Note 28 — A GIRL’S LIFE EIGHTY YEARS AGO (continued 2)

The Rumford kitchen or Roaster was invented by Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford), a native of Salem. Mr. Thompson, after passing through various phases of existence, went to Bavaria, where by his powers of pleasing and wonderful inventive faculties he attracted the attention of the king, and by him was created Count Rumford. One of Count Rumford’s particular studies was the laws which govern heat and cold, and to him we are indebted for great improvement in our chimneys, fireplaces, and kitchen ranges. Before his time all cooking was done over an open wood fire. In the “Life of Count Rumford,” by Ellis, page 240, we find the following: “The Roaster, if not the first, was the most simple, ingenious, and effective apparatus of the kind which, by its arrangement of flues for conveying hot air around the food in the oven as well as by economizing fuel, allowed of the preparation of many articles by one fire, and greatly facilitated the labors and added to the comfort of the cook. They were especially popular in Salem, where many of the flourishing citizens had occasion to recall over their dinners the ‘apprentice boy in Mr. Appleton’s shop.’”