Part 86 (1/2)

_Sufficient_ for 4 or 5 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES.--The distinction between hair and wool is rather arbitrary than natural, consisting in the greater or less degrees of fineness, softness and pliability of the fibres.

When the fibres possess these properties so far as to admit of their being spun and woven into a texture sufficiently pliable to be used as an article of dress, they are called wool. The sheep, llama, Angora goat, and the goat of Thibet, are the animals from which most of the wool used in manufactures is obtained. The finest of all wools is that from the goat of Thibet, of which the Cashmere shawls are made. Of European wools, the finest is that yielded by the Merino sheep, the Spanish and Saxon breeds taking the precedence. The Merino sheep, as now naturalized in Australia, furnishes an excellent fleece; but all varieties of sheep-wool, reared either in Europe or Australia are inferior in softness of feel to that grown in India, and to that of the llama of the Andes. The best of our British wools are inferior in fineness to any of the above-mentioned, being nearly twelve times the thickness of the finest Spanish merino; but for the ordinary purposes of the manufacturer, they are unrivalled.

ROAST SADDLE OF MUTTON.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SADDLE OF MUTTON.]

738. INGREDIENTS.--Saddle of mutton; a little salt.

_Mode_.--To insure this joint being tender, let it hang for ten days or a fortnight, if the weather permits. Cut off the tail and flaps and trim away every part that has not indisputable pretensions to be eaten, and have the skin taken off and skewered on again. Put it down to a bright, clear fire, and, when the joint has been cooking for an hour, remove the skin and dredge it with flour. It should not be placed too near the fire, as the fat should not be in the slightest degree burnt. Keep constantly basting, both before and after the skin is removed; sprinkle some salt over the joint. Make a little gravy in the dripping-pan; pour it over the meat, which send to table with a tureen of made gravy and red-currant jelly.

_Time_.--A saddle of mutton weighing 10 lbs., 2-1/2 hours; 14 lbs., 3-1/4 hours. When liked underdone, allow rather less time.

_Average cost_, 10d. per lb.

_Sufficient_.--A moderate-sized saddle of 10 lbs. for 7 or 8 persons.

_Seasonable_ all the year; not so good when lamb is in full season.

ROAST SHOULDER OF MUTTON.

739. INGREDIENTS.--Shoulder of mutton; a little salt.

_Mode_.--Put the joint down to a bright, clear fire; flour it well, and keep continually basting. About 1/4 hour before serving, draw it near the fire, that the outside may acquire a nice brown colour, but not sufficiently near to blacken the fat. Sprinkle a little fine salt over the meat, empty the dripping-pan of its contents, pour in a little boiling water slightly salted, and strain this over the joint. Onion sauce, or stewed Spanish onions, are usually sent to table with this dish, and sometimes baked potatoes.

_Time_.--A shoulder of mutton weighing 6 or 7 lbs., 1-1/2 hour.

_Average cost_, 8d. per lb.

_Sufficient_ for 5 or 6 persons. _Seasonable_ at any time.

_Note_.--Shoulder of mutton may be dressed in a variety of ways; boiled, and served with onion sauce; boned, and stuffed with a good veal forcemeat; or baked, with sliced potatoes in the dripping-pan.

THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD.--James Hogg was perhaps the most remarkable man that ever wore the _maud_ of a shepherd. Under the garb, aspect, and bearing of a rude peasant (and rude enough he was in most of these things, even after no inconsiderable experience of society), the world soon discovered a true poet.

He taught himself to write, by copying the letters of a printed book as he lay watching his flock on the hillside, and believed that he had reached the utmost pitch of his ambition when he first found that his artless rhymes could touch the heart of the ewe-milker who partook the shelter of his mantle during the pa.s.sing storm. If ”the shepherd” of Professor Wilson's ”Noctes Ambrosianae” may be taken as a true portrait of James Hogg, we must admit that, for quaintness of humour, the poet of Ettrick Forest had few rivals. Sir Walter Scott said that Hogg's thousand little touches of absurdity afforded him more entertainment than the best comedy that ever set the pit in a roar. Among the written productions of the shepherd-poet, is an account of his own experiences in sheep-tending, called ”The Shepherd's Calender.” This work contains a vast amount of useful information upon sheep, their diseases, habits, and management.

The Ettrick Shepherd died in 1835.

SHEEP'S BRAINS, EN MATELOTE (an Entree).

740. INGREDIENTS.--6 sheep's brains, vinegar, salt, a few slices of bacon, 1 small onion, 2 cloves, a small bunch of parsley, sufficient stock or weak broth to cover the brains, 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, matelote sauce, No. 512.

_Mode_.--Detach the brains from the heads without breaking them, and put them into a pan of warm water; remove the skin, and let them remain for two hours. Have ready a saucepan of boiling water, add a little vinegar and salt, and put in the brains. When they are quite firm, take them out and put them into very cold water. Place 2 or 3 slices of bacon in a stewpan, put in the brains, the onion stuck with 2 cloves, the parsley, and a good seasoning of pepper and salt; cover with stock, or weak broth, and boil them gently for about 25 minutes. Have ready some crotons; arrange these in the dish alternately with the brains, and cover with a matelote sauce, No. 512, to which has been added the above proportion of lemon-juice.

_Time_.--25 minutes. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.

_Sufficient_ for 6 persons.