Take one heaping quart of sifted flour, and mix into it two teaspoonfuls of cream-tartar. Add two cups of good sweet lard; mix into all of the flour two-thirds of the lard, mixing it quickly and lightly into the flour, one teaspoonful of salt; dissolve one teaspoonful of soda in a small cupful of ice-cold water, and stir into the flour with a spoon, using only just enough water to stick the flour together. Flour your board and take out just enough of the dough for the under crust of one pie; roll out without kneading. Do not touch it with the hand more than you can avoid; roll the under crust thin; cover all your tins first; fill them, take one-fourth of the remaining dough, spread over a little of the reserve shortening,'hedge it over with flour, lap it over like a turn-over, twice, roll again same way; twice rolling in this way is sufficient. As soon as your pies are all covered, set them at once into the oven. This amount will make four common sized pies. If properly made, and the crust is hard and not heated by handling, it is excellent, and much better than if more shortening is used.

French Puff Paste

One quart of sifted flour, two teacupfuls of butter, one egg - use yolk only, - ice water. Chop half the butter into the flour, stir the beaten egg into half cup of ice water, and work the flour into a stiff dough, roll out thin, baste with one-third of the remaining butter, fold closely, roll out again, and so on until the butter is used up. Roll very thin, and set the last folded roll in a very cold place for ten or fifteen minutes, before making out the crust. Wash with beaten egg while hot. This paste is very nice for oyster pates, as well as for fruit pies.

Puff Paste

One heaping quart of sifted flour, two teacupfuls of fresh butter, half pint of ice water. Proceed as in the above.

Crust For Tarts And Pates

One quart of flour, two cups of butter, one egg, the yolk only. Wash the butter, dry, and melt in a vessel set in another containing boiling water, stirring gently all the while to prevent boiling; take off the salty scum from the top, and when almost cold, beat it up, little by little, with the egg, which should be previously whipped light. When these are thoroughly combined together, work in the flour, roll out twice, sprinkling lightly with flour before you fold it up; let it stand folded ten minutes, in a cold place, and make out for tarts. Bake, before you fill them, and brush over with a beaten egg while hot.

Potato Crust

One teacupful of cream to six good sized potatoes, boiled and mashed fine, add salt, and flour to roll; must be handled as little as possible.