I08 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



thought they ought to do the cooking, although I think it would 

 be well done if they did it, and I think perhaps the dishes would 

 be well washed if they washed them. When men do things 

 they generally do them pretty well. When they do learn how 

 to cook beefsteak it is very appetizing, and if men planned the 

 meals I am sure they would study ratiotis for the family as 

 they now study rations for cattle. I think it is a very fortunate 

 thing, when an emergency occurs, that the men know how to 

 do these things, and when it comes to training boys, I think I 

 should have boys trained to do housework the same as girls 

 are trained to do housework. Boys go away from home, boys 

 are thrown upon their own resources ; they go into the cities 

 and into colleges, and very often board themselves. They very 

 often have to darn their own stockings, and it is a very 

 unfortunate thing when a boy is not trained in some of the 

 arts of home-making, so that they can be a helpmeet as well 

 as to have the wife a helpmeet, 



I have not come to you, I assure you, with any new ideas 

 in regard to housework. I wash I had some new ideas, because 

 I think we have certain problems in connection with house 

 economy which it would be well to solve. I cannot tell you 

 how to lead the girl to like housework so well that she will want 

 to stay upon the farm instead of going to the city — I cannot 

 solve that problem entirely. I cannot tell you how to secure 

 domestic service and have it well trained. I cannot tell you 

 how to make girls like to do housework better than anything 

 else, but I can suggest, perhaps, some of the old, old things ; 

 I can remind you of some things our mothers did — some things 

 we know so well and yet which we do not practice and for 

 that reason need to be reminded of over and over again. 



In the first place our houses are not always as convenient 

 as they should be. I shall refer several times, perhaps, to our 

 work in the University Extension in New York State, and for 

 that reason I am going to take the liberty of giving you a little 

 sketch of it in order that you may know something of the source 

 of help and the information that I want to give you. We were 

 having in New York State a reading course for the farmers, 

 and nature studies for the children, and they said : Why not have 

 something for the farmers' wives? While the men are study- 

 ing rations for cattle why should not the women study rations 

 for men? While they are studying the conditions of the soil. 



