August, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



299 



HELPS TO THE 

 HOUSEWIFE 



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TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 

 EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 



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INFORMAL LIVING IN THE OPEN 



By Elizabeth Atwood 



THINK that every mother should, at some 

 period of her children's lives, give them the 

 joy of real camping. Not in a roughly- 

 made house with all the accessories of civ- 

 ilized living, but out in the open. Out in 

 a tent with the beds made of pine boughs. 

 Such a mother will renew her youth, make her children 

 wildly happy, for they are little animals, really, and love 

 and enjoy the wilderness and freedom which can only be 

 found under actual primitive conditions. I know of what I 

 am asserting, for I have done this more than once. 



First of all decide upon a location lending itself to all 

 the actual needs of a party spending a month in the open. 

 I've always selected a spot not more than half a mile from 

 a farmhouse. This meant a base of supplies such as milk, 

 butter, eggs, ice and vegetables. It also meant getting 

 our mail at least once a day; also, it put us in communica- 

 tion with the stores of the village five miles away. Such 

 places may be found all through Vermont and New Hamp- 

 shire, and I know that you can find such places in other 

 States as well. 



One should be on the shore of a lake for the enjoyment 

 of such an outing to be complete. My camping has been 

 on the shores of two little lakes in Vermont. In each place 

 we could hire boats by the week. We had our own canoe 

 transported, but hired flat-bottomed boats for the fishing, 

 and for the use of the children. How the muscles of 

 those same children did grow under the exercise of rowing 

 those boats. 



It is more fun all around to have a party than it is to 

 go as a family, but it is a risk which one must consider. 

 One writer has put it, "In no other situation does a man 

 so inevitably show forth his character. Let him be as 

 good an actor as he will, if he possesses a trace of sloven- 

 liness or selfishness, of uncontrolled petulance, of a ten- 

 dency to 'boss' or to find fault, or, worst of all, to sulk, 

 it will surely appear in camp." This is just as true of 

 women and children, so study your people well who are to 

 compose your party. 



Try as you will, you may make some mistakes, but some 

 few things may be settled before you "make for camp." 

 Each one is to be ready to contribute his or her share 

 toward the work of the camp. Each one, to the littlest 

 tot, is to have a duty which belongs alone to him. Each 

 one must feel a responsibility in producing pleasure and 

 comfort for all, and must carry along a sense of humor 

 to help the situation when the rain puts out the campfire. 

 The clothing is an easy thing to handle if you will only 

 be artistic and dress for the occasion. The women in 

 divided skirts, the girls in rompers and bloomers, the young 



boys in overalls and the older ones in knickerbockers or 

 riding breeches. Strong shoes and stockings and jersey 

 union suits, complete the needful list. Simplicity must be 

 the keynote if the best fun is to be realized. 



If no one in the party has camped before, by all means 

 hire a man who understands, for he will return the greatest 

 amount of comfort for the expenditure that may be realized. 

 He will know how to pitch a tent and place your ham- 

 mocks, how to build a good campfire, and how to conduct 

 camp generally. He will know the edible mushrooms, and 

 how to make a comfortable bed of pine boughs. 



I have always been able to find an old cookstove, and 

 with an elbow on top of one length of pipe which we turned 

 as the wind varied, always drew well. I had it placed on 

 blocks high enough to cook upon without tiring my back. 

 The baking was not always of the best, but one has such 

 an appetite that one feels no criticism. All frying and 

 some boiling was done on top of the stove. 



Over our campfire we had a pole placed on two strong 

 crotched sticks. From this was suspended a very large iron 

 kettle; you can always find them somewhere in the real 

 country. In this we boiled corn and potatoes, and even a 

 real New England boiled dinner. It was the best thing 

 I ever tasted. Sometimes we baked the potatoes and roasted 

 corn in the ashes. We prefer camping in August to any 

 month in the year, for vegetables are more plenty then. 



On crotched sticks at the right height were placed two 

 planks for a table, with another plank arranged for a seat 

 on each side. You will be surprised how many of the 

 needful accessories may be found on an old farm when you 

 go camping. Money judiciously used will go a long way 

 and unearth many treasures for the camp. 



We took canned supplies and box supplies of all kinds 

 of crackers with us. So far I have always found the lady 

 of a farmhouse nearby who was glad to bake bread and 

 pies for us. If not the best pastry in the world, we called 

 it so and ate it as if it were. We always enjoyed "Johnny- 

 cake" in camp about as much as anything, unless it was 

 "Johnny-cake" and scrambled eggs. 



There are berries to be found in the woods, and some 

 of our party picked berries nearly every day. It is sur- 

 prising, always was surprising to me, how easily one can 

 get up a meal in camp, and how much it is always enjoyed. 

 Food does have a finer flavor when cooked in camp. You 

 know one never minds the scorching nor the ashes when 

 corn is roasted in the ashes. It is just so with all food 

 in camp. The only possible chance for fault-finding may 

 come from food giving out before the enormous appetites 

 are satisfied. One gets so ravenously hungry. 



The work in our camp was so easily managed that I will 

 tell of how it was done the year I was a "tenderfoot." I 

 loved to cook and so did our guide. Our helpers were 

 selected while at table for the next meal, and the ones who 



