_Baked Chicken._--A properly baked chicken is tender, juicy, and has a rich flavor, while one improperly baked is tough, dry, stringy, and tasteless. To bake a chicken properly the oven must not be too hot; the chicken must be repeatedly basted, and cooked until it is tender, but not until all dried up. Stuffing the chicken improves the flavor. To make the dressing, melt enough of any kind of wholesome fat in a hot frying-pan to keep the bread crumbs from sticking, and fry in it a large onion, chopped fine, until it is tender. Place the dry bread-crumbs into the fat, and cook for half an hour over a slow fire, stirring often to keep from sticking, until the crumbs are slightly browned and well dried. Season with salt, pepper and a little celery-salt, and moisten with just enough milk to make it stick together. Always taste the dressing to see if it is properly seasoned. A well-fed chicken can be baked more rapidly than a thin one. If the chicken is thin add plenty of fat to the water in the baking-pan; cover closely and cook slowly and carefully until it is tender, turning very often; if it is fat and well-fed put plenty of wholesome grease in the baking-dish, and without covering it, cook in a hot oven, basting frequently. A young, fat chicken will bake in an hour. An older fowl may require two or three hours. It is a good plan to allow the chicken plenty of time and then, if done too soon, to cover it closely and keep it warm on the back of the stove. Use just enough water while baking to keep the fat from sputtering. If the water is cooked out towards the end, and the chicken is thoroughly basted, the skin will take on a rich, thick glazing that is highly creditable to the skill of the cook. Delicious gravy can be made of the fat by adding milk and thickening with flour. _Smothered Chicken._--Use a frying-size chicken. Split it down the back and rub with a little salt. Put it in a pan with a slice of bacon and a pint of water. Cover the pan closely and let it simmer on top of the stove from one to two hours, or until the chicken is thoroughly tender. When done sprinkle with flour and baste well. Add a small tablespoon of butter, and put in the oven and cook until brown.