unpalatable or unwholesome. They are generally much cheaper, perhaps the only exception being that of olive oil. These vegetable oils, as a rule are excellent for salad dressing, for frying and general cooking purposes and for the ordinary uses to which lard and other animal fats are devoted. A proper labeling of all such packages would increase the quantity consumed, restoring confidence to the public in the character of the goods purchased, and prove of mutual benefit to the grower, the manufacturer and the consumer. It must be remembered, however, that there are many people who prefer the animal fats, and so there will probably always be a large field for their use. Such consumers are entitled to secure the pure article, properly prepared from healthy animals and free from rancidity and organic impurities. Lard and other animal fats offered in this way will have a greater vogue, command a greater degree of confidence and secure a larger trade than if sold under conditions engendering suspicion and distrust.
SOUPS.
Classification of Soups.—The soups which are commonly consumed are divided into two great classes—those of animal and those of vegetable origin. Any liquid or semi-liquid preparation of a meat or vegetable or the two combined which may or may not carry particles of solid substances is classed with these preparations. Soups are generally used at the beginning of a meal, usually at dinner-time, and, as a rule, do not have any very high nutritive value. That they have a useful function cannot be denied, since the introduction of a small quantity of a condimental and slightly nutritive warm liquid into the stomach at the beginning of dinner tends to stimulate the secretive glands of the stomach walls to greater activity and thus to promote digestion. Soup should be regarded pre-eminently as a condimental and not as a nutritive substance.
Preparation of Stock.—In the making of stock the base of the material, as a rule, is that part of the meat and bone soluble in hot water. The best way of preparing this stock is as follows:
The meat and bones selected should be fresh, free from all impurities and be derived solely from healthy animals as soon as they have been slaughtered. Inasmuch as the shape of the material used is of little consequence the parts of the carcass that are cut away in the preparation of the usual cuts of the marketable meats are utilized for stock making. The flesh should be cut into fragments of proper size and the bones broken up into small pieces. This material with the appropriate amount of water and salt is placed in a vessel capable of being closed in such a way that no aqueous vapor will escape, and a slight degree of pressure, equal to the half of an atmosphere, can be sustained. Simple forms of digesters are made for this purpose which are
