THE CHEMISTRY OF FOOD

Lean meat J5.6

Oatmeal 23.6

Baker's bread 30.7

Wheat flour, fine 27.5

Graham flour 25.5

Indian meal 26.8

Rye meal 37. 1

Potatoes 8.8

Grapes 11.0

Apples 2.5

Peaches 37. 5

Plums 37.5

Cherries 7.0

Carrots 14.2

Turnips 15.4

Cabbage 15.4

Parsnips 16.9

Beer 185.0

By reference to the preceeding table any one will be able to so combine various articles of food as to secure the proper amount of nutritious matter without overloading the digestive organs, and yet give to the food the bulk necessary for good digestion. Evidently, it would overtax the stomach to digest turnips in sufl[icient quantities to supply tlie wants of the body, while lean meat would aff'ord an insufficient amount of bulk, as well as beinj; defi- cient in carbonaceous matter.

THE CELLAR AND ICE-HOUSE. lO'.

THE CELLAR AND ICE-HOUSE,

The cellar, when properly constructed and cared for, is the most useful room in the house, and no dwelling is complete without one. It is economy of expense and ground space to build it underground, and this plan gives the best cellar Avherever the site of the house permits through drainage. The base of the foundation-wall of the house should be laid a little below the floor-level of the cellar, and the first layer should be of broad flag-stones, so placed that the edges will project a few inches beyond the outer face of the wall. This effectually prevents rats from undermining the cement floor, which they often do when this precaution is neglected, digging away the dirt until the floor breaks and gives them access to a new depot of supplies. In burrowing downwards, they invariably keep close to the wall, and when they reach the projecting flagging, give it up and look for an easier job. To secure the cellar from freezing, the wall, above the level of the deepest frost, should be double or "hollow," the inner wall being of brick four inches thick, with an air-space of two inches between it and the outer wall, which should be of stone and twelve or fourteen inches thick. The brick wall should be stiff- ened by an occasional "binder" across to the stone. The hollow space may be filled with dry tan-bark or sawdust, or left simply filled with the confined air, "dead air" being the most perfect non-conductor of heat known. The windows, which should be opposite each other when possible, to secure a "draft" and more perfect ventilation, should be provided with double sash — one flush with the outer face of the wall, which may be removed in sum- mer, and the other flush with the inner face, hung on

THE CELLAK A.M) !(E-HOU?E.

Such a cellar may always be clean, the air pure, and the temperature under complete control. It will eonyequently keep apples and pears two or three months longer than an ordinaiy cellar, prolonging the fruit season t(j "strawberry-time." If it extends under the whole house — the best jdan when the state of the i)urse pernuts it — it may be divided into apartments, with briek walls between — one f(-tr vegetables, one for fruits, one for provi.^- ions, one for the laundry, and a fifth for coal and the furnace, if one is used. In one corner of the cellar, under the kitchen, may also be the cistern, the strong cellar wall serving for its outer wall. A pump from the kitchen would supply Avater there for domestic uses ; and a pipe with a stop-cock, leading through the wall into the cellar, would occasionally be a convenience and save labor. It is better, however, as a rule, to locate the cistern just out- side the house, passing a pipe from it through the cellar wall below the deepest frost level, and thence to the kitchen. If built in the cellar, the ?istern should be scpiare, with heavy walls, plastered inside with three coats c)f water-lime.

All the apartments of acellar should be easily accessible from the outside iloor and fiom the kitchen stairway. In the vegetable apartment, the bins should be made of dressed lumber, and painted, and located in the center, with u walk around each, so that the contents may easily be examined and

Fruit Shelves.

assorted. The Fruit Shelves, made of slats two inches wide and place<l one inch apart, should be put up witli ecpial care and neatness, and with equal regard for convenience and easy access. Their place should be tlie most airy part of the cellar ; the proper width is about two feet, and the distance apart about one foot, with the lowest shelf one foot from the floor. Pears will ripen nicelv on the lower shelves under a cover of woolen blankets. The support should, of course, be firm and strong. The bottom shelf should be of one board, on which to scatter fine fresh lime to the depth of an inch, changing it two or three times during the winter. A shelf, suspended firmly from the ceiling, and located where it will be easyof access from the kitchen, on which to i)lace cakes, pies, meats, and any thing that nee<ls to be kept cool and safe from cats and mice, is an absolute necessity. Its height pre- vents the articles placed on it from becoming damp, and gathering mold, as they sometimes do when placed on the cellar floor. In planning shelves for cans, crocks, casks, etc. , regard should l)e had to economy of space by making the distance between the slielves correspond to the articles to stand on them, and it is well to so i)lace the lower shelf that the meat barrels, etc., may be ])laced under it. The temperature of a cellar should never be below freez- ing, and if it is raised above fifty by a fire, outside air should be admitted to lower it. The best time for ventilating the cellar is at noon, taking care in hot weather not to admit so much oiitside air as to render it warm. A sim- ple and excellent plan for ventilation, where the location of the kitchen

THE CELLAR AND ICE-HOUSE. 1075

chimney admits it, is to puss an ordinarj' stove-pipe tlirougli tlie floor upward beside or beliind tlie pipe of the kitchen stove, and tlience by an elbow into the cliimney. The draft of' the cliimney will carry off all the impure air that arises in the cellar, and if too great a current is created, it may be brought under complete control by a valve at the floor. The most perfectly kept cel- lar in our experience was cared for in the following manner; the reasons being that the object of ventilation is keep cellars cool and dry, but this ob- ject often fails of being accomplished by a common mistake, and instead the cellar is made both warm and damp. A cool place should never be ventil- ated unless the air admitted is cooler than the air within, or is at least as cool as that, or a very little warmer. The warmer the air the more moisture it holds in suspension. Necessarily, the cooler the air, the more this moist- ure is condensed and precipitated. When a cool cellar is aired on a warm day, the entering air being in motioii appears cool, but as it Alls the cellar the cooler air with which it becomes mixed, chills it, the moisture is con- densed, and dew is deposited on the cold walls, and may often be seen run- ning down them in streams. Then the cellar is damp and soon becomes moldy. To av(jid this the v.indows should onlj' be opened at night, and late — the last thing before retiring. There is no need to fear that the night air is unhealthful — it is as pure as the air of midday, and is reall)' dryer. The cool air enters the apartment during the night, and circulates through it. The windows should be closed before sunrise in the morning, and kept closed and shaded through the day

The cellar must be frequently examined and kept perfectly sweet and clean. There is no reason why it sliould not be as neat as the living rooms, and as free from cobwebs, decayed fruit and vegetables, and all other forms of filthiness. Whitewashing walls m winter will aid in giving it tidiness.

If the cellar is constructed above ground, the entire walls should be double, with air space between, double windows and doors being even more necessary than when under-ground. Above all, the floor should be on a level with that of the kitchen, to save the woman-killing stairs. If there are stairs, let them be broad, firm, and placed in the light if possible. Of course, every cellar should have thorough drainage. In laying a tile drain, if in the horseshoe form, place the circular side dow'n ; the narrower the channel, .the swifter the current and more certain to carry off sediment.