|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 13
The bedrooms and the necessary daily sweeping finished, a look into cellar
and store-rooms is next in order,--in the former, to see that no decaying
vegetable matter is allowed to accumulate; in the latter, that bread-jar
or boxes are dry and sweet, and all stores in good condition.
Where there are servants, it should be understood that the mistress makes
this daily progress. Fifteen minutes or half an hour will often cover the
time consumed; but it should be a fixed duty never omitted. A look into
the refrigerator or meat-safe to note what is left and suggest the best
use for it; a glance at towels and dish-cloths to see that all are clean
and sweet, and another under all sinks and into each pantry,--will prevent
the accumulation of bones and stray bits of food and dirty rags, the
paradise of the cockroach, and delight of mice and rats. A servant, if
honest, will soon welcome such investigation, and respect her mistress the
more for insisting upon it, and, if not, may better find other quarters.
One strong temptation to dishonesty is removed where such inspection is
certain, and the weekly bills will be less than in the house where matters
are left to take care of themselves.
The preparation of dinner if at or near the middle of the day, and the
dish-washing which follows, end the heaviest portion of the day's work;
and the same order must be followed. Only an outline can be given; each
family demanding variations in detail, and each head of a family in time
building up her own system. Remember, however, that, if but one servant is
kept, she can not do every thing, and that your own brain must constantly
supplement her deficiencies, until training and long practice have made
your methods familiar. Even then she is likely at any moment to leave, and
the battle to begin over again; and the only safeguard in time of such
disaster is personal knowledge as to simplest methods of doing the work,
and inexhaustible patience in training the next applicant, finding comfort
in the thought, that, if your own home has lost, that of some one else is
by so much the gainer.
CHAPTER V.
FIRES, LIGHTS, AND THINGS TO WORK WITH.
The popular idea of a fire to cook by seems to be, a red-hot top, the
cover of every pot and saucepan dancing over the bubbling, heaving
contents, and coal packed in even with the covers. Try to convince a
servant that the lid need not hop to assure boiling, nor the fire rise
above the fire-box, and there is a profound skepticism, which, even if not
expressed, finds vent in the same amount of fuel and the same general
course of action as before the remonstrance.
The modern stove has brought simplicity of working, and yet the highest
point of convenience, nearly to perfection. With full faith that the fuel
of the future will be gas, its use is as yet, for many reasons, very
limited; the cost of gas in our smaller cities and towns preventing its
adoption by any but the wealthy, who are really in least need of it. With
the best gas-stoves, a large part of the disagreeable in cooking is done
away. No flying ashes, no cinders, no uneven heat, affected by every
change of wind, but a steady flame, regulated to any desired point, and,
when used, requiring only a turn of the hand to end the operation.
Ranges set in a solid brick-work are considered the best form of
cooking-apparatus; but there are some serious objections to their use,
the first being the large amount of fuel required, and then the intense
heat thrown out. Even with water in the house, they are not a necessity. A
water-back, fully as effectual as the range water-back, can be set in any
good stove, and connected with a boiler, large or small, according to the
size of the stove; and for such stove, if properly managed, only about
half the amount of coal will be needed.
Fix thoroughly in your minds the directions for making and keeping a fire;
for, by doing so, one of the heaviest expenses in housekeeping can be
lessened fully half.
First, then, remove the covers, and gather all ashes and cinders from the
inside top of the stove, into the grate. Now put on the covers; shut the
doors; close all the draughts, and dump the contents of the grate into the
pan below. In some stoves there is an under-grate, to which a handle is
attached; and, this grate being shaken, the ashes pass through to the
ash-pan, and the cinders remain in the grate. In that case, they can
simply be shoveled out into the extra coal-hod, all pieces of clinker
picked out, and a little water sprinkled on them. If all must be dumped
together, a regular ash-sifter will be required, placed over a barrel
which receives the ashes, while the cinders remain, and are to be treated
as described.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|