the meat is quite tender. Remove the best pieces of rabbit (these can be used for croquettes, etc.), and the bunch of herbs. Melt the butter, add the flour, mix well, stir in the milk, and boil. Stir into the pan containing the soup, simmer for 20 minutes, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and rub through a sieve. Re-heat, and add, if liked, a cupful of cream. Serve with fried bread croûtons.
Time.— 1½ to 2 hours. Average Cost, 2s. 3d. Sufficient for 8 persons. Seasonable from October to January.
83.—RABBIT SOUP (BROWN.)
This is made in a similar manner as explained in the foregoing recipe, the only difference being that the rabbit is fried after it is cut up, and brown stock should be used. The bacon and rabbit should be fried in dripping until they acquire a brown colour, after which the flour used for thickening must be fried also. The stock and water is then added, with the vegetables, etc. Cook gently for 1½ hours, and strain, season to taste, then serve. This soup should be of a dark fawn colour. It is best to omit the cream mentioned in the foregoing recipe.
84.—RICE SOUP. (Fr.—Potage au Riz.)
Ingredients.—2 pints of white second stock, 1 pint of milk, the yolks of 2 eggs, salt and pepper, 3 tablespoonfuls of rice.
Method.—Boil the stock, add the rice, previously well-washed, and simmer gently for about ½ hour, or until the rice is thoroughly cooked. Rub through a hair sieve, return to the stewpan, add the milk, and boil. Beat the yolks of the eggs with a little milk or cold stock, let the soup cool slightly, then pour in the eggs and stir until the soup thickens. Season to taste, and serve.
Time.—½ to 1 hour. Average Cost, 5d. to 6d. without the stock. Seasonable all the year. Sufficient for 6 persons.
Rice (Fr.: Riz).—This important food-plant, which belongs to the natural order of the Grassel, was long known in the East before it was introduced into Egypt and Greece, and forms the principal article of diet of the Hindus and Chinese. It is now extensively cultivated in the low grounds of the tropical and sub-tropical districts of South-East Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, Java, Central America, and grows luxuriantly in the rich alluvial deposits of the Nile. The stalk of the rice plant varies from one to six feet, and is erect, round, and jointed; its leaves are large, firm, and spear-shaped; the seeds are white and oblong, varying in form according to the different varieties, as the Carolina, Rangoon, Patna, and other kinds. Rice in the husk is called "paddy." It is a light and wholesome food, but is very poor and deficient in proteids, fats, and salts, and therefore contains only a small proportion of nitrogenous or flesh-forming matter, 5 in 100 parts, and should be used in combination with meat, peas, or beans to supply the proteids, fat, and common salt.
85.—SAGO SOUP. (Fr.—Potage de Sagou à la Crême.)
Ingredients.—3 pints of second stock, 1 pint of milk, ¼ a pint of cream, 3 ozs. of fine sago, the yolks of 3 eggs, 1 bay-leaf, sugar, salt and pepper.
Method.—Put the stock and bay-leaf into a stewpan, when boiling
