Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings horses and all the kings men Could not set Humpty Dumpty back again.

--MOTHER GOOSE.

Try the freshness of eggs by putting them into cold water; those that sink the soonest are the freshest.

Never attempt to boil an egg without watching the timepiece. Put the eggs in boiling water. In three minutes eggs will boil soft; in four minutes the white part will be cooked; in ten minutes they will be hard enough for salad.

HOW TO PRESERVE. MRS. M. UHLER.

To each pailful of water add two pints of fresh slaked lime and one pint of common salt; mix well. Fill your barrel half full with this fluid, put your eggs down in it any time after June, and they will keep two years if desired.

SOFT BOILED EGGS. MRS. W. E. THOMAS.

Put eggs in a bowl or pan; pour boiling water over them until they are well covered; let stand ten minutes; pour off water, and again cover with boiling water. If you like them quite soft, eat immediately after pouring on second water; if you like them harder, leave them in longer. This method makes the white more jelly-like and digestible.

FRENCH OMELETTE. GERTRUDE DOUGLAS WEEKS.

Take eight eggs, well beaten separately; add to the yolks eight tablespoonfuls of sweet milk, one tablespoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of good baking powder, salt and pepper; beat well together, and then stir in lightly at the last the beaten whites.

Have ready a skillet with melted b.u.t.ter, smoking hot, and pour in mixture. Let cook on bottom; then put in oven from five to ten minutes. Serve at once.

OMELETTE. MRS. H. T. VAN FLEET.

To the well beaten yolks of five eggs add two teaspoonfuls of corn starch, and a little salt dissolved in one-half cup of milk. Beat whites to a stiff froth, and stir lightly into mixture. Have ready a hot b.u.t.tered spider, into which turn the whole, and bake to a light brown in a quick oven.

PLAIN OMELETTE. MRS. C. H. WILLIAMS.

Stir into the well beaten yolks of four eggs one-half tablespoonful of melted b.u.t.ter, a little salt, one tablespoonful of flour mixed smooth in one cup of milk; beat together well, and then stir in lightly the whites, beaten stiff; pour into b.u.t.tered skillet; cook on top stove for ten minutes, and then place in oven to brown.

EGG FOR AN INVALID.

Put two tablespoonfuls of boiling water in a sauce pan on the stove; break a fresh egg into it; stir briskly until the egg is slightly set, but not at all stiff; season with salt, and a little pepper. Serve at once on a thin slice of b.u.t.tered toast.

SARDELLED EGGS. JENNIE MARTIN HERSHBERGER, TIFFIN, OHIO.

Boil some eggs hard; remote sh.e.l.ls, and cut the eggs oblong; take out yolks, and cream, or mash fine. Then take sardells, and remove the backbone; mash fine, and mix with the yolks of eggs and a little red pepper, and fill the whites of eggs with the mixture. They are fine for an appetizer. Sardells are a small fish from three to four inches long, and come in small kegs, like mackerel.

STUFFED EGGS.

Boil eggs for twenty minutes; then drop in cold water. Remove the sh.e.l.ls, and cut lengthwise. Remove the yolks, and cream them with a good salad dressing. Mix with chopped ham, or chicken, or any cold meat, if you choose. Make mixture into b.a.l.l.s, and fill in the hollows of your whites. If you have not the salad dressing mix the yolks from six eggs with a teaspoonful of melted b.u.t.ter, a dash of cayenne pepper, a little prepared mustard, salt, vinegar and sugar to taste.

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSING.

"To make a perfect salad, there should be a spendthrift for oil, a miser for vinegar, a wise man for salt, and a madcap to stir the ingredients up, and mix them well together."

-- SPANISH PROVERB

It is said that "Any fool can make a salad," but all salads are not made by fools. "Mixing" comes by intuition, and the successful cooks use the ingredients, judgment, and their own tastes, rather than the recipe.

Any number of salads and fillings for sandwiches for home use, teas or receptions, can be made at little cost and trouble, by using the following simple recipe for dressing. The secret of success of the dressing lies in the mixing of the ingredients:

Powder the cold yolks of four hard boiled eggs; then stir in one tablespoon even full of common mustard, one-half teaspoonful of salt, and two heaping tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar. When mixed thoroughly, add three tablespoonfuls of good table oil, and stir rapidly for three minutes; then add six tablespoonfuls of good, sharp vinegar, and stir for five minutes. Now you will have dressing sufficient for a dozen or fifteen plates of salad, and one that will keep in a cool place for weeks.

LETTUCE SALAD.

Add to the above dressing just before serving, one pound of crisp lettuce, cut in one-half inch squares, or sliced fine. Garnish the dish or dishes with the white of the egg, chopped fine, to which add the thin slices of two or three small radishes.

LOBSTER SALAD.

Take one pound of fresh or canned lobster, two small onions, one fourth of a lemon (with rind), two bunches of celery, or a like amount of crisp cabbage; chop fine, and thoroughly mix with the dressing.

Serve on a lettuce leaf in individual dishes; garnish with the white of the eggs, chopped fine.

Veal, chicken, terrapin, salmon, little-neck clams, scollops, etc., can be utilized by the judicious cook in connection with the dressing.

SANDWICH FILLING.

Take ham, veal, chicken, sardines, etc., with the white of the eggs, chopped exceedingly fine, and mixed with sufficient of the dressing to make a paste the consistency of b.u.t.ter; spread this on thin slices of bread, cut in irregular shapes, and you have most delicious sandwiches.

Dedicated to the Committee, by Yours respectfully, H. M. STOWE.

CHICKEN SALAD. MRS. JOHN LANDON.