engaged considerable attention from observers of various descriptions.
Smoky chimnies in a new house, are such, frequently, for want of air.
The workmanship of the rooms being all good and just out of the
workman's hands, the joints of the flooring and of the pannels of the
wainscoting are all true and tight; the more so as the walls, perhaps
not yet thoroughly dry, preserve a dampness in the air of the room which
keeps the woodwork swelled and close: the doors and the sashes too being
worked with truth, shut with exactness, so that the room is perfectly
tight, no passage being left open for the air to enter except the
key-hole, and even that is frequently closed by a little dropping
shutter. In this case it is evident that there can be no regular current
through the flue of the chimney, as any air escaping from its aperture
would cause an exhaustion in the air of the room similar to that in the
receiver of an air-pump, and therefore an equal quantity of air would
rush down the flue to restore the equilibrium; accordingly the smoke, if
it ever ascended to the top, would be beat down again into the room.
Those, therefore, who stop every crevice in a room to prevent the
admission of fresh air, and yet would have their chimney carry up the
smoke, require inconsistencies and expect impossibilities. The obvious
remedy in this case is, to admit more air, and the question will be how
and where this necessary quantity of air from without is to be admitted,
so as to produce the least inconvenience; for if the door or window be
left so much open, it causes a cold draft of air to the fire-place, to
the great discomfort of those who sit there. Various have been the
contrivances to avoid this, such as bringing in fresh air through pipes
in the jambs of the chimney, which, pointing upwards, should blow the
smoke up the funnel; opening passages in the funnel above to let in air
for the same purpose; but these produce an effect contrary to that
intended, for as it is the constant current of air passing from the room
through the opening of the chimney into the flue, which prevents the
smoke coming out into the room, if the funnel is supplied by other means
with the air it wants, and especially if that air be cold, the force of
that current is diminished, and the smoke in its efforts to enter the
room finds less resistance. The wanted air must then indispensably be
admitted into the room to supply what goes off through the opening of
the chimney, and it is advisable to make the aperture for this purpose
as near the ceiling as possible, because the heated air will naturally
ascend and occupy the highest part of the room, thus causing a great
difference of climate at different heights, a defect which will be in
some measure obviated by the admission of cold air near the ceiling,
which descending, will beat down and mingle the air more effectually.
Another cause of smoky chimnies is too short a funnel, as, in this case,
the ascending current will not always have sufficient power to direct
the smoke up the flue. This defect is frequently found in low buildings,
or the upper stories of high ones, and is unavoidable, for if the flue
be raised high above the roof to strengthen its draft, it is then in
danger of being blown down and crushing the roof in its fall. The remedy
in this case is to contract the opening of the chimney so as to oblige
all the entering air to pass through or very near the fire, by which
means it will be considerably heated, and by its great rarefaction,
cause a powerful draft, and compensate for the shortness of its column.
The case of too short a funnel is more general than would be imagined,
and often found where one would not expect it; for it is not uncommon in
ill-contrived buildings, instead of having a separate funnel for each
fire-place, to bend and turn the funnel of an upper room so as to make
it enter the side of another flue that comes from below. By this means
the funnel of the upper room is made short, of course, since its length
can only be reckoned from the place where it enters the lower funnel,
and that flue is also shortened by all the distance between the entrance
of the second funnel and the top of the stack; for all that part being
readily supplied with air through the second flue, adds no strength to
the draft, especially as that air is cold when there is no fire in the
second chimney. The only easy remedy here, is to keep the opening shut
of that flue in which there is no fire. Another very common cause of the
smoking of chimnies is, their overpowering one another. For instance, if
there be two chimnies in one large room, and you make fires in both of
them, you will find that the greater and stronger fire shall overpower
the weaker, and draw air down its funnel to supply its own demand, which
air descending in the weaker funnel will drive down its smoke, and force
it into the room. If, instead of being in one room, the two chimnies are
in two different rooms communicating by a door, the case is the same
whenever that door is open. The remedy is, to take care that every room
have the means of supplying itself from without, with the air its
chimney may require, so that no one of them may be obliged to borrow
from another, nor under the necessity of lending. Another cause of
smoking is, when the tops of chimnies are commanded by higher buildings,
or by a hill, so that the wind blowing over such eminences falls like
water over a dam, sometimes almost perpendicularly on the tops of the
chimnies that lie in its way, and beats down the smoke contained in
them. The remedy commonly applied in this case is, a turn-cap, made of
tin or plate-iron, covering the chimney above, and on three sides, open
on one side, turning on a spindle, and which being guided or governed by
a vane, always presents its back to the wind. This method will generally
be found effectual, but if not, raising the flues, where practicable, so
as their tops may be on a level with or higher than the commanding
eminence, is more to be depended on. There is another case of command,
the reverse of that last mentioned; it is where the commanding eminence
is farther from the wind than the chimney commanded. For instance,
suppose the chimney of a building to be so situated as that its top is
below the level of the ridge of the roof, which, when the wind blows
against it, forms a kind of dam against its progress. In this case, the
wind being obstructed by this dam, will, like water, press and search
for passages through it, and finding the top of the chimney below the
top of the dam, it will force itself down that funnel in order to get
through by some door or window open on the other side of the building,
and if there be a fire in such chimney, its smoke is of course beat down
and fills the room. The only remedy for this inconvenience is, to raise
the funnel higher than the roof, supporting it, if necessary, by iron
bars; for a turn-cap in this case has no effect, the dammed up air
pressing down through it in whatever position the wind may have placed
its opening. Chimnies otherwise drawing well are sometimes made to smoke
by the improper and inconvenient situation of a door. When the door and
chimney are placed on the same side of a room, if the door is made to
open from the chimney, it follows, that when only partly opened, a
current of air is admitted and directed across the opening of the
chimney, which is apt to draw out some of the smoke. Chimnies which
generally draw well, do, nevertheless, sometimes give smoke into the
room, it being driven down by strong winds passing over the tops of
their flues, though not descending from any commanding eminence. To
understand this, it may be considered that the rising light air, to
obtain a free issue from the funnel, must push out of its way, or oblige
the air that is over it to rise. In a time of calm, or of little wind,
this is done visibly; for we see the smoke that is brought up by that
air rise in a column above the chimney. But when a violent current of
wind passes over the top of a chimney, its particles have received so
much force, which keeps them in a horizontal direction, and follow each
other so rapidly, that the rising light air has not strength sufficient
to oblige them to quit that direction, and move upwards to permit its
issue. Add to this, that some of the air may impinge on that part of the
inside of the funnel which is opposed to its progress, and be thence
reflected downwards from side to side, driving the smoke before it into
the room. The simplest and best remedy in this case is the application
of a chimney-pot, which is a hollow truncated cone of earthenware placed
upon the top of the flue. The intention of this contrivance is, that the
wind and eddies which strike against the oblique surface of these covers
may be reflected upwards instead of blowing down the chimney. The bad
construction of _fire-places_ is another cause of smoking chimneys; and
this case will lead us to the consideration of the methods of increasing
the heat and diminishing the consumption of fuel; for it will be found
that the improvements necessary to produce the last-mentioned end will
also have a general tendency to cure smoky chimnies. On this subject the
meritorious labours of Count Rumford are conspicuous, and we shall
proceed to give an abridged account of his method. In investigating the
best form of a fire-place, it will be necessary to consider, first, what
are the objects which ought principally to be had in view in the
construction of a fire-place; and, secondly, to consider how these
objects can best be attained. Now the design of a chimney-fire being
simply to warm a room, it is essential to contrive so that this end
shall be actually attained, and with the least possible expence of fuel,
and also that the air of the room be preserved perfectly pure and fit
for respiration, and free from smoke and all disagreeable smells. To
cause as many as possible of the rays, as they are sent off from the
fire in straight lines, to come directly into the room, it will be
necessary, in the first place, to bring the fire as far forward, and to
leave the opening of the fire-place as wide and high as can be done
without inconvenience; and secondly, to make the sides and back of the
fire-place of such form, and of such materials, as to cause the direct
rays from the fire which strike against them, to be sent into the room
by reflection in the greatest abundance. Now, it will be found, upon
examination, that the best form for the vertical sides of a fire-place,
or the _covings_, as they are called, is that of an upright plane,
making an angle with the plane of the back of the fire-place of about
135 degrees. According to the old construction of chimnies, this angle
is 90 degrees, or forms a right angle; but, as in this case the two
covings are parallel to each other, it is evident that they are very ill
contrived for throwing into the room, by reflection, the rays from the
fire which fall on them. The next improvement will be to reduce the
throat of the chimney, the immoderate size of which is a most essential
fault in their construction; for, however good the formation of a
fire-place may be in other respects, if the opening left for the passage
of the smoke is larger than is necessary for that purpose, nothing can
prevent the warm air of the room from escaping through it; and whenever
this happens, there is not only an unnecessary loss of heat, but the
warm air, which leaves the room to go up the chimney, being replaced by
cold air from without, produces those drafts of air so often complained
of. But though these evils may be remedied, by reducing the throat of
the chimney to a proper size, yet, in doing this, several considerations
will be necessary to determine its proper situation. As the smoke and
hot vapour which rise from a fire naturally tend upwards, it is evident
that it will be proper to place the throat of the chimney
perpendicularly over the fire; but to ascertain its most advantageous
distance, or how far above the burning fuel it ought to be placed, is
not so easy, and requires several advantages and disadvantages to be
balanced. As the smoke and vapour rise in consequence of their being
rarefied by heat, and made lighter than the air of the surrounding
atmosphere, and as the degree of their rarefraction is in proportion to
the intensity of their heat, and as this heat is greater near the fire
than at a distance from it, it is clear, that the nearer the throat of a
chimney is to the fire, the stronger will be what is commonly called its
draught, and the less danger there will be of its smoking, or of dust
coming into the room when the fire is stirred. But, on the other hand,
when a very strong draught is occasioned by the throat of the chimney
being very near the fire, it may happen that the influx of air into the
fire may become so strong as to cause the fuel to be consumed too
rapidly. This however will very seldom be found to be the case, for the
throats of chimnies are in general too high. In regard to the materials
which it will be most advantageous to employ in the construction of
fire-places, little difficulty will attend the determination of that
point. As the object in view is to bring radiant heat into the room, it
is clear that that material is best for the construction of a fire-place
which reflects the most, or which absorbs the least of it, for that heat
which is absorbed cannot be reflected. Now, as bodies which absorb
radiant heat are necessarily heated in consequence of that absorption;
to discover which of the various materials that can be employed for
constructing fire-places are best adapted for that purpose, we have only
to find, by an experiment very easy to be made, what bodies acquire
least heat, when exposed to the direct rays of a clear fire; for those
which are least heated evidently absorb the least, and consequently
reflect the most radiant heat. And hence it appears that iron, and in
general metals of all kinds, which are well known to grow very hot when
exposed to the rays projected by burning fuel, are to be reckoned among
the very worst materials that it is possible to employ in the
construction of fire-places. Perhaps the best materials are fire-stone
and common bricks and mortar. These substances are fortunately very
cheap, and it is not easy to say to which of the two the preference
ought to be given. When bricks are used, they should be covered with a
thin coating of plaster, which, when perfectly dry, should be
white-washed. The fire-stone should likewise be white-washed, when that
is used; and every part of the fire-place which does not come into
actual contact with the burning fuel should be kept as white and clean
as possible. The bringing forward of the fire into the room, or rather
bringing it nearer to the front of the opening of the fire-place, and
the diminishing of the throat of the chimney, being two objects
principally had in view in the alterations of fire-places recommended,
it is evident that both these may be attained merely by bringing forward
the back of the chimney. It will then remain to be determined how far
the back should be brought forward. This point will be limited by the
necessity of leaving a proper passage for the smoke. Now, as this
passage, which in its narrowest part is called the throat of the
chimney, ought, for reasons before stated, to be immediately or
perpendicularly over the fire, it is evident that the back of the
chimney should be built perfectly upright. To determine therefore the
place of the new back, nothing more is necessary than to ascertain how
wide the throat of the chimney ought to be left. This width is
determined by Count Rumford from numerous experiments, and comparing all
circumstances, to be four inches. Therefore, supposing the breast of the
chimney, or the wall above the mantle, to be nine inches thick, allowing
four inches for the width of the throat, this will give thirteen inches
for the depth of the fire-place. The next consideration will be the
width which it will be proper to give to the back. This, in fire-places
of the old construction, is the same with the width of the opening in
front; but this construction is faulty, on two accounts; first, because
the covings being parallel to each other, are ill contrived to throw out
into the room the heat they receive from the fire in the form of rays;
and, secondly, the large open corners occasion eddies of wind which
frequently disturb the fire and embarrass the smoke in its ascent, in
such a manner as to bring it into the room. Both these defects may be
entirely remedied, by diminishing the width of the back of the
fire-place. The width which in most cases it will be best to give it, is
one-third of the width of the opening of the fire-place in front. But it
is not absolutely necessary to conform rigorously to this decision, nor
will it always be possible. Where a chimney is designed for warming a
room of moderate size, the depth of the fire-place being determined by
the thickness of the breast to thirteen inches, the same dimensions
would be a good size for the width of the back, and three times thirteen
inches, or three feet three inches, for the width of the opening in
front, and the angles made by the back of the fire-place, and the sides
of it, or covings, would be just 135 degrees, which is the best position
they can have for throwing heat into the room. In determining the width
of this opening in front, the chimney is supposed to be perfectly good,
and well situated. If there is any reason to apprehend its ever smoking,
it will be necessary to reduce the opening in front, placing the covings
at a less angle than 135 degrees, and especially to diminish the height
of the opening by lowering the mantle. If from any consideration, such
as the wish to accommodate the fire-place to a grate or stove already on
hand, it should be wished to make the back wider than the dimension
recommended, as for instance, sixteen inches; it will be advisable not
to exceed the width of three feet three inches for the opening in front,
as in a very wide and shallow fire-place, any sudden motion of the air
in front would be apt to bring out puffs of smoke into the room. The
throat of the chimney being reduced to four inches, it will be necessary
to make a provision for the passage of a chimney sweeper. This is to be
done in the following manner. In building up the new back of the
fire-place, when this wall is brought up so high that there remains no
more than about ten or eleven inches between what is then the top of it
and the underside of the mantle, an opening or door-way, eleven or
twelve inches wide, must be begun in the middle of the back, and
continued quite to the top of it, which according to the height that it
will commonly be necessary to carry up the back, will make the opening
twelve or fourteen inches high, which will be quite sufficient for the
purpose. When the fire-place is finished, this door-way is to be closed
by a few bricks laid without mortar, or a tile or piece of stone
confined in its place by means of a rebate made for that purpose in the
brick-work. As often as the chimney is swept, the chimney sweeper
removes this temporary wall or stone, which is very easily done, and
when he has finished his work, he again puts it in its place. The new
back and covings may be built either of brick-work or of stone, and the
space between them and the old back and covings, ought to be filled up
to give greater solidity to the structure. This may be done with loose
rubbish or pieces of broken bricks or stones, provided the work be
strengthened by a few layers or courses of bricks laid in mortar; but it
will be indispensably necessary to finish the work where these new walls
end, that is to say, at the top of the throat of the chimney, where it
ends abruptly in the open canal or flue, by a horizontal course of
bricks well secured with mortar. It is of much importance that they
should terminate in this manner; for were they to be sloped outward and
raised in such a manner as to swell out the upper extremity of the
throat of the chimney in the form of a trumpet, and increase it by
degrees to the size of the flue of the chimney, this construction would
tend to assist the winds which may attempt to blow down the chimney, in
forcing their way through the throat, and throwing the smoke backward
into the room. The internal form of the breast of the chimney is also a
matter of great importance, and which ought to be particularly attended
to. The worst form it can have is that of a vertical plane or upright
flat, and next to this the worst form is an inclined plane. Both these
forms cause the current of warm air from the room which will, in spite
of every precaution, sometimes find its way into the chimney, to cross
upon the current of smoke which rises from the fire in a manner most
likely to embarrass it in its ascent and drive it back. The current of
air which, passing under the mantle, gets into the chimney, should be
made gradually to bend its course upwards, by which means it will unite
quietly with the ascending current of smoke, and will be less likely to
check and impede its progress. This is to be effected by rounding off
the inside of the breast of the chimney, which may be done by a thick
coating of plaster. When the breast or wall of the chimney in front is
very thin, it may happen, that the depth of the fire-place determined
according to the preceding rules may be too small. Thus supposing the
breast to be only four inches thick, which is sometimes the case,
particularly in rooms situated near the top of a house, taking four
inches for the width of the throat, will give only eight inches for the
depth of the fire-place. In this case, it would be proper to increase
the depth of the fire-place at the hearth to twelve or thirteen inches,
and to build up the back perpendicularly to the height of the top of the
grate, and then sloping the back by a gentle inclination forward, bring
it to its proper place directly under the back part of the throat of
the chimney. This slope, though it ought not to be too abrupt, yet
should be quite finished at the height of eight or ten inches above the
fire, otherwise it may perhaps cause the chimney to smoke; but when it
is very near the fire, its heat will enable the current of rising smoke
to overcome the obstacle which this slope will oppose to its ascent,
which it could not so easily do, were the slope situated at a greater
distance from the burning fuel. There is one important circumstance
respecting chimney fire-places designed for burning coals which remains
to be examined, and that is the grate. Although there are few grates
that may not be used in chimnies, altered or constructed on the
principles recommended by Count Rumford, yet they are not by any means
all equally well adapted for that purpose. Those whose construction is
most simple, and which of course are the cheapest, are beyond comparison
the best on all accounts. Nothing being wanted but merely a grate to
contain the coals, and all additional apparatus being not only useless
but pernicious; all complicated and expensive grates should be laid
aside, and such as are more simple substituted in their room. The proper
width for grates in rooms of a middling size, will be from six to eight
inches, and their length may be diminished more or less according to the
difficulty of heating the room, or the severity of the weather. But
where the width of a grate is not more than five inches, it will be very
difficult to prevent the fire from going out. It has been before
observed that the use of metals is as much as possible to be avoided in
the construction of fire-places, it will therefore be proper always to
line the back and sides of a grate with fire stone, which will cause the
fire to burn better and give more heat into the room.
SNAILS. These are a species of slugs covered with shell, and which are
very destructive to wall fruit. To prevent their ascending the standard
trees, tie a coarse horse-hair rope about them, two or three feet from
the ground; and to secure the wall trees, nail a narrow slip of
horse-hair cloth against the wall, about half an inch from the ground,
underneath the branches of the tree. In the winter time the snails may
be found in the holes of walls, under thorns, behind old trees or close
hedges, and might be taken and destroyed. When they attack vegetables, a
few sliced turnips laid on the borders will attract them in the evening,
when they may easily be gathered up. Lime and ashes strewed on the
ground, will also prevent their depredations.
SNIPES. These birds will keep several days, and should be roasted
without drawing, and then served on toast. Butter only should be eaten
with them, as gravy takes off from the fine flavour. The thigh and back
are most esteemed.
SNIPES IN RAGOUT. Slit them down the backs, but do not take out the
insides; toss them up with a little melted bacon fat, seasoned with
pepper and salt, and a little mushroom ketchup; when they are enough,
squeeze in a little juice of lemon, and serve them up.
SNIPES IN SURTOUT. Half roast your snipes, and save the trail; then make
a forcemeat with veal, and as much beef suet chopped, and beat in a
mortar; add an equal quantity of bread crumbs: season it with beaten
mace, pepper, salt, parsley, and sweet herbs shred fine; mix all
together, and moisten it with the yolks of eggs: lay a rim of this
forcemeat round the dish, then put in your snipes. Take strong gravy,
according to your dish, with morels and truffles, a few mushrooms, a
sweetbread cut in pieces, and an artichoke bottom cut small: let all
stew together, then beat up the yolks of two or three eggs with a little
white wine; pour this into your gravy, and keep it stirring till it is
of a proper thickness, then let it stand to cool; work up the remainder
of your forcemeat, and roll it out as you do paste; pour your sauce over
the birds, and lay on your forcemeat; close the edges, and wash it over
with the yolks of eggs, and strew bread crumbs over that; send it to the
oven about half an hour, and then to table as hot as you can.
SNOW BALLS. Swell some rice in milk, and strain it off. Having pared and
cored some apples, put the rice round them, and tie up each in a cloth.
Add to each a bit of lemon peel, a clove, or cinnamon, and boil them
well.
SNOW CREAM. Put to a quart of cream the whites of three eggs well
beaten, four spoonfuls of sweet wine, sugar to sweeten, and a bit of
lemon peel. Whip it to a froth, remove the peel, and serve the cream in
a dish.
SOLDERING. Put into a crucible two ounces of lead, and when it is
melted, throw in an ounce of tin. This alloy is that generally known by
the name of solder. When heated by a hot iron, and applied to tinned
iron, with powdered rosin, it acts as a cement or solder. It is also
used to join leaden pipes, and other articles.
SOLES. A fine thick sole is almost as good eating as turbot, and may be
boiled in the same way. Wash the fish and clean it nicely, put it into a
fish-kettle with a handful of salt, and as much cold water as will cover
it. Set it on the side of the fire, take off the scum as it rises, and
let it boil gently about five minutes, or longer if it be very large.
Send it up on a fish-drainer, garnished with slices of lemon and sprigs
of curled parsley, or nicely fried smelts, or oysters. Slices of lemon
for garnish are universally approved, either with fried or boiled fish.
Parsley and butter, or fennel and butter, make an excellent sauce;
chervil sauce, or anchovies, are also approved. Boiled soles are very
good warmed up like eels, or covered with white wine sauce. When soles
are very large, the best way is to take off the fillets, trim them
neatly, and press them dry in a soft cloth. Egg them over, strew on fine
bread crumbs, and fry them. Or skin and wash a pair of large soles very
clean, dry them in a cloth, wash them with the yolk of an egg on both
sides, and strew over them a little flour, and a few bread crumbs; fry
them of a fine gold colour, in Florence oil, enough to cover them; when
done, drain them, and lay them into an earthen dish that will hold them
at length, and set them by to cool; then make the marinate with a pint
of the best vinegar, half a pint of sherry, some salt, pepper, nutmeg,
two cloves, and a blade of mace; boil all together for about ten
minutes, then pour it over the fish hot, the next day they will be fit
for use. When you dish them up, put some of the liquor over them;
garnish the dish with fennel, sliced lemon, barberries, and horseradish.
If you have any fried fish cold, you may put it into this marinate.--To
fricassee soles white. Clean your soles very well, bone them nicely, and
if large, cut them in eight pieces, if small, only in four; take off the
heads; put the heads and bones, an anchovy, a faggot of sweet herbs, a
blade or two of mace, some whole pepper, salt, an onion, and a crust of
bread, all into a clean saucepan, with a pint of water, cover it close,
and let it boil till a third is wasted; strain it through a fine sieve
into a stew-pan; put in your soles with a gill of white wine, a little
parsley chopped fine, a few mushrooms cut in two, a piece of butter
rolled in flour, enough to thicken your sauce; set it over your stove,
shake your pan frequently, till they are enough, and of a good
thickness; take the scum off very clean, dish them up, and garnish with
lemon and barberries.--Another way. Strip off the black skin of the
fish, but not the white; then take out the bones, and cut the flesh into
slices about two inches long; dip the slices in the yolks of eggs, and
strew over them raspings of bread; then fry them in clarified butter,
and when they are fried enough, take them out on a plate, and set them
by the fire till you have made the following sauce. Take the bones of
the fish, boil them up with water, and put in some anchovy and sweet
herbs, such as thyme and parsley, and add a little pepper, cloves and
mace. When these have boiled together some time, take the butter in
which the fish was fried, put it into a pan over the fire, shake flour
into it, and keep it stirring while the flour is shaking in; then strain
the liquor into it, in which the fish bones, herbs, and spice were
boiled, and boil it together, till it is very thick, adding lemon juice
to your taste. Put your fish into a dish, and pour the sauce over it;
serve it up, garnished with slices of lemon and fried parsley. This dish
may take place on any part of the table, either in the first or second
course.--Another way. Take a pair of large soles, skin and clean them
well, pour a little vinegar, and strew some salt over them; let them lay
in this till they are to be used. When you want to boil them, take a
clean stew-pan, put in a pint of white wine, and a little water, a
faggot of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with three or four cloves, a blade
of mace, a little whole pepper, and a little salt. When your soles are
enough, take them up, and lay them into a dish, strain off the liquor,
put it into the stew-pan, with a good piece of butter rolled in flour,
and half a pint of white shrimps clean picked; toss all up together,
till it is of a proper thickness; take care to skim it very clean, pour
it over the fish. Garnish the dish with scraped horseradish, and sliced
lemon; or you may send them to table plain, and for sauce, chop the meat
of a lobster, bruise the body very smooth with a spoon, mix it with your
liquor, and send it to table in a boat or bason. This is much the best
way to dress a small turbot.
SOLE PIE. Split some soles from the bone, and cut the fins close. Season
with a mixture of salt, pepper, a little nutmeg and pounded mace, and
put them in layers, with oysters. A pair of middling-sized soles will be
sufficient, and half a hundred oysters. Put in the dish the oyster
liquor, two or three spoonfuls of broth, and some butter. When the pie
comes from the oven, pour in a cupful of thick cream, and it will eat
excellently.--Another way. Clean and bone a pair of large soles; boil
about two pounds of eels tender; take off all the meat, put the bones
into the water they were boiled in, with the bones of the soles, a blade
of mace, whole pepper, and a little salt; let this boil till you have
about half a pint of strong broth. Take the flesh off the eels, and chop
it very fine, with a little lemon peel, an anchovy, parsley, and bread
crumbs: season with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and beaten mace; melt a
quarter of a pound of butter, and work all up to a paste. Sheet the dish
with a good puff-paste; lay the forcemeat on the paste, and then lay in
the soles; strain off the broth, scum it clean, pour over the fish a
sufficient quantity, and lay on the lid. When it comes from the oven, if
you have any of the broth left, you may warm it, and pour it into the
pie.
SOLID SYLLABUBS. Mix a quart of thick raw cream, one pound of refined
sugar, a pint and a half of fine raisin wine, in a deep pan; and add
the grated peel and the juice of three lemons. Beat or whisk it one way,
half an hour; then put it on a sieve, with a piece of thin muslin laid
smooth in the shallow end, till the next day. Put it in glasses: it will
keep good in a cool place ten days.
SOMERSETSHIRE SYLLABUB. Put into a large china bowl a pint of port, a
pint of sherry, or other white wine, and sugar to taste. Milk the bowl
full. In twenty minutes' time, cover it pretty high with clouted cream.
Grate nutmeg over it, add pounded cinnamon, and nonpareil comfits.
SORE BREASTS. Sore breasts in females, during the time of suckling, are
often occasioned by the improper practice of drawing the breasts, which
is both painful and dangerous. If they get too full and hard before the
infant can be applied, it is better to let them remain a few hours in
that state, than to use any unnatural means, or else to present the
breast to a child that is a few months old. It is the application of too
great force in drawing them, placing a child to suck at improper times,
the use of stimulating liquors and heated rooms, which frequently
occasion milk fevers and abscesses in the breast. The nipple is
sometimes so sore, that the mother is sometimes obliged to refuse the
breast, and a stagnation takes place, which is accompanied with
ulcerations and fever. To prevent these dangerous affections, the young
mother should carefully protrude the nipple between her fingers to make
it more prominent, and cover it with a hollow nutmeg several weeks
previous to her delivery. But if the parts be already in a diseased
state, it will be proper to bathe them with lime water, or diluted port
wine. After this the breast should be dressed with a little spermaceti
ointment, or a composition of white wax and olive oil, which is mild
and gentle. If this do not answer the purpose, take four ounces of
diachylon, two ounces of olive oil, and one ounce of vinegar. Boil them
together over a gentle fire, keep stirring them till reduced to an
ointment, and apply a little of it to the nipple on a fine linen rag. If
accompanied with fever, take the bark in electuary three or four times a
day, the size of a nutmeg, and persevere in it two or three weeks if
necessary.
SORE EYES. Pound together in a mortar, an ounce of bole-ammoniac, and a
quarter of an ounce of white copperas. Shred fine an ounce of camphor,
and mix the ingredients well together. Pour on them a quart of boiling
water, stir the mixture till it is cold, and apply a drop or two to the
eye, to remove humours or inflammation. A cooling eye-water may be made
of a dram of lapis calaminaris finely powdered, mixed with half a pint
of white wine, and the same of plantain water.
SORE THROAT. An easy remedy for this disorder is to dip a piece of broad
black ribband into hartshorn, and wear it round the throat two or three
days. If this be not sufficient, make a gargle in the following manner.
Boil a little green sage in water, strain it, and mix it with vinegar
and honey. Or pour a pint of boiling verjuice on a handful of rosemary
tops in a basin, put a tin funnel over it with the pipe upwards, and let
the fume go to the throat as hot as it can be borne. A common drink for
a sore throat may be made of two ounces of Turkey figs, the same
quantity of sun raisins cut small, and two ounces of pearl barley,
boiled in three pints of water till reduced to a quart. Boil it gently,
then strain it, and take it warm. Sometimes a handful of salt heated in
an earthen pan, then put into a flannel bag, and applied as hot as
possible round the throat, will answer the purpose. A fumigation for a
sore throat may be made in the following manner. Boil together a pint of
vinegar, and an ounce of myrrh, for half an hour, and pour the liquor
into a basin. Place over it the large part of a funnel that fits the
basin, and let the patient inhale the vapour by putting the pipe of the
funnel into his mouth. The fumigation must be applied as hot as
possible, and renewed every quarter of an hour, till the patient is
relieved. For an inflammation or putrid sore throat, or a quinsey, this
will be found of singular use if persisted in.
SORREL SAUCE. Wash and clean a quantity of sorrel, put it into a stewpan
that will just hold it, with a piece of butter, and cover it close. Set
it over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour, pass the sorrel with the
back of a wooden spoon through a hair sieve, season it with pepper and
salt, and a dust of powdered sugar. Make it hot, and serve it up under
lamb, veal, or sweetbreads. Cayenne, nutmeg, and lemon juice, are
sometimes added.
SORREL SOUP. Make a good gravy with part of a knuckle of veal, and the
scrag end of a neck or a chump end of a loin of mutton. Season it with a
bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, and salt, and two or three cloves. When
the meat is quite stewed down, strain it off, and let it stand till
cold. Clear it well from the fat, put it into a stewpan with a young
fowl nicely trussed, and set it over a slow fire. Wash three or four
large handfuls of sorrel, chop it a little, fry it in butter, put it
into the soup, and let the whole stew till the fowl is well done. Skim
it very clean, and serve it up with the fowl in the soup.