1/4 lb. of meat allow 2 oz. of ham, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, 2
tablespoonfuls of veal gravy, 1/2 teaspoonful of minced lemon-peel;
cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste; 1 tablespoonful of lemon-juice, 1
oz. of butter rolled in flour; puff paste.
_Mode_.--Mince very small the white meat from a cold roast fowl, after
removing all the skin; weigh it, and to every 1/4 lb. of meat allow the
above proportion of minced ham. Put these into a stewpan with the
remaining ingredients, stir over the fire for 10 minutes or 1/4 hour,
taking care that the mixture does not burn. Roll out some puff paste
about 1/4 inch in thickness; line the patty-pans with this, put upon
each a small piece of bread, and cover with another layer of paste;
brush over with the yolk of an egg, and bake in a brisk oven for about
1/4 hour. When done, cut a round piece out of the top, and, with a small
spoon, take out the bread (be particular in not breaking the outside
border of the crust), and fill the patties with the mixture.
_Time_.--1/4 hour to prepare the meat; not quite 1/4 hour to bake the
crust.
_Seasonable_ at any time.
HATCHING.--Sometimes the chick within the shell is unable to
break away from its prison; for the white of the egg will
occasionally harden in the air to the consistence of joiners'
clue, when the poor chick is in a terrible fix. An able writer
says, "Assistance in hatching must not be rendered prematurely,
and thence unnecessarily, but only in the case of the chick
being plainly unable to release itself; then, indeed, an
addition may probably be made to the brood, as great numbers are
always lost in this way. The chick makes a circular fracture at
the big end of the egg, and a section of about one-third of the
length of the shell being separated, delivers the prisoner,
provided there is no obstruction from adhesion of the body to
the membrane which lines the shell. Between the body of the
chick and the membrane of the shell there exists a viscous
fluid, the white of the egg thickened with the intense heat of
incubation, until it becomes a positive glue. When this happens,
the feathers stick fast to the shell, and the chicks remain
confined, and must perish, if not released."
The method of assistance to be rendered to chicks which have a
difficulty in releasing themselves from the shell, is to take
the egg in the hand, and dipping the finger or a piece of linen
rag in warm water, to apply it to the fastened parts until they
are loosened by the gluey substance becoming dissolved and
separated from the feathers. The chick, then, being returned to
the nest, will extricate itself,--a mode generally to be
observed, since, if violence were used, it would prove fatal.
Nevertheless, breaking the shell may sometimes be necessary; and
separating with the fingers, as gently as may be, the membrane
from the feathers, which are still to be moistened as mentioned
above, to facilitate the operation. The points of small scissors
may be useful, and when there is much resistance, as also
apparent pain to the bird, the process must be conducted in the
gentlest manner, and the shell separated into a number of small
pieces. The signs of a need of assistance are the egg being
partly pecked and chipped, and the cluck discontinuing its
efforts for five of six hours. Weakness from cold may disable
the chicken from commencing the operation of pecking the shell,
which must then be artificially performed with a circular
fracture, such as is made by the bird itself.
CHICKEN OR FOWL PIE.