[Modern cookery, in all its branches

A little chili vinegar can be added when liked : a larger proportion of vegetables also may be boiled down with the peas at pleasure. Weak broth, or the liquor in which a joint has been boiled, can be substituted for the water; but the soup is very palatable as we have given the receipt for it. Some persons like it flavoured with a little mushroom catsup. All peas soup is rendered more wholesome by the addition of a small quantity of currie-paste or powder. Split peas, 1 pint ; water, 5 pints : 2 hours or more. Onions, 2 ; carrots, 2 ; large turnip, 1 ; pepper, \ teaspoonful ; salt, 1£ teaspoonful: 1 to 1£ hour. Celery, 1 head : 20 minutes. OX-TAIL SOUP. An inexpensive and very nutritious soup may be made of ox-tails, but it will be insipid in flavour without the addition of a little ham, knuckle of bacon, or a pound or two of other meat. Wash and soak three tails, pour on them a gallon of cold water, let them be brought gradually to boil, throw in an ounce and a half of salt, and clear off the scum carefully as soon as it forms upon the surface ; when it ceases to rise, add four moderate-sized carrots, from two to four onions, according to the taste, a large faggot of savoury herbs, a head of celery, a couple of turnips, six or eight cloves, and a half-teaspoonful of peppercorns. Stew these gently from three hours to three and a half, if the tails be very large ; lift them out, strain the liquor, and skim off all the fat ; divide the tails into joints, and put them into a couple of quarts or rather more of the stock ; stir in, when these begin to boil, a thickening of arrow-root or of rice flour (see page 4), mixed with as much cayenne and salt as may be required to flavour the soup well, and serve it very hot. If stewed down until the flesh falls away from the bones, the ox-tails will make stock which will be quite a firm jelly when cold ; and this, strained, thickened, and well flavoured with spices, catsup, or a little wine, would, to many tastes, be a superior soup to the above. A richer one still may be made by pouring good beef broth instead of water to the meat in the first instance. Ox-tails, 3 ; water, 1 gallon; salt, 1| oz. ; carrots, 4 ; onions, 2 to 4 ; turnips, 2 ; celery, 1 head ; cloves, 8 ; peppercorns, { teaspoonful ; faggot of savoury herbs : 3 hours to 3|. For a richer soup, 5 to 6 hours. (Ham or gammon of bacon at pleasure, with other flavourings.) Obs. — To increase the savour of this soup when the meat is not served in it, the onions, turnips, and carrots may be gently fried until of a fine light brown, before they are added to it. A CHEAP AND GOOD STEW SOUP. Put from four to five pounds of the gristly part of the shin of beef into three quarts of cold water, and stew it very softly indeed, with the addition of the salt and vegetables directed for bouillon (see page 7), until the whole is very tender ; lift out the meat, strain the liquor, and put it into a large clean saucepan, add a thickening of rice-flour or arrowroot, pepper and salt if needed, and a tablespoonful of mushroom catsup. In the mean time, cut all the meat into small, thick slices, add it to the soup, and serve it as soon as it is very hot. The thickening and catsup may be omitted, and all the vegetables, pressed through a strainer, may be stirred into the soup instead, before the meat is put back into it.