320 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



season for extra help. The amount of land cul- 

 tivated did not, I believe, exclusive of the part 

 occupied by rye, exceed seven acres. This crop 

 is, thougli a good one, not considered by him an 

 uncommon one, nor was it produced by a system 

 of forcing, or of excessive manuring, the present 

 season, for the purpose of showing what could 

 be done. It has, however, been constantly im- 

 proving under the persevering industry and judi- 

 cious cultivation of Mr. Small. 



The above instance is not a solitary one in this 

 quarter. Mr. Small's neighbor, Mr. Holden, has 

 one adjoining, as also Mr. Samuel Knowles, and 

 others in the vicinity, nearly or quite equal in 

 productiveness, and enjoying the same facilities 

 for a market there are in Provincetown. 



We not unfrequently, as you know, Mr. Edi- 

 tor, see people, strangers here, smile at the bare 

 mention of a farm on Cape Cod ; but I submit, 

 with these facts before us, whether the farms in 

 Massachusetts, generally, or even in sections 

 where farming is the chief occupation, will aver- 

 age in productiveness or profit a sum greater 

 than that produced by this Cape Cod farm, situ- 

 ated here within a few miles of the very "jump- 

 ing oft' place." 



Add to this, the fact, that there are large tracts 

 of waste, unimproved land — old fields, in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the above farm, that might, 

 under good cultivation, in a short time be equal- 

 ly productive, and we perceive that farming may, 

 even here, become an interest not to be despised. 

 — Provincetoicn Banner, 



For the New England Farmer. 

 LEGITIMATE COOKERY. 



Mk. Editor : — Having presented your readers, 

 in my last article, a negative view on cookerj' — 

 a series of thou slicdt nots, — I am next to come to 

 affirmations — thou shalts. In other words, I am 

 to say what is legitimate cookery. 



Indulge me, however, in two brief preliminaries. 

 1. The vastness of the subject, in itself and by 

 its relations, is embarrassing and discouraging, 

 and leads me to shrink from it, at first thought, 

 and to refer my readers to my "Laws of Health." 

 But as many have not seen it, I will endeavor to 

 do something. 2. There will be a difficulty con- 

 tinually presenting itself, at nearly every step, 

 which 1 wish to meet at the outset. Many will 

 say, "O, I could not relish food prepared in this 

 way ; I have never been used to it." Now, I re- 

 ply to this, by saying, once for all : "Remember 

 Mr. Addison's rule, — Find out what is best /or you 

 and adopt it, and custom or habit will soon ren- 

 der it agreeable." 



The softening of the farinaceous grain — wheat, 

 corn, rye. See. — whether by mere soaking, or by 

 boiling or steaming, is lawful and proper cook- 

 ery. It is true, that in a perfect state, mankind 

 might use them, as they do the fruits, without 

 cooking ; but our teeth, in most instances, are 

 fallen ones. 



Parching, or what is still better, popping our 

 grains, especially corn and buckwheat, is legiti- 

 mate. 



Grinding grains, very finely — after being made 

 clean — and by means of simple, pure, soft water, 

 bringing them back to nearly the consistency 



of the original kernels, but in larger masses, as 

 wafers, cakes, or loaves, is also legitimate cook- 

 ery. 



Under this head we may have cakes or loaves, 

 but thin cakes are best, whether of wheat, oats, 

 corn, rye, barley or buckwheat. Here are six 

 kinds of grain, in the order of their value as 

 bread. To which we may add, without violating 

 what I think was the intention of Dr. Dungli- 

 son's rule, mixtures of these six articles, in vari- 

 ous proportions, such as wheat and corn meal, 

 rye and corn meal, wheat and oat meal, oat and 

 corn meal, Sec, Hence we may have, with no loss 

 but that of a little time, as many as fifteen or 

 twenty kinds of mixed bread, in addition to the 

 above. The reader will, of course, understand 

 that no additions, except in some instances a lit- 

 tle water, are to be made to the meal ; and noth- 

 ing is to be bolted or sifted out, except the hulls 

 or skins of the oats and buckwheat. 



The preparation of the potato, the common 

 and the sweet, by baking or boiling ; the baking 

 or boiling of turnips, beets, parsnips, chestnuts, 

 pumpkins, squashes, &'C., is legitimate cookery. 

 So, also, is the thorough preparation by simple 

 boiling, of rice, peas, beans, &c. In all this, 

 however, there are no additions to be made ; 

 such as milk, salt, lard, butter, &:c., for this would 

 be a departure from true simplicity. 



Nearly all these preparations, amounting to 

 some forty or more, may be regarded as various 

 forms of the bread stuffs — the staff of life. 



Some of the fruits may be cooked, especially 

 by baking. Such as the apple, pear and quince. 

 Many varieties of the latter two are greatly im- 

 proved by baking. The fruit juices are the milk 

 of adult life. Fruits may be cooked in a simple 

 way, or be eaten without cooking ; and the juices 

 may be expressed as into Pharaoh's cup, or eaten 

 in the pulp. The last is doubtless to be prefer- 

 red, for mastication's sake. 



Meats, too, in order to be legitimately pre- 

 pared, should be taken as soon as possible after 

 life is extinct, and simply broiled, baked, or 

 boiled, without additions. 



Milk and eggs, if used, should be either taken, 

 uncooked, or cooked legitimately. Milk is best 

 fresh from the cow, and uncooked. If cooked at 

 all, it should be simmered at a heat not exceed- 

 ing 165° of Farenheit. So should the egg ; its 

 temperature, in cooking, should never exceed 

 IGo*^. The reason is that the white or albumi- 

 nous part coagulates at 165"^, and is of no use in 

 the body in that state ; being only soluble by the 

 mineral acids. 



I do not say, Mr. Editor, that every departure 

 from the strict letter of the law in regard to cook- 

 ery, is equally a departure from what I have 

 called legitimate cookery ; for there are all de- 

 grees of errors, as in other things. Thus, to 

 raise bread, though wrong, yet if done neatly, is 

 but slight wrong. Again, to salt it is wrong, but 

 the wrong is slight, not so great as when you both 

 raise it and salt it. And even then the evil is not 

 so great as when in addition to these departures 

 you add milk and molasses and saleratus, and 

 perhaps lard and alum. 



But perhaps I have said enough, on a subject 

 which, to many, will seem so uncongenial. I will, 

 at least, close for the present. W. A. A. 



Aubiirndale, May 20, 1858. 



