"What!" - the reader may exclaim - "Another book on cookery! Have we not Careme and Francatelli, Vatel and Soyer, Ude and Gouffe, Miss Acton and Mrs. Beeton, Meg Dodds and Mrs. Hale, and scores of other authorities on the same subject ? Must every cook be an author, and we be asked to read his book, as well as to eat of the dishes he prepares?" Gentle reader, it is to anticipate this possible state of mind, and to answer these probable questions, that this explanatory preface is submitted. Many a dish is cooked that is not worth the time and trouble, even by an ordinarily educated palate, given to its discussion, and many a book written - especially on the subject of Cookery - the reading of which is worse than time wasted. There have been innumerable Cook Books for popular use published, I grant you; but if you ask nine out of ten persons who consult them, they will tell you they become more and more perplexed as they attempt to follow their guidance. The housekeeper will confess she has been led into errors by their vague recipes, injurious to the family health, and, at the same time, expensive to the family purse. It is to dissipate this fog enveloping the literature of the kitchen that the publication of the Book of American Practical Cookery is undertaken. The author claims that the work is the result of a lifetime of study, constant observation, and practical experience in the best culinary establishments of both Continents. He, therefore, brings to his task a thorough knowledge of the subject, and asserts, fearless of successful contradiction, that the result of his labors will be the only competent, treatise - applying culinary science especially to the material conditions of this country - ever written. He intends it for a trustworthy guide to all what to eat and drink, and what to avoid.

In pursuance of the plan laid down, he proposes to embrace the whole list of food articles, their selection, treatment, and best method of preparing them for the table, showing how the utmost value can be obtained from every edible designed by the Almighty for the comfort and nourishment of mankind. It is due to the intelligence of the present age that there should no longer be room for the old sneer of the dyspeptic cynic: "God sends the material,, but the Devil sends cooks."

To accomplish this important object will require at least six volumes. Marie Antoine Car'eme, the great French cook, who lived between the years 1784 and 1833, and who was called the "regenerator of cookery," took twelve volumes to give Europe of his day the information which the author of the present series proposes to give America of the present, in six. Each volume of the American Practical Cookery series will be devoted to a leading food staple. This, the first volume, deals with vegetables and all alimentary plants, roots, and seeds grown on the American continent, with full remarks of the best varieties, their mode of cultivation, cooking, dishing, and other matters of interest connected with this branch of the culinary art - one, by the way, of no small importance, but to which generally scant attention is paid by the household, and even by the club and hotel, cook.

It comes quite in place here to give a few cursory hints on the subject-matter more definitely and precisely stated in the body of this volume. In preparing all alimentary plants for the table, the best, freshest, and those in season, should always be chosen. Stale or decayed vegetables, or those that have been overheated in packing, or bruised in transportation, are unwholesome. Avoid them if you value your health. Preserved vegetables should not be used for the table, if they can be possibly declined. Where their use cannot be avoided, be careful to select those put up at creditable establishments, with the name of the proprietor or company, and the quality of the goods marked plainly on the package. Often flashy and picturesque labels conceal germs of disease, in the shape of imperfectly preserved vegetables, sufficient to cause an epidemic. Vegetables should only be freely eaten in the spring, because most kinds are then seasonable, and consequently wholesome and nutritious. Some of the few fall varieties are improved by light frosts.

Vegetables forced in hot-houses are not as good as those grown in the open air, and subjected to ordinary natural conditions. The variety of climate with which the United States is blessed, promotes the growth of every variety of fruit and vegetable known in the world, and the facilities for transportation put nearly every section of our country on the same footing, so far as the enjoyment at their best of the products of each is concerned.

In cooking vegetables, good pure water is essential. To cook green vegetables properly, they should be put into a vessel while the water is boiling - the pot remaining uncovered. By this means they will retain their natural color. Vegetables can be served with each course, or alone, before or after the roast. It is better that they precede the roast, as the appetite is thereby improved for the course that follows. Too many vegetables should not be served with a dinner. They ought to be selected with care according to the course they accompany. These hints, although general, will serve a good purpose in awakening attention.

In conclusion, the author may, without egotism, again state, that he feels confident in his ability to make this series on American Practical Cookery a standard work, because he is practically acquainted with the details of every branch on which he writes, and, at the same time, familiar with the broader requirements of the culinary profession. A chief cook, besides being versed in the technique of the kitchen, should also be a good judge of the kinds, qualities and uses of every dietetic article. As the old Greek comic poet Dionysius, says:

" To roast some beef, to carve with neatness, To blow up sauces, and to blow the fire, Is anybody's task; he who does this Is but a seasoner and a broth-maker. A cook is quite another thing. His mind Must comprehend all facts and circumstances, Where is the place, and what the time of supper, Who are the guests, and who the entertainer, What fish he ought to buy, and where he ought to buy it," etc.

The author does not expect to realize a fortune by this publication. The work is, in a degree, a labor of love, prompted as much by a desire to benefit the culinary art, as by any other feeling. But though his reward may not reach the munificent one of Antony's cook, who received a city for his skill in arranging a Cleopatra banquet, he feels assured at least of the gratitude of all those who wish to intelligently enjoy the pleasures of the table, and of the hearty appreciation of his fellow-workers in the important field of culinary science.

J. A. H.

Note

The entire work on "American Practical Cookery," now in course of preparation by Mr. Harder, will consist of six volumes, each devoted to a particular article of food - soups, fish, flesh, fowl, farinace, sauces, conserves, liqueurs, etc - and each treated in the same thoroughly exhaustive manner exemplified in this, the first of the series. Prefixed, is a glossary of such technical terms and phrases as occur in the text of this volume, and which the general reader may have need to consult. A copious index will also facilitate reference to the different details of the subjects treated. Due notice will be given of the appearance of Volume II of the series.