I have lately evolved a good spring vegetable dish. The common green Turnip-tops, which are wholesome, but not palatable if plainly boiled, are delicious when treated like the French puree of Spinach (see 'Dainty Dishes'), rubbed through a sieve, and mixed with butter and cream. They are a beautiful bright green. In the country young Nettles done in the same way are very good, but they must be fresh-a state in which they are not to be had in large towns. I have been told how curious it is that nettles never grow in absolutely wild places, but are only to be found in localities more or less haunted by man.

I think Rhubarb, which is so largely grown and eaten in England, both forced and out of doors, is never used on the Continent. I wonder if this is because it does not stand the severe frosts of the mid-Europe winters. We dig up plants and put them into boxes, and force them under the frames of our greenhouse. For later eating, we also cover it in the garden, as everybody does, with pots surrounded by leaves. I do not think that the ordinary English tart is the best way of cooking Rhubarb, unless done in the following manner:-When young and tender, cut it up into pieces the length of a finger, and throw them into cold water, to prevent the ends drying, while a syrup is prepared in an earthenware saucepan with sugar, a few of the rough pieces of the Rhubarb, and a small pinch of ginger. Throw the cold water away from the Rhubarb, strain the syrup, boil it up, and pour it over the pieces. Stew it for a very short time till tender without mashing it up. It looks better if the pieces are slightly arranged in the dish. If anything iron touches the Rhubarb or the syrup, they turn purple and look horrid. Properly cooked, Rhubarb should be of a pretty pink or green colour. Many doctors forbid it. I think it probably may be unwholesome for meat-eating people; this is the case with so many fruits and vegetables.

All my tarts throughout the year are made with the crust baked apart, and the fruit, stewed previously, juicy and cold. Shortly before dinner make the paste called in 'Dainty Dishes' 'crisp paste' for tarts; crumple up kitchen paper into a mound the height you wish your crust to be, place it in the pie-dish-the round-shaped dishes are the prettiest-cover this with a clean sheet of buttered paper, lay your paste over this, bake in the usual way. "When done, lift off the crust, take out the paper, pour in the fruit (which can be iced, if desired), put a little raw white of egg round the rim of the pie-dish, and replace the crust. In this way an orange or a strawberry tart can be made without cooking the fruit at all, except in the usual compote way of pouring boiling syrup over it.

Towards the end of February is the best time for making Orange Marmalade (see 'Dainty Dishes'), as the Seville oranges in London are then at their best. In all cases when old jam pots, glasses, etc, are used for preserving, it is very desirable to wash them thoroughly in clean water, avoiding all soda or soap, and, when dry, powder them with a little sulphur and wipe clean. If soda is used in anything connected with fruit, it has an injurious chemical action.

The following are the translations of a few careful recipes which were written out by a very excellent French chef. They belong to so entirely different a cuisine from our ordinary modest and economical recipes, that I think they may be not without interest to some people. It is worth noting how, when a really good French cook wishes to instruct, he is careful to go into the minutest details.