My Pet Recipes, Tried and True, contributed by the ladies and friends of St. Andrew's Church, Quebec (c. 1900)

""The best soups are made with a blending of many flavors. Don't be afraid of experimenting with them. Where you make one mistake you will be surprised to find the number of successful varieties you can produce. If you like a spicy flavor try two or three cloves, or allspice, or bay leaves. All soups are improved by a dash of onion, unless it is the white soups, or purees from chicken, veal, fish, etc. In these celery may be used. In nothing as well as soups can a housekeeper be economical of the odds and ends of food left from meals. One of the best cooks wasin the habit of saving everything, and announced one day, when her soup was especially praised, that it contained the crumbs of gingerbread from her cake box! Creamed onions left from a dinner, or a little stewed corn, potatoes mashed, a few baked beans--even a small dish of apple sauce have often added to the flavor of soup. Of course, all good meat gravies, or bones from roast or boiled meats, can be added to your stock pot."