i6i 
concerted  thought,  or  that  magic  power  known  as  public 
opinion.  But  public  opinion  does  not  spring  from  the  head  of 
a god  in  full  armour  as  did  Athena,  it  is  rather  a giant  that 
is  first  cradled  as  a helpless  infant — the  right  idea  in  the  minds 
of  a few.  Where  is  this  infant  to  be  born,  but  in  the  homes  of 
each  and  all  of  us  to  be  nourished  as  we  nourish  our  children 
and  to  grow  with  them  to  full  power?  Finally,  we  come  to 
the  conviction  that  the  woman  in  the  household,  the  mother  of 
the  family,  is  to  do  or  is  to  shirk  a great  duty  in  the  develop- 
ment of  public  opinion.  Moreover,  did  she  but  realize  it  she 
holds  in  her  hands  wonderful  possibilities  as  an  actual  con- 
server  of  natural  resources. 
Let  us  turn  our  attention  to  the  duties  and  the  opportunities 
of  the  mother  of  a family  in  this  regard.  See  her,  by  studying 
the  drafts  in  the  stove,  make  each  stick  of  fuel  give  its  full 
value  of  heat ; break  off  the  faded  rose  and  plant  the  stem ; 
carefully  guard  the  eggs  for  a setting ; prune  or  bud  the 
orange  tree ; shield  one  plant  from  wind  another  from  over- 
doses of  water,  another  from  drought ; trim  the  tree  of  too 
dense  growth  that  the  sun  may  sweeten  the  pasture  beneath 
it;  gather  the  fallen  pods  of  the  samang  as  fertilizer  for 
flowers  and  the  beans  of  the  Algaroba  as  fodder  for  animals  ; 
as  carefully  prevent  water  from  running  to  waste  as  she  would 
prevent  a destructive  fire.  If  water,  replenished  soil,  and  for- 
ests are  natural  resources  of  how  much  greater  value,  she 
reasons,  is  the  vital  force  of  the  sensient  being.  Hand  in  hand 
with  the  moral  value  of  kindness,  she  discovers,  is  the  effi- 
cacy of  protecting  animal  life.  Proper  feeding  and  care  of 
domestic  animals  bring  their  reward  in  prolonged  and  effective 
service. 
But  in. all  these  directions  the  mother  of  a family  is  per- 
forming a small  task  when  we  consider  her  work  as  a guardian 
and  promoter  of  health.  Compared  with  the  conservation  of 
river  and  forest  the  maintenance  of  public  health  is  of  in- 
calculably greater  value.  This  in  substance  has  been  the 
reiterated  statement  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  echoed  over  the 
country  by  public  speaker  and  public  press.  To  how  great  a 
degree  the  public  health  is  in  the  hands  of  the  mothers  of 
families  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  if  there  were  general  in- 
telligence and  wisdom  in  dealing  with  daily  and  hourly  con- 
ditions of  children  from  birth  to  adult  years  how  vastly  differ- 
ent would  be  this  world  of  ours.  Let  no  woman  belittle  the 
details  of  her  task.  It  is  so  easy  to  grow  “weary  in  well 
doing”  in  the  supervision  of  the  teeth,  the  skin,  and  the  eyes, 
the  proper  diet,  and  manner  of  eating  (ask  Chittenden  and 
Horace  Fletcher),  the  method  of  breathing  and  the  supply  of 
pure  air,  baths,  exercise,  rest  and  sleep  of  a large  family.  To 
be  sure  that  there  is  no  eyestrain,  that  the  fashionable  adenoid 
does  not  insidiously  damage  hearing,  that  a “growing  pain” 
is  not  incipient  rheumatism,  that  a “stomach  ache”  is  not  an 
