such cases the simplest way of reducing the meat bill would very likely
be to cut down the amount used, either by serving it less often or by
using less at a time. Deficiency of protein need not be feared when one
good meat dish a day is served, especially if such nitrogenous materials
as eggs, milk, cheese, and beans are used instead. In localities where
fish can be obtained fresh and cheap, it might well be more frequently
substituted for meat for the sake of variety as well as economy.
Ingenious cooks have many ways of "extending the flavor" of meat, that
is, of combining a small quantity with other materials to make a large
dish, as in meat pies, stews, and similar dishes.

By buying in large quantities under certain conditions it may be
possible to procure meat at better prices than those which ordinarily
prevail in the retail market. The whole side or quarter of an animal can
frequently be obtained at noticeably less cost per pound than when it is
bought by cut, and can be used to advantage when the housekeeper
understands the art and has proper storage facilities and a good-sized
family. When a hind quarter of mutton, for example, comes from the
market the flank (on which the meat is thin and, as good housekeepers
believe, likely to spoil more easily than some other cuts) should be
cooked immediately, or, if preferred, it may be covered with a thin
layer of fat (rendered suet) which can be easily removed when the time
for cooking comes. The flank, together with the rib bone, ordinarily
makes a gallon of good Scotch broth. The remainder of the hind quarter
may be used for roast or chops. The whole pig carcass has always been
used by families living on the farms where the animals are slaughtered,
and in village homes; town housekeepers not infrequently buy pigs whole
and "put down" the meat. An animal six months old and weighing about one
hundred pounds would be suitable for this purpose. The hams and thin
pieces of belly meat may be pickled and smoked. The thick pieces of