ill not do for the cultivation of many other kinds of grain,
and forms the chief sustenance in the arid districts of Arabia,
Syria, Nubia, and parts of India. It is not cultivated in
England, being principally confined to the East. The nations who
make use of it grind it, in the primitive manner, between two
stones, and make it into a diet which, cannot be properly called
bread, but rather a kind of soft thin cake half-baked. When we
take into account that the Arabians are fond of lizards and
locusts as articles of food, their _cuisine_, altogether, is
scarcely a tempting one.

TO MAKE RUSKS.

(_Suffolk Recipe_.)

1734. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of flour allow 2 oz. of butter, 1/4
pint of milk, 2 oz. of loaf sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tablespoonful of yeast.

[Illustration: RUSKS.]

_Mode_.--Put the milk and butter into a saucepan, and keep shaking it
round until the latter is melted. Put the flour into a basin with the
sugar, mix these well together, and beat the eggs. Stir them with the
yeast to the milk and butter, and with this liquid work the flour into a
smooth dough. Cover a cloth over the basin, and leave the dough to rise
by the side of the fire; then knead it, and divide it into 12 pieces;
place them in a brisk oven, and bake for about 20 minutes. Take the
rusks out, break them in half, and then set them in the oven to get
crisp on the other side. When cold, they should be put into tin
canisters to keep them dry; and, if intended for the cheese course, the
sifted sugar should be omitted.

_Time_.--20 minutes to bake the rusks; 5 minutes to render them crisp
after being divided.

_Average cost_, 8d.

_Sufficient_ to make 2 dozen rusks. _Seasonable_ at any time.

ALMOND ICING FOR CAKES.

1735. INGREDIENTS.--To every lb. of finely-pounded loaf sugar allow 1
lb. of sweet almonds, the whites of 4 eggs, a little rose-water.

_Mode_.--Blanch the almonds, and pound them (a few at a time) in a
mortar to a paste, adding a little rose-water to facilitate the
operation. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a strong froth; mix them with
the pounded almonds, stir in the sugar, and beat altogether. When the
cake is sufficiently baked, lay on the almond icing, and put it into the
oven to dry. Before laying this preparation on the cake, great care must
be taken that it is nice and smooth, which is easily accomplished by
well beating the mixture.

SUGAR ICING FOR CAKES.

1736. INGREDI