Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1873-10-24
Encouraging the Culinary Art.

AT recent fair held in Rome, Georgia,
novel feature was introduced in the
shape of cooking contest among the
young ladies of that and neighboring
towns. The purpose was to decide which
of the number could produce the best din
ner from a given quantity of meats and
vegetables, and the gastrOnOmic strife was
encouraged by an award of prizes for the
best and second best dinners, another for
general proficiency, and fourth for ex-
cellence. The test was by taste and ap-
pearance, and the judges, after sampling
the viands of each particular miss, gave
to Miss Hettie j. Johnson the first prize,
which was a cooking stove; to Miss Octa-
via Shropshire the second prize, another
cooking stove; to Miss E. J. Shropshire
$40 for general proficiency, and to Miss
Alice Camp, of the mature age of 10, $40
for excellence.
This innovation on the usual purpose of
agricultural fairs cannot but be COM
mended. 1t is we'll, not only for the
young ladies of Georgia, but the young
men Of that State and posterity, that efforts
for improving the breed of racers, or de-
velOping the most profitable species of
kline have at last given way to the encour-
agement of the culinary art. Certainly
such championship is an immense i'm
provement upon the baby and dog shows
which have become features at some agri.
cultural fairs. There is no subject, next
to the production of his food, in which
man is so much interested as its prepare
ton. The Georgia young ladies have evil
IDENTIFY OWNED this secret, and remember
ing the old aphorism about the quickest
route to mans heart being Ola his stom-
ach, are confident of gaining greater
matrimonial prize by means of this &C
complishment than without it,
Such contests Of the pot and kettle de-
serve to be encouraged. Music, the polite
languages, pleasing manners and taste in
dress, are accomplishments that need not
and ought not to be discouraged, and
when supplemented by some practical
knowledge of the ordinary and unpoetical
affairs of life, they shine to much better
effect But music and manners cannot
take the place of sound common sense,
nor will a repast of French colloquialisms
answer for a good, square meal. Why is
it not as desirable that all accomplished"
young lady have sub stratum of practi-
cal information, as that a young man of
wealth, or professional gentleman, be
indicted into the mysteries of trade.
The kind Of education which most
young ladies of America receive is not
built upon solid foundation, and right
here is the secret of the trouble which so
many housewives experience in procur-
ing domestic help-it is that they know
little themselves about the science of
housekeeping. If the reader has the Gu
riosity to inquire, he will ascertain that
good housekeepers have less annoyance
from their servants than poor. AS rule,
girls know but little about Housekeeping
when they first go out to service. If the
mistress be thrifty, economical, tidy, skill
ed in cookery, and amiable, the novice
servant that is ''broke inn wrong gener-
ally goes wrong throughout her life, as
does, ALSO lady who attempts to conduct
the affairs of house without first having
been educated in the fundamental princi-
pies thereof. A good servant will no
more suit than bad one. Indeed it is
not upon record that an undomesticated
mistress and good servant remained I'M
der the same roof, bearing those relations
to each other, more than twenty-four
| hours. The baggage of the latter is gen
orally hustled out upon the sidewalk even
sooner than that.
If, instead of rivalry in fashion and
dress, the ambition of young ladies should
be directed toward excellence in the art OF
making home comfortable, there would
be less dependence upon outside assis
lance, and there would be fewer stupid
servant girls" fewer complaining wives
and more happy homes than there now
| are ChGc0Q0 Times.