190 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 19 1 3 



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HELPS TO THE 

 HOUSEWIFE 



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TABLE AND HOUSEHOLD SUGGESTIONS OF INTER- 

 EST TO EVERY HOUSEKEEPER AND HOUSEWIFE 



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DOMESTIC SCIENCE AND COLLEGE 



By Elizabeth Atwood 



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be instruction as well, and the average mother of to-day 

 could not, I think, tell her daughter why certain culinary 

 combinations produce certain results. Instruction along 



T is interesting to one as a mother and the line of kitchen chemistry is of the very greatest value 



homemaker to know that housework, just to every housewife; leading as it does to more than 



the plain everyday housework, is coming to one at first thinks of. I believe heartily in having sew- 



occupy the attention and thought of our col- | n g a nd domestic science taught in the schools. In the 



leges and schools. It is interesting to note, fi rs t place, we have little time left to our girls in which 



too, certain objections raised by some, such as they can be taught cooking at home, so the introduction 



"The public schools have had to add to their already heavy of teaching of domestic science in the schools in its vari- 



burden, the teaching of sewing, cooking and manual train- ous branches need not cast any reflection upon the home 



ing." Professor Hugo Munsterberg admits the need of training. Indeed, it should not when the school so plans 



certain ideal, "cultural" studies in domestic science in the its work that Jane and Ella have no time to give to the 



college course, but "a practical course in cooking or sewing study at home. 



is certainly a useful and important exercise for many girls, But when the law says that Jane and Ella must study 



but to introduce it into the college world means indeed to domestic science, why that is another matter, indeed, for it 



give up the true college ideal." Further he says, "The becomes the duty of the powers that be to see to it that, 



college years are the one time in the woman's life career somewhere in the arrangement of the courses, time is found 



in which everything is to appeal to her purest and finest for this study in school. They just must do it either by 



emotions and is to stimulate her highest mental energies, eliminating certain studies more or less useless or shorten- 



Have we a right to fill this time, too, with the trivial ing the time given to others. No one cares very much how 



miseries of household care and turn the enthusiastic eye they do it, for they will surely find a way — when they are 



of the young woman from the Parthenon to the kitchen made responsible. 



utensils and the sewing table?" 



Perhaps the making of a home does include the trivial 

 miseries of household care, but no homemaker will call 

 these miseries "trivial." It is also true that the woman 

 of "purest and finest emotions" must be fed three times a 

 day just so long as she lives, and someone must use or 



I would be far more in favor of preparatory work in 

 domestic science being carried on in the home than I ever 

 would be over the two hours devoted to Latin study. I 

 would strongly urge making experiments at home, the re- 

 sults to be reported to the schools. No teacher of to-day 

 hesitates to assign a lesson in history, English, French or 



order the using of the "kitchen utensils," and that this calls German, physics or mathematics which compel from one to 



for the training along these practical lines 



I rejoice that the time has come when the attention of 

 educators is being centered upon these more practical ends 

 of students' training. The agricultural colleges show the 

 trend toward the training of our boys and young men along 

 lines of productivity through manual labor. This only 

 goes to show that it is be- 

 coming more and more a 



m 



scientific study, this growing 

 and raising of the food 

 necessary to develop the 

 strong race we wish to be- 

 come. Is it not equally neces- 

 sary that the woman of the 

 race should know how to pre- 

 pare the foods so produced? 

 Is this any trivial matter? 

 Does not the whole of our 

 development depend greatly 

 upon it. 



Experience is a splendid Miniature Birch-bark canoes, filled with Lilies of the Valley and joined 



two hours of homework each to prepare. Each teacher is 

 certain to feel that his or her branch is of the utmost im- 

 portance, and also, back of this knowledge he or she knows 

 that a certain amount of work required by rules may be 

 covered in a given period. This makes it necessary to 

 give out hard and long lessons, and work at school is so 



planned that most of the 

 students have few or no 

 study periods during the 

 hours of school attendance. 

 Every mother knows this to 

 'be true, and also knows that 

 much of this required work 

 will be of little value to Jane 

 or Ella when they leave 

 school, even as a mind train- 

 ing if it is not given some 

 early application. The girls 

 who wish to go to college to 

 further qualify for the busi- 



ness of living are in the 



teacher— a very necessary with "ropes 7f Srnifax. forma "dainty cartn^ece' for" tbelumciTtabie^— m ' m ^' lt Y J us t at present, 

 one, in fact. But there must Photograph by Mary H. Northend Of course, as Bernard 



