Fish bones are taken from the mouth with the fingers. Care, however, is usually taken to leave as few bones as possible in the fish, since the general use of the silver knife with the silver fork has made it easy to separate the bones from the meat.
Bananas are broken with a fork, and a piece is conveyed to the mouth on a fork.
When a servant offers one a dish, he should help himself without taking it from her hand.
When drinking from a cup, the spoon should be left in the saucer, where it also remains when the cup is empty.
It is not proper to eat gravy with bits of bread; instead, it should be regarded as a sauce, and simply eaten on the meat of which it forms a portion.
It is decreed by custom that the small bones of any bird may be taken in the fingers, and the meat eaten from the bone. But this must always be done daintily.
What is known as “layer cake” is eaten from a fork, and in serving it one uses either a pie-knife or a tablespoon and a fork.
Cheese is eaten with a fork.
After-dinner coffee is taken directly from the cup, and not from the spoon.
Crackers should be eaten from the hand, and not be broken into soup.