"Cookery is become an art, a noble science."

-Burton,

We all know what makes the basis of a good soup. If we have a quart of well-made stock we can have a soup of the best kind in an hour's time. This stock can be made the day before using, and while hot poured into an earthenware bowl to cool; when cold, skim the fat that has caked on top, and you can then add what vegetables are required.

Stock is simply the foundation, and is made by boiling a shank of ham, or the trimmings from joints and cutlets, slowly in clear water until all the juice has been extracted. Slow boiling insures the results we look for. Remember that after the vegetables are added you must boil one hour, no more, season and serve at once.

Vegetable Soup.

Put a 1oc. shank of beef in 6 quarts of water; boil for 3 hours. Then add 3 carrots cut in dice ; boil another hour; then add a can of tomatoes, 4 pods of okra, 4 Irish potatoes, a can of corn - or 4 ears of corn - 1 onion, pepper and salt, and boil half an hour more. Drop a bunch of herbs in the pot just before taking; from the fire.

Noodles for Soup.

Take the yolks of 2 raw eggs, mix with flour enough to roll a stiff dough, roll into a thin sheet, sprinkle with flour and roll again. Cut into threads and drop in the boiling soup; just cook through. This makes enough for soup from 1 chicken.

Potato Soup.

One dozen large mealy potatoes, 2 onions, 1 pound salt pork, 3 quarts water, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 cup of milk, 1 egg. Chop the onion. Boil the pork in the water for an hour and a half. Strain. Have potatoes peeled and sliced. Throw into the pot with onion, cover and boil 45 minutes, stirring often. Beat into the egg the butter; add this to the soup, and stir well while it heats to a final boil. Serve at once.

Chicken Soup.

Dress and cut up a chicken. Boil it in 3 quarts of water until all the nutriment has been extracted, then add noodles and 1 tablespoon of rice. Flavor with celery seed, salt and pepper.

Chicken Jelly.

One chicken simmered in 1 quart of water until only 1 pint remains. Season with salt. Strain the juice from the chicken, and when cold skim off all oil that has formed over the top. If preferred hot, set in a pan of boiling water over the fire until thoroughly heated, and then serve.

Cream of Celery Soup.

Cut in small pieces the outside from 12 or 14 stalks of celery - save the inside for table use. Cover the bits with 1 pint of cold water; bring' to the boiling point and simmer half an hour. Drain and pass through a colander, using as much celery as will press through. Add to this 1 pint of milk. Put the whole into a double boiler and allow to heat. Rub together 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 of flour, and stir carefully into the soup. Stir and cook until smooth. Add a dash of celery salt, 1 of pepper, and serve.

Split Pea Soup.

Take a quart of split pease and add 2 quarts of water. Let them boil until you can mash them through a colander, leaving the hulls separate. Put the soup on the fire again, with a generous slice of salt pork; if the pease are too thick for a second boiling, add a little hot water. Boil for 1 hour. Just before serving drop in 1 ounce of butter. Season with pepper and salt, beat well, and turn into a steaming tureen.

Brunswick Stew.

The secret of a good Brunswick stew is long, slow boiling. It should be started early in the morning and allowed to boil for several hours. Take 2 good-size squirrels, 3 quarts of cold water, 1 onion, and a strip of bacon - not pork - and put them on to boil. It should boil 4 hours, unless the squirrel is very old and tough, in which case boil longer. When the meat has left the bones, remove the pot and pick out every piece of bone and skin, leaving the meat in shreads. Add to this stock 6 ears of corn cut from the cob, 1 quart of ripe tomatoes, 1 quart butter beans, 4 large Irish potatoes, and the juice of 1 lemon. Let this cook for another hour, stirring well to keep from burning. It should now be thick enough to eat with a fork, and is ready to serve. Add 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce before serving.

Mock Turtle Soup.

Have your calf's head well cracked, and then remove the brains. After soaking in clear water, put it in the pot with a large onion and enough water to cover it. Add boiling water as the water boils down. Cook until the meat falls from the bone. Strain the liquor and throw the meat in it. Season to taste with pepper and salt, and add a dash of ground allspice, cloves and mace. Heat well again, as it cools while straining. Put 4 tablespoons of browned flour with 4 ounces of butter, and make force meat balls with 1 pint of veal chopped fine; add a little thyme, salt and pepper. Fry brown and let them cool. Chop fine 4 hard-boiled eggs and put them in the bottom of the tureen, drop in the balls and pour the soup over them. When the soup comes off the fire add 1 tumbler of port or claret and serve at once.