Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-03-02
BY T. L. TtERNEY

well to divide it into three parts, and
in doing so l would place them In order
of Importance: Fire, preparedness and
actual cooking.
Fire is placed first, as 1t is naturally
the first thing to look to before preparing
a meal in camp, and also because the
cook, no matter how good, is practically
helpless without the proper kim Of fire.
Preparedness Is placed second. and. as
Is suggested. the cook must "be pre-
pared before he attempts the actual
cooking. Under this head would be placed
cooking equipment, recipes and method
of use and application,
Actual cooking. although placed last.
Is perhaps the hardest part of the whole
subject. 1t certainly is the most difficult
to impart, and will have to be confined
to suggestions, rather thar to any set
rules, on account Of the varying condi-
tons under which it Is done. / also be-
lieve there is n certain intuition which
tells a good cook when a thing Is cook
Ing properly and the exact instant when
to remove IL from the fire in order to
have 1t done to a T." 1t would be more
to the point to say that the good cooks
are those who have the intuition. This
latter Is not a tangible thing which can
br put dow in black and white, but must
he brought out by many trials and per-
maps a good many failures. Close atten-
ton to the process of cooking and tho
varying requirements for each kind of
rood viii, If consistently carried out and
thought out, teach a boy to become what
Is often spoken of as an "intultive cook"
Getting back to the subject OF fire, tho
| FIRST thinrr iG In e,1,,s 4, .,ra. ,t... ..
build the fire. This, of course, varies
according to weather conditions. If a
windy day, try to get shelter or protcc-
ton from a hill. a bank or the woods. n
IN the lee of a woods you will run little
risk of setting them aflre.
If you are in the woods. select a site
where there are no low-hanging branches,
as the heat would kill them. n possible,
select a Fireplace directly under an open
space in the trees through which you can
sec tho sky; this will not only protect
the trees, but will aid you with your fire,
as the heat rising through the opening
VIII cause u draft, similar to a chimney,
which VIII draw off the smoke and at the
same time cause your fire to burn better.
DO not build n fire without first scraping
the leaves away for n distance of five
or six feet in every direction from the
spot on which you wish to build the fire;
this VIII prevent creeping and eliminate
10 a great degree the chances for a gem
cral Conllagration.
Having selected your site. the next stem
Is to build the fire. There are three kinds
Of tires will describe in this article.
FIRST the fire for frying, broiling and
the more easily cooked vegetables. such
as potatoes, carrots, Cauliflower. spinach,
new peas, new corn, squash, asparagus,
etc.
Select two green logs, 2 to 4 inches in
diameter and 3 to 4 feet long. place them
on the ground side by side. nearer to-
{ ppthnr u 4 qua ,,II tI,,, ~ IT.. IA T.
apart at one end and 6 inches Mt tho
other, and place them broadsidc TO tho
wind. Then regulate your draught by
placing a stick or stone under ono or
both ends of the log on the windward
side, according to the strength OF tho
wind Start your fire between the logs
IN the regulation way. BE sure to have a
large enough supply of dry wood on
hand TO complete your cooking. Small
hard wood is best for this fire; spanning
the fire, YOU can place your pots and
pans and broilers on the logs, arranging
them according to size over the wider or
narrower space. For broiling burn a
quantity of hard wood until you nave a
good bed of Goals. (See cut)
Second, if you are having a cold snack
and want q hot drink, the quickest
method securing hot water is to build a
small pyramid fire and with a crotch
stick and a long pole swing your kettle
over the fire. (See cut)
The third method of fire building Is
for a more or less permanent camp and
one for cooking articles which require a
much longer time, such as beans, beets,
cabbage. onions, turnips, baked potatoes,
hunters stew, hams, etc, It is also one
of the best fires for baking with a re-
Hector oven.
To build this fire, first drive two stakes
in the ground about three feet apart and
not quite upright and standing clear of
the ground about four feet. Against
these place logs four to five feet long,
piling them one on the other, until three
or four feet high. Use logs six to eight
inches i'm diameter. You now have your
back log and are ready to build your
fire against II. Start with a small pyra-
mid fire at centre of back logs. increasing
II in size until large enough to cover a
circular space two feet in diameter. Burn
a quantity of hard wood until you have
a good bed of coals-you are now ready
to bake or boil To boil you can use long
poles as shown In cut of small pyramid
fire only resting them over your back
logs instead of the crotch stick, or you
can put up n hanger by driving a crotch
stick on either side of your fire and plac-
ing n long stick across, from which to
hang the kettles. To bake place your
oven close up to the fire, with its back
TO the wind. Another good way is to place
it across the angle formed by the fire and
the back logs. This is the hottest place,
as 1t gets the reflected heat from the back
logs as well as the direct heat from the
fire. 1t will be necessary therefore, TO
watch it more closely.
(The next article will cover Prepared
ness.')
Seven scouts passed the tirst-class cook
ing test conducted by Deputy Scout Com
missioner Patton in Montgomery County
saturday. They are Scouts Samuel Cohen,
Joseph Peikin, Hyman Rich, Edward
Moved, T.. MarbelIow and Fader, of Troop
GA. and Edward Dolbey, of Troop Y. Flap
lacks, bacon and eggs, hunters stew,
meat balls, coffee ana cocoa and thick
twist baked on sticks were the articles
included in the test.
TTTKE WARM ATMOC