A Home-made Ice Box
One motor camper had an ingenious arrangement for keeping the baby’s milk cool. He made two wooden boxes, one six by six inches in size, and the other six inches by nine in size. They were both eight inches deep. These were inside measurements. The lids had an extra block of the same thickness as the box (13 by 16 inches) which fitted down inside the box. These boxes were provided with a galvanized-iron lining seven inches deep and fitting snugly inside the boxes. He would ice the boxes to pre-cool them. Then the bottles, filled with the prepared milk, carefully stoppered and wrapped in [[76]]paper to prevent breakage, were packed in the boxes in chipped ice. These would keep the milk ice cold in ordinary weather for two days with the initial icing. Sterilized nipples were carried in an extra empty bottle.
To heat the baby’s milk water was drawn from the radiator of the car into a pound-size baking-powder can, and the bottle containing the milk was placed in this bottle until sufficiently heated, after which the water was returned to the radiator.
Probably the most satisfactory method of carrying “grub” is to put your dry foodstuffs, such as flour, corn meal, sugar, cereals, dried fruit, etc., into paraffined muslin bags which measure about eight inches across and which sit one on top of the other, in a waterproof canvas bag with a double throat for double protection from dust and insects. The little bags should be plainly labeled on their sides for such articles as coffee, tea, cooking fat, and the like. Use friction-top tins, which are made broad and flat to fit a cylindrical bag, for greasy foods, such as ham and bacon.
Wooden salt and pepper shakers are the best, because salt will not suffer hydration in a wooden shaker, but the grains will keep dry and separate.
Cautionary Suggestions
It should hardly be necessary to remind the motor tourist that such adages as “Safety First,” “It’s Better To Be Safe Than Sorry,” and a “Stitch in [[77]]Time …” supply a wise basis of conduct for the motor tourist.
We sometimes hear a tourist boasting the speed at which he “hits it up,” “giving the other fellow the dust,” etc.; or telling how he made his forty per right along, and with a trailer, too. All such talk is supremely silly.
Watching for crossings, breaks in the road, and other wise precautions involve going at a moderate pace. The “Speed Fiend” is a peril to himself and a danger to every one who crosses his path.