ix them with a batter made as
follows: One pint of flour, in which has been sifted one heaping
teaspoonful of baking-powder and half a teaspoonful of salt; one large cup
of milk, and two eggs well beaten. Stir eggs and milk together; add the
flour slowly; and, last, the clams or oysters. Drop by spoonfuls into
boiling lard. Fry to a golden brown, and serve at once; or they may be
fried like pancakes in a little hot fat. Whole clams or oysters may be
used instead of chopped ones, and fried singly.

TO BOIL LOBSTERS OR CRABS.

Be sure that the lobster is alive, as, if dead, it will not be fit to use.
Have water boiling in a large kettle, and, holding the lobster or crab by
the back, drop it in head foremost; the reason for this being, that the
animal dies instantly when put in in this way. An hour is required for a
medium-sized lobster, the shell turning red when done. When cold, the meat
can be used either plain or in salad, or cooked in various ways. A
can-opener will be found very convenient in opening a lobster.

STEWED OR CURRIED LOBSTER.

Cut the meat into small bits, and add the green fat, and the coral which
is found only in the hen-lobster. Melt in a saucepan one tablespoonful of
butter and a heaping tablespoonful of flour. Stir smoothly together,
adding slowly one large cup of either stock or milk, a saltspoonful of
mace, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Put in
the lobster, and cook for ten minutes. For curry, simply add one
teaspoonful of curry-powder. This stewed lobster may also be put in the
shell of the back, which has been cleaned and washed, bread or cracker
crumbs sprinkled over it, and browned in the oven; or it may be treated as
a scallop, buttering a dish, and putting in alternate layers of crumbs and
lobster, ending with crumbs. Crabs, though more troublesome to extract
from the shell, are almost equally good, treated in any of the ways given.

* * * * *

MEATS.

The qualities and characteristics of meats have already been spoken of in
Part I., and it is necessary here to give only a few simple rules for
marketing.

The best BEEF is of a clear red color, slightly marbled with fat, and the
fat itself of a clear white. Where the beef is dark red or bluish, and the
fat yellow, it is too old, or too poorly fed, to be good. The sirloin and
ribs, especially the sixth, seventh, and eighth, make the best
roasting-pieces. The ribs can be