RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 6

SOME CAPITAL DESSERTS.

_Apple Pudding._--Peel and slice enough apples to nearly fill your
pudding-dish, sugar to taste, and grate over them a little nutmeg. Also
add a little water. Now make a batter as follows: Three quarters of a cup
of sugar; a piece of butter the size of a small egg, one half-cup of
milk, one egg, a pinch of salt, a teaspoonful of baking-powder, and one
and one-eighth cups of flour. This is an extremely nice, wholesome
pudding, which can be served with either cream or hard sauce.

To make hard sauce take a half-cup of butter and cream it with a fork;
add a cupful of sugar and beat until nicely mixed and creamy. Flavor to
taste and sprinkle a little nutmeg over it.

_Cottage Pudding._--One cupful of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, one
half-cupful of milk, two eggs, one and one-half cupfuls of flour, and one
teaspoonful of baking-powder. For the sauce, take three and a half
cupfuls of boiling water and stir in it a cupful of sugar, and a
tablespoonful of either flour or corn-starch rubbed smooth with a little
cold water. Cook well for two or three minutes; take the pan from the
fire, add the butter and flavor as you prefer.

_Batter Pudding Boiled or Baked._--One quart of milk, six eggs beaten
separately, six tablespoonfuls of flour worked gradually into the yolks
of the eggs, and a pinch of salt. Bake or boil about three-quarters of an
hour. Serve with sauce.

_Cream of Corn-starch._--One quart of milk, four eggs, one half-cupful
sugar, four tablespoonfuls of corn-starch dissolved in a little milk.
Into a pint of the milk put the sugar, and place on the stove to heat.
When very hot gradually stir in the corn-starch and beat well. Have ready
the whites of the eggs, and beat them into the milk; flavor as preferred.
Take the other pint of milk, the four yolks and four light tablespoonfuls
of sugar, and place them over the fire, stirring constantly. This makes a
nice custard. Just before serving pour the custard over the pudding.

_Caramel Custard._--One egg for each person; also one teaspoonful of milk
for each person. Put the yolks and milk together with a tablespoonful of
sugar to each egg. Have ready some caramel, and stir in enough to give a
decided flavor. Put this into cups or baking-dishes, and set in a pan of
hot water on top of the stove for twenty minutes; then in the oven until
the custard sets. Serve cold. For the caramel, take two cupfuls of sugar
(preferably brown) and put it in a frying-pan with a teaspoonful of
water. Cook until well burned. Add a cup of water, and, when cold, put it
in a bottle or fruit-jar. This quantity will last a long time.

_Brown Betty Pudding._--Take a cupful of grated bread-crumbs, two cupfuls
of finely chopped, tart apples, half a cupful of brown sugar, a
teaspoonful of cinnamon, and one tablespoonful of butter. Butter a deep
pudding-dish, and put a layer of apples on the bottom; then sprinkle with
sugar, cinnamon and bits of the butter. Put in another layer of apples,
and proceed as before until all the ingredients have been used. Cover the
dish and bake for three-quarters of an hour in a moderate oven; remove
the cover now and brown the pudding. Serve with sugar and cream.

_Rice Pudding._--One cupful of boiled rice (better if still hot), three
cupfuls of milk, three-quarters of a cup of sugar, a tablespoonful of
corn-starch, and two eggs; add flavoring. Dissolve the corn-starch with a
little of the milk, and stir it into the rest of the milk; also add the
yolks of the eggs and the sugar beaten together. Put this over the fire
and when hot add the rice. Stir it carefully until it begins to thicken,
then take it off and add the flavoring. Put it into a pudding-dish and
bake in the oven.

RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 5

EGGS IN SEVERAL FORMS.

_Coddled Eggs._--The most delicate way to cook an egg is to coddle it.
Put six into a vessel that will hold two quarts. Fill with boiling water,
cover closely, and let it stand in a warm place for ten minutes. If you
desire them better cooked let them stay in the water longer. If you want
to do but one egg, put it in a quart of boiling water, cover and let
stand five minutes.

_Shirred Eggs._--To shirr an egg break it into a saucer or any small dish
that has been well greased. Put into a hot oven and leave until glazed.
Season and serve at once.

_Scrambled Eggs._--Heat a teaspoonful of milk to each egg in a sauce-pan
not more than a quarter of an inch deep and about the right size to hold
the quantity of eggs desired. Add a little salt, pepper, and butter. When
hot put in the eggs, and as they lie on the bottom of the pan, scrape off
with a spoon letting the raw part take the place of those portions
already cooked, and continue this until a creamy custard is formed. Be
careful not to cook the eggs so long that this custard is changed to a
hard mass.


PROPER COOKING OF VEGETABLES.

The general tendency in cooking vegetables is to use altogether too much
water so that they become soaked and tasteless. The ideal way to cook
most vegetables is to use as little water as possible; just a little in
the bottom of the pot so that the vegetables will not stick and burn, but
steam through in their own juices until thoroughly tender and full of
their own flavor. The fire should not be too hot; the pot should be
tightly covered; a sufficient amount of butter must be added when the
vegetable is about half done; and plenty of time given to allow it to
simmer and steam until thoroughly flavored. Onions, beans, carrots, and
cabbage are most delicate when chopped fine, cooked until tender in a
very little water, seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, covered with
milk, and allowed to stand on the back of the stove for twenty minutes
until the flavor is thoroughly developed.

_Boiled Potatoes._--Potatoes should not be peeled before boiling, but
should be thoroughly washed and rinsed. They should be put in an
abundance of boiling water, well salted, and covered tightly. When tender
pour off all the water, cover the pot with a towel and let it stand on
the back of the stove for ten minutes.

_Baked Potatoes._--If baked potatoes stand they lose their flavor. A
baked potato, eaten as soon as done, is sweet, dry and mealy. Allow them
to stand even for ten minutes and the flavor is lost, and they become wet
and tasteless. A pleasant change is to peel the potatoes before baking.
These must be eaten as soon as they come from the oven or they lose their
crispness.

_Beans._--Nothing is more valuable for winter food than beans. They give
as much strength as beefsteak and are far less expensive. Soak them in
plenty of water over night; add a generous piece of unsmoked bacon; let
simmer on the back of the stove until they are tender and the water is
well cooked away; cover with milk, and either let them stand on the back
of the stove until the milk is thickened, or put them into a shallow
baking-dish and bake until nearly dry. Serve either hot or cold.

RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 4

MAKING GOOD SOUPS.

_Vegetable Soups._--The simplest and most easily prepared soups are those
made from peas, beans, tomatoes, asparagus, celery, carrots, onions, and
potatoes. They require neither meat nor any previous preparation, but can
be made and eaten at once. These soups are somewhat paradoxical because
they are both cheap and rich; deliciously simple and simply delicious.
Take enough of any of these vegetables to furnish sufficient soup after
they have been rubbed through a strainer and thinned with milk or cream.
Cook the vegetables thoroughly until perfectly soft, so that they can be
easily rubbed through a coarse strainer. Add enough milk to this purée to
make it about the thickness of cream. Season with salt, pepper, and a
little celery-salt, and serve with bits of bread browned crisp in the
oven.

When the vegetables can be got fresh from the garden nothing is more
delicious than these soups, and in winter, canned peas and dried beans
make excellent substitutes. In making potato purée two onions boiled with
the potatoes improve the flavor. Potato soup without onion is tasteless;
a little celery boiled in with the potatoes and onion, makes it still
nicer. Tomato soup is also better slightly flavored with onion and a
little carrot. A little cold boiled rice, simmered for a half-hour in the
soup after the milk has been added, is an excellent addition. These soups
are also delicious when made rather thin with milk and then thickened by
putting the well-beaten yolks of two eggs into the hot soup-tureen, and
stirring vigorously while adding the soup; this last soup must be served
at once, as it cannot stand after the eggs are added.

_Meat Soups._--These soups should always be made the day before required
in order to thoroughly remove the fat, which cannot be done until it
hardens on the top of the soup. Nothing is more disgusting than greasy
soup. The foundation for an infinite variety of soups is made by boiling
about a pound of meat in three pints of water. After the meat is cooked
to pieces strain it out and keep the well-skimmed liquor, or "stock," as
it is called, in a stone jar in a cool place. It should form a jelly, and
in order to prepare a different soup for each day, it is only necessary
to heat some of the jelly and flavor it differently. For instance: Chop
fine one small onion to each person and fry it in butter, or in some of
the grease taken off the soup, until tender and slightly brown. Pour over
enough stock and let stand for half an hour. Serve with a little grated
cheese. Cabbage soup is made in the same way except that it takes longer
to cook the cabbage. Instead of one vegetable several may be used.
Turnips, cabbage, onions, and carrots in about the same proportion,
chopped fine and fried tender, without any water, and added to the soup,
make what is known in France as Julienne soup.

RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 3

METHODS WITH CHICKEN.

The simplest and easiest way to cook chicken is to fry it. A poorly fed
chicken is better stewed. For baking and broiling the chicken must be
fat. In whatever way the chicken is cooked there is danger of its being
tough, dry, stringy, and tasteless. Plain, artless, boiling results in
insipidity. Quick, superficial frying means tough stringy fibres; and a
hot oven frequently dries the meat until it is not fit to eat.

_Fried Chicken._--All housewives think they can fry chicken, but the
results are vastly different, according to the way it is done. You may
have a tender, rich, delicious morsel, or tough masses of meat, stringy,
tasteless and almost impossible to chew. Of course the condition of the
chicken has a great deal to do with the results. A tender, well-fed
chicken will fry far better and much more quickly than a thin, scrawny
one. The thinner the chicken the greater the necessity for care in
cooking it. It must be cooked slowly, over a moderate fire, in a tightly
covered pan, until it is perfectly tender. Melt a little fat in the
frying-pan; flour, salt, and pepper the pieces of chicken and fry them in
the fat until nicely browned on both sides. Now cover closely and place
on the back of the stove where the chicken will steam for half an hour.
When tender take up on a hot platter and put in the warming oven. Make a
rich, brown gravy and pour over it.

_Boiled Chicken._--Chickens may be boiled whole or cut into pieces. To
boil whole place a few pieces of unsmoked bacon in a stew-pan that is
deep enough to hold the chicken and can be tightly covered. Cook slowly
for an hour without adding water, turning it often until it is evenly
browned. Now add a small onion, some raw peeled potatoes not larger than
an egg, and a little boiling water. Cook over a brisk fire for
three-quarters of an hour. Salt and pepper the chicken and put it and the
potatoes in a baking-dish in a hot oven while making the gravy. A couple
of hard-boiled eggs chopped very fine, and a little chopped parsley,
improve the gravy.

_Baked Chicken._--A properly baked chicken is tender, juicy, and has a
rich flavor, while one improperly baked is tough, dry, stringy, and
tasteless. To bake a chicken properly the oven must not be too hot; the
chicken must be repeatedly basted, and cooked until it is tender, but not
until all dried up. Stuffing the chicken improves the flavor. To make the
dressing, melt enough of any kind of wholesome fat in a hot frying-pan to
keep the bread crumbs from sticking, and fry in it a large onion,
chopped fine, until it is tender. Place the dry bread-crumbs into the
fat, and cook for half an hour over a slow fire, stirring often to keep
from sticking, until the crumbs are slightly browned and well dried.
Season with salt, pepper and a little celery-salt, and moisten with just
enough milk to make it stick together. Always taste the dressing to see
if it is properly seasoned. A well-fed chicken can be baked more rapidly
than a thin one. If the chicken is thin add plenty of fat to the water in
the baking-pan; cover closely and cook slowly and carefully until it is
tender, turning very often; if it is fat and well-fed put plenty of
wholesome grease in the baking-dish, and without covering it, cook in a
hot oven, basting frequently. A young, fat chicken will bake in an hour.
An older fowl may require two or three hours. It is a good plan to allow
the chicken plenty of time and then, if done too soon, to cover it
closely and keep it warm on the back of the stove. Use just enough water
while baking to keep the fat from sputtering. If the water is cooked out
towards the end, and the chicken is thoroughly basted, the skin will take
on a rich, thick glazing that is highly creditable to the skill of the
cook. Delicious gravy can be made of the fat by adding milk and
thickening with flour.

_Smothered Chicken._--Use a frying-size chicken. Split it down the back
and rub with a little salt. Put it in a pan with a slice of bacon and a
pint of water. Cover the pan closely and let it simmer on top of the
stove from one to two hours, or until the chicken is thoroughly tender.
When done sprinkle with flour and baste well. Add a small tablespoon of
butter, and put in the oven and cook until brown.

_Broiled Chicken._--A young, tender, fat chicken is better broiled than
any other way. It has a finer flavor; is tenderer, more juicy and more
easily digested; in fact broiled chicken is one of the most delicious
dishes that can be served. There is no earthly use, however, in trying to
broil a chicken that is not fat and nice. If the chicken is a little too
old to broil whole the breast will still be tender. Flatten the chicken
by pounding it. Have a bed of clear, bright coals and a hot gridiron well
greased to prevent sticking. Cover with a baking-dish and turn often,
allowing the bony side to stay down longer than the other side. From
fifteen to twenty minutes should be enough, but it is always best to test
with a fork by pulling the fibres apart to see that they are not raw. As
soon as the raw look has disappeared the chicken is done. The least
over-cooking injures the flavor. Serve on a hot platter. Pour over a
little melted butter, seasoned with lemon juice and chopped parsley.

To bake or boil a turkey proceed the same as for chicken, simply allowing
more time. An eight-pound turkey will require three hours to roast.

RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 2

PROPER COOKING OF CEREALS.

Starchy foods in any form must be well cooked. Gluey, slimy oatmeal, full
of hard lumps of half-cooked grains, the whole forming a raw, horrid
mass, is very different from the smooth, well cooked, easily digestible,
oatmeal prepared by a good cook. Rolled oats are more easily cooked than
oatmeal, as they are already prepared. For four people, put a quarter of
a teaspoonful of salt into four cups of _hot_ water and stir in slowly
one cup of rolled oats, being careful not to allow lumps to form. Cook
for an hour in a double boiler.

_Hominy._--Hominy is seldom well cooked. It is often lumpy and raw, and
yet has a burned taste which comes from being cooked in too little water,
while if too much is used it goes all to soup and can never be made good.
Salt a quart of boiling water, and very carefully stir into it a cup of
hominy. Stir often and add a little water from time to time if it gets
too dry. Cook until every grain is thoroughly done.

_Rice._--Rice is rarely well prepared, the greatest trouble being to get
each grain well cooked without making it mushy. When properly cooked each
grain will be firm and distinct, and at the same time soft and tender.
Wash half a cupful of rice thoroughly, put it in a quart of boiling
salted water, and let it boil for half an hour; then drain it thoroughly
and steam it in a colander for an hour.

_Corn-Bread._--Corn-bread should be something like rice: every particle
thoroughly cooked and soft, and yet not sticking together, so that the
inside is dry and crumbly while the outside is crisp and nutty. The
thinner corn-bread is baked the more perfectly it cooks. It should not be
more than an inch thick and preferably less. A cannon-ball of raw meal,
with only the thinnest of surfaces decently baked, is an insult to a
man's intelligence as well as to his digestion. This is the way to
prepare it properly. Sift a teaspoonful of baking powder into a pint of
corn meal. Mix in a piece of butter the size of a walnut and add sweet
milk until you get a dough that can be kneaded into a cake. Bake in a hot
oven until brown and well done. A little richer corn-bread is made by
heating a pint of sweet milk and pouring it over a pint of corn-meal.
Melt a piece of butter the size of a walnut, beat two eggs, add a little
salt, and mix well into the meal. Put in a shallow dish, and bake about a
half hour in a quick oven.

_Biscuits._--Biscuits should be thin, crisp, delicately browned and free
from flour. The inside of a biscuit should be flaky and dry. Thick,
soggy, heavy biscuits impose a severe task upon digestion. Make the
biscuits about two inches in diameter, and three-quarters of an inch
thick. Bake them brown on both the top and the bottom. It is much easier
to make light, wholesome biscuits with baking-powder than with soda.
Buttermilk biscuits are very delicate and palatable, but not quite so
certain to turn out well. If soda is not properly used you will have a
yellow, evil-smelling compound, or else there will not be enough soda to
make the biscuits rise, and they will be dangerously heavy. To make
soda-biscuits sift one level teaspoonful of soda, one half-teaspoonful
salt, and one quart of flour together three times so as to get the soda
thoroughly well mixed in. Now rub two tablespoons of lard into the flour
and add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough. Roll out into a sheet,
cut into small thin biscuits and bake in a hot oven until well browned.
Baking-powder biscuits are made in the same way, by using two
teaspoonfuls of baking-powder in place of the soda, and sweet milk
instead of buttermilk.

_Yeast._--Put three hops in a pot containing two quarts of cold water.
Place on the stove and see that it boils twenty minutes. Have a pint of
flour in a large bowl and mix into it a tablespoonful of sugar, one of
salt and a teaspoonful of ginger. Strain the water from the hops into
this, stirring constantly. Allow it to cool. When lukewarm put in a cup
of yeast or a yeast-cake.

_Rolls._--At night take one half-cup of lukewarm water, one
half-teaspoonful of salt, three-quarters of a cup of yeast, and enough
flour to make a thin batter. In the morning add to this a pint of milk, a
teaspoonful of sugar, a half-cup of butter and beat in flour until it is
no longer sticky. Set it in a warm place to rise and when well up knock
back. Repeat this process, and when it comes up the third time make it
into rolls. Let it rise once more and then bake it.

RECIPES FOR COOKING COMMON FOODS PART 1

PREPARATION OF MEATS


_Roast Beef._--The problem of roasting beef is to have it sufficiently
cooked in the center without hardening and over-cooking the outside.
Burned edges and a raw center testify to a lack of intelligence.

The English way of baking beef is to allow nine minutes to the pound for
a rib-roast and eight minutes for a sirloin. Sprinkle pepper and salt
over the meat and sprinkle with flour. Pour a little boiling water into
the pan and bake in an oven hot enough to crisp and brown peeled raw
potatoes cooked in the same pan. Do not forget to baste often. This
method gives a rich flavor to the beef and the gravy, but the outside is
apt to be cooked too hard while the inside is not enough cooked. Too hot
a fire tends to make meat tough and dry.

The French have a safer way, especially for small roasts. The beef is
cooked in a cool oven--so cool that a peeled, raw potato will cook tender
without browning. Allow about an hour and a quarter for a four-pound
rib-roast. In this way the heat penetrates to the center without
hardening the outside. When properly done the outside is very little more
cooked than the inside, and the roast throughout is tender, rare, and
juicy, with no hard-burned edges. This way of baking makes inferior beef
more tender and juicy than the English way. It has the disadvantage of
not leaving any gravy in the pan. When baked after the English method the
fat fries out into the pan, and a delicious, rich, brown gravy may be
made by adding flour and water. Strain the juice through a fine sieve and
allow to stand a few minutes so as to be able to skim or pour off all the
grease. Do not serve gravies with half an inch of pure grease on top. It
does not require a scientific education nor a herculean effort to remove
the grease.

_Pot Roast._--If the beef is of an inferior quality, the best way to cook
it is in a heavy iron kettle, preferably with a sloping bottom. Sprinkle
the meat with salt and pepper; place a little fat in the bottom of the
kettle--enough to keep the meat from sticking--and allow the roast to
brown slowly for half an hour. Now put a pint of boiling water in the
pot. Cover very closely and let it simmer on the back of the stove for
about four hours, adding small quantities of hot water as necessary, and
turning often. When cooked take up the meat; skim the fat from the gravy
and thicken with flour.

_Hamburg Steaks._--Another way of preparing inferior cuts of beef is to
make Hamburg steaks. Chop the meat in fine pieces. Season with salt,
pepper and a little onion juice, and shape into thin cakes. Put three or
four slices of fat salt pork into a frying-pan, and when brown remove it
and place the steaks in the fat. Fry four minutes; turn, and fry three
more, and serve on a hot platter. Put a tablespoonful of flour into the
fat and stir until brown. Gradually add a cupful of water or preferably
milk and boil three minutes; season well, pour over the meat, and serve
immediately.

_Broiled Beef._--Broiling is the simplest, easiest, and most delicious
method of cooking meats, but, as a rule, ignorance instinctively turns to
the frying-pan, and broiling is unknown in many homes. This is partly due
to not knowing how to manage the fire. It seems so much easier to fry on
top of the stove than to plan beforehand an adequate preparation of the
coals. It is necessary to have a bed of clear, hot coals with no smoke.
Have the steak cut three-quarters of an inch thick; place in a wire
broiler; put over the coals and cover with a baking-pan. Turn every
minute or two until the meat is sufficiently cooked. When done, place on
a hot platter, and season well with salt, pepper, and butter. Serve
immediately. It should take about ten minutes to cook a steak or thick
mutton chop.

_Fried Beef._--If beef must be fried, have a hot fire; heat a thick iron
frying-pan and grease it just enough to keep the meat from sticking. Have
the meat three-quarters of an inch thick; place in the hot pan and turn
as soon as it is well seared. Turn often until done and then season well
and serve at once. There should be no gravy in the pan; all the juices
should be in the meat.

_Beef Hash._--Take equal parts of beef and cold potatoes, chopped
moderately fine. Chop a small onion and fry in plenty of butter until
brown; add the meat and potatoes and just enough milk to keep from
sticking. Cook for half an hour, stirring frequently. Serve with thin,
dry toast or toasted crackers. Poached eggs are a very nice addition.

_Veal._--Veal, when properly cooked, is delicious and delicate. Like pork
it should be cooked slowly for a long time to develop its full flavor.
Unfortunately it is usually half-cooked, tough, and insipid. The
housewife who can cook veal properly has a distinct advantage over her
less fortunate neighbor.

_Leg Roast of Veal._--Take out the bone and fill the space with stuffing
made as follows: Take one half-cupful of chopped fat pork, or unsmoked
bacon, and fry with a finely chopped onion until delicately brown. Add
two cupfuls of bread crumbs; season with salt and pepper and moisten with
a little milk. Tie the veal closely; sprinkle with pepper and salt; rub
thoroughly with flour and cover with buttered paper. Into the baking-pan
put a generous number of thin slices of unsmoked bacon, an onion and half
a can of tomatoes. Add just enough boiling water to steam the veal. Cook
gently in a moderate oven, allowing twenty-five minutes to the pound, and
baste very frequently, turning the meat about every half-hour. When done,
put it on a hot platter in the warming oven, and add enough water to make
the requisite amount of gravy. Thicken with browned flour, strain, and
pour over the roast.

_Fried Veal._--Fried veal steak or cutlets are delicious, but very
difficult to prepare properly. As a usual thing veal cutlets are either
half raw, or cooked until dry and hard. When properly cooked veal should
be spongy, soft, and velvety. The chops should be not quite a half inch
thick. Melt a little lard in a hot frying-pan; sprinkle some salt and
pepper on the veal and fry quickly until brown on both sides. Then cover
tightly, and place on the back of the stove and steam until thoroughly
tender. It requires from forty to forty-five minutes to fry veal.

_Broiled Veal._--The veal should be cut thin, broiled quickly until
brown, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and melted butter, to which a
little chopped parsley and lemon juice have been added. Serve on a hot
platter and eat at once. If the veal is fat, tender and nicely broiled,
it is almost as good as game.

_Veal Stew or Pot-pie._--Cut the meat from a knuckle of veal into pieces
not too small; put them into a pot with some small pieces of salt pork,
and plenty of pepper and salt; pour over enough hot water to cover it
well, and boil until the meat is thoroughly done. While the water is
still boiling drop in, by the spoonful, a batter made as follows: Two
eggs well beaten, two and a half or three cupfuls of buttermilk, one even
teaspoonful of soda, and flour enough to make a thick batter. Cover the
pot, and as soon as the batter is well cooked serve it.

_Veal Stew._--This is an exceedingly nutritious, economical, and
appetizing dish. Cut the veal into small pieces about an inch square; add
three or four thin slices of salt pork; one or two onions and potatoes
cut up fine, and a little turnip, carrot, parsley and celery, if you have
them. Cover well with boiling water and cook over a brisk fire until the
meat is tender and the water pretty well cooked away. This will require
about an hour. Cover the meat well with fresh milk; season to taste with
pepper, salt, and a generous quantity of butter; let the mess simmer on
the back of the stove about twenty minutes, and serve it in a hot covered
dish.

_Jellied Veal._--Jellied veal gives the impression of an expensive
preparation, and yet nothing is cheaper or simpler. Put a knuckle of veal
into a pot that can be tightly covered; season well with two or three
slices of unsmoked bacon, the heart of an onion, salt, pepper and a
little butter, adding just enough water to steam the meat thoroughly
(replenishing it from time to time as needed), and cook over a slow fire
until tender--probably about four hours. When done there should be about
two teacupfuls of broth. Prepare three cold hard-boiled eggs. Cut the
veal into pieces the size of a walnut. Now choose a dish just large
enough to hold the meat, the eggs and the broth. Slice the eggs and place
a few pieces on the bottom of the dish. Now put in a layer of veal; then
more egg and continue in this way until the veal is used. Strain the
broth over the veal and set it away in a cool place, preferably on ice,
until quite firm. When about to serve it, loosen by slipping a knife,
warmed in water, between the meat and the dish. Garnish with parsley or
lettuce, and serve with salad of any kind.

_Roast Pork._--Pork should be thoroughly cooked in a medium hot oven. For
the leg or the shoulder allow twenty-five minutes to the pound. For the
spareribs allow fifteen minutes. Sprinkle the spareribs well with salt,
pepper, sage, and a little chopped onion, or bake a few onions in the
same dish. Put a little water in the pan and add to it as it cooks away.
The leg, the loin, and the shoulder may be stuffed with well-seasoned
sage stuffing. To make this, cut a few strips of fat pork into small dice
and fry over a slow fire. Add a finely chopped onion and cook until
brown. Crumble as many slices of dry bread as you will need, and fry with
the onion and pork over a slow fire until nicely browned. Moisten a
little with milk or cream, and fill the space left by removing the bones.
Sew tightly together and bake thoroughly. Peeled, raw potatoes are very
nice baked in the same dish with the pork. A medium sized potato will
require a little over an hour to bake in a moderate oven. Apple sauce,
sauerkraut, or cabbage cooked with a little vinegar, are nice to serve
with pork.

_Broiled Pork._--Very thin slices cut from a leg of pork, or the cutlets,
or the chops, are extremely nice and delicate when broiled. They must be
cut thin; the coals must be bright and hot; and the meat turned very
often. Serve on a hot platter.

_Fried Pork._--For frying, pork should not be cut over a half an inch
thick: Cook slowly from forty minutes to an hour, with the pan closely
covered, to keep in the steam. Pork requires a long, slow process to
develop its flavor and tenderness. Nearly everyone cooks it too fast, and
for too short a time. When thoroughly steamed and nicely seasoned with
salt, pepper, sage and a little onion, well fed pork is as toothsome and
dainty as turkey. Make a brown gravy and pour over the meat. Serve with
apple sauce.

_Boiled Pork._--Take a leg of pork, or a shoulder, and remove the bones.
Tie closely together and let it cook slowly in a tightly covered pot for
half an hour, adding a little fat if necessary to keep the meat from
sticking. Now sprinkle with salt, pepper and sage. Put two whole onions
in the pot, and just enough boiling water to thoroughly steam the meat.
Place it on the back of the stove and cook over a slow fire for four or
five hours until thoroughly tender and velvety. When done put on a hot
platter in the warming-oven. Thicken the gravy with flour, adding a
little water or milk if necessary, then let it boil for five minutes and
strain. When properly cooked this is delicious cold, and almost as good
for salad as chicken or turkey. If desired, peeled raw potatoes may be
browned in the pot with the meat. These will take about an hour to cook.

_Curing Ham and Bacon._--To have good ham and bacon the meat must first
be properly cured so that the lean part is pink, tender and soft to the
touch, while the fat is clear and white. In many country homes the lean
meat is about as tough, hard, and indigestible as sole leather. A good
recipe for curing is as follows: For every gallon of water take two
pounds of coarse salt and one-half ounce of soda. Boil all together and
skim well, and, while hot, pour over the meat. Put in a cold dry place
with a stone to keep the meat well below the water. After three weeks,
hang the meat and let it dry for two or three days before smoking.

_Broiled Ham._--Nothing is more appetizing for supper than broiled ham,
served with mashed potatoes, milk toast, or a poached egg on dry toast.
Cut the ham as thin as possible, and broil quickly over hot coals,
turning constantly until the fat begins to shrivel. Have everything else
ready so that it can be eaten immediately. Cold cabbage salad is nice
with this.

_Boiled Ham._--If quite salty, soak the ham twenty-four hours. Put it in
a large kettle with a generous supply of water, and allow twenty-five
minutes to the pound for boiling. Take the pot from the fire and let the
meat remain in the water until nearly cold. Sprinkle with pepper and rub
thoroughly with brown sugar; put the ham and the fat from the liquor into
a baking-pan and brown for about an hour in the oven. Cut as thin as
possible when serving.

_Frying Ham._--Cut the ham in the thinnest possible slices, with a large,
sharp knife. Have the frying-pan hot, and cook the meat just enough to
give the fat a delicate brown, turning frequently. To cook ham too much
is to make it tough, hard, dry, and indigestible. Put the ham on a hot
platter in the warming oven. Add a cupful, or more, of fresh milk to the
grease and thicken with flour. Serve with boiled potatoes. Instead of
making a gravy, eggs may be fried in the fat. To do this nicely the fat
must not be burned. The eggs should be dropped in one by one, allowing
them plenty of room to spread out. Cook slowly and with a spoon baste the
yolks with the hot fat until they sear, being careful not to cook the egg
too hard. These eggs are very nice served on thin, dry toast, or one may
be placed on each slice of ham.

_Fried Bacon._--Cut the bacon into very thin slices, and cook in a hot
frying-pan just long enough to turn the fat to a delicate brown. If
cooked too long it is hard and indigestible, besides losing its delicacy
of flavor. A very nice way to cook bacon, instead of frying it, is to
roll the slices up into curls, skewer them with toothpicks, and place
them in a baking-pan on the grate of a hot oven until they are slightly
brown. Serve on dry toast. They should be eaten at once.

_Broiled Bacon._--Bacon can be broiled like ham. A very nice way to serve
it, especially for an invalid, is to toast it before the fire; split a
hot biscuit and make a sandwich with the bacon. Bacon toasted this way
and eaten when very hot has a peculiarly appetizing flavor.

_Unsmoked Bacon._--Cut in thin slices; roll in flour or meal; dust
lightly with pepper; fry over a moderately hot fire until delicately
brown and crisp, and put on a warm platter in the warming closet. Add
sufficient fresh milk to the fat to make the requisite amount of gravy.
Season with a little salt and pepper, and thicken with flour. Do not pour
over the meat. Serve in separate dish.

_Boiled Mutton._--Mutton should be cooked very much like beef,--just
enough to leave a faint pink, but not enough to make it hard and develop
a strong taste. For boiled mutton allow ten minutes to the pound. Add a
little rice to make the meat whiter and tenderer. Cover with boiling
water and cook rapidly for fifteen minutes; then place on the back of the
stove where it will simmer nicely for two hours. Young turnips, boiled
with the mutton are a very nice addition.

_Mutton Cutlets._--The chops should be thick. Grease the bottom of a hot
frying-pan just enough to keep the chops from sticking; place over a hot
fire, and turn the meat constantly to keep it from burning until the
center is a faint pink. Season with salt, pepper, and melted butter to
which a little lemon juice and parsley may be added.

_Roast Mutton._--The French roast mutton in a slow oven in order that the
heat may penetrate to the center without injuring the outside. Allow
twenty minutes to the pound, or, if a very large roast, twenty-five
minutes may not be too much, providing the oven is not too hot. Season
with salt and pepper, and put a generous supply of boiling water in the
pan. Baste frequently, and turn the meat every half hour. Place two or
three peeled raw potatoes in the pan, and watch them; if they begin to
brown, the oven is too hot. The potatoes should keep pace with the
mutton, and when the latter is half done the former should be cooked to
the same degree.

_Broiled Mutton Chops._--The chops should be cut an inch thick. Trim off
the fat and scrape the bones. Roll in a little melted butter or oil, and
broil over a hot fire, turning constantly until just pink within. Have
ready a mound of hot mashed potatoes and lay the chops around it. Pour a
little melted butter over them and serve with green peas.

WHAT TO DO WHEN POISONED

The vast majority of cases of poisoning occur in children, and are,
almost without exception, due to carelessness of their elders, and
therefore preventable.

As soon as it is recognized that anyone has swallowed a poison of any
kind, a competent physician should be summoned with the utmost haste, and
in the meantime much may be done, in most cases, to minimize the effects
of the substance taken. The patient should at once be urged to drink as
much water as is possible, in order that the poison may be diluted, and
every effort should be made to induce vomiting; this may often be brought
about as soon as the stomach is full of water, by tickling the throat
with the finger, or with any other object that can be readily introduced
through the mouth. As quickly as possible, some warm water should be
secured, to a quart of which either a teaspoon of salt or mustard should
be added, and the patient urged to drink until the stomach is thoroughly
distended; following this, particularly where aided by tickling the
throat, vomiting may be generally induced, with the effect, of course, of
expelling a greater or less proportion of the poison from the stomach. If
it be known that the poison is an _acid_, ordinary cooking soda should be
added to the water that the patient drinks, as in this way all acid
substances are at once neutralized.

If the patient has taken an _alkaline_ poison, he should immediately be
given diluted vinegar, or water into which the juice of lemons or oranges
has been squeezed; such harmless acids neutralize poisonous alkaloids
just as harmless alkalies antidote poisonous acids.

_Arsenic poisoning_ usually results from the accidental swallowing of
rat-poison or some insecticide, as Paris green, or else some sort of
green dye, many of which contain salts of arsenic in some form. An emetic
should be at once given, to be followed by the whites of several eggs
dissolved in a small amount of water; sweet milk may also be
administered with benefit.

Accidental poisoning by _phosphorus_, results usually from children
eating the heads of matches, and it is rarely the case that enough of the
substance is taken to produce serious results. The poison, however, is a
deadly one if taken in sufficient quantity, and where it is found that
substances containing it have been swallowed the most energetic measures
should at once be resorted to. Warm water containing mustard or some
other emetic should at once be given, and this should be followed by
whites of eggs and sweet milk. It is well also to try to get rid of any
of the phosphorus that might remain in the stomach by giving the patient
some saline purgative like Epsom salts.

Where _carbolic acid_ has been taken, the fact can be readily determined
by noting the characteristic smell of this substance on the patient's
breath, and by observing that the mouth and throat present a more or less
whitish appearance. The treatment to be of any avail, should be of the
most energetic character. The patient should at once drink largely of
water, and vomiting should be induced as quickly as possible. Either
milk or the white of an egg should then be given. Ordinary quick-lime, or
even plaster from the walls of the house, may be stirred up in water and
administered to the sufferer, as both have a distinct value in antidoting
the effects of this poison. Burns of the skin with carbolic acid are
rarely followed by serious consequences. As soon as the accident occurs
the part should be thoroughly washed with water, and if at hand a little
alcohol may be rubbed over the part; the affected tissues return to a
normal condition in the course of a short time in the vast majority of
cases.

_Strychnine poisoning_ is comparatively rare, except when this substance
is given with suicidal or murderous intent. Water should be given,
immediately followed by an emetic. A mass of crystals of permanganate of
potash as big as a pea may be administered in a glass of water, if this
substance be at hand. After the poison has been absorbed nothing is
usually of any avail if the amount was originally sufficient to produce
death.

One of the commonest forms of poisoning is from _opium_ in the form of
morphine, paregoric or laudanum. When this happens the stomach should be
washed out by water frequently, even where the drug was administered
hypodermatically. This is best accomplished by causing vomiting by warm
water to which a small amount of mustard has been added. The patient
should be given strong coffee or tea at frequent intervals, and
artificial respiration should be practiced. Where it is possible to
obtain it, permanganate of potash in a watery solution should be given,
enough of the chemical being used to make the water a deep purple color;
this may be frequently repeated, as the substance is not poisonous in
ordinary doses, and destroys morphine and other alkaloids of opium very
rapidly.

_It should never be forgotten that infants and children are poisoned by
comparatively very small doses of opium, and consequently nothing
containing any derivative of this substance should be given them except
on the advice of a competent doctor._

Many soothing syrups advertised for the relief of the minor ailments of
children contain opium, and there can be no doubt that many deaths have
occurred as a consequence of taking such nostrums.

_Mushroom poisoning_ in this country is relatively rare, but there are
quite a number of popular notions on this subject that are totally
incorrect, chief among which is the idea that there is a difference
between mushrooms and toad-stools, the former being generally regarded as
edible, and the latter poisonous. As a matter of fact, those conversant
with this subject make no distinction between the two, using the terms
toad-stool and mushroom as interchangeable. It is likewise a common error
to suppose that we possess any tests by which the poisonous toad-stools
can be told from those that are wholesome. Although a skilled student of
the subject can almost at a glance determine which are poisonous and
which are not, it is hazardous in the extreme to consume those selected
by one who is inexperienced. As a matter of fact, for all practicable
purposes, there is only one species that is generally eaten,--the
_Agaricus campestris_, or meadow mushroom. This grows for the most part
in open fields, and in many parts of the world may be gathered in great
number throughout the warmer seasons immediately following rains. This
mushroom has also the great advantage that it is the only one of the
edible species that can be cultivated.

Just as we have only one common mushroom that is ordinarily eaten, there
is only one common species of these plants that is highly dangerous,--the
_Amanita phalloides_, which contains one of the most deadly poisons
known--and one for which we possess no adequate antidote. This mushroom
is very common, being frequently seen along the roadside, and at the
edges of fields; it also grows in forests, and is occasionally
encountered in treeless areas.

     It presents a rather attractive appearance, being rather large, and
     having a glistening white cap with a long stem, around which there
     may always be seen a distinct collar; on carefully removing the
     soil from around its roots, it will be seen that its stem is
     surrounded just below the surface of the earth by a sheath-like
     structure, the so-called "death-cup," which, together with the
     peculiarities already mentioned, clearly stamp this mushroom as
     being one of the most deadly of all known natural objects. In
     addition to the rather inviting appearance of this toad-stool, its
     flavor is agreeable, thus in every way insidiously inviting, it
     would seem, the unwary to their doom. Less common than the species
     just considered is another closely related fungus known as the
     _Amanita muscarius_, or fly-agaric; this handsome mushroom presents
     the same peculiarities of structure exhibited by the _Amanita
     phalloides_, but differs from it in the fact that the tip of its
     cap is scaly, and is of a reddish-yellow color. The fly-agaric is
     quite as poisonous as its more common relative, and is equally to
     be shunned. The reader should be warned that even handling either
     of the fungi just considered may result in poisonous
     symptoms--probably as a consequence of multitudes of the tiny
     spores of the plants being carried into the nose and mouth by the
     air.

Some hours after eating the _Amanitas_, the patient is taken with
vomiting, diarrhoea, cramps, and extreme prostration; in children,
convulsions may occur. Most unfortunately evidences of this poisoning do
not usually develop until some hours after eating it. As a consequence, a
considerable amount of the poison has usually been absorbed into the body
before the victim is aware that anything is wrong, and it, therefore,
becomes impossible, as a rule, to greatly help matters by attempting to
remove the offending material from the stomach by emetics.
Notwithstanding this it would be proper to administer warm water, into
which a small amount of mustard had been stirred, in order to assist
nature by washing out of the stomach whatever portions of the fungus
might remain. When exhaustion begins to appear, it should be combated
with doses of aromatic spirits of ammonia, and by the external
application of heat. As it is believed that atropine possesses some
antidotal powers to the poison of the _Amanitas_, this substance should
be injected hypodermatically in the usual dose as quickly as possible,
and an experienced physician should be called at once.

_Ivy Poisoning from Touch._--One of the two species of _Rhus_, is
exceedingly common in all portions of the United States, producing a
severe inflammation of the skin when handled, or even in some persons by
merely being near the plants or in the smoke of a fire where they are
burning. There are two varieties of the _Rhus toxicodendron_, one being
the shrub commonly called _poison oak_, and the other a climbing vine
generally known by the name of poison ivy. The _Rhus venenata_ grows in
swampy localities all over the United States, and is known as
poison-sumac, swamp dog-wood, poison-elder, and poison dog-wood. About
twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the exposure, the skin begins to
itch, and this is shortly followed by an inflammation accompanied by the
formation of numerous small blisters, and still later by scaling. It
should not be forgotten that the berries and other portions of these
plants are poisonous when taken internally, giving rise under such
circumstances to vertigo, faintness, dilation of the pupils, trembling,
confusion of the senses, and, in some instances, convulsions. Should it
be discovered that anyone has been exposed to poisoning by these plants,
the skin should be washed as quickly as is possible with alcohol, or some
substance like whisky that contains it; where this cannot be obtained,
hot water and soap should be liberally applied--the object, in either
case, being the removal of as much of the poison as is possible. After
the irritation of the skin has begun, the parts may be bathed in a one
per cent. solution of carbolic acid, to be repeated every few hours, as
the necessities of the case may demand. Lead-water is also frequently
used with benefit, lime-water also appears to be of use, but the various
powders and salves sold in stores rarely help the patient much. The best
thing after all is soap and water as hot as it can be borne; and
ordinarily the itching and inflammation will disappear in four or five
days, followed by scaling.


VENOMOUS SNAKES AND SNAKE BITES.

Much popular misapprehension exists on the subject of snakes, both as to
the results of their bites and the appropriate treatment under such
circumstances. It is not generally understood that a very large
percentage of our American snakes are entirely harmless--the poisonous
ones being decidedly more the exception than the rule.

Within the confines of the United States there exist only two families of
venomous serpents. By far the most numerous are three genera of viperine
snakes, including the rattlesnakes and moccasins; all of these have a
pit-like depression between the nose and eyes, and hence are called
_pit-vipers_. In the southern portion of our country there are two
species of a colubrine genus closely related to the dreaded cobra of the
East, one of them being called the coral-snake or harlequin snake, and
the other, which occurs in the southwest, is known as the Sonoran
coral-snake.

While there are three genera of vipers in America, two of them are so
closely related, and present characteristics that are so similar that the
ordinary observer would regard them as being identical, and inasmuch as
the character of their poison seems in every way similar, for practical
purposes it would seem desirable to include them under one head; in both
genera, the species have rattles on the tips of their tails, the more
common being the ordinary rattlesnakes (genus _Crotalus_), of which there
are twelve species in the United States, and the ground-rattlesnakes
(genus _Sistrurus_), of which there are two species.

Closely related to the rattlesnakes are the true moccasins, of which
there are two species, one being the cotton-mouth or water-moccasin
(_Ancistrodon piscivorus_), and the other the highland moccasin,
pilot-snake or copper-head, (_Ancistrodon contortrix_).

The two species of poisonous colubrine serpents already referred to are
known respectively as the _Elaps fulvius_, and the _Elaps euryxanthus_,
both of which occur in the southern portions of the United States. These
snakes are fortunately of a very mild disposition, and rarely attempt to
bite, even when handled. That their poison is exceedingly deadly is
attested by the fact that out of eight instances where it was known that
persons were bitten by them, six died, and they should, therefore, be
looked upon as among the most deadly of North American serpents. Mention
should be made of the fact that there are at least six harmless reptiles
that resemble the coral-snakes very closely, and as a consequence of the
former being mistaken for the latter, the assertion has been frequently
made by the ignorant that our elapine serpents are harmless.

A short description of the really deadly reptiles encountered in this
country that would enable even the novice to distinguish them from those
that are harmless would seem not inappropriate here, for where a person
is bitten by a snake it becomes at once a matter of vital importance to
determine, if possible, its true character. Most non-venomous serpents
will viciously bite when cornered, and while they may produce slight
wounds, with a small amount of bleeding, such injuries are entirely
devoid of danger, and need occasion no fear on the part of the victim.
There now follows a brief description of our venomous snakes, by means of
which it will be easy for any one to distinguish them from their innocent
relatives.

_True Rattlesnakes._--There are twelve species of these reptiles in the
United States, all of which, with but two exceptions, live west of the
Mississippi. They vary very greatly in color, but the common eastern
forms generally have alternate transverse yellow and brownish-black marks
over their bodies. All possess rattles. The body of the snake is thick in
proportion to its length, and the head, which is more or less
diamond-shaped, is much larger than, and is quite distinct from the neck.
The pupils of the eye are elliptical--a peculiarity which the pit-vipers
alone possess of all the North American snakes. Between the eye and nose
there is a comparatively deep depression or pit which gives to this group
of snakes their name. There are two large, exceedingly sharp fangs in the
front of the mouth, in the position of a dog's canine teeth, that are
folded up against the roof of the mouth when the snake is in
repose;--being brought forward in a position for stabbing as the serpent
strikes. The scales on the under surface of the body back of the anus do
not divide along the middle line into two rows, as in harmless snakes.

_Ground Rattlesnakes._--There are two species of the pygmy or
ground-rattlesnakes. They attain to a length of only about twenty inches,
and present the general characteristics of the true rattlesnakes, with
the exception that the rattle is small, consisting of but one single
button at the end of the tail. These serpents are exceedingly vicious,
and usually bite without warning. Contrary to the general opinion,
however, the wounds they inflict are rarely, or never, followed by
serious consequences in man. One species is southern. The other occurs
from Ohio to Nebraska, where it is called massasauga.

_Cotton-Mouth Moccasin._--The largest specimens of the cotton-mouth
moccasin attain to a length of about six feet. The full grown reptile is
of a dingy brownish-black color, but the young are pinkish, with coppery
bands running transversely across the body. With the exception that this
reptile has no rattles, it answers in its general peculiarities to the
description already given of its near relatives the rattlesnakes. The
cotton-mouth moccasin is semi-aquatic, being found around the edges of
streams and other bodies of water.

_The Copper-head, or Highland Moccasin._--This serpent is found from
Florida and Illinois to southern Massachusetts; also in parts of Texas.
The largest specimens have a length of about three feet. They resemble
the cotton-mouth moccasin in their general peculiarities, being, however,
somewhat lighter in color. The head has a coppery tinge, from which the
snake gets its name, while the body is of a brownish color, with
transverse Y-shaped bands of reddish-brown. Its favorite habitat is rocky
hill-sides and the banks of mountain water-courses.

_Coral-snakes._--The two coral-snakes resemble each other very closely,
and are long slender serpents, whose heads are quite small, and scarcely
differentiated from their bodies. The pupils are round, and the head has
no pits. They possess two short permanently erect fangs, which are by no
means so well developed as those of the viperine reptiles--though perhaps
capable of inflicting more deadly wounds than any of the latter,--with
the possible exception of the diamond-back rattlesnake of the extreme
southern portion of the country. Their coloration is exceedingly
beautiful, and when properly interpreted, entirely characteristic. From
the head to the tail their skins exhibit alternate rings, or encircling
bands of black, red and yellow--each band of the two former colors being
bordered by yellow; _in other words there are as many yellow stripes as
there are both black and red together._ Stress is laid upon the
characteristics just mentioned, for the reason that half a dozen species
of harmless serpents that greatly resemble them may, without exception,
be differentiated from the true coral-snakes by the fact that there are
as many _black bands as both red and yellow_. Where a snake has been
killed, it is of course quite easy to determine whether or not it is
venomous by a search for the fangs, which are never present in the
non-poisonous reptiles. Fortunately, the coral-snakes are only found in
the extreme southern portion of the United States, live under ground for
the most part, and are rarely encountered.

_Treatment of Snake-Bite._--As soon as a person has been bitten by a
poisonous serpent, a tight bandage, or ligature of any kind, should be
applied above the wound if the injury has been received on any of the
extremities,--which is fortunately the case in the vast majority of
instances. The part bitten should be at once exposed, and search made for
the point of entrance of the fangs. It should be particularly noted as to
whether there are one or two wounds, as it is true in about one-half of
the cases that only one fang enters the flesh,--in which case, of course,
the probabilities of serious consequences resulting are largely
diminished. With a pocket-knife or other sharp instrument the wound
should be enlarged, and, if possible, someone should be persuaded to suck
the wound; this should not be done by one with decayed teeth, as under
such circumstances the poison might be absorbed and produce unpleasant
consequences. A doctor should be summoned as quickly as is possible, but
it must be confessed that in the present state of knowledge, unless he
should happen to possess--which he probably will not--some antitoxin for
the particular snake doing the damage, his services will likely be of no
great value.

     It has been asserted by some that very large doses of strychnine
     are directly antidotal to snake venom, but more recent experience
     does not tend to confirm this view; still there is no harm in
     making the trial, and if the services of someone capable of giving
     the injections can be secured, the treatment is certainly worth the
     trial. The immediate injection into the tissues around the wound of
     a one-per-cent. watery solution of chromic acid or potassium
     permanganate is thought to be of value by destroying the poison,
     but in order to be efficient it must be administered within a short
     time after the bite has been received. Should the patient's
     condition become serious, and the breathing finally stop,
     artificial respiration may be resorted to. As soon as the remedies
     suggested have been tried, it is time for us to go back to the
     ligature, which cannot be suffered to remain around the limb
     indefinitely, as by cutting off the blood-supply it will sooner or
     later produce death of the tissues. From time to time we should
     slowly loosen the bandage, thus allowing a little of the poison to
     pass into the body, and at the same time permit the entrance of a
     small quantity of blood into the tissues of the limb beyond the
     ligature; the bandage should of course be tightened at the end of a
     half a minute, and it should be alternately loosened and tightened
     every half hour until the patient is considered to be out of
     danger.

The reader cannot fail to have observed that nothing has been said
concerning the use of alcohol in the treatment of snake-bite, and the
matter is only here referred to for the purpose of condemning it as being
unsound in theory and bad in practice.

     The idea that this drug is of value in snake bite doubtless
     originally arose from the fact that those bitten by poisonous
     serpents were depressed, and, as in the past alcohol was considered
     the best of all stimulants, it is not surprising that its use was
     generally considered to be essential. As we now know, however, that
     alcohol is a depressant rather than a stimulant, and as numerous
     experiments carried out on animals have clearly shown that it does
     harm in snake bite rather than good, there is every reason why we
     should cease to endanger the lives of those already poisoned by
     adding to the trouble by using this drug. There is but little doubt
     that many more persons have been killed by the alcoholic treatment
     for snake bites than have died from the effects of snake venom.
     Inasmuch as there is a deep-rooted superstition among most people
     that alcohol is the panacea for snake bite--and such notions die
     hard--it may be well to say that all of the authenticated cases of
     this character that have occurred in this country have recently
     been collected, with the result that it was shown that only about
     one man in ten dies who is bitten by a venomous serpent, and it is,
     therefore, quite easy to understand why alcohol has maintained its
     reputation as being an antidote in such cases--the chances being
     nine to one in the victim's favor without any treatment whatever.

As soon as the patient's needs are attended to, it is well to find if the
snake that inflicted the wound was killed, and an examination of it
should at once be made as by determining the size and character of the
reptile an accurate forecast to the probable results may be made. In many
instances it will be found that the snake was not venomous, it having
made only a few scratches which are of no more consequence than the prick
of a brier. If it be found that the serpent inflicting the wound belongs
to one of the groups already referred to, the probabilities of a serious
result will depend upon the size and character of the snake, and also to
a considerable degree on whether one or both fangs entered the victim's
body. A full grown diamond-back rattlesnake, which may attain the extreme
length of eight feet, is perhaps the most dangerous of all the American
poisonous reptiles, though a fully grown coral-snake may be regarded as
almost, if not quite as, deadly. Next to these a large sized cotton-mouth
moccasin is perhaps most to be dreaded, to be followed, depending upon
their size, by the other varieties of rattlesnakes, the copperheads, and
finally the ground-rattler. The larger the serpent inflicting the wound
the greater is the result to be dreaded; naturally it also follows that
the larger the individual bitten the less the danger.

EMERGENCIES AND ACCIDENTS

Few things are of greater importance, and nothing is more neglected than
instructing school-children how to act in emergencies. Particularly is
such knowledge of value in the country. In cities the need of
understanding matters of this kind is not so great, since it is usually
possible to secure at short notice some one capable of dealing with any
situation that may arise. Children very quickly grasp knowledge of this
character, and opportunities frequently offer for an actual demonstration
of the proper remedies in the case of accidents. When the instructor
speaks of cuts and burns they at once understand what is meant.

The most serious result of our neglect in this particular is that our
children pass through life with the most meagre knowledge of the proper
way in which to meet accidents of all sorts, for where they are not
taught during their school days they, for the most part, remain ignorant
of matters of this kind throughout their maturer years. It is much to be
hoped--though this is somewhat of a digression--that the old unscientific
and senseless system of teaching, which persists even in the present time
to a considerable degree, may in the future give way to a more rational
and practical plan of instruction--one that will deal with perceptible
needs rather than abstractions.

The most common emergencies will now be taken up and considered in
detail.

_Drowning._--The subject of drowning is one of especial interest in rural
districts, since it is here that accidents of this kind are most apt to
occur, and skilled attention is most difficult to obtain. It is of the
utmost importance to remember that people may be resuscitated after
having been under the water for considerable periods of time, and we
should, therefore, look upon no ordinary cases as hopeless until the
proper restorative measures have failed.

On removing the body from the water we should not waste time by
attempting to drain the water from the victim's mouth, as the amount of
this substance that enters the air-passages under such circumstances is
so trifling that it may be entirely disregarded. The drowned person
should be placed face down upon the ground with the head slightly turned
to the left, and we should begin at once with artificial respiration.

_Artificial Respiration._--This is accomplished by the operator kneeling
between the separated legs of the patient and placing his hands on the
small of his back, the thumbs nearly meeting at the middle of the spine,
and the other fingers spread out over the lower portion of the chest; the
operator then sways his body downward and forward slowly, counting three
during the movement, then quickly swinging backward releasing the
pressure on the patient's chest; again count three and repeat the
original movement. The pressure should be brought to bear from twelve to
fourteen times a minute, and the movement should be kept up until the
patient begins to show evidences of being restored, or until it is quite
evident that life is extinct.

This system of artificial respiration was originated by Professor
Schafer, as the head of a commission appointed by the British
Government, and is now universally regarded as being by far the most
satisfactory of all such methods.

In the accompanying figures are shown the positions assumed by the
patient and operator while carrying on artificial respiration.

It should be remembered that the victims of accidents of this kind suffer
considerably from lowering of the temperature of the body as a
consequence of the long exposure to water, and we should, therefore, also
direct our attention toward bringing about an immediate reaction by means
of warm blankets and hot bottles, and by vigorous rubbing of the
patient's body.

_Danger from Wounds._--Wounds may be produced by a great variety of
objects, but chiefly, of course, by cutting instruments. Where they are
caused by duller objects, producing more or less tearing and bruising of
the tissues, they are more apt to be followed by infection with
disease-producing germs than where smoothly cut, and consequently require
greater care in treatment. Germs sufficient to produce death may be
introduced into the body by the most minute wound; it is for example well
known that fatal consequences have resulted from the bites of various
insects, and the writer has personally seen a case where a pin-prick was
followed by lockjaw and death. Such facts teach us that we should be
careful in avoiding wounds of all kinds, and, that after they have been
received, they deserve attention, however insignificant they may appear
to be.

     Wounds resulting from objects more or less covered with dirt are
     particularly dangerous, since under such circumstances the germs of
     lockjaw are apt to be introduced into the body, and fatal
     consequences not uncommonly ensue. It is astonishing how frequently
     the disease just referred to follows where a barefooted child
     sticks a dirty splinter or a rusty nail into its foot, and it
     cannot be too strongly urged that it is the duty of the parent in
     such instances to call in a competent physician at once. The reason
     that injuries of this kind are so apt to be followed by lockjaw is
     that the germ that produces the disease lives practically
     everywhere in the earth--being especially common in the rich soil
     of gardens and other highly fertilized earths; and the germs are so
     minute that thousands of them might be present on the point of a
     pin without being visible to the naked eye. The bacilli of lockjaw
     do not grow at all where exposed freely to the oxygen of the air,
     and as a consequence of this fact we rarely see the disease that
     they produce developing after slight superficial wounds; much more
     commonly the malady results from a wound made by some penetrating
     object, such as a splinter of wood, a nail, or a pin.

     The lesson that these facts teach is that where wounds are small
     and deep it is the part of wisdom to cut them open freely in order
     that they may be cleansed as far as is possible, and at the same
     time allow the air to obtain free access to their deepest portions;
     a wound of this kind should not be sewn up, but should be left open
     and allowed gradually to heal up.

     The reason why lockjaw so frequently follows wounds from the
     premature explosion of fireworks is that the paper used in fire
     crackers, etc., often contains the germs of the disease and is
     driven deeply into the tissues. In view of the very considerable
     mortality that yearly occurs among the children of this country it
     seems incomprehensible that our legislatures--which commonly
     exhibit such an uncontrollable desire to regulate their neighbors
     in every possible way--should not long ago have placed the ban on
     fireworks of all kinds.

_Treatment of Wounds._--The treatment of wounds necessarily depends to a
considerable extent on their character and general severity: there are
certain practices, however, that apply in all cases, and should,
therefore, be resorted to wherever injuries of this kind occur. Where the
wound is superficial the bleeding is as a rule trifling in character,
and very quickly stops of its own accord. In other cases, particularly
where deep, larger blood-vessels may be severed, and if they be of any
considerable size, the hemorrhage will not cease until the subject
becomes exceedingly weak, and in some instances the bleeding will go on
until death results. Where bleeding is profuse, it may generally be
assumed that one of the larger vessels has been cut, and under such
circumstances it should be compressed until skilled assistance arrives.
There is a popular but very erroneous impression that arteries can only
be stopped by tying; as a matter of fact any one possesses sufficient
strength in the fingers to pinch them enough to stop the hemorrhage. If
possible, the operator should get his finger down into the wound, after
which he can quickly discover the exact point where pressure stops the
bleeding. One who is unaccustomed to surgical practices would, of course,
hesitate at doing this, but it cannot be too strongly urged that a
procedure of this character produces little or no pain after the finger
is first introduced, and that no one should be deterred by foolish
squeamishness from immediately doing that which in many instances can
only save the life of the victim.

     Where arteries are evidently bleeding--which may be inferred from
     the spurting character of the hemorrhage--a tight bandage above the
     seat of the wound, if on one of the extremities, will often be
     followed by a cessation of the bleeding, and where only small
     vessels are cut, a bandage tightly applied over the wound itself
     may accomplish a similar result. Under such circumstances the
     reader should be warned that it is not safe to leave a limb tightly
     bandaged in this way for any considerable length of time, as
     complete death of the part below may result. Where then a ligature
     is placed above or over a wound, it should be loosened cautiously
     every twenty or thirty minutes, and should be left off for a time.
     If the wounded artery begins to bleed, one should resort to local
     pressure upon it with the finger for five or ten minutes, after
     which the bandage may again be applied.

As soon as all bleeding has ceased, the wound should be thoroughly washed
out by means of water that has been boiled and allowed to cool; the
operation may be greatly assisted by using a rag or a piece of cotton
that was boiled in the water. If there be grease or other dirt that does
not readily come away soap may be freely used.

After the wound has been thoroughly cleansed, some sort of antiseptic had
better be applied. Unquestionably the best of all of these is tincture of
iodine, a small amount of which should be poured directly into the wound.
A saturated solution of carbolic acid in water is also a fairly good
disinfectant, and may be employed where the tincture of iodine cannot be
obtained. A solution of corrosive sublimate in water--one part of the
former to one thousand parts of the latter--is much used as an antiseptic
by surgeons, but when placed directly in wounds has a tendency to cause
much irritation, and is by no means so efficient as either of the
disinfectants just referred to. In the country it is an old custom to use
turpentine, or resins from several different species of pines; these are
fairly efficient antiseptics, and should be employed where it is
impossible to obtain those that are better. It should always be
remembered that thorough washing out with boiled water and soap is in
itself a procedure that will remove a considerable proportion of any
germs that may have got into the wound, and that if carefully done, it
is almost as efficient as the best antiseptic.

After the wound has been thoroughly cleansed by water and antiseptics, it
should then be bandaged with a cloth that has been previously boiled and
dried, if no regular surgical dressing is at hand. Every precaution
should then be taken to prevent it being reopened. Collodion is sometimes
used over small wounds, and is quite efficient in that it forms a coating
over any surface upon which it is placed that is impermeable to both air
and water. Small wounds that have been thoroughly cleansed and
disinfected with tincture of iodine may be safely and satisfactorily
closed by means of the substance just mentioned, but it should never be
forgotten that the germ of lockjaw--which is the one, ordinarily, most to
be dreaded in such injuries--lives and grows best in the absence of the
oxygen of the air, and that a covering of collodion would materially
assist in the development of this dreadful disease.

In those instances where pus forms in wounds, they should be at once
reopened and allowed to drain. It very often follows after
cuts--particularly if they be not properly cleansed--that a scab forms on
the outside, holding beneath a greater or less amount of pus. The
presence of the latter can generally be inferred by a wound presenting a
red and angry appearance around its edges, and from swelling and pain. As
soon as such a condition is observed, the scab should be thoroughly
soaked in water and removed, and it is then necessary that the wound be
kept open and allowed to drain freely until it heals up from the bottom.
A failure to observe precautions of this kind may result in
blood-poisoning, and finally even in death. After a wound begins to
suppurate it does little good to put antiseptics into it, as they cause
considerable irritation, and under no circumstances do they put an end to
the pus formation. Open drainage of the wound, and keeping up the general
health of the patient, are the only means that we possess of successfully
combating conditions of this kind.

Inasmuch as we possess an antitoxin that unquestionably has the power of
preventing lockjaw, if given sufficiently early, it is the part of
wisdom to administer at once a sufficient dose of this substance to any
child who has received a penetrating wound from some dirty object, or
from the explosion of fire-crackers. Statistics show that under such
circumstances lockjaw may be prevented in almost all cases. If we wait
until the disease develops, the antitoxin is of no value.

_Care of Sprains._--The seriousness of sprains is very generally
underestimated, and as a consequence many persons go through life with
ankles that are abnormally weak, and even painful in bad weather, and in
which there is a tendency to swell and become exceedingly troublesome
after a slight wrench. In all true sprains there is more or less actual
tearing of the ligaments that bind the joint together, and, if the injury
be not properly treated and the joint thoroughly supported, complete
recovery in many instances never takes place.

As soon as a sprain occurs the injured joint should be immersed in water
just as warm as can be borne, and hot water should be from time to time
added in order to keep the temperature sufficiently high. The bath should
be continued for several hours--the longer the better. Thus the pain and
swelling will be greatly reduced, and the tenderness which, in the
beginning, is so excruciating, will largely disappear. The next step is
to properly support the injured parts in order that unnecessary movement
may be prevented, thus avoiding further tearing of the ligaments. This
may be accomplished by means of various splints--the most popular being
those made of plaster of Paris, or silicate of sodium, either of which
will require the services of a physician in order to have them properly
applied.

     Within recent years a treatment has come much into vogue, which is
     exceedingly satisfactory, and has the advantage that it does not
     require the service of an expert in order to have it properly
     carried out. This consists in the application of strips of adhesive
     plaster to the skin over the seat of the injury and for some
     distance both above and below the joint affected. Ordinary
     sticking-plaster is not the best for this purpose, though in an
     emergency it might be used; much better is the so-called mole-skin
     plaster, which is much thicker, and does not require moistening
     before being applied. The plaster should be torn into strips about
     three-fourths of an inch wide and twelve to eighteen inches long.
     Where the ankle is the seat of the trouble, a strip is firmly
     applied to the back of the foot, beginning just behind the toes,
     and is brought around the ankle and carried up on to the calf of
     the leg--thus partially winding the plaster around the leg. The
     first strip having been applied, another is put on in a similar
     way, the edges of the latter overlapping those of the former. This
     is continued until one side of the ankle is fairly well covered,
     after which we may begin operations on the opposite side, carrying
     the strips around the leg in such a way as to meet and overlap
     those first put on. This process is continued until the entire
     joint is completely covered with the plaster. It is of the utmost
     importance that the foot be put in a natural position before we
     begin to apply the plaster, as, otherwise, it will be left in a
     constrained and uncomfortable position, which will do away largely
     with the good effects of the splint. Where carried out in the
     proper way it is in the highest degree astonishing to see how
     perfectly the joint is supported, with the effect that the use of
     the injured limb may be immediately resumed. The writer recalls
     having seen a young lady with a frightful sprain, who could not
     bear to touch her foot to the floor, improve to such an extent
     under the treatment as outlined that she was able to go to a ball
     and dance through the evening on the day the injury occurred.

Not only does the immediate resuming of the use of an injured limb, when
treated in this way, appear not to be injurious, but the ultimate
recovery seems actually hastened. After a day or so it is well to remove
the plaster splint first applied and put on another, as the former has by
this time usually ceased to fit the injured joint--owing to the
diminution in the swelling. The splint may be changed three, four, or
even five times, if deemed necessary, though two or three applications
generally amply suffice. _This or some other splint should be kept on the
injured joint for at least a month or six weeks, as otherwise complete
recovery frequently fails to occur, with the permanent weakening of the
joint as a consequence._

Of course it is always desirable to have a physician apply the splints
for a sprain where this is feasible, but with a little care it may be
done by any intelligent person who will observe closely the directions
given. The plaster should be put on moderately tight, but the utmost care
must be exercised in not carrying this to an extreme, as in such cases
serious results might ensue. In order that it may be determined as to
whether or not the splint is too tight, it is advisable to watch the
patient's toes for some hours after the plaster is put on, and should
they be found to be very cold, and particularly should they begin to show
a dusky discoloration, it is evidence that the strips are exerting too
much pressure, and they should be at once removed. Under such
circumstances, in a half an hour or so, the splint could be reapplied
with safety.

The mole-skin plaster, which is used in making the splint just referred
to, may be obtained in rolls of any width from all druggists; and as the
plaster keeps practically indefinitely, it should be in the
medicine-closet of everyone living at a distance from skilled medical
aid.

After a sprained ankle the patient should wear shoes that come well up
above the injured joint, and they should be laced tightly until some time
after all symptoms of trouble have disappeared; it would be on the safe
side to wear shoes of this kind from six months to a year, depending upon
the severity of the injury.

_Treating Bruises._--Bruises are not usually followed by serious
consequences if properly treated. They result from injuries that tear
the tissues beneath the skin to such a degree that hemorrhage from many
minute blood-vessels occurs in the injured part. In the course of a few
hours they often present a truly alarming appearance, being swollen and
greatly discolored, but they are not as a rule followed by any permanent
ill results. Where bruises are slight no treatment of any kind is
required, as in a short time the effused blood is absorbed, and the part
returns to a normal condition. Where more severe it is not a bad practice
to cover them with flannels wrung out from hot water, the same being
renewed from time to time, and the applications kept up for from six to
twelve hours. Usually at the end of this time the soreness and swelling
will have considerably abated, and the injured tissues quickly return to
a normal condition.

_The reader should be warned that under no circumstances should the skin
be opened, even though it may be quite obvious that there is a bluish
mass of blood immediately beneath._ Where this mistake is made, infection
of the injured tissues with the germs that produce pus inevitably
results, and as a consequence the patient suffers with a discharging
wound for a considerable period of time. In rare cases germs get into the
injured parts without the skin having been opened, and there results
under such circumstances a condition which closely resembles that of an
ordinary abscess. The probability that this undesirable complication has
arisen is shown by the swelling becoming greater and more painful some
days after the injury has occurred, and under such circumstances a good
physician should be at once consulted, as it will be necessary to make an
incision into the diseased area.

_Soothing Burns._--One of the most common and painful of injuries are
burns. Small superficial burns require no particular treatment. Where,
however, they are of sufficient severity to merit attention, the simplest
and best of all treatments is to immerse the diseased part in cold water,
and here it should remain at least some hours, or until competent medical
aid can be secured. Medical treatment of injuries of this kind is not
particularly satisfactory, though there are some drugs that may be used
with more or less benefit. Chief among them is picric acid, which may be
applied by means of a cloth wrung out of a one per cent. solution of this
substance in water. Another treatment which has some merit, and which has
long enjoyed a certain vogue among both medical men and the laity, is a
combination of equal parts of lime-water with either olive or linseed
oil; this is called carron oil and is applied in the same way as the
picric acid solution. All three of the remedies referred to act largely
by preventing the access of air to the burned surface, and they,
therefore, may be replaced by any bland and non-poisonous substance which
accomplishes like results.

_Accidents from Heat and Cold._--The climate of the United States is
characterized by extreme variations--there being over almost its entire
extent during the winter months a series of "cold waves," during which
excessively low temperatures are often experienced,--particularly in the
northern and western portions of the country. During the summer, on the
other hand, we have almost everywhere periods during which the
temperature goes very high--often accompanied by excessive atmospheric
moisture. As a consequence of these extremes in temperature it could only
be expected that we would often experience bad effects, so that serious
illness, and even death, occasionally result.

Of the two extremes, excessive heat is much the more dangerous, and is by
far more frequently followed by fatal results--particularly in crowded
cities. Fortunately for the dwellers in rural districts the precise
conditions under which excessive heat is followed by serious consequences
are not so frequently encountered as in the more populous centers, and as
a result we find that serious ill effects from high temperatures are by
no means so common in the former as in the latter. There are, however,
two quite well defined and distinct morbid conditions that are the result
of high temperatures, and inasmuch as they differ in their symptoms as
well as in their treatment, it will be necessary to consider them
separately.

_Sunstroke._--Sunstroke is characterized by a rapid onset, the patient
usually complaining of an uncomfortable sense of burning heat and a
feeling of dizziness and depression. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea are
common, frequently an intense headache, and sooner or later a muttering
delirium. The patient's skin is dry and hot, the face is flushed, and the
eyes suffused, and a thermometer will show a bodily temperature of from
105° to 110° or even 112°F. In fatal cases it is usually some hours
before the patient dies, though sometimes he succumbs almost instantly.

When attacked, the patient should at once be removed to some shady place,
and should be held in a sitting posture against any suitable object that
may be at hand. The clothing should be loosened at once, and every
endeavor should be directed towards lowering the temperature of the
victim. This is best done by pouring ice-water or the coolest water that
can be secured freely over the entire body of the patient. This treatment
should be continued until the temperature approaches the normal--the
vigor of the measure employed gradually decreasing, as the patient shows
signs of getting better. Improvement is shown by a gradual return of
consciousness.

_Heat-Prostration._--Like true sunstroke, heat-prostration comes on with
an extreme suddenness. The patient becomes suddenly dizzy, and sinks to
the ground in a state of collapse. The skin is pale and cool, the pulse
limp and weak, and the thermometer shows the temperature to be somewhat
below normal. The patient should be laid on the ground in a cool, shady
place, and stimulants at once given. By far the most efficient of them is
a hypodermic injection of morphine and atropine, to which strychnine in
appropriate doses may be added.

_Guarding against Sunstroke and Heat-Prostration._--Excessive heat is the
basis of both of these conditions, but there are many contributing causes
which play a more or less important part in their production.
Notwithstanding the fact that they are regarded as being different, and
that the treatment and symptoms of the two conditions vary widely, there
can be no doubt that certain depressing influences, in every way similar,
play an important part in their causation.

     Foremost among such influences alcohol claims first place, and
     unquestionably not only predisposes to all diseases brought on by
     heat, but lends much greater gravity to an attack--the drunkard
     rarely recovering from true sunstroke, and frequently dying from
     the much less dangerous heat-prostration. It is said that the
     latter condition is particularly prone to occur after freely
     indulging in beer or other malt liquors. Not only does alcohol
     predispose to these morbid states, but other influences that
     depress the general vitality are more or less apt to predispose to
     the production of both, such as loss of sleep, overwork, worry,
     excessive eating, and insufficient food. The danger is greater when
     there is excessive moisture in the air, so that at such times we
     should particularly avoid excesses of all kinds, and as far as
     possible, keep out of the direct rays of the sun.

_Frost-bite._--In the extreme northern and northwestern portions of the
United States frost-bite is not uncommon in winter. The part attacked
becomes suddenly bloodless, presenting much the appearance of the skin
after death. The victim is usually not aware of the fact as at first
there is no pain. As soon as a condition of this kind is observed,--and
in cold countries persons are quick to inform the victim when they notice
it,--the place should be vigorously rubbed with a piece of ice, or with a
handful of snow, and this should be continued until the circulation again
returns as evidenced by the parts becoming reddened. A rapid warming of
the affected parts is not advisable, the result being not unlike that of
a burn.

_Chilblains._--Many persons suffer during the winter from
chilblains--this being a state in which more or less pain and itching is
produced in a part as the result of poor circulation. Such a condition is
usually the result of a combination of cold with the affected part being
more or less compressed, and as a consequence, we find that troubles of
this kind are more frequently in the feet--particularly where tight shoes
are worn. The remedy for troubles of this character is to wear
loose-fitting shoes, and to thoroughly protect the parts by appropriate
woolen socks. It is particularly of importance to change the socks often,
since as soon as they become moistened with perspiration a tendency to a
recurrence of the trouble is very great. Drugs are of no particular use
in conditions of this kind. Chilblains are more commonly suffered in
Europe than in America. One young American lady in Paris acquired them
one winter, and "knowing no better," as she told the writer, cured
herself by "boiling the chilblains"--soaking her feet in the hottest
water she could endure. The affliction did not return; and the novel
recipe was delightedly followed by all the art-students of the
neighborhood.

_Blisters._--Small blisters on the feet are not uncommon as the result of
wearing tight, or ill-fitting shoes. Wherever possible, they should be
quickly relieved from all compression, and should under no circumstances
be opened.

     The treatment is very simple and quite efficient, provided it be
     instituted while the skin is still intact, and consists simply in
     placing over the affected area a small piece of mole-skin plaster,
     which should extend for a short distance out on the normal skin
     surrounding the blister; the same sort of plaster should here be
     used as was recommended for supporting sprained joints, and is an
     article so useful that it should be kept in every house. Where
     blisters have ruptured, the better plan is to apply some
     antiseptic, like tincture of iodine, and after having allowed it to
     dry, stick on some plaster as already directed. If no antiseptic be
     at hand the plaster should be used any way, but it should be
     frequently removed in order to see that no suppuration is occurring
     beneath. Small blisters, the result of burns, may be treated in a
     similar way with good results.

_Tooth-ache._--Tooth-ache is a condition for which there is no excuse in
the present state of knowledge. As soon as decay begins in a tooth it
should receive the attention of a competent dentist, and where this is
done a true tooth-ache never occurs. Where one has been so neglectful as
to permit the exposure of the nerve of a tooth, he can only be saved from
much suffering by going at once to a dentist. In the meantime, various
measures may be adopted to diminish the pain. A piece of cotton dipped in
dilute carbolic acid and thrust into the cavity will almost immediately
relieve the suffering for the time being. Oil of cloves, or a mixture of
this substance with chloroform, applied in a similar way will bring about
a like result. The reader cannot be too often reminded of the fact that
bad teeth not only cause much suffering, but likewise lead to many
digestive disturbances, and as a consequence little could be of more
importance to the health of the body than to see to it that they be kept
in perfect order. Where teeth are knocked out, they will often grow back
and render good service for many years afterwards if replaced
immediately in their sockets.

_Bites of Animals._--Wounds of this character, particularly those
produced by dogs and cats, are not at all uncommon. Where it is
definitely known that the animal is not rabid, the treatment should be
that of punctured wounds,--to the chapter on which the reader is referred
for further information.

Where there is reason to suspect that the animal has hydrophobia, it
should be, if possible, at once confined, and watched for developments.
Under no circumstances should it be killed. If the animal is rabid, it
will be unable to eat or drink, and will die in the course of a few days;
should it survive not the least fear need be felt as to it having had
hydrophobia, as no instance is on record where the disease was followed
by recovery. For further information on this subject, the reader is
referred to the special article on hydrophobia (page 211).

_Hiccough._--Hiccough is a condition caused by a spasm of the diaphragm.
All methods for the relief of this somewhat annoying condition are based
upon the idea of having the patient hold his breath as long as is
possible. The remedy is best applied by the sufferer holding his breath
and leaning as far backward as is possible, and in the meanwhile
distracting the attention by pointing the index finger of one hand
towards the nose, and bringing the former toward the latter as slowly as
is possible. Sticking the tongue out and holding the breath at the same
time will often relieve hiccough, or if the victim can be induced to
sneeze the distressing symptom will at once cease. The _slow_ swallowing
of a few sips of water will frequently put an end to the trouble.