is done with plate. Tickets of parchment, with the family n*me, numbered, and specifying what bed it belongs to, should be sewed on each feather-bed, bolster, pillow, and blanket. Knives, forks, and house-cloths, are often deficient; these accidents might be obviated, if an article at the head of every list required the former should be produced whole or broken, and the marked part of the linen, though all the others should be worn out. The inducement to take care of glass is in some measure removed, by the increased price given for old flint glass.—Those who wish for trifle-dishes, butter-stands, &c. at a lower charge than cut glass, may buy them made in moulds, of which there is great variety that look extremely well, if not placed near the more beautiful articles.

The price of starch depends upon that of flour; the best will keep good in a dry warm room for some years; therefore when bread is cheap it may be bought to advantage, and covered close.

The white

The best

SUGAR being an article of considerable expense in all families, the purchase demands particular attention. The. cheapest does not go so far as that more refined; awl there is a difference even in the degree of sweetness. should be chosen that is close, heavy, and shining sort of brown has a bright gravelly look, and it is often to be bought pure as imported. East India sugars are finer for the price, but not so strong, consequently unfit for wines and sweetmeats, but do well for common purposes, if good of their kind. To prepare white sugar, pounded, rolling it with » bottle, and sifting, wastes less than a mortar.

Candles made in cool weather are best; and when their price, and that of soap, which rise and fall together, is likely to be higher, it will be prudent to lay in the stock of both. This information the chandler can always give. They are better for keeping eight or ten months, and will not injure for two years, if properly placed in the cool; and there are few articles that better deserve care in buying, and allowing a due quantity of, according to the sise of the family.

Paper, by keeping, improves in quality and if bought by half or whole reams from large dealers, will be much cheaper than purchased by the quire. The high price of thia article nay be accounted for by the additional duties, and

a larger consumption, besides the monopoly of rags: of the latter it is said there is some scarcity, which might be obviated if an order were given to a servant in every family to keep a bag to receive all the waste bits from cuttings ont, &c.

Vegetables will keep best on a stone floor, if the air be excluded.—Meat in a cold dry place.—Sugar and sweetmeats require a dry place; so does salt.—Candles cold, but not damp. —Dried meats, hams, &c. the same.—All sorts of seeds for puddings, saloop, rice, &c. should be close covered, to preserve from insects; but that will not prevent it, if long kept.

Bread is so heavy an article of expense, that all waste should be guarded against; and having it cut in the room will tend much to prevent it. Since the scarcity in 1795 and 1800, that plan has been much adopted. It should not be cut until a day old. Earthen pans and covers keep it best.

Straw to lay apples on should be quite dry, to prevent a musty taste.

Large pears should be tied up by the stalk.

Basil, savory, or knotted marjoram, or London thyme, to be used when herbs are ordered; but with discretion, as they are very pungent.

The best means to preserve blankets from moths is to fold and lay them under the feather-beds that are in use; and they should be shaken occasionally. When soiled, they should be washed, not scoured.

Soda, by softening the water, saves a great deal of soap. It should be melted in a large jug of water, some of which pour into the tubs and boiler; and when the lather becomes weak, add more. The new improvement in soft soap is, if properly used, a saving of near half in quantity; and though something dearer than the hard, reduces the price of washing considerably.

Many good laundresses advise soaping linen in warm water the night previous to washing, as facilitating the operation with less friction.

Soap should be cut with a wire or twine, in pieces that will make a long square, when first brought in, and kept out of the air two or three weeks; for if it dry quick, it will crack, and

when wet, break. Pat it on a shelf, leaving a space between, rod let it grow hard gradually. Thus, it will save a full third in the consumption.

Some of the lemons and oranges used for juice should be pared first to preserve the peel dry; some should be halved, and when squeezed, the pulp cut out, and the outsides dried for grating. If for boiling in any liquid, the first way is best. When these fruits are cheap, a proper quantity should be bonght and prepared as above directed, especially by those who live in the country, where they cannot always be had; and they are perpetually wanted in cookery.

When whites of eggs are used for jelly, or other purposes, contrive to have pudding, custard, &c. to employ the yolks also. Should you not want them for several hours, beat them up with a little water, and put them in a cool place, or they will be hardened and useless. It was a mistake of old, to think that the whites made cakes and puddings heavy; on the contrary, if beaten long and separately, they contribute greatly to give lightness, are an advantage to paste, and make a pretty dish beaten with fruit, to set in cream, &c.

If copper utensils be used in the kitchen, the cook should be charged to be very careful not to let the tin be rubbed off, and to have them fresh done when the least defect appears, and never to pot by any soup, gravy, &c. in them, or any other metal utensil; stone and earthen vessels should be provided for those purposes, as likewise plenty of common dishes, that the table-set may not be used to put by cold meat.

Tin vessels, if kept damp, soon rust, which causes holes. Fenders, and tin linings of flower-pots, &c. should be painted every year or two.

Vegetables soon sour, and corrode metals and glazed red ware, by which a strong poison is produced. Some years ago, the death of several gentlemen was occasioned at Salt-hill, by the cook sending a ragout to the table, which she had kept from the preceding day in a copper vessel badly tinned.

Vinegar, by its acidity, does the same, the glazing being of lead or arsenic.

To cool liquors in hot weather, dip a cloth in cold water, and wrap it round the bottle two or three times, then place it in the sun; renew the process once or twice.

The best way of scalding fruits, or boiling vinegar, is in s stone jar on a hot iron hearth; or by putting the vessel into a saucepan of water, called a water-bath.

If chocolate, coffee, jelly, gruel, bark, &c. be suffered to boil over, the strength is lost.

The cook should be encouraged to be careful of coals and cinders for the latter there is a new contrivance to sift, without dispersing the dust of the ashes, by means of a covered tin bucket.

Small coal wetted makes the strongest fir* for the back, but must remain untouched until it cake. Cinders, lightly wet, give a great degree of heat, and are better than coal for furnaces, ironing-stoves, and ovens.

The cook should be charged to take care of jelly-bags, tapes for the collared things, &c. which, if not perfectly scalded, and kept dry, give an unpleasant flavour when next used.

Cold water thrown on cast iron, when hot, will cause it to crack.

In conclusion we beg leave to offer a few observations for the use of housekeepers in particular.

A good housekeeper is invaluable; but the various and important duties of her station require such a combination of qualities, that very few are found to excel in every particular.

A housekeeper ought to be intimately acquainted with the duties of servants of every degree. She ou/ht to be mild, firm, and vigilant. She should possess a competent knowledge of figures, without which she can scurcely keep a satisfactory account; and should, above all things, have proper ideas of order. Those who are ignorant of the means of managing, must not only waste many useful things, but also cause much chagrin to their master or mistress by their great irregularity. They are always in a bustle, and always in confusion; their tempers get ruffled, and they then lose all proper command over the other servants. The foregoing instructions will be found extremely useful to housekeepers, and may be read with advantage by their mistresses.

We earnestly advise all housekeepers to act with such prudence and gravity, as may ensure the respect of the servants under them; and to nave as few people coming after them when the family is absent as passible, as it might induce the

other servants to take improper liberties. When strangers come on a visit, let them be treated with the same respect as is shown tbem by their lord and lady. Let it also be their constant study, however luboiious, to be up in the morning before any of the servants, and let them never go to bed until they have seen the doors and windows properly fastened. In reproving the servants let it be done with tenderness, and never exaggerate their faults. However, as the security of the house depends on the servants keeping good hours, it is proper to complain of this fault, when neither advice nor reproof has had any effect. In the choice of new servants let them ba extremely cautious, and inquire strictly into their character.

If the housekeeper attend to these rules, all improper waste will be avoided, the honour and interest of her master will be protected, she will become an example to the younger servants, the family to which she is attached will be respected, and she will establish her own reputation on a firm and lasting basis.

DIRECTIONS FOR CARVING.

CARVING is an attainment so essential to the convenience and comfort of social life, particularly in females of every rank, that some directions cannot but prove acceptable. These directions will, however, be concisely plain. Utility is the sole object of them, and this consideration must limit their application to such articles as are generally found upon the tables of most families of respectability.

Carving has of late devolved chiefly upon gentlemen; but, whether the task of helping the company rests with the master or mistress, care should be taken that the seat of the carver be sufficiently high to command the table, so as to render rising unnecessary. It will always be advisable to have a good steel placed upon the table by the side of the carver, unless where there are servants constantly in attendance, when it will be pro* per to have it on the side-table.