man with a gun should be generally able to keep himself
supplied with game. It must never be forgotten that if
work be hard and food bad, the result is sure to be lassitude
and a craving for stimulants.
And next as to lodging. In the chapter on Camp Life
almost everything necessary to make tents comfortable has
been said. All that need be added is, that if a lengthened
stay in one place be found necessary, it is a good plan to
raise the floor in some way, while a decent fireplace with a
chimney-piece can be built in at a trifling cost. It being
difficult to know where to place a lamp in a tent so as to be
convenient for several persons, it is well to have an iron ring
with a hinge and hasp that can be fastened round the tent
pole, and from which a strong iron bar ending in a ring
j)rojects ; into the ring the reservoir of the lamp can be
fitted. A wide, white-painted shade above the lam]) will
throw the light Avell down.
If a house has to be built, even in a village or a jungle,
the dwelling-rooms should be large and lofty. This is no
luxurious or w'rong idea. In India a soldier in barracks is
allow'ed in his dormitory 1800 cubic feet. European hospitals
allow 2400 cubic feet to each patient. Missionaries’ lives
are ecjually costly and valuable, and they should not have less.
It may be a laudable desire to imitate the natives by living in
mud huts, but native constitutions and ours are not alike. It
will be found no extravagance to have good airy rooms, where
work can be carried on and good sleep obtained. Again,
houses should be raised at least four or five feet from the
ground to avoid damp, to prevent snakes getting in, and to
make the house cooler. A good verandah is an indispensable
addition.
As to clothing. We should remember that the sun is a
good friend to air, and purify, and cheer, but a deadly enemy
if met without a shady pith hat and a white umbrella, or with
an empty stomach. A doctor who has never once had fever
in his family in India recommends white clothing summer and
winter during exposure to the sun ; common white puttoo in
winter, very light woollens in summer. Be in the open .air
as much as possible ; even plants shut up in the dark get
sickly and lose their colour. Fever is invariably brought on
by changes of temperature, whether exposure to the sun, or a
Housekeeper and Cook 1 59
chill from clam]! or cold. These must be guarded against
either by a pad of chopped corks at the back of the coat to
])revent the action of the rays of sun on the back of the neck
and spine, or an additional wrap when it becomes chilly.
And lastly as to bedding. A mission lady, of much experi-
ence in camping, writes, “ I have a Norwegian reindeer bag
for sleej)ing in at night, which I can recommend as most
comfortable, as it does away with all necessity for bedding of
any kind, except a sheet and pillow, and in very cold nights
a shawl round your shoulders to stop up all air-holes.” The
usual bedding is a cotton wadded quilt Avhich serves as a
mattress, three striped coloured blankets, two English pillows,
a canvas hold-all wrapper and stout cord, and a waterproof
sheet.
Page 109
Presented as published in 1898. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
man with a gun should be generally able to keep himself supplied with game. It must never be forgotten that if work be hard and food bad, the result is sure to be lassitude and a craving for stimulants.
And next as to lodging. In the chapter on Camp Life almost everything necessary to make tents comfortable has been said. All that need be added is, that if a lengthened stay in one place be found necessary, it is a good plan to raise the floor in some way, while a decent fireplace with a chimney-piece can be built in at a trifling cost. It being difficult to know where to place a lamp in a tent so as to be convenient for several persons, it is well to have an iron ring with a hinge and hasp that can be fastened round the tent pole, and from which a strong iron bar ending in a ring projects ; into the ring the reservoir of the lamp can be fitted. A wide, white-painted shade above the lamp will throw the light well down.
If a house has to be built, even in a village or a jungle, the dwelling-rooms should be large and lofty. This is no luxurious or wrong idea. In India a soldier in barracks is allowed in his dormitory 1800 cubic feet. European hospitals allow 2400 cubic feet to each patient. Missionaries’ lives are ecjually costly and valuable, and they should not have less. It may be a laudable desire to imitate the natives by living in mud huts, but native constitutions and ours are not alike. It will be found no extravagance to have good airy rooms, where work can be carried on and good sleep obtained. Again, houses should be raised at least four or five feet from the ground to avoid damp, to prevent snakes getting in, and to make the house cooler. A good verandah is an indispensable addition.
As to clothing. We should remember that the sun is a good friend to air, and purify, and cheer, but a deadly enemy if met without a shady pith hat and a white umbrella, or with an empty stomach. A doctor who has never once had fever in his family in India recommends white clothing summer and winter during exposure to the sun ; common white puttoo in winter, very light woollens in summer. Be in the open .air as much as possible ; even plants shut up in the dark get sickly and lose their colour. Fever is invariably brought on by changes of temperature, whether exposure to the sun, or a
Housekeeper and Cook 1 59
chill from damp or cold. These must be guarded against either by a pad of chopped corks at the back of the coat to ])revent the action of the rays of sun on the back of the neck and spine, or an additional wrap when it becomes chilly.
And lastly as to bedding. A mission lady, of much experience in camping, writes, "I have a Norwegian reindeer bag for sleeping in at night, which I can recommend as most comfortable, as it does away with all necessity for bedding of any kind, except a sheet and pillow, and in very cold nights a shawl round your shoulders to stop up all air-holes." The usual bedding is a cotton wadded quilt which serves as a mattress, three striped coloured blankets, two English pillows, a canvas hold-all wrapper and stout cord, and a waterproof sheet.