Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/556

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488
HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

the butter in a stewpan, and fry the cutlets lightly on both sides. Add the bacon in slices, a few trimmings of turnip and carrot, the meat trimmings, mace, bouquet-garni, salt and pepper, and as much boiling stock or water as will over the whole. Stew gently for about 2½ hours, keeping the stewpan closely covered. Cook the vegetables separately, and drain them well. When done, remove the meat from the stewpan, strain the gravy, return it to the stewpan, add the bacon cut into dice tomato sauce, lemon-juice, prepared vegetables, and the meat. Season to taste, re-heat, and serve.

Time.—From 2½ to 3 hours. Average Cost, 3s. Sufficient for 4 or 5 persons.

Cow-Pox, or Variola, the vaccine disease which appears on the teats of cows, accompanied with inflammation. The vesicles of a blue or livid hue contain a colourless, somewhat viscid, fluid, composed principally of bioplasm, which by the medium of vaccination communicates cow-pox to the human subject, and acts as a preventive against the more virulent forms of small pox. The practice of vaccination owes its origin to Dr. Jenner, a native of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, where he was born in 1749. After studying under the celebrated anatomist, John Hunter, Dr. Jenner settled in his native town. Observing that cows were subject to a certain infectious eruption of the teats, and that the persons who were engaged in milking such cattle escaped small-pox, or had it in a less virulent form, he made inquiries into the subject, the result being the introduction of vaccination into England in 1796.

The Cattle Plague, or Rinderpest.—This terrible disease is of highly contagious and malignant type, attacking animals of the ox tribe, and usually proves fatal. The symptoms are characterized by great depression of the vital powers, frequent shivering, staggering gait, cold extremities, quick and short breathing, drooping head and reddened eyes, high temperature, the discharge of a foetid secretion from the mouth, nose, and eyes, and failure of the heart's action. The attack is generally of seven days' duration. The cattle plague originated in the Asiatic steppes—hence the name by which it is sometimes called, steppe-murrain—where millions of cattle are bred and pastured on the rich pasturage of the plains. Various remedies have been tried for curing the disease, but the only effectual method is "stamping out" the plague, by slaughtering the infected cattle, and prohibiting by an Order in Council the importation of animals from infected districts. It is probable that the disease known in the Middle Ages as "murrain," was identical with the rinderpest. It made its appearance in England in 1865, when nearly 300,000 cattle either died of the plague, or were slaughtered to prevent contagion.

811.—VEAL TENDONS, PALESTINE STYLE. (Fr.Tendrons de Veau à la Palestine.)

Ingredients.—The thick end of a breast of veal, 1 quart of stock, 1 glass of sherry, 1 onion, 1 small carrot, ½ a small turnip, a bouquet-garni (parsley, thyme, bay-leaf), 6 peppercorns, 2 cloves, ½ a pint of Espagnole sauce (see Sauces). For the garnish: 6 small artichoke bottoms, ½ a lb. of Jerusalem artichokes, ½ a pint of milk, ½ an oz. of butter, the yolk of 1 egg, a few white breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoonful of white sauce, salt and pepper.

Method.—Cut the tendons into pieces about 2 inches square, put them into a stewpan with the stock, wine, vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, cloves, and salt, cook gently until tender (from 3 to 4 hours), then remove carefully, and press between 2 dishes until cold. Strain the stock they were cooked in, return it to the saucepan, and boil rapidly to reduce. Wash and peel the Jerusalem artichokes, cut them into thick slices, boil until tender in milk and water, then