For the good of all, do not destroy the birds

Good Things to Eat is a little pamphlet published by the Cow Brand Baking Soda company in 1924 – it’s one of the items I picked up at a yard sale last weekend.

How easy it is to cook today, compared with eighty years ago! As the instructions in the booklet state, “It will not be long before thermometers will be generally used as kitchen appliances. Until then, we must show how we may know a food is cooked, instead of stating the exact number of minutes required.” The booklet mentions baking in coal, wood, gas, electric ,and oil stove ovens.

Cow Brand baking soda came with pictures of Useful Birds, and a person could send away for a complete set of thirty Useful Birds, just by sending six cents in stamps. I checked ebay to see if anyone might be selling a set of Useful Bird pictures – found someone selling four of the cards (purple martin, scarlet tanager, Northern yellow-throat, and red-breasted nuthatch) for only $2.00. Information about the baking soda and the bird is printed on the back of each card, with the motto “For the good of all, do not destroy the birds.”

It looks as though Cow merged with Arm & Hammer at some point, because some of the items for sale are Arm & Hammer Cow Brand things – as late as 1948 the company was using both names.

Hey, a couple people are selling the little booklet I picked up, trying to get $5-7 for it. Makes me feel better about my extravagant 25-cent purchase.

Next I’ll have to try some of the recipes. Maybe Spider Corn Cake or Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake. (Maybe in the fall – I hate to turn on the oven in warm weather.)