In the Driftway.

IT has often enough been pointed out that American civilization is declining. Gone are the good old days. But in no aspect life has this decay, this disappearance of the heroic virtues, been more distressingly apparent than in the art of eating. The most eloquent tribute to American eating has lately been paid by Sheila Hibben in her volume, "The National Cookbook." The author does not pretend to know her admirable book by heart, but the author cannot recall offhand any wreath laid by her at the feet-or around the edges of the Buckwheat Pancake. This noble concoction, author notes with pain, is disappearing from national life. Although it still exists in certain sections of the country, city dwellers are almost completely strange to it.