to an eighty-acre wheat field; and no farmer should neglect to provide one for his kitchen, unless he is willing to settle down to his harvesting with merely the sickle and the ** cradle " of his forefathers! These items come under the head of kitchen furniture, but are, of course, kept in the cellar, or in a closet opening from the kitchen. Along with a first-class cooking-stove, for it is not economy to have a poor one, should be selected the following quite nec- essary articles: Wash-boiler, tea-kettle, soup-pot, frying-kettle, spider, two or three granitized saucepans of different sizes, four bread-tins, two gem irons, coffee and tea-pots, large and small iron spoons, wire steak-broiler, wire toaster, steamer, pudding mold, patty pans, potato masher, skimmer, cream whipper, gravy strainer, egg-beater, half a dozen cake and pie tins, large and small graters, a dozen muffin rings, or a muffin pan, which is more convenient than the rings, a colander, a quart measure, and a griddle. No doubt other items will readily suggest themselves, but these, at any rate, are essential, if good house- keeping is the object. A proper and convenient place to keep them is a large, deep-shelved cupboard, with close doors, in which the common crockery and glass can also be kept. The best arrangement is to have cupboard room for all table and cooking ware, and keep food and provision stores in a cool, well ventilated closet, that can be effectually closed to dust and flies. Let the farmer provide a large, pleasant kitchen and interest himself in its conveniences for work — being as enthusiastic in furnishing labor-saving machines for this department of farming as for his outside fields — and he will find that he makes an investment that pays an hundred fold. Let the farmer's wife make the kitchen a bright and sweet-aired realm, and be proud to be its intelligent and efficient queen. Let her beautify her work as much as possible, and lift it above the dull, discourag- ing slough of drudgery. With conveniences for work, and a cheerful, comfortable place to work in, the women are few who will not make their homes " the dearest spot on earth " to all who dwell within them. The Dining-room. — Although there are many country kitchens so shining and orderly and clean aired that it is ^ 84 HOUSEHOLD. pleasure to break bread in them, there are many others which, owing to a large family and a pressure of work, cannot always be nice and orderly at meal times; so it is well, if it can be afforded, to have a small cheerful room opening from the kitchen, easily warmed in winter, and from which heat and flies can be excluded in summer, where meals can be eaten in the healthful serenity and comfort which is almost as essential as the food itself. What can be more refreshing to the laborer than to enter from the blistering glare of a harvest day into a cool, softly lighted room, in which the fragrance of freshly gathered flowers, or the aroma of leafy boughs, mingles its poetry with the cheer- ful prose of the beef and vegetables? And how pleasant and restful it is for his helpmate to lay aside her kitchen cares and kitchen apron together, and come smiling and tidy to her little throne behind the tea-service.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

to an eighty-acre wheat field; and no farmer should neglect to provide one for his kitchen, unless he is willing to settle down to his harvesting with merely the sickle and the "cradle" of his forefathers! These items come under the head of kitchen furniture, but are, of course, kept in the cellar, or in a closet opening from the kitchen. Along with a first-class cooking-stove, for it is not economy to have a poor one, should be selected the following quite necessary articles: Wash-boiler, tea-kettle, soup-pot, frying-kettle, spider, two or three granitized saucepans of different sizes, four bread-tins, two gem irons, coffee and tea-pots, large and small iron spoons, wire steak-broiler, wire toaster, steamer, pudding mold, patty pans, potato masher, skimmer, cream whipper, gravy strainer, egg-beater, half a dozen cake and pie tins, large and small graters, a dozen muffin rings, or a muffin pan, which is more convenient than the rings, a colander, a quart measure, and a griddle. No doubt other items will readily suggest themselves, but these, at any rate, are essential, if good housekeeping is the object. A proper and convenient place to keep them is a large, deep-shelved cupboard, with close doors, in which the common crockery and glass can also be kept. The best arrangement is to have cupboard room for all table and cooking ware, and keep food and provision stores in a cool, well ventilated closet, that can be effectually closed to dust and flies. Let the farmer provide a large, pleasant kitchen and interest himself in its conveniences for work — being as enthusiastic in furnishing labor-saving machines for this department of farming as for his outside fields — and he will find that he makes an investment that pays an hundred fold. Let the farmer's wife make the kitchen a bright and sweet-aired realm, and be proud to be its intelligent and efficient queen. Let her beautify her work as much as possible, and lift it above the dull, discouraging slough of drudgery. With conveniences for work, and a cheerful, comfortable place to work in, the women are few who will not make their homes " the dearest spot on earth " to all who dwell within them. The Dining-room. — Although there are many country kitchens so shining and orderly and clean aired that it is ^ pleasure to break bread in them, there are many others which, owing to a large family and a pressure of work, cannot always be nice and orderly at meal times; so it is well, if it can be afforded, to have a small cheerful room opening from the kitchen, easily warmed in winter, and from which heat and flies can be excluded in summer, where meals can be eaten in the healthful serenity and comfort which is almost as essential as the food itself. What can be more refreshing to the laborer than to enter from the blistering glare of a harvest day into a cool, softly lighted room, in which the fragrance of freshly gathered flowers, or the aroma of leafy boughs, mingles its poetry with the cheerful prose of the beef and vegetables? And how pleasant and restful it is for his helpmate to lay aside her kitchen cares and kitchen apron together, and come smiling and tidy to her little throne behind the tea-service.

The housekeeper's companion