On habits and manners

Although soups are considered, and indeed can be made a very expensive kind of food, it is quite possible to make delicious soups at a small cost, but this requires some skill and forethought, and is therefore not often done. In the first place, all gravies, scraps and bones of meat, and many kinds of cold vegetables can be used for that purpose, and are indeed, with the addition of an occasional piece of fresh meat and some fresh vegetables, all that is required to make many kinds of soup. The bones, etc., which of course must be perfectly sweet, should be simmered for four or five hours, or longer, in sufficient water to cover them, then the broth should be strained off and set away until the following day, when it must be boiled again for a short time with whatever vegetables or seasoning you may prefer to use. To "stock," as it is called, made in this way, you can add tomatoes, rice, barley, cabbage, onion, etc. You can thicken it with potatoes or milk ; you can season it and put in maccaroni or vermicelli; in short, there are numerous different ways of treating it, and a little experience will soon teach you to make excellent soup from materials which must otherwise be thrown away. Of course if you can afford fresh meats, the soup will be richer and more nourishing, and whenever you boil any kind of meat, (except pork) or poultry, you should carefully save the water in which it is boiled for the basis of a soup. There are some kinds of soup which are in themselves a dinner, and I add a few receipts which you will find both good and cheap. BEEF SOUP. Take a hock of beef, or any such piece as would be used for corning, boil it three hours, add a dozen white potataoes, three carrots cut fine, two onions, one turnip, and a little celery if you can get it, .and boil another hour. Season to taste, and serve all together, taking out the beef and putting it on the table in a separate dish. VEAL SOUP. Boil a knuckle of veal three hours, add a dozen potatoes, one onion and a large handful of rice, and boil another hour. Take out the veal and potatoes and season the soup to taste. Then cut up the veal and potatoes in rather small pieces, and season with pepper, salt, and a little vinegar. Take one pint of milk, or of milk and water, thicken it with two tablespoonfuls of flour; when it boils add a small piece of butter and pour it over the veal and potatoes. This, with the soup, makes an excellent dinner. VEGETABLE SOUP. This can be made without any meat at all, and, if you raise your own vegetables, is the cheapest of all soups. Take a dozen potatoes, half a small head of cabbage, three onions, four carrots, two turnips, if possible a little celery or three or four tomatoes, two handfuls of I 69 barley or the same of rice. Cut the vegetables, except the potatoes, quite fine and boil until thoroughly done, seasoning to taste. If ■desired, a small piece of pork may be added. SUCCOTASH.