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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78919 ***
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber’s Note
+  Italic text displayed as: _italic_
+
+
+
+
+IN CAMP AND KITCHEN
+
+
+
+
+_Uniform with “In Camp and Kitchen.”_
+
+SOYER’S PAPER BAG COOKERY,
+
+By NICOLAS SOYER.
+
+F’cap. 8vo cloth, 1/-net. Third large edition.
+
+
+Paper Bag Cookery is handy, easy and economical, and hundreds of
+thousands of people have adopted it permanently.
+
+
+LONDON: ANDREW MELROSE.
+
+
+
+
+  IN CAMP AND
+  KITCHEN
+
+  A Handy Guide for Emigrants
+  and Settlers
+
+  BY THE AUTHOR OF
+  “THE SUCCESSFUL HOME COOK,” ETC.
+
+
+  LONDON: ANDREW MELROSE
+  3, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.
+
+  1912
+
+    He must go—go—go away from here,
+      On the other side the world he’s overdue;
+    Send your road is clear before you
+                          When the old
+      Spring-fret comes o’er you,
+      And the Red Gods call for you!
+
+  _The Feet of the Young Men._—KIPLING.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+One who has had much to do with outgoing colonists and knows a great
+deal about their wants and difficulties, has summed up in a couple of
+terse sentences their primary needs. These are, he says—
+
+Things to Take: Time, Patience, Money.
+
+Things to Leave: Hurry, Worry, Doubt.
+
+The summary is an excellent one. It covers all the necessary ground;
+it is capable of infinite enlargement as to meaning, and at the same
+time it packs away into the smallest possible compass all that the
+traveller, the pioneer or future citizen can require. It is, in fact,
+a complete manual in itself, and all that we do here is to interpret
+it in fuller detail, and we do this in order to save the time, the
+patience and the money of those who perhaps have little of either to
+spare.
+
+Much has been written about the romance of colonization, and stories
+of pioneering experiences are of thrilling interest—when read at home.
+It is difficult to see the romance, as it is difficult to experience
+the thrills when actually undergoing the hardships and battling with
+the difficulties on the spot. What really helps, then, is not the
+ability to see the romance or the picturesqueness of the situation,
+but the ability to see the humorous side of things. A sense of humour
+saves many a situation, and to be able to laugh in the face of hunger
+and hardship, because it brings goodwill to bear on the subject, does
+wonders in the way of smoothing down the rough side both of men and
+things.
+
+One of the daily trials will be the imperative need of getting meals
+ready. Those three meals a day are perpetually hindering other work,
+taking up much time and thought, and involving much carrying about of
+tools and materials. Yet they cannot be done without, and are not to be
+despised or treated with indifference. In fact, from the health point
+of view they are of more consequence than making progress in other
+ways, for without health and strength the colonist is of no good at all.
+
+Those who set out with the idea of “roughing it” are very apt, in their
+early enthusiasm, to think lightly about the food question, but when
+they find themselves thrown on their own resources, obliged to use
+their own initiative in everything, it is wonderful how important a
+matter cookery becomes, and how much is made of a little knowledge or
+skill in this direction.
+
+“Can you tell me of a simple cookery-book to send out to my boy in
+Canada?” a lady asked us one day. “He says he finds meals are so much
+more important than he ever imagined they were, and he wants to know
+how to do so many things.”
+
+It is the simple book we have tried to write, one that the average
+young man—or young woman—will have the time and patience to read and
+the money to buy. It may not tell all that they will want to know, but
+at least it will tell them enough to make for comfort, economy and
+health, and we trust that all useless and needless technicalities have
+been avoided. The great Food question comes first, and has received
+the bulk of attention, as it should do, but there are a few useful
+suggestions further on which may help to make the difficult way easier.
+It is not possible to meet the wants of all types of settlers, for some
+go to pioneer work and others go to live under advanced conditions—more
+advanced, in fact, than they leave behind them in the old country;
+nevertheless, all must take with them a certain amount of time,
+patience and money, and all must leave behind hurry, worry and doubt,
+while all, wherever they are, will find, we think, some use for our
+Handy Guide.
+
+  L. H. Y.
+
+LONDON, 1912
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                                               PAGE
+
+  INTRODUCTION                                                    7
+
+     I COOKING IN THE OPEN: ELEMENTARY COOKING APPARATUS         13
+
+    II THE LOG-HUT OR CAMP KITCHEN                               24
+
+   III DEALING WITH THE STORES: WATER, REFUSE, WASTE, ETC.       34
+
+    IV THE STAFF OF LIFE: BREAD; YEASTS, QUICK BREAD, ETC.       50
+
+     V THE DAY’S FOOD AND WORK: FOOD REQUIRED, INITIAL
+        PREPARATIONS                                             61
+
+    VI COOKING OF FISH, MEAT, AND VEGETABLES, THE “REASON WHY,”
+        ETC.                                                     78
+
+   VII SIMPLIFIED COOKERY RECIPES                                90
+
+  VIII PRACTICAL HINTS FOR THE HANDY MAN                        118
+
+
+
+
+I
+
+COOKING IN THE OPEN: AND ELEMENTARY COOKING APPARATUS
+
+
+The ideal colonist is he who is able to turn his hand to anything and
+to supply a table although having practically nothing in the way of
+cooking utensils. Necessity will teach him how to use his ingenuity in
+building and manufacturing contrivances of his own, and it is to such a
+handy man that we offer the following suggestions.
+
+A kettle, a “billy” and a frying-pan may seem a quite sufficient
+kitchen equipment at first, but some means of baking will soon seem
+necessary. Bread, for instance, or whatever takes the place of bread,
+is so much more satisfactory when baked. Hence it is worth while to
+spend a little time in building up a fireplace in which heat can
+be retained for some considerable time. Much must depend upon the
+kind of fuel that can be obtained, but mostly this will be wood, or
+charcoal made from wood, or the dried droppings of cattle, when coal is
+unprocurable.
+
+The most elementary type of fireplace for boiling purposes is made by
+gathering together large stones of even size, and to form a square with
+them, opening at one side, and of course open at the top. The size of
+this top opening is regulated by the size of the kettle or pan that is
+set over it. Place the stones with as much regularity as possible, and
+fill in the spaces between with clay or earth. If the soil is clay and
+stones are not to be had, form a fireplace with the clay itself in such
+a way as to have four walls with opening at the side and at top. Make a
+small fire first in the firehole with the driest grass and twigs, then
+feed it with small pieces of wood, and when it is burning well fill up
+with wood and dried grass and any fuel you have, packing it lightly but
+closely. It is possible to build a fire that will be bright and quick
+for boiling, or one that will burn steadily for hours, for stewing or
+baking purposes. With practice a good deal of skill is acquired, and
+the more the fireplace is used, the better will it serve its purpose.
+When new it is slower in getting to work on account of damp, but will
+burn quite quickly when hard and dry through. To dry the fuel that is
+going to be used is a great economy of time, and can be done when the
+fire itself has gone out. Keep the firehole clear and free from ashes.
+
+An oven can be made to stand on top of this fireplace by coating a
+large biscuit-tin with clay and baking it. A little ingenuity will
+devise a door for this oven, and it will be found to answer quite well
+for baking bread and cooking a pudding or for making a slow stew.
+
+In building a fire in the open take notice as to the way the wind blows
+and take advantage of it as much as possible, as it will help or hinder
+the fire from burning. Sometimes a screen of stones built up on the
+windward side will help matters considerably.
+
+A small pair of bellows should be included in the colonist’s outfit,
+as well as a small pair of tongs, for any fire will burn the better
+for a little coaxing with the bellows first, and pieces of wood can be
+more skilfully arranged with the help of tongs than without them. Then
+whenever any sawdust is met with it should be carefully collected and
+mixed with oil or paraffin into little cakes, to make quick and easy
+firelighters.
+
+An open bonfire, with tripod of three sticks or iron supports, may
+be all that it is possible to get together for the quick boiling of
+saucepan or kettle, but the results can never be so good as when a
+built up fireplace is made. On the other hand, a good bonfire leaving a
+thick bed of burnt ashes and embers is sometimes the best contrivance
+for roasting large pieces of meat, birds, and so on. Suppose it is
+desired to cook a whole large fish, a rabbit, fowl or other troublesome
+creature (troublesome because of the plucking and drawing, skinning,
+etc., that it seems to require), all trouble is saved by making a
+covering of wet clay well pressed down as a thick coating over the
+fish, bird or animal, after having let out the blood, making it into
+a sort of ball of clay. Bury this ball in the hot ashes and embers,
+heaping them over it. In about an hour or rather more, the ball can be
+broken open and feathers, fur or scales will be found to have stuck to
+the clay, leaving the flesh perfectly baked and juicy, and the entrails
+will have dried up inside.
+
+Suppose a big roast of meat is wanted—a half-side of a sheep or pig.
+The outer skin has, of course, been taken from the meat in this case
+and all internals too. Make a rather deep circle on the ground, paving
+it with flat stones, or beat the clay very flat and hard. Build a
+big fire on this and let it burn right through, then sweep aside all
+embers and ashes, brushing the stones or clay clean, lay down the meat
+and cover it first with a thick layer of leaves, then pile over it
+the embers, some brushwood, and finally more clay until it is closely
+covered and none of the heat can escape. Leave for two or three hours;
+uncover, and clear off all ashes, and the meat should be found well
+baked through. In a similar way bread can be cooked on hot stones,
+using only a thick layer of leaves and ashes for covering.
+
+A little experience will make any one quite skilful in the use of
+the most unpromising materials, and if compelled to do it a man can
+generally produce a quite appetising meal with nothing but a clay
+fireplace and a few old meat tins. The total absence of what Americans
+call “fixings”—the little additions which the ordinary cook at home
+considers indispensable—need not, and will not deter the camp cook
+from making savoury meals, but as circumstances alter cases very
+considerably, it is possible only to make suggestions here, which each
+one must adapt or improve upon to suit himself. When hungry men are
+craving to be fed the absence of seasoning or condiments is not missed,
+but good baking, frying or boiling has to be accomplished somehow.
+
+Where the camp is a more or less permanent one or the preliminary
+to a settlement and house-building, there may be a number of people
+to cook for, and hence it is worth while making some form of Trench
+Kitchen. For this, dig a trench about three feet deep and four or five
+feet wide, and at right angles form a series of narrow trenches close
+together. Arch over these with stones and turf and make hollows in the
+top of the ridges to hold saucepans and kettles. A hole for the firing
+is made at the end of each ridge, the smoke from which passes along the
+side trenches that are arched over and is drawn up a “chimney” that
+is set up in the middle of the cross trough at the further end which
+connects all the trenches. To create a good draught a long tin funnel
+helps to make this chimney. If there is any likelihood of the trench
+kitchen becoming flooded out by rains it can be tented over. A series
+of “ranges” is created by forming ridges in this way so that boiling
+and stewing, frying and grilling can all be going on at the same time.
+All the same, the need of an oven for baking will be felt, and while
+small ovens for placing over a firehole can be made out of biscuit
+tins as before mentioned, a large one can be built out of stones and
+clay, or with the help of an iron-hooped barrel, in this wise: cover
+the barrel with clay or turf and stones, well wetted and beaten down
+over it, and give it time to solidify, then build a fire inside the
+barrel. The wood will burn away, leaving the iron hoops as supports. If
+the covering is sufficiently thick, such an oven is quickly heated and
+retains its heat quite a long time, the fire being built inside it and
+swept out when burnt through. Insert a piece of piping in the middle
+of the top of this barrel-oven to act as a vent for the smoke. Arrange
+a door with a piece of sheet iron sufficiently large to cover up the
+opening; it need not, of course, be put on hinges, as stones will help
+to keep it in position. Food that is put into this oven to cook, after
+the oven has been heated and swept out, should be enclosed in a bag of
+paper if not already in a dish. A little practice will enable any one
+to judge how long the heat may be relied upon to last, and how long
+time must be allowed for the cooking in paper or in a dish.
+
+Food that is already cooked can be kept hot for hours by following
+the Thermos principle. This is the principle of storing up heat, but
+not of generating it. Anything that is already hot can be kept hot,
+and anything already cold can be kept cold. In a Thermos flask there
+is a vacuum between two surfaces which is a non-conductor preventing
+the escape of heat, likewise in the Thermos jar, and whatever is put
+in at a certain temperature retains that temperature for a very long
+time without alteration. While it is hardly possible for the pioneering
+colonist to make a good Thermos flask or jar, he can carry out the
+same principle of storing heat in other ways. The Hay-box Oven is a
+primitive construction, perhaps, but it answers extremely well and
+costs very little to make. What is wanted is a strong wooden box with
+well-fitting lid—a thick box and one that is large enough to take a
+thick layer of hay or sawdust at the bottom as well as all round the
+jar put inside the box. Cook over the fire the soup, stew, pudding or
+whatever it may be, and when sufficiently cooked and whilst boiling
+hot, lift the jar or pan off the fire and set it in the middle of the
+Hay-box Oven. Pack hay and sawdust closely round it, filling up all
+spaces, then over the top as well and put on the box cover, then a
+piece of blanket folded, or a rug. You may go away for hours, all the
+day or night, if you like, and come back to find your soup or stew
+perfectly cooked and thoroughly hot.
+
+A hole in the ground, lined with hay and sawdust, will answer the same
+purpose, if care is taken to cover the place very thickly to allow no
+escape of heat. The advantage of the box is that it is portable and can
+be used anywhere.
+
+The Biscuit-tin Oven has the advantage over the Hay-box Oven in that
+it can be used for actual cooking by placing it over the firehole and
+keeping a fire burning underneath it. But unless the biscuit-tin is
+covered with clay made hard the solder is very apt to melt and cause
+the oven to give way when exposed to great heat. The same objection
+arises with regard to the use of empty fruit and meat cans as cooking
+pots. On the other hand, stone jam jars are valuable, and make
+excellent stew-jars; especially useful are they for holding anything
+that is to go into the Hay-box Oven to be kept hot for hours.
+
+Where there are no saucepans and no jars to use, nothing but the open
+fire and a billy, it is an improvement to have two of these billies
+and to set one inside the other with water between. The “billy,” be it
+understood, is nothing more than a tin can with handle slung across it,
+but there are improved forms of it, such, for instance, as the cans
+which navvies use to carry their coffee or soup when going to work,
+and some of these are made in enamelled ware, with close-fitting lid.
+If one of these better cans were to be placed inside a rougher one of
+tin, the outer one would get all the smoking and hard usage, while the
+better one would be clean enough to set on the table when required.
+If a little hook is made in the wire of the handle it will prevent
+slipping when the billy is suspended over the fire.
+
+The principle of this kind of cookery—what a colonist would doubtless
+dub “glue-pot cookery”—is sound, and it is copied by many inventors of
+more elaborate things which, in spite of their elaboration, however,
+cook none the better in reality than two cans one inside the other.
+The Warrener, for instance, which is much liked by camp cooks and
+travellers, is in principle but a glorified glue-pot. What is really
+better than the Warrener is the Hutchings steamer, which is a kind
+of conjuror’s cabinet, having a tier of compartments or pans one
+fitting above the other, each one being a sort of steamer, the bottom
+one holding the water. This is guaranteed by its maker to cook as
+perfectly on the “top floor as in the basement,” and one or more of the
+compartments can be used without the other, while a whole dinner may be
+cooked at the same time with nothing but the one pan. These Hutchings
+steamers are likewise fairly cheap, and can be procured at the large
+ironmongery stores anywhere in London.
+
+Still another of these “glorified glue-pots,” if we may be pardoned
+for using the term, is the Welbank Boilerette, the Cooker that Looks
+After Itself, as its advertisement declares. This is much less
+expensive than the Warrener, and can be had in several sizes. It
+cooks everything—whether porridge, soups, stews, joints, fowls or
+vegetables—in their own juices, and so preserves the fullest flavours
+and makes tenderness certain. Like the Warrener, it must be used in
+conjunction with some sort of stove or fireplace, not on the hearth or
+open fire.
+
+The frying-pan is another article which must be classed among
+elementary cooking appliances, for it is almost indispensable for the
+quick preparation of a meal. It is well to take two frying-pans, one of
+black iron for quick frying of fish or meat, the other of enamelled
+iron for cooking eggs and making damper. The iron one will not often
+need washing if it is well rubbed with paper after each time of using,
+but the other one will want washing with soap and perhaps a little sand
+or ashes to keep it white and smooth.
+
+Some travellers argue that bread as well as meat can be roasted on a
+spit—no doubt meaning that the spit can be run through the middle of
+a piece of dough, and by careful watching and turning the bread cooks
+all over. But a spit is not difficult to make, only in cutting them
+from wood care must be taken not to use poison woods; take the straight
+branches of trees that are well known and familiar. Wild shrubs
+and wild vegetables should be looked upon with distrust; a few are
+harmless, but many are not. It would be better to make the spit with
+an iron or wire rod, setting it in supports at either end, if at all
+possible to do so. The fire must have burnt clear red before attempting
+to roast anything on a spit, otherwise smoke will spoil the flavour of
+the food.
+
+
+
+
+II
+
+THE LOG-HUT OR CAMP KITCHEN
+
+
+Some men possess considerable natural aptitude in cooking, and any
+skill of this kind will serve them in good stead when they become
+colonists, and where there is not natural aptitude it is well worth
+while acquiring a little knowledge by dint of study. Supposing all
+other kinds of employment fail, a cook’s job is generally to be got and
+no one grudges his wages. A little story may be cited which bears out
+the truth of this. The son of an army chaplain and a public school-boy,
+decided to go out to the Colonies, and before doing so took a course
+of lessons in land surveying. He went out to a large farm and at
+first did fairly well, but then he fell on evil times, and having no
+capital was soon on his beam ends. A chum of his who came across him
+remembered certain school study feasts, and as he was himself a kind of
+sub-contractor in a lumber camp, offered his friend the post of camp
+cook for a hundred or more men, at good wages. The offer was promptly
+accepted. The new cook, who was a smart lad, soon had everything well
+organized and in apple-pie order. He pleased the men mightily and could
+always rely on their help for the harder tasks of chopping firewood,
+washing-up, and so on. Soon he acquired a real liking for his job
+and got through his work quickly and easily. When the second season
+came round he again enlisted as camp cook, but this time, having some
+capital, he went into partnership with his friend the sub-contractor.
+The two prospered. They sub-contracted for the woodwork to be done on
+one of the railways then being built, and the “cook’s” knowledge of
+mathematics and surveying then came in useful. In a few years’ time he
+blossomed out as a railway engineer with an important post, big salary,
+house, servants and horses. Of course he had his mathematics and his
+land surveying to help him. Still it was his wage-commanding knowledge
+of cookery that had set him on his feet, and on the road to fortune.
+
+Most open-air cooks have to make the best they can out of the
+situation, for the site of a camp is not usually settled with much
+regard for their convenience. If there is good water within reasonable
+distance that is much to be thankful for. The planning out of the
+kitchen will depend chiefly upon circumstances; where there are only
+two or three to be catered for it is not a difficult matter, but where
+a dozen or more men want at least two meals a day, it is a matter
+requiring some contrivance and organization.
+
+Choose a position as much protected from wind as possible for the camp
+kitchen, and have it separate from the rest of the camp. Where rocks
+or boulders can be made use of take them into service, but build a
+furnace, (one or more), with stones, of a size convenient to hold pans
+and cauldrons, and make a table also.
+
+If a circular form is taken for the furnace it can be partly domed
+over, which enables more draught and a greater degree of heat to be
+obtained. Where a good deal has to be turned out of the kitchen it is
+a good plan to have a row of furnaces and build a chimney to connect
+with them, making the walls thick at bottom and narrow at the top. The
+chimney should come immediately behind the furnaces with a hollow base
+three feet square, gradually narrowing up to a height of six feet or
+more. A hole or flue of stones welded together with clay should connect
+each furnace with the chimney. If the whole battery is built in one
+block flues are easy to shape, and a splendid heat should be obtained
+from the stoves.
+
+Where a log cabin or stone hut is being built the greatest care should
+be given to the erection of the fireplaces for cooking purposes, as the
+comfort and likewise the safety of the whole construction will depend
+on this part being secure and sound. The more good masonry work is put
+into the fireplaces the greater and more economical will be the amount
+of heat obtained from the fuel that is consumed. Thick, well-made walls
+prevent the escape of heat.
+
+For the hearth and base of furnaces and chimney use as large stones
+as can possibly be found, the flatter the better. If the large stones
+require much levelling take smaller ones in preference and fit them
+together as evenly as can be with sand and clay. Excellent fireplaces
+can be built with stones and mud, but a little cement is of course much
+better for binding together the stones. Build the fireplace in the
+middle of the wall at the end of the hut, or across one corner. Make
+the hearth a little higher than the floor level. Sacrifice a little
+space, if need be, to have the fireplace inside the hut, and not, as
+is too often done, outside as a separate projection. Level the hearth,
+cover with a thin bed of cement or mortar or wet clay, and place
+thereon the largest and flattest stones, making the level as straight
+as you can. Now build round this hearth thick walls, starting them in a
+trench dug at least eighteen inches below the level of the ground. The
+walls should surround the hearth on three sides, leaving a part of the
+side facing into the hut open. Carry them up to about two or three feet
+high and gradually narrow them to bring the top nearer towards a dome
+shape. A good builder will then carry his furnace up in chimney shape
+right out through the roof of the hut, but if stones fail then the rest
+of the chimney can be a zinc or tin pipe. Experts, who are able to use
+mortar, will give the chimney a bend to right or left which prevents
+too strong a downward draught, or the fire from being put out by rain.
+
+With a hearth such as this it is well to place upstanding supports
+about the middle, such as a pan or kettle could be rested upon; this
+helps in the cooking very much, and prevents any spilling when the fire
+burns down. With an open hearth with thick-walled sides, such as this,
+much can be done, but it is well worth while going to the trouble of
+building a furnace oven, as before described, in addition.
+
+
+Additional Portable Appliances
+
+Only in very remote districts indeed would any one be limited to such
+rough fireplaces as these. Fuel of some other kind, such as oil, would
+assuredly be procurable to some extent, and a portable oil stove would
+take the place of the gas ring and gas appliances in town houses. The
+outgoing colonist would not be ill-advised to take with him a portable
+oil stove of some make, and when doing so he might as well choose one
+that will do more than merely boil a kettle. A small-sized Rippingill,
+with one tank can, when required, cook a full-sized dinner and will
+burn no more oil than a simple boiling stove. When buying such a
+stove buy a can for holding oil, a filler, and an extra wick or two,
+and carry something wherewith to clean the stove and keep it in good
+condition, then wherever oil is procurable the little stove can be
+brought into use and prove of endless comfort. There may be occasions
+when the stove must be packed away and resort be had to the rougher and
+more primitive methods of the clay fireplace or the tripod in the open,
+but the stove would in that case take no harm and come out smiling when
+opportunity favours it again.
+
+The same remark applies to the spirit lamp or traveller’s Etna; though
+methylated spirit is more difficult to procure than is kerosene or
+paraffin oil. Still there are occasions when travelling or when camping
+in a tent, or making a journey by boat, when a portable spirit stove or
+lamp is of great service, or in sickness.
+
+
+Electric Cooking Apparatus
+
+One must bear in mind that all Colonists are not going out as pioneers,
+but that many will be setting up new homes in districts where in
+certain matters conditions of living will be even more advanced than
+they are in the old country. For instance, in parts of South Africa,
+the Transvaal, and the Cape, electric power is fast coming into common
+use, while gas is not used at all and coal is scarce and expensive.
+In such cases, electric lighting will be found general in quite small
+townships and in quite small houses, and therefore the electric cooking
+stove will become, not a luxury such as we in England would deem it,
+but a necessity.
+
+Having ascertained how far electric power is in use in the district
+to which the colonist is going, and also how it is supplied and how
+available, it is possible then to consider the advisability of taking
+out a portable electric stove, such, for instance, as can be connected
+up with an ordinary light in any room. A portable stove of this kind,
+about twelve inches square, which is a combined Grill and Water Boiler,
+can be had for 35_s._ complete, with flexible wiring for connecting
+up. Its consumption is about 750 watts of electric energy per hour or
+about three-fourths of a unit—the cost of course depending on the price
+charged per unit in the district. In any case, this is a little stove
+that at a cost of approximately a penny will produce a full meal with
+tea, coffee or soup, a grilled steak or chop and toast in something
+less than half an hour. It is so small and so capable, that, whether
+sure of finding electric power or not, the outgoing colonist would add
+little to his expenses and less to his luggage by taking one on the
+chance of finding it useful.
+
+But when certain of electric power and when going out to establish
+a home forthwith, in a district where electricity is in common use,
+certain fittings and assuredly a cooking stove, should be taken
+without hesitation. There are some to be got out there no doubt, but
+they are cheaper here, and also there is more variety to choose from.
+Several types of electric ovens are now on the market; the price of
+them varies according to size and capacity. One that is strongly to be
+recommended for wear and capability, for family use in a small kitchen,
+is the “X.L.” It stands 36 inches high; it is 24 inches in width,
+and weighs 130 pounds. It is a thoroughly good and strong stove and
+can be installed wherever electric current is obtainable. One of its
+commendable points is its perfect freedom from dust or smoke, another
+is that each of its compartments can be used independently of the
+others, being controlled by separate switches. There is also a minimum
+and a medium switch, and when both are put on together the maximum
+degree of heat is obtained. The oven is large enough to hold a joint
+and pastry or bread, while the grill, the hot-plate and plate-warmer
+can be used or shut off, as desired. The price of this complete is £18
+10_s._ f.o.b. at any English port. These “X.L.” stoves are manufactured
+by O. G. Hawkes, Ltd., at Globe Works, Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham.
+
+Smaller and less expensive is the “Tricity” range and outfit supplied
+by the Berry Construction Company, 29a, Charing Cross Road, whose
+wholesale agents are Messrs. Gillespie & Beales, Amberley House,
+Norfolk Street, Strand, W.C. The Tricity Cookers are listed for
+Direct or Alternating Current Circuits of not less than 100 voltage.
+In addition to the oven and hot-plate, either of which can be used
+independently of the other, the outfit comprises an extension cooker
+which gives another boiling ring, and the whole equipment of utensils
+consists of thirteen articles, comprising a complete apparatus. The
+full list with stove and extension cooker costs £12 10_s._, but the
+oven and hot-plate alone is four guineas. Ordinary tin kettles and
+saucepans will answer, but the outfit is purchasable in parts and may
+consist of as few articles as any one wishes to take.
+
+That fine explorer, Boyd Alexander Smith, and in fact all experienced
+travellers, speak of the value of having a mincing machine at hand. It
+comes in useful for so many purposes, making tender and digestible
+meat that is often too tough to use in any other way. It assists in
+making savoury dishes out of remnants, will grind down the stale
+crusts, and save much trouble in many ways. A good mincing machine can
+be got for 12_s._ 6_d._, but one that has adjustable parts, making it
+useful for cutting up vegetables and beans, is a little more in price.
+
+
+
+
+III
+
+DEALING WITH STORES, ETC.
+
+  Purification of Water—Storage of Water—Disposal of Refuse and
+  Waste—Keeping Food Stores—A Curing House—An Ice House, etc.
+
+
+The importance of having a supply of water can hardly be
+over-estimated. A township depends upon it, and a log-hut or cabin must
+be pitched as near to a water supply as is possible, while no journey
+of any length can be undertaken unless water is carried or obtained at
+fairly frequent intervals, and this whether the climate is hot or cold.
+Some ready means of purifying water that is abundant yet of doubtful
+quality is likewise essential, also some means of catching the rainfall
+as it occurs. Then we must consider the storage of water in camps and
+locations not intended to be permanent ones. On all these points it is
+desirable to be ready with knowledge and resourcefulness.
+
+Experienced travellers like the late Sir Francis Galton, W. B. Lord
+and Thos. Baines all speak of ways of filtering water and of making it
+fit for human consumption, writing at a time when the portable filter
+was almost unknown. Still if a portable filter saves much trouble it
+is also heavy to carry about, and rougher and readier forms must
+sometimes be resorted to. An excellent filter for camp use is described
+by the two writers last named. They say—
+
+Take a wooden box or barrel, long and deep. Bore a number of holes in
+the bottom and then fasten inside it a bag made with a folded piece
+of blanket. At the bottom place a layer of grass, moss or twigs, then
+a layer of sand, then fresh layer of moss, and so on until the barrel
+is half-filled. Make a cover which will fit well inside the barrel
+like a second bottom; press it down and weight it to keep it from
+rising. Half-sink this barrel in a pond or stream, and the water which
+will gradually filter up to the upper compartment can then be baled
+out clean and clear. If it needs purifying still further after this
+clearing, boil it with a pinch of alum, and then expose it again to the
+air. Alum has a chemical effect on organic matter, and a small handful
+of it will purify a whole hogshead of water.
+
+This arrangement of cask or barrel can be carried out by fitting a
+smaller cask inside a larger one, the smaller being perforated with
+holes, and the space between it and the larger one filled with stones
+and sand, then the double cask can be sunk in the pond. These rough and
+ready filters are very useful where a collection of water is found
+in hollow places, the drainage from streams and after a rainfall, the
+quality of which may be doubtful or too muddy for drinking purposes. If
+water is merely thick, not putrid, it can be filtered through a cloth.
+But where it is putrid, and is yet the only water available, it should
+be first boiled, then mixed up with crushed charcoal and allowed to
+settle again exposed to sun and air. Alum is a purifier and charcoal
+is a disinfectant. There is no other way of using salt water than by
+distilling it.
+
+How to store water, in places where it is difficult to keep any supply,
+is another matter. Every drop of rain water is of value, and should
+be caught, as far as possible by means of piping from the roofs of
+sheds, ending in barrels, but this source of supply can be increased by
+suspending blankets or canvas sails by the four corners between trees,
+weighting them with stones in the middle to make the water run towards
+the centre, and placing underneath this a barrel or bucket. Dew water
+brushed off leaves and grass into basins in the early morning will
+yield a great deal more than might be imagined, and in dry climates
+there is often a heavy fall of dew before sunrise.
+
+A precaution which old travellers take to prevent thirst is to keep
+the outer clothing damp and a wet cloth folded round the throat. Where
+water is not fit for drinking it still can be used to moisten clothing,
+and this little precaution prevents evaporation from the skin.
+
+As an indication where water may be found in strange districts, Galton
+advises watching the flight of birds. Converging flights of birds
+are usually safe guides, especially towards evening. Dogs also have
+an instinct for discovering water, but cattle are less trustworthy,
+as their tracks may often lead from rather than towards water. When
+digging for water, in default of spades, a hole can be made with a
+sharp-pointed stick, holding it upright and stirring it round, scraping
+out the loosened earth with the hands. Where soil or sand is found
+moist lower down, water will generally collect when a hollow is made
+for it. The native bushmen keep their holes open by a rough contrivance
+of twigs tied together and converging to a point.
+
+When carrying water in pails from a spring or well, place a thick
+wreath of grass or leaves round the edge of the pail to prevent
+spilling. Leaves floating on the top will also help to keep the water
+in. Where water has to be carried for a journey, over the shoulder or
+from a saddle, nothing is better than leather bags, or skin bags answer
+the purpose well. Stone jars are heavy and unsatisfactory.
+
+The water supply for a district of isolated homesteads or camps is
+sometimes a difficult matter to arrange where there is no spring
+or river near enough. Some form of co-operation in the matter of
+well-sinking is very desirable, and the wells should be concreted and
+protected in the common interest. Well boring is beyond our scope and
+cannot be gone into here, as it requires some engineering knowledge and
+skill, but it may doubtless come into the day’s work at some time or
+other. Making a cistern for rain water is, however, another matter, one
+for the individual camper or hut-dweller to attend to, and therefore
+we may here give Dr. George Vivian Poore’s clever adaptation of the
+old Venetian system, as cited by the editor of an admirable work on
+_Small Estate Management_, by A. C. Freeman, a useful book published by
+Rebman & Co., 129, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.C., which will give
+invaluable help to those laying out homesteads.
+
+“His cistern, which received rain from the roof of a four-roomed
+bungalow cottage (giving about 1,100 feet square of surface), was
+circular, partly sunk in the ground, and built of concrete. The
+dimensions were: internal diameter 7 feet, depth 10 feet. It was
+divided into two compartments by a cement diaphragm, perforated at the
+bottom by agricultural drain-pipes. Both sections contained a filter
+bed, consisting of 1 foot of sand, 1 foot of fine gravel, and a top
+layer of coarse gravel, also one foot thick. The water on draining off
+the roofs into the gutters passed through a double strainer and then
+entered at the top of the first section of the cistern, being filtered
+downwards, and then filtered upwards as it rose in the second half,
+which was provided with a pump having a copper suction pipe (lead and
+ironing being of course inadvisable where soft, solvent rain water is
+concerned). A good cover protected the top. The storage capacity of
+this cistern was 1,600 gallons, or forty gallons a day for a drought of
+six weeks. Although the cottage was near a small town the water proved
+of excellent quality, pure, chemically and bacteriologically, and used
+for all purposes, and appreciated by a family in spite of its having
+a slightly yellow caste and a faint smell. An undoubted improvement
+would be to use as a substitute for the strainer an automatic tilting
+separator, which divests the first few gallons (the washing shower)
+from the reservoir. Such water is perfectly fitted for all domestic
+purposes, but the supply from an ordinary cottage roof may not be
+adequate for a household. In such a case a surface well may be sunk
+to provide water for washing, bathing, live stock watering, etc. Such
+wells should be sunk about 10 to 12 feet deep, the upper 8 or 10 feet
+being lined with impervious material (concrete with smooth cement
+surface) covered over. In this way the water can only rise from the
+bottom, and if the land is being well cultivated the ground water is
+sure to be pure. Dr. Poore had a shallow well, only 5 feet 6 inches
+deep, in his highly cultivated garden, the sides lined with concrete
+pipes protected by 4 inches of concrete right to the bottom. This well
+generally contained 3 feet 6 inches of water (about ninety gallons),
+yet it was chemically and bacteriologically pure and quite potable.”
+
+It may be useful to those who are making a dwelling within a township
+if we quote further the author’s words about water carried from main
+pipes. He says—
+
+“Where water is obtained through mains it is well to make some
+provision against the effects of frost. In Canada the general practice
+is to carry the supply pipe into the house below the frost level, into
+a sunken earthenware box, open at the bottom and resting on a drainage
+pit filled with sand or breeze. The tap proper is placed within this
+box, and rising from this to the sink level are two pipes, one within
+the other, the outer one being a tap spindle, the inner the actual
+water pipe. At the base of this pipe is a vent-hole. When the tap
+spindle is turned on the water rises and flows out; when turned off the
+vent-hole is opened and at once drains the standpipe, so that freezing
+is impossible. A somewhat easier method is to bring the pipe through a
+small closed copper vessel placed just at the entrance of the pipe into
+the house. When there is any sign of hard frost it is merely necessary
+to place a small flamed lamp beneath the copper vessel to prevent any
+possibility of freezing. It is inexpensive, saves much inconvenience,
+and also loss arising from damage done by bursts.”
+
+Having made what suggestions we can to help the colonist in the matter
+of securing and storing a water supply, we must now consider that other
+important item, the disposal of waste water and other refuse. It is
+amazing what an amount of refuse matter and waste water accumulates
+from day to day in a camp or quite small settlement. The ground is
+the one safe and sure receptacle for all waste matter, even kitchen
+waste where there are no fowls or pigs to consume the scraps. But all
+vegetable refuse and bones should be burned before returning it to the
+soil, hence a scrap heap can be made and set fire to once a week, the
+whole of it when raked out being dug into the soil again. Ashes from
+fires should be put into a box and kept for use in the earth closet,
+the waste matter from the latter being dug into a field or garden, not
+into a pit, and it should not be too far below the surface. Dry soil
+does quite as well as ashes for sprinkling into the closet pail, and
+this dug into the earth again at short intervals is the most sanitary
+and easy way of disposing of this waste. If the precaution of using
+plenty of dry earth is used no flies will gather about the organic
+matter, nor will any smells be noticeable.
+
+Waste water from baths and from kitchen washing-up is valuable wherever
+bush fruit is grown, and can always be poured round trees, or round
+young plants in a garden plot. The main point in disposing of all
+refuse is to restore as much as possible to the land. Where this is
+done carefully and with discrimination the ground benefits and nothing
+offensive is left to annoy by sight or smell. The secret of successful
+French and Dutch gardening is this careful digging in of all refuse
+matter, vegetable and other, and not in the applying of expensive
+guanos and manures. The authority quoted above has a good deal to say
+on this matter of returning refuse matter to the soil. To quote him
+again—
+
+“The splendid productive soils of the Dutch, French and Italian gardens
+are the result of many years of careful cultivation, a system whereby
+the soil is continually being enriched with what we are pleased to call
+‘Waste’ material. Therefore for both hygienic and practical gardening
+reasons, the earth closet system is to be advocated. While on the
+question of soil enrichment we would point out that those who cultivate
+small holdings, allotments and gardens should be taught to return as
+much to the soil as possible. All greenstuff, trimmings, leaves and
+so on, should either be dug in or placed to ripen in a compost pit
+and used as fertilizer when digging over the land. Sticks and wood
+should be burned and the ashes added to the pit because rotting wood
+in the soil attracts insects and so must be avoided. Such enrichment
+is valuable in any situation, but will be found to work marvels in
+lightening heavy clays and in bringing fertility to poor, porous soils.
+In our experience the most productive gardens have been those with
+‘made soils’ which have been enriched for generations. Dr. Poore’s
+experimental garden, dressed regularly with dry closet-soil, brought
+in over £56 per acre, the crops being ordinary orchard and bush fruit,
+asparagus, potatoes, green stuff and flower all grown in the open, no
+glass being used and very little labour available.”
+
+And now we must pass on to the keeping of stores—of stores of
+vegetables and dry goods and things in constant requisition for the
+kitchen.
+
+It is easy to make a series of store closets with deep boxes that are
+lined with zinc, turning the tops to face outwards, fitting in shelves
+if required, and then making a door to fit. These boxes can be piled
+one over the other, all facing the same way, and a curtain can cover
+them all if they are in any way unsightly. Dry goods and groceries
+generally require keeping in a temperate place, therefore these and
+linen and clothing can fill this series of damp-proof boxes. But when
+it is a question of storing fresh vegetables and fruit, potatoes,
+dried meat, dairy stuff, liquors and so on, an outside storehouse is
+imperative, also in hot weather all food must go into some cool place
+to keep it from insects and the atmosphere.
+
+It is a comparatively easy matter to dig out a pit some feet away
+from any tent or building, to dig it out of the earth in a shaded and
+protected spot, and then to brick the sides and build them up to a
+sufficient height above so as to make the whole depth of the sunk pit
+some eight or ten feet. Roof over the top of the pit with corrugated
+iron, and if there is heat or frost to fear make a thatch over this.
+Make one or two steps down into the pit and arrange also some shelves
+as seems convenient. If such a storeroom rises but a little way above
+ground and is protected at the top, it will be found to be of even
+temperature all the year round, admitting neither frost nor heat. It
+should be ventilated by perforating holes round the roof, but need not
+have light admitted except by the door. Failing the possibility of
+digging out and building such a storeroom, remember that pits in the
+ground lined with a collection of leaves or dry twigs and well covered
+over with earth and more branches, make excellent keeping places for
+stores of roots and fruit. There is no better preservative than Mother
+Earth.
+
+A good deal of meat, especially pork and beef, will have to be salted
+and dried for use at different times, and while salting and pickling
+are comparatively easy processes, needing only watching and frequent
+rubbing and turning, the later processes of curing and drying by smoke
+are more difficult, and for this purpose it is well to build a curing
+house.
+
+A smoke-curing house for hams and bacon may be made with two
+large-sized packing cases. Remove the top and bottom of one of the
+cases. From the other case remove one board at the top, the middle
+board; also cut a fairly large square hole on one side, large enough
+for any one to put head and shoulders through. With the boards that
+are cut away form a door by nailing batten on the inside or outside,
+and fasten to the box by means of hinges at bottom and catches at
+the top. If no hinges are at hand use stout pieces of leather, even
+the uppers of old boots will do. The catches are merely small, flat
+wedges of wood about the length of the middle finger, and as broad as
+two fingers. Nail or screw them in the middle on the box just above
+the flap door. By turning to left or right they will fasten the door
+firmly. Inside the top box fasten a series of rods, say six inches
+apart and six inches below the top. Over the long slit formed by
+removing one board as directed form a slanting roof with two boards
+kept in position by fastenings at each end. Nail pieces of netting from
+the edges of the slanting roof to the box. You thus provide ventilation
+and prevent insects from creeping in. Pierce the bottom of this case
+with a number of holes. Now choose for the site of the curing house
+sloping ground, dig a trench 18 inches deep and 6 or 7 feet long. Cover
+over the trench with flattened stones or bricks well packed together
+with earth. Over the top opening of this trench place the first case
+that had the top and bottom knocked out, and on this fix the second
+case. Suspend the hams and bacon inside the top case and then fasten
+the door tightly. At the lower end of the trench light a fire with wood
+refuse and sawdust, but avoid using pine or any resinous wood. The fire
+must be kept smouldering and the smoke will find its way up the trench,
+through the lower box into the curing chamber above, escaping very
+gradually by the ventilation outlets. Peats are best of all for keeping
+in a smoke fire. The smoking should be kept up for from three to five
+days, according to the amount of meat inside the curing chamber.
+
+Before placing the meat in this chamber it should be wiped dry after
+curing it with rubbings of dry salt, or by a mixture of saltpetre,
+black pepper, sugar and common salt. This may have been rubbed in for a
+week or ten days before the smoke cure was begun. If hams are intended
+for long keeping sew them up in cloths after curing with salt and
+before smoking them. Pieces of beef lightly salted and dried by smoke
+can be kept almost indefinitely, but they should be soaked and scraped
+before using for food.
+
+Biltong, or Jerked Beef as it is called in the United States, is a
+handy way of keeping meat for a length of time and is easily prepared.
+It is made by cutting the raw beef into slices, sousing the slices in
+sea water, then drying them hard in the sun. It can be kept threaded on
+spikes of wood, and when required the slices are taken off, soaked and
+washed, and laid in a frying-pan, with a little oil or other fat, and
+covered with plate, cooking over the fire for about an hour. A spoonful
+of vinegar put in the pan would tender the meat and improve the flavour.
+
+The converse to a smoke house would be an ice house, but wherever there
+is any dairying done this little place will prove a great boon, and it
+can be provided all the year round in most Colonies by taking a little
+forethought. In many places ice can be carried from lakes and ponds
+in the winter and stored for use in summer, and failing ice a fall of
+snow may be utilized, for snow that is packed into blocks and sluiced
+over with water will soon harden into ice. For storing it dig a deep
+hole, 4 to 8 feet deep, and build into this a house with walls of
+double thickness; the outer one may be of logs, the inner one of rough
+boards. Pack the space between the boards with sawdust, shavings or tan
+bark. The flooring should be of rafters placed close together about a
+foot above the ground. See that this open space is well drained. This
+can be done by digging a sloping trench a foot or two at the bottom
+and filling up with loose stones. The door of the house should also
+be double and packed with sawdust. The roof, which should come well
+above the hole, should slope and be composed of rafters well boarded
+over and covered with thick thatch of straw or fern. The thatch should
+project well beyond the walls but leave a ventilating space all round.
+Ice in blocks covered with sawdust can be kept in a quantity in this
+house, or blocks of ice at the bottom will make a cool storeroom of it
+for milk and butter in the summertime. Its main object, however, is to
+keep a store of ice for the dairy itself.
+
+
+
+
+IV
+
+THE STAFF OF LIFE
+
+  Making Bread—Oven and Hearth-baked Bread—Patent Yeasts for
+  Travellers’ Use—Quick Bread; the Damper, Pancake, Flapjack, Chupatty,
+  etc.—Dumplings and Pie-crusts—Uses for Dry Bread, etc.
+
+
+Bread is one of those things for which civilized man craves, and even
+in the most out-of-the-way places he is loth to exist without it. The
+many substitutes for bread rarely satisfy an Englishman, and he is
+driven to find some way of making a solid loaf. Nevertheless to bake
+bread presents a difficulty which can only be overcome by building an
+oven such as before described, or by using hot flat stones; the latter
+way of baking is as good as any when a little practice has shown how
+to do it skilfully. But the baking is only one difficulty; another
+and more serious one is to find a yeast wherewith to make a dough.
+German and other dried yeasts are usually to be bought in towns or from
+stores, and wherever there is a brewery barm can be got, but there are
+also dried and compressed yeasts that are put up in cakes for the use
+of travellers, which the outgoing colonist might procure, probably,
+at a ship chandler’s stores. Yeatman’s Yeast Powder is one of these.
+But failing any way of procuring dried yeasts there is another way of
+making a liquid yeast that is sure of producing a sweet and wholesome
+bread. For this the dried Bavarian hops are required, which are to be
+bought in packets from the chief English stores (they are known as
+the Phœnix brand), a packet of which will last a considerable time.
+A handful of these hops is boiled in water in a saucepan until the
+goodness has been extracted, then strained off, the hops thrown away,
+and the liquid returned to the pan with a spoonful of sugar, salt, and
+one or two tablespoonfuls of flour. These are stirred together and
+boiled up—never mind if it is a little lumpy—and then left to ferment.
+The mixture is ready for use the following day and will keep good for
+about ten days or a fortnight. In using, mix enough of this liquid
+with sufficient flour to make a small soft ball—technically called a
+“sponge,” setting this in the middle of the panful of flour which is
+intended for the bread. When this sponge has risen a little make the
+dough by adding to it warm water slightly salted, and working in the
+rest of the flour gradually until it can be kneaded with the hand and
+forms a large ball of dough, not too stiff and yet not too soft. This
+is then set to rise again in a warm place, and will take some five or
+six hours. Some people mix up the yeast and flour and water straight
+away and let one rising suffice. Either way should produce a light
+and wholesome dough. About four tablespoonfuls of the liquid yeast (or
+an ounce of dried compressed yeast of another kind, stirred to smooth
+paste with water), a large tablespoonful of salt and four pounds of
+flour, will make a nice quantity of bread. The amount of water depends
+a good deal on the kind of flour, but the result must be a rather firm
+dough; if too little water is put in the bread will be stiff and dry,
+if too much it will be puffy and full of holes.
+
+The dough can be mixed in the evening and left to rise all night,
+provided the pan containing it be set in a warm, sheltered place. The
+next morning, as soon as the oven has been made hot, or as soon as the
+hot stones of the hearth are ready, take up the dough, divide it and
+shape lightly with floured hands into loaves and bake them. The point
+to bear in mind is that while dough takes several hours to rise, it
+takes little harm by waiting until the oven is ready for it; but as
+yeast after it has been mixed with water ferments very quickly, the
+dough itself should not be made till the whole process of making it can
+be done right away. The science of the thing is that the introduction
+of yeast into the moistened flour causes carbonic gas to form, and
+the formation of these bubbles makes the dough swell out until the
+fermentation being finished the gas would cease to form and the dough
+would sink back, having lost its lightness. When the dough has about
+doubled its proportions, we stop the formation of the gas by baking
+the bread. Patent dried yeasts operate more quickly than do liquid
+home-made yeasts, and six hours is quite long enough to allow for the
+rising. Liquid yeasts might be given a little longer.
+
+If bread is made twice a week, the loaves should be made larger, and
+for taking out on journeys round flat cakes, made not too thick, are a
+convenient form; likewise for baking on the hearth these will be the
+handiest and cook the best. A round and rather thick ball of dough, cut
+across the top with a blunt knife, will give the Coburg loaf, which is
+a good shape for baking in an oven.
+
+Combinations of flour and maize meal, or of rice and flour, oatmeal and
+flour, and so on can be tried when a change is wanted. Where eggs and
+milk are procurable, there is a delicious American bread which is made
+by mixing two cupfuls of maize meal with every one of ordinary white
+flour, adding a little salt, two eggs and a cupful of milk to every
+three cups of the combined flours, with a spoonful of baking-powder
+rubbed in before moisture is added. This mixture is shaped into loaves
+and baked in tins—old biscuit tins floured inside will do quite well.
+The same mixture could be transformed into a cake of quite excellent
+quality by rubbing into the flour a little butter or lard, and a few
+raisins and spice and sugar.
+
+Excellent light buns for supper are quickly made by rubbing a little
+baking-powder into flour, adding salt, sugar and a few currants and
+spice, mixing with milk to a stiff dough, rolling out on a board,
+cutting into triangles and baking on flat hot stones, on both sides. Or
+if the milk has soured, mix a little soda with it and make up into a
+dough with flour alone and bake in the same way.
+
+The Australian Damper is really a thick, plain pancake, often merely a
+handful of flour made into a stiffish batter with water and a little
+salt and baked over the embers of a wood fire or on the hot stones.
+But the correct way of making Damper is to take a flat board or a
+dried sheepskin on which to knead. On this the flour is poured from
+the sack and sprinkled with salt. A hole is made in the middle of the
+heap of flour into which water is slowly poured, the right hand being
+kept moving round and round working the flour and water together to a
+thick, adhesive dough. This is then kneaded on the floured board until
+a firm ball is the result, and then with the hands a flat pancake is
+made about two inches thick. The embers are cleared away to leave a
+flat, bare place and the damper is lightly dropped upon it and covered
+with leaves, then the embers are raked back and it is left for about
+an hour, when it will be baked crisp and brown. A frying-pan without
+a handle might be inverted over the damper if the ashes were dirty.
+Fresh eggs beaten up with milk and used instead of water would make a
+richer and crisper and more nourishing damper. Scotch oatmeal added to
+a little flour, or the oatmeal alone mixed as for dry oatcake and baked
+on the hot stones, would be a more nourishing substitute for bread than
+is damper alone.
+
+The Flapjack is a similar kind of thing to the damper, but it is fried
+in a pan, with very little fat, that is to say, only enough to grease
+the pan, and fried on both sides. If made with cornmeal or buckwheat
+and mixed with milk and eggs, it becomes a very palatable thing, and
+has the merit of being quickly prepared. These pan cakes are just the
+thing for eating with sugar-cane syrup or molasses.
+
+A Cornmeal Pone is made with a quart of Indian meal, a teaspoonful of
+salt, a little melted lard and enough tepid water to make a soft dough.
+It is moulded lightly with the hands into an oblong mound, higher in
+the middle than at the sides, is brushed over with melted lard and dry
+flour, and is baked in hot oven rather crisply and broken into pieces,
+not cut. A broad leaf is laid over and under the pone if it is baked in
+the ashes.
+
+A Johnny Cake requires two cupfuls of buttermilk, a teaspoonful of
+soda, and two of salt, a good bit of butter melted soft, and enough
+Indian meal to make the cake so that it can be rolled out on a board
+to an inch in thickness. It is baked on the stones or in the oven in a
+shallow pan, and is then broken into pieces and eaten with butter.
+
+Buckwheat Cakes want the true Buckwheat flour, and to every four
+cupfuls a little salt and enough milk to make a thin batter, also a
+spoonful of yeast to every cupful of flour. The mixture is beaten well
+and left to rise overnight, and is then fried in greased pans on both
+sides, and eaten with syrup.
+
+The Chupatty is another form of thin or hastily made bread, and is
+generally made with Indian meal. If made with ordinary white flour,
+rub in a saltspoonful of salt to every half-pound, and mix to a light
+dough with cold milk. Cut this dough into pieces about the size of an
+egg, roll each piece into long, thin strips not more than an eighth of
+an inch thick. This is best done with the help of a floured board and a
+rolling-pin or smooth bottle, as the secret of making nice chupatties
+lies in the rolling. It should be rolled out at least six times, then
+the strips are placed on a baking tin and baked in a hot oven for
+about ten minutes. This is as crisp as water biscuit, and is very
+digestible. Where a dry biscuit or cake is wanted for a journey the
+chupatty is very useful.
+
+Any bread that has become stale can be freshened by dipping it in water
+and putting into a hot oven to steam through for a few minutes.
+
+
+Dumplings and Pie-Crusts
+
+When baking bread and making a stew or boiling meat with vegetables,
+small pieces of the dough can be broken off and dropped into the pan
+to form dumplings. If yeast or baking-powder has been worked into the
+dough the dumplings will be light though plain, but if they are wanted
+a little richer they should be made with chopped suet mixed with flour
+and water.
+
+The ordinary plain suet dumpling requires half as much chopped suet as
+flour in weight, and a little salt. It is mixed with either water or
+milk to make into a stiff dough—it is lightest when somewhat stiff—and
+if tying it up in a cloth to boil in water allow room for the pudding
+to swell. Boil a suet dumpling for two hours at least; it will not
+harm by being boiled longer. These plain dumplings are wholesome and
+excellent food especially in a cold climate, and should be eaten with
+syrup or butter and sugar. Sugar is, indeed, one of the most necessary
+items on the colonist’s bill of fare. The plain suet can be varied by
+mixing with it stoned raisins or currants or by using syrup in place of
+milk to mix the ingredients, adding a little ginger for flavour. Or the
+suet paste may be rolled out and spread with jam or soaked dried fruits
+and treacle, rolled up again, wrapped round with a cloth and boiled in
+fast boiling water, or folded in a buttered paper and steamed, for a
+couple of hours, making a light and appetising roll pudding. Or again,
+the paste may be rolled out and used to line a basin, the interior
+being filled with sliced apples and other fruits and sugar, covered
+with a top crust, then tied over and boiled for as long again. Or the
+centre may be filled with pieces of steak cut small and rolled in flour
+and seasoned with salt and pepper, a little water put in to make gravy,
+a top crust put on, and tied down, and this boiled for about four hours.
+
+If the colonist has built him a good oven and is ambitious of making
+pastry, having a fond recollection of jam tarts and apple pies as made
+at home, let him take a nice clean board, and put into a basin say a
+couple of pounds of flour, two big spoonfuls of dry baking-powder, a
+teaspoonful of salt, and into this flour rub lightly about a pound
+of lard or good dripping, rubbing till the flour feels like dry
+breadcrumbs in his hands. Mix this to a stiff paste with cold water,
+then cut off portions and roll out on a floured board. If a proper
+rolling-pin is not at hand a bottle will answer the purpose.
+
+If it is a fruit pie that is contemplated, fill a dish with pared and
+sliced apples, or plums washed clean, or other fruit, cover well with
+sugar, add a little water and then cover with a crust that has been
+rolled out to about half an inch thick. Make a little hole in the top
+for the steam to escape, and pinch the edges well and cut them round
+even with the edges of the dish. Put into an oven that is very hot
+and bake long enough to cook the fruit well, shielding the crust if
+necessary with paper. Fruits like blackberries, bilberries, damsons,
+etc., want well cooking, and should be partly done before the crust is
+put on. Where no pie-dish is at hand, roll out a sheet of paste and
+heap up the cut or picked fruit in the centre, with the sugar, and then
+fold up the paste to make it like a valise and pinch the edges well.
+Bake it on a greased tin.
+
+The good old-fashioned turnover or pasty is ever welcome, and needs
+but to have a piece of paste rolled out to a convenient sized round,
+and on half is spread the jam, mince, or fruit, and the other half is
+turned over, the edges pinched together, and it is baked on a tin in
+hot oven. The Cornish pasty has sliced potatoes, shred bacon, a trifle
+of onion and pepper and salt, and is folded over and baked in the same
+way. These are delicious to eat hot. When making a meat pie, cook the
+meat well before putting on the pastry crust.
+
+This plain short pastry is all that any colonist will require, at
+least until an elaborate kitchen equipment is at his service, but if
+he objects to rubbing in the shortening with his hands, he may mix
+the flour and water to a stiff paste, roll it out on a floured board,
+spread the shortening on this with the blade of a knife, fold up and
+roll out again at least twice. This way saves using the hands.
+
+
+
+
+V
+
+THE DAY’S FOOD AND WORK
+
+  Popular Ideas about Food Values—Kind of Food Required in
+  Health—Concentrated and Bulk Foods—Initial Preparations for Cooking,
+  etc.
+
+
+There are a good many vague notions current about food which it is
+well to set right before we come to the actual work of cooking for
+making ready a meal. For instance, people are content, as a rule, to
+take what comes handiest, or to choose what is most customary, rather
+than have the trouble of thinking out or of choosing what might really
+make a meal of better value. Reliance on what is customary may easily
+lead to great monotony and to narrowness of ideas. In some cases, of
+course, monotony is perhaps inevitable, that is to say the material is
+perforce the same, and can only be varied by bringing the imagination
+into play in order to make its manner of presentment more varied. A
+man, for example, writes to us from Canada (he is pioneering in the
+Far West, let it be understood), and says that his meals consist of
+beef and potatoes, varied by potatoes and beef. Another writes from
+the Australian bush and declares there is nothing to be had but tea,
+damper and mutton, mutton, damper and tea. Both cases are doubtless
+exaggerations, but they show the monotony that may exist when there
+is little time to give to thought about meals. But on the other hand,
+people who have almost limitless resources at command, as in England,
+show little more imagination when it comes to planning a week’s meals
+for a family, year in year out, and monotony is their complaint also.
+
+Then we speak of “nourishing food,” of dishes that are “rich,”
+“indigestible” and so on, and of drinks that are “too strong” and “too
+weak,” often without quite knowing what we wish to express.
+
+All food is “nourishing” when properly combined and proportioned; if
+we get an excess of one thing, of fat, for example, or of sugar, it
+is “too rich” because less easily assimilated. As it is only by what
+is digested and assimilated that the body is nourished, it is easy to
+understand that two foods which contain the same amount of nutriment
+will not be equally nutritious unless both are equally digestible.
+
+What is wanted, speaking roughly, for proper nourishment and upkeep of
+the bodily system, is a daily sufficient yet not excessive supply of
+flesh-forming and heat-producing food, enough to repair the constant
+slow wastage that goes on. This waste, it is easy to understand,
+is increased when the body is actively engaged in hard labour and
+lessened when it is resting or doing sedentary work. The whole science
+of feeding lies in obtaining a right proportion of the two classes
+of food in the diet. An excess of either class, unless excreted, is
+stored up as fat. The reason we cook at all is that we may bring raw
+materials into a state in which they can be digested easily, and
+also that we may make those judicious mixtures which shall combine
+flesh-forming and heat-producing substances ready to be assimilated
+in the best possible way. There is no one perfect food that will do
+this for adults, as there is for infants who find all they require in
+milk. The adult body is only perfectly supplied by a mixed diet, and as
+regards the selection of materials one of the best and safest guides
+to take is the individual appetite under normal conditions. Appetite
+will generally suggest the kind of food the body is needing and will
+generally indicate when a sufficiency has been taken, also it will show
+by “loss of appetite” when food is not required and what kind of food
+is distasteful.
+
+Feeding the human body is very like feeding a fire; combustion is
+slow but steady and is made more rapid when the draught of air is
+increased—that is, when the lungs are inhaling and exhaling more
+deeply as in hard labour. The energy expressed by movement, labour,
+exercise or play corresponds to the burning of the fire, and is made
+up for by adding more fuel, and what part of the fuel is not consumed
+is thrown away as ashes are taken away from the grate. How thoroughly
+the food taken in is consumed must therefore depend a great deal upon
+its digestibility. That which is raw, hard, lumpy or tough will take
+long to assimilate, or indeed may be finally excreted as unassimilable.
+We assist assimilation when we mince or grind down the food to fine
+proportions—hence mastication. After it is swallowed the digestive
+juices set to work upon it and make it fit for absorption into the
+system. In addition to cooking food to make it tender and in addition
+to mastication, we further assist the work of digestion when we add
+condiments and flavours to it, because these help to increase the flow
+of the gastric juices and stimulate the activity of the digestive
+organs.
+
+We cannot obtain more heat or more muscle by eating special foods for
+the purpose. Flesh-forming and heat-producing foods must be taken
+together for each to do their work properly, but we can and do increase
+the proportions of one or the other according to the kind of work
+we are doing and the kind of climate we are living under. An extra
+cold atmosphere calls for more heat to make up for what is given off
+by radiation from the surface of the body as well as by increased
+respiration. Therefore fat and sugar must take a very prominent place
+in the diet of those who live in cold countries, farinaceous foods
+likewise. Meat and vegetables are needed where much muscular work
+is being done and where a stimulating diet rather than a heating
+one is wanted. A good deal of liquid food and water is needed when
+perspiration is excessive and where outward heat dries the skin.
+
+Appetite is again the best guide to follow under these different
+conditions, for Nature prompts and suggests what she is needing by
+means of appetite and taste. Appetite is also the best individual guide
+as to quantity, for it is rarely that two people will eat exactly the
+same amount in the same circumstances. Some appear to eat too much,
+and others too little, but if we judge results by weight, where that
+remains fairly constant, the quantities consumed merely correspond
+with their requirements. It is when an excess of fat is stored up in
+the system that the supply may be taken to exceed the demand. Yet this
+again is not altogether a reliable criterion to go by; it, in fact,
+puzzles many as it puzzled Dr. Johnson and his faithful Boswell.
+
+Talking of a man who had grown very fat so as to be incommoded by his
+corpulency, Dr. Johnson said, “He eats too much, sir.” Said Boswell,
+“I don’t know, sir; you will see one man fat who eats moderately and
+another lean who eats a great deal.” Johnson: “Nay, sir, whatever may
+be the quantity a man eats, it is plain that if he is too fat he has
+eaten more than he should have done. One may have a digestion that
+consumes food better than common; but it is certain that solidity is
+increased by putting something to it.” Boswell: “But may not solids
+swell and be distended?” Johnson: “Yes, sir, they may swell and be
+distended, but that is not fat!”
+
+As regards food materials, all fibrous and tough substances cannot
+be separated from the rest, nor is it necessary to separate them. A
+certain amount of bulk food is needful for the organs to work upon,
+and even if it is eventually excreted it still cannot be done without.
+Highly-concentrated foods, like extracts and essences and tabloids,
+will not satisfy the ordinary healthy appetite, and even if they did
+satisfy it they would end in weakening the organs of the body through
+want of sufficient work and exercise. Tissues and fibres can, however,
+be made soft and tender, and therefore much more easily digestible, by
+proper cooking. It should be remembered that the tissues of animals
+and vegetables toughen as they get older, while birds and meats that
+are freshly-killed are not so tender as when well hung. Wild birds and
+young animals are tougher than maturer and fattened ones.
+
+The initial processes of preparing food will present more difficulties
+to the colonist, perhaps, than the actual cooking. The very first
+process of all, that of catching and killing the animal or bird, is
+less troublesome to contemplate than the process of skinning, cleaning
+and cutting up; still, of course, it comes first.
+
+All animals and birds which are killed by shot must have the blood let
+out as soon as possible; it is usual to suspend them to drain this
+away. Then the skin is drawn off, the abdominal and thoracic viscera
+are removed, likewise the head and tail, and the animal is laid open
+by cutting down the breast line. In large animals like oxen and sheep
+by cutting through the middle of the back bone the carcass is divided
+into two equal parts, called sides, and the sides are again cut up
+into joints after quartering. The anterior portion is known as the
+fore-quarter, the posterior as the hind-quarter. In small animals like
+lambs the whole of the quarter is considered as one joint.
+
+In cutting up a side of beef the usual method followed is according to
+the following diagram:
+
+[Illustration:
+
+  _A._ Rump.
+  _B._ Buttock.
+  _C._ Shin.
+  _D._ Buttock Steak.
+  _E._ Aitchbone.
+  _F._ Sirloin.
+  _G._ Ribs.
+  _H._ Chuck Ribs.
+  _I._ Clod.
+  _J._ Shin.
+  _K._ Shoulder or Bladebone.
+  _L._ Brisket.
+  _M._ Thin Flank.
+  _N._ Thick Flank.
+  _O._ Gravy Piece.
+]
+
+A young ox gives the best beef, but bull beef is dark in colour with
+a coarse grain. If beef is to be tender it should be hung as long as
+weather and climate will permit of, but should be looked over every day
+and moisture wiped off. Any part which is touched with flies should
+be rubbed over with cloths wrung out of vinegar. If any part seems
+slightly tainted rub powdered charcoal over it, or black pepper.
+
+The most suitable uses of the different parts for cooking are as
+follows:
+
+  Sirloin and Ribs, prime roasting joints.
+
+  Rump, for cutting into steaks for grilling.
+
+  Buttock, for stewing steak, or for boiling fresh.
+
+  Round or Buttock, for salting and boiling.
+
+  Thick and thin Flank, salting, boiling or baking.
+
+  Shins and Gravy Piece, for soups.
+
+  Chuck Ribs, for second quality steaks.
+
+  Bladebone, for braising and stewing.
+
+  Clod, boiled or stewed.
+
+  Brisket, for salting and pressing, or for baking with potatoes.
+
+  Tail, for stewing and soup-making.
+
+  Tongue, for salting, boiling and pressing.
+
+  The Skirt makes delicious stews and rich gravy.
+
+  Beef Kidney is tough and too rich to use alone, but a little added to
+  other stews is excellent.
+
+  Liver too coarse to use except for feeding animals.
+
+  Knuckles and feet make stiff jelly.
+
+Mutton does not cut up into so many parts, but is simply divided into
+leg and loin (or if the loin is undivided it makes a “saddle,”) and the
+fore-quarter makes breast, shoulder and neck pieces.
+
+Veal is similarly jointed to beef but is much smaller, and the whole
+round of the leg is called the fillet and is cut in thick portions or
+slices; the loin includes the rump, and the neck is really included
+with the ribs. The breast of veal is excellent as the gristly parts
+easily soften, and the knuckles which correspond to the shin and leg of
+beef are much more tender and gelatinous.
+
+As pigs are killed at different ages and the larger and fatter animals
+are usually cured and dried for bacon, the smaller pigs are cut up very
+similarly to mutton and lamb. The hind-quarter gives the leg and hind
+loin, the fore-quarter the “hand” or shoulder, foreloin, spare ribs and
+neck, while the head is split into two “chaps.” When made into bacon
+the side is cured whole and the leg becomes the ham, the shoulder half
+the gammon. The breast gives the part known as “streaky” bacon, and the
+back and ribs, flank and collar are sold at varying prices.
+
+Certain portions of the interior organs of the carcass are useful for
+food and quite digestible. The tongues, for instance, which when cut
+away from the root part can be salted and pickled, then boiled or
+dried, make an excellent dish. The sweetbreads in young animals are
+very delicate, and after first boiling them in salted water for a few
+minutes they can be fried or stewed to make a savoury dish. The kidneys
+are removed from the fat in which they are embedded and split open and
+lightly fried or grilled, or beef kidney is added to stews of other
+parts of beef. Ox tails after skinning and jointing make an excellent
+savoury stew or very nourishing soup. Sheep’s liver is edible when
+properly cooked, but lamb’s and calf’s liver are better and not at all
+tough when fried and stewed afterwards. Ox liver is not fit for human
+food. The hearts of very young animals alone are edible, and even then
+are somewhat tough.
+
+The best suet is that found round about the kidneys, and this fat can
+be removed in large pieces, which if kept dry will remain sweet for
+a week or two and is used for making puddings and crusts for pies.
+The other interior fat of the animal (both of beef and mutton) can be
+melted down and clarified by pouring into jars containing a little
+boiling water, then it is useful for all frying purposes and many other
+things. The interior fat of the pig is also melted down, but it yields
+lard, a pure white and soft fat that is as edible as butter. This
+should be run into tins whilst warm and covered with paper when cold to
+keep it from the air.
+
+Rabbits are split open to let out the blood and the entrails removed
+directly they are killed, and being thus paunched they can be slung on
+a stick and kept for some time before skinning, although the fresher
+they are the more easily will the skin be removed. To do this make an
+incision down the length of the body, and draw the skin backwards,
+bringing the legs up first and ending by pulling the skin over the
+head. A rabbit can be turned round for boiling, or be cut into joints
+for stewing. Hares are treated the same way except that hares are not
+boiled, but they are often roasted. A better way is to cook a whole
+hare in a casserole or braising-pan, as the meat is very dry, but the
+best way of all is to cut it in joints and cook it in a deep stone jar,
+with red wine and small vegetables and a little fat pork.
+
+Fowls are plucked most easily by first dipping them bodily into
+boiling water, but this renders the feathers unusable for any other
+purpose. Plucking is quickly accomplished if the feathers are pulled
+the reverse way from that which they take naturally, and after cutting
+off the head, splitting the neck to remove the gullet and windpipe, an
+incision at the lower end makes it easy to empty the fowl by drawing
+out the entrails and organs; wash out with clean water afterwards, then
+bind together the legs and tie down the wings to the sides, and the
+fowl is trussed quite sufficiently for ordinary purposes. The reason
+for fastening wings and legs to the sides is to prevent these from
+shrivelling and getting too dry by cooking. As the meat of fowls and
+indeed of most birds is very lean it is an improvement to wrap them
+in some thin leaf fat, or to cook a piece of fat bacon with them if
+braising or roasting, or even if boiling them.
+
+The meat of wildfowl is drier and leaner than that of the domestic fowl
+and wild ducks are a little fishy in flavour. Prairie hens are plump
+as a rule but also lean, and most small wild birds are tastier and
+more tender if they are wrapped in thin slices of fat before cooking.
+Quick cooking is best for those that are small and young, but fowls of
+uncertain age are better slowly stewed or boiled.
+
+The flesh of fish contains more water than that of meat or fowl, but it
+is light and digestible and nourishing when fresh, and plump fish are
+invariably of primer quality than thin ones. Most fish want scraping
+as well as washing, and it is well to cut off the heads and remove the
+entrails; in some kinds like mackerel and herrings they are split open
+and scraped clean, while in flat fish cutting off the heads and fins
+suffices. Large fish like salmon and cod have a good deal of interior
+to be removed before they are cooked and the heads are left on if
+preferred.
+
+Where a little curing house has been set up as before described,
+herrings which have been cleaned and split open can be lightly salted
+and smoke-dried, and thus the colonist can make his own kippers. Small
+haddock can also be cured and smoke-dried, mackerel likewise.
+
+Surplus fish can be kept by first cleaning and then salting them
+and packing down in a barrel, but smoke-curing is a better way of
+preserving them, and in the log-hut kitchen they can hang in strings
+from the rafters.
+
+Oysters, clams, mussels and shellfish that are eaten without cooking
+should be very fresh indeed for it to be trustworthy. Oysters are
+wholesome and easily digested and are rightly considered a delicacy,
+and in some places they are plentiful enough.
+
+Lobsters, crabs and shrimps want boiling in salted water until they
+turn a bright red colour, and when cold they are broken open and the
+flesh picked out. An iron cauldron or saucepan is best to boil them
+in. All these should be killed by cooking; that is they should be
+alive up to the time they are boiled, as if not perfectly fresh they
+so quickly decompose and may easily set up ptomaine poisoning. There
+are circumstances and places where shellfish are a valuable article
+of food, however, and in moderation they do much to vary a diet that
+without them would be monotonous and unappetising. A liberal washing
+in clean water should be given to all creatures that are taken from
+salt water pools and shallow places. But the same careful cleansing is
+necessary in the case of freshwater fish, too, especially that taken
+from ponds, as they are apt to taste of mud unless well soaked and
+scraped before cooking.
+
+The initial preparations for cooking which vegetables require make
+many people forego their use altogether, yet although troublesome
+enough there is nothing about them that is half so disagreeable as the
+preparatory work of preparing meat and poultry for cooking. A liberal
+washing, a scraping or paring, perhaps coring and dividing and cutting
+up—and that is practically all there is to do except in the case of
+peas which want shelling, or of beans which want stringing and slicing.
+
+Almost without exception, the edible roots want paring after washing
+before cooking them in any way whatsoever. The rind is not intended
+to be eaten and is tough in all except very young roots. While the
+actual nutritive value of roots, tubers and green vegetables is low,
+their health value is high, and they are both a welcome and valuable
+addition to the diet, and whenever a garden patch has been secured the
+colonist’s first thought will be to grow his own vegetables, and as
+great a variety of them as he can.
+
+Potatoes are the most nutritive of all vegetables and rank next to
+bread in value, but artichokes have a higher nutritive value than even
+potatoes, and should be freely cultivated especially where there is a
+pig to be fed, as pigs thrive rapidly and produce fine bacon when fed
+upon these tubers.
+
+The next most important vegetable to the potato is the onion, and this
+is one of the best of nature’s medicines, too. But after skinning an
+onion the root bit should always be cut out before cooking in any form.
+Cut away the hard fibres from cabbages before boiling them and boil
+rapidly in salted water. Never cook outer leaves or woody parts and
+fibres of anything; all such parts should be returned to the ground as
+its share of the proceeds, for they make the most valuable manure.
+
+When gathering cabbages or lettuces, and things of like nature, if
+not ready to make use of them for a few hours, leave the roots on as
+they will keep fresh and crisp a much longer time. If on account of
+frost these have to be dug up and brought under shelter, also leave
+the roots on, but let them be kept covered with sand or soil and in
+a dry place. Carrots and turnips keep well in a sand heap. Celery is
+another excellent vegetable for the colonist to cultivate wherever it
+will grow; it is good in all climates and will stand a good deal of
+frost, and is most wholesome eaten either in a natural state or cooked.
+Here again, eat only the best parts and let the rest be returned to the
+ground.
+
+Dried fruits are extremely useful where fresh fruits are hard to
+procure, and the nutritive value of dried fruits is relatively high
+in proportion to their weight. They are a form of concentrated food,
+easily portable and satisfying, but their value is increased when they
+are soaked in water for some hours and then cooked. But dried raisins,
+dates and figs are excellent for eating without other preparation,
+while prunes and apples are better after soaking and stewing.
+
+
+
+
+VI
+
+COOKING FISH, MEAT AND VEGETABLES
+
+  The Reason Why in Roasting, Boiling, Baking and Stewing—How to Fry,
+  Braise, Grill, etc., and Use of Condiments and Seasoning.
+
+
+Every one likes to know the “reason why” any particular method is
+recommended or pursued, and if we cannot give the correct scientific
+explanation of any process used in the kitchen we can at least give the
+reason for its being followed. And once we know the reason for a method
+we are independent of any necessity for slavish following of other
+directions, because success or failure will be the result of right or
+wrong in the method, not of a defect in the recipe.
+
+For instance: The principle of Roasting is that of cooking by radiated
+heat; Baking is a combination of radiated with air-conducted heat.
+Hence roasting is done before an open fire and baking is done in an
+oven.
+
+
+Roasting
+
+The joint should be hung not too near the fire to begin with, in order
+that sufficient fat may exude to moisten the surface; after a few
+minutes, however, it is brought closer that this moisture may become
+encrusted so as to keep in the gravy. The joint is kept moving in order
+that it may cook evenly on all sides, and when it is cooked through
+steam will be seen rising from it.
+
+Now, in place of having a revolving spit and a roasting jack, a
+substitute can be made by forming a sort of cradle for the joint out
+of thin wire and suspending this from a nail or hook. It is well to
+suspend the wire cradle with a piece of twine from the hook or nail as
+twine will revolve with a twist of the fingers, but wire will not. The
+fire, whether it is one built on the ground or in a fireplace, must
+have burnt through clear red before the joint is placed in front of it.
+In the old cottages in Scotland where a wide-throated chimney and open
+hearth with flat stone constitutes all the cooking range there is, it
+is common to see a big nail projecting from the chimneypiece, while the
+joint is tied in a cradle of string and suspended from the nail, on a
+level with the hottest part of the fire. Everybody passing by gives a
+twist to the string and so the joint moves round and the result when
+done is a perfect roast. The fat that drops is caught by a tin set on
+the flat stone of the hearth, and a batter mixture poured into this
+is baked by the time the meat is ready for eating. It would be quite
+possible to manage something of this type in a log-hut kitchen, but in
+tent or camp it would be better to bake rather than roast meat.
+
+
+Baking
+
+In Baking meats—or in baking anything else for that matter—the greatest
+heat is needed at first, in order to give the same shock of surprise
+that frying gives to anything that is plunged in hot fat. The reason
+for this is to form a crust as quickly as possible and prevent the
+escape of the juices. An oven that is only just warm will dry the
+surface without forming this crust, but one that is thoroughly hot
+will bring the juices up to the surface and make a brown coating very
+quickly. In the same way pastry or bread will rise when plunged into
+good heat, but remain white and heavy if the oven is cool. To know
+whether an oven is hot enough for baking it can be tested by spreading
+a little dry flour on a piece of tin and putting it in the oven for a
+few minutes. If it does not brown the oven is too slow; if it browns
+readily it is hot enough for meat. Pieces of thick white paper will
+prevent the surface of anything from scorching.
+
+It is usually reckoned that beef and mutton take from twenty to
+twenty-five minutes per pound for both roasting and baking; veal and
+pork want half an hour per pound, but a fowl or pheasant should not
+require longer than fifteen minutes per pound weight.
+
+
+Paper Coverings
+
+There is great advantage in using a paper wrapping when cooking meat or
+fish on hot stones or in a furnace oven. If a paper bag is greased and
+folded up tightly it will keep in all the steam and flavour, allowing
+nothing to be wasted, and proves a very cleanly way of cooking, and
+saves much washing-up and scouring of tins and pans. In true Paper bag
+cookery, now much used in gas ovens and English ranges, the bag is made
+of a special paper, grease-proof, nevertheless where the right kind of
+bag is not available wrapping up in ordinary white paper is much better
+than nothing, but always grease the paper first. Shape the paper, or
+the bag, so that a hollow forms at the bottom, into which the fat and
+gravy collects. This facilitates dishing up, as a cut with a knife will
+let this through into a tin held underneath.
+
+
+Boiling
+
+Now as to Boiling meat. Sometimes we boil it in order to extract all
+the goodness as for soup, sometimes for the sake of cooking meat or
+fish in this special way. In the first case it should be put over a
+slow fire in cold water, and when it has reached the boiling-point be
+withdrawn and allowed to cook without boiling again, and cooking a very
+long time in this way much improves the flavour of broth or soup. But
+when the meat is intended to be eaten, the water into which it is put
+should nearly boil when it is first put in with its vegetables, and
+then be brought rather quickly to the boiling-point, drawn away, and
+kept boiling very gently indeed. Never on any account let it boil fast,
+still it must _just_ boil or else the meat will not cook. Fast boiling
+ruins the soup and toughens the meat. When rice is added to broth, it
+is washed and put in about an hour before the soup is finished; when
+barley is put in, it can be added as soon as the broth boils, as it
+takes longer to soften. A fair-sized piece of meat with vegetables will
+take from two to three hours to boil it well. For Scotch broth the
+vegetables are chopped small and the barley and these boiled together
+with the mutton.
+
+When boiling fish the water should be at the boiling-point when it is
+put in, but only just reach that point, or rather not quite reach it
+afterwards. The water should be salted, and a few drops of vinegar will
+help to keep the flakes of fish firm. Fish should simmer till the skin
+shows signs of cracking, then it is sufficiently done. Fish that is
+boiled fast is flavourless and ragged. But a pudding or anything cooked
+in a mould may boil as fast as you please.
+
+Some vegetables are better for putting to cook in cold water, others
+must have boiling water. Dried vegetables and some potatoes want cold
+water, and dried peas and beans want long previous soaking. Green
+vegetables and green peas, on the other hand, want plunging into fast
+boiling salted water and to be kept boiling fast. Potatoes and some of
+the other root vegetables will steam better than they will boil.
+
+
+Stewing
+
+There is no doubt that Stewing is the ideal way of cooking all tough
+meats and old birds. Stews want slow cooking and close covering to keep
+in the steam, and need several hours to do them well. A stew should be
+mellow and have plenty of gravy. The best plan is to bring the contents
+of the stewpan to boiling-point rather quickly, then to set the pan or
+jar in a corner of the oven or hearth, where it will have gentle heat
+for a long time. Unless it reaches the boiling-point once, however, it
+will not start cooking. After it had reached the boil however it could
+be set in the Hay-box Oven or in a hole in the ground, and would go on
+cooking all right for many hours without harm.
+
+Recipes for different stews are given in the next chapter, but the
+principle of making a stew savoury and nourishing and tender is grasped
+when we understand that it is necessary to bring it to full heat, that
+is boiling-point early, then to let it cook well below that point for
+several hours. Tough meat should then become quite tender, and the
+gristly pieces soft and glutinous. A little vinegar added to a stew
+helps to make the meat tender, and seasoning makes it savoury.
+
+A little vinegar added to a stew of game draws out the flavour, and
+likewise some pickle added to one of venison or dried meat greatly
+improves it. So, too, does a little red wine.
+
+Fish stews are excellent, and this method of cooking makes very
+palatable the coarser kinds of river or pond fish. After being scraped
+to free it from scales, and after washing well in water, it should
+be dried and cut into pieces of a convenient size, rolled in flour
+and sprinkled with salt and pepper, packed into the stewpan with a
+little vinegar or the juice of a lemon, and with several small pats of
+butter, then covered down closely and stewed for an hour or so. Omit
+the vinegar when cooking the more delicate kinds of white fish, adding
+only salt and butter, and perhaps a little milk. If liked, a little
+grated cheese can be sprinkled over a stew of white fish.
+
+A way of greatly improving a plain stew is to first fry the meat and
+vegetables which compose it, frying them sufficiently to brown them,
+but not enough to cook them properly; the cooking is done by the
+stewing, but the frying gives a savouriness which nothing else can.
+Onions and carrots and potatoes fried before they are added to a stew,
+for instance, make it very much richer than if put in raw. Rinse out
+the frying-pan with boiling water and add this to the stew. Such things
+as liver and bacon, kidneys, giblets, etc., should always be fried
+lightly before stewing them.
+
+
+Frying
+
+The object in Frying is to form a savoury and brown crust on the
+outside so as to keep in the juices within. Hence, as before said,
+a shock of “surprise” is given by plunging the article to be fried
+into boiling fat, and cooking it quickly so as to have it juicy and
+succulent within. On this account we choose things that do not need
+long cooking for cooking by frying methods. Small things like cutlets
+and chops, slices of fish and bacon, made up rolls of minced meat, and
+so on, and things that we can dip into batter and roll in flour or
+breadcrumbs are fried. But we also fry fresh fish that has been split
+down the back and laid flat, and small birds which want light and quick
+cooking. The pan and the fat must be very hot, and when dry frying
+(that is, frying with a pan that is only just rubbed with fat) is
+chosen, as for a fried beefsteak, frequent turning over and great care
+to do it quickly and yet without scorching, is needed.
+
+Pour off any fat used for frying into a jar containing a little boiling
+water. This will clear it and leave it as a cake on the top which can
+be lifted off and used several times over.
+
+
+Braising
+
+Braising is a combination of baking and stewing. Really the
+braising-pan should hold hot coals on the top as well as be surrounded
+with them, and a tightly-covered vessel set within the ashes of a wood
+fire, with embers covering the top, would furnish an ideal braise. It
+is a capital way of cooking when there is only the hearth available,
+for the piece of meat is put inside the deep pan, with a little fat
+but no water, and the cover is put on and fastened down, the whole
+thing being smothered in hot ashes or embers. It can be left for some
+hours, and may be set aside to become cold before opening the pan. A
+large piece of meat braised would take four or five hours to cook well.
+A leg of pork, for instance, covered with a little fat taken from the
+breast, cooked in this way is delicious; so, too, is a leg of mutton.
+The braising-pan may be of iron that is enamelled or merely tinned
+inside, or of glazed earthenware. The difference between a braise and
+a stew is that for a stew the meat is cut up in pieces, vegetables are
+usually added, with seasoning and a little water to make gravy, and
+long cooking in a corner of the oven is necessary, while for a braise
+the joint is left whole, vegetables are generally omitted and the pan
+is buried among the ashes.
+
+
+Grilling
+
+Grilling or Broiling is a method used for cooking small steaks or
+chops; small fish split and laid open; small birds treated the same
+way, and requires a very hot red fire, with a grill that is somewhat
+like a magnified toaster. The thing that is grilled must be turned over
+and over very frequently, to cook both sides quickly and lightly, and
+it should be cooked through in a few minutes.
+
+Combinations of cooking methods like frying and stewing, as just
+mentioned, give better results sometimes than one method alone. For
+example, sausages that are first boiled and then fried are twice as
+succulent and savoury as when only fried. A piece of bacon first boiled
+then baked is likewise much improved.
+
+
+Condiments
+
+Salt, which toughens meat if added at the beginning, can be put in just
+before the cooking is finished, but meat that has been salted long
+enough to preserve it is usually tender after it has been boiled. Salt
+arrests decay, and while it toughens the fibres it helps to draw out
+the juices, so that its action is helpful in certain conditions and a
+hindrance in others. Pepper helps to keep game and poultry sweet, and
+gives piquancy to any dish. Sauces and wines should never be added
+except at the last moment or their effect is lost. The practice of
+adding sauces and much seasoning is not to be commended. The object
+of all cooking is to bring out the flavour of the thing cooked, not
+to add another to it, except that other flavour is indispensable as a
+complement.
+
+A Boiling-pan, a Braising-pan, a Frying-pan and a Stew-pan or
+casserole, with a roasting spit, might be considered the full
+complement of any kitchen. Less can be made to do, but more would not
+really be necessary, unless the more meant, shall we say, a supply of
+paper bags?
+
+
+
+
+VII
+
+SIMPLIFIED COOKERY RECIPES
+
+
+General directions have been given with regard to cooking of meat and
+vegetables, making soups, and so on, in the previous chapters, but for
+handy reference the colonist will like to refer to the recipe itself as
+he wants it and when he wants it.
+
+
+Soups and Broths
+
+GAMEKEEPER’S BROTH.—Strain off clear about a quart of stock obtained
+by stewing the bones of game, poultry or rabbits with any meat bones
+available. Brown scraps and trimmings of meat will have made this stock
+richer and deeper in colour. Fry till brown a few small onions and
+carrots, and in the same fat any scraps of game or meat that seem good.
+Add these to the strained stock and mix with the rest of the fat in the
+frying-pan a little flour, some pepper and salt, stir up well and thin
+with a few spoonfuls of the stock, then add all to the remainder and
+boil up once. A little red wine would, of course, make this richer, but
+is not necessary.
+
+OX-TAIL SOUP.—Joint the tail and place the pieces in a deep stone jar
+with peeled onions, say three or four, as many carrots, and some salt
+and pepper. Fill up the jar with water. One tail should make three or
+four pints of strong soup. Stew in a corner of the hearth or oven for
+four or five hours, and serve a few pieces of meat with the liquor. It
+is not necessary to thicken the soup, but if it is preferred so, it can
+have a little flour and dissolved butter rolled together and stirred
+into the hot liquor gradually, and boiled up once.
+
+SHEEP’S HEAD BROTH.—Wash the head well and put on in a pan with cold
+water, a good spoonful of salt, a large cupful of well-washed barley,
+some onions and turnips, carrots and leeks if to be had, and a piece
+of celery likewise, and boil very gently for at least three hours. Add
+cold water always, say two quarts to one head. A little fresh parsley
+chopped small will give a very nice flavour to the broth, put in when
+cooked.
+
+SCOTCH BROTH.—The neck and other lean parts of mutton make the best
+broth, and should be cut small enough to serve a little meat in each
+plate. Turnips and onions are cut into small pieces and put in with
+the meat in liberal quantity. A little salt and pepper, and some fresh
+green peas when in season are added when the rest of the broth has
+boiled, and pearl barley, previously washed and soaked in cold water,
+is put in with the first vegetables as it takes long to cook. Boil two
+hours.
+
+GRAVY SOUP.—Parts of lean beef, such as the shin and tougher pieces of
+the leg, with any large bones broken in pieces, make the best gravy
+soup. The meat should be cut into pieces and put into a deep jar with
+the bones, and just enough water to cover well. Put in a spoonful of
+salt and a few peppercorns and leaves of any sweet herbs available, but
+no vegetables save one or two onions. Cook very slowly indeed, never
+allowing it to boil hard. After cooking about six hours, strain off,
+let it get cold to enable any fat to be skimmed off, then warm up as
+wanted. It should be a rather deep colour and very strong and clear.
+
+RABBIT OR HARE SOUP.—The bones and larger joints, heads, and so on,
+without any blood, of course, are put on to cook in cold water, and
+with them put onions and carrots. Cook a long time, then strain and
+pick off any nice bits of meat to return to the stock. Mix a large
+spoonful of flour with cold water, also a teaspoonful of salt and half
+one of pepper, and same of sharp sauce if available. Stir into the hot
+liquor and boil up for five minutes.
+
+BEEF BOUILLON.—Take a nice piece of fresh beef, say two or three pounds
+weight; put it on in a pan with warm water rather more than enough to
+cover it. Bring it up to the boil quickly, and as soon as it boils add
+pared carrots and parsnips—no turnips—onions, leeks and celery, as many
+as the pan will hold, then let all boil _very gently_ for three hours
+or so. The beef and vegetables can be eaten as a dish after the soup
+has been taken off clear. The latter is most reviving and appetising as
+well as wholesome. The point is not to let it boil hard, and to keep
+the broth clear and well-flavoured.
+
+FISH SOUP.—The water in which a large fish has been boiled will make
+a foundation for good fish soup, straining it clear then returning to
+it flakes of fish carefully picked from skin and bone, and a little
+minced onion and parsley. Melt a small pat of butter and stir into
+it some white flour till quite smooth, then a little cold milk, and
+pour into the stock. Add pepper and salt at discretion, and bring to
+boiling-point. Small fresh white fish are sometimes boiled in the
+stock till quite soft and the whole strained through a colander, then
+finished off as indicated.
+
+POTATO SOUP.—Boil three or four large potatoes after peeling, and when
+done mash them down to a pulp; chop finely a large onion and fry it in
+butter or lard, but do not let it brown. Dredge a little flour on to
+this, then add a teaspoonful of salt and a little pepper and stir up
+with the mashed potato, and thin down with milk to make it like cream,
+stir well till it boils and serve.
+
+Soak white haricot beans for twelve hours, and then boil them until
+they will mash down smoothly, and treat exactly as above, and an
+excellent white soup will result.
+
+ONION BROTH.—Peel, slice thinly and boil, several white onions, using
+a deep saucepan and enough water to cover them well. When quite tender
+and soft stir in half as much milk, and a large spoonful of cornflour
+or barley meal, with butter, pepper and salt enough to season well, let
+it boil up a minute or two and serve.
+
+Or bone stock can be used instead of water, leaving out the milk.
+
+The water in which ham or bacon has been boiled will make excellent
+foundation for peas or lentil soup. Pea flour is less trouble and quite
+as satisfactory as using dried peas, but if the latter are preferred
+let them soak at least twelve hours before boiling in this liquor. Boil
+till soft, then crush through a colander with wooden spoon and season
+the puree well, adding a little butter also. If too thick, thin down
+with either milk or water, put in a spoonful of fresh mint chopped or
+of dried and sifted herbs.
+
+Treat lentils in just the same way, except that they will not need the
+previous soaking that dried peas do.
+
+If pea flour is used, mix it well with cold water first, boil the
+stock and stir in the paste when it is hot and boil well, stirring
+frequently; season and add the herbs or mint as before.
+
+If fresh green peas are used, they need no soaking, only boiling till
+very soft, mashing and thinning down with stock.
+
+PUMPKIN OR VEGETABLE MARROW SOUP.—Pare, split down and take out the
+seeds from large marrows or from portions of ripe pumpkin. Boil in
+enough water to cover well until quite tender, then rub through a
+colander. Melt some butter and mix with it a large spoonful of flour,
+and stir this into the marrow, thinning down with a little boiling
+milk, adding salt and pepper and a spoonful of sugar, a little spice if
+liked, and boil till all is smooth as a custard.
+
+TOMATO SOUP.—Cook half a dozen large tomatoes in a little butter, after
+cutting them in slices and some slices of peeled onion. Cook till
+tender, and rub down with wooden spoon or pass through a colander. Add
+enough clear bone stock to make the required quantity of soup, and salt
+and pepper, with a teaspoonful of sugar also. Then finally stir in some
+butter and flour mixed together to a smooth paste, boil well and serve.
+
+Mixtures of vegetables like turnips, parsnips, artichokes and potatoes,
+with onion to make a savoury flavour, make an excellent white soup.
+Carrots and tomatoes and onion go well together for a soup that is made
+up with bone stock.
+
+It is an improvement in all these soups to use _baked_ flour where
+flour is mentioned, as this gives the soup a richer flavour. To make
+it, spread a little white flour on a sheet of paper and bake very
+slowly in a cool oven, then keep in a tin.
+
+
+Boiled, Baked and Fried Fish
+
+BOILED FISH (which is never really _boiled_ but is cooked just under
+the boiling-point) is done after much the same method, no matter what
+the kind of fish. It is better when boiling large fish to wrap them
+in a piece of clean calico or muslin as the thinner parts get cooked
+before the thicker are done, and with a wrapping it is easier to lift
+the fish out without breaking it. Cook in water that is well salted,
+and if the fish is a white one, like cod, add a little vinegar to the
+water.
+
+Another way of boiling fish is to lay it in a dish with just sufficient
+stock—fish stock by preference—to cover it, with a few small onions
+round it and a little wine or vinegar added.
+
+After boiling, drain the fish well and serve plenty of nice sauce
+separately, and boiled potatoes left whole. A large cod, boiled whole,
+with plenty of mealy potatoes and a dishful of parsley or egg sauce
+will make an excellent meal.
+
+In boiling portions of fish, like middle cuts, it is better after
+draining to take away skin and all bones and then serve it in flakes
+masked under a sauce. It is a neater and more appetising way than to
+have each one leave a mess of skin and bones on their plate, and a very
+pretty dish can be made by sprinkling a little grated cheese or parsley
+on the top and browning the dish before serving.
+
+Watch fish carefully while it is boiling, and as soon as it shows signs
+of parting from the bone it should be drained. If boiled too long all
+its flavour is gone, and if boiled too fast it will be raggy and yet
+tough. Small fish like fresh herrings and mackerel, likewise soles and
+plaice, all of which are very nice when carefully boiled, should rather
+be _poached_, much as one would poach an egg.
+
+BAKED FISH.—The best way of baking any fish is to do it in a paper
+wrapping. If the right kind of paper bag is not to be had, wrap it in
+white notepaper, having buttered this first and put a little pat of
+butter inside with a sprinkle of pepper and salt. Close up tightly and
+bake in a rather hot oven and serve in its paper case if possible.
+If a large piece of fish is baked in a paper bag the wrapping can
+be pulled away when it is safely landed on the dish. Small fish are
+delicious when baked in a paper case, and all the flavour is kept in
+and the natural juice of the fish as well. This is a clean way of
+cooking when the oven is nothing but a flat hearthstone, only care must
+be taken that the paper wrapping cannot catch alight.
+
+FRIED FISH.—A clear hot fire is the first consideration when frying
+anything, then a clean hot pan, some good fat such as rendered suet
+or lard, and not too much of it, and the fish must have been well
+dried after cleaning, then rubbed with flour. If cleaned an hour or
+two before they will be cooked, the fish should be dipped in milk and
+coated with flour, then left to dry, in this way a crust forms on them
+which browns quickly when fried, and is little if at all inferior to
+the more troublesome method of frying what has been coated with beaten
+egg and dipped in crumbs of bread. The rough and ready way of flouring
+fish after drying and then frying in hot fat is quite satisfactory
+when flavour counts for more than appearance, but you cannot fry fish
+_without_ first coating them with dry flour.
+
+Another way is to make a batter with an egg, a little flour, salt and
+milk, making it rather thick, and dipping the fish into this, then
+putting them at once into hot fat. This, too, is an easy method and
+a nice crust forms on the outside of the fish which keeps in all the
+flavour.
+
+Flat fish, like soles, flounders and plaice, are the best for frying,
+or slices cut across a large fish.
+
+The fat in the pan must be very hot indeed, which is told by a faint
+blue smoke rising from it.
+
+GRILLED OR BROILED FISH.—This is the camp ready way of cooking
+freshly-caught fish, and very good it is. After cleaning and emptying,
+the fish is split down the back, rubbed lightly with oil and laid
+on a grid and held over the coals. It wants a little skill to grill
+well, and not to burn the fish, but if quickly cooked in this way,
+turning frequently on both sides, the result is excellent. Herrings
+and mackerel broil well, so do trout and some of the small river fish.
+A pat of butter, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a few drops of
+vinegar are all the sauce that is needed.
+
+Sufficient directions for roasting, boiling or braising meat have
+already been given, so that we may pass on to savoury dishes, among the
+best of which are—
+
+
+Hotpots
+
+For a LANCASHIRE HOT-POT take about a couple of pounds of lean beef
+and as many potatoes and several onions. Cut the beef into small pieces
+about an inch square and roll these in flour that has been liberally
+seasoned with salt and pepper. Pare the potatoes and cut them in very
+thick slices; peel the onions and chop roughly. Make a layer of beef,
+onions and potato alternately in a stewpan just large enough to hold
+the whole quantity comfortably without leaving much space. Pour in
+enough water to barely cover, then put on the lid and set in a moderate
+oven for quite two hours, to simmer well but not boil. It should be
+very tender and lightly browned on the top. Serve in the same pan. The
+flouring of the meat keeps that more tender and makes the gravy richer.
+
+For a HUNTER’S HOT-POT take any game or rabbits, and after cleaning and
+skinning, joint them and roll in seasoned flour, then form layers of
+rabbit, onion, whole potatoes or pieces of turnip or other sweet roots,
+and fill up with warm water, closing tightly and stewing for two to
+three hours or even longer. Venison would be good stewed in this way.
+Game birds are better stewed without vegetable additions, but with a
+little pork or bacon cut in strips and put with them. Flour well all
+the same.
+
+For IRISH STEW take the neck and breast of mutton and cut in
+convenient sized pieces, flouring well in seasoned flour as before, and
+lay in a deep stewpan with whole onions and potatoes, as many as the
+stewpan will accommodate. Put in less water, only enough to cover the
+bottom well, then lay a plate face downwards on the top before putting
+on the cover of the pan, and cook in good oven for three hours. The
+plate helps to keep in the steam and to keep the top of the stew from
+browning.
+
+For making a Hot-Pot with breast of veal or lamb, as sometimes it is
+possible to do in the spring or summer time, the meat is cut in strips
+and across in short lengths, is floured and put in a deep jar with
+a few very young onions, some herbs like mint and parsley, plenty
+of seasoning and a spoonful of vinegar, as well as sufficient water
+to just barely cover the whole. The vegetable additions are cooked
+separately, although a few boiled green peas might be put into the pot
+just before serving.
+
+A VEGETARIAN HOT-POT is very savoury when no meat is procurable, and a
+mixture of vegetables, such as carrots, onions, potatoes, turnips and
+so on, should be pared, cut into neat rounds and fried well in clear
+fat till all are lightly browned, then sprinkle with pepper and salt
+and dredge flour over very lightly, put the vegetables in the stew
+pan, rinse out the frying-pan with hot water, add just a tablespoonful
+of vinegar or sharp sauce, and pour over the rest. Cover down closely
+and stew for an hour in the oven. A little American green corn taken
+from the husk and put into a vegetable stew makes it very nice.
+
+A bottle of curry powder would be of great assistance to a camp
+cook, as a spoonful of this stirred into a stew or a sauce would
+make a wonderful difference to the savouriness of the dish, to stews
+of mutton especially, and of vegetables without meat. After frying
+the vegetables, let the curry powder be stirred into the fat in the
+frying-pan and mixed with that and the flour, then a little hot water
+or stock added, and just cooked a little before pouring it into
+the stewpan. The addition of an apple or a ripe tomato, or failing
+everything else a spoonful of vinegar, will give the desirable flavour
+of acidity which a curry should have.
+
+
+Fried Steak and Onions
+
+In making this very favourite dish it is well to remember that the best
+results are gained by combining frying and stewing, that is, frying
+first and stewing for a short time afterwards. Only so do you get the
+mellow flavour and the full savour which frying should give. Thus,
+cut the steak into small squares and flour well, then fry in a little,
+not much, hot fat, on both sides, rather quickly, so as to brown well.
+Then lay the pieces of steak as they are done at the bottom of the
+stewpan. While these are being fried a quantity of onions can be peeled
+and sliced up, and with a little more fat added they are put into the
+frying-pan after the meat is finished. Toss them frequently to brown
+lightly all over, and to make them thoroughly tender cover for five or
+ten minutes with a plate large enough to fit the frying-pan, and so let
+them steam through. Then add to the steak, rinse out the pan with warm
+water, add pepper and salt to it, and pour over the onions, cover the
+stewpan down closely and set in a corner of the fireplace to simmer
+for an hour or so. Then the dish will be found both appetizing and
+digestible.
+
+
+Calf’s Liver, Pig’s Fry, etc.
+
+In frying liver follow the same method as just described for steak,
+only cut the liver or the pig’s fry into slices, not too thick, and
+flour very thoroughly, frying till just lightly browned. Fry some bacon
+afterwards which has been cut into strips, and add to the liver; then
+fry the onions as before, season them and add with a little stock to
+rinse out the pan, and cover the stewpan and cook for an hour or more
+in the corner of oven or fireplace.
+
+When frying Mutton Chops coat them with flour first, as this keeps the
+outside from getting dry. Make a nice gravy to go with fried chops by
+adding a very little flour to take up the fat in the frying-pan, some
+spoonfuls of sharp sauce, salt and pepper and a little stock or water,
+boiling this and serving it with them. It takes but a minute or two to
+make gravy, and it makes a great deal of difference to the dish and its
+value.
+
+After frying anything like bacon or ham it is an improvement just
+before it is quite finished to cover it over in the pan with a plate
+and let it steam through for five minutes, thus making it very tender.
+
+
+Toad-in-the-Hole
+
+Beat four tablespoonfuls of flour and two eggs, and a saltspoonful
+of salt, together with a little cold milk, adding more milk when the
+batter is perfectly smooth, enough to make it like thick cream. Cut
+about a pound of beefsteak and one or two kidneys into small pieces,
+lay them at the bottom of a well buttered baking dish or pie-dish,
+sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then pour over them the batter.
+Set the dish in a hot oven, but shield the top to keep from scorching
+before the meat is done through. Mutton chops or sausages can be
+substituted for the beef and kidney, and mushrooms help to give a nice
+flavour. Australian tinned mutton or American corned beef may be used
+this way also and make a very savoury dish, though less savoury than
+fresh meat, of course, and therefore where cooked meat is used a little
+gravy should be made separately and poured over the portions as they
+are served. Fresh meat can be lightly fried before covering it with the
+batter, to make it more savoury.
+
+
+Beefsteak, Kidney and Mushroom Pudding
+
+A plain suet crust made with half a pound of beef suet chopped, a pound
+of flour and teaspoonful of salt, rubbed together and mixed rather dry
+with cold water, then rolled out twice before lining the mould with
+it, is the first step towards making this pudding. Grease the mould
+well, line it with crust rolled to about half an inch thick, and cut
+out a piece for the top to fit exactly. Then proceed to fill with steak
+cut into small squares, each one rolled in flour mixed with salt and
+pepper, and add a few pieces of ox kidney cut small, and mix with
+the meat some peeled mushrooms if these are to be had, or oysters if
+these are available, and failing either the pudding will be very good
+without them. Fill level with the top, wet the edges of the crust and
+pinch down the covering piece, after pouring in sufficient cold water
+to nearly but not quite cover the meat. Then tie down with a cloth,
+or screw on the cover of the mould, whichever kind of mould is used,
+and plunge it into a deep pan of boiling water, and keep boiling very
+fast for four hours—certainly not less than three. If making a larger
+pudding give it still longer time to boil. The moulds with screw on
+covers are much to be recommended, as when using a cloth, however
+carefully this is tied over, some of the gravy and goodness of the
+pudding is apt to ooze through into the water. Take off the cover, bind
+a clean cloth round the mould, and serve, or turn it out into a deep
+dish if preferred.
+
+Where mutton is more plentiful than beef, lean parts, chops trimmed
+from all fat, and kidneys cut in half, with mushrooms, or without them,
+would make another delicious pudding.
+
+Mushrooms alone, plenty of them, liberally sprinkled with pepper and
+salt and floured, might be packed inside a mould lined with suet crust,
+and a few strips of bacon or salt pork put with them, then boiled for
+a couple of hours, and a very savoury pudding would result.
+
+When boiling beef or mutton with vegetables, as before directed, small
+balls of this plain suet crust dropped into the broth when it boils
+and cooked for an hour or so, are, in the opinion of many people, a
+great addition to the dish and certainly help to make it a little more
+substantial.
+
+The same crust lines the mould when sliced apples, plums, berries
+and wild fruits are used for the filling, with sugar added, and when
+boiled this turns out an excellent pudding. Boil always two hours. A
+suet crust improves with long boiling, but is not at all good when too
+little done.
+
+For a JAM ROLL make the crust in the same way, rolling it out to about
+a quarter of an inch thick, in a long strip of ten or twelve inches
+wide. Spread with jam, or treacle, with chopped fruits, soaked dried
+fruits and syrup, or anything that is available, and then begin at
+one end and roll up, not too tightly, pinching down the edges to keep
+it compact. Take a cloth, wring it out of hot water, sprinkle lightly
+with flour, and place your roll pudding across one corner, fold over
+the sides towards the middle, then roll up neatly and securely, but
+again not too tightly, as the pudding wants room to swell, fasten
+securely, and plunge into fast boiling water, and keep boiling without
+intermission for two hours. Unroll from the cloth and serve on hot dish.
+
+A plain boiled suet pudding may be boiled in a cloth, or in a greased
+mould tied down, and served with hot treacle or cane syrup, or white
+sauce in which some spoonfuls of jam have been boiled, sweet sauce with
+wine, and so on, or with the gravy from meat.
+
+The plain pudding may be made richer by adding currants or a liberal
+quantity of stoned raisins to it, or mixing with it treacle, marmalade
+or jam, and then boiling and serving with sauce.
+
+Golden Pudding is of the same type, but may be called the Sunday
+edition of the weekday variety. It is made by mixing the same plain
+ingredients with eggs instead of milk or water, adding a little
+baking-powder to the dry flour first, then a spoonful of orange
+marmalade and two of clear sugar syrup, and after mixing and putting
+into a buttered mould this is boiled for two hours and served with a
+sweet sauce containing a suspicion of something spirituous—whatever
+Sunday rations permit of!
+
+While on the subject of boiled puddings, it will not do to leave out a
+recipe for Christmas Pudding, as there may be occasion for the colonist
+to make his own some day.
+
+Equal quantities (whatever the weight, this depending upon the size
+of pudding required), say, half a pound each of stale crumb of bread
+grated finely, flour, suet minced, currants and stoned raisins and
+sugar; mix these together first, then add two ounces of candied fruit
+shred small, half a packet of mixed spice and teaspoonful of ginger, a
+teaspoonful of salt, four eggs and quarter of a pint of brandy or rum.
+Mix thoroughly and keep for two or three days before boiling, then put
+into moulds and tie over closely, and boil five hours.
+
+To simplify this, leave out the candied fruits and spices, using only
+the plainer ingredients and all raisins can be used instead of currants
+if preferred. A pound of figs cut very small might take the place of
+any other fruit, and the spirituous liquor can be omitted altogether,
+using milk in place of it.
+
+Equal quantities, say half a pound, of stoned and chopped raisins, suet
+and flour, mixed together with cold milk, and boiled for four or five
+hours, make a very excellent substitute for a rich plum-pudding.
+
+
+Baked Milk Puddings
+
+It is a mistake to put eggs in baked milk puddings, except it be when
+a custard is required. A deep dish makes the best puddings of this
+type, and the heat at which they are cooked must be only moderate; they
+do exceedingly well on the flat stones in front of a fire or in the
+hearth after a fire has been swept away, or at the bottom of a clay
+oven as mentioned in the early chapters of this book.
+
+Wash whole rice and barley very thoroughly before using, then allow
+three large tablespoonfuls of either to each pint of milk used. Roughly
+speaking, it is sufficient to cover well the bottom of the dish that is
+used. Add sugar and a little salt and spice if liked, then pour in the
+milk—cold—and stir up well and set to cook.
+
+Tapioca is done the same way, but is not washed before using. Tapioca
+is more nourishing than either rice or barley. Sago makes another
+change, and is also very nourishing, and hominy is likewise good,
+though it is improved by preparing as ground rice, namely, by boiling
+in a saucepan with the milk first, till stiff, and when cool one or two
+eggs and a little spice are beaten in and the mixture is poured into a
+buttered dish and baked till just brown on the surface.
+
+Macaroni is broken into inch lengths and thrown into boiling salted
+water and cooked till just tender, then drained, mixed with one or two
+beaten eggs and a little milk, with grated cheese, pepper and salt, or
+instead with a little sugar and spice, poured into a buttered dish and
+cooked till firmly set.
+
+Or, after boiling till tender, and draining from water, it can be
+returned to the saucepan with plenty of butter and grated cheese,
+pepper and salt, with either a little cream or some tomato sauce,
+and after tossing with a fork cover down and leave to simmer for ten
+minutes, then turn out into a dish and eat with a fork.
+
+
+Batter Puddings
+
+To make a light batter, good either for baking as a Yorkshire pudding,
+for boiling to eat with sauce, or for frying as Pancakes, allow to
+every egg two large tablespoonfuls of flour, half a saltspoonful of
+salt and a breakfast-cupful of milk.
+
+When mixing, break the egg first into a basin, add the salt, then the
+flour and a quarter of the milk, then beat well and briskly, so as to
+work out all traces of lumps, and gradually beat in the rest of the
+milk. A little water as well as the milk makes the batter lighter than
+one made with all milk. Increase the proportions according to the size
+of pudding or the number of pancakes required.
+
+This batter can be poured into a shallow baking tin containing some
+hot fat—for a Yorkshire pudding—and baked rather quickly in hot oven,
+or poured into a buttered mould which it will three-parts fill, tied
+down and boiled or steamed for two hours, or taken by small cupfuls and
+poured into a well-greased frying-pan and turned over as it sets and
+browns.
+
+
+Omelettes
+
+For an omelet the freshest of eggs will be needed, and they are broken
+on to a plate, salt and pepper added and not more than a tablespoonful
+of milk; this is lightly beaten with the blade of a knife until just
+mixed, then poured into the pan, which contains butter that is on the
+point of turning brown. Leave to set, then pass a knife round the edge
+and underneath, fold one half over the other and slip on to a hot dish.
+
+If a cheese omelet is wanted, add some spoonfuls of grated cheese to
+the mixture and cook as just directed.
+
+If minced herbs or mushrooms are added, put the herbs with the eggs,
+but cook the mushrooms in a separate pan with some butter, and just
+before folding the omelet over slip in the cooked mushrooms between.
+Fried giblets and livers and strips of bacon are introduced in the same
+way to make another variation.
+
+
+Cheese and Stale Bread
+
+By grating the bread and cheese and mixing these with an egg, salt and
+pepper and just a little milk, the mixture can make a kind of pancake
+in the ordinary way, or be baked in a buttered pie-dish in the oven as
+a savoury pudding.
+
+Supposing there are some stale crusts and a bit of dry cheese, but no
+eggs or butter. Pour a little boiling water, or better still a little
+boiling milk, over the crusts in a dish and leave to soften, then put a
+little ale or cider into a frying-pan, slice up the cheese very thinly,
+lay it in the hot liquor, and while it is getting hot through beat up
+the soaked bread with a fork, add a sprinkle of salt and then put all
+into the frying-pan and toss up till the whole is thoroughly light and
+hot through.
+
+Another way is to pour milk over broken crusts and set these in a dish
+inside the oven and when hot to cover thickly with grated or sliced
+cheese, salt and pepper enough to season well, and return until just
+browned on the surface.
+
+If very dry crusts of bread are dipped in milk and baked between two
+plates, then spread with butter and toasted cheese, they make a very
+relishable supper.
+
+
+Using Tinned Provisions
+
+In place of fresh milk condensed milk makes excellent milk puddings,
+batter puddings, bread, and so forth. If using the sweetened milk leave
+out sugar mentioned in the recipes. Do not add too much water to the
+milk.
+
+Corned Beef can be cut into small squares and lightly fried, then
+served inside a wall of mashed potato, with a tomato gravy made and
+poured over. Or served inside a batter baked in dish as mentioned in
+Toad-in-the-Hole.
+
+Make a curry sauce by using some bone stock, or stock made by
+dissolving a soup square, adding to it a good spoonful of curry powder
+or paste, a little salt and pepper and tomato or Worcester sauce, and a
+spoonful of baked flour mixed smooth with dissolved butter. Boil up and
+allow to simmer. Fry till very brown some thinly sliced onions, dredge
+with seasoning, and fry also slices of corned beef in same pan after
+the onions are done. Place all in the curry sauce and leave to simmer
+for half an hour, then serve with boiled rice or mashed potato.
+
+Tinned Australian mutton chops can be added to a stew of onions and
+potatoes when these have partly cooked, and with plenty of seasoning
+make a very palatable Irish Stew.
+
+Tinned Rabbit is improved by having a little curry added to the
+gravy after it has been made hot and by cooking it gently to mix the
+flavours. Some boiled onions and white sauce accompany tinned rabbit
+excellently well.
+
+Tinned Fruits and Vegetables can be made hot and served with cooked
+rice or custard sauce, according to what they are, and whether sweet or
+savoury. Tinned peas, for instance, and tinned mushrooms, go well with
+rice and a curry sauce; tinned tomatoes, cheese, pepper and salt, are
+tossed together and fried for a few minutes.
+
+
+Kitchen Wrinkles
+
+Fill all saucepans with cold water as soon as done with and set aside;
+when ready to wash them heat the water and it will be easy to scour
+them with soda and sand. Never leave a pan to be dry before washing, as
+it will be ten times harder to clean and probably require scraping.
+
+Pour all fat that has been used for frying or baking into a jar
+containing a few spoonfuls of boiling water; this clarifies the fat and
+causes all crumbs and sediment to fall to the bottom. The fat can then
+be lifted off in a cake and used over and over again.
+
+Soup that has been over-salted can be corrected to some extent by
+putting in raw potatoes and bringing up to the boiling-point again—not
+letting the potatoes break up and spoil the colour of the soup.
+
+Raw potatoes are one of the best preventives of scurvy, and can be
+eaten if they are grated, while plain boiled potatoes, eaten hot or
+cold, are the best corrective in a diet that contains too much salt
+meat.
+
+Sliced raw onions placed about in saucers are excellent disinfectants
+where there is infectious sickness about; change at least every day and
+substitute fresh onions. Small-pox and other fevers have been kept away
+by having onions hanging in the room. Saucers of slaked lime are also
+good disinfectants, particularly where there is any damp or bad smell
+about.
+
+To take the stains from steel knives clean first with damp earth, then
+rub with a cork and some emery powder and methylated spirit, or with
+powdered wood ash.
+
+
+To Boil Rice
+
+Rice is so often badly-cooked that the Black Man’s way of boiling it
+may be worth quoting. He says—
+
+“Wash him well; much wash in cold water; rice-flour make him stick.
+Water boil all ready, very fast. Shove him in; rice not burn, water
+shake him too much. Boil twenty minutes. Rub one rice in thumb and
+finger; if all rub away him quite done. Put rice in colander, hot water
+run away through; put cold water through him, then put back in pan,
+cover him and keep hot, then soon rice all ready. Eat him up.”
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Vegetables which have strong flavours, such as green cabbage, nettles,
+turnip-tops, and so on, should be drained from the first water, then
+returned to the pan with fresh boiling water. They will be much more
+easily digested if this is done.
+
+
+
+
+VIII
+
+PRACTICAL HINTS FOR THE HANDY MAN
+
+
+Mosquitos, Gnats and Wasp Stings
+
+When camping out, these troublesome insects can inflict much torture,
+and one way of keeping them out of a tent is to hang up a piece of raw
+meat outside it for them to settle upon. To paint freely woodwork and
+canvas with petroleum and ordinary oil mixed together is another way of
+keeping insects at a distance. For the stings themselves, a mixture of
+common soda and salad oil mixed together is a great means of allaying
+the irritation. Pull out the sting if it is still visible and bathe
+with warm water and common salt, then with oil and soda. Rubbing the
+body freely with oil or fat is a preventive of insect bites, and it is
+said that those who will eat spices freely, particularly cinnamon, will
+never be bitten.
+
+
+Screening Sun-Rays
+
+Where light is wanted yet the sun’s rays must be kept out, of cellar or
+room, the best way is to mix whitewash and ordinary blue, coating the
+window with this inside. When afraid of sun-rays on the head remember
+not only to protect the head itself but also the nape of the neck and
+the spine. A thick pleat of something in the lining of the coat or
+shirt and high collar are very necessary in order to guard these nerve
+centres both from excessive cold and heat.
+
+
+Roof-Fire Risks
+
+Roofs, more especially those covered with shingles, boards, tarred felt
+or any form of thatch, are a source of danger from fire. An excellent
+and simple way of protecting them is to run a fairly large pipe,
+with small perforations all along its course, along the ridge pole,
+connecting it with the house water supply if in town or with the water
+cistern in the country. By turning a tap, which should be controlled
+from a place easily got at, the pipe is filled with water which escapes
+through the perforations and covers the whole roof with a thin sheet of
+water. This will extinguish sparks from passing locomotives or a forest
+conflagration, and prevent fire from both internal or external heat. In
+hot climates the system can be employed for cooling the roof.
+
+
+Waterproof Putty
+
+A plastic waterproof paste is often useful. It can be prepared by
+almost anyone anywhere by taking a piece of ordinary cheese, steeping
+it in water until quite soft, then rubbing and kneading it well with
+about half its weight of quicklime. With this you can put in panes of
+glass, stop up cracks, and make wooden cases waterproof.
+
+
+Cutting Glass
+
+When without a glazier’s diamond make a stout wire or thin iron rod red
+hot and draw a line with it, very lightly, where you want the glass
+cut; unless it is very thick glass it will snap off quite easily. And
+for opening a bottle that is too tightly corked, instead of breaking
+the neck and splintering the glass, take a piece of string and soak it
+in turpentine, tie it tightly round the neck of the bottle where you
+wish it broken off, then set fire to the string, and the glass will
+snap off easily at the heated line.
+
+
+Rust on Tools
+
+It is not an easy matter to remove rust from tools without damaging
+them. Better by far is to preserve your tools from rust. Professor
+Olmstead, of Yale College, gave the following recipe for keeping tools
+from rusting, which deserves to be more widely known: Melt together six
+to eight parts of lard to one of resin and stir till cool. It will
+remain semi-liquid. Rub on tools or any polished surface in a very thin
+film. It will protect the metal from damp and can easily be rubbed off
+again when the article is wanted. The resin prevents the oil or lard
+from becoming rancid. When too thick, thin down with benzine.
+
+
+Re-sharpening Files
+
+Files that are constantly in use soon become clogged and will not work
+properly. The material that clogs them should be washed or dissolved
+out. Sawdust can be got out by steeping in hot soap-suds. For iron
+filings use a very dilute solution of sulphate of copper. For copper
+use dilute nitric acid. For zinc dilute sulphuric acid. Use all acids
+very weak, then wash well and dry thoroughly.
+
+
+Nailing Boards
+
+Many people in putting up boards will nail one after the other, making
+a complete job of each board. But this is not the right way. First nail
+the board down on one side, the starting side, let us say the left.
+Next place the second board in position and nail down the left. This
+done, nail down the right side of the first board. Now place board
+three in position, nail down its left side, then the right side of
+board number two, and so on right along. The object of this is to get
+the boards close together and so make a compact job of it. They are
+practically wedged in close to each other. To obtain the best results
+do not drive the nails straight down but at a slight angle, right and
+left. Boards nailed thus cannot be shaken loose. But in nailing up
+cases that have to be opened again, drive the nails straight in as
+that makes lifting up with a screwdriver much easier. To rub nails
+and screws with vaseline, a tin of which should always be kept in the
+tool-box, makes them much easier to drive in and prevents rusting.
+
+
+Gates Without Hinges
+
+Hinges are one of the weak points in gates of all kinds, especially
+heavy wooden ones that have to undergo much hard wear and tear; they
+are apt to break and cannot always be replaced. Say you have a three
+or four-barred gate, with vertical bars longer than the horizontal.
+The top and lowest bars of the gate must project beyond the horizontal
+and should be pierced with round holes. The gate is hung by having its
+end post passed through the hole in the lower bar; the top bar is then
+placed in position and the top of the gate post passed through its
+hole. The intermediate bars are nailed to shorter posts which do not
+come higher than the level of the top of the gate. A gate of this kind
+will swing easily provided the holes are made large enough.
+
+Another gate is more like the swinging section of a fence, and is
+intended to block watercourses which run dry, at certain seasons. On
+the other hand if the fence is brought down too low or made too solid
+it may be swept away when the water rises. The method is to construct a
+string hurdle, planned so as to stop gaps, with a strong and long top
+bar. This top bar just rests in bifurcated posts on each bank or side,
+the posts forming a sort of V-shaped rest. If necessary, this top bar
+can be rivetted to the posts and the bottom of the hurdle weighted with
+stones. If not weighted, however, the result is that the watercourse is
+fenced over but the hurdle swings when the water rushes through without
+being carried away and falls back into position as the stream subsides.
+
+
+Watches as Compasses
+
+All watches are compasses, and this fact may help any one out of a
+difficulty when uncertain of their bearings. All that has to be done is
+to point the hour hand to the sun. The south lies exactly between that
+point and the hour twelve; thus at six o’clock the exact south will be
+found at the point marked three on the dial.
+
+If the way has been lost and bearings cannot be taken either from an
+elevation or by a compass or watch, and a watercourse can be found,
+follow that downwards; it will at least prevent travelling in a circle,
+and most likely lead to some habitation.
+
+
+Substitute for Coffee
+
+The grains of corn, such as wheat or oats, make an excellent substitute
+for coffee if dried and browned on tins over a fire and then bruised
+or ground up. So do small beans of the haricot variety. They may be
+crushed between stones and then roasted in a pan over the fire, and
+boiled with water, the liquor being poured off clear. All raw fruits
+and root vegetables like potatoes are preventives of scurvy, and dried
+fruits like peaches and apples are excellent sustaining food on a
+march, while dried raisins are better than all.
+
+
+To Make Limewash
+
+Mix quicklime in a bucket with hot water and glue. If for disinfecting
+purposes add a little carbolic solution. Care must be taken not to let
+a splash get into the eyes, and if by accident it does so, bathe the
+eyes at once with warm water and vinegar. The acid neutralises the lime.
+
+
+To Make Whitewash
+
+Put some whiting into a pail and add powdered dry size. Pour on boiling
+water till the mixture is as thick as cream, and to keep it white add
+a little common washing blue. A tint of salmon pink or terra-cotta
+is obtained by mixing some Venetian red with the whiting. Whiting is
+easier and safer to apply than limewash, but is no use for disinfectant
+purposes.
+
+
+Suggestions
+
+Agates are sold for sixpence by tobacconists and can be kept with a
+piece of tinder in a little tin box, to use instead of a flint for
+procuring a spark from steel.
+
+The burning-glass taken from a telescope and held over tinder in hot
+sunshine will cause it to ignite.
+
+Firewood should be looked for under bushes, as the driest and easiest
+to light is always found there. Old tree roots make excellent firewood.
+Large logs make the best fire when placed transversely and built in
+with smaller wood.
+
+When obliged to sleep on the ground scrape a hollow for the hip bone to
+rest in and another for the shoulder, then much better rest is obtained.
+
+A piece of mackintosh should always be taken with any rugs, but failing
+mackintosh a piece of tarred or painted canvas is excellent for keeping
+out damp. Brown paper is an excellent non-conductor of heat, and if
+placed between rugs and blankets makes one worth two in warmth. A bag
+filled with grass or dry earth makes a good pillow. Thick quilts or
+rugs with sheets of wadding quilted in between them are better for
+bed-coverings than blankets when camping out, and are lighter to carry.
+
+Take care to keep the extremities warm when in cold climate. Increase
+the warmth of knitted woollens by lining them with thin flannel or
+silk, and cut the legs from stockings that are worn out at the feet and
+use these for covering the arms. Keep the mouth covered if you would
+keep warm in keen frosty weather, as this prevents rapid evaporation of
+the heat of the body. The Red Indians knew this, and one of them seeing
+a white man suffering from cold once remarked to him, “You no keep your
+breath warm and so, you cold.”
+
+Much sugar should be consumed in cold climates, and eating sweets
+freely is much to be commended. Toffee can be made easily over a
+camp fire at night, and is wholesome faring for anyone. Chocolate
+is excellent food likewise, and peppermint candies are good for
+stimulating digestion and warming the stomach.
+
+A thick dressing-gown is a great comfort in either hot or cold
+climates; it can be worn while day clothes are airing or drying and is
+a better sleeping dress than night clothes when travelling.
+
+During cold weather, after washing the body, rub well with oil to help
+to keep the skin soft and free from sores. A horse-hair flesh glove to
+use for a vigorous dry rub is better than too frequent washing in water.
+
+Grease the soles of shoes when much walking has to be done, and a layer
+of grease between the foot and shoe is a great preventive of foot
+sores. The harder the ground the thicker the socks or stockings should
+be.
+
+
+A Summary of Useful Things
+
+A mincing machine, a small sewing machine, English-made steel knives
+(plated knives are in common use in Canada, but they are apt to be
+very blunt). Kitchen tools, horn spoons and enamelled plates and cups.
+Small pair of bellows. A leather roll containing chisel, gouge, files,
+nippers, screwdrivers, gimlet and hand saw, with a few nails and
+screws—this is as indispensable as a “Housewife,” although the latter
+article must not be left behind. A can-opener and strong clasp-knife,
+some strong glue, a shoemaker’s reel of thread and some cobbler’s wax,
+and tin of vaseline, are all excellent if not absolutely indispensable.
+
+
+_Printed by_ BUTLER & TANNER, _Frome and London_.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78919 ***
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+      In Camp and Kitchen | Project Gutenberg
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+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
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+
+/* Poetry */
+/* uncomment the next line for centered poetry */
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78919 ***</div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 85%">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation">
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<h1>
+IN CAMP AND KITCHEN
+</h1>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter pageborder">
+  <p class="center no-indent wsp lh">
+    <em>Uniform with “In Camp and Kitchen.”</em><br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs120">SOYER’S<br>
+    PAPER BAG COOKERY,</span><br>
+    <br>
+    By <span class="smcap">Nicolas Soyer</span>.<br>
+    <br>
+    F’cap. 8vo cloth, 1/-net. Third
+    large edition.<br>
+  </p>
+
+<p class="wsp">Paper Bag Cookery is handy, easy
+and economical, and hundreds of thousands
+of people have adopted it
+permanently.</p><br>
+
+<p class="center no-indent wsp lh fs120"><span class="smcap">London</span>: ANDREW MELROSE.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center no-indent wsp lh">
+  <span class="fs200">IN CAMP AND<br>
+  KITCHEN</span><br>
+  <br>
+  A Handy Guide for Emigrants<br>
+  and Settlers<br>
+  <br>
+  <span class="smcap"><span class="fs90">By the Author of</span></span><br>
+  <span class="smcap"><span class="fs90">“The Successful Home Cook,” etc.</span></span><br>
+  <br>
+  <br>
+  <span class="fs120">LONDON: ANDREW MELROSE</span><br>
+  3, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.<br>
+  <span class="fs90">1912</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">He must go—go—go away from here,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On the other side the world he’s overdue;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Send your road is clear before you</div>
+      <div class="verse indent22">When the old</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Spring-fret comes o’er you,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And the Red Gods call for you!</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="right">
+  <em>The Feet of the Young Men.</em>—<span class="smcap">Kipling.</span>
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p>
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="INTRODUCTION">
+    INTRODUCTION
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">One</span> who has had much to do with outgoing
+colonists and knows a great deal about their wants
+and difficulties, has summed up in a couple of
+terse sentences their primary needs. These are,
+he says—</p>
+
+<p>Things to Take: Time, Patience, Money.</p>
+
+<p>Things to Leave: Hurry, Worry, Doubt.</p>
+
+<p>The summary is an excellent one. It covers
+all the necessary ground; it is capable of infinite
+enlargement as to meaning, and at the same time
+it packs away into the smallest possible compass
+all that the traveller, the pioneer or future citizen
+can require. It is, in fact, a complete manual in
+itself, and all that we do here is to interpret it in
+fuller detail, and we do this in order to save the
+time, the patience and the money of those who
+perhaps have little of either to spare.</p>
+
+<p>Much has been written about the romance of
+colonization, and stories of pioneering experiences
+are of thrilling interest—when read at home. It
+is difficult to see the romance, as it is difficult to
+experience the thrills when actually undergoing the
+hardships and battling with the difficulties on the
+spot. What really helps, then, is not the ability
+to see the romance or the picturesqueness of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>situation, but the ability to see the humorous
+side of things. A sense of humour saves many a
+situation, and to be able to laugh in the face of
+hunger and hardship, because it brings goodwill
+to bear on the subject, does wonders in the way of
+smoothing down the rough side both of men and
+things.</p>
+
+<p>One of the daily trials will be the imperative
+need of getting meals ready. Those three meals
+a day are perpetually hindering other work, taking
+up much time and thought, and involving much
+carrying about of tools and materials. Yet they
+cannot be done without, and are not to be despised
+or treated with indifference. In fact, from the
+health point of view they are of more consequence
+than making progress in other ways, for without
+health and strength the colonist is of no good at
+all.</p>
+
+<p>Those who set out with the idea of “roughing
+it” are very apt, in their early enthusiasm, to think
+lightly about the food question, but when they
+find themselves thrown on their own resources,
+obliged to use their own initiative in everything,
+it is wonderful how important a matter cookery
+becomes, and how much is made of a little
+knowledge or skill in this direction.</p>
+
+<p>“Can you tell me of a simple cookery-book to
+send out to my boy in Canada?” a lady asked us
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>one day. “He says he finds meals are so much
+more important than he ever imagined they were,
+and he wants to know how to do so many things.”</p>
+
+<p>It is the simple book we have tried to write, one
+that the average young man—or young woman—will
+have the time and patience to read and the
+money to buy. It may not tell all that they will
+want to know, but at least it will tell them enough
+to make for comfort, economy and health, and we
+trust that all useless and needless technicalities
+have been avoided. The great Food question
+comes first, and has received the bulk of attention,
+as it should do, but there are a few useful suggestions
+further on which may help to make the
+difficult way easier. It is not possible to meet the
+wants of all types of settlers, for some go to pioneer
+work and others go to live under advanced conditions—more
+advanced, in fact, than they leave
+behind them in the old country; nevertheless, all
+must take with them a certain amount of time,
+patience and money, and all must leave behind
+hurry, worry and doubt, while all, wherever they
+are, will find, we think, some use for our Handy
+Guide.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+  L. H. Y.
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">London, 1912</span></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a><a id="Page_11"></a>[Pg 11]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">
+    CONTENTS
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+</td>
+<td class="tdr fs80">
+PAGE
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl" colspan="2">
+<span class="smcap">Introduction</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_7">7</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+I
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">Cooking in the Open: Elementary Cooking Apparatus</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_13">13</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+II
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">The Log-Hut or Camp Kitchen</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_24">24</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+III
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">Dealing with the Stores: Water, Refuse, Waste, etc.</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_34">34</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+IV
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">The Staff of Life: Bread; Yeasts, Quick Bread, etc.</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_50">50</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+V
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">The Day’s Food and Work: Food Required, Initial Preparations</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_61">61</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+VI
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">Cooking of Fish, Meat, and Vegetables, The “Reason Why,” etc.</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_78">78</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+VII
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">Simplified Cookery Recipes</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_90">90</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">
+VIII
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<span class="smcap">Practical Hints for the Handy Man</span>
+</td>
+<td class="tdr">
+<a href="#Page_118">118</a>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a><a id="Page_13"></a>[Pg 13]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="I">
+    I
+    <br>
+    COOKING IN THE OPEN:<br>
+    AND ELEMENTARY COOKING APPARATUS
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">The</span> ideal colonist is he who is able to turn his
+hand to anything and to supply a table although
+having practically nothing in the way of cooking
+utensils. Necessity will teach him how to use
+his ingenuity in building and manufacturing contrivances
+of his own, and it is to such a handy
+man that we offer the following suggestions.</p>
+
+<p>A kettle, a “billy” and a frying-pan may seem
+a quite sufficient kitchen equipment at first, but
+some means of baking will soon seem necessary.
+Bread, for instance, or whatever takes the place
+of bread, is so much more satisfactory when baked.
+Hence it is worth while to spend a little time in
+building up a fireplace in which heat can be retained
+for some considerable time. Much must
+depend upon the kind of fuel that can be obtained,
+but mostly this will be wood, or charcoal made
+from wood, or the dried droppings of cattle, when
+coal is unprocurable.</p>
+
+<p>The most elementary type of fireplace for boiling
+purposes is made by gathering together large stones
+of even size, and to form a square with them,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>opening at one side, and of course open at the top.
+The size of this top opening is regulated by the
+size of the kettle or pan that is set over it. Place
+the stones with as much regularity as possible,
+and fill in the spaces between with clay or earth.
+If the soil is clay and stones are not to be had, form
+a fireplace with the clay itself in such a way as to
+have four walls with opening at the side and at
+top. Make a small fire first in the firehole with
+the driest grass and twigs, then feed it with small
+pieces of wood, and when it is burning well fill up
+with wood and dried grass and any fuel you have,
+packing it lightly but closely. It is possible to
+build a fire that will be bright and quick for boiling,
+or one that will burn steadily for hours, for
+stewing or baking purposes. With practice a good
+deal of skill is acquired, and the more the fireplace
+is used, the better will it serve its purpose. When
+new it is slower in getting to work on account of
+damp, but will burn quite quickly when hard and
+dry through. To dry the fuel that is going to be
+used is a great economy of time, and can be done
+when the fire itself has gone out. Keep the firehole
+clear and free from ashes.</p>
+
+<p>An oven can be made to stand on top of this fireplace
+by coating a large biscuit-tin with clay and
+baking it. A little ingenuity will devise a door
+for this oven, and it will be found to answer quite
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>well for baking bread and cooking a pudding or for
+making a slow stew.</p>
+
+<p>In building a fire in the open take notice as to
+the way the wind blows and take advantage of it
+as much as possible, as it will help or hinder the
+fire from burning. Sometimes a screen of stones
+built up on the windward side will help matters
+considerably.</p>
+
+<p>A small pair of bellows should be included in
+the colonist’s outfit, as well as a small pair of tongs,
+for any fire will burn the better for a little coaxing
+with the bellows first, and pieces of wood can be
+more skilfully arranged with the help of tongs than
+without them. Then whenever any sawdust is
+met with it should be carefully collected and
+mixed with oil or paraffin into little cakes, to make
+quick and easy firelighters.</p>
+
+<p>An open bonfire, with tripod of three sticks or
+iron supports, may be all that it is possible to get
+together for the quick boiling of saucepan or kettle,
+but the results can never be so good as when a
+built up fireplace is made. On the other hand, a
+good bonfire leaving a thick bed of burnt ashes
+and embers is sometimes the best contrivance for
+roasting large pieces of meat, birds, and so on.
+Suppose it is desired to cook a whole large fish,
+a rabbit, fowl or other troublesome creature
+(troublesome because of the plucking and drawing,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>skinning, etc., that it seems to require), all
+trouble is saved by making a covering of wet clay
+well pressed down as a thick coating over the fish,
+bird or animal, after having let out the blood,
+making it into a sort of ball of clay. Bury this
+ball in the hot ashes and embers, heaping them over
+it. In about an hour or rather more, the ball can
+be broken open and feathers, fur or scales will be
+found to have stuck to the clay, leaving the flesh
+perfectly baked and juicy, and the entrails will
+have dried up inside.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose a big roast of meat is wanted—a half-side
+of a sheep or pig. The outer skin has, of
+course, been taken from the meat in this case and
+all internals too. Make a rather deep circle on
+the ground, paving it with flat stones, or beat the
+clay very flat and hard. Build a big fire on this
+and let it burn right through, then sweep aside all
+embers and ashes, brushing the stones or clay
+clean, lay down the meat and cover it first with a
+thick layer of leaves, then pile over it the embers,
+some brushwood, and finally more clay until it is
+closely covered and none of the heat can escape.
+Leave for two or three hours; uncover, and clear
+off all ashes, and the meat should be found well
+baked through. In a similar way bread can be
+cooked on hot stones, using only a thick layer of
+leaves and ashes for covering.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p>
+
+<p>A little experience will make any one quite
+skilful in the use of the most unpromising materials,
+and if compelled to do it a man can generally
+produce a quite appetising meal with nothing
+but a clay fireplace and a few old meat tins. The
+total absence of what Americans call “fixings”—the
+little additions which the ordinary cook at
+home considers indispensable—need not, and will
+not deter the camp cook from making savoury
+meals, but as circumstances alter cases very considerably,
+it is possible only to make suggestions
+here, which each one must adapt or improve upon
+to suit himself. When hungry men are craving
+to be fed the absence of seasoning or condiments
+is not missed, but good baking, frying or boiling
+has to be accomplished somehow.</p>
+
+<p>Where the camp is a more or less permanent one
+or the preliminary to a settlement and house-building,
+there may be a number of people to cook
+for, and hence it is worth while making some form
+of Trench Kitchen. For this, dig a trench about
+three feet deep and four or five feet wide, and at
+right angles form a series of narrow trenches close
+together. Arch over these with stones and turf
+and make hollows in the top of the ridges to hold
+saucepans and kettles. A hole for the firing is
+made at the end of each ridge, the smoke from
+which passes along the side trenches that are
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>arched over and is drawn up a “chimney” that
+is set up in the middle of the cross trough at the
+further end which connects all the trenches. To
+create a good draught a long tin funnel helps to
+make this chimney. If there is any likelihood of
+the trench kitchen becoming flooded out by rains
+it can be tented over. A series of “ranges” is
+created by forming ridges in this way so that
+boiling and stewing, frying and grilling can all be
+going on at the same time. All the same, the
+need of an oven for baking will be felt, and while
+small ovens for placing over a firehole can be made
+out of biscuit tins as before mentioned, a large one
+can be built out of stones and clay, or with the
+help of an iron-hooped barrel, in this wise: cover
+the barrel with clay or turf and stones, well wetted
+and beaten down over it, and give it time to
+solidify, then build a fire inside the barrel. The
+wood will burn away, leaving the iron hoops as
+supports. If the covering is sufficiently thick,
+such an oven is quickly heated and retains its
+heat quite a long time, the fire being built inside
+it and swept out when burnt through. Insert a
+piece of piping in the middle of the top of this
+barrel-oven to act as a vent for the smoke. Arrange
+a door with a piece of sheet iron sufficiently large
+to cover up the opening; it need not, of course,
+be put on hinges, as stones will help to keep it in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>position. Food that is put into this oven to cook,
+after the oven has been heated and swept out,
+should be enclosed in a bag of paper if not already
+in a dish. A little practice will enable any one
+to judge how long the heat may be relied upon to
+last, and how long time must be allowed for the
+cooking in paper or in a dish.</p>
+
+<p>Food that is already cooked can be kept hot
+for hours by following the Thermos principle.
+This is the principle of storing up heat, but not of
+generating it. Anything that is already hot can
+be kept hot, and anything already cold can be kept
+cold. In a Thermos flask there is a vacuum
+between two surfaces which is a non-conductor
+preventing the escape of heat, likewise in the
+Thermos jar, and whatever is put in at a certain
+temperature retains that temperature for a very
+long time without alteration. While it is hardly
+possible for the pioneering colonist to make a good
+Thermos flask or jar, he can carry out the same
+principle of storing heat in other ways. The Hay-box
+Oven is a primitive construction, perhaps,
+but it answers extremely well and costs very little
+to make. What is wanted is a strong wooden
+box with well-fitting lid—a thick box and one
+that is large enough to take a thick layer of hay
+or sawdust at the bottom as well as all round the
+jar put inside the box. Cook over the fire the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>soup, stew, pudding or whatever it may be, and
+when sufficiently cooked and whilst boiling hot,
+lift the jar or pan off the fire and set it in the
+middle of the Hay-box Oven. Pack hay and sawdust
+closely round it, filling up all spaces, then
+over the top as well and put on the box cover,
+then a piece of blanket folded, or a rug. You
+may go away for hours, all the day or night, if you
+like, and come back to find your soup or stew
+perfectly cooked and thoroughly hot.</p>
+
+<p>A hole in the ground, lined with hay and sawdust,
+will answer the same purpose, if care is taken
+to cover the place very thickly to allow no escape
+of heat. The advantage of the box is that it is
+portable and can be used anywhere.</p>
+
+<p>The Biscuit-tin Oven has the advantage over
+the Hay-box Oven in that it can be used for
+actual cooking by placing it over the firehole and
+keeping a fire burning underneath it. But unless
+the biscuit-tin is covered with clay made hard
+the solder is very apt to melt and cause the oven
+to give way when exposed to great heat. The
+same objection arises with regard to the use of
+empty fruit and meat cans as cooking pots. On
+the other hand, stone jam jars are valuable, and
+make excellent stew-jars; especially useful are they
+for holding anything that is to go into the Hay-box
+Oven to be kept hot for hours.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span></p>
+
+<p>Where there are no saucepans and no jars to
+use, nothing but the open fire and a billy, it is
+an improvement to have two of these billies and
+to set one inside the other with water between.
+The “billy,” be it understood, is nothing more
+than a tin can with handle slung across it, but
+there are improved forms of it, such, for instance,
+as the cans which navvies use to carry their coffee
+or soup when going to work, and some of these
+are made in enamelled ware, with close-fitting lid.
+If one of these better cans were to be placed inside
+a rougher one of tin, the outer one would get all
+the smoking and hard usage, while the better one
+would be clean enough to set on the table when
+required. If a little hook is made in the wire
+of the handle it will prevent slipping when the
+billy is suspended over the fire.</p>
+
+<p>The principle of this kind of cookery—what a
+colonist would doubtless dub “glue-pot cookery”—is
+sound, and it is copied by many inventors of
+more elaborate things which, in spite of their
+elaboration, however, cook none the better in
+reality than two cans one inside the other. The
+Warrener, for instance, which is much liked by
+camp cooks and travellers, is in principle but a
+glorified glue-pot. What is really better than
+the Warrener is the Hutchings steamer, which is
+a kind of conjuror’s cabinet, having a tier of compartments
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>or pans one fitting above the other,
+each one being a sort of steamer, the bottom one
+holding the water. This is guaranteed by its
+maker to cook as perfectly on the “top floor as
+in the basement,” and one or more of the compartments
+can be used without the other, while a
+whole dinner may be cooked at the same time with
+nothing but the one pan. These Hutchings
+steamers are likewise fairly cheap, and can be
+procured at the large ironmongery stores anywhere
+in London.</p>
+
+<p>Still another of these “glorified glue-pots,” if
+we may be pardoned for using the term, is the
+Welbank Boilerette, the Cooker that Looks After
+Itself, as its advertisement declares. This is much
+less expensive than the Warrener, and can be
+had in several sizes. It cooks everything—whether
+porridge, soups, stews, joints, fowls or
+vegetables—in their own juices, and so preserves
+the fullest flavours and makes tenderness certain.
+Like the Warrener, it must be used in conjunction
+with some sort of stove or fireplace, not on the
+hearth or open fire.</p>
+
+<p>The frying-pan is another article which must
+be classed among elementary cooking appliances,
+for it is almost indispensable for the quick preparation
+of a meal. It is well to take two frying-pans,
+one of black iron for quick frying of fish or meat,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>the other of enamelled iron for cooking eggs and
+making damper. The iron one will not often
+need washing if it is well rubbed with paper after
+each time of using, but the other one will want
+washing with soap and perhaps a little sand or
+ashes to keep it white and smooth.</p>
+
+<p>Some travellers argue that bread as well as meat
+can be roasted on a spit—no doubt meaning that
+the spit can be run through the middle of a piece
+of dough, and by careful watching and turning the
+bread cooks all over. But a spit is not difficult
+to make, only in cutting them from wood care
+must be taken not to use poison woods; take the
+straight branches of trees that are well known and
+familiar. Wild shrubs and wild vegetables should
+be looked upon with distrust; a few are harmless,
+but many are not. It would be better to make
+the spit with an iron or wire rod, setting it in supports
+at either end, if at all possible to do so. The
+fire must have burnt clear red before attempting
+to roast anything on a spit, otherwise smoke will
+spoil the flavour of the food.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="II">
+    II
+    <br>
+    THE LOG-HUT OR CAMP KITCHEN
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">Some</span> men possess considerable natural aptitude
+in cooking, and any skill of this kind will serve
+them in good stead when they become colonists,
+and where there is not natural aptitude it is well
+worth while acquiring a little knowledge by dint
+of study. Supposing all other kinds of employment
+fail, a cook’s job is generally to be got and
+no one grudges his wages. A little story may be
+cited which bears out the truth of this. The son
+of an army chaplain and a public school-boy,
+decided to go out to the Colonies, and before doing
+so took a course of lessons in land surveying. He
+went out to a large farm and at first did fairly
+well, but then he fell on evil times, and having no
+capital was soon on his beam ends. A chum of
+his who came across him remembered certain
+school study feasts, and as he was himself a kind
+of sub-contractor in a lumber camp, offered his
+friend the post of camp cook for a hundred or
+more men, at good wages. The offer was promptly
+accepted. The new cook, who was a smart lad,
+soon had everything well organized and in apple-pie
+order. He pleased the men mightily and
+could always rely on their help for the harder
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>tasks of chopping firewood, washing-up, and so
+on. Soon he acquired a real liking for his job and
+got through his work quickly and easily. When
+the second season came round he again enlisted
+as camp cook, but this time, having some capital,
+he went into partnership with his friend the sub-contractor.
+The two prospered. They sub-contracted
+for the woodwork to be done on one of the
+railways then being built, and the “cook’s”
+knowledge of mathematics and surveying then
+came in useful. In a few years’ time he blossomed
+out as a railway engineer with an important post,
+big salary, house, servants and horses. Of course
+he had his mathematics and his land surveying
+to help him. Still it was his wage-commanding
+knowledge of cookery that had set him on his feet,
+and on the road to fortune.</p>
+
+<p>Most open-air cooks have to make the best they
+can out of the situation, for the site of a camp is
+not usually settled with much regard for their
+convenience. If there is good water within
+reasonable distance that is much to be thankful
+for. The planning out of the kitchen will depend
+chiefly upon circumstances; where there are only
+two or three to be catered for it is not a difficult
+matter, but where a dozen or more men want at
+least two meals a day, it is a matter requiring
+some contrivance and organization.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span></p>
+
+<p>Choose a position as much protected from wind
+as possible for the camp kitchen, and have it
+separate from the rest of the camp. Where rocks
+or boulders can be made use of take them into
+service, but build a furnace, (one or more), with
+stones, of a size convenient to hold pans and
+cauldrons, and make a table also.</p>
+
+<p>If a circular form is taken for the furnace it can
+be partly domed over, which enables more draught
+and a greater degree of heat to be obtained.
+Where a good deal has to be turned out of the
+kitchen it is a good plan to have a row of furnaces
+and build a chimney to connect with them,
+making the walls thick at bottom and narrow
+at the top. The chimney should come immediately
+behind the furnaces with a hollow base
+three feet square, gradually narrowing up to a
+height of six feet or more. A hole or flue of stones
+welded together with clay should connect each
+furnace with the chimney. If the whole battery
+is built in one block flues are easy to shape, and a
+splendid heat should be obtained from the stoves.</p>
+
+<p>Where a log cabin or stone hut is being built
+the greatest care should be given to the erection
+of the fireplaces for cooking purposes, as the
+comfort and likewise the safety of the whole
+construction will depend on this part being secure
+and sound. The more good masonry work is put
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>into the fireplaces the greater and more economical
+will be the amount of heat obtained from the fuel
+that is consumed. Thick, well-made walls prevent
+the escape of heat.</p>
+
+<p>For the hearth and base of furnaces and chimney
+use as large stones as can possibly be found, the
+flatter the better. If the large stones require much
+levelling take smaller ones in preference and fit them
+together as evenly as can be with sand and clay.
+Excellent fireplaces can be built with stones and
+mud, but a little cement is of course much better
+for binding together the stones. Build the fireplace
+in the middle of the wall at the end of the
+hut, or across one corner. Make the hearth a
+little higher than the floor level. Sacrifice a little
+space, if need be, to have the fireplace inside the
+hut, and not, as is too often done, outside as a
+separate projection. Level the hearth, cover
+with a thin bed of cement or mortar or wet clay,
+and place thereon the largest and flattest stones,
+making the level as straight as you can. Now
+build round this hearth thick walls, starting them
+in a trench dug at least eighteen inches below the
+level of the ground. The walls should surround
+the hearth on three sides, leaving a part of
+the side facing into the hut open. Carry them
+up to about two or three feet high and gradually
+narrow them to bring the top nearer towards a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>dome shape. A good builder will then carry his
+furnace up in chimney shape right out through
+the roof of the hut, but if stones fail then the rest
+of the chimney can be a zinc or tin pipe. Experts,
+who are able to use mortar, will give the chimney
+a bend to right or left which prevents too strong
+a downward draught, or the fire from being put out
+by rain.</p>
+
+<p>With a hearth such as this it is well to place
+upstanding supports about the middle, such as a
+pan or kettle could be rested upon; this helps
+in the cooking very much, and prevents any spilling
+when the fire burns down. With an open
+hearth with thick-walled sides, such as this, much
+can be done, but it is well worth while going to
+the trouble of building a furnace oven, as before
+described, in addition.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Additional Portable Appliances</h3>
+
+<p>Only in very remote districts indeed would any
+one be limited to such rough fireplaces as these.
+Fuel of some other kind, such as oil, would assuredly
+be procurable to some extent, and a portable
+oil stove would take the place of the gas ring and
+gas appliances in town houses. The outgoing
+colonist would not be ill-advised to take with
+him a portable oil stove of some make, and when
+doing so he might as well choose one that will do
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>more than merely boil a kettle. A small-sized Rippingill,
+with one tank can, when required, cook a full-sized
+dinner and will burn no more oil than a simple
+boiling stove. When buying such a stove buy a
+can for holding oil, a filler, and an extra wick or
+two, and carry something wherewith to clean the
+stove and keep it in good condition, then wherever
+oil is procurable the little stove can be brought
+into use and prove of endless comfort. There
+may be occasions when the stove must be packed
+away and resort be had to the rougher and more
+primitive methods of the clay fireplace or the
+tripod in the open, but the stove would in that
+case take no harm and come out smiling when
+opportunity favours it again.</p>
+
+<p>The same remark applies to the spirit lamp or
+traveller’s Etna; though methylated spirit is
+more difficult to procure than is kerosene or paraffin
+oil. Still there are occasions when travelling or
+when camping in a tent, or making a journey by
+boat, when a portable spirit stove or lamp is of
+great service, or in sickness.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Electric Cooking Apparatus</h3>
+
+<p>One must bear in mind that all Colonists are
+not going out as pioneers, but that many will be
+setting up new homes in districts where in certain
+matters conditions of living will be even more
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span>advanced than they are in the old country. For
+instance, in parts of South Africa, the Transvaal,
+and the Cape, electric power is fast coming into
+common use, while gas is not used at all and coal
+is scarce and expensive. In such cases, electric
+lighting will be found general in quite small townships
+and in quite small houses, and therefore the
+electric cooking stove will become, not a luxury
+such as we in England would deem it, but a
+necessity.</p>
+
+<p>Having ascertained how far electric power is
+in use in the district to which the colonist is going,
+and also how it is supplied and how available,
+it is possible then to consider the advisability of
+taking out a portable electric stove, such, for
+instance, as can be connected up with an ordinary
+light in any room. A portable stove of this kind,
+about twelve inches square, which is a combined
+Grill and Water Boiler, can be had for 35<em>s.</em> complete,
+with flexible wiring for connecting up.
+Its consumption is about 750 watts of electric
+energy per hour or about three-fourths of a unit—the
+cost of course depending on the price charged
+per unit in the district. In any case, this is a
+little stove that at a cost of approximately a
+penny will produce a full meal with tea, coffee or
+soup, a grilled steak or chop and toast in something
+less than half an hour. It is so small and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>so capable, that, whether sure of finding electric
+power or not, the outgoing colonist would add
+little to his expenses and less to his luggage by
+taking one on the chance of finding it useful.</p>
+
+<p>But when certain of electric power and when
+going out to establish a home forthwith, in a
+district where electricity is in common use, certain
+fittings and assuredly a cooking stove, should be
+taken without hesitation. There are some to
+be got out there no doubt, but they are cheaper
+here, and also there is more variety to choose
+from. Several types of electric ovens are now on
+the market; the price of them varies according
+to size and capacity. One that is strongly to be
+recommended for wear and capability, for family
+use in a small kitchen, is the “X.L.” It stands
+36 inches high; it is 24 inches in width, and weighs
+130 pounds. It is a thoroughly good and strong
+stove and can be installed wherever electric
+current is obtainable. One of its commendable
+points is its perfect freedom from dust or smoke,
+another is that each of its compartments can be
+used independently of the others, being controlled
+by separate switches. There is also a minimum
+and a medium switch, and when both are put on
+together the maximum degree of heat is obtained.
+The oven is large enough to hold a joint and pastry
+or bread, while the grill, the hot-plate and plate-warmer
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>can be used or shut off, as desired. The
+price of this complete is £18 10<em>s.</em> f.o.b. at any
+English port. These “X.L.” stoves are manufactured
+by O. G. Hawkes, Ltd., at Globe Works,
+Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham.</p>
+
+<p>Smaller and less expensive is the “Tricity”
+range and outfit supplied by the Berry Construction
+Company, 29a, Charing Cross Road,
+whose wholesale agents are Messrs. Gillespie &amp;
+Beales, Amberley House, Norfolk Street, Strand,
+W.C. The Tricity Cookers are listed for Direct
+or Alternating Current Circuits of not less than
+100 voltage. In addition to the oven and hot-plate,
+either of which can be used independently
+of the other, the outfit comprises an extension
+cooker which gives another boiling ring, and the
+whole equipment of utensils consists of thirteen
+articles, comprising a complete apparatus. The
+full list with stove and extension cooker costs
+£12 10<em>s.</em>, but the oven and hot-plate alone is four
+guineas. Ordinary tin kettles and saucepans
+will answer, but the outfit is purchasable in parts
+and may consist of as few articles as any one
+wishes to take.</p>
+
+<p>That fine explorer, Boyd Alexander Smith, and
+in fact all experienced travellers, speak of the
+value of having a mincing machine at hand. It
+comes in useful for so many purposes, making
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>tender and digestible meat that is often too tough
+to use in any other way. It assists in making savoury
+dishes out of remnants, will grind down the stale
+crusts, and save much trouble in many ways.
+A good mincing machine can be got for 12<em>s.</em> 6<em>d.</em>,
+but one that has adjustable parts, making it useful
+for cutting up vegetables and beans, is a little more
+in price.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="III">
+    III
+    <br>
+    DEALING WITH STORES, ETC.
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">Purification of Water—Storage of Water—Disposal of Refuse
+and Waste—Keeping Food Stores—A Curing House—An
+Ice House, etc.</p>
+
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">The</span> importance of having a supply of water can
+hardly be over-estimated. A township depends
+upon it, and a log-hut or cabin must be pitched
+as near to a water supply as is possible, while no
+journey of any length can be undertaken unless
+water is carried or obtained at fairly frequent
+intervals, and this whether the climate is hot or
+cold. Some ready means of purifying water that
+is abundant yet of doubtful quality is likewise
+essential, also some means of catching the rainfall
+as it occurs. Then we must consider the storage
+of water in camps and locations not intended to
+be permanent ones. On all these points it is
+desirable to be ready with knowledge and resourcefulness.</p>
+
+<p>Experienced travellers like the late Sir Francis
+Galton, W. B. Lord and Thos. Baines all speak of
+ways of filtering water and of making it fit for
+human consumption, writing at a time when the
+portable filter was almost unknown. Still if a
+portable filter saves much trouble it is also heavy
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>to carry about, and rougher and readier forms
+must sometimes be resorted to. An excellent
+filter for camp use is described by the two writers
+last named. They say—</p>
+
+<p>Take a wooden box or barrel, long and deep.
+Bore a number of holes in the bottom and then
+fasten inside it a bag made with a folded piece of
+blanket. At the bottom place a layer of grass,
+moss or twigs, then a layer of sand, then fresh
+layer of moss, and so on until the barrel is half-filled.
+Make a cover which will fit well inside the
+barrel like a second bottom; press it down and
+weight it to keep it from rising. Half-sink this
+barrel in a pond or stream, and the water which
+will gradually filter up to the upper compartment
+can then be baled out clean and clear. If it needs
+purifying still further after this clearing, boil it
+with a pinch of alum, and then expose it again
+to the air. Alum has a chemical effect on organic
+matter, and a small handful of it will purify a
+whole hogshead of water.</p>
+
+<p>This arrangement of cask or barrel can be
+carried out by fitting a smaller cask inside a larger
+one, the smaller being perforated with holes, and
+the space between it and the larger one filled
+with stones and sand, then the double cask can
+be sunk in the pond. These rough and ready
+filters are very useful where a collection of water
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>is found in hollow places, the drainage from
+streams and after a rainfall, the quality of which
+may be doubtful or too muddy for drinking
+purposes. If water is merely thick, not putrid,
+it can be filtered through a cloth. But where it
+is putrid, and is yet the only water available,
+it should be first boiled, then mixed up with
+crushed charcoal and allowed to settle again
+exposed to sun and air. Alum is a purifier and
+charcoal is a disinfectant. There is no other
+way of using salt water than by distilling
+it.</p>
+
+<p>How to store water, in places where it is difficult
+to keep any supply, is another matter. Every
+drop of rain water is of value, and should be
+caught, as far as possible by means of piping
+from the roofs of sheds, ending in barrels, but
+this source of supply can be increased by suspending
+blankets or canvas sails by the four
+corners between trees, weighting them with stones
+in the middle to make the water run towards
+the centre, and placing underneath this a barrel or
+bucket. Dew water brushed off leaves and grass
+into basins in the early morning will yield a great
+deal more than might be imagined, and in dry
+climates there is often a heavy fall of dew before
+sunrise.</p>
+
+<p>A precaution which old travellers take to prevent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>thirst is to keep the outer clothing damp
+and a wet cloth folded round the throat. Where
+water is not fit for drinking it still can be used to
+moisten clothing, and this little precaution prevents
+evaporation from the skin.</p>
+
+<p>As an indication where water may be found in
+strange districts, Galton advises watching the
+flight of birds. Converging flights of birds are
+usually safe guides, especially towards evening.
+Dogs also have an instinct for discovering water,
+but cattle are less trustworthy, as their tracks
+may often lead from rather than towards water.
+When digging for water, in default of spades, a
+hole can be made with a sharp-pointed stick,
+holding it upright and stirring it round, scraping
+out the loosened earth with the hands. Where
+soil or sand is found moist lower down, water
+will generally collect when a hollow is made for
+it. The native bushmen keep their holes open
+by a rough contrivance of twigs tied together
+and converging to a point.</p>
+
+<p>When carrying water in pails from a spring or
+well, place a thick wreath of grass or leaves round
+the edge of the pail to prevent spilling. Leaves
+floating on the top will also help to keep the
+water in. Where water has to be carried for a
+journey, over the shoulder or from a saddle, nothing
+is better than leather bags, or skin bags answer the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>purpose well. Stone jars are heavy and unsatisfactory.</p>
+
+<p>The water supply for a district of isolated
+homesteads or camps is sometimes a difficult
+matter to arrange where there is no spring or
+river near enough. Some form of co-operation
+in the matter of well-sinking is very desirable, and
+the wells should be concreted and protected
+in the common interest. Well boring is beyond
+our scope and cannot be gone into here, as it
+requires some engineering knowledge and skill,
+but it may doubtless come into the day’s work
+at some time or other. Making a cistern for
+rain water is, however, another matter, one for
+the individual camper or hut-dweller to attend
+to, and therefore we may here give Dr. George
+Vivian Poore’s clever adaptation of the old
+Venetian system, as cited by the editor of an
+admirable work on <em>Small Estate Management</em>,
+by A. C. Freeman, a useful book published by
+Rebman &amp; Co., 129, Shaftesbury Avenue,
+London, W.C., which will give invaluable help
+to those laying out homesteads.</p>
+
+<p>“His cistern, which received rain from the roof of
+a four-roomed bungalow cottage (giving about 1,100
+feet square of surface), was circular, partly sunk in
+the ground, and built of concrete. The dimensions
+were: internal diameter 7 feet, depth 10 feet.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>It was divided into two compartments by a
+cement diaphragm, perforated at the bottom
+by agricultural drain-pipes. Both sections contained
+a filter bed, consisting of 1 foot of sand, 1
+foot of fine gravel, and a top layer of coarse
+gravel, also one foot thick. The water on draining
+off the roofs into the gutters passed through
+a double strainer and then entered at the top
+of the first section of the cistern, being filtered
+downwards, and then filtered upwards as it rose
+in the second half, which was provided with a pump
+having a copper suction pipe (lead and ironing
+being of course inadvisable where soft, solvent
+rain water is concerned). A good cover protected
+the top. The storage capacity of this cistern
+was 1,600 gallons, or forty gallons a day for a
+drought of six weeks. Although the cottage
+was near a small town the water proved of excellent
+quality, pure, chemically and bacteriologically,
+and used for all purposes, and appreciated by a
+family in spite of its having a slightly yellow
+caste and a faint smell. An undoubted improvement
+would be to use as a substitute for the
+strainer an automatic tilting separator, which
+divests the first few gallons (the washing shower)
+from the reservoir. Such water is perfectly
+fitted for all domestic purposes, but the supply
+from an ordinary cottage roof may not be adequate
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span>for a household. In such a case a surface
+well may be sunk to provide water for washing,
+bathing, live stock watering, etc. Such wells
+should be sunk about 10 to 12 feet deep,
+the upper 8 or 10 feet being lined with impervious
+material (concrete with smooth cement
+surface) covered over. In this way the water can
+only rise from the bottom, and if the land is
+being well cultivated the ground water is sure to be
+pure. Dr. Poore had a shallow well, only 5 feet
+6 inches deep, in his highly cultivated garden, the
+sides lined with concrete pipes protected by
+4 inches of concrete right to the bottom. This
+well generally contained 3 feet 6 inches of water
+(about ninety gallons), yet it was chemically and
+bacteriologically pure and quite potable.”</p>
+
+<p>It may be useful to those who are making a
+dwelling within a township if we quote further the
+author’s words about water carried from main
+pipes. He says—</p>
+
+<p>“Where water is obtained through mains it
+is well to make some provision against the
+effects of frost. In Canada the general practice
+is to carry the supply pipe into the house below
+the frost level, into a sunken earthenware box,
+open at the bottom and resting on a drainage pit
+filled with sand or breeze. The tap proper is
+placed within this box, and rising from this to the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>sink level are two pipes, one within the other, the
+outer one being a tap spindle, the inner the actual
+water pipe. At the base of this pipe is a vent-hole.
+When the tap spindle is turned on the
+water rises and flows out; when turned off the
+vent-hole is opened and at once drains the standpipe,
+so that freezing is impossible. A somewhat
+easier method is to bring the pipe through a small
+closed copper vessel placed just at the entrance of
+the pipe into the house. When there is any sign
+of hard frost it is merely necessary to place a
+small flamed lamp beneath the copper vessel to
+prevent any possibility of freezing. It is inexpensive,
+saves much inconvenience, and also loss
+arising from damage done by bursts.”</p>
+
+<p>Having made what suggestions we can to help
+the colonist in the matter of securing and storing
+a water supply, we must now consider that other
+important item, the disposal of waste water and
+other refuse. It is amazing what an amount of
+refuse matter and waste water accumulates from
+day to day in a camp or quite small settlement.
+The ground is the one safe and sure receptacle
+for all waste matter, even kitchen waste where there
+are no fowls or pigs to consume the scraps. But
+all vegetable refuse and bones should be burned
+before returning it to the soil, hence a scrap heap
+can be made and set fire to once a week, the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>whole of it when raked out being dug into the
+soil again. Ashes from fires should be put into a
+box and kept for use in the earth closet, the
+waste matter from the latter being dug into a
+field or garden, not into a pit, and it should not
+be too far below the surface. Dry soil does
+quite as well as ashes for sprinkling into the
+closet pail, and this dug into the earth again at
+short intervals is the most sanitary and easy way
+of disposing of this waste. If the precaution
+of using plenty of dry earth is used no flies will
+gather about the organic matter, nor will any smells
+be noticeable.</p>
+
+<p>Waste water from baths and from kitchen
+washing-up is valuable wherever bush fruit is
+grown, and can always be poured round trees, or
+round young plants in a garden plot. The main
+point in disposing of all refuse is to restore as much
+as possible to the land. Where this is done carefully
+and with discrimination the ground benefits
+and nothing offensive is left to annoy by sight
+or smell. The secret of successful French and
+Dutch gardening is this careful digging in of all
+refuse matter, vegetable and other, and not in
+the applying of expensive guanos and manures.
+The authority quoted above has a good deal to say
+on this matter of returning refuse matter to the
+soil. To quote him again—</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span></p>
+
+<p>“The splendid productive soils of the Dutch,
+French and Italian gardens are the result of many
+years of careful cultivation, a system whereby
+the soil is continually being enriched with what we
+are pleased to call ‘Waste’ material. Therefore
+for both hygienic and practical gardening reasons,
+the earth closet system is to be advocated. While
+on the question of soil enrichment we would
+point out that those who cultivate small holdings,
+allotments and gardens should be taught to
+return as much to the soil as possible. All greenstuff,
+trimmings, leaves and so on, should either
+be dug in or placed to ripen in a compost pit and
+used as fertilizer when digging over the land.
+Sticks and wood should be burned and the ashes
+added to the pit because rotting wood in the
+soil attracts insects and so must be avoided.
+Such enrichment is valuable in any situation,
+but will be found to work marvels in lightening
+heavy clays and in bringing fertility to poor,
+porous soils. In our experience the most productive
+gardens have been those with ‘made
+soils’ which have been enriched for generations.
+Dr. Poore’s experimental garden, dressed regularly
+with dry closet-soil, brought in over £56 per acre,
+the crops being ordinary orchard and bush fruit,
+asparagus, potatoes, green stuff and flower all
+grown in the open, no glass being used and very
+little labour available.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span></p>
+
+<p>And now we must pass on to the keeping of
+stores—of stores of vegetables and dry goods and
+things in constant requisition for the kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>It is easy to make a series of store closets with
+deep boxes that are lined with zinc, turning the
+tops to face outwards, fitting in shelves if required,
+and then making a door to fit. These boxes can
+be piled one over the other, all facing the same
+way, and a curtain can cover them all if they are
+in any way unsightly. Dry goods and groceries
+generally require keeping in a temperate place,
+therefore these and linen and clothing can fill
+this series of damp-proof boxes. But when it is
+a question of storing fresh vegetables and fruit,
+potatoes, dried meat, dairy stuff, liquors and so
+on, an outside storehouse is imperative, also in
+hot weather all food must go into some cool place
+to keep it from insects and the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>It is a comparatively easy matter to dig out a
+pit some feet away from any tent or building,
+to dig it out of the earth in a shaded and protected
+spot, and then to brick the sides and build them
+up to a sufficient height above so as to make the
+whole depth of the sunk pit some eight or ten
+feet. Roof over the top of the pit with corrugated
+iron, and if there is heat or frost to fear make a
+thatch over this. Make one or two steps down into
+the pit and arrange also some shelves as seems
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>convenient. If such a storeroom rises but a
+little way above ground and is protected at the
+top, it will be found to be of even temperature
+all the year round, admitting neither frost nor
+heat. It should be ventilated by perforating
+holes round the roof, but need not have light
+admitted except by the door. Failing the possibility
+of digging out and building such a storeroom,
+remember that pits in the ground lined
+with a collection of leaves or dry twigs and well
+covered over with earth and more branches,
+make excellent keeping places for stores of roots
+and fruit. There is no better preservative than
+Mother Earth.</p>
+
+<p>A good deal of meat, especially pork and beef,
+will have to be salted and dried for use at different
+times, and while salting and pickling are comparatively
+easy processes, needing only watching and
+frequent rubbing and turning, the later processes
+of curing and drying by smoke are more
+difficult, and for this purpose it is well to
+build a curing house.</p>
+
+<p>A smoke-curing house for hams and bacon may
+be made with two large-sized packing cases.
+Remove the top and bottom of one of the cases.
+From the other case remove one board at the top,
+the middle board; also cut a fairly large square
+hole on one side, large enough for any one to put
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>head and shoulders through. With the boards
+that are cut away form a door by nailing batten
+on the inside or outside, and fasten to the box
+by means of hinges at bottom and catches at the
+top. If no hinges are at hand use stout pieces of
+leather, even the uppers of old boots will do.
+The catches are merely small, flat wedges of wood
+about the length of the middle finger, and as
+broad as two fingers. Nail or screw them in the
+middle on the box just above the flap door. By
+turning to left or right they will fasten the door
+firmly. Inside the top box fasten a series of rods,
+say six inches apart and six inches below the top.
+Over the long slit formed by removing one board
+as directed form a slanting roof with two boards
+kept in position by fastenings at each end. Nail
+pieces of netting from the edges of the slanting
+roof to the box. You thus provide ventilation and
+prevent insects from creeping in. Pierce the
+bottom of this case with a number of holes.
+Now choose for the site of the curing house sloping
+ground, dig a trench 18 inches deep and 6 or
+7 feet long. Cover over the trench with
+flattened stones or bricks well packed together
+with earth. Over the top opening of this trench
+place the first case that had the top and bottom
+knocked out, and on this fix the second case.
+Suspend the hams and bacon inside the top case
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span>and then fasten the door tightly. At the lower end
+of the trench light a fire with wood refuse and
+sawdust, but avoid using pine or any resinous wood.
+The fire must be kept smouldering and the smoke
+will find its way up the trench, through the lower
+box into the curing chamber above, escaping very
+gradually by the ventilation outlets. Peats are
+best of all for keeping in a smoke fire. The
+smoking should be kept up for from three to five
+days, according to the amount of meat inside
+the curing chamber.</p>
+
+<p>Before placing the meat in this chamber it
+should be wiped dry after curing it with rubbings
+of dry salt, or by a mixture of saltpetre, black
+pepper, sugar and common salt. This may have
+been rubbed in for a week or ten days before
+the smoke cure was begun. If hams are intended
+for long keeping sew them up in cloths after
+curing with salt and before smoking them. Pieces
+of beef lightly salted and dried by smoke can be
+kept almost indefinitely, but they should be
+soaked and scraped before using for food.</p>
+
+<p>Biltong, or Jerked Beef as it is called in the
+United States, is a handy way of keeping meat for a
+length of time and is easily prepared. It is made
+by cutting the raw beef into slices, sousing the
+slices in sea water, then drying them hard in the
+sun. It can be kept threaded on spikes of wood,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>and when required the slices are taken off, soaked
+and washed, and laid in a frying-pan, with a
+little oil or other fat, and covered with plate,
+cooking over the fire for about an hour. A
+spoonful of vinegar put in the pan would tender
+the meat and improve the flavour.</p>
+
+<p>The converse to a smoke house would be an
+ice house, but wherever there is any dairying
+done this little place will prove a great boon, and
+it can be provided all the year round in most
+Colonies by taking a little forethought. In many
+places ice can be carried from lakes and ponds in
+the winter and stored for use in summer, and
+failing ice a fall of snow may be utilized, for
+snow that is packed into blocks and sluiced over
+with water will soon harden into ice. For storing
+it dig a deep hole, 4 to 8 feet deep, and build
+into this a house with walls of double thickness;
+the outer one may be of logs, the inner one of
+rough boards. Pack the space between the boards
+with sawdust, shavings or tan bark. The flooring
+should be of rafters placed close together about
+a foot above the ground. See that this open space
+is well drained. This can be done by digging a
+sloping trench a foot or two at the bottom and
+filling up with loose stones. The door of the
+house should also be double and packed with sawdust.
+The roof, which should come well above the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>hole, should slope and be composed of rafters well
+boarded over and covered with thick thatch
+of straw or fern. The thatch should project well
+beyond the walls but leave a ventilating space all
+round. Ice in blocks covered with sawdust can
+be kept in a quantity in this house, or blocks of
+ice at the bottom will make a cool storeroom
+of it for milk and butter in the summertime. Its
+main object, however, is to keep a store of ice
+for the dairy itself.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="IV">
+    IV
+    <br>
+    THE STAFF OF LIFE
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">Making Bread—Oven and Hearth-baked Bread—Patent
+Yeasts for Travellers’ Use—Quick Bread; the Damper,
+Pancake, Flapjack, Chupatty, etc.—Dumplings and
+Pie-crusts—Uses for Dry Bread, etc.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">Bread</span> is one of those things for which civilized
+man craves, and even in the most out-of-the-way
+places he is loth to exist without it. The many
+substitutes for bread rarely satisfy an Englishman,
+and he is driven to find some way of making a solid
+loaf. Nevertheless to bake bread presents a
+difficulty which can only be overcome by building
+an oven such as before described, or by using hot
+flat stones; the latter way of baking is as good
+as any when a little practice has shown how to do
+it skilfully. But the baking is only one difficulty;
+another and more serious one is to find a yeast
+wherewith to make a dough. German and other
+dried yeasts are usually to be bought in towns or
+from stores, and wherever there is a brewery barm
+can be got, but there are also dried and compressed
+yeasts that are put up in cakes for the use
+of travellers, which the outgoing colonist might
+procure, probably, at a ship chandler’s stores.
+Yeatman’s Yeast Powder is one of these. But
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>failing any way of procuring dried yeasts there is
+another way of making a liquid yeast that is sure
+of producing a sweet and wholesome bread. For
+this the dried Bavarian hops are required, which
+are to be bought in packets from the chief English
+stores (they are known as the Phœnix brand), a
+packet of which will last a considerable time. A
+handful of these hops is boiled in water in a saucepan
+until the goodness has been extracted, then
+strained off, the hops thrown away, and the liquid
+returned to the pan with a spoonful of sugar,
+salt, and one or two tablespoonfuls of flour. These
+are stirred together and boiled up—never mind
+if it is a little lumpy—and then left to ferment.
+The mixture is ready for use the following day
+and will keep good for about ten days or a fortnight.
+In using, mix enough of this liquid with
+sufficient flour to make a small soft ball—technically
+called a “sponge,” setting this in the middle of
+the panful of flour which is intended for the bread.
+When this sponge has risen a little make the dough
+by adding to it warm water slightly salted, and
+working in the rest of the flour gradually until it
+can be kneaded with the hand and forms a large
+ball of dough, not too stiff and yet not too soft.
+This is then set to rise again in a warm place, and
+will take some five or six hours. Some people
+mix up the yeast and flour and water straight away
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span>and let one rising suffice. Either way should produce
+a light and wholesome dough. About four
+tablespoonfuls of the liquid yeast (or an ounce of
+dried compressed yeast of another kind, stirred to
+smooth paste with water), a large tablespoonful
+of salt and four pounds of flour, will make a nice
+quantity of bread. The amount of water depends
+a good deal on the kind of flour, but the result
+must be a rather firm dough; if too little water
+is put in the bread will be stiff and dry, if too much
+it will be puffy and full of holes.</p>
+
+<p>The dough can be mixed in the evening and
+left to rise all night, provided the pan containing
+it be set in a warm, sheltered place. The next
+morning, as soon as the oven has been made hot,
+or as soon as the hot stones of the hearth are ready,
+take up the dough, divide it and shape lightly with
+floured hands into loaves and bake them. The
+point to bear in mind is that while dough takes
+several hours to rise, it takes little harm by waiting
+until the oven is ready for it; but as yeast after
+it has been mixed with water ferments very
+quickly, the dough itself should not be made till
+the whole process of making it can be done right
+away. The science of the thing is that the introduction
+of yeast into the moistened flour causes
+carbonic gas to form, and the formation of these
+bubbles makes the dough swell out until the fermentation
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>being finished the gas would cease to
+form and the dough would sink back, having lost
+its lightness. When the dough has about doubled
+its proportions, we stop the formation of the gas
+by baking the bread. Patent dried yeasts operate
+more quickly than do liquid home-made yeasts,
+and six hours is quite long enough to allow for the
+rising. Liquid yeasts might be given a little
+longer.</p>
+
+<p>If bread is made twice a week, the loaves should
+be made larger, and for taking out on journeys
+round flat cakes, made not too thick, are a convenient
+form; likewise for baking on the hearth
+these will be the handiest and cook the best. A
+round and rather thick ball of dough, cut across
+the top with a blunt knife, will give the Coburg
+loaf, which is a good shape for baking in an oven.</p>
+
+<p>Combinations of flour and maize meal, or of
+rice and flour, oatmeal and flour, and so on can
+be tried when a change is wanted. Where eggs
+and milk are procurable, there is a delicious
+American bread which is made by mixing two cupfuls
+of maize meal with every one of ordinary white
+flour, adding a little salt, two eggs and a cupful of
+milk to every three cups of the combined flours,
+with a spoonful of baking-powder rubbed in before
+moisture is added. This mixture is shaped into
+loaves and baked in tins—old biscuit tins floured
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>inside will do quite well. The same mixture could
+be transformed into a cake of quite excellent
+quality by rubbing into the flour a little butter or
+lard, and a few raisins and spice and sugar.</p>
+
+<p>Excellent light buns for supper are quickly made
+by rubbing a little baking-powder into flour, adding
+salt, sugar and a few currants and spice, mixing
+with milk to a stiff dough, rolling out on a board,
+cutting into triangles and baking on flat hot
+stones, on both sides. Or if the milk has soured,
+mix a little soda with it and make up into a dough
+with flour alone and bake in the same way.</p>
+
+<p>The Australian Damper is really a thick, plain
+pancake, often merely a handful of flour made
+into a stiffish batter with water and a little salt
+and baked over the embers of a wood fire or on the
+hot stones. But the correct way of making
+Damper is to take a flat board or a dried sheepskin
+on which to knead. On this the flour is
+poured from the sack and sprinkled with salt. A
+hole is made in the middle of the heap of flour into
+which water is slowly poured, the right hand being
+kept moving round and round working the flour
+and water together to a thick, adhesive dough.
+This is then kneaded on the floured board until a
+firm ball is the result, and then with the hands a
+flat pancake is made about two inches thick. The
+embers are cleared away to leave a flat, bare place
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>and the damper is lightly dropped upon it and
+covered with leaves, then the embers are raked
+back and it is left for about an hour, when it will
+be baked crisp and brown. A frying-pan without
+a handle might be inverted over the damper if the
+ashes were dirty. Fresh eggs beaten up with
+milk and used instead of water would make a
+richer and crisper and more nourishing damper.
+Scotch oatmeal added to a little flour, or the oatmeal
+alone mixed as for dry oatcake and baked on
+the hot stones, would be a more nourishing substitute
+for bread than is damper alone.</p>
+
+<p>The Flapjack is a similar kind of thing to the
+damper, but it is fried in a pan, with very little
+fat, that is to say, only enough to grease the pan,
+and fried on both sides. If made with cornmeal or
+buckwheat and mixed with milk and eggs, it becomes
+a very palatable thing, and has the merit
+of being quickly prepared. These pan cakes are
+just the thing for eating with sugar-cane syrup
+or molasses.</p>
+
+<p>A Cornmeal Pone is made with a quart of Indian
+meal, a teaspoonful of salt, a little melted lard and
+enough tepid water to make a soft dough. It is
+moulded lightly with the hands into an oblong
+mound, higher in the middle than at the sides, is
+brushed over with melted lard and dry flour, and
+is baked in hot oven rather crisply and broken
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>into pieces, not cut. A broad leaf is laid over
+and under the pone if it is baked in the ashes.</p>
+
+<p>A Johnny Cake requires two cupfuls of buttermilk,
+a teaspoonful of soda, and two of salt, a good
+bit of butter melted soft, and enough Indian meal
+to make the cake so that it can be rolled out on a
+board to an inch in thickness. It is baked on the
+stones or in the oven in a shallow pan, and is then
+broken into pieces and eaten with butter.</p>
+
+<p>Buckwheat Cakes want the true Buckwheat
+flour, and to every four cupfuls a little salt and
+enough milk to make a thin batter, also a spoonful
+of yeast to every cupful of flour. The mixture is
+beaten well and left to rise overnight, and is then
+fried in greased pans on both sides, and eaten with
+syrup.</p>
+
+<p>The Chupatty is another form of thin or hastily
+made bread, and is generally made with Indian
+meal. If made with ordinary white flour, rub in
+a saltspoonful of salt to every half-pound, and
+mix to a light dough with cold milk. Cut this
+dough into pieces about the size of an egg, roll
+each piece into long, thin strips not more than
+an eighth of an inch thick. This is best done with
+the help of a floured board and a rolling-pin or
+smooth bottle, as the secret of making nice
+chupatties lies in the rolling. It should be rolled
+out at least six times, then the strips are placed on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>a baking tin and baked in a hot oven for about ten
+minutes. This is as crisp as water biscuit, and is
+very digestible. Where a dry biscuit or cake is
+wanted for a journey the chupatty is very useful.</p>
+
+<p>Any bread that has become stale can be freshened
+by dipping it in water and putting into a hot
+oven to steam through for a few minutes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Dumplings and Pie-Crusts</h3>
+
+<p>When baking bread and making a stew or
+boiling meat with vegetables, small pieces of the
+dough can be broken off and dropped into the
+pan to form dumplings. If yeast or baking-powder
+has been worked into the dough the
+dumplings will be light though plain, but if they
+are wanted a little richer they should be made with
+chopped suet mixed with flour and water.</p>
+
+<p>The ordinary plain suet dumpling requires half
+as much chopped suet as flour in weight, and a
+little salt. It is mixed with either water or milk
+to make into a stiff dough—it is lightest when
+somewhat stiff—and if tying it up in a cloth to boil
+in water allow room for the pudding to swell.
+Boil a suet dumpling for two hours at least; it
+will not harm by being boiled longer. These
+plain dumplings are wholesome and excellent food
+especially in a cold climate, and should be eaten
+with syrup or butter and sugar. Sugar is, indeed,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>one of the most necessary items on the colonist’s
+bill of fare. The plain suet can be varied by
+mixing with it stoned raisins or currants or by
+using syrup in place of milk to mix the ingredients,
+adding a little ginger for flavour. Or the suet
+paste may be rolled out and spread with jam or
+soaked dried fruits and treacle, rolled up again,
+wrapped round with a cloth and boiled in fast
+boiling water, or folded in a buttered paper and
+steamed, for a couple of hours, making a light and
+appetising roll pudding. Or again, the paste
+may be rolled out and used to line a basin, the
+interior being filled with sliced apples and other
+fruits and sugar, covered with a top crust, then
+tied over and boiled for as long again. Or the
+centre may be filled with pieces of steak cut small
+and rolled in flour and seasoned with salt and
+pepper, a little water put in to make gravy, a top
+crust put on, and tied down, and this boiled for
+about four hours.</p>
+
+<p>If the colonist has built him a good oven and is
+ambitious of making pastry, having a fond recollection
+of jam tarts and apple pies as made at home,
+let him take a nice clean board, and put into a
+basin say a couple of pounds of flour, two big
+spoonfuls of dry baking-powder, a teaspoonful of
+salt, and into this flour rub lightly about a pound
+of lard or good dripping, rubbing till the flour
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>feels like dry breadcrumbs in his hands. Mix
+this to a stiff paste with cold water, then cut off
+portions and roll out on a floured board. If a
+proper rolling-pin is not at hand a bottle will
+answer the purpose.</p>
+
+<p>If it is a fruit pie that is contemplated, fill a dish
+with pared and sliced apples, or plums washed
+clean, or other fruit, cover well with sugar, add a
+little water and then cover with a crust that has
+been rolled out to about half an inch thick. Make
+a little hole in the top for the steam to escape, and
+pinch the edges well and cut them round even
+with the edges of the dish. Put into an oven that
+is very hot and bake long enough to cook the fruit
+well, shielding the crust if necessary with paper.
+Fruits like blackberries, bilberries, damsons, etc.,
+want well cooking, and should be partly done
+before the crust is put on. Where no pie-dish is
+at hand, roll out a sheet of paste and heap up the
+cut or picked fruit in the centre, with the sugar,
+and then fold up the paste to make it like a valise
+and pinch the edges well. Bake it on a greased
+tin.</p>
+
+<p>The good old-fashioned turnover or pasty is
+ever welcome, and needs but to have a piece of
+paste rolled out to a convenient sized round, and
+on half is spread the jam, mince, or fruit, and the
+other half is turned over, the edges pinched together,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>and it is baked on a tin in hot oven. The
+Cornish pasty has sliced potatoes, shred bacon, a
+trifle of onion and pepper and salt, and is folded
+over and baked in the same way. These are
+delicious to eat hot. When making a meat pie,
+cook the meat well before putting on the pastry
+crust.</p>
+
+<p>This plain short pastry is all that any colonist
+will require, at least until an elaborate kitchen
+equipment is at his service, but if he objects to
+rubbing in the shortening with his hands, he may
+mix the flour and water to a stiff paste, roll it
+out on a floured board, spread the shortening on
+this with the blade of a knife, fold up and roll out
+again at least twice. This way saves using the
+hands.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="V">
+    V
+    <br>
+    THE DAY’S FOOD AND WORK
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">Popular Ideas about Food Values—Kind of Food Required
+in Health—Concentrated and Bulk Foods—Initial
+Preparations for Cooking, etc.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">There</span> are a good many vague notions current
+about food which it is well to set right before we
+come to the actual work of cooking for making
+ready a meal. For instance, people are content,
+as a rule, to take what comes handiest, or to choose
+what is most customary, rather than have the
+trouble of thinking out or of choosing what might
+really make a meal of better value. Reliance
+on what is customary may easily lead to great
+monotony and to narrowness of ideas. In some
+cases, of course, monotony is perhaps inevitable,
+that is to say the material is perforce the same,
+and can only be varied by bringing the imagination
+into play in order to make its manner of presentment
+more varied. A man, for example, writes
+to us from Canada (he is pioneering in the Far
+West, let it be understood), and says that his
+meals consist of beef and potatoes, varied by
+potatoes and beef. Another writes from the
+Australian bush and declares there is nothing to
+be had but tea, damper and mutton, mutton,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>damper and tea. Both cases are doubtless
+exaggerations, but they show the monotony that
+may exist when there is little time to give to
+thought about meals. But on the other hand,
+people who have almost limitless resources at
+command, as in England, show little more imagination
+when it comes to planning a week’s meals for
+a family, year in year out, and monotony is their
+complaint also.</p>
+
+<p>Then we speak of “nourishing food,” of dishes
+that are “rich,” “indigestible” and so on, and of
+drinks that are “too strong” and “too weak,”
+often without quite knowing what we wish to
+express.</p>
+
+<p>All food is “nourishing” when properly combined
+and proportioned; if we get an excess of
+one thing, of fat, for example, or of sugar, it is
+“too rich” because less easily assimilated. As
+it is only by what is digested and assimilated
+that the body is nourished, it is easy to understand
+that two foods which contain the same amount
+of nutriment will not be equally nutritious unless
+both are equally digestible.</p>
+
+<p>What is wanted, speaking roughly, for proper
+nourishment and upkeep of the bodily system, is
+a daily sufficient yet not excessive supply of
+flesh-forming and heat-producing food, enough
+to repair the constant slow wastage that goes on.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>This waste, it is easy to understand, is increased
+when the body is actively engaged in hard labour
+and lessened when it is resting or doing sedentary
+work. The whole science of feeding lies in obtaining
+a right proportion of the two classes of
+food in the diet. An excess of either class, unless
+excreted, is stored up as fat. The reason we cook
+at all is that we may bring raw materials into a
+state in which they can be digested easily, and
+also that we may make those judicious mixtures
+which shall combine flesh-forming and heat-producing
+substances ready to be assimilated
+in the best possible way. There is no one perfect
+food that will do this for adults, as there is for
+infants who find all they require in milk. The
+adult body is only perfectly supplied by a mixed
+diet, and as regards the selection of materials one
+of the best and safest guides to take is the individual
+appetite under normal conditions. Appetite
+will generally suggest the kind of food the body is
+needing and will generally indicate when a sufficiency
+has been taken, also it will show by “loss
+of appetite” when food is not required and what
+kind of food is distasteful.</p>
+
+<p>Feeding the human body is very like feeding a
+fire; combustion is slow but steady and is made
+more rapid when the draught of air is increased—that
+is, when the lungs are inhaling and exhaling
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>more deeply as in hard labour. The
+energy expressed by movement, labour, exercise
+or play corresponds to the burning of the fire,
+and is made up for by adding more fuel, and
+what part of the fuel is not consumed is thrown
+away as ashes are taken away from the grate.
+How thoroughly the food taken in is consumed
+must therefore depend a great deal upon its
+digestibility. That which is raw, hard, lumpy
+or tough will take long to assimilate, or indeed
+may be finally excreted as unassimilable. We
+assist assimilation when we mince or grind down
+the food to fine proportions—hence mastication.
+After it is swallowed the digestive juices set to
+work upon it and make it fit for absorption into
+the system. In addition to cooking food to make
+it tender and in addition to mastication, we
+further assist the work of digestion when we add
+condiments and flavours to it, because these help
+to increase the flow of the gastric juices and
+stimulate the activity of the digestive organs.</p>
+
+<p>We cannot obtain more heat or more muscle
+by eating special foods for the purpose. Flesh-forming
+and heat-producing foods must be taken
+together for each to do their work properly, but
+we can and do increase the proportions of one or
+the other according to the kind of work we are
+doing and the kind of climate we are living under.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>An extra cold atmosphere calls for more heat to
+make up for what is given off by radiation from
+the surface of the body as well as by increased
+respiration. Therefore fat and sugar must take
+a very prominent place in the diet of those who
+live in cold countries, farinaceous foods likewise.
+Meat and vegetables are needed where much
+muscular work is being done and where a stimulating
+diet rather than a heating one is wanted.
+A good deal of liquid food and water is needed
+when perspiration is excessive and where outward
+heat dries the skin.</p>
+
+<p>Appetite is again the best guide to follow under
+these different conditions, for Nature prompts
+and suggests what she is needing by means of appetite
+and taste. Appetite is also the best individual
+guide as to quantity, for it is rarely that two
+people will eat exactly the same amount in the
+same circumstances. Some appear to eat too
+much, and others too little, but if we judge results
+by weight, where that remains fairly constant,
+the quantities consumed merely correspond with
+their requirements. It is when an excess of fat
+is stored up in the system that the supply may be
+taken to exceed the demand. Yet this again is not
+altogether a reliable criterion to go by; it, in fact,
+puzzles many as it puzzled Dr. Johnson and his
+faithful Boswell.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span></p>
+
+<p>Talking of a man who had grown very fat so as
+to be incommoded by his corpulency, Dr. Johnson
+said, “He eats too much, sir.” Said Boswell,
+“I don’t know, sir; you will see one man fat
+who eats moderately and another lean who eats
+a great deal.” Johnson: “Nay, sir, whatever
+may be the quantity a man eats, it is plain that
+if he is too fat he has eaten more than he should
+have done. One may have a digestion that
+consumes food better than common; but it is
+certain that solidity is increased by putting something
+to it.” Boswell: “But may not solids
+swell and be distended?” Johnson: “Yes, sir,
+they may swell and be distended, but that is not
+fat!”</p>
+
+<p>As regards food materials, all fibrous and tough
+substances cannot be separated from the rest,
+nor is it necessary to separate them. A certain
+amount of bulk food is needful for the organs to
+work upon, and even if it is eventually excreted it
+still cannot be done without. Highly-concentrated
+foods, like extracts and essences and tabloids,
+will not satisfy the ordinary healthy appetite,
+and even if they did satisfy it they would end in
+weakening the organs of the body through want
+of sufficient work and exercise. Tissues and fibres
+can, however, be made soft and tender, and therefore
+much more easily digestible, by proper
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>cooking. It should be remembered that the
+tissues of animals and vegetables toughen as they
+get older, while birds and meats that are freshly-killed
+are not so tender as when well hung. Wild
+birds and young animals are tougher than maturer
+and fattened ones.</p>
+
+<p>The initial processes of preparing food will
+present more difficulties to the colonist, perhaps,
+than the actual cooking. The very first process
+of all, that of catching and killing the animal or
+bird, is less troublesome to contemplate than the
+process of skinning, cleaning and cutting up; still,
+of course, it comes first.</p>
+
+<p>All animals and birds which are killed by shot
+must have the blood let out as soon as possible;
+it is usual to suspend them to drain this away.
+Then the skin is drawn off, the abdominal and
+thoracic viscera are removed, likewise the head and
+tail, and the animal is laid open by cutting down
+the breast line. In large animals like oxen and
+sheep by cutting through the middle of the back
+bone the carcass is divided into two equal parts,
+called sides, and the sides are again cut up into
+joints after quartering. The anterior portion is
+known as the fore-quarter, the posterior as the
+hind-quarter. In small animals like lambs the
+whole of the quarter is considered as one joint.</p>
+
+<p>In cutting up a side of beef the usual method
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>followed is according to the following diagram:</p>
+<br>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp85" id="p068" style="max-width: 62.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/p068.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+<table class="autotable">
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>A.</em> Rump.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>I.</em> Clod.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>B.</em> Buttock.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>J.</em> Shin.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>C.</em> Shin.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>K.</em> Shoulder or Bladebone.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>D.</em> Buttock Steak.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>L.</em> Brisket.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>E.</em> Aitchbone.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>M.</em> Thin Flank.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>F.</em> Sirloin.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>N.</em> Thick Flank.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>G.</em> Ribs.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>O.</em> Gravy Piece.
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdl">
+<em>H.</em> Chuck Ribs.
+</td>
+<td class="tdl">
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+<br>
+
+<p>A young ox gives the best beef, but bull beef is
+dark in colour with a coarse grain. If beef is to
+be tender it should be hung as long as weather
+and climate will permit of, but should be looked
+over every day and moisture wiped off. Any
+part which is touched with flies should be rubbed
+over with cloths wrung out of vinegar. If any
+part seems slightly tainted rub powdered charcoal
+over it, or black pepper.</p>
+
+<p>The most suitable uses of the different parts
+for cooking are as follows:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p class="no-indent">Sirloin and Ribs, prime roasting joints.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span></p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Rump, for cutting into steaks for grilling.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Buttock, for stewing steak, or for boiling
+fresh.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Round or Buttock, for salting and boiling.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Thick and thin Flank, salting, boiling or baking.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Shins and Gravy Piece, for soups.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Chuck Ribs, for second quality steaks.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Bladebone, for braising and stewing.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Clod, boiled or stewed.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Brisket, for salting and pressing, or for baking
+with potatoes.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Tail, for stewing and soup-making.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Tongue, for salting, boiling and pressing.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">The Skirt makes delicious stews and rich
+gravy.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Beef Kidney is tough and too rich to use alone,
+but a little added to other stews is excellent.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Liver too coarse to use except for feeding animals.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent">Knuckles and feet make stiff jelly.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Mutton does not cut up into so many parts, but
+is simply divided into leg and loin (or if the loin
+is undivided it makes a “saddle,”) and the fore-quarter
+makes breast, shoulder and neck pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Veal is similarly jointed to beef but is much
+smaller, and the whole round of the leg is called the
+fillet and is cut in thick portions or slices; the
+loin includes the rump, and the neck is really included
+with the ribs. The breast of veal is excellent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>as the gristly parts easily soften, and the
+knuckles which correspond to the shin and leg
+of beef are much more tender and gelatinous.</p>
+
+<p>As pigs are killed at different ages and the larger
+and fatter animals are usually cured and dried
+for bacon, the smaller pigs are cut up very similarly
+to mutton and lamb. The hind-quarter
+gives the leg and hind loin, the fore-quarter the
+“hand” or shoulder, foreloin, spare ribs and neck,
+while the head is split into two “chaps.” When
+made into bacon the side is cured whole and the
+leg becomes the ham, the shoulder half the
+gammon. The breast gives the part known as
+“streaky” bacon, and the back and ribs, flank
+and collar are sold at varying prices.</p>
+
+<p>Certain portions of the interior organs of the
+carcass are useful for food and quite digestible.
+The tongues, for instance, which when cut away
+from the root part can be salted and pickled, then
+boiled or dried, make an excellent dish. The
+sweetbreads in young animals are very delicate,
+and after first boiling them in salted water for
+a few minutes they can be fried or stewed to make
+a savoury dish. The kidneys are removed from
+the fat in which they are embedded and split open
+and lightly fried or grilled, or beef kidney is added
+to stews of other parts of beef. Ox tails after
+skinning and jointing make an excellent savoury
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>stew or very nourishing soup. Sheep’s liver is
+edible when properly cooked, but lamb’s and calf’s
+liver are better and not at all tough when fried
+and stewed afterwards. Ox liver is not fit for
+human food. The hearts of very young animals
+alone are edible, and even then are somewhat
+tough.</p>
+
+<p>The best suet is that found round about the
+kidneys, and this fat can be removed in large
+pieces, which if kept dry will remain sweet for a
+week or two and is used for making puddings and
+crusts for pies. The other interior fat of the
+animal (both of beef and mutton) can be melted
+down and clarified by pouring into jars containing
+a little boiling water, then it is useful for all frying
+purposes and many other things. The interior
+fat of the pig is also melted down, but it yields
+lard, a pure white and soft fat that is as edible
+as butter. This should be run into tins whilst
+warm and covered with paper when cold to keep
+it from the air.</p>
+
+<p>Rabbits are split open to let out the blood and
+the entrails removed directly they are killed, and
+being thus paunched they can be slung on a stick
+and kept for some time before skinning, although
+the fresher they are the more easily will the skin
+be removed. To do this make an incision down
+the length of the body, and draw the skin backwards,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>bringing the legs up first and ending by
+pulling the skin over the head. A rabbit can be
+turned round for boiling, or be cut into joints for
+stewing. Hares are treated the same way except
+that hares are not boiled, but they are often
+roasted. A better way is to cook a whole hare in
+a casserole or braising-pan, as the meat is very dry,
+but the best way of all is to cut it in joints and
+cook it in a deep stone jar, with red wine and small
+vegetables and a little fat pork.</p>
+
+<p>Fowls are plucked most easily by first dipping
+them bodily into boiling water, but this renders
+the feathers unusable for any other purpose.
+Plucking is quickly accomplished if the feathers
+are pulled the reverse way from that which they
+take naturally, and after cutting off the head,
+splitting the neck to remove the gullet and
+windpipe, an incision at the lower end makes it
+easy to empty the fowl by drawing out the entrails
+and organs; wash out with clean water afterwards,
+then bind together the legs and tie down the wings
+to the sides, and the fowl is trussed quite sufficiently
+for ordinary purposes. The reason for
+fastening wings and legs to the sides is to prevent
+these from shrivelling and getting too dry by
+cooking. As the meat of fowls and indeed of most
+birds is very lean it is an improvement to wrap
+them in some thin leaf fat, or to cook a piece of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>fat bacon with them if braising or roasting, or
+even if boiling them.</p>
+
+<p>The meat of wildfowl is drier and leaner than
+that of the domestic fowl and wild ducks are a
+little fishy in flavour. Prairie hens are plump
+as a rule but also lean, and most small wild birds
+are tastier and more tender if they are wrapped
+in thin slices of fat before cooking. Quick cooking
+is best for those that are small and young, but fowls
+of uncertain age are better slowly stewed or boiled.</p>
+
+<p>The flesh of fish contains more water than that
+of meat or fowl, but it is light and digestible and
+nourishing when fresh, and plump fish are invariably
+of primer quality than thin ones. Most
+fish want scraping as well as washing, and it is
+well to cut off the heads and remove the entrails;
+in some kinds like mackerel and herrings they
+are split open and scraped clean, while in flat fish
+cutting off the heads and fins suffices. Large
+fish like salmon and cod have a good deal of interior
+to be removed before they are cooked and
+the heads are left on if preferred.</p>
+
+<p>Where a little curing house has been set up as
+before described, herrings which have been cleaned
+and split open can be lightly salted and smoke-dried,
+and thus the colonist can make his own
+kippers. Small haddock can also be cured and
+smoke-dried, mackerel likewise.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span></p>
+
+<p>Surplus fish can be kept by first cleaning and
+then salting them and packing down in a barrel,
+but smoke-curing is a better way of preserving
+them, and in the log-hut kitchen they can hang in
+strings from the rafters.</p>
+
+<p>Oysters, clams, mussels and shellfish that are
+eaten without cooking should be very fresh indeed
+for it to be trustworthy. Oysters are wholesome
+and easily digested and are rightly considered a
+delicacy, and in some places they are plentiful
+enough.</p>
+
+<p>Lobsters, crabs and shrimps want boiling in
+salted water until they turn a bright red colour,
+and when cold they are broken open and the
+flesh picked out. An iron cauldron or saucepan
+is best to boil them in. All these should be killed
+by cooking; that is they should be alive up to
+the time they are boiled, as if not perfectly fresh
+they so quickly decompose and may easily set
+up ptomaine poisoning. There are circumstances
+and places where shellfish are a valuable article
+of food, however, and in moderation they do much
+to vary a diet that without them would be monotonous
+and unappetising. A liberal washing in
+clean water should be given to all creatures that
+are taken from salt water pools and shallow places.
+But the same careful cleansing is necessary in the
+case of freshwater fish, too, especially that taken
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span>from ponds, as they are apt to taste of mud unless
+well soaked and scraped before cooking.</p>
+
+<p>The initial preparations for cooking which
+vegetables require make many people forego their
+use altogether, yet although troublesome enough
+there is nothing about them that is half so disagreeable
+as the preparatory work of preparing
+meat and poultry for cooking. A liberal washing,
+a scraping or paring, perhaps coring and dividing
+and cutting up—and that is practically all there
+is to do except in the case of peas which want
+shelling, or of beans which want stringing and
+slicing.</p>
+
+<p>Almost without exception, the edible roots
+want paring after washing before cooking them
+in any way whatsoever. The rind is not intended
+to be eaten and is tough in all except very young
+roots. While the actual nutritive value of
+roots, tubers and green vegetables is low, their
+health value is high, and they are both a welcome
+and valuable addition to the diet, and whenever a
+garden patch has been secured the colonist’s
+first thought will be to grow his own vegetables,
+and as great a variety of them as he can.</p>
+
+<p>Potatoes are the most nutritive of all vegetables
+and rank next to bread in value, but artichokes
+have a higher nutritive value than even potatoes,
+and should be freely cultivated especially where
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>there is a pig to be fed, as pigs thrive rapidly and
+produce fine bacon when fed upon these tubers.</p>
+
+<p>The next most important vegetable to the
+potato is the onion, and this is one of the best of
+nature’s medicines, too. But after skinning an
+onion the root bit should always be cut out before
+cooking in any form. Cut away the hard fibres
+from cabbages before boiling them and boil
+rapidly in salted water. Never cook outer leaves
+or woody parts and fibres of anything; all such
+parts should be returned to the ground as its
+share of the proceeds, for they make the most
+valuable manure.</p>
+
+<p>When gathering cabbages or lettuces, and things
+of like nature, if not ready to make use of them
+for a few hours, leave the roots on as they will
+keep fresh and crisp a much longer time. If on
+account of frost these have to be dug up and
+brought under shelter, also leave the roots on, but
+let them be kept covered with sand or soil and in a
+dry place. Carrots and turnips keep well in a
+sand heap. Celery is another excellent vegetable
+for the colonist to cultivate wherever it will grow;
+it is good in all climates and will stand a good deal
+of frost, and is most wholesome eaten either in a
+natural state or cooked. Here again, eat only
+the best parts and let the rest be returned to the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span></p>
+
+<p>Dried fruits are extremely useful where fresh
+fruits are hard to procure, and the nutritive value
+of dried fruits is relatively high in proportion to
+their weight. They are a form of concentrated
+food, easily portable and satisfying, but their
+value is increased when they are soaked in water
+for some hours and then cooked. But dried raisins,
+dates and figs are excellent for eating without other
+preparation, while prunes and apples are better
+after soaking and stewing.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="VI">
+    VI
+    <br>
+    COOKING FISH, MEAT AND VEGETABLES
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p style="margin-left: 2em; text-indent: -2em;">The Reason Why in Roasting, Boiling, Baking and Stewing—How
+to Fry, Braise, Grill, etc., and Use of Condiments
+and Seasoning.</p>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">Every</span> one likes to know the “reason why” any
+particular method is recommended or pursued,
+and if we cannot give the correct scientific explanation
+of any process used in the kitchen we
+can at least give the reason for its being followed.
+And once we know the reason for a method we
+are independent of any necessity for slavish following
+of other directions, because success or failure
+will be the result of right or wrong in the method,
+not of a defect in the recipe.</p>
+
+<p>For instance: The principle of Roasting is that
+of cooking by radiated heat; Baking is a combination
+of radiated with air-conducted heat.
+Hence roasting is done before an open fire and
+baking is done in an oven.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Roasting</h3>
+
+<p>The joint should be hung not too near the fire
+to begin with, in order that sufficient fat may
+exude to moisten the surface; after a few minutes,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span>however, it is brought closer that this moisture
+may become encrusted so as to keep in the gravy.
+The joint is kept moving in order that it may cook
+evenly on all sides, and when it is cooked through
+steam will be seen rising from it.</p>
+
+<p>Now, in place of having a revolving spit and a
+roasting jack, a substitute can be made by forming
+a sort of cradle for the joint out of thin wire and
+suspending this from a nail or hook. It is well
+to suspend the wire cradle with a piece of twine
+from the hook or nail as twine will revolve with a
+twist of the fingers, but wire will not. The fire,
+whether it is one built on the ground or in a fireplace,
+must have burnt through clear red before
+the joint is placed in front of it. In the old
+cottages in Scotland where a wide-throated chimney
+and open hearth with flat stone constitutes
+all the cooking range there is, it is common to see
+a big nail projecting from the chimneypiece, while
+the joint is tied in a cradle of string and suspended
+from the nail, on a level with the hottest part of
+the fire. Everybody passing by gives a twist to
+the string and so the joint moves round and the
+result when done is a perfect roast. The fat that
+drops is caught by a tin set on the flat stone of
+the hearth, and a batter mixture poured into this
+is baked by the time the meat is ready for eating.
+It would be quite possible to manage something
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>of this type in a log-hut kitchen, but in tent or
+camp it would be better to bake rather than roast
+meat.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Baking</h3>
+
+<p>In Baking meats—or in baking anything else
+for that matter—the greatest heat is needed at
+first, in order to give the same shock of surprise
+that frying gives to anything that is plunged in
+hot fat. The reason for this is to form a crust as
+quickly as possible and prevent the escape of the
+juices. An oven that is only just warm will dry
+the surface without forming this crust, but one
+that is thoroughly hot will bring the juices up
+to the surface and make a brown coating very
+quickly. In the same way pastry or bread will
+rise when plunged into good heat, but remain white
+and heavy if the oven is cool. To know whether
+an oven is hot enough for baking it can be tested
+by spreading a little dry flour on a piece of tin and
+putting it in the oven for a few minutes. If it
+does not brown the oven is too slow; if it browns
+readily it is hot enough for meat. Pieces of thick
+white paper will prevent the surface of anything
+from scorching.</p>
+
+<p>It is usually reckoned that beef and mutton take
+from twenty to twenty-five minutes per pound for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>both roasting and baking; veal and pork want
+half an hour per pound, but a fowl or pheasant
+should not require longer than fifteen minutes per
+pound weight.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Paper Coverings</h3>
+
+<p>There is great advantage in using a paper wrapping
+when cooking meat or fish on hot stones or
+in a furnace oven. If a paper bag is greased and
+folded up tightly it will keep in all the steam and
+flavour, allowing nothing to be wasted, and proves
+a very cleanly way of cooking, and saves much
+washing-up and scouring of tins and pans. In
+true Paper bag cookery, now much used in gas
+ovens and English ranges, the bag is made of a
+special paper, grease-proof, nevertheless where
+the right kind of bag is not available wrapping
+up in ordinary white paper is much better than
+nothing, but always grease the paper first. Shape
+the paper, or the bag, so that a hollow forms at
+the bottom, into which the fat and gravy collects.
+This facilitates dishing up, as a cut with a knife
+will let this through into a tin held underneath.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Boiling</h3>
+
+<p>Now as to Boiling meat. Sometimes we boil it
+in order to extract all the goodness as for soup,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>sometimes for the sake of cooking meat or fish in
+this special way. In the first case it should be
+put over a slow fire in cold water, and when it has
+reached the boiling-point be withdrawn and
+allowed to cook without boiling again, and cooking
+a very long time in this way much improves the
+flavour of broth or soup. But when the meat is
+intended to be eaten, the water into which it is put
+should nearly boil when it is first put in with its
+vegetables, and then be brought rather quickly
+to the boiling-point, drawn away, and kept boiling
+very gently indeed. Never on any account let it
+boil fast, still it must <em>just</em> boil or else the meat will
+not cook. Fast boiling ruins the soup and
+toughens the meat. When rice is added to broth,
+it is washed and put in about an hour before the
+soup is finished; when barley is put in, it can be
+added as soon as the broth boils, as it takes longer
+to soften. A fair-sized piece of meat with vegetables
+will take from two to three hours to boil it
+well. For Scotch broth the vegetables are chopped
+small and the barley and these boiled together
+with the mutton.</p>
+
+<p>When boiling fish the water should be at the
+boiling-point when it is put in, but only just reach
+that point, or rather not quite reach it afterwards.
+The water should be salted, and a few drops of
+vinegar will help to keep the flakes of fish firm.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>Fish should simmer till the skin shows signs of
+cracking, then it is sufficiently done. Fish that
+is boiled fast is flavourless and ragged. But a
+pudding or anything cooked in a mould may boil
+as fast as you please.</p>
+
+<p>Some vegetables are better for putting to cook
+in cold water, others must have boiling water.
+Dried vegetables and some potatoes want cold
+water, and dried peas and beans want long previous
+soaking. Green vegetables and green peas, on the
+other hand, want plunging into fast boiling salted
+water and to be kept boiling fast. Potatoes and
+some of the other root vegetables will steam better
+than they will boil.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Stewing</h3>
+
+<p>There is no doubt that Stewing is the ideal way
+of cooking all tough meats and old birds. Stews
+want slow cooking and close covering to keep in
+the steam, and need several hours to do them well.
+A stew should be mellow and have plenty of gravy.
+The best plan is to bring the contents of the stewpan
+to boiling-point rather quickly, then to set
+the pan or jar in a corner of the oven or hearth,
+where it will have gentle heat for a long time.
+Unless it reaches the boiling-point once, however,
+it will not start cooking. After it had reached
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>the boil however it could be set in the Hay-box
+Oven or in a hole in the ground, and would go on
+cooking all right for many hours without harm.</p>
+
+<p>Recipes for different stews are given in the next
+chapter, but the principle of making a stew savoury
+and nourishing and tender is grasped when
+we understand that it is necessary to bring it to
+full heat, that is boiling-point early, then to let it
+cook well below that point for several hours.
+Tough meat should then become quite tender, and
+the gristly pieces soft and glutinous. A little
+vinegar added to a stew helps to make the meat
+tender, and seasoning makes it savoury.</p>
+
+<p>A little vinegar added to a stew of game draws
+out the flavour, and likewise some pickle added
+to one of venison or dried meat greatly improves
+it. So, too, does a little red wine.</p>
+
+<p>Fish stews are excellent, and this method of
+cooking makes very palatable the coarser kinds
+of river or pond fish. After being scraped to free
+it from scales, and after washing well in water, it
+should be dried and cut into pieces of a convenient
+size, rolled in flour and sprinkled with salt and
+pepper, packed into the stewpan with a little
+vinegar or the juice of a lemon, and with several
+small pats of butter, then covered down closely
+and stewed for an hour or so. Omit the vinegar
+when cooking the more delicate kinds of white
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>fish, adding only salt and butter, and perhaps a
+little milk. If liked, a little grated cheese can be
+sprinkled over a stew of white fish.</p>
+
+<p>A way of greatly improving a plain stew is to
+first fry the meat and vegetables which compose it,
+frying them sufficiently to brown them, but not
+enough to cook them properly; the cooking is
+done by the stewing, but the frying gives a savouriness
+which nothing else can. Onions and carrots
+and potatoes fried before they are added to a stew,
+for instance, make it very much richer than if put
+in raw. Rinse out the frying-pan with boiling
+water and add this to the stew. Such things as
+liver and bacon, kidneys, giblets, etc., should
+always be fried lightly before stewing them.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Frying</h3>
+
+<p>The object in Frying is to form a savoury and
+brown crust on the outside so as to keep in the
+juices within. Hence, as before said, a shock of
+“surprise” is given by plunging the article to be
+fried into boiling fat, and cooking it quickly so as
+to have it juicy and succulent within. On this
+account we choose things that do not need long
+cooking for cooking by frying methods. Small
+things like cutlets and chops, slices of fish and
+bacon, made up rolls of minced meat, and so on,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>and things that we can dip into batter and roll in
+flour or breadcrumbs are fried. But we also fry
+fresh fish that has been split down the back and
+laid flat, and small birds which want light and
+quick cooking. The pan and the fat must be
+very hot, and when dry frying (that is, frying with
+a pan that is only just rubbed with fat) is chosen,
+as for a fried beefsteak, frequent turning over
+and great care to do it quickly and yet without
+scorching, is needed.</p>
+
+<p>Pour off any fat used for frying into a jar containing
+a little boiling water. This will clear it
+and leave it as a cake on the top which can be
+lifted off and used several times over.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Braising</h3>
+
+<p>Braising is a combination of baking and stewing.
+Really the braising-pan should hold hot coals on
+the top as well as be surrounded with them, and
+a tightly-covered vessel set within the ashes of a
+wood fire, with embers covering the top, would
+furnish an ideal braise. It is a capital way of
+cooking when there is only the hearth available,
+for the piece of meat is put inside the deep pan,
+with a little fat but no water, and the cover is put
+on and fastened down, the whole thing being
+smothered in hot ashes or embers. It can be left
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>for some hours, and may be set aside to become
+cold before opening the pan. A large piece of
+meat braised would take four or five hours to cook
+well. A leg of pork, for instance, covered with a
+little fat taken from the breast, cooked in this
+way is delicious; so, too, is a leg of mutton. The
+braising-pan may be of iron that is enamelled or
+merely tinned inside, or of glazed earthenware.
+The difference between a braise and a stew is that
+for a stew the meat is cut up in pieces, vegetables
+are usually added, with seasoning and a little
+water to make gravy, and long cooking in a corner
+of the oven is necessary, while for a braise the
+joint is left whole, vegetables are generally omitted
+and the pan is buried among the ashes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Grilling</h3>
+
+<p>Grilling or Broiling is a method used for cooking
+small steaks or chops; small fish split and laid
+open; small birds treated the same way, and
+requires a very hot red fire, with a grill that is
+somewhat like a magnified toaster. The thing
+that is grilled must be turned over and over very
+frequently, to cook both sides quickly and lightly,
+and it should be cooked through in a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>Combinations of cooking methods like frying
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>and stewing, as just mentioned, give better results
+sometimes than one method alone. For example,
+sausages that are first boiled and then fried are
+twice as succulent and savoury as when only
+fried. A piece of bacon first boiled then baked is
+likewise much improved.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Condiments</h3>
+
+<p>Salt, which toughens meat if added at the beginning,
+can be put in just before the cooking is
+finished, but meat that has been salted long enough
+to preserve it is usually tender after it has been
+boiled. Salt arrests decay, and while it toughens
+the fibres it helps to draw out the juices, so that
+its action is helpful in certain conditions and a
+hindrance in others. Pepper helps to keep game
+and poultry sweet, and gives piquancy to any
+dish. Sauces and wines should never be added
+except at the last moment or their effect is lost.
+The practice of adding sauces and much seasoning
+is not to be commended. The object of all cooking
+is to bring out the flavour of the thing cooked,
+not to add another to it, except that other flavour
+is indispensable as a complement.</p>
+
+<p>A Boiling-pan, a Braising-pan, a Frying-pan
+and a Stew-pan or casserole, with a roasting spit,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>might be considered the full complement of any
+kitchen. Less can be made to do, but more would
+not really be necessary, unless the more meant,
+shall we say, a supply of paper bags?</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="VII">
+    VII
+    <br>
+    SIMPLIFIED COOKERY RECIPES
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">General</span> directions have been given with regard
+to cooking of meat and vegetables, making soups,
+and so on, in the previous chapters, but for handy
+reference the colonist will like to refer to the recipe
+itself as he wants it and when he wants it.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Soups and Broths</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gamekeeper’s Broth.</span>—Strain off clear about
+a quart of stock obtained by stewing the bones of
+game, poultry or rabbits with any meat bones
+available. Brown scraps and trimmings of meat
+will have made this stock richer and deeper in
+colour. Fry till brown a few small onions and
+carrots, and in the same fat any scraps of game
+or meat that seem good. Add these to the strained
+stock and mix with the rest of the fat in the frying-pan
+a little flour, some pepper and salt, stir up
+well and thin with a few spoonfuls of the stock,
+then add all to the remainder and boil up once.
+A little red wine would, of course, make this richer,
+but is not necessary.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ox-tail Soup.</span>—Joint the tail and place the
+pieces in a deep stone jar with peeled onions, say
+three or four, as many carrots, and some salt and
+pepper. Fill up the jar with water. One tail
+should make three or four pints of strong soup.
+Stew in a corner of the hearth or oven for four
+or five hours, and serve a few pieces of meat with
+the liquor. It is not necessary to thicken the
+soup, but if it is preferred so, it can have a little
+flour and dissolved butter rolled together and
+stirred into the hot liquor gradually, and boiled
+up once.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sheep’s Head Broth.</span>—Wash the head well
+and put on in a pan with cold water, a good spoonful
+of salt, a large cupful of well-washed barley,
+some onions and turnips, carrots and leeks if to
+be had, and a piece of celery likewise, and boil
+very gently for at least three hours. Add cold
+water always, say two quarts to one head. A
+little fresh parsley chopped small will give a very
+nice flavour to the broth, put in when cooked.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Scotch Broth.</span>—The neck and other lean parts
+of mutton make the best broth, and should be cut
+small enough to serve a little meat in each plate.
+Turnips and onions are cut into small pieces and
+put in with the meat in liberal quantity. A little
+salt and pepper, and some fresh green peas when
+in season are added when the rest of the broth has
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>boiled, and pearl barley, previously washed and
+soaked in cold water, is put in with the first vegetables
+as it takes long to cook. Boil two hours.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gravy Soup.</span>—Parts of lean beef, such as the
+shin and tougher pieces of the leg, with any large
+bones broken in pieces, make the best gravy soup.
+The meat should be cut into pieces and put into a
+deep jar with the bones, and just enough water
+to cover well. Put in a spoonful of salt and a
+few peppercorns and leaves of any sweet herbs
+available, but no vegetables save one or two onions.
+Cook very slowly indeed, never allowing it to boil
+hard. After cooking about six hours, strain off,
+let it get cold to enable any fat to be skimmed
+off, then warm up as wanted. It should be a
+rather deep colour and very strong and clear.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Rabbit or Hare Soup.</span>—The bones and larger
+joints, heads, and so on, without any blood, of
+course, are put on to cook in cold water, and with
+them put onions and carrots. Cook a long time,
+then strain and pick off any nice bits of meat to
+return to the stock. Mix a large spoonful of flour
+with cold water, also a teaspoonful of salt and
+half one of pepper, and same of sharp sauce if
+available. Stir into the hot liquor and boil up for
+five minutes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Beef Bouillon.</span>—Take a nice piece of fresh
+beef, say two or three pounds weight; put it on
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>in a pan with warm water rather more than enough
+to cover it. Bring it up to the boil quickly, and
+as soon as it boils add pared carrots and parsnips—no
+turnips—onions, leeks and celery, as many
+as the pan will hold, then let all boil <em>very gently</em>
+for three hours or so. The beef and vegetables
+can be eaten as a dish after the soup has been taken
+off clear. The latter is most reviving and appetising
+as well as wholesome. The point is not to
+let it boil hard, and to keep the broth clear and
+well-flavoured.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Fish Soup.</span>—The water in which a large fish
+has been boiled will make a foundation for good
+fish soup, straining it clear then returning to it
+flakes of fish carefully picked from skin and bone,
+and a little minced onion and parsley. Melt a
+small pat of butter and stir into it some white
+flour till quite smooth, then a little cold milk, and
+pour into the stock. Add pepper and salt at
+discretion, and bring to boiling-point. Small
+fresh white fish are sometimes boiled in the stock
+till quite soft and the whole strained through a
+colander, then finished off as indicated.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Potato Soup.</span>—Boil three or four large potatoes
+after peeling, and when done mash them down to
+a pulp; chop finely a large onion and fry it in
+butter or lard, but do not let it brown. Dredge
+a little flour on to this, then add a teaspoonful of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>salt and a little pepper and stir up with the mashed
+potato, and thin down with milk to make it like
+cream, stir well till it boils and serve.</p>
+
+<p>Soak white haricot beans for twelve hours, and
+then boil them until they will mash down smoothly,
+and treat exactly as above, and an excellent white
+soup will result.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Onion Broth.</span>—Peel, slice thinly and boil,
+several white onions, using a deep saucepan and
+enough water to cover them well. When quite
+tender and soft stir in half as much milk, and a
+large spoonful of cornflour or barley meal, with
+butter, pepper and salt enough to season well,
+let it boil up a minute or two and serve.</p>
+
+<p>Or bone stock can be used instead of water,
+leaving out the milk.</p>
+
+<p>The water in which ham or bacon has been
+boiled will make excellent foundation for peas or
+lentil soup. Pea flour is less trouble and quite
+as satisfactory as using dried peas, but if the
+latter are preferred let them soak at least twelve
+hours before boiling in this liquor. Boil till soft,
+then crush through a colander with wooden spoon
+and season the puree well, adding a little butter
+also. If too thick, thin down with either milk or
+water, put in a spoonful of fresh mint chopped or
+of dried and sifted herbs.</p>
+
+<p>Treat lentils in just the same way, except that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>they will not need the previous soaking that
+dried peas do.</p>
+
+<p>If pea flour is used, mix it well with cold water
+first, boil the stock and stir in the paste when it
+is hot and boil well, stirring frequently; season
+and add the herbs or mint as before.</p>
+
+<p>If fresh green peas are used, they need no soaking,
+only boiling till very soft, mashing and thinning
+down with stock.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Pumpkin or Vegetable Marrow Soup.</span>—Pare,
+split down and take out the seeds from large
+marrows or from portions of ripe pumpkin. Boil
+in enough water to cover well until quite tender,
+then rub through a colander. Melt some butter
+and mix with it a large spoonful of flour, and
+stir this into the marrow, thinning down with a
+little boiling milk, adding salt and pepper and a
+spoonful of sugar, a little spice if liked, and boil
+till all is smooth as a custard.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Tomato Soup.</span>—Cook half a dozen large tomatoes
+in a little butter, after cutting them in slices
+and some slices of peeled onion. Cook till tender,
+and rub down with wooden spoon or pass through
+a colander. Add enough clear bone stock to make
+the required quantity of soup, and salt and pepper,
+with a teaspoonful of sugar also. Then finally
+stir in some butter and flour mixed together to a
+smooth paste, boil well and serve.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span></p>
+
+<p>Mixtures of vegetables like turnips, parsnips,
+artichokes and potatoes, with onion to make a
+savoury flavour, make an excellent white soup.
+Carrots and tomatoes and onion go well together
+for a soup that is made up with bone stock.</p>
+
+<p>It is an improvement in all these soups to use
+<em>baked</em> flour where flour is mentioned, as this gives
+the soup a richer flavour. To make it, spread a
+little white flour on a sheet of paper and bake
+very slowly in a cool oven, then keep in a tin.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Boiled, Baked and Fried Fish</h3>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Boiled Fish</span> (which is never really <em>boiled</em>
+but is cooked just under the boiling-point) is done
+after much the same method, no matter what the
+kind of fish. It is better when boiling large fish
+to wrap them in a piece of clean calico or muslin
+as the thinner parts get cooked before the thicker
+are done, and with a wrapping it is easier to lift the
+fish out without breaking it. Cook in water that
+is well salted, and if the fish is a white one, like cod,
+add a little vinegar to the water.</p>
+
+<p>Another way of boiling fish is to lay it in a dish
+with just sufficient stock—fish stock by preference—to
+cover it, with a few small onions
+round it and a little wine or vinegar added.</p>
+
+<p>After boiling, drain the fish well and serve plenty
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>of nice sauce separately, and boiled potatoes left
+whole. A large cod, boiled whole, with plenty
+of mealy potatoes and a dishful of parsley or egg
+sauce will make an excellent meal.</p>
+
+<p>In boiling portions of fish, like middle cuts, it is
+better after draining to take away skin and all
+bones and then serve it in flakes masked under a
+sauce. It is a neater and more appetising way
+than to have each one leave a mess of skin and
+bones on their plate, and a very pretty dish can
+be made by sprinkling a little grated cheese or
+parsley on the top and browning the dish before
+serving.</p>
+
+<p>Watch fish carefully while it is boiling, and as
+soon as it shows signs of parting from the bone
+it should be drained. If boiled too long all its
+flavour is gone, and if boiled too fast it will be raggy
+and yet tough. Small fish like fresh herrings and
+mackerel, likewise soles and plaice, all of which
+are very nice when carefully boiled, should rather
+be <em>poached</em>, much as one would poach an egg.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Baked Fish.</span>—The best way of baking any
+fish is to do it in a paper wrapping. If the right
+kind of paper bag is not to be had, wrap it in
+white notepaper, having buttered this first and put a
+little pat of butter inside with a sprinkle of pepper
+and salt. Close up tightly and bake in a rather
+hot oven and serve in its paper case if possible.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>If a large piece of fish is baked in a paper bag the
+wrapping can be pulled away when it is safely
+landed on the dish. Small fish are delicious
+when baked in a paper case, and all the flavour is
+kept in and the natural juice of the fish as well.
+This is a clean way of cooking when the oven is
+nothing but a flat hearthstone, only care must be
+taken that the paper wrapping cannot catch
+alight.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Fried Fish.</span>—A clear hot fire is the first consideration
+when frying anything, then a clean hot
+pan, some good fat such as rendered suet or lard,
+and not too much of it, and the fish must have
+been well dried after cleaning, then rubbed with
+flour. If cleaned an hour or two before they will
+be cooked, the fish should be dipped in milk and
+coated with flour, then left to dry, in this way a
+crust forms on them which browns quickly when
+fried, and is little if at all inferior to the more
+troublesome method of frying what has been
+coated with beaten egg and dipped in crumbs of
+bread. The rough and ready way of flouring fish
+after drying and then frying in hot fat is quite
+satisfactory when flavour counts for more than
+appearance, but you cannot fry fish <em>without</em>
+first coating them with dry flour.</p>
+
+<p>Another way is to make a batter with an egg, a
+little flour, salt and milk, making it rather thick,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>and dipping the fish into this, then putting them
+at once into hot fat. This, too, is an easy method
+and a nice crust forms on the outside of the fish
+which keeps in all the flavour.</p>
+
+<p>Flat fish, like soles, flounders and plaice, are
+the best for frying, or slices cut across a large
+fish.</p>
+
+<p>The fat in the pan must be very hot indeed,
+which is told by a faint blue smoke rising from it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Grilled or Broiled Fish.</span>—This is the camp
+ready way of cooking freshly-caught fish, and very
+good it is. After cleaning and emptying, the fish
+is split down the back, rubbed lightly with oil and
+laid on a grid and held over the coals. It wants
+a little skill to grill well, and not to burn the fish,
+but if quickly cooked in this way, turning frequently
+on both sides, the result is excellent.
+Herrings and mackerel broil well, so do trout and
+some of the small river fish. A pat of butter, a
+sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a few drops of
+vinegar are all the sauce that is needed.</p>
+
+<p>Sufficient directions for roasting, boiling or
+braising meat have already been given, so that
+we may pass on to savoury dishes, among the
+best of which are—</p>
+
+
+<h3>Hotpots</h3>
+
+<p>For a <span class="smcap">Lancashire Hot-Pot</span> take about a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>couple of pounds of lean beef and as many potatoes
+and several onions. Cut the beef into small
+pieces about an inch square and roll these in
+flour that has been liberally seasoned with salt
+and pepper. Pare the potatoes and cut them in very
+thick slices; peel the onions and chop roughly.
+Make a layer of beef, onions and potato alternately
+in a stewpan just large enough to hold the
+whole quantity comfortably without leaving
+much space. Pour in enough water to barely
+cover, then put on the lid and set in a moderate
+oven for quite two hours, to simmer well but not
+boil. It should be very tender and lightly browned
+on the top. Serve in the same pan. The flouring
+of the meat keeps that more tender and makes the
+gravy richer.</p>
+
+<p>For a <span class="smcap">Hunter’s Hot-Pot</span> take any game or
+rabbits, and after cleaning and skinning, joint them
+and roll in seasoned flour, then form layers of
+rabbit, onion, whole potatoes or pieces of turnip or
+other sweet roots, and fill up with warm water,
+closing tightly and stewing for two to three hours or
+even longer. Venison would be good stewed in this
+way. Game birds are better stewed without
+vegetable additions, but with a little pork or
+bacon cut in strips and put with them. Flour
+well all the same.</p>
+
+<p>For <span class="smcap">Irish Stew</span> take the neck and breast of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>mutton and cut in convenient sized pieces, flouring
+well in seasoned flour as before, and lay in
+a deep stewpan with whole onions and potatoes,
+as many as the stewpan will accommodate.
+Put in less water, only enough to cover the bottom
+well, then lay a plate face downwards on the top
+before putting on the cover of the pan, and cook
+in good oven for three hours. The plate helps to
+keep in the steam and to keep the top of the stew
+from browning.</p>
+
+<p>For making a Hot-Pot with breast of veal or
+lamb, as sometimes it is possible to do in the
+spring or summer time, the meat is cut in strips
+and across in short lengths, is floured and put in a
+deep jar with a few very young onions, some herbs
+like mint and parsley, plenty of seasoning and a
+spoonful of vinegar, as well as sufficient water to
+just barely cover the whole. The vegetable
+additions are cooked separately, although a few
+boiled green peas might be put into the pot just
+before serving.</p>
+
+<p>A <span class="smcap">Vegetarian Hot-Pot</span> is very savoury when
+no meat is procurable, and a mixture of vegetables,
+such as carrots, onions, potatoes, turnips and so on,
+should be pared, cut into neat rounds and fried
+well in clear fat till all are lightly browned, then
+sprinkle with pepper and salt and dredge flour
+over very lightly, put the vegetables in the stew
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>pan, rinse out the frying-pan with hot water,
+add just a tablespoonful of vinegar or sharp sauce,
+and pour over the rest. Cover down closely and
+stew for an hour in the oven. A little American
+green corn taken from the husk and put into a
+vegetable stew makes it very nice.</p>
+
+<p>A bottle of curry powder would be of great
+assistance to a camp cook, as a spoonful of this
+stirred into a stew or a sauce would make a wonderful
+difference to the savouriness of the dish, to
+stews of mutton especially, and of vegetables
+without meat. After frying the vegetables, let
+the curry powder be stirred into the fat in the
+frying-pan and mixed with that and the flour,
+then a little hot water or stock added, and just
+cooked a little before pouring it into the stewpan.
+The addition of an apple or a ripe tomato, or
+failing everything else a spoonful of vinegar,
+will give the desirable flavour of acidity which a
+curry should have.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Fried Steak and Onions</h3>
+
+<p>In making this very favourite dish it is well to
+remember that the best results are gained by
+combining frying and stewing, that is, frying first
+and stewing for a short time afterwards. Only
+so do you get the mellow flavour and the full
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>savour which frying should give. Thus, cut the
+steak into small squares and flour well, then fry in
+a little, not much, hot fat, on both sides, rather
+quickly, so as to brown well. Then lay the pieces
+of steak as they are done at the bottom of the
+stewpan. While these are being fried a quantity
+of onions can be peeled and sliced up, and
+with a little more fat added they are put
+into the frying-pan after the meat is finished.
+Toss them frequently to brown lightly all over,
+and to make them thoroughly tender cover for
+five or ten minutes with a plate large enough to
+fit the frying-pan, and so let them steam through.
+Then add to the steak, rinse out the pan with warm
+water, add pepper and salt to it, and pour over the
+onions, cover the stewpan down closely and set
+in a corner of the fireplace to simmer for an
+hour or so. Then the dish will be found both
+appetizing and digestible.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Calf’s Liver, Pig’s Fry, etc.</h3>
+
+<p>In frying liver follow the same method as just
+described for steak, only cut the liver or the
+pig’s fry into slices, not too thick, and flour very
+thoroughly, frying till just lightly browned. Fry
+some bacon afterwards which has been cut into
+strips, and add to the liver; then fry the onions
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>as before, season them and add with a little stock
+to rinse out the pan, and cover the stewpan and
+cook for an hour or more in the corner of oven or
+fireplace.</p>
+
+<p>When frying Mutton Chops coat them with flour
+first, as this keeps the outside from getting dry.
+Make a nice gravy to go with fried chops by adding
+a very little flour to take up the fat in the frying-pan,
+some spoonfuls of sharp sauce, salt and
+pepper and a little stock or water, boiling this and
+serving it with them. It takes but a minute or
+two to make gravy, and it makes a great deal of
+difference to the dish and its value.</p>
+
+<p>After frying anything like bacon or ham it is
+an improvement just before it is quite finished to
+cover it over in the pan with a plate and let it
+steam through for five minutes, thus making it very
+tender.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Toad-in-the-Hole</h3>
+
+<p>Beat four tablespoonfuls of flour and two eggs,
+and a saltspoonful of salt, together with a little
+cold milk, adding more milk when the batter is perfectly
+smooth, enough to make it like thick cream.
+Cut about a pound of beefsteak and one or two
+kidneys into small pieces, lay them at the bottom
+of a well buttered baking dish or pie-dish, sprinkle
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>with salt and pepper, and then pour over them
+the batter. Set the dish in a hot oven, but shield
+the top to keep from scorching before the meat is
+done through. Mutton chops or sausages can
+be substituted for the beef and kidney, and
+mushrooms help to give a nice flavour. Australian
+tinned mutton or American corned beef may be
+used this way also and make a very savoury
+dish, though less savoury than fresh meat, of
+course, and therefore where cooked meat is used
+a little gravy should be made separately and
+poured over the portions as they are served.
+Fresh meat can be lightly fried before covering
+it with the batter, to make it more savoury.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Beefsteak, Kidney and Mushroom Pudding</h3>
+
+<p>A plain suet crust made with half a pound of
+beef suet chopped, a pound of flour and teaspoonful
+of salt, rubbed together and mixed rather
+dry with cold water, then rolled out twice before
+lining the mould with it, is the first step towards
+making this pudding. Grease the mould well, line
+it with crust rolled to about half an inch thick,
+and cut out a piece for the top to fit exactly.
+Then proceed to fill with steak cut into small
+squares, each one rolled in flour mixed with salt and
+pepper, and add a few pieces of ox kidney cut
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>small, and mix with the meat some peeled mushrooms
+if these are to be had, or oysters if these
+are available, and failing either the pudding
+will be very good without them. Fill level with
+the top, wet the edges of the crust and pinch
+down the covering piece, after pouring in sufficient
+cold water to nearly but not quite cover the meat.
+Then tie down with a cloth, or screw on the cover
+of the mould, whichever kind of mould is used,
+and plunge it into a deep pan of boiling water,
+and keep boiling very fast for four hours—certainly
+not less than three. If making a larger pudding
+give it still longer time to boil. The moulds
+with screw on covers are much to be recommended,
+as when using a cloth, however carefully this is
+tied over, some of the gravy and goodness of
+the pudding is apt to ooze through into the
+water. Take off the cover, bind a clean cloth round
+the mould, and serve, or turn it out into a deep
+dish if preferred.</p>
+
+<p>Where mutton is more plentiful than beef,
+lean parts, chops trimmed from all fat, and kidneys
+cut in half, with mushrooms, or without them,
+would make another delicious pudding.</p>
+
+<p>Mushrooms alone, plenty of them, liberally
+sprinkled with pepper and salt and floured,
+might be packed inside a mould lined with suet
+crust, and a few strips of bacon or salt pork put
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>with them, then boiled for a couple of hours, and
+a very savoury pudding would result.</p>
+
+<p>When boiling beef or mutton with vegetables, as
+before directed, small balls of this plain suet crust
+dropped into the broth when it boils and cooked
+for an hour or so, are, in the opinion of many
+people, a great addition to the dish and certainly
+help to make it a little more substantial.</p>
+
+<p>The same crust lines the mould when sliced
+apples, plums, berries and wild fruits are used for
+the filling, with sugar added, and when boiled
+this turns out an excellent pudding. Boil always
+two hours. A suet crust improves with long
+boiling, but is not at all good when too little
+done.</p>
+
+<p>For a <span class="smcap">Jam Roll</span> make the crust in the same
+way, rolling it out to about a quarter of an inch
+thick, in a long strip of ten or twelve inches wide.
+Spread with jam, or treacle, with chopped fruits,
+soaked dried fruits and syrup, or anything that
+is available, and then begin at one end and roll
+up, not too tightly, pinching down the edges to
+keep it compact. Take a cloth, wring it out of
+hot water, sprinkle lightly with flour, and place
+your roll pudding across one corner, fold over
+the sides towards the middle, then roll up neatly and
+securely, but again not too tightly, as the pudding
+wants room to swell, fasten securely, and plunge
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>into fast boiling water, and keep boiling without
+intermission for two hours. Unroll from the cloth
+and serve on hot dish.</p>
+
+<p>A plain boiled suet pudding may be boiled in a
+cloth, or in a greased mould tied down, and served
+with hot treacle or cane syrup, or white sauce in
+which some spoonfuls of jam have been boiled,
+sweet sauce with wine, and so on, or with the
+gravy from meat.</p>
+
+<p>The plain pudding may be made richer by
+adding currants or a liberal quantity of stoned
+raisins to it, or mixing with it treacle, marmalade
+or jam, and then boiling and serving with sauce.</p>
+
+<p>Golden Pudding is of the same type, but may
+be called the Sunday edition of the weekday
+variety. It is made by mixing the same plain
+ingredients with eggs instead of milk or water,
+adding a little baking-powder to the dry flour
+first, then a spoonful of orange marmalade and
+two of clear sugar syrup, and after mixing and
+putting into a buttered mould this is boiled for
+two hours and served with a sweet sauce containing
+a suspicion of something spirituous—whatever
+Sunday rations permit of!</p>
+
+<p>While on the subject of boiled puddings, it will
+not do to leave out a recipe for Christmas Pudding,
+as there may be occasion for the colonist to make
+his own some day.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p>
+
+<p>Equal quantities (whatever the weight, this
+depending upon the size of pudding required),
+say, half a pound each of stale crumb of bread
+grated finely, flour, suet minced, currants and
+stoned raisins and sugar; mix these together
+first, then add two ounces of candied fruit shred
+small, half a packet of mixed spice and teaspoonful
+of ginger, a teaspoonful of salt, four eggs and
+quarter of a pint of brandy or rum. Mix thoroughly
+and keep for two or three days before
+boiling, then put into moulds and tie over closely,
+and boil five hours.</p>
+
+<p>To simplify this, leave out the candied fruits
+and spices, using only the plainer ingredients
+and all raisins can be used instead of currants if
+preferred. A pound of figs cut very small might
+take the place of any other fruit, and the spirituous
+liquor can be omitted altogether, using milk in
+place of it.</p>
+
+<p>Equal quantities, say half a pound, of stoned
+and chopped raisins, suet and flour, mixed together
+with cold milk, and boiled for four or five hours,
+make a very excellent substitute for a rich plum-pudding.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Baked Milk Puddings</h3>
+
+<p>It is a mistake to put eggs in baked milk puddings,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>except it be when a custard is required.
+A deep dish makes the best puddings of this type,
+and the heat at which they are cooked must be
+only moderate; they do exceedingly well on the
+flat stones in front of a fire or in the hearth after
+a fire has been swept away, or at the bottom of a
+clay oven as mentioned in the early chapters of
+this book.</p>
+
+<p>Wash whole rice and barley very thoroughly
+before using, then allow three large tablespoonfuls
+of either to each pint of milk used. Roughly
+speaking, it is sufficient to cover well the bottom
+of the dish that is used. Add sugar and a little
+salt and spice if liked, then pour in the milk—cold—and
+stir up well and set to cook.</p>
+
+<p>Tapioca is done the same way, but is not washed
+before using. Tapioca is more nourishing than
+either rice or barley. Sago makes another change,
+and is also very nourishing, and hominy is likewise
+good, though it is improved by preparing
+as ground rice, namely, by boiling in a saucepan
+with the milk first, till stiff, and when cool one or
+two eggs and a little spice are beaten in and the
+mixture is poured into a buttered dish and baked
+till just brown on the surface.</p>
+
+<p>Macaroni is broken into inch lengths and
+thrown into boiling salted water and cooked till
+just tender, then drained, mixed with one or two
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>beaten eggs and a little milk, with grated cheese,
+pepper and salt, or instead with a little sugar and
+spice, poured into a buttered dish and cooked
+till firmly set.</p>
+
+<p>Or, after boiling till tender, and draining from
+water, it can be returned to the saucepan with
+plenty of butter and grated cheese, pepper and
+salt, with either a little cream or some tomato
+sauce, and after tossing with a fork cover down
+and leave to simmer for ten minutes, then turn
+out into a dish and eat with a fork.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Batter Puddings</h3>
+
+<p>To make a light batter, good either for baking
+as a Yorkshire pudding, for boiling to eat with
+sauce, or for frying as Pancakes, allow to every
+egg two large tablespoonfuls of flour, half a saltspoonful
+of salt and a breakfast-cupful of milk.</p>
+
+<p>When mixing, break the egg first into a basin,
+add the salt, then the flour and a quarter of the
+milk, then beat well and briskly, so as to work
+out all traces of lumps, and gradually beat in the
+rest of the milk. A little water as well as the
+milk makes the batter lighter than one made with
+all milk. Increase the proportions according to
+the size of pudding or the number of pancakes
+required.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span></p>
+
+<p>This batter can be poured into a shallow baking tin
+containing some hot fat—for a Yorkshire
+pudding—and baked rather quickly in hot oven,
+or poured into a buttered mould which it will
+three-parts fill, tied down and boiled or steamed
+for two hours, or taken by small cupfuls and
+poured into a well-greased frying-pan and turned
+over as it sets and browns.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Omelettes</h3>
+
+<p>For an omelet the freshest of eggs will be needed,
+and they are broken on to a plate, salt and pepper
+added and not more than a tablespoonful of
+milk; this is lightly beaten with the blade of a
+knife until just mixed, then poured into the pan,
+which contains butter that is on the point of
+turning brown. Leave to set, then pass a knife
+round the edge and underneath, fold one half over
+the other and slip on to a hot dish.</p>
+
+<p>If a cheese omelet is wanted, add some spoonfuls
+of grated cheese to the mixture and cook as just
+directed.</p>
+
+<p>If minced herbs or mushrooms are added, put
+the herbs with the eggs, but cook the mushrooms
+in a separate pan with some butter, and just
+before folding the omelet over slip in the cooked
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>mushrooms between. Fried giblets and livers
+and strips of bacon are introduced in the same
+way to make another variation.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Cheese and Stale Bread</h3>
+
+<p>By grating the bread and cheese and mixing
+these with an egg, salt and pepper and just a
+little milk, the mixture can make a kind of pancake
+in the ordinary way, or be baked in a buttered
+pie-dish in the oven as a savoury pudding.</p>
+
+<p>Supposing there are some stale crusts and a
+bit of dry cheese, but no eggs or butter. Pour a
+little boiling water, or better still a little boiling
+milk, over the crusts in a dish and leave to soften,
+then put a little ale or cider into a frying-pan,
+slice up the cheese very thinly, lay it in the hot
+liquor, and while it is getting hot through beat
+up the soaked bread with a fork, add a sprinkle
+of salt and then put all into the frying-pan and
+toss up till the whole is thoroughly light and hot
+through.</p>
+
+<p>Another way is to pour milk over broken crusts
+and set these in a dish inside the oven and when
+hot to cover thickly with grated or sliced cheese,
+salt and pepper enough to season well, and return
+until just browned on the surface.</p>
+
+<p>If very dry crusts of bread are dipped in milk
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>and baked between two plates, then spread with
+butter and toasted cheese, they make a very
+relishable supper.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Using Tinned Provisions</h3>
+
+<p>In place of fresh milk condensed milk makes
+excellent milk puddings, batter puddings, bread,
+and so forth. If using the sweetened milk leave
+out sugar mentioned in the recipes. Do not add
+too much water to the milk.</p>
+
+<p>Corned Beef can be cut into small squares and
+lightly fried, then served inside a wall of mashed
+potato, with a tomato gravy made and poured
+over. Or served inside a batter baked in dish
+as mentioned in Toad-in-the-Hole.</p>
+
+<p>Make a curry sauce by using some bone stock,
+or stock made by dissolving a soup square, adding
+to it a good spoonful of curry powder or paste,
+a little salt and pepper and tomato or Worcester
+sauce, and a spoonful of baked flour mixed smooth
+with dissolved butter. Boil up and allow to
+simmer. Fry till very brown some thinly sliced
+onions, dredge with seasoning, and fry also slices
+of corned beef in same pan after the onions are
+done. Place all in the curry sauce and leave to
+simmer for half an hour, then serve with boiled
+rice or mashed potato.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span></p>
+
+<p>Tinned Australian mutton chops can be added
+to a stew of onions and potatoes when these have
+partly cooked, and with plenty of seasoning make
+a very palatable Irish Stew.</p>
+
+<p>Tinned Rabbit is improved by having a little
+curry added to the gravy after it has been made
+hot and by cooking it gently to mix the flavours.
+Some boiled onions and white sauce accompany
+tinned rabbit excellently well.</p>
+
+<p>Tinned Fruits and Vegetables can be made hot
+and served with cooked rice or custard sauce,
+according to what they are, and whether sweet
+or savoury. Tinned peas, for instance, and
+tinned mushrooms, go well with rice and a curry
+sauce; tinned tomatoes, cheese, pepper and salt,
+are tossed together and fried for a few minutes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Kitchen Wrinkles</h3>
+
+<p>Fill all saucepans with cold water as soon as
+done with and set aside; when ready to wash
+them heat the water and it will be easy to scour
+them with soda and sand. Never leave a pan
+to be dry before washing, as it will be ten times
+harder to clean and probably require scraping.</p>
+
+<p>Pour all fat that has been used for frying or
+baking into a jar containing a few spoonfuls of
+boiling water; this clarifies the fat and causes
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>all crumbs and sediment to fall to the bottom.
+The fat can then be lifted off in a cake and used
+over and over again.</p>
+
+<p>Soup that has been over-salted can be corrected
+to some extent by putting in raw potatoes and
+bringing up to the boiling-point again—not letting
+the potatoes break up and spoil the colour of the
+soup.</p>
+
+<p>Raw potatoes are one of the best preventives
+of scurvy, and can be eaten if they are grated,
+while plain boiled potatoes, eaten hot or cold,
+are the best corrective in a diet that contains too
+much salt meat.</p>
+
+<p>Sliced raw onions placed about in saucers are
+excellent disinfectants where there is infectious
+sickness about; change at least every day and
+substitute fresh onions. Small-pox and other
+fevers have been kept away by having onions
+hanging in the room. Saucers of slaked lime are
+also good disinfectants, particularly where there
+is any damp or bad smell about.</p>
+
+<p>To take the stains from steel knives clean first
+with damp earth, then rub with a cork and some
+emery powder and methylated spirit, or with
+powdered wood ash.</p>
+
+
+<h3>To Boil Rice</h3>
+
+<p>Rice is so often badly-cooked that the Black
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>Man’s way of boiling it may be worth quoting.
+He says—</p>
+
+<p>“Wash him well; much wash in cold water;
+rice-flour make him stick. Water boil all ready,
+very fast. Shove him in; rice not burn, water
+shake him too much. Boil twenty minutes. Rub
+one rice in thumb and finger; if all rub away him
+quite done. Put rice in colander, hot water run
+away through; put cold water through him, then
+put back in pan, cover him and keep hot, then
+soon rice all ready. Eat him up.”</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>Vegetables which have strong flavours, such
+as green cabbage, nettles, turnip-tops, and so on,
+should be drained from the first water, then
+returned to the pan with fresh boiling water.
+They will be much more easily digested if this is
+done.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="VIII">
+    VIII
+    <br>
+    PRACTICAL HINTS FOR THE HANDY MAN
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<h3>Mosquitos, Gnats and Wasp Stings</h3>
+
+<p class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">When</span> camping out, these troublesome insects
+can inflict much torture, and one way of keeping
+them out of a tent is to hang up a piece of raw
+meat outside it for them to settle upon. To paint
+freely woodwork and canvas with petroleum and
+ordinary oil mixed together is another way of
+keeping insects at a distance. For the stings
+themselves, a mixture of common soda and salad
+oil mixed together is a great means of allaying
+the irritation. Pull out the sting if it is still
+visible and bathe with warm water and common
+salt, then with oil and soda. Rubbing the body
+freely with oil or fat is a preventive of insect
+bites, and it is said that those who will eat spices
+freely, particularly cinnamon, will never be bitten.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Screening Sun-Rays</h3>
+
+<p>Where light is wanted yet the sun’s rays must
+be kept out, of cellar or room, the best way is to
+mix whitewash and ordinary blue, coating the
+window with this inside. When afraid of sun-rays
+on the head remember not only to protect
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>the head itself but also the nape of the neck and
+the spine. A thick pleat of something in the
+lining of the coat or shirt and high collar are very
+necessary in order to guard these nerve centres
+both from excessive cold and heat.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Roof-Fire Risks</h3>
+
+<p>Roofs, more especially those covered with
+shingles, boards, tarred felt or any form of thatch,
+are a source of danger from fire. An excellent
+and simple way of protecting them is to run a
+fairly large pipe, with small perforations all along
+its course, along the ridge pole, connecting it with
+the house water supply if in town or with the
+water cistern in the country. By turning a tap,
+which should be controlled from a place easily
+got at, the pipe is filled with water which escapes
+through the perforations and covers the whole
+roof with a thin sheet of water. This will extinguish
+sparks from passing locomotives or a forest
+conflagration, and prevent fire from both internal
+or external heat. In hot climates the system
+can be employed for cooling the roof.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Waterproof Putty</h3>
+
+<p>A plastic waterproof paste is often useful. It
+can be prepared by almost anyone anywhere
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>by taking a piece of ordinary cheese, steeping it
+in water until quite soft, then rubbing and kneading
+it well with about half its weight of quicklime.
+With this you can put in panes of glass, stop up
+cracks, and make wooden cases waterproof.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Cutting Glass</h3>
+
+<p>When without a glazier’s diamond make a stout
+wire or thin iron rod red hot and draw a line with
+it, very lightly, where you want the glass cut;
+unless it is very thick glass it will snap off quite
+easily. And for opening a bottle that is too
+tightly corked, instead of breaking the neck and
+splintering the glass, take a piece of string and soak
+it in turpentine, tie it tightly round the neck of
+the bottle where you wish it broken off, then set
+fire to the string, and the glass will snap off easily
+at the heated line.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Rust on Tools</h3>
+
+<p>It is not an easy matter to remove rust from
+tools without damaging them. Better by far
+is to preserve your tools from rust. Professor
+Olmstead, of Yale College, gave the following recipe
+for keeping tools from rusting, which deserves to
+be more widely known: Melt together six to
+eight parts of lard to one of resin and stir till cool.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>It will remain semi-liquid. Rub on tools or any
+polished surface in a very thin film. It will
+protect the metal from damp and can easily be
+rubbed off again when the article is wanted. The
+resin prevents the oil or lard from becoming
+rancid. When too thick, thin down with benzine.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Re-sharpening Files</h3>
+
+<p>Files that are constantly in use soon become
+clogged and will not work properly. The material
+that clogs them should be washed or dissolved
+out. Sawdust can be got out by steeping in hot
+soap-suds. For iron filings use a very dilute
+solution of sulphate of copper. For copper use
+dilute nitric acid. For zinc dilute sulphuric acid.
+Use all acids very weak, then wash well and dry
+thoroughly.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Nailing Boards</h3>
+
+<p>Many people in putting up boards will nail one
+after the other, making a complete job of each
+board. But this is not the right way. First nail
+the board down on one side, the starting side,
+let us say the left. Next place the second board
+in position and nail down the left. This done,
+nail down the right side of the first board. Now
+place board three in position, nail down its left
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>side, then the right side of board number two,
+and so on right along. The object of this is to
+get the boards close together and so make a compact
+job of it. They are practically wedged in
+close to each other. To obtain the best results
+do not drive the nails straight down but at a
+slight angle, right and left. Boards nailed thus
+cannot be shaken loose. But in nailing up cases
+that have to be opened again, drive the nails
+straight in as that makes lifting up with a screwdriver
+much easier. To rub nails and screws with
+vaseline, a tin of which should always be kept
+in the tool-box, makes them much easier to drive
+in and prevents rusting.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Gates Without Hinges</h3>
+
+<p>Hinges are one of the weak points in gates of
+all kinds, especially heavy wooden ones that
+have to undergo much hard wear and tear; they
+are apt to break and cannot always be replaced.
+Say you have a three or four-barred gate, with
+vertical bars longer than the horizontal. The
+top and lowest bars of the gate must project
+beyond the horizontal and should be pierced
+with round holes. The gate is hung by having
+its end post passed through the hole in the lower
+bar; the top bar is then placed in position and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>the top of the gate post passed through its hole.
+The intermediate bars are nailed to shorter posts
+which do not come higher than the level of the
+top of the gate. A gate of this kind will swing
+easily provided the holes are made large enough.</p>
+
+<p>Another gate is more like the swinging section
+of a fence, and is intended to block watercourses
+which run dry, at certain seasons. On the other
+hand if the fence is brought down too low or
+made too solid it may be swept away when the
+water rises. The method is to construct a string
+hurdle, planned so as to stop gaps, with a strong
+and long top bar. This top bar just rests in
+bifurcated posts on each bank or side, the posts
+forming a sort of V-shaped rest. If necessary,
+this top bar can be rivetted to the posts and the
+bottom of the hurdle weighted with stones. If
+not weighted, however, the result is that the
+watercourse is fenced over but the hurdle swings
+when the water rushes through without being
+carried away and falls back into position as the
+stream subsides.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Watches as Compasses</h3>
+
+<p>All watches are compasses, and this fact may
+help any one out of a difficulty when uncertain
+of their bearings. All that has to be done is to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>point the hour hand to the sun. The south lies
+exactly between that point and the hour twelve;
+thus at six o’clock the exact south will be found
+at the point marked three on the dial.</p>
+
+<p>If the way has been lost and bearings cannot
+be taken either from an elevation or by a compass
+or watch, and a watercourse can be found, follow
+that downwards; it will at least prevent travelling
+in a circle, and most likely lead to some habitation.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Substitute for Coffee</h3>
+
+<p>The grains of corn, such as wheat or oats, make
+an excellent substitute for coffee if dried and
+browned on tins over a fire and then bruised or
+ground up. So do small beans of the haricot
+variety. They may be crushed between stones
+and then roasted in a pan over the fire, and boiled
+with water, the liquor being poured off clear. All
+raw fruits and root vegetables like potatoes are
+preventives of scurvy, and dried fruits like peaches
+and apples are excellent sustaining food on a
+march, while dried raisins are better than all.</p>
+
+
+<h3>To Make Limewash</h3>
+
+<p>Mix quicklime in a bucket with hot water and
+glue. If for disinfecting purposes add a little
+carbolic solution. Care must be taken not to let
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>a splash get into the eyes, and if by accident it
+does so, bathe the eyes at once with warm water
+and vinegar. The acid neutralises the lime.</p>
+
+
+<h3>To Make Whitewash</h3>
+
+<p>Put some whiting into a pail and add powdered
+dry size. Pour on boiling water till the mixture
+is as thick as cream, and to keep it white add a
+little common washing blue. A tint of salmon
+pink or terra-cotta is obtained by mixing some
+Venetian red with the whiting. Whiting is easier
+and safer to apply than limewash, but is no use for
+disinfectant purposes.</p>
+
+
+<h3>Suggestions</h3>
+
+<p>Agates are sold for sixpence by tobacconists
+and can be kept with a piece of tinder in a little
+tin box, to use instead of a flint for procuring a
+spark from steel.</p>
+
+<p>The burning-glass taken from a telescope and
+held over tinder in hot sunshine will cause it to
+ignite.</p>
+
+<p>Firewood should be looked for under bushes,
+as the driest and easiest to light is always found
+there. Old tree roots make excellent firewood.
+Large logs make the best fire when placed transversely
+and built in with smaller wood.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span></p>
+
+<p>When obliged to sleep on the ground scrape a
+hollow for the hip bone to rest in and another for
+the shoulder, then much better rest is obtained.</p>
+
+<p>A piece of mackintosh should always be taken
+with any rugs, but failing mackintosh a piece of
+tarred or painted canvas is excellent for keeping
+out damp. Brown paper is an excellent non-conductor
+of heat, and if placed between rugs and
+blankets makes one worth two in warmth. A bag
+filled with grass or dry earth makes a good pillow.
+Thick quilts or rugs with sheets of wadding quilted
+in between them are better for bed-coverings than
+blankets when camping out, and are lighter to
+carry.</p>
+
+<p>Take care to keep the extremities warm when
+in cold climate. Increase the warmth of knitted
+woollens by lining them with thin flannel or silk,
+and cut the legs from stockings that are worn out
+at the feet and use these for covering the arms.
+Keep the mouth covered if you would keep warm
+in keen frosty weather, as this prevents rapid
+evaporation of the heat of the body. The Red
+Indians knew this, and one of them seeing a white
+man suffering from cold once remarked to him,
+“You no keep your breath warm and so, you
+cold.”</p>
+
+<p>Much sugar should be consumed in cold climates,
+and eating sweets freely is much to be commended.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>Toffee can be made easily over a camp
+fire at night, and is wholesome faring for anyone.
+Chocolate is excellent food likewise, and peppermint
+candies are good for stimulating digestion
+and warming the stomach.</p>
+
+<p>A thick dressing-gown is a great comfort in
+either hot or cold climates; it can be worn while
+day clothes are airing or drying and is a better
+sleeping dress than night clothes when travelling.</p>
+
+<p>During cold weather, after washing the body,
+rub well with oil to help to keep the skin soft and
+free from sores. A horse-hair flesh glove to use
+for a vigorous dry rub is better than too frequent
+washing in water.</p>
+
+<p>Grease the soles of shoes when much walking has
+to be done, and a layer of grease between the foot
+and shoe is a great preventive of foot sores. The
+harder the ground the thicker the socks or stockings
+should be.</p>
+
+
+<h3>A Summary of Useful Things</h3>
+
+<p>A mincing machine, a small sewing machine,
+English-made steel knives (plated knives are in
+common use in Canada, but they are apt to be
+very blunt). Kitchen tools, horn spoons and
+enamelled plates and cups. Small pair of bellows.
+A leather roll containing chisel, gouge,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>files, nippers, screwdrivers, gimlet and hand saw,
+with a few nails and screws—this is as indispensable
+as a “Housewife,” although the latter
+article must not be left behind. A can-opener and
+strong clasp-knife, some strong glue, a shoemaker’s
+reel of thread and some cobbler’s wax, and tin of
+vaseline, are all excellent if not absolutely indispensable.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+
+<p class="center no-indent fs70 wsp"><em>Printed by</em>
+<span class="smcap">Butler &amp; Tanner</span>, <em>Frome and London</em>.</p>
+<br>
+<br>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78919 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+[Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook [#78919](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78919)