In most families there is a large amount of this used, but the
quantity purchased at a time depends upon the kind of meal selected.
The common kind, which is made by grinding between two mill-stones,
retains a great deal of moisture, and, in hot weather, will soon grow
musty; but the granulated meal will keep for any length of time. The
corn for this meal is first dried; and it takes about two years for
this. Then the outer husks are removed, and the corn is ground by a
process that produces grains like granulated sugar. After once using
this meal one will not willingly go back to the old kind. Indian meal
is made from two kinds of corn, Northern and Southern. The former
gives the yellow meal, and is much richer than the Southern, of which
white meal is made.


Rye Meal.

This meal, like the old-process Indian, will grow musty in a short
time in hot weather, so that but a small quantity of it should be
bought at a time. The meal is much better than the flour for all kinds
of bread and muffins.


Oat Meal.

There are several kinds of oat meal--Scotch, Irish, Canadian and
American. The first two are sold in small packages, the Canadian and
American in any quantity. It seems as if the Canadian and American
should be the best because the freshest; but the fact is the others
are considered the choicest. Many people could not eat oat meal in
former years, owing to the husks irritating the lining of the stomach.