A Defense of Rural School Lunches 
I noticed au article on rural School 
lunches, and as the opinion of the readers 
was asked on this subject I venture to 
send mine. I am interested both in 
schools and children, and find that the ex¬ 
perience of many other mothers is the 
same as my own; that it is a difficult 
matter to keep a child healthy who is 
obliged to eat a cold lunch, every school 
day throughout the year. Most of the 
children who attend rural schools are 
obliged to eat an early breakfast, as many 
of them have some distance to walk or 
ride to school, and in consequence are 
not hungry enough to eat as substantial 
a meal as they would if it could be eaten 
a little later. The long walk or ride in 
the cold and the morning study gives 
them an appetite at noon, but if the 
lunch is a cold one and some attractive 
sport is to be enjoyed, it will be hur¬ 
riedly eaten and often the most nourish¬ 
ing part (the sandwich) will he left for 
the dog or chickens, or to be thrown beside 
the road, according to the disposition and 
training of the child. After the afternoon 
of study and walk or ride home, arriving 
sometimes rather late, they are ready for 
the food their growing bodies demand, and 
if their lunch was neglected their supper 
is not. and, especially with young chil¬ 
dren, bedtime comes all too soon after this 
hearty meal. Unless the' child is unusual¬ 
ly strong, after a time tired nature rebels 
at the treatment, and as a consequence 
the teacher will receive an excuse, stating 
that Johnnie was ill. and Johnnie will 
receive the “bitter dose” sure to follow 
an attack of indigestion. 
Most mothers have learned something 
of the scientific preparation of food for 
babies, hut many of us have not learned 
to provide proper food for the child of 
school age. The quicker we learn that 
education consists of more than reading, 
writing and arithmetic, the better it will 
be for the coming generation. I know a 
school where the plan of hot lunches has 
worked to the entire satisfaction of all 
concerned. It is a small school of from 
10 to 15 pupils. The young woman who 
teaches this school never had a course in 
domestic science and understood only 
some of the general rules of plain cooking, 
but she did have an average amount of 
common sense and a vision of the needs 
of rural school children. She remembered 
her own school-day lunches as well as 
those she has been obliged to take since 
becoming a rural teacher. After a moth¬ 
ers’ meeting at the schoolhouse one after¬ 
noon some few weeks after school opened 
in the Fall, they decided to try the plan. 
Kach child brings 10 cents a week (two 
cents a day), and twice a week two or 
three potatoes. As a result they have one 
hot dish each day. One of the mothers 
loaned -ah < oil stove she was not using. 
Pile teacher supplied a few necessary 
cooking utensils, and the boys helped to 
make a cupboard from a drygoods box 
After hanging a curtain and covering the 
shelves with paper they had a plafe for 
the few dishes, which the children brought 
from home. \\ hat home could not spare 
some*'Sort of a bowl. cup. fork or spoon? 
They do not need to be “real china” or 
solid silver, but just something easily 
kept clean. If anyone could not. I am 
sure someone else Could easily spare an 
extra one, and would be glad to do it if 
they were interested in the work. They 
have a treasurer, and the teacher does the 
buying. By careful planning they always 
have enough money for all supplies, and 
usually some money in the treasury for 
an emergency. Soups of all kinds are a 
great favorite with the children, and with 
the addition of some plain bread and but¬ 
ter sandwiches, brought from home, form 
a satisfying and nourishing lunch, much 
better for the child than the cake, pie or 
doughnut usually eaten. Mashed creamed 
potatoes, with real milk and butter (no 
oleo), esealloped salmon, succotash, chow-' 
dors, cocoa, macaroni and rice are among 
the many good things served at the noon 
hour. The menu is arranged at least a 
week in advance, and each child knows 
the day before when to bring potatoes. 
If vegetable soup is to be served, the veg¬ 
etables are prepared the night before, and 
with a school of this size and several 
willing hands it takes only a short time. 
At the proper hour the stove is lighted 
and the food placed to cook, which does 
not take time enough to interfere with 
other school work, nor do the other pupils 
take any more notice of it, or the occa- j 
siohal stirring of the soup, than they I 
would the writing of a sentence on the 
blackboard or putting waste paper in the 
basket. 
The dishes are washed by two different 
ones each day. The boys are always will¬ 
ing to take their turn wiping dishes, es¬ 
pecially when they can wear teacher’s big 
apron. No pretense is made of teaching 
domestic science, but I am sure both 
teacher and pupils are learning many les¬ 
sons that will be of more value to them 
than some that are learned from text¬ 
books. 
I would suggest that those fine house¬ 
keepers who belong to the Home Eco¬ 
nomics Club, take as a sulvect for their 
next meeting. “Hot School Lunches” 
Perhaps after becoming better informed 
they might want to help the teacher bring 
back the oil stove and dishpan. Who 
thinks it foolish to warm milk for a Jer¬ 
sey calf, or to spend time and expense to 
Rive young chickens a good growing start 
in life? Then why call it coddling to do 
as much for the child? Are not bovs and 
girls worth as much as calves and chick¬ 
ens? MABEL 11. MEEKE1L 
<lhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
311 
New facts about lubrication 
every Ford owner should know 
I N the cities, 
where somecom- 
panies use great 
numbers of Ford 
cars and results of 
their use can be 
easily compared, it 
has been proved be¬ 
yond any doubt that 
attention to lubrica¬ 
tion is one factor of 
operation which will 
greatly reduce the cost of running a Ford. 
Scientific comparison of the costs of 
running various cars under similar 
conditions has proved that: 
1. Mileage per gallon of gasolir j can be 
increased. 
2. Mileage per quart of oil can be in¬ 
creased. 
3. Carbon deposits can be reduced to a 
minimum. 
4. Repairs can be greatly reduced. 
5. More power can be made constantly 
available. 
6. Overheating, loose bearings, engine 
knocks, can all be practically elimi¬ 
nated. 
How are these surprising results 
obtained ? By using an oil which re • 
sists heat. 
Ordinary oil breaks down 
Ordinary oil breaks down quickly 
under the intense heat pf the engine — 
200 J F. to 1000° F.—forming a large 
proportion of its bulk in black sedi- 
' . < - 1 
In the ingenious Ford 
powerplant.engine 
transmission gears and dutch are en¬ 
closed in one case. One oil must meet 
the different lubrication requirements. 
ment, which has no 
lubricating value. 
Sediment crow ds 
out the good oil on 
the metal-to-metal 
surfaces and pre¬ 
vents the oil from 
efficiently lubricat¬ 
ing the fast-moving 
parts. Loose bear- 
ings are almost 
always the result of 
Ordinary oil 
after use 
Veedol 
after use 
Showing sediment 
formed after 500 
miles of running 
using poor oil. Engine knocks, broken 
connecting rods, slapping pistons are 
an inevitable result. 
After years of experimentation Veedol en¬ 
gineers evolved a new method of refiningby 
which a lubricant is produced which resists 
heat. This, the famous Faulkner process, 
is. used exclusively for the production of 
Veedol, the scientific lubricant. 
How Veedol, the scientific lubricant, re¬ 
duces the formation of sediment by 86% is 
shown by the two bottles illustrated above. 
Buy Veedol today 
Your dealer has Veedol or can get it for 
you. If he cannot supply you, write us for 
the name of the nearest Veedol dealer. En¬ 
close 10c for copy of the 100-page Veedol 
book, which describes internal combustion 
engines and their lubrication. It will save 
you many dollars and help you to keep your 
car and tractor running at minimum cost. 
TIDE WATER OIL COMPANY 
Veedol Department 
438 Bowling Green Building, New York 
Branches or distributors in all principal 
cities in the United State a and Canada. 
Veedol 
W «**SYlVAMA MSI 
lu&aicAxT 
fUJJWSkSt* »LA! 
ItWHSfu PROCESS 
•«"*<a.cb« ta , lhfc , 
:r 
ALL GLORY TO THE 
AMERICAN FARMER 
T • i, The T orld takes lts h : lfc ; to you. You gave your sons to beat the Huns. You subscribed for 
1 erty bonds; bought \\ ar Saving Stamps and gave of your store freely to sustain the Bed Cross, 
\. M. C. A., K. of C., Salvation Army and every known charity, and last, but not least, you fed 
the starving world. Without ypur sacrificing aid, -the terrible Hun could not have been put on the 
run. Here’s my hand, I am proud of you, and the noble part you have played in winning the war. 
I too, served our Government as best I could and now I am ready to serve you again with the 
same reliable (’arhartt Overalls made from Carhartt Master Cloth which stood every Government test. 
Don’t accept substitutes: There is none “just as good.” Insist on getting the genuine 
ar nutt with the odd shape - Car and Heart” button which is my trade mark and your guarantee 
for satisfaction or a new pair; and my word for it you will confer a favor on your pocket book. 
Remember if your dealer will not sell you Carhartfs write my nearest factory for samples 
am prices and I will supply you direct—all parcel post charges prepaid, until I can establish 
an agency near you. 
^ Don’t forget to ask for my j— 
Farm Stock and Crop Account j Hamilton Carhartt 
Book. It is free to you and 
which one farmer wrote me he 
would not take ten dollars for 
his if he could not get another. 
CLOVES 
OVERALL UNIFORMS 
AND 
PANTS. . 
ARK 
* Hamilton Carhartt 
Atlanta, Georgia Dallas, Texas 
Detroit, Michigan 
San Francisco, California 
City. 
Kill out and address to factory nearest you. 
Please send me samples and prices of your 
Carhartt Overallsmade from your Carhartt Mas¬ 
ter Cloth, also prices of Carhartt Work Gloves. 
I will appreciate the Farm Stock and Crop 
Account Book. 
Name. 
Town... 
Dealer’s Name 
R.F.D. 
