The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, December 02, 1908, Image 3

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    F I RELESS COOKERS.
ECONOMY AND VARIETY THROUGH SIMPLE
HOMEMADE DEVICE
"I have been experimenting for the
last six months with many tireless
cookers," said Mrs. Anna Barrows,
"but I have found that the one you
can make yourself Is Just as good as
any on the market Set the kettle
which contains the food In a kettle
of boiling water. Then Burround the
whole with some substance which is
a non-conductor of heat. That is all
there is to a flreless cooker. It should
be used as an adjunct to every kitch
en for foods which demand long, slow
cooking. It not only saves money,
but is better for foods which require
this kind of cooking. Of course, If
one is cooking with coal, so that a
thing can be set on the back of the
stove to simmer, it doesn't matter.
But every one who cooks with gas,
electricity, oil or alcohol should have
-a flreless cooker."
Miss Barrows's first lesson of the
year waB given at Brooklyn Institute
In the new Academy of Music, where
a fine hall was fitted up with electric
cooking apparatus, running hot and
cold water and everything else neces
sary for cooking lessons. Her tteiuo
was "Markets and Meats," and her re
marks on the flreless cooker came ap
propos of a dish of braised veal. She
first took the tougher, Bcraggly, more
undesirable portions of a round of
veal, rolled them In flour or bread
crumbs and fried them brown in pork
fat For the fat she tried out slices
of larding pork.
"This pork fat gives the veal a flav
or It would not otherwise have," said
she. "Veal has been called the cha
meleon of the kitchen. We eat It un
der many different names. Many per
sons are opposed to pork as an ar
ticle of food and opposed to fat in
cooking. We require a certain
amount of fat, and we consume It.
Americans consume It largely in the
form of butter. Butter costs 35 or 40
cents a pound. It is an animal fat,
and I am not sure that it Is any more
wholesome than good beef or pork
fat in cooking as to use cooking but
ter." The bits of veal being browned by
this time, she took them out, added to
the fat in the pan a tablespoonful of
flour and stirred It smooth into a
brown gravy. Then she added water
and flavoring. It may be made differ
ent every time by a different flavor
ing. A bay leaf may be used, or
lemon juice, onion, tomatoes or some
table sauce. Returning the veal to
this sauce, she said: "Now this Is ex
actly the sort of dish to put In a flre-
Iobs cooker. It wants to simmer slow
ly for a long time. That makes
tough portions of meat tender, whole
some and well flavored. This is the
way to use up tough, cheap meat. Re
member always that the tough musc
les of the animal have just as much
nutriment in them as the tender ones.
They are not so agreeable to chew,
that's all."
"If It requires much fuel to make
them tender they may not be any
cheaper in the end. But if they can
' get long cooking in a flreless cooker
or on the back of a coal stove which
Is kept always going in winter money
can be saved. You can make this
stew or braise of the rough ends and
trimmings of any kind of meat.
"Aside from economy, this Is a
question of variety. People grow
tired of constant steaks, chops and
roasts. Some housewives feed their
families entirely on those things, the
most expensive cuts of the animal,
costing 18 and 20 cents a pound and
more, while other portions of the
same animal, at 12 and 14 cents a
pound, are Just as wholesome, and
prepared In this way, with different
palatable sauces would be an agree
able change. With our city life and
delicate appetites variety must be
constantly sought by the housewife,
and with the prices of meat rising ev
ery year there are few who must not
consider economy. A good way to get
both Is to use the less desirable por
tions of the animal. Among these
are heart, liver, kidneys and tripe.
These things are commonly looked on
with a lUtle suspicion. People are
sot sure -that they are quite whole
some. They are just as wholesome
as the expensive portions of the same
animal. But they require longer
cooking and more careful preparation.
Here is a piece of fresh tripe. It was
plunged in boiling water, and has been
boiling gently since we began. It is
. now tender. Now you can cut" It in
pieces, dip the pieces In batter or in
egg and bread crumbs and fry them
In deep fat and they will be a nutri
tious and palatable variety. In many
bouses tripe is never used. There is
no reason for that."
Miss Barrows larded some meat for
the class. The larding needle is a
steel prong with four forks at the end.
On these forks is fixed a little strip of
- fat p6rk. When the needle Is drawn
through the meat it leaves the pork
behind. Roasts are larded, also the
breast of grouse and other birds like
ly to be dry. The pork melts and
bastes the meat, making it moist and
savory. When it Is not convenient to
lard the meat, a slice of suet may be
slashed into lace work and laid on the
meat, which it will baste in the came
way.
A savory morsel of veal is made by
running the ragged bits, which have
been fried first, through the meat cut
ter1, with bread crumbs and savory
season, then rolling this filling up lu
slices of veal, skewering the whole,
frying it in deep fat and serving as
"veal birds." New York Tribune.
8AM WELLER.
Instances of Wellerltms Before Dick
ens Invented Him.
There were Wellerlsms before Wel-
ler. It may be noted, by the way, that
Samuel's name was no invention. The
name of Weller is familiar to genea
logical students as that of families In
Kent, Surrey and elsewhere In the
south of England. - In the time of Ed
ward III. a certain Hugh le Veller was
living at Henley-on-Thames, so per
haps Mr. Weller, senior, when, from
the gallery of Mr. Justice Stareleigh's
court, he encouraged his Bon to "spell
it with a we," was not so very far
wrong.
There can be but little doubt that
just as Mrs. Frances Sheridan's Mrs.
Tryfort, with recollections of Dogberry
and bis like, suggested, to Sheridan
the creation of Mrs. Malaprop, so
Dickens drew the idea of Sam Weller'B
peculiar way of illustrating his talk
by apt comparison and felicitous allu
sion from a character In a farce by
Samuel Beazley, which was popular
before "Pickwick" was thought of.
This was pointed out in detail more
than a quarter of a century ago by the
late Mr. E. L. Blanchard, although
many lovers of Dickens seem to be
still unaware of the existence of this
prototype of Weller. Both Beazley,
who was by profession an architect,
and his dramatic works are unknown
to the present generation; but In the
early decades of the last century his
plays were popular, especially a musi
cal farce called "Five Hours at Brlgh
ton: or, The Boarding House," pro
duced at the old Lyceum Theatre in
1811. A favorite character in this
farce was Mr. Simon Spatterdash, a
militiaman. . Copies of the play are
very rare, but Mr. Blanchard gave a
number of examples of Mr. Spatter
dash's sayings, of which we quote one
or two: "Come on, as the man said to
bis tight boot"; "I'm down upon you,
as the extinguisher said to the rush
light": "Where shall we fly, as the bul
let said to the trigger"; "I'm all over
In a perspiration, as the mutton chop
said to the gridiron"; "Let everyone
take care of themselves, as the donkey
observed when dancing among the
chickens"; and so on, and bo on.
An actor named Samuel Vale was
Identified with the part of Simon Spat
terdash, and in private life was in the
habit of belardlng his talk with com
parisons of the Spatterdash brand
comparisons which flowed with fatal
facility from his lips. Sam Vale's "lat
est" passed from mouth to mouth, and
both the name of the actor and the
farce with which he was associated
must have been very familiar to Dick
ens. There can hardly be any reason
able doubt that the name of Sam Vale
suggested that of Sam Weller, Just as
his trick of talk, derived from the mil
itlaman of Beazley's farce, suggested
Samuel's amusing method of speech
London Globe.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
The Mexican government Is Import
ing from Bohemia motor tricycles, to
be used In the collection of letters.
New York's zoological park has 4Q60
llvine soeclmens. the next largest be
ing in Berlin, where there are 3150
specimens.
At the London Bankers Clearing
House the dally "town" exchanges ex
ceed those of the "country" by a ratio
of ten to one.
New York city has the largest per
capita personal property assessment
of any city in the State, the valuation
being $98 for each inhabitant.
The Argentine government proposes
to promote the development of national
territories by the construction of rail
ways and the formation of towns along
their lines.
Change of season was shown on last
Sunday, when there were one-fifth
more nersons In the New York church
es than at any other time in the last
twenty Sundays.
Passengers by the transsiberian ex
press now reach Pekin from London
In sixteen dayB, the North Chinese
Railway having been induced to run
the trains by night as well as by day,
Clementine Rocher, aged 16, threw
herself Into the Seine, opposite the
Palais Bourbon, In Paris. Before as
sistance could be given she had re
gained the bunk and Informed the ter
rified pectators that ehe was rehears
ing for suicide, as she proposed to take
her life by drowning. She was ar
rested.
The smallest lnhabltod Island in the
world is probably that on which the
Eddystone light-house stands. At low
water it is thirty feet in diameter; at
high water the lighthouse, whose di
ameter at the base is 28 3-4 feet,
completely covers it. The lighthouse
keeper's garden Is in the lighthouse
windows.
There is lamentation in Verona for
the "palace of the Capulets" has been
consumed from rooftree to cellarage
by fire, and the occupation of the guides
who conducted people thither and
the cicerone who solemnly Bbowed
them Juliet's balcony is Irrevocably
gone, along with the building of ro
mantic and reverend tradition. Phila
delphia Ledger.
r ' ii i
New York City. The fancy blouse
that Is made with Ceep girdle, so giv
ing a modified dtrectolre effect, Is ono
that will have great vogue through'
out the season, and'thls one is charm
ingly graceful and attractive while It
is simple at the same time. In the
Illustration It Is made ot crepe ae
rhin with trlmminE of applique and
chemisette and sleeves of lace and
the girdle Is of messallne satin. It Is
nnnronrlate. however, for almost au
seasonable materials, and can be va
ried in a great many ways, it tne
sleeves of laoe are not liked they can
ho made to match the blouse, or they
can be made of chiffon, marquisette
or other thin material in matcning
rnior. while the chemisette either can
be made of the same or of white lace
an la most becoming. For the trim
ming any finish that may be liked can
be utilized, and the season Is singu
larly prolific of bandings, appliques
and lace of all sorts. The girdle also
can be made ot silk or soft ribbon,
with its ends finished with fringe
weighted with tassels or with cro
cheted tails or in any way that may
best suit the special gown.
The waist is made with a fitted lin
ing on which the chemisette Is ar
ranged, and there are also closely
fitted sleeve linings which serve as a
support to the full ones, and the
blouse itself is made with front and
back portions. The lining and the
blouse both are cut off slightly above
the waist line, and are joined to a
Ulouee Situation.
The blouse en suite has to a great
extent replaced the separate blouse
In the cold weather wardrobe, and
the silk waist In its old-time guise Is
hopelessly out ot fashion, but many
women sturdily cling to the separate
blouse of white, or cream color.
Embroidery Flounce.
Embroidery flounclngs are exten
sively employed In the development
of the high class and extremely or
nate lingerie blouses.
toundatlon girdle, and over this foun
dation the draped girdle and sash are
arranged. It the long sleeves are not
liked they can be cut off In three-
quarter length.
New Irish Shades.
'Among the most exquisite novel
ties In the way of lamp shades are
those made of Irish crochet. They
are mounted over a silk foundation
of delicate coloring'.
Six Gored Skirt.
The gored walking skirt that glvei
long and slender Hues Is the one
greatly In vogue Just now, and this
one Is graceful In the extreme. It
can be primmed with the Blngle wide
band of contrasting material as Illus
trated, with a band of the same or
with a succession of narrow bands or
rows of braid applied on the same
lines, or It can be finished with a hem
only, all these styles being equally In
vogue. Again, It allows a choice of
the Inverted pleats or habit back so
that It can be made to suit all figures
and all seasonable materials. In the
Illustration it Is made of one of the
new bordered materials, and the bor
der Is cut off and applied to form the
trimming band.
The silrt Is cut In six gores, and
there consequently is a seam at the
centre front bb well as one at centre
back. When the habit back Is de
sired the fulness Is cut off on indi
cated lines. The band which forms
the trimming Is arranged over the
skirt and is mitred to conform to the
Indicated shaping.
Belt Adjustment.
A touch to be observed In wear
ing forenoon linens, etc. Is this: If
the costume is a short walsted affair,
whether in white or In colors, tho
smart belt to be worn Is an all-white
one, but If it Is long-walsted, a color
is to be chosen for tbe belt.
About Hatpins.
Hatpin heads for a while grew
larger and larger, until they resem
bled the tiny butter plates once uni
versally used.
RE8TORINQ SCIENCE.
Son Day It Will Be Misled by
False Tooth.
Certain eminent paleontologists re
cently have "restored" several of the
wild beasts that roamed the primitive
morasses of central Oregon 8,000,000
years ago. Judging by their names
these authentic monstrosities were
somewhat fiercer than the wild ani
mals we have known In this prosalo
age. They must have looked like a
Jungle cartoon.
Think ot a deer with Borne of the
characteristics of the cutlery-crested
pig that made Arkansas Infamous! He
could run like a daddylonglegs and
bite like the dickens. The comlo
scientists reduced this animal to a
condition of unquestioning subjection
by naming him Hypertragulus, other
wise he might have gnawed a hole
in the museum and let the useful
Trlceratops (restored) escape.
For the Hypertragulus was part rat
in addition to his other eccentricities.
He could gnaw Into a corncrib and
squeak when he bit a nail. He could
grunt if he wanted to. This animal
was reconstructed from a fossil tooth
and a fragment of a dorsal fin. With
two whole tibia to work upon he could
easly have exhibited many of the traits
of the little brown hen and the fret
ful slx-cyltndered Oasolenopus. His
flesh was esteemed a delicacy, but the
animal was restored too late to affect
the present scarcity of venison.
The Trlceratops was a three-horned.
paddle-tailed hippopotamus. He was
one-third hippo and two-thirds tall,
closely related to the beaver and the
bumblebee. This animal, If domes
ticated, could have been profitably em
ployed in the construction of public
swimmln holes; but his tall might
have proved valueless as a municipal
butter paddle, as It was thirty feet la
length. It would have taken all the
butter to grease tbe paddle.
The Trlceratops became extinct
through the ravages of the tyran-
nosaurus Rex, or giant lizard (re
tored), a great, carnivorous reptile
that perished in the glacial catacylsm
also restored. Careless boys some
times staked the pet Trlceratops on
the banks ot the swimmln' hole and
left him there over night without pro
tection, where he fell an easy prey
to the prowling Tyrannosaurus rex.
Hore Is food for thought
Mesohlppus acuttdens is the name
giyen to the oemlc-sectlon little animal
that was an ancestor of our domestlo
horse. He was burdened with three
toes on each foot, besides being man's
best friend; and then there was the
name. He resembled a fox with a
horse's faults, and would shy at sight
of a Oasolenopus. This playful beast
became extinct through legislative
lobbying of the horse-Bhoers' union,
the members of which objected to
nailing twelve shoes on one blame
little centipede. Still the Mesohlppus
acutidens might have been a useful
carriage animal but for its disconcert
ing trick of burrowing like a fox.
It Is said that the advanced paleon
tologist can reconstruct an extinct ani
mal from a single fossil fragment,
Custom-made clothing sometimes Is
constucted after a careless glance at
a thumb print; but, one of these days
some scientist will accidentally get
hold ot a fossil false tooth that does
not conform in anatomical rules, and
the result will be a Mess-o'-hlppus-
tyrannosaurus-hypermego-therium, ex
hibiting some plainly noticeable traits
of the sea urchin. Chicago News.
About Rats.
"Tom" Speedy, the Llberton natur
alist, has "delivered Judgment" In
"The Scotsman" on a lot of Interesting
correspondence concerning rats. The
statement that the progeny of a single
pair of rats will in three years In
crease to C5G.808 should, he says, be
accepted with the proverbial pinch of
salt. As the result of observation Mr,
Speedy declares that fifteen was the
largest brood he had ever seen and
four the smallest Seven was the
average of those he kept in confine
ment. The young are born blind, and
it is fourteen days before they can see,
A month later they are displaced by
another brood and they are driven
from the nursery to fend for them
selves. Frequently only one female
is found in a brood, and this In a
large measure must check the geomet
rical tendency to increase. What be
comes of so many young bachelor rats
Mr. Speedy does not state. It Is as
serted that old males, when opportun
ity offers, destroy young broods, but
of this Mr. Speely has no knowledge,
This he does not know, that the
mother rat keeps the old male away
from her brood in confinement Lon
don Globe.
Eating and Drinking.
It Is estimated that a canary bird
eats annually 234 1-2 times Its weight
in sueJs, etc. Don't you believe it?
Certainly. Believe ' anything. ake
it on trust What does man do? The
English and French army and navy
tests show that tbe food, water and
air which a man receives amount In
the aggregate to more than 3000
pounds a year; that Is, to about a ton
and a half, or more than twenty time
his weight The tests for men are
actual; those for birds are all guess,
A canary bird wastes a great deal
more than its eats. Soldiers and sail
ors are not allowed to Indulge in this
diversion. New York Press.
A Rare Bird.
"He Is wonderfully original."
"Isn't he? Why, he can even get
sentimental and tell a girl the story
of his life without hinting that he
used to be a bold, bad man." Kansas
City Times.
SCIENCE
Because of accidents In various na
vies, the British Admiralty plans to
cool all warshlpB, with refrigerating
apparatus.
Genuine ruby glass owes Its color
to the presence of particles of gold
too small to be seen without the aid
of the strongest microscope.
The longest clock pendulum In the
world is at St Chad's, Shrewsbury,
England. It la twenty-two feet In
length and the ball weighs 200 pounds.
French scientists are studying a pe
culiar movement ot the sands along
the northern coasts of France, Belgi
um and Holland. A fine sand origin
ating on the coast of Normandy has
been found as far away as Denmark.
A novel method ot pumping liquids
from bore holes Is by means of an
endless rope, somewhat after the fash
Ion of the chain pump, only In this
case the liquid to be raised Is ab
sorbed by the rope and squeezed out
between the rollers at the surface.
Appendicitis Is a new disease in
name only, and It has been traced
back to ancient Egypt by the explora
tions of Capt. H. Q. Lyons In fifty
seven cemeteries of the Nile Valley
just south of the Pillars of Konosso.
Female abdominal organs from one
grave were so well preserved that this
disease could be recognized. Another
body Bhowed typical lesions of gout,
both forearms of a young woman had
been broken and were bandaged with
splints, and numerous bones showing
reunited fractures, gave evidence ot
much surgical skill. A London mus
eum will acquire from these graves a
valuable collection illustrating early
disease and accidents and the treat
ment
rntv nnnnln who are occasionally
startled by seeing a manhole cover
blown from the pavement generally
ascribe the blame to leaking gas-
mains. But there are probably many
other sources from which dangerous
gases find their way Into sewers, and
one of these is Indicated by an inves
tigation recently reported to the Am-
erican Chemical Society by Pror. A.
A. Breneman. He showed that the en
trance of a mixture of gasoline ana
nan into drains and sewers from gar
ages, factories and other places where
such materials are employed ror wasn
lng, Is sufficient to account for the
liberation of much combustible vapor,
which may play a part In sewer ex
plosions. . i
T "
OLD TIME REFRIGERATORS.
8prlng Houses of the Ozarks and Their
Many Uses.
"You do not need to go far out of
St. Louis to And the old time spring
house," said a gentleman connected
with one of the Western ranroaas.
"The prime requisite of a farm In
the early days was water, and nobody
would buy a section of land any
where in the Ozark region unless it
was provided with a spring. The
usually located as near
the spring as convenience suggested
and then after the home was secureo
the next step was to build a spring
house. The walls were made from
two to four feet thick ot any rough
stone that happened to be handy. The
door was of heavy oak boards and fas
tened with a stout padlock. Inside tho
house three sides were usually fitted
out with shelves to hold the great
crocks of milk, jars of cream and but
ter, and usually the spring bowl was
excavated, bo as to form a pool having;
a uniform depth of three to six incheo.
In this the choicest dairy products
were placed in order that they might
be coolest while overhead stout nails
or hooks were fastened to the rafters
to support huge roasts, legs ot mut
ton and veal, which at the temper
ature of 45 degrees or thereabout
would keep fresh many days.
"Rats and mice were almost un
known abefut the spring house, but
small snakes and half grown frogs
were numerous, and when the coun
try maid noticed an unusual commo
tion In the ajr of milk she was hand
ling she was not at all surprised or
frighteted either when a water snake
slipped out of the Jar and disappear
ed. Nor'was the family alarmed
when the head of a frog appeared In
the milk pitcher at breakfast. The
pitcher was promptly emptied into
the pig's trough, and the frog, if not
devoured by the pigs, made a bee line
for the spring branch. Nobody was
blamed, for every one knew that the
covers of the jars did not fit and that
frogs and snakes were to be expect
ed in a spring house.
"These old fashioned refrigerators
are everywhere to be seen in the val
leys of the Ozarks and fulfil the same
purpose that they did when Missouri
was a territory. St Louis Globe
Democrat Cure for Dipsomania.
Flesh food is the chief cause of dip
somania. When men are properly
nourished upon non-Inflammatory diet
that Is rich in proteld and nerve and
tissue building substance such as
nuts of all kinds and their products,
cereal foods, (wheat meal, oatmeal,
macaroni, rice, etc.,) legumes, (hari
cots, lentils, and peas), fruits of every
sort, and dairy produce (cheese, milk
and eggs) they do not crave for
strong drink, nor are they In danger
' of taking alcohol to excess. London
Health Record.