ut into small cups, so that each guest may have one.

LIMA BEANS.

Now fragrant with the _bean's_ perfume,
Now purpled with the pulse's bloom,
Might well with bright allusions store me;
But happier bards have been before me.
SHENSTONE.

These are generally considered the finest of all beans, and should be
gathered young. Shell them, lay them in a pan of cold water, and then
boil them about two hours, or till they are quite soft; drain them well,
and add to them some butter. They are destroyed by the first frost, but
can be kept during the winter by gathering them on a dry day, when full
grown, but not the least hard, and putting them in their pods into a
keg. Throw some salt into the bottom of the keg, and cover it with a
layer of bean pods, then add more salt, and then another layer of beans
in their pods, till the keg is full. Press them down with a heavy
weight, cover the keg closely, and keep it in a cool, dry place. Before
you use them, soak the pods all night in cold water, the next day shell
them, and soak the beans till you are ready to boil them.

POTATOES.

Leeks to the Welsh, to Dutchmen butter's dear;
Of Irish swains, _potatoes_ is the cheer.
GAY.

Wash them, but do not pare or cut them, unless they are very large. Fill
a saucepan half full of potatoes of equal size (or make them so by
dividing the larger ones), put to them as much cold water as will cover
them about an inch; they are sooner boiled, and more savory than when
drowned in water. Most boiled things are spoiled by having too little
water; but potatoes are often spoiled by having too much; they must be
merely covered, and a little allowed for waste in boiling, so that they
may be just covered at the finish. Set them on a moderate fire till they
boil; then take them off, and put them by the side of the fire to simmer
slowly till they are soft enough to admit a fork. Place no dependence on
the usual test of their skins cracking, which, if they are boiled fast,
will happen to some potatoes when they are not half done, and the
insides quite hard. Then pour the water off--(if you let the potatoes
remain in the water a moment after they are done enough, they will
become waxy and watery),--uncover the saucepan, and set it at such a
distance from the fire as will secure it from burning; their superfluous
moisture will evaporate, and the potatoes will be perfectly dry and
mealy.