management afterwards, to prevent its becoming sour or vapid. Different
conveniences of cellarage will materially affect beer. If the cellar is
bad, there should not be more than six weeks between brewing and
brewing. Where beer is kept too long in a bad cellar, so as to be
affected by the heat of the weather, it will putrefy, though ever so
well bunged. Hops may prevent its turning sour, but will not keep it
from becoming vapid. It should be well understood, that there is no
certainty in keeping beer, if not brewed at the proper season. In winter
there is a danger of wort getting too cold, so as to prevent the process
of fermentation; and in the summer, of its not being cool enough, unless
brewed in the dead of night. In temperate weather, at the spring or
autumn, the spirit of the beer is retained, and it is thereby enabled to
work the liquor clear; whereas in hot weather, the spirit quickly
evaporates, leaving the wort vapid and flat, unable to work itself
clear, but keeping continually on the fret, till totally spoiled. This
is the obvious reason for the use of sugar, prepared for colour, because
sugar will bear the heat better than malt; and when thoroughly prepared,
possesses such a strong principle of heat in itself, as to bid defiance
to the hottest temperature of the air, and to render its turning sour
almost impossible. Clean casks are also essential to the preservation of
good beer. To keep the casks sweet and in order, never allow them to
remain open; but whenever the beer is drawn off, bung them up tight with
the lees within them. In a good cellar they will never spoil. Should the
casks get musty, the following method will remedy the evil. Soak them
well for three or four days in cold water, then fill them full of
boiling hot water; put in a lump or two of lime, shake it thoroughly
till quite dissolved, let the casks stand about half an hour, then wash
them out with cold water, and they will be clean and sweet. If still
apprehensive of the beer getting flat or sour, put into a cask
containing eighteen gallons, a pint of ground malt suspended in a bag,
and close the bung perfectly. This will prevent the mischief, and the
beer will improve during the whole time of drawing it. When beer has
actually turned sour, put in some oyster shells, calcined to whiteness,
or a little powdered chalk. Either of these will correct the acidity,
and make it brisk and sparkling. Salt of tartar, or soda powder, put
into the beer at the time of drinking it, will also destroy the acidity,
and make it palatable.
SOUR KROUT. Take some full-grown hard cabbages of the closest texture,
and cut them into slices about an inch thick, opening them a little,
that they may receive the salt more effectually. Rub a good deal of salt
amongst them, lay them into a large pan, and sprinkle more salt over
them. Let them remain twenty-four hours, turning them over four or five
times, that every part may be alike saturated. Next day put the cabbage
into a tub or large jar, pressing it down well, and then pour over it a
pickle made of a pint of salt to a quart of water. This pickle must be
poured on boiling hot, and the cabbage entirely covered with it. Let it
stand thus twenty-four hours longer, when it will have shrunk nearly a
third. Then take the cabbage out, and put it into a fresh tub or jar,
pressing it down well as before, and pour over it a pickle made as
follows. To one quart of the salt and water pickle which had been used
the day before, put three quarts of vinegar, four ounces of allspice,
and two ounces of carraway seeds. This must be poured on cold, so as to
cover the cabbage completely. Let it stand one day loosely covered, and
then stop it down quite close.
SOUR SAUCE FOR FISH. Boil two blades of mace in a wine glass of water,
and half as much sharp vinegar, for a quarter of an hour. Then take out
the mace, and put in a quarter of a pound of butter, and the yolk of an
egg well beaten. Shake these over the fire one way till the sauce is
properly thickened, without suffering it to boil.
SOUSE FOR BRAWN. Boil a quarter of a pint of wheat bran, a sprig of bay,
and a sprig of rosemary, in two gallons of water for half an hour,
adding four ounces of salt. Strain it, and let it cool. This will do for
pig's feet and ears, as well as brawn.
SOUSED STURGEONS. Draw and divide the fish down the back, and then into
pieces. Put the fish into salt and water, clean it well, bind it with
tape, and boil it very carefully in vinegar, salt, and water. When done
lay it to cool, and pack it up close in the liquor it was boiled in.
SOUSED TRIPE. Boil the tripe, but not quite tender; then put it into
salt and water, which must be changed every day till it is all used.
When the tripe is to be dressed, dip it into a batter of eggs and flour,
and fry it of a good brown.
SOY. To make English soy, pound some walnuts when fit for pickling, in a
marble mortar, very small. Squeeze them through a strainer, let the
liquor stand to settle, and then pour off the fine. To every quart of
liquor put a pound of anchovies, and two cloves of shalot. Boil it
enough to make the scum rise, and clear it well. Add two ounces of
Jamaica pepper, a quarter of an ounce of mace, and half a pint of
vinegar. Boil it again, until the anchovies are dissolved and the shalot
tender, and let it stand till the next day. Then pour off the fine, and
bottle it for use. Strain the thick through a sieve, and put it by
separately. When used for fish, put some of the soy to the usual
anchovies and butter, or to plain butter.
SPANISH CARDOONS. Cut them three inches long, leaving out any that are
hollow and green. Boil them in water half an hour, and then put them
into warm water to pick them. Stew them with some broth, with a
spoonful of flour mixed in it. Add salt, onions, roots, a bunch of sweet
herbs, a dash of verjuice, and a little butter. When they are well done
take them out, and put them into a good cullis, with a little broth.
Boil them half an hour in this sauce to give them a flavour, and then
serve them up. Let the sauce be neither too clear nor too thick, and of
a fine light colour.
SPANISH FLUMMERY. Scald a quart of cream, with a little cinnamon or
mace. Mix this gradually into half a pound of rice flour, and then stir
it over a gentle fire till it acquires the thickness of jelly. Sweeten
it to the taste, and pour it into cups or shapes. Turn it out when cold,
and serve it up. Cream, wine, or preserves eat well with it, or it may
be eaten alone as preferred. Oatmeal may be used instead of rice.
SPANISH FRITTERS. Cut the crumb of a French roll into square lengths, of
the thickness of one's finger, nutmeg, sugar, pounded cinnamon, and an
egg. When well soaked, fry the fritters of a nice brown; and serve with
butter, wine, and sweet sauce.
SPANISH PUFFS. Boil a stick of cinnamon, a piece of lemon peel, and a
little sugar, in three quarters of a pint of water for ten minutes. Let
it cool, then add three eggs well beaten, and shake in three large
spoonfuls of flour. Beat these well together, add three more eggs, and
simmer the whole over the fire, till it thickens almost to a paste. Drop
this with a tea-spoon into boiling lard, and fry these little puffs of a
delicate light brown.
SPANISH SAUCE. Put some gravy into a saucepan with a glass of white
wine, and the same of good broth. Add a bunch of parsley and chives, two
cloves of garlic, half a bay leaf, a pinch of coriander seed, two
cloves, a sliced onion, a carrot, half a parsnip, and two spoonfuls of
salad oil. Stew these for two hours over a very slow fire. Skim off the
fat, pass the sauce through a tammis, season it with pepper and salt,
and use it with any thing as approved.
SPARERIB. Baste it with a very little butter and flour; and when done,
sprinkle it with dried sage crumbled. Serve it with potatoes and apple
sauce.
SPARROW. A mischievous destructive bird in corn-fields, and which should
mostly be destroyed. It is observed, that were all the farmers in a
neighbourhood to agree to their destruction, by offering rewards for
their heads, their numbers might be lessened; and that were the practice
general, surely the whole race might be extirpated. It is supposed that
six-pence a dozen the first year, nine-pence the second, and a shilling
the third year, would nearly reach their complete extirpation. To
enforce which it should be considered how soon twelve sparrows destroy
twelve penny-worth of wheat. In Kent, they use a species of trap, which
is very effectual in taking them. It consists of a small wicker basket,
resembling a fruit-sieve of the London markets, with a cover of the same
material fitted to it, and formed on the principle of the fish-pot, and
the vermin trap, into which the entrance is easy, but the return
difficult. These traps, which are an ordinary article of sale in the
markets of the district, are constituted of brown unpeeled oziers. The
diameter about two feet; the depth nine inches; the cover is somewhat
dishing, with a tunnel or inverted cone, in the centre, reaching to
within an inch of the bottom of the basket; the aperture or entrance,
formed by the points of the twigs, of which the tunnel is constructed,
being about an inch and a half in diameter. And the usual bait is wheat
scattered in the basket. The number caught at once, is frequently more
than theory would suggest; the contentions of a few that have entered,
seldom failing to bring others to the combat. These mischievous birds,
however, soon grow too cunning to be taken in any sort of trap to any
extent, which has a chance of extirpating and destroying the race;
consequently some more effectual and certain plan, such as that
suggested above, or some other, which is better and more fully adapted
to the purpose, must be had recourse to in order to completely
exterminate them, and prevent the injury they do annually to the farmer,
in the destruction of his wheat and other crops. Though these are only
small birds, they destroy vast quantities of grain, much more than has
indeed been commonly supposed. It is stated to have been calculated to
have amounted to a hundred sacks of wheat besides the oats and barley,
in the course of only one season, in a township of no very great extent
in the north-western part of the kingdom. Where rewards or sums of money
are paid for the taking or destroying them, no advantages are gained,
except where there are sufficiently ample and proper regulations entered
into and enforced, the whole district, parish, or township, becomes
partakers in the business. No languid or half measures will do any thing
useful, or to the purpose, in this sort of undertaking. It is not
improbable, but that these destructive birds might be greatly extirpated
and thinned down in their numbers, by the use of some tasteless infusion
of a strongly poisonous nature, either to the ears of the grain at the
time of harvest, or to the naked grain in the winter season, when they
are extremely eager for food, as they are constantly found to remain
hovering about houses or other buildings, where the effects of such
trials might easily be ascertained. If such a method should succeed,
the whole race might readily, and with great facility and certainty, be
exterminated.
SPASMS. An involuntary and painful contraction of the muscles may arise
from various causes, and require different modes of treatment. But if no
medical assistance be at hand, the application of volatile liniments to
the part affected, a clyster with a little laudanum in it, or the warm
bath, may be tried with advantage.
SPERMACETI OINTMENT. This is made of a quarter of a pint of fine salad
oil, a quarter of a pound of white wax, and half an ounce of spermaceti,
melted over a gentle fire, and kept stirring till the ointment is cold.
SPICES. As it regards health, spices are generally improper; but black
pepper, ginger, and cayenne, may be esteemed the best. Nutmegs, cloves,
mace, cinnamon, and allspice, are generally productive of indigestion
and headach, in persons of a weakly habit.
SPIDERS. These industrious insects are generally loathed and destroyed,
though they are extremely useful in reducing the quantity of flies, and
serve as a very accurate barometer for the weather. When they are
totally inactive, it is a certain sign that rain will shortly follow;
but if they continue to spin during a shower, it indicates that the rain
will soon be over, and that calm and fine weather will succeed. If the
weather be about to change, and become wet or windy, the spider will
make the supporters of his web very short; but if the threads be
extended to an unusual length, the weather will continue serene for ten
or twelve days, or more, according to the length of the threads which
support the web. The red spider however is very injurious and
destructive to different sorts of plants and fruit-trees, especially in
forcing houses. It is found particularly so to those of the forced
French bean, melon; peach, vine, cherry, currant, and some other kinds.
The generation and production of this insect are greatly caused and
promoted by the dry warm heat that is constantly kept up in the houses
which contain these sorts of plants and trees, and there are many other
circumstances which combine in bringing it forth. It is an insect which
has no wings, and the female is oviparous. Several different methods
have been attempted in order to the removal and destruction of it.
Constant daily watering, or washing the trees, are said to have the
power of subduing it, but in the execution of the work, care is always
to be taken that every part of the leaves be wetted, otherwise the
insects shelter and save themselves in the dry parts, and are preserved
from the effects of the water. Moisture conveyed in some way or other is
certainly found to be the most destructive, of any thing yet discovered,
of these pernicious insects, as well as many others that infest
hot-houses. Throwing weak lime-water in a plentiful manner on the under
sides of the leaves, where these insects are commonly found, will, for
the most part, soon destroy them. The following directions have been
given for the destruction of this sort of spider, when it becomes
injurious to melon plants; and the same may probably be found useful for
those of the forced French bean, and some other similar kinds. In cases
of dry weather, and with a dry heat, melon plants are very subject to be
infested with the red spider; and the appearances of it may constantly
be long noticed before the insects can be seen with the naked eye, by
the leaves beginning to curl and crack in their middle parts. Whenever
they are discovered to be in this state or condition, and there is fine
warm sunny weather, the watering of them all over the leaves, both on
the under and upper sides, is advised; a watering-pot, with a rose
finely perforated with holes, or a garden-engine, which disperses the
water in a fine dew-like manner, being employed for the purpose. The
work should be performed about six o'clock in the morning, and the
plants be shaded with mats about eight, if the sun shine with much
power, shutting the frames down closely until about eleven; and then
admitting a small quantity of fresh air, letting the mats remain until
about three in the afternoon, when they should be wholly taken away. The
shade which is thus afforded by the mats prevents the leaves of the
plants from being scorched or otherwise injured by the action of the
heat of the sun while they are in a wet cooled down state. Where a
southerly breeze prevails, watering them again about three in the
afternoon is recommended, shutting them up close as before, to keep the
heat in, which causes a strong exhalation of the moisture, and is
greatly destructive of the spiders. In all these waterings, the water is
to be thrown as much and as finely as possible on the under sides of the
leaves, where the insects mostly lodge; the vines or stems of the plants
being gently turned in that intention, taking great care not to injure
them, by which means the water is capable of being easily thrown over
the whole of the under sides of the leaves, it being done in a gentle
manner, in the modes already suggested, so as not to wash up the mouldy
matters unto the plants: the lights and sides of the frames which
contain the plants, should also, at the same time, have water
plentifully thrown on and against them. When these waterings are
finished, the vines or stems of the plants are to be carefully laid down
again in their former positions. And if the day be sunny, the mats may
be let remain, as already directed, until the leaves of the plants
become perfectly dry, air being admitted according to the heat that may
be present at the time. It is likewise further advised as a
precautionary measure, that, before the frames and lights, which are to
contain plants of this sort, are employed, they should be well washed,
both inside and out, first with clean water, and then with a mixture of
soap-suds and urine; a brush or woollen rag being made use of in the
operation; as by this method the ova or eggs of the spiders or other
insects that may have been deposited and lodged in or on them, in the
preceding season, may be cleared away and destroyed. The exhalations of
the water which has been thrown upon the plants, and the frames or boxes
that contain them, may also be useful in killing these insects, in other
cases by keeping them in a close state. These washings should never,
however, be performed in cold frosty seasons; and the water made use of
in such cases should always be of the rain or soft kind.
SPINACH. This vegetable requires to be carefully washed and picked. When
that is done, throw it into a saucepan that will just hold it, sprinkle
it with a little salt, and cover it close. Set the pan on the fire, and
shake it well. When sufficiently done, beat up the spinach with some
butter, but it must be sent to table pretty dry. It would look well, if
pressed into a tin mould in the form of a large leaf, which is sold at
the tin shops. A spoonful of cream is an improvement.
SPINACH CREAM. Beat the yolks of eight eggs with a whisk or a wooden
spoon, sweeten it well, and add a stick of cinnamon, a pint of rich
cream, and three quarters of a pint of new milk. Stir it well, and then
add a quarter of a pint of spinach juice. Set it over a gentle stove,
and stir it constantly one way, till it is as thick as a hasty pudding.
Put into a custard dish some Naples biscuits, or preserved orange, in
long slices, and pour the mixture over them. It is to be eaten cold, and
is a dish either for supper, or for a second course.
SPINACH AND EGGS. The spinach must be well washed, then throw a small
handful of salt into a saucepan of boiling water, before the spinach is
put in, and press it down as it boils. When it becomes tender, press it
well in a sieve or cullender. Break the eggs into cups, and put them
into a stewpan of boiling water. When done, take them out with a slice,
and lay them on the spinach. Send them to table with melted butter.
SPINACH PUDDING. Scald and chop some spinach very fine, four ounces of
biscuit soaked in cream, the yolks of eight eggs beat up, a quarter of a
pound of melted butter, a little salt and nutmeg, and sugar to your
taste; beat up all together, and set it over the fire till it is stiff,
but do not let it boil; cool it, and bake it in puff-paste; or you may
butter a bason, and boil it.--Another. Boil a pint of cream, with some
lemon-peel, a blade of mace, half a nutmeg cut in pieces; strain it off,
and stir it till it is cold, then boil a good handful of young spinach
tender; chop it very fine; beat up eight eggs, leave out four whites,
add some fine sugar pounded, and a glass of sack; mix all well together,
put it into the dish, with a puff-paste at the bottom, and lay on the
top candied orange and lemon cut in thin slices. Half an hour, or a
little better, will bake it.
SPINACH SOUP. Shred two handfuls of spinach, a turnip, two onions, a
head of celery, two carrots, and a little parsley and thyme. Put all
into a stewpot, with a bit of butter the size of a walnut, and a pint of
good broth, or the liquor in which meat has been boiled. Stew till the
vegetables are quite tender, and work them with a spoon through a coarse
cloth or sieve. To the vegetable pulp and liquor, add a quart of fresh
water, salt and pepper, and boil all together. Have ready some suet
dumplins the size of a walnut, and put them into a tureen, before the
soup is poured over. The suet must be quite fresh, and not shred too
fine.
SPIRITS. Good pure spirits ought to be perfectly clear, pleasant, and
strong, though not of a pungent odour, and somewhat of a vinous taste.
To try the purity of spirits, or whether they have been diluted with
water, see whether the liquor will burn away without leaving any mixture
behind, by dipping in a piece of writing paper, and lighting it at the
candle. As pure spirit is much lighter than water, put a hollow ivory
ball into it: the deeper the ball sinks, the lighter the liquor, and
consequently the more spirituous.
SPIRITS OF CLARY. Distil a peck of clary flowers in a cold still, and
then another peck of flowers, adding to them the distilled liquor. Put
to this a bottle of sack or sweet wine, and another peck of flowers, and
put all together into a glass still. Let it distil on white sugar candy,
with the addition of a little ambergris.
SPIRITS OF LAVENDER. Take fourteen pounds of lavender flowers, ten
gallons and a half of rectified spirits of wine, and one gallon of
water. Draw off ten gallons by a gentle fire, or which is much better,
by a sand-bath heat. To convert this into the red liquid known by the
name of compound lavender spirits, take of the above lavender spirits
two gallons, of Hungary water one gallon, cinnamon and nutmegs three
ounces each, and of red saunders one ounce. Digest the whole for three
days in a gentle heat, and then filtre it for use. Some add saffron,
musk, and ambergris, of each half a scruple; but these are now generally
omitted.
SPIRITS OF SAFFRON. Pick eight ounces of English saffron very clean, cut
it fine, and steep it twenty-four hours in a gallon of the best white
wine. Put it into an alembic with three gallons of water, draw it off
gently so long as the saffron tastes, and sweeten it with white sugar
candy. Dissolve the candy in some of the weaker extract, after the
stronger part is drawn off, by setting it on the fire, and then mix the
whole together.
SPITS. Roasting spits require to be kept bright and clean, and should be
scoured with nothing but sand and water. If they are wiped clean, as
soon as the meat is drawn from them, and while they are hot, a very
little cleaning will be necessary. A very useful kind of spit is sold at
the ironmongers, which sustains the meat without the necessity of
passing it through, which is much to be preferred.
SPITCHCOCK EELS. Take one or two large eels, leave the skin on, cut them
into pieces of three inches long, open them on the belly side, and clean
them nicely. Wipe them dry, smear them over with egg, and strew on both
sides chopped parsley, pepper and salt; a very little sage, and a bit of
mace pounded fine and mixed with the seasoning. Rub the gridiron with a
bit of suet, broil the fish of a fine colour, and serve with anchovy and
butter sauce.
SPLINTERS. To run splinters, prickles or thorns, such as those of roses,
thistles, or chesnuts, into the hands, feet, or legs, is a very common
accident; and provided any such substance is immediately extracted, it
is seldom attended with any bad consequences. But the more certainly to
prevent any ill effects, a compress of linen dipped in warm water, may
be applied to the part, or it may be bathed a little while in warm
water. If the thorn or splinter cannot be extracted directly, or if any
part of it be left in, it causes an inflammation, and nothing but timely
precaution will prevent its coming to an abscess. A plaster of
shoemaker's wax spread upon leather, draws these wounds remarkably well.
When it is known that any part of it remains, an expert surgeon would
open the place and take it out; but if it be unobserved, as will
sometimes happen, when the thorn or splinter is very small, till the
inflammation begins, and no advice can be at once procured, the steam of
water should be applied to it at first, and then a poultice of bread and
milk, with a few drops of peruvian balsam. It is absolutely necessary
that the injured part should be kept in the easiest posture, and as
still as possible. If this does not soon succeed, good advice must be
obtained without delay, as an accident of this kind neglected, or
improperly treated, may be the occasion of losing a limb. In this and
all cases of inflammation, a forbearance from animal food, and fermented
liquors, is always advisable.