4 level cups flour, 1 level teaspoon salt, 2 level tablespoons shortening, 2 1/2 level tablespoons baking powder, about 1 1/2 cups milk. The shortening may be sweet lard, or dripping or butter, or a mixture. See that the shortening is soft enough to rub easily. Place the board, mixing knife, rolling pin, cutter and pan ready, and see that the oven is hot. Sift the salt and flour into a bowl; rub the shortening into it with the fingers; sift in the baking powder and mix well. Mix into a soft dough with the milk, using a broad-bladed, flexible knife, in order to cut and mix it quickly. Flour the board lightly, turn the dough out and roll it round to coat it with flour. Knead just enough to make the dough smooth, roll out about an inch thick, and cut into small biscuits. Place them in the pan, wet the tops only with milk or water and bake in a hot oven about 20 minutes. The secret of success is a slack dough, quick mixing and little handling.

Conclusion

Soft wheat flours yield the tenderest biscuits when conditions are uniform.

Remarks

When strong and weak flours are made slack enough for biscuits, and both are of the same slackness, the difference in handling quality is very noticeable. The strong flour dough has a silky smoothness, which is much easier to handle.

Summary

1. - Other things being equal, soft wheat flours make more tender milk biscuits than strong wheat flour.

2. - Given a strong wheat flour dough and a soft wheat flour dough of equal slackness and suitable for milk biscuits, the soft wheat flour dough is the easier to handle.

3. - At the present prices of the different flours the strong wheat 'biscuits cost more than soft wheat flour biscuits.

4. - It is possible that a larger proportion of fat used with the strong wheat flour would yield biscuits of tenderness equal to those of soft wheat flour, but the cost of fat makes that method of improvement a disadvantage. - Mabel Sturtevant, 105 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111.

Variation I

1 pt. flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder sifted with it, 1 tablespoon butter rubbed in flour, rub till crumbly, little salt, stir in sweet milk until soft, flatten with hand on well floured board, then cut. Never roll biscuit dough. - Mrs. William Myers, Franklin, 111.

Variation II

Fill a qt. sifter with fine flour, add a heaping teaspoon of soda and 2 of cream of tartar. Sift the ingredients through the sifter once or twice into a large pan, add a teaspoon of salt and rub in a lump of sweet fresh lard, the size of an egg; mix into a nice soft dough with sour milk. roll out, cut and bake in a hot oven. - Mrs. C. E. Westinghous, Mayfair, 111.

Variation III

Sift 1 qt. of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 of salt. Mix in 2 tablespoons of shortening; add enough cold water to make a soft dough. Put it on a floured board and pat lightly 1 inch thick. Bake 15 minutes in hot oven. The secret of good biscuits is light handling and no kneading. - Mrs. F. E. Clower, 1103 S. 7th Ave., Maywood, 111.

Variation IV

Sift 3 teaspoons of baking powder, a teaspoon of salt in 1 qt. of flour; add 1 cup of shortening, milk to make a soft dough, handle very little. Bake 20 minutes. - Mrs. Frank R. Webber, 1001 S. 7th Ave., Maywood, 111.