218 WOMAN IN SCIENCE 



her the kitchen was the center and source of political 

 economy. 



The facts of science, indeed, were to Mrs. Richards more 

 than mere uncorrelated facts. They are potential agencies 

 of service, and their chief value consists in their enabling 

 us to control our environment in such wise as to secure the 

 maximum of physical well being. Hence her constant in- 

 sistence on personal cleanliness, on the cleanliness of food, 

 of the house we live in, and, above all, of the kitchen. 

 Hence, also, her preaching, in season and out of season, on 

 the necessity of pure air, pure water and abundance of 

 vitalizing sunshine. 



"We cannot, then, wonder that sanitary chemistry eventu- 

 ally became the life work of Mrs. Richards, and that, when 

 the course of sanitary engineering was inaugurated in the 

 Institute of Technology the first course of its kind in the 

 world she became an important agent in its development 

 and contributed immensely to its popularity and prestige. 



She held the position of instructor of sanitary chemistry 

 in the institute for twenty-seven years. During this time 

 she trained a large number of young men in her chosen 

 specialty, and these, after graduating, engaged in similar 

 work in various parts of the New and the Old "World. 



The branch of sanitary chemistry to which Mrs. Richards 

 devoted most attention was air, water and sewage analysis. 

 In this she was a recognized expert, and her advice and 

 services were sought in all parts of the country. During 

 the last three years of her life she acted, according to her 

 own testimony, as general sanitary adviser to no fewer 

 than two score corporations and schools. In addition to 

 this she was also during this brief period consulted on the 

 subject of foods by nearly two hundred educational and 

 other institutions. 



What, however, constituted the greatest contribution of 

 Mrs. Richards to the public health was the part she took 

 in the great sanitary survey of the waters of the State of 



