The Well-Ordered Household 



FROM THE STANDPOINT OF A PRACTICAL WOMAN 

 CONDUCTED BY MARTHA VAN RENSSELAER 



Editor Cornell Universitj Eeading Course for Women. 



WHEN greater facility in doing work 

 has been acquired and there is less 

 complexity in the diet, the house- 

 wife will be greatly relieved in her 

 daily toil. There have already been introduced 

 into housework improved conditions which every 

 housewife should take advantage of. Perhaps 

 in no department of life has there been so much 

 improvement in the la&t one hundred years as 

 in the economy of fuel and labor and in scien- 

 tific methods as they affect cookery. Women 

 need to conserve strength and time not only to 

 secure more rest and relaxation, but in order 

 to have time for duties in and out of the home 

 wliich will add to their means of self -improve- 

 ment. 



As time has advanced the art of cookery has 

 increased and become most complex. Natural 

 foods formed the diet in earlier times, but T\dth 

 the evolution of cooking vessels we hear of 

 boiling, frying, and stewing. Following the 

 cooking of the flesh of fish and game and the 

 roasting of roots came the boiling of cereals 

 and legumes. 



It is interesting to study the introduction of 

 utensils for cooking and eating. The fork which 

 now we think is so necessary was not much 

 known until the sixteenth century. It is said 

 that while Queen Elizabeth possessed three 

 forks, her preference was to eat with her 

 fingers. 



One of the problems which the housewife 

 has is to find nutritious food to take the place 

 in warm weather of meat, which is used so much 

 in winter, but which in summer seems in large 

 quantities somewhat objectionable. The prob- 

 lem is to supply the same material in other 

 foods for repairing the waste of the body and 

 building muscle and tissues. This constituent 

 is found in the proteids. While lean meat fur- 

 nishes a large proportion of protein, it may also 

 be furnished by fish, milk, cheese, and eggs, and 

 in cereals, peas, and beans. No doubt it is 

 better for young children especially to derive 

 the necessary proteids from milk and other 

 sources than meats, and investigation is show- 

 ing that all classes of individuals thrive better 

 upon less meat and more of the vegetable foods 

 which furnish protein. 



While the body needs this repairing and build- 

 ing material furnished by the proteids, it also 

 needs to be furnished with food to produce heat 

 and energy. This is done by the carbohydrates 

 and fats, although some energy is furnished by 

 the proteids. The carbohydrates are known as 

 the sugars and starches. They contain no ni- 

 trogen, and can not take the place of the 

 pToteids and tissue builders. A larger amount 

 of them is required by the body than of the 

 proteids. 



Fats should not be neglected in the diet. The 

 neglect of either the carbohydrates or the fats 

 leaves one to depend too. much upon the proteids. 

 The fats and oils not only supply heat and 

 energy, but aid in digestion. While they are a 

 source of heat, they may also serve for furnish- 

 ing the food stored in the body. 



In order to supply children with the neces- 

 sary amount of fat which they require, it should 

 be supplied in the form of milk, olive oil, cream, 

 and butter. The injudicious use of sugar in 

 a child's diet of course is objectionable, but a 

 certain amount is needed in order to furnish 

 heat and energy. Pure sugar should be used 

 and taken with the meals. So essential is fat 

 and starch in the diet of a child that it is 

 unwise to supply sweets in place of the butter 

 used upon bread by eliildren. 



A substance too often omitted in the proper 

 nourishment of the body is mineral food, which 

 is often called ash or salts. The mineral part 

 of the bones and teeth is made of this con- 

 stituent. It should be especially remembered 

 in the diet of children as the building of bone 

 and nerves and the forming of the organs of 

 the body in children is an important thing to 

 remember in securing a healthful growth. It 

 may be found in milk, in most cereal products, 

 and in the leaves of vegetables. If the diet is 

 sufficiently mixed, it is generally considered that 

 a sufficient amount of material substances will 

 be furnished for the proper growth of the body. 



It is difficult to make fixed rules for the diet, 

 since occupation, age, climate, and tempera- 

 ment makes a variable demand. 



A rule to be observed -with children is to 

 require slow eating and thorough mastication. 

 Milk is often made quite indigestible by fast 



