Cultivated trout may be purchased at from sixty to seventy-five cents per pound, and wild trout from twenty-five to thirty-five cents per pound, after April first. There are many house-keepers who will not purchase the latter, thinking that as they are cheaper, they cannot be so good as the more expensive trout. Cultivated trout are only trout in name and outside appearance, and no more compare in flavor with the wild trout than chalk does with cheese. They are fattened (not allowed to feed naturally) on cheap animal food that destroys all trout flavor; and they live in artificial streams or ponds, acquiring a peculiar swampy flavor which is decidedly objectionable.

The wild trout lives in clear running streams, fed from never-ending springs; here he finds a beautiful supply of food furnished by nature’s generous hand, instead of the refuse of the butcher furnished to his more aristocratic brother. Besides being superior in every way, the wild trout is always cheaper.

Shippers of trout often pack their speckled beauties in moss, which injures their flavor materially; and the housekeeper is obliged to let them stand in cold water, slightly salted, to extract the flavor of the moss. This is a good plan to follow, by the way, when the trout are frozen, as nearly all wild trout are in the early spring.

Brook Trout, Sportsman Style.—Clean and rinse a quarter-of-a-pound trout in cold spring water; dry it in a towel. Cut half a pound of salt pork into small pieces; put these into a thoroughly clean frying-pan; fry out the clear fat, and remove the small pieces of pork. Rub a little fine table-salt in the inside of the fish, and when the pork-fat is smoking hot, add the fish to it; turn it three times before it is done. When nicely browned, serve it on a hot dish, and send it to the table without adding condiments of any kind. Should you be able to procure fresh butter, a little may be put on the fish before it is served, but it must be of the very best quality.

Broiled Trout.—The foregoing is a recipe for cooking trout immediately after catching them. After they are brought to our city markets from distant mountain streams, however, they are most toothsome when broiled over a declining fire, and require a seasoning of salt, pepper, and a little lemon-juice mixed with the sweetest of sweet butter. Serve with hot plates.

Brook Trout, Baked.—Trout weighing a pound or over are best when served baked, though many sportsmen will not listen to this proposition. The outside of a large trout is almost ruined in broiling before the centre of the fish is cooked. Do not split the fish down the back. Take half a pint of fine grated bread-crumbs, and soak them in a little milk; squeeze out the milk; add two ounces of table butter, a saltspoonful of salt, half a saltspoonful of white pepper, the juice of a quarter of a lemon, and the slightest sprig of thyme; add the yolk of one raw egg; mix; open the trout just enough to clean it properly; remove the gills (leave the heads on), fill the cavity with the stuffing, and sew it up carefully. Put the fish in a tin, on top of it place small bits of butter previously rolled in flour, place it in a good oven, and bake with the back toward the hottest part of the oven. The length of time it will take to cook properly is from twenty to thirty minutes, very often a little longer, for much depends on the temperature of the oven.

Brook Trout, Boiled.—To boil trout seems an outrage; but when one receives a large quantity of them, and there is danger of their spoiling if not immediately used, put four small trout properly cleaned into a saucepan, cover them with claret, add a slice of lemon, two cloves, four whole peppers, the least bit of mace, and a heaping saltspoonful of salt. Simmer slowly three-quarters of an hour; remove the saucepan from the range, and when cold take out the fish, put them in a dish, and pour the boiled wine over them. Serve at luncheon or collations.

The head, tail, and fins of trout should not be removed before cooking.