as possible. Plunge it in a pot of scalding hot water; then pluck
off the feathers, taking care not to tear the skin; when it is picked
clean, roll up a piece of white paper, set fire to it and singe off
all the hairs. The head, neck and feet should be cut off, and the
ends of the legs skewered to the body, and a string tied tightly
around the body. When roasting a chicken or small fowl there is danger
of the legs browning or becoming too hard to be eaten. To avoid this,
take strips of cloth, dip them into a little melted lard, or even just
rub them over with lard, and wind them around the legs. Remove them in
time to allow the legs to brown delicately.

Fowls, and also various kinds of game, when bought at our city
markets, require a more thorough cleansing than those sold in country
places, where as a general thing the meat is wholly dressed. In large
cities they lay for some length of time with the intestines undrawn,
until the flavor of them diffuses itself all through the meat,
rendering it distasteful. In this case, it is safe, after taking out
the intestines, to rinse out in several waters, and in next to the
last water, add a teaspoonful of baking soda, say to a quart of water.
This process neutralizes all sourness, and helps to destroy all
unpleasant taste in the meat.

Poultry may be baked so that its wings and legs are soft and tender,
by being placed in a deep roasting pan with close cover, thereby
retaining the aroma and essences by absorption while confined. These
pans are a recent innovation, and are made double with a small opening
in the top for giving vent to the accumulation of steam and gases when
required. Roast meats of any kind can also be cooked in the same
manner, and it is a great improvement on the old plan.

ROAST TURKEY.

Select a young turkey; remove all the feathers carefully, singe it
over a burning newspaper on the top of the stove; then "draw" it
nicely, being very careful not to break any of the internal organs;
remove the crop carefully; cut off the head, and tie the neck close to
the body by drawing the skin over it. Now rinse the inside of the
turkey out with several waters, and in the next to the last, mix a
teaspoonful of baking soda; oftentimes the inside of a fowl is very
sour, especially if it is not freshly killed. Soda, being cleansing,
acts as a corrective, and destroys that unpleasant taste which we
frequently experience in the dressing when fowls have been killed for