THE UNIVERSITY AND WOMEN’S WORK 73 
will tax the resources of any university student to exhaust. 
Applied chemistry, sanitary science and applied hygiene, 
bacteriology, general biology, physics—these sciences of course 
accompanied by practical work; economics of the household, 
general and child psychology, ethics; practical work and 
demonstrations in the actual household arts—here is a syllabus 
which in the hands of skilled teachers will provide an education 
which may be fairly placed on the same plane as the special 
education proper to any learned profession. It is not a 
question of whether we can get along without this knowledge or 
of imposing a formidable curriculum on all who aspire to 
manage a home. The question is this—is there not here a 
store of knowledge lying pent-up which ought to flow into the 
human calling to which it relates, knowledge which is certain 
to improve, enlighten, and elevate that calling and to contribute 
to human well-being? If so, it is surely worthy work for a 
university to disseminate this knowledge as best it can. | 
The possibility and advisability of organized instruction in 
reference to some sections of home life have long been recog- 
nized, and for many years we have had schools of domestic 
economy where the household arts have been taught by those 
who are specially skilled in them. It is admitted that among 
the poorer classes of the community the condition of things is 
such that passable competence in even the most primitive 
domestic arts—such as cooking, washing, and sewing—is not 
secured if things are left to take care of themselves, The 
crudest facts of hygiene, the importance of cleanliness and 
fresh air, the simplest means of protection against disease are 
not learned or respected. It would be possible and legitimate 
to paint an appalling picture of the misery and suffering which 
exist in the homes of quite respectable poor people simply and 
solély because of their ignorance. The facts have forced 
themselves irresistibly on public attention, and the State has 
found itself compelled to give more and more time and money 
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