The Art of Living in Australia

by Philip E. Muskett

The Art of Living in Australia

by

Philip E. Muskett

Together with three hundred Australian cookery recipes and accessory kitchen information by Mrs. H. Wicken, Lecturer on cookery to the Technical College, Sydney.

DEDICATION

AUSTRALIA—ONE AND UNITED. AS AN AUSTRALIAN I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME TO THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA WITH ONE ABIDING HOPE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALL THE GREAT NATURAL FOOD INDUSTRIES OF OUR COUNTRY.

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Table of Contents

PREFACE.

PART I.

THE ART OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA

THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA.

Their semi-tropical climate hitherto unrecognised by the people of Australia — Reasons advanced for this statement; early gold-mining era influences still at work, and Anglo–Saxon heredities — Hot months and cooler months; temperatures of the Australian capital cities — Fluctuations of temperature and barometric pressure not extreme — Equability of Australian climate a marked feature — Not many successive days of great heat — Humidity of atmosphere in different colonies — A dry heat always preferable to a moist heat — Duration of the different seasons, and months apportioned to each season — Prevailing winds, and ROLE of hot winds

THE ALPHABETICAL PENTAGON OF HEALTH FOR AUSTRALIA.

The Alphabetical Pentagon a convenient form of remembering that the FIVE essentials of health — namely, Ablution: the Skin and the Bath; Bedroom Ventilation; Clothing; Diet; and Exercise — occur in alphabetical order

ABLUTION—THE SKIN AND THE BATH.

Important and numerous functions of the skin — The skin itself and its different parts — The use of the scarf skin — The structure of the true skin — The perspiration tubes — The tubes of the oil-glands — Great value of the cold bath — Importance of the rubbing down after the cold bath — The cold bath as a preventive of disease — The cold bath in the maintenance of health — The warm cleansing bath — The beneficial effect of adding salt at the end of a warm bath — Other interesting hints

Loss of hair in Australia — Structure of the hair, and its blood supply — The hair is not a tube — Management of the hair — Singeing the hair — Washing the hair — Description of brushes and combs recommended — Hard rim of the hat a factor in thinning the hair — Excellent applications for promoting the growth of the hair

Formation of the nail — Different parts of the nail — Growth of the nail — The care of the nails

Disorders arising from loss of teeth — The preservation of the teeth — An admirable recipe for a tooth-powder — Management of the teeth — Use of floss silk

BEDROOM VENTILATION

The bedroom the most important room in the house — necessity for proper ventilation — Extra allowance of sleep in hot climates — Crowding of articles in bedrooms condemned — Results of breathing vitiated air — Injuriously affects the heart as well as the lungs — The proper dimensions of a bedroom — Regulation of the ventilation — Mosquito nettings for summer months — Fresh air equally required in the cooler months

CLOTHING, AND WHAT TO WEAR.

No clothing actually creates warmth of itself — The varying powers of clothing to detain air in its meshes — Two or three layers of clothing always warmer than a single garment equal to their combined thickness — The transmission of the body-heat to the clothes — The different fabrics are either good or bad conductors of heat — Permeability of clothing to air — The vegetable kingdom; the properties of cotton and of linen — The animal products; the properties of silk and of wool — Wool one of the best materials to wear next the skin — Recommendations for wearing woollen under-garments — The way to prevent them from shrinking — The modern pyjamas immensely superior to the old-fashioned bed-gown — The clothing would be modified according to the season of the year.

DIET

Importance of breakfast, fruit, tea, coffee, iced drinks, tobacco. Breakfast usually scampered through — Monotony of the ordinary breakfast — A plea for something better — Butter during Australian summer months — The ice-chest an absolute necessity — Breakfast should be a substantial meal

Fruit fortunately abundant in Australia — The agreeable qualities of fruits reside in three factors — Fruit must neither be over-ripe nor under-ripe — The anti-scorbutic properties of fruit — Changes in the blood in scurvy — Mild forms of scurvy not uncommon — Symptoms of an excess of uric acid in the stem — A word for olives

Abuse of tea by the gentler sex — Protest against lunch of tea and broad and butter — An admirable opportunity for philanthropic efforts — Tea to be enjoyed, and not misused — The making of tea — The anti-tannic teapot

The three active principles of coffee — Coffee stimulates the brain — Coffee relieves fatigue and exhaustion, whether mental or manual — The virtues of coffee — Coffee as a remedy in different diseases — The details of coffee roasting — The art of making coffee — The cafetiere, or French coffee-pot — Proportions of coffee and of chicory in “cafe noir” and “cafe au lait” respectively — Minute instructions for making coffee

Universal use of ice in America — Ice indispensable in hot climates — Expert opinions upon the value of ice in India — Medical authorities practically unanimous in favour of ice when used with discretion — Purity of the ice must be ensured

Proportion of smokers to non-smokers — Five out of every six men smoke — Amount of tobacco used in Australia and in other countries — The effect of tobacco on the system provisionally divided into three classes — The principles contained in tobacco — Different results of combustion from a cigar and from a pipe — Effect of tobacco when it is unsuitable — Symptoms following excessive smoking — The smokers heart — Men of middle age often compelled to give up tobacco — Effect of tobacco upon the palate — Power to appreciate good wine lost after the first whiff of cigarette, cigar, or pipe

EXERCISE

Effect of exercise upon the muscles — Exercise removes debris from the system — Bodily health the great desideratum of the present day — Will power increased by exercise — Exercise improves the quality of the blood — Exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, and benefits the nervous system — Every one must perform his own exercise; no carrying it out by proxy — Walking six miles a day the orthodox amount of exercise — Early morning exercise not beneficial to everybody — It is only by exercise, and by exercise alone, that the different organs are brought to the perfection of health

ON SCHOOL COOKERY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE AUSTRALIAN DAILY LIFE.

Enormous consumption of meat and of tea in Australia — A contest between a semi-tropical climate and Anglo–Saxon heredities — Progressive changes in the theories of education — The purpose of education — School cookery instruction in England and in Australia — Cookery in its relation to health — Cookery as a preventive of drunkenness — Cookery in the formation of character — A national plea on behalf of Australian school cookery

AUSTRALIAN FOOD HABITS AND THEIR FAULTS.—A PLEA FOR THEIR IMPROVEMENT.

Food usually in harmony with climate, except in Australia — Isothermal lines of Australian cities, Southern Europe, and southern portion of United States — Australian food habits diametrically opposed to climate — Lamentable state of Australian cookery — Restricted choice of vegetables in Australia — Many other desirable vegetables never seen here, but in great request elsewhere — No possible excuse, as they would all do well — Extraordinary trouble in popularising the tomato in Australia — A protest against “boiling,” and nothing but “boiling,” in the cookery of vegetables — Cookery must be taught in Australian schools — No national Australian dish, a reproach to Australia

AUSTRALIAN FISH AND OYSTERS—AND THEIR FOOD VALUE.

No deep-sea fisheries in Australia, although her people come from a maritime stock — The defectiveness of our Australian fish supply — Our primitive methods of fish capture — The beam-trawl in deep-sea fishing — Drift-net and other deep-sea fishing — Benefits from the development of our deep-sea fisheries — Fish markets — The “middleman” controversy — The distribution of fish to the public — Fishmongers and the sale of fish — The development of the oyster — The failure in the New South Wales and Victorian oyster supplies — The recreation of our oyster fisheries — The food value of the oyster — The food value of fish

ON SALADS; SALAD PLANTS AND HERBS; AND SALAD MAKING.

Salads plainly intended for Australian use — Many people miss the present in looking for the future — Cookery of the highest excellence amongst all classes in France — A contrast between the English and the French methods of making a salad — Detailed instructions for the preparation of a French salad — Importance of a roomy and properly shaped salad bowl — Poor display of greengrocery in Australia as compared with the show of meat — Salad plants in great request elsewhere which might readily be cultivated in Australia — Salad herbs indispensable to a proper salad, but entirely unknown in Australia — A complete recipe for the famous Mayonnaise sauce — An excellent recipe for a herring salad

ON AUSTRALIAN WINE, AND ITS PLACE IN THE AUSTRALIAN DAILY DIETARY.

“With time and care Australia ought to be the vineyard of the world” — Interesting facts in the early history of the vine in Australia — Figures showing the possibilities of Australian viticulture — The climate — The soil — “Cepage,” or variety — The preparation of the soil — Laying-out the vineyard — Whether to plant cuttings or rooted vines — The height of the vine above the ground — On pruning — The cellar — The gathering of she grape — Varying additions to the must — The must itself — Fermentation — THE TASTING AND JUDGING OF WINES — uniformity required in Australian wines — The future success of the Australian wine industry, and upon what it depends

PART II.

AUSTRALIAN COOKERY RECIPES AND ACCESSORY KITCHEN INFORMATION.

THE KITCHEN

THE ICE CHEST

THE STOCK POT.

SOUP

FIFTY RECIPES FOR SOUPS.

FIFTY RECIPES FOR FISH.

FIFTY RECIPES FOR MEAT DISHES

FIFTY RECIPES FOR VEGETABLES

FIFTY RECIPES FOR SALADS AND SAUCES

FIFTY RECIPES FOR SWEETS