Have them as fresh as possible. Stale and withered ones are unwholesome and unpalatable. Summer vegetables should be cooked the same day they are gathered, if possible. Pick over and wash well, cutting out all decayed or unripe parts. If you boil them, put a little salt in the water. Cook them steadily after you put them on. Be sure they are thoroughly done. Rare vegetables are neither good nor fashionable. Drain well. Serve hot. Vegetables should never be washed until immediately before preparing them for the table. Lettuce is made almost worthless in flavor by dipping it in water some hours before it is served. Potatoes suffer even more than any other vegetable through the washing process. The}7 should not be put in water till just ready for boiling. All vegetables are better cooked in soft water, provided it is clean and pure; if hard water is used, put in a small pinch of soda.

Never split onions, turnips and carrots, but slice them in rings, cut across the fiber, as they thus cook tender much quicker.

Always add both salt and a little soda to the water in which greens are cooked, as soda preserves the color.

A little sugar added to turnip, beets, pease, corn, squash and pumpkin is an improvement, especially when the vegetables are the common kind.

A piece of red pepper, the size of a fingernail, or a piece of charcoal, dropped into meat or vegetables, when first beginning to cook, will aid greatly in killing the unpleasant odor. Remember this for boiled cabbage, greens, beans, onions and mutton.