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Pigeon Soup

Take half a dozen plump pigeons and roast them lightly. Pick off the best of the meat and lay it aside. Flour the bones well, and crush them in a mortar. Cut into small pieces a large carrot, an onion, an ounce of lean ham, and half a head of celery, and fry these in butter with a bay-leaf, a bunch of parsley, a small sprig of thyme, three cloves, and half a blade of mace. Stir these ingredients over the fire until they are brightly browned. Add the crushed bodies of the birds and one ounce of brown thickening-or, failing this, a lump of butter rolled in flour-and moisten the whole with a quart of stock or water. Bring the liquid to the boil, skim thoroughly, let it simmer gently for an hour, then strain the soup, and pulp the vegetables through a tamis. Pour the soup back into the pot, add the flesh of the pigeons, and pepper and salt if required. Skim it again, and serve very hot. Time, altogether, about three hours. Probable cost, 5s. 6d. Sufficient for eight or nine persons.