which, when killed, will weigh one hundred and fifty per quarter—­larger oxen are always coarse.  Salt the pieces as directed, let them lie one fortnight, then put them in brine, where they must remain three weeks:  take them out at the end of the time, wipe them quite dry, rub them over with bran, and hang them in a cool, dry, and, if possible, dark place, that the flies may not get to them:  they must be suspended, and not allowed to touch any thing.  It will be necessary, in the course of the summer, to look them over occasionally, and after a long wet season, to lay them in the sun a few hours.  Your tongues may be dried in the same manner:  make a little hole in the root, run a twine through it, and suspend it.  These dried meats must be put in a good quantity of water, to soak, the night before they are to be used.  In boiling it is absolutely necessary to have a large quantity of water to put the beef in while the water is cold, to boil steadily, skimming the pot, until the bones are ready to fall out; and, if a tongue, till the skin peels off with perfect ease:  the skin must also be taken from the beef.  The housekeeper who will buy good ox beef, and follow these directions exactly, may be assured of always having delicious beef on her table.  Ancient prejudice has established a notion, that meat killed in the decrease of the moon, will draw up when cooked.  The true cause of this shrinking, may be found in the old age of the animal, or in its diseased state, at the time of killing.  The best age is from three to five years.

Few persons are aware of the injury they sustain, by eating the flesh of diseased animals.  None but the Jewish butchers, who are paid exclusively for it, attend to this important circumstance.  The best rule for judging that I have been able to discover, is the colour of the fat.  When the fat of beef is a high shade of yellow, I reject it.  If the fat of veal, mutton, lamb or pork, have the slightest tinge of yellow, I avoid it as diseased.  The same rule holds good when applied to poultry.

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To corn beef in hot weather.

Take a piece of thin brisket or plate, cut out the ribs nicely, rub it on both sides well with two large spoonsful of pounded saltpetre; pour on it a gill of molasses and a quart of salt; rub them both in; put it in a vessel just large enough to hold it, but not tight, for the bloody brine must run off as it makes, or the meat will spoil.  Let it be well covered, top, bottom and sides, with the molasses and salt.  In four days you may boil it, tied up in a cloth with the salt, &c. about it:  when done, take the skin off nicely, and serve it up.  If you have an ice-house or refrigerator, it will be best to keep it there.  A fillet or breast of veal, and a leg or rack of mutton, are excellent done in the same way.

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Important observations on roasting, boiling, frying, &c.