Boiled Potatoes

Pare potatoes with a sharp vegetable knife, just as thin as possible, for that part of the tuber lying close to the skin is richest in mineral salts, and put each potato as peeled into a pau of cold water to prevent discoloration. Have read; zneanwbile a kettle of boiling water and when the peeling procesa is com píete take the potatoes from the cold water, and, covering them with boiling salted water, set them on the range covered, to boil. Twenty minutes wil usually sufflce, but to test them use a skewer or fork, and when they can be pierced easily remove at once from the fire, pour off all the water and set them on the back of the range, uncovered, to steam dry, assisting that process occa sicnally by a slight shaking of kettle. If one asks the reason why potatoes should always be cooked in boiling water, try the following experiment for proof : Take two cups, in each of which has been put a teaspoonful of ordinary starch. Pour over one a quarter of a cupful of boiling water and over the other the same quantity of cold water and observe the resulu The one over which the boiling water was pourec stays in shape, a compact mass, while the one with the cold water dissolves into a soft paste. The potato is largely composed of starch, and from this trial any one may draw his own conclusions. If yon wish a pulpy, watery potato, use cold water; bnt if a dry, mealy, snowy ball that would delight the heart of Epicurus himself, alwavs use boiline