THE HEAT-SAVER. 367 



" When done, strain and skim off all fat (better if left to stand till 

 next day, the fat removed, and the soup simply re warmed), and make 

 such additions as you wish. 



41 The Heat Saver. It is a part of common information that the 

 inhabitants of northern countries make extensive use of non-conducting 

 substances, like wool, for preventing the escape of heat from a vessel in 

 which cooking is going on. It is strange that we do not make more use 

 of such appliances, for they have often been described and illustrated ; 

 it is probably because they are not found ready made, and with a com- 

 plete list of directions for use. The writer made and used a cooker of 

 this sort, and after considerable modification and experiment it became 

 a very useful thing in the kitchen. If you wish to cook meat at the 

 proper temperature, this contrivance makes it possible to do so, and is 

 also very saving of fuel. 



" Take a packing-box measuring, say, two feet each way, and cover 

 the bottom with a layer of packed wool four to six inches thick ; set into 

 the middle of this another box or cylinder of sheet iron, and fill the 

 space between the two with a layer of wool four to six inches thick, 

 and closely packed. Into the inner compartment put your kettle of 

 meat or vegetables already brought to the boiling-point and having a 

 tightly fitting cover, and over this press a thick pillow or woolen blanket. 

 Then fasten down, tight over all, the lid of your box. As the heat in 

 the water must finish the cooking already begun, this amount must be 

 rightly proportioned to the amount of food to be cooked ; for example, 

 two quarts of water to one and one-half pounds of beef rib were used. 

 The water was brought to the boiling-point, the meat placed in it, and 

 allowed to boil for five minutes, the pot was then tightly covered, placed 

 in the box and allowed to remain three hours. At the end of that time 

 the meat was tender. 



" Introduction to Bills of Pare. (To the Mother of the Fam- 

 ily.) In the general introduction the writer has stated a few princi- 

 ples that should guide us in choosing our food. We have learned that 

 to keep us in good health and working order we ought to have a certain 

 amount of what is best furnished by meat, eggs, milk, and other animal 

 product, and that we must also have fat as well as what is given us in 

 grains and vegetables. 



" But now our work has only just begun ; for we are to furnish these 

 food principles in the shape of cooked dishes to be put on the family 

 table three times a day; and the dishes must not only be nourishing, but 



