The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-12-02
A sslilsquy On Carving.

Dill Nyos
Speaking about carving, there is prospect
now that in our best circles, within short
time, the old custom Of making the host de-
molsh the Kindred poultry at dinner will
become extinct and that servant at side
board, ON small salary, will take hand-saw
and can Of nitro glycerine and shatter the
remains, thus giving the host chance to chat
with the guests instead of scattering them
with dressing and casting gloom and gravy
over the company.
This il move for which have long con-
tended II places the manual labor Of din
ner where it belongs, and relieves man who
should give his whole attention to the enter
tainment of his friends at table. You would
not expect your host 10 take of his coat and
kill the fowl in your presence in order to show
you that il was all on the square, and it is not
customary to require the proprietor of the
house to peel the potatoes at table for his
guests to prove that there is no put-up job
about il.
| Therefore, claim that the lamented hen may
be thoroughly shattered at eide table by an
athlete at 81 per week, and still good faith
toward the guests be maintained. If any one
be doubtful or suspicious, etiquette will per-
nit him to stand by the side of the hireling
carver and witness the inquest. Still it would
be better fun for him to sit at the table, and
if the parts given him are not satisfactory, he
| can put them in his overshoes pro tem and
casually throw them ont the back door while
the other guests are listening to the "Maiden's
Prayer in the paror.
Under the new deal the host will enjoy the
dinner much more than he used to with his
thumb cut of and quart OF dressing in his
lap. No man feels perfectly at home if he has
to wrap up his cut finger in rag and then
scoop handful of dressing out Of his vest
pocket and return it to the platter. Few mon
are cool enough to do this, laughing heartily
all the time and telling some mirth-provoking
anecdote meanwhile
1t is also annoying to have twenty guests
ask for the dark meat, please" when there
are only three animals cooked and neither one
Of them has particle of dark meat about her
person Lately have adopted the plan of
segregating the fowl by main strength, using
the fingers when necessary, and then wiping
them in an off-hand manner on the table
cloth Then ask the servant to bring in that
dark hen we ordered, so that We might have
an abundance of dark meat II the servant
says there is none, smile and tell the guests
| tnat tIe brunette Cnlcktl, ny 6Oulo oNcl5I6uS,
has been eaten in the kitchen, and shall have
to give them such relics as may DO at hand.
This simplifes the matter, and places me in q
far more agreeable place relative to the com
pany. My great success, however, in carving
IL mainly confined to the watermelon. The
watermelon does not confuse me. | always
know where TO find the JOINTS and those who
do not like the inside Of the melon can have
the outside Now, my great trouble with fowls
is, that one day have Nebraska chicken and
the next trip have to assassinate Mormon
Shanghai pullet, with high, expressive hip
bones and amalgam paletot This makes me
nervous, because they are 30 dissinilar and
their joints are in different places. The
Mormon hen is round shouldcred and her col
lar bone is more on the bias than the Nebraska
fowl. This gives totally different expression
to her features in death, and, as | have said,
destroys the symmetry of the carve
began my education in this line by carrying
butter in hot weather, and gradually led up tC
the quail on toast In carving the quail, iirs
mortgage your home and get the quail. The
quail should be cooked before carving, bu
not until the chronometer balance and Other
organs have been removed. Place your quai
on the toast in a sitting position, then passing
the dissccting knife down between the shout
der blades, bisect the polOnaise.
Another method is to take the quail by the
hind leg and eat it, asking the guests TO do thu
same This breaks up the feeling Of stiffness
that is apt to prevail at . formal dinner party
and while each one has his or her nose i'm
mersed in quail, good feeling cannot full t.
| show itself