THE ART OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA TOGETHER WITH THREE HUNDRED AUSTRALIAN COOKERY RECIPES AND ACCESSORY KITCHEN INFORMATION BY MRS. H. WICKEN TEXT

own hearts. The Australians, with a warmer climate, without Puritan traditions, with wealth among them from the first, will be a softer, though not a weaker people; fonder of luxury, and better fitted to enjoy Art, with an appreciation of beauty which the Americans have never shown. They will be a people growing and drinking wine, caring much for easy society, addicted to conversation, and never happy without servants. The note of discontent which penetrates the whole American character will be absent." From the climatic standpoint alone it is safe to predict that the future Australian will be more nearly akin to the inhabitants of Southern Europe than to his progenitors in the old country; though, naturally, there will be considerable diversity between the native born of the various regions, covering as they do such a vast extent of territory. The ample opportunities for outdoor life will do much towards ensuring physical development. And, finally, the imaginative faculties will be very active, and it is quite permissible to hope that in time there will be a long roll of artists, musicians, and poets. As it will be seen, a considerable portion of this work is taken up with the practical side of living, as exemplified by the Australian Cookery Recipes. From the very first it was recognised that it was imperative to include them within its compass. It occurred to me, however, that this important department would better be undertaken by someone thoroughly conversant with the subject. With this object in view, therefore, I submitted to Mrs. H. Wicken what I required. I knew Mrs. Wicken to be well qualified for the task from the following facts, namely, that she had previously been successful in her culinary writings; that she was a Diplomee of the National Training School for Cookery, South Kensington; and that she occupied the responsible post of lecturer to the Technical College, Sydney. My propositions were that the recipes were to be written purely for Australian use, and that they were to be of the strictly economical order. Mrs. Wicken accepted the task, and it can only be hoped that her efforts will meet with the approbation they deserve. In their original form the three chapters on Australian Food Habits, Australian Fish and Oysters, and on Salads, appeared in THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, Sydney. I take this opportunity, therefore, of expressing my sense of obligation to the Proprietors thereof for their courtesy in permitting me to make complete use of these three contributions. As they now appear in chapters they have been revised, considerably altered, and materially added to, for the purposes of reproduction in book form. 143, Elizabeth Street Hyde Park, Sydney September 1893 EPIGRAPH A farmer being on the point of death, and wishing to show his sons the way to success in farming, called them to him and said--"My children I am now departing this life, but all that I have to leave you, you will find in the vineyard." The sons, supposing that he referred to some hidden treasure, as soon as the old man was dead, set to work with their spades and ploughs and every implement that was at hand, and turned up the soil over and over again. They found indeed no treasure; but the vines, strengthened and improved by this thorough tillage, yielded a finer vintage than they had ever yielded before, and more than repaid the young husbandmen for all their trouble. So truly is industry in itself a treasure.--THE FABLES OF AESOP. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 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 CHAPTER II. 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 CHAPTER III. 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 CHAPTER IV. 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 CHAPTER V. 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. CHAPTER VI. 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 CHAPTER VII. 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 CHAPTER VIII. 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 CHAPTER IX. 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 CHAPTER X. 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 CHAPTER XI. 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 CHAPTER XII. 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 I. THE ART OF LIVING IN AUSTRALIA CHAPTER I. THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALIA. Australia, forming as it does a vast island continent in the Southern world, lies to some extent within the tropical range, for the Tropic of Capricorn traverses its northern part. At present, however, its most densely populated portion lies just outside the tropics, and it is this semi-tropical part of Australia with which we have mostly to do. And apart, too, from the mere fact of Australia being between certain parallels of latitude, which makes its climate tropical or semi-tropical, as the case may be, its position is peculiar in that it forms this enormous ocean-girt continent already described. One of the most extraordinary circumstances in connection with the Australian people is, that they have never yet realized their semi-tropical environment. It would naturally be supposed that a dominating influence of this kind would have, from the very first, exercised an irresistible effect on their mode of living. But, on the contrary, the type of the Australian dwelling-house, the clothing of the Australian people, and, what is more significant than anything else, their food habits, prove incontestably that they have never recognised the semi-tropical character of their climate all over the rest of the world it will be found that the inhabitants of different regions adapt themselves to their surroundings. For instance, the Laplander and the Hindoo live in such a widely different manner, that one can scarcely believe they belong to the same human family. It has, however, been reserved for Australia, strange even from the first, to prove an exception to this universal law. Yes, strange even from the first! For did not the earliest arrivals find that the seasons came at the wrong time of the year; that Christmas-tide came with sunshine, and that the middle of the year was its coolest part? Were there not found in it curious animals, partly quadruped, partly bird, and partly reptile? Were there not discovered, also, other animals who carried their young in a pouch? Moreover, did Dot these first settlers see that the trees shed their bark, and not their leaves; and that the stones were on the outside, not the inside, of the cherries? But even admitting these peculiarities of season, of FAUNA and of flora it may be asked, How is it that the people of Australia have never adapted themselves to their climatic surroundings? The answer, or rather answers, to such an interrogation must largely consist of matters of opinion. This being the case, therefore, I call do no more than attempt to give my own explanation of this singular anomaly. It must be remembered that the one great impetus to colonisation in Australia was the discovery of gold in 1851. Up till that time settlement had been proceeding steadily, it is true. Indeed, one may go 80 far as to say that the development of the country was progressing, although slowly, on safe and natural lines. But the announcement of the finding of gold, which was continually being corroborated by successive reports, acted as an electric stimulus throughout the whole civilized world. As a consequence shipload after shipload of new comers flocked to Australia, all aflame with the same ardent desire--gold. Amongst them were certainly many of the picked men of the earth, whose spirit will leaven the whole of Australasia for all time to come. Yet even at the present day we still see the influence of this gold period at work, in the readiness with which men are caught by any plausible mining prospectus. They have only to be told that a company is being formed to extract gold out of road metal, and they are ready to believe it, and, what is more, prepared to put money into it. But far better than all this eagerness to amass wealth by some fortunate COUP, would be the natural development of the country. Agriculture and market-gardening, vine-growing and wine-making, the deep-sea fisheries and all the other comparatively neglected opportunities, only await their expansion into vast sources of wealth. What wonder, then, that a continent with so much that is wanting in connection with its food life should be living in a manner distinctly opposed to its climatological necessities! In the case of America there is a far different history. Settlement began there in a small way at first, to gradually expand as time went on. There was no sudden event, with the exception of the short-lived Californian gold rush of 1849-50, to set men flocking to its shores in countless legions. No, in America the inland territory has been peopled, steadily and slowly at first, but in after years by leaps and bounds, so that its development has been on a perfectly natural basis. But there must be something even more than this to explain the want of adaptation to climate shown in Australia, and it is, I think, to be found in the following. It must be remembered that Australia has been peopled chiefly by the Anglo-Saxon race. In such a stock the traditional tendencies are almost ineradicable, and hence it is that the descendants of the new comers believe as their fathers, did before them. It's in the blood. For there can be no doubt but that the Anglo-Saxon thinks there is only one way of living in every part of the world--no matter whether the climate be tropical, semi-tropical, or frigid. Those in the old country live in a certain manner, and all the rest of the globe have every right to follow their example. These two facts that Australia was peopled in part by the influx which followed the discovery of gold, and that its inhabitants belong essentially to the Anglo-Saxon race, have unquestionably exercised a great influence over our Australian food-habits. But notwithstanding these powerful underlying factors, there still remains that most extraordinary circumstance, to which I at first referred, namely, that the Australian people have never realized their semi-tropical environment. In order to assign to this latter the prominence it deserves, it seems desirable to make special inquiry into the peculiarities of the climate in its different parts. With that object in view, therefore, I wrote for certain information to the observatories of the four principal Australian metropolitan centres, namely, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane. As has always been the case, I received the fullest answers to my requests from Mr. H.C. Russell, Government Astronomer of New South Wales; from Mr. R.L.J. Ellery, Government Astronomer of Victoria; from Sir Charles Todd, Government Observer of South Australia; and from Mr. Clement L. Wragge, Government Meteorologist of Queensland. And it is with a feeling of considerable indebtedness to these gentlemen that I acknowledge their uniform kindness. And yet it is important to remember that the annual temperature, by itself, of any given locality may afford no indication whatever of its climatic peculiarities. Take for instance the climate of the North-Eastern portion of the United States. That region is