The standard book of recipes and housewife's guide, comprising as complete cook book

Koumiss. — This mildly stimulant and somewhat nourishing Tartar and Russian drink is made by fermenting mare's milk. It may be quite well imitated, however, by adding to a quart of cow's milk a teaspoonful of granulated white sugar, and a teaspoonful of brewer's yeast, and leaving the mixture to ferment in a covered vessel or corked bottle. When this change has shown itself by the bubbles of effervescence, it is ready for use. If kept for any time, it should be in strong bottles tightly corked (the corks tied down) and in a cool place. Roast Oysters. — Convalescents can sometimes relish and digest these sooner than any other solid food. Place a dozen fresh oysters in the shell upon a moderately strong fire, and allow them to remain there until their shells open a little. Then take them from the fire, open them at once, retaining the juice if possible, and serve them hot, with perhaps a little black pepper, and salt if needed. If the ' ' hard part " is at all tough, it had better not be eaten. To Keep Ice for the Sick. — Cut a piece of clean flannel, about eight inches square. Put this (after making a small hole in the centre) over the top of a glass tumbler, pressing the flannel down to half or more of the depth of the tumbler. Then bind the flannel fast to the tumbler with a tape or cord. When ice is put into this flannel cup, lay over it another piece of clean flannel, three or four inches square. So covered, it will keep for hours, even in warm weather. Flour Food for Infants. — Let from five to ten pounds of selected wheat flour be packed in a bag so as to form a ball, tied with a strong cord, and boiled with the water constantly covering it from four to seven days. The starch appears to be so changed that it is more soluble and more quickly and easily digested. It is not necessary that the water be constantly boiled, provided that it remain hot or warm— the fire may go out at night. The same change may be effected by dry heat, the flour being placed in pans in the oven or on the stove, but it is very liable to be scorched by an excess of heat. The flour removed from the bag and deprived of its external portion, which is wet, resembles a piece of chalk, but it has a yellowish tinge. The flour should be grated from it as it is required for use, and sifted to separate the small lumps which are likely to be broken off by the sieve. The infant will be better nourished if instead of diluting the milk with which it is fed with plain water, a thin gruel prepared by boiling a few minutes this flour in water, be employed. Two heaped teaspoonfuls of the flour to a pint of water suffice for infants under the age of three months, three teaspoonfuls for infants between the ages of three and six months, and four teaspoonfuls to the pint of water after the age of six months. The proportion of the gruel to the milk should be the same as stated above when pure water is employed. Giving Medicines.