The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-02

From the New York Sun.
 In the matter of cooking, the world has had the wood age, the coal age the gas age and it is entering the electric age, perhaps. But in the near future there may come the fireless age, for meals are now being prepared for American soldiers in which fire plays a very small part.
 It is a fact that the fireless cook stove, as it is called, has come into service in the west, and that meat, vegetables and other foods are actually cooked py it, and cooked so thoroughly and pal atably that the soldier enjoys a meal so cooked better than one prepared in the usual way
 Out west they call the tireless cook stove the hay box. Here is the formula for making one of these stoves:
 You first get a wooden box, the boards of which are tightly joined Any old box will do. provided it is tight enough and large enough.
 Next you line 1t with two or three thick nesses of felt or, what is better, asbestos paper, The lining can be fastened to the wood with glue, so that 1t is not nec- essary to make any holes with nails or tacks.
 Next you get a few armsful of thor oughly dried hay, stuff it into the box then get piece of cotton batting of the exact length and width of the inside and your fireless cook stove is ready for business.
 There are no matches, no gas jet, no coal blaze, no flaming fagots. You could set the stove in the middle of a pile of gun powder and cook the meal without the slightest danger, for on the outside it is no warmer than the ordinary air The element that does the work is held prisoner within
 Yes, the term flreless cook stove is appropriate, but little heat is required just enough to get the thing started prop erly, just as you use ldndling to light the fire for breakfast in the morning This kindling can be done over a gas stove, an oil stove or a bonfire if you wish
 Suppose, for instance, you want to make an Irish stew. The potatoes, onions and any other vegetables are chopped up with the meat and put into the kettle, and enough water is added. The cook places the kettle over the fire just long enough for the water to begin to bubble, showing that it has reached the boiling point.
 Taking the kettle off the fire he slips it into a hole in the hay pox tucks the hay snugly around the sides and top, puts the cotton batting or other cover over all, then claps down the covering and latches or locks it. That's all. The box does the rest and he can turn on the gas cock or dash a pail of water over the embers He has no further use for the fire.
 Suppose the stew is being made for the noon dinner The cook puts it into the box anywhere between 9 and 10 o'clock. Just before he announces that dinner Is served he takes the kettle out of the box. pours the stew into the tureen, and when the head of the family ladies it out the odor which arises from it is as appetizing as that of any Irish stew ever made on the most modern ho- tel range. The meat and vegetables are thoroughly done, steaming hot, and of the genuine flavor
 They are not only cooking Irish stews for the soldiers out west, but boiling pork and ham, roasting any kind of meat pro- vided by the commissary. turning out Boston baked beans; in short, providing a menu which is as varied as the fare