SciEXTiFic Lectures. 101 



steam, wliicli in its turn, opened all the shells above, and subjected 

 the fieshj parts to a temperature of 212 deg. The lowermost layer 

 of clams was subjected to a heat which produced destruciive distilla- 

 tion, giving rise to savory odors which, penetrating the mass above, 

 communicated to the meat a racy flavor of the highest acceptabilit}-, 

 as many of us are ready to testily. The oven in use in ancient Syria, 

 of which Sarah on the plains of Mamre took advantage, when directed 

 to quickly knead three measures of meal, and make cakes on tJie hearth 

 for the entertainment of unexpected guests, we may conceive did not 

 differ greatly from our aboriginal device, if we omit the seaweed. 

 But there was also in use ajar-shaped cavity in the eartli, cemented 

 on the bottom and sides, in which a fire was built. When the walls 

 were sufiiciently heated, the embers were removed, and the dough, 

 prepared by mixing crushed wheat and water, was plastered in thin 

 layers on the sides. This yielded a sort of Graham wafer, a kind of 

 wheaten hoe-cake, of the palatableness of which many of our soldiers 

 during the late war can give testimony, and which was the unleavened 

 bread of the ancients. 



The Cottage Ovex. 



The elevation of this hollow structure to a convenient height above 

 the surface of the ground, may be regarded as the second step in the 

 development of the oven. This usually consisted of an irregular 

 hemispheric cavity, made of clay or stone or brick, supported on a 

 platform, having a door on one side for the introduction of fuel and 

 the dough to be baked, and another lesser opening on the top for the 

 escape of smoke. When the interior walls of this oven had been 

 heated by the flame of dried fine wood, the embers were removed, 

 the dough placed upon the floor of the oven, and the chinmey and door 

 closed, leaving the dough to be baked by the radiant heat from the 

 Avails. This kind of oven w-as evervAvhere to be met with, half a 

 century ago, outside the log-houses of our frontier settlements. As 

 the dwelling-houses were improved, the oven was uniformly given a 

 place in the chimney-stack, beside the kitchen fire. In considerable 

 towns bakeries grew up, and large ovens, on the same general plan as 

 the smaller, were constructed. The objectionable characteristic of 

 this time-honored oven was this : from the moment the dough was 

 introduced the oven began to cool. The oven with continuous heat 

 we owe to Count Eumford. (Benjamin Thompson [Count Eumford, 

 by patent of the King of Bavaria], a native of Woburn, Mass., attained 



