Put 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, and when melted add 1 sliced onion and let simmer for five minutes; then stir in 1 tablespoon of flour, and when smooth and browned add 6 cups of water; season well and let cook slowly for three quarters of an hour. In another saucepan put 1/4 cup of rice and 2 cups of sliced okra, and strain the hot stock over the rice and okra, season well with salt and pepper, cover closely, and let simmer gently for an hour. If fresh okra is not available the canned okra is a very good substitute; but if it is used, do not add it to the rice and stock until twenty minutes before removing the soup from the fire. OYSTER PLANT (SALSIFY) SOUP Use enough salsify to make 4 cups when sliced. Soak in cold water for an hour, then scrape and put in fresh water, containing some lemon juice, for fifteen minutes. The salsify must not be left out of the water, or it will turn dark. Cut in thin slices, and put into a saucepan containing 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup of milk, and let cook slowly for about an hour, adding 1 teaspoon of salt when it has cooked half the time. Reserve 1/4 of a cup of the salsify, and press the remainder, with the stock, through a sieve; return to the saucepan, add 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 cup of cream, and 1 tablespoon of butter rubbed together with 1 tablespoon of flour (or less if a thick soup is not liked), a little salt, a dash of paprika and pepper, and serve very hot with small crackers. SPINACH-TOMATO SOUP Put 1 tablespoon of butter into the frying pan, and when melted add 1 onion chopped fine, and let cook slowly for ten minutes. Put 1 cup of cold prepared spinach into the butter and onion and 1 cup of tomato sauce or tomatoes, and let heat through. Put 2 cups of milk in a double boiler with 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 of butter rubbed together. Add a pinch of soda to the tomato-spinach mixture, press it through a sieve, and stir the purée into the milk when it boils. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 tablespoon of cream. CREAM OF SPINACH Put the contents of 1 can of spinach in a chopping-bowl and chop it to a fine pulp; then put it in a double boiler with 2 tablespoons of onion juice (grated onion), and some salt and pepper, and 5 or 6 cups of milk. Let all cook together for twenty minutes, then pour through a sieve, pressing the spinach to extract the juice. Return the soup to the double boiler, add 1 tablespoon of butter, re-season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg or mace, and some celery salt. A tablespoon of whipped cream added at the last is an improvement, or 1 tablespoon of finely chopped white and riced yolk of hard-boiled egg can be added. The spinach itself can be prepared next day in any of the ways described for serving spinach. FRENCH SORREL SOUP