Pot

“ One day the little girl went into the forest to get a few sticks with which to make a fire, and there she met an old woman who gave her a small pot, and said: “This pot will supply you with food, and you need never be hungry again. You have only to say, ‘Boil, little pot, boil!’ and it will cook you as much nice, sweet porridge as you can wish for. Just watch it, and when the porridge inside has increased to the amount you want, say, ‘Stop, little pot,’ and the boiling will immediately cease.” ”

“ Now, it don’t matter a bit what sort of clay a pot’s made of, if when it’s been tried in the fire it turns out sound and rings well when it’s struck. If I’m only common red ware, without even a bit of glaze on me, and yet answer the purpose well for which I’m made, why I’m a good pot, ain’t I, even if I only hold water? ”

“ Under each pot is a tiny fire. The skillful cook plays upon his several fires as a musician upon his keys, adding a morsel of fuel to one, drawing a coal from another; stirring all the concoctions with the same spoon. ”

“ The mother couldn’t help but smile at this attempted shifting of the blame to the pot, but she answered, in a moment, gravely:
“The pot, Charley, was made of clay; the same weak material from which little boys are made; who, when they forget to obey their mothers, are as likely to meet disaster as the earthen pot.” ”

“ But draw the pattern of goods either into a glass from the cock, to run very small, or rather draw off a small quantity into a little pewter pot, and pour it into your glass, extending your pot as high above the glass as you can without wasting it, which makes the goods carry a better head abundantly, than if the same goods were to be put and tried in a phial.—You must be so prudent as to make a distinction of the persons you have to deal with. ”

“ Take your fairest bunches and lay a Lay of fine Sugar into the bottom of the pot, and then a Lay of Barberries, and then Sugar again, till all be in, and be sure to cover them deep with Sugar last of all, and cover your pot with a bladder wet and tyed on, that no Air get in, and they will keep and be good, and much better to garnish dishes with than pickled Barberries, and are very pleasant to eat. ”

“ Note that it ought not to be full so big as a tenis ball. Call for a wine quart pot filled with faire water up to the necke, having your face in a readinesse, concealed in your right hand, take the pot in your left hand, and set it on the Table, and say, see you Gentlemen, here is nothing in the pot but water, with that clap down the pot lid with your right hand, and in clapping it down, slip the face into the pot, this you may doe without any the lest suspition. ”

“ Every housewife should bear in mind that a stock-pot always on the fire is a great aid to economy. Any odd pieces, trimmings, cooked bones, the liquor in which meat or poultry has been boiled (commonly known as pot-liquor) , should be thrown in, and the pot kept about three parts full of water. When soup or gravy is required the stock should be well skimmed, and poured into a clean saucepan. ”

“ Pot′-stick, a stick for stirring what is being cooked in a pot; Pot′stone, a massive variety of talc-schist, composed of a finely felted aggregate of talc, mica, and chlorite.—adj. Pot′-val′iant, brave owing to drink.—Potted meats, meats cooked, seasoned, and hermetically sealed in tins or jars.—Go to pot, to go to ruin, originally said of old metal, to go into the melting-pot; Keep the pot boiling, to procure the necessaries of life; Take pot-luck, to accept an invitation to a meal where no preparation for guests has been made. ”

“ Many hands make light work, and madame of the grande famille of sixteen or eighteen children accomplishes her wash of seventy-five to a hundred pieces with signal ease and entirely without complaint through the pot’s assistance—the pot that hangs under the blue skies above the glowing coals—the out-of-door pot that magnetizes the willing hands of normal children.
Dye-pots, wash-pots, soap-pots are essentially and quite naturally enough presided over by women. ”

“ We travelled light on those occasions, and, except for some tea and a very little flour and salt, took no food; we lived on what we shot and of course kept ‘hunter’s pot.’
‘Hunter’s pot’ is a perpetual stew; you make one stew, and keep it going as long as necessary, maintaining a full pot by adding to it as fast as you take any out; scraps of everything go in; any kind of meat—buck, bird, pig, hare—and if you have such luxuries as onions or potatoes, so much the better; then, to make the soup strong, the big bones are added—the old ones being fished out every day and replaced by a fresh lot. ”

“ Let a middle-sized pot be prepared by filling it within three inches of the margin with small broken potsherds, or some such matter, that there may be a constant and ready drain for the water, which it will be necessary to give the cuttings at any time when the earth appears dry. ”

“ Economical Pot Liquor Soup.
A thrifty housewife will not require that I should tell her to save the liquor in which the beef has been boiled; I will therefore take it for granted that the next day she carefully removes the grease, which will have become set firm on the top of the broth, into her fat pot; this must be kept to make a pie-crust, or to fry potatoes, or any remains of vegetables, onions, or fish. The liquor must be tasted, and if it is found to be too salt, some water must be added to lessen its saltness, and render it palatable. ”

“ Diphilus says, “all pot-herbs in general contain little nutriment, are attenuant, engender bad juices, swim in the stomach, and are of difficult digestion.” (Deipnos, ii, 28.) Actuarius states, that pot-herbs in general form a thin and watery blood, compared with that from thicker articles of food.
The ancients ate their pot-herbs with much oil, and generally a liberal allowance of hot spices. See Apicius (iii.) A sauce from pickled fish, vinegar, or old wine, was often added to the preparation. The poet Juvenal makes mention of a miser who ate his cabbage with the oil from lamps. ”

“ That is no way to pot plants. Come here, girls, and let us talk this point out. I will pot a plant for you. I guess this begonia would be a good one. See, it has quite a ball of earth of its own. Now look at Elizabeth's full pot. Trying to plant in a pot already full of soil is beginning entirely wrong. Hand over another pot, Josephine. Thank you. See, here is a pot with its drainage, and a very little bit of old sod over this. The soddy matter takes up only about a quarter inch. Give me a trowel full of the potting soil, or a little coarse soil first. ”

“ Seven pots are arranged in a row between the grinding-stone and the branched lamp. Some married women bring water from seven streams or seven different places, and pour it into a pot in front of the lamp. ”

“ In the morning when the fire is dead, the pot should be carefully lifted out, and, if all is well, it will be of hard ringing red terra cotta.
The final firing is always the hardest thing to do, because the pots are so easily cracked. If they be drawn out of the fire while they are yet hot, the sudden touch of cold air usually breaks them into pieces.
Now remember, O Guide! A pot is made of the earth, and holds the things that come out of the earth to make life, that feed us and keep us. So on it, you should draw the symbols that stand for these things. ”

“ When a flower pot is used, knock a hole in the side, about an inch from the bottom, and place a few glowing cinders in the bottom; upon these sprinkle a handful of dry brown paper, then a handful of dry tobacco-paper, and when it bursts into a flame commence to fill the pot with the moistened papers, and take it into the house, and blow it steadily to get it fairly lighted. The grand point is to make a good start, for it will then burn freely without much further attention, and render it quite unnecessary to remain in the house the whole of the time. ”

“ To dream of a pot, foretells that unimportant events will work you vexation. For a young woman to see a boiling pot, omens busy employment of pleasant and social duties. To see a broken or rusty one, implies that keen disappointment will be experienced by you. ”

“ Put the pot into a large copper pot with water, observing to keep it steady, that it may not reach to the covering of the pot that holds the marrow. As the water shrinks, add more, boiling hot—for it must boil four hours without ceasing a moment. ”

“ Take Almonds, blanch them, and put them into a pot, and set that pot in another pot of water that boyleth, and the steam of the seething pot will arise and enter into the pot with the Almonds, and that will become Oyle when they are stamped and wringed through a cloath. ”

“ An earthen pot with water is set upon the fire, and when the water boils a little meal is dropped in and stirred, more and more is then gradually added and stirred until the mess thickens, and is served up like a very dense paste. ”

“ Madame’s faith in the great pot is expressed in her tones. To her mind the pot is indispensable on every well-regulated farm, an absolute necessity in every household. The very children take{134} it for granted. ”

“ It is to be observed at the outset that the cultivation of plants in pots is the chief business before us now, and that is, in many respects, a different matter to the culture of the same plants in the open ground. A plant in a pot is like a bird in a cage, wholly dependent on the hand that feeds it and therefore in need of constant watching. ”

“ The old woman told the child all about it. She said, “My child, this little pot will cook very sweet and [57] good rice porridge for you, and you need not put anything into it at all. Just say, “Little Pot, Cook!” and it will begin to cook the sweet rice porridge. When you have enough say, “Little Pot, Stop!” and it will stop.” The little girl thanked the kind old woman and ran home with the wonderful pot.
Suggestions.
Rice, its uses, preparation for food. Where obtained. Explain earthen pot. Pottery.
Helping one’s self. Children tell of ways in which they can help themselves. ”

“ Originally the pot was a symbol of the mother goddess, who renewed youth, provided food for all, and was the source of treasure, luck, victory, and wisdom. This goddess was associated with the mother cow and the life-prolonging pearls that were searched for by early Eastern prospectors. There are references to cows and pearls in Welsh and Gaelic poems and legends regarding the pot. An old Welsh poem in the Book of Taliesin says of the cauldron ”

“ And in those varieties of pain of which we spoke anon, what a part of confidante has that poor tea-pot played ever since the kindly plant was introduced among us! What myriads of women have cried over it, to be sure! What sick-beds it has smoked by! What fevered lips have received refreshment from out of it! Nature meant very gently by women when she made that tea-plant; and with a little thought what a series of pictures and groups the fancy may conjure up and assemble round the tea-pot and cup! ”

“ The women are very smart at cooking. You'll see them make a fire by the roadside with a bundle of straw and a bit of wood, and they'll put the pot down. What goes into the pot? Well, how would I know? but the men are very handy, and when they put their hand in the pot, believe me it doesn't go in empty. ”

“ Offerings are made to a new pot, and, after a sheep has been sacrificed, the pot is filled with water, and carried on the head of the pūjāri, who shows signs of possession by the deity, through the streets of the village to the temple, dancing wildly, and never touching the pot with his hands. It is believed that the pot remains on the head, without falling, through the influence of the goddess. ”

“ Take Barberries, infuse them in a pot as other Fruits spoken of before, then strain them, and to every pound of liquor take two pounds of Sugar, boil them together over the fire till it will come from the bottom of the Posnet, and then put it into Gally-pots and keep it with fine Sugar strewed over it. ”

“ The pot merely has to be put on the stove, and in a few minutes a respectable meal is ready.
Life in the open air gives a good appetite, and, as a rule, no difficulty will be found in responding to it, if these slight instructions are followed. ”

“ For a man or woman that is in a consumption.—Take a brasse pot, and fill it with water, and set it on the fire, and put a great earthen pot within that pot, and then put in these parcels following:—Take a cock and pull him alive, then flea off his skin, then beat him in pieces ”

“ The cover of the coffee-pot was lifted, and half a cupful of cold water was suddenly dashed in, and then the pot was lifted from the coals to the grass.
"Let her stand a bit. Now for the fish. Have your tin plate ready."
"Ain't they splendid?" ”

“ To have vegetables delicately clean, put on your pot, make it boil, put a little salt in, and skim it perfectly clean before you put in the greens, &c., which should not be put in till the water boils briskly: the quicker they boil the greener they will be. ”

“ After the performer has shown the pots, planted the seed, and placed the pots on the small stands, which are used to convince the spectators that there is no connection between the pot and the large stand, he shows the large cone, which is nicely decorated, and covers the top of the pot on the first stand, as he says, to shut out the light, that the seed may germinate. ”

“ As the pot was boiling, water was added from time to time, until the pot was full of water. The tea was, after all, not ready. His wife called him aside and said: "The visitor is not likely to get any tea to-day; you had better ask him to stay and take a bath." ”

“ In each pot put about one ounce of mealed and corn powder; then in some put Stars, and in others Rain, Snakes, Serpents, Crackers, Sparks, &c. When they are loaded, secure their mouths by putting paper over each. ”

“ Take some beans which are just beginning to sprout, plant them in a pot, and place the pot in some quite dark place such as a cellar or a dark room, or cover them with a well-made blackened box which shuts out all the light. ”