The Pattern cook-book

Drain the oysters, and run each through the fingers to remove any particles of shell. Strain the liquor through a fine wire sieve. Thinly slice the potatoes and onion, and boil them very gently in the oyster liquor until tender. Wet the flour in a little of the milk, and stir it into the scalding milk (which should have been heated by itself in a double boiler), adding also the butter, salt and pepper. Cook about a minute, put in the oysters, and boil two minutes. Then turn into the milk the potatoes and onion, and the liquor in which they have been boiled. Place the crackers or sea biscuits in the tureen, pour the chowder over them, and serve at once. CLAMS. There are two varieties of this shell-fish, the " long " clam, which has a thin shell, and the " round " clam, the shell of which is thick. " Little-neck " clams are the tiny,- " round " variety. " Long " clams are boiled or baked in the oven, and the tough mouth end is not eaten. They also make very delicate fritters. CLAM FRITTERS. Wash the clams well, using a thin, narrow brush to bring out all the sand ; and place them in the oven in a pan. When the shells open, take out the meat, and strain the liquor that will have accumulated in the pan, keeping it separate. To a pint of meat allow Three eggs. One-half tea-spoonful of salt. One-fourth tea-spoonful of pepper. Two tea-spoonfuls of baking powder. Two cupfuls of liquor, or add milk to make that amount. Flour to thicken. This is sufficient for a large quantity of fritters. They may be fried by dropping the mixture, a spoonful at a time, in hot fat, like fried cakes ; or they may be cooked very satisfactorily on a pan-cake griddle. The former way, however, is generally preferred. CLAMS, BAKED IN THE OVEN. Round clams are more often baked than the long variety, but the thin-shelled clam is by no means a poor dish when dressed in this way. When round clams are to be baked, those of medium-size are best, although the small ones are still very luscious cooked in this way. They should be scrubbed well and placed in a baking pan, and when the shells open they have cooked sufficiently. Serve on a platter just as they come from the oven, covering with a napkin to keep them hot CLAM CHOWDER. Many so-called chowders are nothing more nor less than soup with potatoes and onion in it. This chowder is of quite, another kind, being served on a platter in- Stead of in a soup tureen, as many " chowders " are nowadays; and it is eaten with a fork. Large, round clams are the kind used for this purpose, and they should be opened and chopped rather finely. Put into the bottom of a tin pail small pieces of salt pork, and then add a layer of chopped clam's. Place on this a layer of thinly sliced raw potatoes, and next a layer of such vegetables as may be liked — celery, tomatoes, sliced onion, parsley, etc., with a few slices of lemon and pepper sprinkled over all. Then add a layer of broken Boston crackers or pilot biscuit. Begin again with the pork, and follow it up with clams, potatoes, seasoning and crackers, until all the clams prepared are utilized. Pour the clam juice over all, adding a little water to moisten the whole chowder. Place the cover on the pail, put the pail in a kettle of boiling water, and boil three hours.