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To bake A shad.

The shad is a very indifferent fish unless it be large and fat; when you get a good one, prepare it nicely, put some forcemeat inside, and lay it at full length in a pan with a pint of water, a gill of red wine, one of mushroom catsup, a little pepper, vinegar, salt, a few cloves of garlic, and six cloves:  stew it gently till the gravy is sufficiently reduced; there should always be a fish-slice with holes to lay the fish on, for the convenience of dishing without breaking it; when the fish is taken up, slip it carefully into the dish; thicken the gravy with butter and brown flour, and pour over it.

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To boil A shad.

Get a nice fat shad, fresh from the water, that the skin may not crack in boiling, put it in cold water on a slice, in a kettle of proper length, with a wine glass of pale vinegar, salt, a little garlic, and a bundle of parsley; when it is done, drain all the water from the fish, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have a sauce boat of nice melted butter, to mix with the different catsups, as taste shall direct.

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To roast A shad.

Fill the cavity with good forcemeat, sew it up, and tie it on a board of proper size, cover it with bread crumbs, with some salt and pepper, set it before the fire to roast; when done on one side, turn it, tie it again, and when sufficiently done, pull out the thread, and serve it up with butter and parsley poured over it.

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To broil A shad.

Separate one side from the back-bone, so that it will lie open without being split in two; wash it clean, dry it with a cloth, sprinkle some salt and pepper on it, and let it stand till you are ready to broil it; have the gridiron hot and well greased, broil it nicely, and pour over it melted butter.

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To boil rock fish.

The best part of the rock is the head and shoulders—­clean it nicely, put it into the fish kettle with cold water and salt, boil it gently and skim it well; when done, drain off the water, lay it in the dish, and garnish with scraped horse-radish; have two boats of tatter nicely melted with chopped parsley, or for a change, you may have anchovy butter; the roe and liver should be fried and served in separate dishes.  If any of the rock be left, it will make a delicious dish next day;—­pick it in small pieces, put it in a stew pan with a gill of water, a good lump of butter, some salt, a large spoonful of lemon pickle, and one of pepper vinegar—­shake it over the fire till perfectly hot, and serve it up.  It is almost equal to stewed crab.

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