There is one class of materials in constant use in the kitchen:- the condiments; without these, soups, sauces, and all made dishes, would be insipid; and the judicious application of them is essential.

If all kinds of condiments were of the same quality - that is, if all salt, pepper, and mustard, etc, were alike, receipts might be given as in a Pharmacopoeia, with distinct measures for each; but as nothing differs so much as these simple condiments, everything must be left to the palate of the cook, and on him or her alone depends the flavor of the alimentary substances partaken of.

Of all condiments, that in most general use is salt; the health of every individual depends upon it, and it is as much required as food or drink. Even on those continents far away from the shores washed by the briny ocean, we find it in springs, and in crystal globules encrusting the earth.

It is chemically known as chloride of sodium, being a combination of chlorine and sodium. Its use as an antiseptic, and as a condiment, is too well known to be repeated here.

Rock Salt is the unpurified salt, as dug from the mines. This is purified by boiling, etc, and crystallized by heat.

Bay Salt is the coarse large crystal salt, taking its name from the salt that formerly was made in pits by the overflow or letting in of the sea at the head of Bays, and which was evaporated by the heat of the sun. Almost all the fish cured in France at the present day is done by this kind of salt, the duty upon foreign salt being so high.

Pepper, so extensively used at present in Europe, may be said to be a modern invention. Before the introduction of pepper, many plants, such as saffron, etc., were used, until this West Indian fruit became more general and easy to obtain.* The plant is a climbing one (piper nigrum,) and exceedingly pretty when in fruit. The berry is gathered with the skin or pulp around the stone, and that which is intended for black pepper is allowed to remain thus, while for white pepper it is blanched and rubbed until the skin comes off. In all dark sauces use the black pepper.

Long Pepper, the fruit of the piper longum, is a plant very similar to the for-mer, and, if possible, it has a more aromatic flavor than the black pepper.

I doubt if pepper was known to the Romans. If so, it would have been known in Egypt, where we find no trace of it, although some authors have considered it as the ammonium of the ancients.

Allspice, or, as it was formerly called, Pimenta, is another of those productions of the climes near the Equator, which has come much into use by Europeans. It is the fruit of the pimenta vulgaris. That which is the freshest is the best; as the aromatic oil which it contains is not dissipated by keeping. The essential oil it contains can be used in very small quantities in cookery, but should not be subjected to long boiling, or it loses its flavor.

* It is a singular circumstance, that this very small fruit should he the cause of England's possessing one of the largest portions of her dominions. In the reign of Elizaheth, and during the war with Spain, pepper, which had then become an article of necessity, rose to an extravagant price, and to ob-tain it cheaper, the Queen granted Letters Patent to certain merchants to trade to the East Indies, which was the origin of the present East India Company.

Ginger is the root of a plant, a native of the East Indies and Brazils, and also naturalized in the West India Islands, The plant grows in moist places, and is of a reed-like form, bearing a yellow flower. The root, when fresh, should be of a light green, solid and heavy. A spongy or woolly root should be avoided. The virtues of ginger chiefly consist in a volatile oil which it possesses. This is best obtained by bruising the root, and making an infusion in spirits of wine or boiling water in a closed bottle; or, if thinly sliced and infused in vinegar, it is pleasant in a salad. It is usually employed in cookery by having the root desiccated by the heat of the sun until perfectly dry and hard, and then powdered till its aromatic oil is lost. It should be more frequently used in cookery, and as a condiment as well as for dessert.

Cloves are the buds of a flower, not arrived at maturity, of an East Indian tree, called caryophillus aromaticus. This, in common with many other buds of flowers of various kinds, contains a large quantity of essential oil. It has a very pungent, aromatic smell. Its nature is stimulating. It should not be boiled too long, or its flavor is lost in evaporation.

Nutmeg is the interior of a fruit belonging to a tree, a native of the Islands of the Eastern Archipelago, called Banda, and known in botany as the myristica moschata. It is strongly aromatic, and very volatile, and considered agreeable. It is used in powder, and not subjected to much heat, which would cause it to lose its qualities.

Mace

This is the skin which covers the shell containing the nutmeg. It is cut into small pieces and dried. This is more frequently used in cookery than the nutmeg, as its essential oil and aromatic flavor are not so soon evaporated.

Cayenne is the dried pod of a wellknown plant, the capsicum, now so often reared in hot-houses. It is a native of the East and West Indies, and South America. It is of a very pungent nature, and a strongly acrid flavor. The best is of an orange color. There are several kinds of capsicums; the capsicum annuum or annual capsicum; the capsicum gros-sum, or hell pepper; and the capsicum cerasiforme, or cherry pepper. The pods of these are frequently pickled. The essence of cayenne, by infusing in alcohol, is a very excellent seasoning.

C innamon is the under-bark of a tree, the laurus cinnamomum, a species of bay, with leaves like laurel, found in many East India Islands, but chiefly in Ceylon. It possesses a very fine aromatic flavor and smell. The essential oil, when extracted, is better to use than the bark itself.