arly out, and then add a larger quantity. The
improper management of the drafts and dampers has also much to do with
waste of fuel. As stoves are generally constructed, it is necessary for
the heat to pass over the top, down the back, and under the bottom of
the oven before escaping into the flue, in order to properly heat the
oven for baking. In order to force the heat to make this circuit, the
direct draft of the stove needs to be closed. With this precaution
observed, a quick fire from a small amount of fuel, used before its
force is spent, will produce better results than a fire-box full under
other circumstances.

An item of economy for those who are large users of coal, is the careful
sifting of the cinders from the ashes. They can be used to good
advantage to put first upon the kindlings, when building the fire, as
they ignite more readily than fresh coal, and give a greater, quicker
heat, although much less enduring.

METHODS OF COOKING.--A proper source of heat having been secured,
the next step is to apply it to the food in some manner. The principal
methods commonly employed are roasting, broiling, baking, boiling,
stewing, simmering, steaming, and frying.

_Roasting_ is cooking food in its own juices before an open fire. A
clear fire with intense heat is necessary.

_Broiling_, or _grilling_, is cooking by radiant heat over glowing
coals. This method is only adapted to thin pieces of food with a
considerable amount of surface. Larger and more compact foods should be
roasted or baked. Roasting and broiling are allied in principle. In
both, the work is chiefly done by the radiation of heat directly upon
the surface of the food, although some heat is communicated by the hot
air surrounding the food. The intense heat applied to the food soon
sears its outer surfaces, and thus prevents the escape of its juices. If
care be taken frequently to turn the food so that its entire surface
will be thus acted upon, the interior of the mass is cooked by its own
juices.

_Baking_ is the cooking of food by dry heat in a closed oven. Only foods
containing a considerable degree of moisture are adapted for cooking by
this method. The hot, dry air which fills the oven is always thirsting
for moisture, and will take from every moist substance to which it has
access a quantity of water proportionate to its degree of heat. Foods
containing but a small amount of moisture, unless protected in some
manner from the action of the