PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK

D JELLY. — Break the bones of a full grown chicken, and cut the fowl into pieces. Put it into a clean pan and fill the pan with soft water. After boiling the chicken gently for four hours or more, strain it through a jelly bag. Add a little salt, but no other seasoning. When the liquid is cold it should be a clear jelly. The chicken may be boiled again and yield more jelly.

A very young chicken will not yield any quantity of jelly — a full grown one is best, but even an old fowl may be used when none other can be procured.

BREAD JELLY. — Toast four thick slices of bread until they are

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK. H3

of a light brown — remove the crusts, lay the bread in two quarts of boiling water — add one or two tea-spoonfuls of lemon juice, and let the bread boil to a jelly. Strain and sweeten it. It is excellent for very sick persons or young children.

The bread should be quite stale — if possible several days old.

ARROW BOOT JELLY. — Boil the peel of a lemon and a small quantity of the juice in a quart of water. "When it has boiled half an hour, add to it a cupful of powdered arrow root, and let it boil another half hour — take out the lemon peel and sweet- en the arrow root to your taste. Strain it through a jelly bag. It is good cold, but most persons prefer to eat it warm. If made too thick it is unpalatable, and less wholesome than when thin.

PANADA. — Boil some pieces of stale bread in a sufficient quan- tity of cold water to cover them, with a little cinnamon, lemon peel, and caraways; when the bread is quite soft, press out all the water, and beat up the bread with a small piece of butter, a little milk, and sugar to the taste; a little spice may be added.

SAGO. — Let it soak for an hour in cold water, to take off the earthy taste; pour that off, and wash it well; then add more water, and simmer gently until the berries are clear, with lemon peel and spice. Add wine and sugar according to taste, and boil all up together.

TAPIOCA JELLY. — Take four table-spoonfuls of tapioca — rinse it thoroughly, then soak it five hours, in cold water enough to cover it. Set a pint of cold water on the fire — when it boils, mash and stir up the tapioca that is in water, and mix it with the boiling water. Let the whole simmer gently, with a stick of cinnamon or mace. When thick and clear, mix a couple of table-spoonfuls of white sugar, with half a table-spoonful of lemon juice, and half a glass of white wine — stir it into the jelly — if not sweet enough, add more sugar, and turn the jelly into cups.

CALVES' FEET BROTH. — Boil three feet in four quarts of water with a little salt ; it should boil up first, and then simmer, till the liquor is wasted one-half: strain and put it by. This may be warmed, (the fat having been taken off,) a tea-cupful at a time, with either white or port wine, and is verj nourishing for an invalid.

114 PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK.

Or, The feet may be boiled with two ounces of lean v«?i\ fc*r same of beef, a slice or two of bread, a blade or two of mavs, a little salt and nutmeg, in about four quarts of water.

FLAX-SEED LEMONADE. — Boil some flax-seed in water until it becomes a thick syrup. To a table-spoonful of flax-seed allow about two tumblers full of water. Strain it through a cloth and mix with it a quarter of a pound of white sugar. Then stir in a little lemon juice. This mixture has frequently been very ser- viceable in relieving a cold. A little more of it may be taken whenever the cough is troublesome. A little gum arabic added to the syrup will be an improvement.

COCOA. — To two ounces of cocoa allow a quart of water. Put it in a saucepan and let it boil slowly for about an hour. The cocoa shells boiled in this manner will make a very pleasant beverage, and will not be so rich as the ground cocoa.

BAELEY WATEB. — Wash carefully two ounces of barley and put it into a sauce-pan with a quart of water and a few raisins. Let it boil until the liquid is about half diminished. Sweeten it and drink it hot. A little lemon peel or some liquorice root put in with the barley instead of the raisins, may please some tastes. When only a drink is required, it is better to strain the liquid ; but the boiled barley with a little sugar will make a very pleasing variety for an invalid to eat instead of rice.

GROUND RICE MILK. — Boil together two table-spoonfuls of ground rice with a pint of milk. Sweeten it according to your taste, adding the juice of half a lemon. Let the whole boil half an hour over a moderate fire. Eat it warm.

BEEF TEA. — Beat a pound of fresh beef, and after putting it into a pot cover it with water. ' Let it boil for an hour, skim- ming it well. The fat should be cut off of the beef. Bones im- prove the quality of the soup. Chicken tea may be made in the same manner. Boil the chicken almost to a jelly and then strain through a fine sieve. Add a little toast cut in slips.

MUTTON BEOTH. — To a pound of mutton allow a quart of wa- ter. Cut off all the fat. Chop up some parsley and the tops and stalks of celery, and after seasoning the broth with salt, boil them well. It should be boiled three hours over a slow fire and skimmed carefully. Add a couple of handfuls of rice or barley. Toast some bread until it is quite brown, and cut it in small slices. After the broth is taken off the fire, add the toast to it. Carrots, turnips and potatoes chopped fine and boiled in this broth, improve it very much. For a person, however, who is very ill, they would not be advisable. Beef, veal, or chicken broth may be made in the same manner.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK. 115

VEGETABLE SOUP.— Take a white onion, a turnip, a pared po- tatoe, and a head of celery, or a large teaspoonful of celery seed. Put the vegetables whole into a quart of water, adding a little salt, and boil it slowly till reduced to a pint. Make a slice of nice toast ; lay it in the bottom of a bowl, and strain the soup over it.

WINE WHEY. — Stir into a pint of boiling milk a couple of glasses of wine. Let it boil a minute, then take it from the fire, and let it remain till the curd has settled ; then turn off the whey, and sweeten it with white sugar.

TOAST WATER. — Pare the crust off a thin slice of stale bread, toa-t it brown upon both sides, doing it equally and slowly, that it may harden without being burnt; put it into a jug, and pour upon it boiling water; cover the jug with a saucer, and set it in a cool place.

RICE. GRUEL. — Put a large spoonful of unground rice into six gills of boiling water, with a stick of cinnamon or mace. Strain it when boiled soft, and add half a pint of new milk ; put in a teaspoonful of salt, and boil it a few minutes longer. If you wish to make the gruel of rice flour, mix a tablespoonful of it, smoothly, with three of cold water, and stir it into a quart of boiling water. Let it boil five or six minutes, stirring it constantly. Season it with salt, a little butter, and add, if you like, nutmeg and white

WATER GRUEL. — Mix a couple of tablespoonfuls of Indian me.tl with one of wheat flour, and sufficient cold water to make a thick batter. If the gruel is liked thick, stir it into a pint of boiling water — if liked thin, more water will be necessary. Season the gruel with salt, and let it boil six or eight minutes, stirring it fre- quently— then take it from the fire, put in a piece of butter, of the size of a walnut, and pepper to the taste. Turn it on toasted bread, cut in small pieces.

CAUDLE. — Make rice or water gruel, as above — then strain it, and add half a wineglass of ale, wine, or brandy. Sweeten it with loaf sugar, and grate in a little nutmeg.

MOLASSES POSSET. — Put into a saucepan a pint of the best West India Molasses, a teaspoonful of powdered white ginger, and a quarter of a pound of fresh butter. Set it on hot coals, and sim- mer it siowly for half an hour, stirring it frequently. Do not let it come to a boil. Then stir in the juice of two lemons, or two "tablespoonfuls of vinegar; cover the pan, and let it stand by the

116 PREPARATIONS FOR THE SICK.

fire five minutes longer. This is good for a cold. Some of it may be taken warm at once, and the remainder kept at hand for occasional use.

WINE POSSET. — Boil some slices of white bread in a pint of inilk; when soft take it off the fire, and grate in some nutmeg and a little sugar; pour it out, put half a pint of sweet wine into it by degrees, and serve it with toasted bread.

BALM, MINT, AND OTHER TEAS. — These are simple infusions, the strength of which can only be regulated by the taste. They are made by putting either the fresh or the dried plants into boiling water in a covered vessel, which should be placed near the fire for an hour. The young shoots both of balm and of mint are to be preferred, on account of their strong aromatic qualities. These infusions may be drank freely in feverish and in various other complaints, in which diluents are recommended. Mint-tea, made with the fresh leaves, is useful in allaying nausea and vomiting.

EEL BROTH. — Set a pound of small eels over the fire with six pints of water, some parsley, onion, and a few peppercorns; simmer till the broth is good, then strain it off, and add salt. The above quantity should be reduced by simmering to three pints.

BREAD SOUP. — Boil some pieces of bread crust in a quart of water with a small piece of butter, beat it up with a spoon, and keep it boiling till the bread and water be well mixed ; then add a little salt.

SIPPETS. — On a very hot plate lay some sippets of bread, and pour some beef, mutton, or veal-gravy on them; then sprinkle a little salt over them.

MULLED WINE. — Boil a pint of wine with nutmeg, cloves, and sugar, serve it with slices of toasted bread, or, beat up the yolks of four eggs with a little cold wine, and mix them care- fully with the hot wine, pour it backward and forward till it looks fine, heat it again over the fire till it is tolerably thick, pour it backward and forward, and serve with toasted bread as above.

Or, — Boil some spice in a little water till the flavor is ex- tracted, then add a pint of port wine, with some &ugar and nutmeg.

HOUSEHOLD HINTS;