nder side, scrape it off. Melt the fat again--when partly cooled,
sprinkle in salt, in the proportion of a tea-spoonful to a pound of the
shortening. The dregs of the fat are good for soap grease. This
shortening answers all the various purposes of lard very well, excepting
in the hottest weather. The fat of cooked meat should not be suffered to
remain more than a week in winter, and three days in summer, without
being melted. Ham fat, if boiled in fresh water, and then clarified,
answers very well to fry in. Mutton fat, if melted into hard cakes, will
fetch a good price at the tallow-chandler's. The leaves, and thin pieces
of pork, should be used for lard. Cut them in small bits, and melt them
slowly; then strain them through a cullender, with a thick cloth laid in
it. As soon as the fat cools and thickens, sprinkle in salt, in the
proportion of a tea-cup full to twenty weight of the lard. Stir it in
well, then set the pot that contains it in a cool place. Some people
have an idea that the pork scraps must be on the fire until they become
brown, in order to have the lard kept sweet the year round, but it is
not necessary, if salt is mixed with it.

389. _To keep Vegetables through the Winter._

Succulent vegetables are preserved best in a cool, shady place, that is
damp. Turnips, Irish potatoes, and similar vegetables, should be
protected from the air and frost by being buried up in sand, and in very
severe cold weather covered over with a linen cloth. It is said that the
dust of charcoal, sprinkled over potatoes, will keep them from
sprouting. I have also heard it said, that Carolina potatoes may be kept
a number of months, if treated in the following manner: Take those that
are large, and perfectly free from decay--pack them in boxes of dry
sand, and set the boxes in a place exposed to the influence of smoke,
and inaccessible to frost.

390. _To preserve Herbs._

All kinds of herbs should be gathered on a dry day, just before, or
while in blossom. Tie them in bundles, and suspend them in a dry, airy
place, with the blossoms downwards. When perfectly dry, wrap the
medicinal ones in paper and keep them from the air. Pick off the leaves
of those which are to be used in cooking, pound and sift them fine, and
keep the powder in bottles, corked up tight.

391. _To preserve various kinds of Fruit through the Winter._

Apples can be kept till June, by taking only those that are hard and
sound, wiping them dry, then