606 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tiire of some of the housekeepers in our province. I would not lilve to 

 say this if I did not feel that the same thing is true of every other rural 

 district in America. 



The other subject I would mention is that of dress or personal ap- 

 pearance. If we could develop in our young girls — the young members 

 cf our institute — the sense of what is right, fitting, suitable for differ- 

 ent occasions, would it not go far to answer one of the questions on this 

 programme, how we can bring most good to our girls through institute 

 work? 



But perhaps the real answer to the question is the solving of tn» 

 servant girl problem, how to get help in the home, how to induce our 

 girls who are badly needed in the home to stay there, rather than take a 

 position at almost nothing in order to get away from the home. I think 

 this can only be done by presenting every question in regard to house 

 keeping in such a way that our girls will realize that housekeeping, 

 home-making, need not be degrading and ignoble, but may be elevating, 

 uplifting; that as new methods are introduced there need not be the 

 monotony and drudgery usually associated with housekeeping; that, in 

 short, housekeeping, home-making, is a study, a science, a profession. 



WOMEN'S INSTITUTES. 



Miss Rose: Having been identified with the women's institute 

 from its earliest inception, and having closely watched its growth and 

 noted carefully the beneficial results, it is with a degree of confidence 

 that I speak of what it means to women. 



PROGRESS IN HOUSEKEEPIXG, 



The women who attend our institutes are the women who are our 

 home-makers and keepers. On the knowledge they possess depends the 

 future of our country. In the past little serious thought has been given 

 to the housing, clothing and feeding of the genus Homo. Sleeping in ili- 

 ventilated rooms, clothed in garments not conducive to health or com- 

 fort, and fed on food' prepared without the slightest regard to its nutri- 

 tive value or digestive qualities could it be expected that the human 

 race would or could advance morally or physically? 



The special work of the women's institute is to open the eyes of 

 the women to this fact. In any line of work ignorance is certain fail- 

 ure, accompanied by great loss; success lies in knowing how. When the 

 women of our country realize how little they really know about the sci- 

 ence of housekeeping, they will be glad to attend the meetings of the 

 women's institute. How many women are ignorant of their own ignor- 

 ance? These are the ones we want to get as members. By coming in 

 contact with others of similar environments, aims and occupations, and 

 hearing methods of work discussed, they almost unconsciously compare 

 notes, and then begins the improvement. They get good and, getting 

 good, can not fail to be helpful to others. What happiness comes into 



