During August a small gas or oil stove will be quite sufficient to do the cooking for a large family.

Meats are more attractive when served cold; enough vegetables for two days may be cooked on one day, and this is equally true of cereals; the second heating renders them more palatable and more digestible, providing they are not stirred or mashed in cooking.

Where only one maid or no maid is kept let the cooking for the day be done during the morning hours, when it is necessary for some one to be in the kitchen. The chafing-dish plays an important part in the reheating of dainty dishes.

If one has roasted chicken for dinner save all pieces left over for chicken à la crème or chicken à la Bordelaise for the next day. Forethought in the making of bills-of-fare a week in advance will save hours of labor and many dollars of expense; one cannot think of good combinations at a moment's notice. Cold meat dishes, the recipes for which are given in another part of the book, will help to give variety. Boned chicken, usually considered the most elaborate dish in the hands of an ordinary cook, is easily and quickly done, and makes a very pretty dish at little cost.

A word of caution is necessary about using left-over dishes containing eggs and milk. If the weather is warm and the air filled with humidity, ptomaine poisons arise very easily; all such dishes, as well as cooked fish, should be used on the day on which they are cooked. Even in the best refrigerators foods may become contaminated, and in turn contaminate other foods.