with the heat. These catches are easily loosened without injuring the lamp.
Alcohol lamps for kettles and chafing-dishes must be kept perfectly clean. The wicks must sometimes be renewed before they are burned out. The question, What is the matter with the lamp? may often be solved by putting a fresh wick in the place of one that has become clogged.
This is very often true of oil lamps. There is more or less paraffine in oil, which fills the wick and prevents combustion.
Carving
The chair placed for a carver must be high enough to allow the work to be done comfortably without the carver being obliged to stand. The platter must be large enough to hold the entire joint or bird when carved, without any piece falling over the edge of the platter. A waitress should make sure before placing a dish in front of the carver that the platter is really hot; if it is not the dish gravy will become chilled, and consequently unfit for use, before it can be served.
See that no string or skewer is left to annoy the carver. The silver skewers sent to table intentionally are, of course, excepted. The platter must be placed near enough to the carver to prevent awkwardness or the necessity of moving the dish. In serving large birds,
as goose or turkey, place the head always to the left. If smaller birds, as partridge or grouse, which are placed across the platter, let the heads be on the farther side. A saddle of mutton should be placed with the tail end to the left of the carver. A haunch of venison or mutton, with the loin or backbone nearest the carver. A leg of mutton or lamb, or a knuckle of veal, with the thickest part towards the back of the platter. A shoulder of mutton or veal, with the thickest part up. A rib roast or a sirloin roast should be placed with the backbone at the right end of the platter. A rump roast, with the backbone at the farther side of the platter. A round of beef, with the flesh side up. A sirloin beefsteak, with the tenderloin next to the carver. A fillet of beef, with the thickest end at the right end of the platter. A calf’s head, with face to the right. A roast pig, with head to the left. A roast ham, with the thickest part on the farther side of the platter.
A waitress should know how to carve. The
first steps may be learned by cutting bread and slicing pressed meats. To do these two things perfectly, one must acquire a steady hand and a straight eye. Slices must be of uniform thickness, thin enough to be delicate, not thin enough to break. There must be no ragged edges. From the slicing of cold meats to the slicing of a rolled roast or other meats from which the bones have been taken is not a great step if the knife be in perfect condition. Enough confidence will have been gained to grasp the slicer firmly and slice quickly and firmly across the roast.