Part 63

The vegetables, if the table is very crowded, may be placed upon the sideboard, and handed round by those who wait upon the guests.

2626. Smaller Joints.

Geese, Turkeys, Poultry, Sucking-pigs, &c., should be CARVED BEFORE BEING SET ON TABLE; especially in those cases where the whole or the principal part of such dishes is likely to be consumed.

2627. Handing Round.

The carver should supply the plates, and the waiter hand them round, instead of putting the question to each guest as to which part he prefers, and then striving to serve him with it, to the prejudice of others present.

2628. Ladies.

Ladies should be helped before gentlemen.

2629. Waiters.

Waiters should present dishes on the left hand; so that the diner may help himself with his right.

2630. Wine.

Wine should be taken after the first course; and it will be found more convenient to let the waiter serve it, than to hand the decanters round, or to allow the guests to fill for themselves.

2631. Removal.

Waiters should be instructed to remove whatever articles upon the table are thrown into disuse by the progress of the dinner, as soon as they are at liberty.

2632. Finger-Bowls.

Finger-glasses, or glass bowls, filled with water, slightly scented or not, as may be preferred, and slightly warm in winter, and iced in summer, should be handed round.

2633. Dessert.

When the dessert is served, the wine should be set upon the table, and the decanters passed round by the company.

2634. Fried Fish.

Fried fish should be divided into suitable slices, before the fire, as soon as it leaves the frying-pan.

2635. Cod's Head and Shoulders.

The thick part of the back is best. It should be carved in unbroken slices, and each solid slice should be accompanied by a bit of the sound, from under the back-bone, or from the cheek, jaws, tongue, &c., of the head.

2636. Hake.

Hake, if sent to table, simply boiled, is served as cod. The better way of dressing hake is to cut it transversely to the length into slices about one inch in thickness. These should be fried and sent to table garnished with parsley.

2637. Turbot.

Strike the fish-slice along the back-bone, which runs from head to tail, and then serve square slices from the thick part, accompanying each slice with some of the gelatinous skin of the fins and thin part, which may be raised by laying the fish-slice flat.

2638. Brill.

Brill is served in the same manner.

2639. John Dory.

John Dory is also served in the same way. This fish has a favourite piece on the cheek.

2640. Plaice and Flat-fish.

Plaice and flat-fish generally, are served in the same manner.

2641. Soles.

Soles, when large, may be served as turbot; but when small they should be sliced across.

2642. Salmon.

Serve a slice of the thick with a smaller slice of the thin part. Keep the flakes of the thick part as unbroken as possible.

2643. Mackerel.

Mackerel should be served in pieces cut through the side when they are large. It small, they may be divided through the back-bone, and served in halves. The shoulder part is considered the best.

2644. Haddock and Gurnet.

Haddock and Gurnet are served as directed for mackerel.

2645. Whiting.

Whiting are usually fried and curled; they should be cut in halves down the back, and served. The shoulder-part is best.

2646. Eels.

Eels are usually cut into several pieces, either for stewing or frying. The thick parts are considered best.

2647. Trout.

Trout, if small, are served whole; if large, they may be divided through the back-bone and served in halves. The same applies to perch and other smaller fresh-water fish.

2648. Pike and Jack.

Pike and Jack should be served in thick unbroken pieces taken from the side or shoulder of the fish accompanied by a piece of the stuffing with which these fish are usually filled.

2649. Remarks.

The _roes_ of mackerel, the _sound_ of cod, the _head_ of carp, the _cheek_ of John Dory, the _liver_ of cod, &c., are severally considered delicacies, though not by all persons.

2650. Saddle of Mutton.

Cut thin slices parallel with the back-bone; or slice it obliquely from the bone to the edge.

2651. Haunch of Mutton or Venison.

Make an incision across the knuckle-end, right into the bone, and set free the gravy. Then cut thin slices the whole length of the haunch. Serve pieces of fat with slices of lean.

2652. Rump or Sirloin of Beef.

The undercut, called the "fillet," is exceedingly tender, and some carvers will turn the joint and serve the fillet first, reserving the meat on the upper part to be eaten cold. From the upper part, whether hot or cold, the slices should be cut lengthways from top to bottom, so that the fat and lean may be distributed in fair proportions.

2653. Ribs of Beef.

Ribs of beef are carved in the same way as the sirloin; but there is no fillet.

2654. Round of Beef.

First cut away the irregular outside pieces, to obtain a good surface, and then serve thin and broad slices. Serve bits of the udder fat with the lean.

2655. Brisket of Beef.

Cut off the outside, and then serve long slices, cut the whole length of the bones.

2656. Shoulder of Mutton.

Make a cross incision on the fore-part of the shoulder, and serve slices from both sides of the incision; then cut slices lengthways along the shoulder-blade. Cut fat slices from the round corner. Another and more economical way, is to cut slices from the under part when first brought to table. The joint then presents a better appearance when cold.

2657. Leg of Mutton.

Make an incision across the centre, and serve from the knuckle-side, or the opposite, according to choice. The knuckle-side will be generally found well done, and the opposite side underdone, for those who prefer it.

2658. Loin of Mutton.

Cut down between the bones, into chops.

2659. Quarter of Lamb.

Lay the knife flat, and cut off the shoulder. The proper point for incision will be indicated by the position of the shoulder. A little lemon juice may be squeezed over the divided part, and a little Cayenne pepper, and the shoulder transferred to another dish, for the opposite end of the table. Next separate the _brisket_, or short bones, by cutting lengthways along the breast. Then serve from either part as desired.

[TRAVEL NORTH, OR SOUTH, OR EAST, OR WEST...]

2660. Loin of Veal.

Loin of veal may be cut across through the thick part; or slices may be taken in the direction of the bones. Serve pieces of kidney and fat with each plate.

2601. Fillet of Veal.

Fillet of veal is carved as a round of beef. The browned bits of the outside are esteemed, and should be shared among the company, with bits of fat, and of forcemeat from the centre.

2662. Breast of Veal.

Breast of veal should be divided by cutting the BRISKET, or soft bones, the same as the basket of lamb. When the sweetbread comes to table with the breast, a small piece should be served on each plate.

2663. Sucking-Pig.

Sucking-pig should be sent to table in two halves, the head divided, and one half laid at each end of the dish. The shoulders and legs should be taken off by the obvious method of laying the knife under them, and lifting the joint out. They may be served whole, or divided. The ribs are easily divided, and are considered choice.

2664. Tongues.

Tongues are cut across in tolerably thick slices.

2665. Calves' Heads.

Calves' heads are carved across the cheek, and pieces taken from any part that is come-at-able. The tongue and brain sauce are served separate.

2666. Knuckle of Veal.

Knuckle of veal is carved by cutting off the outside pieces, and then obtaining good slices, and apportioning the fat to the lean, adding bits of the sinew that lie around the joint.

2667. Leg of Pork.

Leg of pork is carved as a ham, but in thicker slices; when stuffed, the stuffing must be sought for under the skin at the large end.

2668. Loin of Pork.

Loin of pork is carved the same as a loin of mutton.

2669. Spare-rib of Pork.

Spare-rib of pork is carved by separating the chops, which should previously have been jointed. Cut as far as the joint, then return the knife to the point of the bones, and press over, to disclose the joint, which may then be relieved with the point of the knife.

2670. Hams.

Hams are cut in very thin slices from the knuckle to the blade.

2671. Pheasants.

Carve the breast in slices. Then take off the legs and wings.

2672. Fowls.

Fix the fork firmly into the breast, then slip the knife under the legs, and lay it over and dis-joint; detach the wings in the same manner. Do the same on both sides, The smaller bones require a little practice, and it would be well to watch the operations of a good carver. When the merry-thought has been removed (which it may be by slipping the knife through at the point of the breast), and the neck-bones drawn out, the trunk may be turned over, and the knife thrust through the back-bone.

2673. Partridges.

Partridges are best carved by cutting off the breast, and then dividing it. But for more economical carving, the wings may be cut with a small breast slice attached.

2674. Woodcocks.

Woodcocks may be cut right through the centre, from head to tail. Serve with each portion a piece of the toast upon which they come to table.

2675. Pigeons.

Pigeons may be carved as woodcocks, or as partridges.

2676. Snipes.

Snipes may be carved the same as woodcocks.

2677. Turkey.

Cut slices from each side of the breast down, to the ribs; the legs may then be removed, and the thighs divided from the drumsticks, which are generally tough; but the pinions of the wing are very good, and the white part of the wing is preferred by many to the breast. The stuffing is usually put in the breast; but when truffles, mushrooms, or oysters are put into the body, an opening must be made into it by cutting through the apron.

2678. Goose.

The apron must be cut off in a circular direction, when a glass of port wine, mixed with a teaspoonful of mustard, may be poured into the body or not. Some of the stuffing should then be drawn out, and, the neck of the goose being turned a little towards the carver, the flesh of the breast should be sliced on each side of the bone. The wings may then be taken off, then the legs. The other parts are carved the same as a fowl.

[A MAN'S OWN HOSE IS STILL THE BEST.]

2679. Ducks.

Ducks may be carved, when large, the same as geese; but when young, like chickens. The thigh joints, however, lie much closer into the trunk than those of fowls.

2680. Hares.

Hares should be placed with their heads to the left of the carver. Slices may be taken down the whole length of the back; the legs, which, next to the back, are considered the best eating, may then be taken off, and the flesh divided from or served upon them, after the small bones have been parted from the thighs. The shoulders, which are not much esteemed, though sometimes liked by sportsmen, may be taken off by passing the knife between the joint and the trunk. When a hare is young, the back is sometimes divided at the joints into three or four parts, after being freed from the ribs and under-skin.

2681. Remarks.

Sufficient general instructions are here given to enable the carver, by observation and practice, to acquit himself well. The art of carving does not consist merely in dissecting the joints sent to table, but in the judicious and economical distribution of them, and the grace and neatness with which this distribution is effected. Every dish ahould be sent to table properly garnished (where needed), and the carver should preserve the neatness of the arrangement as much as possible.

2682. Dyeing.

The filaments from which stuffs of all kinds are fabricated are derived either from the animal or vegetable kingdom. We recognise the former by the property they possess of liberating ammonia on being treated with potash; while the latter afford a liquor having an acid reaction under the same treatment. The animal kingdom furnishes three varieties--silk, wool, and the furs, &c., of various animals; the vegetable kingdom also three--flax, hemp, and cotton: all of which require certain preliminary preparations to render them fit for the dyer, which do not come within our province, our space only admitting of a rapid glance at the production of the various colours.

2683. General Observations.

The various shades produced by colouring matters may be classed in one or other of the following groups:

1. Blues } 2. Reds } _Simple_. 3. Yellows }

4. Violets } 5. Orange colours } _Binary_. 6. Greens }

7. Compound colours } 8. Black } _Ternary_.

Some colours adhere at once to the stuff, and are called _substantial colours_; while others require that the material to be dyed should undergo some previous preparation in order to render it permanent. The substances used to fix the colouring matters are called _mordants_, which should possess four qualifications:

i. They should possess an equal affinity for the fibre of the material and the colouring matter.

ii. They should be incapable of injuring or destroying either by prolonged action,

iii. They should form, with the colour, a compound capable of resisting the action of air and water.

iv. They should be capable of readily conforming to the various operations of the dyer.

2684. The Mordants.

For the reasons just given, the acetate or tartrate of iron is preferable to the sulphate; and the acetate or tartrate of alumina to alum. _For reds, yellows, green, and pinks_, aluminous mordants are to be used. _For blacks, browns, puces, and violets_, the acetate or tartrate of iron must be employed. _For scarlets_, use a tin mordant, made by dissolving in strong nitric acid one-eighth of its weight of sal-ammoniac, then adding by degrees one-eighth of its weight of tin, and diluting the solution with one-fourth of its weight of water.

[CUNNING MEN'S CLOAKS SOMETIMES FALL.]

2685. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Blue).

_Blue_.--Wash well to remove dressing, and dry; then dip in a strong solution of sulphate of indigo--partly saturated with potash--and hang up. Dry a piece to see if the colour is deep enough; if not dip again.

_Saxon Blue_.--Boil the article in alum, and then dip in a strong solution of chemical blue.

2686. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Buff).

_Buff_.--Boil an ounce of anatto in three quarts of water, add two ounces of potash, stir well, and put in the calico while boiling, and stir well for five minutes; remove and plunge into cold pump water, hang up the articles without wringing, and when almost dry, fold.

2687. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Pink).

_Pink_.--Immerse in the acetate of alumina mordant, and then in the colouring of a pink saucer.

2688. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Green).

_Green_.--Boil the article in an alum mordant, and then in a solution of indigo mixed with any of the yellow dyes until the proper colour is obtained.

2689. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Yellow).

_Yellow_.

i. Cut potato tops when in flower, and express the juice; steep articles in this for forty-eight hours.

ii. Dip in a strong solution of weld after boiling in an aluminous mordant. Turmeric, fustic, anatto, &c., will answer the same as weld.

2690. Cloth (Black).

Impregnate the material with the acetate of iron mordant, and then boil in a decoction of madder and logwood.

2691. Cloth (Madder Red).

Boil the cloth in a weak solution of pearlash--an ounce to a gallon of water,--wash, dry, and then steep in a decoction of bruised nutgalls. After drying it is to be steeped twice in dry alum water, then dried, and boiled in a decoction made of three quarters of a pound of madder to every pound of the article. It should then be taken out and dried, and steeped in a second bath in the same manner. When dyed, the articles should be washed in warm soap and water, to remove a dun-coloured matter given out by the madder.

2692. Cloth (Scarlet).

Three quarters of a pint of a tin mordant, made by dissolving three pounds of tin in sixty pounds of hydrochloric acid, is added to every pound of lac dye, and digested for six hours. To dye twenty-five pounds of cloth, a tin boiler of seventy-five gallons capacity should be filled nearly full with water, and a fire kindled under it. When the heat is 150° Fahr., half a handful of bran and two ounces of tin mordant are to be thrown into it. The froth which arises is skimmed off, the liquor is made to boil, and two pounds and three quarters of lac dye, previously mixed with a pound and three quarters of the solvent, and fourteen ounces of the tin solvent, are added.

Immediately afterwards two pounds and three quarters of tartar, and a pound of ground sumach, both tied up in a linen bag, are to be added, and suspended in the bath for five minutes. The fire being withdrawn, five gallons of cold water and two pints and three quarters of tin mordant being poured into the bath, the cloth is immersed in it. The fire is then replaced, and the liquid made to boil rapidly for an hour, when the cloth is removed and washed in pure water.

2693. Cloth (Yellow).

Use No. ii. for calico. Quercitron and weld produce a solid yellow; fustic a very brilliant tint; while turmeric yields a less solid yellow.

2694. Feathers (Black).

Use the same as for cloth.

2695. Feathers (Blue).

Every shade may be given by indigo--or dip in silk dye.

2696. Feathers (Crimson).

Dip in acetate of alumina mordant, then in a boiling-hot decoction of Brazil-wood--and, last of all, pass through a bath of cudbear.

2697. Feathers (Pink, or Rose-colour).

Pink, or rose-colour, is given by safflower and lemon juice.

2698. Feathers (Deep Red).

Proceed as for crimson, omitting the cudbear bath.

[THE FAT MAN KNOWETH NOT WHAT THE LEAN THINK.]

2699. Feathers (Yellow).

Mordant with acetate of alumina, and dip in a bath of turmeric or weld.

2700. Hair (Black).

As the object in view is simply to dye the hair without tingeing the skin, the following will be found the best:--Take equal parts of litharge and lime; mix well, and form into a paste with water, if a black is desired; with milk if brown. Clean the head with a small tooth comb, and then well wash the hair with soda and water to free it from grease; then lay on the paste pretty thick, and cover the head with oilskin or a cabbage-leaf, after which go to bed. Next morning the powder should be carefully brushed away, and the hair oiled.

2701. Leather (Black).

Use No. iv. _black stain_ (see par. 1430), and polish with oil.

2702. Gloves (Nankeen).

Steep saffron in boiling-hot soft water for about twelve hours; sew up the tops of the gloves, to prevent the dye staining the insides, wet them over with a sponge dipped in the liquid. A teacupful of dye will do a pair of gloves.

2703. Gloves (Purple).

Boil four ounces of logwood and two ounces of roche alum in three pints of soft water till half wasted; strain, and let it cool. Sew up the tops, go over the outsides with a brush or sponge twice; then rub off the loose dye with a coarse cloth. Beat up the white of an egg, and rub it over the leather with a sponge. Vinegar will remove the stain from the hands.

2704. Silk (Black).

The same as for cloth, but black dyeing is difficult.

2705. Silk (Blue).

i. Wash quite clean, rinse well, and then dip in a hot solution of sulphate of iron: after a short time take it out and rinse again. Have ready in another vessel a hot solution of prussiate of potash, to which a small quantity of sulphuric acid has been added. Dip the silk in this liquid; on removal rinse in clean water, and expose to the air to dry.

ii. Wash well, rinse, wring out, and then dip in the following:--Boil a pound of indigo, two pounds of woad, and three ounces of alum, in a gallon of water. When the silk is of a proper colour, remove, rinse, and dry.

2706. Silk (Carnation).

Boil two gallons of wheat and an ounce of alum in four gallons of water; strain through a fine sieve; dissolve half a pound more of alum and white tartar; add three pounds of madder, then put in the silk at a moderate heat.

2707. Silk (Crimson).

Take about a spoonful of cudbear, put it into a small pan, pour boiling water upon it; stir and let it stand a few minutes, then put in the silk, and turn it over in a short time, and when the colour is full enough, take it out; but if it should require more violet or crimson, add a spoonful or two of purple archil to some warm water; steep, and dry it within doors. It must be mangled, and ought to be pressed.

2708. Silk (Lilac).

For every pound of silk, take one and a half pounds of archil, mix it well with the liquor; make it boil for a quarter of an hour, dip the silk quickly, then let it cool, and wash it in river water, and a fine half violet, or lilac, more or less full, will be obtained.

2709. Silk (Madder Red).

Use the dye for cloth.

2710. Silk (Yellow).

Take clear wheat bran liquor fifteen pounds, in which dissolve three quarters of a pound of alum; boil the silk in this for two hours, and afterwards take half a pound of weld, and boil it till the colour is good. Nitre used with alum and water in the first boiling fixes the colour.

2711. Wool (Blue).

Boil in a decoction of logwood and sulphate or acetate of copper.

2712. Wool (Brown).

Steep in an infusion of green walnut-peels.

2713. Wool (Drab).

Impregnate with brown oxide of iron, and then dip in a bath of quercitron bark. It sumach is added, it will make the colour a dark brown.

[NO LOCK WILL HOLD GAINST KEYS OF GOLD.]

2714. Wool (Green).

First imbue with the blue, then with the yellow dye.

2715. Wool (Orange).

Dye first with the red dye for cloth, and then with a yellow.

2716. Wool (Red).

Take four and a half pounds of cream of tartar, four and a quarter pounds of alum; boil the wool gently for two hours; let it cool, and wash it on the following day in pure water.

Infuse twelve pounds of madder for half an hour with a pound of chloride of tin, in lukewarm water; filter through canvas, remove the dye from the canvas, and put it in the bath, which is to be heated to 100° Fahr.; add two ounces of aluminous mordant, put the wool in, and raise to boiling heat.

Remove the wool, wash, and soak for a quarter of an hour in a solution of white soap in water.

2717. Wool (Yellow).

Dye with that used for calico, &c.

2718. Dyeing Bonnets.