CAMP LIFE. 299 
As it is possible none of my reader's female acquaint- 
ance have ever soiled their rosy fingers — Heaven save 
the mai'k ! — with domestic cookery, an outline of the 
theory of that science may be advantageous. There are 
certain well known rules that have no exceptions, unless 
in the hands of a genius, and wliicli apply to classes and 
divisions of edibles. For instance, a little salt must always 
be thrown into the water before anything is boiled in it. 
Thus, again, with the great class of fried cakes: milk 
thickened Tvith flour, and an egg or two, and a pinch of 
salt, makes griddle : add squash, boiled and mashed, and 
you have squash cakes ; employ boiled and mashed rice 
in place of squash, and there is produced the delicate 
rice cake ; introduce Indian-meal, which has been first 
scalded, and you have Indian ^cakes. This class of cakes 
is made by pouring the preparation, in large tablespoon- 
fuls at a time, on a greased griddle or frying-pan. In 
broiling, frying, roasting, baking, or steering, salt and 
pepper are first rubbed on the article to be cooked ; in 
broiling, baking, or roasting, it is basted with butter or 
grease, and in frying the butter is first put in the pan 
and heated. Potatoes boiled, and cut thin when cold, 
are delicious fried. In stewing, a little water is poured 
over the meat, and the cooking is done with a cover on. 
Frying is w^ith butter or grease alone ; stewing with 
grease and a little water ; and boiling with water alone. 
You determine when things are done by the color and 
trying how they resist a fork. An excellent chowder is 
made by jnitting pork, fish, cracker, meat, clams, and 
anything else that is handy, with vegetables, sufficient 
seasoning, and a little water, and stewing it well, Stew- 
