184 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



away all small leftovers and then buy new materials for soup 

 and garnishes; instead of arranging meals for an entire week 

 they think up each meal separately, and frequently only a few 

 hours before serving time. I notice that they throw away the 

 drippings from the baking and roast pans and the raw pieces 

 of suet from meat and the fat from the surface of soups, and 

 buy butter, lard and lard substitutes. This, of course, is a 

 double waste — the fats have been paid for at lean meat 

 prices, which makes frying fats cost 25 to 30 cents a pound. 

 More bread is cut for a meal than is actually needed. The 

 slices are either left in the bread-box for a day or two or thrown 

 at once into the garbage bucket. They should at once be 

 wrapped in a damp cloth or made into croutons or bread 

 crumbs, or put aside for toast for breakfast. 



Potatoes are pared quickly at the last moment — great 

 whittlings are taken off, carrying with them most of the nour- 

 ishment and leaving the soggy, watery center portion which 

 lacks nutrition. 



Rice is not washed until the last minute, then perhaps boiled 

 in a small quantity of water and served wet and soggy. An 

 admirable food is made indigestible. 



Bits of soap are wasted. They should be put aside to melt 

 for laundry and cleaning purposes. 



Fires are allowed to burn at full force an hour before they are 

 wanted; then, if it is a coal jfire, wood is added at cooking time, 

 which means the waste of both coal and wood. 



Where the housewife is her own kitchen maid she need not 

 necessarily live in the kitchen. She can manage her meals, 

 make out her bills of fare and do most of the thinking in her 

 sitting or living room. When meat is put into the oven the fire 

 may be adjusted so that it will cook without constant attention. 

 She must count time and fuel as well as actual money. 



The more economical way is to buy just enough for each 

 meal. Leftovers and some of the cheaper cuts of meat fre- 

 quently cost hours of time, which should to her amount to 

 money, and they also use a great deal of fuel in their prepara- 

 tion. 



It is not true economy where the woman is doing her own 

 work to serve her meals in four or five courses. Meals should 



