e. After trussing, some cooks cover the
breast with vine-leaves and slices of bacon, and then roast them. They
should be served in the same manner and with the same accompaniments as
with the plainly-roasted birds.

_Time_.--45 to 50 minutes.

_Average cost_, from 5s. to 6s. the brace; but seldom bought.

_Sufficient_,--2 or 3 for a dish.

_Seasonable_ from the middle of August to the end of December.

[Illustration: THE BLACK-COCK.]

THE BLACK-COCK, HEATH-COCK, MOOR-FOWL, OR HEATH-POULT.--This
bird sometimes weighs as much as four pounds, and the hen about
two. It is at present confined to the more northern parts of
Britain, culture and extending population having united in
driving it into more desolate regions, except, perhaps, in a few
of the more wild and less-frequented portions of England. It may
still be found in the New Forest, in Hampshire, Dartmoor, and
Sedgmoor, in Devonshire, and among the hills of Somersetshire,
contiguous to the latter. It may also be found in Staffordshire,
in North Wales, and again in the north of England; but nowhere
so plentiful as in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland. The
males are hardly distinguishable from the females until they are
about half-grown, when the black feathers begin to appear, first
about the sides and breast. Their food consists of the tops of
birch and heath, except when the mountain berries are ripe, at
which period they eagerly and even voraciously pick the
bilberries and cranberries from the bushes. Large numbers of
these birds are found in Norway, almost rivalling the turkey in
point of size. Some of them have begun to be imported into
London, where they are vended in the shops; but the flavour of
their flesh is not equal to that of the Scotch bird.

HASHED WILD DUCK.

1020. INGREDIENTS.--The remains of cold roast wild duck, 1 pint of good
brown gravy, 2 tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, 1 glass of claret, salt,
cayenne, and mixed spices to taste; 1 tablespoonful of lemon or Seville
orange-juice.

_Mode_.--Cut the remains of the duck into neat joints, put them into a
stewpan, with all the above ingredients; let them get gradually hot by
the side of the fire, and occasionally stir the contents; when on the
point of boiling, serve, and garnish the dish with sippets of toasted
bread.

_Time_.--About 1/4 hour.

_Seasonable_ from November to February.

RAGOUT OF