Travelling physician, salesman, author & self-made man, Dr Chase dispensed remedies all over America during the late nineteenth century, collecting recipes & domestic tips from the people he met along the way. His self-published books became celebrated US bestsellers & were the household Bibles of their day. Containing recipes for American-style treats, such as Boston cream cakes, Kentucky Corn Dodgers & pumpkin pie, as well as genial advice on baking bread & testing whether a cake is cooked, this is a treasure trove of culinary wisdom from the homesteads of a still rural, pioneering United States.