costs no more, for the soup can be made without the eggs if they are
scarce.

Or say bread and butter and onions. They will not be very appetizing,
especially if they had to be a frequent meal, yet onion soup is made
from the same materials, and in France is a very favorite dish, even
with those well able to put meat in it if they wished.

CHAPTER XV.

A FEW THINGS IT IS WELL TO REMEMBER.

EVERY housekeeper has pet "wrinkles" of her own which she thinks are
especially valuable; some are known to all the world, others are new to
many. So it may be with mine; but, on the chance that some few things
are as new to my friends as they were to me, I jot them down without any
pretense of order or regularity.

Lemons will keep fresher and better in water than any other way. Put
them in a crock, cover them with water. They will in winter keep two or
three months, and the peel be as fresh as the day they were put in. Take
care, of course, that they do not get frosted. In summer change the
water twice a week; they will keep a long time.

In grating nutmegs begin at the flower end; if you commence at the
other, there will be a hole all the way through.

Tea or coffee made hot (not at all scorched), before water is added, are
more fragrant and stronger. Thus, by putting three spoonfuls of tea in
the pot and setting in a warm place before infusing, it will be as
strong as if you make tea with four spoonfuls without warming it, and
much more fragrant.

Vegetables that are strong can be made much milder by tying a bit of
bread in a clean rag and boiling it with them.

Bread dough is just as good made the day before it is used; thus, a
small family can have fresh bread one day, rolls the next, by putting
the dough in a cold place enveloped in a damp cloth. In winter, kept
cold, yet not in danger of freezing, it will keep a week.

Celery seed takes the place of celery for soup or stews when it is
scarce; parsley seed of parsley.

Green beans, gherkins, etc., put down when plentiful in layers of rock
salt, will keep crisp and green for months, and can be taken out and
pickled when convenient.

Lemon or orange peel grated and mixed with powdered sugar and a squeeze
of its own juice (the sugar making it into paste) is excellent to keep
for flavoring; put it into a little pot and it will keep for a year.

Bread that is very stale may be made quite fresh for an hour or two by
dipping it quickly into milk or water, and