A NOVEL DICTIONARY.

Observer, Volume 9, Issue 522, 22 December 1888, Page 4

A NOVEL DICTIONARY.

BT KIT. How many of you have; a dictionary that has attended over 100 weddings, to say .nothing of parties, teas, etc.? Not very many 111 venture to say, but let me tell you about this noted dictionary. "Thirty yearsj ago, when mother was first married she began to collect recipes for a cook book. For lack of anything smaller she took an old unabridged dictionary of the largest size, cut out every other leaf, indexed it and began to paste in the cooking recipes she cut from the papers. For "instance, there was a chapter devoted to puddings ; under this heading was a list of the different kinds of puddings and the pages where they were to be found. Cakes formed another chapter, meats another and so on through the list. Every week, as soon as the papers had been read, rnofcher would collect them, take the dictionary, scissors and paste pot, and carefully paste each recipe in its proper place. As time went by the book steadily filled, so when anyone wanted a recipe for any particular dish, the dictionary was sure to contain it. For example, under the heading of tapioca pudding there were forty-seven recipes to be found, and i ninety-seven for making tomato catsup. But among so many, how could we find what we wanted? you ask. In this way: When we had carefully tested a recipe and found it satisfactory we marked it by a star, ,thus *. If extra good it was marked by two stars, and if uusurpassed three stars distinguished it. But if, on the contrary, it was not satisfactory it was crossed off by a single line ; two lines meant very bad, and three lines signified 'positively uneatable.' So by simply glancing over a page we can tell at once just what we want. There is one objection to a cook book of this sort ; it is co useful that everybody wants to borrow it, and so it is seldom at home. Just make one and see if you don't call it a • grand, good thing.'