The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1893-07-19
Written for the Waterman
The Farm House i'm Summer.
BY LAURA b. BoYCE.

The heat of midsummer is upon us,
and it remains for us TO mitigate its
discomforts as much as possible, and
then endure heroically And it needs
heroism to wrestle with the problem of
supplying the wants of the household
when the thermometer is rambling
around in the nineties, and visit to the
kitchen suggests the C fiery furnace "
of history The farm house kitchen is
not supposed to be any hotter than
bors incident to farm life confne the
housewife more closely therein. Much
heat and discomfort may be avoi ded by
a wise planning of the work so TO uti-
lie the early mornin G fires for the work
that requires fire, even if it is not in
the regular routine of the days work.
The dishes may wait contentedly in the
sink, while the pies are being made,
the doughnuts fried, or ironing is being
done; and the beds may air, with adj
vantage, while the work requiring
fire is attended to. Our diet, too, does
much to make or mar our comfort in
hot weather. One who lives largely on
fruits and vegetables will suffer much
less discomfort from the heat than one
who INDUCES his appetite for meat and
other heating and stimulating foods.
If we were all vegetarians in summer,
there is little doubt that it would be
advantage Gus to health and comfort as
we'll as pocket book. But since the
average farmers family are not vegeta-
rians but insist on meat diet, it re-
mains to choose the more economical
and healtEful sources of supply. And
that is not the pork barrel. In winter
time, in this climate, the problem is an
easy one, but in summer it requires
more forethought and care. The farmer
should not be dependent on the
village meat market, or the semi
weekly butchers cart, for often the
farmhouse is too distant from market
to be available when most needed, and
the good man, too, is rather apt to
grumble over the high prices charged
for indifferent meats by the butcher,
and the low prices he is obliged to &C.
cept for his own fat cattle and pigs,
from the aforesaid butcher, who nat
urally intends to live by his trade,
whether the producer does or not.
Every farm housewife should have a
goodly supply of home-cured dried
beef; dish that when properly cooked
in cream, is fit for a king, or better still
an American farmer. Sailed Goldfish or
salmon well freshened, and treated with
liberal allowance of cream are not to be
despised. l have tried an experiment
this season in canning beef, and am
ready to pronounce it success. Hav-
ing surplus of fine beef for winter
use, thought to utilize portion of
it for the summers needs. l cooked it
down in the kettle and seasoned it as if
for immediate use, and cutting it in
suitable pieces, removing all bones,
gristle, ETC., packed it while still warm
in glass fruit jars, pressing the meat
spoon. When the jar was we'll filled
cooked out of it, l poured melted lard
over it, letting it settle and fill all the
space between the pieces of meat, thus
expelling the air that would spoil it
otherwise. l was careful to have the top
perfectly covered with lard before the
cover was put on. 1t has kept well till
July, so l have reason to believe that it
would through the summer. The jars
should be well wrapped in paper and
kept in the cellar. One will be sur
prised at the amount of meat quart
jar will hold when solidly packed.
When wanted for use, put the jar in a
warm place till the lard is melted enough
to pour off carefully, then remove
the meat. Those who like spot roast I"
will appreciate this method of preserving
meat for summer use. If the farmer
has the variety of vegetables in his
garden that all should raise, there will
be less demand for meat in the hot
weather, and quite likely less need of
doctors medicine. l am aware that
some are afraid to cat many vegetables
in summer, which is the time they are
most needed-Nature supplies legiti-
mate demand. Doubtless one may be
made i'll by eating unripe fruits, or
large quantities of uncooked vegetables.
We must use a wise moderation in all
things, diet, work and recreation if we
would keep well and happy even though
the dog star RACES.