HOME ECONOMICS AND EDUCATION 669 



any draft through the cracks of the box. If the box is tight, and 

 the danger from the lamp overlooked, there would be no necessity 

 for lining the box. 



A few other conveniences may be mentioned such as sharp 

 knives, a fine grain scythe stone, good egg beaters, lemon squeezer, 

 measuring cups, a palette knife to scrape bowls and kettles, sink and 

 vegetable brushes, a covered pail for kitchen scraps, and shakers 

 for salt, pepper, flour and sugar. And lastly every kitchen should 

 be supplied with a good cook-book to be used for suggestions and 

 in the preparation of new food materials. 



Of course the sewing machine will be found in every home 

 and there should also be a carpet sweeper, self-wringing mop, a 

 power laundry if power is used on the farm or at least a good washing 

 machine, bread mixer, and a clock. 



It is surprising how many steps may be occasioned by the neces- 

 sity of going from the kitchen to the family sitting-room to deter- 

 mine the time of day. Much of a woman's work is regulated by the 

 clock, and one in the kitchen is about as necessary as a dishpan or 

 a broom. 



One Other Way of Saving Steps. Teach the children of the 

 household to assist in the work. This is as great a blessing to the 

 child as to the mother. The little step-savers of the household are 

 blessings to many a home-keeper. 



A Home-Made Shower Bath. A shower bath for summer use 

 can be arranged in one corner of the wash room or, for use of the 

 boys, in the barn. The material necessary for constructing it are 

 enough pipe to connect to the main pipe of the stock tank, a stop- 

 cock, a box supported on brackets and lined or not as seems best, 

 and a perforated pipe for the shower. 



One of the most important things for women to learn is to save 

 strength from daily tasks for the emergencies of life. To use the 

 limbs to save the back, as in lifting and even walking, to stand and 

 sit at one's tasks so as to give lungs and vital organs freedom and 

 a chance to do their work. To learn to relax. From time to time sit 

 down even if some task is still undone, take a look at the fine sunset 

 outside, visit the garden or orchard for recreation. She was a wise 

 woman who said: I have so much to do that I do not know where 

 to begin, so I will take my nap and get that much off my mind. - 

 (Dept. Agr. F. B. 269, 296, 317, 353, 270; Mo. E. St. Cir. 30; On- 

 tario Dept. Agr. Bui. 180; Cornell Reading Course for Farmers' 

 Wives, Series I, Nos. 1 and 3 ; Series VI, No. 28.) 



CLOTHING. 



In the matter of clothing the same standards are set as in the 

 decoration and furnishing of our home. Three things must be con- 

 sidered, the uses for which clothing is intended, the quality of the 

 material, and the beauty. The last depends on the first two. Hon- 

 esty and simplicity in clothing, adaptation to the needs of the 

 wearer, and freedom from muscular restraint, neatness and trim- 

 ness is just as desirable as cleanliness. The movements of the limbs 

 and respiration and all abdominal functions are hampered by long 



