HORSERADISH POWDER. In November or December, slice some horseradish the thickness of a shilling, and lay it to dry very gradually in a Dutch oven, for a strong heat would very soon evaporate its flavour. When quite dry, pound it fine, and bottle it.
HORSERADISH VINEGAR. Pour a quart of the best vinegar on three ounces of scraped horseradish, an ounce of minced shalot, and a dram of cayenne. Let it stand a week, and it will give an excellent relish to cold beef, or other articles. A little black pepper and mustard, celery or cress seed, may be added to the above.
HOUSE DRAINS. The smell of house drains is oftentimes exceedingly offensive, but may be completely prevented by pouring down them a mixture of lime water, and the ley of wood ashes, or suds that have been used in washing. An article known by the name of a sink trap may be had at the ironmongers, which is a cheap and simple apparatus, for carrying off the waste water and other offensive matter from sinks and drains. But as the diffusion of any collection of filth tends to produce disease and mortality, it should not be suffered to settle and stagnate near our dwellings, and every possible care should be taken to render them sweet and wholesome.
HOUSE TAX. As the present system of taxation involves so important a part of the annual expenditure, and is in many instances attended with so much vexation and trouble, it concerns every housekeeper to be acquainted with the extent of his own liability, and of course to regulate his conveniences accordingly. It appears then, that every inhabited dwellinghouse, containing not more than six windows or lights, is subject to the yearly sum of six shillings and six-pence, if under the value of five pounds a year. But every dwellinghouse worth five pounds and under twenty pounds rent by the year, pays the yearly sum of one shilling and six-pence in the pound; every house worth twenty pounds and under forty pounds a year, two shillings and three-pence in the pound; and for every house worth forty pounds and upwards, the yearly sum of two shillings and ten-pence in the pound. These rents however are to be taken from the rates in which they are charged, and not from the rents which are actually paid.
HOUSEHOLD BREAD. Four ounces of salt are dissolved in three quarts of water, and mixed with a pint of yeast. This mixture is poured into a cavity made in a peck of second flour, placed in a large pan or trough. When properly kneaded and fermented, it is divided into pieces of a certain weight, and baked. Sometimes, in farm houses, a portion of rice flour, boiled potatoes, or rye meal, is mixed with the flour, previous to kneading the dough. The rye and rice serve to bind the bread, but the potatoes render it light and spongy.—Or, for a larger quantity, put a bushel of flour into a trough, two thirds wheat and one of rye. Mix a quart of yeast with nine quarts of warm water, and work it into the flour till it becomes tough. Leave it to rise about an hour; and as soon as it rises, add a pound of salt, and as much warm water as before. Work it well, and cover it with flannel. Make the loaves a quarter of an hour before the oven is ready; and if they weigh five pounds each, they will require to be baked two hours and a half.
HUNG BEEF. Make a strong brine with bay salt, common salt, and saltpetre, and put in ribs of beef for nine days. Then dry it, or smoke it in a chimney. Or rub the meat with salt and saltpetre, and repeat it for a fortnight, and dry it in wood smoke.
HUNGARY WATER. To one pint of highly rectified spirits of wine, put an ounce of the oil of rosemary, and two drams of the essence of ambergris. Shake the bottle well several times, and let the cork remain out twenty-four hours. Shake it daily for a whole month, and then put the water into small bottles for use.
HUNTER'S BEEF. To a round of beef that weighs twenty-five pounds, allow three ounces of saltpetre, three ounces of the coarsest sugar, an ounce of cloves, half an ounce of allspice, a nutmeg, and three handfuls of common salt, all in the finest powder. The beef should hang two or three days; then rub the above mixture well into it, and turn and rub it every day for two or three weeks. The bone must be taken out first. When to be dressed, dip it into cold water, to take off the loose spice; bind it up tight with tape, and put it into a pan with a tea-cupful of water at the bottom. Cover the top of the meat with shred suet, and the pan with a brown crust and paper, and bake it five or six hours. When cold, take off the paste and tape. The gravy is very fine, and a little of it is a great improvement to any kind of hash or soup. Both the gravy and the meat will keep some time. The meat should be cut with a very sharp knife, and quite smooth, to prevent waste.
HUNTER'S PUDDING. Mix together a pound of suet, a pound of flour, a pound of currants, and a pound of raisins stoned and cut. Add the rind of half a lemon finely shred, six peppercorns in fine powder, four eggs, a glass of brandy, a little salt, and as much milk as will make it of a proper consistence. Boil it in a floured cloth, or a melon mould, eight or nine hours. A spoonful of peach water may sometimes be added to change the flavour. This pudding will keep six months after it is boiled, if tied up in the same cloth when cold, and hung up, folded in writing paper to preserve it from the dust. When to be eaten, it must be boiled a full hour, and served with sweet sauce.
HYSTERICS. The sudden effusion of water on the face and hands, while the fit is on, and especially immersing the feet in cold water, will afford relief. Fetid smells are also proper; such as the burning of feathers, leather, or the smoke of sulphur, and the application of strong volatile alkali, or other pungent matters to the nostrils. To effect a radical cure, the cold bath, mineral waters, and other tonics are necessary. In Germany however, they cure hysteric affections by eating carraway seeds finely powdered, with a little ginger and salt, spread on bread and butter every morning.