Missouri Housekeepers' Conference Association. 433 



covered by a piece of old carpet into which three holes were cut 

 to allow of the sinking into the straw of three kettles of different 

 sizes. Over all was a pillow filled with newspapers. In this she 

 cooked oatmeal over night for breakfast. She started it on the 

 stove at night, then while hot she put it quickly into a hole in the 

 box, covered it closely with the pillow, and in the morning it was 

 well cooked and still hot. 



Another home-made, and a store bought fireless cooker were 

 on exhibition. The general principle is the same in all cases. A 

 box is filled with some poor conductor of heat, into this hot food 

 is put in closely covered vessels and allowed to continue cooking 

 with its own heat. Any poor conductor will do. Hay, straw, ex- 

 celsior, cotton-batting, wool asbestos, wool, crumpled newspapers 

 and feathers have all been used successfully. In addition to a 

 sufficient quantity of poor conducting filling, it is necessary that 

 the box be closely covered and kept shut, and that a large enough 

 volume of hot substance be used. Naturally a small volume cools 

 much more quickly than a large one. If only a small quantity of 

 food is to be cooked, the vessel containing it should be set into a 

 larger one containing enough hot water to maintain the tempera- 

 ture. One of the best ways to cook tough meat is in the fireless 

 cooker. It should be just covered with boiling water and allowed 

 to boil on the stove for ten or fifteen minutes to sear the surface, 

 then while still boiling, tightly cover and put at once into the cooker, 

 with or without more hot water on the outside, according to the 

 volume of the water covering the meat. If the meat should be 

 taken out before it is tender it can be reheated on the stove and 

 put back again. When done, the outer surface can be browned 

 quickly in hot fat and a brown gravy made with the water, so that 

 none of the flavor is lost, or the browning may be done before the 

 long cooking. 



HOUSEHOLD ADJUSTMENT TO TECHNICAL DEVELOP- 

 MENT. 



(Miss Caroline L. Hunt, Professor of Home Economics, University of Wisconsin.) 



Improvement in the material conditions of life comes by three 

 stages ; the first being marked by the rise of a theory ; the second 

 by the invention of a device for applying the theory ; the third by 

 the adjustment of human affairs and practices to the use of the 



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