Some of the worst blunders the half-made cooks commit are in making hash. Corned-beef hash can be made a real delicacy, good to look at with no appearance of mystery about it, the pink meat fair and cleanly in the smooth and clean potato, and good to taste being more tempting to a fickle appetite than solid beefsteak. It is not necessarily a very cheap dish although it is convenient as a means of using a remainder of corned beef to make room for a fresh boiling. The attempt to make hash very cheap by making it the general receptacle for all sorts of pieces is a penny wise and pound-foolish proceeding, for nobody wants it and it is thrown away at last and through that and other blunders it has come to be at last that hash cannot even be given away at a free lunch. The writer of these lines has seen the officers of the finest vessels afloat send a special request to the kitchen for dishes of the deck hands' fresh made hot and savory corned-beef hash for their breakfast in preference to all that was upon the table, and the passengers who had made its acquaintance followed up the hint and found out the place where hash was good.

There is no elaborate receipt to follow these remarks, the necessity in the case is not to put things in, but to keep things out. Keep out the cold turnips. Keep out the cold mashed potatoes even, if they are not uncommonly good and fresh. It has been shown a little way back in regard to the cost of potatoes, that two large ones are worth less than half a cent, and the water added when they are mashed cheapens them still more. Mashed turnip it still more worthless. Keep out the black and hard scraps and ends of meat, they will give a color and appearance and stale taste that will cause the mess to be thrown out, the good to be lost with the bad. Keep out the onions. This is the last thing that will be agreed to. Cooks of hotels have been known to quit the house rather than they would leave the onions out of the hash. But the people who live in the expensive class of hotels will leave the dish alone if you do not, and if they despise it who else is going to bring hash in fashion again? It is in the interest of true economy to make hash popular, because it uses up corned beef, which is too plentiful. To make "dry hash" that will be eaten. and enjoyed, take:

1 pressed-in cup minced corned beef.

4 medium potatoes - 1 pound.

1/2 a level teaspoon good black pepper.

1 level teaspoon salt.

1 ounce fresh butter.

A spoonful of hot water.

Shave off all discolored outside of meat. Chop as fine as pepper-corns or wheat in a wooden bowl with a chopping knife, add the pepper, salt and butter to it. Pare the potatoes raw, steam or boil them, put them to the meat boiling hot and mash together. It is not of much consequence whether it is to be baked or not but it looks better browned over and can be served hottest that way. Leave out the butter when there is plenty of fat to the meat. Those who study to make this almost forgotten dish good take care to corn fat pieces of brisket and calves udder for the purpose.

Cost of material - 1/2 pound selected cooked meat equal to 11/2 pound raw9 , potatoes 1, butter 2; 12c a quart or 8 family or hotel orders.