ndied peel into thin slices. Mix all the
dry ingredients well together, and moisten with the eggs, which should
be well beaten and strained, to the pudding; stir in the brandy, and,
when all is thoroughly mixed, well butter and flour a stout new
pudding-cloth; put in the pudding, tie it down very tightly and closely,
boil from 6 to 8 hours, and serve with brandy-sauce. A few sweet
almonds, blanched and cut in strips, and stuck on the pudding, ornament
it prettily. This quantity may be divided and boiled in buttered moulds.
For small families this is the most desirable way, as the above will be
found to make a pudding of rather large dimensions.

_Time_.--6 to 8 hours. _Average cost_, 7s. 6d.

_Seasonable_ in winter. _Sufficient_ for 12 or 14 persons.

_Note_.--The muscatel raisins can be purchased at a cheap rate loose
(not in bunches): they are then scarcely higher in price than the
ordinary raisins, and impart a much richer flavour to the pudding.

[Illustration: SULTANA GRAPE.]

SULTANA GRAPE.--We have elsewhere stated that the small black
grape grown in Corinth and the Ionian Isles is, when dried, the
common currant of the grocers' shops; the white or yellow grape,
grown in the same places, is somewhat larger than the black
variety, and is that which produces the Sultana raisin. It has
been called Sultana from its delicate qualities and unique
growth: the finest are those of Smyrna. They have not sufficient
flavour and sugary properties to serve alone for puddings and
cakes, but they are peculiarly valuable for mixing, that is to
say, for introducing in company with the richer sorts of
Valencias or Muscatels. In white puddings, or cakes, too, where
the whiteness must be preserved, the Sultana raisin should be
used. But the greatest value of this fruit in the _cuisine_ is
that of its saving labour; for it has no stones. Half Muscatels
and half Sultanas are an admirable mixture for general purposes.

A PLAIN CHRISTMAS PUDDING FOR CHILDREN.

1327. INGREDIENTS.--1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of bread crumbs, 3/4 lb. of
stoned raisins, 3/4 lb. of currants, 3/4 lb. of suet, 3 or 4 eggs, milk,
2 oz. of candied peel, 1 teaspoonful of powdered allspice, 1/2
saltspoonful of salt.

_Mode_.--Let the suet be finely chopped, the raisins stoned, and the
currants well washed, picked, and dried. Mix these with the other dry
ingredients, and stir all well together; beat an