CHAPTER XIII 



HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION, ECONOMY, AND 

 COMFORT 



In colonial times, before so many of the 

 household operations were transferred to shops 

 and manufactories, women were producers al- 

 most as much as men; but in modern times 

 women are more and more concerned with how 

 money shall be spent. The woman is still a 

 producer when she cooks an Qgg^ mends a gar- 

 ment, or sweeps a room ; but the question of 

 how much or how little can be had out of the 

 family income has become relatively more and 

 more her concern. In Europe, far more than in 

 the United States, attention is given by the 

 women to the economical expenditure of the 

 family resources. A provincial French girl is 

 trained from her childhood for household duties. 

 She assists her mother not only in order to 

 learn the finer arts of housewifery, but espe- 

 cially the judicious expenditure of money. The 

 French husband leaves the apportionment of the 

 family income almost wholly to his wife's dis- 

 cretion. 



(224) 



