SALADS are seldom difficult of preparation and the resourceful housewife will find ever-widening possibilities. The salad, too, may in one sense be regarded as an economic provision in the menu, for in no other way can so many ' 'left-overs " be attractively presented upon the table. For this reason, no doubt, some one has suggested that the salad must have originated in New England, the time-honored source of all the economies.

The thing of chief importance in making salads is to have everything crisp and cold both at the time of making and the time of serving. Greens should be carefully washed in cold water always, and if not especially fresh should be allowed to stand in water for several hours. After removing them, dry by a vigorous swinging in a wire basket or by pressing them lightly between a clean folded towel or napkin. The dressing should not be added until the moment of serving, and the salad should be kept upon the ice as long as possible.

Recipes for several kinds of dressing are here given. Mayonnaise is perhaps more generally used than any; but many persons dislike the taste of olive oil and prefer a cooked salad dressing. Lettuce and other leaf salads are usually considered better served with French dressing, and the latter is more delicate than any other dressing and therefore better adapted to some combinations.

Chicken Salad

1 cup cold cooked chicken Mayonnaise dressing

1 cup chopped celery Lettuce

Stuffed olives

Mix the chicken and celery thoroughly with Mayonnaise dressing; pour into a bowl lined with lettuce leaves; throw a little more dressing over the top and garnish with stuffed olives.

Tomato Surprises

¾ cup cold chopped meat ½ tablespoon chopped onion ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce Lettuce

½ saltspoon salt

4 tablespoons Mayonnaise

4 tomatoes

Season the meat with onion, sauce and salt, and mix with the dressing. Have the tomatoes very cold; cut a slice from the stem end and scoop out the seeded portion. Fill each with the salad mixture and serve on a leaf of crisp lettuce.

Sardine Salad

1 small box sardines 3 hard-boiled eggs

Juice of ½ lemon Mayonnaise dressing

Prepare the sardines, free from oil, bones and skin; season with lemon juice; cut into small pieces and mix with the eggs, finely chopped. Arrange on a bed of lettuce leaves and serve with Mayonnaise dressing.

Shrimp Salad

1 can shrimps 1 head lettuce

1 stalk celery ½ cup Mayonnaise dressing

Olives and radishes

Remove the shrimps from the can; cover with cold water and let stand a few minutes. Drain; dry between towels, and break into small pieces. Cut the celery into half-inch pieces; mix with the shrimps and the Mayonnaise dressing, and arrange on lettuce leaves, garnishing with olives or radishes.

Salmon Salad

1 can salmon Mayonnaise dressing

1 head lettuce Ripe olives

Remove the salmon from the can; wash in a colander under running water and drain. On each salad plate make a nest of lettuce leaves and in it bury a portion of the salmon, broken into small pieces and covered with Mayonnaise. Garnish with ripe olives.