t on a diet of
rice, we shall be forced, sooner or later, to depend upon a diet of
pemmican, or food of a similar nature.


RICE, TO BOIL.--The best method of boiling rice is, at any rate, a much
disputed point, if not an open question. There are as many ways almost of
boiling rice as dressing a salad, and each one thinks his own way the best.
We will mention a few of the most simple, and will illustrate it by boiling
a small quantity that can be contained in a teacup. Of course, boiling
rice is very much simplified if you want some rice-water as well as rice
itself. Rice-water contains a great deal of nourishment, a fact which is
well illustrated by the well-known story of the black troops who served in
India under Clive, who, at the siege of Arcot, told Clive, when they were
short of provisions, that the water in which the rice was boiled would be
sufficient for them, while the more substantial grain could be preserved
for the European troops. Take a teacupful of rice and wash the rice in
several waters till the water ceases to be discoloured. Now throw the rice
into boiling water, say a quart; let the rice boil gently till it is
tender, strain off the rice and reserve the rice-water for other purposes.
The time rice will take to boil treated this way would be probably about
twenty minutes, but this time would vary slightly with the quality and size
of the rice.

* * * * *

Many years ago we watched a black man boiling rice on board a P. and O.
boat (the _Mizapore_); he proceeded as follows:--He boiled the rice for
about ten minutes, or perhaps a minute or two longer, strained it off in a
sieve, and then washed the rice with cold water, and then put the rice back
in the stew-pan to once more get hot and swell. Of course, this rice was
being boiled for curry, and certainly the result was that each grain was
beautifully separated from every other grain. We do not think, however,
that this method of boiling rice is customary on all the boats of the P.