If the date ascribed to this book of 1838 is correct, this is very early Iowa Cookbook. This is more a commonplace book than a cookbook. It is written in several hands. It appears that Mrs. Garside entered the recipes, for mostly baked good, first. Then her husband or some other person put in recipes for use around the farm, for example "Potato Manure", and "Liquid Glue". These are mostly written in pencil while the recipes for food are written in ink. There's this measurement, "Clover. 10 or 12 lbs to the acre when sown with grasses."

There are items that typically appear in an almanac here, such as "To find the letter for the first day of each month in the year" and "to find the golden number of any year" scattered among the recipes.

Another hand, using blue ink, inserted recipes where she could find room.

In among all this are poems transcribed, probably by Mary Hebard who has inscribed her name on the flyleaf of this book: "Miss Mary Hebard, Windham, Ct." Also includes a printed pamphlet or part of a book on the last page that has recipes, ads and some humorous writings on thinner .