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In selecting fish, notice if the flesh is firm and hard, the eyes full and prominent, the scales bright, the fins stiff, and the gills red, as all these indications denote their being fresh. Wash the fish, rub it with salt and pepper, and lay it on a dish, or hang it up till ready to cook. Never keep it lying in water, either in preparing it for cooking, or in trying to keep it till the next day.

In boiling fish, put it in boiling water, and simmer very slowly. It will require an hour to boil a large fish, and about twenty minutes for a small one. Every housekeeper should have a fish-kettle for fish.

Be careful to have boiling-hot lard in the frying-pan when you go to fry fish. First rub salt and pepper and flour or meal on the fish, then keep it well covered while frying, as you should do to every thing that is being fried. Doing this will enable you to fry the fish (or other article of food) a pretty amber color, while at the same time it will be perfectly done.

Always have a tin sheet for lifting boiled fish and for turning broiled fish. Before broiling, rub with pepper and salt, and then grease with fresh butter. Lay the fish on a gridiron well greased with sweet lard and lay the tin sheet over it. When you wish to turn, take the gridiron from the fire, holding the tin sheet on top the fish. Hold them together, then lay them on a table with the tin sheet down and the gridiron uppermost. Carefully raise the gridiron, leaving the fish lying unbroken on the tin sheet. The cook may now easily slide the fish on the gridiron, put it again on the fire and brown the other side, putting the tin sheet back on top of it. Every thing should be covered while being broiled. When done, lay it on a dish and pour over it melted butter in which has been stirred pepper, salt, and minced parsley. If devilled fish is desired, add to this dressing, one tablespoonful pepper vinegar, one of celery vinegar, one of walnut catsup, one of made mustard, one wine-glassful of acid fruit jelly. In making sauces for fish, never use the water in which the fish has been boiled.

Full directions for stewing fish are to be found in the subsequent pages.

Fish à la Crême.

Boil a firm fish, remove the bones, pick it to pieces. Mix one pint cream or milk with two tablespoonfuls flour, one onion, one-half pound butter (or less), and salt.

Set it on the fire and stir until it is as thick as custard. Fill a baking-dish alternately with fish, cracker, and cream. Bake for thirty minutes, use four crackers.—Mrs. W. C. R.

Halibut.

Boil one pound halibut, then chop it very fine and add eight eggs well beaten; pepper and salt to taste, then one cup butter.

Put it in a stewpan and cook until the eggs are done sufficiently. Serve very hot on toast.—Miss F. N.

Halibut.

Halibut should be cut in slices of four pounds each. If to be boiled, cover with salt water, and skim often; drain off and serve with butter sauce.

If baked or fried, garnish with horseradish and serve with melted butter.

Fish Chowder.

Fry a few slices of salt pork, cut the fish in small pieces, pare and slice the potatoes, add a little onion chopped fine.

Place all in layers in the kettle; season with salt and pepper. Stew over a slow fire thirty minutes.

Cat-fish Chowder.

To be made of New River cat-fish.

Wash the fish in warm water, put it on in just water enough to cover it, boil until tender or until the bones will slip out; take out the largest bones, chop up the fish, put it in a stewpan with a pint of water, a large lump of butter.

1 cup of cream, pepper and not much salt.

1 onion, one teaspoonful mustard, one-half teacupful walnut catsup.

Stew until quite thick, garnish with sliced lemon and serve hot.—Mrs. P. W.

Cat-fish Chowder or Hog-fish.

Take two cat-fish, skin, and boil till thoroughly done; pick very fine and add: