318 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



home can best be learned there. If cooking were all that is included 

 in Home Economics, donbtless most mothers would claim the ability 

 to teach their daughters, although many an experienced housekeeper 

 is often forced to admit that luck rather than science guides her own 

 cooking processes. Much more, however, is included and should be 

 understood by every woman who has the responsibility of directing a 

 household. She should know not merely how to cook, but how to com- 

 bine foods into a properly balanced ration. This implies a knowledge 

 of the needs of the body, and of the foods supplying these. The soil 

 and the cattle on our farms require nitrogen and lime — so do human 

 beings, but the amount needed by the latter is less generally under- 

 stood. Moreover, a lack of any of the necessary food elements means 

 a form of starvation, which cannot be prevented by an increased 

 amount of another food element. Since a knoAvledge of these prin- 

 ciples is essential to the complete Avell-being of our families, this 

 should, very evidently be taught in our public schools if they are to 

 train for intelligent citizenship. 



The principles of hygiene and sanitation also belong in the curricu- 

 la of our rural schools. We have a State law requiring that temper- 

 ance be taught in all public schools. This is a wise step in freeing the 

 country from a great evil. But one-half the cases of intemperance are 

 caused by improper food. When the body is not properly nourished, 

 a craving for some stimulant is created. Moreover, intemperance is 

 not confined to excess in drink, indiscretion in eating cause many 

 bodily ills. The pupils in our schools should, therefore, be taught the 

 laws of health in regard to eating as well as to drinking. 



A well organized crusade against tuberculosis is attracting the at- 

 tention of people everywhere, and we welcome every effort put forth 

 to stamp out this plague. Preventative work, however, is better than 

 curative, and here again the school is the place for instruction. When 

 school houses are properly built and cared for in regard to ventilation 

 and sanitation, when the common drinking cup is banished, and the 

 pupils are taught why clean houses, fresh air, pure water and clean 

 bodies are necessary to good health then there will be less tubercu- 

 losis to fight. If only once a week definite instri*ction were given con- 

 cerning the dangers lurking in the dust that clings to our clothing 

 and furniture ; in the air of a close room ; in the cup passed from stu- 

 dent to student; in the touch of a fly flitting from the filth of im- 

 properly cared for barns to the food on our tables, and in other mat- 

 ters vital to health, we could soon see a distinct rise in the standard 

 of public health. It ought not to be necessary to emphasize the im- 

 portance of these matters in rural communities where pure air, good 

 water and proper sanitary conditions are so easily provided, but re- 

 peated experience proves that w^e who live in the country often disre- 

 gard the laws of health more than do people in cities. 



One reason why many people fail in agriculture is because they do 

 not put it on a business basis. They do not know their exact capi- 

 tal invested, or the income derived therefrom, and cannot tell whether 

 they are making money or losing, until too late they find out to their 

 sorrow. For this reason every rural school should include in its in- 

 struction a business training, not the stenography and banking which 

 are usualy associated with that term, but a study of the finances of 

 the farm and the farm home. If the merchant must know the propor- 



