The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches, Adapted to the Use of Private Families

fresh and good. If a cock bird is young, his spurs will be short; but be careful to observe that they have not been cut or pared, which is a trick too often practised. If fresh, the vent will be close and dark. Pullets are best just before they begin to lay, and yet are full of egg. If hens are old, their combs and legs will be rough: if young, they will be smooth. A good capon has a thick belly and a large rump: there is a particular fat at his breast, and the comb is very pale. Black-legged fowls being moist, are best for roasting. FRECKLES. The cosmetics generally recommended for improving the skin and bloom of the face are highly pernicious, and ought by no means to be employed. Temperance in diet and exercise, with frequent washing and bathing, are the best means of preserving a healthful countenance. But those who desire to soften and improve the skin, may use an infusion of horseradish in milk, or the expressed juice of houseleek mixed with cream, which will be useful and inoffensive. Freckles on the face, or small discolourations on other parts of the skin, are constitutional in some cases; and in others, they are occasioned by the action of the sun upon the part, and frequent exposures to the morning air. For dispersing them, take four ounces of lemon juice, one dram of powdered borax, and two drams of sugar: mix them together, and let them stand a few days in a glass bottle till the liquid is fit for use, and then rub it on the face. But for chaps and flaws in the skin, occasioned by cold, rub on a little plain unscented pomatum at bed-time, and let it remain till morning. Or, which is much better, anoint the face with honey water, made to the consistence of cream, which will form a kind of varnish on the skin, and protect it from the effects of cold. FRENCH BEANS. String, and cut them into four parts; if smaller, they look so much the better.