Note.-In the English edition of this work, the present chapter appeared under the title of "Australian Meat," which consists of cooked and canned meats that are brought into England in large variety, and are coming into such general use there that it was found desirable to give them some attention at the training-school. "Australian Meat," however, is not to be obtained in the American market; but as we have its equivalent in the canned meats put up in this country, the title of the chapter has been changed, to prevent misapprehension and inconvenience.

The directions in the following lessons are not so much for cooking canned meats-which are indeed already cooked-as for using them as ingredients of various complex dishes, such as soups, stews, curries, fricassees, and hashes, and for these purposes the American canned preparations answer just as well as the Australian. For such uses canned meats deserve more attention than they generally receive.1 Everybody now understands the value of having fruits and vegetables-such as peaches, cherries, pears, tomatoes, corn, beans, peas, and asparagus-ready at hand, as they not only give an agreeable and healthy variety to diet, but are easily and quickly prepared, and thus save labor and trouble to the house-keeper. The advantages are the same with canned meats, especially in the country, where markets are not near by. And even in competition with butcher's meat, canned beef and mutton do not make a bad showing in point of economy; for when beef and mutton are procured from the market, there is not only a loss by the removal of bone, fat, and gristle, but also a loss of weight in the operation of cooking, so that the meat upon the table should properly be estimated at nearly double the market-price. As the canned meats consist of the pure muscular fibres, with their contained nutritive juices, these sources of loss are avoided; and while the expense is no greater, the trouble of preparation is saved.

1 Yet their use is rapidly extending. We were informed by Mr. Alexander Wiley, the intelligent superintendent of the department of " canned goods " in the establishment of H. K. & F. B. Thurber, of New York, that this trade has doubled in a comparatively short time, while the saving to the country through this preservation of perishable food-products is probably not less than fifty million dollars annually.

In purchasing canned meats, much depends upon the character of the articles, and the buyer will consult his interest by purchasing only well-known brands. Among these are Thurber & Co., Wilson, Libby, Underwood, and Richardson & Bobbins. Almost everything in the way of meat is to be had thus preserved, but different establishments confine themselves more or less to special preparations. As an example of the variety of animal products that are furnished in this manner, the following are selected from Thurber's Price-List of June 6, 1878: Corned beef, beef tongue, mutton, ham, lamb's tongue, pig's feet, tripe, sausage, pork and beans, turkey, duck, chicken, clams, clam broth, lobster, oysters, green turtle, salmon, shrimps, codfish-balls, julienne, mock-turtle and ox-tail soups, condensed milk. Most of these articles are, moreover, prepared in a variety of forms.-Editor.