When the object of boiling meat is simply to cook it, retaining as much as possible of its soluble constituents, the meat should be in one large piece and plunged into water already boiling. Brisk boiling should be continued for ten minutes till the albuminous matter on the exterior is coagulated. This forms a protective layer which helps in preventing the escape of the nutritious juices into the water. The cooking should be completed more slowly. Too great heat causes the meat to be hard and shrunken. Roasting meat retains the nutritious juices better than boiling. But, as in the boiling, the meat should be first exposed to a strong heat, the cooking being completed more slowly. [Sidenote: Cooking Vegetables] Green vegetables are valuable as food, not so much because of their nutritious elements, but because of the salts they supply which are demanded by the system. Their digestibility depends greatly on their being well and carefully cooked. In most of them there is a large proportion of indigestible residue, which acts as a stimulant to peristalsis. It must not be forgotten that a relish for certain vegetables is an acquired taste, and unless an article has real nutritive value it is unwise to try to cultivate the taste while in the hospital, even for variety. Celery, for instance, is rarely relished by poor people, and for this reason it is a needless expense to serve it in the free wards. Other exceptions will readily suggest themselves. Potatoes are rich in starch and when cooked in quantity are best served mashed. This method of serving prevents them reaching the stomach in hard, indigestible masses, as is often the case when served whole. The profusion of books, giving definite culinary rules for the preparation of all the various articles of diet, both for the sick and healthy family, makes unnecessary more than a passing mention of these few general principles to be observed in preparing a hospital dietary. One general aim should be kept in view in preparing food in general; the method of preparation should conserve the nutritive elements of the food and cause it to make as little tax on the digestive functions as possible. [Sidenote: Time of Meals]