The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-16
SOME ROADS TO ECONOMY

| It seems hard to convince the cook that if one foot of gas costs one-ninth of a cent-which it does-two feet will cost two times as much, and So on. But a housekeeper should realize it and act accordingly. In an exchange the following rules to keep down the gas bill are found:
 Whether you own hands or hired ones do the cooking, you should see to 1t | that not a foot of gas Is wasted and | that every foot used Is made to do double duty whenever possible. Carry out this system until it becomes habit l and you will generally cut the gas bill very nearly in half.
 No one wastes gas wilfully, but little leaks are apt to arise which, uncheck- cd, count for much in the aggregate.
 For instance, why need the gas fire
 wait for the pot? Yett the average wo- man lights the flame first and fills her kettle. The half minutes waste may l seem very little; but multiply it by the thirty days in a month and again by | four or five times it may occur in a days cooking, and by the end of tho month the gas will have burned for a ! couple of hours or more to no pur- pose
 To avoid this and similar leaks. the
 following points are worth noting; 1. See that the food Is entirely ready
 for cooking before lighting the stove. ?. A pot can do no more than boil.
 After that process has been started, the | lowered flame will keep 1t going quite | as well and often better than the full | flame.
 l 3. Use a big flame to start soups.
 sauces, pot-roasts, stews and vegeta- bles; then turn 1t low. These viands should cook very slowly and simmering
 brings out their value better than boil | ing.
 4. When a pot has cooked enough, turn out the flame if you are not yet
 ready with the rest of the meal It can be rehearted in a moment. 5. A yellow flame indicates that a
 larger proportion of gas Is burning | than is necessary. Just below the cock you will find little cap. Turn this to
 the right or to the left until the flame
 burns blue. Doing this you admit air,
 which, burning with the gas, will fur
 nish a considerable amount of heat that you do not need to pay for. | 6. Keep your stove burners clean. If | you note that the flame burns here and | there with a small spark, 1t is sign
 that the gas outlet is clogged. Clean 1t
 with a wisp of cotton twisted about the
 point of a hat pin.
 '. The metal retains heat for some
 little time after the lights are out. Consequently you can save gas by turn | ing off the flame few minutes before
 the dish Is done.
 1 8. To keep food hot when the diners
 are late without having 1t oVerdone. place an asbestos lid beneath the pot and lower the flame. These plates are
 only few cents each. and they last indefinitely. To keep several things
 warm, light one oven burner and set them all in the oven. As soon as the
 latter is warm, turn the flame low. Several devices are upon the market intended to make a single burner do double duty Among these are sec tional pans, which, when placed slde
 by side, fit over one burner. Using a set of three of these, you can make one flame cook potatoes. rice and vege- tahIa in three different vessels at one time The steamer with its perforated second and third story is another prac- ticaI utensiI You can cook caulinower' dumplings or spaghetti in the upper commandments in the steam that rises
 from the water that is boiling potatoes
 in the lowest one
 ways by which the single flame will do double duty. The broiling flames
 being under the oven. the latter can be used to bake pie, cake or couIhs with the same heat that cooks the steak, chops or fish.
 It takes no more gas to boil douole portion than a single one of soup or or potatoes, staples that are used every day in most households. Since soup stock will keep perfectly fresh in the refrigerator. you may cook enough at
 one time for two or three days. Simi- larly, there are so many appetizing ways in which to utilize leftover pota-
 toes that cooking a double portion to-
 day will save half an hours gas to- morrow.