Lobsters

To be had in perfection should be boiled at home; choose the heaviest. When they are boiled the tail should have a good spring; the cock lobster has a narrow tail in which the two uppermost fins are stiff and hard; the hen has a broad tail, and these fins are softer. The male has the best flavour; the flesh is firmer, and the colour when boiled is brighter than the hen.

Crabs

Crabs, like lobsters, should be selected by weight; when prime the leg-joints are stiff and the scent pleasant.

Prawns and Shrimps should be bright and the bodies firm and stiff; when they are limp and soft they are stale.

Oysters

There are many sorts of oysters; when the oyster is alive the shell will close upon the knife; the common oyster should be used for sauce, and the natives, of which there are several kinds, should be sent to table remarks on table knives.

The same rule applies to Table Cutlery as to all other cutting instruments, viz., that they must be frequently sharpened. A servant who understands knife-cleaning, will, before taking them off the board, draw them briskly a few times from back to edge (raising the back a little) first on one side, then on the other, and thus produce an excellent edge; whereas a clumsy inexperienced hand will (by not holding them flat on the board) contrive to give the best steel a dull edge. Hence the necessity of an efficient steel, in using which, care should be taken to raise the back of the knife a quarter of an inch from the steel. Servants are apt, in cleaning knives, to allow the arm to take its natural ball and socket, or half-circular movement, this of course, must completely round and thicken the edge and wear the back. Strict injunctions should be given to keep the knife always flat on the board. The best knives when new, will not cut, unless the above directions are strictly enforced.