A waffle-iron is made of two iron griddles fitted and fastened together at one side with a hinge. Each griddle is divided into compartments, which are usually grooved into diamonds, hearts, rounds, etc. (See "Kitchen Uten-sils," page 37.) If the waffle-iron has not been used for some time, wash it thoroughly with soap and water, wipe it dry, and rub well with dry salt. The iron should be placed over the fire, heated on each side, and greased carefully, as it is very hard to clean if the cakes stick to it. Put a piece of salt pork on a fork, or a small piece of butter in a clean rag, and rub this all over both griddles; the heat will melt the butter and let just enough of it through the cloth, so that this method is much better than applying the butter with a knife. Close the griddles and turn them that the fat may be distributed equally. Have the waffle batter in a pitcher so that the filling may be done quickly, and fill each compartment two-thirds full. Cover with the other griddle, cook one minute, turn the iron, and cook a little longer on that side. It takes but a little over two minutes to cook waffles. When done, carefully remove them from the irons, place them on a hot dish, and serve at once. Any kind of griddle-cake batter, with the addition of the extra oiling to make the cakes crisp, may be cooked in a waffle-iron, if one does not regard the extra labor it involves.

Wheat Waffles

Four eggs.

One quart of milk.

One large table-spoonful of butter.

Three tea-spoonfuls of baking powder.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

Flour to thicken.

Beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately, melt the butter, stir it into the yolks, and add the salt, the milk and the whites of the eggs, stirring well. Beat in quickly the flour, a little of which should be mixed with the baking powder. The batter should be just thin enough to pour. Bake in a waffle-iron, as previously directed. This is a large recipe.

Plain Raised Waffles

One quart of flour.

One tea-spoonful of salt.

Three eggs.

Two table-spoonfuls of butter.

One-half cupful of yeast, or one-half a cake of compressed yeast.

One and a-half pint of milk.

Scald the milk and cool it. Rub the butter into the flour, and add the salt, the cooled milk and the yeast. Beat the mixture well for three minutes, cover, and let it stand in a warm place until light, generally over night. In the morning beat the whites and yolks of the eggs separately, add the yolks to the batter and then the whites, stirring well. Let the batter stand fifteen minutes, and then cook in a waffle-iron.

Corn-Meal Waffles

One cupful of flour. One cupful of corn meal. Two cupfuls of sour milk. One-half cupful of sour cream. One-half tea-spoonful of salt. One tea-spoonful of soda. One table-spoonful of cold water. Two table-spoonfuls of sugar. Two eggs.

Mix the sugar, salt, meal and flour. Beat the eggs light. Dissolve the soda in the cold water, and stir it into the sour cream and milk. Pour the liquid upon the dry mixture, add the eggs after stirring well, and bake in waffle-irons. Should there be no sour cream at hand, use two and a-half cupfuls of sour milk and a table-spoonful of melted butter, measured after melting.