Assuming such an arrangement feasible, the sacrifice of some small back room on the ground flour of the house, or the walling off of a portion of the back verandah would still be necessary to provide the "working room," - the room, that is to say, in which all food should be prepared prior to being conveyed to the kitchen. This I may call one of the chief points of the system I advocate, for, I maintain, that for numerous undeniable reasons, the making of pastry, the dressing of meat and vegetables, and the mixing of sauces, puddings, etc, should be performed in a cool place, away from the smoke and heat of fires, where wind and dust can be excluded by closing the door, and yet ample light be obtained from a good glass window, and, above all things, where the chef can be easily supervised.

To illustrate the necessity of this recommendation, let us imagine that a cook, accommodated as he is at present, is engaged in preparing a souffle, or some equally delicate entremets. Of a sudden a blast of wind drives a cloud of dust into the cook-room through the door (which is of necessity open to admit light), and blows myriads of fine particles of charcoal ashes from the open fire-places over everything. By-and-by the dish is served at dinner. Monsieur le mart cheerfully receives his portion, but presently encounters grit, and orders his plate to be taken away, murmuring something about the impolicy of petty economy in connection with flour. Madame la chatelaine, conscious of procuring the best of everything, replies - more in sorrow than in anger, yet withal warmly - and denies the unkind impeachment, though constrained to send her plate away also. And thus a cloud comes over what ought to be a very happy tete-i-tete, while indigestion, the natural result of irritation at meals, most probably follows.

Now the worst of it is that unless people happen to discover the real causes of accidents such as these themselves, they may wait until doomsday for enlightenment. The mental equilibrium of the native cook is in no wise disturbed by a dust storm, for he is perfectly accustomed to them; and the butler will assuredly invent a plausible excuse for the contretemps : - "little bit yegg-shell," or "sugar mistake." It therefore comes to this, that we must insist upon a nicer appreciation of the cleanliness and care that the preparation of food demands, and to accomplish that end satisfactorily a room of the kind I have described appears to me to be essentially necessary.

I am perfectly aware that, in some instances, every species of obstruction will at first be thrust in the way of those who try to follow my advice, and, in others, that the change will be obeyed with reluctance. But determination and tact combined will, I think, overcome opposition after a time, and the very malcontents themselves will end by praising the now regime.

It is downright nonsense to say that native cooks cannot work upon English principles. They manage very well on boardship, where their services are highly prized, yet their appliances are wholly European. The kitchen at the Madras Club, and those of several private houses, both here, and on the Hills, are fitted up entirely upon the Home system, yet the cooks do not complain. No: it seems pretty clear that if no other alternative present it-self, Ramasamy can fall into the way of using a range readily enough.

I know of a case in which a young and zealous native chef absolutely begged his mistress to permit him to prepare his jellies, pastry, etc, in a spare room in the house, alleging as his reason that the kitchen was too hot and smoky : and I am perfectly sure that the majority of good Madras cooks would appreciate a similar concession. The recusants would, in all probability, be gentlemen who have become wedded to practices whereof their consciences are afraid. Pilferings of all kinds would, to begin with, become far more difficult, long absences would be soon detected, work properly the cook's could not be thrust upon the cook's maty, and drinking and gossiping during working hours would be knocked on the head.

The furnishing of this "working room" could be managed without much trouble, and certainly inexpensively, in the manner already mentioned: - with a dresser of strong wood, a pastry table with marble slab, a cup-board, a rack for plates and dishes, a gauze safe, and a set of shelves. Delicate operations, such as the composition of high class sauces, the boiling of a jelly, or the simmering of fruit, could be carried on upon a mineral oil stove, or by means of a charcoal fire placed in a sheltered corner of the verandah close to the room; and such articles of diet need never be carried into the kitchen at all. But when properly dressed, and prepared for roasting, stewing, boiling, baking, etc, savoury meats, pastry, and puddings, would, of course, be transported to the cooking-room.

In cases where there is no isolated building near the house susceptible of conversion into a kitchen, the cook-room, such as it may be, would have to be utilized; but if properly ventilated, fitted up with a range, racks, tables, etc, frequently inspected, and reserved exclusively for the work I have mentioned, its evils might surely to be reduced to a minimum.

Another great thing to obtain, to my mind, is a really clean place, not only for the preparation of food, but also for its keeping during the day. Think for a moment of the dish of neck of mutton cutlets that the cook takes away to the cook-room at 10 a.m., after his mistress has inspected the market supplies. The cutlets re-appear at dinner time, it is true, but dare we consider how the poor things spent their day before the hour of their cooking arrived ? In my ideal room they would be trimmed immediately. upon a clean dresser, flattened with the cutlet bat, and then arranged neatly upon a large flat dish, dusted over with pepper and salt, lightly dredged with flour, and consigned till wanted in the gauze safe ; or, if so required, they might be placed in marinade, and then put away beyond the reach of flies. The trimmings would, of course, be collected upon a plate, and sent out to the kitchen for the production of broth for sauce.