, bruise six ounces of white rosin, and
dissolve it in a quart of water. The cow having been housed, should then
be bled and milked; and after the mixture has been administered, she
should be turned into good grass. She is no longer to be milked, but
fattened on rich vegetables. Cows intended for breeding, should be
carefully selected from those which give plenty of milk. During three
months previously to calving, if in the spring, they should be turned
into sweet grass; or if it happen in the winter, they ought to be well
fed with the best hay. The day and night after they have calved, they
should be kept in the house, and lukewarm water only allowed for their
drink. They may be turned out the next day, if the weather be warm, but
regularly taken in for three or four successive nights; or if the
weather be damp and cold, it is better to girt them round with sacking,
or keep them wholly within. Cows thus housed should be kept in every
night, till the morning cold is dissipated, and a draught of warm water
given them previously to their going to the field. If the udder of a
milking cow becomes hard and painful, it should be fomented with warm
water and rubbed with a gentle hand. Or if the teats are sore, they
should be soaked in warm water twice a day; and either be dressed with
soft ointment, or done with spirits and water. If the former, great
cleanliness is necessary: the milk at these times is best given to the
pigs. Or if a cow be injured by a blow or wound, the part affected
should be suppled several times a day with fresh butter; or a salve
prepared of one ounce of Castile soap dissolved in a pint and a half of
fresh milk over a slow fire, stirring it constantly, to form a complete
mixture. But if the wound should turn to an obstinate ulcer, take
Castile soap, gum ammoniac, gum galbanum, and extract of hemlock, each
one ounce; form them into eight boluses, and administer one of them
every morning and evening. To prevent cows from sucking their own milk,
as some of them are apt to do, rub the teats frequently with strong
rancid cheese, which will prove an effectual remedy.
COW HEELS. These are very nutricious, and may be variously dressed. The
common way is to boil, and serve them in a napkin, with melted butter,
mustard, and a large spoonful of vinegar. Or broil them very tender, and
serve them as a brown fricassee. The liquor will do to make jelly sweet
or relishing and likewise to give richness to soups or gravies. Another
way is to cut them into four parts, to dip them into an egg, and then
dredge and fry them. They may be garnished with fried onions, and served
with sauce as above. Or they may be baked as for mock turtle.
COWSLIP MEAD. Put thirty pounds of honey into fifteen gallons of water,
and boil till one gallon is wasted; skim it, and take it off the fire.
Have a dozen and a half of lemons ready quartered, pour a gallon of the
liquor boiling hot upon them, and the remainder into a tub, with seven
pecks of cowslip pips. Let them remain there all night; then put the
liquor and the lemons to eight spoonfuls of new yeast, and a handful of
sweet-briar. Stir all well together, and let it work for three or four
days; then strain and tun it into a cask. Let it stand six months, and
bottle it for keeping.
COWSLIP WINE. To every gallon of water, weigh three pounds of lump
sugar; boil them together half an hour, and take off the scum as it
rises. When sufficiently cool, put to it a crust of toasted bread dipped
in thick yeast, and let the liquor ferment in the tub thirty six hours.
Then put into the cask intended for keeping it, the peel of two and the
rind of one lemon, for every gallon of liquor; also the peel and the
rind of one Seville orange, and one gallon of cowslip pips. Pour the
liquor upon them, stir it carefully every day for a week, and for every
five gallons put in a bottle of brandy. Let the cask be close stopped,
and stand only six weeks before it be bottled off.
CRABS. The heaviest are best, and those of a middling size the sweetest.
If light they are watery: when in perfection the joints of the legs are
stiff, and the body has a very agreeable smell. The eyes look dead and
loose when stale. The female crab is generally preferred: the colour is
much brighter, the claws are shorter, and the apron in front is much
broader. To dress a hot crab, pick out the meat, and clear the shell
from the head. Put the meat into the shell again, with a little nutmeg,
salt, pepper, a bit of butter, crumbs of bread, and three spoonfuls of
vinegar. Then set the crab before the fire, or brown the meat with a
salamander. It should be served on a dry toast.--To dress a cold crab,
empty the shell, mix the flesh with a small quantity of oil, vinegar,
salt, white pepper and cayenne. Return the mixture, and serve it up in
the shell.
CRACKNELS. Mix with a quart of flour, half a nutmeg grated, the yolks of
four eggs beaten, and four spoonfuls of rose water. Make the whole into
a stiff paste, with cold water. Then roll in a pound of butter, and
make the paste into the shape of cracknels. Boil them in a kettle of
water till they swim, and then put them into cold water. When hardened,
lay them out to dry, and bake them on tin plates.
CRACKNUTS. Mix eight ounces of fine flour, with eight ounces of sugar,
and melt four ounces of butter in two spoonfuls of raisin wine. With
four eggs beaten and strained, make the whole into a paste, and add
carraway seed. Roll the paste out as thin as paper, cut it into shapes
with the top of a glass, wash them with the white of an egg, and dust
them over with fine sugar.
CRAMP. Persons subject to this complaint, being generally attacked in
the night, should have a board fixed at the bottom of the bed, against
which the foot should be strongly pressed when the pain commences. This
will seldom fail to afford relief. When it is more obstinate, a brick
should be heated, wrapped in a flannel bag at the bottom of the bed, and
the foot placed against it. The brick will continue warm, and prevent a
return of the complaint. No remedy however is more safe or more certain
than that of rubbing the affected part, to restore a free circulation.
If the cramp attack the stomach or bowels, it is attended with
considerable danger: medicine may relieve but cannot cure. All hot and
stimulating liquors must be carefully avoided, and a tea-cupful of
lukewarm gruel or camomile tea should be frequently given, with ten or
fifteen drops of deliquidated salt of tartar in each.
CRANBERRIES. If for puddings and pies, they require a good deal of
sugar. If stewed in a jar, it is the same: but in this way they eat well
with bread, and are very wholesome. If pressed and strained, after being
stewed, they yield a fine juice, which makes an excellent drink in a
fever.
CRANBERRY GRUEL. Mash a tea-cupful of cranberries in a cup of water, and
boil a large spoonful of oatmeal in two quarts of water. Then put in the
jam, with a little sugar and lemon peel; boil it half an hour, and
strain it off. Add a glass of brandy or sweet wine.
CRANBERRY JELLY. Make a very strong isinglass jelly. When cold, mix it
with a double quantity of cranberry juice, pressed and strained. Sweeten
it with fine loaf sugar, boil it up, and strain it into a shape.--To
make cranberry and rice jelly, boil and press the fruit, strain the
juice, and by degrees mix it into as much ground rice as will, when
boiled, thicken to a jelly. Boil it gently, keep it stirring, and
sweeten it. Put it in a bason or form, and serve it up with milk or
cream.
CRAY FISH. Make a savoury fish-jelly, and put some into the bottom of a
deep small dish. When cold, lay the cray-fish with their back downwards,
and pour more jelly over them. Turn them out when cold, and it will make
a beautiful dish. Prawns may be done in the same way.
CREAM. Rich cream for tea or coffee is prepared in the following manner.
Put some new milk into an earthen pan, heat it over the fire, and set it
by till the next day. In order to preserve it a day or two longer, it
must be scalded, sweetened with lump sugar, and set in a cool place. If
half a pint of fresh cream be boiled in an earthen pot with half a pound
of sugar, and corked up close in phials when cold, it will keep for
several weeks, and be fit for the tea-table.
CREAM FOR PIES. Boil a pint of new milk ten minutes, with a bit of lemon
peel, a laurel leaf, four cloves, and a little sugar. Mix the yolks of
six eggs and half a tea-spoonful of flour, strain the milk to them, and
set it over a slow fire. Stir it to a consistence, but do not let it
curdle: when cold it may be spread over any kind of fruit pies.
CREAM FOR WHEY BUTTER. Set the whey one day and night, and skim it till
a sufficient quantity is obtained. Then boil it, and pour it into a pan
or two of cold water. As the cream rises, skim it till no more comes,
and then churn it. Where new-milk cheese is made daily, whey butter for
common and present use may be made to advantage.
CREAM CHEESE. To make this article, put into a pan five quarts of
strippings, that is, the last of the milk, with two spoonfuls of rennet.
When the curd is come, strike it down two or three times with the
skimming dish just to break it. Let it stand two hours, then spread a
cheese cloth on a sieve, lay the curd on it, and let the whey drain.
Break the curd a little with the hand, and put it into a vat with a
two-pound weight upon it. Let it stand twelve hours, take it out, and
bind a fillet round. Turn it every day till dry, from one board to
another; cover them with nettles or clean dock-leaves, and lay them
between two pewter plates to ripen. If the weather be warm, the cheese
will be ready in three weeks.--Another way. Prepare a kettle of boiling
water, put five quarts of new milk into a pan, five pints of cold water,
and five of hot. When of a proper heat, put in as much rennet as will
bring it in twenty minutes, likewise a bit of sugar. When the curd is
come, strike the skimmer three or four times down, and leave it on the
curd. In an hour or two lade it into the vat without touching it; put a
two-pound weight on it when the whey has run from it, and the vat is
full.--To make another sort of cream cheese, put as much salt to three
pints of raw cream as will season it. Stir it well, lay a cheese cloth
several times folded at the bottom of a sieve, and pour the curd upon
it. When it hardens, cover it with nettles on a pewter plate.--What is
called Rush Cream Cheese is made as follows. To a quart of fresh cream
put a pint of new milk, warm enough to give the cream a proper degree of
warmth; then add a little sugar and rennet. Set it near the fire till
the curd comes; fill a vat made in the form of a brick, of wheat straw
or rushes sewed together. Have ready a square of straw or rushes sewed
flat, to rest the vat on, and another to cover it; the vat being open at
top and bottom. Next day take it out, change it often in order to ripen,
and lay a half pound weight upon it.--Another way. Take a pint of very
thick sour cream from the top of the pan for gathering butter, lay a
napkin on two plates, and pour half into each. Let them stand twelve
hours, then put them on a fresh wet napkin in one plate, and cover with
the same. Repeat this every twelve hours, till the cheese begins to look
dry. Then ripen it with nut leaves, and it will be ready in ten days.
Fresh nettles, or two pewter plates, will ripen cream cheese very well.
CREAM PUDDING. Slice the crumb of a penny loaf into a quart of cream,
scald it over the fire, and break it with a spoon. Add to it six eggs,
with three of the whites only, half a pound of fine raisins, a quarter
of a pound of sugar, a little rose water and nutmeg. Beat it all up
together, stir in a little marrow if approved, and bake it in a dish
with paste.
CREAMS. To make an excellent cream, boil half a pint of cream and half a
pint of milk with two bay leaves, a bit of lemon peel, a few almonds
beaten to paste, with a drop of water, a little sugar, orange flower
water, and a tea-spoonful of flour rubbed down with a little cold milk.
When the cream is cold, add a little lemon juice, and serve it up in
cups or lemonade glasses.--For a superior article, whip up three
quarters of a pint of very rich cream to a strong froth, with some
finely-scraped lemon peel, a squeeze of the juice, half a glass of sweet
wine, and sugar to make it pleasant, but not too sweet. Lay it on a
sieve or in a form, next day put it on a dish, and ornament it with very
light puff paste biscuits, made in tin shapes the length of a finger,
and about two thick. Fine sugar may be sifted over, or it may be glazed
with a little isinglass. Macaroons may be used to line the edges of the
dish.
CRESS VINEGAR. Dry and pound half an ounce of the seed of garden
cresses, pour upon it a quart of the best vinegar, and let it steep ten
days, shaking it up every day. Being strongly flavoured with the
cresses, it is suitable for salads and cold meat. Celery vinegar is made
in the same manner.
CRICKETS. The fume of charcoal will drive them away: or a little white
arsenic mixed with a roasted apple, and put into the holes and cracks
where the crickets are, will effectually destroy them. Scotch snuff
dusted upon the holes where they come out, will also have the same
effect.
CRIMP COD. Boil a handful of salt in a gallon of pump water, and skim it
clean. Cut a fresh cod into slices an inch thick, and boil it briskly in
the brine a few minutes; take the slices out very carefully, and lay
them on a fish plate to drain. Dry and flour them, and lay them at a
distance upon a clear fire to broil. Serve with lobster or shrimp sauce.
CRIMP SALMON. When the salmon is scaled and cleaned, take off the head
and tail, and cut the body through into large slices. Throw them into a
pan of pump water, sprinkle on a handful of bay salt, stir it about, and
then take out the fish. Set on a deep stewpan, boil the head and tail
whole, put in some salt, but no vinegar. When they have boiled ten
minutes, skim the water clean, and put in the slices. When boiled
enough, lay the head and tail in the dish, and the slices round; or
either part may be dressed separately.
CRISP PARSLEY. Pick and wash some young parsley, shake it in a dry cloth
to drain the water from it, spread it on a sheet of white paper, in a
Dutch oven before the fire, and turn it frequently until it is quite
crisp. This is a much better way of preparing it than by frying, which
is seldom well done; and it will serve as a neat garnish for fish or
lamb chops.
CROSS BUNS. Warm before the fire two pounds and a half of fine flour;
add half a pound of sifted loaf sugar, some coriander seeds, cinnamon
and mace finely pounded. Melt half a pound of butter in half a pint of
milk; after it has cooled, stir in three table-spoonfuls of thick yeast,
and a little salt. Work the whole into a paste, make it into buns, and
cut a cross on the top. Put them on a tin to rise before the fire, brush
them over with warm milk, and bake in a moderate oven.
CROWS. These birds are extremely useful to the farmer, in devouring
multitudes of locusts, caterpillars, and other insects, which are highly
injurious to the crops; but at certain seasons they have become so
numerous, and committed such depredations on the corn fields, that an
act of parliament has been passed for their destruction. The most
successful method is to prepare a kind of table between the branches of
a large tree, with some carrion and other meat, till the crows are
accustomed to resort to the place for food. Afterwards the meat may be
poisoned; and the birds still feeding on it, will be destroyed. The drug
called _nux vomica_ is best adapted to the purpose.
CRUMPETS. Warm before the fire two pounds of fine flour, with a little
salt, and mix it with warm milk and water till it becomes stiff. Work up
three eggs with three spoonfuls of thick yeast, and a cupful of warm
milk and water; put it to the batter, and beat them well together in a
large bowl, with as much milk and water as will make the batter thick.
Set it before the fire to rise, and cover it close. Set on the
fryingpan, rub it over with a bit of butter tied up in muslin, and pour
in as much batter at a time as is sufficient for one crumpet. Let it
bake slowly till it comes to a pale yellow; and when cold, the crumpets
may be toasted and buttered.
CUCUMBERS. The best way of cultivating this delicious vegetable is as
follows. When the plants have been raised on a moderate hot bed, without
forcing them too much, they should be set in the open ground against a
south wall in the latter end of May, and trained upon the wall like a
fruit tree. When they have run up about five feet, they will send forth
blossoms, and the fruit will soon appear. Cucumbers of the slender
prickly sort are to be preferred, and they should not be watered too
much while growing, as it will injure the fruit. The flesh of cucumbers
raised in this way, will be thicker and firmer, and the flavour more
delicious, than those planted in the usual manner, where the runners are
suffered to trail upon the ground. Melons may also be treated in the
same manner, and the quality of both will be greatly improved.--When
cucumbers are to be prepared for the table, pare and score them in
several rows, that they may appear as if slightly chopped. Add some
young onions, pepper and salt, a glass of white wine, the juice of a
lemon, and some vinegar. Or cut them in thin slices, with pepper, salt,
vinegar, and sliced onions. Or send them to table whole, with a sliced
onion in a saucer.
CUCUMBER KETCHUP. Pare some large old cucumbers, cut them in slices, and
mash them; add some salt, and let them stand till the next day. Drain
off the liquor, boil it with lemon peel, mace, cloves, horse-radish,
shalots, white pepper, and ginger. Strain it; and when cold put it into
bottles, with the mace, cloves and peppercorns, but not the rest. A
little of this ketchup will give an agreeable taste to almost any kind
of gravy sauce.
CUCUMBER VINEGAR. Pare and slice fifteen large cucumbers, and put them
into a stone jar, with three pints of vinegar, four large onions sliced,
two or three shalots, a little garlic, two large spoonfuls of salt,
three tea-spoonfuls of pepper, and half a tea-spoonful of cayenne. Keep
the vinegar in small bottles, to add to sallad, or to eat with meat.
CULLIS. To make cullis for ragouts, cut in pieces two pounds of lean
veal, and two ounces of ham. Add two cloves, a little nutmeg and mace,
some parsley roots, two carrots sliced, some shalots, and two bay
leaves. Put them into an earthen jar on a hot hearth, or in a kettle of
boiling water. Cover them close, let them simmer for half an hour,
observing that they do not burn; then put in beef broth, stew it, and
strain it off.
CUMBERLAND PUDDING. To make what is called the Duke of Cumberland's
pudding, mix six ounces of grated bread, the same quantity of currants
well cleaned and picked, the same of beef suet finely shred, the same of
chopped apples, and also of lump sugar. Add six eggs, half a grated
nutmeg, a dust of salt, and the rind of a lemon minced as fine as
possible; also a large spoonful each of citron, orange, and lemon cut
thin. Mix them thoroughly together, put the whole into a basin, cover it
close with a floured cloth, and boil it three hours. Serve it with
pudding sauce, add the juice of half a lemon, boiled together.
CURD PUDDING. Rub the curd of two gallons of milk well drained through a
sieve. Mix it with six eggs, a little cream, two spoonfuls of
orange-flower water, half a nutmeg, flour and crumbs of bread each three
spoonfuls, currants and raisins half a pound of each. Boil the pudding
an hour in a thick well-floured cloth.
CURD PUFFS. Turn two quarts of milk to curd, press the whey from it, rub
it through a sieve, and mix four ounces of butter, the crumb of a penny
loaf, two spoonfuls of cream, half a nutmeg, a little sugar, and two
spoonfuls of white wine. Butter some small cups or pattipans, and fill
them three parts. Orange-flower water is an improvement. Bake the puffs
with care, and serve with sweet sauce in a boat.
CURD STAR. Set on the fire a quart of new milk, with two or three blades
of mace; and when ready to boil, put to it the yolks and whites of nine
eggs well beaten, and as much salt as will lie upon a six-pence. Let it
boil till the whey is clear; then drain it in a thin cloth, or hair
sieve. Season it with sugar, and a little cinnamon, rose water,
orange-flower water, or white wine. Put it into a star form, and let it
stand some hours before it be turned into a dish: then pour round it
some thick cream or custard.
CURDS AND CREAM. Put three or four pints of milk into a pan a little
warm, and then add rennet or gallina. When the curd is come, lade it
with a saucer into an earthen shape perforated, of any form you please.
Fill it up as the whey drains off, without breaking or pressing the
curd. If turned only two hours before wanted, it is very light; but
those who like it harder may have it so, by making it earlier, and
squeezing it. Cream, milk, or a whip of cream, sugar, wine, and lemon,
may be put into the dish, or into a glass bowl, to serve with the
curd.--Another way is to warm four quarts of new milk, and add a pint or
more of buttermilk strained, according to its sourness. Keep the pan
covered till the curd be sufficiently firm to cut, three or four times
across with a saucer, as the whey leaves it. Put it into a shape, and
fill up until it be solid enough to take the form. Serve with plain
cream, or mixed with sugar, wine and lemon.
CURDS AND WHEY. According to the Italian method, a more delicate and
tender curd is made without the use of common rennet. Take a number of
the rough coats that line the gizzards of turkeys and fowls, clean them
from the pebbles they contain, rub them well with salt, and hang them up
to dry. When to be used, break off some bits of the skin, and pour on
some boiling water. In eight or nine hours the liquor may be used as
other rennet.