Lovers of salads should now be conscious of a pleasing titillation, for
this is the green season _par excellence_. Watercress is at its
cressiest; and lettuce springs from the earth for no other reason than
to invite the attentions of those two culinary modistes, oil and
vinegar--the Paquins of the kitchen--and so be "dressed", with highest
elegance.
_LES PETITS OISEAUX._
Pheasants and partridges are, alas! not now obtainable except from cold
storage. But let us not grumble over-much. Let us rather remember that
the more they are neglected by the diner during the mating season the
more of them there will be to eat when the horrid period of restriction
is over. Among the rarer birds which are now on the market to compensate
us may be mentioned the bobolink, the dwarf cassowary, the Bombay
duckling and the skewbald fintail. The last-named bird, which comes to
us from Algeria, is renowned for its savoury quality and is cooked in
butter and madeira, with a _soupcon_ of cayenne. The effect of the
cayenne is to merge the too prominent black and white of the flesh into
an appetising grey. The Rhodesian sparrow is another highly esteemed
delicacy, which does itself most justice when seethed in a casserole
with antimony, garlic and a few drops of eau-de-Cologne.