Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-07-02


THESE steamers and food cookers ono
sees at the fairs are all very nice, but q
farmer can make better cooker for him.
self at one-third the cost OF those patented
affairs. Make box of hard wood, and of
the desired capacity, ends and sides slop-
ing. For the bottom use piece of sheet
iron as wide rs the outside of the box.
Place the box upon brick work IA trench
in the ground can be made to answer the
purposcl, within which the fire Is placed.
II should have door, with damper be.
meath, to admit the air, that the fire may be
properly regulated; the escape for smoke
at the opposite end. In the end of the box
should be a faucet or slide, through which
the box can be emptied. The cover is
movable, and should consist of plank, cut
on a bevel TO correspond with the slope of
the sides and the ends of the box and made
to fit inside, not on the top.
Place few loose cleats or supports at
intervals in the bottom of the box, after il
Is placed in position over the fire.box or
trench, and upon these supports place a
false bottom. The false bottom should be
perforated sufficiently to allow water to pass
down and up freely, but the perforations
should be sufficiently small to prevent con
siderable quantities of the contents of the
box from passing down. The false bottom
should be taken out whenever the box is
cleaned, in order TO prevent an accumula-
ton of material beneath it. lis object is to
prevent food from burning, which it would
do If upon the bottom of the box proper.
1t not only has the merit of economy in
construction, but Of being very economical
in operation The box will hold all that
will likely be required at one time. The
fire-boX is large and roomy, and the fire
can be made largely of old chunks fit for
nothing else, or of long pieces of wood,
and when the fire has once got fairly un-
der way the hampers can be closed, and
the farmer can go to other work while the
cooking is proceeding, for if the wood
does not burn long enough the bed of
Goals remaining will be sufficient for the
purpose.
In constructing such an apparatus it
would be well TO make the sides of the box
long enough to admit of their being fast
encd together by iron bolts outside the
ends to prevent spreading, and the bottom
might be made a foot or more longer than
the box at one end, and in the projecting
portion a joint of stove-pipe fitted to act as
chimney, and before the bottom is nailed
to its place a heavy coat of thick white
lead should be smcared upon the edges of
the boards that will receive il, that the
joint may be tight The iire-box or trench
should be little narrower than the bot
tom of the box, so that the fire will not
act directly upon the bottom where it is
nailed TO the wood.
Such an apparatus as is here described
will cook corn admirably, and would, I'VE
believe, answer the purpose with meal, if
the mush were not required too thick. If
Z. 4
become soft, it will probably be found to
answer all the purposes of grinding. Such
an apparatus can also be used for soaking
corn when it is not designed to cook it;
and, when hog-killing time comes, it will
be found of great use as scalding vat
keeping fire under'it all the time, and re-
ducing the temperature of the water, when
necessary, by the addition of cold water.
Lice Stock Journal.