322 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



seckinj; tlio true and llio jrood; with a wido (liss(Mnination of a kii«»\vl- 

 edy;e of Avliat to do and liow lo do il; and with a self-dt'dicatiou to the 

 service of society and hence of the state, we may all become, iu our 

 several fields of labor, national benefactors. 



TECHNICAL SCIENCE IN ITS RELATION TO THE HOME. 



FLKTA I'ADDOCK, COMMKNCKMENT ADDIIKSS, KKrKKSKXTlNG THr: WD.MKN'S 



roi'KSK. 



During- the youthful ]ieriod of human development the knowledge ob- 

 tained was thi'ough emi)iricism, the result of casual observation. Every 

 science had its birth in empiricism, and this empiricism will continue 

 to occupy a portion of scientific work as long as there is opportunity 

 to acquire know ledge. Jt keeps alive the spirit of speculation, yet the 

 number of demonstrated facts has become so great that s{)eculation is 

 kept in the background in the minds of scientists, and is used only as a 

 stimulus to researcli. 



The struggle of the sciences for their {present position has been long 

 and, in a sense, bitter, but evolved from the widely separated and im- 

 perfect theories of the past, there is in reach of the present seeker after 

 Truth, an abundance of classified knowledge. 



In the home has been the same progression. The homemaker is no 

 longer satisfi<?d with the traditional methods of an empirical nature,, 

 but seeks to understand the ])rinciples involved in her sphere of activity, 

 and to ]»lace her duties on a scientific basis. By assuming this attitude,, 

 she relegates tradition, empiricism and superstition to the rubbish 

 garret, and endeavors to subject scientific laws and facts to her use. 

 She thus makes a higher standard of learning for herself, magnifies her 

 I»osition to its true i)roportions, and rules over her jn-ovince resource- 

 ful in thought and action and highly technical in its character. 



Many educators have seen the necessity of a systenmtic course of 

 training, which will x>repare women to deal with the household prob- 

 lems brought about l)y this change in their relation to the home, and 

 have, through their inlluence, introduced courses of study in the various 

 schools to meet the demand in this work. From many sources knowl- 

 edge is accumulating and it is of such a character as to be necessary to 

 every woman who would make her honn^ the laboratory in which her 

 mental and physical life is developed. She surely should possess a 

 scientific knowledge of the body and those factors which influence it in 

 health and disease. When there is an attempt made to understand 

 the significance of this, there becomes involved many scientific subjects 

 of diverse complexions. It especially designates Physics, Anatomy, 

 Physiology, Chemistry, Sanitation, Bacteriology and Dietetics. These, 

 therefore, are fundamental to a comprehensive view of the duties 

 found in the house. They are the substance of the art of living. Can 

 anything be further from the truth than to mention this work as a fad? 

 Truly, ignorance alone must be responsible for misnomers of this class. 

 If based upon scientific research conducted as thoroughly and carefully 



