208 Missouri Agrimdtural Report. 



The others remain at their desks for study or for discussion of the 

 work of the next day. I endeavor to have as many children as 

 possible share these discussions, and to save time often give recipes 

 for a whole week at one lesson. For instance, one week may be 

 given up to cream soups, another to quick breads, etc. At noon 

 we are dismissed and by twenty minutes past twelve sit down to 

 a lunch made palatable by the hot dish prepared by our cooks. 

 The problem of cleaning up and dishwashing has so far been easy. 

 The younger children are only too eager to show their skill. 



As to the general outline of our work, in the fall we took up 

 canning with the object of using the fruits and vegetables so pre- 

 served for our own lunches later in the year. We collected the 

 different kinds of nuts with which our woods abound, talked of 

 their dietetic value and used them in simple combinations. Before 

 Christmas we made candies and packed them in boxes of our own 

 manufacture and decoration. Just now everyone is butchering, 

 so we will take the opportunity to study meats. 



As you see, we are not following any special order of study, 

 but utilizing the material at hand. 



The correlative value of the study of cookery cannot be over- 

 estimated. Suppose a group composed of a girl from the A class, 

 one from the B class and boys from the C and D classes to be 

 making cheese fondue according to the recipe in Williams & Fish- 

 er's textbook; such questions as the following will touch most of 

 the subjects they are studying: In what part of the digestive 

 tract is cheese digested? What country in Europe is famous for 

 its cheese? What is the principal cheese-making state? If a pint 

 of butter weighs a pound, how much will one-fourth of a cup weigh? 



In fact, cooking correlates itself with every study from D 

 numbers to A history and physiology. 



I am sure it is only a question of a few years until cooking 

 will be taught in all rural schools, and I hope that the example of 

 Fruitville school will encourage others to go and do likewise. 



