CAMP LIFE. 299 



As it is possible none of my reader's female acquaint- 

 ance have ever soiled their rosy fingers Heaven save 

 the mark ! with domestic cookery, an outline of the 

 theory of that science may be advantageous. There are 

 certain well known rules that have 110 exceptions, unless 

 in the hands of a genius, and which 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 with 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 stewing, 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 with 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 putting pork, fish, cracker, meat, clams, and 

 anything else that is handy, with vegetables, sufficient 

 seasoning, and a little water, and stewing it well. Stew- 



