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HOME AX D FLOWERS 



drinking, and tlius causing a curd to form in 

 masses in the stomach. Irregular eating should 

 also be avoided with children as with grown- 

 people. Children need to eat oftener, perhaps, 

 than grown people, but the stomach should not 

 be kej^t in constant activitr. The school lunch 

 should receive careful attention. It should con- 

 tain nourishing food, with nbt too much of a 

 supplv of starchy and sweet foods in the way of 

 cookies, cakes, and pie. 



Much of a housekeeper's time is used in pre- 

 paring dainties. The dessert is often not reck- 

 oned on as a part of the meal, and is objection- 

 able when the stomach has already been loaded 

 with the more substantial food comprising the 

 meal. Xuts form a most valuable food, as they 

 are exceedingly nourishing, and contain many 

 of the elements which are found in the meats. 

 The great mistake, however, is to use them as 

 a dessert when all of these elements have been 

 supplied in due quantities by meats and other 

 food. 



The study of cooking and foods as it pertains 

 to the life of the individual and of the nation 

 is exceedingly interesting. Moral, intellectual, 

 and physical strength are very dependent upon 

 the selection and preparation of the foods used. 

 Therefore, upon the cook much of the welfare 

 of the country depends. A training is exceed- 

 ingly necessary for girls who intend to supply 

 a home table whether they employ others to 

 do their work or whether they themselves are 

 the cooks. In general it may be said that every 

 girl should have a training which will enable 

 her to know the nutritive value of foods and 

 their effect upon the system. Many cooks can 

 make food palatable who do not know whether 

 a body is sutSciently nourished. The whole 

 subject is somewhat difficult, but exceedingly 

 interesting. 



We would suggest for reading clubs and for 

 individual use the study of books which vdll 

 give interest and intelligence to this part of 

 household life. The following references may 

 be of value to those who wish to pursue this 

 line of study: 



"Diet in Eelation to Age and Activity," by 

 Sir Henry Thompson. London, 1902. 



"The Pleasures of the Table," by G. H. Ell- 

 wanger. Xew York, Doubleday, Page & Co., 

 1892. 



"Theory and Practice of Infant Feeding," by 

 H. D. Chapin. New York, William Wood & Co., 

 1892. 



"Practical Sanitary and Economic Cooking," 

 by Mrs. Mary Hinman Abel. Publishers, 

 American Public Health Association. 



"The Cost of Food," by Mrs. Ellen H. Eich- 

 ards. Home Science Publishing Co., Boston, 

 Mass. 



The following publications may be obtained 

 by application to the secretary United States 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C: 



Farmers Bulletin 142. "Foods : Principles of 

 Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Food," by 

 W. O. Atwater. 



Bulletin 31. "Meats: Composition and Cook- 

 ing," by C. D. Woods. 



Bulletin 71. "Milk as Food." by C. F. Lang- 

 worthy. 



Bulletin 85. "Fish as Food," by C. F. Lang- 

 worthy. 



Bulletin 93. "Sugar as Food/" by Mary H. 

 Abel. . 



Bulletin 112. "Bread and the Principles of 

 Bread Making," by Helen W. Atwater. 



Bulletin 121. "Beans, Peas, and other Le- 

 gumes as Food," by Mary H. Abel. 



Bulletin 128. "Eggs and Their Uses as 

 Food," by C. F. Langworthy. 



Office of experiment station's circular No. 46. 

 "The Functions and Uses of Food," "The Value 

 of Potatoes as Food," by C. F. Langworthy. 



letters from our readers 



"Natural Bridge, New York. 

 "Sanitation is a science the pioneers of the 



northern part of did not teach. The only 



topic seemed to be. How shall we clear the land, 

 pay the installments, and leave a surplus for 

 subsistence? Eighty years ago this section was 

 an unbroken wilderness. Seventy-nine years ago 

 I came on this planet to live. I remember well 

 the log cabin with two rooms and a small win- 

 dow in eachj and the bare floor made smooth 

 by continued scrubbing and seemed as white and 

 clean as the rude table we ate on, and the huge 

 fireplace which afforded the best of ventilation. 

 The house stood on a little elevation which gave 

 natural drainage." We knew nothing of ven- 

 tilation and sanitation or its uses, but we re- 

 ceived the benefit just the same, and we were a 

 healthy family of five children. In the fulness 

 of time a frame house and stove superseded the 

 cabin and fireplace. I remember the nauseous 

 odor that peiwaded the house, and we felt com- 

 pelled to rush outdoors and inhale the cool, 

 fresh air which God gave us. We soon became 

 accustomed to it, and felt the satisfaction of 

 progress, and thought we were a long way to- 

 ward civilization. Colds and coughs predom- 

 inated during the winter season ever after. As 

 we built on our parents' shoulders, so our suc- 

 cessors have built on ours, yet there is not so 

 much attention paid to sanitation as the pres- 

 ervation and promotion of health demands. I 

 think the majority of farmers in this vicinity 

 are delinquents on some point in this matter. 

 I live on the place where my married life began. 

 The buildings stand on an extensive plain, which 



