To compile a book which shall be not only a collection of receipts, given briefly for the experienced housekeeper, and with sufficient clearness for the beginner, but which shall also embody enough of physiology, and of the chemistry and philosophy of food, to make every principle intelligible to a child and interesting to the mature mind; which shall serve equally well for the cook in the kitchen, the pupil in the school-room, and the teacher in the normal class, - is a difficult task. Yet the need of a book of moderate cost, containing in a reasonably small compass all this and much more, has been seriously felt by all who are engaged in teaching cookery. Moreover, there is a special reason for the publication of this work. It is undertaken at the urgent request of the pupils of the Boston Cooking School, who have desired that the receipts and lessons given during the last four years in that institution should be arranged in a permanent form.

To one who from childhood has been trained in all details of housework, learning by observation or by actual experience much that it is impossible to receive from books, the amount of ignorance shown by many women is surprising. That a person of ordinary intelligence presiding over her household can be satisfied with only a vague conception of the common domestic methods, or that any true woman can see anything degrading in any labor necessary for the highest physical condition of her family, would be incredible if the truth of it were not daily manifest.

Happily, popular opinion now decides that no young lady's education is complete without a course of training in one or more branches of domestic work. And those who are not so fortunate as to have the best of all training - that of actual work under a wise and competent mother - gladly resort to the cooking-schools for instruction.

In compiling these receipts for use in a school and in the family, several things were demanded. In a school of pupils from every class and station in life, a great variety of receipts is desirable. They must be clear, but concise, for those who are already well grounded in first principles. They must be explained, illustrated, and reiterated for the inexperienced and the careless. They must have a word of caution for those who seem always to have the knack of doing the wrong thing. They must include the most healthful foods for those who have been made ill by improper food; the cheapest as well as the most nutritious, for the laboring class; the richest and most elaborately prepared, for those who can afford them physically as well as pecuniarity.

These receipts are not a mere compilation. A large portion have accumulated during a long period of housekeeping; and many have been received from friends who are practical housekeepers. Others have been taken from standard authorities on cooking; and all have been frequently and thoroughly tested by pupils under the eye of the author. As far as possible, acknowledgment has been made for the receipts received. Where changes and improvements have been made, or where there were many authorities for the same formula, no credit has been given.

Some cook-books presuppose the presence of an assistant; but as three fourths of the women in this country do their own work, these receipts are arranged so as to require the attention of but one person.

It is proverbial that young housekeepers are often greatly perplexed in attempting to provide little enough for only two. For their benefit many of our receipts are prepared on a scale of smaller measurements.

The materials to be used are given in the order in which they are to be put together. They are arranged in columns, where the eye may catch them readily, or in italics where economy of space seemed desirable.

Every caution or suggestion has been given at the request of some pupil who failed to find in other books just what she needed; or because, in the experience of teaching, it has been shown that, unless forewarned, pupils inevitably make certain mistakes. Many subjects which in other books are omitted or given briefly, will be found to have received here an extensive treatment, because they have seemed of paramount importance.

All the chemical and physiological knowledge that is necessary for a clear understanding of the laws of health, so far as they are involved in the science of cookery, is given in this book. Nine tenths of the women who go through a scientific course in seminaries never put any of the knowledge gained into practical use. By the time they have occasion to use such knowledge in their own homes, the Chemistry and Physiology have been relegated to the attic, where they help mice to material for their nests, but help no woman to apply the principles of science upon which the health and welfare of her household largely depend.

The statement will appear incredible to most people, and yet it is true, that many women do not know what the simplest things in our daily food are; cannot tell when water boils, or the difference between lamb and veal, lard and drippings. They cannot give the names of kitchen utensils; do not know anything about a stove, or how to pare a potato. This will explain what might otherwise seem an unnecessary minuteness of detail. The experience of such ignorance also suggested the sub-title of the "Boston Cook Book," - "What to do and what not to do in Cooking," - just how to hold your bowl and spoon, to use your hands, to regulate your stove, to wash your dishes; and just how not to fall into the errors into which so many have stumbled before you. But, more than all, it is attempted to give a reason for every step taken, and a clear answer to any questions that are likely to arise in the experience of either housekeeper or cook.

A word of grateful acknowledgment is due the many friends who have aided in this work.

First, to my mother I owe much for her excellent judgment in training me as a child to a love for all house-hold work. Although it was often hard to "help mother" when other children were at play, the knowledge thus gained has proved invaluable. Every year's experienced in teaching has made me prize more and more this early training.

Also, I am deeply indebted to Miss M. S. Devereux for the illustrations of this book. In all my work I have been greatly aided by her suggestions and generous sympathy.

And, lastly, I would not forget my obligations to a large circle of personal friends. Especially would I remember the one who, twenty years ago, aided me in making my first loaf of bread, and the many among my pupils who, out of their varied experience, have contributed much that has proved helpful.

MARY J. LINCOLN.

Wollaston, Mass., 1884.