often grows on dunghills, and flowers in the month of July. Having
lately been discovered as possessing very powerful medical properties,
and as affording the most effectual remedy for the asthma, it is now
frequently transplanted into gardens, though its odour is extremely
offensive. A kind of herb tobacco is made of the dried leaves, mixed
with a little rosemary to prevent nausea, and a pipeful is smoked in the
evening before going to bed. The practice should be continued for some
time, or as often as asthma returns, and it will afford very sensible
relief. The plant may easily be raised from seed; but an elegant
preparation of the stramonium, or the asthmatic tobacco, may be had of
several medicine vendors in the kingdom.
STRAWBERRIES. Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the
experience of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost
obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry plants, when the
fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the sun,
the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning fruit kept
from damage, by resting on the ground, particularly in wet weather, and
much labour in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long straw are
sufficient for 1800 feet of plants. On the management of strawberries in
June and July, the future prosperity of them greatly depends; and if
each plant has not been kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they
will be in a state of confusion, and you will find three different
sorts of plants. 1. Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and
woody. 2. Young plants, not strong enough to flower. 3. Flowering
plants, which ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them.
Before the time of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up
every old plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted
to flower you may depend upon it they will never produce any after,
being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave two or
three, set a stick to them, and observe them next year. If the young
plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some of them away, and
do not leave them nearer than a foot of the scarlet, alpines, and wood,
and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the larger sorts; and in the first
rainy weather in July or August, take them all up, and make a fresh
plantation with them, and they will be very strong plants for flowering
next year. Old beds, even if the plants be kept single at their proper
distance, examine, and pull all the old plants which have not flowered.
When the fruit is nearly all gathered examine them again, and cut off
the runners; but if you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of
the two first, and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a
trowel, or three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to
transplant. If you have omitted in July do not fail in August, that the
runners may make good roots to be transplanted in September, for, if
later, the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost
afterwards will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of
which is, their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year.
STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY FOOL. Bruise a pint of scarlet strawberries,
and a pint of raspberries, pass them through a sieve, and sweeten them
with half a pound of fine sugar pounded, add a spoonful of orange-flower
water, then boil it over the fire, for two or three minutes; take it
off, and set on a pint and a half of cream, boil it and stir it till it
is cold; when the pulp is cold, put them together, and stir them till
they are well mixed; put the fool into glasses, or basins, as you think
proper.
STRAWBERRY JAM. Dissolve four pounds of lump sugar in a quart of currant
juice, then boil and scum it quite clean. Mash four quarts of
raspberries, and mix with it. Let it boil quick, over a clear fire, for
nearly an hour, or till the sugar and raspberries are quite mixed. This
may be known by putting a little on a plate; if the juice drains from
the fruit, it must be boiled longer. When done enough, put it into pots,
and the next day put brandy papers over them. Tie them down with another
paper, and set the jars in a dry place.
STRAWBERRIES PRESERVED. To keep whole strawberries, take equal weights
of the fruit and double refined sugar. Lay the strawberries in a large
dish, and sprinkle over them half the sugar in fine powder. Shake the
dish gently, that the sugar may touch the under side of the fruit. Next
day make a thin syrup with the remainder of the sugar, and instead of
water, allow to every pound of strawberries a pint of red currant juice.
Simmer the fruit in this, until sufficiently jellied. Choose the largest
scarlet strawberries, before they are dead ripe. They will eat well in
thin cream, served up in glasses.
STRAWBERRIES IN WINE. Put a quantity of the finest strawberries into a
gooseberry bottle, and strew in three spoonfuls of fine sugar. Fill up
the bottle with madeira, or fine sherry.
STRENGTHENING DRAUGHT. For weakly persons, any of the following
preparations will be highly beneficial. Put two calves' feet in two
pints of water, and the same quantity of new milk; bake them in a jar
closely covered, three hours and a half. When cold remove the fat, and
take a large teacupful of the mucilage, morning and evening. It may be
flavoured by baking in it lemon peel, cinnamon, or mace: sugar is to be
added afterwards.--Or simmer six sheeps' trotters, with two blades of
mace, a bit of cinnamon, lemon peel, a few hartshorn shavings, and a
little isinglass, in two quarts of water till reduced to one. When cold,
remove the fat, and take nearly half a pint twice a day, warming it with
a little new milk.--Another way. Boil an ounce of isinglass shavings,
forty peppercorns, and a bit of brown crust of bread, in a quart of
water, till reduced to a pint, and strain it. This makes a pleasant
jelly to keep in case of sickness, and a large spoonful may be taken in
wine and water, in milk, tea, soup, or any other way.--Or boil a quarter
of an ounce of isinglass shavings with a pint of new milk, till reduced
one half. Add a little sugar, and for a change a bitter almond. Take
this at bed-time, but not too warm. Dutch flummery, jellies, or
blamange, if not too rich, are also very strengthening.
STRENGTHENING JELLY. Put an ounce of isinglass shavings, with a few
Jamaica peppercorns, and a toast of bread. Boil it to a pint, and strain
it off. A large spoonful of the jelly may be taken in wine and water,
milk, tea, or any other agreeable liquor. Or boil a quarter of an ounce
of isinglass shavings in a pint of new milk, till it is reduced to half
a pint, adding a bitter almond, or a little sugar, by way of change.
STRONG GRAVY. Take a stewpan that will hold four quarts, lay at the
bottom of it a slice or two of undressed ham or bacon, about a quarter
of an inch thick, and two pounds of beef or veal. Add a carrot, a large
onion with four cloves stuck in it, one head of celery, a bundle of
parsley, lemon thyme, and savoury; a few leaves of sweet basil, a bay
leaf, a shalot, a piece of lemon peel, and a dozen corns of allspice.
Pour on half a pint of water, cover it close, and let it simmer gently
on a slow fire for half an hour, in which time it will be almost dry.
Watch it very carefully, and let it take a nice brown colour. Turn the
meat and herbs, to brown on all sides; then put in a pint of water to a
pound of meat, and let it boil for two hours. It will now be formed into
a rich strong gravy, easily converted into cullis, or thickened gravy.
STUCCO. A stucco for walls, &c. may be formed of the grout or putty,
made of good stone-lime, or the lime of cockle-shells, which is better,
properly tempered and sufficiently beat, mixed with sharp grit-sand, in
a proportion which depends on the strength of the lime: drift-sand is
best for this purpose, and it will derive advantage from being dried on
an iron plate or kiln, so as not to burn; for thus the mortar would be
discoloured. When this is properly compounded, it should be put up in
small parcels against walls, or otherwise, to mellow, as the workmen
term it; reduced again to a soft putty, or paste, and spread thin on the
walls without any undercoat, and well trowelled. A succeeding coat
should be laid on, before the first is quite dry, which will prevent
joints of brick-work appearing through it. Much depends upon the workmen
giving it sufficient labour, and trowelling it down. If this stucco,
when dry, is laid over with boiling linseed oil, it will last a long
time, and not be liable, when once hardened, to the accidents to which
common stucco is liable. Liardet's, or, as it is commonly called, _Adams
oil-cement_, or stucco, is prepared in the following manner: for the
first coat, take twenty-one pounds of fine whiting, or oyster-shells, or
any other sea-shells calcined, or plaster of Paris, or any calcareous
material calcined and pounded, or any absorbent material whatever,
proper for the purpose; add white or red lead at pleasure, deducting
from the other absorbent materials in proportion to the white or red
lead added; to which put four quarts, beer measure, of oil; and mix them
together with a grinding-mill, or any levigating machine: and afterwards
mix and beat up the same well with twenty-eight quarts, beer measure, of
any sand or gravel, or of both, mixed and sifted, or of marble or stone
pounded, or of brick-dust, or of any kind of metallic or mineral
powders, or of any solid material whatever, fit for the purpose. For the
second coat, take sixteen pounds and a half of super-fine whiting, or
oyster-shells, or any sea-shells calcined, &c. as for the first coat;
add sixteen pounds and a half of white or red lead, to which put six
quarts and a half of oil, wine measure, and mix them together as before:
afterwards mix and beat up the same well with thirty quarts, wine
measure, of fine sand or gravel sifted, or stone or marble pounded, or
pyrites, or any kind of metallic or mineral powder, &c. This composition
requires a greater proportion of sand, gravel, or other solids,
according to the nature of the work, or the uses to which it is to be
applied. If it be required to have the composition coloured, add to the
above ingredients such a proportion of painter's colours, as will be
necessary to give the tint or colour required. In making the
composition, the best linseed or hempseed, or other oils proper for the
purpose, are to be used, boiled or raw, with drying ingredients, as the
nature of the work, the season, or the climate requires; and in some
cases, bees' wax may be substituted in place of oil: all the absorbent
and solid materials must be kiln-dried. If the composition is to be of
any other colour than white, the lead may be omitted, by taking the full
proportion of the other absorbents; and also white or red lead may be
substituted alone, instead of any other absorbent material. The first
coat of this composition is to be laid on with a trowel, and floated to
an even surface with a rule or darby, (i. e. a handle-float.) The second
coat, after it is laid on with a trowel, when the other is nearly dry,
should be worked down and smoothed with floats edged with horn, or any
hard smooth substance that does not stain. It may be proper, previously
to laying on the composition, to moisten the surface on which it is to
be laid by a brush with the same sort of oil and ingredients which pass
through the levigating machine, reduced to a more liquid state, in order
to make the composition adhere the better. This composition admits of
being modelled or cast in moulds, in the same manner as plasterers or
statuaries model or cast their stucco work. It also admits of being
painted upon, and adorned with landscape, or ornamental, or
figure-painting, as well as plain painting.--To make an excellent
stucco, which will adhere to wood work, take a bushel of the best stone
lime, a pound of yellow ochre, and a quarter of a pound of brown umber,
all in fine powder. Mix them to a proper thickness, with a sufficient
quantity of hot water, but not boiling, and lay it on with a new
white-washer's brush. If the wall be quite smooth, one or two coats will
do; but each must be dry before the next is put on. The month of March
is the best season for doing this.
STUCCO WASHES. The most beautiful white-wash is made of clean good lime
mixed with skim milk instead of water. For Blue wash, put four pounds
of blue vitriol into an iron or brass pot, with a pound of the best
whiting, and a gallon of water. Let it boil an hour, stirring it all the
time. Then pour it into an earthen pan, and set it by for a day or two
till the colour is settled. Pour off the water, and mix the colour with
the white-washer's size. Wash the walls over three or four times,
according as it may be necessary. To make Yellow wash, dissolve in soft
water over the fire equal quantities of umber, bright ochre, and blue
black. Add as much white-wash as is necessary for the work, and stir it
all together. If either cast predominates, put in more of the others,
till the proper tint is obtained.
STUFFINGS. Forcemeat or stuffing is generally considered as a necessary
accompaniment to most of the made dishes, and when composed with good
taste, it gives to them additional spirit and relish. It is often
employed in making of patties, for stuffing of veal, game, and poultry.
The ingredients should be so proportioned, that no one flavour
predominates; and instead of using the same stuffing for veal, hare, and
other things, it is easy to make a suitable variety. The poignancy of
forcemeat should be regulated by the savouriness of the viands, to which
it is intended to give an additional zest. Some dishes require a very
delicately flavoured stuffing, while for others it should be full and
high seasoned. The consistence of forcemeats is attended with some
difficulty; they are almost always either too heavy or too light. They
should be mixed perfectly smooth, and the ingredients thoroughly
incorporated. Forcemeat balls must not be larger than a small nutmeg. If
for brown sauce, flour and fry them: if for white sauce, put them into
boiling water, and boil them for three minutes: the latter are by far
the most delicate. Parboiled sweetbreads and tongues are the principal
ingredients for stuffing or forcemeat. Besides these, yolks of hard
eggs, flour, bread crumbs, boiled onion, mashed potatoe, mutton, beef,
veal suet, marrow, calf's udder or brains, veal minced and pounded, and
potted meats. Also of garden herbs and roots, parsley, thyme, spinach,
marjoram, savoury, tarragon, sage, chervil, basil, burnet, bay leaf,
truffles, morels, mushrooms, leeks, shalot, onions, and garlic. Of fish,
shrimps, prawns, crabs, oysters, lobsters, and anchovies. Of spices,
pepper, mace, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cayenne, and cloves.
These, with bacon and ham, form the principal ingredients for various
kinds of stuffing. The liquids in general consist of meat gravy, lemon
juice, syrup of lemons, essence of anchovy, mushroom ketchup, vegetable
essences, and the essence of spices.
STUFFING FOR GOOSE. Chop very fine one or two onions, and a little green
sage. Add a large teacupful of bread crumbs, a very little pepper and
salt, half the liver parboiled, and the yolks of two eggs. Incorporate
the whole well together, put it into the goose, but leave a little room
for the stuffing to swell.
STUFFING FOR HARE. Two ounces of beef suet chopped fine, three ounces of
fine bread crumbs, a little parsley, marjoram, lemon thyme, or winter
savory; a dram of grated lemon peel, half a dram of nutmeg, of shalot,
and the same of pepper and salt. Mix these with an egg, so as to make
them cohesive; but if the stuffing be not of a sufficient consistence,
it will be good for nothing. If the liver be quite sound, it may be
parboiled, minced very fine, and added to the above. Put the stuffing
into the hare, and sow it up.
STUFFING FOR PIG. Rub some of the crumb of a stale loaf through a
cullender, mince fine a handful of sage, and a large onion. Mix these
together with an egg, some pepper and salt, and a piece of butter. Fill
the belly of the pig with the stuffing, and sow it up. Lay the pig to
the fire, and baste it with salad oil, without leaving it for a moment.
STUFFING FOR PIKE. Take equal parts of fat bacon, beef suet, and fresh
butter; some parsley, thyme, and savoury; a small onion, and a few
leaves of scented marjoram shred fine; an anchovy or two, a little salt
and nutmeg, and some pepper. Oysters will be an improvement, with or
without anchovies; add some crumbs, and an egg to bind.
STUFFING FOR POULTRY. Mince a quarter of a pound of beef suet, (marrow
is better,) the same weight of bread crumbs, two drams of parsley
leaves, nearly as much of sweet marjoram or lemon thyme, and the same of
grated lemon peel. Add an onion or shalot, chopped as fine as possible,
a little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt. Pound all together thoroughly,
with the yolk and white of two eggs. This is about the quantity for a
turkey poult; a very large turkey will take nearly twice as much. To the
above may be added an ounce of dressed ham.
STUFFING FOR VEAL. Take an equal quantity of grated bread and beef suet,
shred very fine. Add parsley and sweet herbs chopped small, a minced
anchovy, some nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and a little grated lemon peel.
Mix these well together with raw egg or milk. This stuffing will do for
roast turkey or hare.
STURGEON. Fresh sturgeon should be cut in slices, rubbed over with egg,
and sprinkled with grated bread, parsley, salt and pepper. Then fold the
slices in white paper, and broil them gently. For sauce, send up
butter, anchovy, and soy.--Another way. Clean the sturgeon, and prepare
as much liquor as will cover it, thus: take a pint of vinegar, about two
quarts of water, a stick of horseradish cut in slips, some lemon peel,
two or three bay leaves, and a small handful of salt, boil it in this
pickle, till you think it is enough, and serve it with the following
sauce: melt a pound of butter, with an anchovy bruised, a blade or two
of mace, the body of a crab, or lobster bruised, a little ketchup, a
small glass of white wine, half a pint of white shrimps, boil all
together, till it is of a proper thickness, squeeze in some lemon, and
scraped horseradish; pour a little sauce over your fish, the rest send
in boats.
STURTIUMS. Gather them young and dry, and put them into a jar of old
vinegar, which has been taken from green pickles and onions. The vinegar
must be boiled afresh, or boil some fresh vinegar with salt and spice,
and when cold, put in the sturtiums.
SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM. As milk or cream is difficult to procure in some
situations, particularly during a long voyage, a very good substitute
may be found in beating up a fresh egg, and gradually pouring on boiling
water to prevent its curdling. The taste of this composition in tea will
scarcely be distinguished from the richest cream, and eggs may easily be
preserved for a considerable length of time.
SUBSTITUTE FOR GRAVY. Mix a gill of water, a gill of table beer, a
spoonful of ketchup, an onion sliced thin, a clove or two, three or four
peppercorns, and a little salt, all together. Melt a piece of butter,
the size of an egg in a small saucepan, and when hot dredge in some
flour, stirring it till the froth subsides, by which time it will be
browned. Add to it the mixture already prepared, give it a boil, and
flavour it with a very small quantity of the essence of anchovy.
SUCCORY. Wild white succory is only good to eat in salads. The green is
used to put into cooling broths, and to make decoctions in medicine.
Common white succory is eaten in salads, and used for ragouts. First
pick and wash it, then scald it half an hour in water, put it afterwards
into fresh water, in order to press it well with the hands. Stew it with
some broth, a little butter, and some cullis, if any at hand. If not,
brown a little flour to thicken the sauce. When done enough, take off
the fat, season it nicely, and add a little shalot. Serve it under a
shoulder, a leg, or neck of mutton, roasted.