"A man hath often more trouble to get food than to digest it."

Who has said that " the carving knife is mightier than the sword"? But in spite of that fact, how few there are in proportion to the number of diners out who know how to wield it!

" There is no sight more delightful," says May Irwin, " than to see a man carve at table. The dexterous grace with which the expert carver slices off a bit of breast from a bird or disjoints a fowl makes me hold my breath in admiration and awe."

Truly, a carver, like a poet, is born, not made; yet any man with practice may acquire this somewhat difficult art, and it is an accomplishment that every man should enjoy, for he never knows where or when he may be called upon to do the honors. It is quite the fashion now for women to learn carving, and at the cooking schools there is special instruction given ladies in the art. But for men, who are deprived of such instruction, the best school is experience, which coupled with an occasional judicious tip to a head waiter, who is supposed to be a past grand master of carving, should make him sufficiently dexterous in a short time to negotiate a joint without sending it into the lap of his vis-a-vis or splashing the festive board with brown gravy.

First, the carver should learn to gauge his cuts to a nicety. He must measure satisfactorily the appetites of those whom he serves, and not judge them by his own. This judgment, coupled with a sharp knife and trusty steel and a measure of confidence in his ability to wield both, is all that is necessary.

FISH, IF BOILED OR BAKED is difficult to serve nicely. In carving a cod, halibut, lake trout, or other large fish that are served whole, it is best to make one cut from the head to the tail down to the bone, and then cut slices across from this line to the sides. As codfish is apt to break into flakes, care should be taken in serving from the fish knife not to spill the flakes on their way to the plate. In carving salmon, draw the fish knife across the center of the fish down to the bone from head to tail. Then cut slices from the center, and add to each a small slice of the thin part which is not quite so pronounced in flavor. A sole of ordinary size may be divided, like Gaul, into three parts. A small sole is cut across in half, and a very large sole, like those served au gratin, is generally cut in slices like a salmon, and the slices lifted on each side, thus avoiding the small bones that edge each side of the fish.

GROUSE and pheasant. Thin slices should be first cut off the breast, after which the wings and legs are removed. In cutting off a wing the carver should also try to get a strip of the breast (though a thin one) to attach to it.

DUCK. A great deal depends, in carving a duck, upon its size and fatness. A large, fat duck, with plenty of meat on the breast, is carved like a goose. Thin slices are cut off its breast, and then the duck is turned endways toward the carver, the wings nearest and the legs farthest from him. Remove the wings, leaving a thin strip of breast attached to each. This requires considerable dexterity. Next remove the legs and afterward the neck bone. The whole breast-bone is now separated from the rest by cutting through the sides, when the backbone can easily be divided in two by pressing downwards. A small quantity of the stuffing should be served with each portion. FOWL. A wag who was a guest at a dinner where the host, an ostentatious man, allowed the fowl to get cold while expatiating upon the beauty of the gildings of frame and sconce in his newly decorated dining-room, said impatiently, "Never mind your gilding - give us a taste of your carving! ' Boiled and roasted fowls are carved alike. Care should be taken to cut off plenty of the white meat of the breast with the wings, the knife being slowly drawn and downward pressure avoided, as the boiled white flesh is apt to crumble. The front end of the fowl should be toward the carver. Insert the fork in the leg with the knife underneath in removing the leg and thigh, and then raise the leg away from the remainder of the bird. The leg adheres only by a piece of skin, so this is simple. The thigh bone will now leave the socket, and with very little assistance from the knife the leg will be set free. The neckbone is next removed, and then the breast separated from the carcass by cutting the thin rib bones through on either side. The liver, wing, and breast are esteemed the choicest parts in America, and everyone who has traveled in Europe is familiar with the extra charge for a portion of fowl with which a wing is served.

QUAIL, PARTRIDGE AND PIGEONS are best carved by being cut in half right through the breast and back, cutting down close to the breast-bone. Each half is sufficient, with the accompanying toast, cress, and jelly, for a portion.

TURKEY AND GOOSE. In carving these, endeavor to obtain as many slices as possible from the breast. This also obtains in carving a domestic duck. Cut off the meat close to the breast bone down to the wing bone. When the thigh is eaten hot, the drumstick can be separated from the thigh and the meat on the thigh cut off. But when not wanted, it is better removed whole.

SIRLOIN OF BEEF "Ply me, try me, prove ere you deny me!" sang Apollo. If a sirloin is properly roasted there may be a portion served to the liking of each guest from the crisp brown top of the roast to the blood-rare, juicy center for the epicure. A sirloin may be divided in two parts, the under-cut of fillet and the top or rump. It is usual to carve the under-cut first and not to begin on the upper part until the other cut is finished, for the reason that the joint presents a far better appearance when sent to the table cold. Often the under-cut is sufficient to dine a small company - say four or five; then the remainder is served cold, and, nicely garnished, makes a handsome luncheon dish. The under-cut is carved in rather thick slices down to the bone. The top or upper-cut is carved in thin slices, and care should be taken to keep it straight and not to cut out the tender part in the middle.

A LEG OF MUTTON is best carved by cutting slices parallel with the bone, which gives it the appearance of a haunch, and is practically the same thing.

SADDLE OF MUTTON should be carved in thin slices on either side of the center bone. Have the relays of hot gravy served separately, as this joint cools quickly. Plates should be very hot.

FOREQUARTER OF LAMB Separate the shoulder from the other part by cutting round its outer edge. Place the shoulder on another dish and separate the ribs from the brisket. The shoulder is rarely cut when hot, as most people prefer the other portions.

HAM "Ob all de meat dat's fit ter eat, f'm turkey down to ham," ham is the most difficult to carve nicely. It should be cut in slices as thin as a wafer and from the extreme end of the knuckle, thus gradually cutting into the meat and leaving the knuckle bone bare.

TONGUE Cut the tongue in half, and then cut thin slices off each half. A little fat should be cut from the root of the tongue and served with each slice of lean. A word as to the etiquette of carving will not be amiss - and this is it: Do not talk to the carver. For he is like the motorman and should not have his attention distracted from the very important business in hand.

"RABBITS, except in soup stock," says Sir John Bailey, "ought never to appear on a gentleman's table. But if it must be served, let it be whole, and treat it as Apollo did Midas - let its ears be apparent." Theodore Hook was a famous carver, and when with his intimates he frequented some country inn outside London he was in the habit of acting as his own caterer and selecting from the poulterers and butchers whatever he desired. The " Eel Pie House," Twickenham, the " Green Man," Blackheath, and the " Anglers " on the Thames, with the famous " Star and Garter," Kew Bridge, were some of his frequent haunts, and the freedom of the kitchen was always his.

A late royal duke whose talents and knowledge were world-famous once exclaimed aloud at the large house party of a fellow-nobleman in Worcestershire, " Take this away! it's a very bad help." This must have been mortifying to the carver, but he doubtless deserved it, for some carvers destroy everything that falls under their careless, clumsy hands; they never think of "diving for green fat, sounding for cod sound, dividing the fin and liver in equal portions, and they will serve woodcock and snipe without trail, turkey without stuffing, and plover without toast."

Every bachelor epicure knows that steel is detrimental to the delicate flavor of fish, and should insist upon being given a silver fish knife for serving it.