_To prepare Soups, &c._—the first care of the Cook will be to see that the stew-pan to be used is well tinned, scalded, and wiped out perfectly clean and dry. She will put some butter or marrow into the bottom of the pan, then lay in a leg or shin of beef with the bones well broken, and the meat cut to pieces; or the skirts of beef, the kidney or melt, or the shank bones of mutton, well cleaned, with the fragments and trimmings of meat and other articles, as above mentioned;—these she will cover close and keep over a _slow fire_ an hour, stirring it up, occasionally, from the bottom, and taking great care that it does not burn.—When all the virtues of the meats are extracted, and the juices are again absorbed by them, she will add water enough to cover them, which will be in the proportion of about a quart of water to a pound of meat, for soup, and to two pounds, for gravies; the scum must then be carefully taken off, _quite clean_, as it rises, after it has boiled; for the more soups and broths are skimmed, the better, and more transparent they will be: and this transparency, combined with their uniformity of taste, constitutes their chief excellence. It is important that the soup be kept _gently simmering_ five or six or more hours, and that then be added a scraped carrot, a head of celery, a couple of onions, two turnips, and a few sweet herbs;—when ready, let it be strained carefully through a clean tamis, previously dipped in cold water, into stone or unglazed earthen pans, and let the fat remain upon it, to preserve it, till wanted. Soups and broths when done, ought not to be covered, nor put away with vegetables in them. Use _soft_ water to boil white peas, and let the peas be whole; but _pump_ water will make green peas-soup of a better colour. A good tureen of peas-soup may be made from the liquor of pork, mutton, or beef. The lean of hams or gammon of bacon should be used when _Stock_ is made; but if the former, first give it a boil in water, before you put it in, else it will turn the soup red. The _sediment_ of gravies, &c. that have stood to be cold, should never be used. A clear jelly of cow-heels makes a great improvement to gravies and soups. A lump of clarified butter, thoroughly mixed with flour and boiled with the soup will give it a richness and a greater consistency, if required.—A little tarragon added, just before it is served up, will give it an agreeable flavour. All soups should be sent to table quite hot. CULLIS, or _brown gravy_, is made with lean veal and ham or gammon, and sweet herbs, &c. BECHAMEL, or _white sauce_, is made in the same way, but is not browned; it must be improved by the addition of equal quantities of good broth and thick cream simmered with it half an hour, before it is strained off.