4 APRIL 1868, Page 18

its dishes must be to eat. As a general rule,

English cookery-books are too dry and practical. The result is, that they are only consulted when that is absolutely necessary, when there is some question as to the time of cooking, or the proportions in which the ingredients are to be added. The French books, on the other hand, which have been taken as models, and also as guides, by the work before us, are never absent from the mind, and suggest new dishes quite as often as they lead to the correct preparation of old ones. Brillat Savarin is, of course, the great author on the subject, and.he is largely quoted in this book. We do not always know what is quotation and what is comment, what receipts are borrowed and what are original, what dishes are of an ideal perfection and what have been tested by experience. But the lore contained in the book is of a trustworthy kind, and in addition to this it is most agreeable. It is true that conservative English cooks and eaters will quarrel with the word "wholesome " as applied to other things than plain roast and boiled ; but those conservatives need educating, and here is the instructor.