﻿April, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  i 
  4 
  t 
  

  

  By 
  Esther 
  Singleton 
  

  

  NE 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  attractive 
  rooms 
  in 
  the 
  

   Colonial 
  house 
  is 
  the 
  kitchen. 
  The 
  logs 
  

   burn 
  brightly 
  in 
  the 
  great 
  fireplace, 
  their 
  

   flames 
  flickering 
  across 
  the 
  shining 
  copper 
  

   and 
  brass 
  pots 
  suspended 
  from 
  their 
  cranes 
  

   and 
  hooks 
  above 
  the 
  fire, 
  and 
  throwing 
  

   bright 
  reflections 
  on 
  the 
  rows 
  of 
  polished 
  

   pewter 
  dishes 
  arranged 
  symmetrically 
  on 
  the 
  shelves 
  of 
  the 
  

   dresser 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  blue 
  and 
  white 
  earthenware. 
  The 
  

   high-backed 
  settle 
  placed 
  at 
  right 
  angles 
  to 
  the 
  fireplace 
  in- 
  

   vites 
  us 
  to 
  rest 
  and 
  watch 
  the 
  cook 
  as 
  she 
  bastes 
  the 
  birds 
  that 
  

   are 
  roasting 
  on 
  the 
  spits. 
  Delicately 
  prepared 
  vegetables 
  are 
  

   bubbling 
  in 
  the 
  various 
  pots 
  and 
  delicious 
  sauces 
  are 
  simmer- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  saucepans. 
  The 
  fine 
  breads, 
  puddings, 
  and 
  pies 
  that 
  

   have 
  just 
  been 
  removed 
  from 
  the 
  brick 
  oven, 
  stand 
  on 
  the 
  

   kitchen 
  table 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  fresh 
  white 
  cloth 
  and 
  contribute 
  

   not 
  a 
  little 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  appetizing 
  odors. 
  We 
  feel 
  sure 
  that 
  

   when 
  we 
  retire 
  to 
  the 
  dining-room, 
  a 
  very 
  delicious 
  dinner 
  

   will 
  be 
  served, 
  accompanied, 
  moreover, 
  by 
  choice 
  Madeira, 
  

   Sherry, 
  and 
  Port 
  from 
  the 
  host's 
  well 
  stocked 
  cellar. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Colonial 
  period, 
  the 
  kitchen 
  in 
  the 
  wealthy 
  home 
  

   was 
  practically 
  the 
  same 
  throughout 
  the 
  country, 
  except 
  in 
  

   New 
  York, 
  where 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  Dutch 
  is 
  felt. 
  At 
  a 
  

   later 
  period 
  the 
  New 
  England 
  kitchen 
  becomes 
  a 
  general 
  

   family 
  living-room, 
  while 
  on 
  the 
  Southern 
  plantations 
  it 
  is 
  

   rarely 
  visited 
  except 
  by 
  the 
  mistress 
  of 
  the 
  house. 
  In 
  that 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  a 
  black 
  deity, 
  crowned 
  with 
  a 
  bandanna 
  

   turban 
  and 
  attended 
  by 
  a 
  retinue 
  of 
  under 
  cooks 
  and 
  little 
  

   pickaninny 
  scullions 
  reigns 
  supreme. 
  Sometimes 
  neither 
  the 
  

   cook 
  nor 
  the 
  kitchen 
  are 
  remarkable 
  for 
  tidiness, 
  but 
  the 
  pots 
  

   and 
  pans 
  are 
  scrupulously 
  clean 
  and 
  the 
  culinary 
  results 
  are 
  

   perfect. 
  The 
  children 
  of 
  the 
  house 
  are 
  her 
  chief 
  visitors 
  

   and 
  she 
  welcomes 
  them 
  with 
  assumed 
  ill-temper, 
  but 
  de- 
  

   lightedly 
  makes 
  some 
  special 
  dish 
  for 
  them, 
  — 
  an 
  "ash-cake," 
  

   wrapped 
  in 
  cabbage 
  leaves 
  and 
  baked 
  in 
  the 
  burning 
  embers, 
  

   or 
  a 
  delicious 
  "corn-pone," 
  while 
  the 
  canvas-back 
  duck 
  is 
  

   roasting 
  by 
  the 
  fire 
  and 
  the 
  beautifully 
  light 
  "Maryland 
  bis- 
  

   cuits" 
  (beaten 
  with 
  a 
  flat-iron), 
  are 
  baking 
  in 
  the 
  "Dutch 
  

   oven." 
  

  

  The 
  early 
  inventories 
  and 
  letters 
  of 
  travelers 
  show 
  that 
  

   there 
  was 
  much 
  elegant 
  and 
  fashionable 
  living 
  in 
  New 
  Eng- 
  

   land. 
  In 
  the 
  richer 
  type 
  of 
  house, 
  the 
  hall, 
  and 
  not 
  the 
  

  

  kitchen, 
  was 
  the 
  general 
  living 
  and 
  reception-room. 
  There 
  

   was 
  also 
  a 
  parlor, 
  which 
  was 
  reserved 
  for 
  privacy 
  and 
  for 
  

   intimate 
  conversation. 
  A 
  typical 
  hall, 
  described 
  in 
  1670, 
  

   in 
  a 
  home 
  near 
  Boston 
  contained 
  a 
  rich 
  table 
  covered 
  with 
  

   a 
  "carpet," 
  with 
  "five 
  joint 
  stools 
  under 
  it," 
  four 
  leather 
  

   chairs, 
  one 
  small 
  and 
  one 
  large 
  joined 
  chairs, 
  four 
  expensive 
  

   green 
  chairs 
  and 
  green 
  stools 
  adorned 
  with 
  silk 
  fringe, 
  five 
  

   green 
  wrought 
  cushions, 
  three 
  chests, 
  and 
  a 
  looking-glass. 
  

   There 
  are 
  also 
  a 
  dining-room 
  and 
  a 
  small 
  parlor, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  

   a 
  separate 
  room 
  for 
  the 
  kitchen. 
  

  

  Another 
  example 
  will 
  prove 
  that 
  the 
  kitchen 
  in 
  an 
  ordinary 
  

   home 
  was 
  a 
  distinct 
  room. 
  In 
  17 
  18, 
  Mr. 
  John 
  Mico, 
  of 
  

   Boston, 
  has 
  a 
  twelve-roomed 
  house, 
  containing 
  a 
  handsomely 
  

   furnished 
  dining-room, 
  a 
  hall, 
  which 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  living- 
  

   room, 
  as 
  it 
  has 
  in 
  it 
  eighteen 
  chairs, 
  a 
  desk, 
  and 
  a 
  "little 
  tea- 
  

   table 
  with 
  china 
  on 
  it." 
  The 
  kitchen 
  is 
  furnished 
  with 
  a 
  

   pine 
  table, 
  six 
  leather 
  chairs, 
  a 
  looking-glass, 
  and 
  an 
  oak 
  

   table. 
  

  

  In 
  restoring 
  the 
  historical 
  houses 
  in 
  their 
  possession, 
  the 
  

   various 
  patriotic 
  and 
  historical 
  societies 
  have 
  appreciated 
  the 
  

   importance 
  of 
  the 
  kitchen; 
  but 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  their 
  arrange- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  the 
  old-fashioned 
  cooking 
  utensils 
  has 
  made 
  the 
  

   room 
  more 
  of 
  a 
  museum 
  than 
  a 
  practical 
  kitchen. 
  One 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  successful 
  is 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  Longfellow 
  House 
  in 
  Port- 
  

   land, 
  Maine, 
  which 
  was 
  built 
  in 
  1 
  785-1 
  786, 
  and 
  is 
  here 
  repre- 
  

   sented. 
  This 
  is 
  as 
  typical 
  of 
  our 
  Southern 
  as 
  of 
  our 
  Northern 
  

   ancestors, 
  representing 
  a 
  kitchen 
  of 
  the 
  wealthiest 
  class, 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  meals 
  were 
  prepared 
  by 
  the 
  servants 
  for 
  the 
  fam- 
  

   ily. 
  First, 
  we 
  note 
  the 
  large 
  fireplace, 
  with 
  the 
  ovens 
  in 
  the 
  

   wall, 
  the 
  crane 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  pots 
  hang, 
  the 
  long 
  spoons, 
  the 
  

   gridirons, 
  the 
  tin-kitchens, 
  the 
  waffle-irons, 
  etc., 
  etc. 
  Behind 
  

   the 
  waffle-irons 
  and 
  tin-kitchen 
  on 
  the 
  left 
  stands 
  a 
  plate- 
  

   warmer 
  with 
  the 
  door 
  open 
  showing 
  the 
  shelves 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  

   plates 
  were 
  placed. 
  On 
  the 
  extreme 
  left, 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  a 
  tin- 
  

   kitchen, 
  is 
  a 
  foot-warmer, 
  made 
  of 
  sheets 
  of 
  perforated 
  brass 
  

   fitted 
  into 
  a 
  wooden 
  frame. 
  Filled 
  with 
  glowing 
  embers, 
  it 
  

   was 
  carried 
  to 
  church, 
  to 
  the 
  theater, 
  and 
  also 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  

   coach 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  rooms 
  as 
  a 
  warm 
  foot-stool. 
  Beneath 
  the 
  

   closet 
  over 
  the 
  oven 
  is 
  a 
  utensil 
  for 
  carrying 
  hot 
  coals. 
  The 
  

   bottom 
  of 
  this 
  is 
  perforated. 
  A 
  similar 
  one 
  hangs 
  on 
  its 
  

   left 
  above 
  the 
  tin-kitchen. 
  Next 
  comes 
  a 
  familiar 
  poker, 
  and 
  

   then 
  follow 
  a 
  gridiron, 
  a 
  dish, 
  a 
  cup, 
  candle-molds, 
  a 
  dish, 
  

  

  