as soon as they are born, for the value of their skins. This practice cannot be too harshly condemned as a criminal waste of food; for a stock raiser, or farmer, who knows his business can feed his calves until they reach a healthy maturity, without seriously interfering with his supply of milk. The flesh of BOB-VEAL is a soft, flabby, sticky substance, of a ropy gelatinous nature; and, being the first flesh, unchanged by the health-giving action of air and food, it is devoid of the elements necessary to transform it into wholesome food. IT SHOULD NEVER BE EATEN.

Pork.—The best kind of pork is fresh and pinkish in color, and the fat is firm and white. The second quality has rather hard, red flesh, and yellowish fat. The poorest kind has dark, coarse grained meat, soft fat, and discoloured kidneys. The flesh of stale pork is moist and clammy, and its smell betrays its condition. Measly pork has little kernels in the fat, and is unhealthy and dangerous food. After testing, as you would beef, so as to see if it is fresh, and making sure that it is not measly, we have still to dread the presence of TRICHINA, a dangerous parasite present in the flesh of some hogs. The surest preventive of danger from this cause is thorough cooking, which destroys any germs that may exist in the meat. Cook your pork until it is crisp and brown, by a good, steady fire, or in boiling water, at least twenty minutes to each pound. Pork eaten in cold weather, or moderately in summer, alternately with other meats, is a palatable and nutritious food. It has a hard fibre, and needs to be thoroughly chewed in order to be perfectly digested; for that reason it should be sparingly used by the young and the very old. The least fat is found in the leg, which contains an excess of flesh-forming elements, and resembles lean beef in composition; the most fat is in the face and belly. When cured as bacon it readily takes on the anti-septic action of salt and smoke, and becomes a valuable adjunct to vegetable food, as well as a pleasant relish; and in this shape it is one of the most important articles in general use.

Poultry.—Both poultry and game are less nutritious than meat, but they are more digestible, and consequently are better food than meat for persons of weak digestive organs and sedentary habits. They are both excellent for persons who think or write much. Fresh poultry may be known by its full bright eyes, pliable feet, and soft moist skin; the best is plump, fat, and nearly white, and the grain of the flesh is fine. The feet and neck of a young fowl are large in proportion to its size, and the tip of the breast-bone is soft, and easily bent between the fingers; a young cock, has soft, loose spurs, and a long, full, bright red comb; old fowls have long, thin necks and feet, and the flesh on the legs and back has a purplish shade; chickens and fowls are always in season.

Turkeys are good when white and plump, have full breasts and smooth legs, generally black, with soft loose spurs; hen turkeys are smaller, fatter, and plumper, but of inferior flavor; full grown turkeys are the best for boiling, as they do not tear in dressing; old turkeys have long hairs, and the flesh is purplish where it shows under the skin on the legs and back. About March they deteriorate in quality.

Young ducks and geese are plump, with light, semi-transparent fat, soft breast-bone, tender flesh, leg joints which will break by the weight of the bird, fresh colored and brittle beaks, and windpipes that break when pressed between the thumb and forefinger. They are best in fall and winter.

Young pigeons have light red flesh upon the breast, and full, fresh colored legs; when the legs are thin, and the breast is very dark, the birds are old.

Game Birds.—Fine game birds are always heavy for their size; the flesh of the breast is firm and plump, and the skin clear; and if a few feathers be plucked from the inside of the leg and around the vent, the flesh of freshly killed birds will be fat and fresh colored; if it is dark, and discolored, the game has been hung a long time. The wings of good ducks, geese, pheasants, and woodcock are tender to the touch; the tips of the long wing feathers of partridges are pointed in young birds, and round in old ones. Quail, snipe, and small birds should have full, tender breasts.

Fish.—Fish is richer in flesh-forming elements than game, poultry, lamb or veal, but it contains less fat and gelatin. It is easily digested, and makes strong muscular flesh, but does not greatly increase the quantity of fat in the body. The red blooded and oily kinds, such as salmon, sturgeon, eels and herring, are much more nutritious than the white blooded varieties, such as cod, haddock, and flounders. The salting of rich, oily fish like herring, mackerel, salmon, and sturgeon, does not deprive it of its nutritive elements to the extent that is noticeable with cod; salt cod fish is almost entirely devoid of nutriment, while the first named oily varieties are valuable adjuncts to a vegetable diet.

Although fish contains more water and less solid nutriment than meat, it is generally useful from its abundance and cheapness; and certain kinds which are called red-blooded, are nearly as nourishing as meat: oily fish satisfies hunger as completely as meat; herring, especially, makes the people who eat it largely strong and sinewy. Sea fish are more nourishing than fresh water varieties.

Sea fish, and those which live in both salt and fresh water, such as salmon, shad, and smelts, are the finest flavored; the muddy taste of some fresh water species can be overcome by soaking them in cold water and salt for two hours or more before cooking; all kinds are best just before spawning, the flesh becoming poor and watery after that period. Fresh fish have firm flesh, rigid fins, bright, clear eyes, and ruddy gills. Oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, should be eaten very fresh, as they soon lose their flavor after being removed from the shell.

Lobsters and crabs should be chosen by their brightness of color, lively movement, and great weight in proportion to their size; you ought always to buy them alive, and put them head first into a large pot of boiling water, containing a handful of salt; they will cook in about twenty minutes.

Vegetables.—In order to be healthy we must eat some fresh vegetables; they are cheap and nourishing, especially onions and cabbages. Peas, beans, and lentils, all of which are among the lowest priced of foods, are invaluable in the diet of a laboring man: he can get so much nourishment out of them that he hardly needs meat; and if they are cooked in the water that has been used for boiling meat, they make the healthiest kind of a meal.

All juicy vegetables should be very fresh and crisp; and if a little wilted, can be restored by being sprinkled with water and laid in a cool, dark place; all roots and tubers should be pared and laid in cold water an hour or more before using. Green vegetables are best just before they flower; and roots and tubers are prime from their ripening until they begin to sprout.

When it is possible buy your vegetables by the quantity, from the farmers, or market-gardeners, or at the market; you will save more than half. Potatoes now cost at Washington market from one to one dollar and a half a barrel; there are three bushels in a barrel, and thirty-two quarts in a bushel; now at the groceries you pay fifteen cents a half a peck, or four cents a quart; that makes your barrel of potatoes cost you three dollars and sixty-three cents, if you buy half a peck at a time; or three dollars and eighty-four cents if you buy by the quart. So you see if you could buy a barrel at once you could save more than one half of your money. It is worth while to try and