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Groceries (Both leaf fat and meat fat)

of both leaf fat and meat fat, the latter cut into small pieces and rendered. Good lard should be white, solid, and without any disagreeable smell. EGGS. To determine the exact age of eggs, dissolve about four ounces of common salt in a quart of pure water and then immerse the egg. If it be only a day or so old, it will sink to the bottom of the vessel, but if it be three days old it will float in the liquid; if more than five it comes to the surface, and rises above in proportion to its increased age. SALT must be kept in the dryest place that can be found. The best for table use is put up in boxes, but if a quantity be purchased, it should be stored in a glass jar, and closely covered. When it becomes damp in the salt-stands, it should be set by the fire to dry, and afterwards reduced to fine powder again.

COFFEE AND TEA can be bought with advantage in considerable quantities. Coffee improves by age if kept in a dry place, as it loses its rank smell and taste. Several cents a pound may be saved by buying a bag of coffee or half chest of tea. Tea loses its flavor if put up in paper, and should be kept in glass or tin, shut tight. Coffee should be kept by itself, as its odor affects other articles.

ARROWROOT, TAPIOCA SAGO, PEARL-BARLEY, AMERICAN ISINGLESS, MACA- KONI, VERMICELLI, AND OAT-MEAL, are all articles which help to make an agreeable variety, and it is just as cheap to keep a small quantity of each as it is to buy a large quantity of two or three articles. Eight or ten pounds each of these articles of food can be kept in covered jars or covered wooden boxes, and then they are always at hand when wanted. All of them are very healthful food, and help to form many delightful dishes for desserts. SUGARS.-Buy sugars for various purposes as follows:

For baked custard, mince pie, squash pie, fruit cake, gingerbread, most Indian puddings, use brown sugar.

For all light-colored cakes, icing, floating island, blanc-mange, méringues, whips, use powdered sugar.

For pudding sauce, use powdered or brown sugar.

For sweetmeats, jelly, and raspberry vinegar, use granulated sugar. FLOUR should be bought in small quantities, and the best is cheapest. The test of quality is given under bread. Flour is peculiarly sensitive to atmospheric influence, hence it should never be stored in a room with sour liquids nor where onions or fish are kept, nor any article that taints the air of the room in which it is stored. Any smell perceptible to the sense will be absorbed by flour. Avoid damp cellars or lofts where a free circulation of air can not be obtained. Keep in a cool, dry, airy room, and not exposed to a freezing temperature nor to intense summer or to artificial heat for any length of time above 70 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. It should not come in contact with grain or other substances which are liable to heat. Flour should be sifted and the particles thoroughly disintegrated, and then warmed before baking.

DRESSING POULTRY FOR MARKET. -Secure plump, well fattened fowls. Do not feed for at least 24 hours before killing. Open the veins of the neck and bleed freely-this is the best mode of killing. Scald enough to make the feathers come off easily, picking both feathers and pin feathers off nicely. Be careful not to bruise or break the skin in any way, because it injures the sale. Leave all the entrails in, and head and feet on. Immediately after they are dressed, dip once in boiling hot water, letting them remain in about ten seconds; then dip into ice-cold water, allowing them to remain in the same length of time, then hang in a cool place where they will dry before packing. Ducks should be treated same as fowls or chickens. Pack in boxes or barrels in nice, clean rye or oat straw. Boxes holding from 100 lbs. to 200 lbs. are the most desirable style of packages. Pack with breasts down, using straw between each layer.

Be sure to pack solid, so they will not bruise on the way. Poultry prepared in this way will meet with a ready sale, while poorly dressed, sweaty