'slacht,' i.e. the flesh of the pig, is sent as a present to the
clergyman of the village, and it is to be hoped he enjoys it.

Another favourite dish, especially in Overyssel and Gelderland, is
'Kruidmoes.' This is a mixture of buttermilk boiled with buckwheat meal,
vegetables, celery, and sweet herbs, such as thyme, parsley, and chervil,
and, to crown all, a huge piece of smoked bacon, and it is served steaming
hot. The poor there eat a great deal of rice and flour boiled with
buttermilk, which, besides being very nutritious, is 'matchless for the
complexion,' like many of the advertised soaps. The very poor have what is
called a 'Vetpot.' This they keep in the cellar, and in it they put every
particle of fat that remains over from their meals. Small scraps of bacon
are melted down and added to it, for this fat must last them the whole
winter through as an addition to their potatoes. Indeed, the 'Vetpot'
plays as great a part in a poor man's house as the 'stock-pot' does in an
English kitchen.

[Illustration: Farmhouse Interior, the Open Fire on the Floor.]

The meals are cooked in a large iron pot, which hangs from a hook over the
open hearth. The fuel consists of huge logs of wood and heather sods,
which are also used for covering the roofs of the 'Plaggewoning.' Black or
rye bread takes the place of white, and is generally home-made. In Brabant
the women bake what is called 'Boeren mik.' This is a delicious long brown
loaf, and there are always a few raisins mixed with the dough to keep it
from getting stale. Those who have no ovens of their own put the dough in
a large long baking-tin and send it to the baker. One of the children, on
his way back from school, fetches it and carries it home _under his arm_.
You may often see farmers' children walking about in their wooden shoes
with two or more loaves under their arms. Both wooden shoes and loaves are