In many American families meat is eaten two or three times a day; in such cases the simplest way of reducing the meat bill would very likely be to cut down the amount used, either by serving it less often or by using less at a time. Deficiency of protein need not be feared when one good meat dish a day is served, especially if such nitrogenous materials as eggs, milk, cheese, and beans are used instead. In localities where fish can be obtained fresh and cheap, it might well be more frequently substituted for meat for the sake of variety as well as economy. Ingenious cooks have many ways of "extending the flavor" of meat, that is, of combining a small quantity with other materials to make a large dish, as in meat pies, stews, and similar dishes. By buying in large quantities under certain conditions it may be possible to procure meat at better prices than those which ordinarily prevail in the retail market. The whole side or quarter of an animal can frequently be obtained at noticeably less cost per pound than when it is bought by cut, and can be used to advantage when the housekeeper understands the art and has proper storage facilities and a good-sized family. When a hind quarter of mutton, for example, comes from the market the flank (on which the meat is thin and, as good housekeepers believe, likely to spoil more easily than some other cuts) should be cooked immediately, or, if preferred, it may be covered with a thin layer of fat (rendered suet) which can be easily removed when the time for cooking comes. The flank, together with the rib bone, ordinarily makes a gallon of good Scotch broth. The remainder of the hind quarter may be used for roast or chops. The whole pig carcass has always been used by families living on the farms where the animals are slaughtered, and in village homes; town housekeepers not infrequently buy pigs whole and "put down" the meat. An animal six months old and weighing about one hundred pounds would be suitable for this purpose. The hams and thin pieces of belly meat may be pickled and smoked. The thick pieces of belly meat, packed in a two-gallon jar and covered with salt or brine, will make a supply of fat pork to cook with beans and other vegetables. The tenderloin makes good roasts, the head and feet may go into head cheese or scrapple, and the trimmings and other scraps of lean meat serve for a few pounds of home-made sausage. In some large families it is found profitable to "corn" a fore quarter of beef for spring and summer use. Formerly it was a common farm practice to dry beef, but now it seems to be more usual to purchase beef which has been dried in large establishments. The general use of refrigerators and ice chests in homes at the present time has had a great influence on the length of time meat may be kept and so upon the amount a housewife may buy at a time with advantage.