678 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



districts for qualifying herself for fulfilling these duties are chiefly such 

 as she can create for herself. Although a large amount of domestic science 

 instruction for women is being given, it is for the most part confined 

 to resident students in educational institutions in towns and cities. Com- 

 paratively little is being done in this direction in the rural schools, 

 and almost nothing in the way of peripatetic instruction for country wo- 

 men by the state at large. 



NEED OF MORE EXTENDED KNOWLEDGE OF DOMESTIC DUTIES. 



"While knowledge of domestic duties is probably as extended and gen- 

 eral among country house-wives as is knowledge of field operations by 

 their husbands, yet in both cases there is great need for more accurate 

 Information respecting the principles upon which successful practice 

 in the home and in the field are based, and while both classes would be 

 greatly aided by additional instruction in their respective duties, the 

 importance of such instruction to the housewife is far greater than a 

 corresponding amount of information to the worker in the field. Ignorance 

 of operations in the field is felt chiefly through impairment of the quality 

 or reduction in the amount and value of the crop. Ignorance in the home 

 is [a much more serious matter, in that through food improperly pre- 

 pared and sanitary conditions neglected the life of the worker is often 

 endangered and not infrequently destroyed. A poorly nourished body, 

 whether of man or animal, is inefficient no matter how well bred or how 

 well equipped for service it may be in other respects. Good food well 

 prepared and proper hygenic care maintain health and add to the working 

 power not only of the well and strong, but by these means the weak 

 and helpless also are enabled to gain strength and become efficient aids 

 in family support. 



THE FIELD OF WOMEN'S WORK. 



The selection and cooking of food are, however, only two items in the 

 duties of the country woman. If knowledge of these were all that the 

 housewife required, the question of supplying this information would 

 be comparatively simple. There are other problems, such as those con- 

 nected with the rearing and education of children, the clothing of the 

 family, the providing of home conditions that are sanitary, the social, 

 intellectual, and aesthetic improvement of the housewife herself. 



The ideal home is a social and cooperative society in which all of 

 its members unite their efforts for the common good. This ideal is real- 

 ized most nearly in the country home, where even the smallest child 

 has opportunity to be and generally is a contributor to the family sup- 

 port. It has come to be a recognized, fact that boys and girls, healthy, 

 industrious, frugal, capable, intelligent, self-supporting, cheerful, and 

 patriotic, abound in country homes, and that the prevalence there of 

 these high qualities is largely due to the family life, which requires each 

 individual from his earliest years to bear his proportionate share in 

 providing for the maintenance of the home. By bringing within the reach 

 of country people educational advantages suited to their needs, rural life 



