342 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



And the same is true of clothing. Comparatively 

 speaking, a very little clothing is all that is necessary. 

 But we are not satisfied with thi'^. We care more for 

 custom and fashion than for our own comfort We 

 are slaves to fashion. Fashion is a hard ta.skmaker. 

 When we want clothing, fashion .says: "Wear this" 

 We say : " It looks horrid.'' " Wear it," conies the de- 

 mand '" "But it is uncomfortable," we say. "Wear 

 it," is the reply "Makes me look like a fright." 

 " Wear it," is "the only answer. An I we wear it. 

 Con\indrum and puzzle "though it may be, we wear it 

 until one says : " Instead of wearine our clothes out, 

 they wear us out." It would be ridiculously funny, if 

 it w'ere not so pathetically .sad, to see people to whom 

 the matter of eating and clothing were the great ques- 

 tions of life. 



After we g'ot home Mrs. Root and I were 

 discussing the matter, and I told her I was 

 going" to board myself and do my own cook- 

 ing in that cabin in the woods for the fol- 

 lowing two weeks. I told her I wanted to 

 see how few dishes I could get along with, 

 for I shouldn't have much time, and I also 

 wanted to see what the effect would be on 

 my health. Therefore on Monday morning, 

 after that busy Sabbath, I started to do my 

 own cooking, for almost the first time in 

 my life. First I opened a pit of Early Mich- 

 igan potatoes in the sandy side-hill close 

 by the cabin. Three fair-sized tubers were 

 placed in the hot ashes in the front part of 

 our drum stove — the one I told you about 

 called the "Flirt." It takes about half an 

 hour to roast potatoes in this way and have 

 thein right. Of course, the outsides were 

 charred black. I told you a few weeks ago 

 I found a little charcoal with my food is an 

 excellent aid to digestion. In fact, we had 

 the same kind of roast potatoes in the su- 

 gar-caiTip the da}' before. When some of 

 the boys were going to scoop out the inside 

 and throw away the charred crust. I told 

 them they were wasting the very best part; 

 and that if the}' would tr_v it, chewing this 

 hard crust up very tine, they would agree 

 with inc. I think they all did so. for friend 

 Hilbert said he noticed every boy had a 

 black motith when he got through dinner. 



Well, with these roasted potatoes I had 

 scalded milk, procured by simply putting 

 my covered tin pail on top of the stove while 

 I got breakfast. After my potatoes were 

 nicely roasted I raked out a bed of clean 

 glowing coals aroinid the open front of the 

 stove. On this I placed a couple of eggs, 

 having first pricked a hole right over the 

 air-bubble, to prevent explosion. Now, I 

 like roasted eggs better than eggs you can 

 cook in any other wa}'; but I did not suc- 

 ceed in studj'ing out a plan to prevent ex- 

 plosion entirely. May be some one who has 

 had more experience can help me. Well, I 

 not only relished my roasted eggs and po- 

 tatoes, scalded milk, and bread and butter, 

 but I began to gain in health and strength 

 right along. I had three or four men at 

 work that week, besides the team, and 

 sometimes two teams, and so I did not have 

 very much time to get my meals or wash 

 the dishes and put them away. And I 

 found very few dishes were needed. I had 

 planned to have some wooden plates (such 

 as are made by the million in Traverse 

 City, but I didn't get around to it); and 

 these wooden plates v\'ere to be dumped into 



the stove after each meal. For a table- 

 cloth I used a daily paper. This was fold- 

 up and put into the stove to save time. A 

 quart of milk lasted me for just three meals. 

 Then I carried the pail to Mrs. Heinforth 

 (a quarter of a mile away) for another 

 quart. She washed the pail, or we swap- 

 ped pails, so I did not have any thing to do 

 with washing titensils that had contained 

 milk. The water I drank came from a big 

 snowdrift close by the cabin; and it was 

 certainly equal to any furnished by the san- 

 itary still. During the day it was ice-cold, 

 and I soon learned to prefer cold water to 

 any thing else. When I can get pure water 

 from a snowdrift I shall always choose it 

 in preference to anj' tea or coffee the world 

 has ever furnished. 



During the first week iny strength gave 

 out every two or three hours so I had to go 

 and take a rest in the rocking-chair or take 

 a nap. But, just as it has happened before 

 every time, I found I could work harder 

 and longer every succeeding day. At the 

 end of a week I worked from morning till 

 night, withotit any fatigue worth mention- 

 ing. During the first week I lived on a 

 vegetable diet except the eggs and milk. 

 But the second week I sent to Traverse City 

 for some beefsteak. Here in Medina it is 

 worth 18 cts. per lb. for the best; but in 

 Traverse City I paid 12>4 ; and with my 

 cooking I pronounced it the finest I ever ate. 

 My plan was to roast it on those maple- 

 wood coals. B}' the way, my drum stove is 

 fired with large seasoned blocks of maple 

 wood, and I always had a nice bed of clean 

 coals. 



Well, my first piece of steak was rather 

 tough. I knew that people g'enerally pound 

 steak to make it tender; but I never pound- 

 ed a piece in my life, although I have lived 

 on beefsteak for years. The only thing I 

 could find for a pounder was a carpenter's 

 hammer; and for a good solid block I used 

 the big white stone you may have noticed 

 before the door of our cabin. I reasoned 

 that, if a little pounding was good, more 

 would be better. So I made that piece of 

 steak "mellow," and then I carried it with 

 my knife and fork to that bed of maple coals 

 in the front part of the stove. Not only was 

 the steak laid on the coals, but I managed 

 to have a glowing brand of fire right above 

 the meat as well. As it began to cook, the 

 edges rolled up all around the outside so as 

 to be just about the shape and size of a com- 

 mon saucer. This saucer held the juices 

 of the meat so I was able to transfer it to a 

 plate without spilling a drop. Some but- 

 ter, pepper, and salt, made it as appetizing 

 as they get it up at the very best city res- 

 taurants where one pays from 50 to 75 cents 

 for a beefsteak. This steak, with the roast- 

 ed potatoes, made a dinner fit for anybody.* 



*I got along very well with the eggs and milk, with- 

 out any meat of any kind ; but after I got my beef- 

 steak my strength seemed to hold out better, clear up 

 to the next meal, than it did before ; but as my health 

 and strength were constantly on the increase this 

 mif^hl have been the result even had I purchasetl no 



