MODES OF COOKING. 
289 
used by the natives, and the inodes of procuring it 
as practised in various parts of Australia where I 
have been. There is an endless variety of other 
articles, and an infinite number of minute differences 
in the ways of procuring them, which it is un- 
necessary to enter upon in a work which professes to 
give only a general account of the Aborigines, their 
manners, habits, and customs, and not a full or com- 
plete history, which could only be compiled after 
the observation of many years devoted exclusively 
to so comprehensive a subject. 
In the preparation and cooking of their food, and 
in the extent to which this is carried, there a re 
almost as many differences as there are varieties of 
food. Having no vessels capable of resisting the 
action of fire, the natives are unacquainted with the 
simple process of boiling. Their culinary opera- 
tions are therefore confined to broiling on the hot 
coals, baking in hot ashes, and roasting, or steaming 
in ovens. The native oven is made by digging a 
circular hole in the ground, of a size corresponding 
to the quantity of food to be cooked. It is then 
lined with stones in the bottom, and a strong fire 
made over them, so as to heat them thoroughly, and 
dry the hole. As soon as the stones are judged to 
be sufficiently hot, the fire is removed, and a few of 
the stones taken, and put inside the animal to be 
roasted if it be a large one. A few leaves, or a 
handful of grass, are then sprinkled over the stones 
in the bottom of the oven, on which the animal is 
vo. II. 
u 
