e,
which seemed crisp and newly gathered. All these things were written
down in Margaret's account-book under "Fruits" and "Vegetables."

A nice dairy was not far from the grocery, and there they ordered a
little bottle of cream and put this down in the book before they went on
to the meat market. As they entered this shop her aunt said the lesson
here was so long it would take years to learn it, and they would only
take the a, b, c, of it in one day.

"Buying good meat means learning day after day," she explained.
"However, there are some things you can learn this morning, and one is
to be sure you buy in a clean place. Look around the floor and see
whether the sawdust is fresh; notice the odor of the place and whether
it is disagreeable or not; look at the counter, too, and be sure it is
white and freshly wiped off; and above all, see whether the meat is kept
in the ice-box at the back of the shop, not hung up on nails, or left
lying carelessly about. Don't buy any meat which has been hanging or
lying around; insist that it comes from the box."

"But I can't think of the kinds of meat there are if I don't see them,"
Margaret said, anxiously.

"You will learn," the aunt smiled. "I am sure you will never be willing
to eat meat which you are not certain is clean. Then look well at what
the butcher brings out to show you. Beef ought to be firm, clear red and
white, and not streaked with little lines; mutton must not be too fat;
veal not too young--you can tell when it is because then it will be very
small. Bacon must not be too lean nor too salt, and cut as thin as a
wafer. Fish must be fresh, with nice, clear eyes. Chickens too often are
buried in a barrel of chopped ice for weeks, and come out blue and
clammy; such are not fit to eat. Suppose we buy a pair of roasting
chickens this morning, and then you will see how they ought to look."

The butcher brought out a pair which were yellow and dry, showing they
had not been covered with ice. The aunt bent down the breastbone to see
if they were tender, and showed the little girl that if it had been too
stiff to bend she would have known by that that they would not do. She
also looked inside to see if there was a good deal of fat, for this,
too, was a sign of age. She said they had few pin-feathers, were firm
and plump, and the feet were clean, so she was quite sure they would be
good, and told the butcher to send them home, and not to forget the
giblets.

"Chicken li