The Red Cloud chief., 1881-10-06
Summer Housekeeping.


Summer Housekeeping.
II is in the dog-days that the souls Of
housekeepers are most severely tried.
AppetItcs are capricious; dishes heartily
eaten one day aud sent away un;asted
the next, while the praiseworthy
economy prarticed Fl King. Arthur's
Court. where what they could no.
eat that day. the QGecn next morning
fried, becomes An impossibility. Cook
ed meats will no; keep long, even in she
refrigerator, while cooked vegetables
our ont of the ice-chest, or, il kept in
il. become flat. stale. and I'M
profitable"
In this state Of afairs il is well 10 fol-
low the example Of jewellers in hot
climates. who live principally on fruits
and fresh vegetables. Dates and bread
form the chief diet # the desert Arab.
and the hardy East Indian c9plie sub
sists almost entirely on rice. Bouillon,
that is. light soup, fresh fruit, a salad,
and coffee is the Frenchman's b III Of fare
for the hot weather. Indeed, nature in
this respect As ia others, is a law unto
herself, and he who eats much meat IN
hot weather Is APP; 10 pay the penalty
for il in a Ciogged brain and feeling of
general heayIncss. Breakfast, especial
", should in warm wcthcr be a light
meal. Mix and oatmeal or cracked
wheat, soft boiled eggs. bread. which
however, need not be stale. fresh butter
and fruit are far more refreshing and
healthy d ct with the thermometer w
among the nincties han hot cakes and
fried meat, washed down with hot
coffee.
The athletes intraining for the Greek
games were restricted To a diet Of bread
and milk and fruit. and in our own day
the prospective prize-iighter is strictly
limited in his supply of animal food.
bio Lewis gives it Is his opinion that
meats. except lambs and chicken. should
be eschewed in hot weather, but then
bio Lewis would make oatmeal the staff
of life, and ascribes most of the ills that
flesh is heir TO to i~ntemperance in eat
ing. Yet, while lone mans meat is
another mans poison" the fact remains
that in warm weather much less animal
food Is necessary than in cold, when
the fires, so to speak, need to be kept
up and an excess Of carbon is required
to keep us warm. In this state of az
fairs it is a matter of congratulatiOn
that Nature provides us with 50 many
dainty dishes. all ready to be eaten.
Strawberries, raspberries, blueberrics,
blackberrieS and peaches may all come
to the table without the smell of fire
having passed upon them, and, eaten
with fresh country cream, are "a dainty
dish to set before a King" Tomatoes.
eaten raw, are a sovereign remedy for
biliousness.
In the country. where fruit and milk
are abundant, ice-cream, that most de-
licious OF hot weather dishes, costs but
very little. Given a five minute freezer
and a pailful of ice. the rich milk, or.
still better. cream. has but to be mixed
with the crushed fruit. sweetened, and
left To freeze itself. Covered with an
old blanket or piece of carpeting, the
process of congcaling will go on slowly
but surely, with small aid from you.
even il your freezer be but a tin bucket,
only in that case you must cut up the
cream two or three times from the bot
tom with n knife while freezing. in Or
der to prevent the formation of crystals
of ice in the freezer.
A popular fallacy con lemns soup as
toe hot for warm weather. On the
contrary, it is one of the best of suIn-
process of digestion is half accom-
plished. and nothing else. except beef
tea, containing as much nourishment
can be eaten with so little effort. Veg
etable soups are easily made, and well
made a:e delicious.
Against flies, that plague of summer.
two weapons are powerful-cleanlincss
and darkness. The table should be
cleaned rs soon a meals are over and
all crumbs carefully brushed up from
table and floor. The dining-rOom
should be kept dark between meals;
but it will not do simply to shut up the
room. shutting the dies in it. Close every
door and window but n and drive the
flies put through that. This is by no
means so difficult as it appears upon
paper. and practice enables one to be-
come quite an expert at the task.
Air all sleeping rooms thoroughly
every morning, and if possible sun the
mattresses occasionally. Often ut night,
when the heat is unbearable. a wet
cloth stretched Owe the window blind
will cool the room as though a shower
had fallen, and every one knows how
watering the pavement in front of the
door will freshen the hot. dry air. This
principle of the reduction Of the EN-
p~erature by evaporation is capable o.
much practical application. In India
and other tropical countries, where ice
is almost unknown. the natives cool
their water for drinking by suspending
their water bottles. which are of porous
e~arthenware. in a brisk current of air.
caused by the punkahs or large fans of
the country, which process is said to
cool it rapidly and thoroughly. But
above all, the great secret of doing
homework with comfort in warm
weather is to do it as much rs possible
in the early morning, resting in the
middle of the day.-fhitadeiphia Press.