MOTHER'S DOWN-HOME COUNTRY LORE

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scrambled-egg pan, or other such receptacle with a trace of food left in it. Let the liquid soak while you eat your meal, transfer it back to your soup kettle, and refrigerate the mixture till the next time the opportunity arises to soak up the remains of an emptied milk container, food can, or what have you.

Pour any excess fat from cooked meat into your pot so that the soup can absorb all its good meat flavor. Add leftover vegetables, meat, or crust. And before you know it, you'll have a soup so delicious that-like Hyla--you just may find people inviting themselves over to "dip !n and enjoy". (And if guests begin arriving before the dish is quite ready, just add a bouillon cube for more meat flavor, a bit of pasta for thickening, or some milk, croutons, or pureed vegetables for a fancy touch.)

"All the food I prepare is good food," says Hyla, "so why throw any of It away? Transfer Soup is different every time I make It . . . but the result is Invariably downright delicious!"

Bill and Betty Cook of Boss, Missouri have come up with a constructive Idea for using that nonbiodegradable styrofoam packaging which we all pay for. Bill and Betty report that the often wasted meat trays and styrofoam egg cartons we accumulate are great for Insulating chicken houses, doghouses, and the like. "Just staple the styrofoam along the interior of the animals' structure," they tell us, "and your homestead critters will keep cooler In the summer and warmer during the winter!"

And If that doesn't keep your feathered friends comfy, Kathleen Gordinter has several tricks of her own which she uses to keep her chickens healthy and laying throughout Wal worth, New York's cold winters.

First, Kathleen makes sure that her poultry get plenty of light .. . at least 14 hours every day. Just before sunset, she turns on the over head bulb in the barn and leaves it burning for several hours ... thus extending the winter's shortened span of daylight for her barnyard crit ten.

Meantime, Kathleen gives her homestead fowl hot water twice a day . . . In both the morning and the evening. This way the water Is pre. vented from freezing so that her chickens never have to "go without". . . and the practice seems to protect them, as well, from the pain of frost bitten combs. In addition, Kathleen mixes a quarter cup of homemade apple cider vinegar into each gallon of her poultry's Hz0: This added acid, she believes, Is an aid to the chickens' chemical balance.

Ms. Gordinier also makes a point of feeding her feathered friends the "greens" they can't forage for in the winter . . . In the form of fruit and vegetable scraps added to their regular feed. Moreover, the chickens are allowed to wander In and out of the barn (except during blizzards, of course) . . . giving them plenty of opportunity to scratch.

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