OCR Text |
Show THE WHY OF BAD FARM COOKING By. S. O. Miller. ! Wo believe thnt mdro dyspeptics are every year produced on the farm counting equal numbers than In tho cities, and this belief Is based on many years of observation and considerable actual experience. I Tho roverso would naturally seem to bo truo as the farm cook has a great advantage over her sister In thoj city in tho matter of raw materials J fruits, vegetables, butter, milk and poultry, being always at hand in abundance and fresh and wholesome In condition. I With theso advantages itmny bo tho chargo then Is duo to ignorance or carelessness or both of the women folk on tho farm. But this Is not always al-ways truo. Tho fact Is that tho men. who by tho way aro tho severest critics, nro thomsolvca to blamo They do not glvo tholr wlvos half a chance to do good cooking- On thousands of prosperous pros-perous farms tho housewife never has sufficient timo to do her work ivell; sho is not provided with the proper facilities. Her kitchen Is provided with nothing moro than tho barest necessities and she Is deprived of such aids as hot and cold water, quick fuel and an abundance of cooking utensils and tablowarc. i She Is not only tho cook but the mainspring of the whole family. Sho "4s doctor, nurse, counselor and friend; beside tho cares of maternity she often of-ten milks the cows, makes tho butter, hoes' tho garden and makes new clothing cloth-ing for her husband and chlldron, mends tho old, sweeps and dusts, gathers her own vegetables and fruit and prepares them for cooking. Sho Is expected to make no excuses when tho meals for the family, largo or small, aro not ready and on tho tahlo to the minute. Naturally, under theso conditions, which exist on thousands of farms, and thoy are not over-drawn) no woman, no mntter how good a cook she may bo can properly prcparo and cook wholesomo and nutritious food. If the farm cqoking Is to bo Improved Im-proved the men must supply their wives with overything needed in the kitchen and pantry Thoy must suj ply thorn with help, at least until the children are old enough to assist. Tho wife must insist upon having what sho needs to work with and sho must abandon tho work of the dairy, garden and the poultry to the men folk. Sho can teach hero children, chil-dren, either boys or girls, to bo of great assistance in her daily tasks. Sho can so regulate her work hours that sho will have time In which to do good cooking. But. she cannot do 'these things alone; she must havo tho activo and. sympathetic assistance of her husband and If ho refuses to glvo her these, tho family must bo abandoned aban-doned to dyspepsia and Its attendant miseries. Iroland's champion wolf hound hns been sold to a Now York man for $,7,600. The species Is almost extinct In Ireland and tho specimens bought by tho Now York man .Is ono of tho finest of his race. A dairy farm 20 miles out of Boston which is said to bo tho cleanest and best managod dairy In tho state, is run by a woman. She went Into tho business five years ngo because sho got tired of city life and bolloves In tho dignity of farm work. The west Is said to lead tho whole country In tho good roads movement. |