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2220. Oyster Powder. Open the oysters carefully, so as not to cut them, except in dividing the gristle which adheres to the shells. Put them into a mortar, and when you have got as many as you can conveniently pound at once, add salt in the proportion of about two drachms to a dozen oysters; pound them, and rub them through the back of a hair sieve, dry them thoroughly, and put them into the mortar again, with as much flour as will convert them into a paste; roll this paste out several times, and lastly, flour it, and roll it out the thickness of half a crown, and cut it into pieces about one inch square; lay them in a Dutch oven, where they will dry so gently as not to get burned; turn them every half hour, and when they begin to dry, crumble them. They will take about four hours to dry. Pound them, sift them, and put them into dry bottles; cork and seal them. Three dozen of natives require seven ounces and a half of flour to make them into a paste weighing eleven ounces, which, when dried, is reduced to six and a half ounces. To make half a pint of sauce, put one ounce of butter into a stewpan with three drachms of oyster powder, and six tablespoonfuls of milk; set it on a slow fire, stir it till it boils, and season it with salt. As a sauce, it is excellent for fish, fowls, or rump steaks. Sprinkled on bread and butter, it makes a good sandwich.