68 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pu]i. Doc. 



outside of the inner oven does no harm. The inner oven 

 can be removed at will, either to be cleaned outside or 

 inside. 



In these substitutes the heat passes directly through the 

 hole in the metallic table into the space in which the cooking- 

 utensils are placed. I have invented a tube with oritices to 

 put over the lamp under the tub or box, with a ring that 

 can be turned so as to close the openings. But that ring 

 cannot be made perfectly tight, and some smoke may force 

 its way through the cracks. If the lamps are perfectly cared 

 for they will not smoke, the danger of smoking being very 

 little with the Bradley & Hubbard central duct lamp, and 

 wholly avoidable with the flat wick duplex Trench burner. 



In order to protect the food, except it be a roasting piece, 

 it can be put into covered vessels. In that case, if the lamp 

 smokes, it only puts a little soot uj^on the outside of the 

 dish or covered pan. 



It is almost inconceivable, to one who has not tried the 

 experiment, what one can do in the way of fine cooking 

 under an inverted half barrel. To be sure, it requires some- 

 what the same kind of attention as is required by stove 

 cooking, but not as much. I will give you a little descrip- 

 tion of the kind of dinner party which I lately gave to some 

 of my friends. There were twelve at the table, mostly in- 

 credulous ladies. I took charge of the whole matter myself, 

 placed my various kinds of cooking apparatus around the 

 walls of the dining room, and stayed at home to do some 

 literary work, varying that work hy preparing for the dinner 

 party. My first undertaking was to serve what would have 

 been a very ample dinner for the party of twelve, in five 

 courses, at a cost for material of one dollar and fifty cents. 

 This is a very simple and easy problem ; and the dinner may 

 be made equal to that which is served at Parker's or at any 

 first-class restaurant by any person who has been taught to 

 read. By that I do not mean reading as it is taught in many 

 schools, — that is, reciting certain words from printed type ; 

 I mean any one who has been taught to read so as to com- 

 prehend the subject of the printed matter, — an art which is 

 not, I fear, very apt to be found in our schools. This dinner 

 consisted of a lentil vegetable soup, halibut nape & la creme^ 



