The Bottineau pioneer., 1894-12-01

Very few housekeepers, particularly
IL they are young and inexperienced.
really govern their kitchens. In the
dining room and drawing room they
ire paramcG Gnt, and the evidences OF
their dainty care are plainly visible In
The minutest details, hut ut the thresh-
old of the kitchen they pause. md the
invincible dread of interfering with
the cook conquers them. and as long as
the meals are served to their satistac-
ton they are content to let well enough
alone. They leave the most important
premises in the house to the entire care
of an ignorant and sometimes slOvenly
servant who does her work without
system or method. and therefore has
no time to do it thoroughly. The first
thing to be done in the morning in the
kitchen is to open all the windows;
this is little detail in itself which is
often neglected, although it is obvious
that pure air should attend the prepa-
, ration of healthy food. Next, the fire
should be lit, the paper, kindliDg and
coal being all ready. Many cooks, to
avoid trouble. leave fire all night, but
this burns out the range, chokes up the
fire and Is generally untidy, and 1t
should never be allowed.
While the range is heating the kitch-
en- should be lightly busted, after which
the breakfast should De prepared.
Breakfast over, all the utensils and
dishes used in cooking should be
washed and left OH the range to dry.
Then the range should be brushed, and
the greasy pL-ces rubbed with stove
polish; mats should be shaken and
the floor swept and the kitchen busted
thoroughly. Then the sink should be
washed with soda and stiff brush
this should be done after each meaD,
allowing no refuse to 60 down the
waste pipe. Afterwards come the dish
cloths, which should be washed out in
hot soap suds daily and boiled twice a
week. This is most important for san
itary reasons. No sOiled dishes should
be allowed to stand; they should be
scraped and washed as soon as pOssi-
bic after each meal and set in order
before proceeding to other work
When the last meal of me day is
over the kitchen should be put in
order, the utensils washed, all food
closet, the tables secured, the ashes
taken away from the range and the
hearth brushed up. A great deal of
labor can be saved and leisure gained
by doing everything at the right time,
and also by knowing how to do it..
Iron pots should be cleaned with soda
and with q metal scourer and dish
cloths kept for the pots alone. If food
adheres to the sides fill the pots with
water and soda and leave them on the
range for an hour or so. This should
be washed with hot suds as soon as
possible after using, and should be
secured once a week with sapoliO.
Copper utensils should be cleaned with
vinegar and salt rubbed on with fan
mel, and polished afterwards with
chamois. Wooden utensils should al
ways be washed with cold water and
sand, and kitchen knives should be
cleaned every day with brick. The
greatest care should be taken with the
refrigerator; it should be thoroughly
scrubbed out at least once a week with
borax and water and we'll aired and
the blanket on the ice dried every day
and washed once a week.
Although care such as we have men,
toned should be a daily duty, there
should also be more thorough clean
ing once a week. The floor must be
scrubbed, the range polished, the flues
of the latter cleared Of dust and ashes,
the closets and shelves secured. It
makes the work easier if this cleaning
is distributed-for instance, the pot
closets and pots on Monday, the store
room Tuesday, the dresser and china
closet on Wednesday, tins and coppers
on Thursday, refrigerator on Friday
and the kitchen and range on Saturday.
A list Of the duties expected of the
cook clearly written out and hung up
on the wall will greatly facilitate mat
ters and prevent misunderstanding. BY
practicing little gentle firmness at
the outset it is easy to train q new
cook into your ways" and she win
like you better and stay with you long
er If you insist upon making her work
easy for her in spite of herseh.-New
York Tribune.