Skate. — Large skate are firmer and more profitable, as they have a much larger amount of flesh in pro¬ portion to the quantity of gristle. It should be chosen with a prickly back, broad and thick, and the sides of a delicate whiteness. This fish must be chosen with the greatest care, and on no account should it be eaten if in the slightest degree tainted or out of season. Smelts should have full clear eyes, bright red gills, and a body of silvery grey. Whiting should have very bright eyes, firm flesh, and a clear, silvery skin. Red Mullet should be firm, and elastic to the touch, bright eyes, of a silvery, delicate rose-colour, thick and plump at the shoulders. Gurnets have an unusually large head and firm white flesh. If they are perfectly fresh their skin should have a reddish-brown tinge, gills rosy-lookincr and clean, body stiff and plurqp, and eyes clear. Carp, Perch, Pike and Tench, being fresh- water fish, are generally used by those who catch them. If they are bought, they may be judged by firm, elastic bodies, red gills, full, clear eyes, bright, clean¬ looking scales. Eels cannot be too fresh, and should, therefore, be bought alive. I he speediest method of killing them is by paletting, which is to pierce the spinal marrow just at the back of the head with a sharp-pointed knife made for the purpose. Death by this method is instantaneous. >- Crabs and Lobsters should be heavy, as the light ones are very often watery. They should be of medium size, shell rough, of a bright colour, the joints of the claws stiff, eyes full and clear. 4^ THE HOUSEHOLD Shake it gently to and fro, and if the inside remains steady, and the other signs of freshness are present, they may be relied on as of good quality. Their in¬ feriority is denoted by a slight rattling noise when shaken. Prawns, Shrimps, and Crayfish should be very stiff, and the tails should turn inwards against the body ; clear eyes, and emitting a most pleasant and appetising odour. Perhaps there is no country which is so plentifully supplied with fish as Great Britain. Fish can be boiled, baked, stewed, or fried. The most common method is boiling. In all modes of cooking fish care should be taken to prevent it from breaking, and it should be remembered that a few moments more or less will spoil it. HOW TO CARVE AND SERVE. Few things are so conducive to comfort at the table as a thorough knowledge of the art of carving. Formerly, knowing how much depended on the felici¬ tous and rapid dispersion of the viands to the guesfs at a dinner table, while hot and fragrant with the aroma of their juices, our ancestors employed profes¬ sional carvers. Nothing is more painful to a looker-on than the sight of a novice put upon his or her trial in public, for gentlemen are sometimes as unskilled as ladies in the knowledge of carving a joint properly, or of the requisite intimacy with the anatomy of a fowl. The simplest dish to dispense is fish., and though it requires no carving, considerable art is required in the nice distribution of the most delicate parts. Salmon. — The shape of which everyone knows, but few people have a whole salmon at table. The fish should be served always on a strainer, covered with GAS COOKERY BOOK. 49 a small dinner napkin, and the cook should be careful that it be sent to table whole and unbroken.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Skate. — Large skate are firmer and more profitable, as they have a much larger amount of flesh in pro¬ portion to the quantity of gristle. It should be chosen with a prickly back, broad and thick, and the sides of a delicate whiteness. This fish must be chosen with the greatest care, and on no account should it be eaten if in the slightest degree tainted or out of season. Smelts should have full clear eyes, bright red gills, and a body of silvery grey. Whiting should have very bright eyes, firm flesh, and a clear, silvery skin. Red Mullet should be firm, and elastic to the touch, bright eyes, of a silvery, delicate rose-colour, thick and plump at the shoulders. Gurnets have an unusually large head and firm white flesh. If they are perfectly fresh their skin should have a reddish-brown tinge, gills rosy-looking and clean, body stiff and plump, and eyes clear. Carp, Perch, Pike and Tench, being fresh- water fish, are generally used by those who catch them. If they are bought, they may be judged by firm, elastic bodies, red gills, full, clear eyes, bright, clean¬ looking scales. Eels cannot be too fresh, and should, therefore, be bought alive. I he speediest method of killing them is by paletting, which is to pierce the spinal marrow just at the back of the head with a sharp-pointed knife made for the purpose. Death by this method is instantaneous. >- Crabs and Lobsters should be heavy, as the light ones are very often watery. They should be of medium size, shell rough, of a bright colour, the joints of the claws stiff, eyes full and clear. Shake it gently to and fro, and if the inside remains steady, and the other signs of freshness are present, they may be relied on as of good quality. Their in¬ feriority is denoted by a slight rattling noise when shaken. Prawns, Shrimps, and Crayfish should be very stiff, and the tails should turn inwards against the body ; clear eyes, and emitting a most pleasant and appetising odour. Perhaps there is no country which is so plentifully supplied with fish as Great Britain. Fish can be boiled, baked, stewed, or fried. The most common method is boiling. In all modes of cooking fish care should be taken to prevent it from breaking, and it should be remembered that a few moments more or less will spoil it. HOW TO CARVE AND SERVE. Few things are so conducive to comfort at the table as a thorough knowledge of the art of carving. Formerly, knowing how much depended on the felici¬ tous and rapid dispersion of the viands to the guesfs at a dinner table, while hot and fragrant with the aroma of their juices, our ancestors employed profes¬ sional carvers. Nothing is more painful to a looker-on than the sight of a novice put upon his or her trial in public, for gentlemen are sometimes as unskilled as ladies in the knowledge of carving a joint properly, or of the requisite intimacy with the anatomy of a fowl. The simplest dish to dispense is fish., and though it requires no carving, considerable art is required in the nice distribution of the most delicate parts. Salmon. — The shape of which everyone knows, but few people have a whole salmon at table. The fish should be served always on a strainer, covered with a small dinner napkin, and the cook should be careful that it be sent to table whole and unbroken.

The household gas cookery book