Oatmeal is seldom cooked sufficiently. For the coarser oatmeals (which are by far the best for mush) measure five or six parts water (preferably soft) - yes, measure it, and then you will have it alike every time and not be at the trouble of watching it to see if it is of right consistency and adding more meal. As soon as the water boils, pour in one part meal. These coarse meals do not require stirring up. Let it boil up smartly until it sets or is evenly diffused through the water, then set it back where it will not boil so fast, and, after half an hour, place it where it will hardly simmer. Let it cook half an hour at least, and two hours if possible. If the time is limited, put it to soak beforehand, and stir it when heating up. After that it requires no stirring. The slimyness often complained of is due to the constant stirring which some cooks practice. The surest way to avoid scorching is to cook it in a double kettle, or in a tin dish set into a kettle of boiling water, then all the attention it requires is to keep water in the kettle beneath and to see that it boils. Disturb as little as possible when dishing, and allow it to stand a few minutes before serving. With the Scotch and other fine oatmeals, the process is much the same, only they require much stirring while setting, and the proportion of meal is much greater after that. It is particularly important not to stir them until served. The time required to cook them is less, but an hour is none too much to get the best results from the Scotch (or Canadian, as it is sometimes called). But no amount of cooking will make them equal to the coarser kinds in delicacy of flavor. A coffee cup of oatmeal will suffice for five or six persons, as the main dish for breakfast.

Oatmeal Mush Improved

Much better than the old way of stirring the oatmeal into boiling water is the new way of cooking it in a farina-kettle. If no farinakettle or steam-cooker is at hand, one may always be improvised in this way: Set a stone jar or a tin pail, containing the food to be cooked, into a kettle of water, putting a couple of sticks under the jar to keep it from coming in contact with the bottom of the kettle.

Oatmeal Gruel

Take two ounces of oatmeal, and one and one-half pints of water; rub the meal in a basin with the back of a spoon in a small quantity of water, pouring off the fluid after the coarser particles are settled, but while the milkiness continues; repeat the operation until the milki-ness disappears; next put the washings into a pan, stir until they boil, and a soft, thick mucilage is formed; sweeten to taste.

Oatmeal Porridge

Allow one cupful of oatmeal to one quart of boiling water, and one teaspoonful of salt. Sift the meal in the boiling water with one hand, stirring with the other. Boil from half to three-quarters of an hour.

Oatmeal Gems

Take one cup of oatmeal and soak it over night in one cup of water; in the morning add one cup of sour milk, one teaspoon of saleratus, one cup of flour, a little salt; they are baked in irons as other gems and muffins; if on first trial you find them moist and sticky, add a little more flour, as some flour thickens more than others. Or use sweet milk" and baking-powder.