y minutes; beets, carrots,
and parsnips, about one hour.

147. =Asparagus with Melted Butter.=--Trim the white tough ends from two
bunches of asparagus, tie it in packages of about a dozen stalks each;
put them into three quarts of boiling water, with three tablespoonfuls
of salt, and boil them gently until done, about twenty minutes; meantime
make some drawn butter according to receipt for caper sauce, omitting
the capers; fit two slices of toast to the bottom of the dish you intend
to use, dip it for one instant in the water in which the asparagus has
been boiled, lay it on the dish, and arrange the asparagus in a ring on
it with the heads in the centre; send the butter to the table in a gravy
boat, with the dish of asparagus.

148. =Green Peas.=--Boil two quarts of freshly shelled peas in two quarts
of boiling water with half an ounce of butter, one bunch of green mint,
and one teaspoonful each of sugar and salt, until they begin to sink to
the bottom of the sauce-pan: drain them in a colander, season them with
a saltspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper, and
send them to the table hot.

149. =String Beans.=--These beans are generally marketed while they are
unripe, and cooked in the shell; in that condition two quarts of them
should be stringed, split in halves, cut in pieces two inches long, and
thrown into boiling water with a tablespoonful of salt, _but no soda or
ammonia should be added, as its action discolors them_; a few sprigs of
parsley and an ounce of pork can be boiled with them to their
improvement; when they are tender, which will be in about half an hour,
they should be drained, and served with melted butter, made as for caper
sauce, but without the capers.

150. =Baked Beets.=--Clean eight smooth beets with a soft cloth or brush;
bake them in a moderate oven about one hour; rub off the skin, baste
them with butter and lemon juice, return them to the oven for five
minutes, and serve them hot.

151. =Brussels Sprouts.=--Trim two quarts of Brussels sprouts, wash them
thoroughly, put them in three quarts of boiling water with two
tablespoonfuls of salt, and boil them gently until tender, about fifteen
minutes, shaking the sauce-pan occasionally; then drain them in a
colander, being careful not to break them; put them again into the
sauce-pan with one ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a
saltspoonful of salt, and quarter of a saltspoonful of white pepper;
toss them g