The profession of cookery, from a French point of view

mayonnaise over each half tomato, let it cool still longer, and before bringing to table place tiny pieces of ice amongst them in the dish. A Conserve of Tomatoes to keep in small jars or pots is very useful for making savoury sandwiches for afternoon teaparties. To three pounds of tomatoes allow one pound of loaf sugar, an ounce of ground ginger, a pinch of cayenne, a teaspoonful of salt, the peel and juice of two lemons. Boil the tomatoes first for twenty minutes^ then rub them through a sieve ; boil next the pulp with the other ingredients for twenty minutes after they have come to boiling point. Take out the peel of the lemon, pour the mixture into jars, and cover tightly when quite cold. Keep in a cool, dry place. It is difficult to bottle canned tomatoes at home. For those who are able to procure the right sort of bottles — with good screw-tops — and who have a large quantity of tomatoes to use, it should be remembered that the secret of keeping well depends upon the care of the cook in having the bottles heated until they can scarcely be touched, the tomatoes boiling hot when they are put in, and screwing down the tops at once, before any heat can have evaporated. The tomatoes should be brought to boiling-point in salted water_, and drained before they have time to break. Tomatoes form an excellent addition to an omelette. They should be cut into quarters, and slightly sprinkled with pepper, then frizzled in the butter before the eggs are added. The applications and uses of this valuable vegetable-fruit, and the combinations which a clever cook may produce by its aid, are very numerous, indeed well-nigh endless. CHAPTER XIV. /IDusbrooms* IlSr town mushrooms rank as do tomatoes amongst tlie additional luxuries of the table ; but in the country, where in their season they are to be had for the gathering, they form one of the poor man's few delicacies. Most people recognise only two distinct classes of them, viz., mushrooms and toadstools, and, through ignorance, many excellent varieties are passed by as unfit for food. The late Dr. Lankester, an eminent authority on foods of all kinds, enumerates no less than forty different species of mushrooms, all of which are good to eat. Chanterelles are much esteemed in France, while the delicate morel is there much more frequently met with than in England ; although if sought for at the beginning of summer it may sometimes be found in our orchards and woods. Another good authority on foods says: "Have nothing at all to do with them, until you are an excellent judge between the true and the false!"' This advice resembles that of the mother who cautioned her son not to venture near the water until he had learned how to swim ! Although we can scarceljr be too cautious in our use of all fungi, still, as they are an excellent and delicious article of diet, when good; Ave need not be martyrs to our fears. A peeled white onion thrown into the pot while they are cooking will speedily confirm or dispel any fears which may be entertained about them, so also will a silver spoon, for if poison lurks within the vessel it will quickly turn the silver black.