[ii]
[iii]

ONTARIO
TEACHERS' MANUALS

HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

[iv]

A Household Management pupil in uniform

[v]

CONTENTS

[1]

PUBLIC AND SEPARATE SCHOOL
COURSE OF STUDY

DETAILS

FORM III: JUNIOR GRADE

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FORM III: SENIOR GRADE

FORM IV: JUNIOR GRADE

[3]

FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE

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[5]

HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Household Management aims to educate in this way, by directing the mind to ideas connected with the home and by training the muscles to perform household duties.

Though deemed essentially practical, this subject will, if rightly presented, give a mental training similar to other subjects of the Course of Study. It should do more. While a pupil is made familiar with the duties of home life and with the materials and appliances used in the home, she will be unavoidably led to think of the work of the larger world and to realize her relation to it. When such knowledge comes, and a girl begins to feel that some part of the world's work depends on her, true character-building will begin.[6]

The purpose of this Manual is to assist teachers in presenting Household Management to public and separate school classes in such a way as to attain these ends. It is hoped that it will be especially useful to those teachers whose training in the subject has been limited.

An attempt has been made to explain the work of Form III Senior, and of the Junior and Senior divisions of Form IV. The topics of Form II Junior are not discussed, as the work of this Form is intended to be taught as information lessons, for which general methods will suffice. In the other Forms mentioned, the topics of lessons are outlined in detail, but the method of presentation is not given except in typical cases. Both outline and method are intended to be merely suggestive and to leave opportunity for the teacher's originality.

In cases where topics seem incompletely outlined, it is due to the fact that they are treated in other school subjects or postponed until the pupils reach a more advanced stage of mental development.

The order of lessons is optional, also the amount of work each should include, unless this is specially stated.

Many lessons are suitable for rural schools, which have no equipment except what the ingenuity of the teacher may provide. In such schools, the teacher may perform the practical work, while the class observes.

Throughout the lessons, there is the difficulty of presenting scientific facts to immature minds in a way that will be simple and clear. The use of technical language would often assist the expression, and this is apt to be unconsciously employed, but there is danger of such forms of speech not being intelligible to the pupils; the teacher[7] should therefore choose her words carefully. Technical terms may be taught, but this is not advised in Junior classes, unless really necessary. If the facts are intelligently related to the experiences of the pupils, that is all that is desired.

Temperatures, as indicated by Fahrenheit thermometers, have always been given, as this scale is best known in the home.

Since this Manual is designed for teachers, few recipes have been furnished. The books of reference which are appended will supply these and additional information on the subject.

CORRELATION WITH OTHER SCHOOL SUBJECTS

One of the benefits of placing Household Management in a Course of Study is that it relates the knowledge gained in school to the home life.

The Household Management teacher has great opportunity for this correlation. She should be more than a teacher of household duties. She should lead the pupils to see the importance and necessity of mastering the other school subjects. Wherever interest in these subjects has already been established, this interest will form a basis for development in many Household Management lessons.

Then, too, the teachers of other subjects should, as far as possible, work with the Household Management teacher in relating their instruction to the operations and requirements in the home. If the teachers co-operate in planning their lessons, the pupils will receive a deeper impression of the facts learned in each subject and will have an increased interest in the work, through seeing how one branch of knowledge is related to another.[8]

The following will show how some of the subjects are related to the class work of Household Management:

Arithmetic.—This subject is used in household accounts, in measurements, in the division of recipes, and in computing the cost of foods prepared for the table.

Reading.—The pupils should be asked to read aloud the recipes and their notes and should be required to do this distinctly and accurately.

Spelling, Writing, Language Work.—In writing recipes and notes, in stories of household topics, and in written answers, the teacher should insist on neat writing, correct spelling, and good English.

Geography.—The study of materials for food, clothing, and house furnishings brings before the mind our commercial relations with foreign countries and the occupations of their inhabitants. It also suggests consideration of climate and soils.

History.—The evolution of furniture and utensils, of methods of housekeeping, and of preparing and serving food, brings out historical facts.

Elementary Science.—Throughout the Course, this subject is the foundation of much of the instruction given, as it explains the principles underlying household industries. Soap-making, bread-making, preservation of food, and the processes of cooking and cleaning are examples of this.

Some knowledge of elementary science is also necessary to an understanding of the construction and practical working of the kitchen stove, the fireless cooker, the cream separator, and many household appliances. Its principles determine the methods of heating, lighting, and ventilating.

Physiology and Hygiene.—The study of food and the planning and preparation of meals should include a knowledge of the body and its requirements. The sanitary[9] care of the house and its premises is directly related to hygiene.

Nature Study.—Animals and plants furnish us with most of our food, and familiarity with these is necessary to the housekeeper. A knowledge of the structure of animals is essential in studying the cuts of meat; the structure of plants and the functions of their different parts give a key to the value of vegetable food.

Physical Training.—The class should be carefully trained throughout in correct muscular movements. The position of the body should be closely watched in working and in sitting, and the classes should enter and leave the room in systematic order.

Manual Training.—The practical part of housekeeping demands constant use of the hands. The teacher should be watchful of awkward handling of materials and utensils and be careful to correct it. She should require deft, natural movements until they become habits.

Art.—Ideas of colour and design should be applied in choosing wall-papers, carpets, dishes, furniture, and clothing. The pupils might be asked to make original coloured designs for these household articles.

ROOMS

It is most desirable to have Household Management include all home operations and, to make this possible, more than one room should be provided. Many school boards, however, in introducing the work, find that one room is all that can be afforded. Where this is the case, it is necessary that this room be equipped as a kitchen, though it must be used for other purposes as well. It will serve also for table-setting and serving, for simple laundry work, for lessons in home-nursing, and for sewing.[10]

A Household Management class at work

[11]

This kitchen should be large and airy, so that the class can work comfortably and conveniently. A room having greater length than width admits of the best arrangement.

On account of the odours that arise from cooking and other domestic operations, the kitchen should be on the top floor and should have more adequate means of ventilation than ordinary class-rooms. A north exposure makes it cooler in summer.

Opposite end of Household Management class-room, showing the black-board and class cupboard

EQUIPMENT

In planning an equipment, one must be guided by the conditions to be met. It is difficult to be definite in details, but certain general principles should be observed.

The entire equipment should be suited to the needs of the pupils, and it should also be one which it is desirable and possible for them to have in their own homes.[12]

A Household Management class-room, showing tables, sinks, and stoves

[13]

The walls and floor should be washable, and they, as well as the furniture, should have plain, smooth surfaces which do not catch dust and are easily cleaned.

The sinks, stoves, tables, and cupboards should be placed so as to save steps.

TABLES

Where economy is necessary, movable tables may be used, but the fixed ones are to be preferred. The latter may be placed in the form of a hollow square or an oval, with openings from opposite sides to give convenient access to a centre table, which can be used for supplies or as a dining table.

Section of a table designed for two pupils

Drawers and cupboards to hold the necessary utensils and supplies should be provided in the tables for each pupil. Provision may also be made under the table top[14] for desk boards, which may be pulled out when notes are written, in order to allow the pupils to sit comfortably in front of the cupboards. The table top should be of hard wood or some non-absorbent material, jointed in narrow strips in order to prevent warping. Part of this must be protected by a metal or glass strip on which to set the individual stoves or hot dishes.

Contents of a table cupboard equipped for two pupils

$1

Contents of an individual utensil drawer

Contents of an individual supply drawer

SEATS

The seats may be swing seats, stools, or chairs. The swing seats are noiseless and easily put out of the way, but are uncomfortable and unsteady, so that the pupils are inclined to prop themselves by placing their elbows on the table. The stools and chairs are noisy and occupy a great[16][15] deal of room, but the latter are restful and conducive to the correct position of the pupils, the importance of which cannot be over-estimated. The former are inexpensive, if made with a plain, wooden top. Both should admit of being pushed under the table, and for this reason the chairs should have folding backs. The legs should be tipped with rubber in order to minimize the noise.

A class towel rack

RACKS

Towel racks should be placed near the sinks and, if possible, should allow space for hanging the towels without folding. In some tables a towel rack may be attached to one of the sides.[17]

SINKS

A sink at each corner of the room saves much time and inconveniences in the work. Each of these should be provided with hot and cold water. They may be made of porcelain or of enamelled iron.

A class gas range, showing high ovens

CLASS CUPBOARD

A large class cupboard in two sections, having glass doors in the upper part to show the class china and glass, should be placed where it will be most convenient and add to the attractiveness of the room. This cupboard will hold the dinner set and extra dishes and utensils, as well as the linen and some staple food supplies. A refrigerator is desirable for such foods as butter, eggs, meat, etc.[18]

A class cupboard

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STOVES

Individual table stoves
(a) a gas stove	(b) an electric stove
(c) a blue-flame kerosene stove	(d) an ordinary kerosene stove

The stoves provided will depend on the fuel that is available in the neighbourhood. Wood is still in use in some rural sections, while coal is the ordinary fuel in small towns and villages. Where either of these fuels is commonly used, there should be two ranges. One should be for coal or wood, to teach the use of the home fuel, and the other an oil, gas, or electric stove, to demonstrate the time and labour saved the housekeeper by the use of one of these. If possible, the stoves should have high ovens, to obviate the necessity of stooping. A section of glass in[20] the oven door is a great convenience, as it allows the contents of the oven to be easily watched.

For individual work small table stoves are required. These may be supplied with oil, alcohol, gas, or electricity, as may be most readily obtained. These stoves may be arranged so that they can be swung from the table when not in use. In this way more room is provided for work, and the table is more easily cleaned. The tops of the stoves should be wide and flat, so that cooking dishes will not easily upset.

A fireless cooker, though not really necessary, is most helpful. Where funds are lacking, one may be made by the pupils at small expense. A barrel, wooden box, or large pail may be filled with hay or excelsior, and small, covered, granite pails may be used to contain the food.

BLACK-BOARDS

The black-boards should be of slate or glass, and as large as the size of the room allows. The windows and doors should be so placed that there will be unbroken stretches of wall for this purpose. Part of the black-board should be provided with a sliding board which, when required, can be drawn to conceal what is written. A separate black-board for current prices of common food materials is an excellent idea. The responsibility of keeping these prices correct should be given to the pupils.

ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL

A cabinet, or display case, for illustrative material, is of great educational value and, to the pupils, is one of the most attractive features of the room. The following list of specimens is suggestive for this:[21]

A display cabinet—canned fruit

Other illustrative material in the form of charts showing the comparative values of the common foods, or illustrating cuts of meat or different kinds of vegetables and fish, will be found to aid greatly in making the teaching effective. There are few of these to be obtained, but home-made ones may be prepared from cuts in bulletins and magazines. Pictures illustrating the production and manufacture of food may also be mounted and used.

BOOK-CASE

Book shelves should be provided, where a small library of books bearing on the various phases of the subject may be kept, together with the Government Bulletins and some well-chosen periodicals and magazines. These may be selected from the Catalogue of Books which has been prepared by the Department of Education.

UTENSILS

In regard to the selection of small articles required, such as dishes and utensils of various kinds, the greatest care should be exercised. This part of the equipment can be exactly duplicated by the pupils in their homes, and in this way may be of educational value to the community. The cooking and serving dishes should combine quality, utility, and beauty.

It is not economy to buy cheap utensils. As far as possible, they should be chosen with smooth, curved surfaces, as seams and angles allow lodging places for food and make the cleaning difficult.

Everything should be of good quality, the latest of its kind that has been approved, and, at the same time, have a shape and colour that is artistic.[23]

It is wise to buy from stock which can be duplicated if breakages occur, so that the equipment may be kept uniform. For individual work the utensils should not be too large.

Coloured granite ware is best for most of the cooking dishes. Where tin is necessary, it should be of a good quality. Crockery is desirable for some bowls, jars, and serving dishes. Spoons and serving forks should be of Nevada silver, and knives of the best steel with well-made wooden handles.

The cost of this part of the equipment and the number of articles purchased must of course depend on the funds available. The following list is intended to give what is really desirable in a specially equipped room, at prices which are a fair average.

EQUIPMENT
FOR TWENTY-FOUR PUPILS

I. CLASS TABLE

1. Utensil Drawer:

2. Supply Drawer:

3. Supply Cupboard:

II. SINK AND WALLS

III. GENERAL CUPBOARD EQUIPMENT

IV. KITCHEN LINEN

V. CLEANING CUPBOARD

VI. LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT

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VII. DINING-ROOM EQUIPMENT

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS

EQUIPMENT FOR ORDINARY CLASS-ROOMS

In some schools it is impossible to set aside a special room for Household Management work, and the ordinary class-room is all that is available. In such cases the equipment must be a movable one, and gas stoves and plumbing[29] are impossible. Table tops may be placed on trestles or laid across the ordinary desks, and oil or alcohol lamps must be used. These and the necessary utensils may be kept in a cupboard in the room.

With certain restrictions, the Department of Education assists in equipping special rooms in villages and rural districts and also in maintaining instruction in this subject.

Modified equipment for rural schools

The classes in these schools are usually smaller, so that an outfit suitable for individual work with a class of twelve will generally suffice. The following, suggested by the Macdonald Institute, Guelph, is a good basis and may be modified as desired:

PACKING-BOX EQUIPMENT

When even the expense of the modified equipment is too great, the ingenuity of the teacher and the pupils may be used to provide a "packing-box" equipment suitable for six pupils. The outlay for this will vary according to[31] what is provided, but it can in no case be large. The following equipment used by the Department of Domestic Science, Teachers' College, Columbia University, will be suggestive:

Packing-box equipment

FOR CLASS

INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT FOR SIX PUPILS

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CHAPTER II

SUGGESTIONS FOR CLASS MANAGEMENT

TEACHERS' PREPARATION

The pupils enjoy a well-regulated lesson and their co-operation is gained, while, through the poor results of a lesson indifferently planned, they lose self-confidence and the sense of responsibility.

NUMBER IN THE CLASS

As a Household Management class is one that calls for individual supervision, the number should not exceed twenty-four, and a smaller class ensures more thorough supervision on the part of the teacher. Neatness, thoroughness, and accuracy are important factors in the work of each lesson, and the number of pupils should not be so large that a lack of these will pass unnoticed.

UNIFORMS, ETC.

The uniform consists of a large, plain, white apron with a bib large enough to protect the dress, a pair of sleevelets, a holder, a small towel for personal use, and a[34] white muslin cap to confine the hair. (See Frontispiece.) Each pupil will also require a note-book and pencil for class, and a note-book to be used at home for re-copying the class work in ink. These books should be neatly written and kept for reference, and should be regularly examined and marked by the teacher for correction by the pupils.

The pupils should be encouraged to be clean and neat in appearance. They should be expected to have tidy hair, clean hands and nails, and neat uniforms. It is a good plan for each pupil to have two sets of uniforms, so that when one is in the wash the other will be ready to use. It may be wise to make a rule that the pupils without uniforms will not be allowed to work, but such a rule must be judiciously enforced, as in some cases it might result in much loss of time. There should be lockers or other proper provision provided at the school for keeping each uniform separately. Pasteboard boxes may be used for this purpose, when no such provision is made.

DISCIPLINE

The pupils should be trained to enter and leave the room in the same order as in their other classes. Each pupil should have a definite working place and should not be allowed to "visit" others during the class.

While at work, it is wise to allow the pupils as much freedom in talking and movement as possible, so as to portray the home life. They should be taught, however, that when their conduct interferes with the order of the room or the comforts and rights of others, they must suppress their inclinations. During the time of teaching there must be perfect quiet and attention. Marks are sometimes given to secure punctuality and good work,[35] but the best way to have both is to try to make each member of the class interested and happy in her work.

DIVISION OF THE PERIODS

The time given to a practical lesson is usually one and a half hours. This must include both the theoretical and the practical work. In dividing the period, it is difficult to say how much time should be given to each of these, but, broadly speaking, the theoretical part may occupy one third of the time. The time for dish washing and cleaning will be included in the time allowance for practical work. These duties should require less time as the class advances in the work.

Notes should be copied at the most convenient time, usually while the food is cooking. Sitting to write notes will afford an opportunity for resting after any practical work. If printed cards are used, much of the note-taking is obviated. A sample card is given below.

HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT

JUNIOR FOURTH CARD

ASSIGNMENT OF WORK

For practical work there are two plans in general use—individual and group work. In individual work, each pupil performs all the processes, handling small quantities of material. In group work, the pupils work in groups on one dish, each sharing the duties.

By the first method, the pupil has no chance to deal with quantities large enough for family purposes, and the small amount does not give adequate practice in manipulation, though it does give individual responsibility in every detail. By the second method, normal quantities are used, but a pupil never has entire responsibility throughout the processes.

The cost of supplies is often accountable for group work, but lack of utensils or oven room may make it a necessity. In some lessons, individual work with normal quantities may be obtained by allowing the pupils to bring the main ingredients from home; for example, fruit for a canning lesson. The finished product is then the property of the pupil who has made it.

The cleaning which always follows the use of the equipment is preferably done in groups. For instance, if there are groups of fours, number one can, during a lesson, wash all dishes used by the four, number two can wipe the dishes, number three can clean the table used by the group, and number four can clean the sink. During the next lesson number two is dish washer, and number three dish wiper, and so on, until, in four lessons, each pupil has had practice in four kinds of household work and has also been given an idea of the inter-dependence of family life and interests. The same numbers should be kept during the term, as this affords an easy way of definitely designating the pupils for certain duties.[37]

SUPPLIES

The supplies for a lesson may be put on a centre table, or smaller amounts may be placed on the working tables in front of the groups. If the class is large, the latter plan is better, especially where measurements are necessary, as it saves time and confusion. Standard food supplies, such as salt, pepper, sugar, and flour may be kept in a drawer of the work-table of each pupil. (See page 15.)

Every member of the class should be familiar with the contents of the class pantry, cupboards, and drawers, so that she can get or put away utensils and materials without the help of the teacher.

If breakages occur through carelessness, the utensils should be replaced at the expense of the offender. This is not only a deserved punishment, but it always ensures a full equipment.

PRACTICE WORK AT HOME

As a lesson in Household Management comes but once a week, much is gained by having the work reviewed by practice at home. To encourage this, in some schools a "practice sheet" is posted, on which the work done by each pupil, between lessons, is recorded. There is a danger of the younger pupils attempting work that is too difficult, which will end in poor results and discouragement. To avoid this, with pupils in the Third Form, it may be wise to limit their practice in cookery to a review of the work done in class.

The home practice work may be taken at the beginning of a lesson or during the time the food is cooking. It may be quickly ascertained by the pupils rising in order and stating simply the name of the duty they have done or the dish they have made unless they have had poor results,[38] when the nature of these should be told. If there have been failures, the pupils should, if possible, give reasons for these and suggest means of avoiding them in future.

GENERAL SUGGESTIONS

SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOLS WITH LIMITED, OR NO EQUIPMENT

In schools where the ordinary class-room must be used for all subjects, there are unusual difficulties in teaching Household Management. For such schools, two modified equipments are outlined.

Since such class-rooms require special arrangement for practical lessons in this subject, it would be well to take this work in the afternoon, so that part of the noon hour may be taken for preparation. Pupils who have earned the right to responsibility may be appointed in turn to assist in this duty.

In rural schools, the afternoon recess might be taken from 2.15 to 2.30 and, during this time, tables, stoves, and supplies may be placed, so as to be ready for the lesson to follow in the remaining hour and a half.

For pupils who are not in the Household Management class, definite work should be planned. They may occupy themselves with manual training, sewing, art work, map-drawing, composition, etc. In summer, school gardening may be done.

Since the end of the week, in many schools, is chosen for a break in the usual routine, Friday afternoon seems a suitable time for Household Management lessons.

Under such limited conditions, it will be necessary to group the larger pupils into one class for practical work, and it may be necessary for the pupils to take turns in working. In some cases, the teacher must demonstrate what the class may practise at home.[40]

It will be impossible, in such schools, to cover the prescribed work. From the topics suggested in the Course of Study each teacher may arrange a programme by selecting what is most useful to the pupils and what is possible in the school.

Even in schools which have no equipment, much of the theory of Household Management can be taught and some experiments may be performed. On Friday afternoons a regular period may be devoted to this subject, when the ingenious teacher will find ways and means of teaching many useful lessons.

The following will be suggestive as suitable for lessons under such conditions:

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[42]

CHAPTER III

FORM III: JUNIOR GRADE

If the latter plan be adopted, the following correlations are suggested:

CORRELATIONS

Arithmetic.—1. Bills of household supplies, such as furniture, fuel, meat, groceries, bed and table linen, material for clothing. This will teach the current prices as well as the usual quantities purchased.

Example: One loaf costs 6c. and cuts into 18 slices. Find the cost of bread for two days for a family of six, if each person uses 1-1/2 slices at one meal.

Geography.—1. The sources of our water supply.

Examples: Fuels, common minerals used in building and furnishing; timber for floors and furniture; manufactured goods, such as cotton, linen, carpets, china; domestic and foreign fruits; common groceries, such as salt, sugar, tea, coffee, cocoa, spices, rice, cereals, and flour.

Examples: Cotton, linen, china, paper, sugar, tea, coffee, cereals, flour.

Nature Study.—1. The parts of plants used as food.

Hygiene.—The necessity for the following:

Physical Training.—1. The value of exercise gained by performing household duties.

2. The importance of correct positions in performing home duties, such as dish washing, sewing, etc.

3. The value of conveniences to save steps.

Composition.—Topics selected from household materials and activities.

Examples: Food materials, cleansing agents, planning a convenient kitchen or bath-room, sweeping day, baking day, arrangement of a kitchen cupboard or clothes closet, etc.

Spelling.—Names of household articles and duties as follows:

Furniture of a special room, such as kitchen or sitting-room, kitchen utensils, contents of a kitchen cupboard, dishes and food used at a particular meal, etc.

Manual Training.—Construction of household furnishings and utensils for a doll's house from raffia, paper, and plasticine.

Art.—Designing and colouring carpets, curtains, wall-papers, book covers, dishes, tiles, ribbons, and dress materials.[45]

Sewing.—Making the uniform for Household Management work.

If the Household Management teacher takes the work with this class, she should follow the outline of work given in the Course of Study. This outline will make the pupils familiar with the common household materials as to their sources, preparation, and cost, and when, in the next class, they deal with these materials, they will do so with more interest and intelligence. It will also draw attention to the importance of economy in time and energy. The convenience of a kitchen and the use of proper utensils to facilitate labour will impress this fact.

The lessons should be taught simply as information lessons and should be of the same length as the other studies—from thirty to forty minutes. If the usual hour and a half period be set aside for this class, the remainder of the time may be devoted to sewing.[46]

CHAPTER IV

FORM III: SENIOR GRADE

LESSON I

Throughout the introduction, the teacher should not forget that she is dealing with immature minds and that the ideas must be very simply expressed. She might ask what the pupils expect to learn in this class, have them name other subjects they study in school, and in each case lead up to the one thing of which a particular subject treats; for example, arithmetic treats of numbers; geography, of the world; history, of past events. She should lead the class to see that the one thing of which Household Management treats is the home; and that the two great requirements for a home are the house, and the people who live in it, or the occupants.

To get the details relating to each of these two divisions, let the pupils imagine they are boarding in some locality where they decide to make a home for themselves. The first thing to be done is to choose a building lot. Then they must decide upon the kind of house they want and the plan of the house. After the house is built, it must be furnished. When the house is ready, it must be cleaned[47] and kept clean. As soon as the family move in, new considerations arise—they must have food, which must be bought, prepared, and served; each member of the family must be clothed and educated; they must receive proper care when sick. Only a few minutes should be spent on this introductory talk.

While the class is naturally led to think of and name these details, they should be written on the black-board in the order of development, somewhat as follows:

Tell the pupils that a housekeeper should be informed on all of these points, but little girls can expect to study only a few of them, such as questions of food, clothing, and cleaning.

Survey of Equipment, Uniform, etc.

Equipment.—Most of the time of the first lesson should be used in making the pupils acquainted with their surroundings and individual necessities, so that they will be ready for work the next day.

Give each member of the class a definite working place, and let her examine the contents of the cupboard[48] and drawers which belong to her place. Explain that the particular places which the pupils are given will be kept throughout the year, and that, while they have the privilege of using and enjoying them, they are responsible for their cleanliness and order.

Point out the remainder of the equipment—hot and cold water-taps, towel racks, class cupboard with its contents, refrigerator, large and individual stoves.

Teach each pupil how to light her stove and regulate its heat.

Uniforms, etc.—Tell the pupils that you have shown them what has been provided for them, but you want them also to provide some things for themselves. It will be necessary for them to bring a large, plain, white apron, having a bib large enough to protect the dress; a pair of sleevelets; a holder; a small towel for personal use; and a white muslin cap to confine the hair while working. They will also need a note-book and pencil for class, and a note-book to be used at home for re-copying the class work in ink. The latter book is to be very neatly written and kept for reference after it has been examined by the teacher.

LESSON II

Use of Equipment

The little girls who make up the classes are not so far removed from their "playhouse" days that a survey of the dishes, stoves, and tables will not give them an eager desire to begin using them. This desire should be gratified, but as the use always necessitates the cleaning as well, it may be advisable at first to make use of the equipment only for the purpose of showing proper methods of cleaning.[49]

A short lesson on cleaning may be given in a few minutes, and the rest of the period spent in putting it into practice. The teacher may proceed somewhat as follows in the development of a lesson on cleaning:

Development of a Lesson on Cleaning

MEANING OF CLEANING

Take two dishes—plates or saucers—exactly alike. Have one clean and the other soiled with butter or some well-known substance. Ask the class the difference between them. One is clean and one dirty. What substance is on one that hinders your saying it is clean? Butter. What else could be on it? Jam. What else? Dust. What else? Gravy. Now instead of telling the name of the particular substance in each case, let us try to find one name that will apply to all of the substances which, as you say, make the dish dirty. Let us give these substances a name which will show that they do not belong to the plate. We may call each of them a foreign substance. And if I take the substance off the plate what am I doing to the plate? Cleaning it. Then what is cleaning? Cleaning is removing a foreign substance.

METHODS OF CLEANING

What would you use to remove the butter from the plate? A piece of paper or a knife. What are you doing with the knife or paper? Scraping or rubbing off the foreign substance. Then how was it removed? It was removed by scraping or rubbing.

Suppose some one has sharpened a pencil and let the pieces fall on the floor, what would you take to remove the foreign substance from the floor? A broom. What[50] would you say you are doing with the broom? Sweeping. How does the movement of the broom over the floor compare with the movement of the knife over the plate? It is similar. What would you take to remove the dust from the window-sill? A duster. What would you say you are doing? Dusting. How does the movement of the duster compare with the movement of the knife and the broom? It is similar. In all of these cases of dish, floor, and sill, how did we remove the foreign substance? We scraped or rubbed it off. Name one way of removing a foreign substance. Scraping or rubbing it away.

Show a much soiled towel and ask what is usually done to clean it. It is washed. Ask the pupils to tell just what they mean by that. The towel is put in water and soap used on it. What effect will the soap and water have on the foreign substance? They will soften or dissolve it. Then what must be done next? The towel must be rubbed on a board or with the hands. What effect has this operation on the foreign substance? It scrapes or rubs the foreign substance away. Then we have another way of cleaning: By first dissolving the foreign substance, and then scraping or rubbing it away.

A number of well-known cleaning operations may then be given, and the pupils asked in each case to decide the method used—such as, whisking a coat, scrubbing a table, cleaning the teeth, or washing dishes.

COMMON HOUSEHOLD CLEANSING AGENTS

Next, get lists of the common cleansing agents found in an ordinary home, and arrange them in order of coarseness.[51]

BLACK-BOARD OUTLINE

The black-board scheme, as the lesson develops, will appear as follows:

When the class have these ideas, they are ready to put them into practice, and the remainder of the lesson should be spent in practical work.[52]

If the pupils have soiled no dishes, it may be wise to drill them first in table washing or towel washing, so as to get them ready for the next lesson when tables and towels will be used.

LESSONS III, IV, ETC.

Gradually, in connection with the making of simple dishes, the pupils should be taught special methods of dish washing, sink cleaning, and dusting. Each day as they are appointed to different duties in cleaning, these methods should be strictly followed until they become well known.

While they are still new to the class, it will be a great help to have outlines of the kinds of cleaning which are necessary in every lesson posted conveniently in different parts of the room for reference.

These outlines may be as follows:

DISH WASHING

[53]

TABLE CLEANING (CLASS WORK)

SINK CLEANING

DUSTING

MEASURES AND RECIPES

Another preliminary part of the work will be teaching the pupils to measure and follow a recipe.

MEASURES

The measures used in kitchen work are teaspoon, tablespoon, pint, quart, and gallon, of which a table should be developed as follows:

In connection with this table the following points should be brought out:

(a) Dividing the contents of a spoon

(b) Dividing a spoonful in halves

[57]

(c) Filling a cup

(d) Levelling a cupful

[58]

TABLE OF EQUIVALENT MEASURES AND WEIGHTS

A table of equivalent measures and weights of some staple foods will also be useful and may be given to the class:

PLAN OF LESSON ON MEASURING

TIME LIMIT

One and one-half hours to be divided approximately as follows—one-half hour for teaching the theory, one-half hour for the practical application of the theory, and one-half hour for housekeeping (washing of dishes, tables, sinks, etc., and putting the kitchen in order).

PREPARATION

DEVELOPMENT

PRACTICAL WORK TO APPLY MEASURING

Have each pupil make half a cupful of cocoa by carrying out each step as it is dictated by the teacher, as follows:

SERVING

Each pupil puts her table in order by moving all cooking utensils to the metal part of the table and wiping off any soiled spots on the wooden part; she then sits to drink the cocoa she has made.

NOTE-TAKING

Notes are copied from the black-board in pencil in the ordinary class note-books. The desk boards under the table tops are pulled out for this purpose. In this lesson the notes consist of:

HOUSEKEEPING

This will be done in groups of fours, according to their previous lessons in cleaning. If necessary, some special cleaning, as dish washing or sink cleaning, may be taught at this point of the lesson:

RECIPE FOR COCOA

RECIPES

In connection with a recipe, the pupils should be taught to look for three parts:

In carrying out a recipe, they should, from the first, be taught to work in the following systematic order:

For this lesson, some simple recipe which will review measuring should be clearly written on the black-board—the recipe for apple sauce or cranberry sauce would be suitable. While the pupils are learning obedience in following a recipe, it is better to keep them together in carrying out their work. The method should be written in definite, numbered steps, which may be checked off as each step is accomplished.

When the class has had instruction in cleaning, measuring, and recipes, they are ready for a series of lessons involving the use of simple recipes which will put into practice the ideas they have learned. For this practice, such recipes as the following are suggested:

Boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes; boiled parsnips; boiled celery; boiled carrots, asparagus, green peas; cranberry sauce; rhubarb sauce; preparing and combining ingredients for salads (fruit salad, potato salad, cabbage and nut salad, Waldorf salad)—the dressing being supplied; stuffed eggs; sandwiches.

The carrying out of these lessons will develop in the pupils accuracy and obedience, and make them familiar with the use and care of their utensils, as well as give opportunity for the cleaning of these and other parts of the equipment.

During these first lessons, careful supervision should be given each pupil, so that only correct habits may be formed in regard to neatness, thoroughness, quietness, and natural use of muscles.

The pupils should be encouraged to begin a book of recipes to contain neatly written copies of all they have used in school. The Art teacher might correlate the work here by assisting them to design a suitable cover for this book.[64]

CHAPTER V

FORM III: SENIOR GRADE (Continued)

COOKERY

[65]

As the moist heat methods are simpler and better known, they should be studied first. The class should be led to see that some liquid must be used to supply the moisture and should account for the common use of water for this purpose. Experiments should then be performed in heating water, and its appearance and temperature should be noted.

LESSON ON THE THERMOMETER

What would you use to measure the length of the table? A foot measure. What to measure the water in a tub? A pint, quart, or gallon measure. What to measure the amount of gas burned? A gas-meter.

What do we call the instrument

In each case what does "meter" mean? It means an instrument for measuring. What name may I give to an instrument for measuring heat? You may call it a heat-meter.[66]

Tell the pupils that, in science, many Greek words are used, and that you will put a Greek word in place of the English word "heat", namely "thermos", as in thermos bottle. What will the name become? Thermosmeter, or thermometer.

The unit of measurement (degree) should be given, and the scale taught from the black-board. Thermometers may then be given to the class to examine and use.

Saucepans having white inner surfaces are best to use for the experiments, as changes made by the heat are more plainly seen.

LESSONS II, III, IV, ETC.

Practice should then be given in each of the moist heat methods of cooking. The common foods, such as vegetables, fruit, eggs, and milk should be used for this purpose.

After the class has carried out a method for the first time, they should be led to consider the order of work required for it. The necessary steps should be arranged to form a set of rules for reference. The effects of the method in each case should also be noted.

When the moist heat methods are well known, the dry heat methods should be taught and practised. The outlines on pages 73-81 will suggest the development under each method.[68]

Plan of Lesson on Boiling Carrots

AIM

To apply the principles of boiling, as taught in a previous lesson, to the cooking of food.

TIME LIMIT

One and one-half hours to be used approximately as follows: twenty-five minutes for preparation for practical work and the first part of the practical work, twenty-five minutes for the development of ideas of boiling as a method of cooking, fifteen minutes for the serving of food, twenty-five minutes for housekeeping.

PREPARATION FOR PRACTICAL WORK

PRACTICAL WORK

Have each pupil prepare the food according to the recipe and put it on to cook within a certain time. While the class works, carefully observe each pupil and give individual help to those who require it.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE IDEAS OF BOILING AS A METHOD OF COOKING

This will be done while the carrots are cooking. The ideas brought out from review and the class work, by questioning, will be those which are given on boiling under the methods of cooking.

As these ideas are obtained from the class, they should be written by the teacher on the black-board and by the pupils in their note-books.

SERVING

The pupils will drain, season, and serve the food. Each girl will set one place on the wooden part of the table and serve herself. While the food is being eaten, the table manners of each girl should be observed, and, if necessary, corrected in a tactful manner.[70]

HOUSEKEEPING

The work of putting the kitchen in order may be done in groups of twos or fours.

RECIPE: BOILED CARROTS

Plan of Lesson on Simmering: Apples

INTRODUCTION

DISCUSSION OF RECIPE

PRACTICAL WORK

Assign work in groups of twos—numbers one and three prepare syrup; numbers two and four prepare apples; all attend to the cooking.

DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS OF SIMMERING

(To be dealt with while food is cooking)

[72]

SERVING

When the apples are tender, let each girl serve herself with what she has cooked. While the fruit is being eaten, direct attention to the flavour of apple in the syrup.

HOUSEKEEPING

Assign the work which is necessary to put the kitchen in order, and allow the pupils to carry it out in groups of twos or fours.

RECIPE (INDIVIDUAL): CODDLED APPLES

[73]

METHODS OF COOKING: DETAILS

BOILING

Boiling is a method of cooking in which the heat reaches the food through a boiling liquid.

[74]

SIMMERING

Simmering is a method of cooking in a liquid at a temperature of about 180 degrees.

STEAMING

Steaming is a method of cooking in the steam from boiling liquid.

STEEPING

Steeping is a method of cooking, by pouring boiling water over food, and letting it stand in a moderately warm place.

[76]

TOASTING

Toasting is a method of cooking in which the heat reaches the food directly from the fire. It is used mainly for bread.

BROILING

Broiling is a method of cooking in which the heat reaches the food directly. It is used mainly for meat and fish in slices or thin portions.[77]

PAN-BROILING

Pan-broiling is an imitation of broiling and is a method of cooking on a hissing-hot, metal surface.

The same as in broiling.

SAUTÉING

Sautéing is a method of cooking in which the heat reaches the food through a smoking-hot, greased surface.

BAKING

Baking is a method of cooking in which the heat is brought to the food through the confined heat of an oven.[79]

FRYING

Frying is a method of cooking in which the heat is brought to the food by immersing it in smoking-hot fat.

[80]

For practice in the methods of cooking, the following is suggestive:

Boiling.—Cooking of any vegetable or fruit in season or rice, macaroni, eggs, coffee

Simmering.—Dried fruit, such as prunes, peaches, apricots, apples; strong-smelling vegetables, such as cabbage, onions; porridge; stew

Steaming.—Potatoes, cauliflower, apples, peaches, cup-puddings, dumplings, fish

Steeping.—Tea, coffee, lemon rind for sauce

Toasting.—Bread, rolls

Broiling.—Steak, fish

Pan-broiling.—Steak

Sautéing.—Sliced potatoes, potato cakes, hash cakes, griddle-cakes (teacher prepares the batter)

Baking.—Apples, bananas, potatoes, scalloped potatoes, scalloped tomatoes, cheese crackers, drop biscuits, beef-loaf

Frying.—Potatoes, cod-fish balls, doughnuts (teacher prepares the dough).[82]

The lessons which give practice in the methods of cooking will also afford excellent drills in measuring, manipulation, and cleaning. Throughout all these, the weak points of individual members of the class should receive careful attention. In the case of typical defects, much time may be saved by calling the attention of the class to these, instead of correcting them individually.

After the pupils have considered and practised the methods of cooking, they should be able to prepare any simple dish of one main ingredient, for which recipes should be given. If these cannot be used at school, they may be of service in the homes of the pupils.

Economy should be emphasized by suggesting simple ways of using left-overs, and definite recipes should be written for these. Fancy cooking should be discouraged. The teacher should aim to show how the necessary common foods may be prepared in a nutritious and attractive manner.

In this first year of practical work, the main point is the formation of correct habits of work. Cleanliness, neatness, and accuracy should be insisted on in every lesson, and deftness should be encouraged.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE USE OF LEFT-OVERS

BREAD

CAKE

MEAT

FISH

EGGS

CHEESE

VEGETABLES

CANNED FRUIT

BEVERAGES

After the moist heat methods of cooking are learned, a special lesson on beverages may be taken, if the teacher thinks it desirable. If the subject be not taken as a whole, each beverage may be taught incidentally, when a recipe requiring little time is useful. The following will suggest an outline of facts for a formal lesson:

MEANING OF BEVERAGES

A beverage is a liquid suitable for drinking. Water is the natural beverage; other beverages are water with ingredients added to supply food, flavour, stimulant, or colour. Since water is tasteless in itself and also an excellent solvent, it is especially useful in making beverages.[85]

KINDS OF BEVERAGES

TEA

COFFEE

COCOA

CHOCOLATE

This substance is the same as cocoa, except that it contains a much larger amount of fat.[87]

TABLE SETTING

The serving of food is incidentally a necessary part of nearly every lesson in cookery, as the pupils usually eat what they prepare. In regular class work the bare work table is used, and each pupil prepares a place for herself only. The dishes soiled during the lesson should be placed on the section covered with metal or glass at the back of the table, and the front, or wooden part, cleared to be used as a dining table. The teacher should insist on this part being clean and neatly arranged. The few dishes used should be the most suitable selected from the individual equipments, and they should be as carefully placed as for a meal. From the very first, the pupils should be trained to habits of neatness in setting the table, and in serving the food; and, what is most important, they should be trained to eat in a refined manner. Lack of time is sometimes given as an excuse for neglecting this training in the usual cookery lessons; but if the teacher insists upon neatness in work and good table manners, the pupils will soon learn to comply without loss of time.

Laying a table may be formally taught at any stage of the work of Form III, but it is most suitable after the class is capable of preparing the food for a simple home meal. The topics of the lesson may be presented as follows:

PREPARATION

ARRANGEMENT

Table laid for a home dinner

[90]

Individual section of table laid for dinner

TABLE MANNERS

In Form III, the children are too young to serve at table, so the lesson on Preparing and Serving Meals, page 136, has been reserved for the work of Form IV, Junior Grade. The class should, however, be carefully trained in table manners from the first. In their usual class work this will be incidentally taught. A regular lesson should include the following:[91]

RULES FOR CORRECT TABLE MANNERS

These are based upon the accepted customs of well-bred people, and have in view the convenience and comfort of all who are at the table.

They may be stated as follows:

CHAPTER VI

FORM IV: JUNIOR GRADE

THE KITCHEN

THE KITCHEN FIRE

Up to this time the pupils have been allowed to manage their individual table stoves or a gas range. They should now be taught to understand and to use an ordinary coal or wood range. Two lessons will be necessary for this purpose. After each lesson has been taught, the remainder[93] of the period should be spent in some kind of practical work which can be accomplished in the time. Some cookery which requires only a few minutes may be reviewed, such as tea, cocoa, coffee, toast, bacon, apple sauce; drawers and cupboards may be cleaned; silver and steel may be polished; designs for wall-paper, dishes, curtains, and dress materials may be drawn; household accounts may be computed; sewing may be finished.

LESSON I

Requirements of a Kitchen Fire

In introducing a lesson on the kitchen fire, ask the pupils to imagine that they have built a new house, which the workmen have just vacated. Before they can move in it must be cleaned. What kind of water is best for cleaning? Hot water. What is necessary to provide hot water? A fire.

Find out from the pupils and then write on the black-board what is necessary for a fire. What is the first requisite? Something to burn. What do we call such a substance? Fuel. Where shall we put the fuel? In a stove. Why is a stove necessary? To confine the fire.

Using a candle as fuel and a lamp chimney as a stove, light the candle and place it in the chimney. It burns only a short time and then dies out. Why? Because the oxygen of the air in the chimney is all exhausted. Then what is another requisite for a fire? Oxygen.

Imagine the room to be a stove and the chairs, books, tables, etc., to be fuel. The air in the room also contains much oxygen, so that in this room we have three requisites for a fire. It is very fortunate for us that something else is needed. We shall try to find out what it is.[94]

Watch while I hold these strips of paper over this lighted gas stove high enough to be out of reach of the flame. What happened to them? They burst into a flame. What did the paper that I held receive that it did not get when it was lying on the table? Heat. We shall try a match in the same way, also some thin shavings. They also burn when they receive heat from the fire. Then what is another requisite for a fire? Heat. Name all of the requisites for a kitchen fire. Fuel, stove, oxygen, and heat.

HEAT

Experiments to show on what the amount of heat required depends:

[95]

OXYGEN

Experiments to show the means of obtaining oxygen:

Experiments to show the necessity for oxygen

It will be necessary next to lead the class to see that the supply of oxygen can be controlled:

FUELS

A discussion of the fuels may next be taken. With pupils of Form IV it will not be wise to go into too many details regarding these. Besides the classification of the commonest ones, they may be compared from the standpoints of cost, and of the time and labour required in their use.

Classes of Fuels:

THE KITCHEN STOVE

LESSON II

In developing the construction of a practical coal or wood range, it is a good idea to use the black-board and make a rough drawing to illustrate the details, as they are[97] given by the pupils. These details should be evolved from the knowledge gained in the preceding lessons, and the drawing should not be an illustration of any particular stove.

After the best practical stove, according to the pupils' ideas, has been thought out and represented on the black-board, they should examine and criticise the school range and the stoves at home. They are then ready to be given the responsibility of managing any ordinary range.

The following are the necessary details to be considered regarding a kitchen stove:

Material.—(1) Iron, (2) steel

Shape.—Rectangular.

Compartments.—(1) Fire-box, (2) ash-box, (3) oven, (4) passage for hot air, (5) other compartments if desired, such as water tank, warming closet, etc.

Dampers.—(1) Front damper—below the fuel, to control the entrance of oxygen to the fuel. (2) Oven damper—above the fuel at the entrance to the pipe, to control the heat for the oven, and also to control the draught. (3) Check damper—at the front of the stove above the fuel, to admit a cross current of air to check the draught.

Management of the stove.—(1) Lighting the fire, (2) heating the oven, (3) arranging for over night, (4) cleaning and care.

[98]

A kitchen coal or wood range, showing, (a) oven damper open

A kitchen coal or wood range, showing, (b) oven damper closed

[99]

THE FIRELESS COOKER

Throughout the training given in Household Management, the teacher should emphasize the value of labour-saving devices and aids in the home. How to economize time and energy should be a prominent feature of every practical lesson. If time permit, a lesson may be taken to consider specially such aids as are readily procurable, together with their average cost. In this lesson the fireless cooker is considered.

A fireless cooker

The principles of the fireless cooker are based on a knowledge of the laws governing the conduction and radiation of heat. For this reason, an elementary science lesson relating to these laws should precede this lesson. Such a science lesson is part of the regular grade work of Form IV, so if a specialist teaches the Household Management of that grade, she and the regular teacher should arrange to co-ordinate their lessons.[100]

PRINCIPLES OF THE FIRELESS COOKER

REASONS FOR THE USE OF THE FIRELESS COOKER

WAYS OF USING THE FIRELESS COOKER

1. Food cooked in liquid:

In all cookers where stone plates are not used, only such foods as are cooked in liquids can be prepared. Examples of foods cooked in this way are, meat soup, beef-tea, meat stews, vegetables, fruit, porridge, cereal, puddings, etc.

The prepared food is put into one of the food receptacles belonging to the cooker and is placed over a fire, until it has boiled for a few minutes. The cover is then tightly adjusted, and the dish quickly locked in the cooker, to conserve the heat that the food and liquid have absorbed.

2. Food cooked in dry heat by the use of stone plates:

In this method the food is cold when it is placed in the cooker, and all the heat is supplied by stone plates[101] placed above and below the utensil containing the food. These plates are heated for about twenty minutes over a fire, before they are used in the cooker.

Examples of food cooked in this way are, roasts of meat; baked fruit, such as apples; baked vegetables, such as potatoes or beans; cakes, such as plain cake or fruit cake; quick bread, such as corn-bread and biscuits.

3. Food cooked in liquid, aided by the heat of one stone plate:

In cases where the original heat absorbed by the food is not sufficient to complete the cooking as desired, a heated stone plate may be placed in the cooker below the utensil containing the hot food. The stone may be necessary for one of the following reasons—

A HOME-MADE FIRELESS COOKER

Use a large wooden box or a small trunk with a close-fitting cover. Make it as air-tight as possible by pasting thick paper all over the inside.

Pack it level with clean sawdust or excelsior (the latter preferably), until just enough height is left to set in a covered granite pail, which is to be used for holding the[102] food. Place the pail in the centre, so that its top edge is just about half an inch below the top of the box. Then pack in more excelsior very tightly around the pail, until level with it. This will shape the "nest" for the pail.

A home-made fireless cooker

Make a thick cushion, or mat, of excelsior to fit in the space between the level of the excelsior and the inside of the cover. Cover the cushion with cheesecloth or denim to keep it intact.

[103]

CHAPTER VII

FORM IV: JUNIOR GRADE (Continued)

STUDY OF FOOD

A series of lessons will be necessary for this purpose. The amount of work to be taken at one time is suggested, but this should be judged by the teacher. As in other lessons on theory, the remaining time of the lesson period should be used in practical work. Suggestions for such practical work are given under the lesson on "The Kitchen Fire", page 92.

Practice lessons, to give variety and sustain interest, should be interspersed between these lessons as desired.

LESSON I

USES OF FOOD

The lesson may be introduced by asking the class to think in what way the body of a healthy baby, who is fed regularly, will have changed at the end of six months. It will be larger; it will have more flesh, more bone, more hair, etc. We want to get a name that will apply to any[104] part of the body. No matter which part we examine through a microscope we find the same fine and beautiful texture, and to this we give a name similar to that given to fine, thin paper. We call it tissue—hair tissue, bone tissue, flesh tissue.

What has food done to the baby's tissues? It has enlarged its tissues; the child has grown larger. To the enlargement, or growth, of the tissues, we may apply the term, build, suggested by the building of a house. Then what may we say food does for the tissues of the body? We may say that food builds the tissues of the body.

Think of some persons who have taken food every day, and yet as long as you have known them they have not increased in size. What has food done for their tissues? The class must be told that the tissues of our bodies wear out through use, and that food has furnished the material to replace the worn-out parts. What do we say we are doing to clothes when we replace the worn parts? We are mending or repairing them. What does food do for our worn-out tissues? Food repairs the tissues of the body.

Do not think any more about the tissues of the body. Suppose you had not been able to get any food for several days. In what way would you be different from what you are now? You would not be as strong. Food gives strength or energy by being burned inside the body. There is a fire burning in our bodies all the time we are alive, the fuel being food. What do we require from the fire in our homes? We require heat. The fires in our bodies give us heat also. Any fire gives off both heat and energy. State another use of food to the body. Food produces heat and energy in the body.

But food does more for the body; it contains substances to keep our bodies in order. Suppose the clock gets[105] out of order and does not keep good time, what does the watchmaker do to it? He regulates it. That is what certain kinds of food do for us. What then is another use of food? Food regulates the body.

Name the uses of food to the body.

1. It builds the tissues.

2. It repairs the tissues.

3. It produces heat and energy.

4. It regulates the body.

How then can we judge if a substance be a food? By deciding that it performs one of these duties in the body.

LESSON II

NECESSARY SUBSTANCES IN FOOD

The names of the substances in food which supply the material for the different uses of the body should be taken next.

[106]

SOURCES OF FOOD

All nature supplies us with food. The three great divisions of nature are animal, vegetable, and mineral, and from each we obtain food, though most largely from the animal and vegetable kingdoms.

Animal food is some part of an animal's body or some product of an animal: examples—meat or fish, milk, eggs.

Vegetable food is some part of a plant: examples—vegetables, fruit, seeds.

Mineral food is some constituent of the earth's crust used as food. This mineral food is obtained by drinking water which in coursing through the earth has absorbed certain minerals, by eating plants which have absorbed the minerals from the soil, or by eating animal food which was built from plant food.

This preliminary survey of the sources of all our food gives the pupils a basis for classifying the foods with which they are familiar. They may be given exercises in doing this, and will not only find them interesting, but most useful as nature study.

STUDY OF THE COMMON FOODS

In beginning the analysis of the common foods, it must be remembered that the pupils have no knowledge of chemistry, and that what is found in each food must be discovered through the senses (seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling), or through a process of reasoning.

The pupils should also feel quite sure of what they are setting out to do; they are going to examine some particular, well-known food, to find which of the necessary[107] food substances it contains. The food substances for which they are looking are water, mineral matter, nitrogenous matter, and carbonaceous matter (sugar, starch, fat).

It is better to provide each pupil with a sample of the food to be studied, but where conditions make this difficult, the one used by the teacher will suffice.

STUDY OF MILK

Lesson I

COMPOSITION

Milk is the best food to examine first, because it contains all the food elements except starch and because these can be easily found.

The pupils may each be asked to bring a half cup of milk from home. It may be allowed to stand in glasses while other work is taken.

When ready for the lesson, ask the pupils to look at the contents of the glass, and they will observe a difference of colour where the cream has risen. Nature itself has divided the milk into two parts. Pour off the top part and feel it. It feels greasy. Butter is made from this part. We have found fat—a carbonaceous food.

Move the milk around in the glass and let the pupils see that it is a liquid. Tell them that all liquid in a natural food is mostly water. We have, therefore, another food substance—water, a builder and regulator.

Let the pupils compare a glass of water with a glass of skimmed milk, and they see that something is dissolved in the water of the milk, giving it the white colour. Show[108] them a glass of sour milk, where the white substance is separate from the water. Get the names curd and whey. Tell them how the cheesemaker separates sweet milk into curd and whey. If advisable, let them do it, but in any case show them some sweet milk separated by rennet. Examine the sweet whey. It tastes sweet, denoting the presence of sugar—another carbonaceous food.

Notice the greenish-yellow colour. Recall this same colour in water in which potatoes, cabbage, or other vegetables have been cooked. Tell the pupils that this colour is given by mineral matter being dissolved in the water.

There is still the curd of milk to examine. The use of the senses does not allow us to definitely decide what food substance the curd is. Tell the pupils it is protein, or find the name by a process of reasoning, thus: Recall the fact that babies live for several months on milk alone and during that time build all tissues of the body. Milk, therefore, must contain all tissue-building substances. Review the food substances which are necessary to build all body tissues—mineral matter, protein, and water. We have found the mineral matter and water in milk, but not the protein. Since curd is the only remaining part of milk, it must be largely protein.

Tell the pupils that the scum which comes on the top of milk, when it is boiled, is another kind of protein of which there is a small amount in solution in milk.

Lead the pupils to see that if starch were present, it would be in a raw form, and in this form is indigestible.[109]

Lesson II

FOOD VALUE

The analysis of milk gives a key to the food value of milk and each of its by-products (cream, butter, butter-milk, sour milk, skim milk, curd, whey, cheese, junket). These may now be briefly discussed as to composition, food value, and cost.

CARE

Milk readily absorbs odours, bacteria, etc., and should be kept in covered, sterilized dishes in a pure, cool atmosphere.

EFFECT OF HEAT

Experiments should be made to show the effect of simmering and boiling temperatures. To save time, a different experiment may be given to each pupil, and the results reported.

Practice lessons may now be given in preparing simple dishes in which milk is the main ingredient, or, at least, recipes may be given for these to be made at home. The following would be suitable: cream sauce, cream soups, custard, junket, cottage cheese, albuminized milk.[110]

STUDY OF EGGS

Lesson I

PARTS

(1) Shell, (2) thick membrane, (3) white, (4) thin membrane, (5) yolk.

These parts are easily seen. Attention should be called to the pores in the shell, and it should be explained that these allow the entrance of bacteria which spoil the egg. Any means of closing these pores helps to preserve the egg.

METHODS OF PRESERVING

Cover the holes in the shell as follows:

Testing eggs by floating:
(1) slightly stale, (2) stale, (3) very stale

TESTS

CARE

1. If eggs are to be used in the near future, they should be washed and put in a pure, cool atmosphere. The lower shelf of the refrigerator is best, as odours rise, and eggs readily absorb these.

2. If eggs are to be preserved, they should not be washed unless their condition compels it, as washing removes the natural covering of the pores. They should be stored in a clean, cool place, and packed as soon as possible.

Lesson II

COMPOSITION

It is wiser to develop the food substances in an egg by reasoning, rather than by examining the different parts. The shell is not used for food, so it is the contents that should be studied. The class should be guided in the following sequence of thought:

EFFECT OF HEAT ON EGGS

The following experiments will show the effect on both yolk and white of the usual methods of applying heat to eggs:

CONCLUSIONS

Lessons III, IV, etc.

USES OF EGGS

To give practice in preparing eggs and to show their special uses the following dishes would be suitable:

[114]

STUDY OF VEGETABLE FOOD

Before beginning this part of the work, it would be most helpful if the class had one or two nature study lessons on the structure and organs of plants. With the pupils in possession of some knowledge thus acquired, the Household Management teacher has only to lead up to ideas of the preparation and value of these parts as food. These ideas should, as far as possible, follow in such a natural order that the pupils may even anticipate the sequence.

The outline may be as follows:

Lesson I

SOURCE

All vegetable food is obtained from plants; it is some part of a plant used as food.

PARTS OF PLANTS USED AS FOOD

In asking for examples of the different parts, there will be more interest and value if the questions correlate other[115] subjects, for instance: For what fruit is Canada noted? What fruit does she import? Name a nut the squirrels gather.

Lesson II

COMPOSITION OF ANY PART OF A PLANT

From the foregoing, the pupils may infer that there are eight different foods to study. They should be led to see that in reality there is only one, as all parts of plants are, generally speaking, the same in structure. Referring to the animal body, they will know that a bone from the foot is of much the same structure as one from the face; that a piece of flesh from the leg is the same as a piece from any other part of the body. In the same way, if we study one part of a plant, it will be a type of all parts. In general the structure is as follows:

1. A framework, in cellular form, made of a substance called cellulose.

2. Material filling the cells:

To show the framework, some vegetable food having a white colour should be chosen, such as potato, parsnip, or apple.

It must be explained that all plants are made of a framework of numerous cells, something like a honey-comb. The cells in plants are of many different shapes, according to the plant, or the part of the plant, in which they are found. They are usually so small that they cannot be distinguished without a microscope; but occasionally[116] they are large enough to be seen without one. Pass sections of orange or lemon, where the cells are visible. Make a drawing on the black-board of the cellular formation of a potato. Lead the class to understand that, in every case, the cell walls must be broken to get out the cell contents. To illustrate this, they may use potatoes, and break the cell walls by grating the potatoes. After they have broken up the framework, the cell contents should be strained through cheesecloth into a glass. They have now two parts to examine—cell walls and cell contents.

Cellular structure of a potato

Wash the framework to free it of any cell juice and study it first. Give its name, and note its colour and texture. Compare the framework of potatoes, strawberries, lettuce, trees, etc. Tell the class that in some cases part of the cellulose is so fibrous that it is used to make thread, cloth, or twine; for instance, flax and hemp.[117]

Cellulose is most difficult to dissolve, so that practically little of it is digested. It serves a mechanical purpose in the digestive tract by helping to fill the organs and dilute the real food. If fibrous, it acts as an irritant and overcomes sluggishness of the intestines known as constipation. The outer coats of cereals are an example of coarse cellulose, as used in brown bread and some kinds of porridge.

Examine next the juice which was contained in the cells of the potato. The liquid shows much water; the colour indicates mineral matter in solution; the odour suggests a flavour; the white sediment is starch.

COMPOSITION OF POTATO JUICE

Water, mineral matter, flavouring matter, starch.

Draw attention to the fact that the potato is the part of the plant which acts as a storehouse. In such parts, starch is always found as the stored form of sugar; but, in parts which are not storehouses, sugar will be found in its stead. In rare cases both are found, as in the parsnip.

The insolubility of starch in cold liquids may be effectively reviewed at this part of the lesson. The starch has been lying in the water of the potato cells for several months, yet has not dissolved. Let two or three of the class gradually heat the potato juice with its starch sediment, stirring all the time to distribute the sediment evenly.[118] They will find that a little less than boiling temperature dissolves the starch. This will show them that heat is necessary for the solution of starch, and a heat much greater than that in the body, hence raw starch is indigestible. Recall the milk lesson and the uselessness of starch as a component of milk, unless the milk be cooked.

Squeeze the juice from a sour apple or lemon, and note the taste. Explain that all fruit juices contain more or less acid. The effects of this acid in the body are similar to those of mineral matter.

Protein is also found in plant juices; but in such small quantities that it may be disregarded as a source of food supply.

GENERAL COMPOSITION OF PLANT JUICE

Water; mineral matter; flavouring matter; starch or sugar, or both; acid (in fruit juice).

Lesson III

COMPOSITION OF SOLID MATERIAL IN CELLS OF SEEDS

This part of the lesson may be developed as follows:

COMPARATIVE FOOD VALUE OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF PLANTS

Only a very general idea of this should be attempted. The food value of any part of a plant can be roughly estimated by considering the office of that particular part in plant structure. Nature study will assist in this. The root collects the food to send it to the parts above; the stem is a hallway through which the food is carried in a more diluted form. The leaves serve the purpose of lungs and will not contain much food, though they naturally have a good deal of flavour; parsley, sage, and tea are examples of this. The fruit is a house to protect the seeds, and is made most attractive and delicious, so that animals will be tempted to eat this part, and thus assist in the dispersal of the seeds. The fruit has comparatively little food value as building material. The seed contains the stored material to build new plants, and therefore is the most nutritive part of all. It is the only part of the plant which contains an appreciable supply of building food, that is, which can take the place of eggs or meat in the diet. Baked beans are sometimes called "nuggets of nourishment" or "the poor man's beef".[120]

Lesson IV

After discussing the food value of the different parts in this broad way, the pupils may be asked to consider the plant foods used in their diet and to compare their nutritive value.

The facts concerning these may be summed up as follows:

1. Green vegetables:

2. Root vegetables and tubers:

3. Ripe seeds (cereals, legumes, and nuts):

DRIED VEGETABLES AND FRUIT

It is important that the value of these be pointed out. Dried foods contain all of the constituents of fresh food excepting water and a little flavour lost in evaporation, yet they are often much cheaper. Attention should be directed to the best means of restoring the water and, if necessary, of giving an additional flavour by the use of cloves, cinnamon, etc.[121]

Canning is a better means of preserving food for export or for use when out of season, but where the expense prohibits this method, drying is a good substitute. In districts where fruit and vegetables cannot be grown or in seasons when they cannot be obtained fresh, the dried forms are cheap and have excellent food value.

THE COOKING OF VEGETABLE FOOD

As vegetable food is eaten both raw and cooked, the pupils should be asked to decide when cooking is necessary and what they wish it to accomplish.

There are only two substances in vegetable food which will require cooking, and these are:

1. Cellulose, if it be hard or tough

2. Starch, if it be present.

The pupils have found in their experiment with the potato water, that starch cooks quickly, hence the time of cooking will depend altogether on the texture of the cellulose. When the cellulose is softened at the centre, the last part which the heat reaches, the vegetable or fruit will be cooked.

If the food is cooked in water by boiling or simmering, much of the substance will pass into the cooking water. As the cell walls become softened, they allow the cell contents to partially pass out and the cooking water to pass in to fill the space. If the food is long in cooking, the water may have more value than the vegetable, and it should not be thrown away. It may be used in two ways—as a basis for a sauce or a soup.[122]

GENERAL RULES FOR COOKING VEGETABLES

PREPARATION

COOKING

VEGETABLE RECIPE

Prepare and cook the vegetables until tender, according to the rules given above. Drain off and measure the vegetable water. For each 1/2 cup of vegetable, take 1/4 cup of the water and make into a sauce. Re-heat the vegetable in the sauce and serve in a hot dish.

[123]

GENERAL RULES FOR COOKING FRUIT

FRESH FRUIT

DRIED FRUIT

Wash the fruit thoroughly. Cover with cold water and soak twenty-four hours. Put on to cook in the same water in which it has soaked. Add spices if desired. Cover closely and simmer until tender. Add the sugar and simmer ten minutes longer. Take out the fruit, and, if necessary, boil down the syrup, then pour it over the fruit.

Lessons V, VI, etc.

While studying vegetable food, practice will be given in nearly every lesson in the preparation and cooking of vegetables or fruit, but after the completion of this series of lessons, these foods should be prepared and cooked with more intelligence and interest. For this reason, there may be, at the last, one general practical lesson devoted to vegetables and fruit, to review and impress the facts that have been taught. As potatoes, on account of their large amount of starch, require special care, an extra lesson may be given to this vegetable.[124]

In the lesson on potatoes the attention of the class should be directed to the following:

POINTS IN COOKING POTATOES

USE OF STARCH TO THICKEN LIQUIDS

A lesson on the use of starch for thickening purposes should be given before lessons on the making of a sauce or a soup from the water in which vegetables have been cooked. The necessity of separating the starch grains should be shown by experiments.

EXPERIMENTS IN USING STARCH FOR THICKENING

(Any powdered starch may be used)

CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE FOREGOING EXPERIMENTS

BASIC RECIPE FOR LIQUIDS THICKENED WITH FLOUR.

VARIATIONS OF BASIC RECIPE

CREAM OF VEGETABLE SOUPS

At least one practice lesson should be given on the making of these soups. The value of the vegetable water should be impressed upon the pupils, and it may be pointed out that these soups are an excellent way of using the cooking water and any left-over vegetable.

The difference between tomatoes and other vegetables should be noted. Tomatoes are a fruit and, as such, contain an acid. The acid would curdle milk and must be neutralized by the use of soda, before milk can be added.

Utensils used for cream soups

PRINCIPLES OF CREAM SOUPS

A special recipe should be given for cream of tomato soup, so that the proportion of soda may be correct.

OUTLINE OF LESSONS ON COOKING SEEDS

CEREALS: WHEAT, OATS, CORN, RICE, RYE, BARLEY

Put salt and water in the inner part of a double boiler, and set directly over the fire. When steaming hot, gradually stir in the dry cereal, and keep stirring until the starch has thickened and boiled. Stir carefully, so as not to break the flakes of rolled cereals. Then set the inner[128] dish inside the outer part of the double boiler, in which there should be boiling water, and cook from two to four hours.

LEGUMES: PEAS, BEANS, LENTILS

1. Forms in which used:

2. Cooking of dried legumes:

NUTS

Forms in which used:

SALADS

The series of lessons on vegetable foods being finished, it is a good time to take a salad lesson. All salads were originally made from fresh young plants or salad greens, and though any food material is now used for the purpose, the subject seems to follow naturally the lessons on plant food.

The pupils should derive unusual pleasure from this work. The dishes made are most attractive and appetizing, besides affording an opportunity for each member of the class to display individual artistic skill. None of the principles are new, so that the lesson will be really a review.

The outline of notes for the class will be:

INGREDIENTS OF SALADS

FOOD VALUES OF SALADS

This depends on the ingredients. If salad greens only are used, the food value is mainly the mineral matter, but the dish will be refreshing and appetizing, and the oil, butter, or egg used in the dressing adds nutriment.

Salads are prepared with little trouble and with no expense for fuel.[130]

PREPARATION OF SALAD INGREDIENTS

DRESSINGS FOR SALADS

STUDY OF MINERAL FOOD

As the study of mineral food involves a knowledge of chemistry, little more can be done in Junior classes than to teach that certain mineral compounds are required for the body, to point out their two main uses, and to lead the pupils to know the foods which generally supply these.

Their attention should be directed to the fact that all mineral matter is found, in the first place, in the earth's crust, but that, with the exception of salt, animals cannot use it in that form. Plants can use it, and they absorb it from the soil; then we eat the plants, and in that way obtain the mineral substance, or we may obtain it by eating the animals which have eaten the plants. Water also, in making its way through the earth, may dissolve certain minerals and, by drinking the water, we obtain these.[132]

It will not be necessary to teach the names of the minerals which our food must supply, as most of these will mean nothing to the pupils. They might be asked to name one or two which are very familiar; for instance, the lime in bone and the iron in blood. They may be told that there are a few others which they will learn when they study chemistry in the high school.

The pupils have already learned that mineral matter serves two main functions in the body: that is, building and regulating, and it is a good plan to classify the well-known foods under these two headings. With a little guidance the pupils can do most of this for themselves. They know that milk serves all building purposes in a child's body, and must, therefore, contain mineral matter. Eggs build animal bodies, and must contain this substance also. Meat is the animal body that has been built, therefore meat has this substance; but we shall find in the meat lessons that there is no mineral matter in fat and that the cook cannot dissolve it out of bone, therefore muscle or lean meat must be eaten to obtain it. Seeds, too, contain building material for new plants; therefore, the building mineral matter must be stored in their cells. Hard water is known by the lime it contains, therefore this, if drunk, assists in the formation of bone.

The class must be told that the mineral in the juices of plants is mainly for regulating purposes; that is, to keep our bodies in order, or as we say, healthy. When they get out of order, we usually go to a doctor to be regulated or made well. The medicine which he prescribes often contains some mineral in solution, perhaps iron. The mineral matter which is in the juices of plants, being a more natural form than the mineral matter in the medicine, is more easily made use of in the bodily[133] processes. This is one reason why people should eat plenty of vegetables and fruit.

Many springs also furnish water with large quantities of mineral matter in solution, which is used mainly for medicinal purposes. The pupils may know some places where we find such springs, and these should be mentioned, such as Preston Springs, Banff, and Mount Clemens, which have become health resorts through the presence of these waters. When the springs are in a distant country and their waters are known to contain a certain mineral which our bodies need, the water is bottled and shipped to us, and may be obtained from a druggist. Hunyadi Janos, Apenta, Vichy, and Apollinaris are well-known medicinal waters shipped from European springs.

SUMMARY OF SOURCES OF MINERAL FOODS

DIET

After studying in this elementary way the composition of the animal and vegetable foods, the pupils will be ready for simple lessons on diet. The class may now be said to have a working knowledge of the well-known foods, and they should be given a chance to use this knowledge, by combining and serving these foods for simple meals.[134]

REFERENCE TABLES OF FOOD CONSTITUENTS

It will be helpful in this work, to guide the pupils in making out a reference table of the food constituents. This will give lists of food in which each constituent predominates, as follows:

Beverages (water, milk, tea, coffee, cocoa), fruit, vegetables.

[135]

Besides the necessary substances in food, the pupils must be told that there are other points for the housekeeper to consider when preparing the meals, namely:

Under 1, above, it may be explained, that when a meal is prepared which gives the body a correct proportion of each food substance, it is said to be well balanced. From numerous experiments the "Dietary Standard" for one day for a grown person has been calculated to be:

Although the pupils cannot be expected to follow this table accurately, from lack of sufficient knowledge, it will be of some assistance to them in choosing a combination of food for the home meals.

Under 2, above, some of the variations of food are obvious, but some must be taught. Children require simple, nourishing food, which will contain plenty of protein and mineral matter for tissue building as well as much fuel food. Their diet should be varied and abundant.

In old age the diet should also be simple, because of the lack of vigour in the digestive organs, but the amount of building material should be decreased. The food of[136] old people should contain proportionately more carbonaceous material.

Brain workers require less food than those engaged in active muscular work, and it should be less stimulating and less bulky. Their diet should be in a form that is easily digested.

With the foregoing general ideas in mind, the pupils may be asked to prepare menus for simple home meals. These should be assigned as home work, so that plenty of time can be given to their consideration, and then they may be brought to the class for criticism. The best of these should be chosen for actual practice in school work.

PREPARING AND SERVING MEALS

Before the pupils are given a meal to prepare and serve, table setting should be reviewed, and the rules of table service taught as follows:

RULES FOR SERVING

Where the class consists of twelve or more pupils, it must be divided for the preparation and serving of a meal. Each section should prepare and serve a meal for the others, until all have had experience. As breakfast and luncheon are the simpler meals, they should be taken first in the order of lessons. The duties of the cooking and serving should be definitely settled, and each girl given entire responsibility for a certain part of the work.

Those who are served should represent a family. Members should be chosen to act as father, mother, lady guest, gentleman guest, and children of varying ages, so that the duties and serving of each may be typified.[138]

CHAPTER VIII

FORM IV: JUNIOR GRADE (Continued)

CARE OF THE HOUSE

The order of work should be discussed and planned by the pupils, the teacher guiding the class by her questioning. In lessons of this kind, the main work of the teacher is to ascertain what the pupil knows and to systematize her knowledge.

A typewritten sheet of directions may be given each pupil to hang in her room, and may serve as an incentive to her to perform the duties outlined.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE DAILY CARE OF A BED-ROOM

Once a week the following work should be added:

After the pupils have had training in the care of their bed-rooms, this experience, together with their lessons in cleaning, should enable them to keep any of the other rooms in the house in good order.

It should be pointed out that, in these days of sanitary building and furnishing, there is no necessity for the semi-annual "housecleaning" of former times. Each week the house can be thoroughly gone over, with the exception of laundering curtains and washing wood-work, and these duties might be taken in turn, a room at a time every week, so that the work will not accumulate.

The class should be taught to consider the economy of time and energy and encouraged to provide themselves with all the latest aids they can afford.

The cleaning methods which are necessary for this work and which have not been formally taught, should now be definitely outlined. These are the weekly sweeping, weekly dusting, and cleaning special metals.

DIRECTIONS FOR WEEKLY SWEEPING

DIRECTIONS FOR WEEKLY DUSTING

CARE AND CLEANING OF METALS

IRON OR STEEL

Utensils made of these are heavy, but strong and durable, and hold the heat well.

TIN

Utensils made of this are light and inexpensive; they are good conductors of heat, but they are also good radiators and lose heat quickly.

[142]

GRANITE AND ENAMEL WARE

Utensils made of this are attractive, not heavy, and they do not tarnish or rust.

ALUMINIUM

Utensils made of this are very light in weight and, as they have no crevices, are easily cleaned. They are also good conductors of heat.

[143]

ZINC

This is not used for utensils, but for table tops and for placing under stoves, etc.

GALVANIZED IRON

This is used for garbage pails, ash pans, stove pipes, etc. It is made by dipping sheet-iron into melted zinc.

COPPER OR BRASS

Utensils made of these are heavy but durable and are good conductors of heat. They are dangerous, if not properly cleaned.

[144]

SILVER

This is used for spoons, knives, forks, and serving dishes, but never for cooking utensils, on account of its cost. It is the best conductor of heat among the house metals.

RECIPE FOR SILVER POLISH

[145]

CHAPTER IX

FORM IV: JUNIOR GRADE (Continued)

LAUNDRY WORK

The principles of laundry work have been taught in the washing of dish cloths and towels, and now these principles have only to be extended to white cotton and linen clothes of any kind.

The pupils may be asked to bring soiled articles of white linen or cotton from home for use at school in exemplifying the necessary processes. In schools which lack an equipment, these processes may be discussed in class and then practised at home. The teacher should choose from the following outline what is most suitable to the class:

OUTLINE OF LESSONS ON THE WASHING OF WHITE COTTON AND LINEN CLOTHES

Lesson I

Materials

[147]

Dissolve the borax in a little boiling water. Add the cold water gradually to the starch and mix thoroughly. Add the dissolved borax and stir well before using.

Mix the starch with the cold water until free from lumps. Add the lard, then gradually stir in the boiling water, and keep stirring until thickened. Cook fifteen minutes and use hot.

Lesson II

PREPARATION FOR WASHING WHITE LINEN OR COTTON CLOTHES

PROCESS OF WASHING WHITE LINEN OR COTTON CLOTHES

Steps                                   Method

[152]

REMOVAL OF STAINS

Foreign matter which is difficult or impossible to remove by the ordinary washing process is called a stain. Such matter is not dissolved by the usual cleansing agents used in laundry work, such as water and soap, but requires some special solvent to act on it. The choice of the agent to be used will depend on the nature of the foreign matter to be removed. In some cases it is difficult to find[153] an agent which will not act also on the colour of the fabric; in other cases to find one which does not injure the fibre of the goods.

The pupils should be asked to give instances from their own experience where special solvents were used to remove stains, and be required to make a list of these. If necessary, the teacher should supplement this list with the names of other agents and the methods of using them.

OUTLINE OF LESSONS ON THE WASHING OF WOOLLENS

The washing of woollen materials is part of the Course for the work of the Senior Grade of Form IV, but, for the sake of convenience, the laundry lessons of both Grades of Form IV are outlined in one section of this Manual.

Before allowing the class any practice in this branch of laundry work, it will be necessary for the teacher to make certain principles very clear:

[154]

To impress the foregoing principles, a few experiments will be found most useful.

EXPERIMENTS WITH CLOTH MADE OF WOOL FIBRE

In each case dry the cloth and compare with an original piece.

After the results of the experiments have been discussed, the pupils may formulate a series of "points" to be observed in the washing of woollen fabrics.[155]

Cotton fibres magnified

Linen fibres magnified

Woollen fibres magnified

[156]

POINTS IN WASHING WOOLLENS

STEPS IN WASHING WOOLLEN MATERIALS

CHAPTER X

FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE

FOODS

The training of the previous years should have formed good habits of work and have given experience in ordinary cleaning, and in the cooking and serving of the simple food materials. Through this training the pupils should also have been impressed with the value of food, and should have learned the sources of food and of all well-known household materials.

The training of this last year, while continuing the Junior work, should also emphasize the household processes that require greater mental development to understand and greater practical skill to carry out. It is the border year between the public school and the high school, and must necessarily anticipate the elementary science of the latter. In this year more responsibility should be given to the pupils and more originality should be expected of them. Where they have hitherto followed recipes and been given rules, they should now follow principles and deduce rules.

Of the several topics outlined in the Course for Form IV Senior, it is advisable to start with the preservation of food. Fruit and vegetables are most plentiful when the[158] school year opens, and September is the most opportune month to preserve these for winter use. Facts concerning food preservation may have been taken incidentally in previous lessons, but now the subject should be systematically taught, so that canning, preserving, and pickling may be intelligently practised.

PRESERVATION OF FOOD

CAUSE OF DECAY

The lesson may be introduced by referring to the unusual attention given to fruit at the time of ripening. The economical housekeeper takes certain foods when they are most plentiful and preserves them for use when they are not in season. Some foods require special care to keep them from decaying. The decay is caused by the action of microscopic plants called "bacteria", which get into the food.

BACTERIA

It is difficult for any one to get a correct conception of bacteria; especially is it so for children. The teacher should be most careful not to attempt to give the class unimportant details, but the few necessary facts should be made very clear and real. The following points should be impressed:

CONDITIONS OF BACTERIAL GROWTH

All plants have the same requirements. Any well-known plant may be put before the class to help them to think of these. They must be told that microscopic plants differ from other plants in one respect; they do not need light. Hence bacterial requirements are as follows: (1) water, (2) food, (3) air (oxygen), (4) heat.

The class should be led to see that if any one of these conditions is removed, the remaining ones are insufficient for the plant's activity.

MEANS OF OVERCOMING BACTERIA

To the housekeeper, preserving food means overcoming bacteria. There are only two ways of doing this, either of which may be chosen:

In the first way, extreme heat is used to kill the bacteria in the food, and then while hot, the food is sealed to keep out other bacteria: Example, canning.[160]

In the second way, conditions are made unfavourable to the bacteria in the food, as follows:

When the lesson is finished, the class is ready to practise the principles it involves. The lessons on the special preservation of fruit may follow at once.

Utensils used in canning

CANNING

As canning is the method of preservation most commonly used, practice should be given in this method. In rural schools with a limited equipment, it may be that only one jar can be prepared. In other schools, it may be impossible to provide each pupil with material for work, on account of the expense. In the latter case, the materials[161] may all be brought from home, or each pupil may bring her own jar and fruit, and the school supply the sugar.

Instruction on the care of jars and the preparation of fruit and syrup must precede the practical work.

CARE OF JARS

PREPARATION OF FRUIT

Use fresh, sound fruit, not too ripe.

SYRUP FOR CANNING

Use about 1 cup of water for each pint can.

No. 1 Syrup.—Equal parts of sugar and water, or 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.

No. 2 Syrup.—1-1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar.

METHODS OF CANNING

[163]

After the lesson in Canning, it may not be wise to take the school time for further practice in the preservation of fruit. When such is the case, the theory of jam and jelly making may be discussed in class for home practice. The notes of these lessons may appear as follows:

JAMS AND PRESERVES

POINTS IN MAKING JAM

JELLY

COMPOSITION OF JELLY

PARTS OF FRUIT CONTAINING MOST PECTIN

Utensils used in making jelly

FRUITS CONTAINING MOST PECTIN

METHOD OF MAKING JELLY

METHODS OF COVERING JAM OR JELLY

PICKLING

Where the teacher finds it desirable, a lesson should now be given on pickling, with or without class practice. At least one or two good recipes may be given for home use.

There are no new principles to teach. The use of vinegar, salt, and spices as preservatives should be reviewed.[166]

CHAPTER XI

FORM IV: SENOR GRADE (Continued)

COOKERY

It is desirable that this test shall be made in as few lessons as possible, because nearly all the time in cookery for this year will be required for the new work, namely, a series of lessons on flour mixtures.

OUTLINE OF LESSON ON FLOUR

Flour is a food substance ground into a powder.

To find the substances in white flour, each pupil should mix half a cup of bread flour with enough cold water to make a dough. She must then be taught to knead it. This knowledge will be of use later in the bread lessons. After it is thoroughly kneaded until it is smooth and well blended, the dough should be washed in several waters. The first washing water should be poured into a glass and allowed to settle, to show the starch. After all the starch is washed away, the gluten will remain.

The gluten may then be put into a greased pan and baked, to demonstrate that it admits of distention, and also to show that it may be stiffened permanently by heat into any distended shape. The baked gluten should be reserved to be used as a specimen in succeeding lessons.

OUTLINE OF SERIES OF LESSONS ON FLOUR MIXTURES

LESSON I

[169]

To show the framework, the gluten baked in the flour lessons should be used. It should be pointed out as the skeleton of the mixture which upholds the entire structure and on which the other ingredients depend. To have light mixtures, this framework must admit of being expanded and also of being stiffened permanently into the stretched shape. Since egg-white has both of these necessary qualities, it may be used for a framework either alone or in combination with gluten.

It should also be observed that a mixture of ingredients light in weight does not prevent the framework from rising as much as heavy ones do.

The pupils will see that the framework of a mixture must increase in size in order to make the mixture light, but it must be made very clear that, while heat stiffens any framework, it will not distend it. Some other agency is required for this.

[170]

The lightening agents, air and steam, may be taught from the samples of baked gluten. Experiments will show how to produce the carbonic acid gas.

It may now be explained that, for the sake of convenience, soda and cream of tartar may be obtained already mixed, in accurate proportions of two parts of acid to one of the soda. This mixture is known as baking-powder. As very little moisture is necessary to start the action of the powder, a little cornstarch is added to it to keep it dry. For the same reason, it should always be kept tightly covered.

Soda is made from common salt and is cheap, but the source of cream of tartar makes it expensive, so that good baking-powder cannot be low priced. If such be advertised, it is usually adulterated.

As soon as the foregoing principles of flour mixtures are understood, they should be put into practice. The lessons on cake, bread, and pastry should follow in the order named, with as much practical work in connection with each as the time will allow.[171]

CAKE MAKING

LESSONS II AND III

(2) Cake with butter—

To the inexperienced minds of the girls in the Fourth Form, to whom the study of flour mixtures is new, the number and variety of these seems very large. All cook books give an almost endless collection of recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins, etc., and to the pupils each of these seems an entirely new mixture. In reality, many of them are but slight variations of the same type. A certain mixture of materials is used for a foundation, and numerous varieties are made from this by addition, subtraction, or substitution of ingredients. The original mixture is called[174] a basic recipe. Instead of teaching isolated mixtures, it will be found an excellent idea to give the class the basic ingredients for a recipe and encourage them to suggest variations, either original or from memory.

Typical basic recipes for cake and biscuits are given below:

BASIC RECIPE FOR CAKE

VARIATIONS OF BASIC RECIPE FOR CAKE

[175]

BASIC RECIPE FOR BISCUITS, ETC.

VARIATIONS OF BASIC RECIPE FOR BISCUITS

[176]

BREAD MAKING

In beginning the bread lessons, it will be found that there are no new principles to teach. It will, however, be necessary to explain the new means of producing gas which is used in this particular mixture, namely, yeast.

From their lessons on the "Preservation of Food" and "Canning", the pupils are already acquainted with one class of microscopic plants. The little plants, in that case, were a source of great inconvenience to the housekeeper. Yeast may be introduced as another family of one-celled plants, but one which is most useful. Under good conditions these tiny plants will produce a large amount of carbon dioxide gas, provided they are given sufficient time. If, however, the gas be required quickly, soda and acid must be used. For this reason, plain flour mixtures, in which the carbon dioxide is quickly made, are called quick breads, to distinguish them from breads in which yeast is used. Examples of these are baking-powder biscuits, gems, corn-bread, etc.

The use of yeast is the simplest and cheapest way of obtaining carbonic acid gas, and mixtures so made remain moist longer than those in which baking-powder is used.

Throughout the introductory lesson, this fact must be kept prominently before the class, that yeast is a plant and, as such, requires plant conditions. The necessary conditions will be known from the lesson on "Bacteria", so that they have only to be reviewed. The pupils may be told that although they cannot see the plants, they can very plainly see the bubbles of gas which the plants give off when the latter are made active under favourable conditions.[177]

LESSON I

OUTLINE OF LESSONS ON YEAST

Yeast is a one-celled plant which can be seen only with a microscope. Under good conditions it becomes very active and multiplies rapidly by a process called budding. It is used by the housekeeper for the carbonic acid gas it gives off.

Yeast plants magnified

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Yeast was first found as wild yeast in the air, but now it may be obtained at grocery stores, in three forms:

Make a yeast garden by using the plants obtained at the grocery store as follows:

Take half a cup of lukewarm water to give the plants moisture, a teaspoonful of sugar for immediate food, and the same of wheat starch (flour) for a reserve food. Beat the mixture to infold oxygen, and then put in one-quarter cake of yeast plants.

Divide the mixture among a number of test-tubes, so that each group of four pupils has three.

Observe the results, and compare the amount of gas formed under the different conditions.

LESSON II

PRACTICAL BREAD-MAKING

Ingredients of plain bread:

Amount of ingredients for one small loaf:

Process in making bread:

In this lesson, after deciding on the necessary ingredients, the pupils may be told the amount of each to use for their class work. They should then measure and mix these ingredients and set the dough away for the first rising. While the bread is rising, the kitchen may be put in order and the other steps of the process reasoned out and written.

Other school work must be taken then, until the dough has fully risen, when the process may be completed. After each stage of the process has been carried out, the notes on it may be written.

With the foregoing principles of bread-making in mind, the class should be able to make any bread mixture. Each pupil should have entire responsibility for the process of making one small loaf of plain bread. About half a cup of liquid, mixed with the other necessary ingredients, makes a good-sized loaf for practice. Smaller loaves than this give little chance for manipulation.

In Household Management centres, where the pupils come from other schools for the lesson period only, the process will have to be divided into two lessons. The first lesson may include the first two stages—mixing and first rising—each pupil using small quantities, say for one eighth of a loaf of the ordinary size. At the end of the lesson, they may carry their dough home for completion,[182] or it may be used by another class which is ready for the later steps of the process.

The second lesson will include the last three steps—moulding, second rising, and baking—and it will be necessary for the teacher to have dough prepared for the moulding stage when the class arrives.

LESSON III

FANCY BREADS

These mixtures are but variations of plain bread. The extra ingredients, such as milk, eggs, butter, spices, sugar, currants, raisins, peel, etc., are added at the most convenient stage of the process.

THE BREAD-MIXER

PASTRY

Pastry is one of the simplest flour mixtures, and one that has the lowest food value. The intimate blending of butter or lard with the flour envelopes the starch grains with fat, and makes the mixture difficult to digest. The same thing occurs in frying food and in buttering hot toast; so the idea is not a new one to the class.

In introducing the lesson on pastry, this principle of digestion should be reviewed, and it should be made plain that delicate pudding and seasonable fruits are a much better form of dessert.

There are no new principles to teach, but some old ones to impress. The object of the housekeeper should be to make a mixture that is light and one that will fall to pieces easily. To ensure the latter, anything that would toughen the gluten must be avoided.

From the bread lesson, the pupils have learned that working the water into the gluten or much handling of flour after it is wet, makes a mixture firm and tough. In pastry there must be enough gluten to stick the ingredients together, but its elastic quality is undesirable. For the latter reason also, a small amount of water is used.

In the cake mixtures, it was found that the use of fat in the "butter cakes" made the framework tender and easily broken, so in pastry the same means may be employed. Fat of some kind is mixed with the flour to act on the gluten and destroy its toughness.[184]

Air and steam are the only lightening agents commonly used in pastry. Since cold air occupies less room than warm air and admits of more expansion, it is desirable that the mixture be kept very cold. The low temperature also prevents the fat melting; hence, the necessity for the use of cold utensils and materials throughout the process.

OUTLINE OF LESSON ON PASTRY

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CHAPTER XII

FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE (Continued)

MEAT

More preparation is needed for the first meat lesson than for most foods. Some days before, thin bones such as leg or wing bones of fowl, or rib bones of lamb should be soaked in diluted hydrochloric or nitric acid (one part acid to ten of water), to dissolve the mineral substance which gives the bone its rigidity.

Any time before the lesson, a large solid bone of an old animal, such as a knee or hip joint of beef, should be burned for hours to get rid of the connective tissue which holds the mineral substance in shape. This should be carefully done, in order to retain the shape of the bone and to show the porous formation of the mineral substance. If the bone is not blackened by the fire, its white colour will also indicate the lime of which it is formed.[187]

On the day of the lesson it will be necessary to have a piece of meat showing the three parts—fat, bone, and muscle. A lower cut of the round of beef has all these parts, and the muscle is sufficiently tough to show its connective tissue plainly. For the study of fat, a piece of suet is best, as it can be easily picked apart to show its formation.

In examining fat meat and lean meat it is essential that, at least, every two pupils have a piece, as close scrutiny is necessary. One or two samples of bone will suffice for the class.

No definite amount of work can be laid down for any one lesson. The interest and ability of the class must be the guide. In rural schools, the time of each lesson must be comparatively short, though no Household Management teacher should spend more than forty minutes on purely theoretical work without a change of some kind.

The following is an outline of the facts to be considered in this particular study:

LESSON I

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Fat should be the first part studied, because it is the simplest tissue and the parts are most plainly seen. Pick the specimen apart, and the tissue that holds it together is found. Its name is easily developed from its use.

The water may be shown by heating pieces of fat in a small saucepan and, when it becomes hot, covering the dish with a cold plate. Remove the plate before it gets heated, and moisture will be condensed on its surface. The presence of water in fat may also be reasoned out by remembering that water enters into the composition of all body tissues.

Neither the mineral substance nor the connective tissue in bone can be seen until either one or the other is eliminated.

Strike the fresh bone with a steel knife, and it shows the quality of hardness. Bones are built from food, and the only food substance that is so hard is mineral matter. Show the burned bone, with only the mineral matter left, and let each pupil examine it. Its formation indicates[189] the spaces which the part burned out of it occupied. Let it fall or crush part of it in the fingers, to show how easily it is broken. Such bones would be no use as a framework to support the body. The bones of very old persons get too much like this, and we are afraid to have such people fall. The burned bone needs something to hold it together—a connective tissue. Such a tissue was in the spaces before the bone was burned.

Show the bone after it has been prepared in an acid solution, with only the connective tissue left. Explain how it was prepared. Bend it to show its pliability. To be of use in the body it needs some substance to make it hard and rigid—the mineral matter which was dissolved out.

Draw attention to the fact that the mineral matter in milk and eggs is in solution, and therefore ready to be used by the body. Mineral matter is not in solution in bone, and cannot be dissolved by the digestive process, therefore it is practically of no use as food.

Compare the connective tissue of bone with that of fat, and let the pupils account for the difference in thickness. Lead them to see that connective tissue can be dissolved in hot water, and in this way may be extracted from the mineral part of bone. The housekeeper may do this herself, or she may buy it already extracted, as gelatine.[190]

It should be made clear that the walls of such tiny tubes can never be thick enough to be tough. Attention should be called to the real cause of toughness—the thick connective tissue.

[191]

Minced lean beef should he soaked in a little cold water for at least twenty minutes, to extract the muscle juice for examination. The juice should be strained through a cheesecloth and poured into a glass. It shows nothing but water and a red colour.

In order to find the other substances, pour part of the juice into a small saucepan and heat it gradually until it boils gently. The red colour will disappear, and the albumen which is dissolved in the juice will coagulate and become plainly visible. The pupils will recall that egg-white was affected in the same way by heat, and may be told that this coagulated substance is similar to egg-white, and is called muscle albumen. The odour given off by heating suggests that the flavour is also in the muscle juice, hence the importance of conserving this juice in the cooking process.

Strain the boiled juice to get rid of the coagulated albumen and then examine the liquid that is left. Its colour plainly denotes mineral matter in solution.

LESSON II

If time permit, the following experiments may be taken. The facts which these experiments prove may, however, be developed in a much shorter time by questioning:

[193]

LESSON III

[194]

Cuts of beef
1. Neck, stews and soup. 2. Chuck ribs, cheaper roasts. 3. Prime ribs, very good roasts. 4. Loin, best steaks or roasts (sirloin, tenderloin, porterhouse). 5. Rump, roasts and steak. 6. Brisket, stews or corned beef. 7. Fore shank, soup. 8. Shoulder, stews or pot-roasts. 9. Short ribs, stews or cheap roasts. 10. Navel, corned beef. 11. Plate, stews or corned beef. 12. Flank, stews or corned beef. 13. Round, steaks. 14. 2nd cut round, stews and soup. 15. Hind shank, stews and soup. 16. Tail, soup.

Bony structure

[195]

[196]

Cuts of veal

Cuts of lamb

[197]

The practical work, besides the experiments, in connection with the meat lessons, should consist of at least three preparations of this food: (1) the cooking of tender meat, (2) the cooking of tough meat, (3) the making of soup.

Cuts of pork

The object of each preparation should be made plain, so that the pupils may fully understand what they are trying to accomplish.

[198]

GENERAL RULES FOR COOKING MEAT

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FISH

Since fish is the flesh of sea animals, there will be little new to learn concerning it.

Main points of difference between this flesh and ordinary meat are:

Kinds of fish:

Selection of fish:

Fresh fish may be recognized by the following:

Cooking of fish:

Fish may be cooked in any way similar to meat. As the flesh of fish contains food substances which are very easily dissolved in water, boiling is not a good method of cooking to choose for this food. Steaming, baking, and frying are more suitable.

GELATINE

A lesson on gelatine naturally follows the lessons on meat and fish. The study of bone and the making of soup have explained the source of this substance, and only a few additional facts are necessary.[201]

The gelatine practice dishes are sure to prove attractive to the class, and the common use of this food in sickness, and in salads and desserts, makes it important that its food value be understood.

Gelatine is obtained from the bones, cartilage, and skin of animals. It is the connective tissue dissolved out of these parts.

The housekeeper may obtain it for herself or she may buy it already extracted; both are equally good.

[202]

[203]

FROZEN DISHES

A lesson on frozen dishes may be taken at any time, but it seems specially opportune after the gelatine lesson. It may be impossible to make these dishes in school, but the facts of the lesson may be discussed and recipes furnished, after which a Form IV pupil should find no difficulty in carrying out these recipes at home.

Elementary science should be correlated, to explain the use of salt in the freezing process.

VALUE OF FROZEN DISHES

KINDS OF FROZEN DISHES

PRACTICAL WORK

[205]

PLANNING AND PREPARATION OF MEALS

The food work of the previous Forms, from constant reference and use, should be so well known that it may be reviewed in one lesson, under the following heads:

After the review, the class may be asked to prepare menus for one day's meals, keeping in mind the following:

The preparation of menus may be continued, even while other work is being studied, until the teacher feels satisfied with the ability of the class to prepare menus intelligently.

The planning of menus should, if time permit, be extended to actual practice in preparing and serving the meals called for by some of the menus. In this Form there should be a limit set to the number of people served and the cost of the food.

Since breakfast and luncheon were prepared in the Junior Form, a dinner should be taken in this. The entire responsibility of the meal should be given to the pupils, each being appointed to perform definite duties. The teacher may advise while the class is planning the work, but not assist while it is being carried out.

Each member of the class may be asked to prepare a menu to suit the special conditions which have been made as to number and cost. These may be planned at home and brought to the teacher for criticism. At the first lesson, three or four of the best may be written on the black-hoard for comparison and choice.

When the selection is made, members of the class should be chosen for the following duties: (1) marketing, (2) preparation of food, (3) laying the table, (4) serving, (5) representing members of the family to eat the meal.[207]

At the second lesson the meal will be prepared, served, and eaten. In schools lacking an equipment, the meal may be planned and selected in the same way as above, but the entire responsibility of carrying it out must rest on one pupil, as it will be necessary for each to prepare and serve it in her own home.[208]

CHAPTER XIII

FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE (Continued)

INFANT FEEDING

The natural food of an infant is its mother's milk, and too much stress cannot be placed on the necessity of nursing by the mother.

Even if the mother has but a small supply, the baby should not be weaned; the supply should be supplemented by modified milk. In the rare cases where a mother cannot nurse her baby, a physician should prescribe the food. In such a case the best substitute is cow's milk.

If cow's milk be used, it will have to be changed or "modified" to make it as far as possible like mother's milk. Cow's milk differs in the following respects: It has (1) less water and therefore more solids; (2) a larger proportion of protein and mineral compounds; (3) less sugar; (4) a different combination of fats.

Cow's milk cannot be made like mother's milk, but it is better food for a little baby if cream, milk sugar, and barley water, are added in certain proportions, varying according to the age of the child.[209]

RECIPE FOR MODIFIED MILK

Mixed milk, and not one cow's milk, should be used, for the reason that a better average of milk is secured from several cows than from one. The supply should be fresh and clean. To make sure of the latter, scrupulous care should be given to the cleanliness of the cows' bodies and stables, the utensils, and the clothing and hands of the milkers. If there is any doubt of the cleanliness, the milk should be pasteurized. The pasteurization greatly reduces the bacterial life in the milk by a temperature which does not change its composition and digestibility, as is the case in sterilizing it.

DIRECTIONS FOR PASTEURIZING MILK

Sterilize bottles as for canning. Nearly fill the bottles with milk and cork them with absorbent cotton which has been sterilized (by being baked a delicate brown). Place the bottles on a rest in a deep kettle and surround them with cold water as high as the milk. Heat the water gradually to 155 degrees Fahrenheit, or until tiny bubbles show in the milk next the glass. Remove the kettle and contents to where the temperature of the milk will remain[210] the same for half an hour. Then cool the milk quickly by putting the bottles first in lukewarm water and then in cold water. Keep in a cool place and do not remove the cotton until ready to use. Pasteurized milk should not be kept more than a couple of days.

The utmost care and cleanliness should be observed in preparing the infant's food. All utensils which come in contact with the food should be sterilized each time they are used. Bottles with rubber tubes should never be used, as they cannot be thoroughly cleaned. The bottle should be plain and graduated without a neck, and the nipple should admit of being turned inside out.

CARE OF BOTTLES

After the nursing, the bottles should at once be rinsed with cold water. Later, the bottles and nipples should be carefully washed in hot, soapy water, then rinsed in clear, hot water. They should then be sterilized by boiling in water for twenty minutes, after which they may be placed in boric acid solution (1 tsp. to 1 qt. water), or the bottles may be emptied and plugged with sterilized absorbent cotton until again required.

CARE OF FOOD

It saves much time to make sufficient food to last for twenty-four hours. This may be put into a large bottle, or what is better, into the several nursing bottles, and each plugged with sterilized absorbent cotton. After cooling, the bottles should be put on the ice or in some cool place until required. Where there is no refrigerator, an ice-box made on the principle of the home-made fireless cooker will[211] do excellent service. When the food is to be used, it should be warmed slightly above body heat by placing the bottle in warm water.

The following table is taken from The Care and Feeding of Children by L. Emmet Holt, M.D., of New York.

SCHEDULE FOR FEEDING A HEALTHY CHILD
DURING THE FIRST YEAR

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CHAPTER XIV

FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE (Continued)

HOUSEHOLD SANITATION

The following topics should he quickly reviewed:

It is with the harmful bacteria that our lesson on sanitation deals. The pupils already know that some kinds belonging to this class cause the decay of food, and now they are ready to be told that other harmful kinds of microscopic plants gain entrance to our bodies and cause disease. Concerning these, the following outline of facts should be taken:

1. MEANS OF BACTERIA ENTERING THE BODY

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2. COMMON DISEASE-PRODUCING BACTERIA

Sink and sewer connection
T—Trap. W—Waste Pipe. H.D.—House drain. S.—Sewer.

If housekeepers do not exercise care, these disease-producing bacteria may enter the home, and finding there all the conditions which they require, they will multiply, and become a menace to the family.[214]

3. METHODS OF SANITATION

Since bacteria are too small to be seen, it is very hard to deal with them. The housekeeper has the following ways of protecting the household:

(3) By keeping the supply of food from disease-producing bacteria:

(4) By keeping the bodies of the family strong and healthy, so that if bacteria gain an entrance they will be resisted and overcome:[215]

4. DISPOSAL OF WASTE IN VILLAGES AND RURAL DISTRICTS

5. METHODS OF DISINFECTING

Where bacterial disease is known to exist, the utmost care should be taken to subject everything that has come in contact with the patient to a process which will kill the disease-producing plants. Only two ways of doing this are known:

HOME NURSING

This part of the work does not require a special equipment, though it is an advantage to have one. An ingenious teacher, with the co-operation of her pupils, will invent plans for providing whatever is necessary for demonstration. Pupils living near the school can supply many of the needed materials.

A doll and doll's bed may be used to teach bed making and the changing of bed-clothing while the patient is in bed. The doll may also be used to illustrate the method of giving a patient a bath in bed and of changing the body clothing, if such information is desired.

In some cases, a manual training pupil might construct the bed, and the sewing class the mattress, bed-clothing, and doll's underwear. If this were the property of the school, the girls could take turns in making the bed every day and in laundering the clothing at home once a week.

It is desirable that the instruction in home nursing be given in two lessons. These may be outlined as follows:

LESSON I

THE SICK ROOM

METHODS OF DISINFECTING

LESSON II

THE PATIENT

2. Care of the diet.—Recovery from sickness in many cases depends more upon the right kind of food than on medicine. The importance of proper diet should have been impressed on the minds of the pupils by their lessons on food, in the Junior Grade of Form IV. They may now be shown that, in sickness, the[220] responsibility of the choice of food is transferred from the patient to the doctor or nurse. Hence it is most important that a person acting as nurse should be trained in food values and proper methods of cooking. She should also be capable of exercising daintiness and artistic skill in serving, so that the appearance of the food may tempt the patient to eat it.

Invalid's tray

    It should not be necessary to review the comparative values of the well-known foods or the best methods of applying heat to make and keep these foods digestible; it may be taken for granted that the class remembers these facts. The time may be more profitably used in naming and discussing special dishes which are included in invalid cookery. Recipes may be given for any of these which the pupils desire or the teacher chooses, and one or two of the dishes which require very little time to make, may be prepared.[221]
    For the sake of convenience, diets for the sick may be classified as Milk, Liquid, Light, and Full. These terms are an easy way of indicating a certain range of foods.

POULTICES

A poultice is used to reduce inflammation and should be as large as the affected part.

The kinds in ordinary use are:

Directions for a mustard poultice:

Directions for linseed, bread, or potato poultices:

FOMENTATIONS

These are much the same in their effects as poultices, but are sometimes more convenient.

Directions for fomentations:

[223]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following books are recommended for reference, the more useful being marked with an asterisk:

THE HOME

SCIENCE AND SANITATION

FOOD AND DIETETICS

COOKING AND SERVING

LAUNDRY WORK

HOME NURSING

ECONOMICS

MAGAZINES