We refer, of course, to the dried white haricot beans, the best of which are those known as Soissons.
The beans should be soaked in cold water overnight, and in the morning any that may be found floating on the top of the water should be thrown away.
Suppose the quantity be a quart; place these in a saucepan with two quarts of cold water, slightly salted.

As soon as time water conies to the boil, move it so that the beans will only simmer gently; they must then continue simmering till they are tender.

This generally takes about three hours, and if the water is hard, it is advisable to put in a tiny piece of soda.
This is the simple way of cooking beans usually recommended in cookery-books when they are served up with a dish of meat, such as a leg of mutton a la Bretonne, where the beans are served in some rich brown gravy containing fat.

In vegetarian cookery, of course, we must proceed entirely differently, and there are various ways in which this nourishing dish can be served, as savoury and as appetising, and indeed more so, than if we had assistance from the slaughter-house.

We will now proceed to give a few instances.
In the first place, it will greatly assist the flavour of the beans if we boil with them one or two onions and a dessertspoonful of savoury herbs.
Supposing, however, we have them boiled plain.