A PRACTICAL KITCHEN.

Observer, Volume 5, Issue 131, 17 March 1883, Page 424

A PRACTICAL KITCHEN.

" What else can a kitchen be ?" asked a young housekeeper the other day ag she chanced to see the above heading. "That is the, one point that dadoes and portieres never invade. Mine is decorated it is true, but it is with the grease spots left by successive Biddies- However, it is always so dark that nobody knows they are there, and I never enter the hole if I can help it."

' t 'The hole." That is the difference between past and present. In spite of modern conveniences, set-tubs, ranges an^ gas, the kitchen of to-day is too often, at any rate in city houses, gloomy, illventilated and' depressing ; a mere temporary stopping place for servants of all nationalities, each one a trifle more incompetent than the last. ,The modern conveniences soon have the look of very

ancient inconveniences.- The^rahge^eTerJvf^olfjr^of which, is cracked/and; distorfced-b^a^puf^ojE^;' red-hot fires,' ceases 'to bake or roast uT^esS-u^gect^ constantly to the same point. The^aiilJtfisf t^f haunt of roaches, for which and for 'mie^titbi^'"? are always in wait under or among., tti£;%>ijbe%*YS which burst or overflow in mysterious w,ays-'fan f d4.i gradually through neglect and iabuse^eii^tlie^v possibilities of the room burn to imppssibilitiesV; -I and the only method of reconstruction liesj as-in^ other varieties of crises, in- destruction^, first .-.^nd^ then a cew start. • ' . ' : ,',.'>-. vi"'^ The practical kitchen, like the practial dinrierjji is the one best adapted to the needs of tjtiejiisjffl A retinue of servants requires mucn ; c *'2j^^B elaborate quarters snd working space. thai fl^| demanded by but one or two. Unlimited incon||^ it goes without saying, mean also . unlimitedb' faolities for each phase of household iabor^aricil; for such incomes are the soapstone' finishings^for.i/ all sinks and tubs, the tiled floors, the shining),' coppers, and all the numberless conveniences of ,{' cellars and pantries. But for all kitchens of less;pretension, whether large or small, are- certain. j C inalienable rights, and the mistress' o'fe' every' household should know what they are, and/if "H|r*4 voice is heard in the planning of the house, insist,; upon them. Sunlight, free ventilation, economy :< of space and arrangement, this latte>r including. \ also ample closet room, and the .best attainable-, fittings for such room, from, floor ; to ceiling. . • ' '■;.*-, There is no disinfectant like abundant sunlight.'/ If the house faces in such direction -that this', 1 means of grace is known only in front;, "there is ' partial remedy in increasing the size cf • the ■ windows, supposing the kitchen under discussion , to be the usual basement one of cities and towns. Where a back porch or piazza shuts off light) it would be better if possible to build the kitchen'out on the same line, letting the intermediate space be used for storage. Anything. rather than • constant working in shadow, and thus the inability . to detect and banish dirt, which from the day it. was used in our manufacture has been the sunonym of unending war, and will be so long as " earth goeth on the earth. " , Free ventilation means the possibility of carry- . ing off much of the mixed and pervasive odor resulting from cooking,but any description of such methods requires more., room thsn the present , article allows. '' ' Economy of arrangement is even more essential. To the architect, who never having gone through, the numberless processes of getting a meal, has no': conception of the number of steps to be taken, it/, seems a small matter whether a closet, for!instance, is near a range or on the other side of the room. He doe 3 plan, or from the position of;: the hot-water pipes is forced to plan, a sink next • to the range, and underneath he elects, having boxed it in, shall be the place for pots and kettles.. Now, nothing could well be less desirable.:* About all water pipes will, no matter how well. ; kept, be at least occasional visitations of Croton bugs or roaches, and as they love devious ways '.. their paths will be through pots and saucepans far more probably than anywhere else, above all i£^ any stray bits of the last thing cooked adheijej|^ them. If the housekeeper's susceptibilities JUff at uncovered pipes, keep nothing .Jbelow^oeyond the box of sand acd the scrubbing brushes, n0r,.1 j>ray you, let Bridget " chuck " floor cloths into ■ remote corners or even hang them on the pipes, slimy masses of possible fevers. Let them, be - dried by sun or fire, and then if .need be find '■'■ shelter there. . .',.,/; The floor if uncovered means a ■ weekly - scrubbing A good oilcloth requires only washing over and thus saves time and strength.- An oiled-*,. floor of hard wood is good and a painted one also-, .., both requiring less labor than the ordinary one ■ ;■- --of pine boards. If the expense is not too great - : painted walls thoroughly varnished secure cleaiili- '■' ness, as they can then simply be wiped down at '. intervals. The color should be light, that dirt >': may be revealed, not hidden. The ceiling 'ahpiild*; be white or tinied to harmonize with the wal^ai . A wainscoting is an advantage also, dirt adhering less to wood than to plaster. ''':', , . ■■] .-,-■ What the fittings and furnishings of such, a room should be will find place in another number, "!■ but the principles laid down apply to all kitehepji. ? indiscriminately and can be carried out in degree. Make the room light, airy and bright as possible,; ,' and it will be easier to insist upon its being 'kept, in suitable order than if both mistress and maid •>■ are depressed and disgusted — the first consciously, the latter quite without her own knowledge .of ' causes — by darkness or gloom. For all evils, mental, moral, or physical, light is a panacea,. and' Bridget can be brought to terms more speedily-in sunshine than shadow can ever dictate. . -,V f.