HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



HOME MAKING 



SHALL WE TEACH ACCOUNT 

 KEEPING AND BUDGETS? 



"I can't get away fioni budgets," 

 writes Janet Cation Thurston, author of 

 Personal Expense Book. 



When I recently bemoaned the fate 

 which compelled me to enter a hospital 

 ward with its mixed set of people, I didn't 

 realize that I would see the subject from 

 a different angle than I had before. 



One day a sixteen-year-old girl visited 

 the ward. Her bobbed hair had a tam-o- 

 shanter hat pulled rakishly over it. She 

 wore a cheap plush coat of the season's 

 latest mode, a fancy skirt, openwork silk 

 stockings, and pumps suitable only for a 

 dancing floor. Rouge and powder gave 

 to her what she considered the last note 

 of elegance. When she left her sister 

 spoke up, "I'm sure ashamed to have that 

 girl visit me. That shows where high 

 school leads a girl. My parents were 

 poor Jewish people. When I got thru 

 grammar school and waited to go with 

 my classmates to high school they would 

 not hear of it. 'No use wasting money,' 

 they said. 'Girls only get married.' No 

 persuading could induce them to change 

 their minds. But when my sister was 

 ready for high school, I uiged, begged, 

 and pleaded that she be given the chance 

 to go further than the grades, and not be 

 handicapped as I was. My parents finally 

 gave in and that is when our troubles be- 

 gan. Immediately she began making de- 

 mands for fancier clothes than she had 

 ever had. She must wear silk dresses to 

 school for everyone else did. She must 

 have variety in her wardrobe lest she be 

 the laughing stock of her classmates. 

 Shoes, stockings, veils, rouge, powder! 

 How they did mount into money! And 

 how my parents did complain! 'What 

 did we tell you? Maybe you don't think 

 now your mamma and papa they know.' 

 Even then I said, 'I'll go without my- , 

 self. If she needs those things for high 

 school, I'll pay for them.' But after a 

 year and a half I had to give up. Then 

 she quit school and entered an office as 

 filing clerk. She earns fifteen dollars a 

 week and spends every cents on clothes. 

 She will not listen to any advice from me 

 because she says she knows more than we 

 do." 



"It isn't only the high school girl," 

 spoke up a woman whose husband runs 

 an exclusive ready-to-wear establishment. 

 "My husband says he wishes he could tell 

 many women not to buy the things they 

 do buy at his store. You see he faces 

 the husbands when they come to see about 

 extended credits. They seem to have no 

 control over the way their wives spend 

 money. Women often buy not only un- 

 necessary things, but in larger quantities 

 than they need. They buy and charge. 



A BOY AND HIS STOMACH 



What's the matter with you — ain't I al- 

 ways been your friend? 



Ain't I been a pardner to you? All my 

 pennies don't I spend 



In gettin' nice things for you? Don't I 

 give you lots of cake? 



Say, stummick, what's the matter, that 

 you had to go and ache? 



Why, I loaded you with good things; 

 yesterday I gave you more 



Potatoes, squash an' turkey than you'd 

 ever had before. 



I gave you nuts and candy, pumpkin pie 

 and chocolate cake. 



An' Las' night when I got to bed you had 

 to go an' ache. 



Say, what's the matter with you — ain't 

 you satisfied at all? 



I gave you all you wanted, you was hard 

 jes' like a ball, 



An' you couldn't hold another bit of pud- 

 din', yet las' night 



You ached mos' awful, stummick, that 

 ain't treatin' me jes' right. 



I've been a friend to you, I have, why 



' ain't you a friend o' mine? 



They gave me castor oil last night be- 

 cause you made me whine. 



I'm awful sick this mornin' and I'm 

 feelin' mighty blue. 



Because you don't appreciate the things 

 I do for you. 



knowing they will not be able to meet 

 their obligations this month, next month 

 or the next. Will our buying conscience 

 ever wake up-" 



Even the big hearted Russian women 

 entered into the conversation at this 

 point. "It is terrible what American 

 children want," she remarked in her 

 broken English. "My little Sammy and 

 Benny think their father can buy them 

 anything. When it snows just a little it 

 is, 'Father get us sleds right away.' It 

 is like that all the time. It makes me so 

 a.shamed when I .see my sister's little girls 

 who came from Russia twelve weeks ago. 

 For a long time in Russia all they ate was 

 grain like horses, and every day they 

 asked, 'Mother, when will we have bread?' 

 and the mother could only say, 'Maybe 

 tomorrow!' Now when we ask them if 

 they want a ring or doll for Christmas, 

 they say in their sad little voices, 'Noth- 

 ing, now we have bread.' " 



Can we afford not to teach this subject 

 that so vitally touches every home, and 

 from the oldest to the youngest in the 

 home? Let .the grade school child or the 

 high school pupils merely i-ecord their ex- 

 penditures for a few months and they 

 will be appalled at some of their buying 

 habits. After a few months of account- 

 keeping they are ready to make budgets, 

 which are merely plans to determine in 

 advance how their money can best be 

 spent. If our girls and boys have train- 



ing in account keeping and budgets, will 

 clothes be the outstanding thing in high 

 school? If the teachers do their part in 

 j teaching the expenditure of money, ought 

 we not to expect a better buying con- 

 science when these young people are 

 directors of homes of their own? 



WHAT'S THE MATTER 



WITH BREAKFAST? 



Starting the day without breakfast is 

 like trying to run a Ford without gas. 

 You can't go far! 



Something is wrong if you have no ap- 

 petite in the morning. Are you drink- 

 ing too much coffee? If you are using 

 more than two cups of beverage a day the 

 habit will get you! And the best thing 

 you can do is to get rid of the tea and 

 coffee habit immediately. 



Fresh air is stimulating, so sleep with 

 your windows open. Plan to get eight 

 hours sleep and go to bed early enough so 

 you can get up in time to eat breakfast. 

 Because a good breakfast every morning 

 will prevent those mid-morning disorders, 

 such as headaches, faintness and tired 

 feeling. 



A good breakfast includes something 

 warm and something easily digested so in 

 preparing them plan to serve the follow- 

 ing foods; fruit, cereal (cooked prefer- 

 able) with milk, dark bread and butter, 

 a glass of milk or a cup of cocoa. Try 

 starting the day right with a breakfast 

 like one of these — 



Baked apple Oatmeal and milk. 



Prunes Cornmeal Mush and milk 



Apple sauce Toast and butter Cocoa 

 or milk 



Orange MuflSns or toast Cocoa 



Boiled rice and raisins Toast and but- 

 ter Cocoa or milk 



Prunes Cracked wheat and milk Co- 

 coa. 



USE NATURE'S SUGAR BOWLS 



Cultivate a "sweet tooth for natural 

 foods and use less sugar," is a good slo- 

 gan to adopt. Sugar is a valuable fuel 

 food, but with its high flavor and rapid 

 ditfusibility it is likely to satisfy the ap- 

 petite before the body needs are really 

 met, if given at the beginning of a meal. 

 It is not only likely to disturb the normal 

 appetite but seriously to upset digestion 

 if taken between meals; while in large 

 quantities at any time, it irritates the 

 stomach and displaces foods which serve 

 for building material as well as fuel. 



Sugar also causes tooth decay, yet 



