Spons' Household Manual A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management

With the advance of education, there is much reason to fear that the essentially domestic part of the training of our daughters is being more and more neglected. Yet what can be more important for the comfort and welfare of the household than an appreciation of their needs and an ability to furnish them. Accomplishments, all very good in their way, must, to the true housewife, be secondary to all that concerns the health, the feeding, the clothing, the housing of those under her care.

And what a range of knowledge this implies,--from sanitary engineering to patching a garment, from bandaging a wound to keeping the frost out of water pipes. It may safely be said that the mistress of a family is called upon to exercise an amount of skill and learning in her daily routine such as is demanded of few men, and this too without the benefit of any special education or preparation; for where is the school or college which includes among its “subjects” the study of such every-day matters as bad drains, or the gapes in chickens, or the removal of stains from clothes, or the bandaging of wounds, or the management of a kitchen range? Indeed, it is worthy of consideration whether our schools of cookery might not with very great advantage be supplemented by schools of general household instruction.

Till this suggestion is carried out, the housewife can only refer to books and papers for information and advice. The editors of the present volume have been guided by a determination to make it a book of reference such as no housewife can afford to be without. Much of the matter is, of course, not altogether new, but it has been arranged with great care in a systematic manner, and while the use of obscure scientific terms has been avoided, the teachings of modern science have been made the basis of those sections in which science plays a part.

Much of the information herein contained has appeared before in lectures, pamphlets, and newspapers, foremost among these last being the Queen, Field, Lancet, Scientific American, Pharmaceutical Journal, Gardener’s Chronicle, and the Bazaar; but it has lost nothing by repetition, and has this advantage in being embodied in a substantial volume that it can always be readily found when wanted, while every one knows the fate of leaflets and journals. The sources whence information has been drawn have, it is believed, in every case been acknowledged, and the editors take this opportunity of again proclaiming their indebtedness to the very large number of lecturers and writers whose communications have found a place within these covers.

THE EDITORS.

CONTENTS.

=Hints for selecting a good House=, pointing out the essential requirements for a good house as to the Site, Soil, Trees, Aspect, Construction, and General Arrangement; with instructions for Reducing Echoes, Water-proofing Damp Walls, Curing Damp Cellars Page 1

=Water Supply.=--Care of Cisterns; Sources of Supply; Pipes; Pumps; Purification and Filtration of Water 12

=Sanitation.=--What should constitute a good Sanitary Arrangement; Examples (with illustrations) of Well- and Ill-drained Houses; How to Test Drains; Ventilating Pipes, &c. 35

=Ventilation and Warming.=--Methods of Ventilating without causing cold draughts, by various means; Principles of Warming; Health Questions; Combustion; Open Grates; Open Stoves; Fuel Economisers; Varieties of Grates; Close-Fire Stoves; Hot-air Furnaces; Gas Heating; Oil Stoves; Steam Heating; Chemical Heaters; Management of Flues; and Cure of Smoky Chimneys 55

=Lighting.=--The best methods of Lighting; Candles, Oil Lamps, Gas, Incandescent Gas, Electric Light; How to Test Gas Pipes; Management of Gas 82

=Furniture and Decoration.=--Hints on the Selection of Furniture; on the most approved methods of Modern Decoration; on the best methods of arranging Bells and Calls; How to Construct an Electric Bell 95

=Thieves and Fire.=--Precautions against Thieves and Fire; Methods of Detection; Domestic Fire Escapes; Fireproofing Clothes, &c. 108

=The Larder.=--Keeping Food fresh for a limited time; Storing Food without change, such as Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs, Honey, &c. 112

=Curing Foods for lengthened Preservation=, as Smoking, Salting, Canning, Potting, Pickling, Bottling Fruits, &c.; Jams, Jellies, Marmalade, &c. 123

=The Dairy.=--The Building and Fitting of Dairies in the most approved modern style; Butter-making; Cheese-making and Curing 154

=The Cellar.=--Building and Fitting; Cleaning Casks and Bottles; Corks and Corking; Aërated Drinks; Syrups for Drinks; Beers; Bitters; Cordials and Liqueurs; Wines; Miscellaneous Drinks 168

=The Pantry.=--Bread-making; Ovens and Pyrometers; Yeast; German Yeast; Biscuits; Cakes; Fancy Breads; Buns 207

=The Kitchen.=--On Fitting Kitchens; a description of the best Cooking Ranges, close and open; the Management and Care of Hot Plates, Baking Ovens, Dampers, Flues, and Chimneys; Cooking by Gas; Cooking by Oil; the Arts of Roasting, Grilling, Boiling, Stewing, Braising, Frying 221

=Receipts for Dishes.=--Soups, Fish, Meat, Game, Poultry, Vegetables, Salads, Puddings, Pastry, Confectionery, Ices, &c., &c.; Foreign Dishes 244

=The Housewife’s Room.=--Testing Air, Water, and Foods; Cleaning and Renovating; Destroying Vermin 518