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The Day's Routine: Turn

Waste of Gas. - Turn down the burner as soon as the food begins to cook. When water bubbles the burner should be turned down. It is a common mistake to suppose that when the water in a dish or vessel reaches the boiling point it will continue to get hotter if the gas is left turned on full.

In fact, water turns to steam at the boiling point, 212° F., and does not get any hotter, but merely evaporates more quickly; and there is not only waste of gas but additional trouble in replacing the water lost by evaporation, as well as the liability of food burning or cooking into a sticky mass on the bottom of the saucepan. When food begins to cook, the valve or cock can be turned off two thirds. Do not turn on the gas and go hunting for a match in another room. Do not light the burners, and then stop to prepare vegetables or hunt up saucepans. Light the burner just as you reach the range, saucepan in hand, ready to begin cooking, and turn off the gas as soon as the saucepan is removed.

Obtain a set of two semicircular or three triangular saucepans that can be placed on a single burner at the same time. They economize space and gas, as two or three vegetables can be cooked at the same time over the same burner.

Ironing with Gas.-Get a strip of metal large enough to hold four or five flatirons, and heat the irons on this. A single gas burner will heat the metal from end to end, and thus do the work of three or four. The same strip of metal can be used for making griddlecakes. Turn over the irons a metal pan so as to save the top heat, and turn the gas down low.

With care, four or five flats can be kept hot at a cost of about ten cents for an ordinary ironing. Do not put flatirons directly over a gas flame, as the watery vapor from the flame will rust and consequently roughen them.

Or get a flatiron heated with gas, which can be connected with rubber gas tubing. Several of these irons are on the market, and with proper adjustment will give satisfactory results.

Broiling with Gas. -To broil with gas, light the burner about ten minutes before the meat is put into the broiling compartment. Take off the excess of fat, wipe the meat with a damp cloth, slice the gristle to keep the edge from curling, and lay the meat on the gridiron as close to the fire as possible. Always leave the broilingoven door open to prevent the meat from taking fire.

Put a little water in the drip pan to catch and cool the melted fat.

DISHWASHING There is no single operation of housekeeping in which system will save so much time as in dishwashing. System is only force of habit and soon becomes second nature. The following suggestions are condensed from the practical experience of a large number of intelligent housewives. (1) Wash the cooking utensils as soon as the food is emptied out of them and before it is placed on the table. Or, if this is not convenient, fill them with hot water and leave THE DAY'S ROUTINE them to soak. (2) After the meal is finished, and before clearing the table, prepare a place in the kitchen to receive the soiled dishes. (3) Scrape off all bits of food into one dish, using preferably a good plate scraper of sheet rubber. This will remove all food and grease, and will not injure the most delicate china. If greasy dishes are not scraped, the dishwater will become too foul, and it will be difficult to wash or wipe the dishes clean. Greasy dishwater also makes the sink difficult to clean, and tends to stop up the spout. If a little lye is scattered over very greasy dishes, it will cleanse them readily by partially transforming the grease into soap. Be careful not to use lye strong enough to injure the skin. (4) Sort the dishes and stack them up in an orderly way, with the smallest articles on top; place the glass, small china articles, silver, and other delicate pieces together; next, cups and saucers, sauce dishes and the like, and finally plates, platters, and larger objects. (5) Load these lots on a large tray in the above order, carry them to the kitchen, and keep them separate until they are washed, wiped, and put away. This method saves frequent steps to the kitchen as well as confusion in sorting them there. Lay a newspaper or piece of wrapping paper over a large pan, scrape all the garbage into that, and if possible burn it in the range. Or use a small garbage burner. Or obtain a good, odorless garbage can that can be thoroughly disinfected and cleaned. Keep at hand a grease kettle in which to preserve scraps of grease.

Sprinkle a little lye on the most greasy cooking utensils, as skillets, iron kettles, and platters, and rinse them into the grease pot. The lye will keep the grease sweet and assist in the process of soap making. Save the tea leaves to be used for sweeping. (6) Next prepare a suds with soap or any washing compound. Borax is good. Wash first in hot suds the silver, glass, and delicate china, using a swab with a long wooden handle. Wipe the silver as soon as it is washed. Put the glass and china in a wire basket, and pour hot water over them. (7) Place the second lot of dishes-cups and saucers, vegetable and side dishes in the dishwater, and allow them to soak while the first lot are being wiped. (8) Add hot water if necessary, wash the second lot of dishes, set them in the drainer, and place the third lot in the suds, or make new suds for it if necessary. (9) Next make fresh suds for milk pans, if any, and other tinware.

Finally, wash the ironware-roaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles. Use for this purpose a little lye and scrape with a stiff fiber brush.

Conveniences for Dishwashing. - The process of dishwashing will be much simplified if a large bench or table can be arranged to stand beside the sink, with the china cabinet or pantry for the ordinary tableware placed just above it. In many modern kitchens (especially in city apartment houses) an arrangement which is ideal allows the dishwasher to wash, dry, and put away most of the dishes without leaving the sink. The time and steps lost in walking from the sink to the table, even if but a few feet distant, and thence to pantry or closet, is a waste of energy that can never be justified. If, for any reason, a permanent bench or table cannot be placed near the sink, get a movable folding table like a sewing table, or a shelf arranged to let down against the wall. A small shelf or cupboard above the sink to contain soap, borax, washing powder, and various utensils will be found convenient.

The sink should be placed high enough so that the dishes may be washed without stooping. The top of the adjacent table should be slightly above and overlapping the sink, and with just enough slope to let the water drain back into it. Or a small cleat may be tacked on the edges of the table, front and back, projecting about a quarter of an inch, and the whole covered with oilcloth. This will let the drainage water flow back into the sink, and the top of the table can be easily kept both dry and clean.

Provide a strong stool, high enough to allow sitting down at the sink 'to pare vegetables and for other purposes. "Air is Admitted to Every Part."

Convenient utensils are: a swab made by fastening strips of linen or cotton to the end of a wooden handle; a small brush, like a nail brush, and a larger scrubbing brush for cleaning vegetables; a soap shaker, which may be homemade; a pot scraper, which may be an ordinary clam shell; and a wire dish drainer, either bought or homemade, which may be hung on a neighboring wall. A closet under the sink is not advisable. It is better to have the plumbing exposed and paint the under portion of the sink white, or cover it with white enamel. This may be done by any member of the family. The wall behind the sink should be protected by zinc, and if the table is covered with zinc instead of oilcloth, so much the better.

Or a curtain of any soft, cheap material may be hung against the wall so that the lower edge will just reach the table top. This should be of washable material so that it can be changed weekly. A line of strong cord or picture wire should be strung near at hand to hold the dishcloths and towels. The garbage can may be placed under the sink or to the right.

A three-cornered wire drainer, fastened in the corner of the sink, will be found convenient to receive vegetable parings, and also to strain the dishwater. A small shovel of cast iron, similar in shape to a fire shovel, will be a great convenience to lift scraps from the sink to the garbage can.

Have one or more wood fiber brushes to clean dishes, kettles, and pans. The fibers are stiffer than bristles, and hence do more effective work. A whisk or two will clean an empty potato or gravy kettle as soon as the vessel is emptied. A convenient size for brush is 2 by 2½ inches.

Washboard.-Hang beside the sink a small washboard. Use this to rub out dishcloths, and to keep towels sweet and clean.

Hinged Table. A hinged table or bench that can be let down, and lifted up against the wall when not in use, is often convenient in a small kitchen, or where an ordinary table would be in the way. Have this bench or table just high enough to let down over great deal of work can thus be done one's lap when sitting in a chair. A sitting.

Or use an ordinary collapsible sewing table for this purpose. Dishwashing Machines. - Many unsuccessful attempts were made in the past to invent dishwashing machines.

Some of these took more time to clean than was required to wash the dishes themselves. Good ones can now be purchased, however, that will wash the dishes not only quicker, but better, than by the old-fashioned way. These machines are simple in construction, are easily cleaned, and, if given proper attention, will last many years.

They are constructed with a galvanized iron cylinder, which is to be half filled with water containing any good washing compound and brought to a boil. The dishes are put in a cylindrical basket or tray, the plates and platters placed on edge and held by brackets. Saucers, cups, and side dishes are placed beside them, the basket is lowered into the cylinder, 1 THE DAY'S ROUTINE revolved two or three times by means of a crank, reversed, and the dishes are cleansed. The tray is then taken out, and if the dishes are scalded with boiling water, very little wiping will be required. When we reflect that in many families of average size upward of three hours a day are devoted to washing dishes, or that approximately one fifth of the waking moments of thousands of intelligent women are occupied in this manner, we cannot but earnestly urge the average family to make whatever sacrifices may be necessary to provide the housewife with this and all other improved labor-saving devices. This, we think, will also be found a key to the solution of the much-vexed problem of domestic help.

Dish Draining. If the table be covered with oilcloth or zinc, the edges raised, and the whole slightly tilted so as to empty into the sink, a wire basket may be the only dish strainer required. A homemade article may be prepared from an ordinary soap box by lining the bottom with zinc.