The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
655 
Bones — A  Neglected  Form  of  Food 
There  is  one  source  of  food  which  we 
in  the  United  States  neglect  as  compared 
with  other  countries.  This  source  is 
bones.  We  feed  ground  bone  to  our  hens, 
and  the  dog  appreciates  any  bone  which 
is  small  enough  and  tender  enough  so 
that  he  can  chew  it  into  small  pieces  and 
swallow  it,  but  we  ourselves  waste  a  good 
deal  of  this  form  of  food.  Of  course,  we 
cannot  eat  bones  like  a  dog,  or  ground 
bone  like  a  hen,  but  we  could  certainly 
utilize  more  bones  in  making  soup.  We 
buy  gelatine  under  trade  names,  and  pay 
a  good  round  price  for  it,  and  then  waste 
the  same  sort  of  food  in  the  bones  we 
throw  away. 
I  have  not  the  exact  composition  of 
Bones ;  in  fact,  I  think  that  this  varies  as 
between  different  animals,  and  as  between 
different  bones  in  the  same  animal ;  but 
I  think  that  not  far  from  half  of  the  sub¬ 
stances  of  bones  is  food  material.  These 
food  materials  are  chiefly  fat  and  gelatin. 
It  is  not  usually  known  that  one  can  dis¬ 
solve  a  bone  in  a  dilute  acid,  thus  remov¬ 
ing  the  limy  portions,  and  have  the  exact 
form  of  the  bone  still  remaining  in  the 
gelatine  which  permeates  the  entire  struc¬ 
ture  of  the  bone.  Gelatin  is  similar  to 
the  protein  in  meat  in  its  food  properties, 
and  since  it  is  entirely  soluble,  it  should 
also  be  completely  digestible.  It  is  even 
claimed  that  a  given  amount  of  soup  is 
more  nutritious  than  an  equal  quantity  of 
meat,  but  since  soup  is  so  variable  in  com¬ 
position,  this  should  not  be  taken  without 
more  data  as  to  what  sort  of  soup  is 
meant. 
In  the  city  there  is  a  rather  good  rea¬ 
son  why  people  do  not  make  very  much 
use  of  bones  in  private  families.  Most 
apartments  are  heated  by  steam,  and  the 
cooking  is  done  over  gas.  Gas  is  very  eco¬ 
nomical  for  cooking  those  things  which 
may  be  cooked  quickly,  but  for.  things 
which  must  simmer  for  a  day  or  so,  the 
reverse  is  true.  This  does  not  hold  good 
in  the  country.  Most  people  in  the  coun¬ 
try  depend  on  the  kitchen  stove  for  its 
full  share  of  the  heating  of  the  house. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  bones  may 
be  boiled  for  days  without  any  expense 
whatever  for  fuel. 
In  France,  where  they  make  more  or 
an  art  of  the  preparation  of  food  than 
anywhere  else,  they  have  soup  on  nearly 
every  occasion.  When  one  gets  into  the 
less-pretentious  society,  more  rather  than 
less  soup  is  used.  Soup  is  a  very  com¬ 
mon  article  of  the  diet  of  the  peasants. 
They  have  varieties  of  soup  which  we 
never  hear  on  this  side. 
In  getting  the  food  material  out  of 
the  bones  they  should  be  broken  into 
moderate-sized  pieces,  and  put  into  a  large 
kettle  and  covered  with  cold  water.  This 
is  especially  important  if  there  is  meat 
in  with  the  bones,  as  is  usually  the  case. 
Hot  water  tends  to  seal  in  the  food  ma¬ 
terials,  whereas  warm  water  draws  it 
out.  The  kettle  of  bones  and  meat  is 
then  set  on  the  back  of  the  stove  and 
gradually  warmed.  After  some  hours  of 
this,  or  if  the  kettle  is  put  on  in  the  even¬ 
ing,  the  next  morning  the  kettle  may  be 
allowed  to  boil.  The  boiling  should  go 
on  for  a  day  or  two,  and  three  or  four 
days  will  hurt  nothing. 
The  liquid  may  be  used  at  once  as  soup, 
with  the  addition  of  vegetables,  rice,  etc., 
as  consomme  or  bouillon,  or  with  any 
other  desired  additions.  Any  good  cook 
book  will  give  dozens  of  recipes.  The 
liquid  may  be  strained,  set  out  to  cool 
(quickly  is  best)  and  later  skimmed  of 
the  fat,  and  the  resulting  jelly,  known  as 
stock,  used  whenever  desired  as  founda¬ 
tion  for  soup  or  addition  to  gravies,  or 
the  whole  may  be  canned  while  hot  and 
will  then  keep  indefinitely. 
The  writer  is  very  fond  of  soup,  and 
can  make  a  meal  from  soup  and  bread 
and  a  little  dessert.  There  is  too  much 
of  a  tendency  ki  the  country,  wrhen  a  meat 
animal  has  been  butchered,  to  have  meat 
every  day,  and  several  times  a  day,  until 
the  whole  family  is  physically  under  par 
from  too  much  meat-eating.  The  addition 
of  soup  to  the  diet  should  correct  this  to 
a  considei’able  extent.  a.  h.  de  graef. 
R.  N.-Y. — Very  sensible  advice.  Those 
who  have  read  “The  Voyage  of  the 
Beagle”  will  remember  that  Darwin  tells 
of  seeing  the  natives  on  the  Faulkland 
Islands  kill  and  dress  a  steer  and  burn 
the  bones  in  order  to  cook  the  meat.  After 
thoroughly  boiling  the  bones,  they  may 
be  used  as  fuel  in  the  cooking  stove,  thus 
adding  lime  and  phosphorus  to  the  ashes. 
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Name 
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LIME  ita  LAND 
d^t 
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LIMESTONE 
4 
SOLVAY  brings  better,  greater  crops 
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THE  SOLVAY  PROCESS  CO.,  Syracuse,  H.Y. 
LINE  THE 
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PAINT 
$1.25 
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AMALGAMATED  PAINT  CO. 
Factory:  372  WAYNE  ST.,  JERSEY  CITY.  N.  J. 
U.S.  ARMY  "shoe" 
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L.  SIMON  COMPANY,  Dept  A  1 
829  First  Ave.  New  York  City,  N.Y. 
